150 research outputs found
Indication of asymptotic scaling in the reactions H, He and
It is shown that the differential cross sections of the reactions and measured at c.m.s.scattering angle
in the interval of the deuteron beam energy 0.5 - 1.2 GeV demonstrate the
scaling behaviour,, which follows from constituent
quark counting rules. It is found also that the differential cross section of
the elastic scattering at follows
the scaling regime at beam energies 0.5 - 5 GeV. These data are
parameterized here using the Reggeon exchange.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 2 eps figures; final version accepted by Pis'ma v
ZHETF, corrected and completed reference
Determination of the pion-nucleon coupling constant and scattering lengths
We critically evaluate the isovector GMO sum rule for forward pion-nucleon
scattering using the recent precision measurements of negatively charged
pion-proton and pion-deuteron scattering lengths from pionic atoms. We deduce
the charged-pion-nucleon coupling constant, with careful attention to
systematic and statistical uncertainties. This determination gives, directly
from data a pseudoscalar coupling constant of
14.11+-0.05(statistical)+-0.19(systematic) or a pseudovector one of 0.0783(11).
This value is intermediate between that of indirect methods and the direct
determination from backward neutron-proton differential scattering cross
sections. We also use the pionic atom data to deduce the coherent symmetric and
antisymmetric sums of the negatively charged pion-proton and pion-neutron
scattering lengths with high precision. The symmetric sum gives
0.0012+-0.0002(statistical)+-0.0008 (systematic) and the antisymmetric one
0.0895+-0.0003(statistical)+-0.0013(systematic), both in units of inverse
charged pion-mass. For the need of the present analysis, we improve the
theoretical description of the pion-deuteron scattering length.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, few modifications and
clarifications, no change in substance of the pape
Quasi-Elastic Scattering in the Inclusive (He, t) Reaction
The triton energy spectra of the charge-exchange C(He,t) reaction
at 2 GeV beam energy are analyzed in the quasi-elastic nucleon knock-out
region. Considering that this region is mainly populated by the charge-exchange
of a proton in He with a neutron in the target nucleus and the final proton
going in the continuum, the cross-sections are written in the distorted-wave
impulse approximation. The t-matrix for the elementary exchange process is
constructed in the DWBA, using one pion- plus rho-exchange potential for the
spin-isospin nucleon- nucleon potential. This t-matrix reproduces the
experimental data on the elementary pn np process. The calculated
cross-sections for the C(He,t) reaction at to triton
emission angle are compared with the corresponding experimental data, and are
found in reasonable overall accord.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 11 postscript figures available at
[email protected], submitted to Phy.Rev.
Multifragmentation threshold in ^{93}Nb+{nat}Mg collisions at 30 MeV/nucleon
We analyzed the on reaction at 30 MeV/nucleon in the aim
of disentangling binary sequential decay and multifragmentation decay close to
the energy threshold, i.e. MeV/nucleon. Using the backtracing
technique applied to the statistical models GEMINI and SMM we reconstruct
simulated charge, mass and excitation energy distributions and compare them to
the experimental ones. We show that data are better described by SMM than by
GEMINI in agreement with the fact that multifragmentation is responsible for
fragment production at excitation energies around 3 MeV/nucleon.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables Soumis \`a Nuclear Physics
Non-Hermitian SUSY Hydrogen-like Hamiltonians with real spectra
It is shown that the radial part of the Hydrogen Hamiltonian factorizes as
the product of two not mutually adjoint first order differential operators plus
a complex constant epsilon. The 1-susy approach is used to construct
non-hermitian Hamiltonians with hydrogen spectra. Other non-hermitian
Hamiltonians are shown to admit an extra `complex energy' at epsilon. New
self-adjoint hydrogen-like Hamiltonians are also derived by using a 2-susy
transformation with complex conjugate pairs epsilon, (c.c) epsilon.Comment: LaTeX2e file, 13 pages, 6 EPS figures. New references added. The
present is a reorganized and simplified versio
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E4 ligase–specific ubiquitination hubs coordinate DNA double-strand-break repair and apoptosis
Multiple protein ubiquitination events at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) regulate damage recognition, signaling and repair. It has remained poorly understood how the repair process of DSBs is coordinated with the apoptotic response. Here, we identified the E4 ubiquitin ligase UFD-2 as a mediator of DNA-damage-induced apoptosis in a genetic screen in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that, after initiation of homologous recombination by RAD-51, UFD-2 forms foci that contain substrate-processivity factors including the ubiquitin-selective segregase CDC-48 (p97), the deubiquitination enzyme ATX-3 (Ataxin-3) and the proteasome. In the absence of UFD-2, RAD-51 foci persist, and DNA damage-induced apoptosis is prevented. In contrast, UFD-2 foci are retained until recombination intermediates are removed by the Holliday-junction-processing enzymes GEN-1, MUS-81 or XPF-1. Formation of UFD-2 foci also requires proapoptotic CEP-1 (p53) signaling. Our findings establish a central role of UFD-2 in the coordination between the DNA-repair process and the apoptotic response
Mutations in TOP3A Cause a Bloom Syndrome-like Disorder
Bloom syndrome, caused by biallelic mutations in BLM, is characterized by prenatal-onset growth deficiency, short stature, an erythematous photosensitive malar rash, and increased cancer predisposition. Diagnostically, a hallmark feature is the presence of increased sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) on cytogenetic testing. Here, we describe biallelic mutations in TOP3A in ten individuals with prenatal-onset growth restriction and microcephaly. TOP3A encodes topoisomerase III alpha (TopIIIα), which binds to BLM as part of the BTRR complex, and promotes dissolution of double Holliday junctions arising during homologous recombination. We also identify a homozygous truncating variant in RMI1, which encodes another component of the BTRR complex, in two individuals with microcephalic dwarfism. The TOP3A mutations substantially reduce cellular levels of TopIIIα, and consequently subjects’ cells demonstrate elevated rates of SCE. Unresolved DNA recombination and/or replication intermediates persist into mitosis, leading to chromosome segregation defects and genome instability that most likely explain the growth restriction seen in these subjects and in Bloom syndrome. Clinical features of mitochondrial dysfunction are evident in several individuals with biallelic TOP3A mutations, consistent with the recently reported additional function of TopIIIα in mitochondrial DNA decatenation. In summary, our findings establish TOP3A mutations as an additional cause of prenatal-onset short stature with increased cytogenetic SCEs and implicate the decatenation activity of the BTRR complex in their pathogenesis
Harmonin-b, an actin-binding scaffold protein, is involved in the adaptation of mechanoelectrical transduction by sensory hair cells
We assessed the involvement of harmonin-b, a submembranous protein containing PDZ domains, in the mechanoelectrical transduction machinery of inner ear hair cells. Harmonin-b is located in the region of the upper insertion point of the tip link that joins adjacent stereocilia from different rows and that is believed to gate transducer channel(s) located in the region of the tip link's lower insertion point. In Ush1cdfcr-2J/dfcr-2J mutant mice defective for harmonin-b, step deflections of the hair bundle evoked transduction currents with altered speed and extent of adaptation. In utricular hair cells, hair bundle morphology and maximal transduction currents were similar to those observed in wild-type mice, but adaptation was faster and more complete. Cochlear outer hair cells displayed reduced maximal transduction currents, which may be the consequence of moderate structural anomalies of their hair bundles. Their adaptation was slower and displayed a variable extent. The latter was positively correlated with the magnitude of the maximal transduction current, but the cells that showed the largest currents could be either hyperadaptive or hypoadaptive. To interpret our observations, we used a theoretical description of mechanoelectrical transduction based on the gating spring theory and a motor model of adaptation. Simulations could account for the characteristics of transduction currents in wild-type and mutant hair cells, both vestibular and cochlear. They led us to conclude that harmonin-b operates as an intracellular link that limits adaptation and engages adaptation motors, a dual role consistent with the scaffolding property of the protein and its binding to both actin filaments and the tip link component cadherin-23
The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance
INTRODUCTION
Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.
RATIONALE
We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs).
RESULTS
Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants.
CONCLUSION
Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century
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