Star formation histories and evolution of 35 brightest E+A galaxies from SDSS DR5

We pick out the 35 brightest galaxies from Goto's E+A galaxies catalogue which are selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5. The spectra of E+As are prominently characterized by the strong Balmer absorption lines but little [Oii] or H_alpha emission lines. In this work we study the stellar populations of the sample galaxies by fitting their spectra using ULySS, which is a robust full spectrum fitting method. We fit each of the sample with 1-population (a single stellar population-a SSP) and 3-population (3 SSPs) models, separately. By 1-population fits, we obtain SSP-equivalent ages and metallicities which correspond to the `luminosity-weighted' averages. By 3-population fits, we divide components into three groups in age (old stellar population-OSP, intermediate-age stellar population-ISP, and young stellar population-YSP), and then get the optimal age, metallicity and population fractions in both mass and light for OSP, ISP and YSP. During the fits, both Pegase.HR/Elodie3.1 and Vazdekis/Miles are used as two independent population models. The two models result in generally consistent conclusions as follows: for all the sample galaxies, YSPs (< 1Gyr) make important contributions to the light. However, the dominant contributors to mass are OSPs. We also reconstruct the smoothing star formation histories (SFHs) by giving star formation rate (SFR) versus evolutionary age. In addition, we fit the E+A sample and 34 randomly selected elliptical galaxies with 2-population (2 SSPs) model. We obtain the equivalent age of old components for each of the E+A sample and elliptical galaxies. By comparison, the old components of E+As are statistically much younger than those of ellipticals. From the standpoint of the stellar population age, this probably provides an evidence for the proposed evolutionary link from E+As to early-types (E/S0s).Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication on MNRA

Stellar populations of classical and pseudo-bulges for a sample of isolated spiral galaxies

In this paper we present the stellar population synthesis results for a sample of 75 bulges in isolated spiral Sb-Sc galaxies, using the spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the STARLIGHT code. We find that both pseudo-bulges and classical bulges in our sample are predominantly composed of old stellar populations, with mean mass-weighted stellar age around 10 Gyr. While the stellar population of pseudo-bulges is, in general, younger than that of classical bulges, the difference is not significant, which indicates that it is hard to distinguish pseudo-bulges from classical bulges, at least for these isolated galaxies, only based on their stellar populations. Pseudo-bulges have star formation activities with relatively longer timescale than classical bulges, indicating that secular evolution is more important in this kind of systems. Our results also show that pseudo-bulges have a lower stellar velocity dispersion than their classical counterparts, which suggests that classical bulges are more dispersion-supported than pseudo-bulges.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Appraising infrastructure for new towns in Ireland

Copyright © 2013 ICE Publishing Ltd. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.Over a 20 year period 1996–2016, a new 223 ha town is being developed 10 miles west of Dublin's city centre on the south side of Lucan, County Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). This €4 billion ‘Adamstown’ development is the first of four planning schemes in ROI to be approved as a strategic development zone – an integrated planning framework deemed suitable for creating sustainable neighbourhoods in sites of strategic economic or social importance to the state. The creation of sustainable neighbourhoods in ROI is facilitated through the implementation of a checklist of 60 indicators. This paper critically examines the attempts being made to consider sustainability within the development's overall infrastructure plan, specifically: transport, energy and water services, information technology and waste. Inadequacies in the existing development are linked to shortfalls in the sustainability checklist, by way of a comparison of infrastructure-related indicators from the ROI checklist with those derived for the UK and exemplar European projects (i.e. Bedzed, UK and Freiberg, Germany). The subsequent legacy for future residents of Adamstown is then considered in the context of ‘what if’ scenarios

Structural and dielectric properties of Sr2_{2}TiO4_{4} from first principles

We have investigated the structural and dielectric properties of Sr$_{2}$TiO$_{4}$,the first member of the Sr$_{n+1}$Ti$_{n}$O$_{3n+1}$ Ruddlesden-Popper series, within density functional theory. Motivated by recent work in which thin films of Sr$_{2}$TiO$_{4}$ were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on SrTiO$_{3}$ substrates, the in-plane lattice parameter was fixed to the theoretically optimized lattice constant of cubic SrTiO$_{3}$ (n=$\infty$), while the out-of-plane lattice parameter and the internal structural parameters were relaxed. The fully relaxed structure was also investigated. Density functional perturbation theory was used to calculate the zone-center phonon frequencies, Born effective charges, and the electronic dielectric permittivity tensor. A detailed study of the contribution of individual infrared-active modes to the static dielectric permittivity tensor was performed. The calculated Raman and infrared phonon frequencies were found to be in agreement with experiment where available. Comparisons of the calculated static dielectric permittivity with experiments on both ceramic powders and epitaxial thin films are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, 8 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of acquired cancer drug resistance to pazopanib and dasatinib.

