Low Scale Non-universal, Non-anomalous U(1)'_F in a Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

We propose a non-universal U(1)'_F symmetry combined with the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. All anomaly cancellation conditions are satisfied without exotic fields other than three right-handed neutrinos. Because our model allows all three generations of chiral superfields to have different U(1)'_F charges, upon the breaking of the U(1)'_F symmetry at a low scale, realistic masses and mixing angles in both the quark and lepton sectors are obtained. In our model, neutrinos are predicted to be Dirac fermions and their mass ordering is of the inverted hierarchy type. The U(1)'_F charges of the chiral super-fields also naturally suppress the mu term and automatically forbid baryon number and lepton number violating operators. While all flavor-changing neutral current constraints in the down quark and charged lepton sectors can be satisfied, we find that constraint from D0-D0bar turns out to be much more stringent than the constraints from the precision electroweak data.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures; v2: discussion on sparticle mass spectrum included, 27 pages, 2 figure

Suppression of backward scattering of Dirac fermions in iron pnictides Ba(Fe1−x_{1-x}Rux_xAs)2_2

We report electronic transport of Dirac cones when Fe is replaced by Ru, which has an isoelectronic electron configuration to Fe, using single crystals of Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$As)$_2$. The electronic transport of parabolic bands is shown to be suppressed by scattering due to the crystal lattice distortion and the impurity effect of Ru, while that of the Dirac cone is not significantly reduced due to the intrinsic character of Dirac cones. It is clearly shown from magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient measurements that the inverse of average mobility, proportional to cyclotron effective mass, develops as the square root of the carrier number (n) of the Dirac cones. This is the unique character of the Dirac cone linear dispersion relationship. Scattering of Ru on the Dirac cones is discussed in terms of the estimated mean free path using experimental parameters.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, To be published in Phys. Rev.

Proton-Antiproton Annihilation in Baryonium

A possible interpretation of the near-threshold enhancement in the $(p\bar{p})$-mass spectrum in $J/\psi{\to}\gamma p{\bar p}$ is the of existence of a narrow baryonium resonance X(1860). Mesonic decays of the $(p\bar{p})$-bound state X(1860) due to the nucleon-antinucleon annihilation are investigated in this paper. Mesonic coherent states with fixed $G$-parity and $P$-parity have been constructed . The Amado-Cannata-Dedoder-Locher-Shao formulation(Phys Rev Lett. {\bf 72}, 970 (1994)) is extended to the decays of the X(1860). By this method, the branch-fraction ratios of $Br(X\to \eta 4\pi)$, $Br(X\to \eta 2\pi)$ and $Br(X\to 3\eta)$ are calculated. It is shown that if the X(1860) is a bound state of $(p\bar{p})$, the decay channel ($X\to \eta 4\pi)$ is favored over $(X\to \eta 2\pi)$. In this way, we develop criteria for distinguishing the baryonium interpretation for the near-threshold enhancement effects in $(p\bar{p})$-mass spectrum in $J/\psi{\to}\gamma p{\bar p}$ from other possibilities. Experimental checks are expected. An intuitive picture for our results is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

The para-substituent effect and pH-dependence of the organometallic Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of rhenium–carbon bonds

We studied the Baeyer–Villiger (BV) type oxidation of phenylrhenium trioxide (PTO) by H2O2 in the aqueous phase using Quantum Mechanics (density functional theory with the M06 functional) focusing on how the solution pH and the para-substituent affect the Gibbs free energy surfaces. For both PTO and MTO (methylrhenium trioxide) cases, we find that for pH > 1 the BV pathway having OH− as the leaving group is lower in energy than the one involving simultaneous protonation of hydroxide. We also find that during this organometallic BV oxidation, the migrating phenyl is a nucleophile so that substituting functional groups in the para-position of phenyl with increased electron-donating character lowers the migration barrier, just as in organic BV reactions. However, this substituent effect also pushes electron density to Re, impeding HOO− coordination and slowing down the reaction. This is in direct contrast to the organic analog, in which para-substitution has an insignificant influence on 1,2-addition of peracids. Due to the competition of the two opposing effects and the dependence of the resting state on pH and concentration, the reaction rate of the organometallic BV oxidation is surprisingly unaffected by para-substitution

Functionalization of Rhenium Aryl Bonds by O-Atom Transfer

Aryltrioxorhenium (ArReO_3) has been demonstrated to show rapid oxy-functionalization upon reaction with O-atom donors, YO, to selectively generate the corresponding phenols in near quantitative yields. (18)^O-Labeling experiments show that the oxygen in the products is exclusively from YO. DFT studies reveal a 10.7 kcal/mol barrier (Ar = Ph) for oxy-functionalization with H_2O_2 via a Baeyer-Villiger type mechanism involving nudeophilic attack of the aryl group on an electrophilic oxygen of YO coordinated to rhenium

Relating Leptogenesis to Low Energy Flavor Violating Observables in Models with Spontaneous CP Violation

In the minimal left-right symmetric model, there are only two intrinsic CP violating phases to account for all CP violation in both the quark and lepton sectors, if CP is broken spontaneously by the complex phases in the VEV's of the scalar fields. In addition, the left- and right-handed Majorana mass terms for the neutrinos are proportional to each other due to the parity in the model. This is thus a very constrained framework, making the existence of correlations among the CP violation in leptogenesis, neutrino oscillation and neutrinoless double beta decay possible. In these models, CP violation in the leptonic sector and CP violation in the quark sector are also related. We find, however, that such connection is rather weak due to the large hierarchy in the bi-doublet VEV required by a realistic quark sector.Comment: RevTeX4, 21 pages; v2: references added, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Rapamycin inhibits ALDH activity, resistance to oxidative stress, and metastatic potential in murine osteosarcoma cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignancy of bone. Mortality is determined by the presence of metastatic disease, but little is known regarding the biochemical events that drive metastases. Two murine OS cell lines, K7M2 and K12, are related but differ significantly in their metastatic potentials: K7M2 is highly metastatic whereas K12 displays much less metastatic potential. Using this experimental system, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has been implicated in OS metastasis. We also discovered that aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, a stem cell marker) activity is higher in K7M2 cells than K12 cells. Rapamycin treatment reduces the expression and enzymatic activity of ALDH in K7M2 cells. ALDH inhibition renders these cells more susceptible to apoptotic death when exposed to oxidative stress. Furthermore, rapamycin treatment reduces bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression and inhibits K7M2 proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Inhibition of ALDH with disulfiram correlated with decreased mTOR expression and activity. In conclusion, we provide evidence for interaction between mTOR activity, ALDH activity, and metastatic potential in murine OS cells. Our work suggests that mTOR and ALDH are therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of OS metastasis. © 2013 Xiaodong Mu et al

Rapamycin inhibits ALDH activity, resistance to oxidative stress, and metastatic potential in murine osteosarcoma cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignancy of bone. Mortality is determined by the presence of metastatic disease, but little is known regarding the biochemical events that drive metastases. Two murine OS cell lines, K7M2 and K12, are related but differ significantly in their metastatic potentials: K7M2 is highly metastatic whereas K12 displays much less metastatic potential. Using this experimental system, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has been implicated in OS metastasis. We also discovered that aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, a stem cell marker) activity is higher in K7M2 cells than K12 cells. Rapamycin treatment reduces the expression and enzymatic activity of ALDH in K7M2 cells. ALDH inhibition renders these cells more susceptible to apoptotic death when exposed to oxidative stress. Furthermore, rapamycin treatment reduces bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression and inhibits K7M2 proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Inhibition of ALDH with disulfiram correlated with decreased mTOR expression and activity. In conclusion, we provide evidence for interaction between mTOR activity, ALDH activity, and metastatic potential in murine OS cells. Our work suggests that mTOR and ALDH are therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of OS metastasis. © 2013 Xiaodong Mu et al