Opportunities for maser studies with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is the radio telescope of the next generation, providing an increase in sensitivity and angular resolution of two orders of magnitude over existing telescopes. Currently, the SKA is expected to span the frequency range 0.1-25 GHz with capabilities including a wide field-of-view and measurement of polarised emission. Such a telescope has enormous potential for testing fundamental physical laws and producing transformational discoveries. Important science goals include using H2O megamasers to make precise estimates of H0, which will anchor the extragalactic distance scale, and to probe the central structures of accretion disks around supermassive black holes in AGNs, to study OH megamasers associated with extreme starburst activity in distant galaxies and to study with unprecedented precision molecular gas and star formation in our Galaxy.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in: IAU Symposium 242 Astrophysical Masers and their Environment

Technology-enabled personalization: Impact of smart technology choice on consumer shopping behavior

Smart technologies promise to enhance customer experience to new levels in next-generation retail stores. Offline retailers increasingly employ technology-enabled personalization (TEP) strategies to digitally enhance in-store customer experience. To send personalized messages to in-store customers, retailers can choose from two types of smart devices: customer-owned smartphones or retailer-owned immersive screens. Although these smart devices may largely determine customers’ experiences in future retail, research rarely addresses device-related determinants of the effectiveness of personalized messages in stores. Building on assemblage theory, the authors consider the role of these devices in influencing customer experience and eventually consumer shopping behavior. Through two experiments and a mediated moderation analysis, they investigate the interplay of personalized content and device technology in customers’ response to TEP. The results illustrate that consumers react differently to message content depending on the device through which it is conveyed; that is, personalized (standardized) messages are more effective on customer-owned smartphones (retailer-owned screens) because they become integrated into (remain separate from) the customer's extended self. Relational customer experiences, or the extent to which a customer feels positively connected to store assemblages, mediate the effect on shopping behavior. To build TEP strategies, retailers should therefore use smart devices integrated into customers’ extended selves

Molecular dynamics symulation of hydrogen diffusion in palladium

In the present work, the diffusion of hydrogen atoms in the crystal lattice of palladium was investigated using the molecular dynamics. The diffusion coefficients, activation energies and preexponential factors were determined for structures with different hydrogen concentration. It is determined that the diffusion coefficients decrease and the activation energy of diffusion grows with increasing concentrations of hydrogen

Natural and cryptic peptides dominate the immunopeptidome of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors

BACKGROUND: Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) are highly aggressive CNS tumors of infancy and early childhood. Hallmark is the surprisingly simple genome with inactivating mutations or deletions in the SMARCB1 gene as the oncogenic driver. Nevertheless, AT/RTs are infiltrated by immune cells and even clonally expanded T cells. However, it is unclear which epitopes T cells might recognize on AT/RT cells. METHODS: Here, we report a comprehensive mass spectrometry (MS)-based analysis of naturally presented human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II ligands on 23 AT/RTs. MS data were validated by matching with a human proteome dataset and exclusion of peptides that are part of the human benignome. Cryptic peptide ligands were identified using Peptide-PRISM. RESULTS: Comparative HLA ligandome analysis of the HLA ligandome revealed 55 class I and 139 class II tumor-exclusive peptides. No peptide originated from the SMARCB1 region. In addition, 61 HLA class I tumor-exclusive peptide sequences derived from non-canonically translated proteins. Combination of peptides from natural and cryptic class I and class II origin gave optimal representation of tumor cell compartments. Substantial overlap existed with the cryptic immunopeptidome of glioblastomas, but no concordance was found with extracranial tumors. More than 80% of AT/RT exclusive peptides were able to successfully prime CD8(+) T cells, whereas naturally occurring memory responses in AT/RT patients could only be detected for class II epitopes. Interestingly, >50% of AT/RT exclusive class II ligands were also recognized by T cells from glioblastoma patients but not from healthy donors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight that AT/RTs, potentially paradigmatic for other pediatric tumors with a low mutational load, present a variety of highly immunogenic HLA class I and class II peptides from canonical as well as non-canonical protein sources. Inclusion of such cryptic peptides into therapeutic vaccines would enable an optimized mapping of the tumor cell surface, thereby reducing the likelihood of immune evasion

Mobile Air Quality Studies (MAQS) - an international project

Due to an increasing awareness of the potential hazardousness of air pollutants, new laws, rules and guidelines have recently been implemented globally. In this respect, numerous studies have addressed traffic-related exposure to particulate matter using stationary technology so far. By contrast, only few studies used the advanced technology of mobile exposure analysis. The Mobile Air Quality Study (MAQS) addresses the issue of air pollutant exposure by combining advanced high-granularity spatial-temporal analysis with vehicle-mounted, person-mounted and roadside sensors. The MAQS-platform will be used by international collaborators in order 1) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to road structure, 2) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to traffic density, 3) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to weather conditions, 4) to compare exposure within vehicles between front and back seat (children) positions, and 5) to evaluate "traffic zone"- exposure in relation to non-"traffic zone"-exposure. Primarily, the MAQS-platform will focus on particulate matter. With the establishment of advanced mobile analysis tools, it is planed to extend the analysis to other pollutants including including NO2, SO2, nanoparticles, and ozone

The expression of nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors in the European eel throughout spermatogenesis

[EN] Estradiol (E-2) can bind to nuclear estrogen receptors (ESR) or membrane estrogen receptors (GPER). While mammals possess two nuclear ESRs and one membrane GPER, the European eel, like most other teleosts, has three nuclear ESRs and two membrane GPERs, as the result of a teleost specific genome duplication. In the current study, the expression of the three nuclear ESRs (ESR1, ESR2a and ESR2b) and the two membrane GPERs (GPERa and GPERb) in the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis of the European eel was measured, throughout spermatogenesis. The eels were first transferred from freshwater (FW) to seawater (SW), inducing parallel increases in E2 plasma levels and the expression of ESRs. This indicates that salinity has a stimulatory effect on the E-2 signalling pathway along the BPG axis. Stimulation of sexual maturation by weekly injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) induced a progressive decrease in E-2 plasma levels, and different patterns of expression of ESRs and GPERs in the BPG axis. The expression of nuclear ESRs increased in some parts of the brain, suggesting a possible upregulation due to a local production of E-2. In the testis, the highest expression levels of the nuclear ESRs were observed at the beginning of spermatogenesis, possibly mediating the role of E2 as spermatogonia renewal factor, followed by a sharply decrease in the expression of ESRs. Conversely, there was a marked increase observed in the expression of both membrane GPERs throughout spermatogenesis, suggesting they play a major role in the final stages of spermatogenesis.Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (REPRO-TEMP project; AGL2013-41646-R) and IMPRESS (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions; Grant agreement no: 642893). M.C. Vilchez has a predoctoral grant from UPV PAID Programme (2011-S2-02-6521), M. Morini has a predoctoral grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa Grisolia). D.S. Penaranda was supported by MICINN and UPV (PTA2011-4948-1).Morini, M.; Peñaranda, D.; Vilchez Olivencia, MC.; Tveiten, H.; Lafont, A.; Dufour, S.; Pérez Igualada, LM.... (2017). The expression of nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors in the European eel throughout spermatogenesis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology. 203:91-99. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.08.020S919920

Report from the First Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting

This report summarizes the proceedings of the 1st Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting held in Vail, CO USA, 5-8 October 2011. The meeting had over twenty registered participants, and was conducted as a single session of presentations. Goals of the meeting included coordination of genomic data collection and fostering collaborative interactions among researchers using snakes as model systems.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Report from the First Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting

This report summarizes the proceedings of the 1st Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting held in Vail, CO USA, 5-8 October 2011. The meeting had over twenty registered participants, and was conducted as a single session of presentations. Goals of the meeting included coordination of genomic data collection and fostering collaborative interactions among researchers using snakes as model systems

Narratives from the road to social justice in PETE: teacher educator perspectives

Developing teacher education programmes founded upon principles of critical pedagogy and social justice has become increasingly difficult in the current neoliberal climate of higher education. In this article, we adopt a narrative approach to illuminate some of the dilemmas which advocates of education for social justice face and to reflect upon how pedagogy for inclusion in the field of physical education (PE) teacher education (PETE) is defined and practiced. As a professional group, teacher educators seem largely hesitant to expose themselves to the researcher's gaze, which is problematic if we expect preservice teachers to engage in messy, biographical reflexivity with regard to their own teaching practice. By engaging in self- and collective biographical story sharing about ‘our’ teacher educator struggles in England and Norway, we hope that the reader can identify ‘her/his’ struggles in the narratives about power and domination, and the spaces of opportunity in between

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms