Squeezed Fermions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Colliders

Large back-to-back correlations of observable fermion -- anti-fermion pairs are predicted to appear, if the mass of the fermions is modified in a thermalized medium. The back-to-back correlations of protons and anti-protons are experimentally observable in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions, similarly to the Andreev reflection of electrons off the boundary of a superconductor. While quantum statistics suppresses the probability of observing pairs of fermions with nearby momenta, the fermionic back-to-back correlations are positive and of similar strength to bosonic back-to-back correlations.Comment: LaTeX, ReVTeX 12 pages, uses epsf.sty, 2 eps figures, improved presentatio

Back-to-Back Correlations for Finite Expanding Fireballs

Back-to-Back Correlations of particle-antiparticle pairs are related to the in-medium mass-modification and squeezing of the quanta involved. They are predicted to appear when hot and dense hadronic matter is formed in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. The survival and magnitude of the Back-to-Back Correlations of boson-antiboson pairs generated by in-medium mass modifications are studied here in the case of a thermalized, finite-sized, spherically symmetric expanding medium. We show that the BBC signal indeed survives the finite-time emission, as well as the expansion and flow effects, with sufficient intensity to be observed at RHIC.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure

Testing the Resolving Power of 2-D K^+ K^+ Interferometry

Adopting a procedure previously proposed to quantitatively study two-dimensional pion interferometry, an equivalent 2-D chi^2 analysis was performed to test the resolving power of that method when applied to less favorable conditions, i.e., if no significant contribution from long lived resonances is expected, as in kaon interferometry. For that purpose, use is made of the preliminary E859 K^+ K^+ interferometry data from Si+Au collisions at 14.6 AGeV/c. As expected, less sensitivity is achieved in the present case, although it still is possible to distinguish two distinct decoupling geometries. The present analysis seems to favor scenarios with no resonance formation at the AGS energy range, if the preliminary K^+ K^+ data are confirmed. The possible compatibility of data with zero decoupling proper time interval, conjectured by the 3-D experimental analysis, is also investigated and is ruled out when considering more realistic dynamical models with expanding sources. These results, however, clearly evidence the important influence of the time emission interval on the source effective transverse dimensions. Furthermore, they strongly emphasize that the static Gaussian parameterization, commonly used to fit data, cannot be trusted under more realistic conditions, leading to distorted or even wrong interpretation of the source parameters!Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX, 4 Postscript figures include

SMEs Inventive Performance and Profitability in the Markets for Technology

This paper studies the inventive performance and profitability of small and medium sized firms (SMEs) that are “technology specialists” compared to the inventive performance and profitability of SMEs that are instead vertically-integrated. In this paper perspective, “technology specialists” are firms that specialize upstream in generating inventions and trade those inventions in disembodied form with other firms, usually through licensing agreements. Instead, vertically-integrated firms are those firms that both generate inventions and commercialize products incorporating those inventions. We argue that technology specialists achieve a higher inventive performance than vertically-integrated firms, since they can accumulate deeper and broader inventive experience, whilst keeping a more flexible organizational structure. These firms display a lower profitability though, due to the imperfections inherent in invention market transactions and the lower bargaining power caused by the lack of commercialization assets. The theoretical framework is tested through a cross-industry investigation on a sample of European SMEs. Implications for the viability of being a technology specialist as a strategy and for the development of markets for technology are discussed

Five year mortality and direct costs of care for people with diabetic foot complications are comparable to cancer.

BackgroundIn 2007, we reported a summary of data comparing diabetic foot complications to cancer. The purpose of this brief report was to refresh this with the best available data as they currently exist. Since that time, more reports have emerged both on cancer mortality and mortality associated with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), Charcot arthropathy, and diabetes-associated lower extremity amputation.MethodsWe collected data reporting 5-year mortality from studies published following 2007 and calculated a pooled mean. We evaluated data from DFU, Charcot arthropathy and lower extremity amputation. We dichotomized high and low amputation as proximal and distal to the ankle, respectively. This was compared with cancer mortality as reported by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.ResultsFive year mortality for Charcot, DFU, minor and major amputations were 29.0, 30.5, 46.2 and 56.6%, respectively. This is compared to 9.0% for breast cancer and 80.0% for lung cancer. 5 year pooled mortality for all reported cancer was 31.0%. Direct costs of care for diabetes in general was $237 billion in 2017. This is compared to$80 billion for cancer in 2015. As up to one-third of the direct costs of care for diabetes may be attributed to the lower extremity, these are also readily comparable.ConclusionDiabetic lower extremity complications remain enormously burdensome. Most notably, DFU and LEA appear to be more than just a marker of poor health. They are independent risk factors associated with premature death. While advances continue to improve outcomes of care for people with DFU and amputation, efforts should be directed at primary prevention as well as those for patients in diabetic foot ulcer remission to maximize ulcer-free, hospital-free and activity-rich days

A First Step for the Molecular Characterization of Neurological Involvement of Behçet Syndrome: an Italian Pivotal Study

