Dielectric and Raman studies of Ba-0.06(Na1/2Bi1/2)(0.94)TiO3-NaNbO3 ceramics

In this work the X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman and dielectric studies of lead free perovskite (1-x)Ba-0.06(Na1/2Bi1/2)(0.94)TiO3-xNaNbO(3) (0 <= x <= 1.0) ceramics, prepared using a standard solid state reaction method, were investigated. X-ray diffraction studies of all the ceramics suggested the formation of single phase with crystal structure transforming from rhombohedral-tetragonal to orthorhombic symmetry with the increase in NaNbO3 content. Raman spectra also confirmed the formation of solid solution without any new phase. Dielectric studies showed that the phase transition is of diffusive character and diffusivity parameter decreases with increasing NaNbO3 content. The compositional fluctuation was considered to be the main cause of diffusivity

A short hairpin RNA screen of interferon-stimulated genes identifies a novel negative regulator of the cellular antiviral response

ABSTRACT The type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway restricts infection of many divergent families of RNA and DNA viruses by inducing hundreds of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), some of which have direct antiviral activity. We screened 813 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) constructs targeting 245 human ISGs using a flow cytometry approach to identify genes that modulated infection of West Nile virus (WNV) in IFN-β-treated human cells. Thirty ISGs with inhibitory effects against WNV were identified, including several novel genes that had antiviral activity against related and unrelated positive-strand RNA viruses. We also defined one ISG, activating signal cointegrator complex 3 (ASCC3), which functioned as a negative regulator of the host defense response. Silencing of ASCC3 resulted in upregulation of multiple antiviral ISGs, which correlated with inhibition of infection of several positive-strand RNA viruses. Reciprocally, ectopic expression of human ASCC3 or mouse Ascc3 resulted in downregulation of ISGs and increased viral infection. Mechanism-of-action and RNA sequencing studies revealed that ASCC3 functions to modulate ISG expression in an IRF-3- and IRF-7-dependent manner. Compared to prior ectopic ISG expression studies, our shRNA screen identified novel ISGs that restrict infection of WNV and other viruses and defined a new counterregulatory ISG, ASCC3, which tempers cell-intrinsic immunity. IMPORTANCE West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-transmitted virus that continues to pose a threat to public health. Innate immune responses, especially those downstream of type I interferon (IFN) signaling, are critical for controlling virus infection and spread. We performed a genetic screen using a gene silencing approach and identified 30 interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that contributed to the host antiviral response against WNV. As part of this screen, we also identified a novel negative regulatory protein, ASCC3, which dampens expression of ISGs, including those with antiviral or proinflammatory activity. In summary, our studies define a series of heretofore-uncharacterized ISGs with antiviral effects against multiple viruses or counterregulatory effects that temper IFN signaling and likely minimize immune-mediated pathology

Bulk Level to Individual Particle Level Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Dust Aerosols (PM5) over a Semi-Arid Urban Zone of Western India (Rajasthan)

Mineral dust particles in the lower atmosphere may significantly influence radiative and optical budgets, along with the net chemical balance, through their interactions with ambient chemicals. Their ability to absotb/scatter incoming radiation strongly depends on their chemical composition (i.e., distribution of major crustal elements), but as yet there is no adequate regional database with regard to this for the Indian region. To create a regional database of background mineral dust from a semi-arid zone of western India, we measured the chemical composition of ambient particles (with aerodynamic diameter <= 5 mu m; PM5), collected from seven locations of Jaipur city (in the vicinity of Thar Desert; Rajasthan) at varying altitudes, during late-winter of 2012. The chemical compositions of the sampled particles at both bulk and individual levels were measured using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) techniques, respectively. Significant differences in chemical compositions were observed among the seven sites, yet the bulk chemical compositions of the particles were broadly consistent with those of individual particles. Average elemental ratios of Mg/Al, Si/Al, K/Al, Ca/Al, Mn/Al, Fe/Al were found to be 0.44 +/- 0.22, 1.96 +/- 0.90, 0.65 +/- 0.22, 1.52 +/- 0.40, 0.84 and 1.54 +/- 1.67, respectively. We also estimated the complex refractive index (RIs at 550 nm wavelength) for the studied sites, yielding an average n and k (the real and imaginary parts of RI, respectively) of (1.56 +/- 0.03) + (6.5 +/- 4.6) x 10(-3)i, with the aerosols collected from Kukas Hill area (27.02 degrees N, 75.85 degrees E) having the highest iron (Fe) mass fraction (similar to 43%). Non-crustal elements e.g., Cu, S, C, Ag and Pb were found only in aerosols over the main city Birla Temple (Jaipur) at ground level (26.89 degrees N, 75.81 degrees E)

