The Morisco and Hispano-Arabic culture and Malta. Some highlights on late medieval and early modern links

In Spain the 16th century finally witnessed a policy of repression and deterrence which led to the complete expulsion of the christianized descendants from the Arabic occupation. One important attempt to erase the identity of this still suspicious ethnic group was a ‘prematica’ of King Philip II which prohibited to speak and write their own Arabic language. In connection with this development, also the Semitic Maltese language and its history was touched and observed by Hispano-Arabic scholars. This subject opens up a new field of investigation.El siglo XVI fue testigo de una política de represión e intimidación que llevó a la total expulsión de los descendientes de los arabófones convertidos; de hecho, un intento importante para erradicar la identidad de este, aún sospechoso, grupo étnico fue una pragmática dictada por el rey Felipe II, según la cual les estaba prohibido hablar y escribir en su propia lengua. En conexión con este proceso, la lengua maltesa y su historia fueron objeto de análisis por parte de los estudiosos hispano-árabes. El presente trabajo abre un nuevo campo de investigación

Gender specific expression of tumor suppressor PKCd versus oncogenic PKCn in renal cell carcinoma

Tumor incidence for renal cell carcinoma is two-fold higher in males than in females. Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) gene family have been shown to be relevant for carcinogenesis. However, little is known about a possible gender specific role of PKC in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study, we quantified expression of eleven PKC-isoforms in clear cell RCCs (ccRCC) and in the corresponding normal renal tissue. A possible association of PKC-isoforms with gender of the patients was examined. Tissue specimens of 27 patients, 14 males and 13 females, with ccRCC and of the corresponding normal renal tissue were examined. Expression of PKC-isoforms were detected by Western blot analysis and quantified by computer-aided integration. In ccRCCs, as well as in the corresponding normal renal tissue, all PKC-isoforms except PKCy and 0 were detectable. Clear associations with gender of the patients were observed: (i) PKCd was reduced in tumor tissue of female patients (p = 0.023), but not of male patients (p = 0.198). (ii) A 3.6-fold enhanced expression of the oncogene PKC? was found in tumor tissue of female compared to male patients (p = 0.049). Gender specific differences in PKCd as well as PKCn expression suggest that different molecular mechanisms are relevant for carcinogenesis of ccRCC in male and female patients. This may become important for classification and treatment of ccRCC

Influence of augmented visual feedback on balance control in unilateral transfemoral amputees

Patients with a lower limb amputation rely more on visual feedback to maintain balance than able-bodied individuals. Altering this sensory modality in amputees thus results in a disrupted postural control. However, little is known about how lower limb amputees cope with augmented visual information during balance tasks. In this study, we investigated how unilateral transfemoral amputees incorporate visual feedback of their center of pressure (CoP) position during quiet standing. Ten transfemoral amputees and ten age-matched able-bodied participants were provided with real-time visual feedback of the position of their CoP while standing on a pressure platform. Their task was to keep their CoP within a small circle in the center of a computer screen placed at eye level, which could be achieved by minimizing their postural sway. The visual feedback was then delayed by 250 and 500 ms and was combined with a two- and five-fold amplification of the CoP displacements. Trials with eyes open without augmented visual feedback as well as with eyes closed were further performed. The overall performance was measured by computing the sway area. We further quantified the dynamics of the CoP adjustments using the entropic half-life (EnHL) to study possible physiological mechanisms behind postural control. Amputees showed an increased sway area compared to the control group. The EnHL values of the amputated leg were significantly higher than those of the intact leg and the dominant and non-dominant leg of controls. This indicates lower dynamics in the CoP adjustments of the amputated leg, which was compensated by increasing the dynamics of the CoP adjustments of the intact leg. Receiving real-time visual feedback of the CoP position did not significantly reduce the sway area neither in amputees nor in controls when comparing with the eyes open condition without visual feedback of the CoP position. Further, with increasing delay and amplification, both groups were able to compensate for small visual perturbations, yet their dynamics were significantly lower when additional information was not received in a physiologically relevant time frame. These findings may be used for future design of neurorehabilitation programs to restore sensory feedback in lower limb amputees

