A P2X receptor-mediated nociceptive afferent pathway to lamina I of the spinal cord

Of the six lamina regions in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, lamina I is a major sensory region involved in nociceptive transmission under both physiological and pathological conditions. While P2X receptors have been shown to be involved in nociception, it remains unknown if P2X receptors are involved in nociceptive transmission to lamina I neurons. Using rat spinal cord slice preparations and patch-clamp recordings, we have demonstrated that the excitatory synaptic transmission between primary afferent fibers and lamina I neurons is significantly affected by ATP and α,β-methylene-ATP. The synaptic effects of them include the increases of the frequency of both miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) and spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs), and decreases of evoked EPSCs (eEPSCs). These effects were blocked by pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2', 4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS, 10 μM) and suramin (30 μM). In the neurons for which ATP and α,β-methylene-ATP had effects on mEPSCs, sEPSCs and eEPSCs, capsaicin produced similar synaptic effects. Our results indicate that P2X receptors are expressed on many afferent fibers that directly synapse to lamina I neurons. Furthermore, these P2X receptor-expressing afferent fibers are capsaicin-sensitive nociceptive afferents. Thus, this study reveals a P2X receptor-mediated nociceptive afferent pathway to lamina I of the spinal cord and provides a new insight into the nociceptive functions of P2X receptors

Modelling the Asymmetric Volatility in Hog Prices in Taiwan

Prices in the hog industry in Taiwan are determined according to an auction system. There are significant differences in hog prices before, during and after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The paper models growth rates and volatility in daily hog prices in Taiwan from 23 March 1999 to 30 June 2007, which enables an analysis of the effects of joining the WTO. The empirical results have significant implications for risk management and policy in the agricultural industry. The three sub-samples for the periods before, during and after joining the WTO display significantly different volatility persistence of symmetry, asymmetry and leverage, respectively

Extraction of Electron Self-Energy and Gap Function in the Superconducting State of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 Superconductor via Laser-Based Angle-Resolved Photoemission

Super-high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been performed on a high temperature superconductor Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8. The band back-bending characteristic of the Bogoliubov-like quasiparticle dispersion is clearly revealed at low temperature in the superconducting state. This makes it possible for the first time to experimentally extract the complex electron self-energy and the complex gap function in the superconducting state. The resultant electron self-energy and gap function exhibit features at ~54 meV and ~40 meV, in addition to the superconducting gap-induced structure at lower binding energy and a broad featureless structure at higher binding energy. These information will provide key insight and constraints on the origin of electron pairing in high temperature superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Study of the P-wave charmonium state \chi_{cJ} in \psi(2S) decays

The processes $\psi(2S)\to \gamma \pi^+ \pi^-$, $\gamma K^+ K^-$ and $\gamma p \bar{p}$ have been studied using a sample of $3.7 \times 10^6$ produced $\psi(2S)$ decays. We determine the total width of the $\chi_{c0}$ to be $\Gamma^{tot}_{\chi_{c0}} = 14.3\pm 2.0\pm 3.0$ MeV. We present the first measurement of the branching fraction $B(\chi_{c0} \to p \bar{p}) = (16.3 \pm 4.4 \pm 5.4)\times 10^{-5}$, where the first error is statistical and the second one systematic. Branching fractions of $\chi_{c0,2} \to \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $K^+ K^-$ are also reported.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 3 figures, 2 table

Measurement of the Inclusive Charm Cross Section at 4.03 GeV and 4.14 GeV

The cross section for charmed meson production at $\sqrt{s} = 4.03$ and 4.14 GeV has been measured with the Beijing Spectrometer. The measurement was made using 22.3 $pb^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ data collected at 4.03 GeV and 1.5 $pb^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ data collected at 4.14 GeV. Inclusive observed cross sections for the production of charged and neutral D mesons and momentum spectra are presented. Observed cross sections were radiatively corrected to obtain tree level cross sections. Measurements of the total hadronic cross section are obtained from the charmed meson cross section and an extrapolation of results from below the charm threshold.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures. The top level tex file is paper.tex. It builds the paper from other tex files in this .tar and the .eps file

Measurement of the Total Cross Section for Hadronic Production by e+e- Annihilation at Energies between 2.6-5 Gev

Using the upgraded Beijing Spectrometer (BESII), we have measured the total cross section for $e^+e^-$ annihilation into hadronic final states at center-of-mass energies of 2.6, 3.2, 3.4, 3.55, 4.6 and 5.0 GeV. Values of $R$, $\sigma(e^+e^-\to {hadrons})/\sigma(e^+e^-\to\mu^+\mu^-)$, are determined.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurement of ψ(2S)\psi(2S) decays to baryon pairs

A sample of 3.95M $\psi(2S)$ decays registered in the BES detector are used to study final states containing pairs of octet and decuplet baryons. We report branching fractions for $\psi(2S)\to p\bar{p}$, $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$, $\Sigma^0\bar{\Sigma}{}^0$, $\Xi^-\bar{\Xi}{}^+$, $\Delta^{++}\bar{\Delta}{}^{--}$, $\Sigma^+(1385)\bar{\Sigma}{}^-(1385)$, $\Xi^0(1530)\bar{\Xi}{}^0(1530)$, and $\Omega^-\bar{\Omega}{}^+$. These results are compared to expectations based on the SU(3)-flavor symmetry, factorization, and perturbative QCD.Comment: 22 pages, 21 figures, 4 table

First Measurement of the Branching Fraction of the Decay psi(2S) --> tau tau

The branching fraction of the psi(2S) decay into tau pair has been measured for the first time using the BES detector at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider. The result is $B_{\tau\tau}=(2.71\pm 0.43 \pm 0.55) \times 10^{-3}$, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. This value, along with those for the branching fractions into e+e- and mu+mu of this resonance, satisfy well the relation predicted by the sequential lepton hypothesis. Combining all these values with the leptonic width of the resonance the total width of the psi(2S) is determined to be $(252 \pm 37)$ keV.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Measurements of ψ(2S)\psi(2S) decays into Vector- Tensor final states

Decays of the $\psi(2S)$ into vector plus tensor meson final states have been studied with 14 million $\psi(2S)$ events collected with the BESII detector. Branching fractions of \psi(2S) \rt \omega f_{2}(1270), $\rho a_2(1320)$, $K^*(892)^0\bar{K}^*_2(1430)^0+c.c.$ and $\phi f_2^{\prime}(1525)$ are determined. They improve upon previous BESI results and confirm the violation of the "12%" rule for $\psi(2S)$ decays to VT channels with higher precision.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures and 2 table