Directing Monolayer Tungsten Disulfide Photoluminescence using a Bent Plasmonic Nanowire on a Mirror Cavity

Designing directional optical antennas without compromising the field enhancement requires specially designed optical cavities. Herein, we report on the experimental observations of directional photoluminescence emission from a monolayer Tungsten Disulfide using a bent-plasmonic nanowire on a mirror cavity. The geometry provides field enhancement and directivity to photoluminescence by sandwiching the monolayer between an extended cavity formed by dropcasting bent silver nanowire and a gold mirror. We image the photoluminescence emission wavevectors by using the Fourier plane imaging technique. The cavity out-couples the emission in a narrow range of wavevectors with a radial and azimuthal spreading of only 11.0{\deg} and 25.1{\deg}, respectively. Furthermore, we performed three dimensional finite difference time domain based numerical calculations to corroborate and understand the experimental results. We envisage that the results presented here will be readily harnessed for on-chip coupling applications and in designing inelastic optical antennas

Feasibility of nuclear ribosomal region ITS1 over ITS2 in barcoding taxonomically challenging genera of subtribe Cassiinae (Fabaceae) 2

View the peer-reviewed version (peerj.com/articles/2638), which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint. Mishra P, Kumar A, Rodrigues V, Shukla AK, Sundaresan V. 2016. Feasibility of nuclear ribosomal region ITS1 over ITS2 in barcoding taxonomically challenging genera of subtribe Cassiinae (Fabaceae) PeerJ 4:e2638 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2638 Feasibility of nuclear ribosomal region ITS1 over ITS2 in barcoding taxonomically challenging genera of subtribe Cassiinae (Fabaceae) Premise of the Study. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is situated between 18S and 26S in a polycistronic rRNA precursor transcript. It had been proved to be the most commonly sequenced region across plant species to resolve phylogenetic relationships ranging from shallow to deep taxonomic levels. Despite several taxonomical revisions in Cassiinae, a stable phylogeny remains elusive at the molecular level, particularly concerning the delineation of species in the genera Cassia, Senna and Chamaecrista. This study addresses the comparative potential of ITS datasets (ITS1, ITS2 and concatenated) in resolving the underlying morphological disparity in the highly complex genera, to assess their discriminatory power as potential barcode candidates in Cassiinae. Methodology. A combination of experimental data and an in-silico approach based on threshold genetic distances, sequence similarity based and hierarchical tree-based methods was performed to decipher the discriminating power of ITS datasets on 18 different species of Cassiinae complex. Lab-generated sequences were compared against those available in the GenBank using BLAST and were aligned through MUSCLE 3.8.31 and analysed in PAUP 4.0 and BEAST1.8 using parsimony ratchet, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference (BI) methods of gene and species tree reconciliation with bootstrapping. DNA barcoding gap was realized based on the Kimura two-parameter distance model (K2P) in TaxonDNA and MEGA. Principal Findings. Based on the K2P distance, significant divergences between the inter-and intraspecific genetic distances were observed, while the presence of a DNA barcoding gap was obvious. The ITS1 region efficiently identified 81.63% and 90% of species using TaxonDNA and BI methods, respectively. The PWG-distance method based on simple pairwise matching indicated the significance of ITS1 whereby highest number of variable (210) and informative sites (206) were obtained. The BI tree based methods outperformed the similarity-based methods producing well-resolved phylogenetic trees with many nodes well supported by bootstrap analyses. Conclusion. The reticulated phylogenetic hypothesis using the ITS1 region mainly supported the relationship between the species of Cassiinae established by traditional morphological methods. The ITS1 region showed a higher discrimination power and desirable characteristics as compared to ITS2 and ITS1+2, thereby concluding to be the locus of choice. Considering the complexity of the group and the underlying biological ambiguities, the results presented here are encouraging for developing DNA barcoding as a useful tool for resolving taxonomical challenges in corroboration with morphological framework

MX2 gene mRNA expression as potential biomarker for early pregnancy diagnosis in cattle

Early pregnancy diagnosis is vital for economic sustainability of dairy farms and maintaining the reproductive efficiency of the herd. There are many techniques including progesterone assay, pregnancy specific proteins and interferon stimulated genes have been explored for early pregnancy diagnosis but, they are associated with varying level of efficacy. In the present experiment, interferon stimulated gene (Myxovirus resistance gene 2/MX2) expression pattern was used as a potential biomarker for early pregnancy in cattle. The association of MX2 gene expression in relation to progesterone assay was studied to explore its potential use as biomarker of early pregnancy. The plasma progesterone concentration in conceived animals on day 7 (2.26±0.19 ng/ml), 17 (5.42±0.35 ng/ml) and 21(6.38±0.39 ng/ml) was recorded to be significantly higher as compared to respective values in non-conceived animals, i.e. 1.55±0.09 ng/ml, 4.14±0.14 ng/ml and 0.81±0.06 ng/ml. The sudden decrement in plasma progesterone concentration after day 17th discriminates conceived and non-conceived animals. MX2 expression levels were observed to spike in blood due to release of interferon tau (τ) after implantation of embryo. The relative mRNA expression of MX2 gene showed a 9.5 to 28.64-fold higher expression on 17 days post insemination in pregnant animals as compared to non-pregnant animals. Thus, MX2 gene can be used as a reliable biomarker for the early detection of pregnancy

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer: Underlying Pathophysiology and New Therapeutic Modalities

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are major lung diseases affecting millions worldwide. Both diseases have links to cigarette smoking and exert a considerable societal burden. People suffering from COPD are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those without, and are more susceptible to poor outcomes after diagnosis and treatment. Lung cancer and COPD are closely associated, possibly sharing common traits such as an underlying genetic predisposition, epithelial and endothelial cell plasticity, dysfunctional inflammatory mechanisms including the deposition of excessive extracellular matrix, angiogenesis, susceptibility to DNA damage and cellular mutagenesis. In fact, COPD could be the driving factor for lung cancer, providing a conducive environment that propagates its evolution. In the early stages of smoking, body defences provide a combative immune/oxidative response and DNA repair mechanisms are likely to subdue these changes to a certain extent; however, in patients with COPD with lung cancer the consequences could be devastating, potentially contributing to slower postoperative recovery after lung resection and increased resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Vital to the development of new-targeted therapies is an in-depth understanding of various molecular mechanisms that are associated with both pathologies. In this comprehensive review, we provide a detailed overview of possible underlying factors that link COPD and lung cancer, and current therapeutic advances from both human and preclinical animal models that can effectively mitigate this unholy relationship

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV

Probing effective field theory operators in the associated production of top quarks with a Z boson in multilepton final states at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe