Unparticle effects in photon-photon scattering

Elastic photon-photon scattering can only occur via loop diagrams in the standard model and is naturally suppressed. Unparticle can induce tree-level photon-photon scattering through the operator F_{\mu\nu} F^{\mu\nu} O_\U for spin-0 unparticle or F_{\mu\alpha} F^{\alpha}_{\nu} O^{\mu\nu}_\U for spin-2 unparticle. Due to the peculiar CP-conserving phase \exp(-i d_\U \pi) associated with the s-channel unparticle propagator, its interference effects with the t- and u-channels on the total cross section and the angular distribution are found to be some significance. In addition, we show that the cross sections via unparticle exchange can be substantially larger than the standard model contribution.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Learning Rays via Deep Neural Network in a Ray-based IPDG Method for High-Frequency Helmholtz Equations in Inhomogeneous Media

We develop a deep learning approach to extract ray directions at discrete locations by analyzing highly oscillatory wave fields. A deep neural network is trained on a set of local plane-wave fields to predict ray directions at discrete locations. The resulting deep neural network is then applied to a reduced-frequency Helmholtz solution to extract the directions, which are further incorporated into a ray-based interior-penalty discontinuous Galerkin (IPDG) method to solve the Helmholtz equations at higher frequencies. In this way, we observe no apparent pollution effects in the resulting Helmholtz solutions in inhomogeneous media. Our 2D and 3D numerical results show that the proposed scheme is very efficient and yields highly accurate solutions.Comment: 30 page

The osteoprotective effect of Herba epimedii (HEP) extract in vivo and in vitro

Herba epimedii (HEP) is one of the most frequently used herbs prescribed for treatment of osteoporosis in China. In the present study, the in vivo effects of HEP extract on bone metabolism were evaluated using 4-month-old ovariectomized (OVX) or sham-operated (Sham) female Sprague-Dawley rats orally administered with HEP extract (110 mg kg(−1)d(−1)), 17ß-estrogen (2 mg kg(−1)d(−1)) or its vehicle for 3 months. HEP extract significantly decreased urinary calcium excretion, suppressed serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and urinary deoxypyridinoline levels in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX rats). Histomorphometric analysis indicated that HEP extract could prevent OVX-induced bone loss by increasing tibial trabecular bone area and decreasing trabecular separation in OVX rats (P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated OVX group). The in vitro effects of HEP extract were also studied using rat osteoblast-like UMR 106 cells. HEP extract significantly stimulated cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) and increased ALP activity at 200 μgml(−1) (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated) in UMR 106 cells. It modulated osteoclastogenesis by increasing osteoprotegrin (OPG) mRNA and decreasing receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) mRNA expression, resulting in a dose-dependent increase in OPG/RANKL mRNA ratio (P < 0.01 versus vehicle-treated). Taken together, HEP treatment can effectively suppress the OVX-induced increase in bone turnover possibly by both an increase in osteoblastic activities and a decrease in osteoclastogenesis. The present study provides the evidence that HEP can be considered as a complementary and alternative medicine for treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis

Supersymmetric Decays of the Z' Boson

The decay of the Z' boson into supersymmetric particles is studied. We investigate how these supersymmetric modes affect the current limits from the Tevatron and project the expected sensitivities at the LHC. Employing three representative supersymmetric Z' models, namely, E_6, U(1)_{B-L}, and the sequential model, we show that the current limits of the Z' mass from the Tevatron could be reduced substantially due to the weakening of the branching ratio into leptonic pairs. The mass reach for the E_6 Z' bosons is about 1.3-1.5 TeV at the LHC-7 (1 fb^{-1}), about 2.5 - 2.6 TeV at the LHC-10 (10 fb^{-1}), and about 4.2 - 4.3 TeV at the LHC-14 (100 fb^{-1}). A similar mass reach for the U(1)_{B-L} Z' is also obtained. We also examine the potential of identifying various supersymmetric decay modes of the Z' boson because it may play a crucial role in the detailed dynamics of supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 30 pages, including 13 figures. improvements to the presentation and references adde

Definitive radiotherapy for early stage glottic cancer by 6 MV photons

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcome of early glottic cancer (GC) treated by primary radiotherapy (RT) with 6 MV photons. Methods and materials: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 695 consecutive patients with T1N0 and T2N0 GC treated between 1983 and 2005 by RT in our institution. Clinical outcome in terms of local control (LC), overall survival (OS) and cause- specific survival (CSS) rate were evaluated. Results: The median follow-up time was 10.5 years.The 10-year actuarial LC rates were as follows: T1A, 91%; T1B, 87%; T2, 77%. The 10-year OS were as follows: T1, 74.2%; T2, 70.7%. The 10-year CSS were as follows: T1, 97.7%; T2, 97.1%. Poorly differentiated histology and tumor biologically effective dose < 65 Gy.© 2012 Tong et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Elevated adipogenesis of marrow mesenchymal stem cells during early steroid-associated osteonecrosis development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased bone marrow lipid deposition in steroid-associated osteonecrosis (ON) implies that abnormalities in fat metabolism play an important role in ON development. The increase in lipid deposition might be explained by elevated adipogenesis of marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, it remains unclear whether there is a close association between elevated adipogenesis and steroid-associated ON development.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that there might be a close association between elevated adipogenesis and steroid-associated ON development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>ON rabbit model was induced based on our established protocol. Dynamic-MRI was employed for local intra-osseous perfusion evaluation in bilateral femora. Two weeks after induction, bone marrow was harvested for evaluating the ability of adipogenic differentiation of marrow MSCs at both cellular and mRNA level involving adipogenesis-related gene peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma2 (PPARγ2). The bilateral femora were dissected for examining marrow lipid deposition by quantifying fat cell number, fat cell size, lipid deposition area and ON lesions. For investigating association among adipogenesis, lipid deposition and perfusion function with regard to ON occurrence, the rabbits were divided into ON⁺(with at least one ON lesion) group and ON^-(without ON lesion) group. For investigating association among adipogenesis, lipid deposition and perfusion function with regard to ON extension, the ON⁺rabbits were further divided into sub-single-lesion group (SON group: with one ON lesion) and sub-multiple-lesion group (MON group: with more than one ON lesion).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Local intra-osseous perfusion index was found lower in either ON⁺or MON group when compared to either ON^-or SON group, whereas the marrow fat cells number and area were much larger in either ON⁺or MON group as compared with ON^-and SON group. The adipogenic differentiation ability of MSCs and PPARγ2 expression in either ON⁺or MON group were elevated significantly as compared with either ON^-or SON group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings support our hypothesis that there is a close association between elevated adipogenesis and steroid-associated osteonecrosis development.</p

Vitamin D Binding Protein, Total and Free Vitamin D Levels in Different Physiological and Pathophysiological Conditions.

This review focuses on the biologic importance of the vitamin D binding protein (DBP) with emphasis on its regulation of total and free vitamin D metabolite levels in various clinical conditions. Nearly all DBP is produced in the liver, where its regulation is influenced by estrogen, glucocorticoids and inflammatory cytokines but not by vitamin D itself. DBP is the most polymorphic protein known, and different DBP alleles can have substantial impact on its biologic functions. The three most common alleles-Gc1f, Gc1s, Gc2-differ in their affinity with the vitamin D metabolites and have been variably associated with a number of clinical conditions. Although DBP has a number of biologic functions independent of vitamin D, its major biologic function is that of regulating circulating free and total levels of vitamin D metabolites. 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is the best studied form of vitamin D as it provides the best measure of vitamin D status. In a normal non-pregnant individual, approximately 0.03% of 25(OH)D is free; 85% is bound to DBP, 15% is bound to albumin. The free hormone hypothesis postulates that only free 25(OH)D can enter cells. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that mice lacking DBP, and therefore with essentially undetectable 25(OH)D levels, do not show signs of vitamin D deficiency unless put on a vitamin D deficient diet. Similar observations have recently been described in a family with a DBP mutation. This hypothesis also applies to other protein bound lipophilic hormones including glucocorticoids, sex steroids, and thyroid hormone. However, tissues expressing the megalin/cubilin complex, such as the kidney, have the capability of taking up 25(OH)D still bound to DBP, but most tissues rely on the free level. Attempts to calculate the free level using affinity constants generated in a normal individual along with measurement of DBP and total 25(OH)D have not accurately reflected directly measured free levels in a number of clinical conditions. In this review, we examine the impact of different clinical conditions as well as different DBP alleles on the relationship between total and free 25(OH)D, using only data in which the free 25(OH)D level was directly measured. The major conclusion is that a number of clinical conditions alter this relationship, raising the question whether measuring just total 25(OH)D might be misleading regarding the assessment of vitamin D status, and such assessment might be improved by measuring free 25(OH)D instead of or in addition to total 25(OH)D

Mimicking the Standard Model Higgs Boson in UMSSM

Motivated by the recent results in the standard model (SM) Higgs boson search at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) we investigate the SM-like CP-even Higgs boson of the U(1)'-extended minimal supersymmetric standard model (UMSSM) and its branching ratio into the b b-bar, W W*, and \chi^0_1 \chi^0_1 modes. In the Summer 2011, a 2 sigma excess was reported in the channel H -> W W* -> l+ nu l- nu-bar around 130 - 140 GeV range. Later on in December 2011 announcements were made that an excess was seen in the 124-126 GeV range, while the SM Higgs boson above 131 GeV up to about 600 GeV is ruled out. We examine two scenarios of these mass ranges: (i) 130 GeV < M_{h_{SM-like}} < 141 GeV and show that the Higgs boson can decay into invisible neutralinos to evade the SM bound; and (ii) 120 GeV < M_{h_{\rm SM-like}} < 130 GeV and show that the Higgs boson can avoid decaying into neutralinos and thus gives enhanced rates into visible particles. We use the \eta model of E_6 with TeV scale supersymmetry to illustrate the idea by scanning the parameter space to realize these two different scenarios.Comment: 23 pages and 4 figure

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good