Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the seismicity along the submerged section of ...North Anatolian Fault within the Sea of Marmara (comprising the "Istanbul seismic gap") has been extensively studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25
2011 in the western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the 1.5-5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-seismicity (~M < 3) within the Istanbul offshore domain.
Cloud glaciation is critically important for the global radiation budget (albedo) and for initiation of precipitation. But the freezing of pure water droplets requires cooling to temperatures as low ...as 235 K. Freezing at higher temperatures requires the presence of an ice nucleator, which serves as a template for arranging water molecules in an ice-like manner. It is often assumed that these ice nucleators have to be insoluble particles. We point out that also free macromolecules which are dissolved in water can efficiently induce ice nucleation: the size of such ice nucleating macromolecules (INMs) is in the range of nanometers, corresponding to the size of the critical ice embryo. As the latter is temperature-dependent, we see a correlation between the size of INMs and the ice nucleation temperature as predicted by classical nucleation theory. Different types of INMs have been found in a wide range of biological species and comprise a variety of chemical structures including proteins, saccharides, and lipids. Our investigation of the fungal species Acremonium implicatum, Isaria farinosa, and Mortierella alpina shows that their ice nucleation activity is caused by proteinaceous water-soluble INMs. We combine these new results and literature data on INMs from fungi, bacteria, and pollen with theoretical calculations to develop a chemical interpretation of ice nucleation and water-soluble INMs. This has atmospheric implications since many of these INMs can be released by fragmentation of the carrier cell and subsequently may be distributed independently. Up to now, this process has not been accounted for in atmospheric models.
Summary
The International Psoriasis Council, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to innovation across the full spectrum of psoriasis, led a symposium to discuss the current state of psoriasis ...epidemiology and to introduce the vision and development of a Global Psoriasis Atlas. The symposium was held on 9 September 2015 at the 45th annual meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Collectively, these presentations highlighted challenges associated with assessing psoriasis epidemiology and emphasized the urgent need for an authoritative resource to clarify psoriasis disease burden on a global scale.
Detector concepts for a linear collider Augustin, Jean-Eudes
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
12/2004, Letnik:
535, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The particle physics community has chosen an
e
+
e
-
linear collider as the next facility after the LHC. The physics aims of this machine call for high-precision measurements and need detector ...properties somewhat different from the recent developments for the hadron collider. This paper reviews the present detector concepts, and the ongoing R&D on vertex detectors, tracking devices, electromagnetic and hadron calorimeters undertaken in order to fulfill these demands.
Dysregulated metabolism is a hallmark of cancer, manifested through alterations in metabolites. We performed metabolomic profiling on 138 matched clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)/normal tissue ...pairs and found that ccRCC is characterized by broad shifts in central carbon metabolism, one-carbon metabolism, and antioxidant response. Tumor progression and metastasis were associated with metabolite increases in glutathione and cysteine/methionine metabolism pathways. We develop an analytic pipeline and visualization tool (metabolograms) to bridge the gap between TCGA transcriptomic profiling and our metabolomic data, which enables us to assemble an integrated pathway-level metabolic atlas and to demonstrate discordance between transcriptome and metabolome. Lastly, expression profiling was performed on a high-glutathione cluster, which corresponds to a poor-survival subgroup in the ccRCC TCGA cohort.
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•ccRCC exhibit dysregulated oxidative phosphorylation and amino acid metabolism•Clinical progression of ccRCC manifested with elevated glutathione and dipeptides•Metabolomic clustering of human ccRCC identified distinct high- and low-risk subsets•Metabolograms visualize metabolomic, transcriptomic, and clinical data of ccRCC
Using metabolomic profiling, Ari Hakimi et al. show that clear cell renal cell carcinoma is characterized by broad shifts in central carbon metabolism, one-carbon metabolism, and antioxidant response. They also develop metabolograms to allow integrating the TCGA transcriptomic data with their metabolomic data.
Summary Background The present study aimed to assess COPD patients' experiences during an in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation program and the guidance provided by healthcare professionals. A third ...aim regarded examining ways to anticipate the transfer to the home environment after completion of the program. Methods Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from seven COPD patients at the beginning and six other COPD patients at the end of an in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation program, supplemented by a focus group and semi-structured interviews with 14 healthcare professionals of the involved disciplines. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Results Starting out, patients displayed trouble with acceptance of their disease, they had insufficient knowledge, and showed difficulties in setting specific realistic goals. Seeing fellow patients struggle with similar problems and tailored counseling by healthcare professionals helped them to overcome these barriers. During rehabilitation, patients became more confident in exercising and managing their daily life activities. Many patients evolved a desire to self-regulate their lives. Incorporating health-enhancing behaviors after returning home into their usual daily routines was anticipated to be tough. Conclusion Patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation experience a complex health behavior change process, in which healthcare professionals fulfill a major contributing role. Therefore, guiding patients through this health behavior change process is a vital component of healthcare professionals' work, regarding which the present study made practical implications such as applying a personalized approach by giving tailored advices, applying an autonomy-supportive counseling style, teaching self-management skills, and referring patients to local exercise facilities.
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are interesting for understanding the fundamental physics of two-dimensional (2D) materials as well as for applications to many emerging technologies, ...including spin electronics. Here, we report the discovery of long-range magnetic order below
= 40 and 100 K in bulk semiconducting TMDs 2H-MoTe
and 2H-MoSe
, respectively, by means of muon spin rotation (μSR), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The μSR measurements show the presence of large and homogeneous internal magnetic fields at low temperatures in both compounds indicative of long-range magnetic order. DFT calculations show that this magnetism is promoted by the presence of defects in the crystal. The STM measurements show that the vast majority of defects in these materials are metal vacancies and chalcogen-metal antisites, which are randomly distributed in the lattice at the subpercent level. DFT indicates that the antisite defects are magnetic with a magnetic moment in the range of 0.9 to 2.8 μ
. Further, we find that the magnetic order stabilized in 2H-MoTe
and 2H-MoSe
is highly sensitive to hydrostatic pressure. These observations establish 2H-MoTe
and 2H-MoSe
as a new class of magnetic semiconductors and open a path to studying the interplay of 2D physics and magnetism in these interesting semiconductors.
BACKGROUND:Nutrients are transported through endothelial cells before being metabolized in muscle cells. However, little is known about the regulation of endothelial transport processes. Notch ...signaling is a critical regulator of metabolism and angiogenesis during development. Here, we studied how genetic and pharmacological manipulation of endothelial Notch signaling in adult mice affects endothelial fatty acid transport, cardiac angiogenesis, and heart function.
METHODS:Endothelial-specific Notch inhibition was achieved by conditional genetic inactivation of Rbp-jκ in adult mice to analyze fatty acid metabolism and heart function. Wild-type mice were treated with neutralizing antibodies against the Notch ligand Delta-like 4. Fatty acid transport was studied in cultured endothelial cells and transgenic mice.
RESULTS:Treatment of wild-type mice with Delta-like 4 neutralizing antibodies for 8 weeks impaired fractional shortening and ejection fraction in the majority of mice. Inhibition of Notch signaling specifically in the endothelium of adult mice by genetic ablation of Rbp-jκ caused heart hypertrophy and failure. Impaired heart function was preceded by alterations in fatty acid metabolism and an increase in cardiac blood vessel density. Endothelial Notch signaling controlled the expression of endothelial lipase, Angptl4, CD36, and Fabp4, which are all needed for fatty acid transport across the vessel wall. In endothelial-specific Rbp-jκ–mutant mice, lipase activity and transendothelial transport of long-chain fatty acids to muscle cells were impaired. In turn, lipids accumulated in the plasma and liver. The attenuated supply of cardiomyocytes with long-chain fatty acids was accompanied by higher glucose uptake, increased concentration of glycolysis intermediates, and mTOR-S6K signaling. Treatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin or displacing glucose as cardiac substrate by feeding a ketogenic diet prolonged the survival of endothelial-specific Rbp-jκ–deficient mice.
CONCLUSIONS:This study identifies Notch signaling as a novel regulator of fatty acid transport across the endothelium and as an essential repressor of angiogenesis in the adult heart. The data imply that the endothelium controls cardiomyocyte metabolism and function.
Glycemic index, glycemic load and cancer risk Hu, J.; La Vecchia, C.; Augustin, L.S. ...
Annals of oncology,
January 2013, 2013, 2013-Jan, 2013-01-00, 20130101, Letnik:
24, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) have been related to the risk of selected cancers, but the issue remains open.
Mailed questionnaires were completed between 1994 and 1997 in eight ...Canadian provinces for incident, histologically confirmed cases of the stomach (n=1182), colon (n=1727), rectum (n=1447), liver (n=309), pancreas (n=628), lung (n=3341), breast (n=2362), ovary (n=442), prostate (n=1799), testis (n=686), kidney (n=1345), bladder (n=1029), brain (n=1009), non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL, n=1666), leukemias (n=1069), multiple myelomas (n=343), and 5039 population controls. Dietary information on eating habits 2 years before participants' enrollment in the study was obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived by unconditional logistic regression including recognized confounding factors.
Dietary GI was positively associated with the risk of prostate cancer (OR, 1.26 for the highest versus the lowest quartile). A higher dietary GL significantly increased the risk of colorectal (OR, 1.28), rectal (OR, 1.44) and pancreatic (OR, 1.41) cancers. No other significant associations were found.
Our findings suggest that a diet high in GI and GL is associated with increased risk of selected cancers.
Despite the considerable number of studies investigating the Mediterranean diet in prostate cancer (PCa) etiology, very few focused on cancer survival. We assessed the pre-diagnostic diet and ...physical activity in a cohort of 777 men with PCa diagnosed between 1995 and 2002 in north-eastern Italy; adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated through the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Hazard ratios (HR) of death with confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using the Cox model, adjusting for potential confounders. During 10 years of follow-up, 208 patients (26.8%) died, 75 (9.7%) due to PCa. Patients reporting MDS ≥ 5 showed a higher overall survival than those with MDS < 5 (HR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.56-0.99). Although high physical activity was not significantly associated with overall survival (HR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.59-1.07), the HR for all-cause death was the lowest (HR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.38-0.90) for men reporting MDS ≥ 5 and high physical activity compared to those reporting MDS < 5 and low/moderate physical activity. No association emerged for PCa specific survival. Study findings support the beneficial impact of pre-diagnostic adherence to the Mediterranean diet and physical activity on overall survival; they are mainly driven by risk reduction in non-prostate cancer mortality, which however accounts for about 80% of death in men with PCa.
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