Recent data indicate that $V_{ub}\cong ��^4 \cong (0.22)^4$, while $m_t$ seems to be $174$ GeV. The relations $m_d/m_s\sim m_s/m_b \sim ��\sim ��^2 \simeq \vert V_{cb}\vert$ and $m_u/m_c\sim m_c/m_t \sim ��^2 \sim ��^4 \sim \vert V_{ub}\vert$ suggest that %a plausible clean separation of the %origin of the quark mixing matrix: the down type sector is responsible for $\vert V_{us}\vert$ and $\vert V_{cb}\vert$, while $V_{ub}$ comes from the up type sector. Five to six parameters might suffice to account for the ten quark mass and mixing parameters, resulting in specific power series representations for the mass matrices. In this picture, $��$ seems to be the more sensible expansion parameter, while $��\cong \sqrt{m_d/m_s} \sim \sqrt��$ is tied empirically to $(M_d)_{11} = 0$.

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