Leishmania Donovani Cell Surface Sialoglycans Regulate Susceptibility for Siglec Mediated Macrophage Invasion and Parasite Survival

Glycoconjugates play a pivotal role in the survival of Leishmania parasites in destructive surroundings. An important constituent present on many glycoconjugates is sialic acid. By virtue of their peripheral position on oligosaccharide chains of glycoconjugates, sialic acids are well suited as molecular determinants of specific biological processes, including the interaction of pathogenic microorganisms with sialylated cellular receptors. Differences in a2,3- and a2,6-sialoglycan patterns detected in clonal virulent Leishmania donovani promastigotes, correlated with the level of a2,3- and a2,6-sialyltransferase activity present in these parasites. The role of macrophage sialic acid-receptors in uptake and survival of L.donovani was studied in the murine macrophage cell line raw 264.7. Macrophage invasion was dependent on the binding to Siglec-1, while suppression of MAPK signaling was mediated through Siglec-5. Sialic acid removal by neuraminidase treatment reduced parasite infectivity. The presence of trypsin resistant sialic acid residues in the neuraminidase treated parasites grown in a serum free medium in presence of sialoglycoconjugates indicated that the parasites could salvage sialic acid from exogenous sialoglycans and reutilize it for de novo glycoprotein sialylation in L.donovani parasites. Thus, our results demonstrate the involvement of sialoglycans in the invasion as well as the survival process of L.donovani parasites

A study of histological changes of human placenta in rural population of eastern India

Background: Placenta is essential for maintenance of pregnancy and for promoting normal growth and development of fetus. It forms the morphological record of anatomical condition, intrauterine events and intrapartum events of gestation. Present study has been undertaken to record the data on the morphology and histology of placenta from mothers with hypertension and diabetes.Methods: This study showed several significant morphological and histological differences in the placenta of the mother with GDM and hypertensive placenta. The histological study of the placenta was done under microscope and number of syncytial knots, cytotrophoblastic cellular proliferation, fibrinoid necrosis, endothelial proliferation, calcified and hyalinised villous spots were noted per low power field in the diabetics and hypertensive group in comparison to control group.Results: All other parameters including area, thickness, diameter, and circumference of GDM placenta show a significant increase when compared with normal placenta. The gross anatomic features of placentae e.g infarcted areas, calcified areas and marginal insertion of the umbilical cord in the study group show significant increase in value (p>0.01) in diabetic and hypertensive groups when compared to that of the control or normal group.Conclusions: In present study we found that hypertensive placentae tend to be slightly smaller in size, weight, volume, area, thickness, diameter, circumference and feto-placental ratio than normal placentae but the parameters were found to be significantly greater than that of normal placentae in case of diabetic placentae. No significant differences were found in umbilical cord insertion. In normal pregnancy cases we found several histological findings which were increased in hypertensive and diabetic cases

TLR4 and NKT Cell Synergy in Immunotherapy against Visceral Leishmaniasis

NKT cells play an important role in autoimmune diseases, tumor surveillance, and infectious diseases, providing in most cases protection against infection. NKT cells are reactive to CD1d presented glycolipid antigens. They can modulate immune responses by promoting the secretion of type 1, type 2, or immune regulatory cytokines. Pathogen-derived signals to dendritic cells mediated via Toll like Receptors (TLR) can be modulated by activated invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells. The terminal β-(1–4)-galactose residues of glycans can modulate host responsiveness in a T helper type-1 direction via IFN-γ and TLRs. We have attempted to develop a defined immunotherapeutic, based on the cooperative action of a TLR ligand and iNKT cell using a mouse model of visceral leishmaniasis. We evaluated the anti-Leishmania immune responses and the protective efficacy of the β-(1–4)-galactose terminal NKT cell ligand glycosphingophospholipid (GSPL) antigen of L. donovani parasites. Our results suggest that TLR4 can function as an upstream sensor for GSPL and provoke intracellular inflammatory signaling necessary for parasite killing. Treatment with GSPL was able to induce a strong effective T cell response that contributed to effective control of acute parasite burden and led to undetectable parasite persistence in the infected animals. These studies for the first time demonstrate the interactions between a TLR ligand and iNKT cell activation in visceral leishmaniasis immunotherapeutic

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

Peer reviewe

An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data

An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe