The Born cross sections of the processes $e^+e^–$ → $ωπ^0$ and $e^+e^–$ → $ωη$ are measured at center-of-mass energies between 3.773 and 4.701 GeV using a total integrated luminosity of 22.7 fb–1 ...collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII collider. A simple $s^{-n}$ dependence for the continuum process can describe the measured Born cross sections. No significant contributions from the ψ(4160), Y(4230), Y(4360), ψ(4415), Y(4660) resonances are found, which indicates relative small branching fractions for these resonances into the $ωπ^0$ and $ωη$ final states.
Search for the decay $h_c$ → $π^0J/ψ Bai, X. H.; Bai, Y.; Bakina, O. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
05/2022, Volume:
2022, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
A search for the decay $h_c$ → $π^0J/ψ$ is performed using a sample of hc produced in the reaction $e^+e^-$ → $π^+π^-h_c$. The data samples were collected with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass ...energies between 4.189 and 4.437 GeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 11 fb-1. No significant signal is observed. Upper limits on the branching ratio $\mathcal{B}$($h_c$ →$π^oJ/ψ$)/$\mathcal{B}$($h_c$ →$γη_c$ →$γK^+K_-π^o$) and on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$($h_c$ →$π^oJ/ψ$) are determined to be 7.5 x 10-2 and 4.7 x 10-4 at 90% confidence level, respectively. The latter is derived from the former using the measured branching fraction of the normalization channel. This is the first determination of the upper limit of the decay $h_c$ → $π^0J/ψ$
Using data collected with the BESIII detector in e(+)e(-) collisions at center-of-mass energies between 4.178 and 4.226 GeV and corresponding to 6.32 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, we report the ...amplitude analysis and branching-fraction measurement of the D-s(+) -> pi(+)pi(0)eta' decay. We find that the dominant intermediate process is D-s(+) -> rho(+)eta' and the significances of other resonant and nonresonant processes are all less than 3 sigma. The upper limits on the branching fractions of S-wave and P-wave nonresonant components are set to 0.10% and 0.74% at the 90% confidence level, respectively. In addition, the branching fraction of the D-s(+) -> pi(+)pi(0)eta' decay is measured to be (6.15 +/- 0.25(stat.) +/- 0.18(syst.))%, which receives significant contribution only from D-s(+) -> rho(+)eta' according to the amplitude analysis.
Background
Fragmented QRS complexes (fQRS) have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality, sudden cardiac death, and recurrent cardiovascular events. The association between left ...ventricular systolic and diastolic functions and presence of fragmented QRS has not been comprehensively studied to date. We tested the hypothesis that the presence of fragmented QRS is associated with left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction.
Methods
The study included 259 patients who were consecutively admitted to our outpatient clinic for cardiovascular risk factor management. Extensive echocardiographic parameters were obtained from all patients and these were compared with the presence and number of fQRS.
Results
Patients with fQRS were of older age (58 ± 12 vs. 55 ± 13 years,
p
= 0.03) and had prolonged QRS time (105 ± 12 vs. 93 ± 10 ms, p < 0.001) and a higher rate of Q waves on ECG (36% vs. 11%, p < 0.001). In addition, they had worse systolic (lower LVEF%, 44 ± 17 vs. 61 ± 12, p < 0.001) and diastolic functions (DT, 177 ± 77 vs. 211 ± 59 ms, p < 0.001; IVRT, 81 ± 27 vs. 92 ± 22 ms, p = 0.001; E
m
, 9 ± 4 vs. 10 ± 4 cm/s, p = 0.008; E/E
m
ratio, 11 ± 5 vs. 8 ± 4, p < 0.001) in comparison to patients with nonfragmented QRS. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of fQRS and left ventricle systolic functions (for LVEF%, r = − 0.595, p < 0.001). After adjustment for age and gender, the number of fQRS remained significantly negatively associated with left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions.
Conclusion
We found that fQRS is related to left ventricular systolic dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction. fQRS, which may be the result of myocardial ischemia or scar on myocardial electrical parameters at the cellular level, may represent inadequate systolic and diastolic functions.