Behçet syndrome (BS) is a vasculitis characterized by several clinical manifestations including the rare neurological involvement (neuro-BS, NBS). The aim of our pivotal study was to investigate the mutational status of several inflammation-related genes in a cohort of Italian patients with and without the neurological involvement (20 NBS vs 40 no-NBS patients). The preliminary in silico single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) selection and primer design were performed by NCBI Primer-Blast tool. Genomic DNA was isolated and amplified using PCR. PCR amplicons were sequenced and bioinformatically analysed. Twelve tagSNPs were selected and genotyped: ERAP1 rs30187, rs17482078, and rs27044; IL10 rs1800872 and rs1518111, IL12A rs17810546, IL23R rs17375018, IL23R-IL12RB2 rs924080, STAT4 rs7572482, CCR1 rs7616215, KLRC4 rs2617170, and UBAC2 rs3825427. ERAP1 and IL23R SNPs showed statistically significant higher frequencies in NBS group than no-NBS. ERAP1 rs30187 AA was more common in no-NBS patients (20.0% NBS vs 47.5% no-NBS; p < 0.05), while rs17482078 GA frequency was higher in NBS patients (55.0% NBS vs 22.5% no-NBS; p < 0.05, OR: 4.21). IL23R rs17375018 GG was more frequent in NBS group (65.0% NBS vs 40.0% no-NBS; p < 0.05), according to a previous finding. No other statistically significant differences were found. In conclusion, ERAP1 and IL23R SNPs were found associated with neurological involvement of BS. Additional and larger analyses were required to verify our preliminary findings

Direct digital design of PIDF controllers with ComPlex zeros for DC-DC buck converters

This paper presents a new direct digital design method for discrete proportional integral derivative PID + filter (PIDF) controllers employed in DC-DC buck converters. The considered controller structure results in a proper transfer function which has the advantage of being directly implementable by a microcontroller algorithm. Secondly, it can be written as an Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) digital filter. Thirdly, the further degree of freedom introduced by the low pass filter of the transfer function can be used to satisfy additional specifications. A new design procedure is proposed, which consists of the conjunction of the pole-zero cancellation method with an analytical design control methodology based on inversion formulae. These two methods are employed to reduce the negative effects introduced by the complex poles in the transfer function of the buck converter while exactly satisfying steady-state specifications on the tracking error and frequency domain requirements on the phase margin and on the gain crossover frequency. The proposed approach allows the designer to assign a closed-loop bandwidth without constraints imposed by the resonance frequency of the buck converter. The response under step variation of the reference value, and the disturbance rejection capability of the proposed control technique under load variations are also evaluated in real-time implementation by using the Arduino DUE board, and compared with other methods

TLR3 engagement induces IRF-3-dependent apoptosis in androgen-sensitive prostate cancer cells and inhibits tumour growth in vivo

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of highly conserved transmembrane proteins expressed in epithelial and immune cells that recognize pathogen associated molecular patterns. Besides their role in immune response against infections, numerous studies have shown an important role of different TLRs in cancer, indicating these receptors as potential targets for cancer therapy. We previously demonstrated that the activation of TLR3 by the synthetic double-stranded RNA analogue poly I:C induces apoptosis of androgen-sensitive prostate cancer (PCa) LNCaP cells and, much less efficiently, of the more aggressive PC3 cell line. Therefore, in this study we selected LNCaP cells to investigate the mechanism of TLR3-mediated apoptosis and the in vivo efficacy of poly I:C-based therapy. We show that interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF-3) signalling plays an essential role in TLR3-mediated apoptosis in LNCaP cells through the activation of the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. Interestingly, hardly any apoptosis was induced by poly I:C in normal prostate epithelial cells RWPE-1. We also demonstrate for the first time the direct anticancer effect of poly I:C as a single therapeutic agent in a well-established human androgen-sensitive PCa xenograft model, by showing that tumour growth is highly impaired in poly I:C-treated immunodeficient mice. Immunohistochemical analysis of PCa xenografts highlights the antitumour role of poly I:C in vivo both on cancer cells and, indirectly, on endothelial cells. Notably, we show the presence of TLR3 and IRF-3 in both human normal and PCa clinical samples, potentially envisaging poly I:C-based therapy for PCa

Quantum corrections for pion correlations involving resonance decays

A method is presented to include quantum corrections into the calculation of two-pion correlations for the case where particles originate from resonance decays. The technique uses classical information regarding the space-time points at which resonances are created. By evaluating a simple thermal model, the method is compared to semiclassical techniques that assume exponential decaying resonances moving along classical trajectories. Significant improvements are noted when the resonance widths are broad as compared to the temperature.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Triple SILAC identified progestin-independent and dependent PRA and PRB interacting partners in breast cancer

Progesterone receptor (PR) isoforms, PRA and PRB, act in a progesterone-independent and dependent manner to differentially modulate the biology of breast cancer cells. Here we show that the differences in PRA and PRB structure facilitate the binding of common and distinct protein interacting partners affecting the downstream signaling events of each PR-isoform. Tet-inducible HA-tagged PRA or HA-tagged PRB constructs were expressed in T47DC42 (PR/ER negative) breast cancer cells. Affinity purification coupled with stable isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) mass spectrometry technique was performed to comprehensively study PRA and PRB interacting partners in both unliganded and liganded conditions. To validate our findings, we applied both forward and reverse SILAC conditions to effectively minimize experimental errors. These datasets will be useful in investigating PRA- and PRB-specific molecular mechanisms and as a database for subsequent experiments to identify novel PRA and PRB interacting proteins that differentially mediated different biological functions in breast cancer