AEgIS Experiment: Measuring the Acceleration g of the Earth's Gravitational Field on Antihydrogen Beam

The AEgIS experiment [1] aims at directly measuring the gravitational acceleration g on a beam of cold antihydrogen (H) to a precision of 1%, performing the first test with antimatter of the (WEP) Weak Equivalence Principle. The experimental apparatus is sited at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. After production by mixing of antiprotons with Rydberg state positronium atoms (Ps), the atoms will be driven to fly horizontally with a velocity of a few 100 ms−1 for a path length of about 1 meter. The small deflection, few tens of μm, will be measured using two material gratings (of period ∼ 80 μm) coupled to a position-sensitive detector working as a moiré deflectometer similarly to what has been done with matter atoms [2]. The shadow pattern produced by the beam will then be detected by reconstructing the annihilation points with a spatial resolution (∼ 2 μm) of each antiatom at the end of the flight path by the sensitive-position detector. During 2012 the experimental apparatus has been commissioned with antiprotons and positrons. Since the AD will not be running during 2013,during the refurbishment of the CERN accelerators, the experiment is currently working with positrons, electrons and protons, in order to prepare the way for the antihydrogen production in late 2014

Inter-domain Communication Mechanisms in an ABC Importer: A Molecular Dynamics Study of the MalFGK2E Complex

ATP-Binding Cassette transporters are ubiquitous membrane proteins that convert the energy from ATP-binding and hydrolysis into conformational changes of the transmembrane region to allow the translocation of substrates against their concentration gradient. Despite the large amount of structural and biochemical data available for this family, it is still not clear how the energy obtained from ATP hydrolysis in the ATPase domains is “transmitted” to the transmembrane domains. In this work, we focus our attention on the consequences of hydrolysis and inorganic phosphate exit in the maltose uptake system (MalFGK2E) from Escherichia coli. The prime goal is to identify and map the structural changes occurring during an ATP-hydrolytic cycle. For that, we use extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study three potential intermediate states (with 10 replicates each): an ATP-bound, an ADP plus inorganic phosphate-bound and an ADP-bound state. Our results show that the residues presenting major rearrangements are located in the A-loop, in the helical sub-domain, and in the “EAA motif” (especially in the “coupling helices” region). Additionally, in one of the simulations with ADP we were able to observe the opening of the NBD dimer accompanied by the dissociation of ADP from the ABC signature motif, but not from its corresponding P-loop motif. This work, together with several other MD studies, suggests a common communication mechanism both for importers and exporters, in which ATP-hydrolysis induces conformational changes in the helical sub-domain region, in turn transferred to the transmembrane domains via the “coupling helices”

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider at the HL-LHC

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider (LHeC) is designed to move the field of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) to the energy and intensity frontier of particle physics. Exploiting energy-recovery technology, it collides a novel, intense electron beam with a proton or ion beam from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The accelerator and interaction region are designed for concurrent electron-proton and proton-proton operations. This report represents an update to the LHeC's conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2012. It comprises new results on the parton structure of the proton and heavier nuclei, QCD dynamics, and electroweak and top-quark physics. It is shown how the LHeC will open a new chapter of nuclear particle physics by extending the accessible kinematic range of lepton-nucleus scattering by several orders of magnitude. Due to its enhanced luminosity and large energy and the cleanliness of the final hadronic states, the LHeC has a strong Higgs physics programme and its own discovery potential for new physics. Building on the 2012 CDR, this report contains a detailed updated design for the energy-recovery electron linac (ERL), including a new lattice, magnet and superconducting radio-frequency technology, and further components. Challenges of energy recovery are described, and the lower-energy, high-current, three-turn ERL facility, PERLE at Orsay, is presented, which uses the LHeC characteristics serving as a development facility for the design and operation of the LHeC. An updated detector design is presented corresponding to the acceptance, resolution, and calibration goals that arise from the Higgs and parton-density-function physics programmes. This paper also presents novel results for the Future Circular Collider in electron-hadron (FCC-eh) mode, which utilises the same ERL technology to further extend the reach of DIS to even higher centre-of-mass energies.Peer reviewe

The application of omics in ruminant production: a review in the tropical and sub-tropical animal production context

The demand for animal products (e.g. dairy and beef) in tropical regions is expected to increase in parallel with the public demand for sustainable practices, due to factors such as population growth and climate change. The necessity to increase animal production output must be achieved with better management and production technologies. For this to happen, novel research methodologies, animal selection and postgenomic tools play a pivotal role. Indeed, improving breeder selection programs, the quality of meat and dairy products as well as animal health will contribute to higher sustainability and productivity. This would surely benefit regions where resource quality and quantity are increasingly unstable, and research is still very incipient, which is the case of many regions in the tropics. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate how omics-based approaches play a major role in animal science, particularly concerning ruminant production systems and research associated to the tropics and developing countriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Chemotherapy-induced hyaluronan production: a novel chemoresistance mechanism in ovarian cancer

Background: Hyaluronan (HA) an important component of the extracellular matrix, has been linked to tumor progression and drug resistance in several malignancies. However, limited data is available for ovarian cancer. This study investigated the role of hyaluronan (HA) and a potential link between the HA-CD44 pathway and membrane ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter proteins in ovarian cancer chemoresistance. Methods: We investigated the ability of HA to block the cytotoxic effects of the chemotherapy drug carboplatin, and to regulate the expression of ABC transporters in ovarian cancer cells. We also examined HA serum levels in ovarian cancer patients prior to and following chemotherapy and assessed its prognostic relevance. Results: HA increased the survival of carboplatin treated ovarian cancer cells expressing the HA receptor, CD44 (OVCAR-5 and OV-90). Carboplatin significantly increased expression of HAS2, HAS3 and ABCC2 and HA secretion in ovarian cancer cell conditioned media. Serum HA levels were significantly increased in patients following platinum based chemotherapy and at both 1st and 2nd recurrence when compared with HA levels prior to treatment. High serum HA levels (>50 μg/ml) prior to chemotherapy treatment were associated with significantly reduced progression-free (P = 0.014) and overall survival (P = 0.036). HA production in ovarian cancer cells was increased in cancer tissues collected following chemotherapy treatment and at recurrence. Furthermore HA treatment significantly increased the expression of ABC drug transporters (ABCB3, ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCC3), but only in ovarian cancer cells expressing CD44. The effects of HA and carboplatin on ABC transporter expression in ovarian cancer cells could be abrogated by HA oligomer treatment. Importantly, HA oligomers increased the sensitivity of chemoresistant SKOV3 cells to carboplatin. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that carboplatin chemotherapy induces HA production which can contribute to chemoresistance by regulating ABC transporter expression. The HA-CD44 signaling pathway is therefore a promising target in platinum resistant ovarian cancer.Carmela Ricciardelli, Miranda P Ween, Noor A Lokman, Izza A Tan, Carmen E Pyragius, and Martin K Oehle

The Large Hadron–Electron Collider at the HL-LHC

The Large Hadron–Electron Collider (LHeC) is designed to move the field of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) to the energy and intensity frontier of particle physics. Exploiting energy-recovery technology, it collides a novel, intense electron beam with a proton or ion beam from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The accelerator and interaction region are designed for concurrent electron–proton and proton–proton operations. This report represents an update to the LHeC’s conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2012. It comprises new results on the parton structure of the proton and heavier nuclei, QCD dynamics, and electroweak and top-quark physics. It is shown how the LHeC will open a new chapter of nuclear particle physics by extending the accessible kinematic range of lepton–nucleus scattering by several orders of magnitude. Due to its enhanced luminosity and large energy and the cleanliness of the final hadronic states, the LHeC has a strong Higgs physics programme and its own discovery potential for new physics. Building on the 2012 CDR, this report contains a detailed updated design for the energy-recovery electron linac (ERL), including a new lattice, magnet and superconducting radio-frequency technology, and further components. Challenges of energy recovery are described, and the lower-energy, high-current, three-turn ERL facility, PERLE at Orsay, is presented, which uses the LHeC characteristics serving as a development facility for the design and operation of the LHeC. An updated detector design is presented corresponding to the acceptance, resolution, and calibration goals that arise from the Higgs and parton-density-function physics programmes. This paper also presents novel results for the Future Circular Collider in electron–hadron (FCC-eh) mode, which utilises the same ERL technology to further extend the reach of DIS to even higher centre-of-mass energies