Anomalous gauge couplings of the Higgs boson at the CERN LHC: Semileptonic mode in WW scatterings

We make a full tree level study of the signatures of anomalous gauge couplings of the Higgs boson at the CERN LHC via the semileptonic decay mode in WW scatterings. Both signals and backgrounds are studied at the hadron level for the Higgs mass in the range 115 GeV to 200 GeV. We carefully impose suitable kinematical cuts for suppressing the backgrounds. To the same sensitivity as in the pure leptonic mode, our result shows that the semileptonic mode can reduce the required integrated luminosity by a factor of 3. If the anomalous couplings in nature are actually larger than the sensitivity bounds shown in the text, the experiment can start the test for an integrated luminosity of 50 inverse fb.Comment: PACS numbers updated. Version published in Phys.Rev.D79,055010(2009

Hall anomaly by vacancies vs fragments of vortex lattice: Quantitative analyses of new evidences

Despite numerous recent studies on the Hall anomaly following the discovery of cuprate superconductivity, the origin of this phenomenon remains contentious. We demonstrate that a previously proposed mechanism, in which vacancy-on-fragment of the flux-line crystal, provides an alternative explanation for the observations of $\rm{Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{x}}$ thin films made by Nitzav and Kanigel [Phys. Rev. B. 107, 094516 (2023)], without the need for adjustable parameters. Specifically, we show that the power-law behavior of $\rho_{xy}$ over $\rho_{xx}$, with and without sign reversal, is consistent with the picture of vacancies versus fragments. Interestingly, we find that the effective length of vortex lines is consistently 1.5 unit cells (UC) across different experiments, independent of film thickness.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2206.0338

MicroRNA-17-92 significantly enhances radioresistance in human mantle cell lymphoma cells

The microRNA-17-92 (miRNA-17-92) cluster, at chromosome 13q31-q32, also known as oncomir-1, consists of seven miRNAs that are transcribed as a polycistronic unit. Over-expression of miRNA-17-92 has been observed in lymphomas and other solid tumors. Whether miRNA-17-92 expression affects the response of tumor cells to radiotherapy is not addressed so far. In the present study, we studied the effects of miRNA-17-92 on the radiosensitivity of human mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cells Z138c. Over-expression of miRNA-17-92 significantly increased survival cell number, cell proliferation and decreased cell death of human MCL cells after different doses of radiation. Immunoblot analysis showed that phosphatase and tension homolog (PTEN) and PHLPP2 was down-modulated and pAkt activity was enhanced in MCL cells after over-expressing miRNA-17-92 after irradiation. These findings are the first direct evidence that over-expression of miRNA-17-92 cluster significantly increases the radioresistance of human MCL cells, which offers a novel target molecule for improving the radiotherapy of MCL in clinic

Beta-arrestin inhibits CAMKKbeta-dependent AMPK activation downstream of protease-activated-receptor-2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteinase-activated-receptor-2 (PAR₂) is a seven transmembrane receptor that can activate two separate signaling arms: one through Gαq and Ca²⁺mobilization, and a second through recruitment of β-arrestin scaffolds. In some cases downstream targets of the Gαq/Ca²⁺signaling arm are directly inhibited by β-arrestins, while in other cases the two pathways are synergistic; thus β-arrestins act as molecular switches capable of modifying the signal generated by the receptor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we demonstrate that PAR₂can activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of cellular energy balance, through Ca²⁺-dependent Kinase Kinase β (CAMKKβ), while inhibiting AMPK through interaction with β-arrestins. The ultimate outcome of PAR₂activation depended on the cell type studied; in cultured fibroblasts with low endogenous β-arrestins, PAR₂activated AMPK; however, in primary fat and liver, PAR₂only activated AMPK in β-arrestin-2^-/-mice. β-arrestin-2 could be co-immunoprecipitated with AMPK and CAMKKβ under baseline conditions from both cultured fibroblasts and primary fat, and its association with both proteins was increased by PAR₂activation. Addition of recombinant β-arrestin-2 to in vitro kinase assays directly inhibited phosphorylation of AMPK by CAMKKβ on Thr172.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Studies have shown that decreased AMPK activity is associated with obesity and Type II Diabetes, while AMPK activity is increased with metabolically favorable conditions and cholesterol lowering drugs. These results suggest a role for β-arrestin in the inhibition of AMPK signaling, raising the possibility that β-arrestin-dependent PAR₂signaling may act as a molecular switch turning a positive signal to AMPK into an inhibitory one.</p

In silico and microarray-based genomic approaches to identifying potential vaccine candidates against Leptospira interrogans

BACKGROUND: Currently available vaccines against leptospirosis are of low efficacy, have an unacceptable side-effect profile, do not induce long-term protection, and provide no cross-protection against the different serovars of pathogenic leptospira. The current major focus in leptospirosis research is to discover conserved protective antigens that may elicit longer-term protection against a broad range of Leptospira. There is a need to screen vaccine candidate genes in the genome of Leptospira interrogans. RESULTS: Bioinformatics, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis and transcriptional analysis were used to identify vaccine candidates in the genome of L. interrogans serovar Lai strain #56601. Of a total of 4727 open reading frames (ORFs), 616 genes were predicted to encode surface-exposed proteins by P-CLASSIFIER combined with signal peptide prediction, α-helix transmembrane topology prediction, integral β-barrel outer membrane protein and lipoprotein prediction, as well as by retaining the genes shared by the two sequenced L. interrogans genomes and by subtracting genes with human homologues. A DNA microarray of L. interrogans strain #56601 was constructed for CGH analysis and transcriptome analysis in vitro. Three hundred and seven differential genes were identified in ten pathogenic serovars by CGH; 1427 genes had high transcriptional levels (Cy3 signal ≥ 342 and Cy5 signal ≥ 363.5, respectively). There were 565 genes in the intersection between the set encoding surface-exposed proteins and the set of 307 differential genes. The number of genes in the intersection between this set of 565 and the set of 1427 highly transcriptionally active genes was 226. These 226 genes were thus identified as putative vaccine candidates. The proteins encoded by these genes are not only potentially surface-exposed in the bacterium, but also conserved in two sequenced L. interrogans. Moreover, these genes are conserved among ten epidemic serovars in China and have high transcriptional levels in vitro. CONCLUSION: Of the 4727 ORFs in the genome of L. interrogans, 226 genes were identified as vaccine candidates by bioinformatics, CGH and transcriptional analysis on the basis of the theory of reverse vaccinology. The proteins encoded by these genes might be useful as vaccine candidates as well as for diagnosis of leptospirosis

Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Photodynamic Activity of Novel Amphiphilic Zinc(II) Phthalocyanines Bearing Oxyethylene-Rich Substituents

Three novel zinc(II) phthalocyanines substituted with one or two 3,4,5-tris(3,6,9-trioxadecoxy)benzoxy group(s) have been prepared and spectroscopically characterized. These compounds are highly soluble and remain nonaggregated in N,N-dimethylformamide. Upon excitation, they exhibit a relatively weak fluorescence emission and high efficiency to generate singlet oxygen compared with the unsubstituted zinc(II) phthalocyanine. These amphiphilic photosensitizers formulated with Cremophor EL are highly photocytotoxic against HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma and HepG2 human hepatocarcinoma cells. The mono-α-substituted analogue 4 is particularly potent with IC50 values as low as 0.02 μM. The higher photodynamic activity of this compound can be attributed to its lower aggregation tendency in the culture media as shown by absorption spectroscopy and higher cellular uptake as suggested by the stronger intracellular fluorescence, resulting in a higher efficiency to generate reactive oxygen species inside the cells

Study on the Lowest Energy Density of Welding Heat Source Required by Fusion Welding Metal

AbstractWelding is a common metal-processing method, which uses heating or press or both, at the same time, uses or disuses filled composites to achieve the atomic binding of workpieces. The basic welding methods are usually divided into three classes according to the conjunct property of weld metal, namely fusion welding, press welding and braze welding[1,2]. Powder composite welding rod is constituted with powder and termites, which belongs to fusion welding[3]. In order to make sure that the energy of this welding rod can achieve the requirement of fusion welding, so the lowest energy density required by fusing melt should be determined firstly