On the elliptic Stark Conjecture in higher weight

We study the special values of the triple product $p$-adic $L$-function constructed by Darmon and Rotger at all classical points outside the region of interpolation. We propose conjectural formulas for these values that can be seen as extending the Elliptic Stark Conjecture, and we provide theoretical evidence for them by proving some particular cases

Bee Products: An Emblematic Example of Underutilized Sources of Bioactive Compounds

Beside honey, honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are able to produce many byproducts, including bee pollen, propolis, bee bread, royal jelly, and beeswax. Even if the medicinal properties of these byproducts have been recognized for thousands of years by the ancient civilizations, in the modern era, they have a limited use, essentially as nutritional supplements or health products. However, these natural products are excellent sources of bioactive compounds, macro- and micronutrients, that, in a synergistic way, confer multiple biological activities to these byproducts, such as, for example, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. This work aims to update the chemical and phytochemical composition of bee pollen, propolis, bee bread, royal jelly, and beeswax and to summarize the main effects exerted by these byproducts on human health, from the anticancer and immunemodulatory activities to the antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, and anti-allergic properties

Special values of triple-product -adic L-functions and non-crystalline diagonal classes

The main purpose of this note is to understand the arithmetic encoded in the special value of the $p$-adic $L$-function $E_p^g$ (f, $\left.\mathbf{g}, \mathbf{h}\right)$ associated to a triple of modular forms $(f, g, h)$ of weights $(2,1,1)$, in the case where the classical $L$-function $L(f \otimes g \otimes h, s)$ (which typically has sign +1$)$ does not vanish at its central critical point $s=1$. When $f$ corresponds to an elliptic curve $E / \mathbb{Q}$ and the classical $L$-function vanishes, the Elliptic Stark Conjecture of Darmon-Lauder-Rotger predicts that $E_p^g$ (f, $\left.\mathbf{g}, \mathbf{h}\right)(2,1,1)$ is either 0 (when the order of vanishing of the complex $L$-function is $>2$ ) or related to logarithms of global points on $E$ and a certain Gross-Stark unit associated to $g$ (when the order of vanishing is exactly 2). We complete the picture proposed by the Elliptic Stark Conjecture by providing a formula for the value $E_p^g(\mathbf{f}, \mathbf{g}, \mathbf{h})(2,1,1)$ in the case where $L(f \otimes g \otimes h, 1) \neq 0$

Nanorings driven by a laser field

We present the dynamics of an electron constrained over an 1D ring with radius of 0.142 nm driven by a laser field. The temporal evolution of the system is evaluated by a semi-analytical solution of the full quantum time dependent Schr¨odinger equation. In our calculation the gap energy between the ground and the first excited state of the nanoring is three times the photon energy laser (0.63 eV) and the laser intensity is 4·1014 W/cm2 . Our analysis is performed by considering different polarization states of the incident laser. Our attention is mainly focused on the study of the High Harmonic Generation (HHG), the energy and the angular momentum absorbed by the driven system. We observe 1) that the harmonic yield is strongly dependent upon the pump polarization field and almost vanishes for circular polarization and 2) that the ring can be left in a state with average angular momentum different than zero. In figure we show the time average of the absorbed angular momentum (in atomic units) versus polarization angle (θ = 0◦ and θ = 90◦ correspond to linear polarization along x and y axes respectively; θ = 45◦ corresponds to circular polarization)

Role of Lipids in the Onset, Progression and Treatment of Periodontal Disease. A Systematic Review of Studies in Humans

The risk of different oral problems (root caries, tooth mobility, and tooth loss) can be increased by the presence of periodontal disease, which has also been associated with a growing list of systemic diseases. The presence of some bacteria is the primary etiology of this disease; a susceptible host is also necessary for disease initiation. In this respect, the progression of periodontal disease and healing of the periodontal tissues can be modulated by nutritional status. To clarify the role of lipids in the establishment, progression, and/or treatment of this pathology, a systematic review was conducted of English-written literature in PubMed until May 2016, which included research on the relationship of these dietary components with the onset and progression of periodontal disease. According to publication type, randomized-controlled trials, cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies were included. Among all the analyzed components, those that have any effect on oxidative stress and/or inflammation seem to be the most interesting according to current evidence. On one hand, there is quite a lot of information in favor of a positive role of n-3 fatty acids, due to their antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects. On the other hand, saturated fat-rich diets increase oxidative stress as well the as intensity and duration of inflammatory processes, so they must be avoided.Alfonso Varela-López is recipient of a fellowship of FPU program from the Spanish Ministry of Education. Authors acknowledge to the University of Granada and the Autonomous Government of Andalusia for partial support of the research team

Angular harmonic dependence from a 3D-H2+ Molecular Ion

The time-dependent Schroedinger equation of a H2+ molecular ion in the presence of a linearly polarized laser field is numerically solved by means of a split-operator parallel code. The electron, driven by the laser electric field, emits electromagnetic radiation whose HHG spectrum (shown in Figure 1) can be finely controlled by changing the angle between the laser electric field and the molecular axis. The numerical results confirm that the structure of the spectra strongly depends on this angle. In particular the correlation between the laser orientation (with respect to the molecular axis) and the intensity of various harmonic peaks are displayed in Figure 2

Laser induced ultrafast H2+ dinamic and attosecond generation

We examine the possibility that a H2+ molecular ion driven by a linearly polarized laser field can be considered as a source of attosecond pulses. The emisseion is investigated taking into account the role of the internuclear distance and by changing the angle between the laser field and the molecular axis. We find that the attosecond pulses emission happens when the electron cloud is over one nucleus; on the contrary, when the elctron is travelling between the two nuclei the attosecond emission do not take place

Identification of responders to CRT by stress echo: no contractile reserve, no party

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is increasingly used, but the identification of "responders" remains challenging. Aim: to assess the value of inotropic reserve during pharmacological echo stress to identify responders. Materials and methods: We enrolled 32 patients (age 69?9 years; 9 females) referred to CRT, all with LV ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35n %, NYHA ≥IIb and QRS duration ≥130 milliseconds. Twenty-two patients showed echocardiographic criteria for dyssynchrony (at least one of M-mode, Tissue Doppler, or live 3D echo criteria). All patients underwent pharmacological stress echo (dobutamine, up to 40 mcg/Kg/min in 29, dipyridamole 0.84 mg/kg 10 min, in 3). Patients were considered with contractile response if variation of WMSI (from 1=normal, to 4=dyskinetic, 17 segment model of left ventricle) stress-rest (delta WMSI) was ≥0.20. "Responders" to CRT were defined at 6 months follow-up as survivors with NYHA class improvement ≥1 grade and without new hospital admission for acute heart failure. Results: In the follow-up (median=20 months), 16 patients were responders to CRT (Group I) and 16 non-responders (Group II). Responders showed a wider QRS (I=162?25 vs. II=142 ?27 msec; p .044) and a greater delta WMSI (I=0.34?0.25 vs. II= 0.15?0.18; p=.021). At individual patient analysis, inotropic reserve was more often associated with a favourable clinical outcome (see figure) whereas dyssynchrony criteria by echocardiography were equally present in the two groups (I=12/16 vs. II=10/16, p=ns). In the follow-up there were 5 deaths, all in group II. Conclusion: Patients with contractile reserve during stress echo show a favourable clinical response to CRT. This parameter shifts the focus from electrical (dyssynchrony) to the myocardial substrate of functional response: no muscle, no party

Boid Inclusion Body Disease Is Also a Disease of Wild Boa Constrictors

Reptarenaviruses cause boid inclusion body disease (BIBD), a potentially fatal disease, occurring in captive constrictor snakes boas and pythons worldwide. Classical BIBD, characterized by the formation of pathognomonic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (IBs), occurs mainly in boas, whereas in pythons, for example, reptarenavirus infection most often manifests as central nervous system signs with limited IB formation. The natural hosts of reptarenaviruses are unknown, although free-ranging/wild constrictor snakes are among the suspects. Here, we report BIBD with reptarenavirus infection in indigenous captive and wild boid snakes in Costa Rica using histology, immunohistology, transmission electron microscopy, and next-generation sequencing (NGS). The snakes studied represented diagnostic postmortem cases of captive and wild-caught snakes since 1989. The results from NGS on archival paraffin blocks confirm that reptarenaviruses were already present in wild boa constrictors in Costa Rica in the 1980s. Continuous sequences that were de novo assembled from the low-quality RNA obtained from paraffin-embedded tissue allowed the identification of a distinct pair of reptarenavirus S and L segments in all studied animals; in most cases, reference assembly could recover almost complete segments. Sampling of three prospective cases in 2018 allowed an examination of fresh blood or tissues and resulted in the identification of additional reptarenavirus segments and hartmanivirus coinfection. Our results show that BIBD is not only a disease of captive snakes but also occurs in indigenous wild constrictor snakes in Costa Rica, suggesting boa constrictors to play a role in natural reptarenavirus circulation. IMPORTANCE The literature describes cases of boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) in captive snakes since the 1970s, and in the 2010s, others and ourselves identified reptarenaviruses as the causative agent. BIBD affects captive snakes globally, but the origin and the natural host of reptarenaviruses remain unknown. In this report, we show BIBD and reptarenavirus infections in two native Costa Rican constrictor snake species, and by studying archival samples, we show that both the viruses and the disease have been present in free-ranging/wild snakes in Costa Rica at least since the 1980s. The diagnosis of BIBD in wild boa constrictors suggests that this species plays a role in the circulation of reptarenaviruses. Additional sample collection and analysis would help to clarify this role further and the possibility of, e.g., vector transmission from an arthropod host

Mechanical Properties of Chaperone BiP, the Master Regulator of the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Immunoglobulin heavy-chain-binding protein (BiP protein) is a 75-kDa Hsp70 monomeric ATPase motor that plays broad and crucial roles maintaining proteostasis inside the cell. Its malfunction has been related with the appearance of many and important health problems such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and heart diseases, among others. In particular, it is involved in many endoplasmic reticulum (ER) processes and functions, such as protein synthesis, folding, and assembly, and also it works in the posttranslational mechanism of protein translocation. However, it is unknown what kind of molecular motor BiP works like, since the mechanochemical mechanism that BiP utilizes to perform its work during posttranslational translocation across the ER is not fully understood. One novel approach to study both structural and catalytic properties of BiP considers that the viscoelastic regime behavior of the enzymes (considering them as a spring) and their mechanical properties are correlated with catalysis and ligand binding. Structurally, BiP is formed by two domains, and to establish a correlation between BiP structure and catalysis and how its conformational and viscoelastic changes are coupled to ligand binding, catalysis, and allosterism (information transmitted between the domains), optical tweezers and nano-rheology techniques have been essential in this regard