Neutron electric dipole moment in a supersymmetric model with singlet quarks

The neutron electric dipole moment is investigated in a supersymmetric electroweak model admitting ${\rm SU(2)}_W$ singlet and $Q = -1/3$, say $D$-type, quarks. Significant $CP$ violating phases appear in the coupling between the singlet $D$-type quarks and the ordinary $d$-type quarks. Then, through the $d$-$D$ mixing effects on the squark mass terms the gluino one-loop diagrams provide naturally the contributions $\sim 10^{-26} e~{\rm cm}$ comparable to the current experimental bound on the neutron electric dipole moment. The $CP$ violation in the $d$-$D$ coupling would also be relevant for the electroweak baryogenesis.Comment: 16 page

Health-related quality of life after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in elderly patients with an ileal conduit, ureterocutaneostomy, or orthotopic urinary reservoir: a comparative questionnaire survey

To compare the health-related quality of life of elderly patients after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in urinary diversion groups: ileal conduit, ureterocutaneostomy, or orthotopic urinary reservoir. The 109 participating elderly patients aged 75 or older completed self-reporting questionnaires: the QLQ-C30, and on satisfaction with urinary diversion methods. Fifty-six patients had undergone constructions for ileal conduit diversion, 31 for ureterocutaneostomy, and 22 for orthotopic urinary reservoir (OUR). The median follow-up period for each group was 4.0 years (range 0.3-11.2), 4.5 years (range 0.3-18.0), and 3.3 years (range 0.3-6.7), respectively. Regardless of the type of urinary diversion, the majority of patients reported having good overall quality of life, although with some problem of pain. No significant differences among urinary diversion subgroups were found in any quality of life area in the QLQ-C30 questionnaire. More patients in the OUR sub-group felt disappointment than those in the ileal conduit or cutaneostomy sub-groups. However, a questionnaire which asked which diversion method would be preferable showed a trend that more patients in the OUR subgroup would have chosen the same one. Health-related quality of life appeared relatively good in these 3 groups. Patient demands and expectations may be so different from the results that the details of each urinary diversion method should be explained thoroughly. OUR construction could be a candidate even for elderly patients

Routine Transurethral Biopsy of the Bladder is not Necessary to Evaluate the Response to Bacillus Calmette-guerin Therapy

We evaluated the need for transurethral biopsy at first follow-up after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy for superficial bladder cancer. The records of 84 patients with superficial bladder cancer who received a 6- or 8-week course of BCG were reviewed. Pathological results before BCG, cystoscopic findings, urinary cytology, and biopsy results for evaluation of BCG therapy were reviewed. All 19 patients with positive urinary cytology had evidence of positive bladder biopsy results. Fifty-three of 54 patients (98.1%) with no visible recurrent tumor and negative urinary cytology demonstrated negative pathological results on bladder biopsy. When not found in conjunction with positive urinary cytology, erythematous mucosa on cystoscopy was not an indicator of tumor recurrence or residual cancer. In conclusion, routine transurethral biopsy of the bladder for evaluating the response to BCG intravesical therapy is not necessary in patients who have no visible tumor on cystoscopy and negative urinary cytology./</p

Renal cell carcinoma with a tumor thrombus in the ureter: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Renal cell carcinoma (RCCs) is the most common malignancy of the kidney. When RCC progresses, it is known to form tumor thrombus in the renal vein and/or inferior vena cava. However, RCC does not normally form tumor thrombus in the ureter or renal pelvis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 43-year-old man presented to our department for the treatment of a renal tumor with asymptomatic gross hematuria. In a dynamic CT study, contrast enhancement revealed a tumor suspected to be RCC, but atypical finding as a tumor thrombus that filled the renal pelvis and the whole ureter was also observed. Nephroureterectomy was performed, and the tumor was diagnosed histopathologically as RCC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We report here a very rare case of RCC with a tumor thrombus in the whole ureter.</p

Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide and High Glucose on the Glucose Metabolism of Lymphoma-derived U937 Cells

Our study aimed to clarify specific oxidative stress and glucose metabolic disorders in hemodialysis patients, by examining hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) - and high glucose-induced oxidative stress, glucose transport and the failure of glycolysis. As an in vitro blood cell model of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients with diabetes, human monocytic U937 cells of malignant lymphoma origin were exposed to high glucose (28.9mM) for 6 days, with 5mM H2O2 added on the last day. The generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), glucose levels, lactate levels, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and Glut4 levels were examined. Exposure of U937 cells to H2O2 resulted in a significant increase in intracellular ROS generation and glucose levels. Under high glucose conditions, treatment with H2O2 significantly promoted these actions. In H2O2-induced U937 cells, AMPK activity and Glut4 levels were significantly increased, but lactate and pyruvate levels were significantly decreased. Thus, exposure of U937 cells to H2O2 and a high glucose load promoted an increase in intracellular ROS, and exposure to H2O2 induced increased glucose transport and high intracellular glucose due to reduced glycolytic metabolism. This suggests that reduced glycolytic metabolism might be induced in states of high oxidative stress in hemodialysis patients with diabetes

Quark mixings and flavor changing interactions with singlet quarks

Aspects of the quark mixings and flavor changing interactions are investigated in electroweak models with singlet quarks. The effects on the ordinary quark mixing are determined in terms of the quark masses and the parameters describing the mixing between the ordinary quarks q and the singlet quarks Q (q-Q mixing). Some salient features arise in the flavor changing interactions through the q-Q mixing. The unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix within the ordinary quark sector is violated, and the flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC's) appear both in the gauge and scalar couplings. The flavor changing interactions are calculated appropriately in terms of the q-Q mixing parameters and the quark masses, which really exhibit specific flavor structures. It is found that there are reasonable ranges of the model parameters to reproduce the ordinary quark mass hierarchy and the actual CKM structure even in the presence of q-Q mixing. Some phenomenological effects of the singlet quarks are also discussed. In particular, the scalar FCNC's may be more important in some cases, if the singlet quarks as well as the extra scalar particles from the singlet Higgs fields have masses $\sim$ 100 GeV -- 1 TeV.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, added reference

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July