Background About 7 to 36% of AS patients report family history for spondyloarthritis in their first and second degree relatives (1). It is of interest whether AS patients receiving anti-TNF therapy, ...who may be considered as having more active disease, report a high prevalence of family history, and/or a high prevalence of strong family history, which is defined as having two first degree relatives with AS, for the purpose of this study. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of family history among AS patients receiving biologic therapy, and to compare the patients with as strong family history with the rest of the patients who also reported family history. Methods A total of 683 patients (mean age 41±13, males % 68.5) with AS from two centers, who contribute to TURKBIO, a biological database in Turkey, and who had collected detailed information on family history were included in this retrospective analysis. The data in regard with the family history were extracted from patients' hospital records without further validation, whereas the data for demographic characteristics, co-morbidities, smoking status, disease activity (BASDAI), functional status (BASFI), laboratory results (CRP, ESR) and all other assessment measures were obtained from the TURKBIO database. Results A positive family was noted in 200 (31.3%) patients, with 84 patients (males 69.2%) having AS in a first degree relative (13.1%) and 20 patients reporting a strong family history (3.1%) (Table 1). The patients had a mean age of 41±13 years and mean disease duration of 11±7 years. Except for a higher female predominance in patients with strong family history than in the other patients with family history (55% vs 74%, p=0.034), there were no differences in regard with the demographic data, BASDAI and BASFI (baseline and last visit), TNFi survival, TNFi switch ratio were all similar between the two groups. HLA-B27 results were available in 9 of the 20 patients with strong family history and 55% of them were positive for HLA-B27. Table 1. Number of AS patients reporting ankylosing spondylitis and any other spondyloarthritis among their first or second degree relatives n (%) ≥2 first degree relatives with AS 20 (10) ≥1 first degree relative with AS plus ≥1 second degree relative with SpA other than AS 21 (10.5) ≥1 first degree relative with AS 84 (42) ≥1 second degree relative with AS 39 (19.5) ≥1 second degree with AS 23 (11.5) ≥1 second degree relative with SpA (excluding AS) 13 (6.5) Total 200 Conclusions Prevalence of family history among AS patients on biologics seem to be similar to the figures reported in the literature. Disease characteristics among patients who have at least 2 relatives with AS do not seem to be different than the other patients having a less number or more distant relatives. It is of note convergence of HLA B27 with strong family history was not very high (55%), although it was tested in a very small number of patients. References Ann Rheum Dis 2004;63:535-543. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5232
Background
Slow coronary flow (SCF) is an angiographic finding characterized by delayed opacification of the epicardial coronary arteries without obstructive coronary disease. Resistin, an ...adipocytokine, plays a major role besides low-grade inflammation in atherosclerotic vascular processes and may be of importance in other coronary pathologies such as SCF.
Methods
The present study was cross-sectional and observational, consisting of 70 individuals who underwent coronary angiography and had angiographically normal coronary arteries of varying coronary flow rates. The study included 50 patients with isolated SCF and 20 control participants with normal coronary flow (NCF).
Results
There were no statistically significant differences between the SCF and NCF groups with respect to age, gender, presence of hypertension or diabetes mellitus, and smoking habit, except for increased creatinine levels (p = 0.014). The serum resistin level was significantly higher in the SCF group than in the NCF group (8.4 ± 7.2 vs. 5.4 ± 2.6 ng/ml, p = 0.014). Ln-transformed resistin levels correlated positively with left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery TIMI frame count (TFC) (r = 0.408, p < 0.001) as well as with glucose (r = 0.340, p = 0.004), creatinine (r = 0.248, p = 0.044), and C-reactive protein (CRP; r = 0.283, p = 0.023) levels, and negatively with LAD coronary flow velocity (r = − 0.314, p = 0.009). When multivariate analyses were performed, in linear regression analysis, ln-resistin was associated with a longer TFC beta (standardized regression coefficient): 0.404, p = 0.001 and lower coronary flow velocity (beta: − 0.280, p = 0.035); in logistic regression analysis, ln-resistin was an independent predictor of the presence of SCF (OR: 6.692, 65 %CI: 1.117–40.1, p = 0.037).
Conclusion
We demonstrated, for the first time, a significant increase in serum resistin levels in patients with SCF compared to subjects with NCF. We believe that further studies are needed to clarify the role of resistin in patients with SCF.
We measure the branching fractions for seven D-s(+) two-body decays to pseudoscalar mesons, by analyzing data collected at root s = 4:178 similar to 4:226 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII ...collider. The branching fractions are determined to be B(D-s(+) -> K+eta ') = (2:68 +/- 0:17 +/- 0:17 +/- 0:08) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> eta 'pi(+)) = (37:8 +/- 0:4 +/- 2:1 +/- 1:2) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> K+eta) = (1:62 +/- 0:10 +/- 0:03 +/- 0:05) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> eta pi(+)) = (17:41 +/- 0:18 +/- 0:27 +/- 0:54) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> (K+Ks0)) = (15:02 +/- 0:10 +/- 0:27 +/- 0:47) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> K-s(0)pi(+)) = (1:109 +/- 0:034 +/- 0:023 +/- 0:035) x 10(-3), B(D-s(+) -> K+pi(0)) = (0:748 +/- 0:049 +/- 0:018 +/- 0:023) x 10(-3), where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, and the third are from external input branching fraction of the normalization mode D-s(+) -> K+K-pi(+). Precision of our measurements is significantly improved compared with that of the current world average values.
Background
Aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) is closely related to hypertension and is an important predictor of coronary artery disease as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the ...mechanisms causing AVS have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we planned to investigate the influence of atherosclerosis-related risk factors including C-reactive protein (CRP), epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV), left ventricular hypertrophy, and the conventional risk parameters as well as endothelial dysfunction in untreated hypertensive patients.
Methods and results
Our study was cross-sectional and observational, and included 107 consecutive untreated hypertensive patients. All patients underwent vascular evaluation by CIMT, PWV, flow-mediated dilation (FMD%), as well as echocardiographic examinations. Age (OR
=
1.180, p < 0.001), male sex (OR = 3.056, p = 0.019), waist circumference (OR = 1.082, p = 0.004), EAT (OR = 1.419, p = 0.001), smoking status (OR = 3.161, p = 0.014), FMD% (OR = 0.649, p < 0.001), mean CIMT (OR = 2.481, P < 0.001), and carotid plaque (OR = 4.692, P = 0.001) were associated with AVS in univariate analyses. Multivariate analyses revealed only age (OR = 1.144, P = 0.006) and FMD% (OR = 0.691, 0.001) as independent predictors of AVS. The presence of AVS had a high positive predictive value (100 %) but a low negative predictive value (51 %) for endothelial dysfunction (FMD < 12 %) in hypertensive patients.
Conclusion
Our study supports the theory that systemic endothelial dysfunction has an initial and independent effect on AVS pathogenesis. Moreover, we demonstrated that the presence of AVS in patients with hypertension predicts endothelial dysfunction, with a high positive predictive value. Thus, AVS in hypertensive patients may urge clinicians toward aggressive risk factor modification and intensive treatment.
The aim of the present study was to assess genes expressed in maternal uterine tissue and pre-implantation embryos which are presumably involved in maternal recognition and establishment of canine ...pregnancy. For this purpose, 10 pregnant bitches were ovariohysterectomized between days 10 and 12 after mating. Four non-pregnant bitches served as controls. Early pregnancy was verified by flushing the uterine horns with PBS solution. The collected embryos (n = 60) were stored deep-frozen (-80°C). Uterine tissue was excised, snaps frozen in liquid nitrogen and homogenized using TRI Reagent. All embryos from one litter were thawed together and also homogenized in TRI Reagent. RT-PCR was performed to prove mRNA expression of progesterone receptor, key enzymes of the prostaglandin synthesis pathway, selected growth factors, cytokines, immune cell receptors, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP). Only pregnant uteri revealed the presence of mRNA for interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4 and CD-8, which resembles the milieu in humans and other mammalians. Similarly, in day 10 embryos, mRNA for transforming growth factor-β, insulin-like growth factor-1,-2, hepatocyte growth factor, leukaemia inhibitor factor, tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β,-6,-8, cyclooxygenase-2, CD4⁺ cells, and MMP-2 and -9 were detected, but not MHC-I or -II. We therefore suppose that the canine embryo, like its human counterpart, actively initiates measures to prevent attacks from the maternal immune system to prepare its own adhesion, nidation, growth and further development.
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