AXIN1 and AXIN2 variants in gastrointestinal cancers

AbstractMutations in the APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene, which encodes a multi-functional protein with a well-defined role in the canonical Wnt pathway, underlie familial adenomatous polypsosis, a rare, inherited form of colorectal cancer (CRC) and contribute to the majority of sporadic CRCs. However, not all sporadic and familial CRCs can be explained by mutations in APC or other genes with well-established roles in CRC. The AXIN1 and AXIN2 proteins function in the canonical Wnt pathway, and AXIN1/2 alterations have been proposed as key defects in some cancers. Here, we review AXIN1 and AXIN2 sequence alterations reported in gastrointestinal cancers, with the goal of vetting the evidence that some of the variants may have key functional roles in cancer development

Group theory analysis of electrons and phonons in N-layer graphene systems

In this work we study the symmetry properties of electrons and phonons in graphene systems as function of the number of layers. We derive the selection rules for the electron-radiation and for the electron-phonon interactions at all points in the Brillouin zone. By considering these selection rules, we address the double resonance Raman scattering process. The monolayer and bilayer graphene in the presence of an applied electric field are also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Low mass dimuons within a hybrid approach

We analyse dilepton emission from hot and dense hadronic matter using a hybrid approach based on the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) transport model with an intermediate hydrodynamic stage for the description of heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. Focusing on the enhancement with respect to the contribution from long-lived hadron decays after freeze-out observed at the SPS in the low mass region of the dilepton spectra (often referred to as "the excess"), the relative importance of the emission from the equilibrium and the non-equilibrium stages is discussed.Comment: Proceedings of Hot Quarks 2010, 21-26 June 2010 Las Londe Les Maures; v2: Corrected typos and added a commen

Dietary Nitrate: Effects on the health of weaning pigs and Antimicrobial activity on seven probiotic Bifidobacterium spp. strains

The potential role of nitrite as an antimicrobial substance in the stomach may be of some importance in the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract and in host physiology. It has been shown that nitrite, under the acidic conditions of the stomach, may kill gut pathogens like Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia enterocolitica, whereas acid alone has only a bacteriostatic effect. An in vivo study was conducted in order to assess the effects of dietary nitrate on microbiota and on the health of the gut (particularly in the stomach and small intestine). 96 weaning pigs were fed a diet containing high nitrate levels (15 mg and 150 mg) and then challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium. Differences in composition of the gut microbiota were assessed by analysing samples from the pigs: To date analysis of 48 pigs has been completed.. Preliminary results demonstrated no effect on the population densities of microbial groups either from the challenge or from nitrate intake. However, increasing the time from challenge decreased either the counts of LAB in the stomach and jejunum or of clostridia in the stomach. Bifidobacteria also decreased in the stomach contents as nitrate supplementation increased. Supplementing the feedstuff with high dietary nitrate intake and then challenging with Salmonella did not affect the gastric pH or the degree of ulceration in the pigs. The synergistic bactericidal effects of pH, nitrite and thiocyanate on seven probiotic Bifidobacterium spp. strains were also investigated in an in vitro study. The results of the in vitro study demonstrated that an inhibitory effect exists on the seven probiotic bifidobacteria investigated with an exposure longer than 2 hours and pH values < 5.0. Addition of thiocyanate also increased the susceptibility of the tested strains. In this in vitro study, the most resistant strains at all conditions were B. animalis subsp. lactis Ra 18 and P32 and B. choerinum Su 877, Su 837 and Su 891

Semiochemicals, semiophysicals and their integration for the development of innovative multi-modal systems for agricultural pests’ monitoring and control

4openInternationalSemiochemicals are informative molecules emitted by living organisms that affect the behavior of receivers. As herbivorous insects are primarily thought to depend on olfaction and taste for their intra- and interspecific communication, semiochemicals have been widely studied for pest management applications. However, given that pest behavior does not rely on just one communication modality, stimuli of physical nature, such as light, sounds and vibrations, can also be used to manipulate insect-insect or insect-plant interactions. Moreover, stimuli of different natures can be combined in a multi-modal pest management program to increase the overall efficacy. Besides the widespread use of both chemical and physical signals in multimodal insect communication, the integration of stimuli has hardly been implemented for hardly any crop. This review introduces the term semiophysicals as opposed to semiochemicals and focuses on pest behavioral manipulation by discussing three main approaches; i) manipulation of pest orientation through attractive/repellent stimuli, ii) inhibition or promotion of specific pest behaviors and iii) interference with intraspecific communication through disruptive stimuli. For each approach, we provide examples of use of both semiochemicals and semiophysicals. Lastly, we describe the case study of the vineyard agroecosystem in the Trento province, where a multi-pest management program has been successfully developed, and we discuss future perspectives.openNieri, R.; Anfora, G.; Mazzoni, V.; Rossi Stacconi, M.V.Nieri, R.; Anfora, G.; Mazzoni, V.; Rossi Stacconi, M.V

Commissioning of the electron injector for the AWAKE experiment

The advanced wakefield experiment (AWAKE) at CERN is the first proton beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiment. The main goal of AWAKE RUN 1 was to demonstrate seeded self-modulation (SSM) of the proton beam and electron witness beam acceleration in the plasma wakefield. For the AWAKE experiment, a 10-meter-long Rubidium-vapor cell together with a high-power laser for ionization was used to generate the plasma. The plasma wakefield is driven by a 400 GeV/c proton beam extracted from the super proton synchrotron (SPS), which undergoes a seeded self-modulation process in the plasma. The electron witness beam used to probe the wakefields is generated from an S-band RF photo-cathode gun and then accelerated by a booster structure up to energies between 16 and 20 MeV. The first run of the AWAKE experiment revealed that the maximum energy gain after the plasma cell is 2 GeV, and the SSM mechanism of the proton beam was verified. In this paper, we will present the details of the AWAKE electron injector. A comparison of the measured electron beam parameters, such as beam size, energy, and normalized emittance, with the simulation results was performed

SPh functionalized bridging-vinyliminium diiron and diruthenium complexes

The SPh functionalized vinyliminium complexes [Fe2{μ-η1:η3-Cγ(R′)Cβ(SPh)CαN(Me)(R)}(μ-CO)(CO)(Cp)2][SO3CF3] [R = Xyl, R′ = Me, 2a; R = Me, R′ = Me, 2b; R = 4-C6H4OMe, R′ = Me, 2c; R = Xyl, R′ = CH2OH, 2d; R = Me, R′ = CH2OH, 2e; Xyl = 2,6-Me2C6H3] are generated in high yields by treatment of the corresponding vinyliminium complexes [Fe2{μ-η1:η3-Cγ(R′)Cβ(H)CαN(Me)(R)}(μ-CO)(CO)(Cp)2][SO3CF3] (1a–e) with NaH in the presence of PhSSPh. Likewise, the diruthenium complex [Ru2{μ-η1:η3-Cγ(Me)Cβ(SPh)CαN(Me)(Xyl)}(μ-CO)(CO)(Cp)2][SO3CF3] (2f) was obtained from the corresponding vinyliminium complex [Ru2{μ-η1:η3-Cγ(Me)Cβ(H)CαN(Me)(Xyl)}(μ-CO)(CO)(Cp)2] (1f). The synthesis of 2c is accompanied by the formation, in comparable amounts, of the aminocarbyne complex [Fe2{μ-CN(Me)(4-C6H4OMe)}(SPh)(μ-CO)(CO)(Cp)2] (3). The molecular structures of 2d, 2e and 3 have been determined by X-ray diffraction studies