Russian Caucasians have a higher risk of erosive reflux disease compared with East Asians: A direct endoscopic comparison

BACKGROUND

Erosive reflux disease (ERD) is prevalent in the West, and its incidence is increasing in the East. The differences between the West and East, especially in body composition, have not been investigated thoroughly.

METHODS

Subjects who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and body composition analysis during health screening were analyzed retrospectively. Russian Caucasians who visited Korea were propensity matched with native Koreans. Endoscopy results were analyzed to identify ERD and gastroesophageal flap valve (GEFV) status. Body composition and laboratory results were compared to identify risk factors for ERD.

KEY RESULTS

32 279 subjects underwent health screening with 1496 Russian Caucasians propensity matched with 1496 Koreans. ERD prevalence was 20.2% for Caucasians and 9.8% for Koreans (P<.001). Caucasians had significantly greater body mass index (BMI) and were more sarcopenic. Significant risk factors for ERD were Caucasian ethnicity (OR 1.629, 95% CI 1.265-2.099, P<.001), male gender (OR 2.374, 95% CI 1.883-2.993, P<.001), greater BMI (OR 1.067, 95% CI 1.041-1.093, P<.001), and abnormal GEFV (OR 2.730, 95% CI 2.194-3.397, P<.001). H. pylori seropositivity (OR 0.614, 95% CI 0.488-0.774, P<.001) and atrophic gastritis (OR 0.547, 95% CI 0.411-0.728, P<.001) were significantly preventive.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Caucasian ethnicity is a significant risk factor for ERD. Greater BMI, male gender and abnormal GEFV are associated with ERD, and H. pylori seropositivity and atrophic gastritis are preventive. Further studies are needed to assess the differences in ERD between Caucasians and East Asians.

Search for B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-} at the BaBar Experiment

We search for the rare flavor-changing neutral current process B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-} using data from the BABAR experiment. The data sample, collected at the center-of-mass energy of the ϒ(4S) resonance, corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 424  fb^{-1} and to 471×10^{6}  BB[over ¯] pairs. We reconstruct one B meson, produced in the ϒ(4S)→B^{+}B^{-} decay, in one of many hadronic decay modes and search for activity compatible with a B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-} decay in the rest of the event. Each τ lepton is required to decay leptonically into an electron or muon and neutrinos. Comparing the expected number of background events with the data sample after applying the selection criteria, we do not find evidence for a signal. The resulting upper limit, at the 90% confidence level, is B(B^{+}→K^{+}τ^{+}τ^{-})<2.25×10^{-3}.

CT Angiography of the Head in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is an artificial cardiopulmonary bypass technique used to support patients with severe pulmonary failure or both pulmonary and cardiac failure. The hemodynamic changes produced by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation affect the appearance of CTA of the head images, often confounding interpretation if the correct history and understanding of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are not known. This technical report describes the principles of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, techniques to optimize intracranial CTA imaging, and pitfalls.

Ambipolar transport and magneto-resistance crossover in a Mott insulator, Sr2IrO4

Electric field effect (EFE) controlled magnetoelectric transport in thin films of undoped and La-doped Sr₂IrO₄ (SIO) is investigated using ionic liquid gating. The temperature dependent resistance measurements exhibit insulating behavior in chemically and EFE doped samples with the band filling up to 10%. The ambipolar transport across the Mott gap is demonstrated by EFE tuning of the channel resistance and chemical doping. We observe a crossover from high temperature negative to low temperature positive magnetoresistance around  ∼80-90 K, irrespective of the filling. This temperature and magnetic field dependent crossover is discussed in the light of conduction mechanisms of SIO, especially variable range hopping (VRH), and its relevance to the insulating ground state of SIO.

A randomised controlled trial of cemented and cementless femoral components for metal-on-metal hip resurfacing: a bone mineral density study

The primary purpose of this study of metal-on-metal (MoM) hip resurfacing was to compare the effect of using a cementless or cemented femoral component on the subsequent bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck. This was a single-centre, prospective, double-blinded control trial which randomised 120 patients (105 men and 15 women) with a mean age of 49.4 years (21 to 68) to receive either a cemented or cementless femoral component. Follow-up was to two years. Outcome measures included total and six-point region-of-interest BMD of the femoral neck, radiological measurements of acetabular inclination, neck-shaft and stem-shaft angles, and functional outcome scores including the Harris hip score, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and the University of California at Los Angeles activity scale. In total, 17 patients were lost to follow-up leaving 103 patients at two years. There were no revisions in the cementless group and three revisions (5%) in the cemented group (two because of hip pain and one for pseudotumour). The total BMD was significantly higher in the cementless group at six months (p < 0.001) and one year (p = 0.01) than in the cemented group, although there was a loss of statistical significance in the difference at two years (p = 0.155). All patient outcomes improved significantly: there were no significant differences between the two groups. The results show better preservation of femoral neck BMD with a cementless femoral component after two years of follow-up. Further investigation is needed to establish whether this translates into improved survivorship.

3D-Printed Biodegradable Polymeric Vascular Grafts

Congenital heart defect interventions may benefit from the fabrication of patient-specific vascular grafts because of the wide array of anatomies present in children with cardiovascular defects. 3D printing is used to establish a platform for the production of custom vascular grafts, which are biodegradable, mechanically compatible with vascular tissues, and support neotissue formation and growth.

Observation of B→D(*) π^(+)π^(-)ℓ^(-)ν Decays in e^(+)e^(-) Collisions at the Υ(4S) Resonance

We report on measurements of the decays of B¯ mesons into the semileptonic final states B¯→D^(*)π^(+)π^(-)ℓ^(-)ν¯, where D^(*) represents a D or D^(*) meson and ℓ^(-) is an electron or a muon. These measurements are based on 471×10^(6) BB ¯ pairs recorded with the BABAR detector at the SLAC asymmetric B factory PEP-II. We determine the branching fraction ratios R_{π^{+}π^{-}}^{(*)}=B(B[over ¯]→D^{(*)}π^{+}π^{-}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯])/B(B[over ¯]→D^{(*)}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]) using events in which the second B meson is fully reconstructed. We find R_{π^{+}π^{-}}=0.067±0.010±0.008 and R_{π^{+}π^{-}}^{*}=0.019±0.005±0.004, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. Based on these results and assuming isospin invariance, we estimate that B[over ¯]→D^{(*)}ππℓ^{-}ν[over ¯] decays, where π denotes either a π^{±} and π^{0} meson, account for up to half the difference between the measured inclusive semileptonic branching fraction to charm hadrons and the corresponding sum of previously measured exclusive branching fractions.

First Observation of CP Violation in B[over ¯]^{0}→D_{CP}^{(*)}h^{0} Decays by a Combined Time-Dependent Analysis of BABAR and Belle Data

We report a measurement of the time-dependent CP asymmetry of B[over ¯]^{0}→D_{CP}^{(*)}h^{0} decays, where the light neutral hadron h^{0} is a π^{0}, η, or ω meson, and the neutral D meson is reconstructed in the CP eigenstates K^{+}K^{-}, K_{S}^{0}π^{0}, or K_{S}^{0}ω. The measurement is performed combining the final data samples collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance by the BABAR and Belle experiments 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. We measure the CP asymmetry parameters -η_{f}S=+0.66±0.10(stat)±0.06(syst) and C=-0.02±0.07(stat)±0.03(syst). These results correspond to the first observation of CP violation in B[over ¯]^{0}→D_{CP}^{(*)}h^{0} decays. The hypothesis of no mixing-induced CP violation is excluded in these decays at the level of 5.4 standard deviations.

Search for Long-Lived Particles in e+ e- Collisions

We present a search for a neutral, long-lived particle L that is produced in e+ e- collisions and decays at a significant distance from the e+ e- interaction point into various flavor combinations of two oppositely charged tracks. The analysis uses an e+ e- data sample with a luminosity of 489.1  fb(-1) collected by the BABAR detector at the ϒ(4S), ϒ(3S), and ϒ(2S) resonances and just below the ϒ(4S). Fitting the two-track mass distribution in search of a signal peak, we do not observe a significant signal, and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of the L production cross section, branching fraction, and reconstruction efficiency for six possible two-body L decay modes as a function of the L mass. The efficiency is given for each final state as a function of the mass, lifetime, and transverse momentum of the candidate, allowing application of the upper limits to any production model. In addition, upper limits are provided on the branching fraction B(B→XsL), where Xs is a strange hadronic system.

Landau level spectroscopy of electron-electron interactions in graphene

We present magneto-Raman scattering studies of electronic inter-Landau level excitations in quasineutral graphene samples with different strengths of Coulomb interaction. The band velocity associated with these excitations is found to depend on the dielectric environment, on the index of Landau level involved, and to vary as a function of the magnetic field. This contradicts the single-particle picture of noninteracting massless Dirac electrons but is accounted for by theory when the effect of electron-electron interaction is taken into account. Raman active, zero-momentum inter-Landau level excitations in graphene are sensitive to electron-electron interactions due to the nonapplicability of the Kohn theorem in this system, with a clearly nonparabolic dispersion relation.

Study of CP asymmetry in B^{0}-B[over ¯]^{0} mixing with inclusive dilepton events

We present a measurement of the asymmetry A_{CP} between same-sign inclusive dilepton samples ℓ^{+}ℓ^{+} and ℓ^{-}ℓ^{-} (ℓ=e, μ) from semileptonic B decays in ϒ(4S)→BB[over ¯] events, using the complete data set recorded by the BABAR experiment near the ϒ(4S) resonance, corresponding to 471×10^{6} BB[over ¯] pairs. The asymmetry A_{CP} allows comparison between the mixing probabilities P(B[over ¯]^{0}→B^{0}) and P(B^{0}→B[over ¯]^{0}), and therefore probes CP and T violation. The result, A_{CP}=[-3.9±3.5(stat)±1.9(syst)]×10^{-3}, is consistent with the standard model expectation.

Penetrating torso injuries in older adults: increased mortality likely due to "failure to rescue"

PURPOSE

Approximately 8 % of injuries in the elderly are from penetrating mechanisms. The natural history of potentially survivable penetrating torso wounds in the elderly is not well studied. Older adults with penetrating injuries to the torso may have worse outcomes than matched, younger patients due to a failure to rescue after complications.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review of all patients ≥55 (older) with a penetrating injury (GSW or SW) to the torso over 20 years was performed. All patients with a maximum AIS chest or abdomen >1 and <6 were included. A matched cohort (mechanism, AIS chest and abdomen, ISS and sex) of patients between the ages of 20-40 years (young) was created (3 young, 1 older). Differences in hemodynamics, complications, length of stay and mortality were analyzed.

RESULTS

105 older met inclusion criteria were compared to 315 young patients. Hemodynamic status was similar between the groups. Older patients required ICU care more often than younger patients, p < 0.05. Older patients required longer ICU stays, p < 0.001 and longer hospitalizations, p = 0.0012. More older patients (41.0 %) suffered post-injury complications compared to the young (26.4 %), p = 0.005. Older patients who suffered a complication had a higher mortality (30.2 %) than the young after a complication (10.8 %), p = 0.007.

CONCLUSIONS

While uncommon, penetrating injuries to older adults are associated with higher rates of post-injury complications and increased mortality. This may represent a "failure to rescue" and represent an opportunity for improved post-injury care in older adults who suffer potentially survivable penetrating torso injuries.

Search for a dark photon in e(+)e(-) collisions at BABAR

Dark sectors charged under a new Abelian interaction have recently received much attention in the context of dark matter models. These models introduce a light new mediator, the so-called dark photon (A^{'}), connecting the dark sector to the standard model. We present a search for a dark photon in the reaction e^{+}e^{-}→γA^{'}, A^{'}→e^{+}e^{-}, μ^{+}μ^{-} using 514  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector. We observe no statistically significant deviations from the standard model predictions, and we set 90% confidence level upper limits on the mixing strength between the photon and dark photon at the level of 10^{-4}-10^{-3} for dark photon masses in the range 0.02-10.2  GeV. We further constrain the range of the parameter space favored by interpretations of the discrepancy between the calculated and measured anomalous magnetic moment of the muon.

Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: brain imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of mothers and fathers

Brain networks that govern parental response to infant signals have been studied with imaging techniques over the last 15 years. The complex interaction of thoughts and behaviors required for sensitive parenting enables the formation of each individual's first social bonds and critically shapes development. This review concentrates on magnetic resonance imaging experiments which directly examine the brain systems involved in parental responses to infant cues. First, we introduce themes in the literature on parental brain circuits studied to date. Next, we present a thorough chronological review of state-of-the-art fMRI studies that probe the parental brain with a range of baby audio and visual stimuli. We also highlight the putative role of oxytocin and effects of psychopathology, as well as the most recent work on the paternal brain. Taken together, a new model emerges in which we propose that cortico-limbic networks interact to support parental brain responses to infants. These include circuitry for arousal/salience/motivation/reward, reflexive/instrumental caring, emotion response/regulation and integrative/complex cognitive processing. Maternal sensitivity and the quality of caregiving behavior are likely determined by the responsiveness of these circuits during early parent-infant experiences. The function of these circuits is modifiable by current and early-life experiences, hormonal and other factors. Severe deviation from the range of normal function in these systems is particularly associated with (maternal) mental illnesses - commonly, depression and anxiety, but also schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Finally, we discuss the limits and extent to which brain imaging may broaden our understanding of the parental brain given our current model. Developments in the understanding of the parental brain may have profound implications for long-term outcomes in families across risk, resilience and possible interventions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav.

PROGRESS ON THE PATERNAL BRAIN: THEORY, ANIMAL MODELS, HUMAN BRAIN RESEARCH, AND MENTAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

With a secure foundation in basic research across mammalian species in which fathers participate in the raising of young, novel brain-imaging approaches are outlining a set of consistent brain circuits that regulate paternal thoughts and behaviors in humans. The newest experimental paradigms include increasingly realistic baby-stimuli to provoke paternal cognitions and behaviors with coordinated hormone measures to outline brain networks that regulate motivation, reflexive caring, emotion regulation, and social brain networks with differences and similarities to those found in mothers. In this article, on the father brain, we review all brain-imaging studies on PubMed to date on the human father brain and introduce the topic with a selection of theoretical models and foundational neurohormonal research on animal models in support of the human work. We discuss potentially translatable models for the identification and treatment of paternal mood and father-child relational problems, which could improve infant mental health and developmental trajectories with potentially broad public health importance.

Silicon detector dark matter results from the final exposure of CDMS II

We report results of a search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) with the silicon detectors of the CDMS II experiment. This blind analysis of 140.2 kg day of data taken between July 2007 and September 2008 revealed three WIMP-candidate events with a surface-event background estimate of 0.41(-0.08)(+0.20)(stat)(-0.24)(+0.28)(syst). Other known backgrounds from neutrons and 206Pb are limited to <0.13 and <0.08 events at the 90% confidence level, respectively. The exposure of this analysis is equivalent to 23.4 kg day for a recoil energy range of 7-100 keV for a WIMP of mass 10  GeV/c2. The probability that the known backgrounds would produce three or more events in the signal region is 5.4%. A profile likelihood ratio test of the three events that includes the measured recoil energies gives a 0.19% probability for the known-background-only hypothesis when tested against the alternative WIMP+background hypothesis. The highest likelihood occurs for a WIMP mass of 8.6  GeV/c2 and WIMP-nucleon cross section of 1.9×10(-41)  cm2.

Development of a high speed laser scanning confocal microscope with an acquisition rate up to 200 frames per second

There has been an increasing interest for observing fast biological phenomena such as cell movements in circulations and action potentials. The laser scanning confocal microscopy offers a good spatial resolution and optical sectioning ability to observe various in vivo animal models. We developed a high speed laser scanning confocal microscope capable of acquiring 512 by 512 pixel images at 200 fps (frames per second). We have incorporated a fast rotating polygonal scanning mirror with 128 facets for the X-axis scanner. In order to increase the throughput of the Y-axis scanner, we applied a bi-directional scanning method for vertical scanning. This made it possible to scan along the Y-axis two times during each scanner motion cycle. For the image acquisition, we used a custom photomultiplier tube amplifier with a broad frequency band. In addition, custom imaging software was written for the new microscope. In order to verify the acquisition speed of the developed confocal microscope, a resolution target moving at a series of constant speeds and a sedated mouse with slight movements due to heartbeats were observed. By comparing successive frames, the frame acquisition speeds were calculated.

Measurement of the D*(2010)+ meson width and the D*(2010)+ - D0 mass difference

We measure the mass difference Δm0 between the D*(2010)+ and the D0 and the natural linewidth Γ of the transition D*(2010)+ → D0π+. 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 477  fb(-1). The D0 is reconstructed in the decay modes D0 → K- π+ and D0 → K- π+ π- π+. For the decay mode D0 → K- π+ we obtain Γ = (83.4±1.7±1.5)  keV and Δm0 = (145425.6±0.6±1.7)  keV, [corrected] where the quoted errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. For the D0 → K- π+ π- π+ mode we obtain Γ = (83.2±1.5±2.6)  keV and Δm0 = (145426.6±0.5±1.9)  keV. [corrected] The combined measurements yield Γ = (83.3±1.2±1.4)  keV and Δm0 = (145425.9±0.4±1.7)  keV; the width is a factor of approximately 12 times more precise than the previous value, while the mass difference is a factor of approximately 6 times more precise.

