MicroRNA-23a promotes myelination in the central nervous system.

Demyelinating disorders including leukodystrophies are devastating conditions that are still in need of better understanding, and both oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin synthesis pathways are potential avenues for developing treatment. Overexpression of lamin B1 leads to leukodystrophy characterized by demyelination of the central nervous system, and microRNA-23 (miR-23) was found to suppress lamin B1 and enhance oligodendrocyte differentiation in vitro. Here, we demonstrated that miR-23a-overexpressing mice have increased myelin thickness, providing in vivo evidence that miR-23a enhances both oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin synthesis. Using this mouse model, we explored possible miR-23a targets and revealed that the phosphatase and tensin homologue/phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway is modulated by miR-23a. Additionally, a long noncoding RNA, 2700046G09Rik, was identified as a miR-23a target and modulates phosphatase and tensin homologue itself in a miR-23a-dependent manner. The data presented here imply a unique role for miR-23a in the coordination of proteins and noncoding RNAs in generating and maintaining healthy myelin

Lasting DNA Damage and Aberrant DNA Repair Gene Expression Profile Are Associated with Post-Chronic Cadmium Exposure in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread environmental pollutant and carcinogen. Although the exact mechanisms of Cd-induced carcinogenesis remain unclear, previous acute/chronic Cd exposure studies have shown that Cd exerts its cytotoxic and carcinogenic effects through multiple mechanisms, including interference with the DNA repair system. However, the effects of post-chronic Cd exposure remain unknown. Here, we establish a unique post-chronic Cd-exposed human lung cell model (the CR0 cells) and investigate the effects of post-chronic Cd exposure on the DNA repair system. We found that the CR0 cells retained Cd-resistant property even though it was grown in Cd-free culture medium for over a year. The CR0 cells had lasting DNA damage due to reduced DNA repair capacity and an aberrant DNA repair gene expression profile. A total of 12 DNA repair genes associated with post-chronic Cd exposure were identified, and they could be potential biomarkers for identifying post-chronic Cd exposure. Clinical database analysis suggests that some of the DNA repair genes play a role in lung cancer patients with different smoking histories. Generally, CR0 cells were more sensitive to chemotherapeutic (cisplatin, gemcitabine, and vinorelbine tartrate) and DNA damaging (H2O2) agents, which may represent a double-edged sword for cancer prevention and treatment. Overall, we demonstrated for the first time that the effects of post-chronic Cd exposure on human lung cells are long-lasting and different from that of acute and chronic exposures. Findings from our study unveiled a new perspective on Cd-induced carcinogenesis-the post-chronic exposure of Cd. This study encourages the field of post-exposure research which is crucial but has long been ignored

Search for D to phi l nu and measurement of the branching fraction for D to phi pi

Using a data sample of integrated luminosity of about 33 pb$^{-1}$ collected around 3.773 GeV with the BESII detector at the BEPC collider, the semileptonic decays $D^+ \to \phi e ^+\nu_e$, $D^+ \to \phi \mu^+\nu_\mu$ and the hadronic decay $D^+ \to \phi \pi^+$ are studied. The upper limits of the branching fractions are set to be $BF(D^+ \to \phi e ^+\nu_e) <$ 2.01% and $BF(D^+ \to \phi \mu^+ \nu_\mu) <$ 2.04% at the 90% confidence level. The ratio of the branching fractions for $D^+ \to \phi \pi^+$ relative to $D^+ \to K^-\pi^+\pi^+$ is measured to be $0.057 \pm 0.011 \pm 0.003$. In addition, the branching fraction for $D^+ \to \phi \pi^+$ is obtained to be $(5.2 \pm 1.0 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-3}$.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Eur.Phys.J.

Measurements of branching fractions for inclusive K0~/K0 and K*(892)+- decays of neutral and charged D mesons

Using the data sample of about 33 pb-1 collected at and around 3.773 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC collider, we have studied inclusive K0~/K0 and K*(892)+- decays of D0 and D+ mesons. The branching fractions for the inclusive K0~/K0 and K*(892)- decays are measured to be BF(D0 to K0~/K0 X)=(47.6+-4.8+-3.0)%, BF(D+ to K0~/K0 X)=(60.5+-5.5+-3.3)%, BF(D0 to K*- X)=(15.3+- 8.3+- 1.9)% and BF(D+ to K*- X)=(5.7+- 5.2+- 0.7)%. The upper limits of the branching fractions for the inclusive K*(892)+ decays are set to be BF(D0 to K*+ X)<3.6% and BF(D+ to K*+ X) <20.3% at 90% confidence level

Direct Measurements of the Branching Fractions for Inclusive K±K^\pm and Inclusive Semileptonic Decays of D+D^+ and D0D^0 Mesons

With singly-tagged $\bar D$ samples selected from the data collected at and around 3.773 GeV with the BESII detector at the BEPC collider, we have measured the branching fractions for the inclusive $K^\pm$ decays of $D^+$ and $D^0$ mesons, which are $BF(D^+\to K^-X) = (24.7 \pm 1.3 \pm 1.2)$, $BF(D^+\to K^+X) = (6.1 \pm 0.9 \pm 0.4)$, $BF(D^0\to K^-X) = (57.8 \pm 1.6 \pm 3.2)$ and $BF(D^0\to K^+X) = (3.5 \pm 0.7 \pm 0.3)$, respectively. We have also measured the branching fractions for the inclusive semileptonic decays of $D^+$ and $D^0$ mesons to be $BF(D^+ \to e^+ X)=(15.2 \pm 0.9 \pm 0.8)$ and $BF(D^0 \to e^+ X) =(6.3 \pm 0.7 \pm 0.4)$. These yield the ratio of their partial widths to be $\Gamma(D^+ \to e^+X)/\Gamma(D^0 \to e^+X)=0.95 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.07$.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Observation of Two New N* Peaks in J/psi -> ppi−nˉp pi^- \bar n and pˉπ+n\bar p\pi^+n Decays

The $\pi N$ system in decays of $J/\psi\to\bar NN\pi$ is limited to be isospin 1/2 by isospin conservation. This provides a big advantage in studying $N^*\to \pi N$ compared with $\pi N$ and $\gamma N$ experiments which mix isospin 1/2 and 3/2 for the $\pi N$ system. Using 58 million $J/\psi$ decays collected with the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, more than 100 thousand $J/\psi \to p \pi^- \bar n + c.c.$ events are obtained. Besides two well known $N^*$ peaks at 1500 MeV and 1670 MeV, there are two new, clear $N^*$ peaks in the $p\pi$ invariant mass spectrum around 1360 MeV and 2030 MeV. They are the first direct observation of the $N^*(1440)$ peak and a long-sought "missing" $N^*$ peak above 2 GeV in the $\pi N$ invariant mass spectrum. A simple Breit-Wigner fit gives the mass and width for the $N^*(1440)$ peak as $1358\pm 6 \pm 16$ MeV and $179\pm 26\pm 50$ MeV, and for the new $N^*$ peak above 2 GeV as $2068\pm 3^{+15}_{-40}$ MeV and $165\pm 14\pm 40$ MeV, respectively

Resonances in J/ψ→ϕπ+π−J/\psi \to \phi \pi ^+\pi ^- and ϕK+K−\phi K^+K^-

A partial wave analysis is presented of $J/\psi \to \phi \pi ^+\pi ^-$ and $\phi K^+K^-$ from a sample of 58M $J/\psi$ events in the BES II detector. The $f_0(980)$ is observed clearly in both sets of data, and parameters of the Flatt\' e formula are determined accurately: $M = 965 \pm 8$ (stat) $\pm 6$ (syst) MeV/c$^2$, $g_1 = 165 \pm 10 \pm 15$ MeV/c$^2$, $g_2/g_1 = 4.21 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.21$. The $\phi \pi \pi$ data also exhibit a strong $\pi \pi$ peak centred at $M = 1335$ MeV/c$^2$. It may be fitted with $f_2(1270)$ and a dominant $0^+$ signal made from $f_0(1370)$ interfering with a smaller $f_0(1500)$ component. There is evidence that the $f_0(1370)$ signal is resonant, from interference with $f_2(1270)$. There is also a state in $\pi \pi$ with $M = 1790 ^{+40}_{-30}$ MeV/c$^2$ and $\Gamma = 270 ^{+60}_{-30}$ MeV/c$^2$; spin 0 is preferred over spin 2. This state, $f_0(1790)$, is distinct from $f_0(1710)$. The $\phi K\bar K$ data contain a strong peak due to $f_2'(1525)$. A shoulder on its upper side may be fitted by interference between $f_0(1500)$ and $f_0(1710)$.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Measurement of the Branching Fraction of J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0

Using 58 million J/psi and 14 million psi' decays obtained by the BESII experiment, the branching fraction of J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0 is determined. The result is (2.10+/-0.12)X10^{-2}, which is significantly higher than previous measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, RevTex

First observation of psi(2S)-->K_S K_L

The decay psi(2S)-->K_S K_L is observed for the first time using psi(2S) data collected with the Beijing Spectrometer (BESII) at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC); the branching ratio is determined to be B(psi(2S)-->K_S K_L) = (5.24\pm 0.47 \pm 0.48)\times 10^{-5}. Compared with J/psi-->K_S K_L, the psi(2S) branching ratio is enhanced relative to the prediction of the perturbative QCD ``12%'' rule. The result, together with the branching ratios of psi(2S) decays to other pseudoscalar meson pairs (\pi^+\pi^- and K^+K^-), is used to investigate the relative phase between the three-gluon and the one-photon annihilation amplitudes of psi(2S) decays.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let