The quest for the Cabibbo Kobayashi Maskawa Matrix

A piece of the Standard Model presently undergoing intense experimental scrutiny is the Cabibbo Kobayashi Maskawa matrix. Several different measurements are planned to enrich the spectrum of experimental constraints and thus provide one of the most stringent tests of Standard Model validity. The success of this program is closely related to theoretical progress in evaluating QCD matrix elements in a non-perturbative regime, as we need to extract fundamental quark properties from observations on decays involving hadrons. This interplay between experimental and theoretical progress will be illustrated in the context of the present knowledge of the magnitudes of the quark mixing parameters $| V_{cb}|$ and $| V_{ub}|$.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, contributed paper to BEAUTY 200

New microalgae media formulated with completely recycled phosphorus originating from agricultural sidestreams

This study investigated the impact of struvite as a sustainable phosphorus source on the growth and phycocyanin production by the blue-green alga Arthrospira platensis. Three modified growth media were compared to the typical SAG-spirul culture media. CS(+) refers to the completely recycled struvite from bovine urine as a phosphate source, while S(-) and S(+) refer to commercially available struvite as a phosphate source. On media with (+), a pre-treatment was conducted to evaporate NH4, as it negatively affects cell growth and functions of the photosynthetic apparatus at high concentrations, and to release phosphate due to the low solubility of struvite in water. For each medium, three cultures were cultivated in Erlenmeyer flasks for a duration of 42 days. Results showed that no statistically significant negative effect of struvite was found on the growth rates. However, C-phycocyanin (CPC-P) in CS(+) and S(+) was significantly higher compared to CPC-P in untreated growth media. The study hypothesized that low concentrations of NH3 remaining after the pre-treatment of struvite could have a positive impact on phycocyanin accumulation, as an energy efficient and quick nitrogen source for A. platensis

Targeting the MYC interaction network in B-cell lymphoma via histone deacetylase 6 inhibition

Overexpression of MYC is a genuine cancer driver in lymphomas and related to poor prognosis. However, therapeutic targeting of the transcription factor MYC remains challenging. Here, we show that inhibition of the histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) using the HDAC6 inhibitor Marbostat-100 (M-100) reduces oncogenic MYC levels and prevents lymphomagenesis in a mouse model of MYC-induced aggressive B-cell lymphoma. M-100 specifically alters protein-protein interactions by switching the acetylation state of HDAC6 substrates, such as tubulin. Tubulin facilitates nuclear import of MYC, and MYC-dependent B-cell lymphoma cells rely on continuous import of MYC due to its high turn-over. Acetylation of tubulin impairs this mechanism and enables proteasomal degradation of MYC. M-100 targets almost exclusively B-cell lymphoma cells with high levels of MYC whereas non-tumor cells are not affected. M-100 induces massive apoptosis in human and murine MYC-overexpressing B-cell lymphoma cells. We identified the heat-shock protein DNAJA3 as an interactor of tubulin in an acetylation-dependent manner and overexpression of DNAJA3 resulted in a pronounced degradation of MYC. We propose a mechanism by which DNAJA3 associates with hyperacetylated tubulin in the cytoplasm to control MYC turnover. Taken together, our data demonstrate a beneficial role of HDAC6 inhibition in MYC-dependent B-cell lymphoma

On the existence of chaos for the viscous van Wijngaarden-Eringen equation

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chaos, Solitons and Fractals. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 89 (2016) 100–104. DOI 10.1016/j.chaos.2015.10.009.We study the viscous van Wijngaarden–Eringen equation: ∂2u ∂t2 − ∂2u ∂x2 = (Red)−1 ∂3u ∂t∂x2 + a2 0 ∂4u ∂t2∂x2 (1) which corresponds to the linearized version of the equation that models the acoustic planar propagation in bubbly liquids. We show the existence of an explicit range, solely in terms of the constants a0 and Red, in which we can ensure that this equation admits a uniformly continuous, Devaney chaotic and topologically mixing semigroup on Herzog’s type Banach spaces. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Conejero Casares, JA.; Lizama, C.; Murillo Arcila, M. (2016). On the existence of chaos for the viscous van Wijngaarden-Eringen equation. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals. 89:100-104. doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2015.10.009S1001048

