Period- and mirror-maps for the quartic K3

We study in detail mirror symmetry for the quartic K3 surface in P3 and the mirror family obtained by the orbifold construction. As explained by Aspinwall and Morrison, mirror symmetry for K3 surfaces can be entirely described in terms of Hodge structures. (1) We give an explicit computation of the Hodge structures and period maps for these families of K3 surfaces. (2) We identify a mirror map, i.e. an isomorphism between the complex and symplectic deformation parameters, and explicit isomorphisms between the Hodge structures at these points. (3) We show compatibility of our mirror map with the one defined by Morrison near the point of maximal unipotent monodromy. Our results rely on earlier work by Narumiyah-Shiga, Dolgachev and Nagura-Sugiyama.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figure

Anisakis pegreffii impacts differentiation and function of human dendritic cells

Human dendritic cells (DCs) show remarkably phenotypic changes when matured in presence of helminth-derived products. These modifications frequently elicited a polarization towards Th2 cells and regulatory T cells thus contributing to immunological tolerance against these pathogens. In this study, the interaction between DCs and larvae of the zoonotic anisakid nematode Anisakis pegreffii was investigated. A. pegreffii larvae were collected from fish hosts and monocyte derived DCs were co-cultured in the presence of the live larvae (L) or its crude extracts (CE). In both experimental conditions A. pegreffii impacted DC viability, hampered DC maturation by reducing the expression of molecules involved in antigen presentation and migration (i.e. HLA-DR, CD86, CD83 and CCR7), increased the phagosomal ROS levels and modulated the phosphorylation of ERK1,2 pathway. These biological changes were accompanied by the impairment of DCs to activate a T cell mediated IFN. Interestingly, live larva appeared to differently modulate DC secretion of cytokines and chemokines as compared to CE. These results demonstrate for the first time the immunomodulatory role of A. pegreffi on DCs biology and functions. In addition, they suggest a dynamic contribution of DCs to the induction and maintenance of the inflammatory response against A. pegreffi

Zfp521 controls bone mass by HDAC3-dependent attenuation of Runx2 activity

Zfp521 regulates osteoblast development during lineage commitment and osteoblast maturation by suppressing Runx2 transcriptional activity

The role of forest trees and their mycorrhizal fungi in carbonate rock weathering and its significance for global carbon cycling

On million-year timescales, carbonate rock weathering exerts no net effect on atmospheric CO2 concentration. However, on timescales of decades-to-centuries, it can contribute to sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 and increase land–ocean alkalinity flux, counteracting ocean acidification. Historical evidence indicates this flux is sensitive to land use change, and recent experimental evidence suggests that trees and their associated soil microbial communities are major drivers of continental mineral weathering. Here, we review key physical and chemical mechanisms by which the symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi of forest tree roots potentially enhance carbonate rock weathering. Evidence from our ongoing field study at the UK's national pinetum confirms increased weathering of carbonate rocks by a wide range of gymnosperm and angiosperm tree species that form arbuscular (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal partnerships. We demonstrate that calcite-containing rock grains under EM tree species weather significantly faster than those under AM trees, an effect linked to greater soil acidification by EM trees. Weathering and corresponding alkalinity export are likely to increase with rising atmospheric CO2 and associated climate change. Our analyses suggest that strategic planting of fast-growing EM angiosperm taxa on calcite- and dolomite-rich terrain might accelerate the transient sink for atmospheric CO2 and slow rates of ocean acidification

Gene expression analysis in human osteoblasts exposed to dexamethasone identifies altered developmental pathways as putative drivers of osteoporosis

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis, a disease of decreased bone mineral density represents a significant and growing burden in the western world. Aging population structure and therapeutic use of glucocorticoids have contributed in no small way to the increase in the incidence of this disease. Despite substantial investigative efforts over the last number of years the exact molecular mechanism underpinning the initiation and progression of osteoporosis remain to be elucidated. This has meant that no significant advances in therapeutic strategies have emerged, with joint replacement surgery being the mainstay of treatment. METHODS: In this study we have used an integrated genomics profiling and computational biology based strategy to identify the key osteoblast genes and gene clusters whose expression is altered in response to dexamethasone exposure. Primary human osteoblasts were exposed to dexamethasone in vitro and microarray based transcriptome profiling completed. RESULTS: These studies identified approximately 500 osteoblast genes whose expression was altered. Functional characterization of the transcriptome identified developmental networks as being reactivated with 106 development associated genes found to be differentially regulated. Pathway reconstruction revealed coordinate alteration of members of the WNT signaling pathway, including frizzled-2, frizzled-7, DKK1 and WNT5B, whose differential expression in this setting was confirmed by real time PCR. CONCLUSION: The WNT pathway is a key regulator of skeletogenesis as well as differentiation of bone cells. Reactivation of this pathway may lead to altered osteoblast activity resulting in decreased bone mineral density, the pathological hallmark of osteoporosis. The data herein lend weight to the hypothesis that alterations in developmental pathways drive the initiation and progression of osteoporosis

