Charmonium decay widths in magnetized matter

We study the partial decay widths of the charmonium states ($J/\psi$, $\psi(3686)$, $\psi(3770)$, $\chi_{c0}$, $\chi_{c2}$) to $D\bar D$ ($D^+D^-$ or $D^0\bar {D^0}$) in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter, in the presence of strong magnetic fields. The in-medium partial decay widths of charmonium states to $D\bar D$ are calculated within a light quark--antiquark pair creation model, namely the $^3P_0$ model, using the in--medium masses of the charmonia as well as $D$ and $\bar D$ mesons in the magnetized nuclear matter obtained within a chiral effective model. The presence of a magnetic field leads to Landau quantization of the energy levels of the proton in the nuclear medium. The effects of magnetic field and isospin asymmetry on the charmonium decay widths to $D\bar D$ are found to be quite prominent. The effects of the anomalous magnetic moments have also been taken into consideration for obtaining the in-medium masses of these heavy flavour mesons, used to calculate the partial decay widths of the charmonium states. The medium modifications of the charmonium decay widths can have observable consequences on the production of the charmed mesons in high energy asymmetric heavy ion collision experiments.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Eur. Phys. Jour. A. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1803.04322, arXiv:1901.06259, arXiv:1807.07572, arXiv:1811.04622, arXiv:1801.0640

Overactivation of Notch1 Signaling Induces Ectopic Hair Cells in the Mouse Inner Ear in an Age-Dependent Manner

Background: During mouse inner ear development, Notch1 signaling first specifies sensory progenitors, and subsequently controls progenitors to further differentiate into either hair cells (HCs) or supporting cells (SCs). Overactivation of NICD (Notch1 intracellular domain) at early embryonic stages leads to ectopic HC formation. However, it remains unclear whether such an effect can be elicited at later embryonic or postnatal stages, which has important implications in mouse HC regeneration by reactivation of Notch1 signaling. Methodology/Principal Findings: We performed comprehensive in vivo inducible overactivation of NICD at various developmental stages. In CAG CreER+; Rosa26-NICD loxp/+ mice, tamoxifen treatment at embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) generated ectopic HCs in the non-sensory regions in both utricle and cochlea, whereas ectopic HCs only appeared in the utricle when tamoxifen was given at E13. When tamoxifen was injected at postnatal day 0 (P0) and P1, no ectopic HCs were observed in either utricle or cochlea. Interestingly, Notch1 signaling induced new HCs in a non-cell-autonomous manner, because the new HCs did not express NICD. Adjacent to the new HCs were cells expressing the SC marker Sox10 (either NICD+ or NICDnegative). Conclusions/Significance: Our data demonstrate that the developmental stage determines responsiveness of embryonic otic precursors and neonatal non-sensory epithelial cells to NICD overactivation, and that Notch 1 signaling in the wild type, postnatal inner ear is not sufficient for generating new HCs. Thus, our genetic mouse model is suitable to test additiona

Gene expression patterns associated with blood-feeding in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

BACKGROUND: Blood feeding, or hematophagy, is a behavior exhibited by female mosquitoes required both for reproduction and for transmission of pathogens. We determined the expression patterns of 3,068 ESTs, representing ~2,000 unique gene transcripts using cDNA microarrays in adult female Anopheles gambiae at selected times during the first two days following blood ingestion, at 5 and 30 min during a 40 minute blood meal and at 0, 1, 3, 5, 12, 16, 24 and 48 hours after completion of the blood meal and compared their expression to transcript levels in mosquitoes with access only to a sugar solution. RESULTS: In blood-fed mosquitoes, 413 unique transcripts, approximately 25% of the total, were expressed at least two-fold above or below their levels in the sugar-fed mosquitoes, at one or more time points. These differentially expressed gene products were clustered using k-means clustering into Early Genes, Middle Genes, and Late Genes, containing 144, 130, and 139 unique transcripts, respectively. Several genes from each group were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR in order to validate the microarray results. CONCLUSION: The expression patterns and annotation of the genes in these three groups (Early, Middle, and Late genes) are discussed in the context of female mosquitoes' physiological responses to blood feeding, including blood digestion, peritrophic matrix formation, egg development, and immunity

A Study of the Collection Storage and Housing at Law College Libraries in Karnataka

This study discusses the importance of collection development in libraries. Various factors have to be taken into consideration while developing a qualitative collection for the benefit of the law college library users affiliated to Hubli Law University. These factors include handling, collection storage, techniques and procedures, problems associated with collection development and weeding out as well.  Questionnaire method is used for data collection.  The present study is focused to understand the collection storage and housing aspects at law college libraries in Karnataka. The study is limited to all the law colleges affiliated to Karnataka State Law University, Hubli.  It is important to evaluate the collections to assess its use and moreover the usefulness of collection development in electronic environment. Authors conclude that, library professionals need to take utmost care in developing a balanced collection, which enhances the quality of the library.

Charmonium decay widths in magnetized matter

We study the partial decay widths of the charmonium states ( $J/\psi$, $\psi (3686)$, $\psi (3770)$, $\chi_{c0}$, $\chi_{c2}$ to $D\bar{D}$ ($D^+D^-$ or $D^0\bar{D^0}$) in isospin asymmetric nuclear matter, in the presence of strong magnetic fields. The in-medium partial decay widths of charmonium states to $D\bar{D}$ are calculated within a light quark-antiquark pair creation model, namely the 3 P 0 model, using the in-medium masses of the charmonia as well as D and $\bar{D}$ mesons in the magnetized nuclear matter, obtained within a chiral effective model. The presence of a magnetic field leads to Landau quantization of the energy levels of the proton in the nuclear medium. The effects of magnetic field and isospin asymmetry on the charmonium decay widths to $D\bar{D}$ are found to be quite prominent. The effects of the anomalous magnetic moments have also been taken into consideration for obtaining the in-medium masses of these heavy flavour mesons, used to calculate the partial decay widths of the charmonium states. The medium modifications of the charmonium decay widths can have observable consequences on the production of the charmed mesons in high energy asymmetric heavy ion collision experiments

Field evaluation of quantitative point of care diagnostics to measure glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity

Background Glucose-6-Phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common enzymopathy worldwide, no reliable bedside diagnostic tests to quantify G6PD activity exist. This study evaluated two novel quantitative G6PD diagnostics. Methods Participants with known G6PD activity were enrolled in Bangladesh. G6PD activity was measured by spectrophotometry, Biosensor (BS; AccessBio/CareStart, USA) and STANDARD G6PD (SG; SDBiosensor, ROK). G6PD activity was measured repeatedly in a subset of samples stored at room temperature and 4˚C. Results 158 participants were enrolled, 152 samples tested by BS, 108 samples by SG and 102 samples were tested by all three methods. In comparison to spectrophotometry BS had sensitivity and specificity of 72% (95%CI: 53–86) and 100% (95%CI: 97–100) at 30% cut off respectively, while SG had a sensitivity of 100% (95%CI: 88–100) and specificity of 97% (95%CI: 91–99) at the same cut off. The sensitivity and specificity at 70% cut off activity were 71% (95%CI: 59–82) and 98% (95%CI, 92–100) respectively for BS and 89% (95%CI: 77–96) and 93% (95%CI: 83–98) respectively for SG. When an optimal cut-off was applied the sensitivity of the BS at 70 cut off rose to 91% [95%CI: 80–96] and specificity to 82% [95%CI: 83–89]; a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of the SG (p = 0.879). G6PD activity dropped significantly (-0.31U/gHb, 95%CI: -0.61 to -0.01, p = 0.022) within 24 hours in samples stored at room temperature, but did not fall below 90% of baseline activity until day 13 (-0.87U/gHb, 95%CI: (-1.11 to -0.62), p&lt;0.001). Conclusion BS and SG are the first quantitative diagnostics to measure G6PD activity reliably at the bedside and represent suitable alternatives to spectrophotometry in resource poor settings. If samples are stored at 4˚C, G6PD activity can be measured reliably for at least 7 days after sample collection.</p

Usp12 stabilizes the T-cell receptor complex at the cell surface during signaling

Posttranslational modifications are central to the spatial and temporal regulation of protein function. Among others, phosphorylation and ubiquitylation are known to regulate proximal T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Here we used a systematic and unbiased approach to uncover deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) that participate during TCR signaling in primary mouse T lymphocytes. Using a C-terminally modified vinyl methyl ester variant of ubiquitin (HA-Ub-VME), we captured DUBs that are differentially recruited to the cytosol on TCR activation. We identified ubiquitin-specific peptidase (Usp) 12 and Usp46, which had not been previously described in this pathway. Stimulation with anti-CD3 resulted in phosphorylation and time-dependent translocation of Usp12 from the nucleus to the cytosol. Usp12(-/-) Jurkat cells displayed defective NFκB, NFAT, and MAPK activities owing to attenuated surface expression of TCR, which were rescued on reconstitution of wild type Usp12. Proximity-based labeling with BirA-Usp12 revealed several TCR adaptor proteins acting as interactors in stimulated cells, of which LAT and Trat1 displayed reduced expression in Usp12(-/-) cells. We demonstrate that Usp12 deubiquitylates and prevents lysosomal degradation of LAT and Trat1 to maintain the proximal TCR complex for the duration of signaling. Our approach benefits from the use of activity-based probes in primary cells without any previous genome modification, and underscores the importance of ubiquitin-mediated regulation to refine signaling cascade