{W\cal W}-Gauge Structures and their Anomalies:An Algebraic Approach

Starting from flat two-dimensional gauge potentials we propose the notion of ${\cal W}$-gauge structure in terms of a nilpotent BRS differential algebra. The decomposition of the underlying Lie algebra with respect to an $SL(2)$ subalgebra is crucial for the discussion conformal covariance, in particular the appearance of a projective connection. Different $SL(2)$ embeddings lead to various ${\cal W}$-gauge structures. We present a general soldering procedure which allows to express zero curvature conditions for the ${\cal W}$-currents in terms of conformally covariant differential operators acting on the ${\cal W}$ gauge fields and to obtain, at the same time, the complete nilpotent BRS differential algebra generated by ${\cal W}$-currents, gauge fields and the ghost fields corresponding to ${\cal W}$-diffeomorphisms. As illustrations we treat the cases of $SL(2)$ itself and to the two different $SL(2)$ embeddings in $SL(3)$, {\it viz.} the ${\cal W}_3^{(1)}$- and ${\cal W}_3^{(2)}$-gauge structures, in some detail. In these cases we determine algebraically ${\cal W}$-anomalies as solutions of the consistency conditions and discuss their Chern-Simons origin.Comment: 46 pages,LaTe

Proteomic Profiling Reveals Specific Molecular Hallmarks of the Pig Claustrum

The present study, employing a comparative proteomic approach, analyzes the protein profile of pig claustrum (CLA), putamen (PU), and insula (IN). Pig brain is an interesting model whose key translational features are its similarities with cortical and subcortical structures of human brain. A greater difference in protein spot expression was observed in CLA vs PU as compared to CLA vs IN. The deregulated proteins identified in CLA resulted to be deeply implicated in neurodegenerative (i.e., sirtuin 2, protein disulfide-isomerase 3, transketolase) and psychiatric (i.e., copine 3 and myelin basic protein) disorders in humans. Metascape analysis of differentially expressed proteins in CLA vs PU comparison suggested activation of the α-synuclein pathway and L1 recycling pathway corroborating the involvement of these anatomical structures in neurodegenerative diseases. The expression of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and dihydropyrimidinase like 2, which are linked to these pathways, was validated using western blot analysis. Moreover, the protein data set of CLA vs PU comparison was analyzed by Ingenuity Pathways Analysis to obtain a prediction of most significant canonical pathways, upstream regulators, human diseases, and biological functions. Interestingly, inhibition of presenilin 1 (PSEN1) upstream regulator and activation of endocannabinoid neuronal synapse pathway were observed. In conclusion, this is the first study presenting an extensive proteomic analysis of pig CLA in comparison with adjacent areas, IN and PUT. These results reinforce the common origin of CLA and IN and suggest an interesting involvement of CLA in endocannabinoid circuitry, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders in humans

Pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 antibodies in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires in Argentina

SummaryObjectiveTo estimate the infection prevalence in Buenos Aires during the outbreak of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 virus (A(H1N1)pdm09).MethodsA(H1N1)pdm09-specific antibodies were measured by hemagglutination inhibition assay in human serum samples collected 6 months after the outbreak and before the introduction of the A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine in Argentina. Baseline levels of cross-reactive antibodies to A(H1N1)pdm09 were determined by testing 162 serum samples collected before 2009.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of A(H1N1)pdm09 in 150 children and 427 adults was 28.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 25–33%), with a 58.0% prevalence in children <19 years of age and an 18.7% prevalence in adults ≥19 years of age (p<0.001). The prevalence was 43.5% in children <5 years old and 60.6% among children aged 5–18 years. The prevalence in adults declined with increasing age: 24.9% in 19–39-year-olds, 9.7% in 40–59-year-olds, and 8.1% in those ≥60 years old. The prevalence of specific A(H1N1)pdm09 antibodies was higher compared with the baseline in children (p=0.014), adolescents (p<0.001), and adults <40 years old (p=0.017). Seroprevalence in health care workers was not different from the rest of the population (13.6% vs. 19.3%, respectively; p=0.421).ConclusionsThe prevalence of specific A(H1N1)pdm09 antibodies was high at 28.9%. The highest prevalence was observed in children, adolescents, and young adults

