The Physics of UHECRs: Spectra, Composition and the Transition Galactic-Extragalactic

We review the experimental evidences about flux and mass composition of ultra high energy cosmic rays in connection with theoretical scenarios concerning astrophysical sources. In this context, we also address the discussion about the expected transition between cosmic rays produced inside the Galaxy and those coming from the intergalactic space.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, invited talk given at the "2016 International Conference on Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR2016)", Kyoto (Japan), 11-14 October 2016, version accepted for publication on JPS Conference Proceeding

Ülevaade astma ja atoopilise dermatiidi molekulaarsetest mehhanismidest

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneViimase 50–60 aasta jooksul on kiiresti kasvanud atoopilise dermatiidi ja astma esinemissagedus nii maailmas tervikuna – viimastel aastatel ka Ida-Euroopas ja Eestis. Nende haiguste leviku mõistetamatu kiiruse tõttu kutsutakse seda protsessi naljatamisi “allergiliseks pandeemiaks”. Vaatamata vaieldamatule edule nende haiguste uurimisel viimastel aastakümnetel, ei saa me tegelikult siiani piisavalt aru, miks meie immuunsüsteem, mis on valmis väga täpselt ja kiiresti reageerima välistele ohtlikele haigustekitajatele, eksib täielikult oma sithmärkides nendel kahe haiguse korral. Oma töös oleme keskendunud kahe olulise teema uurimisele nende haiguste molekulaarsete mehhanismide mõistmiseks. Astma kontekstis uurisime inimese rinoviirust, mis põhjustavad 70% viiruslikest eluohtlikest astmahoogude ägenemistest. Sama nakkus avaldub mitteastmaatilistel inimestel “tavalise nohuna”. Suutsime esmakordselt näidata, et rinoviirused võivad nakatada meie immuunsüsteemi rakke – B-rakke – ja kutsuda esile nende aktiviseerumise. See nähtus vajab edaspidist uurimist, et selgitada, kas aktiviseerumise käigus muutuvad B-rakud IgE tüübiks, mis on iseloomulikud astma ägenemisele ja mis seletaks rinoviiruse osa ägeda põletiku esilekutsumises. Näitasime, et kõigist erinevatest epiteelkoe rakkudest nakatavad rinoviirused eelistatult rips-epiteelrakke. See seletab nakatunud rakkude vähesuse ja samas just ripsrakud eritavad paljusid põletikke soodustavaid molekule viirusnakkuste korral. Teiseks, uurisime mikroRNA-de osa atoopilise dermatiidi põletikulistes protsessides. Meie põhiliseks uurimisobjektiks oli miRNA-146a, mille ekspressioon on suurenenud atoopilise dermatiidi patsientide keratinotsüütides. Oma töös näitasime, et miRNA-146a inhibeerib IFN-γ–indutseeritavaid ja atoopilise dermatiidile iseloomulikke molekule - IL-8, CCL5, CCL8, ja UBD, millede ekspressioni aktivatsioon on sõltuv NF-κB signaalirajast. Arvestades, et nii IFN-γ kui ka NF-κB raja aktiveerumine on iseloomulik kroonilisele AD-le, näitavad meie tulemused, et miRNA-146a on atoopilise dermatiidi haigete nahas põletikuvastase toimega ja seetõttu võiks olla potentsiaalselt kasutatav ka krooniliste põletikuliste protsesside raviks. Kokkuvõtteks võib öelda, et oma töös oleme käsitlenud mitmeid astma ja atoopilise dermatiidiga seotud molekulaarseid aspekte. Kindlasti teame me nüüd rohkem faktoritest, mis on nende haigustega seotud, kuid on liiga vara öelda, et me mõistame täielikult ja piisavalt kõiki põhjusi.In general, prevalence of atopic dermatitis and asthma has increased during last 50–60 years and during last 20–30 years in East-Europe and Estonia. The spread has been so fast that people call it as “allergic pandemia”. Despite much progress in studying the mechanisms behind these diseases, still our understanding is incomplete, concidering why our immune system, being so precise and quick in its reaction against foreign intruderes, misfires completely here. In our work we have studied two essential topics to understand molecular mechanisms behind these diseases. In context of asthma, we investigated human rhinoviruses, what cause 70% of life-threatening exacerbations of asthma. The same infection is reason for mild “common cold” in non-asthmatic people. For the first time we were able to show that rhinoviruses are able to infect B-cells and activate them. The phenomena needs further studies, to clarify does the activation switch B-cell to IgE producing ones, which type are typical in exacerbation of asthma. Also, we showed that from all different types of epithelial cells rhinoviruse infect ciliary type. This finding might help to explain why rhinoviruses infect only small number of cells. We need to mention that ciliary epithelial cells are the type which expresses many pro-inflammatory molecules during viral infections. In the second part of our research, we studied the expression and function of miRNAs in inflammatory processes of atopic dermatitis (AD). The focus was on anti-inflammatory miR-146a. We found that miR-146a expression was increased in keratinocytes and lesional skin of patients with AD. We showed that, miRNA-146a was able to inhibit the expression of IFN-γ–inducible and AD associated IL-8, CCL5, CCL8, and UBD. Considering that IFN-γ and the activation of the NF-κB pathway are both characteristic to the chronic inflammation in AD, our results demonstrate that miR-146a has anti-inflammatory function in the chronic AD skin. Our data also suggest that manipulating of the NF-κB pathway through miRNA-146a might give us a potential treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions in the skin. In conclusion, our work describes multiple aspects at molecular level in association with asthma and AD. Definetely, we have now better understanding about the asthma and AD conditions, but it is still very early to say that we understand completely and enough the reasons

Does intensive reading interventions cause alienation in ninth grade high school students?

The objective of this research was to determine if students who are enrolled in intensive reading intervention classes due to limited reading and comprehension skill, experience greater alienation than students not enrolled in these classes. Ninth and tenth grade students from March Valley School, a small alternative high school in Moreno Valley, CA participated in this study

Inferences on mass composition and tests of hadronic interactions from 0.3 to 100 EeV using the water-Cherenkov detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present a new method for probing the hadronic interaction models at ultrahigh energy and extracting details about mass composition. This is done using the time profiles of the signals recorded with the water-Cherenkov detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The profiles arise from a mix of the muon and electromagnetic components of air showers. Using the risetimes of the recorded signals, we define a new parameter, which we use to compare our observations with predictions from simulations. We find, first, inconsistencies between our data and predictions over a greater energy range and with substantially more events than in previous studies. Second, by calibrating the new parameter with fluorescence measurements from observations made at the Auger Observatory, we can infer the depth of shower maximum Xmax for a sample of over 81,000 events extending from 0.3 to over 100 EeV. Above 30 EeV, the sample is nearly 14 times larger than what is currently available from fluorescence measurements and extending the covered energy range by half a decade. The energy dependence of ?Xmaxcopyright is compared to simulations and interpreted in terms of the mean of the logarithmic mass. We find good agreement with previous work and extend the measurement of the mean depth of shower maximum to greater energies than before, reducing significantly the statistical uncertainty associated with the inferences about mass composition

Pathways to dropping out: A snapshot at sixth grade using structural equation modeling

The purpose of this project is to utilize structural equation modeling to examine student dropout pathways among a diverse minority student population during a critical sixth grade transition

Pioglitazone - the forgotten drug with multidirectional action

Introduction: Pioglitazone (PG) which belongs to thiazolidinedione class is a drug used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. PG increases the insulin sensitivity of peripheral tissues. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common and fastest developing diseases. The antihyperglycemic effect of pioglitazone (PG) is not its only one. This drug has a number of other metabolically beneficial effects. Many outcome trials indicate a positive impact of PG on the functioning of other systems. Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to summarize the current knowledge on the effectiveness and safety of pioglitazone based on the available scientific literature. Materials and methods: Literature review based on PubMed, Google Scholar database using the following phrases: pioglitazone, type 2 diabetes, pioglitazone in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) therapy, pioglitazone and cardiovascular risk, pioglitazone nephroprotective effect, pioglitazone safety profile. State of knowledge: Pioglitazone is an oral antidiabetic drug used in the therapy of T2DM. PG belongs to the ‘insulin- sensitizers’. It is included in the treatment in the case of intolerance, contraindications to metformin or as part of combination therapy. Conclusions: Recently, interest in pioglitazone has waned due to the perception of significant side effects.  The analysis of the papers showed a positive effect of PG on the cardiovascular system, central nervous system, NAFLD and nephroprotection. The acceptable safety profile of pioglitazone with the appropriate selection of patients as well as its multidirectional action and effectiveness mean that clinicians should reconsider the use of this drug guided by the balance of profits and losses

Water and feed consumption in broiler birds during a typical hot weather condition in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

This study investigates the variability in feed and water consumption in broiler birds during a typical hot weather condition in Akure, Nigeria. Feed and water consumption as well as air temperature and relative humidity were monitored and the relationship between them was analyzed. The results showed that the daily water and feeds consumption of the birds are very closely related and increase over the course of the grow out. Water and feed consumption were also observed to be a linear function of broiler’s age; the birds were drinking 0.731 times of their age in kg of water and were eating 0.031 times their age of feed at any point in time. The result showed that under the prevailing environmental conditions, birds were consuming no less than 2.3 times more water than feed. The ratio of feed to water consumption is fairly constant over the life of the flocks. For this particular grow out the ratio of kilogram of water to kilogram of feed was 2.32 kg of water per kg of feed consumed. So whether a bird was a week old or seven weeks old, for every kilogram of feed eaten 2.32 kilogram of water was consumed. Ambient temperature was shown to have strongly influence the pattern of feed and water consumption indicated, high temperatures decreasing feed consumption and increasing water consumption.Keywords: Bird age, temperature, humidity, variability, consumption level

Sistem Informasi Geografis Pemetaan Aset Daerah Menggunakan Algoritma Djikstra di BKD Kota Cirebon

Sistem otonomi daerah yang baru mewajibkan pemerintah daerah untuk mengelola aset-aset yang dimiliki oleh masing-masing daerah tersebut. Dalam hal ini pengelolaan aset meliputi pencatatan, pembukuan, pelaporan, pengarsipan dan penghapusan aset. Salah satu faktor penghambat dalam pengelolaan aset daerah yang ada di Kota Cirebon yaitu kurangnya informasi mengenai lokasi aset yang ada di Kota Cirebon, karena data yang disajikan masih belum memiliki data spasial (keruangan) yang berisi titik-titik koordinat suatu aset daerah (fasilitas sosial dan fasilitas umum). Sistem informasi geografis dibangun dengan tujuan dapat memenuhi keperluan informasi yang cepat, lengkap dan tepat sehingga dapat mempermudah pemerintah daerah dalam pengelolaan aset yang dimilikinya. SIG ini dapat memberikan data-data berupa data spasial beserta dengan atribut-atributnya dalam bentuk geografis yang ditampilkan dalam peta digital dengan bantuan Google MAPS API (Application Programming Interface) dari Google yang mampu memetakan aset-aset daerah beserta rute untuk menuju ke aset tersebut, sehingga informasi yang diperoleh menjadi dinamis dan lebih menarik serta lebih mudah untuk dipahami