15 research outputs found
Dark photon bounds in the dark EFT
Dark photons are massive abelian gauge bosons that interact with ordinary photons via a kinetic mixing with the hypercharge field strength tensor. This theory is probed by a variety of different experiments and limits are set on a combination of the dark photon mass and kinetic mixing parameter. These limits can however be strongly modified by the presence of additional heavy degrees of freedom. Using the framework of dark effective field theory, we study how robust are the current experimental bounds when these new states are present. We focus in particular on the possible existence of a dark dipole interaction between the Standard Model leptons and the dark photon. We show that, under certain assumptions, the presence of a dark dipole modifies existing supernovae bounds for cut-off scales up to O(10-100 TeV). On the other hand, terrestrial experiments, such as LSND and E137, can probe cut-off scales up to O(3 TeV). For the latter experiment we highlight that the bound may extend down to vanishing kinetic mixing
Nucleophosmin Phosphorylation by v-Cyclin-CDK6 Controls KSHV Latency
Nucleophosmin (NPM) is a multifunctional nuclear phosphoprotein and a histone chaperone implicated in chromatin organization and transcription control. Oncogenic Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman disease (MCD). In the infected host cell KSHV displays two modes of infection, the latency and productive viral replication phases, involving extensive viral DNA replication and gene expression. A sustained balance between latency and reactivation to the productive infection state is essential for viral persistence and KSHV pathogenesis. Our study demonstrates that the KSHV v-cyclin and cellular CDK6 kinase phosphorylate NPM on threonine 199 (Thr199) in de novo and naturally KSHV-infected cells and that NPM is phosphorylated to the same site in primary KS tumors. Furthermore, v-cyclin-mediated phosphorylation of NPM engages the interaction between NPM and the latency-associated nuclear antigen LANA, a KSHV-encoded repressor of viral lytic replication. Strikingly, depletion of NPM in PEL cells leads to viral reactivation, and production of new infectious virus particles. Moreover, the phosphorylation of NPM negatively correlates with the level of spontaneous viral reactivation in PEL cells. This work demonstrates that NPM is a critical regulator of KSHV latency via functional interactions with v-cyclin and LANA
Plant growth-promoting actinobacteria: a new strategy for enhancing sustainable production and protection of grain legumes
Grain legumes are a cost-effective alternative for the animal protein in improving the diets of the poor in South-East Asia and Africa. Legumes, through symbiotic nitrogen fixation, meet a major part of their own N demand and partially benefit the following crops of the system by enriching soil. In realization of this sustainability advantage and to promote pulse production, United Nations had declared 2016 as the “International Year of pulses”. Grain legumes are frequently subjected to both abiotic and biotic stresses resulting in severe yield losses. Global yields of legumes have been stagnant for the past five decades in spite of adopting various conventional and molecular breeding approaches. Furthermore, the increasing costs and negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production necessitate the use of biological options of crop production and protection. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria for improving soil and plant health has become one of the attractive strategies for developing sustainable agricultural systems due to their eco-friendliness, low production cost and minimizing consumption of non-renewable resources. This review emphasizes on how the PGP actinobacteria and their metabolites can be used effectively in enhancing the yield and controlling the pests and pathogens of grain legumes
Road traffic noise and children's inattention
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of children are exposed to road
traffic noise levels that may lead to adverse effects on health
and daily functioning. Childhood is a period of intense growth
and brain maturation, and children may therefore be especially
vulnerable to road traffic noise. The objective of the present
study was to examine whether road traffic noise was associated
with reported inattention symptoms in children, and whether this
association was mediated by sleep duration. METHODS: This study
was based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study
conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Parental
reports of children's inattention at age 8 were linked to
modelled levels of residential road traffic noise. We
investigated the association between inattention and noise
exposure during pregnancy (n = 1934), noise exposure averaged
over 5 years (age 3 to 8 years; n = 1384) and noise exposure at
age 8 years (n = 1384), using fractional logit response models.
The participants were children from Oslo, Norway. RESULTS: An
association with inattention at age 8 years was found for road
traffic noise exposure at age 8 years (coef = .0083, CI =
[.0012, .0154]; 1.2% point increase in inattention score per 10
dB increase in noise level), road traffic noise exposure average
for the last 5 years (coef = .0090, CI = [.0016, .0164]; 1.3%
point increase/10 dB), and for pregnancy road traffic noise
exposure for boys (coef = .0091, CI = [.0010, .0171]), but not
girls (coef = -.0021, CI = [-.0094, .0053]). Criteria for doing
mediation analyses were not fulfilled. CONCLUSION: Results
indicate that road traffic noise has a negative impact on
children's inattention. We found no mediation by sleep duration