Triaxiality near the 110Ru ground state from Coulomb excitation

A multi-step Coulomb excitation measurement with the GRETINA and CHICO2 detector arrays was carried out with a 430-MeV beam of the neutron-rich 110Ru (t1/2=12 s) isotope produced at the CARIBU facility. This represents the first successful measurement following the post-acceleration of an unstable isotope of a refractory element. The reduced transition probabilities obtained for levels near the ground state provide strong evidence for a triaxial shape; a conclusion confirmed by comparisons with the results of beyond-mean-field and triaxial rotor model calculations

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Detection of genotoxic and non-genotoxic renal carcinogens in vitro in NRK-52E cells using a transcriptomics approach

There is a need to develop quick, cheap, sensitive and specific methods to detect the carcinogenic potential of chemicals. Currently there is no in vitro model system for reliable detection of non-genotoxic carcinogens (NGTX) and current tests for detection of genotoxic carcinogens (GTX) can have low specificity. A transcriptomics approach holds promise and a few studies have utilised this technique. However, the majority of these studies have examined liver carcinogens with little work on renal carcinogens which may act via renal-specific NGTX mechanisms. In this study the normal rat renal cell line (NRK-52E) was exposed to sub-toxic concentrations of selected rat renal carcinogens and non-carcinogens (NC) for 6 h, 24 h and 72 h. Renal carcinogens were classified based on their presumed mode of action into GTX and NGTX classes. A whole-genome transcriptomics approach was used to determined genes and pathways as potential signatures for GTX, NGTX and those common to both carcinogenic events in vitro. For some of the GTX compounds an S9 drug metabolising system was included to aid pro-carcinogen activation. Only three genes were commonly deregulated after carcinogen (GTX + NGTX) exposure, one Mdm2 with a detection rate of 67%, and p21 and Cd55 with a detection rate of 56%. However, examination of enriched pathways showed that 3 out of 4 NGTX carcinogens and 4 out of 5 GTX carcinogens were related to known pathways involved in carcinogenesis giving a detection rate of 78%. In contrast, none of the NC chemicals induced any of the above genes or well-established carcinogenic pathways. Additionally, five genes (Lingo1, Hmox1, Ssu72, Lyrm and Usp9x) were commonly altered with 3 out of 4 NGTX carcinogens but not with NC or GTX carcinogens. However, there was no clear separation of GTX and NGTX carcinogens using pathway analysis with several pathways being common to both classes. The findings presented here indicate that the NRK-52E cell line has the potential to detect carcinogenic chemicals, although a much larger number of chemicals need to be used to confirm these findings

Sinopse das espécies nativas e subespontâneas de Andropogoneae Dumort. (Poaceae) na Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brasil A synopsis of the Andropogoneae Dumort. (Poaceae) native and subspontaneous to the Island of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

O presente trabalho consiste no levantamento dos táxons da tribo Andropogoneae (Panicoideae - Poaceae) ocorrentes na Ilha de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brasil. A partir da revisão de materiais de herbários e coletas a campo foi confirmada a ocorrência de 10 gêneros e 20 espécies, 17 nativas e duas subespontâneas: Andropogon L. (7 spp.), Bothriochloa Kuntze (2), Eriochrysis P. Beauv. (1), Hyparrhenia Andersson ex E. Fourn. (1), Imperata Cirillo (1), Ischaemum L. (1), Rhytachne Desv. (1), Saccharum L. (3), Schizachyrium Nees (2) e Sorghum Moench (1). Os gêneros Bothriochloa e Rhytachne são registrados pela primeira vez para a Ilha de Santa Catarina. São apresentadas chaves de identificação para gêneros e espécies, ilustrações, informações sobre distribuição geográfica, habitat, período de floração e comentários para cada táxon.<br>The present work is a survey of the taxa in the tribe Andropogoneae (Panicoideae - Poaceae) that occur on the Island of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. Based on a review of herbarium specimens and fieldwork, 20 species were recorded in the following 10 genera: Andropogon L. (7 spp.), Bothriochloa Kuntze (2), Eriochrysis P. Beauv. (1), Hyparrhenia Andersson ex E. Fourn. (1), Imperata Cirillo (1), Ischaemum L. (1), Rhytachne Desv. (1), Saccharum L. (3), Schizachyrium Nees (2) and Sorghum Moench (1). Seventeen of the species are native, and two species are subspontaneous. Bothriochloa and Rhytachne are recorded here, for the first time, for the Island of Santa Catarina. This work provides key to the genera and species, as well as illustrations, information about geographic distribution, habitat, phenology, and comments about each taxon presented in the study