Search for Evidence of Baryogenesis and Dark Matter in B^{+}→ψ_{D}+p Decays at BABAR

A new dark sector antibaryon, denoted ψ_{D}, could be produced in decays of B mesons. This Letter presents a search for B^{+}→ψ_{D}+p (and the charge conjugate) decays in e^{+}e^{-} annihilations at 10.58 GeV, using data collected in the BABAR experiment. Data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 398  fb^{-1} are analyzed. No evidence for a signal is observed. Branching fraction upper limits in the range from 10^{-7}-10^{-5} are obtained at 90% confidence level for masses of 1.0 Collapse

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Search for an Axionlike Particle in B Meson Decays

Axionlike particles (ALPs) are predicted in many extensions of the standard model, and their masses can naturally be well below the electroweak scale. In the presence of couplings to electroweak bosons, these particles could be emitted in flavor-changing B meson decays. We report herein a search for an ALP, a, in the reaction B^{±}→K^{±}a, a→γγ using data collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. No significant signal is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the ALP coupling to electroweak bosons are derived as a function of ALP mass, improving current constraints by several orders of magnitude in the range 0.175  GeV<m_{a}<4.78  GeV.

Search for Lepton Flavor Violation in ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓}

We report on the first search for electron-muon lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the decay of a b quark and b antiquark bound state. We look for the LFV decay ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓} in a sample of 118 million ϒ(3S) mesons from 27  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider operating with a 10.36 GeV center-of-mass energy. No evidence for a signal is found, and we set a limit on the branching fraction B[ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓}]<3.6×10^{-7} at 90% C. L. This result can be interpreted as a limit Λ_{NP}/g_{NP}^{2}>80  TeV on the energy scale Λ_{NP} divided by the coupling-squared g_{NP}^{2} of relevant new physics (NP).

Search for Darkonium in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions

Collider searches for dark sectors, new particles interacting only feebly with ordinary matter, have largely focused on identifying signatures of new mediators, leaving much of dark sector structures unexplored. In particular, the existence of dark matter bound states (darkonia) remains to be investigated. This possibility could arise in a simple model in which a dark photon (A^{'}) is light enough to generate an attractive force between dark fermions. We report herein a search for a J^{PC}=1^{--} darkonium state, the ϒ_{D}, produced in the reaction e^{+}e^{-}→γϒ_{D}, ϒ_{D}→A^{'}A^{'}A^{'}, where the dark photons subsequently decay into pairs of leptons or pions, using 514  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector. No significant signal is observed, and we set bounds on the γ-A^{'} kinetic mixing as a function of the dark sector coupling constant for 0.001<m_{A^{'}}<3.16  GeV and 0.05<m_{ϒ_{D}}<9.5  GeV.

Proteomic biomarkers of sleep apnea

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by recurrent partial to complete upper airway obstructions during sleep, leading to repetitive arousals and oxygen desaturations. Although many OSA biomarkers have been reported individually, only a small subset have been validated through both cross-sectional and intervention studies. We sought to profile serum protein biomarkers in OSA in unbiased high throughput assay.

METHODS

A highly multiplexed aptamer array (SomaScan) was used to profile 1300 proteins in serum samples from 713 individuals in the Stanford Sleep Cohort, a patient-based registry. Outcome measures derived from overnight polysomnography included Obstructive Apnea Hypopnea Index (OAHI), Central Apnea Index (CAI), 2% Oxygen Desaturation index, mean and minimum oxygen saturation indices during sleep. Additionally, a separate intervention-based cohort of 16 individuals was used to assess proteomic profiles pre- and post-intervention with positive airway pressure.

RESULTS

OAHI was associated with 65 proteins, predominantly pathways of complement, coagulation, cytokine signaling, and hemostasis which were upregulated. CAI was associated with two proteins including Roundabout homolog 3 (ROBO3), a protein involved in bilateral synchronization of the pre-Bötzinger complex and cystatin F. Analysis of pre- and post intervention samples revealed IGFBP-3 protein to be increased while LEAP1 (Hepicidin) to be decreased with intervention. An OAHI machine learning classifier (OAHI >=15 vs OAHI<15) trained on SomaScan protein measures alone performed robustly, achieving 76% accuracy in a validation dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiplex protein assays offer diagnostic potential and provide new insights into the biological basis of sleep disordered breathing.

Precision Measurement of the Ratio B(ϒ(3S)→τ^{+}τ^{-})/B(ϒ(3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-})

We report on a precision measurement of the ratio R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=B(ϒ(3S)→τ^{+}τ^{-})/B(ϒ(3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-}) using data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider. The measurement is based on a 28  fb^{-1} data sample collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.355 GeV corresponding to a sample of 122 million ϒ(3S) mesons. The ratio is measured to be R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=0.966±0.008_{stat}±0.014_{syst} and is in agreement with the standard model prediction of 0.9948 within 2 standard deviations. The uncertainty in R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)} is almost an order of magnitude smaller than the only previous measurement.

Search for a Dark Leptophilic Scalar in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions

Many scenarios of physics beyond the standard model predict the existence of new gauge singlets, which might be substantially lighter than the weak scale. The experimental constraints on additional scalars with masses in the MeV to GeV range could be significantly weakened if they interact predominantly with leptons rather than quarks. At an e^{+}e^{-} collider, such a leptophilic scalar (ϕ_{L}) would be produced predominantly through radiation from a τ lepton. We report herein a search for e^{+}e^{-}→τ^{+}τ^{-}ϕ_{L}, ϕ_{L}→ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} (ℓ=e, μ) using data collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. No significant signal is observed, and we set limits on the ϕ_{L} coupling to leptons in the range 0.04<m_{ϕ_{L}}<7.0  GeV. These bounds significantly improve upon the current constraints, excluding almost entirely the parameter space favored by the observed discrepancy in the muon anomalous magnetic moment below 4 GeV at 90% confidence level.

Effectiveness of an mHealth application to improve hypertension health literacy in India

AIM

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a mobile health or mHealth application to improve hypertension health literacy among vulnerable populations in India. Additionally, we sought to estimate relationships between participant knowledge on hypertension and sociodemographic variables.

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization advocates for the use of mobile technology to improve public health outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

The incidence of hypertension is on the rise in India, and effective and sustainable interventions are needed.

METHODS

A quantitative single arm pre-test post-test interventional and correlational design was used to test the hypertension mHealth application among participants in a limited resource setting. A paired t-test was performed to compare pre- and post-test results after participant use of the mHealth application. A regression model was used to estimate relationships between participant hypertension health literacy and sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

A statistically significant improvement in test scores among participants after use of the mHealth app was found. Sociodemographic characteristics such as living in an urban environment, married, increased number of people living in household and alcohol use were determined to have a statistically significant effect on improvement of test score.

DISCUSSION

Results indicated the application was effective among participants with varied literacy and health literacy levels. These findings contribute to the potential widespread scalability of the app among populations with varied demographics.

CONCLUSION

This application provides an effective and valuable culturally tailored educational resource for nurses and other health providers to use to improve hypertension health literacy among vulnerable populations in India.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND HEALTH POLICY

This study contributes to nursing and health policy by answering a call from the World Health Organization to implement and research mHealth interventions to improve health outcomes, particularly in a low and middle income country where preventive health access is limited.

Measurements of the Absolute Branching Fractions of B^{±}→K^{±}X_{cc[over ¯]}

A study of the two-body decays B^{±}→X_{cc[over ¯]}K^{±}, where X_{cc[over ¯]} refers to one charmonium state, is reported by the BABAR Collaboration using a data sample of 424  fb^{-1}. The absolute determination of branching fractions for these decays are significantly improved compared to previous BABAR measurements. Evidence is found for the decay B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+} at the 3σ level. The absolute branching fraction B[B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+}]=[2.1±0.6(stat)±0.3(syst)]×10^{-4} is measured for the first time. It follows that B[X(3872)→J/ψπ^{+}π^{-}]=(4.1±1.3)%, supporting the hypothesis of a molecular component for this resonance.

Search for Rare or Forbidden Decays of the D^{0} Meson

We present a search for nine lepton-number-violating and three lepton-flavor-violating neutral charm decays of the type D^{0}→h^{'-}h^{-}ℓ^{'+}ℓ^{+} and D^{0}→h^{'-}h^{+}ℓ^{'±}ℓ^{∓}, where h and h^{'} represent a K or π meson and ℓ and ℓ^{'} an electron or muon. The analysis is based on 468  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected at or close to the ϒ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. No significant signal is observed for any of the twelve modes, and we establish 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions in the range (1.0-30.6)×10^{-7}. The limits are between 1 and 3 orders of magnitude more stringent than previous measurements.

Extraction of form Factors from a Four-Dimensional Angular Analysis of B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ}

An angular analysis of the decay B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ}, ℓ∈{e,μ}, is reported using the full e^{+}e^{-} collision data set collected by the BABAR experiment at the ϒ(4S) resonance. One B meson from the ϒ(4S)→BB[over ¯] decay is fully reconstructed in a hadronic decay mode, which constrains the kinematics and provides a determination of the neutrino momentum vector. The kinematics of the semileptonic decay is described by the dilepton mass squared, q^{2}, and three angles. The first unbinned fit to the full four-dimensional decay rate in the standard model is performed in the so-called Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed approach, which employs a generic q^{2} parametrization of the underlying form factors based on crossing symmetry, analyticity, and QCD dispersion relations for the amplitudes. A fit using the more model-dependent Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert (CLN) approach is performed as well. Our form factor shapes show deviations from previous fits based on the CLN parametrization. The latest form factors also provide an updated prediction for the branching fraction ratio R(D^{*})≡B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ})=0.253±0.005. Finally, using the well-measured branching fraction for the B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ} decay, a value of |V_{cb}|=(38.36±0.90)×10^{-3} is obtained that is consistent with the current world average for exclusive B[over ¯]→D^{(*)}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ} decays and remains in tension with the determination from inclusive semileptonic B decays to final states with charm.

[Robot-assisted surgery - Progress or expensive toy? : Matched-pair comparative analysis of robot-assisted cholecystectomy vs. laparoscopic cholecystectomy]

AIM AND METHODS

By means of a matched-pair analysis comparing data obtained from laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and robot-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy (RAC), the value of both methods as well as the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches were elucidated. The consideration was carried out by evaluation of postoperative surgical results, a cost analysis and a subjective survey of the patients using a questionnaire. Thus, from the 35 consecutive RAC, 35 (parallel) retrospectively matched pairs were established.

RESULTS

Postoperative surgical results did not show any significant differences between LC and RAC. In the individual assessment by each patient, there were also no significant differences; however, there was a tendency towards the assessment of the RAC to be slightly worse. A striking difference was found with respect to the cost analysis at the time of surgery.

CONCLUSION

The RAC operation alone is significantly more expensive compared to LC with respect to maintenance and acquisition costs. In addition, RAC can at present not be completely reimbursed under the current German diagnosis-related system. The postulated advantages of RAC comprise mainly the precise preparation within narrow confinements and the favorable ergonomic handling for the surgeon. The basic prerequisites are control of the costs and a reasonable reflection in the current reimbursement system.

Observation of the Decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-}

We report the observation of the rare charm decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-}, based on 468  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected at or close to the center-of-mass energy of the ϒ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We find the branching fraction in the invariant mass range 0.675<m(e^{+}e^{-})<0.875  GeV/c^{2} of the electron-positron pair to be B(D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-})=(4.0±0.5±0.2±0.1)×10^{-6}, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third due to the uncertainty in the branching fraction of the decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{+}π^{-} used as a normalization mode. The significance of the observation corresponds to 9.7 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties. This result is consistent with the recently reported D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}μ^{+}μ^{-} branching fraction, measured in the same invariant mass range, and with the value expected in the standard model. In a set of regions of m(e^{+}e^{-}), where long-distance effects are potentially small, we determine a 90% confidence level upper limit on the branching fraction B(D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-})<3.1×10^{-6}.

Search for a Stable Six-Quark State at BABAR

Recent investigations have suggested that the six-quark combination uuddss could be a deeply bound state (S) that has eluded detection so far, and a potential dark matter candidate. We report the first search for a stable, doubly strange six-quark state in ϒ→SΛ[over ¯]Λ[over ¯] decays based on a sample of 90×10^{6}ϒ(2S) and 110×10^{6}ϒ(3S) decays collected by the BABAR experiment. No signal is observed, and 90% confidence level limits on the combined ϒ(2S,3S)→SΛ[over ¯]Λ[over ¯] branching fraction in the range (1.2-1.4)×10^{-7} are derived for m_{S}<2.05  GeV. These bounds set stringent limits on the existence of such exotic particles.

First Evidence for cos2β>0 and Resolution of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Quark-Mixing Unitarity Triangle Ambiguity

We present first evidence that the cosine of the CP-violating weak phase 2β is positive, and hence exclude trigonometric multifold solutions of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) Unitarity Triangle using a time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} with D→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decays, where h^{0}∈{π^{0},η,ω} denotes a light unflavored and neutral hadron. The measurement is performed combining the final data sets of the BABAR and Belle experiments collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance at the asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The data samples contain (471±3)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the BABAR detector and (772±11)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the Belle detector. The results of the measurement are sin2β=0.80±0.14(stat)±0.06(syst)±0.03(model) and cos2β=0.91±0.22(stat)±0.09(syst)±0.07(model). The result for the direct measurement of the angle β of the CKM Unitarity Triangle is β=[22.5±4.4(stat)±1.2(syst)±0.6(model)]°. The measurement assumes no direct CP violation in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays. The quoted model uncertainties are due to the composition of the D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decay amplitude model, which is newly established by performing a Dalitz plot amplitude analysis using a high-statistics e^{+}e^{-}→cc[over ¯] data sample. CP violation is observed in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays at the level of 5.1 standard deviations. The significance for cos2β>0 is 3.7 standard deviations. The trigonometric multifold solution π/2-β=(68.1±0.7)° is excluded at the level of 7.3 standard deviations. The measurement resolves an ambiguity in the determination of the apex of the CKM Unitarity Triangle.

Breathing Disturbances Without Hypoxia Are Associated With Objective Sleepiness in Sleep Apnea

Study Objectives

To determine whether defining two subtypes of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) events-with or without hypoxia-results in measures that are more strongly associated with hypertension and sleepiness.

Methods

A total of 1022 participants with 2112 nocturnal polysomnograms from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort were analyzed with our automated algorithm, developed to detect breathing disturbances and desaturations. Breathing events were time-locked to desaturations, resulting in two indices-desaturating (hypoxia-breathing disturbance index [H-BDI]) and nondesaturating (nonhypoxia-breathing disturbance index [NH-BDI]) events-regardless of arousals. Measures of subjective (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) and objective (2981 multiple sleep latency tests from a subset of 865 participants) sleepiness were analyzed, in addition to clinically relevant clinicodemographic variables. Hypertension was defined as BP ≥ 140/90 or antihypertensive use.

Results

H-BDI, but not NH-BDI, correlated strongly with SDB severity indices that included hypoxia (r ≥ 0.89, p ≤ .001 with 3% oxygen-desaturation index [ODI] and apnea hypopnea index with 4% desaturations). A doubling of desaturation-associated events was associated with hypertension prevalence, which was significant for ODI but not H-BDI (3% ODI OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00-1.12, p < .05; H-BDI OR 1.04, 95% CI = 0.98-1.10) and daytime sleepiness (β = 0.20 Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] score, p < .0001; β = -0.20 minutes in MSL on multiple sleep latency test [MSLT], p < .01). Independently, nondesaturating event doubling was associated with more objective sleepiness (β = -0.52 minutes in MSL on MSLT, p < .001), but had less association with subjective sleepiness (β = 0.12 ESS score, p = .10). In longitudinal analyses, baseline nondesaturating events were associated with worsening of H-BDI over a 4-year follow-up, suggesting evolution in severity.

Conclusions

In SDB, nondesaturating events are independently associated with objective daytime sleepiness, beyond the effect of desaturating events.

Long-Term Dietary Nitrate Supplementation Does Not Prevent Development of the Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

BACKGROUND

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important vascular signaling molecule that plays a role in vascular homeostasis. A reduction in NO bioavailability is thought to contribute to endothelial dysfunction, an early risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Dietary nitrate, through the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, may provide an alternate source of NO when the endogenous eNOS system is compromised. In addition to a role in the vascular system, NO may also play a role in the metabolic syndrome including obesity and glucose tolerance.

AIM

To investigate the effect of long-term dietary nitrate supplementation on development of the metabolic syndrome in mice fed a high-fat diet.

METHODS

Following 1 week of acclimatisation, male (6-8 weeks) C57BL6 mice were randomly assigned to the following groups (10/group) for 12 weeks: (i) normal chow + NaCl (1 mmol/kg/day), (ii) normal chow + NaNO₃ (1 mmol/kg/day), (iii) high-fat diet + NaCl (1 mmol/kg/day), and (iv) high-fat diet + NaNO₃ (1 mmol/kg/day). Body weight and food consumption were monitored weekly. A subset of mice (5/group) underwent running wheel assessment. At the end of the treatment period, all mice underwent fasting glucose tolerance testing. Caecum contents, serum, and tissues (liver, skeletal muscle, white and brown adipose, and kidney) were collected, frozen, and stored at -80°C until analysis.

RESULTS

Consumption of the high-fat diet resulted in significantly greater weight gain that was not affected by dietary nitrate. Mice on the high-fat diet also had impaired glucose tolerance that was not affected by dietary nitrate. There was no difference in adipose tissue expression of thermogenic proteins or energy expenditure as assessed by the running wheel activity. Mice on the high-fat diet and those receiving dietary nitrate had reduced caecum concentrations of both butyrate and propionate.

CONCLUSIONS

Dietary nitrate does not prevent development of the metabolic syndrome in mice fed a high-fat diet. This may be due, in part due, to reductions in the concentration of important short-chain fatty acids.

Measurement of the D^{*}(2010)^{+}-D^{+} Mass Difference

We measure the mass difference, Δm_{+}, between the D^{*}(2010)^{+} and the D^{+} using the decay chain D^{*}(2010)^{+}→D^{+}π^{0} with D^{+}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{+}. The data were recorded with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies at and near the ϒ(4S) resonance, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 468  fb^{-1}. We measure Δm_{+}=(140 601.0±6.8[stat]±12.9[syst])  keV. We combine this result with a previous BABAR measurement of Δm_{0}≡m(D^{*}(2010)^{+})-m(D^{0}) to obtain Δm_{D}=m(D^{+})-m(D^{0})=(4824.9±6.8[stat]±12.9[syst])  keV. These results are compatible with and approximately five times more precise than the Particle Data Group averages.

Search for Invisible Decays of a Dark Photon Produced in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions at BaBar

We search for single-photon events in 53  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} collision data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-Factory. We look for events with a single high-energy photon and a large missing momentum and energy, consistent with production of a spin-1 particle A^{'} through the process e^{+}e^{-}→γA^{'}; A^{'}→invisible. Such particles, referred to as "dark photons," are motivated by theories applying a U(1) gauge symmetry to dark matter. We find no evidence for such processes and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the coupling strength of A^{'} to e^{+}e^{-} in the mass range m_{A^{'}}≤8  GeV. In particular, our limits exclude the values of the A^{'} coupling suggested by the dark-photon interpretation of the muon (g-2)_{μ} anomaly, as well as a broad range of parameters for the dark-sector models.