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A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model in final states with two opposite-sign same-flavor leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeV collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2012. The analysis focuses on searches for a kinematic edge in the invariant mass distribution of the opposite-sign same-flavor lepton pair and for final states with an on-shell Z boson. The observations are consistent with expectations from standard model processes and are interpreted in terms of upper limits on the production of supersymmetric particles.

The medical research and training enterprise in the United States is complex in both its scope and implementation. Accordingly, adaptations to the associated workforce needs present particular challenges. This is particularly true for maintaining or expanding national needs for physician-scientists where training resource requirements and competitive transitional milestones are substantial. For the individual, these phenomena can produce financial burden, prolong the career trajectory, and significantly influence career pathways. Hence, when national data suggest that future medical research needs in a scientific area may be met in a less than optimal manner, strategies to expand research and training capacity must follow. This article defines such an exigency for research and training in nonneoplastic hematology and presents potential strategies for addressing these critical workforce needs. The considerations presented herein reflect a summary of the discussions presented at 2 workshops cosponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the American Society of Hematology.

Dimuon and dielectron mass spectra, obtained from data resulting from protonproton collisions at 8TeV and recorded by the CMS experiment, are used to search for both narrow resonances and broad deviations from standard model predictions. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.6 (19.7) fb(-1) for the dimuon (dielectron) channel. No evidence for non-standard-model physics is observed and 95% confidence level limits are set on parameters from a number of new physics models. The narrow resonance analyses exclude a Sequential Standard Model Z(SSM)' resonance lighter than 2.90TeV, a superstring-inspired Z(psi)' lighter than 2.57TeV, and Randall-Sundrum Kaluza-Klein gravitons with masses below 2.73, 2.35, and 1.27TeV for couplings of 0.10, 0.05, and 0.01, respectively. A notable feature is that the limits have been calculated in a model-independent way to enable straightforward reinterpretation in any model predicting a resonance structure. The observed events are also interpreted within the framework of two non-resonant analyses: one based on a large extra dimensions model and one based on a quark and lepton compositeness model with a left-left isoscalar contact interaction. Lower limits are established on M-S, the scale characterizing the onset of quantum gravity, which range from 4.9 to 3.3TeV, where the number of additional spatial dimensions varies from 3 to 7. Similarly, lower limits on Lambda, the energy scale parameter for the contact interaction, are found to be 12.0 (15.2) TeV for destructive (constructive) interference in the dimuon channel and 13.5 (18.3) TeV in the dielectron channel.

Chronic restraint stress alters hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory in a sex-dependent manner, impairing spatial performance in male rats and leaving intact or facilitating performance in female rats. Moreover, these stress-induced spatial memory deficits improve following post-stress recovery in males. The current study examined whether restraint administered in an unpredictable manner would eliminate these sex differences and impact a post-stress period on spatial ability and limbic glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD(65)) expression. Male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) adult Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to non-stressed control (Con), chronic stress (Str-Imm), or chronic stress given a post-stress recovery period (Str-Rec). Stressed rats were unpredictably restrained for 21 days using daily non-repeated combinations of physical context, duration, and time of day. Then, all rats were tested on the radial arm water maze (RAWM) for 2 days and given one retention trial on the third day, with brains removed 30 min later to assess GAD(65) mRNA. In Str-Imm males, deficits occurred on day 1 of RAWM acquisition, an impairment that was not evident in the Str-Rec group. In contrast, females did not show significant outcomes following chronic stress or post-stress recovery. In males, amygdalar GAD(65) expression negatively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. In females, hippocampal CA1 GAD(65) positively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. These results demonstrate that GABAergic function may contribute to the sex differences observed following chronic stress. Furthermore, unpredictable restraint and a-recovery period failed to eliminate the sex differences on spatial learning and memory. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variability is a prominent feature of behavior and is an active element of certain behavioral strategies. To understand how neuronal circuits control variability, we examined the propagation of sensory information in a chemotaxis circuit of C. elegans where discrete sensory inputs can drive a probabilistic behavioral response. Olfactory neurons respond to odor stimuli with rapid and reliable changes in activity, but downstream AIB interneurons respond with a probabilistic delay. The interneuron response to odor depends on the collective activity of multiple neurons-AIB, RIM, and AVA-when the odor stimulus arrives. Certain activity states of the network correlate with reliable responses to odor stimuli. Artificially generating these activity states by modifying neuronal activity increases the reliability of odor responses in interneurons and the reliability of the behavioral response to odor. The integration of sensory information with network states may represent a general mechanism for generating variability in behavior.

The development and function of B lymphocytes is regulated by numerous signaling pathways, some emanating from the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR). The spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) plays a central role in the activation of the BCR, but less is known about its contribution to the survival and maintenance of mature B cells. We generated mice with an inducible and B-cell-specific deletion of the Syk gene and found that a considerable fraction of mature Syk-negative B cells can survive in the periphery for an extended time. Syk-negative B cells are defective in BCR, RP105 and CD38 signaling but still respond to an IL-4, anti-CD40, CpG or LPS stimulus. Our in vivo experiments show that Syk-deficient B cells require BAFF receptor and CD19/PI3K signaling for their long-term survival. These studies also shed a new light on the signals regulating the maintenance of the normal mature murine B-cell pool.

IntroductionLittle information is available regarding the sensory nerve endings within the glabrous skin of the external female genitalia. The diversity of possible sensations suggests a variety of receptor types. Comprehensive knowledge of the sensory stimuli, including stimulus position, changes in temperature, pressure and pain, is critical for addressing pain and sexual function disorders clinically. The aim of this neuro-histological study is document the presence and characteristics of cutaneous sensory receptors in female genital tissue. Materials and MethodsLabial skin samples were obtained from ten normal girls (aged 1-9 years). The specimens were waste tissue obtained during surgical intervention. They were all obtained by the senior investigator, a pediatric urologist, after the parent or legal guardian had given informed consent. The specimens were stained by Cajal-type silver impregnation and by immunocytochemistry against protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 and neuron-specific enolase (NSE). ResultsPGP 9.5 was the most sensitive neural marker for identifying cutaneous sensory receptors. Free nerve endings (FNEs) in the papillary dermis appeared as thin fibers, varicose, branched or single processed, straight or bent. In the labia minora, FNEs were identified in the strata basale, spinosum and granulosum of the epidermis. Non-capsulated (Meissner-like) corpuscles in the dermal papillae interdigitated with epidermal ridges of the skin. Capsulated corpuscles protruded from the deep dermis into the epidermis. Encapsulated corpuscles and cells located in the inner and outer cores were strongly positive for PGP 9.5. ConclusionsFNEs, Meissner's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles are present in the female labia minora and exhibit characteristic staining patterns. Clin. Anat. 28:392-398, 2015. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Drawing upon the American Pragmatic tradition in philosophy and the more recent work of philosopher Karen Barad, this paper examines how scientific problems are both obscured, and resolved by our use of language describing the natural world. Using the example of the immune response engendered by neural implants inserted in the brain, the author explains how this discourse has been altered by the advent of nanotechnology methods and devices which offer putative remedies that might temper the immune response in the central nervous system. This emergent nanotechnology has altered this problem space and catalyzed one scientific community to acknowledge a material reality that was always present, if not fully acknowledged.

Background: Immunoglobulin class-switch recombination defects (CSR-D) are rare primary immunodeficiencies characterized by impaired production of switched immunoglobulin isotypes and normal or elevated IgM levels. They are caused by impaired T:B cooperation or intrinsic B cell defects. However, many immunoglobulin CSR-Ds are still undefined at the molecular level. Objective: This study's objective was to delineate new causes of immunoglobulin CSR-Ds and thus gain further insights into the process of immunoglobulin class-switch recombination (CSR). Methods: Exome sequencing in 2 immunoglobulin CSR-D patients identified variations in the INO80 gene. Functional experiments were performed to assess the function of INO80 on immunoglobulin CSR. Results: We identified recessive, nonsynonymous coding variations in the INO80 gene in 2 patients affected by defective immunoglobulin CSR. Expression of wild-type INO80 in patients' fibroblastic cells corrected their hypersensitivity to high doses of gamma-irradiation. In murine CH12-F3 cells, the INO80 complex accumulates at Sa and Em regions of the IgH locus, and downregulation of INO80 as well as its partners Reptin and Pontin impaired CSR. In addition, Reptin and Pontin were shown to interact with activation-induced cytidine deaminase. Finally, an abnormal separation of sister chromatids was observed upon INO80 downregulation in CH12-F3 cells, pinpointing its role in cohesin activity. Conclusion: INO80 deficiency appears to be associated with defective immunoglobulin CSR. We propose that the INO80 complex modulates cohesin function that may be required during immunoglobulin switch region synapsis.

Since their discovery more than two decades ago, animal long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of many biological processes. Recently, a large number of lncRNAs have also been identified in higher plants, and here, we review their identification, classification and known regulatory functions in various developmental events and stress responses. Knowledge gained from a deeper understanding of this special group of noncoding RNAs may lead to biotechnological improvement of crops. Some possible examples in this direction are discussed.