45 research outputs found
Apparatus for a Search for T-violating Muon Polarization in Stopped-Kaon Decays
The detector built at KEK to search for T-violating transverse muon
polarization in K+ --> pi0 mu+ nu (Kmu3) decay of stopped kaons is described.
Sensitivity to the transverse polarization component is obtained from
reconstruction of the decay plane by tracking the mu+ through a toroidal
spectrometer and detecting the pi0 in a segmented CsI(Tl) photon calorimeter.
The muon polarization was obtained from the decay positron asymmetry of muons
stopped in a polarimeter. The detector included features which minimized
systematic errors while maintaining high acceptance.Comment: 56 pages, 30 figures, submitted to NI
Prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine modalities in patients with chronic hepatitis B
Background & Aims
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can interact with antiviral treatment or influence health‐seeking behaviour. We aimed to study the use of individual CAM modalities in CHB and explore determinants of use, particularly migration‐related, socio‐economic and clinical factors.
Methods
A total of 436 CHB outpatients who attended the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease in 2015‐2016 were included in this cross‐sectional study. Using the comprehensive I‐CAM questionnaire and health records, data were collected on socio‐demographic and clinical variables and on usage of 16 CAM modalities in the last year.
Results
Sixty percent of patients were male, 74% were Asian and 46% were using antiviral treatment. Three‐hundred and nine (71%) patients used CAM. Vitamin/mineral preparations (45% of patients) were most commonly used. Overall CAM use and the specific use of potentially injurious CAM, such as green tea extract (9.2%) and St. John's wort (0.2%), were not associated with liver disease severity. Female sex, family history of CHB, lower serum HBV DNA, and higher socio‐economic status were independently associated with bio‐holistic CAM use, the clinically most‐relevant CAM group (P < 0.05); ethnicity, antiviral therapy use and liver disease severity were not.
Conclusions
CAM use among CHB patients was extensive, especially use of vitamin and mineral preparations, but without direct influence on liver disease severity. Bio‐holistic CAM use appeared to be associated with socio‐economic status rather than with ethnicity or liver disease severity. Despite the rare use of hepatotoxins, physicians should actively inquire about it
Measurement of the Bs Lifetime in Fully and Partially Reconstructed Bs -> Ds- (phi pi-)X Decays in pbar-p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV
We present a measurement of the Bs lifetime in fully and partially
reconstructed Bs -> Ds(phi pi)X decays in 1.3 fb-1 of pbar-p collisions at
sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron.
We measure tau(Bs) = 1.518 +/- 0.041 (stat.) +/- 0.027 (syst.) ps. The ratio of
this result and the world average B0 lifetime yields tau(Bs)/tau(B0) = 0.99
+/-0.03, which is in agreement with recent theoretical predictions.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Observation of the structure in the Mass Spectrum in cays
The observation of the structure in decays produced in collisions at \sqrt{s}=1.96~\TeV is
reported with a statistical significance greater than 5 standard deviations. A
fit to the mass spectrum is performed assuming the presence of a
Breit-Wigner resonance. The fit yields a signal of resonance
events, and resonance mass and width of
4143.4^{+2.9}_{-3.0}(\mathrm{stat})\pm0.6(\mathrm{syst})~\MeVcc and
15.3^{+10.4}_{-6.1}(\mathrm{stat})\pm2.5(\mathrm{syst})~\MeVcc respectively.
The parameters of this resonance-like structure are consistent with values
reported from an earlier CDF analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submited to Phys. Rev. Let
Multi-modal transfection agent based on monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles for stem cell gene delivery and tracking
Directing the controlled differentiation and tracking of stem cells is essential to achieve successful stem cell therapy. In this work, we describe a multi-modal (MR/optical) transfection agent (MTA) for efficient gene delivery and cell tracking of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The MTA was synthesized through a facile two-step approach with 1) ligand exchange of a catechol-functionalized polypeptide (CFP) and 2) chemical immobilization of fluorescence labelled cationic polymer via aminolysis reaction. Cationic polymer-immobilized MTAs with size of ~40nm exhibit greatly enhanced colloidal stability in aqueous solution. In addition, the MTAs were capable of binding DNA molecules for transfection. The MTA/pDNA complex showed relatively good transfection efficiency in hMSCs (compared to the commercial transfection agent, Lipofectamine) and good biocompatibility. MTA-treated hMSCs were successfully visualized after transplantation via MR and optical imaging system over 14 days. These studies highlight the challenges associated with the potential advantages of designing multi-modal nanostructured materials as tools for genetic materials delivery and cell-tracking in stem cell therapy. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.127281sciescopu