34 research outputs found
Das Beziehungsgeflecht "Megacity / Hinterland" am Beispiel der Wasserproblematik der chinesischen Megacity Urumqi
Design of a mobile neutron spectrometer for the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS)
Environmental neutrons are a source of background for rare event searches
(e.g., dark matter direct detection and neutrinoless double beta decay
experiments) taking place in deep underground laboratories. The overwhelming
majority of these neutrons are produced in the cavern walls by means of
intrinsic radioactivity of the rock and concrete. Their flux and spectrum
depend on time and location. Precise knowledge of this background is necessary
to devise sufficient shielding and veto mechanisms, improving the sensitivity
of the neutron-susceptible underground experiments. In this report, we present
the design and the expected performance of a mobile neutron detector for the
LNGS underground laboratory. The detector is based on capture-gated
spectroscopy technique and comprises essentially a stack of plastic
scintillator bars wrapped by gadolinium foils. The extensive simulation studies
demonstrate that the detector will be capable of measuring ambient neutrons at
low flux levels () at LNGS, where the ambient
gamma flux is by about 5 orders of magnitude larger
DELight: a Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter with superfluid helium
To reach ultra-low detection thresholds necessary to probe unprecedentedly
low Dark Matter masses, target material alternatives and novel detector designs
are essential. One such target material is superfluid He which has the
potential to probe so far uncharted light Dark Matter parameter space at
sub-GeV masses. The new ``Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter'',
DELight, will be using superfluid helium as active target, instrumented with
magnetic micro-calorimeters. It is being designed to reach sensitivity to
masses well below 100\,MeV in Dark Matter-nucleus scattering interactions.Comment: IDM2022 proceedings submitted to SciPos
Intracoronary Versus Intravenous Abciximab Bolus in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction 1-Year Results of the Randomized AIDA STEMI Trial
Widespread infection with homologues of human parvoviruses B19, PARV4, and human bocavirus of chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild
Infections with human parvoviruses B19 and recently discovered human bocaviruses (HBoVs) are widespread, while PARV4 infections are transmitted parenterally and prevalent specifically in injecting drug users and hemophiliacs. To investigate the exposure and circulation of parvoviruses related to B19 virus, PARV4, and HBoV in nonhuman primates, plasma samples collected from 73 Cameroonian wild-caught chimpanzees and gorillas and 91 Old World monkey (OWM) species were screened for antibodies to recombinant B19 virus, PARV4, and HBoV VP2 antigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moderate to high frequencies of seroreactivity to PARV4 (63% and 18% in chimpanzees and gorillas, respectively), HBoV (73% and 36%), and B19 virus (8% and 27%) were recorded for apes, while OWMs were uniformly negative (for PARV4 and B19 virus) or infrequently reactive (3% for HBoV). For genetic characterization, plasma samples and 54 fecal samples from chimpanzees and gorillas collected from Cameroonian forest floors were screened by PCR with primers conserved within Erythrovirus, Bocavirus, and PARV4 genera. Two plasma samples (chimpanzee and baboon) were positive for PARV4, while four fecal samples were positive for HBoV-like viruses. The chimpanzee PARV4 variant showed 18% and 15% nucleotide sequence divergence in NS and VP1/2, respectively, from human variants (9% and 7% amino acid, respectively), while the baboon variant was substantially more divergent, mirroring host phylogeny. Ape HBoV variants showed complex sequence relationships with human viruses, comprising separate divergent homologues of HBoV1 and the recombinant HBoV3 species in chimpanzees and a novel recombinant species in gorillas. This study provides the first evidence for widespread circulation of parvoviruses in primates and enables future investigations of their epidemiology, host specificity, and (co)evolutionary histories
Protein Kinase C Delta (PKCδ) Affects Proliferation of Insulin-Secreting Cells by Promoting Nuclear Extrusion of the Cell Cycle Inhibitor p21Cip1/WAF1
BACKGROUND:High fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and palmitate-stimulated apoptosis was prevented by specific inhibition of protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) in β-cells. To understand the role of PKCδ in more detail the impact of changes in PKCδ activity on proliferation and survival of insulin-secreting cells was analyzed under stress-free conditions. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, the effect of reduced and increased PKCδ activity on proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle regulation of insulin secreting cells was examined. Proteins were analyzed by Western blotting and by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Increased expression of wild type PKCδ (PKCδWT) significantly stimulated proliferation of INS-1E cells with concomitant reduced expression and cytosolic retraction of the cell cycle inhibitor p21(Cip1/WAF1). This nuclear extrusion was mediated by PKCδ-dependent phosphorylation of p21(Cip1/WAF1) at Ser146. In kinase dead PKCδ (PKCδKN) overexpressing cells and after inhibition of endogenous PKCδ activity by rottlerin or RNA interference phosphorylation of p21(Cip1/WAF1) was reduced, which favored its nuclear accumulation and apoptotic cell death of INS-1E cells. Human and mouse islet cells express p21(Cip1/WAF1) with strong nuclear accumulation, while in islet cells of PKCδWT transgenic mice the inhibitor resides cytosolic. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE:These observations disclose PKCδ as negative regulator of p21(Cip1/WAF1), which facilitates proliferation of insulin secreting cells under stress-free conditions and suggest that additional stress-induced changes push PKCδ into its known pro-apoptotic role