Molecular investigation of the ciliate Spirostomum semivirescens, with first transcriptome and new geographical records

Hunter N. Hines1,3*, Henning Onsbring2*, Thijs J. G. Ettema2 The ciliate Spirostomum semivirescens is a large freshwater protist densely packed with endosymbiotic algae and capable of building a protective coating from surrounding particles. The species has been rarely recorded and it lacks any molecular investigations. We obtained such data from S. semivirescens isolated in the UK and Sweden. Using single-cell RNA sequencing of isolates from both countries, the transcriptome of S. semivirescens was generated. Phylogenetic analysis of the rRNA gene cluster revealed both isolates to be identical. Additionally, rRNA sequence analysis of the green algal endosymbiont revealed that it is closely related to Chlorella vulgaris. Along with the molecular species identification, an analysis of the ciliates’ stop codons was carried out, which revealed a relationship where TGA stop codon frequency decreased with increasing gene expression levels. The observed codon bias suggests that S. semivirescens could be in an early stage of reassigning the TGA stop codon. Analysis of the transcriptome indicates that S. semivirescens potentially uses rhodoquinol-dependent fumarate reduction to respire in the oxygen-depleted habitats where it lives. The data also shows that despite large geographical distances (over 1,600 km) between the sampling sites investigated, a morphologically-identical species can share an exact molecular signature, suggesting that some ciliate species, even those over 1mm in size, could have a global biogeographical distribution

IceCube Sensitivity for Low-Energy Neutrinos from Nearby Supernovae

This paper describes the response of the IceCube neutrino telescope located at the geographic South Pole to outbursts of MeV neutrinos from the core collapse of nearby massive stars. IceCube was completed in December 2010 forming a lattice of 5160 photomultiplier tubes that monitor a volume of approx. 1 cu km in the deep Antarctic ice for particle induced photons. The telescope was designed to detect neutrinos with energies greater than 100 GeV. Owing to subfreezing ice temperatures, the photomultiplier dark noise rates are particularly low. Hence IceCube can also detect large numbers of MeV neutrinos by observing a collective rise in all photomultiplier rates on top of the dark noise. With 2 ms timing resolution, IceCube can detect subtle features in the temporal development of the supernova neutrino burst. For a supernova at the galactic center, its sensitivity matches that of a background-free megaton-scale supernova search experiment. The sensitivity decreases to 20 standard deviations at the galactic edge (30 kpc) and 6 standard deviations at the Large Magellanic Cloud (50 kpc). IceCube is sending triggers from potential supernovae to the Supernova Early Warning System. The sensitivity to neutrino properties such as the neutrino hierarchy is discussed, as well as the possibility to detect the neutronization burst, a short outbreak's released by electron capture on protons soon after collapse. Tantalizing signatures, such as the formation of a quark star or a black hole as well as the characteristics of shock waves, are investigated to illustrate IceCube's capability for supernova detection

Structure evolution and dielectric behavior of polystyrene-capped barium titanate nanoparticles

Polystyrene-capped barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles with sizes of 11 nm and 27 nm were prepared using amphiphilic star-like diblock copolymer templates. The crystal structure evolution of these nanoparticles over a wide temperature range (10-428 K) was investigated by powder X-ray diffraction. The Rietveld refinement indicates that the abrupt structural transitions observed in micron-sized powders become broad as particle size is reduced to a few tens of nanometers. The orthorhombic phase (Amm2) is observed in the range of 10-388 K, coexisting with the rhombohedral phase (R3c) at lower temperatures and with the tetragonal phase (P4mm) at higher temperatures. At room temperature (300 K), polystyrene-capped BaTiO3 nanoparticles, both 11 and 27 nm sizes, primarily adopt the tetragonal phase, transforming to the cubic phase ( Pm3m) at 398 K during heating. The phase evolution of the nanoparticles correlates well with their dielectric behavior. With the Landauer-Bruggeman effective approximation, the dielectric properties at room temperature for the BaTiO3 core were calculated and the results are in agreement with the size effect of BaTiO3 nanocrystals

Optimizing Nervous System-Specific Gene Targeting with Cre Driver Lines: Prevalence of Germline Recombination and Influencing Factors.

