Stop and Sbottom LSP with R-parity Violation

Considering a third-generation squark as the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), we investigate R-parity violating collider signatures with bilinear LH or trilinear LQD operators that may contribute to observed neutrino masses and mixings. Reinterpreting the LHC 7+8 TeV results of SUSY and leptoquark searches, we find that third-generation squark LSPs decaying to first- or second-generation leptons are generally excluded up to at least about 660 GeV at 95%C.L.. One notable feature of many models is that sbottoms can decay to top quarks and charged leptons that lead to a broader invariant mass spectrum and weaker collider constraints. More dedicated searches with $b$-taggings or top reconstructions are thus encouraged. Finally, we discuss that the recently observed excesses in the CMS leptoquark search can be accommodated by the decay of sbottom LSPs in the LQD$_{113+131}$ model.Comment: 17 pages, v2: figure 5 is corrected and more references are cite

Very Degenerate Higgsino Dark Matter

We present a study of the Very Degenerate Higgsino Dark Matter (DM), whose mass splitting between the lightest neutral and charged components is ${\cal O}$(1) MeV, much smaller than radiative splitting of 355 MeV. The scenario is realized in the minimal supersymmetric standard model by small gaugino mixing. In contrast to the pure Higgsino DM with the radiative splitting only, various observable signatures with distinct features are induced. First of all, the very small mass splitting makes (a) sizable Sommerfeld enhancement and Ramsauer-Townsend (RT) suppression relevant to ~1 TeV Higgsino DM, and (b) Sommerfeld-Ramsauer-Townsend effect saturate at lower velocities $v/c \lesssim 10^{-3}$. As a result, annihilation signals can be large enough to be observed from the galactic center and/or dwarf galaxies, while relative signal sizes can vary depending on the location of Sommerfeld peaks and RT dips. In addition, at collider experiments, stable chargino signature can be searched for to probe the model in the future. DM direct detection signal, however, depends on the Wino mass; even no detectable signal can be induced if the Wino is heavier than about 10 TeV.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Citrobacter amalonaticus Y19 for constitutive expression of carbon monoxide-dependent hydrogen-production machinery

Background: Citrobacter amalonaticus Y19 is a good biocatalyst for production of hydrogen (H-2) from oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) via the so-called water-gas-shift reaction (WGSR). It has a high H-2-production activity (23.83 mmol H-2 g(-1) cell h(-1)) from CO, and can grow well to a high density on various sugars. However, its H-2-production activity is expressed only when CO is present as an inducer and in the absence of glucose. Results: In order to avoid dependency on CO and glucose, in the present study, the native CO-inducible promoters of WGSR operons (CO dehydrogenase, CODH, and CODH-dependent hydrogenase, CO-hyd) in Y19 were carefully analyzed and replaced with strong and constitutive promoters screened from Y19. One engineered strain (Y19-PR1), selected from three positive ones after screening similar to 10,000 colonies, showed a similar CO-dependent H-2-production activity to that of wild-type Y19, without being affected by glucose and/or CO. Compared with wild-type Y19, transcription of the CODH operon in Y19-PR1 increased 1.5-fold, although that of the CO-hyd operon remained at a similar level. To enhance the activity of CO-Hyd in Y19-PR1, further modifications, including an increase in gene copy number and engineering of the 5' untranslated region, were attempted, but without success. Conclusions: Convenient recombinant Y19-PR1 that expresses CO-dependent H-2-production activity without being limited by CO and glucose was obtained

Improved production of docosahexaenoic acid in batch fermentation by newly-isolated strains of Schizochytrium sp. and Thraustochytriidae sp. through bioprocess optimization

Thraustochytrids, rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6??3), represent a potential source of dietary fatty acids. Yet, the effect of culture conditions on growth and fatty acid composition vary widely among different thraustochytrid strains. Two different thraustochytrid strains, Schizochytrium sp. PKU#Mn4 and Thraustochytriidae sp. PKU#Mn16 were studied for their growth and DHA production characteristics under various culture conditions. Although they exhibited similar fatty acid profiles, PKU#Mn4 seemed a good candidate for industrial DHA fermentation while PKU#Mn16 displayed growth tolerance to a wide range of process conditions. Relative DHA content of 48.5% and 49.2% (relative to total fatty acids), respectively, were achieved on glycerol under their optimal flask culture conditions. Maximum DHA yield (Yp/x) of 21.0% and 18.9% and productivity of 27.6 mg/L-h and 31.9 mg/L-h were obtained, respectively, in 5-L bioreactor fermentation operated with optimal conditions and dual oxygen control strategy. A 3.4- and 2.8-fold improvement of DHA production (g/L), respectively, was achieved in this study. Overall, our study provides the potential of two thraustochytrid strains and their culture conditions for efficient production of DHA-rich oil

Profiling age-related epigenetic markers of stomach adenocarcinoma in young and old subjects

The purpose of our study is to identify epigenetic markers that are differently expressed in the stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) condition. Based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we were able to detect an age-related difference in methylation patterns and changes in gene and miRNA expression levels in young (n = 14) and old (n = 70) STAD subjects. Our analysis identified 323 upregulated and 653 downregulated genes in old STAD subjects. We also found 76 miRNAs with age-related expression patterns and 113 differentially methylated genes (DMGs), respectively. Our further analysis revealed that significant upregulated genes (n = 35) were assigned to the cell cycle, while the muscle system process (n = 27) and cell adhesion-related genes (n = 57) were downregulated. In addition, by comparing gene and miRNA expression with methylation change, we identified that three upregulated genes (ELF3, IL1??, and MMP13) known to be involved in inflammatory responses and cell growth were significantly hypomethylated in the promoter region. We further detected target candidates for age-related, downregulated miRNAs (hsa-mir-124-3, hsa-mir-204, and hsa-mir-125b-2) in old STAD subjects. This is the first report of the results from a study exploring age-related epigenetic biomarkers of STAD using high-throughput data and provides evidence for a complex clinicopathological condition expressed by the age-related STAD progression. © the authors, publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Limitedopen

Programmable spectral shaping to improve the measurement precision of frequency comb mode-resolved spectral interferometric ranging

Comb-mode resolved spectral domain interferometry (CORE-SDI), which is capable of measuring length of kilometers or more with precision on the order of nanometers, is considered to be a promising technology for next-generation length standards, replacing laser displacement interferometers. In this study, we aim to improve the measurement precision of CORE-SDI using programmable spectral shaping. We report the generation of effectively broad and symmetric light sources through the programmable spectral shaping. The light source used here was generated by the spectrally-broadened electro-optic comb with a repetition rate of 17.5 GHz. Through the programmable spectral shaping, the optical spectrum was flattened within 1 dB, resulting in a square-shaped optical spectrum. As a result, the 3-dB spectral width was extended from 1.15 THz to 6.7 THz. We performed a comparison between the measurement results of various spectrum shapes. We confirmed an improvement in the measurement precision from 69 nm to 6 nm, which was also corroborated by numerical simulations. We believe that this study on enhancing the measurement precision of CORE-SDI through the proposed spectral shaping will make a significant contribution to reducing the measurement uncertainty of future CORE-SDI systems, thereby advancing the development of next-generation length standards.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure