Angular momentum sharing in dissipative collisions

Light charged particles emitted by the projectile-like fragment were measured in the direct and reverse collision of $^{93}$Nb and $^{116}$Sn at 25 AMeV. The experimental multiplicities of Hydrogen and Helium particles as a function of the primary mass of the emitting fragment show evidence for a correlation with net mass transfer. The ratio of Hydrogen and Helium multiplicities points to a dependence of the angular momentum sharing on the net mass transfer.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Indication of asymptotic scaling in the reactions dd→p3dd\to p^3H, dd→n3dd\to n^3He and dp→dpdp\to dp

It is shown that the differential cross sections of the reactions $dd\to ^3He n$ and $dd\to ^3H p$ measured at c.m.s.scattering angle$\theta_{cm}=60^\circ$ in the interval of the deuteron beam energy 0.5 - 1.2 GeV demonstrate the scaling behaviour,$d\sigma/d t\sim s^{-22}$, which follows from constituent quark counting rules. It is found also that the differential cross section of the elastic $dp\to dp$ scattering at $\theta_{cm}=125^\circ-135^\circ$ follows the scaling regime $\sim s^{-16}$ at beam energies 0.5 - 5 GeV. These data are parameterized here using the Reggeon exchange.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 2 eps figures; final version accepted by Pis'ma v ZHETF, corrected and completed reference

Non-Hermitian SUSY Hydrogen-like Hamiltonians with real spectra

It is shown that the radial part of the Hydrogen Hamiltonian factorizes as the product of two not mutually adjoint first order differential operators plus a complex constant epsilon. The 1-susy approach is used to construct non-hermitian Hamiltonians with hydrogen spectra. Other non-hermitian Hamiltonians are shown to admit an extra `complex energy' at epsilon. New self-adjoint hydrogen-like Hamiltonians are also derived by using a 2-susy transformation with complex conjugate pairs epsilon, (c.c) epsilon.Comment: LaTeX2e file, 13 pages, 6 EPS figures. New references added. The present is a reorganized and simplified versio

Determination of the pion-nucleon coupling constant and scattering lengths

We critically evaluate the isovector GMO sum rule for forward pion-nucleon scattering using the recent precision measurements of negatively charged pion-proton and pion-deuteron scattering lengths from pionic atoms. We deduce the charged-pion-nucleon coupling constant, with careful attention to systematic and statistical uncertainties. This determination gives, directly from data a pseudoscalar coupling constant of 14.11+-0.05(statistical)+-0.19(systematic) or a pseudovector one of 0.0783(11). This value is intermediate between that of indirect methods and the direct determination from backward neutron-proton differential scattering cross sections. We also use the pionic atom data to deduce the coherent symmetric and antisymmetric sums of the negatively charged pion-proton and pion-neutron scattering lengths with high precision. The symmetric sum gives 0.0012+-0.0002(statistical)+-0.0008 (systematic) and the antisymmetric one 0.0895+-0.0003(statistical)+-0.0013(systematic), both in units of inverse charged pion-mass. For the need of the present analysis, we improve the theoretical description of the pion-deuteron scattering length.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, few modifications and clarifications, no change in substance of the pape

Quasi-Elastic Scattering in the Inclusive (3^3He, t) Reaction

The triton energy spectra of the charge-exchange $^{12}$C($^3$He,t) reaction at 2 GeV beam energy are analyzed in the quasi-elastic nucleon knock-out region. Considering that this region is mainly populated by the charge-exchange of a proton in $^3$He with a neutron in the target nucleus and the final proton going in the continuum, the cross-sections are written in the distorted-wave impulse approximation. The t-matrix for the elementary exchange process is constructed in the DWBA, using one pion- plus rho-exchange potential for the spin-isospin nucleon- nucleon potential. This t-matrix reproduces the experimental data on the elementary pn $\rightarrow$np process. The calculated cross-sections for the $^{12}$C($^3$He,t) reaction at $2^o$ to $7^o$ triton emission angle are compared with the corresponding experimental data, and are found in reasonable overall accord.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 11 postscript figures available at [email protected], submitted to Phy.Rev.

E4 ligase–specific ubiquitination hubs coordinate DNA double-strand-break repair and apoptosis

Multiple protein ubiquitination events at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) regulate damage recognition, signaling and repair. It has remained poorly understood how the repair process of DSBs is coordinated with the apoptotic response. Here, we identified the E4 ubiquitin ligase UFD-2 as a mediator of DNA-damage-induced apoptosis in a genetic screen in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that, after initiation of homologous recombination by RAD-51, UFD-2 forms foci that contain substrate-processivity factors including the ubiquitin-selective segregase CDC-48 (p97), the deubiquitination enzyme ATX-3 (Ataxin-3) and the proteasome. In the absence of UFD-2, RAD-51 foci persist, and DNA damage-induced apoptosis is prevented. In contrast, UFD-2 foci are retained until recombination intermediates are removed by the Holliday-junction-processing enzymes GEN-1, MUS-81 or XPF-1. Formation of UFD-2 foci also requires proapoptotic CEP-1 (p53) signaling. Our findings establish a central role of UFD-2 in the coordination between the DNA-repair process and the apoptotic response

Harmonin-b, an actin-binding scaffold protein, is involved in the adaptation of mechanoelectrical transduction by sensory hair cells

We assessed the involvement of harmonin-b, a submembranous protein containing PDZ domains, in the mechanoelectrical transduction machinery of inner ear hair cells. Harmonin-b is located in the region of the upper insertion point of the tip link that joins adjacent stereocilia from different rows and that is believed to gate transducer channel(s) located in the region of the tip link's lower insertion point. In Ush1cdfcr-2J/dfcr-2J mutant mice defective for harmonin-b, step deflections of the hair bundle evoked transduction currents with altered speed and extent of adaptation. In utricular hair cells, hair bundle morphology and maximal transduction currents were similar to those observed in wild-type mice, but adaptation was faster and more complete. Cochlear outer hair cells displayed reduced maximal transduction currents, which may be the consequence of moderate structural anomalies of their hair bundles. Their adaptation was slower and displayed a variable extent. The latter was positively correlated with the magnitude of the maximal transduction current, but the cells that showed the largest currents could be either hyperadaptive or hypoadaptive. To interpret our observations, we used a theoretical description of mechanoelectrical transduction based on the gating spring theory and a motor model of adaptation. Simulations could account for the characteristics of transduction currents in wild-type and mutant hair cells, both vestibular and cochlear. They led us to conclude that harmonin-b operates as an intracellular link that limits adaptation and engages adaptation motors, a dual role consistent with the scaffolding property of the protein and its binding to both actin filaments and the tip link component cadherin-23

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century