Odderon Exchange from Elastic Scattering Differences between pp and pp[over ¯] Data at 1.96 TeV and from pp Forward Scattering Measurements

We describe an analysis comparing the pp[over ¯] elastic cross section as measured by the D0 Collaboration at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV to that in pp collisions as measured by the TOTEM Collaboration at 2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV using a model-independent approach. The TOTEM cross sections, extrapolated to a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV, are compared with the D0 measurement in the region of the diffractive minimum and the second maximum of the pp cross section. The two data sets disagree at the 3.4σ level and thus provide evidence for the t-channel exchange of a colorless, C-odd gluonic compound, also known as the odderon. We combine these results with a TOTEM analysis of the same C-odd exchange based on the total cross section and the ratio of the real to imaginary parts of the forward elastic strong interaction scattering amplitude in pp scattering for which the significance is between 3.4σ and 4.6σ. The combined significance is larger than 5σ and is interpreted as the first observation of the exchange of a colorless, C-odd gluonic compound.

Have we forgotten about heller’s? a case report of childhood disintegrative disorder

Introduction

We report on the case of a 15 year old young person with a known diagnosis of autism presenting with a rapid and acute regression in functional abilities, decline in expressive speech and bizarre posturing. The symptoms first started during lockdown (April 2020) with anxiety related to school work followed by urinary incontinence, insomnia, muttering to self and incongruent smiling. Initial medical investigations including MRI, lumbar puncture and 24hour EEG were inconclusive, so she was referred to Paediatric Liaison for assessment.

Objectives

We demonstrate the value of a child psychiatry liaison service being involved with young people in an acute medical hospital

Methods

This young person had a thorough psychiatric assessment.

Results

Through daily psychiatric assessment and reviews with the young person, her parent, social care, wider community team, school and Paediatric Inpatient ward in order to expand on the understanding of the young person and develop a case formulation. She was started on oral Olanzapine 2.5mg which was gradually increased to 10mg OD with minimal improvement.

Conclusions

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD or Heller’s Syndrome) is a rare pervasive disorder presenting as a loss of previously acquired skills after at least two years of normal development. Despite no longer being included in DSM-V, it is important for Psychiatrists to have a working knowledge of CDD and consider other differentials when assessing young people.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Nanocomposite of functional silver metal containing curcumin biomolecule model systems: Protein BSA bioavailability

Curcumin, a constituent of Curcuma longa L-Zingiberaceae is used in traditional Indian and worldwide medicine and shows anticancer and antioxidant properties. Curcumin has numerous biological and pharmacological activities but due to its hydrophobic nature, the major drawback is poor absorption and rapid elimination, rendering curcumin with the tag of a poor biomaterial. Hence, there is a need to develop functional metal containing curcumin model systems (FMCCMS) as a metallo-biomolecule to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin. We designed the interaction of silver metal ion with curcumin to form curcumin-silver nanocomposite (CURC-AgNCP) via ultrasonic synthetic route. Formations of FMCCMS were characterized by spectroscopic techniques. The crystalline face-centered cubic pattern and particle size of the nanocomposite was evaluated using X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The bonding of silver metal to curcumin was confirmed by X-ray photon spectroscopy. Interaction of the nanocomposite with bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein was performed using excitation, emission, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. In binding interaction of BSA, the negative value of ∆S° (-358.04 J mol^-1 K^-1) and ∆H° (-129.42 KJ mol^-1) demonstrates the hydrophilic nature of the nanocomposite. The binding distance r evaluated according to the Forster resonance energy transfer theory and was 4.69 nm for CURC-AgNCP, which suggested non-radiative transfer of energy between CURC-AgNCP and BSA. The role of FMCCMS metallo-biomolecule CURC-AgNCP in medicine for cancer activity can have immense importance and hence we performed Sulphorhodamine B based in-vitro cytotoxicity assay on human breast cancer Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 cell line.

Anti-obesity potentiality of Tapra fish (Opisthopterus tardoore) oil

In this present investigation, we have extracted and characterized the Tapra fish oil as well as applied it to evaluate anti-obesity potentiality. The Tapra fish oil had 1.14 ± 0.10 mg KOH/g of acid value, 129.8 ± 5.09 mg KOH/g of saponification number, 2.67 ± 0.67 mEq/kg of peroxide value, 121.9 ± 2.14 mg of iodine value, and 17.67 ± 1.45 totox value. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometric analysis clearly revealed the presence of nine different fatty acids. When the fish oil was applied to high-fat diet-induced obese mice, it showed significant reduction of body weight, Body Mass Index, and serum lipid profiles compared to the high-fat diet-induced obese mice. The levels of leptin and TNF-α were moderately reduced in fish oil treated high-fat diet-induced obese mice than control obese mice. In conclusion, the Tapra fish oil was enriched with essential fatty acids and it could be used as an antiobese food supplement. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Considering the adverse effects of drugs used for the treatment of obesity, there is always a need to find out the alternatives. While the anti-obesity potentialities of different sea fish oil have been documented, the same for the Tapra fish (Opisthopterus tardoore) oil has not been studied at all. The extracted Tapra fish oil was found good in quality. Administration of fish oil in the mice exhibited anti-obesity effect in terms of lowering body weight, Body Mass Index, and serum lipid profiles, leptin, and TNF-α in mice model. These findings are fostering new therapeutic approaches to obesity treatment.

