Classification of Standard Model Particles in E6E_6 Orbifold Grand Unified Theories

We classify the standard model fermions, which originate from bulk fields of the $\bf{27}$ or $\bar{\bf{27}}$ representation after orbifold breaking, in $E_6$ grand unified theories on 5 or 6-dimensional space-time, under the condition that $q$, $e^c$ and $u^c$ survive as zero modes.Comment: 24 pages, typos corrected, to appear in IJMP

Intestinal epithelial cell-intrinsic deletion of Setd7 identifies role for developmental pathways in immunity to helminth infection

The intestine is a common site for a variety of pathogenic infections. Helminth infections continue to be major causes of disease worldwide, and are a significant burden on health care systems. Lysine methyltransferases are part of a family of novel attractive targets for drug discovery. SETD7 is a member of the Suppressor of variegation 3-9-Enhancer of zeste-Trithorax (SET) domain-containing family of lysine methyltransferases, and has been shown to methylate and alter the function of a wide variety of proteins in vitro. A few of these putative methylation targets have been shown to be important in resistance against pathogens. We therefore sought to study the role of SETD7 during parasitic infections. We find that Setd7-/- mice display increased resistance to infection with the helminth Trichuris muris but not Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri. Resistance to T. muris relies on an appropriate type 2 immune response that in turn prompts intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) to alter differentiation and proliferation kinetics. Here we show that SETD7 does not affect immune cell responses during infection. Instead, we found that IEC-specific deletion of Setd7 renders mice resistant to T. muris by controlling IEC turnover, an important aspect of anti-helminth immune responses. We further show that SETD7 controls IEC turnover by modulating developmental signaling pathways such as Hippo/YAP and Wnt/β-Catenin. We show that the Hippo pathway specifically is relevant during T. muris infection as verteporfin (a YAP inhibitor) treated mice became susceptible to T. muris. We conclude that SETD7 plays an important role in IEC biology during infection

Recognition of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms in older patients with heart failure

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment and depression in patients with heart failure (HF) are common comorbidities and are associated with increased morbidity, readmissions and mortality. Timely recognition of cognitive impairment and depression is important for providing optimal care. The aim of our study was to determine if these disorders were recognised by clinicians and, secondly, if they were associated with hospital admissions and mortality within 6 months’ follow-up. METHODS: Patients (aged ≥65 years) diagnosed with HF were included from the cardiology outpatient clinic of Gelre Hospitals. Cognitive status was evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (score ≤22). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Geriatric Depression Scale (score >5). Patient characteristics were collected from electronic patient files. The clinician was blinded to the tests and asked to assess cognitive status and mood. RESULTS: We included 157 patients. Their median age was 79 years (65–92); 98 (62%) were male. The majority had New York Heart Association functional class II. Cognitive impairment was present in 56 (36%) patients. Depressive symptoms were present in 21 (13%) patients. In 27 of 56 patients (48%) cognitive impairment was not recognised by clinicians. Depressive symptoms were not recognised in 11 of 21 patients (52%). During 6 months’ follow-up 24 (15%) patients were readmitted for HF-related reasons and 18 (11%) patients died. There was no difference in readmission and mortality rate between patients with or without cognitive impairment and patients with or without depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were infrequently recognised during outpatient clinic visits

The Nambu sum rule and the relation between the masses of composite Higgs bosons

We review the known results on the bosonic spectrum in various NJL models both in the condensed matter physics and in relativistic quantum field theory including $^3$He-B, $^3$He-A, the thin films of superfluid He-3, and QCD (Hadronic phase and the Color Flavor Locking phase). Next, we calculate bosonic spectrum in the relativistic model of top quark condensation suggested in \cite{Miransky}. In all considered cases the sum rule appears that relates the masses (energy gaps) $M_{boson}$ of the bosonic excitations in each channel with the mass (energy gap) of the condensed fermion $M_f$ as $\sum M_{boson}^2 = 4 M_f^2$. Previously this relation was established by Nambu in \cite{Nambu} for $^3$He-B and for the s - wave superconductor. We generalize this relation to the wider class of models and call it the Nambu sum rule. We discuss the possibility to apply this sum rule to various models of top quark condensation. In some cases this rule allows to calculate the masses of extra Higgs bosons that are the Nambu partners of the 125 GeV Higgs.Comment: Latex, 15 page

Phylogenetic Study of Plant Q-type C2H2 Zinc Finger Proteins and Expression Analysis of Poplar Genes in Response to Osmotic, Cold and Mechanical Stresses

Plant Q-type C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors play an important role in plant tolerance to various environmental stresses such as drought, cold, osmotic stress, wounding and mechanical loading. To carry out an improved analysis of the specific role of each member of this subfamily in response to mechanical loading in poplar, we identified 16 two-fingered Q-type C2H2-predicted proteins from the poplar Phytozome database and compared their phylogenetic relationships with 152 two-fingered Q-type C2H2 protein sequences belonging to more than 50 species isolated from the NR protein database of NCBI. Phylogenetic analyses of these Q-type C2H2 proteins sequences classified them into two groups G1 and G2, and conserved motif distributions of interest were established. These two groups differed essentially in their signatures at the C-terminus of their two QALGGH DNA-binding domains. Two additional conserved motifs, MALEAL and LVDCHY, were found only in sequences from Group G1 or from Group G2, respectively. Functional significance of these phylogenetic divergences was assessed by studying transcript accumulation of six poplar C2H2 Q-type genes in responses to abiotic stresses; but no group specificity was found in any organ. Further expression analyses focused on PtaZFP1 and PtaZFP2, the two genes strongly induced by mechanical loading in poplars. The results revealed that these two genes were regulated by several signalling molecules including hydrogen peroxide and the phytohormone jasmonate