Gut microbiome correlates with altered striatal dopamine receptor expression in a model of compulsive alcohol seeking.

Identifying biological markers predicting vulnerability to develop excessive alcohol consumption may lead to a real improvement of clinical care. With converging evidence suggesting that gut microbiome is capable of influencing brain and behavior, this study aimed at investigating whether changes in gut microbiome composition is associated with conditioned responses to alcohol. We trained Wistar rats to self-administer alcohol for a prolonged period before screening those exhibiting uncontrolled alcohol seeking and taking by modeling diagnostic criteria for AUD: inability to abstain during a signaled period of reward unavailability, increased motivation assessed in a progressive effortful task and persistent alcohol intake despite aversive foot shocks. Based on addiction criteria scores, rats were assigned to either Vulnerable or Resilient groups. Vulnerable rats not only displayed increased impulsive and compulsive behaviors, but also displayed increased relapse after abstinence and increased sensitivity to baclofen treatments compared to resilient animals. Then, rats underwent a 3-month wash out period before sacrifice. Dorsal striatum was collected to assess dopamine receptor mRNA expression, and 16S microbiome sequencing was performed on caecal contents. Multiple significant correlations were found between gut microbiome and impulsivity measures, as well as augmentations in striatal Dopamine 1 receptor (D1R) and reductions in D2R as vulnerability to AUD increased. Therefore, using a singular translational approach based on biobehavioral dispositions to excessive alcohol seeking without heavy intoxication, our observations suggests an association between gut microbiome composition and these specific "at risk" behavioral traits observed in our translationally relevant model

Molecular cloning and transcriptional regulation of ompT , a ToxR-repressed gene in Vibrio cholerae

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72189/1/j.1365-2958.2000.01699.x.pd

D* Production in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

This paper presents measurements of D^{*\pm} production in deep inelastic scattering from collisions between 27.5 GeV positrons and 820 GeV protons. The data have been taken with the ZEUS detector at HERA. The decay channel $D^{*+}\to (D^0 \to K^- \pi^+) \pi^+$ (+ c.c.) has been used in the study. The $e^+p$ cross section for inclusive D^{*\pm} production with $5<Q^2<100 GeV^2$ and $y<0.7$ is 5.3 \pms 1.0 \pms 0.8 nb in the kinematic region {$1.3<p_T(D^{*\pm})<9.0$ GeV and $| \eta(D^{*\pm}) |<1.5$}. Differential cross sections as functions of p_T(D^{*\pm}), $\eta(D^{*\pm}), W$ and $Q^2$ are compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations based on the photon-gluon fusion production mechanism. After an extrapolation of the cross section to the full kinematic region in p_T(D^{*\pm}) and $\eta$(D^{*\pm}), the charm contribution $F_2^{c\bar{c}}(x,Q^2)$ to the proton structure function is determined for Bjorken $x$ between 2 $\cdot$ 10$^{-4}$ and 5 $\cdot$ 10$^{-3}$.Comment: 17 pages including 4 figure

Measurement of the Isolated Photon Cross Section in p-pbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

The cross section for the inclusive production of isolated photons has been measured in p anti-p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The photons span transverse momenta 23 to 300 GeV and have pseudorapidity |eta|<0.9. The cross section is compared with the results from two next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The theoretical predictions agree with the measurement within uncertainties.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Lett.

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Modulation of Endothelial Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor Type 2 Activity by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 3 in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling has multiple roles in the development and function of the blood vessels. In humans, mutations in BMP receptor type 2 (BMPR2), a key component of BMP signaling, have been identified in the majority of patients with familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, only a small subset of individuals with BMPR2 mutation develops PAH, suggesting that additional modifiers of BMPR2 function play an important role in the onset and progression of PAH. Methods: We used a combination of studies in zebrafish embryos and genetically engineered mice lacking endothelial expression of Vegfr3 to determine the interaction between vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3) and BMPR2. Additional in vitro studies were performed by using human endothelial cells, including primary lung endothelial cells from subjects with PAH. Results: Attenuation of Vegfr3 in zebrafish embryos abrogated Bmp2b-induced ectopic angiogenesis. Endothelial cells with disrupted VEGFR3 expression failed to respond to exogenous BMP stimulation. Mechanistically, VEGFR3 is physically associated with BMPR2 and facilitates ligand-induced endocytosis of BMPR2 to promote phosphorylation of SMADs and transcription of ID genes. Conditional, endothelial-specific deletion of Vegfr3 in mice resulted in impaired BMP signaling responses, and significantly worsened hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Consistent with these data, we found significant decrease in VEGFR3 expression in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells from human PAH subjects, and reconstitution of VEGFR3 expression in PAH pulmonary arterial endothelial cells restored BMP signaling responses. Conclusions: Our findings identify VEGFR3 as a key regulator of endothelial BMPR2 signaling and a potential determinant of PAH penetrance in humans

Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age: Secondary Distance Indicators

The formal division of the distance indicators into primary and secondary leads to difficulties in description of methods which can actually be used in two ways: with, and without the support of the other methods for scaling. Thus instead of concentrating on the scaling requirement we concentrate on all methods of distance determination to extragalactic sources which are designated, at least formally, to use for individual sources. Among those, the Supernovae Ia is clearly the leader due to its enormous success in determination of the expansion rate of the Universe. However, new methods are rapidly developing, and there is also a progress in more traditional methods. We give a general overview of the methods but we mostly concentrate on the most recent developments in each field, and future expectations. © 2018, The Author(s)

Measurement of the differential cross section for the production of an isolated photon with associated jet in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

The process ppbar -> photon + jet + X is studied using 1.0 fb^-1 of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. Photons are reconstructed in the central rapidity region |y_gamma|<1.0 with transverse momenta in the range 30<Pt_gamma<400 GeV while jets are reconstructed in either the central |y_jet|15 GeV. The differential cross section d^3sigma/dPt_gamma dy_gamma dy_jet is measured as a function of Pt_gamma in four regions, differing by the relative orientations of the photon and the jet in rapidity. Ratios between the differential cross sections in each region are also presented. Next-to-leading order QCD predictions using different parameterizations of parton distribution functions and theoretical scale choices are compared to the data. The predictions do not simultaneously describe the measured normalization and Pt_gamma dependence of the cross section in any of the four measured regions.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure