“Synapse-like” connections between adipocytes and stem cells: morphological and molecular features of human adipose tissue

Adult mesenchymal stem cells are a heterogeneous population of stem cell that is not completely defined. The importance of increasing knowledge of this cell population will allow us to understand how to use them in multiple treatments for various diseases. Adipose tissue is a rich source from which to easily obtain a great amount of stem cells. We explore and study adipose stem cells (AdSCs) from human abdominal tissue by immunohistochemical analysis, transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy. The focus of this study is on the cell population that surrounds each adipocyte. In these populations of cells are included the adipose tissue stem cells (AdSCs) with different potentiality. We observe that the putative AdSCs have an intimate relationship involving close contact with adipocytes which we define here as “synapse-like.” We show “synapse-like” connections between adipocytes and small cells to be mediated by connexin43 (Cx43). Our data suggest AdSCs constitute a heterogeneous population both in size and expression of different stem cell markers. We found that some of the AdSC attached to adipocytes are positive for Sox2, Pax6 and Nestin by immunostaining methods. TEM and SEM analysis demonstrate that small cells and adipocytes are surrounded by a compact mesh of collagen fibers that maintain physical adhesion between these cells. TEM also shows structural characteristics of putative stem cells and a presence of vesicles in synapse-like contact. SEM images moreover exhibited a large variation and quantity of cell sizes coexisting with adipocytes. Direct cell-to-cell communication could serve at least two purposes: a) as a survival strategy to maintain cells as stem cells, and b) as a source of signaling for differentiation into a new cell type

Caracterización histólogica de adaptaciones de la retina de peces anuales Austrolebias charrúa, en relaciones a cambios en la luminosidad en su ciclo de vida

Si bien la retina posee una citoarquitectura conservada en los vertebrados, es sabido que sus características dependen de la especie y de las condiciones lumínicas del entorno. Austrolebias charrua es un pez anual que vive en charcos donde la luminosidad varía drásticamente en su corto ciclo de vida. En este trabajo se aplicaron las técnicas de: Cajal de Castro,Inmunohistoquímica, marcado con un trazador neuronal (DiI) y Microscopía Electrónica de Transmisión (MET) con el fin de identificar posibles características de la retina que le permitan adaptarse a un medio lumínico cambiante. La técnica Cajal de Castro y la Inmunohistoquímica, revelaron la composición celular y los grosores de las capas de la retina, característicos de peces con hábitos diurnos. Sin embargo, la capa de células ganglionares mostró una organización en grupos celulares separados por haces axonales, disposición descrita en la retina de peces nocturnos. La MET nos proporcionó detalles ultraestructurales de los fotorreceptores. En particular se evidenció la distribución de los melanosomas del epitelio pigmentario, que se encuentran distribuidos tanto a lo largo de los segmentos externos e internos de los fotorreceptores como a nivel perinuclear de las células del epitelio pigmentario. Los animales adaptados a la luz presentan una distribución de melanosomas a lo largo de los segmentos de los fotorreceptores, mientras que en los adaptados a la oscuridad los pigmentos se ubican en la zona perinuclear. Este resultado nos permite proponer que A. charrua posee características histomorfológicas que le permiten adaptarse a un medio de luz variable

Performance of the Large-Sized Telescope prototype of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The next-generation ground-based gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) will consist of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) of three different sizes distributed in two sites. The Large-Sized Telescopes will cover the low-energy end of the CTA energy range, starting at about 20 GeV. After its first years of operation at the CTA northern site, the Large-Sized Telescope prototype (LST-1) is in the final stage of its commissioning phase, having collected a significant amount of scientific data to date.In this contribution, we present the physics performance of the telescope using low-zenith Crab Nebula observations and Monte Carlo simulations fine-tuned accordingly. We show performance figures of merit such as the energy threshold, effective area, energy and angular resolution, and sensitivity based on the standard Hillas-parameters approach and following the source-independent and dependent analysis methods. The analysis threshold is estimated at 30 GeV. The energy resolution is around 30%, and the angular resolution is 0.3 degrees at 100 GeV.The best integral sensitivity of LST-1 is about 1.1% of the Crab Nebula flux above 250 GeV for 50 hours of observations. We also show the spectral energy distribution and light curve from Crab Nebula observations, which agree with results from other IACTs and link smoothly with Fermi-LAT when considering statistical and systematic uncertainties near the energy threshold

Chasing Gravitational Waves with the Chereknov Telescope Array

Presented at the 38th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2023), 2023 (arXiv:2309.08219)2310.07413International audienceThe detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (GW170817), along with the discovery of the electromagnetic counterparts of this gravitational wave event, ushered in a new era of multimessenger astronomy, providing the first direct evidence that BNS mergers are progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Such events may also produce very-high-energy (VHE, > 100GeV) photons which have yet to be detected in coincidence with a gravitational wave signal. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next-generation VHE observatory which aims to be indispensable in this search, with an unparalleled sensitivity and ability to slew anywhere on the sky within a few tens of seconds. New observing modes and follow-up strategies are being developed for CTA to rapidly cover localization areas of gravitational wave events that are typically larger than the CTA field of view. This work will evaluate and provide estimations on the expected number of of gravitational wave events that will be observable with CTA, considering both on- and off-axis emission. In addition, we will present and discuss the prospects of potential follow-up strategies with CTA

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to the gamma-ray emission from neutrino sources detected by IceCube

Gamma-ray observations of the astrophysical neutrino sources are fundamentally important for understanding the underlying neutrino production mechanism. We investigate the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) ability to detect the very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray counterparts to the neutrino-emitting Active Galaxies. The CTA performance under different configurations and array layouts is computed based on the neutrino and gamma-ray simulations of steady and transient types of sources, assuming that the neutrino events are detected with the IceCube neutrino telescope. The CTA detection probability is calculated for both CTA sites taking into account the visibility constraints. We find that, under optimal observing conditions, CTA could observe the VHE gamma-ray emission from at least 3 neutrino events per year

Performance of a proposed event-type based analysis for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next-generation observatory in the field of very-high-energy (20 GeV to 300 TeV) gamma-ray astroparticle physics. Classically, data analysis in the field maximizes sensitivity by applying quality cuts on the data acquired. These cuts, optimized using Monte Carlo simulations, select higher quality events from the initial dataset. Subsequent steps of the analysis typically use the surviving events to calculate one set of instrument response functions (IRFs). An alternative approach is the use of event types, as implemented in experiments such as the Fermi-LAT. In this approach, events are divided into sub-samples based on their reconstruction quality, and a set of IRFs is calculated for each sub-sample. The sub-samples are then combined in a joint analysis, treating them as independent observations. This leads to an improvement in performance parameters such as sensitivity, angular and energy resolution. Data loss is reduced since lower quality events are included in the analysis as well, rather than discarded. In this study, machine learning methods will be used to classify events according to their expected angular reconstruction quality. We will report the impact on CTA high-level performance when applying such an event-type classification, compared to the classical procedure

Chasing Gravitational Waves with the Chereknov Telescope Array

Presented at the 38th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2023), 2023 (arXiv:2309.08219)2310.07413International audienceThe detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (GW170817), along with the discovery of the electromagnetic counterparts of this gravitational wave event, ushered in a new era of multimessenger astronomy, providing the first direct evidence that BNS mergers are progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Such events may also produce very-high-energy (VHE, > 100GeV) photons which have yet to be detected in coincidence with a gravitational wave signal. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next-generation VHE observatory which aims to be indispensable in this search, with an unparalleled sensitivity and ability to slew anywhere on the sky within a few tens of seconds. New observing modes and follow-up strategies are being developed for CTA to rapidly cover localization areas of gravitational wave events that are typically larger than the CTA field of view. This work will evaluate and provide estimations on the expected number of of gravitational wave events that will be observable with CTA, considering both on- and off-axis emission. In addition, we will present and discuss the prospects of potential follow-up strategies with CTA