Sub-arcsecond radio and optical observations of the likely counterpart to the gamma-ray source 2FGL J2056.7+4939

We have searched and reviewed all multi- wavelength data available for the region towards the gamma-ray source 2FGL J2056.7+4939 in order to con- strain its possible counterpart at lower energies. As a result, only a point-like optical/infrared source with flat-spectrum radio emission is found to be consistent with all X-ray and gamma-ray error circles. Its struc- ture is marginally resolved at radio wavelengths at the sub-arcsecond level. An extragalactic scenario appears to be the most likely interpretation for this object.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Optical flux behaviour of a sample of Fermi blazars

Aims. We aim at investigating the time-behaviour of a sample of gamma-ray blazars. We present the results from a 13 month-long optical photometry monitoring campaign of the blazars PKS 0048-097, PKS 0754+100, [HB89] 0827+243, PKS 0851+202, PKS 1253-055, PKS 1510-089, PKS 1749+096, PKS 2230+114 and PKS 2251+158. Methods. We analyse the variability of each object, focusing on different time-scales (long term, short term, and microvariability), in an attempt to achieve a statistical comparison of the results. Results. After applying a geometric model to explain the variability results, we found that it is possible that a slight change in the direction of the jet generates the variations detected in some objects during this campaign.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Optical flux behaviour of a sample of Fermi blazars

Aims. We aim at investigating the time-behaviour of a sample of gamma-ray blazars. We present the results from a 13 month-long optical photometry monitoring campaign of the blazars PKS 0048-097, PKS 0754+100, [HB89] 0827+243, PKS 0851+202, PKS 1253-055, PKS 1510-089, PKS 1749+096, PKS 2230+114 and PKS 2251+158. Methods. We analyse the variability of each object, focusing on different time-scales (long term, short term, and microvariability), in an attempt to achieve a statistical comparison of the results. Results. After applying a geometric model to explain the variability results, we found that it is possible that a slight change in the direction of the jet generates the variations detected in some objects during this campaign.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

MANEJO DEL RIEGO Y ABONADO EN EL CULTIVO DE LA PATATA EN LA COSTA NOROESTE DE CÁDIZ

[ES] Desde el Sistema de Asistencia al Regante del Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera de Andalucía (IFAPA) en el Centro de Chipiona (Cádiz), se está desarrollando una labor de experimentación de cultivos hortícolas al aire libre. En esta línea se están ensayando cultivos para evaluar la eficiencia del riego y abonado nitrogenado. El objetivo final de estos ensayos es generar unas recomendaciones de riego y fertirrigación útiles para el sector. El cultivo de la patata es un cultivo muy extendido en la zona de Costa Noroeste de Andalucía, por su precocidad en la comarca. El objetivo general del ensayo es determinar de todos los posibles manejos de riego y abonado, cual es la opción más eficiente y más productiva. Para ello se ha utilizado tres dosis de riego, una sobre las necesidades potenciales de agua, otra por encima y otra por debajo, la primera de ellas con manejo dos métodos de riego: aspersión y goteo. Además cada una de estas estrategias con dos dosis distintas de abonado. Y todo ello replicado en dos parcelas de distintos suelos. El resultado general de todo el abanico de posibilidades ha sido que está muy influenciado del tipo de suelo. Para un suelo más equilibrado el abonado determina mucho más los buenos resultados y con dosis de riego más justas el del abonado es muy determinante. Sin embargo en parcelas de suelo arenoso la dosis de riego en el rendimiento es determinante, pero la variable abonado influye en menor medida en el rendimiento y menos cuando la dosis de riego es más alta, induciéndose a regar con riegos con una mayor frecuencia a la diaria.Salvatierra Bellido, B.; Márquez Ruiz, A.; Luque Sánchez, S.; Nieto Martínez, A.; Acosta Galán, J. (2015). MANEJO DEL RIEGO Y ABONADO EN EL CULTIVO DE LA PATATA EN LA COSTA NOROESTE DE CÁDIZ. En XXXIII CONGRESO NACIONAL DE RIEGOS. Valencia 16-18 junio de 2015. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/CNRiegos.2015.1506OC

Comparative Cytotoxic Activity of Hydroxytyrosol and Its Semisynthetic Lipophilic Derivatives in Prostate Cancer Cells

A high adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been related to numerous beneficial effects in human health, including a lower incidence and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa). Olive oil is an important source of phenolic bioactive compounds, mainly hydroxytyrosol (HT), of this diet. Because of the growing interest of this compound and its derivatives as a cancer chemopreventive agent, we aimed to compare the in vitro effect of HT isolated from olive mill wastewaters and five semisynthetic alkyl ether, ester, and nitro-derivatives against prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines. The effect in cell proliferation was determined in RWPE-1, LNCaP, 22Rv1, and PC-3 cells by resazurin assay, the effect in cell migration by wound healing assay, and tumorsphere and colony formation were evaluated. The changes in key signaling pathways involved in carcinogenesis were assessed by using a phosphorylation pathway profiling array and by Western blotting. Antiproliferative effects of HT and two lipophilic derivatives [hydroxytyrosyl acetate (HT-Ac)/ethyl hydroxytyrosyl ether (HT-Et)] were significantly higher in cancerous PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells than in non-malignant RWPE-1 cells. HT/HT-Ac/HT-Et significantly reduced migration capacity in RWPE-1 and PC-3 and prostatosphere size and colony formation in 22Rv1, whereas only HT-Ac and HT-Et reduced these functional parameters in PC-3. The cytotoxic effect in 22Rv1 cells was correlated with modifications in the phosphorylation pattern of key proteins, including ERK1/2 and AKT. Consistently, HT-Ac and HT-Et decreased p-AKT levels in PC-3. In sum, our results suggest that HT and its lipophilic derivatives could be considered as potential therapeutic tools in PCa

A systematic cross-search for radio/infrared counterparts of XMM-Newton sources

We present a catalog of cross-correlated radio, infrared and X-ray sources using a very restrictive selection criteria with an IDL-based code developed by us. The significance of the observed coincidences was evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations of synthetic sources following a well-tested protocol. We found 3320 coincident radio/X-ray sources with a high statistical significance characterized by the sum of error-weighted coordinate differences. For 997 of them, 2MASS counterparts were found. The percentage of chance coincidences is less than 1%. X-ray hardness ratios of well-known populations of objects were used to provide a crude representation of their X-ray spectrum and to make a preliminary diagnosis of the possible nature of unidentified X-ray sources. The results support the fact that the X-ray sky is largely dominated by Active Galactic Nuclei at high galactic latitudes (|b| >= 10^\circ). At low galactic latitudes (|b| <= 10^\circ) most of unidentified X-ray sources (~94%) lie at |b| <= 2^\circ. This result suggests that most of the unidentified sources found toward the Milky Way plane are galactic objects. Well-known and unidentified sources were classified in different tables with their corresponding radio/infrared and X-ray properties. These tables are intended as a useful tool for researchers interested in particular identifications.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap&SS. 47 pages, 10 figures. On-line material: figures and table

Unleashing the Diagnostic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Potential of the Neuronostatin/GPR107 System in Prostate Cancer

Certain components of the somatostatin-system play relevant roles in Prostate Cancer (PCa), whose most aggressive phenotype (Castration-Resistant-PCa (CRPC)) remains lethal nowadays. However, neuronostatin and the G protein-coupled receptor 107 (GPR107), two novel members of the somatostatin-system, have not been explored yet in PCa. Consequently, we investigated the pathophysiological role of NST/GPR107-system in PCa. GPR107 expression was analyzed in well-characterized PCa patient′s cohorts, and functional/mechanistic assays were performed in response to GPR107-silencing and NST-treatment in PCa cells (androgen-dependent (AD: LNCaP) and androgen-independent (AI: 22Rv1/PC-3), which are cell models of hormone-sensitive and CRPC, respectively), and normal prostate cells (RWPE-1 cell-line). GPR107 was overexpressed in PCa and associated with key clinical parameters (e.g., advance stage of PCa, presence of vascular invasion and metastasis). Furthermore, GPR107-silencing inhibited proliferation/migration rates in AI-PCa-cells and altered key genes and oncogenic signaling-pathways involved in PCa aggressiveness (i.e., KI67/CDKN2D/MMP9/PRPF40A, SST5TMD4/AR-v7/In1-ghrelin/EZH2 splicing-variants and AKT-signaling). Interestingly, NST treatment inhibited proliferation/migration only in AI-PCa cells and evoked an identical molecular response than GPR107-silencing. Finally, NST decreased GPR107 expression exclusively in AI-PCa-cells, suggesting that part of the specific antitumor effects of NST could be mediated through a GPR107-downregulation. Altogether, NST/GPR107-system could represent a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool and a promising novel therapeutic target for PCa and CRPC

Oncogenic Role of Secreted Engrailed Homeobox 2 (EN2) in Prostate Cancer

Engrailed variant-2 (EN2) has been suggested as a potential diagnostic biomarker; however, its presence and functional role in prostate cancer (PCa) cells is still controversial or unknown. Here, we analyzed 1) the expression/secretion profile of EN2 in five independent samples cohorts from PCa patients and controls (prostate tissues and/or urine) to determine its utility as a PCa biomarker; and 2) the functional role of EN2 in normal (RWPE1) and tumor (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3) prostate cells to explore its potential value as therapeutic target. EN2 was overexpressed in our two cohorts of PCa tissues compared to control and in tumor cell lines compared with normal-like prostate cells. This profile was corroborated in silico in three independent data sets [The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)/Grasso]. Consistently, urine EN2 levels were elevated and enabled discrimination between PCa and control patients. EN2 treatment increased cell proliferation in LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3 cells, migration in RWPE1/PC3 cells, and PSA secretion in LNCaP cells. These effects were associated, at least in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells, with increased AKT and androgen-receptor phosphorylation levels and with modulation of key cancer-associated genes. Consistently, EN2 treatment also regulated androgen-receptor activity (full-length and splicing variants) in androgen-sensitive 22Rv1 cells. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential utility of EN2 as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for PCa and provides novel and valuable information to further investigate its putative utility to develop new therapeutic tools in PCa

Theory and simulation of quantum photovoltaic devices based on the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism

This article reviews the application of the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism to the simulation of novel photovoltaic devices utilizing quantum confinement effects in low dimensional absorber structures. It covers well-known aspects of the fundamental NEGF theory for a system of interacting electrons, photons and phonons with relevance for the simulation of optoelectronic devices and introduces at the same time new approaches to the theoretical description of the elementary processes of photovoltaic device operation, such as photogeneration via coherent excitonic absorption, phonon-mediated indirect optical transitions or non-radiative recombination via defect states. While the description of the theoretical framework is kept as general as possible, two specific prototypical quantum photovoltaic devices, a single quantum well photodiode and a silicon-oxide based superlattice absorber, are used to illustrated the kind of unique insight that numerical simulations based on the theory are able to provide.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures; invited review pape

Optical flux behaviour of a sample of Fermi blazars

Aims. We aim at investigating the time-behaviour of a sample of gamma-ray blazars. We present the results from a 13 month-long optical photometry monitoring campaign of the blazars PKS 0048-097, PKS 0754+100, [HB89] 0827+243, PKS 0851+202, PKS 1253-055, PKS 1510-089, PKS 1749+096, PKS 2230+114 and PKS 2251+158. Methods. We analyse the variability of each object, focusing on different time-scales (long term, short term, and microvariability), in an attempt to achieve a statistical comparison of the results. Results. After applying a geometric model to explain the variability results, we found that it is possible that a slight change in the direction of the jet generates the variations detected in some objects during this campaign.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica