U(3)-family nonet Higgs boson and its phenomenology

In a model where quark and lepton masses and family-mixings are caused not by a variety of Yukawa couplingsy _ij (i,j=1, 2, 3: family indices) with one vacuum expectation value (VEV)ν=〈φ _L ⁰ 〉₀, but by a variety of VEV’s of a U(3)-family nonet Higgs bosonφ _L ,v _i ^j =〈φ _Li ^0j 〉₀, with a single coupling constant, the following problems are investigated: what constraints on the Higgs potential are imposed in order to provide realistic quark and lepton mass spectra and mixings and what constraints on the Higgs boson masses are required in order to suppress unwelcome flavor-changing neutral current effects. Lower bounds of the physical Higgs boson masses ofφ _L are deduced from the present experimental data and new physics from the present scenario is speculated.     

An algorithm for computing the kernel of a locally finite iterative higher derivation

Let R be a PID. This article gives an algorithm for computing the kernel of a locally finite iterative higher derivation of a finitely generated R-domain.     

Gadolinium containing photochromic micelles as potential magnetic resonance imaging traceable drug carriers

Novel photochromic amphipathic molecules, KMR‐AZn (Gd‐DTPA‐AZCn), composed of hydrophilic Gd‐DTPA and hydrophobic alkylated azobenzene were prepared. In aqueous environment, KMR‐AZn indicated self‐assembly. The resulting aggregates were demonstrated to be able to include a hydrophobic drug substitute (hydrophobic fluorescent dye) into the internal core, and to release the included compound upon photoirradiation within 10 min through the influence of azobenzene photoisomerization. This micellar MRI contrast agent exhibited three‐ to four‐fold higher r₁ relaxivity (r₁ = 14.5–16.5 mm ^?1 s^?1, 0.47 T at 40°C) than the widely applied small molecule contrast agent Gd‐DTPA (Magnevist^®r₁ = 4.1 mm ^?1 s^?1, 0.47 T at 40°C). This dual functionality of encapsulated compound release and increased MR imaging contrast indicates that KMR‐AZn is a potential candidate for application as a lipid‐based MRI‐traceable drug carrier.     

Synthesis and anticancer activity of polyhydroxylated 18-membered analogue of antimycin A3

A novel polyhydroxylated 18-membered analogue of antimycin A₃ was synthesized. Our synthesis commenced with Boc-l-threonine and was achieved by way of one-pot homocoupling/ring-closing olefin metathesis reaction cascade and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. The analogue exhibited a greater anticancer activity against HeLa cells, breast MDA-MB-231 cells, and prostate PC-3 cells compared to the original antimycin A₃.     

Hepatic parenchymal enhancement at Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging: correlation with morphological grading of severity in cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis

The aim was to clarify whether enhancement effects of the liver parenchyma in the hepatobiliary phase (HP) of gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MR imaging were correlated with the morphological grading of the severity in cirrhosis. A total of 62 patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. Relative enhancement (RE) of liver parenchyma was calculated from signal intensity (SI) measurements obtained at precontrast images (SIpre) and 20-min postcontrast HP images (SIpost) as: (SIpost-SIpre)/SIpre. Morphological MR grades of severity in cirrhosis were divided into four groups. Then, RE of liver parenchyma and morphologic MR grading were correlated. Regarding the morphologic severity of cirrhosis, the numbers of patients with MR grade 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 14 (23%), 7 (11%), 28 (45%) and 13 (21%), respectively. The mean REs of liver parenchyma in each group of MR morphologic grade 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 0.71±0.21, 0.62±0.16, 0.70±0.22 and 0.77±0.18, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the MR grading of morphologic severity and the RE of liver parenchyma at 20-min HP. Hepatic parenchymal enhancement in the HP of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging did not necessarily decrease according to the severity of morphologic changes in cirrhosis. This fact may suggest that the hepatic uptake of Gd-EOB-DTPA depends on the preserved hepatocytes function rather than the severity of morphologic changes in cirrhosis.     

Observation of postsoliton expansion following laser propagation through an underdense plasma

The expansion of electromagnetic postsolitons emerging from the interaction of a 30 ps, 3×101? W?cm?2 laser pulse with an underdense deuterium plasma has been observed up to 100 ps after the pulse propagation, when large numbers of postsolitons were seen to remain in the plasma. The temporal evolution of the postsolitons has been accurately characterized with a high spatial and temporal resolution. The observed expansion is compared to analytical models and three-dimensional particle-in-cell results, revealing a polarization dependence of the postsoliton dynamics.