TLR9 Polymorphisms Might Contribute to the Ethnicity Bias for EBV-Infected Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy in most parts of the world, but is endemic in some ethnic groups. The association of NPC with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is firmly established; however, the mechanism is still unclear. TLR9 is well known for its essential role in viral pathogen recognition and activation of innate immunity. Here, we report a set of TLR9 polymorphisms in the TIR-2 domain of the TLR9 protein collected from the EBV-infected NPC samples from northeast Indian populations sharing the aforesaid ethnicity. The occurrence of mutations is significantly high in these samples as we found a p value of <0.0001 at a significance level of 0.05. These might play an important role for the lack of function of TLR9 and thus for the higher occurrence of EBV-mediated NPC in such ethnic groups.

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EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in Mongoloids

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TLR9 is essential for virus recognition and immunity against cancers

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Polymorphisms are common in TLR9 protein in EBV-infected Mongoloids with NPC

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NPC susceptibility prediction by TLR9 mutation screening in people for prevention

Upregulation of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 in Microglia by Cinnamic Acid

BACKGROUND

Neuroinflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) is an anti-inflammatory molecule that suppresses cytokine signaling and inflammatory gene expression in different cells including microglia.

OBJECTIVE

The pathways through which SOCS3 could be upregulated are poorly described. Cinnamic acid is a metabolite of cinnamon, a natural compound that is being widely used all over the world as a spice or flavoring agent. Here, we examined if cinnamic acid could upregulate SOCS3 in microglia.

METHOD

Microglia and astroglia isolated from mouse brain as well as BV-2 microglial cells were treated with cinnamic acid followed by monitoring the level of SOCS3 and different proinflammatory molecules by RT-PCR and real-time PCR. To nail down the mechanism, we also performed ChIP analysis to monitore the recruitment of cAMP response element binding (CREB) to the socs3 gene promoter and carried out siRNA knockdown of CREB.

RESULTS

Cinnamic acid upregulated the expression of SOCS3 mRNA and protein in mouse BV-2 microglial cells in dose- and time-dependent manner. Accordingly, cinnamic acid also increased the level of SOCS3 and suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and proinflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1β and IL-6) in LPSstimulated BV-2 microglial cells. Similar to BV-2 microglial cells, cinnamic acid also increased the expression of SOCS3 in primary mouse microglia and astrocytes. We have seen that cAMP response element is present in the promoter of socs3 gene, that cinnamic acid induces the activation of CREB, that siRNA knockdown of CREB abrogates cinnamic acid-mediated upregulation of SOCS3, and that cinnamic acid treatment leads to the recruitment of CREB to the socs3 gene.

CONCLUSIONS

These studies suggest that cinnamic acid upregulates the expression of SOCS3 in glial cells via CREB pathway, which may be of importance in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders.

Aspirin up-regulates suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 in glial cells via PPARα

Neuroinflammation is being recognized as a hallmark of different neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) is an anti-inflammatory molecule, which is known to inhibit cytokine signaling and inflammatory gene expression in different cells. However, the pathways by which SOCS3 could be up-regulated in brain cells are poorly understood. Aspirin is a widely available pain reliever that is showing promise beyond its known pain-relieving capacity. This study underlines the importance of aspirin in upregulating SOCS3 in astrocytes and microglia. Aspirin increased the expression of Socs3 mRNA and protein in mouse astrocytes and BV-2 microglial cells in both a time- and dose-dependent manner. While investigating the mechanism, we found that Socs3 gene promoter harbors peroxisome proliferator response element and that aspirin up-regulated SOCS3 in astrocytes isolated from PPARβ (-/-), but not PPARα (-/-), mice. Accordingly, aspirin increased SOCS3 in vivo in the cortex of wild type and PPARβ (-/-), but not PPARα (-/-), mice. Similarly, aspirin treatment increased astroglial and microglial SOCS3 in the cortex of FAD5X, but not FAD5X/PPARα (-/-), mice. Finally, recruitment of PPARα by aspirin to the proximal, but not distal, peroxisome proliferator response element of the Socs3 promoter suggests that aspirin increases the transcription of Socs3 gene via PPARα. This study describes a novel property of aspirin in elevating SOCS3 in glial cells via PPARα and suggests that aspirin may be further considered for therapeutic application in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders.

