Charmless Bˉs→VV\bar{B}_s\to VV Decays in QCD Factorization

The two body charmless decays of $B_s$ meson to light vector mesons are analyzed within the framework of QCD factorization. This approach implies that the nonfactorizable corrections to different helicity amplitudes are not the same. The effective parameters $a_i^h$ for helicity $h=0,+,-$ states receive different nonfactorizable contributions and hence are helicity dependent, contrary to naive factorization approach where $a_i^h$ are universal and polarization independent. The branching ratios for $\bar{B}_s\to VV$ decays are calculated and we find that branching ratios of some channels are of order $10^{-5}$, which are measurable at future experiments. The transverse to total decay rate $\Gamma_T/\Gamma$ is also evaluated and found to be very small for most decay modes, so, in charmless $\bar{B}_s\to VV$ decays, both light vector mesons tend to have zero helicity.Comment: 16pages. Typos and mistakes fixed. Numerical results change

C-reactive protein, sodium azide, and endothelial connexin43 gap junctions

We investigated the effect of C-reactive protein (CRP) and sodium azide (NaN(3)) on endothelial Cx43 gap junctions. Human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were treated with (a) detoxified CRP, (b) detoxified dialyzed CRP, (c) detoxified dialyzed CRP plus NaN(3), (d) NaN(3), or (e) dialyzed NaN(3). The concentration of CRP in all preparations was fixed to 25 mu g/ml and that of NaN(3) in the preparations of (c) to (e) was equivalent to that contained in the 25 mu g/ml CRP purchased commercially. The results showed that both the expression of Cx43 protein and gap junctional communication function post-48-h incubation were reduced and inhibited by the detoxified CRP, NaN(3), or detoxified dialyzed CRP plus NaN(3), but not by the detoxified dialyzed CRP or dialyzed NaN(3). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of cells treated for 72 h also showed a pattern of transcriptional regulation essentially the same as that for the proteins. We concluded that CRP does not have a significant effect on Cx43 gap junctions of HAEC, but NaN(3) inhibited the viability of cells and downregulate their junctions

Opposing Effects of Prior Infection versus Prior Vaccination on Vaccine Immunogenicity against Influenza A(H3N2) Viruses

Prior vaccination can alternately enhance or attenuate influenza vaccine immunogenicity and effectiveness. Analogously, we found that vaccine immunogenicity was enhanced by prior A(H3N2) virus infection among participants of the Ha Nam Cohort, Viet Nam, but was attenuated by prior vaccination among Australian Health Care Workers (HCWs) vaccinated in the same year. Here, we combined these studies to directly compare antibody titers against 35 A(H3N2) viruses spanning 1968–2018. Participants received licensed inactivated vaccines containing A/HongKong/4801/2014 (H3N2). The analysis was limited to participants aged 18–65 Y, and compared those exposed to A(H3N2) viruses circulating since 2009 by infection (Ha Nam) or vaccination (HCWs) to a reference group who had no recent A(H3N2) infection or vaccination (Ha Nam). Antibody responses were compared by fitting titer/titer-rise landscapes across strains, and by estimating titer ratios to the reference group of 2009–2018 viruses. Pre-vaccination, titers were lowest against 2009–2014 viruses among the reference (no recent exposure) group. Post-vaccination, titers were, on average, two-fold higher among participants with prior infection and two-fold lower among participants with 3–5 prior vaccinations compared to the reference group. Titer rise was negligible among participants with 3–5 prior vaccinations, poor among participants with 1–2 prior vaccinations, and equivalent or better among those with prior infection compared to the reference group. The enhancing effect of prior infection versus the incrementally attenuating effect of prior vaccinations suggests that these exposures may alternately promote and constrain the generation of memory that can be recalled by a new vaccine strain.Annette Fox, Louise Carolan, Vivian Leung, Hoang Vu Mai Phuong, Arseniy Khvorov, Maria Auladell, Yeu-Yang Tseng, Pham Quang Thai, Ian Barr, Kanta Subbarao, Le Thi Quynh Mai, H. Rogier van Doorn, and Sheena G. Sulliva

