100 years of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine

Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

Emergent Gravity from Noncommutative Gauge Theory

We show that the matrix-model action for noncommutative U(n) gauge theory actually describes SU(n) gauge theory coupled to gravity. This is elaborated in the 4-dimensional case. The SU(n) gauge fields as well as additional scalar fields couple to an effective metric G_{ab}, which is determined by a dynamical Poisson structure. The emergent gravity is intimately related to noncommutativity, encoding those degrees of freedom which are usually interpreted as U(1) gauge fields. This leads to a class of metrics which contains the physical degrees of freedom of gravitational waves, and allows to recover e.g. the Newtonian limit with arbitrary mass distribution. It also suggests a consistent picture of UV/IR mixing in terms of an induced gravity action. This should provide a suitable framework for quantizing gravity.Comment: 28 pages + 11 pages appendix. V2: references and discussion added. V3: minor correctio

M. tuberculosis Reprograms Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Limit Myelopoiesis and Impair Trained Immunity

A greater understanding of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regulation is required for dissecting protective versus detrimental immunity to pathogens that cause chronic infections such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). We have shown that systemic administration of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or ß-glucan reprograms HSCs in the bone marrow (BM) via a type II interferon (IFN-II) or interleukin-1 (IL1) response, respectively, which confers protective trained immunity against Mtb. Here, we demonstrate that, unlike BCG or ß-glucan, Mtb reprograms HSCs via an IFN-I response that suppresses myelopoiesis and impairs development of protective trained immunity to Mtb. Mechanistically, IFN-I signaling dysregulates iron metabolism, depolarizes mitochondrial membrane potential, and induces cell death specifically in myeloid progenitors. Additionally, activation of the IFN-I/iron axis in HSCs impairs trained immunity to Mtb infection. These results identify an unanticipated immune evasion strategy of Mtb in the BM that controls the magnitude and intrinsic anti-microbial capacity of innate immunity to infection

Whole exome sequence analysis reveals a homozygous mutation in PNPLA2 as the cause of severe dilated cardiomyopathy secondary to neutral lipid storage disease.

Accepted manuscript 12 month embargo, pre-print immediately

Numerical simulations of a non-commutative theory: the scalar model on the fuzzy sphere

We address a detailed non-perturbative numerical study of the scalar theory on the fuzzy sphere. We use a novel algorithm which strongly reduces the correlation problems in the matrix update process, and allows the investigation of different regimes of the model in a precise and reliable way. We study the modes associated to different momenta and the role they play in the ``striped phase'', pointing out a consistent interpretation which is corroborated by our data, and which sheds further light on the results obtained in some previous works. Next, we test a quantitative, non-trivial theoretical prediction for this model, which has been formulated in the literature: The existence of an eigenvalue sector characterised by a precise probability density, and the emergence of the phase transition associated with the opening of a gap around the origin in the eigenvalue distribution. The theoretical predictions are confirmed by our numerical results. Finally, we propose a possible method to detect numerically the non-commutative anomaly predicted in a one-loop perturbative analysis of the model, which is expected to induce a distortion of the dispersion relation on the fuzzy sphere.Comment: 1+36 pages, 18 figures; v2: 1+55 pages, 38 figures: added the study of the eigenvalue distribution, added figures, tables and references, typos corrected; v3: 1+20 pages, 10 eps figures, new results, plots and references added, technical details about the tests at small matrix size skipped, version published in JHE

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Variation in the dispersions of powder liquid ratios in hand-mix glass ionomers

BACKGROUND: The Powder/Liquid Ratio (PLR) influence, and the literature regarding the handling and physical properties of Glass Ionomer restorative materials (GIC) were investigated. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compare the PLR variability and magnitude in hand-mix GICs, as dispensed for clinical use. From the recorded individual powder and liquid weights, additional comparisons could be made by pairing the various “extreme” outer observations in relation to the manufacturer’s PLR. STUDY DESIGN: The materials assessed were Ketac Universal Hand-mix (KUH), Riva Self Cure Hand-mix (RSCH) and Fuji IX GP Hand-mix (FIXH). Twenty scoops of powder were paired with twenty drops of liquid, as would be the case in the clinical scenario. Statistical analysis was completed with the Kruskal Wallis H test, Intraclass Correlation (ICC) and straight line regressions with One-way ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey HSD Test (p<0.05 was considered significant). RESULTS: The powder and liquid observations indicate a lack of consistency in both the powder and liquid dispersions. The volume remained “one drop” but the weights were much lower than the manufacturer’s recommended drop weight for some observations, due to air in the liquid drop. The Kruskal-Wallis H test indicated significant differences (p=0.0001) between the three materials for the paired PLRs. The One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey HSD Test were used to compare the recommended PLR to the results and the significant differences (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The recommended manufacturers’ powder and liquid weights were KUH 0.150/0.05g; RSC 0.165/0.035; FIXH 0.18/0.05, respectively. KUH, FIXH and RSCH liquid had powder and liquid dispersions above the manufacturer’s recommendations. FIXH had the most paired PLR observations within the ±10% range followed by KUH. Extreme powder and liquid combinations could occur in the clinical scenario and these combinations were considered

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO