Parameterization of the antiproton inclusive production cross section on nuclei

A new parameterization of the antiproton inclusive production cross section in proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions is proposed. A sample of consistent pA->pbar X$ experimental data sets measured on 1<A<208 nuclei, from 12 GeV up to 400 GeV incident energy, have been used to constrain the parameters. A broader energy domain is covered for the pp->pbar X reaction with a simplified functional form used in the fits. The agreement obtained with the data is good. The results are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, 7 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Reliable flow cytometric estimation of nuclear DNA content in coffee trees

La cytométrie en flux a permis d'obtenir des mesures précises de la taille des génomes de deux taxons (#C. liberica dewevrei et #C. pseudozanguebariae). L'iodure de propidium (IP) et le #Petunia hybrida ont été utilisés, respectivement, comme fluorochrome et standard interne. La linéarité de la relation entre la quantité d'ADN et le signal fluorescent digitalisé a été vérifiée. Cinq résultats majeurs ressortent : des conditions expérimentales optimales ont été définies pour l'estimation de la position des pics (moyenne et mode), le temps de coloration (au moins deux minutes), le voltage du photomultiplicateur (557 V) et de la concentration en IP (330 microg/ml) ; les effets du voltage et de la concentration en IP ont été paramétrés ; deux biais dus aux variations de voltage et de concentration en IP ont été décelés dans l'estimation de la quantité d'ADN par noyau. Ces biais ont été minimisés ; les tailles de génome de #C. liberica dewevrei et de #C. pseudozanguebariae$ ont été estimées avec précision (respectivement 2C = 1,421 plus ou moins 0,005 pg et 2C = 1,129 plus ou moins 0,005 pg) ; des variations entre génotypes ont été mises en évidence dans chaque taxon. (Résumé d'auteur

Variations in the total nuclear DNA content in African Coffea species (Rubiaceae)

La quantité d'ADN totale par noyau a été estimée pour soixante-quinze génotypes de #Coffea appartenant à seize espèces diploïdes (2n=22) et #C. arabica (tétraploïde 2n=44) par cytofluorométrie en flux. L'agent fluorochrome utilisé est l'iodure de propidium (intercalent). La valeur 2C du génome des caféiers varie de 0,9 pg d'ADN par noyau à 1,9 pg. Trois espèces, originaires d'Afrique de l'Est (#C. sessiliflora, C. racemosa et #C. pseudozanguebariae) ont le plus petit génome (environ 1 pg par noyau). A l'opposé, trois espèces de forêt tropicale humide (#C. humilis, C. sp. Moloundou et #C. liberica) correspondent aux valeurs les plus élevées (1,6 pg). L'espèce tétraploïde #C. arabica$, originaire d'Ethiopie, a un génome de 2,5 pg. Au sein des espèces diploïdes, on note une importante variation des valeurs 2C pouvant atteindre 25 % pour une espèce. Les résultats sont comparés aux données analogues chez d'autres Angiospermes et une tentative d'interprétation des variations observées est présentée. (Résumé d'auteur

Nuclear DNA content in the subgenus Coffea (Rubiaceae) : inter and intra-specific variation in African species

La cytométrie en flux a été utilisée pour estimer la quantité d'ADN nucléaire chez 13 espèces de #Coffea (Rubiacea) originaires d'Afrique. Douze espèces diploïdes (#2n=22) et l'espèce tétraploïde #C. arabica (#2n=44) ont été analysées. Pour 77 génotypes, des populations de noyaux isolés ont été colorées par l'iodure de propidium (IP ; non spécifique des bases). Pour trente neuf génotypes, le 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; AT spécifique) a été également utilisé. Les quantités 2C d'ADN nucléaire, estimées avec l'IP, oscillent entre 0,95 et 1,78 pg. Trois groupes correspondant à des quantités croissantes d'ADN ont été mis en évidence. Les trois espèces #C. sessiliflora, C. racemosa et #C. pseudozanguebariae se classent dans le groupe des plus petites valeurs (groupe 1 : 0,90 à 1,30 pg). Les trois espèces #C. eugenioides, C. stenophylla et #C. sp. F. se rangent uniquement dans le groupe des valeurs intermédiaires (groupe 2 : 1,31 à 1,60 pg). Les autres espèces se répartissent entre le groupe 2 et le groupe des plus hautes valeurs (groupe 3 : 1,61 à 1,80 pg). Les valeurs déterminées pour les espèces de #Coffea$, sont comparées aux niveaux intra- et inter-spécifique à celles d'autres angiospermes. Les différences observées sont discutées en fonction de l'origine éco-géographique des espèces, leurs caractéristiques phénologiques et la fertilité de leurs hybrides F1 interspécifiques. (Résumé d'auteur

General Analysis of Antideuteron Searches for Dark Matter

Low energy cosmic ray antideuterons provide a unique low background channel for indirect detection of dark matter. We compute the cosmic ray flux of antideuterons from hadronic annihilations of dark matter for various Standard Model final states and determine the mass reach of two future experiments (AMS-02 and GAPS) designed to greatly increase the sensitivity of antideuteron detection over current bounds. We consider generic models of scalar, fermion, and massive vector bosons as thermal dark matter, describe their basic features relevant to direct and indirect detection, and discuss the implications of direct detection bounds on models of dark matter as a thermal relic. We also consider specific dark matter candidates and assess their potential for detection via antideuterons from their hadronic annihilation channels. Since the dark matter mass reach of the GAPS experiment can be well above 100 GeV, we find that antideuterons can be a good indirect detection channel for a variety of thermal relic electroweak scale dark matter candidates, even when the rate for direct detection is highly suppressed.Comment: 44 pages, 15 Figure

Differential effects of lenalidomide during plasma cell differentiation.

Thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide have greatly improved the outcome of patients with multiple myeloma. However, their effects on plasma cells, the healthy counterpart of myeloma cells, are unknown. Here, we investigated lenalidomide effects on normal human plasma cell generation using an in vitro model. Lenalidomide inhibited the generation of pre-plasmablasts and early plasma cells, while it moderately affected plasmablast production. It also reduced the expression level of Ikaros, Aiolos, and IRF4 transcription factors, in plasmablasts and early plasma cells. This suggests that their differential sensitivity to lenalidomide is not due to a difference in Ikaros or Aiolos degradation. Lenalidomide also inhibited long-lived plasma cell generation, but did not impair their long-term survival once generated. This last observation is in agreement with the finding that lenalidomide treatment for 3-18 months did not affect the bone marrow healthy plasma cell count in allografted patients with multiple myeloma. Our findings should prompt to investigate whether lenalidomide resistance in patients with multiple myeloma could be associated with the emergence of malignant plasmablasts or long-lived plasma cells that are less sensitive to lenalidomide

The association between human endogenous retroviruses and multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The interaction between genetic and environmental factors is crucial to multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) are endogenous viral elements of the human genome whose expression is associated with MS. Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis and to assess qualitative and quantitative evidence on the expression of HERV families in MS patients. Methods: Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched for published studies on the association of HERVs and MS. Meta-analysis was performed on the HERV-W family. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for association. Results: 43 reports were extracted (25 related to HERV-W, 13 to HERV-H, 9 to HERV-K, 5 to HRES-1 and 1 to HER-15 family). The analysis showed an association between expression of all HERV families and MS. For HERV-W, adequate data was available for meta-analysis. Results from meta-analyses of HERV-W were OR = 22.66 (95%CI 6.32 to 81.20) from 4 studies investigating MSRV/HERV-W(MS-associated retrovirus) envelope mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, OR = 44.11 (95%CI 12.95 to 150.30) from 6 studies of MSRV/ HERV-W polymerase mRNA in serum/plasma and OR = 6.00 (95%CI 3.35 to 10.74) from 4 studies of MSRV/HERV-W polymerase mRNA in CSF

Transcriptomic analysis of milk somatic cells in mastitis resistant and susceptible sheep upon challenge with Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The existence of a genetic basis for host responses to bacterial intramammary infections has been widely documented, but the underlying mechanisms and the genes are still largely unknown. Previously, two divergent lines of sheep selected for high/low milk somatic cell scores have been shown to be respectively susceptible and resistant to intramammary infections by <it>Staphylococcus spp</it>. Transcriptional profiling with an 15K ovine-specific microarray of the milk somatic cells of susceptible and resistant sheep infected successively by <it>S. epidermidis </it>and <it>S. aureus </it>was performed in order to enhance our understanding of the molecular and cellular events associated with mastitis resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The bacteriological titre was lower in the resistant than in the susceptible animals in the 48 hours following inoculation, although milk somatic cell concentration was similar. Gene expression was analysed in milk somatic cells, mainly represented by neutrophils, collected 12 hours post-challenge. A high number of differentially expressed genes between the two challenges indicated that more T cells are recruited upon inoculation by <it>S. aureus </it>than <it>S. epidermidis</it>. A total of 52 genes were significantly differentially expressed between the resistant and susceptible animals. Further Gene Ontology analysis indicated that differentially expressed genes were associated with immune and inflammatory responses, leukocyte adhesion, cell migration, and signal transduction. Close biological relationships could be established between most genes using gene network analysis. Furthermore, gene expression suggests that the cell turn-over, as a consequence of apoptosis/granulopoiesis, may be enhanced in the resistant line when compared to the susceptible line.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Gene profiling in resistant and susceptible lines has provided good candidates for mapping the biological pathways and genes underlying genetically determined resistance and susceptibility towards <it>Staphylococcus </it>infections, and opens new fields for further investigation.</p