Single chargino production via gluon-gluon fusion in a supersymmetric theory with an explicit R-parity violation

We studied the production of single chargino$\tilde{\chi}_1^{\pm}$ accompanied by $\mu^{\mp}$ lepton via gluon-gluon fusion at the LHC. The numerical analysis of their production rates is carried out in the mSUGRA scenario with some typical parameter sets. The results show that the cross sections of the $\tilde{\chi}_1^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}$ productions via gluon-gluon collision are in the order of $1 \sim 10^{2}$ femto barn quantitatively at the CERN LHC, and can be competitive with production mechanism via quark-antiquark annihilation process.Comment: LaTex file, 18 pages, 4 EPS file

Minimal gauge origin of baryon triality and flavorful signatures at the LHC

Baryon triality (B3) is a Z3 discrete symmetry that can protect the proton from decay. Although its realization does not require supersymmetry, it is particularly appealing in the supersymmetry as an alternative to the popular R-parity. We discuss the issues in gauging B3, and present the minimal supersymmetric model with B3 as the remnant discrete symmetry of a TeV scale U(1) gauge symmetry. A flavor-dependent U(1) charge is necessary to achieve this, and it results in very distinguishable and flavorful predictions for the LHC experiments. We find a complementarity between a 2-lepton sneutrino resonance and a 4-lepton Z' resonance in the supersymmetry search. In addition, we introduce baryon tetrality (B4), which would play an equivalent role if there are four fermion generations.Comment: Version to appear in PL

Isatuximab plus carfilzomib/dexamethasone versus carfilzomib/dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: IKEMA Phase III study design

Although the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma has improved dramatically over the past decade, the disease remains incurable; therefore, additional therapies are needed. Novel combination therapies incorporating monoclonal antibodies have shown significant promise. Here we describe the design of a Phase III study (NCT03275285, IKEMA), which is evaluating isatuximab plus carfilzomib and low-dose dexamethasone, versus carfilzomib/dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The primary end point is progression-free survival. Responses are being determined by an independent review committee using 2016 International Myeloma Working Group criteria, and safety will be assessed throughout. The first patient was recruited in November 2017, and the last patient was recruited in March 2019; 302 patients have been randomized, and the study is ongoing. / Clinical trial registration: NCT0327528

An overview of treatment options for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and renal impairment

Renal impairment (RI) is a relatively common complication of multiple myeloma, which increases in frequency as disease becomes more advanced and recovery of renal function becomes less likely as patients progress through lines of therapy. Clinical trials in the relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) setting have not uniformly included patients with RI or robustly reported their outcomes. Here, we review existing data among patients with RI and RRMM across drug classes (including immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, and exportin-1 inhibitor) to provide an improved understanding of available treatment options for this important population. We highlight data from pivotal clinical trials, including data relating to renal response (as defined by the International Myeloma Working Group) and discuss real-world experiences in patients with RI, where applicable. Despite substantial advances in RRMM treatment, the presence of RI remains associated with reduced overall survival. Consistent inclusion of patients with RI, and uniform reporting of their outcomes, should be encouraged in future prospective trials of treatments for RRMM

Interplay of Mre11 Nuclease with Dna2 plus Sgs1 in Rad51-Dependent Recombinational Repair

The Mre11/Rad50/Xrs2 complex initiates IR repair by binding to the end of a double-strand break, resulting in 5′ to 3′ exonuclease degradation creating a single-stranded 3′ overhang competent for strand invasion into the unbroken chromosome. The nuclease(s) involved are not well understood. Mre11 encodes a nuclease, but it has 3′ to 5′, rather than 5′ to 3′ activity. Furthermore, mutations that inactivate only the nuclease activity of Mre11 but not its other repair functions, mre11-D56N and mre11-H125N, are resistant to IR. This suggests that another nuclease can catalyze 5′ to 3′ degradation. One candidate nuclease that has not been tested to date because it is encoded by an essential gene is the Dna2 helicase/nuclease. We recently reported the ability to suppress the lethality of a dna2Δ with a pif1Δ. The dna2Δ pif1Δ mutant is IR-resistant. We have determined that dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-D56N and dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-H125N strains are equally as sensitive to IR as mre11Δ strains, suggesting that in the absence of Dna2, Mre11 nuclease carries out repair. The dna2Δ pif1Δ mre11-D56N triple mutant is complemented by plasmids expressing Mre11, Dna2 or dna2K1080E, a mutant with defective helicase and functional nuclease, demonstrating that the nuclease of Dna2 compensates for the absence of Mre11 nuclease in IR repair, presumably in 5′ to 3′ degradation at DSB ends. We further show that sgs1Δ mre11-H125N, but not sgs1Δ, is very sensitive to IR, implicating the Sgs1 helicase in the Dna2-mediated pathway

Fractal analysis of Xylella fastidiosa biofilm formation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)We have investigated the growth process of Xylella fastidiosa biofilms inoculated on a glass. The size and the distance between biofilms were analyzed by optical images; a fractal analysis was carried out using scaling concepts and atomic force microscopy images. We observed that different biofilms show similar fractal characteristics, although morphological variations can be identified for different biofilm stages. Two types of structural patterns are suggested from the observed fractal dimensions D(f). In the initial and final stages of biofilm formation, D(f) is 2.73 + 0.06 and 2.68 + 0.06, respectively, while in the maturation stage, D(f) = 2.57 + 0.08. These values suggest that the biofilm growth can be understood as an Eden model in the former case, while diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) seems to dominate the maturation stage. Changes in the correlation length parallel to the surface were also observed; these results were correlated with the biofilm matrix formation, which can hinder nutrient diffusion and thus create conditions to drive DLA growth. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3173172]1062Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)FAPESP [04/14576-2, 04/09132-8

An A4 flavor model for quarks and leptons in warped geometry

We propose a spontaneous A4 flavor symmetry breaking scheme implemented in a warped extra dimensional setup to explain the observed pattern of quark and lepton masses and mixings. The main advantages of this choice are the explanation of fermion mass hierarchies by wave function overlaps, the emergence of tribimaximal neutrino mixing and zero quark mixing at the leading order and the absence of tree-level gauge mediated flavor violations. Quark mixing is induced by the presence of bulk flavons, which allow for cross-brane interactions and a cross-talk between the quark and neutrino sectors, realizing the spontaneous symmetry breaking pattern A4 --> nothing first proposed in [X.G.\,He, Y.Y.\,Keum, R.R.\,Volkas, JHEP{0604}, 039 (2006)]. We show that the observed quark mixing pattern can be explained in a rather economical way, including the CP violating phase, with leading order cross-interactions, while the observed difference between the smallest CKM entries V_{ub} and V_{td} must arise from higher order corrections. We briefly discuss bounds on the Kaluza-Klein scale implied by flavor changing neutral current processes in our model and show that the residual little CP problem is milder than in flavor anarchic models.Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures; version published in JHE