Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Upstream Solutions: Does the Supplemental Security Income Program Reduce Disability in the Elderly?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72843/1/j.1468-0009.2007.00512.x.pd

HIV Drug Resistance in Adults Receiving Early vs. Delayed Antiretroviral Therapy: HPTN 052

Introduction: We evaluated HIV drug resistance in adults who received early vs. delayed antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a multinational trial [HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052, enrollment 2005-2010]. In HPTN 052, 1763 index participants were randomized to start ART at a CD4 cell count of 350-550 cells/mm 3 (early ART arm) or 1000 copies/mL >24 weeks after ART initiation. Drug resistance testing was performed for pretreatment (baseline) and failure samples from participants with virologic failure. Results: HIV genotyping results were obtained for 211/249 participants (128 early ART arm and 83 delayed ART arm) with virologic failure. Drug resistance was detected in 4.7% of participants at baseline; 35.5% had new resistance at failure. In univariate analysis, the frequency of new resistance at failure was lower among participants in the early ART arm (compared with delayed ART arm, P = 0.06; compared with delayed ART arm with ART initiation before May 2011, P = 0.032). In multivariate analysis, higher baseline viral load (P = 0.0008) and ART regimen (efavirenz/lamivudine/zidovudine compared with other regimens, P = 0.024) were independently associated with higher risk of new resistance at failure. Conclusions: In HPTN 052, the frequency of new drug resistance at virologic failure was lower in adults with early ART initiation. The main factor associated with reduced drug resistance with early ART was lower baseline viral load

Journeys from quantum optics to quantum technology

Sir Peter Knight is a pioneer in quantum optics which has now grown to an important branch of modern physics to study the foundations and applications of quantum physics. He is leading an effort to develop new technologies from quantum mechanics. In this collection of essays, we recall the time we were working with him as a postdoc or a PhD student and look at how the time with him has influenced our research

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Haptoglobin binds the anti-atherogenic protein Apolipoprotein E: impairment of the apolipoprotein E stimulation on both the enzyme lecithin-cholesterol acyl-transferase activity and the cholesterol uptake by hepatocytes

Haptoglobin (Hpt) binds the Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), and impairs its stimulation on lecithin:cholesterol acyl-transferase (LCAT), an enzyme playing a major role in the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). The Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), like ApoA-I, promotes different steps of RCT, including LCAT stimulation. ApoE contains aminoacid sequences which are homologous to the ApoA-I region bound by Hpt and involved in the interaction with LCAT. Therefore Hpt was expected to bind also ApoE, and inhibit the ApoE stimulatory effect on LCAT. Western Blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments demonstrated that the Hpt subunit  actually binds ApoE. The Hpt affinity for ApoE was higher than that for ApoA-I. High ratios of Hpt with either apolipoprotein, as those associated with the acute phase of inflammation, inhibited in vitro ApoE in stimulating the cholesterol esterification activity of LCAT. Hpt also impaired human hepatoblastoma-derived cells in uptaking 3H-cholesterol from proteoliposomes containing ApoE or ApoA-I. We suggest that the interaction between Hpt and ApoE represents a mechanism by which inflammation affects atherosclerosis progression. Hpt might influence ApoE function in processes different from RCT

Radiolytic H2 production on Noachian Mars: Implications for habitability and atmospheric warming

Protected from harmful radiation, subfreezing temperatures, and low pressures, subsurface rock-hosted habitats provide potentially sustainable refugia for microbial ecosystems inside small rocky planets, such as Mars. For many chemolithotrophic communities on Earth, water–rock alteration reactions have been shown to produce the key electron donors and acceptors necessary to sustain microbial life on geologic timescales. Here we quantitatively demonstrate that radiolysis likely generated concentrations of dissolved H2 capable of sustaining microbial communities in the subsurface of Noachian Mars (3.7–4.1 Gyr ago). When considering an environment with H2O groundwater, dissolved H2 concentrations reach up to ∼55 mM in a cold early Mars climate scenario and ∼35 mM in a warm early Mars climate scenario; whereas when considering an environment with eutectic NaCl brine groundwater, dissolved H2 concentrations reach up to ∼85 mM in a cold early Mars climate scenario and ∼45 mM in a warm early Mars climate scenario. Specifically within the subsurface habitable zone, dissolved H2 concentrations range from ∼50–55 mM for a cold climate scenario with H2O groundwater. For a warm climate scenario with H2O groundwater, dissolved H2 concentrations within the subsurface habitable zone range from ∼1–30 mM. For a cold climate scenario with eutectic NaCl brine groundwater, dissolved H2 concentrations within the subsurface habitable zone range from ∼65–85 mM. For a warm climate scenario with eutectic NaCl brine groundwater, dissolved H2 concentrations within the subsurface habitable zone range from ∼1-40 mM. Radiolysis likely produced [1.3–4.8] × 1010 moles H2 per year globally during the Noachian depending on the assumed porosity and groundwater composition. Radiolytic H2, and CH4 derived from radiolytic H2, can be locked in hybrid clathrate hydrates within the cryosphere and released by large impacts, volcanism, or obliquity variations. This process could warm the Noachian climate to above-freezing temperatures, and we predict that ∼1–8 warming events would be possible during the Noachian and Hesperian solely from radiolytically produced H2. We demonstrate that the region immediately beneath the cryosphere, termed the subcryospheric highly-fractured zone (SHZ), likely contained dissolved H2 concentrations and temperatures suitable for life regardless of the background climate scenario, making it the most consistently habitable environment on ancient Mars in terms of reductant availability. Material from this zone can be exposed by faulting and in the ejecta and uplifts of impacts, making the SHZ a crucial astrobiological target for testing the subsurface biosphere hypothesis