A search for energy deposition by neutrinos in matter

An exploratory search for an anomalous energy deposition by neutrinos in a germanium crystal was performed in the CERN high energy neutrino beam. No signal was found and a limit is set at a level of about 10^-12 of the normal dE/dx for a minimum ionizing particle.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures Paper accepted by Physics Letters B on March 4th, 199

Rediscovery and reclassification of the dipteran taxon Nothomicrodon Wheeler, an exclusive endoparasitoid of gyne ant larvae

The myrmecophile larva of the dipteran taxon Nothomicrodon Wheeler is rediscovered, almost a century after its original description and unique report. The systematic position of this dipteran has remained enigmatic due to the absence of reared imagos to confirm indentity. We also failed to rear imagos, but we scrutinized entire nests of the Brazilian arboreal dolichoderine ant Azteca chartifex which, combined with morphological and molecular studies, enabled us to establish beyond doubt that Nothomicrodon belongs to the Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera), not the Syrphidae where it was first placed, and that the species we studied is an endoparasitoid of the larvae of A. chartifex, exclusively attacking sexual female (gyne) larvae. Northomicrodon parasitism can exert high fitness costs to a host colony. Our discovery adds one more case to the growing number of phorid taxa known to parasitize ant larvae and suggests that many others remain to be discovered. Our findings and literature review confirm that the Phoridae is the only taxon known that parasitizes both adults and the immature stages of different castes of ants, thus threatening ants on all fronts.Peer reviewe

Angular Power Spectrum Estimation of Cosmic Ray Anisotropies with Full or Partial Sky Coverage

We study the angular power spectrum estimate in order to search for large scale anisotropies in the arrival directions distribution of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We show that this estimate can be performed even in the case of partial sky coverage and validated over the full sky under the assumption that the observed fluctuations are statistically spatial stationary. If this hypothesis - which can be tested directly on the data - is not satisfied, it would prove, of course, that the cosmic ray sky is non isotropic but also that the power spectrum is not an appropriate tool to represent its anisotropies, whatever the sky coverage available. We apply the method to simulations of the Pierre Auger Observatory, reconstructing an input power spectrum with the Southern site only and with both Northern and Southern ones. Finally, we show the improvement that a full-sky observatory brings to test an isotropic distribution, and we discuss the sensitivity of the Pierre Auger Observatory to large scale anisotropies.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, version accepted for publication by JCA

Mesothelial cells: A cellular surrogate for tissue engineering of corneal endothelium

[Purpose]: To evaluate whether mouse adipose tissue mesothelial cells (ATMCs) share morphologic and biochemical characteristics with mouse corneal endothelial cells (CECs) and to evaluate their capacity to adhere to the decellularized basal membrane of human anterior lens capsules (HALCs) as a potential tissue-engineered surrogate for corneal endothelium replacement. [Methods]: Adipose tissue mesothelial cells were isolated from the visceral adipose tissue of adult mice, and their expression of several corneal endothelium markers was determined with quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting. Adipose tissue mesothelial cells were cultured in a mesothelial retaining phenotype medium (MRPM) and further seeded and cultured on top of the decellularized basal membrane of HALCs. ATMC-HALC composites were evaluated by optical microscopy, immunofluorescence, and transmission electron microscopy. [Results]: Mesothelial retaining phenotype medium-cultured ATMCs express the corneal endothelium markers COL4A2, COL8A2, SLC4A4, CAR2, sodium- and potassium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (Na+/K+-ATPase), b-catenin, zona occludens-1, and N-cadherin in a pattern similar to that in mouse CECs. Furthermore, ATMCs displayed strong adhesion capacity onto the basal membrane of HALCs and formed a confluent monolayer within 72 hours of culture in MRPM. Ultrastructural morphologic and marker characteristics displayed by ATMC monolayer on HALCs clearly indicated that ATMCs retained their original phenotype of squamous epithelial-like cells. [Conclusions]: Corneal epithelial cells and ATMCs share morphologic (structural) and marker (functional) similarities. The ATMCs adhered and formed structures mimicking focal adhesion complexes with the HALC basal membrane. Monolayer structure and achieved density of ATMCs support the proposal to use adult human mesothelial cells (MCs) as a possible surrogate for damaged corneal endothelium.Supported by Fondos FEDER, Fundación Progreso y Salud, Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía (Grant PI-0022/2008), INNPACTO Program (INP-2011-1615-900000), and SUDOE Program-BIOREG (Intereg SOE3/P1/E750); Consejer´ıa de Innovación Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía (Grant CTS-6505); Ministry of Science and Innovation (Red TerCel-FEDER Grant RD12/0019/ 0028); Instituto de Salud Carlos III Grant PI10/00964); the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs Advanced Therapies Program Grant TRA-120 (BS); and Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía CTA (NBT). CIBERDEM is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer Reviewe

The X-/Gamma-ray camera ECLAIRs for the Gammay-ray burst mission SVOM

We present ECLAIRs, the Gamma-ray burst (GRB) trigger camera to fly on-board the Chinese-French mission SVOM. ECLAIRs is a wide-field ($\sim 2$\,sr) coded mask camera with a mask transparency of 40\% and a 1024 $\mathrm{cm}^2$ detection plane coupled to a data processing unit, so-called UGTS, which is in charge of locating GRBs in near real time thanks to image and rate triggers. We present the instrument science requirements and how the design of ECLAIRs has been optimized to increase its sensitivity to high-redshift GRBs and low-luminosity GRBs in the local Universe, by having a low-energy threshold of 4 keV. The total spectral coverage ranges from 4 to 150 keV. ECLAIRs is expected to detect $\sim 200$ GRBs of all types during the nominal 3 year mission lifetime. To reach a 4 keV low-energy threshold, the ECLAIRs detection plane is paved with 6400 $4\times 4~\mathrm{mm}^2$ and 1 mm-thick Schottky CdTe detectors. The detectors are grouped by 32, in 8x4 matrices read by a low-noise ASIC, forming elementary modules called XRDPIX. In this paper, we also present our current efforts to investigate the performance of these modules with their front-end electronics when illuminated by charged particles and/or photons using radioactive sources. All measurements are made in different instrument configurations in vacuum and with a nominal in-flight detector temperature of $-20^\circ$C. This work will enable us to choose the in-flight configuration that will make the best compromise between the science performance and the in-flight operability of ECLAIRs. We will show some highlights of this work.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, Proceeding SPIE - Montreal 201

An exploratory study looking at the relationship marketing techniques used in the music festival industry

There are current issues and trends in the music festival market, which may affect the success of an event, and market saturation is at the forefront of these issues. Previous literature, maintaining the need for a marketing approach to festivals, identifi es the need for maintaining strong stakeholder relationships in order to succeed in a business environment; attention has been focused to the theory of relationship marketing (RM) because of the recognition that this practice is complementary to the marketing of festivals. The very nature of the music festival as an annual, usually, 4-day event means that effective marketing is needed to keep connections with the consumer throughout the year. This article focuses on the RM techniques utilised within the music festival industry from the viewpoint of the festival organiser in an attempt to establish how festival organisations value and monitor organisational relationships. This article explores the extent to which these relationships are valued and managed; furthermore, the variations between these intricate relationships are considered by focusing on those held with the organisation ’ s consumers and sponsors, the results of which have provided the ability to establish the importance and relevance of RM to the industry and further identify the marketing communication methods employed to establish and maintain such relationships. In-depth, convergent interviews have been conducted with a segment of music festival organisers from a range of events. The results have been integrated with the study of current literature to best exemplify these issues. It has been established that RM has a strong role in today ’ s commercial and independent music festival industry; technological advances are enabling the organiser to support online relationships further and increase consumer loyalty. There is a need to expand the research further because of the complexity of organisational relationships and the varying categories of festivals

Improved genome editing in human cell lines using the CRISPR method

The Cas9/CRISPR system has become a popular choice for genome editing. In this system, binding of a single guide (sg) RNA to a cognate genomic sequence enables the Cas9 nuclease to induce a double-strand break at that locus. This break is next repaired by an error-prone mechanism, leading to mutation and gene disruption. In this study we describe a range of refinements of the method, including stable cell lines expressing Cas9, and a PCR based protocol for the generation of the sgRNA. We also describe a simple methodology that allows both elimination of Cas9 from cells after gene disruption and re-introduction of the disrupted gene. This advance enables easy assessment of the off target effects associated with gene disruption, as well as phenotype-based structure-function analysis. In our study, we used the Fan1 DNA repair gene as control in these experiments. Cas9/CRISPR-mediated Fan1 disruption occurred at frequencies of around 29%, and resulted in the anticipated spectrum of genotoxin hypersensitivity, which was rescued by re-introduction of Fan1

The SVOM gamma-ray burst mission

We briefly present the science capabilities, the instruments, the operations, and the expected performance of the SVOM mission. SVOM (Space-based multiband astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) is a Chinese-French space mission dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the next decade. The SVOM mission encompasses a satellite carrying four instruments to detect and localize the prompt GRB emission and measure the evolution of the afterglow in the visible band and in X-rays, a VHF communication system enabling the fast transmission of SVOM alerts to the ground, and a ground segment including a wide angle camera and two follow-up telescopes. The pointing strategy of the satellite has been optimized to favor the detection of GRBs located in the night hemisphere. This strategy enables the study of the optical emission in the first minutes after the GRB with robotic observatories and the early spectroscopy of the optical afterglow with large telescopes to measure the redshifts. The study of GRBs in the next decade will benefit from a number of large facilities in all wavelengths that will contribute to increase the scientific return of the mission. Finally, SVOM will operate in the era of the next generation of gravitational wave detectors, greatly contributing to searches for the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave triggers at Xray and gamma-ray energies.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, published by PoS, proceedings of the conference Swift: 10 Years of Discovery, 2-5 December 2014, La Sapienza University, Rome, Ital

A route to new cancer therapies:the FA pathway is essential in BRCA1- or BRCA2-deficient cells

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes strongly predispose carriers to breast and ovarian cancers. Two new studies reveal that FANCD2, a key component of the Fanconi anemia pathway, is essential for the survival of cells with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. These findings pave the way for new 'synthetic lethal' strategies to kill BRCA-mutated cancers.<br/