pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
The rediscovery of uromodulin (Tamm–Horsfall protein): from tubulointerstitial nephropathy to chronic kidney disease

Uromodulin (Tamm–Horsfall protein) is the most abundant protein excreted in the urine under physiological conditions. It is exclusively produced in the kidney and secreted into the urine via proteolytic cleavage. Its biological function is still not fully understood. Uromodulin has been linked to water/electrolyte balance and to kidney innate immunity. Also, studies in knockout mice demonstrated that it has a protective role against urinary tract infections and renal stone formation. Mutations in the gene encoding uromodulin lead to rare autosomal dominant diseases, collectively referred to as uromodulin-associated kidney diseases. They are characterized by progressive tubulointerstitial damage, impaired urinary concentrating ability, hyperuricemia, renal cysts, and progressive renal failure. Novel in vivo studies point at intracellular accumulation of mutant uromodulin as a key primary event in the disease pathogenesis. Recently, genome-wide association studies identified uromodulin as a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension, and suggested that the level of uromodulin in the urine could represent a useful biomarker for the development of CKD. In this review, we summarize these recent investigations, ranging from invalidation studies in mouse to Mendelian disorders and genome-wide associations, which led to a rediscovery of uromodulin and boosted the scientific and clinical interest for this long discovered molecule
Of malicious motes and suspicious sensors On the efficiency of malicious interference in wireless networks

AbstractHow efficiently can a malicious device disrupt a single-hop wireless network? Imagine two honest players attempting to exchange information in the presence of a malicious adversary that can disrupt communication by jamming or overwriting messages. Assume the adversary has a broadcast budget of β—unknown to the honest players. We show that communication can be delayed for 2β+Θ(lg|V|) rounds, where V is the set of values that the honest players may transmit. We then derive, via reduction to this 3-player game, round complexity lower bounds for several classical n-player problems: 2β+Ω(lg|V|) for reliable broadcast, 2β+Ω(logn) for leader election, and 2β+Ω(klg|V|/k) for static k-selection. We also consider an extension of our adversary model that includes up to t crash failures. Here we show a bound of 2β+Θ(t) rounds for binary consensus. We provide tight, or nearly tight, upper bounds for all four problems. From these results we can derive bounds on the efficiency of malicious disruption, stated in terms of two new metrics: jamming gain (the ratio of rounds delayed to adversarial broadcasts) and disruption-free complexity (the rounds required to terminate in the special case of no disruption). Two key conclusions of this study: (1) all the problems considered feature semantic vulnerabilities that allow an adversary to disrupt termination more efficiently than simple jamming (i.e., all have a jamming gain greater than 1); and (2) for all the problems considered, the round complexity grows linearly with the number of bits to be communicated (i.e., all have a Ω(lg|V|) or Ω(lgn) disruption-free complexity.
750 GeV resonance in the gauged U(1)′-extended MSSM

AbstractRecently the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations at the LHC announced their observation of a potential 750 GeV di-photon resonance, after analyzing the s=13 TeV LHC data. This observation has significant implications for low-energy supersymmetry. Beyond the MSSM and the NMSSM, we study the MSSM-extensions with an extra U(1)′ gauge symmetry. The anomaly cancellation and the spontaneous breaking of the non-decoupled U(1)′ generally require introducing vector-like supermultiplets (both colored and color-neutral ones) and singlet supermultiplets, respectively. We illustrate that the potential 750 GeV resonance (Y) can be accommodated in various mechanisms, as a singlet-like scalar or pseudoscalar. Three benchmark scenarios are presented: (1) vector-like quarks (VLQ) mediated pp→Y→γγ; (2) scalar VLQ mediated pp→Y→γγ; (3) heavy scalar (pseudo-scalar) H/A associated production pp→H⁎/A⁎→YH/h. Additionally, we notice that the Z′-mediated vector boson fusion production and Z′-associated production pp→Yqq′, if yielding a signal rate of the observed level, might have been excluded by the searches for Z′ via Drell–Yan process at the LHC
Pdlim2 is a novel actin-regulating protein of podocyte foot processes

The slit diaphragm and the apical and basal membrane domains of podocytes are connected to each other by an actin-based cytoskeleton critical to the maintenance of the glomerular filtration barrier. In an effort to discover novel regulatory proteins of the podocyte foot process, we identified and characterized pdlim2, a member of the actin-associated LIM protein subfamily of cytosolic proteins typified by an N-terminal PDZ domain and a C-terminal LIM domain. In the kidney, the pdlim2 protein is highly specific for the glomerulus and podocyte foot processes as shown by RT-PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy. In cultured podocytes, pdlim2 was associated with stress fibers and cortical actin. Pdlim2 seems to regulate actin dynamics in podocytes since stress fibers were stabilized in its presence. Mechanistically, pdlim2 interacts with two actin-associated podocyte proteins, α-actinin-4 and angiomotin-like-1, as shown by immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid analyses. By semi-quantitative immunoelectron microscopy, there was a reduced expression of pdlim2 in podocytes of patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome and membranous nephropathy, whereas its expression was unchanged in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Hence, pdlim2 is a novel actin-regulating protein of podocyte foot processes that may have a role in the pathogenesis of glomerular diseases
The mutable nature of particle-core excitations with spin in the one-valence-proton nucleus 133Sb

AbstractThe γ-ray decay of excited states of the one-valence-proton nucleus 133Sb has been studied using cold-neutron induced fission of 235U and 241Pu targets, during the EXILL campaign at the ILL reactor in Grenoble. By using a highly efficient HPGe array, coincidences between γ-rays prompt with the fission event and those delayed up to several tens of microseconds were investigated, allowing to observe, for the first time, high-spin excited states above the 16.6 μs isomer. Lifetimes analysis, performed by fast-timing techniques with LaBr3(Ce) scintillators, revealed a difference of almost two orders of magnitude in B(M1) strength for transitions between positive-parity medium-spin yrast states. The data are interpreted by a newly developed microscopic model which takes into account couplings between core excitations (both collective and non-collective) of the doubly magic nucleus 132Sn and the valence proton, using the Skyrme effective interaction in a consistent way. The results point to a fast change in the nature of particle-core excitations with increasing spin
Multi-strange baryon production in pp collisions at s=7 TeV with ALICE

AbstractA measurement of the multi-strange Ξ− and Ω− baryons and their antiparticles by the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is presented for inelastic proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The transverse momentum (pT) distributions were studied at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) in the range of 0.6<pT<8.5 GeV/c for Ξ− and Ξ¯+ baryons, and in the range of 0.8<pT<5 GeV/c for Ω− and Ω¯+. Baryons and antibaryons were measured as separate particles and we find that the baryon to antibaryon ratio of both particle species is consistent with unity over the entire range of the measurement. The statistical precision of the current data has allowed us to measure a difference between the mean pT of Ξ− (Ξ¯+) and Ω− (Ω¯+). Particle yields, mean pT, and the spectra in the intermediate pT range are not well described by the PYTHIA Perugia 2011 tune Monte Carlo event generator, which has been tuned to reproduce the early LHC data. The discrepancy is largest for Ω− (Ω¯+). This PYTHIA tune approaches the pT spectra of Ξ− and Ξ¯+ baryons below pT<0.85 GeV/c and describes the Ξ− and Ξ¯+ spectra above pT>6.0 GeV/c. We also illustrate the difference between the experimental data and model by comparing the corresponding ratios of (Ω−+Ω¯+)/(Ξ−+Ξ¯+) as a function of transverse mass
A novel solution to the Klein–Gordon equation in the presence of a strong rotating electric field

AbstractThe Klein–Gordon equation in the presence of a strong electric field, taking the form of the Mathieu equation, is studied. A novel analytical solution is derived for particles whose asymptotic energy is much lower or much higher than the electromagnetic field amplitude. The condition for which the new solution recovers the familiar Volkov wavefunction naturally follows. When not satisfied, significant deviation from the Volkov wavefunction is demonstrated. The new condition is shown to differ by orders of magnitudes from the commonly used one. As this equation describes (neglecting spin effects) the emission processes and the particle motion in Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) cascades, our results suggest that the standard theoretical approach towards this phenomenon should be revised
Measurement of the lifetime of the Bc+ meson using the Bc+→J/ψπ+ decay mode

AbstractThe difference in total widths between the Bc+ and B+ mesons is measured using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb−1 collected by the LHCb experiment in 7 and 8 TeV centre-of-mass energy proton–proton collisions at the LHC. Through the study of the time evolution of Bc+→J/ψπ+ and B+→J/ψK+ decays, the width difference is measured to beΔΓ≡ΓBc+−ΓB+=4.46±0.14±0.07 mm−1c, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The known lifetime of the B+ meson is used to convert this to a precise measurement of the Bc+ lifetime,τBc+=513.4±11.0±5.7 fs, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic
Even-Skipped+ Interneurons Are Core Components of a Sensorimotor Circuit that Maintains Left-Right Symmetric Muscle Contraction Amplitude

SummaryBilaterally symmetric motor patterns—those in which left-right pairs of muscles contract synchronously and with equal amplitude (such as breathing, smiling, whisking, and locomotion)—are widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the underlying neural circuits. We performed a thermogenetic screen to identify neurons required for bilaterally symmetric locomotion in Drosophila larvae and identified the evolutionarily conserved Even-skipped+ interneurons (Eve/Evx). Activation or ablation of Eve+ interneurons disrupted bilaterally symmetric muscle contraction amplitude, without affecting the timing of motor output. Eve+ interneurons are not rhythmically active and thus function independently of the locomotor CPG. GCaMP6 calcium imaging of Eve+ interneurons in freely moving larvae showed left-right asymmetric activation that correlated with larval behavior. TEM reconstruction of Eve+ interneuron inputs and outputs showed that the Eve+ interneurons are at the core of a sensorimotor circuit capable of detecting and modifying body wall muscle contraction
Di-Higgs phenomenology in tt¯hh: The forgotten channel

AbstractSearches for multi-Higgs final states allow to constrain parameters of the SM (or extensions thereof) that directly relate to the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking. Multi-Higgs production cross sections, however, are small and the phenomenologically accessible final states are challenging to isolate in the busy multi-jet hadron collider environment of the LHC run 2 and HL-LHC. This makes the necessity to extend the list of potentially observable production mechanisms obvious. Most of the phenomenological analyses in the past have focused on gg→hh+jets; in this paper we study pp→tt¯hh at the HL-LHC and find that this channel for h→bb¯ and semi-leptonic and hadronic top decays has the potential to provide an additional handle to constrain the Higgs trilinear coupling in a global fit at the end of the high luminosity phase
Many Families of C. elegans MicroRNAs Are Not Essential for Development or Viability

SummaryMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 23 nt regulatory RNAs that posttranscriptionally inhibit the functions of protein-coding mRNAs. We previously found that most C. elegans miRNAs are individually not essential for development or viability and proposed that paralogous miRNAs might often function redundantly [1]. To test this hypothesis, we generated mutant C. elegans strains that each lack multiple or all members of one of 15 miRNA families. Mutants for 12 of these families did not display strong synthetic abnormalities, suggesting that these miRNA families have subtle roles during development. By contrast, mutants deleted for all members of the mir-35 or mir-51 families died as embryos or early larvae, and mutants deleted for four members of the mir-58 family showed defects in locomotion, body size, and egg laying and an inability to form dauer larvae. Our findings indicate that the regulatory functions of most individual miRNAs and most individual families of miRNAs related in sequence are not critical for development or viability. Conversely, because in some cases miRNA family members act redundantly, our findings emphasize the importance of determining miRNA function in the absence of miRNAs related in sequence
Hypernuclear production cross section in the reaction of 6Li + 12C at 2 A GeV

AbstractHypernuclear production cross sections have been deduced for the first time with induced reaction of heavy ion beam on fixed target and by means of the invariant mass method by the HypHI Collaboration exploiting the reaction of 6Li + 12C at 2A GeV or sNN=2.70 GeV. A production cross section of 3.9±1.4 μb for 3ΛH and of 3.1±1.0 μb for 4ΛH respectively in the projectile rapidity region was inferred as well as the total production cross section of the Λ hyperon was measured and found to be equal to 1.7±0.8 mb. A global fit based on a Bayesian approach was performed in order to include and propagate statistical and systematic uncertainties. Production ratios of 3ΛH/4ΛH, 3ΛH/Λ and 4ΛH/Λ were included in the inference procedure. The strangeness population factors S3 and S4 of 3ΛH and 4ΛH respectively were extracted. In addition, the multiplicities of the Λ hyperon, 3ΛH, and 4ΛH together with the rapidity and transversal momentum density distributions of the observed hypernuclei were extracted and reported
Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence of Eu: La2O3 nanoparticles synthesized by several methods