Copy number variation of microRNA genes in the human genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important genetic elements that regulate the expression of thousands of human genes. Polymorphisms affecting miRNA biogenesis, dosage and target recognition may represent potentially functional variants. The functional consequences of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within critical miRNA sequences and outside of miRNA genes were previously demonstrated using both experimental and computational methods. However, little is known about how copy number variations (CNVs) affect miRNA genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we analyzed the co-localization of all miRNA <it>loci </it>with known CNV regions. Using bioinformatic tools we identified and validated 209 copy number variable miRNA genes (CNV-miRNAs) in CNV regions deposited in Database of Genomic Variations (DGV) and 11 CNV-miRNAs in two sets of CNVs defined as highly polymorphic. We propose potential mechanisms of CNV-mediated variation of functional copies of miRNAs (dosage) for different types of CNVs overlapping miRNA genes. We also showed that, consistent with their essential biological functions, miRNA <it>loci </it>are underrepresented in highly polymorphic and well-validated CNV regions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We postulate that CNV-miRNAs are potential functional variants and should be considered high priority candidate variants in genotype-phenotype association studies.</p

Technical performance analysis and economic evaluation of a compressed air energy storage system integrated with an organic Rankine cycle

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Energy storage becomes increasingly important in balancing electricity supply and demand due to the rise of intermittent power generation from renewable sources. The compressed air energy storage (CAES) system as one of the large scale ( > 100 MW) energy storage technologies has been commercially deployed in Germany and the USA. However, the efficiency of current commercial CAES plants still needs to be improved. In this study, an integrated system consisting of a CAES system and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was proposed to recover the waste heat from intercoolers and aftercooler in the charging process and exhaust stream of the recuperator in discharging process of the CAES system. Steady state process models of the CAES system and ORC were developed in Aspen Plus®. These models were validated using data from the literature and the results appear in a good agreement. Process analysis was carried out using the validated models regarding the impact of different organic working fluids (R123, R134a, R152a, R245fa, R600a) of ORC and expander inlet pressures of the ORC on system performance. It was found that integrating ORC with the CAES system as well as selecting appropriate working fluid was a reasonable approach for improving performance of the CAES system. The round-trip efficiency was improved by 3.32–3.95% using five working fluids, compared to that of the CAES system without ORC. Economic evaluation on levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was performed using Aspen Process Economic Analyser® (APEA). Different working fluids in ORC and different power sources (e.g. wind and solar) associated with the integrated system were considered to estimate the LCOEs. It was found that the LCOEs for the integrated system were competitive with fossil-fuel fired power and even lower than offshore wind power and solar power. The proposed research presented in this paper hopes to shed light on how to improve efficiency and reduce cost when implementing CAES

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Comprehensive analysis of local and nonlocal amplitudes in the B0→ K*0μ+μ− decay

A comprehensive study of the local and nonlocal amplitudes contributing to the decay B0 → K*0(→ K+π−)μ+μ− is performed by analysing the phase-space distribution of the decay products. The analysis is based on pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.4 fb−1 collected by the LHCb experiment. This measurement employs for the first time a model of both one-particle and two-particle nonlocal amplitudes, and utilises the complete dimuon mass spectrum without any veto regions around the narrow charmonium resonances. In this way it is possible to explicitly isolate the local and nonlocal contributions and capture the interference between them. The results show that interference with nonlocal contributions, although larger than predicted, only has a minor impact on the Wilson Coefficients determined from the fit to the data. For the local contributions, the Wilson Coefficient C9, responsible for vector dimuon currents, exhibits a 2.1σ deviation from the Standard Model expectation. The Wilson Coefficients C10, C9′ and C10′ are all in better agreement than C9 with the Standard Model and the global significance is at the level of 1.5σ. The model used also accounts for nonlocal contributions from B0→ K*0[τ+τ−→ μ+μ−] rescattering, resulting in the first direct measurement of the bsττ vector effective-coupling C9τ