Antineutrino Search at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Abstract The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is an imaging water Cherenkov detector. Its one kiloton heavy water core provides a unique means for an electron antineutrino search via the charged current reaction ν e + d → e + + n + n. The reaction signature are two-and three-fold coincidence events which allow for rigorous background rejection. Hence, SNO is able to reach high electron antineutrino sensitivity. The appearance of electron antineutrinos is a smoking gun for spin flavour precession models which require neutrinos to have a magnetic moment. Furthermore, observation of a significant solar antineutrino flux could be indicative of CPT violation in the neutrino sector. A limit on the antineutrino flux sets an upper limit on the thermal power of a hypothesized geo-fission reactor at the center of the Earth

A Review of Policies and the Regulatory Environment Concerning Soil Conservation in the EU

Agricultural soils are increasingly targeted by European Union (EU) policy measures including measures within the Common Agricultural Policy. Member states have implemented a variety of measures at the national and regional level that regulate the use of soils or offer incentives for the adoption of soil conservation practices. Up to date, no comprehensive policy overview exists for the EU-27, which would allow a comparative analysis. For this purpose, a policy survey was conducted based on a classification system for agricultural policies that allows the analysis of their impact concerning soil conservation. Policy measures were described with their attributes such as the soil quality objectives within the policy and the technical measures required. Data were gathered by a voluntary online survey among experts in national and regional ministries and administrative bodies. More than 50 experts and institutions from 24 EU member states participated in the survey and more than 400 policy measures were entered in the database. The survey enabled a detailed and comparative analysis of the interrelationships between soil conservation practices, soil degradation processes and policy measures across member states at the national or regional level

GUIDELINES ON HOW TO FORMAT A CONTRIBUTION FOR THE EuPA 2009 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Abstract In order to get a homogeneous look for all the abstracts to be collected and printed in the abstract book of EuPA 2009 to be held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 14 to June 17, 2009, a set of guidelines for preparing these extended abstracts are given. Authors are, in fact, strongly encouraged to take this example as a template, adopt the layout and merely exchange the contents of the text blocks with more appropriate scientific results and findings

A multi-chamber microfluidic intestinal barrier model using Caco-2 cells for drug transport studies

This paper presents the design and fabrication of a multi-layer and multi-chamber microchip system using thiol-ene 'click chemistry' aimed for drug transport studies across tissue barrier models. The fabrication process enables rapid prototyping of multi-layer microfluidic chips using different thiol-ene polymer mixtures, where porous Teflon membranes for cell monolayer growth were incorporated by masked sandwiching thiol-ene-based fluid layers. Electrodes for trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements were incorporated using low-melting soldering wires in combination with platinum wires, enabling parallel real-time monitoring of barrier integrity for the eight chambers. Additionally, the translucent porous Teflon membrane enabled optical monitoring of cell monolayers. The device was developed and tested with the Caco-2 intestinal model, and compared to the conventional Transwell system. Cell monolayer differentiation was assessed via in situ immunocytochemistry of tight junction and mucus proteins, P-glycoprotein 1 (P-gp) mediated efflux of Rhodamine 123, and brush border aminopeptidase activity. Monolayer tightness and relevance for drug delivery research was evaluated through permeability studies of mannitol, dextran and insulin, alone or in combination with the absorption enhancer tetradecylmaltoside (TDM). The thiol-ene-based microchip material and electrodes were highly compatible with cell growth. In fact, Caco-2 cells cultured in the device displayed differentiation, mucus production, directional transport and aminopeptidase activity within 9-10 days of cell culture, indicating robust barrier formation at a faster rate than in conventional Transwell models. The cell monolayer displayed high TEER and tightness towards hydrophilic compounds, whereas co-administration of an absorption enhancer elicited TEER-decrease and increased permeability similar to the Transwell cultures. The presented cell barrier microdevice constitutes a relevant tissue barrier model, enabling transport studies of drugs and chemicals under real-time optical and functional monitoring in eight parallel chambers, thereby increasing the throughput compared to previously reported microdevices

Molecular characterization of geminivirus-derived small RNAs in different plant species

DNA geminiviruses are thought to be targets of RNA silencing. Here, we characterize small interfering (si) RNAs—the hallmarks of silencing—associated with Cabbage leaf curl begomovirus in Arabidopsis and African cassava mosaic begomovirus in Nicotiana benthamiana and cassava. We detected 21, 22 and 24 nt siRNAs of both polarities, derived from both the coding and the intergenic regions of these geminiviruses. Genetic evidence showed that all the 24 nt and a substantial fraction of the 22 nt viral siRNAs are generated by the dicer-like proteins DCL3 and DCL2, respectively. The viral siRNAs were 5′ end phosphorylated, as shown by phosphatase treatments, and methylated at the 3′-nucleotide, as shown by HEN1 miRNA methylase-dependent resistance to β-elimination. Similar modifications were found in all types of endogenous and transgene-derived siRNAs tested, but not in a major fraction of siRNAs from a cytoplasmic RNA tobamovirus. We conclude that several distinct silencing pathways are involved in DNA virus-plant interaction

Molecular characterization of geminivirus-derived small RNAs in different plant species

DNA geminiviruses are thought to be targets of RNA silencing. Here, we characterize small interfering (si) RNAs—the hallmarks of silencing—associated with Cabbage leaf curl begomovirus in Arabidopsis and African cassava mosaic begomovirus in Nicotiana benthamiana and cassava. We detected 21, 22 and 24 nt siRNAs of both polarities, derived from both the coding and the intergenic regions of these geminiviruses. Genetic evidence showed that all the 24 nt and a substantial fraction of the 22 nt viral siRNAs are generated by the dicer-like proteins DCL3 and DCL2, respectively. The viral siRNAs were 5′ end phosphorylated, as shown by phosphatase treatments, and methylated at the 3′-nucleotide, as shown by HEN1 miRNA methylase-dependent resistance to β-elimination. Similar modifications were found in all types of endogenous and transgene-derived siRNAs tested, but not in a major fraction of siRNAs from a cytoplasmic RNA tobamovirus. We conclude that several distinct silencing pathways are involved in DNA virus-plant interactions