The Role of the Transcription Factor SIM2 in Prostate Cancer

Background: Recent reports have suggested a possible involvement of Single-minded homolog 2 (SIM2) in human solid cancers, including prostate cancer. However, the exact role of SIM2 in cancer in general, and in prostate cancer in particular, remains largely unknown. This study was designed to elucidate the role of SIM2 in prostate cancer using a shRNA-based approach in the PC3 prostate cancer cell line. Methods: Lentiviral shRNAs were used to inhibit SIM2 gene and protein levels in PC3 cells. Quantitative RT-PCR and branched DNA were performed to evaluate transcript expression. SIM2 protein expression level was measured by western blot. Profiling of gene expression spanning the whole genome, as well as polar metabolomics of several major metabolic pathways was performed to identify major pathway dysregulations. Results: SIM2 gene and protein products were significantly downregulated by lenti-shRNA in PC3 cell line. This low expression of SIM2 affected gene expression profile, revealing significant changes in major signaling pathways, networks and functions. In addition, major metabolic pathways were affected. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest an involvement of SIM2 in key traits of prostate tumor cell biology an

Combining exclusive semi-leptonic and hadronic B decays to measure |V_ub|

The Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element |V_ub| can be extracted from the rate for the semi-leptonic decay B -> pi + l + antineutrino_l, with little theoretical uncertainty, provided the hadronic form factor for the B -> pi transition can be measured from some other B decay. In here, we suggest using the decay B -> pi J\psi. This is a color suppressed decay, and it cannot be properly described within the usual factorization approximation; we use instead a simple and very general phenomenological model for the b d J\psi vertex. In order to relate the hadronic form factors in the B -> pi J\psi and B -> pi + l + antineutrino_l decays, we use form factor relations that hold for heavy-to-light transitions at large recoil.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, no figure

Unified approach to photo and electro-production of mesons with arbitrary spins

A new approach to identify the independent amplitudes along with their partial wave multipole expansions, for photo and electro-production is suggested,which is generally applicable to mesons with arbitrary spin-parity. These amplitudes facilitate direct identification of different resonance contributions.Comment: 11 page

A Tri-National program for estimating the link between snow resources and hydrological droughts

To evaluate how summer low flows and droughts are affected by the winter snowpack, a Tri-National effort will analyse data from three catchments: Alpbach (Prealps, central Switzerland), Gudjaretis-Tskali (Little Caucasus, central Georgia), and Kamenice (Jizera Mountains, northern Czech Republic). Two GIS-based rainfall-runoff models will simulate over 10 years of runoff in streams based on rain and snowfall measurements, and further meteorological variables. The models use information on the geographical settings of the catchments together with knowledge of the hydrological processes of runoff generation from rainfall, looking particularly at the relationship between spring snowmelt and summer droughts. These processes include snow accumulation and melt, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge in spring that contributes to (the) summer runoff, and will be studied by means of the environmental isotopes 18O and 2H. Knowledge about the isotopic composition of the different water sources will allow to identify the flow paths and estimate the residence time of snow meltwater in the subsurface and its contribution to the stream. The application of the models in different nested or neighbouring catchments will explore their potential for further development and allow a better early prediction of low-flow periods in various mountainous zones across Europe. The paper presents the planned activities including a first analysis of already available dataset of environmental isotopes, discharge, snow water equivalent and modelling experiments of the (already) available datasets

Strong and Weak Phases from Time-Dependent Measurements of B→ππB \to \pi \pi

Time-dependence in $B^0(t) \to \pi^+ \pi^-$ and \ob(t) \to \pi^+ \pi^- is utilized to obtain a maximal set of information on strong and weak phases. One can thereby check theoretical predictions of a small strong phase $\delta$ between penguin and tree amplitudes. A discrete ambiguity between $\delta \simeq 0$ and $\delta \simeq \pi$ may be resolved by comparing the observed charge-averaged branching ratio predicted for the tree amplitude alone, using measurements of $B \to \pi l \nu$ and factorization, or by direct comparison of parameters of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix with those determined by other means. It is found that with 150 fb$^{-1}$ from BaBar and Belle, this ambiguity will be resolvable if no direct CP violation is found. In the presence of direct CP violation, the discrete ambiguity between $\delta$ and $\pi - \delta$ becomes less important, vanishing altogether as $|\delta| \to \pi/2$. The role of measurements involving the lifetime difference between neutral $B$ eigenstates is mentioned briefly.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. D. Updated version with one reference change

CP Violation in B_d \to D^+D^-, D^{*+}D^-, D^+D^{*-} and D^{*+}D^{*-} Decays

CP asymmetries in B_d \to D^+D^-, D^{*+}D^-, D^+D^{*-} and D^{*+}D^{*-} decays are investigated with the help of the factorization approximation and isospin relations. We find that the direct CP violation is governed only by the short-distance penguin mechanism, while the indirect CP asymmetries in B_d \to D^{\pm}D^{*\mp} transitions may be modified due to the final-state rescattering effect. An updated numerical analysis shows that the direct CP asymmetry in B^0_d vs \bar{B}^0_d \to D^+D^- decays can be as large as 3%. The CP-even and CP-odd contributions to the indirect CP asymmetry in B^0_d vs \bar{B}^0_d \to D^{*+}D^{*-} decays are found to have the rates 89% and 11%, respectively. Some comments on the possibilities to determine the weak phase \beta and to test the factorization hypothesis are also given.Comment: LaTex 14 pages (2 figures included). Phys. Rev. D (in printing

Implications of the CP asymmetry in semileptonic B decay

Recent experimental searches for $A_{SL}$, the CP asymmetry in semileptonic B decay, have reached an accuracy of order one percent. Consequently, they give meaningful constraints on new physics. We find that cancellations between the Standard Model (SM) and new physics contributions to $B^0 - \bar B^0$ mixing cannot be as strong as was allowed prior to these measurements. The predictions for this asymmetry within the SM and within models of minimal flavor violation (MFV) are below the reach of present and near future measurements. Including order $m_c^2/m_b^2$ and $\Lambda_{QCD}/m_b$ corrections we obtain the SM prediction: $-1.3 \times 10^{-3} < A_{SL} < -0.5 \times 10^{-3}$. Future measurements can exclude not only the SM, but MFV as well, if the sign of the asymmetry is opposite to the SM or if it is same-sign but much enhanced. We also comment on the CP asymmetry in semileptonic $B_s$ decay, and update the range of the angle $\beta_s$ in the SM: $0.026 < \sin2\beta_s < 0.048$.Comment: 16 pages, a sign typo in eq.(11) fixed, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Constraining New Physics with the CDF Measurement of CP Violation in B→ψKSB \to \psi K_S

Recently, the CDF collaboration has reported a measurement of the CP asymmetry in the $B\to\psi K_S$ decay: $a_{\psi K_S}=0.79^{+0.41}_{-0.44}$. We analyze the constraints that follow from this measurement on the size and the phase of contributions from new physics to B-\barB mixing. Defining the relative phase between the full $M_{12}$ amplitude and the Standard Model contribution to be $2\theta_d$, we find a new bound: \sin2\theta_d\gsim-0.6 (-0.87) at one sigma (95% CL). Further implications for the CP asymmetry in semileptonic B decays are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, harvmac, 3 figures; v2: a discussion of new physics effects on tree level decays added; references added; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Probing SUSY-induced CP violations at B factories

In the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), the \mu-parameter and the trilinear coupling A_t may be generically complex and can affect various observables at B factories. Imposing the edm constraints, we find that there is no new large phase shift in the B^0 - \bar{B^0} mixing, CP violating dilepton asymmetry is smaller than 0.1 %, and the direct CP violation in B\to X_s \gamma can be as large as \sim \pm 16 %.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

1/m_Q Corrections to the Heavy-to-Light-Vector Transitions in the HQET

Within the HQET, the heavy to light vector meson transitions are systematically analyzed to the order of 1/m_Q. Besides the four universal functions at the leading order, there are twenty-two independent universal form factors at the order of 1/m_Q. Both the semileptonic decay B->\rho which is relevant to the |V_{ub}| extraction, and the penguin induced decay B -> K^* which is important to new physics discovering, depend on these form factors. Phenomenological implications are discussed.Comment: RevTeX, 9 pages, no figure