Models of LHC Diphoton Excesses Valid up to the Planck scale

We discuss a possibility to explain the LHC diphoton excesses at $750$GeV by the new scalar $X$ that couples to the gauge bosons through the loop of new massive particles with Standard Model charges. We assume that the new particles decay into the Standard Model particles at the tree level. We systematically examine the models that preserve the vacuum stability and the perturbativity up to the Planck scale. When we take scalars for the new particles, we find that only a few diquark and dilepton models can explain the observed diphoton cross section without conflicting the experimental mass bounds. When we take vector-like fermions for the new particles, we find rather different situations depending on whether their couplings to $X$ are scalar or pseudoscalar type. In the former case, a few models are allowed if we introduce only one species of fermions. The more fermions we introduce, the more models are allowed. In the later case, the most of the models are allowed because of the large coupling between $X$ and photon. It is interesting that the allowed mass regions of the scalar particles might be reached by the next lepton colliders.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures; the maximum values of $\sigma_{\gamma\gamma}$ for the scalar extensions are recalculated, typos corrected, references added (v2); references added, typos corrected, version to appear in PRD (v3

Highly sensitive chiral analysis in capillary electrophoresis with large-volume sample stacking with an electroosmotic flow pump.

To improve the sensitivity in chiral analysis by capillary electrophoresis without loss of optical resolution, application of large-volume sample stacking with an electroosmotic flow pump (LVSEP) was investigated. Effects of the addition of cyclodextrin (CD) into a running solution on the LVSEP preconcentration was theoretically studied, where the preconcentration efficiency and effective separation length would be slightly increased if the effective electrophoretic velocity (v(ep, eff, BGS)) of the analytes was decreased by interacting with CD. In LVSEP-CD-modified capillary zone electrophoresis (CDCZE) and LVSEP-CD electrokinetic chromatography with reduced v(ep, eff, BGS), up to 1000-fold sensitivity increases were achieved with almost no loss of resolution. In LVSEP-CD-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography of amino acids with increased v(ep, eff, BGS), a 1300-fold sensitivity increase was achieved without much loss of resolution, indicating the versatile applicability of LVSEP to many separation modes. An enantio-excess (EE) assay was also carried out in LVSEP-CDCZE, resulting in successful analyses of up to 99.6% EE. Finally, we analyzed ibuprofen in urine by desalting with a C(18) solid-phase extraction column. As a typical result, 250ppb ibuprofen was well concentrated and optically resolved with 84.0-86.6% recovery in LVSEP-CDCZE, indicating the applicability of LVSEP to real samples containing a large amount of unnecessary background salts

Difference in Therapeutic Strategies for Joint‐Preserving Surgery for Non‐Traumatic Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head between the United States and Japan: A Review of the Literature

For patients with non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), core decompression (CD) and bone grafts (BG) are mainly performed in the West, while osteotomy is found to be predominant in Japan. It is not well recognized how the surgical procedures for joint preservation in patients with ONFH are completely different between the United States and Japan. This paper identifies the contexts and the differences in treatment strategies for ONFH between the two countries. We compared the surgical trends of the two countries over three periods, 1997-2001, 2002-2006, and 2007-2011 (the US data for the third period was 2007-2008), based on a 2014 US paper and a 2013 national publication in Japan. We compared the details of surgery for non-traumatic ONFH under the same conditions in the two reports. For the period 1997-2001, the rates of surgeries for ONFH in the US were as follows: total hip arthroplasty (THA), 86%; CD, 10%; and osteotomy, 0.4%. In Japan, THA was 61%, osteotomy 38%, and CD 0%. For the recent period, 2007-2011 (US 2007-2008), the rate of THA was 91%, CD 6%, and osteotomy 0.1%, in the US, compared to a THA rate of 73%, CD 0%, and osteotomy 26% in Japan. The results for the interim period (2002-2006) were between the old and new data. The use of joint-preserving surgery for ONFH differs greatly between the US and Japan. The first-line joint-preserving surgery was CD in the US and osteotomy in Japan. Each procedure was rarely done in the other country. From about 2000 to 2010, the percentage of THA increased in both countries. The proportion of joint-preserving surgery (CD in the US and osteotomy in Japan) declined. The decrease in joint-preserving procedures may be largely attributed to improved long-term outcomes of THA due to technological advances. There is also a reluctance for young ONFH patients to undergo joint-preserving procedures, such as osteotomy, that require long-term hospitalization

High Subsidence Rate After Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty Using a Zweymüller-type Noncemented Implant With a Matte Surface

INTRODUCTION: The surface topography is one key factor that affects the initial fixation of prosthesis in total hip arthroplasty (THA). We aimed to evaluate the mid-term results of a Zweymüller-type noncemented femoral implant (Elance stem) that had a matte surface with a target average roughness of 1.0 to 2.5 μm. The prosthesis was subjected to alkali and heat treatments to enhance its bone-bonding property. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 30 THAs (27 patients) done using an Elance stem from September 2012 to October 2014 were evaluated clinically and radiographically for a mean follow-up of 6.3 ± 1.7 years after the index THA. RESULTS: Stem revision was indicated for six hips (20%). The survival rate with stem revision for any reason was 86.4% (95% confidence interval, 68.9%-94.8%) at 5 years. Stem subsidence >5 mm was noted in 17 hips (56.7%). The survival rate with stem subsidence >5 mm as the end point was 46.6% (95% confidence interval, 29.9%-64.2%) at 5 years. CONCLUSION: The Zweymüller-type noncemented stem with a low-roughness matte surface demonstrated a high subsidence rate, although the bone-bonding property was potentially enhanced by the alkali and heat treatments. Surgeons should be aware that an insufficient surface roughness could lead to poor mechanical fixation of the noncemented stem, even with an appropriate stem geometry and surface chemistry

Circulating lymphocyte is an important determinant of the effectiveness of preoperative radiotherapy in advanced rectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although preoperative radiotherapy (RT) is widely used as the initial treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (RC) in the neoadjuvant setting, factors determining clinical response have not been adequately defined. In order to find other factors possibly related with radiosensitivity, we evaluated the relationships between circulating blood cell counts and RT effects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 179 cases with advanced RC, we retrospectively examined hemoglobin (Hb) levels and counts of white blood cells (WBC), platelets and WBC subsets before and after RT and investigated their associations with the complete response (CR) rate together with other clinicopathological factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ratio of lymphocytes in WBC taken before RT was significantly greater in 15 CR cases as compared with those in non-CR cases. Patients with high lymphocyte percentages (25.7%) showed better outcome than the counterparts. Conversely, the ratio of neutrophiles was reduced in CR cases. The lymphocyte ratio showed an independent association with CR with multivariate analysis, and tended to be maintained at relatively high levels in CR cases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In RC patients, peripheral blood lymphocytes have a significant impact on the CR rate in response to RT. Lymphocyte-mediated immune reactions are supposed to have positive roles on clinical response in radiotherapy for RC.</p

Discrepancy in the Responsiveness to Hip Range of Motion Between Harris and Oxford Hip Scores

Background: The primary objectives of total hip arthroplasty (THA) include mobility improvement and pain relief; however, the correlation between hip range of motion (ROM) and function remains unclear. We aimed to explore how ROM affects hip functions after THA and compare the responsiveness of each component of the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) and Oxford Hip Score (OHS) to preoperative and postoperative ROM. Methods: This prospective observational study involved 120 patients who underwent unilateral THA. Univariate regression analyses were performed using the University of California Los Angeles activity score and mHHS and OHS to determine the effects of preoperative and postoperative flex ROM on clinical scores at 12 months. Multivariate regressions were performed to adjust for the confounding effects of patient factors: age, sex, body mass index, and diagnosis. Results: A larger preoperative flexion ROM was associated with a higher score in the mHHS socks component (standardized coefficient [SC] = 0.26, P = .0041) at 12 months; the effect on the OHS socks component was not significant (P = .34). A larger flexion ROM at 12 months was associated with higher scores in the mHHS support (SC = 0.21, P = .026), stairs (SC = 0.35, P = .0002), and socks (SC = 0.32, P = .0007) components but had no significant effect on any OHS component. The effects of ROM on University of California Los Angeles activity score were limited. Conclusions: A discrepancy was noted in the responsiveness to ROM between the two major measurement tools; this difference might be because mHHS and OHS are surgeon- and patient-administered questionnaires, respectively. This discrepancy also suggests that the patients have higher satisfaction than that assumed by the surgeons

Similarity in Sequential Bilateral Transient Osteoporosis of the Hip

CASE: Three middle-aged men with habitual drinking developed unilateral hip pain and were referred for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Radiographs showed osteopenia, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed diffuse bone marrow edema (BME). After several months, the patients' symptoms resolved and radiographic images normalized. More than 6 months later, the contralateral side showed the same clinical course. CONCLUSION: Transient osteoporosis of the hip (TOH) resembles ONFH but heals spontaneously. We report 3 rare cases of sequential TOH, similar in that they occurred in middle-aged male habitual drinkers at risk for ONFH, characterized by diffuse BME on MRI and radiographic resolution

The Arginine Residue within the C-Terminal Active Core of Bombyx mori Pheromone Biosynthesis-Activating Neuropeptide is Essential for Receptor Binding and Activation

In most lepidopteran insects, the biosynthesis of sex pheromones is regulated by pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide (PBAN). Bombyx mori PBAN (BomPBAN) consists of 33 amino acid residues and contains a C-terminus FSPRLamide motif as the active core. Among neuropeptides containing the FXPRLamide motif, the arginine (Arg, R) residue at the second position from the C-terminus is highly conserved across several neuropeptides, which can be designated as RXamide peptides. The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of the Arg residue in the BomPBAN active core. We synthesized 10-residue peptides corresponding to the C-terminal part of BomPBAN with a series of replacements at the second position from the C-terminus, termed the C2 position, and measured their efficacy in stimulating Ca2+ influx in insect cells expressing a fluorescent PBAN receptor chimera (PBANR–EGFP) using the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, Fura Red–AM. The PBAN analogs with the C2 position replaced with alanine (Ala, A), aspartic acid (Asp, D), serine (Ser, S), or l-2-aminooctanoic acid (Aoc) decreased PBAN-like activity. RC2A (SKTRYFSPALamide) and RC2D (SKTRYFSPDLamide) had the lowest activity and could not inhibit the activity of PBAN C10 (SKTRYFSPRLamide). We also prepared Rhodamine Red-labeled peptides of the PBAN analogs and examined their ability to bind PBANR. In contrast to Rhodamine Red-PBAN C10 at 100 nM, none of the synthetic analogs exhibited PBANR binding at the same concentration. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the C2 Arg residue in BomPBAN is essential for PBANR binding and activation