Tunneling Study of the Charge-Ordering Gap on the Surface of La0.350_{0.350}Pr0.275_{0.275}Ca0.375_{0.375}MnO3_3 Thin Films

Variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy studies on (110) oriented epitaxial thin films of La$_{0.350}$Pr$_{0.275}$Ca$_{0.375}$MnO$_3$ are reported in the temperature range of 77 to 340 K. The films, grown on lattice matched NdGaO$_3$ substrates, show a hysteretic metal-insulator transition in resistivity at 170 K. The topographic STM images show step-terrace morphology while the conductance images display a nearly homogeneous surface. The normalized conductance spectra at low temperatures (T$<$150 K) show an energy gap of 0.5 eV while for T$\geq$180 K a gap of 0.16 eV is found from the activated behavior of the zero bias conductance. The presence of energy gap and the absence of phase separation on the surface over more than 2 $\mu$m$\times$2 $\mu$m area contradicts the metallic behavior seen in resistivity measurements at low temperatures. We discuss the measured energy gap in terms of the stabilization of the insulating CO phase at the film surface.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures To appear in Phys. Rev.

Characterization of Two Distinct Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) Complex Assemblies in Embryonic Stem Cells.

Pluripotency and self-renewal, the defining properties of embryonic stem cells, are brought about by transcriptional programs involving an intricate network of transcription factors and chromatin remodeling complexes. The Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex plays a crucial and dynamic role in the regulation of stemness and differentiation. Several NuRD-associated factors have been reported but how they are organized has not been investigated in detail. Here, we have combined affinity purification and blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by protein identification by mass spectrometry and protein correlation profiling to characterize the topology of the NuRD complex. Our data show that in mouse embryonic stem cells the NuRD complex is present as two distinct assemblies of differing topology with different binding partners. Cell cycle regulator Cdk2ap1 and transcription factor Sall4 associate only with the higher mass NuRD assembly. We further establish that only isoform Sall4a, and not Sall4b, associates with NuRD. By contrast, Suz12, a component of the PRC2 Polycomb repressor complex, associates with the lower mass entity. In addition, we identify and validate a novel NuRD-associated protein, Wdr5, a regulatory subunit of the MLL histone methyltransferase complex, which associates with both NuRD entities. Bioinformatic analyses of published target gene sets of these chromatin binding proteins are in agreement with these structural observations. In summary, this study provides an interesting insight into mechanistic aspects of NuRD function in stem cell biology. The relevance of our work has broader implications because of the ubiquitous nature of the NuRD complex. The strategy described here can be more broadly applicable to investigate the topology of the multiple complexes an individual protein can participate in

Thyroid profile in newly diagnosed male HIV patients: a study from North Western part of India

Background: The aim of this study was to determine proportion of newly diagnosed male HIV cases with thyroid dysfunction at different levels of CD4 counts.Methods: 195 newly diagnosed male HIV patients attending medical OPD, ART centre and medical wards of SMS Medical College and Hospital, during a period of May 2012 to April 2013 were enrolled in the study. These patients were divided in three groups on the basis of CD4 cell counts. Group A: CD4 counts 500/mm3.Results: We concluded a negative correlation between the CD4 counts and serum TSH level (r = -0.382) which was significant (p-value <0.05). Overall 32 (16.41%) patients had increased TSH, 4 (2.05%) patients had decreased and 159 (81.53%) patients had normal TSH level. Plasma TSH values in group A were higher than group B and C and they were highly significant (p<.001). Mean plasma TSH values in patients of group A, B and C was 4.56±3.60 µIU/mL (range: 1.10-17.74), 2.20±1.02 µIU/mL (range:0.24-4.22) and 2.23±1.06 µIU/mL (range:0.28-4.25) respectively. (Reference normal value = 0.4-4.0 µIU/mL). There was significantly positive correlation (p-value < 0.01) found between the CD4 counts and serum free T4 levels (r = +0.378).Conclusions: This study has demonstrated a high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in HIV infected patients of this part of country. High prevalence of thyroid dysfunction may contribute to the morbidity of the patients and have a bearing on quality of life of the HIV infected patients. Severity of hypothyroidism was correlated with decreasing CD4 cell count

Genetic diversity studies of cumin (Cuminun cyminum L.) genotypes in western plains of Rajasthan

Genetic diversity was studied on fifty-four genotypes of cumin, Cuminum cyminum L. at “Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, Jodhpur” during rabi season 2017-18. The mean squares were found significantly different for all the characters under study, depicting the availability of variability among the study materials. The high magnitude of phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) for seed yield, primary branches per plant and number of umbels per plant depicted the presence of vast amount of variation for the character along with high heritability (68-97%) combined with higher genetic advances as percentage of means for seed yield. The highest intra-cluster distance was recorded in cluster VI (11.8) along with cluster VII (11.33) and cluster VIII (8.29) depicting large genetic variability among the genotypes of these three clusters. The highest inter-cluster distance was reported among cluster III and VIII (51.97) followed by cluster III and VII (40.07) and cluster IV and cluster VIII (34.77), suggesting wide range of diversity between genotypes of the clusters. Amongst the characters, seed yield contributed the highest towards genetic divergence (47.80%) followed by number of umbel per plant (25.65%), branches per plant (8.60%) and 1000 seed weight (6.64%)

Flow Field Evolution of a Decaying Sunspot

We study the evolution of the flows and horizontal proper motions in and around a decaying follower sunspot based on time sequences of two-dimensional spectroscopic observations in the visible and white light imaging data obtained over six days from June~7 to~12, 2005. During this time period the sunspot decayed gradually to a pore. The spectroscopic observations were obtained with the Fabry-P\'{e}rot based Visible-Light Imaging Magnetograph (VIM) in conjunction with the high-order adaptive optics (AO) system operated at the 65 cm vacuum reflector of the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). We apply local correlation tracking (LCT) to the speckle reconstructed time sequences of white-light images around 600 nm to infer horizontal proper motions while the Doppler shifts of the scanned \FeI line at 630.15 nm are used to calculate line-of-sight (LOS) velocities with sub-arcsecond resolution. We find that the dividing line between radial inward and outward proper motions in the inner and outer penumbra, respectively, survives the decay phase. In particular the moat flow is still detectable after the penumbra disappeared. Based on our observations three major processes removed flux from the sunspot: (a) fragmentation of the umbra, (b) flux cancelation of moving magnetic features (MMFs; of the same polarity as the sunspot) that encounter the leading opposite polarity network and plages areas, and (c) flux transport by MMFs (of the same polarity as the sunspot) to the surrounding network and plage regions that have the same polarity as the sunspot.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, The Astrophysical Journal, accepted September, 200

Fibronectin and Cyclic Strain Improve Cardiac Progenitor Cell Regenerative Potential In Vitro.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have rapidly advanced to clinical trials, yet little is known regarding their interaction with the microenvironment. Signaling cues present in the microenvironment change with development and disease. This work aims to assess the influence of two distinct signaling moieties on CPCs: cyclic biaxial strain and extracellular matrix. We evaluate four endpoints for improving CPC therapy: paracrine signaling, proliferation, connexin43 expression, and alignment. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (about 900 pg/mL) was secreted by CPCs cultured on fibronectin and collagen I. The application of mechanical strain increased vascular endothelial growth factor A secretion 2-4-fold for CPCs cultured on poly-L-lysine, laminin, or a naturally derived cardiac extracellular matrix. CPC proliferation was at least 25% higher on fibronectin than that on other matrices, especially for lower strain magnitudes. At 5% strain, connexin43 expression was highest on fibronectin. With increasing strain magnitude, connexin43 expression decreased by as much as 60% in CPCs cultured on collagen I and a naturally derived cardiac extracellular matrix. Cyclic mechanical strain induced the strongest CPC alignment when cultured on fibronectin or collagen I. This study demonstrates that culturing CPCs on fibronectin with 5% strain magnitude is optimal for their vascular endothelial growth factor A secretion, proliferation, connexin43 expression, and alignment

Cyclin B1-Cdk1 facilitates MAD1 release from the nuclear pore to ensure a robust spindle checkpoint.

How the cell rapidly and completely reorganizes its architecture when it divides is a problem that has fascinated researchers for almost 150 yr. We now know that the core regulatory machinery is highly conserved in eukaryotes, but how these multiple protein kinases, protein phosphatases, and ubiquitin ligases are coordinated in space and time to remodel the cell in a matter of minutes remains a major question. Cyclin B1-Cdk is the primary kinase that drives mitotic remodeling; here we show that it is targeted to the nuclear pore complex (NPC) by binding an acidic face of the kinetochore checkpoint protein, MAD1, where it coordinates NPC disassembly with kinetochore assembly. Localized cyclin B1-Cdk1 is needed for the proper release of MAD1 from the embrace of TPR at the nuclear pore so that it can be recruited to kinetochores before nuclear envelope breakdown to maintain genomic stability