Search

Abstract We present a search for the charged lepton-flavor-violating decays ϒ(1S) → ℓ ± ℓ′∓ and radiative charged lepton-flavour-violating decays ϒ(1S) → γ ℓ ± ℓ′∓ [ℓ,ℓ′ = e, μ, τ] using the 158 million ϒ(2S) sample collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB collider. This search uses ϒ(1S) mesons produced in ϒ(2S) → π + π − ϒ(1S) transitions. We do not find any significant signal, so we provide upper limits on the branching fractions at the 90% confidence level.

Abstract We present measurements of the branching fractions for the decays B → Kμ + μ − and B → Ke + e − , and their ratio (R K ), using a data sample of 711 fb −1 that contains 772 × 106 B B ¯ $$ B\overline{B} $$ events. The data were collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e − collider. The ratio R K is measured in five bins of dilepton invariant-mass-squared (q 2): q 2 ∈ (0.1, 4.0), (4.00, 8.12), (1.0, 6.0), (10.2, 12.8) and (> 14.18) GeV2 /c 4, along with the whole q 2 region. The R K value for q 2 ∈ (1.0, 6.0) GeV2 /c 4 is 1.03 − 0.24 + 0.28 $$ {1.03}_{-0.24}^{+0.28} $$ ± 0.01. The first and second uncertainties listed are statistical and systematic, respectively. All results for R K are consistent with Standard Model predictions. We also measure CP-averaged isospin asymmetries in the same q 2 bins. The results are consistent with a null asymmetry, with the largest difference of 2.6 standard deviations occurring for the q 2 ∈ (1.0, 6.0) GeV2 /c 4 bin in the mode with muon final states. The measured differential branching fractions, d ℬ $$ d\mathrm{\mathcal{B}} $$ /dq 2, are consistent with theoretical predictions for charged B decays, while the corresponding values are below the expectations for neutral B decays. We have also searched for lepton-flavor-violating B → Kμ ± e ∓ decays and set 90% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fraction in the range of 10 −8 for B + → K + μ ± e ∓, and B 0 → K 0 μ ± e ∓ modes.

Abstract We present the first model-independent measurement of the CKM unitarity triangle angle ϕ 3 using B ± → D( K S 0 $$ {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 $$ π + π − π 0) K ± decays, where D indicates either a D 0 or D ¯ $$ \overline{D} $$ 0 meson. Measurements of the strong-phase difference of the D → K S 0 $$ {K}_{\mathrm{S}}^0 $$ π + π − π 0 amplitude obtained from CLEO-c data are used as input. This analysis is based on the full Belle data set of 772 × 106 B B ¯ $$ \overline{B} $$ events collected at the Υ(4S) resonance. We obtain ϕ 3 = ( 5.7 − 8.8 + 10.2 $$ {5.7}_{-8.8}^{+10.2} $$ ±3.5±5.7) ° and the suppressed amplitude ratio r B = 0.323±0.147±0.023±0.051. Here the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic, and the third is due to the precision of the strong-phase parameters measured from CLEO-c data. The 95% confidence interval on ϕ 3 is (−29.7, 109.5) ° , which is consistent with the current world average.

Abstract We report a new measurement of the e + e − → ϒ(nS)π + π − (n = 1, 2, 3) cross sections at energies from 10.52 to 11.02 GeV using data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e + e − collider. We observe a new structure in the energy dependence of the cross sections; if described by a Breit-Wigner function its mass and width are found to be M = 10752.7 ± 5.9 − 1.1 + 0.7 MeV / c 2 $$ M=\left(10752.7\pm {5.9}_{-1.1}^{+0.7}\right)\mathrm{MeV}/{c}^2 $$ and Γ = 35.5 − 11.3 − 3.3 + 17.6 + 3.9 $$ \Gamma =\left({35.5}_{-11.3\kern0.5em -3.3}^{+17.6+3.9}\right) $$ MeV, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The global significance of the new structure including systematic uncertainty is 5.2 standard deviations. We also find evidence for the e + e − → ϒ (1S)π + π − process at the energy 10.52 GeV, which is below the B B ¯ $$ \overline{B} $$ threshold.

Abstract We study bottomonium production in association with an $$\eta $$ η meson in $$e^+e^-$$ e+e- annihilations near the $$\varUpsilon (5S)$$ Υ(5S) , at a centre-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}=10.866$$ s=10.866 GeV. The results are based on the 121.4 fb$$^{-1}$$ -1 data sample collected by the Belle experiment at the asymmetric-energy KEKB collider. Only the $$\eta $$ η meson is reconstructed and the missing-mass spectrum of $$\eta $$ η candidates is investigated. We observe the $$e^+e^-\rightarrow \eta \varUpsilon _J(1D)$$ e+e-→ηΥJ(1D) process and find evidence for the $$e^+e^-\rightarrow \eta \varUpsilon (2S)$$ e+e-→ηΥ(2S) process, while no significant signals of $$\varUpsilon (1S)$$ Υ(1S) , $$h_b(1P)$$ hb(1P) , nor $$h_b(2P)$$ hb(2P) are found. Cross sections for the studied processes are reported.

The review presents an update on the electroencephalographic characteristics and neurophysiology of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) in Russia and foreign countries.Materials and methods. The authors have performed a literary search for the full-text publications on JME electroencephalography and neurophysiology worldwide and in the Russian Federation, which are available in Russian and foreign databases.Results and discussion. Analysis of the literature suggests that JME patients have some electroencephalographic pattern features that include the atypical morphology of spike-and-slow-wave complexes, as well as amplitude asymmetry, focal discharges, focal onset of paroxysms, focal paroxysmal shift, and generalized paroxysmal fast rhythm.The analysis of the literature also indicates that primary care neurologists, clinical neurophysiologists, and epileptologists should be informed about the electroencephalographic characteristics of JME to timely diagnose the disease and to rule out the use of inadequate therapy.

Abstract We report the first observation of the $$\Xi _{c}(2930)^0$$ Ξc(2930)0 charmed-strange baryon with a significance greater than 5$$\sigma $$ σ . The $$\Xi _{c}(2930)^0$$ Ξc(2930)0 is found in its decay to $$K^- \Lambda _{c}^+$$ K-Λc+ in $$B^{-} \rightarrow K^{-} \Lambda _{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda }_{c}^{-}$$ B-→K-Λc+Λ¯c- decays. The measured mass and width are $$[2928.9 \pm 3.0(\mathrm stat.)^{+0.9}_{-12.0}(\mathrm syst.)]$$ [2928.9±3.0(stat.)-12.0+0.9(syst.)] MeV/$$c^{2}$$ c2 and $$[19.5 \pm 8.4(\mathrm stat.) ^{+5.9}_{-7.9}(\mathrm syst.)]$$ [19.5±8.4(stat.)-7.9+5.9(syst.)] MeV, respectively, and the product branching fraction is $$\mathcal{B}(B^{-} \rightarrow \Xi _{c}(2930)^0 \bar{\Lambda }_{c}^{-}) \mathcal{B}(\Xi _{c}(2930)^0 \rightarrow K^- \Lambda _{c}^{+})=[1.73 \pm 0.45(\mathrm stat.) \pm 0.21(\mathrm syst.)]\times 10^{-4}$$ B(B-→Ξc(2930)0Λ¯c-)B(Ξc(2930)0→K-Λc+)=[1.73±0.45(stat.)±0.21(syst.)]×10-4 . We also measure $$\mathcal{B}(B^{-} \rightarrow K^{-} \Lambda _{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda }_{c}^{-}) = [4.80 \pm 0.43(\mathrm stat.) \pm 0.60(\mathrm syst.)] \times 10^{-4}$$ B(B-→K-Λc+Λ¯c-)=[4.80±0.43(stat.)±0.60(syst.)]×10-4 with improved precision, and search for the charmonium-like state Y(4660) and its spin partner, $$Y_{\eta }$$ Yη , in the $$\Lambda _{c}^{+}\bar{\Lambda }_{c}^{-}$$ Λc+Λ¯c- invariant mass spectrum. No clear signals of the Y(4660) nor its spin partner are observed and the 90% credibility level (C.L.) upper limits on their production rates are determined. These measurements are obtained from a sample of $$(772\pm 11)\times 10^{6} B\bar{B}$$ (772±11)×106BB¯ pairs collected at the $$\Upsilon (4S)$$ Υ(4S) resonance by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy electron–positron collider.

In general, we compared the different inhibition mechanisms of organic inhibitor with that of anodic inhibitor. When triethanolamine or nitrite was added separately to tap water for inhibiting the corrosion of ductile cast iron, large amounts of inhibitor were needed. This is because the corrosion inhibitors had to overcome the galvanic corrosion that occurs between graphite and matrix. In this work, we investigated the corrosion of ductile cast iron in tap water with/without inhibitors. The corrosion rate was measured using chemical immersion test and electrochemical methods, including anodic polarization test. The inhibited surface was analyzed using EPMA and XPS. Test solutions were analyzed by performing FT-IR measurement. When triethanolamine and nitrite coexisted in tap water, synergistic effect built up, and the inhibition effect was ca. 30 times more effective than witnessed with single addition. This work focused on the synergistic effect brought about by nitrite and triethanolamine and its novel mechanism was also proposed.

