Evidence for magnetic Weyl fermions in a correlated metal.

Weyl fermions have been observed as three-dimensional, gapless topological excitations in weakly correlated, inversion-symmetry-breaking semimetals. However, their realization in spontaneously time-reversal-symmetry-breaking phases of strongly correlated materials has so far remained hypothetical. Here, we report experimental evidence for magnetic Weyl fermions in Mn3Sn, a non-collinear antiferromagnet that exhibits a large anomalous Hall effect, even at room temperature. Detailed comparison between angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveals significant bandwidth renormalization and damping effects due to the strong correlation among Mn 3d electrons. Magnetotransport measurements provide strong evidence for the chiral anomaly of Weyl fermions-namely, the emergence of positive magnetoconductance only in the presence of parallel electric and magnetic fields. Since weak magnetic fields (approximately 10 mT) are adequate to control the distribution of Weyl points and the large fictitious fields (equivalent to approximately a few hundred T) produced by them in momentum space, our discovery lays the foundation for a new field of science and technology involving the magnetic Weyl excitations of strongly correlated electron systems such as Mn3Sn.

Variant morphology and arterial supply of diaphragmatic crura with probe patent foramen ovale.

Crura are the posterior pillars of the tendino-muscular partition between thoracic and abdominal cavity. This study highlights bilaterally an unfamiliar morphology of diaphragmatic crura with uncommon origin of inferior phrenic artery and accompanying atrial septal defect in a 63-years-old female cadaver with scoliosis. An attempt is made to portray the clinical implications of these variations. In addition authors have discussed the embryological and genetic basis of these variations. In the recent few decades, surgical correction of scoliosis involving intervention with the crura has gained pace. Knowledge about the normal as well as variant crural morphology is imperative for the surgeons to decide the correct approach during spinal corrective surgeries and for radiologist to prevent any diagnostic pitfall. Familiarity about the variant origin of inferior phrenic artery may prevent complications during treatment of pathological conditions related to inferior phrenic artery. Preoperative awareness about the coexisting atrial septal defect is vital for anesthesiologists promoting them to administer cardioprotective anesthetic drugs. To the best of our knowledge, description of such a combination of variations in anatomical literature is rare and scarcely reported. Awareness of these anatomical variations is relevant for operating surgeons, radiologists, anesthesiologists and anatomists.

A double-stranded probe coupled with isothermal amplification for qualitative and quantitative detection of avian reovirus.

We applied a probe-based real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Cy5-RTqLAMP) technique targeting the avian reovirus (ARV) S3 gene to develop a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for virus detection and quantification. This test specifically detected the presence of ARV, but not other viruses or bacteria present in clinical or artificially spiked samples, including Newcastle disease virus, infectious bursal disease virus, fowl adenovirus, Marek's disease virus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. This test can detect ARV in less than one hour with an analytical sensitivity of 10 viral gene copies and 1 fg of total cDNA. The Cy5-RTqLAMP does not yield false positive results and is 100 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. This test was shown to be able to detect the presence of ARV in clinical samples. A similar strategy may be used for detection of other important human and animal viral pathogens.

Lung cancer statistics in Luxembourg from 1981 to 2008.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world and in Luxembourg. As a part of "The health science initiative focused on personalized medicine", Luxembourg aims to participate by developing diagnostics to improve the detection and treatment of lung cancer. In line with this objective, this study made a review of evolution of lung cancer in Luxembourg from 1981 to 2008 and compared this statistics to the situation in the Nordic countries, Europe in general and the World. Incidence data of the national morphological tumour registry and mortality data of the service of statistics of the national ministry of health is depicted in charts with trend lines, in the framework of a statistical evaluation of relevant parameters. The data indicate that while male lung cancer incidence decreased in Luxembourg, the incidence in women and its mortality have doubled over the 28-year span considered. Notwithstanding this increase, the female lung cancer incidence and mortality remain low compared to the Nordic countries and Europe. Interestingly, the study also potentially suggests that the lung cancer pattern follows the smoking pattern in incidence and mortality.

Acceleration of cutaneous wound healing by Lucilia sericata maggots in diabetic Wistar rats.

The study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of maggot therapy in healing of cutaneous infected wound in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic Wistar rat. For live maggots, the sterilized eggs of Lucilia sericata were obtained from colonies established in laboratory. Diabetes model was established in 48 male Wister rat by intra-peritoneal injection of STZ at the dose of 60 mg/kg body-weight. Cutaneous wounds exposed with mixed colonies of bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were prepared in all rat. The animals equally divided in 4 groups with 12 rats each being presented as treatment group of control, antibiotic, maggot and maggot with antibiotic in combination. All treatments were done once and hold for 24 hours. Wound kinetics and bacterial bio burden were measured at weekly interval to till complete healing. Significant reduction in wound area with maximum contraction was found (>95%) in maggot treated group when compared to antibiotic treated (79%) and control (72%). In maggot as well as maggot and antibiotic in combination group showed early elimination of bacterial bio-burden 7.88±0.03log CFU/ml to 1.12±0.65log CFU/ml and 7.86±0.04) log CFU/ml to 1.54±0.52log CFU/ml respectively in three weeks of time. Early healing indication was also experienced on histomorphological examination of wounded tissue of maggot treated groups by early and better epithelialization, collagenation and neovascularization with complete healing of wound in three weeks in comparison to antibiotic and control respectively. However, the present study did not show any difference in healing of wound with use of maggot alone or in antibiotic combination. Live maggot of Lucilia sericata effectively lower bacterial bioburden and and accelerate healing of infected cutaneous wound in diabetic conditions.

Infrared spectroscopic study of the structural and functional properties of the Na(+)/H(+) antiporter MjNhaP1 from Methanococcus jannaschii.

In this study, structural, functional, and mechanistic properties of the Na(+)/H(+) antiporter MjNhaP1 from Methanococcus jannaschii were analyzed by infrared spectroscopic techniques. Na(+)/H(+) antiporters are generally responsible for the regulation of cytoplasmic pH and Na(+) concentration. MjNhaP1 is active in the pH range between pH 6 and pH 6.5; below and above it is inactive. The secondary structure analysis on the basis of ATR-IR spectra provides the first insights into the structural changes between inactive (pH 8) and active (pH 6) state of MjNhaP1. It results in decreased ordered structural elements with increasing the pH-value i.e. with inactivation of the protein. Analysis of temperature-dependent FTIR spectra indicates that MjNhaP1 in the active state exhibits a much higher unfolding temperature in the spectral region assigned to alpha-helical segments. In contrast, the temperature-induced structural changes for beta-sheet structure are similar for inactive and active state. Consequently, this structure element is not the part of the activation region of the protein. The surface accessibility of the protein was analyzed by following the extent of H/D exchange. Due to higher content of unordered structural elements a higher accessibility for amide protons is observed for the inactive as compared to the active state of MjNhaP1. Altogether, the results present the active state of MjNhaP1 as the state with ordered structural elements which exhibit high thermal stability and increased hydrophobicity.

A redox cycle within the cell cycle: ring in the old with the new.

In recent years, the intracellular oxidation-reduction (redox) state has gained increasing attention as a critical mediator of cell signaling, gene expression changes and proliferation. This review discusses the evidence for a redox cycle (i.e., fluctuation in the cellular redox state) regulating the cell cycle. The presence of redox-sensitive motifs (cysteine residues, metal co-factors in kinases and phosphatases) in several cell cycle regulatory proteins indicate periodic oscillations in intracellular redox state could play a central role in regulating progression from G0/G1 to S to G2 and M cell cycle phases. Fluctuations in the intracellular redox state during cell cycle progression could represent a fundamental mechanism linking oxidative metabolic processes to cell cycle regulatory processes. Proliferative disorders are central to a variety of human pathophysiological conditions thought to involve oxidative stress. Therefore, a more complete understanding of redox control of the cell cycle could provide a biochemical rationale for manipulating aberrant cell proliferation.

Therapeutic use of Lucilia sericata maggot in controlling bacterial bio-burden in Rat wound model.

Delayed wound healing due to extraneous bacterial contamination, antibacterial resistance and other associated factors are of great concern in dealing patients having chronically infected wound. Medicinal properties of certain maggots of Calliphoridae family are known for its effective wound debridement therapy. The objective of the study was to evaluate the wound healing potential of maggots of Lucilia sericata in an experimentally infected cutaneous wound model in Wistar rat. The study was carried out by using male Wistar rats (n=48) by creating excisional wounds and later contaminated with mixed population of gram positive and gram-negative bacteria. Animals were divided randomly in to four groups with 12 individuals each, being denominated as control, antibiotic treated, maggot treated, and antibiotic plus maggot combination treated group. Ten pre-sterilized maggots were applied per centimetre square wound bed for 24 hours. Different wound kinetics in L. sericata maggot treated wounds revealed significant reduction in wound area with maximum contraction, early elimination of bacterial bioburden as compared to group of infected control and group of rats receiving only antibiotic treatment. The histopathological examination of wounded tissue of maggot treated groups showed early and better epithelialization, collagenation and neovascularization with complete healing of wound in two weeks. The maggot effects on healing when used singly or in combination with antibiotic were recorded to be similar. The results of the present study clearly demonstrate that the maggots of L. sericata possesses a definite antibacterial action along with removal of dead tissues and effectively reduced the bacterial bio-burden in infected wound and induced wound healing quickly.

The cell cycle-coupled expression of topoisomerase IIalpha during S phase is regulated by mRNA stability and is disrupted by heat shock or ionizing radiation.

Topoisomerase II is a multifunctional protein required during DNA replication, chromosome disjunction at mitosis, and other DNA-related activities by virtue of its ability to alter DNA supercoiling. The enzyme is encoded by two similar but nonidentical genes: the topoisomerase IIalpha and IIbeta genes. In HeLa cells synchronized by mitotic shake-off, topoisomeraseII alpha mRNA levels were found to vary as a function of cell cycle position, being 15-fold higher in late S phase (14 to 18 h postmitosis) than during G1 phase. Also detected was a corresponding increase in topoisomerase IIalpha protein synthesis at 14 to 18 h postmitosis which resulted in significantly higher accumulation of the protein during S and G2 phases. Topoisomerase IIalpha expression was not dependent on DNA synthesis during S phase, which could be inhibited without effect on the timing or level of mRNA expression. Mechanistically, topoisomerase IIalpha expression appears to be coupled to cell cycle position mainly through associated changes in mRNA stability. When cells are in S phase and mRNA levels are maximal, the half-life of topoisomerase IIalpha mRNA was determined to be approximately 30 min. A similar decrease in mRNA stability was also induced by two external factors known to delay cell cycle progression. Treatment of S-phase cells, at the time of maximum topoisomerase IIalpha mRNA stability, with either ionizing radiation (5 Gy) or heat shock (45 degrees C for 15 min) caused the accumulated topoisomerase IIalpha mRNA to decay. This finding suggests a potential relationship between stress-induced decreases in topoisomerase IIalpha expression and cell cycle progression delays in late S/G2.

Recombinant 20.8-kDa protein of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis-based sero-diagnosis of paratuberculosis.

Johne's disease or paratuberculosis is a chronic infectious enteric disease of ruminants caused by the intracellular pathogen. The control of the Johne's disease is hampered by lack of specific diagnostic tests. In this study, we have cloned and expressed the N-terminal region of the locus tag Map 1637c encoding 20.8-kDa (r20.8) protein of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. The recombinant protein r20.8 was expressed in high levels in Escherichia coli. The protein r20.8 was purified by single-step chromatography using Ni-NTA agarose. The protein r20.8 was reacted with anti-r20.8 antibodies as well as cattle sera infected with Map on Western blot. ELISA using well-characterized sera (both positive and negative; n = 60 each) Map-infected and non-infected cattle, respectively, yielded a sensitivity of 73.3% and a specificity of 98.3%. The 20.8 kDa protein expressed in the present study will prove useful as reagent in diagnostic test.

Cellular immune responses to 35 kDa recombinant antigen of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis.

Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne disease, a chronic ulcerative intestinal condition in ruminant animals. Owing to the predominance of cellular response in subclinical forms of the infection, identification of M. a. paratuberculosis antigens eliciting host cell-mediated immune (CMI) reaction is crucial for early control of the disease. A 35 kDa protein of M. a. paratuberculosis was studied for its ability to elicit CMI responses using a mouse model. Lymphoproliferation and IFN-gamma response were used to measure the CMI response. Recombinant 35 kDa protein (P35) stimulated proliferation of mouse mononuclear splenocytes sensitized with M. a. paratuberculosis. The P35 elicited increased nitrite production from mononuclear splenocytes from M. a. paratuberculosis-sensitized mice. In addition, RT-PCR-based semiquantitative IFN-gamma measurement showed that stimulation with P35 is associated with significant expression of IFN-gamma mRNA in M. a. paratuberculosis-sensitized mouse splenocytes. The results indicate that the 35 kDa protein of M. a. paratuberculosis is associated with CMI response in the host.

Thioredoxin nuclear translocation and interaction with redox factor-1 activates the activator protein-1 transcription factor in response to ionizing radiation.

Thioredoxin (TRX) is a cytoplasmic, redox-sensitive signaling factor believed to participate in the regulation of nuclear transcription factors mediating cellular responses to environmental stress. Activation of the activator protein (AP)-1 transcription factor is thought to be mediated in part by redox-sensitive interactions between the nuclear signaling protein redox factor-1 (Ref-1) and TRX. In this study, the role of TRX and Ref-1 in the activation of the AP-1 complex was examined in HeLa and Jurkat cell lines exposed to ionizing radiation (IR). After exposure to IR, nuclear levels of immunoreactive TRX increased, accompanied by an increase in AP-1 DNA binding activity. It was shown that a physical interaction between Ref-1 and TRX occurs within the nucleus and is enhanced after exposure to IR. Furthermore, TRX immunoprecipitated from irradiated cells was capable of activating AP-1 DNA binding activity in nonirradiated nuclear extracts. In addition, immunodepletion of Ref-1 from nuclear extracts demonstrated that the increase in AP-1 DNA binding activity after IR was also dependent upon the presence of Ref-1 from irradiated cells. Finally, the ability of both TRX and Ref-1 from irradiated cells to stimulate AP-1 DNA binding in nonirradiated nuclear extracts was abolished by chemical oxidation and restored by chemical reduction. These results indicate that, in response to IR, TRX and Ref-1 undergo changes in redox state that contribute to the activation of AP-1 DNA binding activity. These experiments suggest that a redox-sensitive signaling pathway leading from TRX to Ref-1 to the AP-1 complex participates in the up-regulation of DNA binding activity in response to ionizing radiation.

Expression and purification of a gene encoding a 9.7 kDa PE protein of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) contains PE family antigens which are Proline and glutamic acid rich and may play important role as T-cell antigens. In the present study, the Map 1507 ORF encoding 9.7 kDa PE protein was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and cloned into E. coli vector pQE30 UA. The recombinant plasmid designated as pQ PE was transformed into E. coli M15 cells and induced with IPTG revealed the high level expression of 11.9 kDa His-fusion protein as estimated by migration in 15 % sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Recombinant PE protein was purified by Ni-NTA agarose chromatography. Polyclonal antibodies raised against purified recombinant PE protein reacted with expressed PE protein as well as with Map sonicate. The recombinant PE protein was also recognized by serum from goat with clinical paratuberculosis. The protein elicited significant delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin reaction in mice sensitized with Map. The results indicated that the recombinant PE protein of Map was associated with T-cell response.

Interplanar coupling-dependent magnetoresistivity in high-purity layered metals.

The magnetic field-induced changes in the conductivity of metals are the subject of intense interest, both for revealing new phenomena and as a valuable tool for determining their Fermi surface. Here we report a hitherto unobserved magnetoresistive effect in ultra-clean layered metals, namely a negative longitudinal magnetoresistance that is capable of overcoming their very pronounced orbital one. This effect is correlated with the interlayer coupling disappearing for fields applied along the so-called Yamaji angles where the interlayer coupling vanishes. Therefore, it is intrinsically associated with the Fermi points in the field-induced quasi-one-dimensional electronic dispersion, implying that it results from the axial anomaly among these Fermi points. In its original formulation, the anomaly is predicted to violate separate number conservation laws for left- and right-handed chiral (for example, Weyl) fermions. Its observation in PdCoO2, PtCoO2 and Sr2RuO4 suggests that the anomaly affects the transport of clean conductors, in particular near the quantum limit.

Characterization and expression of the mouse Hsc70 gene.

A genomic clone encoding the mouse Hsc70 gene has been isolated and characterized by DNA sequence analysis. The gene is approximately 3. 9 kb in length and contains eight introns, the fifth, sixth and eighth of which encode the three U14 snoRNAs. The gene has been located on Chr 9 in the order Fli1-Itm1-Olfr7-Hsc70(Rnu14)-Cbl by genetic analysis. Expression of Hsc70 is universal in all tissues of the mouse, but is slightly elevated in liver, skeletal muscle and kidney tissue, while being depressed in testes. In cultured mouse NIH 3T3 cells or human HeLa cells, Hsc70 mRNA levels are low under normal conditions, but can be induced 8-fold higher in both lines by treatment with the amino acid analog azetidine. A similar induction is seen in cells treated with the proteosome inhibitor MG132 suggesting that elevated Hsc70 expression may be coupled to protein degradation. Surprisingly, expression of the human Hsc70 gene is also regulated by cell-cycle position being 8-10-fold higher in late G1/S-phase cells as opposed to the levels in early G1-phase cells.