AbstractEuropium-doped La2O3 nanocrystalline powders with sizes ranging from 4nm to 300nm have been obtained by the modified Pechini, hydrothermal with conventional furnace, hydrothermal with microwave furnace, and precipitation with ultrasonic bath methods. X-ray diffraction techniques were used to study the evolution of the prepared gels towards the desired crystalline phase. We determined the size and the morphology of the nanoparticles by electronic microscopy. Finally, we studied and analyzed the luminescence properties of the trivalent europium in the hexagonal La2O3 nanocrystals by photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence
Modification of jet shapes in PbPb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

AbstractThe first measurement of jet shapes, defined as the fractional transverse momentum radial distribution, for inclusive jets produced in heavy-ion collisions is presented. Data samples of PbPb and pp collisions, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 150 μb−1 and 5.3 pb−1 respectively, were collected at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy of sNN=2.76 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The jets are reconstructed with the anti-kT algorithm with a distance parameter R=0.3, and the jet shapes are measured for charged particles with transverse momentum pT>1 GeV/c. The jet shapes measured in PbPb collisions in different collision centralities are compared to reference distributions based on the pp data. A centrality-dependent modification of the jet shapes is observed in the more central PbPb collisions, indicating a redistribution of the energy inside the jet cone. This measurement provides information about the parton shower mechanism in the hot and dense medium produced in heavy-ion collisions
A Milnor–Moore type theorem for primitively generated braided bialgebras

AbstractA braided bialgebra is called primitively generated if it is generated as an algebra by its space of primitive elements. We prove that any primitively generated braided bialgebra is isomorphic to the universal enveloping algebra of its infinitesimal braided Lie algebra, notions hereby introduced. This result can be regarded as a Milnor–Moore type theorem for primitively generated braided bialgebras and leads to the introduction of a concept of braided Lie algebra for an arbitrary braided vector space
Vacuum stability in U(1)-prime extensions of the Standard Model with TeV scale right handed neutrinos

AbstractWe investigate a minimal U(1)′ extension of the Standard Model with one extra complex scalar and generic gauge charge assignments. We use a type-I seesaw mechanism with three heavy right handed neutrinos to illustrate the constraints on the charges, on their mass and on the mixing angle of the two scalars, derived by requiring the vacuum stability of the scalar potential. We focus our study on a scenario which could be accessible at the LHC, by selecting a vacuum expectation value of the extra Higgs in the TeV range and determining the constraints that emerge in the parameter space. To illustrate the generality of the approach, specific gauge choices corresponding to U(1)B−L, U(1)R and U(1)χ are separately analyzed. Our results are based on a modified expression of one of the β functions of the quartic couplings of the scalar potential compared to the previous literature. This is due to a change in the coefficient of the Yukawa term of the right handed neutrinos. Differently from previous analysis, we show that this coupling may destabilize the vacuum
Near-best quasi-interpolants associated with H-splines on a three-direction mesh

AbstractSpline quasi-interpolants with optimal approximation orders and small norms are useful in several applications. In this paper, we construct the so-called near-best discrete and integral quasi-interpolants based on H-splines, i.e., B-splines with regular hexagonal supports on the uniform three-directional mesh of the plane. These quasi-interpolants are obtained so as to be exact on some space of polynomials and to minimize an upper bound of their infinite norms which depend on a finite number of free parameters. We show that this problem has always a solution, which is not unique in general. Concrete examples of these types of quasi-interpolants are given in the two last sections
An alternative Hamiltonian formulation for the Pais–Uhlenbeck oscillator

AbstractOstrogradsky's method allows one to construct Hamiltonian formulation for a higher derivative system. An application of this approach to the Pais–Uhlenbeck oscillator yields the Hamiltonian which is unbounded from below. This leads to the ghost problem in quantum theory. In order to avoid this nasty feature, the technique previously developed in [7] is used to construct an alternative Hamiltonian formulation for the multidimensional Pais–Uhlenbeck oscillator of arbitrary even order with distinct frequencies of oscillation. This construction is also generalized to the case of an N=2 supersymmetric Pais–Uhlenbeck oscillator
Worsening Cognitive Impairment and Neurodegenerative Pathology Progressively Increase Risk for Delirium

BackgroundDelirium is a profound neuropsychiatric disturbance precipitated by acute illness. Although dementia is the major risk factor this has typically been considered a binary quantity (i.e., cognitively impaired versus cognitively normal) with respect to delirium risk. We used humans and mice to address the hypothesis that the severity of underlying neurodegenerative changes and/or cognitive impairment progressively alters delirium risk.MethodsHumans in a population-based longitudinal study, Vantaa 85+, were followed for incident delirium. Odds for reporting delirium at follow-up (outcome) were modeled using random-effects logistic regression, where prior cognitive impairment measured by Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) (exposure) was considered. To address whether underlying neurodegenerative pathology increased susceptibility to acute cognitive change, mice at three stages of neurodegenerative disease progression (ME7 model of neurodegeneration: controls, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks) were assessed for acute cognitive dysfunction upon systemic inflammation induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 100 μg/kg). Synaptic and axonal correlates of susceptibility to acute dysfunction were assessed using immunohistochemistry.ResultsIn the Vantaa cohort, 465 persons (88.4 ± 2.8 years) completed MMSE at baseline. For every MMSE point lost, risk of incident delirium increased by 5% (p = 0.02). LPS precipitated severe and fluctuating cognitive deficits in 16-week ME7 mice but lower incidence or no deficits in 12-week ME7 and controls, respectively. This was associated with progressive thalamic synaptic loss and axonal pathology.ConclusionA human population-based cohort with graded severity of existing cognitive impairment and a mouse model with progressing neurodegeneration both indicate that the risk of delirium increases with greater severity of pre-existing cognitive impairment and neuropathology
Transcatheter Implantation of Homologous “Off-the-Shelf” Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves With Self-Repair Capacity Long-Term Functionality and Rapid In Vivo Remodeling in Sheep

ObjectivesThis study sought to evaluate long-term in vivo functionality, host cell repopulation, and remodeling of “off-the-shelf” tissue engineered transcatheter homologous heart valves.BackgroundTranscatheter valve implantation has emerged as a valid alternative to conventional surgery, in particular for elderly high-risk patients. However, currently used bioprosthetic transcatheter valves are prone to progressive dysfunctional degeneration, limiting their use in younger patients. To overcome these limitations, the concept of tissue engineered heart valves with self-repair capacity has been introduced as next-generation technology.MethodsIn vivo functionality, host cell repopulation, and matrix remodeling of homologous transcatheter tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHVs) was evaluated up to 24 weeks as pulmonary valve replacements (transapical access) in sheep (n = 12). As a control, tissue composition and structure were analyzed in identical not implanted TEHVs (n = 5).ResultsTranscatheter implantation was successful in all animals. Valve functionality was excellent displaying sufficient leaflet motion and coaptation with only minor paravalvular leakage in some animals. Mild central regurgitation was detected after 8 weeks, increasing to moderate after 24 weeks, correlating to a compromised leaflet coaptation. Mean and peak transvalvular pressure gradients were 4.4 ± 1.6 mm Hg and 9.7 ± 3.0 mm Hg, respectively. Significant matrix remodeling was observed in the entire valve and corresponded with the rate of host cell repopulation.ConclusionsFor the first time, the feasibility and long-term functionality of transcatheter-based homologous off-the-shelf tissue engineered heart valves are demonstrated in a relevant pre-clinical model. Such engineered heart valves may represent an interesting alternative to current prostheses because of their rapid cellular repopulation, tissue remodeling, and therewith self-repair capacity. The concept of homologous off-the-shelf tissue engineered heart valves may therefore substantially simplify previous tissue engineering concepts toward clinical translation