The hidden symbiotic star SU Lyn-detection of flickering in U band

We report photometric observations of the hidden symbiotic star SU Lyn in the optical bands. In four nights we detect a weak flickering in U band with amplitude of about 0.05 magnitudes. No intranight variations are found in B, V, g’ and r’ bands. This is one more indication that the secondary component is a white dwarf accreting at a low accretion rate Ẇe also searched for intranight variability of a dozen related objects-RR Boo, RT Boo, AM Cyg, AG Peg, BF Cyg, NQ Gem, StHa190, V627 Cas, XX Oph, FS Cet and Y Gem-however no variability above the observational errors is detected

Inhibition of Melanoma Growth by Subcutaneous Administration of hTERTC27 Viral Cocktail in C57BL/6 Mice

hTERTC27 is a 27 kDa C-terminal polypeptide of human telomerase reverse transcriptase that has previously been shown to reduce tumorigenicity of HeLa cells and suppress growth of xenografted glioblastoma in nude mice. Although ectopic expression of hTERTC27 upregulated genes that are involved in apoptosis, cell cycle, and immune response, the mechanism for hTERTC27-induced tumor suppression has not been completely elucidated. Since hTERT was identified as a universal tumor-associated antigen, we hypothesize that hTERTC27 inhibits tumor growth in vivo through activation of anti-tumor immune response. Immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice were used for mouse B16 melanoma model. Mice bearing B16 melanoma were administered rAAV-/rAdv viral cocktail expressing hTERTC27, and tumor growth was monitored after viral cocktail treatment. Blood and splenocytes were used to determine the level of cytokines and the activity of immune cells, respectively. B16 tumor growth was significantly inhibited by subcutaneous administration of a single dose of 1.5×10(11) vg rAAV-hTERTC27 and 2.5×10(9) pfu rAdv-hTERTC27 viral cocktail (rAAV-/rAdv-hTERTC27). The population and cytotoxicity of NK cells in the mice were significantly augmented by rAAV-/rAdv-hTERTC27 treatment, and selective depletion of the NK cell population in mice by intraperitoneal injection of anti-GM1 antibody abrogated the growth suppression of melanoma induced by rAAV-/rAdv-hTERTC27 administration. Activation of NK cells by administration of rAAV-/rAdv-hTERTC27 is critical for growth suppression of melanoma in mouse model.published_or_final_versio

MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray results on unassociated HAWC sources

The HAWC Collaboration released the 2HWC catalogue of TeV sources, in which 19 show no association with any known high-energy (HE; E greater than or similar to 10 GeV) or very-high-energy (VHE; E greater than or similar to 300 GeV) sources. This catalogue motivated follow-up studies by both the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) and Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) observatories with the aim of investigating gamma-ray emission over a broad energy band. In this paper, we report the results from the first joint work between High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC), MAGIC, and Fermi-LAT on three unassociated HAWC sources: 2HWC J2006+341, 2HWC J1907+084*, and 2HWC J1852+013*. Although no significant detection was found in the HE and VHE regimes, this investigation shows that a minimum 1 degrees extension (at 95 per cent confidence level) and harder spectrum in the GeV than the one extrapolated from HAWC results are required in the case of 2HWC J1852+013*, whilst a simply minimum extension of 0.16 degrees (at 95 per cent confidence level) can already explain the scenario proposed by HAWC for the remaining sources. Moreover, the hypothesis that these sources are pulsar wind nebulae is also investigated in detail

Human eye-inspired soft optoelectronic device using high-density MoS2-graphene curved image sensor array

Soft bioelectronic devices provide new opportunities for next-generation implantable devices owing to their soft mechanical nature that leads to minimal tissue damages and immune responses. However, a soft form of the implantable optoelectronic device for optical sensing and retinal stimulation has not been developed yet because of the bulkiness and rigidity of conventional imaging modules and their composing materials. Here, we describe a high-density and hemispherically curved image sensor array that leverages the atomically thin MoS2-graphene heterostructure and strain-releasing device designs. The hemispherically curved image sensor array exhibits infrared blindness and successfully acquires pixelated optical signals. We corroborate the validity of the proposed soft materials and ultrathin device designs through theoretical modeling and finite element analysis. Then, we propose the ultrathin hemispherically curved image sensor array as a promising imaging element in the soft retinal implant. The CurvIS array is applied as a human eye-inspired soft implantable optoelectronic device that can detect optical signals and apply programmed electrical stimulation to optic nerves with minimum mechanical side effects to the retina