Abstract Objective Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase response protein and has apolipoprotein properties. Since type 2 diabetes is associated with chronic subclinical inflammation, the objective ...of this study is to investigate the changes in SAA level in type 2 diabetic patients and to evaluate the relationship between SAA and the capacity of serum to induce cellular cholesterol efflux via the two known cholesterol transporters, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) and ATP-binding cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1). Methods 264 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (42% with normoalbuminuria, 30% microalbuminuria, and 28% proteinuria) and 275 non-diabetic controls were recruited. SAA was measured by ELISA. SR-BI and ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux to serum were determined by measuring the transfer of 3 Hcholesterol from Fu5AH rat hepatoma cells expressing SR-BI and from human ABCG1-transfected CHO-K1 cells to the medium containing the tested serum respectively. Results SAA was significantly increased in diabetic patients with incipient or overt nephropathy. Both SR-BI and ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux to serum were significantly impaired in all three groups of diabetic patients ( p < 0.01). SAA inversely correlated with SR-BI-mediated cholesterol efflux ( r = −0.36, p < 0.01) but did not correlate with ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux. Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that HDL, the presence or absence of diabetes, and log(SAA) were significant independent determinants of SR-BI-mediated cholesterol efflux to serum. Conclusion SAA was increased in type 2 diabetic patients with incipient or overt nephropathy, and SAA was associated with impairment of SR-BI-mediated cholesterol efflux to serum.
We investigate the effects of fading correlations in multielement antenna (MEA) communication systems. Pioneering studies showed that if the fades connecting pairs of transmit and receive antenna ...elements are independently, identically distributed, MEAs offer a large increase in capacity compared to single-antenna systems. An MEA system can be described in terms of spatial eigenmodes, which are single-input single-output subchannels. The channel capacity of an MEA is the sum of capacities of these subchannels. We show that the fading correlation affects the MEA capacity by modifying the distributions of the gains of these subchannels. The fading correlation depends on the physical parameters of MEA and the scatterer characteristics. In this paper, to characterize the fading correlation, we employ an abstract model, which is appropriate for modeling narrow-band Rayleigh fading in fixed wireless systems.
First measurements of beam backgrounds at SuperKEKB Lewis, P.M.; Jaegle, I.; Nakayama, H. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
01/2019, Volume:
914
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The high design luminosity of the SuperKEKB electron–positron collider is expected to result in challenging levels of beam-induced backgrounds in the interaction region. Properly simulating and ...mitigating these backgrounds is critical to the success of the Belle II experiment. We report on measurements performed with a suite of dedicated beam background detectors, collectively known as BEAST II, during the so-called Phase 1 commissioning run of SuperKEKB in 2016, which involved operation of both the high energy ring (HER) of 7 GeV electrons as well as the low energy ring (LER) of 4 GeV positrons. We describe the BEAST II detector systems, the simulation of beam backgrounds, and the measurements performed. The measurements include standard ones of dose rates versus accelerator conditions, and more novel investigations, such as bunch-by-bunch measurements of injection backgrounds and measurements sensitive to the energy spectrum and angular distribution of fast neutrons. We observe beam–gas, Touschek, beam–dust, and injection backgrounds. As there is no final focus of the beams in Phase 1, we do not observe significant synchrotron radiation, as expected. Measured LER beam–gas backgrounds and Touschek backgrounds in both rings are slightly elevated, on average three times larger than the levels predicted by simulation. HER beam–gas backgrounds are on average two orders of magnitude larger than predicted. Systematic uncertainties and channel-to-channel variations are large, so that these excesses constitute only 1–2 sigma level effects. Neutron background rates are higher than predicted and should be studied further. We will measure the remaining beam background processes, due to colliding beams, in the imminent commissioning Phase 2. These backgrounds are expected to be the most critical for Belle II, to the point of necessitating replacement of detector components during the Phase 3 (full-luminosity) operation of SuperKEB.
Background: Oxidative stress (OS) has been implicated in the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and ventricular hypertrophy. Xanthine oxidase is a well-recognised source of reactive oxygen ...species, which lead to OS. The aim of this proof of concept study was to assess whether allopurinol (xanthine oxidase inhibitor) would reduce right ventricular mass (RVM) in patients with PH-associated chronic lung disease (PH-CLD). Methods: We conducted a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial in patients with PH-CLD (93% COPD, 7% IPF) who were randomly assigned to receive allopurinol or placebo for 12 months. The primary outcome was the mean change in RVM, as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI). Secondary outcomes included quality of life (QOL), spirometry and six-minute walk test (6MWT). Results: Seventy-one patients were recruited: mean age 71 years, mean pulmonary arterial pressure 30 mm Hg, FEV.sub.1 60% and resting SpO.sub.2 96%. After 12 months, there was no significant difference in the change in RVM from baseline (allopurinol 1.85g vs placebo 0.97g with mean difference 0.88g, CI -4.77 to 3.01, p =0.7). There were also no significant changes in other cardiac parameters measured on MRI, in QOL, spirometry and 6MWT. Subgroup analysis showed that allopurinol significantly reduced RVM compared to placebo with -6.16g vs 0.75g and mean difference 6.92g (CI 1.14 to 12.69, p = 0.02) in COPD patients with more severe airflow limitation. Conclusion: Allopurinol had no overall impact on patients with PH-CLD but had potential benefit in COPD patients with more severe airflow limitation. Keywords: pulmonary hypertension, right ventricle, allopurinol, chronic lung disease
We report new measurements of the production cross sections of pairs of charged pions and kaons as a function of their fractional energies using various fractional-energy definitions. Two different ...fractional-energy definitions were used and compared to the conventional fractional-energy definition reported previously. The new variables aim at either identifying dihadron cross sections in terms of single-hadron fragmentation functions, or to provide a means of characterizing the transverse momentum created in the fragmentation process. The results were obtained applying the updated initial-state radiation correction used in other recent Belle publications on light-hadron production cross sections. In addition, production cross sections of single charged pions, kaons, and protons were also updated using this initial-state radiation correction. The cross sections are obtained from a 558 fb-1 data sample collected at the Υ(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider.
Both pulmonary arterial stiffening and systemic arterial stiffening have been described in COPD. The aim of the current study was to assess pulse wave velocity (PWV) within these two arterial beds to ...determine whether they are separate or linked processes.
In total, 58 participants with COPD and 21 healthy volunteers (HVs) underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were tested with a panel of relevant biomarkers. Cardiac MRI was used to quantify ventricular mass, volumes, and pulmonary (pulse wave velocity pPWV and systemic pulse wave velocity sPWV).
Those with COPD had higher pPWV (COPD: 2.62 vs HV: 1.78 ms
,
=0.006), higher right ventricular mass/volume ratio (RVMVR; COPD: 0.29 vs HV: 0.25 g/mL,
=0.012), higher left ventricular mass/volume ratio (LVMVR; COPD: 0.78 vs HV: 0.70 g/mL,
=0.009), and a trend toward a higher sPWV (COPD: 8.7 vs HV: 7.4 ms
,
=0.06). Multiple biomarkers were elevated: interleukin-6 (COPD: 1.38 vs HV: 0.58 pg/mL,
=0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (COPD: 6.42 vs HV: 2.49 mg/L,
=0.002), surfactant protein D (COPD: 16.9 vs HV: 9.13 ng/mL,
=0.001), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (COPD: 603 vs HV: 198 pg/mL,
=0.001), and high-sensitivity troponin I (COPD: 2.27 vs HV: 0.92 pg/mL,
<0.001). There was a significant relationship between sPWV and LVMVR (
=0.01) but not pPWV (
=0.97) nor between pPWV and RVMVR (
=0.27).
Pulmonary arterial stiffening and systemic arterial stiffening appear to be disconnected and should therefore be considered independent processes in COPD. Further work is warranted to determine whether both these cause an increased morbidity and mortality and whether both can be targeted by similar pharmacological therapy or whether different strategies are required for each.
With the full data sample of 772×106 BB¯ pairs recorded by the Belle detector at the KEKB electron-positron collider, the decay B¯→D*τ−ν¯τ is studied with the hadronic τ decays τ−→π−ντ and τ−→ρ−ντ. ...The τ polarization Pτ(D*) in two-body hadronic τ decays is measured, as well as the ratio of the branching fractions R(D*)=B(B¯→D*τ−ν¯τ)/B(B¯→D*ℓ−ν¯ℓ), where ℓ− denotes an electron or a muon. Our results, Pτ(D*)=−0.38±0.51(stat)−0.16+0.21(syst) and R(D*)=0.270±0.035(stat)−0.025+0.028(syst), are consistent with the theoretical predictions of the standard model. The polarization values of Pτ(D*)>+0.5 are excluded at the 90% confidence level.
Using the entire Belle data sample of 980 fb−1 of e+e− collisions, we present the results of a study of excited Ωc charmed baryons in the decay mode Ξc+K−. We show confirmation of four of the five ...narrow states reported by the LHCb Collaboration: the Ωc(3000), Ωc(3050), Ωc(3066), and Ωc(3090).
We present the study of a fuzzy clustering algorithm for the Belle II electromagnetic calorimeter using Graph Neural Networks. We use a realistic detector simulation including simulated beam ...backgrounds and focus on the reconstruction of both isolated and overlapping photons. We find significant improvements of the energy resolution compared to the currently used reconstruction algorithm for both isolated and overlapping photons of more than 30% for photons with energies
E
γ
<
0.5
Ge
V
and high levels of beam backgrounds. Overall, the GNN reconstruction improves the resolution and reduces the tails of the reconstructed energy distribution and therefore is a promising option for the upcoming high luminosity running of Belle II.
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