73 research outputs found

    The CUORE Cryostat: A 1-Ton Scale Setup for Bolometric Detectors

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    The cryogenic underground observatory for rare events (CUORE) is a 1-ton scale bolometric experiment whose detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. This will be the largest bolometric mass ever operated. The experiment will work at a temperature around or below 10 mK. CUORE cryostat consists of a cryogen-free system based on pulse tubes and a custom high power dilution refrigerator, designed to match these specifications. The cryostat has been commissioned in 2014 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories and reached a record temperature of 6 mK on a cubic meter scale. In this paper, we present results of CUORE commissioning runs. Details on the thermal characteristics and cryogenic performances of the system will be also given.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LTD16 conference proceedin

    Fatty acid composition of beef steers as affected by diet and fat depot

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    Abstract Subcutaneous and perirenal fatty acid (FA) profiles were compared in steers fed a control diet (70 : 30 red clover silage (RC) : barley concentrate), a diet with sunflower seed (SS) substituted for barley, and diets with 15% or 30% wheat dried distillers' grain with solubles (DDGS-15 and DDGS-30) substituted for RC and SS. Perirenal fat (PRF) versus subcutaneous fat (SCF) had greater proportions of total saturated FA (SFA) and branched chain FA (BCFA), and lower proportions of total and major cis-monounsaturated FA (c-MUFA). Addition of SS to the diet did not change the proportions of total and major c-MUFA and n-6 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), but led to decreases in the proportions of total and major SFA, BCFA and n-3 PUFA. Progressive substitutions with DDGS led to no further changes in the proportions of total and major SFA and n-3 PUFA, but decreased the proportions of BCFA and c9-16:1, and increased the proportions of c9-18:1 and n-6 PUFA. Feeding SS and DDGS-15 diets yielded the largest proportions of total and major t-18:1 (t11-and t13-/t14-18:1) isomers in PRF and conjugated lineolic acid (CLA) isomers (t7,c9-and t9,c11-18:2) in SCF, but responses were diminished when feeding the DDGS-30 diet. Subcutaneous fat versus PRF from steers fed SS and DGGS diets had larger proportions of non-conjugated 18:2 biohydrogenation products (i.e. atypical dienes) than the control diet. Overall, feeding SS and DDGS-15 diets raised the proportions of t11-18:1 in PRF and c9,t11-18:2 in SCF, which have potential human health benefits, but feeding DDGS-30 was less effective

    The CUORE cryostat: commissioning and performance

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    The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) will search for the 0vββ decay in 130Te using a cryogenic array of TeO2 bolometers, operated at a base temperature of ~10mK. CUORE will consist of a closely packed array of 19 towers each containing 52 crystals, for a total mass of 741kg. The detector assembly is hosted in one of the largest cryostats ever constructed and will be cooled down to base temperature using a custom-built cryogen free dilution refrigerator. The CUORE cryostat along with the pulse tube based dilution refrigerator has been already commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) and a record base temperature, on a cubic meter scale, of ~6mK was achieved during one of the integration runs. We present the results from integration runs, characterizing the system and the cooling performance of the dilution refrigerator, effectively showcasing its stability at base temperature for the expected thermal load

    Elevation of the Yields of Very Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids via Minimal Codon Optimization of Two Key Biosynthetic Enzymes

