The phosphoproteome of Arabidopsis plants lacking the oxidative signal-inducible1 (OXI1) protein kinase

The AGC protein kinase OXI1 is a key protein in plant responses to oxidative signals, and is important for two oxidative burst-mediated processes: basal resistance to microbial pathogens and root hair growth. To identify possible components of the OXI1 signalling pathway, phosphoproteomic techniques were used to detect alterations in the abundance of phosphorylated proteins and peptides in an oxi1 null mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana. The relative abundance of phosphorylated proteins was assessed either using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and staining with the phosphoprotein stain Pro-Q Diamond or by the identification and quantification, by mass spectrometry, of stable-isotope labelled phosphopeptides. A number of proteins show altered phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant. Five proteins, including a putative F-box and 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1, show reduced phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant, and may be direct or indirect targets of OXI1. Four proteins, including ethylene insensitive 2 and phospholipase d-gamma, show increased phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant. This study has identified a range of candidate proteins from the OXI1 signalling pathway. The diverse activities of these proteins, including protein degradation and hormone signalling, may suggest crosstalk between OXI1 and other signal transduction cascades.</p

Randomized Trial of Metformin, Ivermectin, and Fluvoxamine for Covid-19

BACKGROUND Early treatment to prevent severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is an important component of the comprehensive response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. METHODS In this phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we used a 2-by-3 factorial design to test the effectiveness of three repurposed drugs - metformin, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine - in preventing serious SARS-CoV-2 infection in nonhospitalized adults who had been enrolled within 3 days after a confirmed diagnosis of infection and less than 7 days after the onset of symptoms. The patients were between the ages of 30 and 85 years, and all had either overweight or obesity. The primary composite end point was hypoxemia (≤93% oxygen saturation on home oximetry), emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death. All analyses used controls who had undergone concurrent randomization and were adjusted for SARSCoV-2 vaccination and receipt of other trial medications. RESULTS A total of 1431 patients underwent randomization; of these patients, 1323 were included in the primary analysis. The median age of the patients was 46 years; 56% were female (6% of whom were pregnant), and 52% had been vaccinated. The adjusted odds ratio for a primary event was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 1.09; P=0.19) with metformin, 1.05 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.45; P=0.78) with ivermectin, and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.66 to 1.36; P=0.75) with fluvoxamine. In prespecified secondary analyses, the adjusted odds ratio for emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.94) with metformin, 1.39 (95% CI, 0.72 to 2.69) with ivermectin, and 1.17 (95% CI, 0.57 to 2.40) with fluvoxamine. The adjusted odds ratio for hospitalization or death was 0.47 (95% CI, 0.20 to 1.11) with metformin, 0.73 (95% CI, 0.19 to 2.77) with ivermectin, and 1.11 (95% CI, 0.33 to 3.76) with fluvoxamine. CONCLUSIONS None of the three medications that were evaluated prevented the occurrence of hypoxemia, an emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death associated with Covid-19

Measurement of CP observables in B± → D(⁎)K± and B± → D(⁎)π± decays

Measurements of CP observables in B ± →D (⁎) K ± and B ± →D (⁎) π ± decays are presented, where D (⁎) indicates a neutral D or D ⁎ meson that is an admixture of D (⁎)0 and D¯ (⁎)0 states. Decays of the D ⁎ meson to the Dπ 0 and Dγ final states are partially reconstructed without inclusion of the neutral pion or photon, resulting in distinctive shapes in the B candidate invariant mass distribution. Decays of the D meson are fully reconstructed in the K ± π ∓ , K + K − and π + π − final states. The analysis uses a sample of charged B mesons produced in pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.0, 1.0 and 2.0 fb −1 taken at centre-of-mass energies of s=7, 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. The study of B ± →D ⁎ K ± and B ± →D ⁎ π ± decays using a partial reconstruction method is the first of its kind, while the measurement of B ± →DK ± and B ± →Dπ ± decays is an update of previous LHCb measurements. The B ± →DK ± results are the most precise to date

Probing the inflationary particle content: extra spin-2 field

We study how inflationary observables associated with primordial tensor modes are affected by coupling the minimal field content with an extra spin-2 particle during inflation. We work with a model that is ghost-free at the fully non-linear level and show how the new degrees of freedom modify standard consistency relations for the tensor bispectrum. The extra interacting spin-2 field is necessarily massive and unitarity dictates its mass be in the $m \gtrsim H$ range. Despite the fact that this bound selects a decaying solution for the corresponding tensor mode, cosmological correlators still carry the imprints of such "fossil" fields. Remarkably, fossil(s) of spin $\geq 1$ generate distinctive anisotropies in observables such as the tensor power spectrum. We show how this plays out in our set-up.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of the CKM angle γγ in B±→DK±B^\pm\to D K^\pm and B±→Dπ±B^\pm \to D π^\pm decays with D→KS0h+h−D \to K_\mathrm S^0 h^+ h^-

A measurement of $CP$-violating observables is performed using the decays $B^\pm\to D K^\pm$ and $B^\pm\to D \pi^\pm$, where the $D$ meson is reconstructed in one of the self-conjugate three-body final states $K_{\mathrm S}\pi^+\pi^-$ and $K_{\mathrm S}K^+K^-$ (commonly denoted $K_{\mathrm S} h^+h^-$). The decays are analysed in bins of the $D$-decay phase space, leading to a measurement that is independent of the modelling of the $D$-decay amplitude. The observables are interpreted in terms of the CKM angle $\gamma$. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9\,\text{fb}^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$, $8$, and $13\,\text{TeV}$ with the LHCb experiment, $\gamma$ is measured to be $\left(68.7^{+5.2}_{-5.1}\right)^\circ$. The hadronic parameters $r_B^{DK}$, $r_B^{D\pi}$, $\delta_B^{DK}$, and $\delta_B^{D\pi}$, which are the ratios and strong-phase differences of the suppressed and favoured $B^\pm$ decays, are also reported

Study of the lineshape of the chi(c1) (3872) state

A study of the lineshape of the chi(c1) (3872) state is made using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1) collected in pp collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV with the LHCb detector. Candidate chi(c1)(3872) and psi(2S) mesons from b-hadron decays are selected in the J/psi pi(+)pi(-) decay mode. Describing the lineshape with a Breit-Wigner function, the mass splitting between the chi(c1 )(3872) and psi(2S) states, Delta m, and the width of the chi(c1 )(3872) state, Gamma(Bw), are determined to be (Delta m=185.598 +/- 0.067 +/- 0.068 Mev,)(Gamma BW=1.39 +/- 0.24 +/- 0.10 Mev,) where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. Using a Flatte-inspired model, the mode and full width at half maximum of the lineshape are determined to be (mode=3871.69+0.00+0.05 MeV.)(FWHM=0.22-0.04+0.13+0.07+0.11-0.06-0.13 MeV, ) An investigation of the analytic structure of the Flatte amplitude reveals a pole structure, which is compatible with a quasibound D-0(D) over bar*(0) state but a quasivirtual state is still allowed at the level of 2 standard deviations

First observation of forward Z→bbˉZ \rightarrow b \bar{b} production in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV

The decay Z→bb¯ is reconstructed in pp collision data, corresponding to 2 fb −1 of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s=8 TeV. The product of the Z production cross-section and the Z→bb¯ branching fraction is measured for candidates in the fiducial region defined by two particle-level b -quark jets with pseudorapidities in the range 2.220 GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range 4520$GeV and dijet invariant mass in the range$45 < m_{jj} < 165$GeV. From a signal yield of$5462 \pm 763$$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$events, where the uncertainty is statistical, a production cross-section times branching fraction of$332 \pm 46 \pm 59$pb is obtained, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measured significance of the signal yield is 6.0 standard deviations. This measurement represents the first observation of the$Z \rightarrow b \bar{b}$production in the forward region of$pp$ collisions

Study of the doubly charmed tetraquark T+cc

Quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force, describes interactions of coloured quarks and gluons and the formation of hadronic matter. Conventional hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and quark-antiquark pairs, respectively. Particles with an alternative quark content are known as exotic states. Here a study is reported of an exotic narrow state in the D0D0π+ mass spectrum just below the D*+D0 mass threshold produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The state is consistent with the ground isoscalar T+cc tetraquark with a quark content of ccu⎯⎯⎯d⎯⎯⎯ and spin-parity quantum numbers JP = 1+. Study of the DD mass spectra disfavours interpretation of the resonance as the isovector state. The decay structure via intermediate off-shell D*+ mesons is consistent with the observed D0π+ mass distribution. To analyse the mass of the resonance and its coupling to the D*D system, a dedicated model is developed under the assumption of an isoscalar axial-vector T+cc state decaying to the D*D channel. Using this model, resonance parameters including the pole position, scattering length, effective range and compositeness are determined to reveal important information about the nature of the T+cc state. In addition, an unexpected dependence of the production rate on track multiplicity is observed