Charmless Bs→PP,PV,VVB_s\to PP, PV, VV Decays Based on the six-quark Effective Hamiltonian with Strong Phase Effects II

We provide a systematic study of charmless $B_s \to PP, PV, VV$ decays ($P$ and $V$ denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively) based on an approximate six-quark operator effective Hamiltonian from QCD. The calculation of the relevant hard-scattering kernels is carried out, the resulting transition form factors are consistent with the results of QCD sum rule calculations. By taking into account important classes of power corrections involving "chirally-enhanced" terms and the vertex corrections as well as weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase, we present predictions for the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of $B_s$ decays into PP, PV and VV final states, and also for the corresponding polarization observables in VV final states. It is found that the weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase have remarkable effects on the observables in the color-suppressed and penguin-dominated decay modes. In addition, we discuss the SU(3) flavor symmetry and show that the symmetry relations are generally respected

Modulating mitophagy in mitochondrial disease

Mitochondrial diseases may result from mutations in the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or from mutations in nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins. Their bi-genomic nature makes mitochondrial diseases a very heterogeneous group of disorders that can present at any age and can affect any type of tissue. The autophagic-lysosomal degradation pathway plays an important role in clearing dysfunctional and redundant mitochondria through a specific quality control mechanism termed mitophagy. Mitochondria could be targeted for autophagic degradation for a variety of reasons including basal turnover for recycling, starvation induced degradation, and degradation due to damage. While the core autophagic machinery is highly conserved and common to most pathways, the signaling pathways leading to the selective degradation of damaged mitochondria are still not completely understood. Type 1 mitophagy due to nutrient starvation is dependent on PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) for autophagosome formation but independent of mitophagy proteins, PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase 1) and Parkin. Whereas type 2 mitophagy that occurs due to damage is dependent on PINK1 and Parkin but does not require PI3K. Autophagy and mitophagy play an important role in human disease and hence could serve as therapeutic targets for the treatment of mitochondrial as well as neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, we reviewed drugs that are known modulators of autophagy (AICAR and metformin) and may effect this by activating the AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Furthermore, we reviewed data available on supplements, such as Coenzyme Q and the quinone idebenone, that we assert rescue increased mitophagy in mitochondrial disease by benefiting mitochondrial function

A Research on “Drama” and “Small Play of Chinese Traditional Opera” from Pre-Qin Era to Tang Dynasty

本文首先說明，凡「演故事者謂之戲劇」，凡「合歌舞以代言演故事者謂之戲曲小戲」﹔在此前提下，考述先秦文獻，可知構成戲劇、戲曲為有機體之諸要素逐漸結合的情形：由〈葛天氏之樂〉見其原始歌舞之結合；由《周禮》〈大司樂〉，見樂舞合用；「瞽矇」見歌樂合用；「六樂」，見其祭享合用歌舞樂；而八蜡既為「戲禮」，似已具演故事而為「戲劇」之端倪；而儺中之方相氏就其扮相與職務觀之，當已具「戲劇」之條件矣；而周初《大武》之樂，演出武王伐紂故事，更為實質之「戲劇」，其年代距今三千一百餘年；至於戲曲雛型之小戲，則《九歌》諸篇，尤以〈山鬼〉，蓋可宣佈中國雛型小戲於此成立，其年代，距今二千五百餘年。從兩漢魏晉南北朝與戲劇、戲曲相關文獻中，可考得：《總會仙倡》、《烏獲扛鼎》、《巴渝舞》、《古掾曹》、《鄭叔晉婦》、《文康樂》、《天台山伎》、《慈潛忿爭》等八個戲劇劇目。和《東海黃公》、《歌戲》、《遼東妖婦》等三個戲曲小戲劇目。唐代除本文所考述的戲劇《蘭陵王》、《蘇莫遮》、《弄孔子》、《""頭》、《樊噲排君難》等五個劇目和《西涼伎》、《鳳歸雲》、《義陽主》、《旱稅忤權奸》、《麥秀兩歧》等五個戲曲小戲劇目外，尚有由優人所演出的宮廷小戲「參軍戲」和由庶民百姓搬演的鄉土小戲《踏謠娘》，另有兩漢以後傀儡百戲所演化而來的唐傀儡戲，對此筆者已有〈參軍戲演化之探討〉、〈唐戲《踏謠娘》及其相關的問題〉、〈中國偶戲考述〉三文詳論之，這裡不再贅述。或問：中國戲劇既已見諸周初〈大武〉，乃至更早之儺戲〈方相氏〉，中國戲曲小戲既已見諸戰國時代之《九歌》，何以遲至宋金之南戲北劇才能完成而為大戲，其間何以要歷經千五百年乃至兩千五百年呢？若論其故，個人認為：誠如本文「前言」所云，中國戲曲大戲是「綜合文學和藝術」，由故事、詩歌、音樂、舞蹈、雜技、講唱文學、俳優妝扮、代言體、狹隘劇場等九個構成元素所融合而成的「有機體」，其九項元素中除與小戲重複者之藝術層面與內涵，自然要比小戲提升和擴大許多外，其新注入之「講唱文學」則必須屬於有如宋金諸宮調和覆賺那樣的大型說唱，而非像鼓子詞、傳踏那樣的小型曲藝。也就是說提供戲曲最重要的故事題材和歌唱音樂，必須等到宋金時代才發展完成，才能作為「大戲」的主體基礎；而其九種因素，也必須有像宋金瓦舍勾欄那樣「百藝競陳」孕育薈萃的場所，必須有像宋金書會才人那樣「落拓書生」中的傑出人才，鎔鑄創作，才能水到渠成的生發為戲曲大戲；這就好像人類文明曙光乍現之後，到今日科技昌明、突飛猛進，其間也必須經歷漫長的蘊蓄積漸的歲月一般。尤其中國戲曲是綜合文學和藝術的「有機體」，更非如此不可。而這些條件在宋金之前不是沒有就是尚且未完備，所以必須等到宋金條件成就後才生發得來「南戲北劇」那樣的「大戲」，也因此本文就只能在兩宋之前，考察得到「戲劇」和「戲曲小戲」那樣作為大戲「雛型」的一些劇目；而若論「大戲」，自然無法從先秦至唐五代這漫長的歲月中去無中生有了。This article first asserts that "Drama means stories being played out", and "Every small play of Chinese traditional opera means singing, dancing with speaking for others to playing stories." By this precondition, the auther researched Chin's literal literature and found out the process that elememts gradually composed together. In "The Song of Ge-Tian-Shi"(葛天氏之樂), there is the fusion of primitive song and dance; "Da-Si Music"(大司樂)of 《Zhou-Li 》(周禮)included music and dance performance together; "Gu-Meng"（瞽矇）included song and music performing together; in "Liou-Yue"（六樂）there is the fusion of religious rite with music, song and dance. But not until the "Drama Ceremony" （戲禮）, and "Ba-Zha" （八蜡）, do we see the essence of stories being played; the character "Fang-Xiang-Shi"（方相氏）in "Nuo Drama"（儺）, which make-up and incumbency have qualification to be a drama. In B.C. 1100 the Zhou dynasty, the story line of"Da-Wu" （大武）is King Wu attacking Zhou （武王伐紂）, it is already a complete drama. Futhermore, the miniature of Chinese traditional opera, Small Play, "Shian-Guei" （山鬼）of 《Jiou-Ge 》（九歌）, announced the Chinese small play established in B.C. 500. In the literature from Han to South and North Dynasties, the auther finds eight dramas including "Zueng-Huei-Xian-Chang"(總會仙倡), Wu-Huo-Kang-Ding" (烏獲扛鼎)etc., and three small plays of Chinese opera including "Dueng-Hai-Huang-Gueng"(東海黃公), "Ge-Xi"(歌戲). In Tang dynasty, also has five more dramas including "Lan-Lin-Wang"(蘭陵王), "Su-Mo-Zhe"(蘇莫遮)etc., and five small play of Chinese opera including "Xi-Liang-Ji"(西涼伎), "Feng-Guei-Yun" (鳳歸雲). Besides, there is also the courts small play "Can-Jun-Xi", and the folk small play "Ta-Iao-Niang"(踏謠娘). The grand play is a complicated organism, this article is specially focus on the miniature of Chienese traditional opera, drama and small play before Southern and Northern Sueng

The Origins and Formation of Formal Conventions in the Yuan Tsa Ch?