Dynamics of Hot QCD Matter -- Current Status and Developments

The discovery and characterization of hot and dense QCD matter, known as Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), remains the most international collaborative effort and synergy between theorists and experimentalists in modern nuclear physics to date. The experimentalists around the world not only collect an unprecedented amount of data in heavy-ion collisions, at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York, USA, and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland but also analyze these data to unravel the mystery of this new phase of matter that filled a few microseconds old universe, just after the Big Bang. In the meantime, advancements in theoretical works and computing capability extend our wisdom about the hot-dense QCD matter and its dynamics through mathematical equations. The exchange of ideas between experimentalists and theoreticians is crucial for the progress of our knowledge. The motivation of this first conference named "HOT QCD Matter 2022" is to bring the community together to have a discourse on this topic. In this article, there are 36 sections discussing various topics in the field of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and related phenomena that cover a snapshot of the current experimental observations and theoretical progress. This article begins with the theoretical overview of relativistic spin-hydrodynamics in the presence of the external magnetic field, followed by the Lattice QCD results on heavy quarks in QGP, and finally, it ends with an overview of experiment results.Comment: Compilation of the contributions (148 pages) as presented in the `Hot QCD Matter 2022 conference', held from May 12 to 14, 2022, jointly organized by IIT Goa & Goa University, Goa, Indi

Honokiol Arrests Cell Cycle, Induces Apoptosis, and Potentiates the Cytotoxic Effect of Gemcitabine in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Survival rates for patients with pancreatic cancer are extremely poor due to its asymptomatic progression to advanced and metastatic stage for which current therapies remain largely ineffective. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents and treatment approaches are desired to improve the clinical outcome. In this study, we determined the effects of honokiol, a biologically active constituent of oriental medicinal herb Magnolia officinalis/grandiflora, on two pancreatic cancer cell lines, MiaPaCa and Panc1, alone and in combination with the standard chemotherapeutic drug, gemcitabine. Honokiol exerted growth inhibitory effects on both the pancreatic cancer cell lines by causing cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and induction of apoptosis. At the molecular level, honokiol markedly decreased the expression of cyclins (D1 and E) and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk2 and Cdk4), and caused an increase in Cdk inhibitors, p21 and p27. Furthermore, honokiol treatment led to augmentation of Bax/Bcl-2 and Bax/Bcl-xL ratios to favor apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. These changes were accompanied by enhanced cytoplasmic accumulation of NF-κB with a concomitant decrease in nuclear fraction and reduced transcriptional activity of NF-κB responsive promoter. This was associated with decreased phosphorylation of inhibitor of kappa B alpha (IκB-α) causing its stabilization and thus increased cellular levels. Importantly, honokiol also potentiated the cytotoxic effects of gemcitabine, in part, by restricting the gemcitabine-induced nuclear accumulation of NF-κB in the treated pancreatic cancer cell lines. Altogether, these findings demonstrate, for the first time, the growth inhibitory effects of honokiol in pancreatic cancer and indicate its potential usefulness as a novel natural agent in prevention and therapy

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV

Probing effective field theory operators in the associated production of top quarks with a Z boson in multilepton final states at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe