Nonleptonic two-body charmless B decays involving a tensor meson in the Perturbative QCD Approach

Two-body charmless hadronic B decays involving a light tensor meson in the final states are studied in the perturbative QCD approach based on $k_T$ factorization. From our calculations, we find that the decay branching ratios for color allowed tree-dominated decays $B\to a_{2}^{0}\pi^{+}$ and $B\to a_{2}^{-}\pi^{+}$ modes are of order $10^{-6}$ and $10^{-5}$, respectively. While other color suppressed tree-dominated decays have very small branching ratios. In general, the branching ratios of most decays are in the range of $10^{-5}$ to $10^{-8}$, which are bigger by one or two orders of magnitude than those predictions obtained in Isgur-Scora-Grinstein-Wise II model and in the covariant light-front approach, but consistent with the recent experimental measurements and the QCD factorization calculations. Since the decays with a tensor meson emitted from vacuum are prohibited in naive factorization, the contributions of nonfactorizable and annihilation diagrams are very important to these decays, which are calculable in our perturbative QCD approach. We also give predictions to the direct CP asymmetries, some of which are large enough for the future experiments to measure. Because we considered the mixing between $f_{2}$ and $f_{2}'$, the decay rates are enhanced significantly for some decays involving $f_{2}^{\prime}$ meson, even with a small mixing angle.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figure

Efficient quantum direct communication with authentication

Two protocols of quantum direct communication with authentication [Phys. Rev. A 73, 042305(2006)] were recently indicated to be insecure against the authenticator Trent's attacks [Phys. Rev. A 75, 026301(2007)]. We present two efficient protocols by using four Pauli operations, which are secure against inner Trent's attacks as well as outer Eve's attacks. Finally, we generalize them to multiparty quantum direction communication.Comment: 4 pages, 4 table

A size of ~1 AU for the radio source Sgr A* at the centre of the Milky Way

Although it is widely accepted that most galaxies have supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers^{1-3}, concrete proof has proved elusive. Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)^4, an extremely compact radio source at the center of our Galaxy, is the best candidate for proof^{5-7}, because it is the closest. Previous Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations (at 7mm) have detected that Sgr A* is ~2 astronomical unit (AU) in size^8, but this is still larger than the "shadow" (a remarkably dim inner region encircled by a bright ring) arising from general relativistic effects near the event horizon^9. Moreover, the measured size is wavelength dependent^{10}. Here we report a radio image of Sgr A* at a wavelength of 3.5mm, demonstrating that its size is \~1 AU. When combined with the lower limit on its mass^{11}, the lower limit on the mass density is 6.5x10^{21} Msun pc^{-3}, which provides the most stringent evidence to date that Sgr A* is an SMBH. The power-law relationship between wavelength and intrinsic size (The size is proportional to wavelength^{1.09}), explicitly rules out explanations other than those emission models with stratified structure, which predict a smaller emitting region observed at a shorter radio wavelength.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Strong quantum fluctuation of vortices in the new superconductor MgB2MgB_2

By using transport and magnetic measurement, the upper critical field $H_{c2}(T)$ and the irreversibility line $H_{irr}(T)$ has been determined. A big separation between $H_{c2}(0)$ and $H_{irr}(0)$ has been found showing the existence of a quantum vortex liquid state induced by quantum fluctuation of vortices in the new superconductor $MgB_2$. Further investigation on the magnetic relaxation shows that both the quantum tunneling and the thermally activated flux creep weakly depends on temperature. But when the melting field $H_{irr}$ is approached, a drastic rising of the relaxation rate is observed. This may imply that the melting of the vortex matter at a finite temperature is also induced by the quantum fluctuation of vortices.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Regulation and accumulation of secondary metabolites in plant-fungus symbiotic system