TesisLima NorteEscuela Profesional de AdministraciónMarketingLa investigación fue realizada en Profuturo AFP, agencia Fiori. El objetivo principal del estudio fue “Determinar la relación entre la calidad de atención y la fidelización del cliente en Profuturo AFP, agencia Fiori, año 2014”. La investigación que se realizó en la agencia Fiori estuvo conformada por una población de 10,000 afiliados, entre jubilados y aportantes. La muestra fue significativa y estuvo conformada por 370 afiliados. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante un cuestionario, atraves de una encuesta que comprendió 20 ítems entre las dos variables, con la escala de Likert. La confiablidad de dicha encuesta se calculó mediante el alfa de Cronbach. Luego de haber recolectado los datos se procedió a tabularlos mediante un cuadro de Excel y después se ingresó a una matriz de datos del programa estadístico SPSS V 22.0. El resultado realizado por dicho programa determinó a través de la prueba no paramétrica de correlación de Spearman; cuyo coeficiente de Rho Spearman de 0.786** con un 95% de confianza y una probabilidad menor a 0.05 (p-valor= 0.000 < α=0.05), que existe una relación positiva y altamente significativa entre la calidad de atención y la fidelización de los clientes de Profuturo AFP, agencia Fiori, año 2014. Por consiguiente, se concluyó que una buena gestión en la calidad de atención impulsada por la gerencia, ocasionaría que se mejore la idea que tiene el cliente sobre la AFP, es decir que se logre la fidelidad del mismo

Reexamining the Division and the Transition between the Xiwen Drama and the Chuanqi Drama

「戲文」和「傳奇」都屬體製劇種。戲文在元代也稱南戲，「南戲」即「南曲戲文」，是與「北曲雜劇」相對稱的體製劇種，簡稱「南戲」以與「北劇」並舉；簡稱「戲文」以與「雜劇」同列。它起於宋入於元至於明，明初已有明顯的「北曲化」和「文士化」，為過渡到「傳奇」作準備。而「傳奇」原是「事奇可傳」「傳播奇事」之義，因此可以之稱人小說、宋金諸宮調、宋元戲文和金元雜劇。明人在呂天成《曲品》之後才用作明人長篇戲曲的指稱，但因其以崑山水磨調作新舊傳奇的分野，「新傳奇」則與戲文在體製格律上有諸多差異，而且作家輩出，作品如林，因此就戲曲發展史的觀點，戲曲體製種的所謂「傳奇」，至此方才真正成立。也就是說，南戲是經過北曲化、文士化和崑腔化才蛻變為傳奇的。也因為「崑腔化」是「傳奇」的必備條件之一，所以若就「腔調劇種」而言，「傳奇」自然係屬「崑劇」之一。 「傳奇」之所以不能作為「弋陽戲」或「海鹽戲」、「餘姚戲」，緣故是：一方面是海鹽腔在萬歷後即已消失，二方面是弋陽腔和餘姚腔傳世之本很少，其可歌者但為體製劇種之戲文，而戲文之體製規律非但沒有因之演進而且逐漸被破壞，終至破解曲牌體為板腔體，既違物理進化之道，自只能冒稱傳奇之名，何況明清學者，從未有視弋陽腔、餘姚腔為可以歌唱萬曆以後極具謹嚴體製之劇種之所謂新「傳奇」者。 由戲文到傳奇之演變，許子漢由排場三要素關目、腳色、套式三方面分析縷述，實在已詳，據此足以觀察戲文逐漸質變到傳奇之過程。而若考傳奇成立的時期，筆者在〈從崑腔說到崑劇〉一文謂：若據呂天成《曲品》「新舊傳奇」的分野，則是以「舊傳奇」屬明初以來「崑山腔」所歌者，以「新傳奇」屬魏良輔「崑山水磨調」所歌者，因其所錄「舊傳奇」據考證當是嘉靖三十八年(西元一五五九年)之前的作品，而嘉靖三十八年前後正是魏良輔「立崑之宗」的時候，呂氏所錄「新傳奇」之作品，自然應當在此之後，那麼「新傳奇」的初成立，也應當在嘉靖四十年(西元一五六一年)前後這幾年，而一旦《浣紗記》出現，則風靡遐邇，步趨者漸多，終於蔚成大國，呂氏「新傳奇」所錄作品集有一百六十五種之多，則此「新傳奇」於嘉隆間實已為劇壇之盟主矣。而呂氏所謂的「新傳奇」也正是我們今日學術上於戲曲史所要說的繼戲文之後的新體製劇種「傳奇」，但也因為它必用崑山水磨調來演唱，所以就腔調劇種而言，它自然也是崑劇之一。The definitions of and the division between xiwen and chuanqi, one may conclude that they belong to the same tizhi juzhong (dramatic genre defined in terms of textual form). In the Yuan period, xiwen was also called nanxi southern drama) or nanqu xiwen; as a tizhi juzhong, it was the countrpart of beiju (northern drama), which was also known as beiqu zaju. Hence the well-known opposites of xiwen/zaju and nanxi/beiju. Xiwen was first developed in the Song period; by the early Ming it had been greatly influenced by beiju and the literati's culture, thus paving the way for its transformation into chuanqi. The term chuanqi means &quot;extraordinary matters that are worthy of transmitting&quot; or &quot;transmitting the extraordinary matters&quot;. It had been used as a general generic category covering the Tang short stories, the Song-Jin zhugongdiao, the Song-Yuan xiwen , and the Jin-Yuan zaju. In the Ming critic Lu Tiancheng's Qupin (The Evaluation of Qu), for the first time the term was adopted to denote the longer xiqu by the Ming playwrights. Lu used the Kundshan tune as the criteria to differentiate the new and the old chuanqi. The so-call &quot;new chuanqi&quot; differed from xiwen in its musical modes and meters. Viewed from the development of traditional Chinese drama, chuanqi did not emerge as a distinctive tizhi juzhong until the Ming times. To put it in another way, nanxi was gradually transformed into chuanqi by way of the converging influences of beiju, the literati's culture, and the Kundshan tune. From the perspective of qiangdiao juzhong (dramatic genre defined in terms of musical mode), since chuanqi was influenced by the Kundshan tune, it should also be regarded as a type of Kun opera. For two reasons, the category of chuanqi does not cover the Yiyang opera, the Haiyan opera, and the Yuyao opera. First, by the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, the Haiyan tune had vanished. Second, very few of the works which used the Yiyang or the Yuyao tunes were passed down to the later generations. Among these works, the tizhi juzhong of those which could be sung was xiwen; but the generic norms of xiwen had not only stopped to evolve but also were gradually destroyed, leading to the demise of the qupaiti and its replacement by the banqiangti. Accordingly, they cannot be viewed as a form of chuanqi. In fact, Ming-Qing shcolars never regarded the Yiyang and the Yuyao as the proper tunes for the &quot;new chuanqi&quot; that had developed rigorous generic rules after the Wanli period. As to the exact time of the formation of chuanqi, I have discussed it in a previous article, &quot;Cong kunqiang shuodao kunju&quot; (From the Kun tune to the Kun opera). My views may be briefly summarized as follows. If we follow the new/old division of chuanqi made by Lu Tiancheng in his Qupin, then the old chuanqi refers to those texts which were sung with the Kunshan tune since the early Ming , while the new chuanqi refers to those which were sung with the Kunshan shuimo tune invented by Wei Liangfu. Since those &quot;old chuanqi&quot; texts included in Lu's Qupin were all dated before 1559, and the year also saw Wei Liangfu establishing himself as the master of the Kunqu school, we may conclude that the &quot;new chuanqi&quot; texts included in the Qupin were produced after 1559. In other words, the years around 1561 could be the time when the new chuanqi made its first appearance. When the Huanshaji (The Story of Washing Yarn) finally came out and was widely circulated, more and more people came to adopt the Kunshan tune and thus made it the most popular music of the time. The one hundred and sixty-five &quot;new chuanqi&quot; plays included in the Qupin testify to the supreme position that the new chuanqi had attained in the Jiajing and Longqing periods. To sum up, in the history of traditional Chinese drama, what Lu called &quot;new chuanqi&quot; was the new tizhi juzhong that came after xiwen. Furthermore, from the perpective of qiangdiao juzhong, since chuaniqi was sung with the Kunshan shuimo tune, it should also be included in the great family of the Kun opera