Search for CP violation in B0-B0 mixing using partial reconstruction of B0→D*- Xℓ+ νℓ and a kaon tag

We present results of a search for CP violation in B0- B0 mixing with the BABAR detector. We select a sample of B0→D*- Xℓ+ ν decays with a partial reconstruction method and use kaon tagging to assess the flavor of the other B meson in the event. We determine the CP violating asymmetry ACP≡[N(B0B0)-N(B0B0)]/[N(B0B0)+N(B0B0)]=(0.06±0.17(-0.32)(+0.38))%, corresponding to ΔCP=1-|q/p|=(0.29±0.84(-1.61)(+1.88))×10(-3).

Preparation and characterization of carbon-titania nanocomposite-supported Pd3Co alloy nanoparticles for oxygen reduction

A TiO2-modified carbon (C-TiO2) has been employed as a catalyst support of Pd3Co alloy for electroduction of oxygen. Due to the strong interaction between highly dispersed TiO2 and Pd3Co alloy, the C-TiO2 support was shown to be effective for a fine dispersion of Pd3Co alloys. The degree of sintering of Pd3Co on C-TiO2 could largely decrease during heat-treatment for reduction compared to that on unmodified carbon support (C). In oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the reduced catalysts (Pd3Co/C-X and Pd3Co/C-TiO2-X; X represents reduction temperature) showed higher catalytic performance than their as-prepared catalysts. The catalytic activities of Pd3Co/C-TiO2-X were largely enhanced compared to those of Pd3Co/C-X. The ORR activity was measured to be the highest on Pd3Co/C-TiO2-300, which was 9 times enhanced activity (at 0.85 V) relative to the best-performed catalyst supported on carbon (Pd3Co/C-400). A positive role of TiO2 for the metal dispersion, the retardation of metal growth during heat-treatment, and the modification of electronic structure of Pd3Co was responsible for the enhanced ORR performance on Pd3Co/C-TiO2-X.

Hofstadter's butterfly and the fractal quantum Hall effect in moiré superlattices

Electrons moving through a spatially periodic lattice potential develop a quantized energy spectrum consisting of discrete Bloch bands. In two dimensions, electrons moving through a magnetic field also develop a quantized energy spectrum, consisting of highly degenerate Landau energy levels. When subject to both a magnetic field and a periodic electrostatic potential, two-dimensional systems of electrons exhibit a self-similar recursive energy spectrum. Known as Hofstadter's butterfly, this complex spectrum results from an interplay between the characteristic lengths associated with the two quantizing fields, and is one of the first quantum fractals discovered in physics. In the decades since its prediction, experimental attempts to study this effect have been limited by difficulties in reconciling the two length scales. Typical atomic lattices (with periodicities of less than one nanometre) require unfeasibly large magnetic fields to reach the commensurability condition, and in artificially engineered structures (with periodicities greater than about 100 nanometres) the corresponding fields are too small to overcome disorder completely. Here we demonstrate that moiré superlattices arising in bilayer graphene coupled to hexagonal boron nitride provide a periodic modulation with ideal length scales of the order of ten nanometres, enabling unprecedented experimental access to the fractal spectrum. We confirm that quantum Hall features associated with the fractal gaps are described by two integer topological quantum numbers, and report evidence of their recursive structure. Observation of a Hofstadter spectrum in bilayer graphene means that it is possible to investigate emergent behaviour within a fractal energy landscape in a system with tunable internal degrees of freedom.

Phase transition in the biconnectivity of scale-free networks

In information-transport and biological systems, sometimes there is more than one pathway between two nodes, so that there is a backup in case one pathway becomes defective. The size of such biconnected nodes can be an important measure of the robustness of a system. The giant biconnected components of diverse real-world networks suggest the importance of scale-free topology in biconnectivity. Thus, here, we consider the critical behavior of the largest biconnected component (BC) as links are added and form a random scale-free network. The critical exponents β((BC)) and β((SC)) associated with the order parameter of the percolation transition of the biconnected component and the single-connected component (SC), respectively, are compared. We obtain a ratio β((BC))/β((SC))=λ-1 for 2<λ<3 and 2 for λ>3, where λ is the exponent of the degree distribution in scale-free networks. We also determine the finite-size scaling behavior of the order parameter analytically and numerically.