951 research outputs found
violation in charmed hadron decays into neutral kaons
We find a new violating effect in charmed hadron decays into neutral
kaons, which is induced by the interference between the Cabibbo-favored and
doubly Cabibbo-suppressed amplitudes with the mixing.
It is estimated to be of order of , much larger than the
direct asymmetry, but missed in the literature. To reveal this new
violation effect, we propose a new observable, the difference of the
asymmetries in the and
modes. Once the new effect is determined by experiments, the direct
asymmetry then can be extracted and used to search for new physics.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the proceeding of The 15th
International Conference on Flavor Physics & CP Violation, 5-9 June 2017,
Prague, Czech Republi
Implications on the first observation of charm CPV at LHCb
Very recently, the LHCb Collaboration observed the violation (CPV) in
the charm sector for the first time, with .
This result is consistent with our prediction of obtained in the factorization-assisted
topological-amplitude (FAT) approach in [PRD86,036012(2012)]. It implies that
the current understanding of the penguin dynamics in charm decays in the
Standard Model is reasonable. Motivated by the success of the FAT approach, we
further suggest to measure the decay, which is the next
potential mode to reveal the CPV of the same order as .Comment: 10 page
Branching ratios and direct CP asymmetries in decays
We propose a theoretical framework for analyzing two-body nonleptonic
meson decays, based on the factorization of short-distance (long-distance)
dynamics into Wilson coefficients (hadronic matrix elements of four-fermion
operators). The parametrization of hadronic matrix elements in terms of several
nonperturbative quantities is demonstrated for the decays,
denoting a pseudoscalar meson. We consider the evolution of Wilson coefficients
with energy release in individual decay modes, and the Glauber strong phase
associated with the pion in nonfactorizable annihilation amplitudes, that is
attributed to the unique role of the pion as a Nambu-Goldstone boson and a
quark-anti-quark bound state simultaneously. The above inputs improve the
global fit to the branching ratios involving the meson, and resolves
the long-standing puzzle from the and
branching ratios, respectively. Combining short-distance dynamics associated
with penguin operators and the hadronic parameters determined from the global
fit to branching ratios, we predict direct CP asymmetries, to which the quark
loops and the scalar penguin annihilation give dominant contributions. In
particular, we predict , lower than the LHCb and CDF data.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, matches published versio
Branching ratios and direct CP asymmetries in decays
We study the two-body hadronic decays, where () denotes a
pseudoscalar (vector) meson, in the factorization-assisted
topological-amplitude approach proposed in our previous work. This approach is
based on the factorization of short-distance and long-distance dynamics into
Wilson coefficients and hadronic matrix elements of four-fermion operators,
respectively, with the latter being parametrized in terms of several
nonperturbative quantities. We further take into account the -
mixing effect, which improves the global fit to the branching ratios involving
the and mesons. Combining short-distance dynamics associated
with penguin operators and the hadronic parameters determined from the global
fit to branching ratios, we predict direct asymmetries. In particular, the
direct asymmetries in the , , and decays are found to be of , which can be
observed at the LHCb or future Belle II experiment. We also predict the
asymmetry observables of some neutral meson decays.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Spatiotemporal expression of the serine protease inhibitor, SERPINE2, in the mouse placenta and uterus during the estrous cycle, pregnancy, and lactation
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>SERPINE2, also known as glia-derived nexin or protease nexin-1, belongs to the serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) superfamily. It is one of the potent serpins that modulates the activity of the plasminogen activator (PA) and was implicated in tissue remodeling. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of SERPINE2 in the mouse placenta and uterus during the estrous cycle, pregnancy, and lactation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SERPINE2 was purified from mouse seminal vesicle secretion using liquid chromatography (LC) and identified by LC/tandem mass spectrometry. The antiserum against the SERPINE2 protein was raised in rabbits. To reveal the uterine and placental expression of SERPINE2, tissues at various stages were collected for real-time PCR quantification, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serpine2 mRNA was the major PA inhibitor in the placenta and uterus during the estrous cycle, pregnancy, and lactation, although Serpine1 mRNA had higher expression levels than Serpine2 mRNA in the placenta. Plat seemed to be the major PA in the mouse uterus and placenta. Antiserum against the SERPINE2 protein specifically recognized two forms of SERPINE2 and an extra 75-kDa protein, which was probably a complex of SERPINE2 with a certain protease, from among thousands of protein components in the tissue extract as demonstrated by Western blotting. In the uterus, SERPINE2 was primarily localized in luminal and glandular epithelial cells but it also was detected in circular and longitudinal smooth muscle cells during the estrous cycle and lactation. It was prominently expressed in decidual stroma cells, the metrial gland, and endometrial epithelium of the pregnant uterus. In the placenta, SERPINE2 was expressed in trophoblasts of the labyrinth and spongiotrophoblasts. However, its expression was remarkably reduced in giant cells which existed in the giant cell-decidual junction zone. In contrast, prominent expression of SERPINE2 seemed to be detected on clusters of glycogen cells near the junction zone. In addition, yolk sac membranes also showed high expression of SERPINE2.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings indicate that SERPINE2 is a major PA inhibitor in the placenta and uterus during the estrous cycle, pregnancy, and lactation. It may participate in the PA-modulated tissue remodeling process in the mouse placenta and uterus.</p
Early-cleavage is a reliable predictor for embryo implantation in the GnRH agonist protocols but not in the GnRH antagonist protocols
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To test if early-cleavage was a strong predictor of pregnancy in patients receiving either a GnRH agonist long protocol or a GnRH antagonist protocol for in-vitro fertilization treatment (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This retrospective study included 534 patients undergoing a fresh cycle of oocyte retrieval and the day-3 embryo transfer (from 22 to 46 years old). Of the 534 patients treated, 331 received a GnRH agonist long stimulation protocol (GnRH agonist group) for ovarian stimulation and 203 patients received a GnRH antagonist protocol (GnRH antagonist group). In each group, patients who had at least one early-cleavage embryo transferred were designated as the 'early-cleavage' subgroup. Patients who had no early-cleavage embryos transferred were designated as the 'late-cleavage' subgroup.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The early cleavage rate was significantly lower in the GnRH antagonist group compared with that in the GnRH agonist group (IVF cycles: 34% versus 20%; ICSI cycles: 50% versus 37.8%, respectively, P < 0.0001). In the GnRH agonist group, the pregnancy rates were significantly higher in the early-cleavage subgroup than those in the late-cleavage subgroup (53.7% vs 33.9%, <it>P </it>< 0.0001). In the GnRH antagonist group, the pregnancy rates were not significantly different between the early-cleavage and late-cleavage subgroups (45.9% vs 43.8%, P > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Early cleavage of zygote is not a reliable predictor for embryo implantation potential in using the GnRH antagonist protocol. Furthermore, the implantation rates between the GnRH agonist and GnRH antagonist groups were comparable.</p
Dome-Shaped Ellipsoidal Reflector Antenna for UHF-RFID Readers with Confined Near-Field Detection Region
This letter proposes and demonstrates the concept of ellipsoidal reflector antennas for radio frequency identification reader applications at UHF band. The antenna can be potentially integrated with environmental structures to confine the reader detection region. The energy bounding characteristics result from the dual-focus feature of an ellipsoidal reflector in its near-field region, as the feed located at one of the two foci can create a focused field distribution around the other focus. An axial energy focusing is, thus, formed to confine the energy in a restricted region (near-field beam focusing), also minimizing the interference effects outside of the targeted area. Both numerical simulations and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this antenna concept
The association between tyrosine kinase inhibitors and fatal arrhythmia in patients with non-small cell lung cancer in Taiwan
ObjectiveAs a standard therapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) improved survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. However, treatment-related cardiotoxicity, particularly arrhythmia, cannot be ignored. With the prevalence of EGFR mutations in Asian populations, the risk of arrhythmia among patients with NSCLC remains unclear.MethodsUsing data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database and National Cancer Registry, we identified patients with NSCLC from 2001 to 2014. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we analyzed outcomes of death and arrhythmia, including ventricular arrhythmia (VA), sudden cardiac death (SCD), and atrial fibrillation (AF). The follow-up duration was three years.ResultsIn total, 3876 patients with NSCLC treated with TKIs were matched to 3876 patients treated with platinum analogues. After adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and anticancer and cardiovascular therapies, patients receiving TKIs had a significantly lower risk of death (adjusted HR: 0.767; CI: 0.729â0.807, p < 0.001) than those receiving platinum analogues. Given that approximately 80% of the studied population reached the endpoint of mortality, we also adjusted for mortality as a competing risk. Notably, we observed significantly increased risks of both VA (adjusted sHR: 2.328; CI: 1.592â3.404, p < 0.001) and SCD (adjusted sHR: 1.316; CI: 1.041â1.663, p = 0.022) among TKI users compared with platinum analogue users. Conversely, the risk of AF was similar between the two groups. In the subgroup analysis, the increasing risk of VA/SCD persisted regardless of sex and most cardiovascular comorbidities.ConclusionsCollectively, we highlighted a higher risk of VA/SCD in TKI users than in patients receiving platinum analogues. Further research is needed to validate these findings
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