Test Bench Of The Barrel Calorimeter Modules

A systematic procedure to qualify the barrel calorimeter modules is an essential step to guarantee a 0.7% constant term, which is the collaboration objective. The procedure detailed in this note consists of quality monitoring during mechanical assembling and of a set of electrical tests such as electrical continuity, cell and cross-talk capacitance measurement, and high-voltage behaviour. For the whole test, it has been necessary to develop dedicated electronic boards, to develop measurement methods, and the whole operation software. Making the procedure automatic will guarantee the quality of each module during assembling, cabling, and test in liquid argon

Transcription factor trapping by RNA in gene regulatory elements

Transcription factors (TFs) bind specific sequences in promoter-proximal and -distal DNA elements to regulate gene transcription. RNA is transcribed from both of these DNA elements, and some DNA binding TFs bind RNA. Hence, RNA transcribed from regulatory elements may contribute to stable TF occupancy at these sites. We show that the ubiquitously expressed TF Yin-Yang 1 (YY1) binds to both gene regulatory elements and their associated RNA species across the entire genome. Reduced transcription of regulatory elements diminishes YY1 occupancy, whereas artificial tethering of RNA enhances YY1 occupancy at these elements. We propose that RNA makes a modest but important contribution to the maintenance of certain TFs at gene regulatory elements and suggest that transcription of regulatory elements produces a positive-feedback loop that contributes to the stability of gene expression programs.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (HG002668)Biogen, Inc

Treatment challenges in and outside a specialist network setting: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms comprise a group of rare tumours with special biology, an often indolent behaviour and particular diagnostic and therapeutic requirements. The specialized biochemical tests and radiological investigations, the complexity of surgical options and the variety of medical treatments that require individual tailoring, mandate a multidisciplinary approach that can be optimally achieved through an organized network. The present study describes currents concepts in the management of these tumours as well as an insight into the challenges of delivering the pathway in and outside a Network

Treatment challenges in and outside a network setting: Head and neck cancers

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a rare disease that can affect different sites and is characterized by variable incidence and 5-year survival rates across Europe. Multiple factors need to be considered when choosing the most appropriate treatment for HNC patients, such as age, comorbidities, social issues, and especially whether to prefer surgery or radiation-based protocols. Given the complexity of this scenario, the creation of a highly specialized multidisciplinary team is recommended to guarantee the best oncological outcome and prevent or adequately treat any adverse effect. Data from literature suggest that the multidisciplinary team-based approach is beneficial for HNC patients and lead to improved survival rates. This result is likely due to improved diagnostic and staging accuracy, a more efficacious therapeutic approach and enhanced communication across disciplines. Despite the benefit of MTD, it must be noted that this approach requires considerable time, effort and financial resources and is usually more frequent in highly organized and high-volume centers. Literature data on clinical research suggest that patients treated in high-accrual centers report better treatment outcomes compared to patients treated in low-volume centers, where a lower radiotherapy-compliance and worst overall survival have been reported. There is general agreement that treatment of rare cancers such as HNC should be concentrated in high volume, specialized and multidisciplinary centers. In order to achieve this goal, the creation of international collaboration network is fundamental. The European Reference Networks for example aim to create an international virtual advisory board, whose objectives are the exchange of expertise, training, clinical collaboration and the reduction of disparities and enhancement of rationalize migration across Europe. The purpose of our work is to review all aspects and challenges in and outside this network setting planned for the management of HNC patients

Testicular germ-cell tumours and penile squamous cell carcinoma: Appropriate management makes the difference

Germ-cell tumours (GCT) of the testis and penile squamous cell carcinoma (PeSCC) are a rare and a very rare uro-genital cancers, respectively. Both tumours are well defined entities in terms of management, where specific recommendations - in the form of continuously up-to-dated guide lines-are provided. Impact of these tumour is relevant. Testicular GCT affects young, healthy men at the beginning of their adult life. PeSCC affects older men, but a proportion of these patients are young and the personal consequences of the disease may be devastating. Deviation from recommended management may be a reason of a significant prognostic worsening, as proper treatment favourably impacts on these tumours, dramatically on GCT and significantly on PeSCC. RARECAREnet data may permit to analyse how survivals may vary according to geographical areas, histology and age, leading to assume that non-homogeneous health-care resources may impact the cure and definitive outcomes. In support of this hypothesis, some epidemiologic datasets and clinical findings would indicate that survival may improve when appropriate treatments are delivered, linked to a different accessibility to the best health institutions, as a consequence of geographical, cultural and economic barriers. Finally, strong clues based on epidemiological and clinical data support the hypothesis that treatment delivered at reference centres or under the aegis of a qualified multi-institutional network is associated with a better prognosis of patients with these malignancies. The ERN EURACAN represents the best current European effort to answer this clinical need