Compensatory growth of grower olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was determined at suboptimal temperature (13.0±1.9°C). Fifteen fish averaging 201.1 g per tank were distributed into 18 of 300 L flow-through tanks. Six treatments were prepared in triplicate: fish were hand-fed with an extruded pellet to apparent satiation once a day for 16 weeks (16 WF); and the other five groups of fish were hand-fed for 15, 14, 13, 12 and 10 weeks after 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 6-week feed deprivation, referred to as 15 WF, 14 WF, 13 WF, 12 WF and 10 WF, respectively. A linear relationship between body weight of fish and feed deprivation was observed: Y (Body weight of fish) = −1.81X (Weeks of feed deprivation)+201.07, R2 = 0.83. Weight gain of grower olive flounder in 15 WF, 14 WF, 13 WF and 12 WF treatments was comparable to that of fish in 16 WF treatment, but lower than that of fish in 10 WF treatment. Specific growth rate of fish in 15 WF treatment was higher than that of fish in 16 WF, 14 WF and 10 WF treatments. Feed consumption of fish was not affected by feeding regime. Feed and protein efficiency ratios of fish in 15 WF treatment were higher than those of fish in 13 WF, 12 WF and 10 WF treatments. Grower olive flounder could achieve full compensatory growth when fish were daily fed for 12 weeks after 4-week feed deprivation at suboptimal temperature.

While NaNO2 addition can greatly inhibit the corrosion of carbon steel and ductile cast iron, in order to improve the similar corrosion resistance, ca. 100 times more NaNO2 addition is needed for ductile cast iron compared to carbon steel. A corrosion and inhibition mechanism is proposed whereby NO2- ion is added to oxidize. The NO2- ion can be reduced to nitrogen compounds and these compounds may be absorbed on the surface of graphite. Therefore, since nitrite ion needs to oxidize the surface of matrix and needs to passivate the galvanic corroded area and since it is absorbed on the surface of graphite, a greater amount of corrosion inhibitor needs to be added to ductile cast iron compared to carbon steel. The passive film of carbon steel and ductile cast iron, formed by NaNO2 addition showed N-type semiconductive properties and its resistance, is increased; the passive current density is thus decreased and the corrosion rate is then lowered. In addition, the film is mainly composed of iron oxide due to the oxidation by NO2- ion; however, regardless of the alloys, nitrogen compounds (not nitrite) were detected at the outermost surface but were not incorporated in the inner oxide.