On the Origin and Diffusion of the Pihuang Tune Series

皮黃腔是西皮、二黃兩腔結合並存的復合腔調：西皮腔與襄陽調、楚調為同實異名，論其根源則為山陝梆子流入湖北襄陽，與襄陽土腔結合，因楚為湖北之簡稱與古稱，故被稱為「楚調」或「襄陽調」；而湖北人習慣稱唱詞為「皮」，山陝梆子實由西方傳入，所以簡稱之「西皮」。「西皮調」最早於明崇禎間已流行大江南北，康熙間流入江蘇、福建，乾隆間又擴及廣東、浙江、四川、雲南、貴州、江西等省。二黃腔實出江西宜黃，為明萬曆間向外流播的西秦腔二犯為宜黃土腔所吸收而再向外流播者，流播至江蘇、浙江時，由於當地方言音轉變之關係，其稱呼乃有「宜黃」、「宜王」、「二黃」、「二王」等四種寫法，終於以「二黃」最為流行。宜黃腔在康熙、乾隆之際，已在北京和花部諸腔並嶄頭角，也應當在乾隆之前流入江蘇、浙江、安徽、和湖北。西皮、二黃兩腔的合流，在乾隆間應當首先在湖北襄陽，其次在北京和揚州。乾隆末至嘉慶初，徽班主要仍以皮黃合京、秦二腔演出，其後逐漸側重皮黃，終以皮黃為主，於道光二十年前後，皮黃在北京京化完成，又經過咸豐、同治至光緒使京劇達到成熟的時期。京劇也向全國各地流播，有單純之皮黃劇種者十八種、有與諸腔雜奏者三十七種，可見皮黃腔系對近代地方戲曲影響之大了。Pihuang qiang (tune) is a compound tune which combines xipi and erhuang tunes. Xipi qiang, Xiangyang diao (tune) and Chu diao are all the same thing though they bear different names. Xipi qiang has complex origins: after the Shan-shen (referring to the provinces of Shanxi and Shenxi) bangzi was introduced into Xiangyang of Hubei province, it fused with the local tune of Xiangyang. Since “Chu” is the short name and also the ancient name of Hubei, xipi qiang was also called “Chu diao” or “Xiangyang diao”. People in Hubei used to call lyrics “pi,” and Shan-Shen bangzi came from the west part of the province; hence the name “xipi”. Xipi qiang had become very popular nationwide during the Chongzhen period of the Ming dynasty; it diffused into Jiangsu and Fujian during the Kangxi period. Later during the reign of Qianlong, it was disseminated to the following provinces: Guangdong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Jiangxi. Erhuang qiang originated from Yihuang of Jiangxi province. It was actually a combination of thelocal tune of Yihuang and xiqin qiang erfan, which spread out during the Wanli period. When erhuang qiang prevailed into the provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, four written forms were adopted to refer to it: “yihuang,” “yiwang,” “erhuang” and “erwang.” Eventually, erhuang became themost popular one. Yihuang qiang surpassed other various tunes and gained its popularity in Beijing during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong; prior to the reign of Qianglong, it had already diffused into Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hubei. The fusion of xipi and erhuang qiang first took place in Xiangyang during the Qianlong period, to be followed by Beijing and Yangzhou. Between the reign of Qianlong and the reign of Jianging, the Anhui opera troupe still performed in pihuang qiang together with Jing qiang and Qin aiang. Afterward, they gradually paid more attention to pihuang and finally centered only on pihuang. In 1840, the pihunag had undergone its process of Beijing-ization and existed through the perioids of Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu, a time when the Beijing opera reached its maturity. At the same time, the Beijing opera spread throughout all over the nation, and there were eighteen kinds of pure pihuang opera and thirty-seven kinds of what blended pihuang with other various tunes, a fact that can fully indicate that pihuang tune series has exerted a large influence over modern local dramas