64 research outputs found
Rare Decays of \Lambda_b->\Lambda + \gamma and \Lambda_b ->\Lambda + l^{+} l^{-} in the Light-cone Sum Rules
Within the Standard Model, we investigate the weak decays of and with the light-cone
sum rules approach. The higher twist distribution amplitudes of
baryon to the leading conformal spin are included in the sum rules for
transition form factors. Our results indicate that the higher twist
distribution amplitudes almost have no influences on the transition form
factors retaining the heavy quark spin symmetry, while such corrections can
result in significant impacts on the form factors breaking the heavy quark spin
symmetry. Two phenomenological models (COZ and FZOZ) for the wave function of
baryon are also employed in the sum rules for a comparison, which can
give rise to the form factors approximately 5 times larger than that in terms
of conformal expansion. Utilizing the form factors calculated in LCSR, we then
perform a careful study on the decay rate, polarization asymmetry and
forward-backward asymmetry, with respect to the decays of , .Comment: 38 pages, 15 figures, some typos are corrected and more references
are adde
Nonleptonic decays to , and other final states in Factorization
We consider nonleptonic Cabibbo--allowed decays in the
factorization approximation. We calculate nonleptonic decays of the type and relative to
and where we include among the
pseudoscalar states(P) and the vector states(V) the newly discovered
resonances, and . In the ratio of decays to
and relative to the decays to these states,
the poorly known decay constants of and cancel leading
to predictions that can shed light on the nature of these new states. In
general, we predict the decays to be larger than the corresponding
decays and in particular we find the branching ratio for can be between four to five times the branching ratio
for . This enhancement of branching
ratios follows primarily from the fact that more partial waves contribute in
decays than in decays. Our predictions are largely
independent of model calculations of hadronic inputs like form factors and
decay constants.Comment: 16 pages LaTe
Size Doesn't Matter: Towards a More Inclusive Philosophy of Biology
notes: As the primary author, O’Malley drafted the paper, and gathered and analysed data (scientific papers and talks). Conceptual analysis was conducted by both authors.publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticlePhilosophers of biology, along with everyone else, generally perceive life to fall into two broad categories, the microbes and macrobes, and then pay most of their attention to the latter. ‘Macrobe’ is the word we propose for larger life forms, and we use it as part of an argument for microbial equality. We suggest that taking more notice of microbes – the dominant life form on the planet, both now and throughout evolutionary history – will transform some of the philosophy of biology’s standard ideas on ontology, evolution, taxonomy and biodiversity. We set out a number of recent developments in microbiology – including biofilm formation, chemotaxis, quorum sensing and gene transfer – that highlight microbial capacities for cooperation and communication and break down conventional thinking that microbes are solely or primarily single-celled organisms. These insights also bring new perspectives to the levels of selection debate, as well as to discussions of the evolution and nature of multicellularity, and to neo-Darwinian understandings of evolutionary mechanisms. We show how these revisions lead to further complications for microbial classification and the philosophies of systematics and biodiversity. Incorporating microbial insights into the philosophy of biology will challenge many of its assumptions, but also give greater scope and depth to its investigations
Genetic loci associated with prevalent and incident myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium
Background
Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple genomic loci associated with coronary artery disease, but most are common variants in non-coding regions that provide limited information on causal genes and etiology of the disease. To overcome the limited scope
that common variants provide, we focused our investigation on low-frequency and rare
sequence variations primarily residing in coding regions of the genome.
Methods and results
Using samples of individuals of European ancestry from ten cohorts within the Cohorts for
Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, both crosssectional and prospective analyses were conducted to examine associations between
genetic variants and myocardial infarction (MI), coronary heart disease (CHD), and allcause mortality following these events. For prevalent events, a total of 27,349 participants of
European ancestry, including 1831 prevalent MI cases and 2518 prevalent CHD cases were
used. For incident cases, a total of 55,736 participants of European ancestry were included
(3,031 incident MI cases and 5,425 incident CHD cases). There were 1,860 all-cause
deaths among the 3,751 MI and CHD cases from six cohorts that contributed to the analysis
of all-cause mortality. Single variant and gene-based analyses were performed separately
in each cohort and then meta-analyzed for each outcome. A low-frequency intronic variant
(rs988583) in PLCL1 was significantly associated with prevalent MI (OR = 1.80, 95% confidence interval: 1.43, 2.27; P = 7.12
Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19
Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease
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