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    Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5Δ5,8,11,14,17) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6Δ4,7,10,13,16,19) are nutritionally beneficial to human health. Transgenic production of EPA and DHA in oilseed crops by transferring genes originating from lower eukaryotes, such as microalgae and fungi, has been attempted in recent years. However, the low yield of EPA and DHA produced in these transgenic crops is a major hurdle for the commercialization of these transgenics. Many factors can negatively affect transgene expression, leading to a low level of converted fatty acid products. Among these the codon bias between the transgene donor and the host crop is one of the major contributing factors. Therefore, we carried out codon optimization of a fatty acid delta-6 desaturase gene PinD6 from the fungus Phytophthora infestans, and a delta-9 elongase gene, IgASE1 from the microalga Isochrysis galbana for expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis respectively. These are the two key genes encoding enzymes for driving the first catalytic steps in the Δ6 desaturation/ Δ6 elongation and the Δ9 elongation/Δ8 desaturation pathways for EPA/DHA biosynthesis. Hence expression levels of these two genes are important in determining the final yield of EPA/DHA. Via PCR-based mutagenesis we optimized the least preferred codons within the first 16 codons at their N-termini, as well as the most biased CGC codons (coding for arginine) within the entire sequences of both genes. An expression study showed that transgenic Arabidopsis plants harbouring the codon-optimized IgASE1 contained 64% more elongated fatty acid products than plants expressing the native IgASE1 sequence, whilst Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the codon optimized PinD6 yielded 20 times more desaturated products than yeast expressing wild-type (WT) PinD6. Thus the codon optimization strategy we developed here offers a simple, effective and low-cost alternative to whole gene synthesis for high expression of foreign genes in yeast and Arabidopsis

    Maternal and paternal genomes differentially affect myofibre characteristics and muscle weights of bovine fetuses at midgestation

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    Postnatal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass are largely determined during fetal development and may be significantly affected by epigenetic parent-of-origin effects. However, data on such effects in prenatal muscle development that could help understand unexplained variation in postnatal muscle traits are lacking. In a bovine model we studied effects of distinct maternal and paternal genomes, fetal sex, and non-genetic maternal effects on fetal myofibre characteristics and muscle mass. Data from 73 fetuses (Day153, 54% term) of four genetic groups with purebred and reciprocal cross Angus and Brahman genetics were analyzed using general linear models. Parental genomes explained the greatest proportion of variation in myofibre size of Musculus semitendinosus (80–96%) and in absolute and relative weights of M. supraspinatus, M. longissimus dorsi, M. quadriceps femoris and M. semimembranosus (82–89% and 56–93%, respectively). Paternal genome in interaction with maternal genome (P<0.05) explained most genetic variation in cross sectional area (CSA) of fast myotubes (68%), while maternal genome alone explained most genetic variation in CSA of fast myofibres (93%, P<0.01). Furthermore, maternal genome independently (M. semimembranosus, 88%, P<0.0001) or in combination (M. supraspinatus, 82%; M. longissimus dorsi, 93%; M. quadriceps femoris, 86%) with nested maternal weight effect (5–6%, P<0.05), was the predominant source of variation for absolute muscle weights. Effects of paternal genome on muscle mass decreased from thoracic to pelvic limb and accounted for all (M. supraspinatus, 97%, P<0.0001) or most (M. longissimus dorsi, 69%, P<0.0001; M. quadriceps femoris, 54%, P<0.001) genetic variation in relative weights. An interaction between maternal and paternal genomes (P<0.01) and effects of maternal weight (P<0.05) on expression of H19, a master regulator of an imprinted gene network, and negative correlations between H19 expression and fetal muscle mass (P<0.001), suggested imprinted genes and miRNA interference as mechanisms for differential effects of maternal and paternal genomes on fetal muscle.Ruidong Xiang, Mani Ghanipoor-Samami, William H. Johns, Tanja Eindorf, David L. Rutley, Zbigniew A. Kruk, Carolyn J. Fitzsimmons, Dana A. Thomsen, Claire T. Roberts, Brian M. Burns, Gail I. Anderson, Paul L. Greenwood, Stefan Hiendlede

    The streamlined genome of Phytomonas spp. relative to human pathogenic kinetoplastids reveals a parasite tailored for plants

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    Members of the family Trypanosomatidae infect many organisms, including animals, plants and humans. Plant-infecting trypanosomes are grouped under the single genus Phytomonas, failing to reflect the wide biological and pathological diversity of these protists. While some Phytomonas spp. multiply in the latex of plants, or in fruit or seeds without apparent pathogenicity, others colonize the phloem sap and afflict plants of substantial economic value, including the coffee tree, coconut and oil palms. Plant trypanosomes have not been studied extensively at the genome level, a major gap in understanding and controlling pathogenesis. We describe the genome sequences of two plant trypanosomatids, one pathogenic isolate from a Guianan coconut and one non-symptomatic isolate from Euphorbia collected in France. Although these parasites have extremely distinct pathogenic impacts, very few genes are unique to either, with the vast majority of genes shared by both isolates. Significantly, both Phytomonas spp. genomes consist essentially of single copy genes for the bulk of their metabolic enzymes, whereas other trypanosomatids e.g. Leishmania and Trypanosoma possess multiple paralogous genes or families. Indeed, comparison with other trypanosomatid genomes revealed a highly streamlined genome, encoding for a minimized metabolic system while conserving the major pathways, and with retention of a full complement of endomembrane organelles, but with no evidence for functional complexity. Identification of the metabolic genes of Phytomonas provides opportunities for establishing in vitro culturing of these fastidious parasites and new tools for the control of agricultural plant disease. © 2014 Porcel et al

    Predicting the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and biohydrogenation products in subcutaneous fat of beef cows fed flaxseed by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy

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    1 página.-- Proceedings of the Canadian Meat Science Association Technical Symposium (Halifax, Canadá, 6-7 octubre de 2011)Today, consumers are interested in fat composition as scientific evidence suggests that diets high in saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Techniques to quantify fatty acids (FA) in meat are costly and time-consuming. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid and non destructive method. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of NIRS to estimate the concentration of polyunsaturated FA and their biohydrogenation products in subcutaneous fat from cows fed flaxseed. Subcutaneous fat samples at the 12th rib of 62 cows were collected and stored at -80ºC. After thawing, 32 spectra from each intact sample were collected, then averaged, over a NIR spectral range from 400 to 2498 nm at 31ºC (warm samples) and 2ºC (cold samples), and then analyzed for FA profiles. NIRS calibrations on warm samples, tested by cross-validation, showed high predictability for most of the n-3 (R2: 0.81- 0.86; RMSECV: 0.11-1.56 mg·g-1 fat) and linolenic acid biohydrogenation products such as conjugated linolenic acids, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), non-CLA dienes and trans-monounsaturated FA with R2 (RMSECV, mg·g-1 fat) of 0.85-0.85 (0.16-0.37), 0.84-0.90 (0.21-2.58), 0.90 (5.49) and 0.84-0.90 (4.24-8.83), respectively. When spectra were obtained from cold samples NIRS predictability was lower than that for warm samples, probably due to a less homogeneous distribution of fat throughout the cells and more air bubbles, or to reduced molecular vibration due to the cooler temperature. NIRS could discriminate 100% of subcutaneous fat samples from cows fed different diets (with or without flaxseed). These data support that NIRS has the potential to be used as a fast and accurate predictor of content of linolenic acid and its biohydrogenation products in subcutaneous fat of beef cows. Nevertheless, further studies are required to test its ability during on-line operations in an abattoir.Peer reviewe

    Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy predicts the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and biohydrogenation products in the subcutaneous fat of beef cows fed flaxseed

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    9 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablas.This study examined the ability of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to estimate the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their biohydrogenation products in the subcutaneous fat of beef cows fed flaxseed. Subcutaneous fat samples at the 12th rib of 62 cows were stored at 80 degrees C, thawed, scanned over a NIR spectral range from 400 to 2498 nm at 31 degrees C and 2 degrees C, and subsequently analysed for fatty acid composition. Best NIRS calibrations were with samples at 31 degrees C, showing high predictability for most of the n-3 (R(2): 0.81-0.86; RMSECV: 0.11-1.56 mg g(-1) fat) and linolenic acid biohydrogenation products such as conjugated linolenic acids, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), non-CLA dienes and trans-monounsaturated fatty adds with R(2) (RMSECV mg g(-1) fat) of 0.85-0.85 (0.16-037), 0.84-0.90 (0.21-2.58), 0.90 (5.49) and 0.84-0.90 (4.24-8.83). respectively. NIRS could discriminate 100% of subcutaneous fat samples from beef cows fed diets with and without flaxseed.Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).Peer reviewe
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