CPCP violation induced by the double resonance for pure annihilation decay process in Perturbative QCD

In Perturbative QCD (PQCD) approach we study the direct $CP$ violation in the pure annihilation decay process of $\bar{B}^0_{s}\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$ induced by the $\rho$ and $\omega$ double resonance effect. Generally, the $CP$ violation is small in the pure annihilation type decay process. However, we find that the $CP$ violation can be enhanced by double $\rho-\omega$ interference when the invariant masses of the $\pi^+\pi^-$ pairs are in the vicinity of the $\omega$ resonance. For the decay process of $\bar{B}^0_{s}\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$, the maximum $CP$ violation can reach 28.64{\%}

Progressive amorphization of GeSbTe phase-change material under electron beam irradiation

Fast and reversible phase transitions in chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs), in particular, Ge-Sb-Te compounds, are not only of fundamental interests, but also make PCMs based random access memory (PRAM) a leading candidate for non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing devices. To RESET the memory cell, crystalline Ge-Sb-Te has to undergo phase transitions firstly to a liquid state and then to an amorphous state, corresponding to an abrupt change in electrical resistance. In this work, we demonstrate a progressive amorphization process in GeSb2Te4 thin films under electron beam irradiation on transmission electron microscope (TEM). Melting is shown to be completely absent by the in situ TEM experiments. The progressive amorphization process resembles closely the cumulative crystallization process that accompanies a continuous change in electrical resistance. Our work suggests that if displacement forces can be implemented properly, it should be possible to emulate symmetric neuronal dynamics by using PCMs

A novel process for nutrients removal and phosphorus recovery from domestic wastewater by combining BNR with induced crystallization

An excessive discharge of phosphorus from wastewater to water bodies may potentially contribute to eutrophication. On the other hand, mineral phosphorus resources will be depleted in the near future, because of difficulty to automatically recycle from water to land, unlike nitrogen. A new process for nutrients removal coupled with phosphorus recovery was proposed in this study by combining biological nutrients removal (BNR) with induced crystallization (IC), BNR-IC for short later, differently from conventional phosphorus recovery process. Our results showed that the BNR-IC system can maintain not only high and stable carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies, all presenting above 90%, but also good phosphorus recovery performance from synthetic domestic wastewater, displaying about 70.2% of phosphorus recovery rate. When the COD, TN, NH4–N and P concentrations of 250 mg L−1, 42 mg L−1, 40 mg L−1, and 10 mg L−1, respectively were given in the influent, a stable removal efficiencies of 92.5% COD, 78.6% TN, 85.9% NH4–N and 95.2% P were obtained for the BNR-IC process and correspondingly the COD, TN, NH4–N and P concentrations of 18.75 mg L−1, 8.99 mg L−1, 5.64 mg L−1, 0.42 mg L−1 were monitored in the effluent, meeting the Chinese National Class I (grade A) Sewage Discharge Standard. Analyses of SEM and EDS, moreover, also demonstrated that the surface of seed crystal (calcite used here) was completely covered by hydroxyl calcium phosphate (HAP) produced during the induced crystallization process to recover phosphorus. Although our study involved only a small-scale trial, the proposed BNR-IC process here may be a promising technology, and can potentially aid in improvement of the effluent quality from WWTP and in recycle of mineral phosphorus resources when applied to practice

Controlled Levofloxacin Release and Antibacterial Properties of β-Cyclodextrins-Grafted Polypropylene Mesh Devices for Hernia Repair.

Mesh infection is a major complication of hernia repair. After knitted mesh implantation, bacteria can grow within textile structures causing infection. In this work, polypropylene (PP) mesh devices were two-step grafted with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and β⁻cyclodexrins (CD) and then loaded with suitable antimicrobial levofloxacin HCL for hernia mesh-infection prevention. First, oxygen plasma was able to create surface roughness, then HDI was successfully grafted onto PP fiber surfaces. Afterwards, CD was covalently grafted onto the HDI treated PP meshes, and levofloxacin HCL (LVFX) was loaded into the CD cavity of the modified meshes. The modified devices were evaluated for sustained antibiotic properties and drug-release profiles in a phosphate buffer, and sustained drug release was observed between interfaces of meshes and aqueous environment. The antibiotic-loaded PP mesh samples demonstrated sustained antibacterial properties for 7 and 10 days, respectively, against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The CD-captured levofloxacin HCL showed burst release after 6 h but later exhibited sustained release for the next 48 h. Among all samples, the modified mesh LVFX-6 was more stable and showed more sustained drug release and could be employed in future clinical applications

Development and Pilot Test of a Chinese Medicine as Longevity Modality (CALM) Videos in Improving Hypertension Management in Chinese Immigrants: Feasibility of Educational and Storytelling Video

Currently, there are minimal educational materials customized for first-generation Chinese immigrants on hypertension management. The San Francisco Bay area has an increasingly large population of first-generation Chinese immigrants. Thus, the need for culturally sensitive and appropriate educational materials is critical for this vulnerable population to manage their hypertension. The aim of this study was to update and test the feasibility of the Chinese Medicine as Longevity Modality (CALM) DVD videos, including: 1) a patient education program using a Powerpoint file, conveyed via a video format; and 2) a storytelling video. The feasibility of the CALM videos was assessed by individual interviews using structured, open-ended questions to determine the participants’ comprehension of the video content and offering feedback and suggestions for the refinement of the videos. Findings generally demonstrated helpfulness of the proposed intervention protocol suggesting that educational materials that are culturally sensitive and appropriate are beneficial for the target population

Development of small interfering RNA delivery system using PEI-PEG-APRPG polymer for antiangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor tumor-targeted therapy

Zong-Xia Lu1, Li-Ting Liu1,2, Xian-Rong Qi11Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of ChinaBackground: Small interfering RNA (siRNA) can silence target genes in the cytoplasm and be a major tool in gene therapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent regulator of angiogenesis, is overexpressed in most tumors and is closely associated with tumor growth and metastasis. It has been shown that inhibition of VEGF expression by siRNA is an effective and useful method for antiangiogenic tumor therapy.Methods: In the present study, we synthesized a targeted delivery system of PEI-PEG-APRPG incorporating angiogenic vessel-homing Ala-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly (APRPG) peptide into cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) via a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacer.Results: PEI-PEG-APRPG effectively condensed siRNA into 20–50 nm nanoparticles with a positive surface charge using a suitable N/P ratio. The siRNA/PEI-PEG-APRPG complex effectively enhanced the stability of siRNA in RNase A, and improved the proliferation-inhibiting ability and transfection efficiency of siRNA in vitro and tumor accumulation in vivo. In addition, the siRNA/PEI-PEG-APRPG complex exhibited high efficiency as antitumor therapy with regard to tumor growth, microvessel density, and VEGF protein and mRNA levels.Conclusion: These findings suggest that PEI-PEG-APRPG effectively delivers siRNA to tumors overexpressing VEGF and thereby inhibits tumor growth.Keywords: PEI-PEG-APRPG, VEGF siRNA, gene delivery, tumor-targeted, antiangiogenic therap

Probing highly collimated photon-jets with deep learning

Many extensions of the standard model (SM) predict the existence of axion-like particles and/or dark Higgs in the sub-GeV scale. Two new sub-GeV particles, a scalar and a pseudoscalar, produced through the Higgs boson exotic decays, are investigated. The decay signatures of these two new particles with highly collimated photons in the final states are discriminated from the ones of SM backgrounds using the Convolutional Neural Networks and Boosted Decision Trees techniques. The sensitivities of searching for such new physics signatures at the Large Hadron Collider are obtained