Spectra of heavy-light and heavy-heavy mesons containing charm quarks, including higher spin states for Nf=2+1N_f=2+ 1

We study the spectra of heavy-light and heavy-heavy mesons containing charm quarks, including higher spin states. We use two sets of $N_f = 2 + 1$ gauge configurations, one set from QCDSF using the SLiNC action, and the other configurations from the Budapest-Marseille-Wuppertal collaboration, using the HEX smeared clover action. To extract information about the excited states, we choose a suitable basis of operators to implement the variational method.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Talk presented at the XXIX International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Lattice2011, July 11-16, 2011, The Village at Squaw Valley, California, US

Assessing, quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services of coastal lagoons

The natural conservation of coastal lagoons is important not only for their ecological importance, but also because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide for human welfare and wellbeing. Coastal lagoons are shallow semi-enclosed systems that support important habitats such as wetlands, mangroves, salt-marshes and seagrass meadows, as well as a rich biodiversity. Coastal lagoons are also complex social-ecological systems with ecosystem services that provide livelihoods, wellbeing and welfare to humans. This study assessed, quantified and valued the ecosystem services of 32 coastal lagoons. The main findings of the study are: (i) the definitions of ecosystem services are still not generally accepted; (ii) the quantification of ecosystem services is made in many different ways, using different units; (iii) the evaluation in monetary terms of some ecosystem service is problematic, often relying on non-monetary evaluation methods; (iv) when ecosystem services are valued in monetary terms, this may represent very different human benefits; and, (v) different aspects of climate change, including increasing temperature, sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns threaten the valuable ecosystem services of coastal lagoons.DEVOTES project, from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration [308392]; networks and communities of Eurolag; Future Earth Coasts; SCOR; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) Investigador Programme [IF/00331/2013]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia [UID/MAR/04292/2013]; CESAM by FCT/MEC national funds (PIDDAC) [UID/AMB/50017/2013 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638]; FEDER; European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme through the collaborative research project LAGOONS [283157]; FCT [SFRH/BPD/107823/2015, SFRH/BPD/91494/2012

CHK1 expression in gastric cancer is modulated by p53 and RB1/E2F1: Implications in chemo/radiotherapy response

Radiation has a limited but relevant role in the adjuvant therapy of gastric cancer (GC) patients. Since Chk1 plays a critical function in cellular response to genotoxic agents, we aimed to analyze the role of Chk1 in GC as a biomarker for radiotherapy resistance. We analyzed Chk1 expression in AGS and MKN45 human GC cell lines by RT-QPCR and WB and in a small cohort of human patient’s samples. We demonstrated that Chk1 overexpression specifically increases resistance to radiation in GC cells. Accordingly, abrogation of Chk1 activity with UCN-01 and its expression with shChk1 increased sensitivity to bleomycin and radiation. Furthermore, when we assessed Chk1 expression in human samples, we found a correlation between nuclear Chk1 accumulation and a decrease in progression free survival. Moreover, using a luciferase assay we found that Chk1’s expression is controlled by p53 and RB/E2F1 at the transcriptional level. Additionally, we present preliminary data suggesting a posttranscriptional regulation mechanism, involving miR-195 and miR-503, which are inversely correlated with expression of Chk1 in radioresistant cells. In conclusion, Chk1/microRNA axis is involved in resistance to radiation in GC, and suggests Chk1 as a potential tool for optimal stratification of patients susceptible to receive adjuvant radiotherapy after surgeryThis work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III–Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PS09/1988 to ISP; PI11-00949, pI014-1495 and Feder Funds to RP); Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CCG10-UAM/BIO-5871 to ISP); Fundación Leticia Castillejo Castillo and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2012-30862 to RSP), Spain

Low temperature magneto-morphological characterisation of coronene and the resolution of previously observed unexplained phenomena

The polyaromatic hydrocarbon coronene has been the molecule of choice for understanding the physical properties of graphene for over a decade. The modelling of the latter by the former was considered to be valid, as since it was first synthesised in 1932, the physical behaviour of coronene has been determined extremely accurately. We recently discovered however, an unforeseen polymorph of coronene, which exists as an enantiotrope with the previously observed crystal structure. Using low-temperature magnetisation and crystallographic measurements, we show here for the first time that the electronic and magnetic properties of coronene depend directly on the temperature at which it is observed, with hysteretic behaviour exhibited between 300 K and 100 K. Furthermore we determine that this behaviour is a direct result of the appearance and disappearance of the newly-discovered polymorph during thermal cycling. Our results not only highlight the need for theoretical models of graphene to take into account this anomalous behaviour at low temperatures, but also explain puzzling experimental observations of coronene dating back over 40 years

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

BCR-ABL1-induced expression of HSPA8 promotes cell survival in chronic myeloid leukaemia

In order to determine new signal transduction pathways implicated in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), we performed a gene expression profile comparison between CD34+ cells from CML patients and healthy donors. Functional studies were performed using the Mo7e and Mo7e-p210 cell lines. Expression of CCND1 (Cyclin D1), as well as the chaperone HSPA8, which is important for regulation of CCND1, were significantly upregulated in CD34+ CML cells. Upregulation of HSPA8 was dependent, at least in part, on STAT5 (signal transducer and activator of transcrition 5)-dependent transcriptional activation, as demonstrated by chromatin immunoprecipitation. The presence of HSPA8 in the nuclear protein fraction as well as its binding to CCND1 suggests that it may contribute to stabilization of the CCND1/CDK4 complex, which, in turn, may participate in proliferation of CML cells. Treatment of CML cells with the specific HSPA8 inhibitor 15-deoxyspergualin induced inhibition of CML cell viability but did not induce apoptosis. In conclusion, our studies suggest that STAT5-mediated activation of HSPA8 induces nuclear translocation and activation of the CCND1/CDK4 complex leading to increased proliferation of CML cells, deciphering a new pathway implicated in CML and supporting a potential role of chaperone inhibitors in the treatment of CML

Planck intermediate results. XXIX. All-sky dust modelling with Planck, IRAS, and WISE observations

We present all-sky modelling of the high resolution Planck, IRAS, and WISE infrared (IR) observations using the physical dust model presented by Draine and Li in 2007 (DL). We study the performance and results of this model, and discuss implications for future dust modelling. The present work extends the DL dust modelling carried out on nearby galaxies using Herschel and Spitzer data to Galactic dust emission. We employ the DL dust model to generate maps of the dust mass surface density, the optical extinction Av, and the starlight intensity parametrized by Umin. The DL model reproduces the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) satisfactorily over most of the sky, with small deviations in the inner Galactic disk and in low ecliptic latitude areas. We compare the DL optical extinction Av for the diffuse interstellar medium with optical estimates for 2 10^5 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) observed in the Sloan digital sky survey. The DL Av estimates are larger than those determined towards QSOs by a factor of about 2, which depends on Umin. The DL fitting parameter Umin, effectively determined by the wavelength where the SED peaks, appears to trace variations in the far-IR opacity of the dust grains per unit Av, and not only in the starlight intensity. To circumvent the model deficiency, we propose an empirical renormalization of the DL Av estimate, dependent of Umin, which compensates for the systematic differences found with QSO observations. This renormalization also brings into agreement the DL Av estimates with those derived for molecular clouds from the near-IR colours of stars in the 2 micron all sky survey. The DL model and the QSOs data are used to compress the spectral information in the Planck and IRAS observations for the diffuse ISM to a family of 20 SEDs normalized per Av, parameterized by Umin, which may be used to test and empirically calibrate dust models.Comment: Final version that has appeared in A&

Total Absorption Spectroscopy Study of 92^{92}Rb Decay: A Major Contributor to Reactor Antineutrino Spectrum Shape

The antineutrino spectra measured in recent experiments at reactors are inconsistent with calculations based on the conversion of integral beta spectra recorded at the ILL reactor. $^{92}$Rb makes the dominant contribution to the reactor spectrum in the 5-8 MeV range but its decay properties are in question. We have studied $^{92}$Rb decay with total absorption spectroscopy. Previously unobserved beta feeding was seen in the 4.5-5.5 region and the GS to GS feeding was found to be 87.5(25)%. The impact on the reactor antineutrino spectra calculated with the summation method is shown and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure