A Study of Journalistic Writing as Developed by Time Magazine

Magazine publishing began to flourish in the United States after World War I (1914-1918). Since its establishment in 1923, Time, the Weekly News magazine, has been a rapidly growing magazine that has been a popular source of news and has developed a style that has influenced journalistic writing and, to some degree, the development of American English. In a busy, prosperous and scientific era, Time was the first publication of its kind to provide news coverage of all important events in digested and organized form with good picture illustrations and editorial comments fused in the text. It became popular and financially prosperous because of its style, its policy, and its management. A study of Time\u27s writing has shown that current events can be recorded interestingly. The journalistic vocabulary can be increased with an introduction of new words through traditional word-forming processes and through the introduction of foreign words; sentence structure can be varied to ward off dullness; literary allusions and metaphoric phrases can be employed with skill and subtlety; even imaginary scenes can be occasionally added to the less serious stories to hold readers\u27 interest and curiosity

Charmless Two-body Baryonic B Decays

We study charmless two-body baryonic B decays in a diagramatic approach. Relations on decay amplitudes are obtained. In general there are more than one tree and more than one penguin amplitudes. The number of independent amplitudes can be reduced in the large m_B limit. It leads to more predictive results. Some prominent modes for experimental searches are pointed out.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

A marker of glutathione S-transferase-mediated resistance to insecticides is associated with higher Plasmodium infection in the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus

Metabolic resistance to insecticides is threatening malaria control in Africa. However, the extent to which it impacts malaria transmission remains unclear. Here, we investigated the association between a marker of glutathione S-transferase mediated metabolic resistance and Plasmodium infection in field population of Anopheles funestus s.s. in comparison to the A296S-RDL target site mutation. The 119F-GSTe2 resistant allele was present in southern (Obout) (56%) and central (Mibellon) (25%) regions of Cameroon whereas the 296S-RDL resistant allele was detected at 98.5% and 15% respectively. The whole mosquito Plasmodium and sporozoite infection rates were 57% and 14.8% respectively in Obout (n = 508) and 19.7% and 5% in Mibellon (n = 360). No association was found between L119F-GSTe2 genotypes and whole mosquito infection status. However, when analyzing oocyst and sporozoite infection rates separately, the resistant homozygote 119F/F genotype was significantly more associated with Plasmodium infection in Obout than both heterozygote (OR = 2.5; P = 0.012) and homozygote susceptible (L/L119) genotypes (OR = 2.10; P = 0.013). In contrast, homozygote RDL susceptible mosquitoes (A/A296) were associated more frequently with Plasmodium infection than other genotypes (OR = 4; P = 0.03). No additive interaction was found between L119F and A296S. Sequencing of the GSTe2 gene showed no association between the polymorphism of this gene and Plasmodium infection. Glutathione S-transferase metabolic resistance is potentially increasing the vectorial capacity of resistant An. funestus mosquitoes. This could result in a possible exacerbation of malaria transmission in areas of high GSTe2-based metabolic resistance to insecticides

Path Integral Description of a Semiclassical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Model

The electron motion along a chain is described by a continuum version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonian in which phonon fields and electronic coordinates are mapped onto the time scale. The path integral formalism allows us to derive the non local source action for the particle interacting with the oscillators bath. The method can be applied for any value of the {\it e-ph} coupling. The path integral dependence on the model parameters has been analysed by computing the partition function and some thermodynamical properties from $T= 1K$ up to room temperature. A peculiar upturn in the low temperature {\it heat capacity over temperature} ratio (pointing to a glassy like behavior) has been ascribed to the time dependent electronic hopping along the chain

Elastic and inelastic SU(3)-breaking final-state interactions in B decays to pseudoscalar mesons

We discuss all contributions from Zweig-rule-satisfying SU(3)-breaking final state interactions (FSIs)in the B -> PP decays (neglecting charmed intermediate states), where PP=pi pi, pi K, KK, pi eta (eta'), and K eta (eta'). First, effects of SU(3) breaking in rescattering through Pomeron exchange are studied. Then, after making a plausible assumption concerning the pattern of SU(3) breaking in non-Pomeron FSIs, we give general formulas for how the latter modify short-distance (SD) amplitudes. In the SU(3) limit, these formulas depend on three effective parameters characterizing the strength of all non-Pomeron rescattering effects. We point out that the experimental bounds on the B -> K^+K^- branching ratio may limit the value of only one of these FSI parameters. Thus, the smallness of the B -> K^+K^- decay rate does not imply negligible rescattering effects in other decays. Assuming a vanishing value of this parameter, we perform various fits to the available B -> PP branching ratios. The fits determine the quark-diagram SD amplitudes, the two remaining FSI parameters and the weak angle gamma. While the set of all B -> PP branching ratios is well described with gamma around its expected SM value, the fits permit other values of gamma as well. For a couple of such good fits, we predict asymmetries for the B -> K pi, pi^+ eta (eta'), K^+ eta (eta') decays as well as the values of the CP-violating parameters S_{pi pi} and C_{pi pi} for the time-dependent rate of B^0(t) -> pi^+ pi^-. Apart from a problem with the recent B^+ -> pi^+ eta asymmetry measurement, comparison with the data seems to favour the values of gamma in accordance with SM expectations.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figure

Strong Phases and Factorization for Color Suppressed Decays

We prove a factorization theorem in QCD for the color suppressed decays B0-> D0 M0 and B0-> D*0 M0 where M is a light meson. Both the color-suppressed and W-exchange/annihilation amplitudes contribute at lowest order in LambdaQCD/Q where Q={mb, mc, Epi}, so no power suppression of annihilation contributions is found. A new mechanism is given for generating non-perturbative strong phases in the factorization framework. Model independent predictions that follow from our results include the equality of the B0 -> D0 M0 and B0 -> D*0 M0 rates, and equality of non-perturbative strong phases between isospin amplitudes, delta(DM) = delta(D*M). Relations between amplitudes and phases for M=pi,rho are also derived. These results do not follow from large Nc factorization with heavy quark symmetry.Comment: 38 pages, 6 figs, typos correcte

Modeling manufacturing processes using a genetic programming-based fuzzy regression with detection of outliers

Fuzzy regression (FR) been demonstrated as a promising technique for modeling manufacturing processes where availability of data is limited. FR can only yield linear type FR models which have a higher degree of fuzziness, but FR ignores higher order or interaction terms and the influence of outliers, all of which usually exist in the manufacturing process data. Genetic programming (GP), on the other hand, can be used to generate models with higher order and interaction terms but it cannot address the fuzziness of the manufacturing process data. In this paper, genetic programming-based fuzzy regression (GP-FR), which combines the advantages of the two approaches to overcome the deficiencies of the commonly used existing modeling methods, is proposed in order to model manufacturing processes. GP-FR uses GP to generate model structures based on tree representation which can represent interaction and higher order terms of models, and it uses an FR generator based on fuzzy regression to determine outliers in experimental data sets. It determines the contribution and fuzziness of each term in the model by using experimental data excluding the outliers. To evaluate the effectiveness of GP-FR in modeling manufacturing processes, it was used to model a non-linear system and an epoxy dispensing process. The results were compared with those based on two commonly used FR methods, Tanka's FR and Peters' FR. The prediction accuracy of the models developed based on GP-FR was shown to be better than that of models based on the other two FR methods

Nonfactorizable contributions to B→D(∗)MB \to D^{(*)} M decays

While the factorization assumption works well for many two-body nonleptonic $B$ meson decay modes, the recent measurement of $\bar B\to D^{(*)0}M^0$ with $M=\pi$, $\rho$ and $\omega$ shows large deviation from this assumption. We analyze the $B\to D^{(*)}M$ decays in the perturbative QCD approach based on $k_T$ factorization theorem, in which both factorizable and nonfactorizable contributions can be calculated in the same framework. Our predictions for the Bauer-Stech-Wirbel parameters, $|a_2/a_1|= 0.43\pm 0.04$ and $Arg(a_2/a_1)\sim -42^\circ$ and $|a_2/a_1|= 0.47\pm 0.05$ and $Arg(a_2/a_1)\sim -41^\circ$, are consistent with the observed $B\to D\pi$ and $B\to D^*\pi$ branching ratios, respectively. It is found that the large magnitude $|a_2|$ and the large relative phase between $a_2$ and $a_1$ come from color-suppressed nonfactorizable amplitudes. Our predictions for the ${\bar B}^0\to D^{(*)0}\rho^0$, $D^{(*)0}\omega$ branching ratios can be confronted with future experimental data.Comment: 25 pages with Latex, axodraw.sty, 6 figures and 5 tables, Version published in PRD, Added new section 5 and reference

Exploring flavor structure of supersymmetry breaking from rare B decays and unitarity triangle

We study effects of supersymmetric particles in various rare B decay processes as well as in the unitarity triangle analysis. We consider three different supersymmetric models, the minimal supergravity, SU(5) SUSY GUT with right-handed neutrinos, and the minimal supersymmetric standard model with U(2) flavor symmetry. In the SU(5) SUSY GUT with right-handed neutrinos, we consider two cases of the mass matrix of the right-handed neutrinos. We calculate direct and mixing-induced CP asymmetries in the b to s gamma decay and CP asymmetry in B_d to phi K_S as well as the B_s--anti-B_s mixing amplitude for the unitarity triangle analysis in these models. We show that large deviations are possible for the SU(5) SUSY GUT and the U(2) model. The pattern and correlations of deviations from the standard model will be useful to discriminate the different SUSY models in future B experiments.Comment: revtex4, 36 pages, 10 figure

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation