Neutrophil interaction with inflamed postcapillary venule endothelium alters annexin 1 expression

Annexin 1 (ANX-A1) exerts antimigratory actions in several models of acute and chronic inflammation, This is related to its ability to mimic the effect of endogenous ANX-A1 that is externalized on neutrophil adhesion to the postcapillary endothelium. In the present study we monitored ANX-A1 expression and localization in intravascular and emigrated neutrophils, using a classical model of rat peritonitis, For this purpose, a pair of antibodies raised against the ANX-A1 N-terminus tie, able to recognize intact ANX-A1) or the whole protein tie, able to interact with all ANX-A1 isoforms) was used by immunofluorescence and immunocytochemistry analyses. The majority (similar to 50%) of ANX-A1 on the plasma membrane of intravascular neutrophils was intact. Extravasation into the subendothelial matrix caused loss of this pool of intact protein (to similar to6%), concomitant with an increase in total amount of the protein; only similar to 25% of the total protein was now recognized by the antibody raised against the N-terminus tie, it was intact). In the cytoplasm of these cells, ANX-A1 was predominantly associated with large vacuoles, possibly endosomes, In situ hybridization confirmed de novo synthesis of ANX-A1 in the extravasated cells. In conclusion, biochemical pathways leading to the externalization, proteolysis, and synthesis of ANX-A1 are activated during the process of neutrophil extravasation.

Signals for CP violation in scalar tau pair production at muon colliders

We discuss signals for CP violation in μ + μ - → Τ̃ i - Τ̃ j +, where i, j = 1, 2 label the two scalar Τ mass eigenstates. We assume that these reactions can proceed through the production and decay of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons present in supersymmetric models. CP violation in the Higgs sector can be probed through a rate asymmetry even with unpolarized beams, while the CP-odd phase associated with the Τ̃ mass matrix can be probed only if the polarization of at least one beam can be varied. These asymmetries might be O (1).

Supersymmetric Higgs boson pair production at hadron colliders

We study the pair production of neutral Higgs bosons through gluon fusion at hadron colliders in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We present analytical expressions for the relevant amplitudes, including both quark and squark loop contributions, and allowing for mixing between the superpartners of left- and right-handed quarks. Squark loop contributions can increase the cross section for the production of two CP-even Higgs bosons by more than two orders of magnitude, if the relevant trilinear soft breaking parameter is large and the mass of the lighter squark eigenstate is not too far above its current lower bound. In the region of large tan β, neutral Higgs boson pair production might even be observable in the 4b final state during the next run of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. ©1999 The American Physical Society.

Strong-interaction effects in stop pair production at e+e- colliders

We discuss perturbative and non-perturbative strong-interaction effects in the pair production of stop squarks (t̃1) at e+e- colliders. Events with an additional hard gluon allow to detect or exclude t̃1t̃*1 production even in scenarios with very small mass splitting between ti and an invisible lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). Such events can also help to establish that t̃1 transforms as a triplet under SU(3)C. We also carefully study non-perturbative t̃1 fragmentation, which is currently not well understood: not only is the t̃1 fragmentation function not known very well, but also there are ambiguities in the algorithm employed to model fragmentation. We present numerical results both for CERN LEP-183 and for a proposed future e+e- collider operating at center-of-mass energy s1/2 = 500 GeV.

Bose-Einstein correlations in W-pair decays

Bose-Einstein correlations are studied in semileptonic (WW → qq̄lv) and fully hadronic (WW → qq̄qq̄) W-pair decays with the ALEPH detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies of 172, 183 and 189 GeV. They are compared with those made at the Z peak after correction for the different flavour compositions. A Monte Carlo model of Bose-Einstein correlations based on the JETSET hadronization scheme was tuned to the Z data and reproduces the correlations in the WW → qq̄lv events. The same Monte Carlo reproduces the correlations in the WW → qq̄qq̄ channel assuming independent fragmentation of the two W's. A variant of this model with Bose-Einstein correlations between decay products of different W's is disfavoured. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Treatment Effects Produced by Fränkel Appliance in Patients with Class II, Division 1 Malocclusion

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the dentoalveolar and skeletal cephalometric changes produced by the Fränkel appliance in individuals with a Class II, division 1 malocclusion. Lateral cephalograms of 44 patients of both sexes were divided in two groups of 22 each. The control group was comprised of untreated Class II children with an initial mean age of eight years and seven months who were followed without treatment for a period of 13 months. The Fränkel group had an initial mean age of nine years and was treated for a mean period of 17 months. Lateral cephalometric headfilms of each patient were obtained at the beginning and end of treatment. The Fränkel appliance produced no significant changes in maxillary growth during the evaluation period, while a statistically significant increase in mandibular length was observed. The maxillomandibular relationship improved mostly because of an increase in mandibular length. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in the craniofacial growth direction between the Fränkel and the control group, both showing a slight downward rotation of the palatal plane. The Fränkel appliance produced a labial tipping of the lower incisors and a lingual inclination of the upper incisors as well as a significant increase in mandibular posterior dentoalveolar height. It was concluded that the main effects of the Fränkel appliance during this time period were mostly dentoalveolar with a smaller but significant skeletal mandibular effect.

Genetic relatedness of Plasmodium falciparum isolates and the origin of allelic diversity at the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) locus in Brazil and Vietnam

Background: Despite the extensive polymorphism at the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) locus of Plasmodium falciparum, that encodes a major repetitive malaria vaccine candidate antigen, identical and nearly identical alleles frequently occur in sympatric parasites. Here we used microsatellite haplotyping to estimate the genetic distance between isolates carrying identical and nearly identical MSP-1 alleles. Methods: We analyzed 28 isolates from hypoendemic areas in north-western Brazil, collected between 1985 and 1998, and 23 isolates obtained in mesoendemic southern Vietnam in 1996. MSP-1 alleles were characterized by combining PCR typing with allele-specific primers and partial DNA sequencing. The following single-copy microsatellite markers were typed: Polyα, TA42 (only for Brazilian samples), TA81, TA1, TA87, TA109 (only for Brazilian samples), 2490, ARAII, PfG377, PfPK2, and TA60. Results: The low pair-wise average genetic distance between microsatellite haplotypes of isolates sharing identical MSP-1 alleles indicates that epidemic propagation of discrete parasite clones originated most identical MSP-1 alleles in parasite populations from Brazil and Vietnam. At least one epidemic clone propagating in Brazil remained relatively unchanged over more than one decade. Moreover, we found no evidence that rearrangements of MSP-1 repeats, putatively created by mitotic recombination events, generated new alleles within clonal lineages of parasites in either country. Conclusion: Identical MSP-1 alleles originated from co-ancestry in both populations, whereas nearly identical MSP-1 alleles have probably appeared independently in unrelated parasite lineages.

Measurement of the tt̄ production cross section in pp̄ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV in dilepton final states

We present a measurement of the top quark pair (tt̄) production cross section in pp̄ collisions at √s=1.96 TeV using events with two charged leptons in the final state. This analysis utilizes an integrated luminosity of 224-243 pb-1 collected with the DØ detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We observe 13 events in the e+e -, eμ and μ+μ- channels with an expected background of 3.2±0.7 events. For a top quark mass of 175 GeV, we measure a tt̄ production cross section of σtt̄=8. 6-2.7 +3.2(stat)±1.1(syst)±0.6(lumi) pb, consistent with the standard model prediction. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ZmPUMP encodes a fully functional monocot plant uncoupling mitochondrial protein whose affinity to fatty acid is increased with the introduction of a His pair at the second matrix loop

Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are specialized mitochondrial transporter proteins that uncouple respiration from ATP synthesis. In this study, cDNA encoding maize uncoupling protein (ZmPUMP) was expressed in Escherichia coli and recombinant ZmPUMP reconstituted in liposomes. ZmPUMP activity was associated with a linoleic acid (LA)-mediated H+ efflux with Km of 56.36 ± 0.27 μM and Vmax of 66.9 μmol H+ min-1 (mg prot)-1. LA-mediated H+ fluxes were sensitive to ATP inhibition with Ki of 2.61 ± 0.36 mM (at pH 7.2), a value similar to those for dicot UCPs. ZmPUMP was also used to investigate the importance of a histidine pair present in the second matrix loop of mammalian UCP1 and absent in plant UCPs. ZmPUMP with introduced His pair (Lys155His and Ala157His) displayed a 1.55-fold increase in LA-affinity while its activity remained unchanged. Our data indicate conserved properties of plant UCPs and suggest an enhancing but not essential role of the histidine pair in proton transport mechanism. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Z gamma production and limits on anomalous ZZ gamma and Z gamma gamma couplings in pp collisions at root s=1.96 TeV

We present a study of eeγ and μμγ events using 1109 (1009) pb-1 of data in the electron (muon) channel, respectively. These data were collected with the DØ detector at the Fermilab Tevatron p over(p, ̄) collider at sqrt(s) = 1.96   TeV. Having observed 453 (515) candidates in the eeγ (μμγ) final state, we measure the Zγ production cross section for a photon with transverse energy ET > 7   GeV, separation between the photon and leptons Δ Rℓ γ > 0.7, and invariant mass of the di-lepton pair Mℓ ℓ > 30   GeV / c2, to be 4.96 ± 0.30 (stat . + syst .) ± 0.30 (lumi .)   pb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction of 4.74 ± 0.22   pb. This is the most precise Zγ cross section measurement at a hadron collider. We set limits on anomalous trilinear Zγγ and ZZγ gauge boson couplings of - 0.085 < h30 γ < 0.084, - 0.0053 < h40 γ < 0.0054 and - 0.083 < h30 Z < 0.082, - 0.0053 < h40 Z < 0.0054 at the 95% C.L. for the form-factor scale Λ = 1.2   TeV.

Search for events with Leptonic jets and missing transverse energy in pp̄ collisions at √s=1.96TeV

We present the first search for pair production of isolated jets of charged leptons in association with a large imbalance in transverse energy in pp̄ collisions using 5.8fb⊃-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. No excess is observed above the standard model background, and the result is used to set upper limits on the production cross section of pairs of supersymmetric chargino and neutralino particles as a function of dark-photon mass, where the dark photon is produced in the decay of the lightest supersymmetric particle. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

Search for violation of Lorentz invariance in top quark pair production and decay

Using data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, corresponding to 5.3fb -1 of integrated luminosity, we search for violation of Lorentz invariance by examining the tt̄ production cross section in lepton+jets final states. We quantify this violation using the standard-model extension framework, which predicts a dependence of the tt̄ production cross section on sidereal time as the orientation of the detector changes with the rotation of the Earth. Within this framework, we measure components of the matrices (c Q) μν33 and (c U) μν33 containing coefficients used to parametrize violation of Lorentz invariance in the top quark sector. Within uncertainties, these coefficients are found to be consistent with zero. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Observation of a narrow mass state decaying into Υ(1S)+γ in pp̄ collisions at s=1.96 TeV

Using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.3fb -1, we observe a narrow mass state decaying into Υ(1S)+γ, where the Υ(1S) meson is detected by its decay into a pair of oppositely charged muons, and the photon is identified through its conversion into an electron-positron pair. The significance of this observation is 5.6 standard deviations. The mass of the state is centered at 10.551±0.014(stat) ±0.017(syst)GeV/c2, which is consistent with that of the state recently observed by the ATLAS Collaboration. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Search for heavy bottom-like quarks in 4.9 fb-1 of pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for heavy bottom-like quarks, pair-produced in pp collisions at √s = 7TeV, undertaken with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The b′ quarks are assumed to decay exclusively to tW. The b′b̄′ → tW-t̄W+ process can be identified by its distinctive signatures of three leptons or two leptons of same charge, and at least one b-quark jet. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb-1, observed events are compared to the standard model background predictions, and the existence of b′ quarks having masses below 611 GeV/c2 is excluded at 95% confidence level.

Search for a narrow, spin-2 resonance decaying to a pair of Z bosons in the qq̄ℓ+ℓ- final state

Results are presented from a search for a narrow, spin-2 resonance decaying into a pair of Z bosons, with one Z-boson decaying into leptons (e+e- or μ+μ-) and the other into jets. An example of such a resonance is the Kaluza-Klein graviton, GKK, predicted in Randall-Sundrum models. The analysis is based on a 4.9 fb-1 sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Kinematic and topological properties including decay angular distributions are used to discriminate between signal and background. No evidence for a resonance is observed, and upper limits on the production cross sections times branching fractions are set. In two models that predict Z-boson spin correlations in graviton decays, graviton masses are excluded lower than a value which varies between 610 and 945 GeV, depending on the model and the strength of the graviton couplings. © 2012 CERN.