Free Energy of PAMAM Dendrimer Adsorption onto Model Biological Membranes

We investigated the thermodynamic, structural, and dynamics changes in dendrimer–membrane systems during dendrimer adsorption to biological membrane systems by combining atomistic molecular dynamics simulations with umbrella sampling techniques to understand the atomistic interactions between the dendrimer and biological membranes. An ethylene­diamine core poly­amido­amine dendrimer (generation 3) with amine terminal groups and both zwitterionic di­palmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline (DPPC) and anionic palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl glycerol (POPG) lipid bilayer membranes were used as the model dendrimer and biological membranes, respectively, in this study. The free energy of the dendrimer adsorption onto two model membranes with different charge states was quantitatively determined. For the zwitterionic DPPC membrane, the dendrimer has a minimum free energy of approximately 50 kcal/mol, which is 15 kcal/mol higher than that observed in previous studies. The dominant contribution to the adsorption potential energy is the van der Waals attraction between the dendrimer and the DPPC membrane. However, the anionic POPG membrane pulls the positively charged dendrimer with an attractive mean force of about 200 pN, finally positioning the dendrimer in the membrane headgroup region. As a result of these strong attractive dendrimer and membrane interactions, the dendrimer structurally undergoes the transition from spherical to a pancake conformation, which slows its lateral mobility, especially in the presence of the POPG membrane. The bilayer lipid membranes are also perturbed by the dendrimer adsorption

Measurement of the branching fractions for Cabibbo-suppressed decays D+→K+K−π+π0D^{+}\to K^{+} K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0} and D(s)+→K+π−π+π0D_{(s)}^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0} at Belle

International audienceWe present measurements of the branching fractions for the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decays $D^+\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$ and $D_s^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$, and the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed decay $D^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$, based on 980 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ of data recorded by the Belle experiment at the KEKB $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. We measure these modes relative to the Cabibbo-favored modes $D^{+}\to K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$ and $D_s^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}$. Our results for the ratios of branching fractions are $B(D^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})/B(D^{+}\to K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}) = (11.32 \pm 0.13 \pm 0.26)\%$, $B(D^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})/B(D^{+}\to K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}) = (1.68 \pm 0.11\pm 0.03)\%$, and $B(D_s^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})/B(D_s^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}) = (17.13 \pm 0.62 \pm 0.51)\%$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The second value corresponds to $(5.83\pm 0.42)\times\tan^4\theta_C$, where $\theta_C$ is the Cabibbo angle; this value is larger than other measured ratios of branching fractions for a doubly Cabibbo-suppressed charm decay to a Cabibbo-favored decay. Multiplying these results by world average values for $B(D^{+}\to K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})$ and $B(D_s^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})$ yields $B(D^{+}\to K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})= (7.08\pm 0.08\pm 0.16\pm 0.20)\times10^{-3}$, $B(D^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0})= (1.05\pm 0.07\pm 0.02\pm 0.03)\times10^{-3}$, and $B(D_s^{+}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{0}) = (9.44\pm 0.34\pm 0.28\pm 0.32)\times10^{-3}$, where the third uncertainty is due to the branching fraction of the normalization mode. The first two results are consistent with, but more precise than, the current world averages. The last result is the first measurement of this branching fraction

Measurement of the B+/B0B^+/B^0 production ratio in e+e−e^+e^- collisions at the Υ(4S)\Upsilon(4S) resonance using B→J/ψ(ℓℓ)KB \rightarrow J/\psi(\ell\ell) K decays at Belle

We measure the ratio of branching fractions for the $\Upsilon (4S)$ decays to $B^+B^-$ and $B^0\bar{B}{}^0$ using $B^+ \rightarrow J/\psi(\ell\ell) K^+$ and $B^0 \rightarrow J/\psi(\ell\ell) K^0$ samples, where $J/\psi(\ell\ell)$ stands for $J/\psi \to \ell^+\ell^-$ ($\ell = e$ or $\mu$), with $711$ fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector. We find the decay rate ratio of $\Upsilon(4S) \rightarrow B^+B^-$ over $\Upsilon(4S) \rightarrow B^0\bar{B}{}^0$ to be $1.065\pm0.012\pm 0.019 \pm 0.047$, which is the most precise measurement to date. The first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively, and the third uncertainty is systematic due to the assumption of isospin symmetry in $B \to J/\psi(\ell\ell) K$

Measurement of branching fractions of Λc+→pKS0KS0\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0K_S^0 and Λc+→pKS0η\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0\eta at Belle

We present a study of a singly Cabibbo-suppressed decay $\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0K_S^0$ and a Cabibbo-favored decay $\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0\eta$ based on 980 $\rm fb^{-1}$ of data collected by the Belle detector, operating at the KEKB energy-asymmetric $e^+e^-$ collider. We measure their branching fractions relative to $\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0$: $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0K_S^0)/\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0)={(1.48 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.04)\times 10^{-2}}$ and $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0\eta)/\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0)={(2.73\pm 0.06\pm 0.13)\times 10^{-1}}$. Combining with the world average $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0)$, we have the absolute branching fractions: $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0K_S^0) = {(2.35\pm 0.12\pm 0.07 \pm 0.12 )\times 10^{-4}}$ and $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0\eta) = {(4.35\pm 0.10\pm 0.20 \pm 0.22 )\times 10^{-3}}$. The first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively, while the third ones arise from the uncertainty on $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0)$. The mode $\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0K_S^0$ is observed for the first time and has a statistical significance of $>\!10\sigma$. The branching fraction of $\Lambda_c^+\to{}pK_S^0\eta$ has been measured with a threefold improvement in precision over previous results and is found to be consistent with the world average

Test of light-lepton universality in τ\tau decays with the Belle II experiment

International audienceWe present a measurement of the ratio $R_\mu = \mathcal{B}(\tau^-\to \mu^-\bar\nu_\mu\nu_\tau) / \mathcal{B}(\tau^-\to e^-\bar\nu_e\nu_\tau)$ of branching fractions $\mathcal{B}$ of the $\tau$ lepton decaying to muons or electrons using data collected with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. The sample has an integrated luminosity of 362 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV. Using an optimised event selection, a binned maximum likelihood fit is performed using the momentum spectra of the electron and muon candidates. The result, $R_\mu = 0.9675 \pm 0.0007 \pm 0.0036$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic, is the most precise to date. It provides a stringent test of the light-lepton universality, translating to a ratio of the couplings of the muon and electron to the $W$ boson in $\tau$ decays of $0.9974 \pm 0.0019$, in agreement with the standard model expectation of unity