The Cre-loxP system is invaluable for spatial and temporal control of gene knockout, knockin, and reporter expression in the mouse nervous system. However, we report varying probabilities of unexpected germline recombination in distinct Cre driver lines designed for nervous system-specific recombination. Selective maternal or paternal germline recombination is showcased with sample Cre lines. Collated data reveal germline recombination in over half of 64 commonly used Cre driver lines, in most cases with a parental sex bias related to Cre expression in sperm or oocytes. Slight differences among Cre driver lines utilizing common transcriptional control elements affect germline recombination rates. Specific target loci demonstrated differential recombination; thus, reporters are not reliable proxies for another locus of interest. Similar principles apply to other recombinase systems and other genetically targeted organisms. We hereby draw attention to the prevalence of germline recombination and provide guidelines to inform future research for the neuroscience and broader molecular genetics communities

Evidence for Direct CP Violation in B0 -> K+- pi-+ Decays

We report evidence for direct CP violation in the decay B0 -> K+-pi-+ with 253/fb of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- collider. Using 275 million B B_bar pairs we observe a B -> K+-pi-+ signal with 2140+-53 events. The measured CP violating asymmetry is Acp(K+-pi-+) = -0.101+-0.025 (stat)+-0.005 (syst), corresponding to a significance of 3.9 sigma including systematics. We also search for CP violation in the decays B+- -> K+-pi0 and B+- -> pi+-pi0. The measured CP violating asymmetries are Acp(K+-pi0) = 0.04+-0.05(stat)+-0.02(syst) and Acp(pi+-pi0) = -0.02+-0.10(stat)+-0.01(syst), corresponding to the intervals -0.05 < Acp(K+-pi0) < 0.13 and -0.18<Acp(pi+-pi0)<0.14 at 90% confidence level.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Physical Review Letter

Observation of B0bar --> D(*)0 p pbar

The B meson decay modes B --> D p pbar and B --> D* p pbar have been studied using 29.4 fb^{-1} of data collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. The B0bar --> D0 p pbar and B0bar --> D*0 p pbar decays have been observed for the first time with branching fractions Br(B0bar --> D0 p pbar) =(1.18\pm 0.15\pm 0.16) 10^{-4} and Br(B0bar --> D*0 p pbar) =(1.20^{+0.33}_{-0.29}\pm 0.21) 10^{-4}. No signal has been found for the B+ --> D+ p pbar and B+ --> D*+ p pbar decay modes, and the corresponding upper limits at 90% C.L. are presented.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submited to Phys. Rev. Let

Observation of chi_c2 Production in B-meson Decay

We report the first observation of chi_c2 production in B-meson decays. We find an inclusive B -> chi_c2 X branching fraction of (1.80^{+0.23}_{-0.28}+/- 0.26) 10^-3. The data set, collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e^+e^- collider, consists of 31.9 million B\bar B events. We also present branching fractions and momentum spectra for both chi_c1 and chi_c2 production.Comment: 5 pages with 2 figure

A Measurement of Lifetime Difference in D0D^0 Meson Decays

We report a measurement of the $D^0$-$\bar{D}{}^0$ mixing parameter $y_{CP}$ using 23.4 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected near the $\Upsilon$(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at KEKB. $y_{CP}$ is measured from the lifetime difference of $D^0$ mesons decaying into the $K^-\pi^+$ state and the CP even eigenstate $K^-K^+$. We find $y_{CP}=(-0.5\pm 1.0{}^{+0.7}_{-0.8})\times10^{-2}$, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic, corresponding to a 95% confidence interval $-0.030 < y_{CP} < 0.020$.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of the CP Violation Parameter sin(2phi_1) in B^0_d Meson Decays

We present a measurement of the Standard Model CP violation parameter sin(2phi_1) based on a 10.5 fb^{-1} data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is reconstructed in the J/psi K_S, psi(2S) K_S, chi_{c1} K_S, eta_c K_S, J/psi K_L or J/psi pi^0 CP-eigenstate decay channel and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its charged particle decay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time interval between the two B-meson decay points, we determine sin(2phi_1) = 0.58 +0.32-0.34 (stat) +0.09-0.10 (syst).Comment: LaTex, 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to P.R.