Color-octet mechanism and J/psi polarization at LEP

Polarized heavy quarkonium productions in $Z^0$ decays are considered. We find that polarizations of the produced quarkonia are independent of that of the parent Z^0 provided that one considers the energy distribution or the total production rate. Produced J/psi's via the color-octet and the color- singlet mechanisms are expected to be 19% and 29% longitudinally polarized, respectively. The energy dependence of eta_{1,8}(x)=\frac{dGamma_{1,8}^L}{dx} /\frac{dGamma_{1,8}}{d x} is very sensitive to the production mechanism, and therefore the measurement of \eta(x)_exp will be an independent probe of the color-octet mechanism.Comment: 15 pages, minor changes, version to be published in Phys. Rev.

The role of ABCG-type ABC transporters in phytohormone transport

Plant hormones (phytohormones) integrate endogenous and exogenous signals thus synchronizing plant growth with environmental and developmental changes. Similar to animals, phytohormones have distinct source and target tissues, hence controlled transport and focused targeting are required for their functions. Many evidences accumulated in the last years about the regulation of long-distance and directional transport of phytohormones. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters turned out to play major roles in routing phytohormones not only in the plant body but also towards the outer environment. The ABCG-type proteins ABCG25 and ABCG40 are high affinity abscisic acid (ABA) transporters. ABCG14 is highly co-expressed with cytokinin biosynthesis and is the major root-to-shoot cytokinin transporter. Pleiotropic drug resistance1 (PDR1) from Petunia hybrida transports strigolactones (SLs) from the root tip to the plant shoot but also outside to the rhizosphere, where SLs are the main attractants to mycorrhizal fungi. Last but not least, ABCG36 and ABCG37 possibly play a dual role in coumarine and IBA transport.112819Ysciescopu

Differences in the Prevalence of Non-Communicable Disease between Slum Dwellers and the General Population in a Large Urban Area in Brazil.

Residents of urban slums are at greater risk for disease than their non-slum dwelling urban counterparts. We sought to contrast the prevalences of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between Brazilian adults living in a slum and the general population of the same city, by comparing the age and sex-standardized prevalences of selected NCDs from a 2010 survey in Pau da Lima, Salvador Brazil, with a 2010 national population-based telephone survey. NCD prevalences in both populations were similar for hypertension (23.6% (95% CI 20.9⁻26.4) and 22.9% (21.2⁻24.6), respectively) and for dyslipidemia (22.7% (19.8⁻25.5) and 21.5% (19.7⁻23.4)). Slum residents had higher prevalences of diabetes mellitus (10.1% (7.9⁻12.3)) and of overweight/obesity (46.5% (43.1⁻49.9)), compared to 5.2% (4.2⁻6.1) and 40.6% (38.5⁻42.8) of the general population in Salvador. Fourteen percent (14.5% (12.1⁻17.0)) of slum residents smoked cigarettes compared to 8.3% (7.1⁻9.5) of the general population in Salvador. The national telephone survey underestimated the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity, and smoking in the slum population, likely in part due to differential sampling inside and outside of slums. Further research and targeted policies are needed to mitigate these inequalities, which could have significant economic and social impacts on slum residents and their communities

Phi Mesons from a Hadronic Fireball

Production of $\phi$ mesons is considered in the course of heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies. We investigate the possible difference in momentum distributions of $\phi$ mesons measured via their leptonic ($\mu^+\mu^-$) and hadronic ($K^+K^-$) decays. Rescattering of secondary kaons in the dense hadron gas together with the influence of in-medium kaon potential can lead to a relative decrease of a $\phi$ yield observed in the hadronic channel. We analyze how the in-medium modifications of meson properties affect apparent - reconstructed momentum distributions of $\phi$ mesons. Quantitative results are presented for central Pb+Pb collisions at $E_{beam}=158 GeV/A$.Comment: style Revtex4,9 pages, 5 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.

QCD Sum Rules, Scattering Length and the Vector Mesons in Nuclear Medium

Critical examination is made on the relation between the mass shift of vector mesons in nuclear medium and the vector-meson $-$ nucleon scattering length. We give detailed comparison between the QCD sum rule approach by two of the present authors (Phys. Rev. {\bf C46} (1992) R34) and the scattering-length approach by Koike (Phys. Rev. {\bf C51} (1995) 1488). It is shown that the latter approach is mortally flawed both technically and conceptually.Comment: 16 pages, latex, 4 figures appended as uu-encoded fil

J/psi Spin Asymmetries in the Colour-Octet Model

We investigate the pattern of asymmetries in the colour-octet model for inclusive production of charmonium with polarised initial state hadrons and photons. We find that singly polarised asymmetries vanish. The double polarised asymmetry for J/psi involves a new combination of long-distance matrix element. We also investigate the asymmetries for eta_c, chi_c and Upsilon production. The asymmetries distinguish well between different models of charmonium production.Comment: LaTeX source, 18 page

Limits on Interactions between Weakly Interacting Massive Particles and Nucleons Obtained with NaI(Tl) crystal Detectors

Limits on the cross section for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) scattering off nucleons in the NaI(Tl) detectors at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory are obtained with a 2967.4 kg*day data exposure. Nuclei recoiling are identified by the pulse shape of scintillating photon signals. Data are consistent with no nuclear recoil hypothesis, and 90% confidence level upper limits are set. These limits partially exclude the DAMA/LIBRA region of WIMP-sodium interaction with the same NaI(Tl) target detector. This 90% confidence level upper limit on WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section is 3.26*10^-4 pb for a WIMP mass at 10 GeV/c^2

Attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms predict problematic mobile phone use

Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorder characterised by inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, or both. Some of the key traits of ADHD have previously been linked to addictive and problematic behaviours. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between problematic mobile phone use, smartphone addiction risk and ADHD symptoms in an adult population. A sample of 273 healthy adult volunteers completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale (MPPUS), and the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). A significant positive correlation was found between the ASRS and both scales. More specifically, inattention symptoms and age predicted smartphone addiction risk and problematic mobile phone use. Our results suggest that there is a positive relationship between ADHD traits and problematic mobile phone use. In particular, younger adults with higher level of inattention symptoms could be at higher risk of developing smartphone addiction. The implication of our findings for theoretical frameworks of problematic mobile phone use and clinical practice are discussed