Investigating short-time-scale variations in cometary ions around comet 67P

The highly varying plasma environment around comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko inspired an upgrade of the ion mass spectrometer (Rosetta Plasma Consortium Ion Composition Analyzer) with new operation modes, to enable high time resolution measurements of cometary ions. Two modes were implemented, one having a 4 s time resolution in the energy range 0.3–82 eV/q and the other featuring a 1 s time resolution in the energy range 13–50 eV/q. Comparing measurements made with the two modes, it was concluded that 4 s time resolution is enough to capture most of the fast changes of the cometary ion environment. The 1462 h of observations done with the 4 s mode were divided into hour-long sequences. It is possible to sort 84 per cent of these sequences into one of five categories, depending on their appearance in an energy–time spectrogram. The ion environment is generally highly dynamic, and variations in ion fluxes and energies are seen on time-scales of 10 s to several minutes

Effect of perceived default risk and accounting information quality on the decision to grant credit to SMEs

ABSTRACT: The present study analyses the influence that perceived default risk and accounting information quality have on the process of credit granting to SMEs. Empirical evidence was obtained from a survey of 471 bank loan officers in Spain, in which they were asked to answer questions relating to audited and not-audited firms. Through a Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) approach, the results confirm that the likelihood that the loan officers are more willing to provide access to credit to SMEs, and to do so in more favourable conditions, is negatively influenced by perceived default risk and positively influenced by the general perception about accounting information quality. Besides, we find that information quality is an antecedent of perceived risk, so that the latter becomes the central element of the research model. Additionally, the perceptions of the decision-makers regarding all the analysed variables are better for the audited SMEs than for the unaudited ones

High-Throughput NMR Assessment of the Tertiary Structure of Food Allergens

In vitro component-resolved diagnosis of food allergy requires purified allergens that have to meet high standards of quality. These include the authentication of their conformation, which is relevant for the recognition by specific IgE antibodies from allergic patients. Therefore, highly sensitive and reliable screening methods for the analysis of proteins/allergens are required to assess their structural integrity. In the present study one-dimensional 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1D 1H-NMR) analysis was adopted for the assessment of overall structural and dynamic properties and authentication of a set of relevant food allergens, including non-specific lipid transfer proteins from apple, peach and hazelnut, 7/8S seed storage globulins from hazelnut and peanut, 11S seed storage globulins from hazelnut and peanut, caseins from cows' and goats' milk and tropomyosin from shrimp.Two sets of 1D 1H-NMR experiments, using 700 MHz and 600 MHz instruments at 298 K were carried out to determine the presence and the extent of tertiary structure. Structural similarity among members of the individual allergen families was also assessed and changes under thermal stress investigated. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results were compared with structural information available either from the literature, Protein Data Bank entries, or derived from molecular models.1D (1)H-NMR analysis of food allergens allowed their classification into molecules with rigid, extended and ordered tertiary structures, molecules without a rigid tertiary structure and molecules which displayed both features. Differences in thermal stability were also detected. In summary, 1D (1)H-NMR gives insights into molecular fold of proteins and offers an independent method for assessing structural properties of proteins

Clusters of Conserved Beta Cell Marker Genes for Assessment of Beta Cell Phenotype

The aim of this study was to establish a gene expression blueprint of pancreatic beta cells conserved from rodents to humans and to evaluate its applicability to assess shifts in the beta cell differentiated state. Genome-wide mRNA expression profiles of isolated beta cells were compared to those of a large panel of other tissue and cell types, and transcripts with beta cell-abundant and -selective expression were identified. Iteration of this analysis in mouse, rat and human tissues generated a panel of conserved beta cell biomarkers. This panel was then used to compare isolated versus laser capture microdissected beta cells, monitor adaptations of the beta cell phenotype to fasting, and retrieve possible conserved transcriptional regulators.Journal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

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Searches for electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons decaying to leptons and W, Z, and Higgs bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

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Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 Tev

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Constraints on parton distribution functions and extraction of the strong coupling constant from the inclusive jet cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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