High-Scale SUSY Breaking Models in light of the BICEP2 Result

The large value of the tensor-to-scalar ratio in the cosmic microwave background radiation reported by the BICEP2 collaboration gives strong impact on models of supersymmetry (SUSY). The large ratio indicates inflation with a high-energy scale and thus a high reheating temperature in general, and various SUSY models suffer from the serious gravitino and Polonyi problems. In this article, we discuss a class of the high-scale SUSY breaking models which are completely free from those problems. With especially focusing on the dark matter relic abundance, we examine how the BICEP2 result narrows down the parameter space of the models, assuming the simplest chaotic inflation model. We find that the mass of the dark matter is predicted to be less than about 1 TeV thanks to the non-thermal production in the early universe through the decay of abundant gravitinos produced after the reheating process. We also discuss implications in some details to dark matter searches at collider and indirect dark matter detection experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Indirect Probe of Electroweak-Interacting Particles at Future Lepton Colliders

Various types of electroweak-interacting particles, which have non-trivial charges under the $\mathrm{SU}(2)_L \times \mathrm{U}(1)_Y$ gauge symmetry, appear in various extensions of the Standard Model. These particles are good targets of future lepton colliders, such as the International Linear Collider (ILC), the Compact LInear Collider (CLIC) and the Future Circular Collider of electrons and positrons (FCC-ee). An advantage of the experiments is that, even if their beam energies are below the threshold of the production of the new particles, quantum effects of the particles can be detected through high precision measurements. We estimate the capability of future lepton colliders to probe electroweak-interacting particles through the quantum effects, with particular focus on the wino, the Higgsino and the so-called minimal dark matters, and found that a particle whose mass is greater than the beam energy by 100-1000 GeV is detectable by measuring di-fermion production cross sections with $O(0.1)$\% accuracy. In addition, with the use of the same analysis, we also discuss the sensitivity of the future colliders to model independent higher dimensional operators, and found that the cutoff scales corresponding to the operators can be probed up to a few ten TeV

Infrared 3-4 Micron Spectroscopy of Nearby PG QSOs and AGN-Nuclear Starburst Connections in High-luminosity AGN Populations

We present the results of infrared L-band (3-4 micron) slit spectroscopy of 30 PG QSOs at z < 0.17, the representative sample of local high-luminosity, optically selected AGNs. The 3.3 micron polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission feature is used to probe nuclear (< a few kpc) starburst activity and to investigate the connections between AGNs and nuclear starbursts in PG QSOs. The 3.3 micron PAH emission is detected in the individual spectra of 5/30 of the observed PG QSOs. We construct a composite spectrum of PAH-undetected PG QSOs and discern the presence of the 3.3 micron PAH emission therein. We estimate the nuclear-starburst and AGN luminosities from the observed 3.3 micron PAH emission and 3.35 micron continuum luminosities, respectively, and find that the nuclear-starburst-to-AGN luminosity ratios in PG QSOs are similar to those of previously studied AGN populations with lower luminosities, suggesting that AGN-nuclear starburst connections are valid over the wide luminosity range of AGNs in the local universe. The observed nuclear-starburst-to-AGN luminosity ratios in PG QSOs with available supermassive black hole masses are comparable to a theoretical prediction based on the assumption that the growth of a supermassive black hole is controlled by starburst-induced turbulence.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (No. 63, 2011 March, Subaru special issue

Threshold of photoelectron emission from CNx films deposited at room temperature and at 500 °C

The threshold of photoelectron emission was measured for amorphous CNx films deposited at room temperature (RT) and at 500 °C. The x values of the films deposited at RT and at 500 °C by magnetron sputtering of a graphite target in a mixed N2/Ar gas were 0.6 and 0.3, respectively. Ratios of the sp2- to sp3-hybridized components of both C and N for the film deposited at 500 °C were larger by 4 times than those for the film deposited at RT. The onsets of the electron emission by photon irradiation were 5.0 and 4.7 eV for the films deposited at RT and at 500 °C, respectively

Protein Transduction Method for Cerebrovascular Disorders

Many studies have shown that a motif of 11 consecutive arginines (11R) is one of the most effective protein transduction domains (PTD) for introducing proteins into the cell membrane. By conjugating this &#34;11R&#34;, all sorts of proteins can effectively and harmlessly be transferred into any kind of cell. We therefore examined the transduction efficiency of 11R in cerebral arteries and obtained results showing that 11R fused enhanced green fluorescent protein (11R-EGFP) immediately and effectively penetrated all layers of the rat basilar artery (BA), especially the tunica media. This method provides a revolutionary approach to cerebral arteries and ours is the first study to demonstrate the successful transductionof a PTD fused protein into the cerebral arteries. In this review, we present an outline of our studies and other key studies related to cerebral vasospasm and 11R, problems to be overcome, and predictions regarding future use of the 11R protein transduction method for cerebral vasospasm (CV).</p

Short interfering RNA-directed inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication

AbstractRNA interference (RNAi) is the process by which double-stranded RNA directs sequence-specific degradation of mRNA. In mammalian cells, RNAi can be triggered by 21-nucleotide duplexes of short interfering RNA (siRNA). We examined effects of siRNA on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. Human hepatoma cells were transfected with HBV DNA and siRNA against HBV-pregenome RNA. Transfection experiments demonstrated that the siRNA reduced the amount of HBV-pregenome RNA and resulted in reduction of the levels of replicative intermediates and viral protein. Our results indicate that siRNA-mediated gene silencing inhibits HBV replication through suppression of viral RNA, which may be useful as a potential therapeutic modality

Overview of polar exhibit tanks and List of the creatures in house

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions : [OB] Polar Biology, Wed. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) , National Institute of Polar Researc

歯科インプラント周囲の骨吸収に関する臨床疫学研究

Background: During functional loading, the design of the dental implant may have an effect on the response of marginal bone. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to report the prevalence of peri-implantitis, and to compare radiographic parameters around Brånemark and Replace Select dental implants and evaluate whether disparities in the morphologic features of these two indistinct implant systems, particularly their abutment-implant attachment, had an influence on the health of surrounding tissues and marginal bone loss (MBL). Materials and Methods: Collection of data was done at the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, the Department of Maxillo-Facial Prosthodontics, and Oral Implant Center of Tokushima University Hospital, in Tokushima, Japan; between March 2003 and followed until January 2017. Patients who have been treated with the Replace Select internal type implant and the Brånemark variety were selected as cohort. Marginal bone level measurements were evaluated via periapical and panoramic radiographs taken at regular follow-up visit. These dimensions were calculated, starting from the orientation mark at the implant abutment interface to the bottommost perceived contact area of marginal bone with the aforementioned implant system. The change in the level of bone was estimated by calculating the variation involving an initial reference value and the follow-up values. Results: An average loss of bone at 0.65 ± 1.51 mm (range 0.36 to 7.89 mm) in the Replace Select group was observed, while in the Brånemark group 0.7 ± 1.32 mm (range 0.62 to 8.64 mm) was observed. Spearman rank correlation exhibited a statistically significant positive correlation between progress of bone loss around implant body and interval from implantation in the Brånemark group, whereas in the Replace Select group it was not significant. The Brånemark group exhibited significant (P = 0.0269) negative correlation of MBL and its diameters, whereas the Replace Select group did not exhibit such correlation. Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that deviations in the morphologic attributes of these two diverse implant systems had an influence on the health of surrounding tissues and MBL. The Brånemark implants showed a significant increase in MBL (> 1.8mm) as the time of placement elapses. This marked MBL was greater in females than males, in posterior than in anterior, and in the narrow platform implants than the regular platform implants or the wide platform implants. On the other hand, results suggested that this bone loss was greater in the mandible than the maxilla, in single-unit implant crowns than multiple implant restorations in the Replace Select group

Classic cadherins mediate selective intracortical circuit formation in the mouse neocortex

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of selective intracortical circuitry is one of the important questions in neuroscience research. "Barrel nets" are recently identified intracortical axonal trajectories derived from layer 2/3 neurons in layer 4 of the primary somatosensory (barrel) cortex. Axons of layer 2/3 neurons are preferentially distributed in the septal regions of layer 4 of the barrel cortex, where they show whisker-related patterns. Because cadherins have been viewed as potential candidates that mediate the formation of selective neuronal circuits, here we examined the role of cadherins in the formation of barrel nets. We disrupted the function of cadherins by expressing dominant-negative cadherin (dn-cadherin) using in utero electroporation and found that barrel nets were severely disrupted. Confocal microscopic analysis revealed that expression of dn-cadherin reduced the density of axons in septal regions in layer 4 of the barrel cortex. We also found that cadherins were important for the formation, rather than the maintenance, of barrel nets. Our results uncover an important role of cadherins in the formation of local intracortical circuitry in the neocortex. © 2014 The Author