Alpha backgrounds in the AMoRE-Pilot experiment Alenkov, V.; Bae, H. W.; Beyer, J. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
12/2022, Volume:
82, Issue:
12
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment (AMoRE)-Pilot experiment is an initial phase of the AMoRE search for neutrinoless double beta decay of
100
Mo, with the purpose of investigating the ...level and sources of backgrounds. Searches for neutrinoless double beta decay generally require ultimately low backgrounds. Surface
α
decays on the crystals themselves or nearby materials can deposit a continuum of energies that can be as high as the
Q
-value of the decay itself and may fall in the region of interest (ROI). To understand these background events, we studied backgrounds from radioactive contaminations internal to and on the surface of the crystals or nearby materials with Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations. In this study, we report on the measured
α
energy spectra fitted with the corresponding simulated spectra for six crystal detectors, where sources of background contributions could be identified through high energy
α
peaks and continuum parts in the energy spectrum for both internal and surface contaminations. We determine the low-energy contributions from internal and surface
α
contaminations by extrapolating from the
α
background fitting model.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present a comprehensive study of the nonproportionality of NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors within the context of dark matter search experiments. Our investigation, which integrates COSINE-100 data ...with supplementary
γ
spectroscopy, measures light yields across diverse energy levels from full-energy
γ
peaks produced by the decays of various isotopes. These
γ
peaks of interest were produced by decays supported by both long and short-lived isotopes. Analyzing peaks from decays supported only by short-lived isotopes presented a unique challenge due to their limited statistics and overlapping energies, which was overcome by long-term data collection and a time-dependent analysis. A key achievement is the direct measurement of the 0.87 keV light yield, resulting from the cascade following electron capture decay of
22
Na
from internal contamination. This measurement, previously accessible only indirectly, deepens our understanding of NaI(Tl) scintillator behavior in the region of interest for dark matter searches. This study holds substantial implications for background modeling and the interpretation of dark matter signals in NaI(Tl) experiments.
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Osmotic stress, caused by drought, salinity, or PEG (polyethylene glycol), is one of the most important abiotic factors that hinder plant growth and development. In Arabidopsis, more than 100 ...R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs) have been identified, and many of them are involved in the transcriptional regulation of a variety of biological processes related to growth and development, as well as responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the MYB TF involving in both plant development and stress response has rarely been reported. We report here that Arabidopsis AtMYB109, a R2R3-MYB TF, functions as a negative regulator of stomatal closure under osmotic stress as well as of pollen tube elongation. Under PEG-induced osmotic stress, whole leaves of AtMYB109-OXs were intensely wilted, while leaves of the wild-type (WT) and myb109 were weakly affected. Moreover, we confirmed that the wilting in AtMYB109-OXs was more severe than in WT and myb109 under drought conditions, and that after re-watering, WT and myb109 plants promptly recovered, while AtMYB109-OXs failed to survive. In addition, stomatal closure was delayed in the AtMYB109-OXs compared to the WT and myb109. However, proline content and the expression of stress-induced and proline synthesis genes were higher in the overexpression lines than in WT and myb109. Then, we observed that the expression of ICS1, a key gene in SA biosynthesis, was greatly suppressed in AtMYB109-OXs. In addition, we found that AtMYB109 expression gradually increased until the flowers were fully opened and thereafter dramatically decreased during silique development. The pollen tube growth was significantly suppressed in AtMYB109-OXs compared to the WT and myb109. Using EMSA and ChIP-qPCR, we confirmed that AtMYB109 bound to the promoter of RABA4D, a gene encoding a pollen development regulator. Taken together, we suggest the delayed stomatal closing and vulnerable phenotypes in the AtMYB109-OXs under osmotic stress are possibly directly or indirectly associated with a SA-mediated mechanism, and that AtMYB109 suppresses RABA4D that modulates pollen tube growth.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
16.
Congenital hearing loss Korver, Anna M H; Smith, Richard J H; Van Camp, Guy ...
Nature reviews. Disease primers,
01/2017, Volume:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Congenital hearing loss (hearing loss that is present at birth) is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in children. In the majority of developed countries, neonatal hearing screening ...programmes enable early detection; early intervention will prevent delays in speech and language development and has long-lasting beneficial effects on social and emotional development and quality of life. A diagnosis of hearing loss is usually followed by a search for an underlying aetiology. Congenital hearing loss might be attributed to environmental and prenatal factors, which prevail in low-income settings; congenital infections, particularly cytomegalovirus infection, are also a common risk factor for hearing loss. Genetic causes probably account for the majority of cases in developed countries; mutations can affect any component of the hearing pathway, in particular, inner ear homeostasis (endolymph production and maintenance) and mechano-electrical transduction (the conversion of a mechanical stimulus into electrochemical activity). Once the underlying cause of hearing loss is established, it might direct therapeutic decision making and guide prevention and (genetic) counselling. Management options include specific antimicrobial therapies, surgical treatment of craniofacial abnormalities and implantable or non-implantable hearing devices. An improved understanding of the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms that underlie hearing loss and increased awareness of recent advances in genetic testing will promote the development of new treatment and screening strategies.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Synthetic genetic circuits offer the potential to wield computational control over biology, but their complexity is limited by the accuracy of mathematical models. Here, we present advances that ...enable the complete encoding of an electronic chip in the DNA carried by Escherichia coli (E. coli). The chip is a binary‐coded digit (BCD) to 7‐segment decoder, associated with clocks and calculators, to turn on segments to visualize 0–9. Design automation is used to build seven strains, each of which contains a circuit with up to 12 repressors and two activators (totaling 63 regulators and 76,000 bp DNA). The inputs to each circuit represent the digit to be displayed (encoded in binary by four molecules), and output is the segment state, reported as fluorescence. Implementation requires an advanced gate model that captures dynamics, promoter interference, and a measure of total power usage (RNAP flux). This project is an exemplar of design automation pushing engineering beyond that achievable “by hand”, essential for realizing the potential of biology.
Synopsis
A complete electronic chip is encoded in Escherichia coli DNA by combining genetic circuit design automation (Cello) with more accurate mathematical models and gates with reduced impact on the host cell. The circuits encode a function used by calculators to turn on segments and display the digits 0–9.
A new gate model captures the impact of placing repressible promoters in series and this is used to more accurately predict how to connect NOR gates.
A simple mathematical model is introduced that captures the dynamics of gates using only two parameters that describe the characteristic on and off times for the gate.
The dynamic model is able to predict the circuit response over 4 days when cells are transitioned between states.
When resource utilization crosses a threshold, the circuits are rapidly lost from the cells.
A complete electronic chip is encoded in Escherichia coli DNA by combining genetic circuit design automation (Cello) with more accurate mathematical models and gates with reduced impact on the host cell. The circuits encode a function used by calculators to turn on segments and display the digits 0–9.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The visceral adiposity index (VAI) and lipid accumulation product (LAP) are useful for assessing visceral obesity. However, these indices were developed for Caucasians, and it is necessary to confirm ...whether the VAI and LAP are appropriate indicators for identifying obesity phenotypes in Asians. This study investigated whether the VAI and LAP are effective indicators for diagnosing four obesity phenotypes in South Korean adults.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 23,310 adult participants (age ≥20 years) who had undergone a health checkup at a general hospital in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea from January 2017 to December 2020. VAI and LAP were calculated based on the presented mathematical model according to sex. According to the metabolic health status and presence or absence of obesity, the obesity phenotypes were classified into 4 groups: metabolically healthy non-obese (N=14,240, 61.1%), metabolically unhealthy non-obese (N=477, 2.0%), metabolically healthy obese (MHO; N=6796, 29.2%), and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO; N=1797, 7.7%).
The receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed VAI best predicted MUO among the four obesity phenotypes, whereas the LAP showed excellent discriminating ability for the MUO group (area under the curve 0.877, 0.849, and 0.921 and 0.923, 0.907, and 0.954 for all participants, men, and women, respectively). The optimal VAI cutoff values for identifying the MUO group were 1.83 in men and 1.58 in women, and the optimal cutoff values for the LAP were 41.45 in men and 23.83 in women, with a higher value for men. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the VAI and LAP were associated with an increased risk in the MHO and MUO groups among the obesity phenotypes in both sexes.
In South Korean adults, the VAI and LAP are closely related to the MUO phenotype in both sexes and are effective indices for predicting the MUO phenotype.
Women are at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a traumatic event. Recent studies suggest that this may be mediated, in part, by circulating estrogen levels. ...This study evaluated the hypothesis that individual variation in response to estrogen levels contributes to fear regulation and PTSD risk in women. We evaluated DNA methylation from blood of female participants in the Grady Trauma Project and found that serum estradiol levels associates with DNA methylation across the genome. For genes expressed in blood, we examined the association between each CpG site and PTSD diagnosis using linear models that adjusted for cell proportions and age. After multiple test correction, PTSD associated with methylation of CpG sites in the HDAC4 gene, which encodes histone deacetylase 4, and is involved in long-term memory formation and behavior. DNA methylation of HDAC4 CpG sites were tagged by a nearby single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs7570903), which also associated with HDAC4 expression, fear-potentiated startle and resting-state functional connectivity of the amygdala in traumatized humans. Using auditory Pavlovian fear conditioning in a rodent model, we examined the regulation of Hdac4 in the amygdala of ovariectomized (OVX) female mice. Hdac4 messenger RNA levels were higher in the amygdala 2 h after tone-shock presentations, compared with OVX-homecage control females. In naturally cycling females, tone-shock presentations increased Hdac4 expression relative to homecage controls for metestrous (low estrogen) but not the proestrous (high estrogen) group. Together, these results support an estrogenic influence of HDAC4 regulation and expression that may contribute to PTSD in women.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We present a background model for dark matter searches using an array of NaI(Tl) crystals in the COSINE-100 experiment that is located in the Yangyang underground laboratory. The model includes ...background contributions from both internal and external sources, including cosmogenic radionuclides and surface
210
Pb contamination. To build the model in the low energy region, with a threshold of 1 keV, we used a depth profile of
210
Pb contamination in the surface of the NaI(Tl) crystals determined in a comparison between measured and simulated spectra. We also considered the effect of the energy scale errors propagated from the statistical uncertainties and the nonlinear detector response at low energies. The 1.7 years COSINE-100 data taken between October 21, 2016 and July 18, 2018 were used for this analysis. Our Monte Carlo simulation provides a non-Gaussian peak around 50 keV originating from beta decays of bulk
210
Pb in a good agreement with the measured background. This model estimates that the activities of bulk
210
Pb and
3
H are dominating the background rate that amounts to an average level of
2.85
±
0.15
counts/day/keV/kg in the energy region of (1–6) keV, using COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg
·
years.
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