96 research outputs found
Phenomenology of non-standard Z couplings in exclusive semileptonic b -> s transitions
The rare decays , and
are analyzed in a generic scenario where New Physics effects
enter predominantly via penguin contributions. We show that this
possibility is well motivated on theoretical grounds, as the vertex
is particularly susceptible to non-standard dynamics. In addition, such a
framework is also interesting phenomenologically since the coupling
is rather poorly constrained by present data. The characteristic features of
this scenario for the relevant decay rates and distributions are investigated.
We emphasize that both sign and magnitude of the forward-backward asymmetry of
the decay leptons in , , carry sensitive information on New Physics. The observable is proposed as a useful probe of
non-standard CP violation in couplings.Comment: Minor modifications; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Exclusive semileptonic rare decays K,K^*) \ell^+ \ell^- in supersymmetric theories
The invariant mass spectrum, forward-backward asymmetry, and lepton
polarizations of the exclusive processes are analyzed under supersymmetric context. Special attention is paid to
the effects of neutral Higgs bosons (NHBs). Our analysis shows that the
branching ratio of the process \bkm can be quite largely modified by the
effects of neutral Higgs bosons and the forward-backward asymmetry would not
vanish. For the process \bksm, the lepton transverse polarization is quite
sensitive to the effects of NHBs, while the invariant mass spectrum,
forward-backward asymmetry, and lepton longitudinal polarization are not. For
both \bkt and \bkst, the effects of NHBs are quite significant. The partial
decay widths of these processes are also analyzed, and our analysis manifest
that even taking into account the theoretical uncertainties in calculating weak
form factors, the effects of NHBs could make SUSY shown up.Comment: Several references are added, typo are correcte
Anomalous dipion invariant mass distribution of the decays into and
To solve the discrepancy between the experimental data on the partial widths
and lineshapes of the dipion emission of and the theoretical
predictions, we suggest that there is an additional contribution which was not
taken into account in previous calculations. Noticing that the mass of
is above the production threshold of , the contribution
of the sequential process () may be sizable, and its interference with
that from the direct production would be important. The goal of this work is to
investigate if a sum of the two contributions with a relative phase indeed
reproduces the data. Our numerical results on the partial widths and the
lineshapes are satisfactorily consistent
with the measurements, thus the role of this mechanism is confirmed. Moreover,
with the parameters obtained by fitting the data of the Belle and Babar
collaborations, we predict the distributions which have not been measured yet.Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables and 4 figures. Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
Heirloom rice in Ifugao: an ‘anti-commodity’ in the process of commodification
We analyse the marketing of ‘heirloom rices’ produced in the Cordillera mountains of northern Luzon, the Philippines, as the commodification of a historical ‘anti-commodity’. We contend that, historically, rice was produced for social, cultural and spiritual purposes but not primarily for sale or trade. The Ifugaos were able to sustain terraced wet-rice cultivation within a system of ‘escape agriculture’ because they were protected from Spanish interference by the friction of terrain and distance. ‘Heirloom rice’ is a boundary concept that enables social entrepreneurs to commodify traditional landraces. We analyse the implications for local rice production and conservation efforts.Templeton Foundatio
An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics
For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types
Genetically Determined Height and Risk of Non-hodgkin Lymphoma
Although the evidence is not consistent, epidemiologic studies have suggested that taller adult height may be associated with an increased risk of some non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. Height is largely determined by genetic factors, but how these genetic factors may contribute to NHL risk is unknown. We investigated the relationship between genetic determinants of height and NHL risk using data from eight genome-wide association studies (GWAS) comprising 10,629 NHL cases, including 3,857 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 2,847 follicular lymphoma (FL), 3,100 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 825 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) cases, and 9,505 controls of European ancestry. We evaluated genetically predicted height by constructing polygenic risk scores using 833 height-associated SNPs. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for association between genetically determined height and the risk of four NHL subtypes in each GWAS and then used fixed-effect meta-analysis to combine subtype results across studies. We found suggestive evidence between taller genetically determined height and increased CLL risk (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00\u20131.17, p = 0.049), which was slightly stronger among women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01\u20131.31, p = 0.036). No significant associations were observed with DLBCL, FL, or MZL. Our findings suggest that there may be some shared genetic factors between CLL and height, but other endogenous or environmental factors may underlie reported epidemiologic height associations with other subtypes
Driver Fusions and Their Implications in the Development and Treatment of Human Cancers.
Gene fusions represent an important class of somatic alterations in cancer. We systematically investigated fusions in 9,624 tumors across 33 cancer types using multiple fusion calling tools. We identified a total of 25,664 fusions, with a 63% validation rate. Integration of gene expression, copy number, and fusion annotation data revealed that fusions involving oncogenes tend to exhibit increased expression, whereas fusions involving tumor suppressors have the opposite effect. For fusions involving kinases, we found 1,275 with an intact kinase domain, the proportion of which varied significantly across cancer types. Our study suggests that fusions drive the development of 16.5% of cancer cases and function as the sole driver in more than 1% of them. Finally, we identified druggable fusions involving genes such as TMPRSS2, RET, FGFR3, ALK, and ESR1 in 6.0% of cases, and we predicted immunogenic peptides, suggesting that fusions may provide leads for targeted drug and immune therapy
Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at GeV with ALICE at the LHC
The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured
in proton-proton collisions at GeV at the LHC using the ALICE
detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region
over the transverse momentum range GeV/.
The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also
studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive
(NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for is (stat.) (syst.) GeV/ and
\left_{\rm NSD}=0.489\pm0.001 (stat.) (syst.)
GeV/, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are
compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and
PHOJET.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/390
Global management of a common, underrated surgical task during the COVID-19 pandemic: Gallstone disease - An international survery
Background: Since the Coronavirus disease-19(COVID-19) pandemic, the healthcare systems are reallocating their medical resources, with consequent narrowed access to elective surgery for benign conditions such as gallstone disease(GD). This survey represents an overview of the current policies regarding the surgical management of patients with GD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A Web-based survey was conducted among 36 Hepato-Prancreato-Biliary surgeons from 14 Countries. Through a 17-item questionnaire, participants were asked about the local management of patients with GD since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The majority (n = 26,72.2%) of surgeons reported an alarming decrease in the cholecystectomy rate for GD since the start of the pandemic, regardless of the Country: 19(52.7%) didn't operate any GD, 7(19.4%) reduced their surgical activity by 50–75%, 10(27.8%) by 25–50%, 1(2.8%) maintained regular activity. Currently, only patients with GD complications are operated. Thirty-two (88.9%) participants expect these changes to last for at least 3 months. In 15(41.6%) Centers, patients are currently being screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection before cholecystectomy [in 10(27.8%) Centers only in the presence of suspected infection, in 5(13.9%) routinely]. The majority of surgeons (n = 29,80.6%) have adopted a laparoscopic approach as standard surgery, 5(13.9%) perform open cholecystectomy in patients with known/suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 2(5.6%) in all patients. Conclusion
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