QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

The insulin polymorphism -23Hph increases the risk for type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Romanian population

The insulin -23Hph and IGF2 Apa polymorphisms were genotyped in Romanian patients with T1DM (n = 204), T2DM (n = 215) or obesity (n = 200) and normoponderal healthy subjects (n = 750). The genotypes of both polymorphisms were distributed in concordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all groups. The -23Hph AA genotype increased the risk for T1DM (OR: 3.22, 95%CI: 2.09-4.98, p < 0,0001), especially in patients without macroalbuminuria (OR: 4.32, 95%CI: 2.54-7.45, p < 0,0001). No other significant association between the alleles or genotypes of insulin -23Hph and IGF2 Apa and diabetes or obesity was identified

Smoking, Green Tea Consumption, Genetic Polymorphisms in the Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Lung Cancer Risk

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are mediators of growth hormones; they have an influence on cell proliferation and differentiation. In addition, IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 could suppress the mitogenic action of IGFs. Interestingly, tea polyphenols could substantially reduce IGF1 and increase IGFBP3. In this study, we evaluated the effects of smoking, green tea consumption, as well as IGF1, IGF2, and IGFBP3 polymorphisms, on lung cancer risk. Questionnaires were administered to obtain the subjects' characteristics, including smoking habits and green tea consumption from 170 primary lung cancer cases and 340 healthy controls. Genotypes for IGF1, IGF2, and IGFBP3 were identified by polymerase chain reaction. Lung cancer cases had a higher proportion of smoking, green tea consumption of less than one cup per day, exposure to cooking fumes, and family history of lung cancer than controls. After adjusting the confounding effect, an elevated risk was observed in smokers who never drank green tea, as compared to smokers who drank green tea more than one cup per day (odds ratio (OR) = 13.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.96–58.51). Interaction between smoking and green tea consumption on lung cancer risk was also observed. Among green tea drinkers who drank more than one cup per day, IGF1 (CA)19/(CA)19 and (CA)19/X genotypes carriers had a significantly reduced risk of lung cancer (OR = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.01–0.44) compared with IGF1 X/X carriers. Smoking-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis could be modulated by green tea consumption and their growth factor environment

A survey of canine tick-borne diseases in India

Background: There are few published reports on canine Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Hepatozoon and haemotropic Mycoplasma infections in India and most describe clinical disease in individual dogs, diagnosed by morphological observation of the microorganisms in stained blood smears. This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of canine tick-borne disease (TBD) pathogens using a combination of conventional and molecular diagnostic techniques in four cities in India. Results: On microscopy examination, only Hepatozoon gamonts were observed in twelve out of 525 (2.3%; 95% CI: 1.2, 4) blood smears. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a total of 261 from 525 dogs (49.7%; 95% CI: 45.4, 54.1) in this study were infected with one or more canine tick-borne pathogen. Hepatozoon canis (30%; 95% CI: 26.0, 34.0) was the most common TBD pathogen found infecting dogs in India followed by Ehrlichia canis (20.6%; 95% CI: 17.2, 24.3), Mycoplasma haemocanis (12.2%; 95% CI: 9.5, 15.3), Anaplasma platys (6.5%; 95% CI: 4.5, 8.9), Babesia vogeli (5.5%, 95% CI: 3.7, 7.8) and Babesia gibsoni (0.2%, 95% CI: 0.01, 1.06). Concurrent infection with more than one TBD pathogen occurred in 39% of cases. Potential tick vectors, Rhipicephalus (most commonly) and/or Haemaphysalis ticks were found on 278 (53%) of dogs examined. Conclusions: At least 6 species of canine tick-borne pathogens are present in India. Hepatozoon canis was the most common pathogen and ticks belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus were encountered most frequently. Polymerase chain reaction was more sensitive in detecting circulating pathogens compared with peripheral blood smear examination. As co-infections with canine TBD pathogens were common, Indian veterinary practitioners should be cognisant that the discovery of one such pathogen raises the potential for multiple infections which may warrant different clinical management strategies

Catalytic C(sp3)-H bond activation in tertiary alkylamines.

The development of robust catalytic methods to assemble tertiary alkylamines provides a continual challenge to chemical synthesis. In this regard, transformation of a traditionally unreactive C-H bond, proximal to the nitrogen atom, into a versatile chemical entity would be a powerful strategy for introducing functional complexity to tertiary alkylamines. A practical and selective metal-catalysed C(sp3)-H activation facilitated by the tertiary alkylamine functionality, however, remains an unsolved problem. Here, we report a Pd(II)-catalysed protocol that appends arene feedstocks to tertiary alkylamines via C(sp3)-H functionalization. A simple ligand for Pd(II) orchestrates the C-H activation step in favour of deleterious pathways. The reaction can use both simple and complex starting materials to produce a range of multifaceted γ-aryl tertiary alkylamines and can be rendered enantioselective. The enabling features of this transformation should be attractive to practitioners of synthetic and medicinal chemistry as well as in other areas that use biologically active alkylamines

Prenatal Famine and Genetic Variation Are Independently and Additively Associated with DNA Methylation at Regulatory Loci within IGF2/H19

Both the early environment and genetic variation may affect DNA methylation, which is one of the major molecular marks of the epigenome. The combined effect of these factors on a well-defined locus has not been studied to date. We evaluated the association of periconceptional exposure to the Dutch Famine of 1944–45, as an example of an early environmental exposure, and single nucleotide polymorphisms covering the genetic variation (tagging SNPs) with DNA methylation at the imprinted IGF2/H19 region, a model for an epigenetically regulated genomic region. DNA methylation was measured at five differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that regulate the imprinted status of the IGF2/H19 region. Small but consistent differences in DNA methylation were observed comparing 60 individuals with periconceptional famine exposure with unexposed same-sex siblings at all IGF2 DMRs (PBH<0.05 after adjustment for multiple testing), but not at the H19 DMR. IGF2 DMR0 methylation was associated with IGF2 SNP rs2239681 (PBH = 0.027) and INS promoter methylation with INS SNPs, including rs689, which tags the INS VNTR, suggesting a mechanism for the reported effect of the VNTR on INS expression (PBH = 3.4×10−3). Prenatal famine and genetic variation showed similar associations with IGF2/H19 methylation and their contributions were additive. They were small in absolute terms (<3%), but on average 0.5 standard deviations relative to the variation in the population. Our analyses suggest that environmental and genetic factors could have independent and additive similarly sized effects on DNA methylation at the same regulatory site