31p nuclear relaxation studies of para- and diamagnetic cobalamins in their two isomeric forms.

A new, naturally occurring isomeric form of vitamin B-12 was reported by us earlier (Katada, M., Tyagi, S., Nath, A., Petersen, R.L. and Gupta, R.K. (1979) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 584, 149-163). The Mössbauer parameters of various derivatives of vitamin B-12, including the one-electron reduced species, cob(II)-alamin (vitamin B-12r), exhibit differences for the two isomeric forms. This and some other observations from our laboratory indicated that the new form (vitamin B-12') presumably constitutes a conformational isomer possessing a different puckering of the corrin ring. The 31P nuclear relaxation studies of vitamins B-12r and B-12'r, B-12 and B-12', and dicyanocobalamin as compared to dicyanocobalamin' reported here are consistent with our earlier conjecture. The relaxation of the 31P nucleus in cob(II)alamins is primarily due to its dipolar interaction with the paramagnetic cobalt and therefore the measurement of the 31P nuclear relaxation times (T1) in the two isomeric forms permits us to calculate Co(II)-31P distances. The Co(II)-31P distance in vitamin B-12'r is found to be larger than that in vitamin B-12r. The 31P T1 value in the diamagnetic cob(III)-alamins is determined predominantly by its dipolar interaction with the two closest protons flanking the phosphate group, one being situated on the ribose moiety and the other on the amino propanol group. The nuclear relaxation times T1 of cyanocobalamin and dicyanocobalamin differ from ;those of their corresponding conformational isomers. The observed differences in 31P relaxation rates of the para- and diamagnetic cobalamins in their two isomeric forms can be understood on the basis of structural changes arising from variations in the nature of puckering of the corrin ring. The 31P chemical shifts in the two isomers remain essentially unchanged, indicating that the structural differences in the isomeric forms do not alter the electronic environment of the phosphorus nucleus.

The human Hsp70B gene at the HSPA7 locus of chromosome 1 is transcribed but non-functional.

The human heat-inducible Hsp70B and Hsp70B' genes were co-localized to 1q23.1 by in situ hybridization. However, though transcripts from Hsp70B could be detected in heat-shocked cells, DNA sequence analyses of both the gene and cDNA copies of the mRNA indicate the gene is non-functional. Moreover, mouse homologues of Hsp70B/B' were not detected by Southern blot analysis, suggesting Hsp70B/B' arose from either Hsp70-1or Hsp70-2 after the divergence of mice and humans.

[Increased manganese superoxide dismutase and cyclin B1 expression in carnosine-induced inhibition of glioblastoma cell proliferation].

Carnosine is an endogenous dipeptide with antiproliferative properties. Here we show that carnosine selectively inhibits proliferation of human glioblastoma cells (U-118-MG) compared to breast (MB231) and oral (Cal27 and FaDu) cancer cells. Carnosine-induced inhibition of U-118-MG proliferation is associated with a significant: decrease in cellular reactive oxygen species levels, increase in manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and increase in cyclin B1 expression resulting in G2-block. We conclude that the antiproliferative property of carnosine is due to its ability to enhance MnSOD and cyclin B1 expression. These results will be of significance to the potential application of carnosine in brain cancer therapy.

Incidence of Haemoproteus columbae in pigeons of Jammu district.

Haemoproteus columbae is the major protozoan infection reported in pigeon and appeared in the erythrocyte of the peripheral circulation. Incidence and parasitaemia of H. columbae in pigeon was studied in different localities of Jammu, India for a period from April to September 2010 using thin blood smear examination. Of the 150 pigeons (wild: 70, domestic: 80), 92 (61.33 %) were found to be infected with H. columbae. Domestic pigeon showed higher incidence rate (74.28 %) than the wild (50 %). Mature and immature gametocyte encircled the erythrocyte nucleus to form a halter shaped appearance were characteristic feature of the parasite. Pseudolynchia canariensis, the vector for H. columbae was also recovered from beneath the feathers of pigeons. No other haemoprotozoan parasite was observed in the blood smear of examined pigeon. Counting of infected erythrocyte revealed higher affection of 1-2 erythrocytes indicative of milder infection in the birds. A long term study within bird population is essential in order to disclose seasonal variation in parasite, vector density and age of infection such as nesting area.