Impact of long-range transport over the Atlantic Ocean on Saharan dust optical and microphysical properties based on AERONET data

Arid regions are a major source of mineral dust aerosol. Transport from these sources can have a great impact on aerosol climatology in distant regions. In order to assess the impact of dust on climate we must understand how dust properties change after long distance transport from sources. This study addresses the changes in columnar aerosol properties when mineral dust outbreaks from western Africa arrive over the eastern Caribbean after transport across the Atlantic Ocean, a transit of 5–7 days. We use data from the NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) located at five Caribbean and two western Africa sites to characterize changes in columnar aerosol properties: aerosol optical depth (AOD), size distribution, single scattering albedo, and refractive indexes. We first characterized the local aerosol climatology at each site and then using air mass back trajectories we identified those days when trajectories over Caribbean sites back-tracked to western Africa. Over the period 1996–2014 we identify 3174 days, an average of 167 days per year, when the air mass over the Caribbean sites could be linked to at least one of the two western Africa sites. For 1162 of these days, AOD data are available for the Caribbean sites as well as for the corresponding western Africa sites about 5–7 days earlier, when the air mass passed over these sites. We identified dust outbreaks as those air masses yielding AOD  ≥  0.2 and an Ångström exponent below 0.6. On this basis of the total 1162 days, 484 meet the criteria for mineral dust outbreaks. We observe that the AOD at 440 nm decreases by about 0.16 or 30 % during transport. The volume particle size distribution shows a similar decrease in the volume concentration, mainly in the coarse mode. The single scattering albedo, refractive indexes, and asymmetry factor remain unchanged. The difference in the effective radius over western Africa sites with respect to Caribbean sites ranges between 0 and −0.3 µm. Finally we conclude that in about half of the cases only non-spherical dust particles are present in the atmosphere over the western Africa and Caribbean sites, while in the other cases dust particles were mixed with other types of aerosol particles.</p

m6A RNA Modification Controls Cell Fate Transition in Mammalian Embryonic Stem Cells

N6-methyl-adenosine (m[superscript 6]A) is the most abundant modification on messenger RNAs and is linked to human diseases, but its functions in mammalian development are poorly understood. Here we reveal the evolutionary conservation and function of m[superscript 6]A by mapping the m[superscript 6]A methylome in mouse and human embryonic stem cells. Thousands of messenger and long noncoding RNAs show conserved m[superscript 6]A modification, including transcripts encoding core pluripotency transcription factors. m[superscript 6]A is enriched over 3′ untranslated regions at defined sequence motifs and marks unstable transcripts, including transcripts turned over upon differentiation. Genetic inactivation or depletion of mouse and human Mettl3, one of the m[superscript 6]A methylases, led to m[superscript 6]A erasure on select target genes, prolonged Nanog expression upon differentiation, and impaired ESC exit from self-renewal toward differentiation into several lineages in vitro and in vivo. Thus, m[superscript 6]A is a mark of transcriptome flexibility required for stem cells to differentiate to specific lineages

From little things, big things grow: trends and fads in 110 years of Australian ornithology

Publishing histories can reveal changes in ornithological effort, focus or direction through time. This study presents a bibliometric content analysis of Emu (1901&ndash;2011) which revealed 115 trends (long-term changes in publication over time) and 18 fads (temporary increases in publication activity) from the classification of 9,039 articles using 128 codes organised into eight categories (author gender, author affiliation, article type, subject, main focus, main method, geographical scale and geographical location). Across 110 years, private authorship declined, while publications involving universities and multiple institutions increased; from 1960, female authorship increased. Over time, question-driven studies and incidental observations increased and decreased in frequency, respectively. Single species and &lsquo;taxonomic group&rsquo; subjects increased while studies of birds at specific places decreased. The focus of articles shifted from species distribution and activities of the host organisation to breeding, foraging and other biological/ecological topics. Site- and Australian-continental-scales slightly decreased over time; non-Australian studies increased from the 1970s. A wide variety of fads occurred (e.g. articles on bird distribution, 1942&ndash;1951, and using museum specimens, 1906&ndash;1913) though the occurrence of fads decreased over time. Changes over time are correlated with technological, theoretical, social and institutional changes, and suggest ornithological priorities, like those of other scientific disciplines, are temporally labil

Construction, assembly and tests of the ATLAS electromagnetic barrel calorimeter

The construction and assembly of the two half barrels of the ATLAS central electromagnetic calorimeter and their insertion into the barrel cryostat are described. The results of the qualification tests of the calorimeter before installation in the LHC ATLAS pit are given