Antiproton-Proton Channels in J/psi Decays

The recent measurements by the BES Collaboration of J/psi decays into a photon and a proton-antiproton pair indicate a strong enhancement at the proton-antiproton threshold not observed in the decays into a neutral pion and a proton-antiproton pair. Is this enhancement due to a proton-antiproton quasi-bound state or a baryonium? A natural explanation follows from a traditional model of proton-antiproton interactions based on G-parity transformation. The observed proton-antiproton structure is due to a strong attraction in the 1S0 state, and possibly to a near-threshold quasi-bound state in the 11S0 wave.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. The antiproton-proton pair being in isospin one in the J/Psi decay into neutral pion-antiproton-proton, the antiproton-proton 1P1 and 3S1 waves have been replaced by the 31P1 and 33S1 ones and Figs. 1 and 2 have been replaced accordingly. Conclusions are unchanged. Most of the content of the paper is published in Phys. Rev. C72, 011001 (2005

Engineering multiple levels of specificity in an RNA viral vector

Synthetic molecular circuits could provide powerful therapeutic capabilities, but delivering them to specific cell types and controlling them remains challenging. An ideal "smart" viral delivery system would enable controlled release of viral vectors from "sender" cells, conditional entry into target cells based on cell-surface proteins, conditional replication specifically in target cells based on their intracellular protein content, and an evolutionarily robust system that allows viral elimination with drugs. Here, combining diverse technologies and components, including pseudotyping, engineered bridge proteins, degrons, and proteases, we demonstrate each of these control modes in a model system based on the rabies virus. This work shows how viral and protein engineering can enable delivery systems with multiple levels of control to maximize therapeutic specificity

Congenital absence of the vermiform appendix: a rare but important entity

Although Congenital abnormalities of the vermiform appendix are rare it would stand surgeons in good stead to be familiar with these potentially perplexing entities. Absence of the vermiform appendix was found in a patient who underwent appendicular exploration. The rarity of the condition, its clinically perplexing potential and possible medicolegal implications have prompted this case report

Perceived usefulness of expert systems for MBA advisement: A discriminant model

Based on questionnaire data collected from 123 AACSB-accredited business schools, a discriminant model was developed to generate a descriptive profile of MBA Advisors in regard to their perceived usefulness of expert systems (ESs) for advising MBA students. Characteristics related to organization, advisee, advisor, and job/task structures were considered in formulating the model. Stepwise discriminant analysis resulted in 8 out of 15 independent variables entering the model

Programmable protein circuits in living cells

Synthetic protein-level circuits could enable engineering of powerful new cellular behaviors. Rational protein circuit design would be facilitated by a composable protein-protein regulation system in which individual protein components can regulate one another to create a variety of different circuit architectures. In this study, we show that engineered viral proteases can function as composable protein components, which can together implement a broad variety of circuit-level functions in mammalian cells. In this system, termed CHOMP (circuits of hacked orthogonal modular proteases), input proteases dock with and cleave target proteases to inhibit their function. These components can be connected to generate regulatory cascades, binary logic gates, and dynamic analog signal-processing functions. To demonstrate the utility of this system, we rationally designed a circuit that induces cell death in response to upstream activators of the Ras oncogene. Because CHOMP circuits can perform complex functions yet be encoded as single transcripts and delivered without genomic integration, they offer a scalable platform to facilitate protein circuit engineering for biotechnological applications

The Influence of Spatial Resolution due to Hot-Wire Sensors on Measurements in Wall-Bounded Turbulence.

Reassessment of compiled data reveal that recorded scatter in the hot-wire measured near-wall peak in viscous-scaled streamwise turbulence intensity is due in large part to the simultaneous competing effects of Reynolds number and viscous-scaled wire-length l ( lUt n, where l is the wirelength, Ut is friction velocity and n is kinematic viscosity). These competing factors can explain much of the disparity in existing literature, in particular explaining how previous studies have incorrectly concluded that the inner-scaled near-wall peak is independent of Re. We also investigate the appearance of the, so-called, ‘outerpeak’ in the broadband streamwise intensity, found by some researchers to occur within the log-region of high Reynolds number boundary layers. We show that this ‘outer-peak’ is most likely a symptom of attenuation of small-scales due to large l . Fully mapped energy spectra, obtained with two different l , are presented to demonstrate this phenomena. The spatial attenuation resulting from wires with large l effectively filters small-scale fluctuations from the recorded signal