Observing CMB polarisation through ice

Ice crystal clouds in the upper troposphere can generate polarisation signals at the uK level. This signal can seriously affect very sensitive ground based searches for E- and B-mode of Cosmic Microwave Background polarisation. In this paper we estimate this effect within the ClOVER experiment observing bands (97, 150 and 220 GHz) for the selected observing site (Llano de Chajnantor, Atacama desert, Chile). The results show that the polarisation signal from the clouds can be of the order of or even bigger than the CMB expected polarisation. Climatological data suggest that this signal is fairly constant over the whole year in Antarctica. On the other hand the stronger seasonal variability in Atacama allows for a 50% of clean observations during the dry season.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 figure

A template of atmospheric O2 circularly polarized emission for CMB experiments

We compute the circularly polarized signal from atmospheric molecular oxygen. Polarization of O2 rotational lines is caused by Zeeman effect in the Earth magnetic field. We evaluate the circularly polarized emission for various sites suitable for CMB measurements: South Pole and Dome C (Antarctica), Atacama (Chile) and Testa Grigia (Italy). An analysis of the polarized signal is presented and discussed in the framework of future CMB polarization experiments. We find a typical circularly polarized signal (V Stokes parameter) of ~ 50 - 300 {\mu}K at 90 GHz looking at the zenith. Among the other sites Atacama shows the lower polarized signal at the zenith. We present maps of this signal for the various sites and show typical elevation and azimuth scans. We find that Dome C presents the lowest gradient in polarized temperature: ~ 0.3 {\mu}K/\circ at 90 GHz. We also study the frequency bands of observation: around {\nu} \simeq 100 GHz and {\nu} \simeq 160 GHz we find the best conditions because the polarized signal vanishes. Finally we evaluate the accuracy of the templates and the signal variability in relation with the knowledge and the variability of the Earth magnetic field and the atmospheric parameters.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication on Mon. Not. R. Astron. So

Assessment of resistance mechanisms and clinical implications in patients with kras mutated-metastatic breast cancer and resistance to cdk4/6 inhibitors

Simple SummaryPalbociclib in combination with fulvestrant is used globally to treat metastatic breast cancer, but it was recognized that not all patients benefit from this combination of drugs. However, the predictive factors remain unknown. Here, we show KRAS ctDNA levels as predictive mechanisms of resistance to palbociclib and fulvestrant, and their association with the time to treatment discontinuation of the above treatment. These observations shed light on the potential clinical applications of ctDNA analysis in this setting of patients, in order to provide critical information about tumour dynamics, and to predict who will take advantage from CDK4/6 inhibitors.Despite therapeutic improvements, resistance to palbociclib is a growing clinical challenge which is poorly understood. This study was conducted in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of resistance to palbociclib, and to identify biomarkers to predict who will take advantage from cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i). A total of about a thousand blood samples were collected from 106 patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative metastatic breast cancer who received palbociclib in combination with fulvestrant as the first-line metastatic therapy enrolled in this study. The genotyping of their plasma cell-free DNA was studied, including serial plasma samples. Collectively, our findings identify the appearance of KRAS mutations leading to palbociclib resistance acquisition within 6 months, and provide critical information for the prediction of therapeutic responses in metastatic breast cancer. By monitoring KRAS status through liquid biopsy, we could predict who will take advantage from the combination of palbociclib and fulvestrant, offering highly-individualized treatment plans, thus ensuring the best patient quality of life

Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption

Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and the often closure of Catania airport. In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months. This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6 Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to develop tools for monitoring volcanoes. The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions. The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data. Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case. The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the summit craters. During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time. The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and altitude and the volcanic ash loading. The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions.Published77-811.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope

Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption

Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and the often closure of Catania airport. In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months. This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6 Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to develop tools for monitoring volcanoes. The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions. The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data. Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case. The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the summit craters. During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time. The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and altitude and the volcanic ash loading. The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions

Desenvolvimento de estratégias terapêuticas baseadas em esteroides neuroativos e neuroesteroides para o tratamento de neuropatologias experimentais

Los esteroides activos en el sistema nervioso ("neuroactivos") ejercen actividades neuroprotectoras o neurotóxicas, dependiendo de su estructura química, de las concentraciones circulantes o tisulares, del tipo de receptores intervinientes y de los mecanismos de señalización intracelular empleados. Estas propiedades han sido estudiadas en modelos animales de neuropatologías humanas. Bajo condiciones experimentales que remedan el traumatismo de la médula espinal, dolor neuropático, esclerosis múltiple y esclerosis lateral amiotrófica, el tratamiento con progesterona produjo beneficios terapéuticos relacionados con la neuroprotección, re-mielinización e inhibición de la neuroinflamación. Por otra parte, estudios realizados en animales hipertensos demuestran una pronunciada encefalopatía en cuya etiopatogenia interviene la hiperfunción del sistema mineralocorticoide, ya que similares anormalidades neuroquímicas aparecen en animales normales tratados con mineralocorticoides. Por consiguiente, la neurotoxicidad podría ser consecuencia de la hi-peractividad del sistema mineralocorticoide. La encefalopatía de la hipertensión es similar a la de la diabetes mellitus y a la del cerebro añoso. En los tres casos, los estrógenos actúan como agentes neuroprotectores, promoviendo la neurogéne-sis hipocampal, la expresión de factores neurotróficos y disminuyendo la astrogliosis, confirmándose la plasticidad del sistema nervioso al estímulo estrogénico. Por consiguiente, el empleo de esteroides neuroactivos en modelos animales hace factible la transferencia a corto plazo de los resultados experimentales a la clínica humana.Steroids showing activity on the nervous system are known as "neuroactive steroids". They exert neuroprotective or neu-rotoxic activities, depending on their chemical structure, circulating or tissue concentrations, binding to different receptors and the mechanisms of intracellular signalling employed. In order to elucidate these properties, work was performed on animal models of human neuropathologies, including spinal cord injury, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, and amy-otrophic lateral sclerosis. In these models, treatment with progesterone has shown great therapeutic effectiveness. In another set of studies, it was shown that hypertensive animals bear a pronounced encephalopathy, possibly caused by an overdrive of the mineralocorticoid system. It has been suggested that overdrive of the mineralocorticoid system plays a neurotoxic role, based on the development of similar brain abnormalities following mineralocorticoid treatment of otherwise normal animals. Hypertensive encephalopathy is similar to that developed by diabetes mellitus and aging animals. In the three cases, estrogen treatment provided strong neuroprotection, as shown by enhanced hippocampal neu-rogenesis, increased neurotrophic factor expression and decreased astrogliosis. Thus, the use of estrogens supports the regenerative capacity and plasticity of the nervous system. Therefore, animal models become useful tools to transfer experimental data to the human patient in the short-term.Os esteroides ativos no sistema nervoso ("neuroativos") exercem atividades neuroprotetoras ou neurotóxicas, de-pendendo de sua estrutura química, das concentrações circulantes ou tissulares, do tipo de receptores intervenientes e dos mecanismos de sinalização intracelular utilizados. Estas propriedades têm sido estudadas em modelos animais de neuropatologias humanas. Sob condições experimentais que remedam o traumatismo da medula espinal, dor neuro-pática, esclerose múltipla e esclerose lateral amiotrófica, o tratamento com progesterona produziu benefícios terapêu-ticos relacionados com a neuroproteção, remielinização e ini-bição da neuroinflamação. Por outra parte, estudos realizados em animais hipertensos demonstram uma pronunciada encefalopatia em cuja etiopatogenia intervém a hiperfunção do sistema mineralocorticoide, visto que similares anormalidades neuroquímicas aparecem em animais normais tratados com mineralocorticoides. Por conseguinte, a neuroto-xicidade poderia ser consequência da hiperatividade do sistema mineralocorticoide. A encefalopatia da hipertensão é similar à da diabetes mellitus e à do cérebro idoso. Nos três casos, os estrogênios atuam como agentes neuroprotetores, promovendo a neurogênese hipocampal, a expressão de fa-tores neurotróficos e diminuindo a astrogliose, confirmando-se a plasticidade do sistema nervoso ao estímulo estrogênico. Por conseguinte, o emprego de esteroides neuroativos em modelos animais torna fatível a transferência em curto prazo dos resultados experimentais para a clínica humana.Fil: de Nicola, Alejandro Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Beauquis, Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Coronel, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Garay, Laura Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Deniselle, Maria Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Susana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Labombarda, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Pietranera, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Saravia, Flavia Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Meyer, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Gargiulo Monachelli, Gisella Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Brocca, María Elvira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Overveld, Lydia Van . Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Lima, Analia Ethel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Roig, Paulina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); Argentin

Observations of the Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica) polynya by MODIS ice surface temperature imagery from 2005 to 2010

Ice surface temperature (IST) imagery from the thermal infrared bands of the satellite-borne Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has been used to analyze the activity of the Terra Nova Bay polynya from 2005 to 2010. In clear sky conditions, the shape of the open water area of the polynya (i.e. the portion of the ocean free of sea-ice) is revealed by the skin sea-ice temperatures close to the water freezing point provided by the MODIS-derived IST product. The swaths of the MODIS sensors onboard Terra and Aqua satellites over the Terra Nova Bay consist of about 5500 scenes per year, useful to estimate the cloud cover too. The open water area was extracted from clear sky scenes and from scenes affected by fog but providing continuity of the shape of the polynya. Using about 40% of the available swaths, the polynya was detected for more than 80% of the sea-ice period with a revisit time below 24 h and for more than 50% with a revisit time below 3 h. The open water area was extracted using thresholds of IST based on the IST values detected within the open water area and within the band of sea-ice surrounding the polynya, obtained scene by scene. An ice free area larger than 100 km2 was observed near the Nansen Ice Shelf for more than 70% of time (larger than 500 km2 for 50% of time). The mean annual open water area, around 900 km2, was close to the lower limit of the reported range except during 2006, around 600 km2, due to the limited activity in the second half of the cold season. The largest extents, between 6000 and 8500 km2, occurred in different periods of the Antarctic winter and exceeded maxima estimated in previous studies by thermal infrared data. Polynya openings developed from a few hours to several days, in the latter case sustained by subsequent katabatic events visible in the IST sequence. Peaks of growing rate above 300 km2/h were observed during intense katabatic events with gusts of 50 m/s. The fluctuations of the open water area resulted well correlated with wind records available from local Automatic Weather Stations within the main katabatic routes, and followed katabatic events at intervals between 0 and 6 h. The analysis of the IST data set derived from the thermal infrared bands of MODIS provides new polynya observations of high horizontal resolution (1 km) and frequent revisit time during the winter season, complementing previously available observations with passive microwave imagery