Sneutrino Inflation with Asymmetric Dark Matter

The asymmetric dark matter scenario is known to give an interesting solution for the cosmic coincidence problem between baryon and dark matter densities. In the scenario, the dark matter asymmetry, which is translated to the dark matter density in the present universe, is transferred from the B-L asymmetry generated in the early universe. On the other hand, the generation of the B-L asymmetry is simply assumed, though many mechanisms for the generation are expected to be consistent with the scenario. We show that the generation of the asymmetry in the sneutrino inflation scenario works similarly to the asymmetric dark matter scenario, because the non-renormalizable operator which translates the B-L asymmetry to the dark matter asymmetry is naturally obtained by integrating right-handed neutrinos out. As a result, important issues concerning cosmology (inflation, the mass density of dark matter, and the baryon asymmetry of the universe) as well as neutrino masses and mixing have a unified origin, namely, the right-handed neutrinos.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; v2: reference added, Fig. 3 changed and explanation added; v3: version accepted for publication in PR

Effects of HF content in the (FH)ₙF⁻anion on the formation of ionic plastic crystal phases of N-ethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium and N,N-dimethylpyrrolidinium fluorohydrogenate salts

Fluorohydrogenate salts based on N-ethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (EMPyr(FH)ₙF) and N, N-dimethylpyrrolidinium (DMPyr(FH)ₙF) cations were synthesized, and the effects of the HF content n in EMPyr(FH)ₙF (1.0 ≤ n ≤ 2.3) and DMPyr(FH)ₙF (1.0 ≤ n ≤ 2.0) on their thermal and structural properties were discussed, focusing on the characterization of ionic plastic crystal (IPC) phases. Several solid phases (IPC (I) and IPC (II) phases, and crystal phases of EMPyr(FH)₁F, EMPyr(FH)₂F, and EMPyr(FH)₃F) are observed in the EMPyr(FH)ₙF system. The IPC (I) phase has an NaCl-type structure and is composed of EMPyr⁺ cations and (FH)ₙF⁻ (n = 1, 2, and 3) anions randomly occupying the anion positions in the lattice over a wide range of n values in (FH)ₙF⁻. The melting point of EMPyr(FH)ₙF in the range 1.8 ≤ n ≤ 2.3 is maximal at n = 2.0, whereas it increases with a decrease in n in the range 1.0 ≤ n ≤ 1.2. Furthermore, in the range 1.3 ≤ n ≤ 1.7, the solid phase is regarded as the IPC phase (IPC (II)), and their melting points are nearly constant (260–270 K). In the DMPyr(FH)ₙF system, the IPC (I′) phase and crystal phases of DMPyr(FH)1F and DMPyr(FH)₂F were observed. Although the IPC (I′) phase has an NaCl-type structure, similar to the IPC (I) phase of EMPyr(FH)ₙF, it has higher ordering compared to the IPC (I) phase. The melting point of DMPyr(FH)ₙF increases monotonously with decreasing n but disappears in the small n region where the salt decomposes below the melting point

Comparison between partial ulnar and intercostal nerve transfers for reconstructing elbow flexion in patients with upper brachial plexus injuries

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There have been several reports that partial ulnar transfer (PUNT) is preferable for reconstructing elbow flexion in patients with upper brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) compared with intercostal nerve transfer (ICNT). The purpose of this study was to compare the recovery of elbow flexion between patients subjected to PUNT and patients subjected to ICNT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixteen patients (13 men and three women) with BPIs for whom PUNT (eight patients) or ICNT (eight patients) had been performed to restore elbow flexion function were studied. The time required in obtaining M1, M3 (Medical Research Council scale grades recovery) for elbow flexion and a full range of elbow joint movement against gravity with the wrist and fingers extended maximally and the outcomes of a manual muscle test (MMT) for elbow flexion were examined in both groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no significant differences between the PUNT and ICNT groups in terms of the age of patients at the time of surgery or the interval between injury and surgery. There were significantly more injured nerve roots in the ICNT group (mean 3.6) than in the PUNT group (mean 2.1) (<it>P </it>= 0.0006). The times required to obtain grades M1 and M3 in elbow flexion were significantly shorter in the PUNT group than in the ICNT group (<it>P </it>= 0.04 for M1 and <it>P </it>= 0.002 for M3). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the time required to obtain full flexion of the elbow joint with maximally extended fingers and wrist or in the final MMT scores for elbow flexion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PUNT is technically easy, not associated with significant complications, and provides rapid recovery of the elbow flexion. However, separation of elbow flexion from finger and wrist motions needed more time in the PUNT group than in the ICNT group. Although the final mean MMT score for elbow flexion in the PUNT group was greater than in the ICNT group, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups.</p

Improving Compound–Protein Interaction Prediction by Self-Training with Augmenting Negative Samples

Identifying compound-protein interactions (CPIs) is crucial for drug discovery. Since experimentally validating CPIs is often time-consuming and costly, computational approaches are expected to facilitate the process. Rapid growths of available CPI databases have accelerated the development of many machine-learning methods for CPI predictions. However, their performance, particularly their generalizability against external data, often suffers from a data imbalance attributed to the lack of experimentally validated inactive (negative) samples. In this study, we developed a self-training method for augmenting both credible and informative negative samples to improve the performance of models impaired by data imbalances. The constructed model demonstrated higher performance than those constructed with other conventional methods for solving data imbalances, and the improvement was prominent for external datasets. Moreover, examination of the prediction score thresholds for pseudo-labeling during self-training revealed that augmenting the samples with ambiguous prediction scores is beneficial for constructing a model with high generalizability. The present study provides guidelines for improving CPI predictions on real-world data, thus facilitating drug discovery

Nano-artifact metrics based on random collapse of resist

Artifact metrics is an information security technology that uses the intrinsic characteristics of a physical object for authentication and clone resistance. Here, we demonstrate nano-artifact metrics based on silicon nanostructures formed via an array of resist pillars that randomly collapse when exposed to electron-beam lithography. The proposed technique uses conventional and scalable lithography processes, and because of the random collapse of resist, the resultant structure has extremely fine-scale morphology with a minimum dimension below 10 nm, which is less than the resolution of current lithography capabilities. By evaluating false match, false non-match and clone-resistance rates, we clarify that the nanostructured patterns based on resist collapse satisfy the requirements for high-performance security applications

Ibandronate Suppresses Changes in Apatite Orientation and Young's Modulus Caused by Estrogen Deficiency in Rat Vertebrae

Bone material quality is important for evaluating the mechanical integrity of diseased and/or medically treated bones. However, compared to the knowledge accumulated regarding changes in bone mass, our understanding of the quality of bone material is lacking. In this study, we clarified the changes in bone material quality mainly characterized by the preferential orientation of the apatite c-axis associated with estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis, and their prevention using ibandronate (IBN), a nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate. IBN effectively prevented bone loss and degradation of whole bone strength in a dose-dependent manner. The estrogen-deficient condition abnormally increased the degree of apatite orientation along the craniocaudal axis in which principal stress is applied; IBN at higher doses played a role in maintaining the normal orientation of apatite but not at lower doses. The bone size-independent Young's modulus along the craniocaudal axis of the anterior cortical shell of the vertebra showed a significant and positive correlation with apatite orientation; therefore, the craniocaudal Young’s modulus abnormally increased under estrogen-deficient conditions, despite a significant decrease in volumetric bone mineral density. However, the abnormal increase in craniocaudal Young's modulus did not compensate for the degradation of whole bone mechanical properties due to the bone loss. In conclusion, it was clarified that changes in the material quality, which are hidden in bone mass evaluation, occur with estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis and IBN treatment. Here, IBN was shown to be a beneficial drug that suppresses abnormal changes in bone mechanical integrity caused by estrogen deficiency at both the whole bone and material levels.Ishimoto T., Saito M., Ozasa R., et al. Ibandronate Suppresses Changes in Apatite Orientation and Young's Modulus Caused by Estrogen Deficiency in Rat Vertebrae. Calcified Tissue International, 110, 6, 736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-021-00940-2