pi^0 pi^0 Scattering Amplitudes and Phase Shifts Obtained by the pi^- P Charge Exchange Process

The results of the analysis of the pi^0 pi^0 scattering amplitudes obtained with pi^- P charge exchange reaction, pi^- P --> pi^0 pi^0 n, data at 9 GeV/c are presented. The pi^0 pi^0 scattering amplitudes show clear f_0(1370) and f_2(1270) signals in the S and D waves, respectively. The pi^0 pi^0 scattering phase shifts have been obtained below Kbar K threshold and been analyzed by the Interfering Amplitude method with introduction of negative background phases. The results show a S wave resonance, sigma. Its Breit-Wigner parameters are in good agreement with those of our previous analysis on the pi^+ pi^- phase shift data.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of the int. conf. Hadron'99 at Beijing, Aug. 1999. Presented for the collaboration of A.M.Ma, K.Takamatsu, M.Y.Ishida, S.Ishida, T.Ishida, T. Tsuru and H. Shimizu, and the E135 collaboration. For our activities on sigma, visit http://amaterasu.kek.jp/sigm

An Analysis of \pi\pi-Scattering Phase Shift and Existence of \sigma(555) particle

In most of the Nambu:Jona-Lasinio(NJL)-type models, realizing the hidden chiral symmetry, the existence of a scalar particle \sigma is needed with a mass m_\sigma=2 m_q, as a partner of the Nambu-Goldstone boson \pi. However, the results of many analyses on \pi\pi phase-shift thus far made have been negative for its existence. In this paper we re-analyze the phase-shift, applying a new method, the interfering amplitude method, which treats the T-matrix directly and describes multi-resonances in conformity with the unitarity. As a result, the existence of \sigma has been strongly suggested from the behavior of the \pi\pi-->\pi\pi phase shift between the \pi\pi- and the KK- thresholds, with mass = 553.3 +- 0.5_{st} MeV and width= 242.6 +- 1.2_{st} MeV. The most crucial point in our analysis is the introduction of a negative background phase, possibly reflecting a ``repulsive core" in \pi\pi interactions. The properties of f_0(980) are also investigated from data including those over the KK threshold. Its mass is obtained as 993.2 +- 6.5_{st} +- 6.9_{sys} MeV. Its width is about a hundred MeV, although this depends largely on the treatment of the elasticity and the \pi\pi-->KK phase shift, both of which may have large experimental uncertainties.Comment: 22 pages, Latex with Prog. Theor. Phys. format PTPTEX.sty, 4 EPS figure

Molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal a close evolutionary relationship between Podosphaera (Erysiphales: Erysiphaceae) and its rosaceous hosts

Podosphaera is a genus of the powdery mildew fungi belonging to the tribe Cystotheceae of the Erysiphaceae. Among the host plants of Podosphaera, 86 % of hosts of the section Podosphaera and 57 % hosts of the subsection Sphaerotheca belong to the Rosaceae. In order to reconstruct the phylogeny of Podosphaera and to determine evolutionary relationships between Podosphaera and its host plants, we used 152 ITS sequences and 69 28S rDNA sequences of Podosphaera for phylogenetic analyses. As a result, Podosphaera was divided into two large clades: clade 1, consisting of the section Podosphaera on Prunus (P. tridactyla s.l.) and subsection Magnicellulatae; and clade 2, composed of the remaining member of section Podosphaera and subsection Sphaerotheca. Because section Podosphaera takes a basal position in both clades, section Podosphaera may be ancestral in the genus Podosphaera, and the subsections Sphaerotheca and Magnicellulatae may have evolved from section Podosphaera independently. Podosphaera isolates from the respective subfamilies of Rosaceae each formed different groups in the trees, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship between Podosphaera spp. and their rosaceous hosts. However, tree topology comparison and molecular clock calibration did not support the possibility of co-speciation between Podosphaera and Rosaceae. Molecular phylogeny did not support species delimitation of P. aphanis, P. clandestina, P. ferruginea, P. spiraeae and P. tridactyla in their current circumscriptions, which suggests the need for revision of these species

Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of Eurasian Neoerysiphe species infecting Asteraceae and Geranium

Because Eurasian samples of Neoerysiphe collected on the Asteraceae were not identical in morphology, the molecular and morphological differences among these specimens were compared with those of the American N. cumminsiana. Neoerysiphe on Asteraceae was found to consist of at least four different species. Three of them are described as new species, viz. N. hiratae, N. joerstadii, and N. nevoi. Neoerysiphe hiratae is a Japanese species parasitizing hosts belonging to the genera Cacalia and Ligularia (tribe Senecioneae). Neoerysiphe joerstadii was found in Israel on Phagnalon rupestre (tribe Gnaphalieae). Neoerysiphe nevoi was recorded in Israel and Ukraine on a number of hosts in different genera but all belonging to tribe Cichorieae. Thus, Eurasian Neoerysiphe species infecting the Asteraceae are strongly specialised to particular tribes of this family. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the three new species were not closely allied. Neoerysiphe hiratae is related to the American N. cumminsiana and species belonging to Oidium subg. Striatoidium. Neoerysiphe nevoi is sister to N. geranii, and N. joerstadii is allied to N. galii. In addition, Ukrainian Neoerysiphe samples on Geranium were phylogenetically and morphologically identical to Japanese samples of N. geranii, and this fungus seems to be an invasive species in Ukraine

Direct patterning of organic conductors on knitted textiles for long-term electrocardiography.

Wearable sensors are receiving a great deal of attention as they offer the potential to become a key technological tool for healthcare. In order for this potential to come to fruition, new electroactive materials endowing high performance need to be integrated with textiles. Here we present a simple and reliable technique that allows the patterning of conducting polymers on textiles. Electrodes fabricated using this technique showed a low impedance contact with human skin, were able to record high quality electrocardiograms at rest, and determine heart rate even when the wearer was in motion. This work paves the way towards imperceptible electrophysiology sensors for human health monitoring

Enhanced Hyperthermia Induced by MDMA in Parkin Knockout Mice

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is reportedly severely toxic to both dopamine (DA) and serotonin neurons. MDMA significantly reduces the number of DA neurons in the substantia nigra, but not in the nucleus accumbens, indicating that MDMA causes selective destruction of DA neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway, sparing the mesolimbic pathway. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of multifactorial origin. The pathological hallmark of PD is the degeneration of DA neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. Mutations in the parkin gene are frequently observed in autosomal recessive parkinsonism in humans. Parkin is hypothesized to protect against neurotoxic insult, and we attempted to clarify the role of parkin in MDMA-induced hyperthermia, one of the causal factors of neuronal damage, using parkin knockout mice. Body temperature was measured rectally before and 15, 30, 45, and 60 min after intraperitoneal injection of MDMA (30 mg/kg) at an ambient temperature of 22 ± 2°C. Significantly enhanced hyper-thermia after MDMA injection was observed in heterozygous and homozygous parkin knockout mice compared with wildtype mice, suggesting that parkin plays a protective role in MDMA neurotoxicity

ππ\pi\pi scattering S wave from the data on the reaction π−p→π0π0n\pi^-p\to\pi^0\pi^0n

The results of the recent experiments on the reaction $\pi^-p\to\pi^0\pi^0n$ performed at KEK, BNL, IHEP, and CERN are analyzed in detail. For the I=0 $\pi\pi$ S wave phase shift $\delta^0_0$ and inelasticity $\eta^0_0$ a new set of data is obtained. Difficulties emerging when using the physical solutions for the $\pi^0\pi^0$ S and D wave amplitudes extracted with the partial wave analyses are discussed. Attention is drawn to the fact that, for the $\pi^0\pi^0$ invariant mass, m, above 1 GeV, the other solutions, in principle, are found to be more preferred. For clarifying the situation and further studying the $f_0(980)$ resonance thorough experimental investigations of the reaction $\pi^-p\to\pi^0\pi^0n$ in the m region near the $K\bar K$ threshold are required.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

A Single Amino Acid Substitution in the NS2A Protein of Japanese Encephalitis Virus Affects Virus Propagation In Vitro but Not In Vivo

We identified a unique amino acid of NS2A113, phenylalanine, that affects the efficient propagation of two Japanese encephalitis virus strains, JaTH160 and JaOArS982, in neuroblastoma Neuro-2a cells but not in cell lines of extraneural origin. This amino acid did not affect viral loads in the brain or survival curves in mice. These findings suggest that virus propagation in vitro may not reflect the level of virus neuroinvasiveness in vivo