Efficiency of plant proteases bromelain and papain on turkey meat tenderness

The main subject of study is the effect the plant proteases bromelain and papain exert on turkey meat tenderness. Experiments are conducted with samples of raw meat in 3 different concentration levels of the enzyme solutions (50U/ml 100U/ml and 200 U/ml) and in 3 different time periods (duration) of treatment (24 h, 48 h, 72h). An increase in enzyme concentration and treatment duration results in a higher degree of protein hydrolysis in the turkey meat. The optimal conditions for hydrolysis with minimal loss of protein and highest retention of organoleptic qualities of the meat samples are established

Radio Emission from Ultra-Cool Dwarfs

The 2001 discovery of radio emission from ultra-cool dwarfs (UCDs), the very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with spectral types of ~M7 and later, revealed that these objects can generate and dissipate powerful magnetic fields. Radio observations provide unparalleled insight into UCD magnetism: detections extend to brown dwarfs with temperatures <1000 K, where no other observational probes are effective. The data reveal that UCDs can generate strong (kG) fields, sometimes with a stable dipolar structure; that they can produce and retain nonthermal plasmas with electron acceleration extending to MeV energies; and that they can drive auroral current systems resulting in significant atmospheric energy deposition and powerful, coherent radio bursts. Still to be understood are the underlying dynamo processes, the precise means by which particles are accelerated around these objects, the observed diversity of magnetic phenomenologies, and how all of these factors change as the mass of the central object approaches that of Jupiter. The answers to these questions are doubly important because UCDs are both potential exoplanet hosts, as in the TRAPPIST-1 system, and analogues of extrasolar giant planets themselves.Comment: 19 pages; submitted chapter to the Handbook of Exoplanets, eds. Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmonte (Springer-Verlag

Genomic modelling of the ESR1 Y537S mutation for evaluating function and new therapeutic approaches for metastatic breast cancer

Drugs that inhibit estrogen receptor-α (ER) activity have been highly successful in treating and reducing breast cancer progression in ER-positive disease. However, resistance to these therapies presents a major clinical problem. Recent genetic studies have shown that mutations in the ER gene are found in >20% of tumours that progress on endocrine therapies. Remarkably, the great majority of these mutations localize to just a few amino acids within or near the critical helix 12 region of the ER hormone binding domain, where they are likely to be single allele mutations. Understanding how these mutations impact on ER function is a prerequisite for identifying methods to treat breast cancer patients featuring such mutations. Towards this end, we used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to make a single allele knock-in of the most commonly mutated amino acid residue, tyrosine 537, in the estrogen-responsive MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Genomic analyses using RNA-seq and ER ChIP-seq demonstrated that the Y537S mutation promotes constitutive ER activity globally, resulting in estrogen-independent growth. MCF7-Y537S cells were resistant to the anti-estrogen tamoxifen and fulvestrant. Further, we show that the basal transcription factor TFIIH is constitutively recruited by ER-Y537S, resulting in ligand-independent phosphorylation of Serine 118 (Ser118) by the TFIIH kinase, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)7. The CDK7 inhibitor, THZ1 prevented Ser118 phosphorylation and inhibited growth of MCF7-Y537S cells. These studies confirm the functional importance of ER mutations in endocrine resistance, demonstrate the utility of knock-in mutational models for investigating alternative therapeutic approaches and highlight CDK7 inhibition as a potential therapy for endocrine-resistant breast cancer mediated by ER mutations

MAGIC gamma-ray and multi-frequency observations of flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 in early 2012

Aims. Amongst more than fifty blazars detected in very high energy (VHE, E> 100 GeV) γ rays, only three belong to the subclass of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). The detection of FSRQs in the VHE range is challenging, mainly because of their soft spectra in the GeV-TeV regime. MAGIC observed PKS 1510−089 (z = 0.36) starting 2012 February 3 until April 3 during a high activity state in the high energy (HE, E> 100 MeV) γ-ray band observed by AGILE and Fermi. MAGIC observations result in the detection of a source with significance of 6.0 standard deviations (σ). We study the multi-frequency behaviour of the source at the epoch of MAGIC observation, collecting quasi-simultaneous data at radio and optical (GASP-WEBT and F-Gamma collaborations, REM, Steward, Perkins, Liverpool, OVRO, and VLBA telescopes), X-ray (Swift satellite), and HE γ-ray frequencies. Methods. We study the VHE γ-ray emission, together with the multi-frequency light curves, 43 GHz radio maps, and spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source. The quasi-simultaneous multi-frequency SED from the millimetre radio band to VHE γ rays is modelled with a one-zone inverse Compton model. We study two different origins of the seed photons for the inverse Compton scattering, namely the infrared torus and a slow sheath surrounding the jet around the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) core. Results. We find that the VHE γ-ray emission detected from PKS 1510−089 in 2012 February-April agrees with the previous VHE observations of the source from 2009 March-April. We find no statistically significant variability during the MAGIC observations on daily, weekly, or monthly time scales, while the other two known VHE FSRQs (3C 279 and PKS 1222+216) have shown daily scale to sub-hour variability. The γ-ray SED combining AGILE, Fermi and MAGIC data joins smoothly and shows no hint of a break. The multi-frequency light curves suggest a common origin for the millimetre radio and HE γ-ray emission, and the HE γ-ray flaring starts when the new component is ejected from the 43 GHz VLBA core and the studied SED models fit the data well. However, the fast HE γ-ray variability requires that within the modelled large emitting region, more compact regions must exist. We suggest that these observed signatures would be most naturally explained by a turbulent plasma flowing at a relativistic speed down the jet and crossing a standing conical shock

Testing breast cancer serum biomarkers for early detection and prognosis in pre-diagnosis samples

This research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre. UKCTOCS was core funded by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, and the Department of Health with additional support from the Eve Appeal, Special Trustees of Bart’s and the London, and Special Trustees of UCLH. OB and JFT also received support from the Eve Appeal Gynaecological Cancer Research Trust and Cancer Research UK PRC Programme Grant A12677

Multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 from radio to γ -rays

© 2015 The Authors. We present an analysis of the multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 at z = 0.939 in the period 2006-2013. We use low-energy data (optical, near-infrared, and radio) obtained by 21 observatories participating in the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)-AGILE Support Program of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope, as well as data from the Swift (optical-UV and X-rays) and Fermi (γ -rays) satellites, to study flux and spectral variability and correlations among emissions in different bands. We take into account the effect of absorption by the Damped Lyman α intervening system at z = 0.525. Two major outbursts were observed in 2006-2007 and in 2012-2013 at optical and near-IR wavelengths, while in the high-frequency radio light curves prominent radio outbursts are visible peaking at the end of 2010 and beginning of 2013, revealing a complex radio-optical correlation. Crosscorrelation analysis suggests a delay of the optical variations after the γ -ray ones of about a month, which is a peculiar behaviour in blazars. We also analyse optical polarimetric and spectroscopic data. The average polarization percentage P is less than 3 per cent, but it reaches~19 per cent during the early stage of the 2012-2013 outburst.Avague correlation of P with brightness is observed. There is no preferred electric vector polarization angle and during the outburst the linear polarization vector shows wide rotations in both directions, suggesting a complex behaviour/structure of the jet and possible turbulence. The analysis of 140 optical spectra acquired at the Steward Observatory reveals a strong Mg II broad emission line with an essentially stable flux of 6.2 × 10-15 erg cm-2 s-1 and a full width at half-maximum of 2053 km s-1

Multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 from radio to γ-rays

We present an analysis of the multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 at z = 0.939 in the period 2006-2013. We use low-energy data (optical, near-infrared, and radio) obtained by 21 observatories participating in the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)-AGILE Support Program of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope, as well as data from the Swift (optical-UV and X-rays) and Fermi (γ-rays) satellites, to study flux and spectral variability and correlations among emissions in different bands. We take into account the effect of absorption by the Damped Lyman α intervening system at z = 0.525. Two major outbursts were observed in 2006-2007 and in 2012-2013 at optical and near-IR wavelengths, while in the high-frequency radio light curves prominent radio outbursts are visible peaking at the end of 2010 and beginning of 2013, revealing a complex radio-optical correlation. Cross-correlation analysis suggests a delay of the optical variations after the γ-ray ones of about a month, which is a peculiar behaviour in blazars. We also analyse optical polarimetric and spectroscopic data. The average polarization percentage P is less than 3 per cent, but it reaches ∼19 per cent during the early stage of the 2012-2013 outburst. A vague correlation of P with brightness is observed. There is no preferred electric vector polarization angle and during the outburst the linear polarization vector shows wide rotations in both directions, suggesting a complex behaviour/structure of the jet and possible turbulence. The analysis of 140 optical spectra acquired at the Steward Observatory reveals a strong Mg II broad emission line with an essentially stable flux of 6.2 × 10- 15 erg cm- 2 s- 1 and a full width at half-maximum of 2053 km s- 1