Phosphorylation of the eIF4E-binding protein PHAS-I after exposure of PC12 cells to EGF and NGF

AbstractPHAS-I or the eIF4E-binding protein 1 regulates the cap-binding activity of eIF4E by sequestering eIF4E. Binding of eIF4E to PHAS-I is regulated by phosphorylation of PHAS-I. PC12 cells were used to study the signal transduction pathway leading to phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Both EGF and NGF induced phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Wortmannin, a PI-3 kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, a PKC inhibitor, and rapamycin, a FRAP inhibitor all blocked the phosphorylation of PHAS-I. Of the three inhibitors, only wortmannin was able to inhibit MAPK phosphorylation. This excludes a role for MAPK in NGF- and EGF-induced PHAS-I phosphorylation in PC12 cells. Apparently, PHAS-I was phosphorylated in a PI-3 kinase-, PKC-, and FRAP-dependent manner after EGF or NGF stimulation. Only PI-3 kinase and FRAP are involved in the regulation of the basal level of PHAS-I phosphorylation

Zooplankton composition and distribution off the coast of Galicia, Spain

During June and September 1984, zooplankton samples were collected with other hydrographic and biological data along the Galician coast (NW of Spain). In June copepods contributed -60% to the total zooplankton community, with larvaceans, siphonophores and cladocerans also abundant. In September >90% of the zooplankton sampled were copepods. The dominant species of copepods in both June and September were Acartia e/ausi, Paracalanus parvus and Temora longicornis. The meroplankton was dominated by echinoderms, bryozoans, barnacle larvae and bivalve larvae. In June the average zooplankton biomass was 31.08 mg e m-3; the September average was 41.69 mg e m-3 The relationship between the slopes of the regression equations (biomass versus abundance) suggests that the zooplankton assemblage in June was composed by larger animals than in September. The major concentration of zooplankton was between O and SO m, with both June and September daytime surface samples having 6-7 times the amount of organisms than the lower water column (50-100 m). There were no distinct differences in total zooplankton abundances at the inshore and offshore stations; however, the inshore stations often had a higher percentage of meroplankton than the offshore stations. In June zooplankton abundance at the northern transects and the western transects was similar. In September there were greater concentrations of zooplankton in the western Galician shelf as compared with the northern shelf. These differences in the horizontal distribution of the zooplankton were related to upwelling events.Postprin

Accretion signatures in the X-shooter spectrum of the substellar companion to SR12

About a dozen substellar companions orbiting young stellar objects or pre-main sequence stars at several hundred au have been identified in the last decade. These objects are interesting both due to the uncertainties surrounding their formation, and because their large separation from the host star offers the potential to study the atmospheres of young giant planets and brown dwarfs. Here, we present X-shooter spectroscopy of SR 12 C, a ∼2 Myr young brown dwarf orbiting SR 12 at an orbital separation of 1083 au. We determine the spectral type, gravity, and effective temperature via comparison with models and observational templates of young brown dwarfs. In addition, we detect and characterize accretion using several accretion tracers. We find SR 12 C to be a brown dwarf of spectral type L0 ± 1, log g = 4 ± 0.5, an effective temperature of 2600 ± 100 K. Our spectra provide clear evidence for accretion at a rate of ∼10−10 M⊙ yr−1. This makes SR 12 one of the few sub-stellar companions with a reliable estimate for its accretion rate. A comparison of the ages and accretion rates of sub-stellar companions with young isolated brown dwarfs does not reveal any significant differences. If further accretion rate measurements of a large number of substellar companions can confirm this trend, this would hint towards a similar formation mechanism for substellar companions at large separations and isolated brown dwarfs

Codimension-Three Bundle Singularities in F-Theory

We study new nonperturbative phenomena in N=1 heterotic string vacua corresponding to pointlike bundle singularities in codimension three. These degenerations result in new four-dimensional infrared physics characterized by light solitonic states whose origin is explained in the dual F-theory model. We also show that such phenomena appear generically in $E_7 \to E_6$ Higgsing and describe in detail the corresponding bundle transition.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, uses xypic; a reference adde

More Bubbling Solutions

In this note we construct families of asymptotically flat, smooth, horizonless solutions with a large number of non-trivial two-cycles (bubbles) of N=1 five-dimensional supergravity with an arbitrary number of vector multiplets, which may or may not have the charges of a macroscopic black hole and which contain the known bubbling solutions as a sub-family. We do this by lifting various multi-center BPS states of type IIA compactified on Calabi-Yau three-folds and taking the decompactification (M-theory) limit. We also analyse various properties of these solutions, including the conserved charges, the shape, especially the (absence of) throat and closed timelike curves, and relate them to the various properties of the four-dimensional BPS states. We finish by briefly commenting on their degeneracies and their possible relations to the fuzzball proposal of Mathur et al.Comment: 36 pages, Latex; JHEP version, one appendix added, references adde

Pharmacological interventions for chronic pain in children:an overview of systematic reviews

We know little about the safety or efficacy of pharmacological medicines for children and adolescents with chronic pain, despite their common use. Our aim was to conduct an overview review of systematic reviews of pharmacological interventions that purport to reduce pain in children with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) or chronic cancer-related pain (CCRP). We searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline, EMBASE, and DARE for systematic reviews from inception to March 2018. We conducted reference and citation searches of included reviews. We included children (0-18 years of age) with CNCP or CCRP. We extracted the review characteristics and primary outcomes of ≥30% participant-reported pain relief and patient global impression of change. We sifted 704 abstracts and included 23 systematic reviews investigating children with CNCP or CCRP. Seven of those 23 reviews included 6 trials that involved children with CNCP. There were no randomised controlled trials in reviews relating to reducing pain in CCRP. We were unable to combine data in a meta-analysis. Overall, the quality of evidence was very low, and we have very little confidence in the effect estimates. The state of evidence of randomized controlled trials in this field is poor; we have no evidence from randomised controlled trials for pharmacological interventions in children with cancer-related pain, yet cannot deny individual children access to potential pain relief. Prospero ID: CRD42018086900.</p