A placebo-controlled study comparing the efficacy of intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid and a novel hyaluronic acid-platelet-rich plasma conjugate in a canine model of osteoarthritis

Background The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) and a novel, on-site conjugate of HA with autologous fibrinogen in platelet-rich plasma (HA-PRP) in a canine model of osteoarthritis (OA) Methods Twelve beagle dogs underwent a unilateral resection of the cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) of the stifle joint. Clinical and radiographic signs of OA were confirmed in all dogs 8 weeks following CrCL resection and prior to treatment. The dogs were randomized into three groups: saline (n = 4), HA (n = 4), and HA-PRP (n = 4). Each dog received intra-articular injections of the respective substance into the affected joint at pre-determined time points. The dogs were assessed for adverse effects for 3 days after each injection and for lameness, pain, range of motion, kinetics, and radiographic OA severity prior to treatment and 3 months after injection. OA severity as determined by radiographic examination was not significantly different among the groups at any time point. The dogs were then humanely euthanatized and the stifle joint assessed by gross and histological examinations. Results Dogs treated with four weekly injections of HA or two biweekly injections of HA-PRP were significantly (p < 0.05) better than dogs treated with four weekly injections of saline at 2-, 4-, and 12-week time points based on a comfortable range of motion (CROM) and clinical lameness score. Gait analysis measuring symmetry and weight distribution on pressure sensor walkway showed significantly (p < 0.05) improved limb function for dogs treated with HA and HA-PRP compared with dogs treated with saline yet with better clinical outcome for the HA-PRP-treated group at 12 and 20 weeks follow-up. Gross and histological analysis of synovium and articular cartilage demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) improvement by both treatments groups compared to controls. There was however significantly (p < 0.05) less damage to the cartilage in the HA-PRP group compared to the HA-treated group. Conclusions These data suggest that while injection of HA and HA-PRP may be sufficient for short-term amelioration of the symptoms associated with OA, treatment with HA-PRP conjugates may be superior, providing significantly better long-term cartilage preservation.This study was supported by funding from the Green Cross Veterinary Products Co., Ltd

Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay

We reconstruct the rare decays $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$, $B^0 \to K^{*}(892)^0\mu^+\mu^-$, and $B^0_s \to \phi(1020)\mu^+\mu^-$ in a data sample corresponding to $4.4 {\rm fb^{-1}}$ collected in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96 {\rm TeV}$ by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using $121 \pm 16$ $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$ and $101 \pm 12$ $B^0 \to K^{*0}\mu^+\mu^-$ decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon forward-backward asymmetry in the $B^+$ and $B^0$ decay modes, and the $K^{*0}$ longitudinal polarization in the $B^0$ decay mode with respect to the squared dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the $B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^- decay and measure its branching ratio${\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}$using$27 \pm 6$signal events. This is currently the most rare$B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurements of the properties of Lambda_c(2595), Lambda_c(2625), Sigma_c(2455), and Sigma_c(2520) baryons

We report measurements of the resonance properties of Lambda_c(2595)+ and Lambda_c(2625)+ baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+ pi- as well as Sigma_c(2455)++,0 and Sigma_c(2520)++,0 baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+/- final states. These measurements are performed using data corresponding to 5.2/fb of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Exploiting the largest available charmed baryon sample, we measure masses and decay widths with uncertainties comparable to the world averages for Sigma_c states, and significantly smaller uncertainties than the world averages for excited Lambda_c+ states.Comment: added one reference and one table, changed order of figures, 17 pages, 15 figure

Search for a New Heavy Gauge Boson Wprime with Electron + missing ET Event Signature in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

We present a search for a new heavy charged vector boson $W^\prime$ decaying to an electron-neutrino pair in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96\unit{TeV}. The data were collected with the CDF II detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.3\unit{fb}^{-1}. No significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed and we set upper limits on $\sigma\cdot{\cal B}(W^\prime\to e\nu)$. Assuming standard model couplings to fermions and the neutrino from the $W^\prime$ boson decay to be light, we exclude a $W^\prime$ boson with mass less than 1.12\unit{TeV/}c^2 at the 95\unit{%} confidence level.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures Submitted to PR

Ischemic and Bleeding Events Associated with Thrombocytopenia and Thrombocytosis after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

The early and late ischemic and bleeding clinical outcomes according to baseline platelet count after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remain unclear. Overall, 10,667 patients from the Cardiovascular Risk and identification of potential high-risk population in AMI (COREA-AMI) I and II registries were classified according to the following universal criteria on baseline platelet counts: (1) moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (platelet \u3c 100 K/µL, n = 101), (2) mild thrombocytopenia (platelet = 100~149 K/µL, n = 631), (3) normal reference (platelet = 150~450 K/µL, n = 9832), and (4) thrombocytosis (platelet \u3e 450 K/µL, n = 103). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The secondary outcome was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 2, 3, and 5 bleeding. After adjusting for confounders, the moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.49–2.78); p \u3c 0.001), mild thrombocytopenia (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01–1.34; p = 0.045), and thrombocytosis groups (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.07–2.03; p = 0.019) showed higher 5-year MACE rates than the normal reference. In BARC 2, 3, and 5 bleeding outcomes, the bleedings rates were higher than the normal range in the moderate to severe thrombocytopenia (HR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.36–3.49; p = 0.001) and mild thrombocytopenia (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.12–1.78; p = 0.004) groups. Patients with AMI had higher 5-year MACE rates after PCI if they had lower- or higher-than-normal platelet counts. Thrombocytopenia revealed higher early and late bleeding rates whereas thrombocytosis showed long-term bleeding trends, although these trends were not statistically significant

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns