On the discovery of doubly-magic 48^{48}Ni

The paper reports on the first observation of doubly-magic Nickel-48 in an experimental at the SISSI/LISE3 facility of GANIL. Four Nickel-48 isotopes were identified. In addition, roughly 100 Nickel-49, 50 Iron-45, and 290 Chromium-42 isotopes were observed. This opens the possibility to search for two-proton emission from these nuclei.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Magnetic transport in a straight parabolic channel

We study a charged two-dimensional particle confined to a straight parabolic-potential channel and exposed to a homogeneous magnetic field under influence of a potential perturbation $W$. If $W$ is bounded and periodic along the channel, a perturbative argument yields the absolute continuity of the bottom of the spectrum. We show it can have any finite number of open gaps provided the confining potential is sufficiently strong. However, if $W$ depends on the periodic variable only, we prove by Thomas argument that the whole spectrum is absolutely continuous, irrespectively of the size of the perturbation. On the other hand, if $W$ is small and satisfies a weak localization condition in the the longitudinal direction, we prove by Mourre method that a part of the absolutely continuous spectrum persists

Facets of spirituality as predictors of adjustment to cancer: Relative contributions of having faith and finding meaning

Spirituality is a multidimensional construct, and little is known about how its distinct dimensions jointly affect well-being. In longitudinal studies (Study 1, n = 418 breast cancer patients; Study 2, n = 165 cancer survivors), the authors examined 2 components of spiritual well-being (i.e., meaning/peace and faith) and their interaction, as well as change scores on those variables, as predictors of psychological adjustment. In Study 1, higher baseline meaning/peace, as well as an increase in meaning/peace over 6 months, predicted a decline in depressive symptoms and an increase in vitality across 12 months in breast cancer patients. Baseline faith predicted an increase in perceived cancer-related growth. Study 2 revealed that an increase in meaning/peace was related to improved mental health and lower cancer-related distress. An increase in faith was related to increased cancer-related growth. Both studies revealed significant interactions between meaning/peace and faith in predicting adjustment. Findings suggest that the ability to find meaning and peace in life is the more influential contributor to favorable adjustment during cancer survivorship, although faith appears to be uniquely related to perceived cancer-related growth

First direct observation of two protons in the decay of 45^{45}Fe with a TPC

The decay of the ground-state two-proton emitter 45Fe was studied with a time-projection chamber and the emission of two protons was unambiguously identified. The total decay energy and the half-life measured in this work agree with the results from previous experiments. The present result constitutes the first direct observation of the individual protons in the two-proton decay of a long-lived ground-state emitter. In parallel, we identified for the first time directly two-proton emission from 43Cr, a known beta-delayed two-proton emitter. The technique developped in the present work opens the way to a detailed study of the mechanism of ground-state as well as beta-delayed two-proton radioactivity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Cyclic triterpenoid production with tailored Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Triterpenoids are secondary plant metabolites derived from squalene and consist of six isoprene units (C30). Many of them or their synthetic derivatives are currently being investigated as medicinal products for various diseases. The cyclic triterpenoid betulinic acid is of special interest for the pharmaceutical and nutritional industry as it has antiretroviral, antimalarial, and anti-inflammatory properties and has potential as an anticancer agent (Muffler et al. 2011, Mullauer et al. 2010). Despite their obvious industrial potential, the application is often hindered by their low abundance in natural plant sources. This poses challenges in a biosustainable production of such compounds due to wasteful and costly product purification. Here, we present a novel biotechnological process for the production of betulinic acid using tailored Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The multi-scale optimization of this microbial process included: - pathway engineering by determination of optimal gene combination and dosage, - compartment engineering to increase the reaction space of the betulinic acid pathway, and - strain engineering by implementation of different push, pull and block strategies. In parallel we developed the fermentation process and were able to boost the performance of the engineered yeast by optimization of medium composition, cultivation conditions, carbon source and mode of fermentation operation in lab scale bioreactors. Product purification was achieved by a one-step extraction with acetone. The final process was evaluated in terms of economic and ecological efficiency and rated to be competitive with existing plant extraction procedures with potential for further performance improvement. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Zero-field spin splitting in InAs-AlSb quantum wells revisited

We present magnetotransport experiments on high-quality InAs-AlSb quantum wells that show a perfectly clean single-period Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation down to very low magnetic fields. In contrast to theoretical expectations based on an asymmetry induced zero-field spin splitting, no beating effect is observed. The carrier density has been changed by the persistent photo conductivity effect as well as via the application of hydrostatic pressure in order to influence the electric field at the interface of the electron gas. Still no indication of spin splitting at zero magnetic field was observed in spite of highly resolved Shubnikov- de Haas oscillations up to filling factors of 200. This surprising and unexpected result is discussed in view of other recently published data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Performance for proton anisotropic flow measurement of the CBM experiment at FAIR

The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment (CBM) performance for proton anisotropic flow measurements is studied with Monte-Carlo simulations using collisions of gold ions at lab momentum of 12A GeV/c employing DCM-QGSM-SMM heavy-ion event generator. Realistic procedures are used for centrality estimation with the number of registered tracks and particle identification with information from Time-Of-Flight detector. Variation of directed flow estimates depending on various combinations of PSD modules is used to evaluate possible systematic biases due to collision symmetry plane estimation

Harmonising data collection from osteoarthritis studies to enable stratification: recommendations on core data collection from an Arthritis Research UK clinical studies group

Objective. Treatment of OA by stratifying for commonly used and novel therapies will likely improve the range of effective therapy options and their rational deployment in this undertreated, chronic disease. In order to develop appropriate datasets for conducting post hoc analyses to inform approaches to stratification for OA, our aim was to develop recommendations on the minimum data that should be recorded at baseline in all future OA interventional and observational studies.Methods. An Arthritis Research UK study group comprised of 32 experts used a Delphi-style approach supported by a literature review of systematic reviews to come to a consensus on core data collection for OA studies.Results. Thirty-five systematic reviews were used as the basis for the consensus group discussion. For studies with a primary structural endpoint, core domains for collection were defined as BMI, age, gender, racial origin, comorbidities, baseline OA pain, pain in other joints and occupation. In addition to the items generalizable to all anatomical sites, joint-specific domains included radiographic measures, surgical history and anatomical factors, including alignment. To demonstrate clinical relevance for symptom studies, the collection of mental health score, self-efficacy and depression scales were advised in addition to the above.Conclusions. Currently it is not possible to stratify patients with OA into therapeutic groups. A list of core and optional data to be collected in all OA interventional and observational studies was developed, providing a basis for future analyses to identify predictors of progression or response to treatment

Degradation of HIF-1alpha under Hypoxia Combined with Induction of Hsp90 Polyubiquitination in Cancer Cells by Hypericin: a Unique Cancer Therapy

The perihydroxylated perylene quinone hypericin has been reported to possess potent anti-metastatic and antiangiogenic activities, generated by targeting diverse crossroads of cancer-promoting processes via unique mechanisms. Hypericin is the only known exogenous reagent that can induce forced poly-ubiquitination and accelerated degradation of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in cancer cells. Hsp90 client proteins are thereby destabilized and rapidly degraded. Hsp70 client proteins may potentially be also affected via preventing formation of hsp90-hsp70 intermediate complexes. We show here that hypericin also induces enhanced degradation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in two human tumor cell lines, U87-MG glioblastoma and RCC-C2VHL−/− renal cell carcinoma and in the non-malignant ARPE19 retinal pigment epithelial cell line. The hypericin-accelerated turnover of HIF-1α, the regulatory precursor of the HIF-1 transcription factor which promotes hypoxic stress and angiogenic responses, overcomes the physiologic HIF-1α protein stabilization which occurs in hypoxic cells. The hypericin effect also eliminates the high HIF-1α levels expressed constitutively in the von-Hippel Lindau protein (pVHL)-deficient RCC-C2VHL−/− renal cell carcinoma cell line. Unlike the normal ubiquitin-proteasome pathway-dependent turnover of HIF-α proteins which occurs in normoxia, the hypericin-induced HIF-1α catabolism can occur independently of cellular oxygen levels or pVHL-promoted ubiquitin ligation of HIF-1α. It is mediated by lysosomal cathepsin-B enzymes with cathepsin-B activity being optimized in the cells through hypericin-mediated reduction in intracellular pH. Our findings suggest that hypericin may potentially be useful in preventing growth of tumors in which HIF-1α plays pivotal roles, and in pVHL ablated tumor cells such as renal cell carcinoma through elimination of elevated HIF-1α contents in these cells, scaling down the excessive angiogenesis which characterizes these tumors