484 research outputs found
Gauged Discrete Symmetries and Proton Stability
We discuss the results of a search for anomaly free Abelian Z_N discrete
symmetries that lead to automatic R-parity conservation and prevents dangerous
higher-dimensional proton decay operators in simple extensions of the minimal
supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM) based on the left-right
symmetric group, the Pati-Salam group and SO(10). We require that the
superpotential for the models have enough structures to be able to give correct
symmetry breaking to MSSM and potentially realistic fermion masses. We find
viable models in each of the extensions and for all the cases, anomaly freedom
of the discrete symmetry restricts the number of generations.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; v2 : typos fixed, references adde
Direct and Indirect Detection of Dark Matter in D6 Flavor Symmetric Model
We study a fermionic dark matter in a non-supersymmetric extension of the
standard model with a family symmetry based on D6xZ2xZ2. In our model, the
final state of the dark matter annihilation is determined to be e+ e- by the
flavor symmetry, which is consistent with the PAMELA result. At first, we show
that our dark matter mass should be within the range of 230 GeV - 750 GeV in
the WMAP analysis combined with mu to e gamma constraint. Moreover we
simultaneously explain the experiments of direct and indirect detection, by
simply adding a gauge and D6 singlet real scalar field. In the direct detection
experiments, we show that the lighter dark matter mass ~ 230 GeV and the
lighter standard model Higgs boson ~ 115 GeV is in favor of the observed bounds
reported by CDMS II and XENON100. In the indirect detection experiments, we
explain the positron excess reported by PAMELA through the Breit-Wigner
enhancement mechanism. We also show that our model is consistent with no
antiproton excess suggested by PAMELA.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, accepted version for publication in
European Physical Journal
Video Capsule Retention in a Zenker Diverticulum
We report the case of a video capsule endoscope lodged within a Zenker diverticulum. The system that was equipped with a real-time viewer showed an unchanging image unlike esophageal or gastric mucosa, suggesting that the capsule was elsewhere. The presence of cervical discomfort suggested video capsule retention in a Zenker diverticulum. The capsule was removed endoscopically and reinserted using a hood-assisted endoscope and the procedure was completed
Strain Relaxation Mechanisms and Local Structural Changes in Si_{1-x}$Ge_{x} Alloys
In this work, we address issues pertinent to the understanding of the
structural and electronic properties of Si_{1-x} Ge_{x}alloys, namely, (i) how
does the lattice constant mismatch between bulk Si and bulk Ge manifests itself
in the alloy system? and (ii) what are the relevant strain release mechanisms?
To provide answers to these questions, we have carried out an in-depth study of
the changes in the local geometric and electronic structures arising from the
strain relaxation in Si_{1-x} Ge_{x} alloys using an ab initio molecular
dynamics scheme. The optimized lattice constant, while exhibiting a general
trend of linear dependence on the composition (Vegard's law), shows a negative
deviation from Vegard's law in the vicinity of x=0.5. We delineate the
mechanisms responsible for each one of the above features. We show that the
radial-strain relaxation through bond stretching is responsible for the overall
trend of linear dependence of the lattice constant on the composition. On the
other hand, the negative deviation from Vegard's law is shown to arise from the
angular-strain relaxation.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure
Repressing Anarchy in Neutrino Mass Textures
The recent results that is relatively large, of the order of
the previous upper bound, and the indications of a sizable deviation of
from the maximal value are in agreement with the predictions of
Anarchy in the lepton sector. The quark and charged lepton hierarchies can then
be reproduced in a SU(5) GUT context by attributing non-vanishing
charges, different for each family, only to the SU(5) tenplet states. The fact
that the observed mass hierarchies are stronger for up quarks than for down
quarks and charged leptons supports this idea. As discussed in the past, in the
flexible context of , different patterns of charges can
be adopted going from Anarchy to various types of hierarchy. We revisit this
approach by also considering new models and we compare all versions to the
present data. As a result we confirm that, by relaxing the extreme ansatz of
equal charges for all SU(5) pentaplets and singlets, better
agreement with the data than for Anarchy is obtained without increasing the
model complexity. We also present the distributions obtained in the different
models for the Dirac CP-violating phase. Finally we discuss the relative merits
of these simple models.Comment: v1: 12 pages, 3 figures; v2: 13 pages, 3 figures, text improved,
matches version accepted for publication; v3: submitted to add an
acknowledgment to a networ
Inhibition of APN/CD13 leads to suppressed progressive potential in ovarian carcinoma cells
