Galectin-3 interacts with the cell surface glycoprotein CD146 (MCAM, MUC18) and induces secretion of metastasis-promoting cytokines from vascular endothelial cells

The galactoside-binding protein galectin-3 is increasingly recognized as an important player in cancer development, progression, and metastasis via its interactions with various galactoside-terminated glycans. We have shown previously that circulating galectin-3, which is increased up to 30-fold in cancer patients, promotes blood-borne metastasis in an animal cancer model. This effect is partly attributable to the interaction of galectin-3 with unknown receptor(s) on vascular endothelial cells and causes endothelial secretion of several metastasis-promoting cytokines. Here we sought to identify the galectin-3-binding molecule(s) on the endothelial cell surface responsible for the galectin-3-mediated cytokine secretion. Using two different galectin-3 affinity purification processes, we extracted four cell membrane glycoproteins, CD146/melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM)/MUC18, CD31/platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), CD144/VE-cadherin, and CD106/Endoglin, from vascular endothelial cells. CD146 was the major galectin-3-binding ligand and strongly co-localized with galectin-3 on endothelial cell surfaces treated with exogenous galectin-3. Moreover, galectin-3 bound to N-linked glycans on CD146 and induced CD146 dimerization and subsequent activation of AKT signaling. siRNA-mediated suppression of CD146 expression completely abolished the galectin-3-induced secretion of IL-6 and G-CSF cytokines from the endothelial cells. Thus, CD146/MCAM is the functional galectin-3-binding ligand on endothelial cell surfaces responsible for galectin-3-induced secretion of metastasis-promoting cytokines. We conclude that CD146/MCAM interactions with circulating galectin-3 may have an important influence on cancer progression and metastasis

GHRS and ORFEUS-II Observations of the Highly Ionized Interstellar Medium Toward ESO141-055

We present Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph and ORFEUS-II measurements of Si IV, CIV, N V, and O VI absorption in the interstellar medium of the Galactic disk and halo toward the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy ESO141-055. The high ionization absorption is strong, with line strengths consistent with the spectral signature expected for hot (log T = 5-6) collisionally ionized gas in either a ``Galactic fountain'' or an inhomogeneous medium containing a mixture of conductive interfaces and turbulent mixing layers. The total O VI column density of log N ~ 15 suggests that the scale height of O VI is large (>3 kpc) in this direction. Comparison of the high ion column densities with measurements for other sight lines indicates that the highly ionized gas distribution is patchy. The amount of O VI perpendicular to the Galactic plane varies by at least a factor of ~4 among the complete halo sight lines thus far studied. In addition to the high ion absorption, lines of low ionization species are also present in the spectra. With the possible exception of Ar I, which may have a lower than expected abundance resulting from partial photoionization of gas along the sight line, the absorption strengths are typical of those expected for the warm, neutral interstellar medium. The sight line intercepts a cold molecular cloud with log N(H2) ~ 19. The cloud has an identifiable counterpart in IRAS 100-micron emission maps of this region of the sky. We detect a Ly-alpha absorber associated with ESO141-055 at z = 0.03492. This study presents an enticing glimpse into the interstellar and intergalactic absorption patterns that will be observed at high spectral resolution by the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer.Comment: 24 pages + 8 figures, uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication in Ap

A radio continuum survey of the southern sky at 1420 MHz. Observations and data reduction

We describe the equipment, observational method and reduction procedure of an absolutely calibrated radio continuum survey of the South Celestial Hemisphere at a frequency of 1420 MHz. These observations cover the area 0h < R.A. < 24h for declinations less than -10 degree. The sensitivity is about 50 mK T_B (full beam brightness) and the angular resolution (HPBW) is 35.4', which matches the existing northern sky survey at the same frequency.Comment: 9 pages with 9 figures, A&A, in pres

Seasonal variations in aerosol particle composition at the puy-de-Dôme research station in France

Detailed investigations of the chemical and microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles were performed at the puy-de-Dôme (pdD) research station (1465 m) in autumn (September and October 2008), winter (February and March 2009), and summer (June 2010) using a compact Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (cToF-AMS). Over the three campaigns, the average mass concentrations of the non-refractory submicron particles ranged from 10 μg m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;3&lt;/sup&gt; up to 27 μg m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;3&lt;/sup&gt;. Highest nitrate and ammonium mass concentrations were measured during the winter and during periods when marine modified airmasses were arriving at the site, whereas highest concentrations of organic particles were measured during the summer and during periods when continental airmasses arrived at the site. The measurements reported in this paper show that atmospheric particle composition is strongly influenced by both the season and the origin of the airmass. The total organic mass spectra were analysed using positive matrix factorisation to separate individual organic components contributing to the overall organic particle mass concentrations. These organic components include a low volatility oxygenated organic aerosol particle (LV-OOA) and a semi-volatile organic aerosol particle (SV-OOA). Correlations of the LV-OOA components with fragments of &lt;i&gt;m/z&lt;/i&gt; 60 and &lt;i&gt;m/z&lt;/i&gt; 73 (mass spectral markers of wood burning) during the winter campaign suggest that wintertime LV-OOA are related to aged biomass burning emissions, whereas organic aerosol particles measured during the summer are likely linked to biogenic sources. Equivalent potential temperature calculations, gas-phase, and LIDAR measurements define whether the research site is in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) or in the free troposphere (FT)/residual layer (RL). We observe that SV-OOA and nitrate particles are associated with air masses arriving from the PBL where as particle composition measured from RL/FT airmasses contain high mass fractions of sulphate and LV-OOA. This study provides unique insights into the effects of season and airmass variability on regional aerosol particles measured at an elevated site

The DIRTY Model. I. Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Through Dust

We present the DIRTY radiative transfer model in this paper and a companion paper. This model computes the polarized radiative transfer of photons from arbitrary distributions of stars through arbitrary distributions of dust using Monte Carlo techniques. The dust re-emission is done self-consistently with the dust absorption and scattering and includes all three important emission paths: equilibrium thermal emission, non-equilibrium thermal emission, and the aromatic features emission. The algorithm used for the radiative transfer allows for the efficient computation of the appearance of a model system as seen from any viewing direction. We present a simple method for computing an upper limit on the output quantity uncertainties for Monte Carlo radiative transfer models which use the weighted photon approach.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted to the Ap

Evaluating the effects of bilingual traffic signs on driver performance and safety

Variable Message Signs (VMS) can provide immediate and relevant information to road users and bilingual VMS can provide great flexibility in countries where a significant proportion of the population speak an alternative language to the majority. The study reported here evaluates the effect of various bilingual VMS configurations on driver behaviour and safety. The aim of the study was to determine whether or not the visual distraction associated with bilingual VMS signs of different configurations (length, complexity) impacted on driving performance. A driving simulator was used to allow full control over the scenarios, road environment and sign configuration and both longitudinal and lateral driver performance was assessed. Drivers were able to read one and two-line monolingual signs and two-line bilingual signs without disruption to their driving behaviour. However, drivers significantly reduced their speed in order to read four-line monolingual and four-line bilingual signs, accompanied by an increase in headway to the vehicle in front. This implies that drivers are possibly reading the irrelevant text on the bilingual sign and various methods for reducing this effect are discussed

ISO--LWS observations of the two nearby spiral galaxies: NGC6946 and NGC1313

(Abridged) We present the analysis of the main FIR fine structure lines emission in NGC1313 and NGC6946. We calculate that a component probably associated with the diffuse disks contributes <~40% in N6946 and ~30 % in N1313 to the total [CII] emission. The main PDR physical parameters responsible for the neutral atomic gas emission in N1313 and N6946 do not significantly differ from what Malhotra etal (2001) found by modelling the integrated emission of a sample of 60 normal galaxies,although there are evidences for a beam averaged contribution of a less active component inside NGC6946 higher than its contribution in the integrated emission of normal galaxies. CO and [CII] in N6946 are well correlated with a mean [CII]/CO ratio similar to that of the normal galaxies sample. In N1313 the [CII]/CO seems to systematically increase from the North to the south, along the S-shaped spiral arm, indicating much more inhomogeneous conditions than in N6946. HI and [CII] in N6946 are completely de-correlated, probably because they arise from different gas components. In N1313 we successfully detect two distinct gas components: a cirrus-like component where HI and [CII] are weakly correlated as observed in our Galaxy, and a component associated with dense PDRs completely de-correlated from HI as observed in N6946.Finally, we find that the HI residing in dense PDRs and presumably recently photo-dissociated, constitutes a few % of the total HI. In turn, this dense gas component produces most of the [CII] emission emitted by the atomic neutral medium.Comment: Latex, 100 pages, 11 Figures, 11 Tables. Accepted for publication in A

Status of the LBNL normal-conducting CW VHF electron photo-gun

The fabrication and installation at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of a high-brightness high-repetition rate photo-gun, based on a normal conducting 187 MHz (VHF) RF cavity operating in CW mode, is in an advanced phase. The cavity will generate an electric field at the cathode plane of ∼ 20 MV/m to accelerate the electron bunches up to ∼ 750 keV, with peak current, energy spread and transverse emittance suitable for FEL and ERL applications. The gun vacuum system has been designed for achieving pressures compatible with the use of "delicate" high quantum efficiency semiconductor cathodes to generate up to a nC bunches at MHz repetition rate with present laser technology. Several photo-cathode/laser systems are under consideration, and in particular photo-cathodes based on K CsSb are being developed for the gun and have already achieved a QE of 8% at 532 nm wavelength, or close to 20% including the Schottky barrier lowering. The cathode will be operated by a μJ fiber laser in conjunction with refractive transverse beam shaping to create a flat top transverse profile, as well as a birefringent pulse stacker to create a flat top temporal profile. The present status and the plan for future activities are presented.

Maïdo observatory: a new high-altitude station facility at Reunion Island (21° S, 55° E) for long-term atmospheric remote sensing and in situ measurements

Since the nineties, atmospheric measurement systems have been deployed at Reunion Island, mainly for monitoring the atmospheric composition in the framework of NDSC/NDACC (Network for the Detection of <i>Stratospheric</i> Change/Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). The location of Reunion Island presents a great interest because there are very few multi-instrumented stations in the tropics and particularly in the southern hemisphere. In 2012, a new observatory was commissioned in Maïdo at 2200 m above sea level: it hosts various instruments for atmospheric measurements, including lidar systems, spectro-radiometers and in situ gas and aerosol measurements. <br><br> This new high-altitude Maïdo station provides an opportunity:<br> 1. to improve the performance of the optical instruments above the marine boundary layer, and to open new perspectives on upper troposphere and lower stratosphere studies;<br> 2. to develop in situ measurements of the atmospheric composition for climate change surveys, in a reference site in the tropical/subtropical region of the southern hemisphere;<br> 3. to offer trans-national access to host experiments or measurement campaigns for focused process studies