Climate, zooplankton and pelagic fish growth in the Central Baltic Sea

Oceanographic conditions in the brackish central Baltic Sea are strongly linked to atmospheric forcing and the unusual period of persistently strong westerlies that, since the late 1980s, have resulted in an increase in average water temperatures and decreasing salinity. These changes in temperature and salinity resulted in a change in the dominance of the mesozooplankton community from Pseudocalanus sp. to Temora longicornis and Acartia spp. Similar to the copepod community, the central Baltic fish community shifted from cod ( Gadus morhua ), dominant during the 1980s, to sprat ( Sprattus sprattus ), dominant during the 1990s. Further, the commercially important pelagic fish species herring ( Clupea harengus ) and sprat exhibited reductions in growth. Using Principal Component and Correlation Analyses we investigated the temporal variability in the importance of the food supply as well as competition on condition of central Baltic pelagic fish species. Our results indicate that herring condition results from a combined effect of changes in the food environment and increased competition with sprat, while sprat condition appeared to be primarily determined by intra-specific competition

The expression of nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors in the European eel throughout spermatogenesis

[EN] Estradiol (E-2) can bind to nuclear estrogen receptors (ESR) or membrane estrogen receptors (GPER). While mammals possess two nuclear ESRs and one membrane GPER, the European eel, like most other teleosts, has three nuclear ESRs and two membrane GPERs, as the result of a teleost specific genome duplication. In the current study, the expression of the three nuclear ESRs (ESR1, ESR2a and ESR2b) and the two membrane GPERs (GPERa and GPERb) in the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis of the European eel was measured, throughout spermatogenesis. The eels were first transferred from freshwater (FW) to seawater (SW), inducing parallel increases in E2 plasma levels and the expression of ESRs. This indicates that salinity has a stimulatory effect on the E-2 signalling pathway along the BPG axis. Stimulation of sexual maturation by weekly injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) induced a progressive decrease in E-2 plasma levels, and different patterns of expression of ESRs and GPERs in the BPG axis. The expression of nuclear ESRs increased in some parts of the brain, suggesting a possible upregulation due to a local production of E-2. In the testis, the highest expression levels of the nuclear ESRs were observed at the beginning of spermatogenesis, possibly mediating the role of E2 as spermatogonia renewal factor, followed by a sharply decrease in the expression of ESRs. Conversely, there was a marked increase observed in the expression of both membrane GPERs throughout spermatogenesis, suggesting they play a major role in the final stages of spermatogenesis.Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (REPRO-TEMP project; AGL2013-41646-R) and IMPRESS (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions; Grant agreement no: 642893). M.C. Vilchez has a predoctoral grant from UPV PAID Programme (2011-S2-02-6521), M. Morini has a predoctoral grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa Grisolia). D.S. Penaranda was supported by MICINN and UPV (PTA2011-4948-1).Morini, M.; Peñaranda, D.; Vilchez Olivencia, MC.; Tveiten, H.; Lafont, A.; Dufour, S.; Pérez Igualada, LM.... (2017). The expression of nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors in the European eel throughout spermatogenesis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology. 203:91-99. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.08.020S919920

Current state and future of pediatric allergology in Europe: A road map

The history of pediatric allergology (PA) in Europe is relatively youthful, dating back to 1984, when a small group of pediatricians founded the European Working Group on Pediatric Allergy and Immunology—later giving rise to ESPACI (European Society on Pediatric Allergology and Clinical Immunology). In 1990, the first dedicated journal, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (PAI), was founded. There are striking differences across Europe, and even within European countries, in relation to the training pathways for doctors seeing children with allergic disease(s). In 2016, the EAACIClemens von Pirquet Foundation (CvP) organized and sponsored a workshop with the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) Pediatric Section. This collaboration focussed on the future of PA and specifically on education, research, and networking/ advocacy. The delegates representing many countries across Europe have endorsed the concept that optimal care of children with allergic diseases is delivered by pediatricians who have received dedicated training in allergy, or allergists who have received dedicated training in pediatrics. In order to meet the needs of children and families with allergic disease(s), the pediatric allergist is highly encouraged to develop several networks. Our challenge is to reinforce a clear strategic approach to scientific excellence to across our member base and to ensure and enhance the relevance of European pediatric research in allergy. With research opportunities in basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiologic trials, more trainees and trained specialists are needed and it is an exciting time to be a pediatric allergologist

A comprehensive analysis of autocorrelation and bias in home range estimation

Home range estimation is routine practice in ecological research. While advances in animal tracking technology have increased our capacity to collect data to support home range analysis, these same advances have also resulted in increasingly autocorrelated data. Consequently, the question of which home range estimator to use on modern, highly autocorrelated tracking data remains open. This question is particularly relevant given that most estimators assume independently sampled data. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of autocorrelation on home range estimation. We base our study on an extensive data set of GPS locations from 369 individuals representing 27 species distributed across five continents. We first assemble a broad array of home range estimators, including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) with four bandwidth optimizers (Gaussian reference function, autocorrelated-Gaussian reference function [AKDE], Silverman´s rule of thumb, and least squares cross-validation), Minimum Convex Polygon, and Local Convex Hull methods. Notably, all of these estimators except AKDE assume independent and identically distributed (IID) data. We then employ half-sample cross-validation to objectively quantify estimator performance, and the recently introduced effective sample size for home range area estimation ((Formula presented.)) to quantify the information content of each data set. We found that AKDE 95% area estimates were larger than conventional IID-based estimates by a mean factor of 2. The median number of cross-validated locations included in the hold-out sets by AKDE 95% (or 50%) estimates was 95.3% (or 50.1%), confirming the larger AKDE ranges were appropriately selective at the specified quantile. Conversely, conventional estimates exhibited negative bias that increased with decreasing (Formula presented.). To contextualize our empirical results, we performed a detailed simulation study to tease apart how sampling frequency, sampling duration, and the focal animal´s movement conspire to affect range estimates. Paralleling our empirical results, the simulation study demonstrated that AKDE was generally more accurate than conventional methods, particularly for small (Formula presented.). While 72% of the 369 empirical data sets had >1,000 total observations, only 4% had an (Formula presented.) >1,000, where 30% had an (Formula presented.) <30. In this frequently encountered scenario of small (Formula presented.), AKDE was the only estimator capable of producing an accurate home range estimate on autocorrelated data.Fil: Noonan, Michael J.. National Zoological Park; Estados Unidos. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Tucker, Marlee A.. Senckenberg Gesellschaft Für Naturforschung; . Goethe Universitat Frankfurt; AlemaniaFil: Fleming, Christen H.. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos. National Zoological Park; Estados UnidosFil: Akre, Thomas S.. National Zoological Park; Estados UnidosFil: Alberts, Susan C.. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Ali, Abdullahi H.. Hirola Conservation Programme. Garissa; KeniaFil: Altmann, Jeanne. University of Princeton; Estados UnidosFil: Antunes, Pamela Castro. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Belant, Jerrold L.. State University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Beyer, Dean. Universitat Phillips; AlemaniaFil: Blaum, Niels. Universitat Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Böhning Gaese, Katrin. Senckenberg Gesellschaft Für Naturforschung; Alemania. Goethe Universitat Frankfurt; AlemaniaFil: Cullen Jr., Laury. Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas; BrasilFil: de Paula, Rogerio Cunha. National Research Center For Carnivores Conservation; BrasilFil: Dekker, Jasja. Jasja Dekker Dierecologie; Países BajosFil: Drescher Lehman, Jonathan. George Mason University; Estados Unidos. National Zoological Park; Estados UnidosFil: Farwig, Nina. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Fichtel, Claudia. German Primate Center; AlemaniaFil: Fischer, Christina. Universitat Technical Zu Munich; AlemaniaFil: Ford, Adam T.. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Goheen, Jacob R.. University of Wyoming; Estados UnidosFil: Janssen, René. Bionet Natuuronderzoek; Países BajosFil: Jeltsch, Florian. Universitat Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Kauffman, Matthew. University Of Wyoming; Estados UnidosFil: Kappeler, Peter M.. German Primate Center; AlemaniaFil: Koch, Flávia. German Primate Center; AlemaniaFil: LaPoint, Scott. Max Planck Institute für Ornithologie; Alemania. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Markham, A. Catherine. Stony Brook University; Estados UnidosFil: Medici, Emilia Patricia. Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPE) ; BrasilFil: Morato, Ronaldo G.. Institute For Conservation of The Neotropical Carnivores; Brasil. National Research Center For Carnivores Conservation; BrasilFil: Nathan, Ran. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; IsraelFil: Oliveira Santos, Luiz Gustavo R.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Olson, Kirk A.. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos. National Zoological Park; Estados UnidosFil: Patterson, Bruce. Field Museum of National History; Estados UnidosFil: Paviolo, Agustin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Ramalho, Emiliano Esterci. Institute For Conservation of The Neotropical Carnivores; Brasil. Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentavel Mamirauá; BrasilFil: Rösner, Sascha. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Schabo, Dana G.. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Selva, Nuria. Institute of Nature Conservation of The Polish Academy of Sciences; PoloniaFil: Sergiel, Agnieszka. Institute of Nature Conservation of The Polish Academy of Sciences; PoloniaFil: Xavier da Silva, Marina. Parque Nacional do Iguaçu; BrasilFil: Spiegel, Orr. Universitat Tel Aviv; IsraelFil: Thompson, Peter. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Ullmann, Wiebke. Universitat Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Ziḝba, Filip. Tatra National Park; PoloniaFil: Zwijacz Kozica, Tomasz. Tatra National Park; PoloniaFil: Fagan, William F.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Mueller, Thomas. Senckenberg Gesellschaft Für Naturforschung; . Goethe Universitat Frankfurt; AlemaniaFil: Calabrese, Justin M.. National Zoological Park; Estados Unidos. University of Maryland; Estados Unido

Activation of Hif1α by the Prolylhydroxylase Inhibitor Dimethyoxalyglycine Decreases Radiosensitivity

Hypoxia inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) is a stress responsive transcription factor, which regulates the expression of genes required for adaption to hypoxia. Hif1α is normally hydroxylated by an oxygen-dependent prolylhydroxylase, leading to degradation and clearance of Hif1α from the cell. Under hypoxic conditions, the activity of the prolylhydroxylase is reduced and Hif1α accumulates. Hif1α is also constitutively expressed in tumor cells, where it is associated with resistance to ionizing radiation. Activation of the Hif1α transcriptional regulatory pathway may therefore function to protect normal cells from DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Here, we utilized the prolylhydroxylase inhibitor dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG) to elevate Hif1α levels in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to determine if DMOG could function as a radioprotector. The results demonstrate that DMOG increased Hif1α protein levels and decreased the sensitivity of MEFs to ionizing radiation. Further, the ability of DMOG to function as a radioprotector required Hif1α, indicating a key role for Hif1α's transcriptional activity. DMOG also induced the Hif1α -dependent accumulation of several DNA damage response proteins, including CHD4 and MTA3 (sub-units of the NuRD deacetylase complex) and the Suv39h1 histone H3 methyltransferase. Depletion of Suv39h1, but not CHD4 or MTA3, reduced the ability of DMOG to protect cells from radiation damage, implicating increased histone H3 methylation in the radioprotection of cells. Finally, treatment of mice with DMOG prior to total body irradiation resulted in significant radioprotection of the mice, demonstrating the utility of DMOG and related prolylhydroxylase inhibitors to protect whole organisms from ionizing radiation. Activation of Hif1α through prolylhydroxylase inhibition therefore identifies a new pathway for the development of novel radiation protectors