This book contains a series of essays that explore the foundations, developments, and goals of Phase Theory. The antecedents of this framework go back to the notion of 'cycle', which plays a key role ...in phenomena such as compositionality, locality, and economy conditions. Much recent work within minimalism has been devoted to investigating the nature of phases and their relevance for other areas of linguistic inquiry. This book aims to address these questions and sharpen our understanding about Phase Theory and the nature of the Faculty of Language. Ángel J. Gallego, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
We present a study of the molecular gas properties in a sample of 98 H i – flux selected spiral galaxies within ∼25 Mpc, using the CO J = 3 − 2 line observed with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. ...We use the technique of survival analysis to incorporate galaxies with CO upper limits into our results. Comparing the group and Virgo samples, we find a larger mean H2 mass in the Virgo galaxies, despite their lower mean H i mass. This leads to a significantly higher H2 to H i ratio for Virgo galaxies. Combining our data with complementary Hα star formation rate measurements, Virgo galaxies have longer molecular gas depletion times compared to group galaxies, due to their higher H2 masses and lower star formation rates. We suggest that the longer depletion times may be a result of heating processes in the cluster environment or differences in the turbulent pressure. From the full sample, we find that the molecular gas depletion time has a positive correlation with the stellar mass, indicative of differences in the star formation process between low- and high-mass galaxies, and a negative correlation between the molecular gas depletion time and the specific star formation rate.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth relies on angiogenesis via vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) release. Hypoxia within tumour environment leads to intracellular stabilisation of hypoxia ...inducible factor 1 alpha (Hif1α) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3). Melatonin induces apoptosis in HCC, and shows anti-angiogenic features in several tumours. In this study, we used human HepG2 liver cancer cells as an in vitro model to investigate the anti-angiogenic effects of melatonin.
HepG2 cells were treated with melatonin under normoxic or CoCl2-induced hypoxia. Gene expression was analysed by RT-qPCR and western blot. Melatonin-induced anti-angiogenic activity was confirmed by in vivo human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) tube formation assay. Secreted VEGF was measured by ELISA. Immunofluorescence was performed to analyse Hif1α cellular localisation. Physical interaction between Hif1α and its co-activators was analysed by immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP).
Melatonin at a pharmacological concentration (1 mM) decreases cellular and secreted VEGF levels, and prevents HUVECs tube formation under hypoxia, associated with a reduction in Hif1α protein expression, nuclear localisation, and transcriptional activity. While hypoxia increases phospho-STAT3, Hif1α, and CBP/p300 recruitment as a transcriptional complex within the VEGF promoter, melatonin 1 mM decreases their physical interaction. Melatonin and the selective STAT3 inhibitor Stattic show a synergic effect on Hif1α, STAT3, and VEGF expression.
Melatonin exerts an anti-angiogenic activity in HepG2 cells by interfering with the transcriptional activation of VEGF, via Hif1α and STAT3. Our results provide evidence to consider this indole as a powerful anti-angiogenic agent for HCC treatment.
Background and purpose
Studies of high body mass index (BMI) and cognition in the elderly have shown conflicting results. While some studies have shown a detrimental effect of high BMI on cognitive ...function, others have observed beneficial effects on cognition. Our aim was to assess cognitive function in a large population‐based sample of overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) community‐dwelling elderly participants compared with their counterparts with BMI < 25 kg/m2 (i.e. controls) living in the same population.
Methods
One‐thousand nine‐hundred and forty‐nine population‐dwelling participants aged ≥ 65 years in central Spain the Neurological Diseases in Central Spain study (NEDICES) underwent a neuropsychological assessment, including tests of global cognitive performance measured with a 37‐item version of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (37‐MMSE), psychomotor speed, verbal fluency, memory and pre‐morbid intelligence.
Results
There were 507 with BMI < 25 kg/m2, 850 overweight and 592 obese participants. In regression analyses that adjusted for age, gender, educational category, intake of medications that potentially affect cognition function, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dementia, ever smoker, ever drinker and waist circumference, we found that obese/overweight status was associated with the lowest quartiles of the 37‐MMSE, Trail Making Test‐A (number of errors; indeed more errors), verbal fluency, delayed free recall, immediate logical memory and pre‐morbid intelligence.
Conclusions
In this large population sample, overweight and obese participants performed poorer on formal neuropsychological tests than their counterparts with BMI < 25 kg/m2. These results support the hypothesis of a detrimental effect of high BMI on impaired cognition in the elderly.
To determine whether 10 weeks of whole‐body vibration (WBV) training has a significant effect on strength, muscle mass, muscle power, and mobility in older women, 26 subjects were randomly assigned ...to a WBV training group (n=13; mean age 79 years) and a control (CON) group (n=13; mean age 76 years). Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) increased 38.8% in the WBV group, without changes in the CON group. Electromyographic activity of the vastus medialis (VM), the vastus lateralis, and the biceps femoris (BF) did not change in either group. Thigh muscle cross‐sectional area increased significantly after training in VM (8.7%) and BF (15.5%). Muscle power at 20%, 40%, and 60% MVIC decreased from pre‐test to post‐test in the CON group; however, WBV training prevented the decrease in the WBV group. Consequently, mobility, measured by the Timed Up and Go test, increased significantly after training (9.0%) only in the WBV group. Ten weeks of lower limb WBV training in older women produces a significant increase in muscle strength induced by thigh muscle hypertrophy, with no change in muscle power. The adaptations to WBV found in the present study may be of use in counteracting the loss of muscle strength and mobility associated with age‐induced sarcopenia.
We report the detection of the sulfur-bearing species NCS, HCCS, H2CCS, H2CCCS, and C4S for the first time in space. These molecules were found towards TMC-1 through the observation of several lines ...for each species. We also report the detection of C5S for the first time in a cold cloud through the observation of five lines in the 31-50 GHz range. The derived column densities are N(NCS) = (7.8±0.6)×1011 cm-2, N(HCCS) = (6.8±0.6)×1011 cm-2, N(H2CCS) = (7.8±0.8)×1011 cm-2, N(H2CCCS) = (3.7±0.4)×1011 cm-2, N(C4S) = (3.8±0.4)×1010 cm-2, and N(C5S) = (5.0±1.0)×1010 cm-2. The observed abundance ratio between C3S and C4S is 340, that is to say a factor of approximately one hundred larger than the corresponding value for CCS and C3S. The observational results are compared with a state-of-the-art chemical model, which is only partially successful in reproducing the observed abundances. These detections underline the need to improve chemical networks dealing with S-bearing species.
This volume brings together studies that combine both traditional and contemporary tools in the study of syntactic geolectal variation, with a special focus on a subset of Iberian varieties.
Yebes 40m radio telescope is the main and largest observing instrument at Yebes Observatory and it is devoted to Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and single dish observations since 2010. It ...has been covering frequency bands between 2 GHz and 90 GHz in discontinuous and narrow windows in most of the cases, to match the current needs of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA).
Nanocosmos project, a European Union funded synergy grant, opened the possibility to increase the instantaneous frequency coverage to observe many molecular transitions with single tunnings in single dish mode. This reduces the observing time and maximises the output from the telescope.
We present the technical specifications of the recently installed 31.5 - 50GHz (Q band) and 72 - 90.5 GHz (W band) receivers along with the main characteristics of the telescope at these frequency ranges. We have observed IRC+10216, CRL 2688 and CRL 618, which harbour a rich molecular chemistry, to demonstrate the capabilities of the new instrumentation for spectral observations in single dish mode.
The results show the high sensitivity of the telescope in the Q band. The spectrum of IRC+10126 offers a signal to noise ratio never seen before for this source in this band. On the other hand, the spectrum normalised by the continuum flux towards CRL 618 in the W band demonstrates that the 40 m radio telescope produces comparable results to those from the IRAM 30 m radio telescope, although with a smaller sensitivity. The new receivers fulfil one of the main goals of Nanocosmos and open the possibility to study the spectrum of different astrophysical media with unprecedented sensitivity.
Accurate characterization of tropical moist forest changes is needed to support conservation policies and to quantify their contribution to global carbon fluxes more effectively. We document, at ...pantropical scale, the extent and changes (degradation, deforestation, and recovery) of these forests over the past three decades. We estimate that 17% of tropical moist forests have disappeared since 1990 with a remaining area of 1071 million hectares in 2019, from which 10% are degraded. Our study underlines the importance of the degradation process in these ecosystems, in particular, as a precursor of deforestation, and in the recent increase in tropical moist forest disturbances (natural and anthropogenic degradation or deforestation). Without a reduction of the present disturbance rates, undisturbed forests will disappear entirely in large tropical humid regions by 2050. Our study suggests that reinforcing actions are needed to prevent the initial degradation that leads to forest clearance in 45% of the cases.
We observe a sixfold Purcell broadening of the D_{2} line of an optically trapped ^{87}Rb atom strongly coupled to a fiber cavity. Under external illumination by a near-resonant laser, up to 90% of ...the atom's fluorescence is emitted into the resonant cavity mode. The sub-Poissonian statistics of the cavity output and the Purcell enhancement of the atomic decay rate are confirmed by the observation of a strongly narrowed antibunching dip in the photon autocorrelation function. The photon leakage through the higher-transmission mirror of the single-sided resonator is the dominant contribution to the field decay (κ≈2π×50 MHz), thus offering a high-bandwidth, fiber-coupled channel for photonic interfaces such as quantum memories and single-photon sources.
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