CP--odd Correlation in the Decay of Neutral Higgs Boson into ZZZZ, W+W−W^+W^-, or ttˉt{\bar t}

We investigate the possibility of detecting CP--odd angular correlations in the various decay modes of the neutral Higgs boson including the modes of a $ZZ$ pair, a $W^+W^-$ pair, or a heavy quark pair. It is a natural way to probe the CP character of the Higgs boson once it is identified. Final state interactions (i.e. the absorptive decay amplitude) is not required in such correlations. As an illustrative example we take the fundamental source of the CP nonconservation to be in the Yukawa couplings of the Higgs boson to the heavy fermions. A similar correlation in the process $e^+e^- \to l^+ l^- H$ is also proposed. Our analysis of these correlations will be useful for experiments in future colliders such as LEP II, SSC, LHC or NLC.Comment: 16 pages, plus 8 postscript graphs not posted befor

Growth and properties of ferromagnetic In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb alloys

We discuss a new narrow-gap ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor alloy, In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb, and its growth by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. The magnetic properties were investigated by direct magnetization measurements, electrical transport, magnetic circular dichroism, and the magneto-optical Kerr effect. These data clearly indicate that In(1-x)Mn(x)Sb possesses all the attributes of a system with carrier-mediated FM interactions, including well-defined hysteresis loops, a cusp in the temperature dependence of the resistivity, strong negative magnetoresistance, and a large anomalous Hall effect. The Curie temperatures in samples investigated thus far range up to 8.5 K, which are consistent with a mean-field-theory simulation of the carrier-induced ferromagnetism based on the 8-band effective band-orbital method.Comment: Invited talk at 11th International Conference on Narrow Gap Semiconductors, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., June 16 - 20, 200

External control of the direction of magnetization in ferromagnetic InMnAs/GaSb heterostructures

In this paper, we demonstrate external control over the magnetization direction in ferromagnetic (FM) In_{1-x}Mn_{x}As/GaSb heterostructures. FM ordering with T_C as high as 50 K is confirmed by SQUID magnetization, anomalous Hall effect (AHE), and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. Even though tensile strain is known to favor an easy axis normal to the layer plane, at low temperatures we observe that the magnetization direction in several samples is intermediate between the normal and in-plane axes. As the temperature increases, however, the easy axis rotates to the direction normal to the plane. We further demonstrate that the easy magnetization axis can be controlled by incident light through a bolometric effect, which induces a pronounced increase in the amplitude of the AHE. A mean-field-theory model for the carrier-mediated ferromagnetism reproduces the tendency for dramatic reorientations of the magnetization axis, but not the specific sensitivity to small temperature variations.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to NGS-1

CO2 Sequestration in Unmineable Coal Seams: Potential Environmental Impacts

An initial investigation into the potential environmental impacts of CO2 sequestration in unmineable coal seams has been conducted, focusing on changes in the produced water during enhanced coalbed methane (ECBM) production using a CO2 injection process (CO2-ECBM). Two coals have been used in this study, the medium volatile bituminous Upper Freeport coal (APCS 1) of the Argonne Premium Coal Samples series, and an as-mined Pittsburgh #8 coal, which is a high volatile bituminous coal. Coal samples were reacted with either synthetic produced water or field collected produced water and gaseous carbon dioxide at 40 οC and 50 bar to evaluate the potential for mobilizing toxic metals during CO2-ECBM/sequestration. Microscopic and x-ray diffraction analysis of the post-reaction coal samples clearly show evidence of chemical reaction, and chemical analysis of the produced water shows substantial changes in composition. These results suggest that changes to the produced water chemistry and the potential for mobilizing toxic trace elements from coalbeds are important factors to be considered when evaluating deep, unmineable coal seams for CO2 sequestration

Holographic nonlinear hydrodynamics from AdS/CFT with multiple/non-Abelian symmetries

We study viscous hydrodynamics of hot conformal field theory plasma with multiple/non-Abelian symmetries in the framework of AdS/CFT correspondence, using a recently proposed method of directly solving bulk gravity in derivative expansion of local plasma parameters. Our motivation is to better describe the real QCD plasma produced at RHIC, incorporating its U(1)^Nf flavor symmetry as well as SU(2)_I non-Abelian iso-spin symmetry. As concrete examples, we choose to study the STU model for multiple U(1)^3 symmetries, which is a sub-sector of 5D N=4 gauged SUGRA dual to N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory, capturing Cartan U(1)^3 dynamics inside the full R-symmetry. For SU(2), we analyze the minimal 4D N=3 gauged SUGRA whose bosonic action is simply an Einstein-Yang-Mills system, which corresponds to SU(2) R-symmetry dynamics on M2-branes at a Hyper-Kahler cone. By generalizing the bosonic action to arbitrary dimensions and Lie groups, we present our analysis and results for any non-Abelian plasma in arbitrary dimensions.Comment: 37 pages, v3: errors corrected, reference added, JHEP versio

Genetic variants in CPA6 and PRPF31 are associated with variation in response to metformin in individuals with type 2 diabetes

Metformin is the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Although widely prescribed, the glucose-lowering mechanism for metformin is incompletely understood. Here, we used a genome-wide association approach in a diverse group of individuals with T2D from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) clinical trial to identify common and rare variants associated with HbA 1c response to metformin treatment and followed up these findings in four replication cohorts. Common variants in PRPF31 and CPA6 were associated with worse and better metformin response, respectively (P < 5 3 10 26 ), and meta-analysis in independent cohorts displayed similar associations with metformin response (P = 1.2 3 10 2 8 and P = 0.005, respectively). Previous studies have shown that PRPF31(+/2) knockout mice have increased total body fat (P = 1.78 3 10 26 ) and increased fasted circulating glucose (P = 5.73 3 10 26 ). Furthermore, rare variants in STAT3 associated with worse metformin response (q <0.1). STAT3 is a ubiquitously expressed pleiotropic transcriptional activator that participates in the regulation of metabolism and feeding behavior. Here, we provide novel evidence for associations of common and rare variants in PRPF31, CPA6, and STAT3 with metformin response that may provide insight into mechanisms important for metformin efficacy in T2D

Field intercomparison of the gas/particle partitioning of oxygenated organics during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) in 2013

We present results of the first intercomparison of real-time instruments for gas/particle partitioning of organic species. Four recently-developed instruments that directly measure gas/particle partitioning in near-real time were deployed in Centreville, Alabama during the Southern Oxidant Aerosol Study (SOAS) in 2013. Two instruments were filter inlet for gases and aerosols high-resolution chemical ionization mass spectrometers (FIGAERO-HRToF-CIMS) with acetate (A-CIMS) and iodide (I-CIMS) ionization sources, respectively; the third was a semi-volatile thermal desorption aerosol GC-MS (SV-TAG); and the fourth was a high-resolution thermal desorption proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer (HR-TD-PTRMS). Signals from these instruments corresponding to several organic acids were chosen for comparison. The campaign average partitioning fractions show good correlation. A similar level of agreement with partitioning theory is observed. Thus the intercomparison exercise shows promise for these new measurements, as well as some confidence on the measurement of low versus high particle-phase fractions. However, detailed comparison show several systematic differences that lie beyond estimated measurement errors. These differences may be due to at least eight different effects: (1) underestimation of uncertainties under low signal-to-noise; (2) inlet and/or instrument adsorption/desorption of gases; (3) differences in particle size ranges sampled; (4) differences in the methods used to quantify instrument backgrounds; (5) errors in high-resolution fitting of overlapping ion groups; (6) differences in the species included in each measurement due to different instrument sensitivities; and differences in (7) negative or (8) positive thermal decomposition (or ion fragmentation) artifacts. The available data are insufficient to conclusively identify the reasons, but evidence from these instruments and available data from an ion mobility spectrometer shows the particular importance of effects 6–8 in several cases. This comparison highlights the difficulty of this measurement and its interpretation in a complex ambient environment, and the need for further improvements in measurement methodologies, including isomer separation, and detailed study of the possible factors leading to the observed differences. Further intercomparisons under controlled laboratory and field conditions are strongly recommended

Gene expression profiling of mucinous ovarian tumors and comparison with upper and lower gastrointestinal tumors identifies markers associated with adverse outcomes.

PURPOSE: Advanced-stage mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) has poor chemotherapy response and prognosis and lacks biomarkers to aid stage I adjuvant treatment. Differentiating primary MOC from gastrointestinal (GI) metastases to the ovary is also challenging due to phenotypic similarities. Clinicopathologic and gene-expression data were analyzed to identify prognostic and diagnostic features. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Discovery analyses selected 19 genes with prognostic/diagnostic potential. Validation was performed through the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium and GI cancer biobanks comprising 604 patients with MOC (n = 333), mucinous borderline ovarian tumors (MBOT, n = 151), and upper GI (n = 65) and lower GI tumors (n = 55). RESULTS: Infiltrative pattern of invasion was associated with decreased overall survival (OS) within 2 years from diagnosis, compared with expansile pattern in stage I MOC [hazard ratio (HR), 2.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–7.41, P = 0.042]. Increased expression of THBS2 and TAGLN was associated with shorter OS in MOC patients (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.51, P = 0.016) and (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.01–1.45, P = 0.043), respectively. ERBB2 (HER2) amplification or high mRNA expression was evident in 64 of 243 (26%) of MOCs, but only 8 of 243 (3%) were also infiltrative (4/39, 10%) or stage III/IV (4/31, 13%). CONCLUSIONS: An infiltrative growth pattern infers poor prognosis within 2 years from diagnosis and may help select stage I patients for adjuvant therapy. High expression of THBS2 and TAGLN in MOC confers an adverse prognosis and is upregulated in the infiltrative subtype, which warrants further investigation. Anti-HER2 therapy should be investigated in a subset of patients. MOC samples clustered with upper GI, yet markers to differentiate these entities remain elusive, suggesting similar underlying biology and shared treatment strategies

Contribution of plasma cells and B cells to hidradenitis suppurativa pathogenesis

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a debilitating chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by chronic abscess formation and development of multiple draining sinus tracts in the groin, axillae, and perineum. Using proteomic and transcriptomic approaches, we characterized the inflammatory responses in HS in depth, revealing immune responses centered on IFN-γ, IL-36, and TNF, with lesser contribution from IL-17A. We further identified B cells and plasma cells, with associated increases in immunoglobulin production and complement activation, as pivotal players in HS pathogenesis, with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) and spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) pathway activation as a central signal transduction network in HS. These data provide preclinical evidence to accelerate the path toward clinical trials targeting BTK and SYK signaling in moderate-to-severe HS