Insulin-like growth factor II acts through an endogenous growth pathway regulated by imprinting in early mouse embryos

We present evidence that insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) mediates growth in early mouse embryos and forms a pathway in which imprinted genes influence development during preimplantation stages, mRNA and protein for IGF-II were expressed in preimplantation mouse embryos, but the related factors IGF-I and insulin were not. IGF-I and insulin receptors and the IGF-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptor were expressed. Exogenous IGF-II or IGF-I increased the cell number in cultured blastocysts, but a mutant form of IGF-II that strongly binds only the IGF-II receptor did not. Reduction of IGF-II expression by antisense IGF-II oligonucleotides decreased the rate of progression to the blastocyst stage and decreased the cell number in blastocysts. Preimplantation parthenogenetic mouse embryos expressed mRNA for the IGF-II receptor but not for either IGF-II ligand or the IGF-I receptor, indicating that the latter genes are not expressed when inherited maternally. These data imply that some growth factors and receptors, regulated by genomic imprinting, may control cell proliferation from the earliest stages of embryonic development

Dysregulation of a novel miR-23b/27b-p53 axis impairs muscle stem cell differentiation of humans with type 2 diabetes

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly recognized as fine-tuning regulators of metabolism, and are dysregulated in several disease conditions. With their capacity to rapidly change gene expression, miRNAs are also important regulators of development and cell differentiation. In the current study, we describe an impaired myogenic capacity of muscle stem cells isolated from humans with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and assess whether this phenotype is regulated by miRNAs. Methods: We measured global miRNA expression during in vitro differentiation of muscle stem cells derived from T2DM patients and healthy controls. Results: The mir-23b/27b cluster was downregulated in the cells of the patients, and a pro-myogenic effect of these miRNAs was mediated through the p53 pathway, which was concordantly dysregulated in the muscle cells derived from humans with T2DM. Conclusions: Our results indicate that we have identified a novel pathway for coordination of myogenesis, the miR-23b/27b-p53 axis that, when dysregulated, potentially contributes to a sustained muscular dysfunction in T2DM

Molerområdets geologi – sedimenter, fossiler, askelag og glaicaltektonik

Abstract in Danish I den vestlige del af Limfjorden findes en række kystklinter, hvor eocæne lag er blottet. Moler er en ca. 55-56 millioner år gammel diatomit, som indeholder lag af uforvitret vulkansk aske samt et stort antal velbevarede marine og terrestriske fossiler. Stolleklint Leret og Fur Formationen har et usædvanligt fossilselskab med mange repræsentanter for insekter, fisk, fugle og skildpadder men meget få kalkskallede, hvirvelløse dyr. De vulkanske askelag afspejler et stort antal gigantiske, eksplosive udbrud inden for en kort periode, hvor lavatilstrømningen var stor, samtidig med at udbruddene skete på lavt vand i den nydannede oceanbund. For ca. 25.000 år siden dannede fremrykkende iskapper folder og overskydninger i moler, askelag og glaciale sedimenter. Molerområdets geologi kan sammenfattes i følgende citat: ”…talrige tynde lag af sort vulkansk Aske...træde selv på lang Afstand tydelig frem i det hvide Moler …[Da de] ofte danner store Bugter og Folder, vil man forstaa, at de høje lyse Molerklinter i Solskin frembyde et malerisk og ejendommeligt Skue.” (N. V. Ussing i ’Danmarks Geologi’ 1904, s.143)

A self-consistent quantum master equation approach to molecular transport

We propose a self-consistent generalized quantum master equation (GQME) to describe electron transport through molecular junctions. In a previous study [M.Esposito and M.Galperin. Phys. Rev. B 79, 205303 (2009)], we derived a time-nonlocal GQME to cure the lack of broadening effects in Redfield theory. To do so, the free evolution used in the Born-Markov approximation to close the Redfield equation was replaced by a standard Redfield evolution. In the present paper, we propose a backward Redfield evolution leading to a time-local GQME which allows for a self-consistent procedure of the GQME generator. This approach is approximate but properly reproduces the nonequilibrium steady state density matrix and the currents of an exactly solvable model. The approach is less accurate for higher moments such as the noise.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured