The double RGB in M 2: C, N, Sr and Ba abundances

The globular cluster M 2 has a photometrically detected double red giant branch (RGB) sequence. We investigate here the chemical differences between the two RGBs in order to gain insight in the star formation history of this cluster. The low-resolution spectra, covering the blue spectral range, were collected with the MODS spectrograph on the LBT, and analyzed via spectrum synthesis technique. The high quality of the spectra allows us to measure C, N, Ba, and Sr abundances relative to iron for 15 RGB stars distributed along the two sequences. We add to the MODS sample C and N measurements for 35 additional stars belonging to the blue RGB sequence, presented in Lardo et al. (2012). We find a clear separation between the two groups of stars in s-process elements as well as C and N content. Both groups display a C-N anti-correlation and the red RGB stars are on average richer in C and N with respect to the blue RGB. Our results reinforce the suggestion that M2 belongs to the family of globular clusters with complex star formation history, together with Omega Cen, NGC 1851, and M 22.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

BOTOX injection to treat strabismus after infant botulism type B infection

Purpose: The significance of botulinum toxin to ophthalmologists is twofold. Botulism, a medical emergency, frequently presents with ocular findings including blurred vision, diplopia, ptosis, and photophobia as a result of the neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. However, botulinum toxins also have therapeutic uses for medical conditions including strabismus. The safety and efficacy of Botulinum toxin A in patients with a history of botulism has not been reported. Observations: We report a 9-week-old infant, diagnosed with type B toxin positive infant botulism treated with human botulism immune globulin, who developed a large angle exotropia. The infant was treated with intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin A to the extraocular muscles resulting in a favorable initial response but ultimately required strabismus surgery. Clinical manifestations and management of botulism are reviewed and botulinum toxin in the treatment of pediatric strabismus is discussed. Conclusions and importance: This case demonstrates safe administration of onabotulinumtoxinA to an infant with a history of antitoxin-treated botulism, resulting in a transient improvement in control of infantile exotropia

Qualidade e conservação da uva Superior Seedless sob atmosfera controlada.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o efeito do emprego da tecnologia Cargofresh de AC associada ao emprego de SO2 e ao envolvimento do pallet com filme plástico, sobre a vida útil de armazenamento da uva 'Superior Seedless' produzida no Vale do São Francisco

Epoetin alfa increases frataxin production in Friedreich's ataxia without affecting hematocrit.

Objective of the study was to test the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of two single doses of Epoetin alfa in patients with Friedreich's ataxia. Ten patients were treated subcutaneously with 600 IU/kg for the first dose, and 3 months later with 1200 IU/kg. Epoetin alfa had no acute effect on frataxin, whereas a delayed and sustained increase in frataxin was evident at 3 months after the first dose (+35%; P < 0.05), and up to 6 months after the second dose (+54%; P < 0.001). The treatment was well tolerated and did not affect hematocrit, cardiac function, and neurological scale. Single high dose of Epoetin alfa can produce a considerably larger and sustained effect when compared with low doses and repeated administration schemes previously adopted. In addition, no hemoglobin increase was observed, and none of our patients required phlebotomy, indicating lack of erythropoietic effect of single high dose of erythropoietin. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society

Cerebellum and neurodegenerative diseases: Beyond conventional magnetic resonance imaging

The cerebellum plays a key role in movement control and in cognition and cerebellar involvement is described in several neurodegenerative diseases. While conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used for brain and cerebellar morphologic evaluation, advanced MRI techniques allow the investigation of cerebellar microstructural and functional characteristics. Volumetry, voxel-based morphometry, diffusion MRI based fiber tractography, resting state and task related functional MRI, perfusion, and proton MR spectroscopy are among the most common techniques applied to the study of cerebellum. In the present review, after providing a brief description of each technique's advantages and limitations, we focus on their application to the study of cerebellar injury in major neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease and hereditary ataxia. A brief introduction to the pathological substrate of cerebellar involvement is provided for each disease, followed by the review of MRI studies exploring structural and functional cerebellar abnormalities and by a discussion of the clinical relevance of MRI measures of cerebellar damage in terms of both clinical status and cognitive performance

SN 2002lt and GRB 021211: a SN/GRB Connection at z = 1

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the afterglow of GRB 021211 and the discovery of its associated supernova, SN 2002lt. The spectrum shows a broad feature (FWHM = 150 A), around 3770 A (in the rest-frame of the GRB), which we interpret as Ca H+K blueshifted by 14400 km/s. Potential sources of contamination due to the host galaxy and/or residuals of telluric absorption have been analyzed and ruled out. Overall, the spectrum shows a suggestive resemblance with the one of the prototypical type-Ic SN 1994I. This might indicate that GRBs are produced also by standard type-Ic supernovae.Comment: 6 pages, 5 color figures. Proceedings of the 2003 GRB Conference (Santa Fe, NM, 2003 Sep 8-12). Needs aipprocs LaTeX clas

The Gaia spectrophotometric standard stars survey -II. Instrumental effects of six ground-based observing campaigns

The Gaia SpectroPhotometric Standard Stars (SPSS) survey started in 2006, it was awarded almost 450 observing nights, and accumulated almost 100,000 raw data frames, with both photometric and spectroscopic observations. Such large observational effort requires careful, homogeneous, and automated data reduction and quality control procedures. In this paper, we quantitatively evaluate instrumental effects that might have a significant (i.e.,$\geq$1%) impact on the Gaia SPSS flux calibration. The measurements involve six different instruments, monitored over the eight years of observations dedicated to the Gaia flux standards campaigns: DOLORES@TNG in La Palma, EFOSC2@NTT and ROSS@REM in La Silla, [email protected] in Calar Alto, BFOSC@Cassini in Loiano, and [email protected] in San Pedro Martir. We examine and quantitatively evaluate the following effects: CCD linearity and shutter times, calibration frames stability, lamp flexures, second order contamination, light polarization, and fringing. We present methods to correct for the relevant effects, which can be applied to a wide range of observational projects at similar instruments.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astron. Nach

Timing and spectral changes of the Be X-ray transient EXO 0531-6609.2 through high and low state

We report on spectral and timing analysis of BeppoSAX data of the 13.6 s period transient X-ray pulsar EXO 0531-6609.2. Observations were carried out in March 1997 and October 1998, catching the source during a high and a low emission state, respectively. Correspondingly, the X-ray luminosity is found at a level of 4.2x10^37 erg/s and 1.5x10^36 erg/s in the two states. In the high state the X-ray emission in the energy range 1-100 keV is well fitted by an absorbed power-law with photon index Gamma ~1.7 plus a blackbody component with a characteristic temperature of ~3.5 keV. Moreover, we find an evidence of an iron emission at ~6.8 keV, typical feature in this class of sources but never revealed before in the EXO 0531-6609.2 spectrum. In the low state an absorbed power-law with Gamma ~0.4 is sufficient to fit the 1-10 keV data. During BeppoSAX observations EXO 0531-6609.2 display variations of the pulse profile with the X-ray flux: it showed single peaked and double peaked profiles in the low and high state, respectively. Based on these two observations we infer a spin-up period derivative of -(1.14+/-0.08)x10^-10 s/s. By comparing these with other period measurements reported in literature we find an alternating spin-up and spin-down behaviour that correlates well with the X-ray luminosity.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, A&

The genomic landscape of 8-oxodG reveals enrichment at specific inherently fragile promoters

8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) is the most common marker of oxidative stress and its accumulation within the genome has been associated with major human health issues such as cancer, aging, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The characterization of the different genomic sites where 8-oxodG accumulates and the mechanisms underlying its formation are still poorly understood. Using OxiDIP-seq, we recently derived the genome-wide distribution of 8-oxodG in human non-tumorigenic epithelial breast cells (MCF10A). Here, we identify a subset of human promoters that accumulate 8-oxodG under steady-state condition. 8-oxodG nucleotides co-localize with double strand breaks (DSBs) at bidirectional and CG skewed promoters and their density correlate with RNA Polymerase II co-occupancy and transcription. Furthermore, by performing OxiDIP-seq in quiescent (G0) cells, we found a strong reduction of oxidatively-generated damage in the majority of 8-oxodG-positive promoters in the absence of DNA replication. Overall, our results suggest that the accumulation of 8-oxodG at gene promoters occurs through DNA replication-dependent or -independent mechanisms, with a possible contribution to the formation of cancer-associated translocation events