Constraints on B and Higgs Physics in Minimal Low Energy Supersymmetric Models

We study the implications of minimal flavor violating low energy supersymmetry scenarios for the search of new physics in the B and Higgs sectors at the Tevatron collider and the LHC. We show that the already stringent Tevatron bound on the decay rate B_s -> mu+ mu- sets strong constraints on the possibility of generating large corrections to the mass difference Delta M_s of the B_s eigenstates. We also show that the B_s -> mu+ mu- bound together with the constraint on the branching ratio of the rare decay b -> s gamma has strong implications for the search of light, non-standard Higgs bosons at hadron colliders. In doing this, we demonstrate that the former expressions derived for the analysis of the double penguin contributions in the Kaon sector need to be corrected by additional terms for a realistic analysis of these effects. We also study a specific non-minimal flavor violating scenario, where there are flavor changing gluino-squark-quark interactions, governed by the CKM matrix elements, and show that the B and Higgs physics constraints are similar to the ones in the minimal flavor violating case. Finally we show that, in scenarios like electroweak baryogenesis which have light stops and charginos, there may be enhanced effects on the B and K mixing parameters, without any significant effect on the rate of B_s -> mu+ mu-.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figures; added references and note about recent measurement

Popularity versus Similarity in Growing Networks

Popularity is attractive -- this is the formula underlying preferential attachment, a popular explanation for the emergence of scaling in growing networks. If new connections are made preferentially to more popular nodes, then the resulting distribution of the number of connections that nodes have follows power laws observed in many real networks. Preferential attachment has been directly validated for some real networks, including the Internet. Preferential attachment can also be a consequence of different underlying processes based on node fitness, ranking, optimization, random walks, or duplication. Here we show that popularity is just one dimension of attractiveness. Another dimension is similarity. We develop a framework where new connections, instead of preferring popular nodes, optimize certain trade-offs between popularity and similarity. The framework admits a geometric interpretation, in which popularity preference emerges from local optimization. As opposed to preferential attachment, the optimization framework accurately describes large-scale evolution of technological (Internet), social (web of trust), and biological (E.coli metabolic) networks, predicting the probability of new links in them with a remarkable precision. The developed framework can thus be used for predicting new links in evolving networks, and provides a different perspective on preferential attachment as an emergent phenomenon

Integrating genetic and oral histories of Southwest Indian populations

India is home to thousands of ethno-linguistically distinct groups, many maintaining strong self-identities that derive from oral traditions and histories. However, these traditions and histories are only partially documented and are in danger of being lost over time. More recently, genetic studies have established the existence of ancestry gradients derived from both western and eastern Eurasia as well as evidence of practices such as endogamy and consanguinity, revealing complexity in the regional population structure with consequences for the health landscape of local populations. Despite the increase in genome-wide data from India, there is still sparse sampling across finer-scale geographic regions leading to gaps in our understanding of how and when present-day genetic structure came into existence. To address the gaps in genetic and oral histories, we analyzed whole-genome sequences of 70 individuals from Southwest India identifying as Bunt, Kodava, and Nair—populations that share unique oral histories and origin narratives—and 78 recent immigrants to the United States with Kodava ancestry as part of a community-led initiative. We additionally generated genome-wide data from 10 individuals self-identifying as Kapla, a population from the same region that is socio-culturally different to the other three study populations. We supplemented existing but limited anthropological records on these populations with oral history accounts narrated by community members and non-member contacts during sampling and subsequent community engagement. Overall, we find that components of genetic ancestry are relatively homogeneous among the Bunt, Kodava, and Nair populations and comparable to neighboring populations in India, which motivates further investigation of non-local origin narratives referenced in their oral histories. A notable exception is the Kapla population, with a higher proportion of ancestry represented in the Onge from the Andaman Islands, similar to several South Indian tribal populations. Utilizing haplotype-based methods, we find latent genetic structure across South India, including the sampled populations available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.06.498959; this version posted July 7, 2022. The copyright holder for this preprint (which 2 from Southwest India, suggesting more recent population structure between geographically proximal populations in the region. This study represents an attempt for community-engaged anthropological and genetic investigations in India and presents results from both sources, underscoring the need to recognize that oral and genetic histories should not be expected to overlap. Ultimately, oral traditions and unique self-identities, such as those held close by some of the study populations, warrant more community-driven anthropological investigations to better understand how they originate and their relationship to genetic histories

Metabolomic and lipidomic profiling identifies the role of the RNA editing pathway in endometrial carcinogenesis

Endometrial cancer (EC) remains the most common malignancy of the genital tract among women in developed countries. Although much research has been performed at genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic level, there is still a significant gap in the metabolomic studies of EC. In order to gain insights into altered metabolic pathways in the onset and progression of EC carcinogenesis, we used high resolution mass spectrometry to characterize the metabolomic and lipidomic profile of 39 human EC and 17 healthy endometrial tissue samples. Several pathways including lipids, Kynurenine pathway, endocannabinoids signaling pathway and the RNA editing pathway were found to be dysregulated in EC. The dysregulation of the RNA editing pathway was further investigated in an independent set of 183 human EC tissues and matched controls, using orthogonal approaches. We found that ADAR2 is overexpressed in EC and that the increase in expression positively correlates with the aggressiveness of the tumor. Furthermore, silencing of ADAR2 in three EC cell lines resulted in a decreased proliferation rate, increased apoptosis, and reduced migration capabilities in vitro. Taken together, our results suggest that ADAR2 functions as an oncogene in endometrial carcinogenesis and could be a potential target for improving EC treatment strategies.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health (RD12/0036/0035), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivy (PI14/02043), the AECC (Grupos Estables de Investigacion 2011 - AECC- GCB 110333 REVE), the Fundació La Marató TV3 (2/C/2013), the CIRIT Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 1330) and the European Commission, 7th Framework Program, IRSES (PROTBIOFLUID –269285) – Belgium. Te Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (IJCI-2015-25000) granted Dr. Colás and and the AGAUR Generalitat de Catalunya (2015FI_B00703) granted Tatiana Altadill. Te authors would like to acknowledge the Proteomics and Metabolomics Shared Resource partially supported by Cancer Center Support Grant NIH/NCI grant P30-CA051008. Te Institut de Salud Carlos III (FIS (PI13/01701)) also supported this project. Tissue samples were obtained with the support of “Xarxa Catalana de Bancs de Tumors” and “Plataforma de Biobancos” ISCIII (PT13/0010/0014)

BounceBack™ capsules for reduction of DOMS after eccentric exercise: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is muscle pain and discomfort experienced approximately one to three days after exercise. DOMS is thought to be a result of microscopic muscle fiber tears that occur more commonly after eccentric exercise rather than concentric exercise. This study sought to test the efficacy of a proprietary dietary supplement, BounceBack™, to alleviate the severity of DOMS after standardized eccentric exercise.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Ten healthy community-dwelling untrained subjects, ranging in age from 18–45 years, were enrolled. Mean differences within and between groups were assessed inferentially at each data collection time-point using t-tests for all outcome measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this controlled pilot study, intake of BounceBack™ capsules for 30 days resulted in a significant reduction in standardized measures of pain and tenderness post-eccentric exercise compared to the placebo group. There were trends towards reductions in plasma indicators of inflammation (high sensitivity C-reactive protein) and muscle damage (creatine phosphokinase and myoglobin).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>BounceBack™ capsules were able to significantly reduce standardized measures of pain and tenderness at several post-eccentric exercise time points in comparison to placebo. The differences in the serological markers of DOMS, while not statistically significant, appear to support the clinical findings. The product appears to have a good safety profile and further study with a larger sample size is warranted based on the current results.</p