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13), a 150-kDa metalloprotease, is a multifunctional cell surface aminopeptidase with ubiquitous expression. Recent studies have suggested that APN/CD13 plays an important role in tumor progression of several human malignancies. In the current study, we investigated the role of APN/CD13 in ovarian carcinoma (OVCA) progression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We first examined the expression of APN/CD13 at the protein level in a variety of OVCA cell lines and tissues. We subsequently investigated whether there was a correlation between APN/CD13 expression and invasive potential of various OVCA cell lines. Moreover, we investigated the function of APN/CD13 in OVCA cells using bestatin, an APN/CD13 inhibitor, or transfection of siRNA for APN/CD13.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We confirmed that APN/CD13 was expressed in OVCA tissues and cell lines to various extents. There was a positive correlation between APN/CD13 expression and migratory potential in various OVCA cell lines with accordingly enhanced secretion of endogenous MMP-2. Subsequently, we found a significant decrease in the proliferative and migratory abilities of OVCA cells after the addition of bestatin or the inhibition of APN/CD13 expression by siRNA. Furthermore, in an animal model, daily intraperitoneal administration of bestatin after inoculation of OVCA cells resulted in a decrease of peritoneal dissemination and in prolonged survival of nude mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current data indicate the possible involvement of APN/CD13 in the development of OVCA, and suggest that clinical use of bestatin may contribute to better prognosis for ovarian carcinoma patients.</p
Constraints from Solar and Reactor Neutrinos on Unparticle Long-Range Forces
We have investigated the impact of long-range forces induced by unparticle
operators of scalar, vector and tensor nature coupled to fermions in the
interpretation of solar neutrinos and KamLAND data. If the unparticle couplings
to the neutrinos are mildly non-universal, such long-range forces will not
factorize out in the neutrino flavour evolution. As a consequence large
deviations from the observed standard matter-induced oscillation pattern for
solar neutrinos would be generated. In this case, severe limits can be set on
the infrared fix point scale, Lambda_u, and the new physics scale, M, as a
function of the ultraviolet (d_UV) and anomalous (d) dimension of the
unparticle operator. For a scalar unparticle, for instance, assuming the
non-universality of the lepton couplings to unparticles to be of the order of a
few per mil we find that, for d_UV=3 and d=1.1, M is constrained to be M >
O(10^9) TeV (M > O(10^10) TeV) if Lambda_u= 1 TeV (10 TeV). For given values of
Lambda_u and d, the corresponding bounds on M for vector [tensor] unparticles
are approximately 100 [3/Sqrt(Lambda_u/TeV)] times those for the scalar case.
Conversely, these results can be translated into severe constraints on
universality violation of the fermion couplings to unparticle operators with
scales which can be accessible at future colliders.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes due to precision in numerical
factors and correction in figure labels. References added. Conclusions remain
unchange
Dark Matter from Minimal Flavor Violation
We consider theories of flavored dark matter, in which the dark matter
particle is part of a multiplet transforming nontrivially under the flavor
group of the Standard Model in a manner consistent with the principle of
Minimal Flavor Violation (MFV). MFV automatically leads to the stability of the
lightest state for a large number of flavor multiplets. If neutral, this
particle is an excellent dark matter candidate. Furthermore, MFV implies
specific patterns of mass splittings among the flavors of dark matter and
governs the structure of the couplings between dark matter and ordinary
particles, leading to a rich and predictive cosmology and phenomenology. We
present an illustrative phenomenological study of an effective theory of a
flavor SU(3)_Q triplet, gauge singlet scalar.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures; v2: references added, minor changes to collider
analysis, conclusions unchange
Constraints on Neutrino Oscillations Using 1258 Days of Super-Kamiokande Solar Neutrino Data
We report the result of a search for neutrino oscillations using precise
measurements of the recoil electron energy spectrum and zenith angle variations
of the solar neutrino flux from 1258 days of neutrino-electron scattering data
in Super-Kamiokande. The absence of significant zenith angle variation and
spectrum distortion places strong constraints on neutrino mixing and mass
difference in a flux-independent way. Using the Super-Kamiokande flux
measurement in addition, two allowed regions at large mixing are found.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Softening the Supersymmetric Flavor Problem in Orbifold GUTs
The infra-red attractive force of the bulk gauge interactions is applied to
soften the supersymmetric flavor problem in the orbifold SU(5) GUT of Kawamura.
Then this force aligns in the infra-red regime the soft supersymmetry breaking
terms out of their anarchical disorder at a fundamental scale, in such a way
that flavor-changing neutral currents as well as dangerous CP-violating phases
are suppressed at low energies. It is found that this dynamical alignment is
sufficiently good compared with the current experimental bounds, as long as the
diagonalization matrices of the Yukawa couplings are CKM-like.Comment: 15 pages,4 figure
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