Enhanced electroweak penguin amplitude in B-->VV decays

We discuss a novel electromagnetic penguin contribution to the transverse helicity amplitudes in B decays to two vector mesons, which is enhanced by two powers of mB/Lambda relative to the standard penguin amplitudes. This leads to unique polarization signatures in penguin-dominated decay modes such as B-->rho K* similar to polarization effects in the radiative decay B-->K*gamma, and offers new opportunities to probe the magnitude and chirality of flavour-changing neutral current couplings to photons.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

An Avoidance Principle with an Application to the Asymptotic Behaviour of Graded Local Cohomology

We present an Avoidance Principle for certain graded rings. As an application we fill a gap in the proof of a result by Brodmann, Rohrer and Sazeedeh about the antipolynomiality of the Hilbert-Samuel multiplicity of the graded components of the local cohomology modules of a finitely generated module over a Noetherian homogeneous ring with two-dimensional local base ring.Comment: 6 pages; to appear in Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra; corrected typo

Ab initio structure modeling of complex thin-film oxides: thermodynamical stability of TiC/thin-film alumina

We present an efficient and general method to identify promising candidate configurations for thin-film oxides and to determine structural characteristics of (metastable) thin-film structures using ab initio calculations. At the heart of this method is the complexity of the oxide bulk structure, from which a large number of thin films with structural building blocks, that is motifs, from metastable bulk oxide systems can be extracted. These span a coarse but well-defined network of initial configurations for which density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict and implement dramatic atomic relaxations in the corresponding, resulting thin-film candidates. The network of thin-film candidates (for various film thicknesses and stoichiometries) can be ordered according to their variation in ab initio total energy or in ab initio equilibrium Gibbs free energy. Analysis of the relaxed atomic structures for the most favored structures gives insight into the nature of stable and metastable thin-film oxides. We investigate ultrathin alumina nucleated on TiC as a model system to illustrate this method.Comment: Submitted to PRB; 16 pages, 11 figure

Correction to:Easy as (Happiness) Pie? A Critical Evaluation of a Popular Model of the Determinants of Well-Being (Journal of Happiness Studies, (2020), 21, 4, (1285-1301), 10.1007/s10902-019-00128-4)

In the original publication, the text (line 10) under the heading “3 Re‑examining the Numerical Estimates of the Effect of Genes and Circumstances” with sub heading “3.1 How Much Variance in Chronic Happiness Levels can be Explained by Genetic Factors?” has been published incorrectly

Easy as (Happiness) Pie? A Critical Evaluation of a Popular Model of the Determinants of Well-Being

An underlying principle behind much of the research in positive psychology is that individuals have considerable leeway to increase their levels of happiness. In an influential article that is frequently cited in support of such claims, Lyubomirsky et al. (Rev Gen Psychol 9:111–131, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111) put forward a model (subsequently popularized under the name of the “happiness pie”) in which approximately 50% of individual differences in happiness are due to genetic factors and 10% to life circumstances, leaving 40% available to be changed via volitional activities. We re-examined Lyubomirsky et al.’s claims and found several apparent deficiencies in their chain of arguments on both the empirical and the conceptual level. We conclude that there is little empirical evidence for the variance decomposition suggested by the “happiness pie,” and that even if it were valid, it is not necessarily informative with respect to the question of whether individuals can truly exert substantial influence over their own chronic happiness level. We believe that our critical re-examination of Lyubomirsky et al.’s seminal article offers insights into some common misconceptions and pitfalls of scientific inference, and we hope that it might contribute to the construction of a more rigorous and solid empirical basis for the field of positive psychology

Near‐infrared fluorescent image‐guided lymph node dissection compared with locoregional lymphadenectomies in dogs with mast cell tumours

Objectives: Near-infrared fluorescent imaging has been described for intraoperative mapping of the draining lymph nodes in human cancer and canine oral tumours. The aim of this study was to retrospectively describe the results of lymphadenectomies in dogs with mast cell tumours treated either by standard unguided locoregional lymph node dissection or near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection. Methods: Medical records between 2012 and 2020 were reviewed for dogs that were presented for surgical resection of mast cell tumours with concurrent lymphadenectomy either with (near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection) or without near-infrared fluorescence image guidance (lymph node dissection). The number and location of lymph nodes planned for surgical dissection and actually dissected nodes, presence of metastases and perioperative complications were recorded. Results: Thirty-five patients underwent near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection, and 43 lymph node dissections. The number of nodes preoperatively planned for resection were 70 and 68, respectively. Fifty-eight of those (83%) were identified during near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection procedures, compared with 50 (74%) during lymph node dissection. near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection resulted in resection of additional fluorescent nodes not corresponding to locoregional nodes in 15 of 35 dogs. Using near-infrared fluorescent image-guided lymph node dissection, we identified at least one metastatic node in 68% of dogs (24 of 35) compared with 33% (14 of 43) when lymph node dissection was used without imaging. No complications related to near-infrared fluorescent imaging were reported. Clinical significance: The present study suggests that near-infrared imaging is a promising technique for intraoperative detection of the draining lymph nodes in dogs with mast cell tumours. Further validation of the technique is required to assess if near-infrared fluorescent imaging can detect the true sentinel lymph node

Short stature diagnosis and referral

The "360° GH in Europe" meeting, which examined various aspects of GH diseases, was held in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2016. The Merck KGaA (Germany) funded meeting comprised three sessions entitled "Short Stature Diagnosis and Referral, " "Optimizing Patient Management, " and "Managing Transition." Each session had three speaker presentations, followed by a discussion period, and is reported as a manuscript, authored by the speakers. The first session examined current processes of diagnosis and referral by endocrine specialists for pediatric patients with short stature. Requirements for referral vary widely, by country and by patient characteristics such as age. A balance must be made to ensure eligible patients get referred while healthcare systems are not over-burdened by excessive referrals. Late referral and diagnosis of non-GH deficiency conditions can result in increased morbidity and mortality. The consequent delays in making a diagnosis may compromise the effectiveness of GH treatment. Algorithms for growth monitoring and evaluation of skeletal disproportions can improve identification of non-GH deficiency conditions. Performance and validation of guidelines for diagnosis of GH deficiency have not been sufficiently tested. Provocative tests for investigation of GH deficiency remain equivocal, with insufficient information on variations due to patient characteristics, and cutoff values for definition differ not only by country but also by the assay used. When referring and diagnosing causes of short stature in pediatric patients, clinicians need to rely on many factors, but the most essential is clinical experience