Airway complications after anterior cervical surgery are rare but potentially lethal. The purpose of this study was to identify the natural course of prevertebral soft tissue swelling after one- or two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in order to prevent lethal airway obstruction after ACDF. Eighty-seven patients scheduled for one- or two-level ACDF were studied prospectively. Lateral radiographs of the cervical spine were taken preoperatively, postoperatively on the day of surgery and on the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth days after operation. Prevertebral soft tissue was measured from C2 to C6 on cervical spine lateral radiographs. The anteroposterior (AP) thickness of the prevertebral soft tissue was measured at each cervical level from C2 to C6. Prevertebral soft tissue swelling occurred postoperatively and increased markedly on the second day after operation. The maximum swelling was found on the second and third days. In fusions above C5 swelling was most prominent at C2, 3. Gradual decrease in swelling was observed after the fourth postoperative day. Prominent swelling was noted at the second, third, and fourth cervical levels. There was no significant difference in swelling when comparing one-level and two-level ACDF. Only one patient required reintubation (1.1%). In conclusion, in this prospective study of 87 patients fused at one or two levels in the cervical spine peak prevertebral soft tissue swelling was observed on the second and third days after the surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Delayed vertebral collapse after osteoporotic spinal fractures may cause progressive kyphosis, neurological deficits, and chronic back pain. We treated 14 consecutive patients with posterolateral decompression and posterior reconstruction and followed them over a period ranging from 24 to 54 months. The mean age was 67 (range: 62-72) years and the fracture level was T12 and L1. Seven patients were graded as Frankel stage C and seven as stage D. The mean segmental kyphotic angle was 22.6° (7-29°) preoperatively, 4.4° (1-6°) postoperatively, and 6.8° (2-15°) at the final follow-up. The pain score on a visual analogue scale improved from 9.5 preoperatively to 2.7 postoperatively, and the neurological status improved in all patients. Bone fusion was present 9 months after operation. Of four surgical complications, two were dural tears, one a superficial infection, and there was one death due to an acute adrenal insufficiency. Posterolateral decompression with posterior reconstruction is a useful treatment for patients with delayed osteoporotic vertebral collapse. Résumé Le collapsus vertébral secondaire, après une fracture vertébrale ostéoporotique, peut créer une cyphose progressive, un déficit neurologique et des lombalgies chroniques. Nous avons traité 14 malades consécutifs par décompression postérolaterale et reconstruction postérieure et les avons suivis de 24 à 54 mois. L'âge moyen était 67 (62-72) années. Le niveau de la fracture était T12 et L1. Sept malades ont été notés comme Frankel stade C et sept comme stade D. L'angle cyphotique segmentaire moyen était 22.6° (7-29°) avant l'opération, 4.4° (1-6°) postopératoire, et 6.8° (2-15°) au dernier examen. Le score de la douleur sur une échelle analogue visuelle s'est amélioré de 9.5 en préopératoire à 2.7 en postopératoire. Le statut neurologique a été amélioré chez tous les malades. La fusion osseuse était visible 9 mois après la chirurgie. Il y avait quatre complications chirurgicales, deux brèches duremériennes, une infection superficielle et un décés dû à une insuffisance surrénale aiguë. La décompression posterolateral avec reconstruction postérieure est une bonne option de traitement chez les malades avec collapsus vertébral différé. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an explicit description of the Wu invariant metric on the non-convex Thullen domains. We show that the Wu invariant Hermitian metric, which in general behaves as nicely as the Kobayashi metric under holomorphic mappings, enjoys better regularity in this case. Furthermore, we show that the holomorphic curvature of the Wu metric is bounded from above everywhere by $-1/2$. This leads the Wu metric to be a natural solution to a conjecture of Kobayashi in the case of non-convex Thullen domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel temporal contrast filter (TCF)-based method was developed to detect supersonic small infrared targets. The proposed hysteresis threshold-based detection followed by the TCF can enhance the accuracy of the target position, the robustness to background clutter and the velocity range of moving targets compared with the conventional temporal variance filter-based method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is devoted to the investigation of the discharge characteristics of an ac arc plasma torch with a well-type cathode working in air and CO2. The electrical characteristics, plasma jet image and optical emission profile are investigated by varying the discharge power and the gas flow rate. The dynamic behaviour of arc voltage and current is characterized by smooth-shaped waveforms, regularly iterated with a driving frequency. The moving of arc spot positions is inferred from the measured waveforms, and compared with that observed in dc torches. A simple lifetime test is performed to verify the speculation that the arc spots in ac operation move continuously over a wide region with a very high speed. The result shows that the electrode lifetime can be enhanced by combining the vortex motion of arc gas with the ac driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoid has anti-oxidant properties and has been shown to protect cells against oxygen radical damage. This study therefore, evaluated the effect of flavonoid on the in vitrodevelopment ability of porcine embryos produced by parthenogenesis (PA) or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Porcine embryos were produced from abattoir-derived prepubertal oocytes either by PA or SCNT of fetal fibroblast into enucleated oocytes essentially as we described earlier (Gupta et al.2008 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75, 588–597). One-cell embryos were subsequently cultured in NCSU23 + 0.4% polyvinyl alcohol supplemented with or without 10 μmflavanoid for 7 days at 39°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2in air. Results showed that the presence of flavonoid in the culture medium increased (v. controls) the rate of blastocyst in both PA (31.7 ± 4.0 v. 20.4 ± 2.0%) and SCNT (20.6 ± 2.5 v. 12.2 ± 2.9%) groups, respectively (P< 0.05). These blastocysts also had higher ability to hatch (PA: 53.7 ± 3.6 v. 34.0 ± 2.4%; SCNT: 70.9 ± 2.5 v. 45.7 ± 2.9%) and contained higher cell number (PA: 38.9 ± 2.0 v. 31.3 ± 2.1; SCNT: 37.5 ± 2.0 v. 29.7 ± 2.5) than those of control groups (P< 0.05). Western blot analysis of parthenogenetic blastocysts showed that, flavonoid also reduced the expression of caspase-3 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) proteins by 3.1 ± 0.1 and 7.7 ± 0.2 fold, respectively while expression of ERK1/2 protein was increased by 4.7 ± 2.3 fold. The 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescene fluorescence staining of embryos further revealed that the activity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly reduced in flavonoid treated embryos by 2 fold(P< 0.05). These data therefore, suggest that flavonoid may improve the in vitrodevelopment rate and quality of porcine embryos by reducing ROS activity and change in protein expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sequenced the genome of Westerdykella aurantiaca NNIBRFG27121 strain isolated from the wetland of Maehwamarum Habitat in Korea. The final assembly consisted of six scaffolds with a size of 31.96 Mb and an N50 of 8,770,400 bp. This genome will help in comparing species within the Westerdykella genus., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Eisosomes, large protein complexes that are predominantly composed of BAR-domain-containing proteins Pil1 and its homologs, are situated under the plasma membrane of ascomycetes. A successful targeting of Pil1 onto the future site of eisosome accompanies maturation of eisosome. During or after recruitment, Pil1 undergoes self-assembly into filaments that can serve as scaffolds to induce membrane furrows or invaginations. Although a consequence of the invagination is likely to redistribute particular proteins and lipids to a different location, the precise physiological role of membrane invagination and eisosome assembly awaits further investigation. The present review summarizes recent research findings within the field regarding the detailed structural and functional significance of Pil1 on eisosome organization.