Acquired drug resistance impacts the majority of patients being treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and remains a key challenge in modern anti-cancer therapy. The lack of clinically effective therapies to overcome resistance represents an unmet need. Understanding the signalling that drives drug resistance will facilitate the development of new salvage therapies to treat patients with secondary TKI resistance. In this study, we utilise mass spectrometry to characterise the global phosphoproteomic alterations that accompany the acquisition of resistance to two FDA-approved TKIs, pazopanib and dasatinib, in the A204 rhabdoid tumour cell line. Our analysis finds that only 6% and 9.7% of the quantified phosphoproteome is altered upon the acquisition of pazopanib and dasatinib resistance, respectively. Pazopanib resistant cells display elevated phosphorylation in cytoskeletal regulatory pathways while dasatinib resistant cells show an upregulation of the insulin receptor/IGF-1R signalling pathway. Drug response profiling rediscovers several previously reported vulnerabilities associated with pazopanib and dasatinib resistance and identifies a new dependency to the second generation HSP90 inhibitor NVP-AUY-922. This study provides a useful resource detailing the candidate signalling determinants of acquired TKI resistance; and reveals a therapeutic approach of inhibiting HSP90 function as a means of salvage therapy to overcome pazopanib and dasatinib resistance.Significance Pazopanib and dasatinib are tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) approved for the treatment of multiple cancer types. Patients who are treated with these drugs are prone to the development of drug resistance and consequently tumour relapse. Here we use quantitative phosphoproteomics to characterise the signalling pathways which are enriched in cells that have acquired resistance to these two drugs. Furthermore, targeted drug screens were used to identify salvage therapies capable of overcoming pazopanib and dasatinib resistance. This data advances our understanding of the mechanisms of TKI resistance and highlights candidate targets for cancer therapy

Implementation of routine outcome measurement in child and adolescent mental health services in the United Kingdom: a critical perspective

The aim of this commentary is to provide an overview of clinical outcome measures that are currently recommended for use in UK Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), focusing on measures that are applicable across a wide range of conditions with established validity and reliability, or innovative in their design. We also provide an overview of the barriers and drivers to the use of Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) in clinical practice

Caspase I-related protease inhibition retards the execution of okadaic acid- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis and PAI-2 cleavage, but not commitment to cell death in HL-60 cells

We have previously reported that the putative cytoprotective protease inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 (PAI-2), is specifically cleaved during okadaic acid-induced apoptosis in a myeloid leukaemic cell line (Br J Cancer (1994) 70: 834–840). HL-60 cells exposed to okadaic acid and camptothecin underwent morphological and biochemical changes typical of apoptosis, including internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and PAI-2 cleavage. Significant endogenous PAI-2 cleavage was observed 9 h after exposure to okadaic acid; thus correlating with other signs of macromolecular degradation, like internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. In camptothecin-treated cells, PAI-2 cleavage was an early event, detectable after 2 h of treatment, and preceding internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. The caspase I selective protease inhibitor, YVAD-cmk, inhibited internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and PAI-2 cleavage of okadaic acid and camptothecin-induced apoptotic cells. YVAD-cmk rather sensitively and non-toxically inhibited camptothecin-induced morphology, but not okadaic acid-induced morphology. In in vitro experiments recombinant PAI-2 was not found to be a substrate for caspase I. The results suggest that caspase I selective protease inhibition could antagonize parameters coupled to the execution phase of okadaic acid- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis, but not the commitment to cell death. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Dual Targeting of PDGFRα and FGFR1 Displays Synergistic Efficacy in Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors

© 2016 The Author(s) Subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex are mutated in a significant proportion of human cancers. Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRTs) are lethal pediatric cancers characterized by a deficiency in the SWI/SNF subunit SMARCB1. Here, we employ an integrated molecular profiling and chemical biology approach to demonstrate that the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) PDGFRα and FGFR1 are coactivated in MRT cells and that dual blockade of these receptors has synergistic efficacy. Inhibitor combinations targeting both receptors and the dual inhibitor ponatinib suppress the AKT and ERK1/2 pathways leading to apoptosis. MRT cells that have acquired resistance to the PDGFRα inhibitor pazopanib are susceptible to FGFR inhibitors. We show that PDGFRα levels are regulated by SMARCB1 expression, and assessment of clinical specimens documents the expression of both PDGFRα and FGFR1 in rhabdoid tumor patients. Our findings support a therapeutic approach in cancers with SWI/SNF deficiencies by exploiting RTK coactivation dependencies

Organic Geochemical Studies. I. Molecular Criteria for Hydrocarbon Genesis

In recent years the search for life-forms at the earliest periods of geological time has been continued not only at the morphological level but also at the molecular level. This has been possible as a result of the increase in the biochemical knowledge and with the advent of analytical techniques that are capable of describing the intimate molecular architecture of individual molecules in acute detail. The fundamental premises upon which this organic geochemical approach rest are the following: that certain molecules, possessing a characteristic structural skeleton, show a reasonable stability to degradation over long periods of geological time; that their structural specificity can be understood in terms of known biosynthetic sequences; and that their formation by any non-biological means is of negligible probability. In this manuscript it is proposed to critically re-examine these premises and to establish criteria whereby one can differentiate molecules derived from biological systems from those that have their origin in non-biological processes. The importance of establishing such criteria lies in the significance these criteria have in determining whether life exists, or has existed, on other planets. Within the very near future it may be possible to provide an initial answer to this question when the first lunar samples are returned to the earth for analysis