Fast simultaneous detection of K-RAS mutations in colorectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>RAS </it>genes acquire the most common somatic gain-of-function mutations in human cancer, and almost all of these mutations are located at codons 12, 13, 61, and 146.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We present a method for detecting these <it>K-RAS </it>hotspot mutations in 228 cases of colorectal cancer. The protocol is based on the multiplex amplification of exons 2, 3 and 4 in a single tube, followed by primer extension of the PCR products using various sizes of primers to detect base changes at codons 12, 13, 61 and 146. We compared the clinicopathological data of colorectal cancer patients with the <it>K-RAS </it>mutation status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>K-RAS </it>mutation occurred in 36% (83/228) of our colorectal cancer cases. Univariate analysis revealed a significant association between <it>K-RAS </it>mutation at codon 12 of exon 2 and poor 5-year survival (p = 0.023) and lymph node involvement (p = 0.048). Also, <it>K-RAS </it>mutation at codon 13 of exon 2 correlates with the size of the tumor (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis adjusted for tumor size, histologic grade, and lymph node metastasis also indicated <it>K-RAS </it>mutations at codon 12 and 13 of exon 2 correlate significantly with overall survival (p = 0.002 and 0.025). No association was observed between codon 61 and 146 and clinicopathological features.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrated a simple and fast way to identify <it>K-RAS </it>mutation.</p

Causal relationship between nuclear energy consumption and economic growth in G6 countries : evidence from panel Granger causality tests

Looking at the recent nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, the consequences were not just environmental or economic. The accident was a big hit to the reputation and trust in nuclear power generation making a number of countries reconsider the nuclear energy as an option. The recent financial crisis might have limited even more the developed countries from the necessary capital to invest in expensive power options but this might change in the future if the positive environmental effects of the nuclear power can be proven substantial. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the causal link between nuclear energy consumption and economic growth for six developed countries over the period from 1971 to 2011. Granger causality procedure based on Meta-analysis in heterogeneous mixed panels is used to allow for cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity across countries. The empirical findings for the overall panel support the presence of unidirectional causality running from economic growth to nuclear energy consumption across the G-6 countries. However, in the case of UK we find a bidirectional causality running from nuclear energy consumption to economic growth; while the results for Germany confirm the growth hypothesis and for the rest of the countries the neutrality hypothesis.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pnucenehb201

Hadron yields and spectra in Au+Au collisions at the AGS

Inclusive double differential multiplicities and rapidity density distributions of hadrons are presented for 10.8 A GeV/c Au+Au collisions as measured at the AGS by the E877 collaboration. The results indicate that large amounts of stopping and collective transverse flow effects are present. The data are also compared to the results from the lighter Si+Al system.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 10 figures, submitted to Nuclear Physics A (Quark Matter 1996 Proceedings

The influence of photoperiod on the reproductive physiology of the greater red musk shrew: Crocidura flavescens

Photoperiodism involves the use of both absolute measures of day length and the direction in which day length is changing as a cue for regulating seasonal changes in physiology and behaviour so that birth and lactation coincide with optimal resource availability, increasing offspring survival. Induced ovulation and opportunistic breeding is often found in species that are predominantly solitary and territorial. In this study, the photoperiodic reproductive responses of male greater red musk shrews (Crocidura flavescens (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)) were investigated in the laboratory. The presence of spermatozoa regardless of the light cycle, suggest that although the shrews are photoresponsive, they may be capable of breeding throughout the year. Significantly greater testicular volume and eminiferous tubule diameter following exposure to a short day-light cycle suggests that these animals may have breeding peaks that correspond to short days. The presence of epidermal spines on the penis indicates that the shrew is likely also an induced ovulator. Flexible breeding patterns combined with induced ovulation affords this solitary species the greatest chance of reproductive success

Evidence of the Purely Leptonic Decay B- --> tau- nu_tau-bar

We present the first evidence of the decay B- --> tau- nu_tau-bar using 414 fb^-1 of data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. Events are tagged by fully reconstructing one of the B mesons in hadronic modes. We detect the signal with a significance of 3.5 standard deviations including systematics, and measure the branching fraction to be Br(B- --> tau- nu_tau-bar) = (1.79 +0.56-0.49(stat) +0.46-0.51(syst))*10^-4. This implies that f_B = 0.229 +0.036-0.031(stat) +0.034-0.037(syst) GeV and is the first direct measurement of this quantity.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Observation of the Decays B0->K+pi-pi0 and B0->rho-K+

We report the observation of B^0 decays to the K^+pi^-pi^0 final state using a data sample of 78 fb^-1 collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB e^+e^- collider. With no assumptions about intermediate states in the decay, the branching fraction is measured to be (36.6^{+4.2}_{-4.3}+- 3.0)*10^-6.We also search for B decays to intermediate two-body states with the same K^+pi^-pi^0 final state. Significant B signals are observed in the rho(770)^- K^+ and K^*(892)^+pi^- channels, with branching fractions of (15.1^{+3.4+1.4+2.0}_{-3.3-1.5-2.1})* 10^-6 and (14.8^{+4.6+1.5+2.4}_{-4.4-1.0-0.9})* 10^-6, respectively. The first error is statistical, the second is systematic and the third is due to the largest possible interference. Contributions from other possible two-body states will be discussed. No CP asymmetry is found in the inclusive K^+pi^-pi^0 or rho^-K^+ modes, and we set 90% confidence level bounds on the asymmetry of -0.12<A_{CP}<0.26 and -0.18<A_{CP}<0.64, respectively.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Observation of Ds1(2536)+ -> D+pi-K+ and angular decomposition of Ds1(2536)+ -> D*+K0S

Using 462/fb of e+e- annihilation data recorded by the Belle detector, we report the first observation of the decay Ds1(2536)+ -> D+pi-K+. The ratio of branching fractions B(Ds1+ -> D+pi-K+)/B(Ds1+ -> D*+K0) is measured to be (3.27+-0.18+-0.37)%. We also study the angular distributions in the Ds1(2536)+ -> D*+K0S decay and measure the ratio of D- and S-wave amplitudes. The S-wave dominates, with a partial width of Gamma_S/Gamma_total=0.72+-0.05+-0.01.Comment: Submitted to Phys.Rev.D 16 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

A Solvable Regime of Disorder and Interactions in Ballistic Nanostructures, Part I: Consequences for Coulomb Blockade

We provide a framework for analyzing the problem of interacting electrons in a ballistic quantum dot with chaotic boundary conditions within an energy $E_T$ (the Thouless energy) of the Fermi energy. Within this window we show that the interactions can be characterized by Landau Fermi liquid parameters. When $g$, the dimensionless conductance of the dot, is large, we find that the disordered interacting problem can be solved in a saddle-point approximation which becomes exact as $g\to\infty$ (as in a large-N theory). The infinite $g$ theory shows a transition to a strong-coupling phase characterized by the same order parameter as in the Pomeranchuk transition in clean systems (a spontaneous interaction-induced Fermi surface distortion), but smeared and pinned by disorder. At finite $g$, the two phases and critical point evolve into three regimes in the $u_m-1/g$ plane -- weak- and strong-coupling regimes separated by crossover lines from a quantum-critical regime controlled by the quantum critical point. In the strong-coupling and quantum-critical regions, the quasiparticle acquires a width of the same order as the level spacing $\Delta$ within a few $\Delta$'s of the Fermi energy due to coupling to collective excitations. In the strong coupling regime if $m$ is odd, the dot will (if isolated) cross over from the orthogonal to unitary ensemble for an exponentially small external flux, or will (if strongly coupled to leads) break time-reversal symmetry spontaneously.Comment: 33 pages, 14 figures. Very minor changes. We have clarified that we are treating charge-channel instabilities in spinful systems, leaving spin-channel instabilities for future work. No substantive results are change

Time-Dependent CP Violation Effects in Partially Reconstructed B0→D∗πB^0 \to D^* \pi Decays

We report measurements of time-dependent decay rates for $B^0 \to D^{*\mp} \pi^\pm$ decays and extraction of CP violation parameters related to $\phi_3$. We use a partial reconstruction technique, whereby signal events are identified using information only from the primary pion and the charged pion from the decay of the $D^{*\mp}$. The analysis uses $140 {\rm fb}^{-1}$ of data accumulated at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. We measure the CP violation parameters $S^+ = 0.035 \pm 0.041 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.018 ({\rm syst})$ and $S^- = 0.025 \pm 0.041 ({\rm stat}) \pm 0.018 ({\rm syst})$.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Physics Letters

Study of B0ˉ→D(∗)0π+π−\bar{B^{0}} \to D^{(*)0} \pi^+ \pi^- Decays

We report on a study of $\bar{B^{0}} \to D^{(*) 0} \pi^+ \pi^-$ decays using 29.1 fb$^{-1}$ of $e^{+}e^{-}$ annihilation data recorded at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB storage ring. Making no assumptions about the intermediate mechanism, the branching fractions for $\bar{B}^0 \to D^0 \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $\bar{B}^0 \to D^{* 0} \pi^+ \pi^-$ are determined to be $(8.0 \pm 0.6 \pm 1.5) \times 10^{-4}$ and $(6.2 \pm 1.2 \pm 1.8) \times 10^{-4}$ respectively. An analysis of $\bar{B^{0}} \to D^{0} \pi^+ \pi^-$ candidates yields to the first observation of the color-suppressed hadronic decay $\bar{B}^0 \to D^0 \rho^0$ with the branching fraction $(2.9 \pm 1.0 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-4}$. We measure the ratio of branching fractions ${\mathcal B}(\bar{B^0} \to D^0 \rho^0) / {\mathcal B}(\bar{B^0} \to D^0 \omega)$ = 1.6 $\pm$ 0.8.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.