where Y$_{u}$ and Y$_{d}$ denote the up and down quark Yukawa matrices in the flavor basis, and the effect of trilinear soft couplings is included. (The RG-coefficient in front of the A -terms is of order one.) We note the following points: with the average diagonal mass-squared defined as For simplicity this factor is taken to be universal among all squarks, as the dominant contribution to the initial squark soft masses and to their RGE is QCD-induced and, in the limit that we neglect the electroweak gauge couplings, is indeed universal. As concerns the A -terms, we obtain for small to moderate tan β (so that for the purpose of RGE we employ Y$_{d}$ ≪ 1) the following approximate form: where ˜ m represents the typical scale of the SU (3)-related contributions to the gauge- mediated soft masses. The a,b coefficients relate to the MFV part of the trilinear scalar couplings and are irrelevant to our discussion. The dimensionless coefficients d,e can be O (1) and, for our purposes, are taken as such. 26 1. The factor r$_{3}$ captures the effect of RGE corrections to the diagonal elements of the soft squark mass matrices ( M 2 ˜ $_{q$_{A}$}$)$_{ii}$ via 2. The coefficients c$_{u}$,c$_{d}$,c$_{uR}$,c$_{dR}$ can be of O (1) for m$_{M}$ ∼ m$_{GUT}$ and are all negative. Yukawa-related contributions to the RGE thus lower the weak scale values of the diagonal ( M 2 ˜ $_{q$_{A}$}$)$_{33}$ entries with respect to the high scale ones. Sub-dominant MFV terms with higher powers of the Yukawa couplings are henceforth neglected. 3. We use the various ˜ m 2 $_{ij}$( m$_{Z}$ ) to evaluate the denominator of the ( δ q $_{ij}$)$_{A}$ , neglecting D -terms of O ( m 2 $_{Z}$/ ˜ m 2 $_{ij}$) and F -terms of at most O ( m 2 $_{t}$/ ˜ m 2 i $_{3}$). 4. Eq. (A2) is given in the flavor basis, while the δ q parameters are relevant in the mass basis of the quarks. This rotation of the squarks leaves the parametric pattern of the X$_{ij}$ and Z$_{ij}$ unchanged. ˜ m 2 $_{12}$( µ = m$_{Z}$ ) = r$_{3}$ ˜ m 2 $_{12}$( µ = m$_{M}$ ) , (A3) ˜ m 2 ij ≡ 1 2 ( ( M 2 ˜ $_{q$_{A}$}$)$_{ii}$ + ( M 2 ˜ $_{q$_{A}$}$)$_{jj}$ ) . (A4) A $^{u}$( m$_{Z}$ ) ∼ M$_{3}$ ( a$_{u}$ + b$_{u}$Y$_{u}$Y † $_{u}$) Y$_{u}$ + ˜ $_{m}$√$_{r}$$_{(}$$_{d}$$_{u}$$_{+}$$_{e}$$_{u}$$_{Y}$$_{u}$$_{Y}$ † $_{u}$) Z$_{A}$$_{u}$, A $^{d}$( m$_{Z}$ ) ∼ ˜ $_{m}$√$_{r}$$_{(}$$_{d}$$_{d}$$_{+}$$_{e}$$_{d}$$_{Y}$$_{u}$$_{Y}$ † $_{u}$) Z$_{A}$$_{d}$, (A5)