Plants have evolved adaptive strategies to mutualistic microbes penetration for both mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic fungi. Subsequently, an array of host plant defense responses and signal transduction is generated. A group of secondary metabolites are accumulated inducibly or enhanced constitutively in plant tissues during the process. Symbiotic fungi usually perform compatible and friendly interactions with host plants, which contribute to growth promotion and secondary metabolites accumulation simultaneously, such as alkaloids and terpenoid with pharmacological characteristics. Especially, some secondary metabolites derived from root exudation act as signal molecules, which induce the spore germination and hypha branching in mycorrhizal fungi. However, the precise mechanisms in some cases remain unclear so far and need to be further investigated. Above exciting and interesting results shed light on our understanding of the mystery of fungal elicitation of secondary metabolitesaccumulation in plant kingdom. Therefore a deeper insight in mutualistic symbiosis is of great importance for biological applications: (1) the plant/microbial co-culture system in vitro may be perfectly useful to guide the cultivation of medicinal plants for obtaining high level of bioactive compounds; (2) manipulating plant released signal molecules and isoprenoid metabolism will be effective to optimize and improve the function of mycorrhizae in forestry, agriculture and horticulture

Evaluation of Site Response Using Downhole Array Data from a Liquefied Site

Downhole array ground motions recorded at Port Island during the mainshock and aftershocks of the Hyogoken-Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake of January 17, 1995, were used in this study for evaluating the reasonableness of commonly used site response analysis techniques (both nonlinear effective stress and equivalent linear total stress techniques). The nonlinear effective stress analyses were performed using the computer code SUMDES; the equivalent linear total stress analyses were performed using the computer code SHAKE. Dynamic soil properties as well as other data for characterizing nonlinear stress-strain, cyclic strength, and pore pressure generation and dissipation of the Masado till that liquefied during the mainshock of the Kobe earthquake were derived from published papers

Magneto-Centrifugal Launching of Jets from Accretion Disks. II: Inner Disk-Driven Winds

We follow numerically the time evolution of axisymmetric outflows driven magneto-centrifugally from the inner portion of accretion disks, from their launching surface to large, observable distances. Special attention is paid to the collimation of part of the outflow into a dense, narrow jet around the rotation axis, after a steady state has been reached. For parameters typical of T Tauri stars, we define a fiducial ``jet'' as outlined by the contour of constant density at 10^4 cm^{-3}. We find that the jet, so defined, appears nearly cylindrical well above the disk, in agreement with previous asymptotic analyses. Closer to the equatorial plane, the density contour can either bulge outwards or pinch inwards, depending on the conditions at the launching surface, particularly the mass flux distribution. We find that even though a dense, jet-like feature is always formed around the axis, there is no guarantee that the high-density axial jet would dominate the more tenuous, wide-angle part of the wind. Specifically, on the 100 AU scale, resolvable by HST and ground-based adaptive optics for nearby T Tauri winds, the fraction of the wind mass flux enclosed by the fiducial jet can vary substantially, again depending on the launching conditions. We show two examples in which the fraction is ~20% and ~45%. These dependences may provide a way to constrain the conditions at the launching surface, which are poorly known at present.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ, scheduled for vol. 595, October 1, 200

Effect of YangZheng XiaoJi Extract, DME-25, on endothelial cells and their response to Avastin.

ackground: Angiogenesis is a cellular process that has been identified as a key target for therapy in solid cancer. However, over the course of anti-angiogenic therapies, cancer cells acquire resistance to these therapies after an initial period of success. DME-25 is an extract from Yang Zheng Xiao Ji, a traditional Chinese medicine that has been reported to benefit patients with cancer by alleviating chemotherapy-associated symptoms and possibly inhibiting key cancer cell traits. This study aimed to explore if DME-25 on its own and in combination with avastin affected endothelial cell behaviour in vitro in the presence of hypoxic lung cancer-conditioned medium (CM). Materials and Methods: Two lung cancer cell lines, A549 and SK-MES-1, were exposed to hypoxic conditions (O2 ≤1%) for 4 h, after which CM, and RNA were collected. Transcript expression of several influential angiogenic markers in lung cancer cells were assessed following hypoxic/normoxic conditions. Lung cancer CM was added in combination with avastin and DME-25, before or after vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) depletion, to endothelial cells (HECV) and cell migration and microtubule formation were assessed in vitro. Results: HECV cell migration was reduced in the presence of avastin, although less efficiently in the presence of lung cancer CM. A combination of DME-25 and avastin with lung cancer CM significantly reduced HECV cell migration irrespective of culture under hypoxia or normoxia. Depletion of VEGF from the CM reduced the inhibitory capacity of avastin, however, it appeared to have little impact on the anti-angiogenic effects of DME-25. Conclusion: DME-25 inhibits tubule formation irrespectively of the factors secreted by normoxic or hypoxic lung cancer cell CM depleted of VEGF