Immune adaptor ADAP in T cells regulates HIV-1 transcription and cell-cell viral spread via different co-receptors

Background: Immune cell adaptor protein ADAP (adhesion and degranulation-promoting adaptor protein) mediates aspects of T-cell adhesion and proliferation. Despite this, a connection between ADAP and infection by the HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus-1) has not been explored. Results: In this paper, we show for the first time that ADAP and its binding to SLP-76 (SH2 domain-containing leukocyte protein of 76 kDa) regulate HIV-1 infection via two distinct mechanisms and co-receptors. siRNA down-regulation of ADAP, or expression of a mutant that is defective in associating to its binding partner SLP-76 (termed M12), inhibited the propagation of HIV-1 in T-cell lines and primary human T-cells. In one step, ADAP and its binding to SLP-76 were needed for the activation of NF-κB and its transcription of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) in cooperation with ligation of co-receptor CD28, but not LFA-1. In a second step, the ADAP-SLP-76 module cooperated with LFA-1 to regulate conjugate formation between T-cells and dendritic cells or other T-cells as well as the development of the virological synapse (VS) and viral spread between immune cells. Conclusions: These findings indicate that ADAP regulates two steps of HIV-1 infection cooperatively with two distinct receptors, and as such, serves as a new potential target in the blockade of HIV-1 infection

Time-series and Phase-curve Photometry of the Episodically Active Asteroid (6478) Gault in a Quiescent State Using APO, GROWTH, P200, and ZTF

We observed the episodically active asteroid (6478) Gault in 2020 with multiple telescopes in Asia and North America and found that it is no longer active after its recent outbursts at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019. The inactivity during this apparition allowed us to measure the absolute magnitude of Gault of Hr = 14.63 ± 0.02, Gr = 0.21 ± 0.02 from our secular phase-curve observations. In addition, we were able to constrain Gault's rotation period using time-series photometric lightcurves taken over 17 hr on multiple days in 2020 August, September, and October. The photometric lightcurves have a repeating ≲0.05 mag feature suggesting that (6478) Gault has a rotation period of ∼2.5 hr and may have a semispherical or top-like shape, much like the near-Earth asteroids Ryugu and Bennu. The rotation period of ∼2.5 hr is near the expected critical rotation period for an asteroid with the physical properties of (6478) Gault, suggesting that its activity observed over multiple epochs is due to surface mass shedding from its fast rotation spin-up by the Yarkovsky–O'Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect

Accuracy versus precision in boosted top tagging with the ATLAS detector

Abstract The identification of top quark decays where the top quark has a large momentum transverse to the beam axis, known as top tagging, is a crucial component in many measurements of Standard Model processes and searches for beyond the Standard Model physics at the Large Hadron Collider. Machine learning techniques have improved the performance of top tagging algorithms, but the size of the systematic uncertainties for all proposed algorithms has not been systematically studied. This paper presents the performance of several machine learning based top tagging algorithms on a dataset constructed from simulated proton-proton collision events measured with the ATLAS detector at √ s = 13 TeV. The systematic uncertainties associated with these algorithms are estimated through an approximate procedure that is not meant to be used in a physics analysis, but is appropriate for the level of precision required for this study. The most performant algorithms are found to have the largest uncertainties, motivating the development of methods to reduce these uncertainties without compromising performance. To enable such efforts in the wider scientific community, the datasets used in this paper are made publicly available.</jats:p

A novel dark septate fungal endophyte positively affected blueberry growth and changed the expression of plant genes involved in phytohormone and flavonoid biosynthesis

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs) are one of the most studied groups of root fungal endophytes in recent years. However, the effects of DSE on host plant are still under debate, and the molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we identified a DSE fungus of the genus Anteaglonium, named T010, from the wild blueberry. When inoculated into Vaccinium corymbosum L. plants, T010 could enhance root growth and promote shoot branching, leading to increased plant growth. By comparative transcriptome analysis, we obtained 1948 regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the V. corymbosum plants treated by T010. Further functional enrichment analysis identified a series of DEGs enriched in transcriptional regulation, material transport, phytohormone biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis. Moreover, the comparative analysis of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry verified that T010 treatment induced the changes in the contents of various phytohormones and flavonoids. This is the first report on the isolation of DSE fungi of the genus Anteaglonium from blueberry roots. Moreover, our results suggested that T010 colonization could result in a series of changes in cell metabolism, biosynthesis and signal pathways, thereby promoting plant growth. Particularly, the changes of phytohormone and flavonoid metabolism induced by T010 colonization might contribute to the promotion of blueberry growth. Our results will provide new insights into understanding of the interaction of DSE fungi and host plants, as well as the development and utilization of DSE preparations