Rare B Decays with a HyperCP Particle of Spin One

In light of recent experimental information from the CLEO, BaBar, KTeV, and Belle collaborations, we investigate some consequences of the possibility that a light spin-one particle is responsible for the three Sigma^+ -> p mu^+ mu^- events observed by the HyperCP experiment. In particular, allowing the new particle to have both vector and axial-vector couplings to ordinary fermions, we systematically study its contributions to various processes involving b-flavored mesons, including B-Bbar mixing as well as leptonic, inclusive, and exclusive B decays. Using the latest experimental data, we extract bounds on its couplings and subsequently estimate upper limits for the branching ratios of a number of B decays with the new particle. This can serve to guide experimental searches for the particle in order to help confirm or refute its existence.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; discussion on spin-0 case modified, few errors corrected, main conclusions unchange

Inhibiting mevalonate pathway enzymes increases stromal cell resilience to a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin

Animal health depends on the ability of immune cells to kill invading pathogens, and on the resilience of tissues to tolerate the presence of pathogens. Trueperella pyogenes causes tissue pathology in many mammals by secreting a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin, pyolysin (PLO), which targets stromal cells. Cellular cholesterol is derived from squalene, which is synthesized via the mevalonate pathway enzymes, including HMGCR, FDPS and FDFT1. The present study tested the hypothesis that inhibiting enzymes in the mevalonate pathway to reduce cellular cholesterol increases the resilience of stromal cells to PLO. We first verified that depleting cellular cholesterol with methyl-β-cyclodextrin increased the resilience of stromal cells to PLO. We then used siRNA to deplete mevalonate pathway enzyme gene expression, and used pharmaceutical inhibitors, atorvastatin, alendronate or zaragozic acid to inhibit the activity of HMGCR, FDPS and FDFT1, respectively. These approaches successfully reduced cellular cholesterol abundance, but mevalonate pathway enzymes did not affect cellular resilience equally. Inhibiting FDFT1 was most effective, with zaragozic acid reducing the impact of PLO on cell viability. The present study provides evidence that inhibiting FDFT1 increases stromal cell resilience to a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin

The Virtual-Spine Platform—Acquiring, visualizing, and analyzing individual sitting behavior

Back pain is a serious medical problem especially for those people sitting over long periods during their daily work. Here we present a system to help users monitoring and examining their sitting behavior. The Virtual-Spine Platform (VSP) is an integrated system consisting of a real-time body position monitoring module and a data visualization module to provide individualized, immediate, and accurate sitting behavior support. It provides a comprehensive spine movement analysis as well as accumulated data visualization to demonstrate behavior patterns within a certain period. The two modules are discussed in detail focusing on the design of the VSP system with adequate capacity for continuous monitoring and a web-based interactive data analysis method to visualize and compare the sitting behavior of different persons. The data was collected in an experiment with a small group of subjects. Using this method, the behavior of five subjects was evaluated over a working day, enabling inferences and suggestions for sitting improvements. The results from the accumulated data module were used to elucidate the basic function of body position recognition of the VSP. Finally, an expert user study was conducted to evaluate VSP and support future developments

Clostridium difficile infection.

Infection of the colon with the Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile is potentially life threatening, especially in elderly people and in patients who have dysbiosis of the gut microbiota following antimicrobial drug exposure. C. difficile is the leading cause of health-care-associated infective diarrhoea. The life cycle of C. difficile is influenced by antimicrobial agents, the host immune system, and the host microbiota and its associated metabolites. The primary mediators of inflammation in C. difficile infection (CDI) are large clostridial toxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), and, in some bacterial strains, the binary toxin CDT. The toxins trigger a complex cascade of host cellular responses to cause diarrhoea, inflammation and tissue necrosis - the major symptoms of CDI. The factors responsible for the epidemic of some C. difficile strains are poorly understood. Recurrent infections are common and can be debilitating. Toxin detection for diagnosis is important for accurate epidemiological study, and for optimal management and prevention strategies. Infections are commonly treated with specific antimicrobial agents, but faecal microbiota transplants have shown promise for recurrent infections. Future biotherapies for C. difficile infections are likely to involve defined combinations of key gut microbiota

Biomarker Testing to Estimate Under-Reported Heavy Alcohol Consumption by Persons with HIV Initiating ART in Uganda

Alcohol affects the transmission and treatment of HIV, yet may be under-reported in resource-limited settings. We compared self-reported alcohol consumption with levels of plasma carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT), a biomarker of heavy alcohol consumption, in persons initiating antiretroviral therapy in Uganda. Almost seven percent (6.7%) of persons reporting abstaining and 10% reporting consuming 1–40 drinks in the prior month tested positive for %CDT, and actual under-report may be higher due to low sensitivity of %CDT. These results suggest likely under-report in those reporting abstaining and current drinking. Improved identification of heavy alcohol consumption is needed for research and clinical purposes

Differences in pain, function and coping in Multidimensional Pain Inventory subgroups of chronic back pain: a one-group pretest-posttest study

Contains fulltext : 97819.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Patients with non-specific back pain are not a homogeneous group but heterogeneous with regard to their bio-psycho-social impairments. This study examined a sample of 173 highly disabled patients with chronic back pain to find out how the three subgroups based on the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI) differed in their response to an inpatient pain management program. METHODS: Subgroup classification was conducted by cluster analysis using MPI subscale scores at entry into the program. At program entry and at discharge after four weeks, participants completed the MPI, the MOS Short Form-36 (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). Pairwise analyses of the score changes of the mentioned outcomes of the three MPI subgroups were performed using the Mann-Whitney-U-test for significance. RESULTS: Cluster analysis identified three MPI subgroups in this highly disabled sample: a dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed and an adaptive copers subgroup. The dysfunctional subgroup (29% of the sample) showed the highest level of depression in SF-36 mental health (33.4 +/- 13.9), the interpersonally distressed subgroup (35% of the sample) a modest level of depression (46.8 +/- 20.4), and the adaptive copers subgroup (32% of the sample) the lowest level of depression (57.8 +/- 19.1). Significant differences in pain reduction and improvement of mental health and coping were observed across the three MPI subgroups, i.e. the effect sizes for MPI pain reduction were: 0.84 (0.44-1.24) for the dysfunctional subgroup, 1.22 (0.86-1.58) for the adaptive copers subgroup, and 0.53 (0.24-0.81) for the interpersonally distressed subgroup (p = 0.006 for pairwise comparison). Significant score changes between subgroups concerning activities and physical functioning could not be identified. CONCLUSIONS: MPI subgroup classification showed significant differences in score changes for pain, mental health and coping. These findings underscore the importance of assessing individual differences to understand how patients adjust to chronic back pain

Geographical patterns in blood lead in relation to industrial emissions and traffic in Swedish children, 1978–2007

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Blood lead concentrations (B-Pb) were measured in 3 879 Swedish school children during the period 1978–2007. The objective was to study the effect of the proximity to lead sources based on the children's home and school location.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The children's home address and school location were geocoded and their proximity to a lead smelter and major roads was calculated using geographical information system (GIS) software. All the statistical analyses were carried out using means of generalized log-linear modelling, with natural-logarithm-transformed B-Pb, adjusted for sex, school year, lead-exposing hobby, country of birth and, in the periods 1988–1994 and 1995–2007, parents' smoking habits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The GIS analysis revealed that although the emission from the smelter and children's B-Pb levels had decreased considerably since 1978, proximity to the lead smelter continued to affect levels of B-Pb, even in recent years (geometric mean: near smelter: 22.90 μg/l; far from smelter 19.75 μg/l; p = 0.001). The analysis also revealed that proximity to major roads noticeably affected the children's B-Pb levels during the period 1978–1987 (geometric mean near major roads: 44.26 μg/l; far from roads: 38.32 μg/l; p = 0.056), due to the considerable amount of lead in petrol. This effect was, however, not visible after 1987 due to prohibition of lead in petrol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that proximity to the lead smelter still has an impact on the children's B-Pb levels. This is alarming since it could imply that living or working in the vicinity of a former lead source could pose a threat years after reduction of the emission. The analysis also revealed that urban children exposed to lead from traffic were only affected during the early period, when there were considerable amounts of lead in petrol, and that the prohibition of lead in petrol in later years led to reduced levels of lead in the blood of urban children.</p

Are acoustical parameters of begging call elements of thin-billed prions related to chick condition?

Chicks of burrowing petrels use begging calls to advertise their hunger levels when parents arrived at the nest. In a previous study, adult thin-billed prions Pachyptila belcheri responded to higher begging call rates of their single chick by regurgitating larger meals. We tested whether acoustic parameters of begging call elements may also be involved in signalling. To describe variation in begging, we determined begging session parameters, namely the duration, number of calls and the mean and maximum rate of calling. We then digitised calls and carried out a semi-automatic extraction of six acoustic parameters of call elements, including mean and maximum acoustic frequency, the length of call elements and the location of the maximum frequency and amplitude within calls. Chicks showed strong individual differences in all parameters. While the session parameters were correlated with body condition and with the meal size the chick received, none of the acoustic parameters were related to body condition and provisioning. A cross-fostering experiment showed the same pattern, as only session parameters changed related to an experimentally altered body condition, while acoustical cues appear to play no role in signalling hunger levels. We suggest that this may be explained by the absence of sibling competition in these birds. As parents do not need to decide which chick to feed, immediate information on condition at the time of adult arrival may not be required