DNA and histone deacetylases as targets for neuroblastoma treatment

Neuroblastoma, a tumor of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system, is the most frequent solid extra cranial tumor in children and is a major cause of death from neoplasia in infancy. Still little improvement in therapeutic options has been made, requiring a need for the development of new therapies. In our laboratory, we address still unsettled questions, which of mechanisms of action of DNA-damaging drugs both currently use for treatment of human neuroblastomas (doxorubicin, cis-platin, cyclophosphamide and etoposide) and another anticancer agent decreasing growth of neuroblastomas in vitro, ellipticine, are predominant mechanism(s) responsible for their antitumor action in neuroblastoma cell lines in vitro. Because hypoxia frequently occurs in tumors and strongly correlates with advanced disease and poor outcome caused by chemoresistance, the effects of hypoxia on efficiencies and mechanisms of actions of these drugs in neuroblastomas are also investigated. Since the epigenetic structure of DNA and its lesions play a role in the origin of human neuroblastomas, pharmaceutical manipulation of the epigenome may offer other treatment options also for neuroblastomas. Therefore, the effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors on growth of neuroblastoma and combination of these compounds with doxorubicin, cis-platin, etoposide and ellipticine as well as mechanisms of such effects in human neuroblastona cell lines in vitro are also investigated. Such a study will increase our knowledge to explain the proper function of these drugs on the molecular level, which should be utilized for the development of new therapies for neuroblastomas

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Ambient-noise tomography of the wider Vienna Basin region

We present a new 3-D shear-velocity model for the top 30 km of the crust in the wider Vienna Basin region based on surface waves extracted from ambient-noise cross-correlations. We use continuous seismic records of 63 broad-band stations of the AlpArray project to retrieve interstation Green’s functions from ambient-noise cross-correlations in the period range from 5 to 25 s. From these Green’s functions, we measure Rayleigh group traveltimes, utilizing all four components of the cross-correlation tensor, which are associated with Rayleigh waves (ZZ, RR, RZ and ZR), to exploit multiple measurements per station pair. A set of selection criteria is applied to ensure that we use high-quality recordings of fundamental Rayleigh modes. We regionalize the interstation group velocities in a 5 km × 5 km grid with an average path density of ∼20 paths per cell. From the resulting group-velocity maps, we extract local 1-D dispersion curves for each cell and invert all cells independently to retrieve the crustal shear-velocity structure of the study area. The resulting model provides a previously unachieved lateral resolution of seismic velocities in the region of ∼15 km. As major features, we image the Vienna Basin and Little Hungarian Plain as low-velocity anomalies, and the Bohemian Massif with high velocities. The edges of these features are marked with prominent velocity contrasts correlated with faults, such as the Alpine Front and Vienna Basin transfer fault system. The observed structures correlate well with surface geology, gravitational anomalies and the few known crystalline basement depths from boreholes. For depths larger than those reached by boreholes, the new model allows new insight into the complex structure of the Vienna Basin and surrounding areas, including deep low-velocity zones, which we image with previously unachieved detail. This model may be used in the future to interpret the deeper structures and tectonic evolution of the wider Vienna Basin region, evaluate natural resources, model wave propagation and improve earthquake locations, among others

Arrival angles of teleseismic fundamental mode Rayleigh waves across the AlpArray

The dense AlpArray network allows studying seismic wave propagation with high spatial resolution. Here we introduce an array approach to measure arrival angles of teleseismic Rayleigh waves. The approach combines the advantages of phase correlation as in the two-station method with array beamforming to obtain the phase-velocity vector. 20 earthquakes from the first two years of the AlpArray project are selected, and spatial patterns of arrival-angle deviations across the AlpArray are shown in maps, depending on period and earthquake location. The cause of these intriguing spatial patterns is discussed. A simple wave-propagation modelling example using an isolated anomaly and a Gaussian beam solution suggests that much of the complexity can be explained as a result of wave interference after passing a structural anomaly along the wave paths. This indicates that arrival-angle information constitutes useful additional information on the Earth structure, beyond what is currently used in inversions

Left Atrial Myxoma on FDG-PET/CT

A 56-year-old woman with rheumatoid factor-positive rheumatoid arthritis underwent FDG-PET/CT because of fatigue, fever, coughing, and weight loss for several months. FDG-PET/CT solely revealed a mildly hypermetabolic hypodense area in the left atrium. Subsequently, transthoracic echocardiography and contrast-enhanced MRI showed a left atrial pedunculated soft tissue mass suggestive for myxoma, with histological confirmation. Myocardial involvement by tumors is rare, and FDG-PET/CT has been very useful for identifying cardiac metastases. However, very few cases have been reported using FDG-PET/CT for detecting primary cardiac tumors, but as shown here, abnormal focal myocardial uptake should trigger further morphological assessment.status: publishe

Petrographic and geochemical constraints on the formation of gravity‐defying speleothems

Abstract Cave carbonates, seemingly growing in defiance of gravity, have attracted the community's interest for more than a century. This paper focusses on ‘helictites’, contorted vermiform speleothems with central capillaries. Petrographic, crystallographic and geochemical data of calcitic and aragonitic helictites (recent to 347 ka) from three caves in Western Germany are placed in context with previous work. Aragonitic helictites from one site, the Windloch Cave, form exceptionally large and complex structures that share similarities with the celebrated helictite arrays in the Asperge Cave in France. Aragonitic and calcitic helictites differ significantly in their crystal fabrics and internal geometry. Calcitic helictites are best described as a composite crystal fabric consisting of fibrous mesocrystals. Aragonite helictites display a complex fabric of acicular to platy crystals, some of which show evidence for growth‐twinning and perhaps crystallisation via a monoclinal precursor stage. The micro‐tomographic characterisation of several orders of channels and their complex architecture raises important questions regarding fluid migration and helictite architecture. In terms of their isotope geochemistry, helictites are depleted in 13C to various degrees, isotope values that are controlled by the mixing of fluids and mineralogy‐related fractionation. Regarding their δ18O values, most helictites overlap with other calcitic and aragonitic speleothems. Previous models explaining the twisted morphology of helictites are discussed from the viewpoint of fluid migration and CO2 degassing rates, mineralogy and helictite petrography. For the complex aragonitic helicities documented here, the most likely mechanisms to explain the contorted growth forms include the internal capillary network combined with localised (sector) growth at the helictite tip. The morphologically simpler calcitic helictites are best explained by capillary and surface flow. Future work should include geomicrobiology to assess the significance of induced mineralisation and transmission electron microscopy analysis to more quantitatively assign crystallographic properties

Monitoring industrial research: role and dynamics of corporate R&D: summary report of the first European conference on corporate R&D Seville, 8-9 October 2007

The conference Role and Dynamics of R&D, held on 8-9 October 2007, brought together the community of researchers on corporate R&D to learn about recent developments in the field and outline future avenues of research. A number of aspects of corporate R&D were covered, such as its drivers and determinants, its role in the economy, firm and sector dynamics, and methodological issues. Designated rapporteurs summarisd and documented the most important messages of the papers presented and the debates that followed. This summary report is an edited compilation of their wor