Expression of Trop2 in bladder cancer is modulated by miR125b: in vivo and in vitro analyses

Human trophoblastic cell surface antigen 2 (Trop-2) is a 40-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein, first identified as a cell surface marker for human trophoblast cells (1). Elevated expression of Trop-2 has been shown in several types of epithelial cancers and correlated with tumour aggressive and poor prognosis (2-3). The first aim of this study was to evaluate the variation of the Trop-2 expression in normal urothelium and urothelial bladder cancer. The immunohistochemical results showed an increase of Trop-2 levels in bladder cancer tissues with the increase of the severity of the pathology. Recent data identified Trop-2 as a target for miR-125b suggesting a pos sible role of miR-125b in the modulation of Trop-2 protein expression (4). The second aim was to verify if Trop-2 could be a target for miR-125b in bladder cells and to evaluate the possible role of miR-125b in the modulation of Trop-2 protein expression in normal bladder as well as in urothelial bladder cancer. In vitro we showed a contribution of miR-125b in deregulation of Trop-2 protein expression in a bladder cell line and we found that the expression of miR-125b was inversely correlated with the expression of Trop-2 protein on a cohort of bladder cancer tissues. We concluded to investigate in a larger population the use of Trop-2 and/or miR-125b as potential diagnostic markers in urothelial bladder cancer

Efecto de la congelación de leche caprina sobre la estabilidad oxidativa, calidad higiénico sanitaria y de composición en un rebaño de la raza Saanen = Effect of goat milk freezing on oxidative stability, hygienic sanitary and composition quality in a Saanen breed herd

En establecimientos caprinos para la conservación de la leche es común aplicar la tecnología de congelación, ya sea para venta directa o para la elaboración de quesos. En este trabajo se estudió la congelación a -18 ºC como método de conservación de la leche caprina durante 6 meses. Se evaluó el efecto de la congelación en leche cruda y en leche pasteurizada. Se utilizaron dos métodos de descongelado: baño María (27 °C) y heladera (4 °C). En los días 0, 60, 120 y 180 se analizó la composición (% materia grasa, % proteínas totales, % lactosa, % sólidos totales y % sales), parámetros fisicoquímicos (pH, acidez y densidad), parámetros microbiológicos (recuento de mesófilos aerobios totales, coliformes totales, Staphylococcus coagulasa positiva), recuento de células somáticas y la estabilidad a la oxidación (según tiempos de inducción a la oxidación por Rancimat). Se concluye que no se afectó la calidad de la leche de acuerdo a los parámetros de este estudio durante la congelación por el período de 6 meses. Como método de conservación podría ser una alternativa para los establecimientos rurales. No se encontró diferencia en los métodos de descongelación evaluados

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most common generalist sublineage. Hence, the global success of lineage 4 reflects distinct strategies adopted by different sublineages and the influence of human migration.We thank S. Lecher, S. Li and J. Zallet for technical support. Calculations were performed at the sciCORE scientific computing core facility at the University of Basel. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 310030_166687 (S.G.) and 320030_153442 (M.E.) and Swiss HIV Cohort Study grant 740 to L.F.), the European Research Council (309540-EVODRTB to S.G.), TB-PAN-NET (FP7-223681 to S.N.), PathoNgenTrace projects (FP7-278864-2 to S.N.), SystemsX.ch (S.G.), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF; S.N.), the Novartis Foundation (S.G.), the Natural Science Foundation of China (91631301 to Q.G.), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI069924-05) of the US National Institutes of Health (M.E.)

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M&gt;70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0&lt;e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM