The magnetic phase diagram of underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy inferred from torque magnetization and thermal conductivity

Strong evidence for charge-density correlation in the underdoped phase of the cuprate YBa2Cu3Oy was obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and resonant x-ray scatter- ing. The fluctuations were found to be enhanced in strong magnetic fields. Recently, 3D (three dimensional) charge-density wave (CDW) formation with long-range order (LRO) was observed by x-ray diffraction in H >15 T. To elucidate how the CDW transition impacts the pair condensate, we have used torque magnetization to 45 T and thermal conductivity $\kappa_{xx}$ to construct the magnetic phase diagram in untwinned crystals with hole density p = 0.11. We show that the 3D CDW transitions appear as sharp features in the susceptibility and $\kappa_{xx}$ at the fields HK and Hp, which define phase boundaries in agreement with spectroscopic techniques. From measurements of the melting field Hm(T) of the vortex solid, we obtain evidence for two vortex solid states below 8 K. At 0.5 K, the pair condensate appears to adjust to the 3D CDW by a sharp transition at 24 T between two vortex solids with very different shear moduli. At even higher H (42 T) the second vortex solid melts to a vortex liquid which survives to fields well above 45 T. de Haas-van Alphen oscillations appear at fields 24-28 T, below the lower bound for the upper critical field Hc2.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures; New version of previous posting, reporting torque measurements to 45 Tesla and final magnetic phase diagra

Categorising Visual Hallucinations in Early Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Visual hallucinations (VHs) are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), with prevalence ranging from 27-50% in cross-sectional cohorts of patients with well-established disease. However, minor hallucinations may occur earlier in the disease process than has been previously reported. OBJECTIVE: We sought to categorise VHs in a cohort of newly diagnosed PD patients and establish their relationship to other clinical features. METHODS: Newly diagnosed PD participants (n = 154) were recruited as part of the Incidence of Cognitive Impairment in Cohorts with Longitudinal Evaluation in PD (ICICLE-PD) study. Participants completed the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS III), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) to assess motor severity, cognition and quality of life (QoL), respectively. VHs were classified using the North East Visual Hallucinations Inventory. Hierarchical regression was used to build predictive models of motor severity, QoL and cognition. RESULTS: 22% (n = 34) of participants experienced recurrent VHs with minor VHs being most frequently reported (64.7% of hallucinators). Complex VHs were present in 32.4% of hallucinating participants. Linear regression showed VHs predicted poorer PDQ-39 and MoCA scores (β= 0.201, p = 0.006 and β= - 0.167, p = 0.01, respectively) but not motor severity (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Over a fifth of people with newly diagnosed PD reported recurrent VHs; minor hallucinations were the most common, although a small proportion reported complex VHs. Recurrent VHs were found to be a significant independent predictor of cognitive function and QoL but not motor severity. Our findings highlight the importance of screening for VHs at diagnosis.ICICLE-PD was funded by Parkinson’s UK (J-0802, G-1301, G-1507). The research was supported by the Lockhart Parkinson’s Disease Research Fund, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Unit based at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University and a NIHR Biomedical Research Centre award to the University of Cambridge/Addenbrooke’s Hospital

Synthesis and analysis of the anticancer activity of platinum(ii) complexes incorporating dipyridoquinoxaline variants

Eight platinum(ii) complexes with anticancer potential have been synthesised and characterised. These complexes are of the type [Pt(I)(A)], where I is either dipyrido[3,2-f:2′,3′-h]quinoxaline (dpq) or 2,3-dimethyl-dpq (23Medpq) and A is one of the R,R or S,S isomers of either 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (SS-dach or RR-dach) or 1,2-diaminocyclopentane (SS-dacp or RR-dacp). The CT-DNA binding of these complexes and a series of other complexes were assessed using fluorescent intercalator displacement assays, resulting in unexpected trends in DNA binding affinity. The cytotoxicity of the eight synthesised compounds was determined in the L1210 cell line; the most cytotoxic of these were [Pt(dpq)(SS-dach)]Cl and [Pt(dpq)(RR-dach)]Cl, with IC values of 0.19 and 0.80 μM, respectively. The X-ray crystal structure of the complex [Pt(dpq)(SS-dach)](ClO)·1.75HO is also reported. This journal i

The effect of increasing temperature on crop photosynthesis: From enzymes to ecosystems

As global land surface temperature continues to rise and heatwave events increase in frequency, duration, and/or intensity, our key food and fuel cropping systems will likely face increased heat-related stress. A large volume of literature exists on exploring measured and modelled impacts of rising temperature on crop photosynthesis, from enzymatic responses within the leaf up to larger ecosystem-scale responses that reflect seasonal and interannual crop responses to heat. This review discusses (i) how crop photosynthesis changes with temperature at the enzymatic scale within the leaf; (ii) how stomata and plant transport systems are affected by temperature; (iii) what features make a plant susceptible or tolerant to elevated temperature and heat stress; and (iv) how these temperature and heat effects compound at the ecosystem scale to affect crop yields. Throughout the review, we identify current advancements and future research trajectories that are needed to make our cropping systems more resilient to rising temperature and heat stress, which are both projected to occur due to current global fossil fuel emissions

Prion infection impairs cholesterol metabolism in neuronal cells

Conversion of prion protein (PrPC) into a pathological isoform (PrPSc) during prion infection occurs in lipid rafts and is dependent on cholesterol. Here, we show that prion infection increases the abundance of cholesterol transporter, ATP-binding cassette transporter type A1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter type A1), but reduces cholesterol efflux from neuronal cells leading to the accumulation of cellular cholesterol. Increased abundance of ABCA1 in prion disease was confirmed in prion-infected mice. Mechanistically, conversion of PrPC to the pathological isoform led to PrPSc accumulation in rafts, displacement of ABCA1 from rafts and the cell surface, and enhanced internalization of ABCA1. These effects were abolished with reversal of prion infection or by loading cells with cholesterol. Stimulation of ABCA1 expression with liver X receptor agonist or overexpression of heterologous ABCA1 reduced the conversion of prion protein into the pathological form upon infection. These findings demonstrate a reciprocal connection between prion infection and cellular cholesterol metabolism, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of prion infection in neuronal cells

The effect of increasing temperature on crop photosynthesis: from enzymes to ecosystems.

As global land surface temperature continues to rise and heatwave events increase in frequency, duration, and/or intensity, our key food and fuel cropping systems will likely face increased heat-related stress. A large volume of literature exists on exploring measured and modelled impacts of rising temperature on crop photosynthesis, from enzymatic responses within the leaf up to larger ecosystem-scale responses that reflect seasonal and interannual crop responses to heat. This review discusses (i) how crop photosynthesis changes with temperature at the enzymatic scale within the leaf; (ii) how stomata and plant transport systems are affected by temperature; (iii) what features make a plant susceptible or tolerant to elevated temperature and heat stress; and (iv) how these temperature and heat effects compound at the ecosystem scale to affect crop yields. Throughout the review, we identify current advancements and future research trajectories that are needed to make our cropping systems more resilient to rising temperature and heat stress, which are both projected to occur due to current global fossil fuel emissions

Calibration of muon reconstruction algorithms using an external muon tracking system at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

To help constrain the algorithms used in reconstructing high-energy muon events incident on the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), a muon tracking system was installed. The system consisted of four planes of wire chambers, which were triggered by scintillator panels. The system was integrated with SNO's main data acquisition system and took data for a total of 95 live days. Using cosmic-ray events reconstructed in both the wire chambers and in SNO's water Cherenkov detector, the external muon tracking system was able to constrain the uncertainty on the muon direction to better than 0.6°

A Selective Sweep on a Deleterious Mutation in CPT1A in Arctic Populations.

Arctic populations live in an environment characterized by extreme cold and the absence of plant foods for much of the year and are likely to have undergone genetic adaptations to these environmental conditions in the time they have been living there. Genome-wide selection scans based on genotype data from native Siberians have previously highlighted a 3 Mb chromosome 11 region containing 79 protein-coding genes as the strongest candidates for positive selection in Northeast Siberians. However, it was not possible to determine which of the genes might be driving the selection signal. Here, using whole-genome high-coverage sequence data, we identified the most likely causative variant as a nonsynonymous G>A transition (rs80356779; c.1436C>T [p.Pro479Leu] on the reverse strand) in CPT1A, a key regulator of mitochondrial long-chain fatty-acid oxidation. Remarkably, the derived allele is associated with hypoketotic hypoglycemia and high infant mortality yet occurs at high frequency in Canadian and Greenland Inuits and was also found at 68% frequency in our Northeast Siberian sample. We provide evidence of one of the strongest selective sweeps reported in humans; this sweep has driven this variant to high frequency in circum-Arctic populations within the last 6-23 ka despite associated deleterious consequences, possibly as a result of the selective advantage it originally provided to either a high-fat diet or a cold environment.This research was supported by ERC Starting Investigator grant (FP7 - 261213) to T.K. http://erc.europa.eu/. CTS, YX, QA and MS were supported by the Wellcome Trust (098051). TA was supported by The Wellcome Trust (WT100066MA). M.M and R.V. were supported by EU ERDF Centre of Excellence in Genomics to EBC; T.K, M.M and R.V. by Estonian Institutional Research grant (IUT24-1), and M.M by Estonian Science Foundation (grant 8973).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cell/Elsevier at http://www.cell.com/ajhg/abstract/S0002-9297%2814%2900422-4

Maternal Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Effects on Gastroschisis among Offspring in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occurs in many occupational settings. There is evidence in animal models that maternal exposure to PAHs during pregnancy is associated with gastroschisis in offspring; however, to our knowledge, no human studies examining this association have been conducted