Histocompatibility locus antigens regions contribute to the ethnicity bias of Epstein-Barr virus-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma in higher-incidence populations

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one the most confusing and rare malignancy in most part of the world with significantly high occurrence in some populations of Southeast Asia, North Africa and Alaska. Apart from the dietary and environmental factors, NPC is well-associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in these ethnic groups. However, the internal molecular mechanism(s) for such association in specific populations is not known till date. Polymorphisms in the genes of histocompatibility locus antigens (HLA) are reported in NPC, but association of any particular polymorphism with ethnicity is not established yet. Here, we report a set of HLA polymorphisms in EBV-infected NPC samples from Northeast Indian population. These polymorphisms might play an important role for the lack of proper immune function against EBV infection and thus, eventually, for NPC generation in endemic populations like those of Northeast India.

Upregulation of tripeptidyl-peptidase 1 by 3-hydroxy-(2,2)-dimethyl butyrate, a brain endogenous ligand of PPARα: Implications for late-infantile Batten disease therapy

The late-infantile Batten disease or late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (LINCL) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the Cln2 gene leading to deficiency of lysosomal enzyme tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1). At present, available options for this fatal disorder are enzyme replacement therapy and gene therapy, which are extensively invasive and expensive. Our study demonstrates that 3-hydroxy-(2,2)-dimethyl butyrate (HDMB), a brain endogenous molecule, is capable of stimulating TPP1 expression and activity in mouse primary astrocytes and a neuronal cell line. HDMB activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), which, by forming heterodimer with Retinoid X receptor-α (RXRα), transcriptionally upregulated the Cln2 gene. Moreover, by using primary astrocytes from wild type, PPARα-/- and PPARβ-/- mice, we demonstrated that HDMB specifically required PPARα for inducing TPP1 expression. Finally, oral administration of HDMB to Cln2 heterozygous (Cln2+/-) mice led to a marked upregulation of TPP1 expression in the motor cortex and striatum in a PPARα-dependent fashion. Our study suggests that HDMB, a brain endogenous ligand of PPARα, might have therapeutic importance for LINCL treatment.

Clinicopathological Profile of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) constitutes one of the most common malignancies in the world. The geographic location influences the etiologic factors and site of tumor. Aims and Objectives: The present study was carried out to illustrate the clinicopathologic profiles of HNSCC patients since data regarding these tumors from eastern region of India are scarce. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was undertaken for 2 years in which patients with histologically proven HNSCC were included. The clinicopathologic features of each case were analyzed. Results: A total of 108 cases were included in the study, among which 79 (73.15%) were male and 29 (26.85%) were female. Mean age of the patients was 53.21 (±12.17) years. The most common risk factor was smoking (63 cases, 58.33%) followed by tobacco or betel nut chewing (41 cases, 37.96%). The common patterns of presentation included ulcerated lesion (51 cases, 47.22%), whitish lesion (28 cases, 25.93%), and hoarseness of voice (11 cases, 10.19%). The most common sites involved were buccal mucosa (36 cases, 33.33%) and dorsal surface of the tongue (26 cases, 24.07%). The most common site for exophytic tumors was buccal mucosa (9 out of 23, 39.13%) and that for ulceroproliferative lesions was tongue (9 out of 17, 52.04%). Microscopically, well-differentiated (Grade I) tumors were most common (67 cases, 62.04%) followed by moderately differentiated (Grade II) tumors (38 cases, 35.19%). A statistically significant correlation was obtained between anatomic site and grade of the tumor. Conclusion: Patients of HNSCC from the eastern region of India have distinctive features with regard to macroscopic appearance and microscopic grade of their tumors.

Measurement of the Effective Weak Mixing Angle in pp[over ¯]→Z/γ^{*}→ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} Events

We present a measurement of the effective weak mixing angle parameter sin^{2}θ_{eff}^{ℓ} in pp[over ¯]→Z/γ^{*}→μ^{+}μ^{-} events at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider and corresponding to 8.6  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity. The measured value of sin^{2}θ_{eff}^{ℓ}[μμ]=0.23016±0.00064 is further combined with the result from the D0 measurement in pp[over ¯]→Z/γ^{*}→e^{+}e^{-} events, resulting in sin^{2}θ_{eff}^{ℓ}[comb]=0.23095±0.00040. This combined result is the most precise measurement from a single experiment at a hadron collider and is the most precise determination using the coupling of the Z/γ^{*} to light quarks.