Identification of Inhibitors for a Virally Encoded Protein Kinase by 2 Different Screening Systems: In Vitro Kinase Assay and In-Cell Activity Assay

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protein kinase pUL97 represents an important determinant for viral replication and thus is a promising target for the treatment of HCMV. The authors screened a compound library of nearly 5000 entities based on known kinase inhibitors in 2 distinct ways. A radioactive in vitro kinase assay was performed with recombinant pUL97, purified from baculovirus-infected insect cells, on myelin basic protein-coated FlashPlates. About 20% of all compounds tested inhibited pUL97 kinase activity by more than 50% at a concentration of 10 μM. These hits belonged to various structural classes. To elucidate their potential to inhibit pUL97 in a cellular context, all compounds of the library were also tested in a cell-based activity assay. For this reason, a HEK293 cell line was established that ectopically expressed pUL97. When these cells were incubated with ganciclovir (GCV), pUL97 phosphorylated GCV to its monophosphate, which subsequently became phosphorylated to cytotoxic metabolites by cellular enzymes. Thereby, pUL97 converted cells into a GCV-sensitive phenotype. Inhibition of the pUL97 kinase activity resulted in protection of the cells against the cytotoxic effects of GCV. In total, 199 compounds of the library were cellular active at nontoxic concentrations, and 93 of them inhibited pUL97 in the in vitro kinase assay. Among these, promising inhibitors of HCMV replication were identified. The 2-fold screening system described here should facilitate the development of pUL97 inhibitors into potent drug candidates

Investigating lung responses with functional hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI in an ex vivo rat model of asthma

Purpose: Asthma is a disease of increasing worldwide importance that calls for new investigative methods. Ex vivo lung tissue is being increasingly used to study functional respiratory parameters independent of confounding systemic considerations but also to reduce animal numbers and associated research costs. In this work, a straightforward laboratory method is advanced to probe dynamic changes in gas inhalation patterns by using an ex vivo small animal ovalbumin (OVA) model of human asthma. Methods: Hyperpolarized (hp)129Xe was actively inhaled by the excised lungs exposed to a constant pressure differential that mimicked negative pleural cavity pressure. The method enabled hp129Xe MRI of airway responsiveness to intravenous methacholine (MCh) and airway challenge reversal through salbutamol. Results: Significant differences were demonstrated between control and OVA challenged animals on global lung hp129Xegas inhalation with P < 0.05 at MCh dosages above 460 µg. Spatial mapping of the regional hp gas distribution revealed an approximately three-fold increase in heterogeneity for the asthma model organs. Conclusion: The experimental results from this proof of concept work suggest that the ex vivo hp noble gas imaging arrangement and the applied image analysis methodology may be useful as an adjunct to current diagnostic techniques

EUROCarbDB: An open-access platform for glycoinformatics

The EUROCarbDB project is a design study for a technical framework, which provides sophisticated, freely accessible, open-source informatics tools and databases to support glycobiology and glycomic research. EUROCarbDB is a relational database containing glycan structures, their biological context and, when available, primary and interpreted analytical data from high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Database content can be accessed via a web-based user interface. The database is complemented by a suite of glycoinformatics tools, specifically designed to assist the elucidation and submission of glycan structure and experimental data when used in conjunction with contemporary carbohydrate research workflows. All software tools and source code are licensed under the terms of the Lesser General Public License, and publicly contributed structures and data are freely accessible. The public test version of the web interface to the EUROCarbDB can be found at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/eurocar

EUROCarbDB: An open-access platform for glycoinformatics

The EUROCarbDB project is a design study for a technical framework, which provides sophisticated, freely accessible, open-source informatics tools and databases to support glycobiology and glycomic research. EUROCarbDB is a relational database containing glycan structures, their biological context and, when available, primary and interpreted analytical data from high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Database content can be accessed via a web-based user interface. The database is complemented by a suite of glycoinformatics tools, specifically designed to assist the elucidation and submission of glycan structure and experimental data when used in conjunction with contemporary carbohydrate research workflows. All software tools and source code are licensed under the terms of the Lesser General Public License, and publicly contributed structures and data are freely accessible. The public test version of the web interface to the EUROCarbDB can be found at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/eurocarb

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente