New insight into the Pleistocene deposits of Monte delle Piche, Rome, and remarks on the biochronology of Hippopotamus (Mammalia, Hippopotamidae) and Stephanorhinus etruscus (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) in Italy

Several large mammal assemblages have been collected in the Roman basin since the XIX century, but they usually lack any stratigraphic datum or details about the fossiliferous localities. In this work, the stratigraphic provenance of large mammal remains discovered at Monte delle Piche (Rome) is investigated. The systematic revision of these specimens allows the recording of the presence of Hippopotamus sp., Stephanorhinus sp. and Stephanorhinus etruscus. On the basis of micropalaeontological analysis performed on sediment sampled from the studied specimens and considering the stratigraphy of the area, two fossiliferous levels are recognised at Monte delle Piche. The remain of the hippopotamus was collected in fluvial gravels and sand deposits, in which the presence of Cyprideis is also recorded. This deposit is chronologically related to the latest Early-early Middle Pleistocene. Hippopotamus was present in Italy and Western Europe from the latest Villafranchian to MIS 4/3. The mandible of S. etruscus was collected in marine deposits along with abundant foraminifera and ostracods, which correlate with the late Early Pleistocene. Stephanorhinus etruscus occurred in Western Europe at the beginning of the Villafranchian, and it was documented until the end of the Villafranchian in Italy and until the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition in the Iberian Peninsula

Particle flow event reconstruction at CMS: Commissioning with December collisions, prospects for 7 TeV

The results of the commissioning of the Particle Flow on 900 GeV collisions recorded by CMS are shown. The Particle Flow is an event reconstruction technique which combines all CMS subdetectors into the creation of particle candidates, and improves jet and missing transverse-energy reconstruction performance

Can Twitter be a source of information on allergy? Correlation of pollen counts with tweets reporting symptoms of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and names of antihistamine drugs

Pollen forecasts are in use everywhere to inform therapeutic decisions for patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). We exploited data derived from Twitter in order to identify tweets reporting a combination of symptoms consistent with a case definition of ARC and those reporting the name of an antihistamine drug. In order to increase the sensitivity of the system, we applied an algorithm aimed at automatically identifying jargon expressions related to medical terms. We compared weekly Twitter trends with National Allergy Bureau weekly pollen counts derived from US stations, and found a high correlation of the sum of the total pollen counts from each stations with tweets reporting ARC symptoms (Pearson's correlation coefficient: 0.95) and with tweets reporting antihistamine drug names (Pearson's correlation coefficient: 0.93). Longitude and latitude of the pollen stations affected the strength of the correlation. Twitter and other social networks may play a role in allergic disease surveillance and in signaling drug consumptions trends

Proof-of-principle of a new geometry for sampling calorimetry using inorganic scintillator plates

A novel geometry for a sampling calorimeter employing inorganic scintillators as an active medium is presented. To overcome the mechanical challenges of construction, an innovative light collection geometry has been pioneered, that minimises the complexity of construction. First test results are presented, demonstrating a successful signal extraction. The geometry consists of a sampling calorimeter with passive absorber layers interleaved with layers of an active medium made of inorganic scintillating crystals. Wavelength-shifting (WLS) fibres run along the four long, chamfered edges of the stack, transporting the light to photodetectors at the rear. To maximise the amount of scintillation light reaching the WLS fibres, the scintillator chamfers are depolished. It is shown herein that this concept is working for cerium fluoride (CeF$_3$) as a scintillator. Coupled to it, several different types of materials have been tested as WLS medium. In particular, materials that might be sufficiently resistant to the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider radiation environment, such as cerium-doped Lutetium-Yttrium Orthosilicate (LYSO) and cerium-doped quartz, are compared to conventional plastic WLS fibres. Finally, an outlook is presented on the possible optimisation of the different components, and the construction and commissioning of a full calorimeter cell prototype is presented.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings CALOR 2014, the 16th International Conference on Calorimetry in High-Energy Physics, Giessen (Germany) 6 - 11 April 2014. To be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (10 pages, 15 figures

Preferential expression of the transcription coactivator HTIF1alpha gene in acute myeloid leukemia and MDS-related AML

HTIF1α, a transcription coactivator which is able to mediate RARα activity and functionally interact with PML, is encoded by a gene on chromosome 7q32–34, which is a critical region in acute myeloid leukemias (AML). With the assumption that this gene may be related to AML, we investigated the HTIF1α DNA structure and RNA expression in leukemic cells from 36 M1–M5 AML patients (28 ‘de novo’ and eight ‘secondary’ to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)). Abnormal HTIF1α DNA fragments were never found, whereas loss of HTIF1α DNA was observed in the patients with chromosome 7q32 deletion and translocation, and in one case without detectable chromosome 7 abnormality. HTIF1α RNA was found in acute myelocytic leukemic blasts, and was almost undetectable in normal mononuclear cells. The expression varied among the patients: higher in M1 to M3 subtypes, with the highest values in M1; low levels were constantly observed in M4 and M5 AML. In addition, HTIF1α was significantly overexpressed in MDS-related AML (MDR-AML), but not in MDS. We also found that HTIF1α expression was high in myeloid cell lines. In myeloblastic HL60 and promyelocytic NB4 cells, induced to differentiate along the monocytic–macrophage pathway by TPA or vitamin D3, HTIF1α expression decreased, whereas it was maintained at high levels on induction to granulocytic differentiation by RA or DMSO. In K562 cells, HTIF1α RNA levels did not change after hemin-induced erythroid differentiation. These results suggest that HTIF1α could play a role in myeloid differentiation, being distinctly regulated in hematopoietic lineages

Intravital imaging reveals p53-dependent cancer cell death induced by phototherapy via calcium signaling.

One challenge in biology is signal transduction monitoring in a physiological context. Intravital imaging techniques are revolutionizing our understanding of tumor and host cell behaviors in the tumor environment. However, these deep tissue imaging techniques have not yet been adopted to investigate the second messenger calcium (Ca2+). In the present study, we established conditions that allow the in vivo detection of Ca2+ signaling in three-dimensional tumor masses in mouse models. By combining intravital imaging and a skinfold chamber technique, we determined the ability of photodynamic cancer therapy to induce an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentrations and, consequently, an increase in cell death in a p53-dependent pathway

Deformation history of the blueschist-facies sequences from the Villa de Cura unit (Northern Venezuela)

The Serrania del Interior terrane is located in Northern Venezuela, that represents the southern margin of the Caribbean plate. This terrane includes the Villa de Cura unit, which mainly consists of multiple sub-units of metamorphosed and deformed Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequences. These sequences are commonly interpreted as generated in a supra-subduction zone setting. The structural history of the Villa de Cura blueschists-facies units includes four main deformational phases, from D1 to D4. The first D1 phase is mainly represented by a relict S1 schistosity developed under HP/LT conditions. The relic S1 schistosity is deformed by isoclinal to subisoclinal F2 folds showing similar geometry. The F2 folds are characterized by a continuous S2 crenulation cleavage developed under greenschist-facies metamorphism. The parallelism between the A2 axes and the related L2 mineral lineations suggests an interpretation of the F2 folds as sheath folds developed during non-coaxial deformation. The kinematic indicators suggest a top-to-W sense of shear for the D2 phase. The D3 phase is distinguished by asymmetric, parallel F3 folds with a S vergence. Finally, the D4 phase consists of F4 open, gentle folds with high-angle to sub-vertical axial planes. The collected data suggest a complex deformation history, characterized by coupling of strike-slip tectonics and shortening during the retrograde evolution of the blueschist-facies sequences

Transição ao Socialismo: a participação política dos trabalhadores nas Empresas Estatais de Cuba

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a participação política dos trabalhadores nas empresas estatais de Cuba no contexto de Actualización del Modelo Económico y Social. A partir deste contexto e seu marco legal, acredita-se que há uma ampliação da participação política dos trabalhadores nas empresas estatais cubanas, a qual se entende como fundamental para a apropriação social da produção em processos de transição ao socialismo. Dessa forma, o trabalho que segue tece discussões acerca da apropriação social da produção, as formas de propriedade e o papel da empresa estatal, a forma política de participação na sociedade em geral e a participação política dos trabalhadores nas empresas estatais. Todos estes elementos são considerados ao longo de processos de transição ao socialismo, os quais não possuem parâmetro de forma, tempo ou espaço. Inicialmente foram realizadas reflexões mais gerais, as quais subsidiaram as análises para o caso particular das mudanças recentes na transição ao socialismo em Cuba