An Improved Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment

A new measurement of the neutron EDM, using Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields, is in preparation at the new high intensity source of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland (PSI). The existence of a non-zero nEDM would violate both parity and time reversal symmetry and, given the CPT theorem, might lead to a discovery of new CP violating mechanisms. Already the current upper limit for the nEDM (|d_n|<2.9E-26 e.cm) constrains some extensions of the Standard Model. The new experiment aims at a two orders of magnitude reduction of the experimental uncertainty, to be achieved mainly by (1) the higher UCN flux provided by the new PSI source, (2) better magnetic field control with improved magnetometry and (3) a double chamber configuration with opposite electric field directions. The first stage of the experiment will use an upgrade of the RAL/Sussex/ILL group's apparatus (which has produced the current best result) moved from Institut Laue-Langevin to PSI. The final accuracy will be achieved in a further step with a new spectrometer, presently in the design phase.Comment: Flavor Physics & CP Violation Conference, Taipei, 200

The elements of human cyclin D1 promoter and regulation involved

Cyclin D1 is a cell cycle machine, a sensor of extracellular signals and plays an important role in G1-S phase progression. The human cyclin D1 promoter contains multiple transcription factor binding sites such as AP-1, NF-қB, E2F, Oct-1, and so on. The extracellular signals functions through the signal transduction pathways converging at the binding sites to active or inhibit the promoter activity and regulate the cell cycle progression. Different signal transduction pathways regulate the promoter at different time to get the correct cell cycle switch. Disorder regulation or special extracellular stimuli can result in cell cycle out of control through the promoter activity regulation. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation may involved in cyclin D1 transcriptional regulation

Effects of Once-Weekly Exenatide on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular effects of adding once-weekly treatment with exenatide to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown. METHODS: We randomly assigned patients with type 2 diabetes, with or without previous cardiovascular disease, to receive subcutaneous injections of extended-release exenatide at a dose of 2 mg or matching placebo once weekly. The primary composite outcome was the first occurrence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. The coprimary hypotheses were that exenatide, administered once weekly, would be noninferior to placebo with respect to safety and superior to placebo with respect to efficacy. RESULTS: In all, 14,752 patients (of whom 10,782 [73.1%] had previous cardiovascular disease) were followed for a median of 3.2 years (interquartile range, 2.2 to 4.4). A primary composite outcome event occurred in 839 of 7356 patients (11.4%; 3.7 events per 100 person-years) in the exenatide group and in 905 of 7396 patients (12.2%; 4.0 events per 100 person-years) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.00), with the intention-to-treat analysis indicating that exenatide, administered once weekly, was noninferior to placebo with respect to safety (P<0.001 for noninferiority) but was not superior to placebo with respect to efficacy (P=0.06 for superiority). The rates of death from cardiovascular causes, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal or nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, and hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, and the incidence of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and serious adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes with or without previous cardiovascular disease, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ significantly between patients who received exenatide and those who received placebo. (Funded by Amylin Pharmaceuticals; EXSCEL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01144338 .)

Interaction of the yeast gamma-tubulin complex-binding protein Spc72p with Kar1p is essential for microtubule function during karyogamy.

The spindle pole body component Kar1p has a function in nuclear fusion during conjugation, a process known as karyogamy. The molecular role of Kar1p during this process is poorly understood. Here we show that the yeast gamma-tubulin complex-binding protein Spc72p interacts directly with the N-terminal domain of Kar1p, thereby targeting the gamma-tubulin complex to the half bridge, a substructure of the spindle pole body, where it organizes microtubules. This binding of Spc72p to Kar1p has only a minor role during vegetative growth, whereas it becomes essential for karyogamy in mating cells, explaining the important role of Kar1p in this process. We also show that the localization of Spc72p within the spindle pole body changes throughout the cell cycle and even more strongly in response to mating pheromone. Taken together, these observations suggest that the relocalization of Spc72p within the spindle pole body is the 'landmark' event in the pheromone-induced reorganization of the cytoplasmic microtubules

Dimethylsulphopropionate (DMSP) and proline from the surface of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus inhibit bacterial attachment

It was demonstrated previously that polar and non-polar surface extracts of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus collected during winter from the Kiel Bight (Germany) inhibited bacterial attachment at natural concentrations. The present study describes the bioassay-guided identification of the active metabolites from the polar fraction. Chromatographic separation on a size-exclusion liquid chromatography column and bioassays identified an active fraction that was further investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. This fraction contained the metabolites dimethylsulphopropionate (DMSP), proline and alanine. DMSP and proline caused the anti-attachment activity. The metabolites were further quantified on the algal surface together with its associated boundary layer. DMSP and proline were detected in the range 0.12–1.08 ng cm−2 and 0.09–0.59 ng cm−2, respectively. These metabolites were tested in the concentration range from 0.1 to 1000 ng cm−2 against the attachment of five bacterial strains isolated from algae and sediment co-occurring with F. vesiculosus. The surface concentrations for 50% inhibition of attachment of these strains were always <0.38 ng cm−2 for DMSP and in four cases <0.1 ng cm−2 for proline, while one strain required 1.66 ng cm−2 of proline for 50% inhibition. Two further bacterial strains that had been directly isolated from F. vesiculosus were also tested, but proved to be the least sensitive. This study shows that DMSP and proline have an ecologically relevant role as surface inhibitors against bacterial attachment on F. vesiculosus

Kompakter Laserbearbeitungskopf zur Lasermaterialbearbeitung mit integrierter on-line-Bahnkontrolle

The invention relates to a compact laser machining head for machining laser material, in particular for laser-based material machining processes, for 2-D and 3-D laser machining. Said laser-machining head consists of a sensor for geometry detection and/or contour tracing, one or several mirrors (4) and/or mirror systems comprising a mirror housing (2) and a mirror holder (5), a defined interface (1) for the machine beam guidance system (3) and other necessary components, terminals and lines. According to the invention, the sensor (7) in this compact machining head for geometry detection and/or contour tracing is fully integrated in the design of the laser machining head and is mounted in a swivel bearing about the sensor's axis of rotation (12) together with other laser machining head accessories related to the machining direction

Daily bursts of biogenic cyanogen bromide (BrCN) control biofilm formation around a marine benthic diatom

The spatial organization of biofilms is strongly regulated by chemical cues released by settling organisms. However, the exact nature of these interactions and the repertoire of chemical cues and signals that micro-organisms produce and exude in response to the presence of competitors remain largely unexplored. Biofilms dominated by microalgae often show remarkable, yet unexplained fine-scale patchy variation in species composition. Because this occurs even in absence of abiotic heterogeneity, antagonistic interactions might play a key role. Here we show that a marine benthic diatom produces chemical cues that cause chloroplast bleaching, a reduced photosynthetic efficiency, growth inhibition and massive cell death in naturally co-occurring competing microalgae. Using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-GC-MS, we demonstrate that this diatom exudes a diverse mixture of volatile iodinated and brominated metabolites including the natural product cyanogen bromide (BrCN), which exhibits pronounced allelopathic activity. Toxin production is light-dependent with a short BrCN burst after sunrise. BrCN acts as a short-term signal, leading to daily “cleaning” events around the algae. We show that allelopathic effects are H2O2 dependent and link BrCN production to haloperoxidase activity. This strategy is a highly effective means of biofilm control and may provide an explanation for the poorly understood role of volatile halocarbons from marine algae, which contribute significantly to the atmospheric halocarbon budget