Identification of a Likely Radio Counterpart of the Rapid Burster

We have identified a likely radio counterpart to the low-mass X-ray binary MXB 1730-335 (the Rapid Burster). The counterpart has shown 8.4 GHz radio on/off behavior correlated with the X-ray on/off behavior as observed by the RXTE/ASM during six VLA observations. The probability of an unrelated, randomly varying background source duplicating this behavior is 1-3% depending on the correlation time scale. The location of the radio source is RA 17h 33m 24.61s; Dec -33d 23' 19.8" (J2000), +/- 0.1". We do not detect 8.4 GHz radio emission coincident with type II (accretion-driven) X-ray bursts. The ratio of radio to X-ray emission during such bursts is constrained to be below the ratio observed during X-ray persistent emission at the 2.9-sigma level. Synchrotron bubble models of the radio emission can provide a reasonable fit to the full data set, collected over several outbursts, assuming that the radio evolution is the same from outburst to outburst, but given the physical constraints the emission is more likely to be due to ~hour-long radio flares such as have been observed from the X-ray binary GRS 1915+105.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ (no changes

Multifrequency spectra of solar brightness temperature derived from eclipse observations

Changes in solar radio-brightness temperature were derived at 2.8,19.3 and 22.2 GHz from the observations of radio flux during the total eclipse of 1980 February 16. High-resolution MEM spectra of the brightness temperature fluctuations at the three frequencies showed periodicities ranging from 3.5 min to 128 min. Between 3.5 min and 14.6 min there are several periodicities of comparable significance common to the three operating frequencies. If the corresponding variations in brightness temperature are assumed to result from spatial variations in the solar radio emission, the observed periodicities imply scale sizes in the range 76000 km to 320000 km

Activation of the p53 Transcriptional Program Sensitizes Cancer Cells to Cdk7 Inhibitors

Cdk7, the CDK-activating kinase and transcription factor IIH component, is a target of inhibitors that kill cancer cells by exploiting tumor-specific transcriptional dependencies. However, whereas selective inhibition of analog-sensitive (AS) Cdk7 in colon cancer-derived cells arrests division and disrupts transcription, it does not by itself trigger apoptosis efficiently. Here, we show that p53 activation by 5-fluorouracil or nutlin-3 synergizes with a reversible Cdk7asinhibitor to induce cell death. Synthetic lethality was recapitulated with covalent inhibitors of wild-type Cdk7, THZ1, or the more selective YKL-1-116. The effects were allele specific; a CDK7asmutation conferred both sensitivity to bulky adenine analogs and resistance to covalent inhibitors. Non-transformed colon epithelial cells were resistant to these combinations, as were cancer-derived cells with p53-inactivating mutations. Apoptosis was dependent on death receptor DR5, a p53 transcriptional target whose expression was refractory to Cdk7 inhibition. Therefore, p53 activation induces transcriptional dependency to sensitize cancer cells to Cdk7 inhibition. Kalan et al. find that activation of the p53 tumor suppressor protein in human colon cancer-derived cells can induce transcriptional dependency on Cdk7, analogous to constitutive dependencies described in other tumors driven by oncogenic transcription factors. This work provides a proof of concept for combining p53-activating agents with Cdk7 inhibitors to elicit synthetic lethality. Keywords: Cdk7; p53; colon cancer; synthetic lethality; transcription; 5-fluorouracil; nutlin-3; apoptosis; chemical genetics; CDK inhibitorNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HG002668

Multi-Frequency observations of radio sun during total solar eclipse of February 16, 1980

Measurements of radio flux of the Sun duirng the total solar eclipse on February 16, 1980 were made from the Japal-Rangapur Observatory near Hyderabad, at radio frequencies of 2.8, 10, 19 and 22.2 GHz. Observations for both ingress and egress are available. Residual fluxesat totality for 2.8, 10 and 19 GHz were 23, 3.5 and 3 per cent respectively. The minimum fluxes were observed from 2 to 7 minutes prior to the mid-eclipse

Evaluación preliminar de los niveles de cloro residual (Cl2) y contaminación por cloraminas en agua potable de la ciudad de Arequipa – 2015

Chlorine is a strong oxidizing agent and is the conventional chemical used in the disinfection process for water purification, reducing the risk of pathogenic infection. However, it may represent a chemical threat to human health due to waste and hazardous disinfection by-products formed as trihalomethanes, nitrosamines, chlorophenols, among others. This paper aims is to assess and monitor the concentration of free chlorine and chloramines in drinking water distributed in the city of Arequipa, to establish whether it is within the parameters set by the competent authority. Three monthly monitoring were performed in the distribution network of the three water treatment plants, performing the DPD spectrophotometric method, the experimental values to first order kinetic model were adjusted using the value of k = 0.0018 as decay constant. The values of free chlorine and chloramines, showed significant difference (p <0.05) in the months of monitoring, different water treatment plants and districts evaluated. It was concluded that the average values of free chlorine are within the parameters defined by the DIGESA and WHO. In addition chloramine concentration values are below the limit of 5 mg.L-1 that sets the international standard WHO.El cloro (Cl2) es un agente oxidante fuerte y es la sustancia química convencional utilizada en el proceso de desinfección para la potabilización del agua, reduciendo el riesgo de infección patógena. Sin embargo, puede representar una amenaza química para la salud humana debido a los residuos de desinfección y los subproductos peligrosos formados como los trihalometanos, nitrosaminas, cloro fenoles, entre otros. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar y monitorear la concentración de cloro libre y cloraminas en el agua potable distribuida en la ciudad de Arequipa, para establecer si se encuentra dentro de los parámetros establecidos por la autoridad competente. Se realizaron tres monitoreos mensuales, en la red de distribución de las tres plantas potabilizadoras, empleando el método espectrofotométrico con DPD, se ajustaron los valores experimentales al modelo cinético de primer orden, empleando el valor de k = 0.0018 como constante de decaimiento. Los valores de cloro libre y cloraminas, presentaron diferencia significativa (p<0,05) en los meses de monitoreo, las diferentes plantas potabilizadoras y los distritos evaluados. Se concluyó que el promedio de los valores de cloro libre están dentro de los parámetros definidos por la DIGESA norma y por la OMS norma WHO/SDE/ WSH/03.04/45. Además los valores de concentración de cloraminas se encuentran por debajo del límite de 5 mg.L-1 que establece la norma internacional OMS

The social relations of health care and household resource allocation in neoliberal Nicaragua

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the transition to neoliberalism, Nicaragua's once-critically acclaimed health care services have substantially diminished. Local level social formations have been under pressure to try to bridge gaps as the state's role in the provision of health care and other vital social services has decreased. This paper presents a case study of how global and national health policies reverberated in the social relations of an extended network of female kin in a rural community during late 2002 - 2003.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The qualitative methods used in this ethnographic study included semi-structured interviews completed during bi-weekly visits to 51 households, background interviews with 20 lay and professional health practitioners working in the public and private sectors, and participant-observation conducted in the region's government health centers. Interviews and observational field notes were manually coded and iteratively reviewed to identify and conceptually organize emergent themes. Three households of extended kin were selected from the larger sample to examine as a case study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ongoing erosion of vital services formerly provided by the public sector generated considerable frustration and tension among households, networks of extended kin, and neighbors. As resource allocations for health care seeking and other needs were negotiated within and across households, longstanding ideals of reciprocal exchange persisted, but in conditions of poverty, expectations were often unfulfilled, exposing the tension between the need for social support, versus the increasingly oppositional positioning of social network members as sources of competition for limited resources.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In compliance with neoliberal structural adjustment policies mandated by multilateral and bilateral agencies, government-provided health care services have been severely restricted in Nicaragua. As the national safety net for health care has been eroded, the viability of local level social formations and their ability to respond to struggles collectively has been put at risk as well. Bi-lateral and multilateral agencies need to take into account local needs and demands, and implement policies in a manner that respects national laws, and protects both the physical and social well-being of individuals.</p

Controlling Activity and Selectivity Using Water in the Au-Catalysed Preferential Oxidation of CO in H\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e

Industrial hydrogen production through methane steam reforming exceeds 50 million tons annually and accounts for 2–5% of global energy consumption. The hydrogen product, even after processing by the water–gas shift, still typically contains ∼1% CO, which must be removed for many applications. Methanation (CO + 3H2 → CH4 + H2O) is an effective solution to this problem, but consumes 5–15% of the generated hydrogen. The preferential oxidation (PROX) of CO with O2 in hydrogen represents a more-efficient solution. Supported gold nanoparticles, with their high CO-oxidation activity and notoriously low hydrogenation activity, have long been examined as PROX catalysts, but have shown disappointingly low activity and selectivity. Here we show that, under the proper conditions, a commercial Au/Al2O3 catalyst can remove CO to below 10 ppm and still maintain an O2-to-CO2 selectivity of 80–90%. The key to maximizing the catalyst activity and selectivity is to carefully control the feed-flow rate and maintain one to two monolayers of water (a key CO-oxidation co-catalyst) on the catalyst surface

Genome of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (\u3cem\u3eAnoplophora glabripennis\u3c/em\u3e), a Globally Significant Invasive Species, Reveals Key Functional and Evolutionary Innovations at the Beetle-Plant Interface

Background: Relatively little is known about the genomic basis and evolution of wood-feeding in beetles. We undertook genome sequencing and annotation, gene expression assays, studies of plant cell wall degrading enzymes, and other functional and comparative studies of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, a globally significant invasive species capable of inflicting severe feeding damage on many important tree species. Complementary studies of genes encoding enzymes involved in digestion of woody plant tissues or detoxification of plant allelochemicals were undertaken with the genomes of 14 additional insects, including the newly sequenced emerald ash borer and bull-headed dung beetle. Results: The Asian longhorned beetle genome encodes a uniquely diverse arsenal of enzymes that can degrade the main polysaccharide networks in plant cell walls, detoxify plant allelochemicals, and otherwise facilitate feeding on woody plants. It has the metabolic plasticity needed to feed on diverse plant species, contributing to its highly invasive nature. Large expansions of chemosensory genes involved in the reception of pheromones and plant kairomones are consistent with the complexity of chemical cues it uses to find host plants and mates. Conclusions: Amplification and functional divergence of genes associated with specialized feeding on plants, including genes originally obtained via horizontal gene transfer from fungi and bacteria, contributed to the addition, expansion, and enhancement of the metabolic repertoire of the Asian longhorned beetle, certain other phytophagous beetles, and to a lesser degree, other phytophagous insects. Our results thus begin to establish a genomic basis for the evolutionary success of beetles on plants