7,028 research outputs found
Dietary Debaryomyces hansenii promotes skin and skin mucus defensive capacities in a marine fish model
The present study explores the effects of two supplementation levels of Debaryomyces hansenii (1.1% and 2.2%) as a probiotic in a reference low fish meal-based diet on the skin mucosal tissue in Sparus aurata. This study includes the evaluation of fish performance coupled with a holistic study of the skin mucosa: i) a transcriptomic study of the skin tissue, and ii) the evaluation of its secreted mucus both in terms of skin mucosal-associated biomarkers and its defensive capacity by means of co-culture analysis with two pathogenic bacteria. Results showed that after 70 days of diet administration, fish fed the diet supplemented with D. hansenii at 1.1% presented increased somatic growth and a better feed conversion ratio, compared to fish fed the control diet. In contrast, fish fed the diet including 2.2% of the probiotic presented intermediate values. Regarding gene regulation, the probiotic administration at 1.1% resulted in 712 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), among which 53.4% and 46.6% were up- and down-regulated, respectively. In particular, D. hansenii modulated some skin biological processes related to immunity and metabolism. Specifically, D. hansenii administration induced a strong modulation of some immune biological-related processes (61 DEGs), mainly involved in B- and T-cell regulatory pathways. Furthermore, dietary D. hansenii promoted the skin barrier function by the upregulation of anchoring junction genes (23 DEGs), which reinforces the physical defense against potential skin damage. In contrast, the skin showed modulated genes related to extracellular exosome and membrane organization (50 DEGs). This modulated functioning is of great interest, particularly in relation to the increased skin mucus defensive capacity observed in the bacterial co-culture in vitro trials, which could be related to the increased modulation and exudation of the innate immune components from the skin cells into the mucus. In summary, the modulation of innate immune parameters coupled with increased skin barrier function and cell trafficking potentiates the skin's physical barrier and mucus defensive capacity, while maintaining the skin mucosa's homeostatic immune and metabolic status. These findings confirmed the advantages of D. hansenii supplementation in low fish meal-based diets, demonstrating the probiotic benefits on cultured marine species
Porcine Protein Hydrolysates (PEPTEIVAâ) Promote Growth and Enhance Systemic Immunity in Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata)
The effects of porcine plasma protein hydrolysate (PPH) on growth, feed efficiency, and immune responses was evaluated in Sparus aurata. Fish were fed two isoproteic (48% protein), isolipidic (17% fat), and isoenergetic diets (21.7 MJ/kg) diets, one of them containing 5% PPH at the expense of fishmeal. Both diets were tested for 92 days. A significant increase in growth was observed in fish fed the PPH diet in comparison to the control group (182.2 ± 4.4 vs. 173.8 ± 4.1 g), as well as an increase in feed intake without worsening FCR values. An ex vivo assay, with splenocytes incubated with lipopolysaccharide, was conducted to evaluate the cellular immune competence of fish. Genes involved in humoral immunity (lys, IgM), pro- (tnf-α, il-1ÎČ), and anti-inflammatory (tgf-ÎČ1, il10) cytokines were upregulated in the PPH group in comparison to the control group. The inclusion of PPH in diets enhanced the antibacterial capacity of skin mucus, as the co-culture of selected bacteria (E. coli, V. anguillarum, and P. anguilliseptica) with skin mucus indicated. The present results showed that the PPH in low fishmeal diets (2%) promoted growth and feed efficiency, as well as enhancing the immune response, which indicates that this is a safe and functional ingredient for aquafeeds
Arabidopsis metacaspase MC1 localizes in stress granules, clears protein aggregates and delays senescence
Stress granules (SGs) are highly conserved cytoplasmic condensates that assemble in response to stress and contribute to maintaining protein homeostasis. These membraneless organelles are dynamic, disassembling once the stress is no longer present. Persistence of SGs due to mutations or chronic stress has been often related to age-dependent protein-misfolding diseases in animals. Here, we find that the metacaspase MC1 is dynamically recruited into SGs upon proteotoxic stress in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Two predicted disordered regions, the prodomain and the 360 loop, mediate MC1 recruitment to and release from SGs. Importantly, we show that MC1 has the capacity to clear toxic protein aggregates in vivo and in vitro, acting as a disaggregase. Finally, we demonstrate that overexpressing MC1 delays senescence and this phenotype is dependent on the presence of the 360 loop and an intact catalytic domain. Together, our data indicate that MC1 regulates senescence through its recruitment into SGs and this function could potentially be linked to its remarkable protein aggregate-clearing activity
Measurement of the Strong Coupling Constant from Inclusive Jet Production at the Tevatron Collider
We report a measurement of the strong coupling constant, ,
extracted from inclusive jet production in collisions at
1800 GeV. The QCD prediction for the evolution of with
jet transverse energy is tested over the range 40<<450 GeV using
for the renormalization scale. The data show good agreement with QCD in
the region below 250 GeV. In the text we discuss the data-theory comparison in
the region from 250 to 450 GeV. The value of at the mass of the
boson averaged over the range 40<<250 GeV is found to be
. The associated theoretical uncertainties are mainly due to the choice
of renormalization scale (^{+6%}_{-4%}) and input parton distribution
functions (5%).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review
Letter
Search for Narrow Diphoton Resonances and for gamma-gamma+W/Z Signatures in p\bar p Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV
We present results of searches for diphoton resonances produced both
inclusively and also in association with a vector boson (W or Z) using 100
pb^{-1} of p\bar p collisions using the CDF detector. We set upper limits on
the product of cross section times branching ratio for both p\bar
p\to\gamma\gamma + X and p\bar p\to\gamma\gamma + W/Z. Comparing the inclusive
production to the expectations from heavy sgoldstinos we derive limits on the
supersymmetry-breaking scale sqrt{F} in the TeV range, depending on the
sgoldstino mass and the choice of other parameters. Also, using a NLO
prediction for the associated production of a Higgs boson with a W or Z boson,
we set an upper limit on the branching ratio for H\to\gamma\gamma. Finally, we
set a lower limit on the mass of a `bosophilic' Higgs boson (e.g. one which
couples only to \gamma, W, and Z$ bosons with standard model couplings) of 82
GeV/c^2 at 95% confidence level.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figure
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma)
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 -> phi gamma has been measured using 0.37 fb-1 of pp collisions at a
centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The
value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) = 1.12 +/- 0.08
^{+0.06}_{-0.04} ^{+0.09}_{-0.08}, where the first uncertainty is statistical,
the second systematic and the third is associated to the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (4.33 +/-
0.15) x 10^{-5}, the branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be
(3.9 +/- 0.5) x 10^{-5}, which is the most precise measurement to date.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, 2 table
Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0âKâ0ÎŒ+ÎŒâ
The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0â K â0 ÎŒ + ÎŒ â are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at sâ=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions
Measurement of the CKM angle Îł from a combination of B±âDh± analyses
A combination of three LHCb measurements of the CKM angle Îł is presented. The decays B±âD K± and
B±âDϱ are used, where D denotes an admixture of D0 and D0 mesons, decaying into K+Kâ, Ï+Ïâ, K±Ïâ, K±ÏâϱÏâ, K0SÏ+Ïâ, or K0S K+Kâ ïŹnal states. All measurements use a dataset corresponding to 1.0 fbâ1 of integrated luminosity. Combining results from B±âD K± decays alone a best-ïŹt value of
Îł =72.0⊠is found, and conïŹdence intervals are set
Îł â [56.4,86.7]⊠at 68% CL,
Îł â [42.6,99.6]⊠at 95% CL.
The best-ïŹt value of Îł found from a combination of results from B±âDϱ decays alone, is Îł =18.9âŠ,
and the conïŹdence intervals
Îł â [7.4,99.2]⊠âȘ [167.9,176.4]⊠at 68% CL
are set, without constraint at 95% CL. The combination of results from B± â D K± and B± â Dϱ
decays gives a best-ïŹt value of Îł =72.6⊠and the conïŹdence intervals
Îł â [55.4,82.3]⊠at 68% CL,
Îł â [40.2,92.7]⊠at 95% CL
are set. All values are expressed modulo 180âŠ, and are obtained taking into account the effect of D0âD0
mixing
Search for CP violation in D+âÏÏ+ and D+sâK0SÏ+ decays
A search for CP violation in D + â ÏÏ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (â0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K â K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the Ï meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the Ï mass region of the D + â K â K + Ï + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+sâK0SÏ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%
Model-independent search for CP violation in D0âKâK+ÏâÏ+ and D0âÏâÏ+Ï+Ïâ decays
A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of D0 and View the MathML source decays to the final states KâK+ÏâÏ+ and ÏâÏ+Ï+Ïâ is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1 collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the KâK+ÏâÏ+ final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the ÏâÏ+Ï+Ïâ final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity
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