Tcf7l2 is required for left-right asymmetric differentiation of habenular neurons.

BACKGROUND: Although left-right asymmetries are common features of nervous systems, their developmental bases are largely unknown. In the zebrafish epithalamus, dorsal habenular neurons adopt medial (dHbm) and lateral (dHbl) subnuclear character at very different frequencies on the left and right sides. The left-sided parapineal promotes the elaboration of dHbl character in the left habenula, albeit by an unknown mechanism. Likewise, the genetic pathways acting within habenular neurons to control their asymmetric differentiated character are unknown. RESULTS: In a forward genetic screen for mutations that result in loss of habenular asymmetry, we identified two mutant alleles of tcf7l2, a gene that encodes a transcriptional regulator of Wnt signaling. In tcf7l2 mutants, most neurons on both sides differentiate with dHbl identity. Consequently, the habenulae develop symmetrically, with both sides adopting a pronounced leftward character. Tcf7l2 acts cell automously in nascent equipotential neurons, and on the right side, it promotes dHbm and suppresses dHbl differentiation. On the left, the parapineal prevents this Tcf7l2-dependent process, thereby promoting dHbl differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Tcf7l2 is essential for lateralized fate selection by habenular neurons that can differentiate along two alternative pathways, thereby leading to major neural circuit asymmetries

Feasibility studies of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors at PANDA at FAIR

Simulation results for future measurements of electromagnetic proton form factors at \PANDA (FAIR) within the PandaRoot software framework are reported. The statistical precision with which the proton form factors can be determined is estimated. The signal channel $\bar p p \to e^+ e^-$ is studied on the basis of two different but consistent procedures. The suppression of the main background channel, $\textit{i.e.}$ $\bar p p \to \pi^+ \pi^-$, is studied. Furthermore, the background versus signal efficiency, statistical and systematical uncertainties on the extracted proton form factors are evaluated using two different procedures. The results are consistent with those of a previous simulation study using an older, simplified framework. However, a slightly better precision is achieved in the PandaRoot study in a large range of momentum transfer, assuming the nominal beam conditions and detector performance

Observation of ηc→ωω\eta_c\to\omega\omega in J/ψ→γωωJ/\psi\to\gamma\omega\omega

Using a sample of $(1310.6\pm7.0)\times10^6$ $J/\psi$ events recorded with the BESIII detector at the symmetric electron positron collider BEPCII, we report the observation of the decay of the $(1^1 S_0)$ charmonium state $\eta_c$ into a pair of $\omega$ mesons in the process $J/\psi\to\gamma\omega\omega$. The branching fraction is measured for the first time to be $\mathcal{B}(\eta_c\to\omega\omega)= (2.88\pm0.10\pm0.46\pm0.68)\times10^{-3}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third is from the uncertainty of $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi\to\gamma\eta_c)$. The mass and width of the $\eta_c$ are determined as $M=(2985.9\pm0.7\pm2.1)\,$MeV/$c^2$ and $\Gamma=(33.8\pm1.6\pm4.1)\,$MeV.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Evidence for the decays of Λc+→Σ+η\Lambda^+_{c}\to\Sigma^+\eta and Σ+η′\Sigma^+\eta^\prime

We study the hadronic decays of $\Lambda_{c}^{+}$ to the final states $\Sigma^{+}\eta$ and $\Sigma^+\eta^\prime$, using an $e^{+}e^{-}$ annihilation data sample of 567 pb$^{-1}$ taken at a center-of-mass energy of 4.6 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We find evidence for the decays $\Lambda_{c}^{+}\rightarrow\Sigma^{+}\eta$ and $\Sigma^+\eta^\prime$ with statistical significance of $2.5\sigma$ and $3.2\sigma$, respectively. Normalizing to the reference decays $\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\pi^0$ and $\Sigma^+\omega$, we obtain the ratios of the branching fractions $\frac{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\eta)}{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\pi^0)}$ and $\frac{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\eta^\prime)}{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\omega)}$ to be $0.35 \pm 0.16 \pm 0.03$ and $0.86 \pm 0.34 \pm 0.07$, respectively. The upper limits at the 90\% confidence level are set to be $\frac{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\eta)}{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\pi^0)}<0.58$ and $\frac{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\eta^\prime)}{{\mathcal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\omega)}<1.2$. Using BESIII measurements of the branching fractions of the reference decays, we determine $\mathcal B({\Lambda_{c}^{+}\rightarrow\Sigma^{+}\eta})=(0.41\pm0.19\pm0.05)\%$ ($<0.68\%$) and $\mathcal B({\Lambda_{c}^{+}\rightarrow\Sigma^{+}\eta'})=(1.34\pm0.53\pm0.21)\%$ ($<1.9\%$). Here, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The obtained branching fraction of $\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^+\eta$ is consistent with the previous measurement, and the branching fraction of $\Lambda_{c}^{+}\rightarrow\Sigma^{+}\eta^{\prime}$ is measured for the first time.Comment: Accepted by Chin. Phys. C : Chin. Phys. C 43, 083002, (2019

Measurement of the η→π+π−π0\eta\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0 Dalitz plot distribution

Dalitz plot distribution of the $\eta\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ decay is determined using a data sample of $1.2\cdot 10^7$ $\eta$ mesons from $pd\to ^3\textrm{He}\eta$ reaction at 1 GeV collected by the WASA detector at COSY.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Study of doubly strange systems using stored antiprotons

Bound nuclear systems with two units of strangeness are still poorly known despite their importance for many strong interaction phenomena. Stored antiprotons beams in the GeV range represent an unparalleled factory for various hyperon-antihyperon pairs. Their outstanding large production probability in antiproton collisions will open the floodgates for a series of new studies of systems which contain two or even more units of strangeness at the P‾ANDA experiment at FAIR. For the first time, high resolution γ-spectroscopy of doubly strange ΛΛ-hypernuclei will be performed, thus complementing measurements of ground state decays of ΛΛ-hypernuclei at J-PARC or possible decays of particle unstable hypernuclei in heavy ion reactions. High resolution spectroscopy of multistrange Ξ−-atoms will be feasible and even the production of Ω−-atoms will be within reach. The latter might open the door to the |S|=3 world in strangeness nuclear physics, by the study of the hadronic Ω−-nucleus interaction. For the first time it will be possible to study the behavior of Ξ‾+ in nuclear systems under well controlled conditions

Observation of the decay hc→3(π+π−)π0h_{c}\to3(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\pi^{0}

Based on $(2712.4\pm14.1)\times10^{6}$ $\psi(3686)$ events collected with the BESIII detector, we study the decays $h_{c}\to3(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\pi^{0}$, $h_{c}\to2(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\omega$, $h_{c}\to2(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\pi^{0}\eta$, $h_{c}\to2(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\eta$, and $h_{c}\to p\bar{p}$ via $\psi(3686)\to\pi^{0}h_{c}$. The decay channel $h_{c}\to3(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\pi^{0}$ is observed for the first time, and its branching fraction is determined to be $\left( {9.28\pm 1.14 \pm 0.77} \right) \times {10^{ - 3}}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. In addition, first evidence is found for the modes $h_{c} \to 2(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\pi^{0}\eta$ and $h_{c}\to2(\pi^{+}\pi^{-})\omega$ with significances of 4.8$\sigma$ and 4.7$\sigma$, and their branching fractions are determined to be $(7.55\pm1.51\pm0.77)\times10^{-3}$ and $\left( {4.00 \pm 0.86 \pm 0.35}\right) \times {10^{ - 3}}$, respectively. No significant signals of $h_c\to 2(\pi^+\pi^-)\eta$ and $h_{c}\to p\bar{p}$ are observed, and the upper limits of the branching fractions of these decays are determined to be $<6.19\times10^{-4}$ and $<4.40\times10^{-5}$ at the 90% confidence level, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Determination of the absolute branching fractions of D0→K−e+νe and D+→K¯0e+νe

Using 2.93 fb-1 of e+e- collision data collected with the BESIII detector at a center-of-mass energy of 3.773 GeV, we measure the absolute branching fractions of the decays D0→K-e+νe and D+→K̄0e+νe to be (3.567±0.031stat±0.025syst)% and (8.68±0.14stat±0.16syst)%, respectively. Starting with the process e+e-→DD¯, a new reconstruction method is employed to select events that contain candidates for both D→K̄e+νe and D¯→Ke-ν¯e decays. The branching fractions reported in this work are consistent within uncertainties with previous BESIII measurements that selected events containing D→K̄e+νe and hadronic D¯ decays. Combining our results with the lifetimes of the D0 and D+ mesons and the previous BESIII measurements leads to a ratio of the two decay partial widths of Γ¯D0→K-e+νeΓ¯D+→K̄0e+νe=1.039±0.021. This ratio supports isospin symmetry in the D0→K-e+νe and D+→K̄0e+νe decays within 1.9σ