Showing papers by "University of Siena published in 2012"
Daniel J. Klionsky1, Fábio Camargo Abdalla2, Hagai Abeliovich3, Robert T. Abraham4 +1284 more•Institutions (463)
TL;DR: These guidelines are presented for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes.
Abstract: In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
4,316 citations
Utrecht University1, University of Alabama at Birmingham2, Pennsylvania State University3, Columbia University4, University of Palermo5, University of California, San Diego6, Hacettepe University7, Erasmus University Medical Center8, Cardiff University9, University of Siena10, University of Colombo11, University of Adelaide12, Northwestern University13, Imperial College London14, University of Oklahoma15, University of California, Los Angeles16, University of Pennsylvania17
TL;DR: Relevant topics addressed-all dealt with in a systematic fashion-include adolescence, hirsutism and acne, contraception, menstrual cycle abnormalities, quality of life, ethnicity, pregnancy complications, long-term metabolic and cardiovascular health, and finally cancer risk.
1,585 citations
National Institutes of Health1, University College London2, VU University Amsterdam3, Erasmus University Rotterdam4, Cardiff University5, University of Manchester6, University of Turin7, University of Würzburg8, University of Sydney9, University of Birmingham10, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust11, John Radcliffe Hospital12, The Catholic University of America13, University of Siena14, Lund University15, University of Cagliari16, Oulu University Hospital17, Helsinki University Central Hospital18, University of Pennsylvania19, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center20, Memorial Hospital of South Bend21, Chang Gung University22, University of Tokyo23, Centre national de la recherche scientifique24, French Institute of Health and Medical Research25, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University26, University of Sheffield27, University Hospital of Wales28, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board29, Johns Hopkins University30
TL;DR: A common Mendelian genetic lesion in C9orf72 is implicated in many cases of sporadic and familial ALS and FTD, suggesting a one-off expansion occurring about 1500 years ago.
Abstract: Background
We aimed to accurately estimate the frequency of a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 that has been associated with a large proportion of cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Methods
We screened 4448 patients diagnosed with ALS (El Escorial criteria) and 1425 patients with FTD (Lund-Manchester criteria) from 17 regions worldwide for the GGGGCC hexanucleotide expansion using a repeat-primed PCR assay. We assessed familial disease status on the basis of self-reported family history of similar neurodegenerative diseases at the time of sample collection. We compared haplotype data for 262 patients carrying the expansion with the known Finnish founder risk haplotype across the chromosomal locus. We calculated age-related penetrance using the Kaplan-Meier method with data for 603 individuals with the expansion.
Findings
In patients with sporadic ALS, we identified the repeat expansion in 236 (7·0%) of 3377 white individuals from the USA, Europe, and Australia, two (4·1%) of 49 black individuals from the USA, and six (8·3%) of 72 Hispanic individuals from the USA. The mutation was present in 217 (39·3%) of 552 white individuals with familial ALS from Europe and the USA. 59 (6·0%) of 981 white Europeans with sporadic FTD had the mutation, as did 99 (24·8%) of 400 white Europeans with familial FTD. Data for other ethnic groups were sparse, but we identified one Asian patient with familial ALS (from 20 assessed) and two with familial FTD (from three assessed) who carried the mutation. The mutation was not carried by the three Native Americans or 360 patients from Asia or the Pacific Islands with sporadic ALS who were tested, or by 41 Asian patients with sporadic FTD. All patients with the repeat expansion had (partly or fully) the founder haplotype, suggesting a one-off expansion occurring about 1500 years ago. The pathogenic expansion was non-penetrant in individuals younger than 35 years, 50% penetrant by 58 years, and almost fully penetrant by 80 years.
Interpretation
A common Mendelian genetic lesion in C9orf72 is implicated in many cases of sporadic and familial ALS and FTD. Testing for this pathogenic expansion should be considered in the management and genetic counselling of patients with these fatal neurodegenerative diseases.
Funding
Full funding sources listed at end of paper (see Acknowledgments).
951 citations
University of Kiel1, University of British Columbia2, University of Messina3, National Institutes of Health4, University of Freiburg5, University of Bern6, Kyoto University7, University of Siena8, University of Western Australia9, The Catholic University of America10, Goethe University Frankfurt11, University of Barcelona12, Copenhagen University Hospital13
TL;DR: These guidelines cover practical aspects of TMS in a clinical setting and lay out the general principles that apply to a standardized clinical examination of the fast-conducting corticomotor pathways with single-pulse TMS.
901 citations
Spanish National Research Council1, Hacettepe University2, Karolinska University Hospital3, Université catholique de Louvain4, Health Protection Agency5, University of East Anglia6, Pasteur Institute7, University of Paris-Sud8, University of Siena9, University Hospital of North Norway10, University of Cologne11
TL;DR: Rapid identification of colonized or infected patients and screening of carriers is possible, and will probably be effective for prevention of a scenario of endemicity, as now reported for extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers in all European countries.
777 citations
TL;DR: There is strong evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction occurs early and has a primary role in pathogenesis, and several mitochondrial diseases as models of neurodegeneration are discussed.
641 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at the LHC in 2010.
Abstract: The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta)<2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.
568 citations
TL;DR: In situ tetramer staining reveals the presence of islet antigen-reactive CD8+ T cells in pancreatic islets from deceased type 1 diabetes patients.
Abstract: A direct association of islet-autoreactive T cells with β cell destruction in human pancreatic islets from type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients has never been demonstrated, and little is known about disease progression after diagnosis. Frozen pancreas samples were obtained from 45 cadaveric T1D donors with disease durations ranging from 1 wk to >50 yr, 14 nondiabetic controls, 5 nondiabetics with islet autoantibodies, 2 cases of gestational diabetes, and 6 T2D patients. Sections were systematically analyzed for the presence of insulin-sufficient β cells, CD8+ insulitic lesions, and HLA class I hyperexpression. Finally, consecutive sections from HLA-A2–expressing individuals were probed for CD8 T cell reactivity against six defined islet autoantigens associated with T1D by in situ tetramer staining. Both single and multiple CD8 T cell autoreactivities were detected within individual islets in a subset of patients up to 8 yr after clinical diagnosis. Pathological features such as HLA class I hyperexpression and insulitis were specific for T1D and persisted in a small portion of the patients with longstanding disease. Insulitic lesions consistently presented in a multifocal pattern with varying degrees of infiltration and β cell loss across affected organs. Our observations provide the first direct proof for islet autoreactivity within human islets and underscore the heterogeneous and chronic disease course.
558 citations
TL;DR: Raman spectroscopy is a versatile non-destructive technique for fluid inclusion analysis, with a wide field of applications ranging from qualitative detection of solid, liquid and gaseous components to identification of polyatomic ions in solution as mentioned in this paper.
506 citations
TL;DR: The results of this study represent the first warning of this emerging threat to baleen whales as high concentrations of phthalates were detected in the neustonic/planktonic samples.
470 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents a hierarchical classification of TVGs; each class corresponds to a significant property examined in the distributed computing literature, and examines how TVGs can be used to study the evolution of network properties, and proposes different techniques, depending on whether the indicators for these properties are atemporal or temporal.
Abstract: The past few years have seen intensive research efforts carried out in some apparently unrelated areas of dynamic systems – delay-tolerant networks, opportunistic-mobility networks and social networks – obtaining closely related insights. Indeed, the concepts discovered in these investigations can be viewed as parts of the same conceptual universe, and the formal models proposed so far to express some specific concepts are the components of a larger formal description of this universe. The main contribution of this paper is to integrate the vast collection of concepts, formalisms and results found in the literature into a unified framework, which we call time-varying graphs TVGs. Using this framework, it is possible to express directly in the same formalism not only the concepts common to all those different areas, but also those specific to each. Based on this definitional work, employing both existing results and original observations, we present a hierarchical classification of TVGs; each class corresponds to a significant property examined in the distributed computing literature. We then examine how TVGs can be used to study the evolution of network properties, and propose different techniques, depending on whether the indicators for these properties are atemporal as in the majority of existing studies or temporal. Finally, we briefly discuss the introduction of randomness in TVGs.
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University1, VU University Amsterdam2, University of Göttingen3, Cleveland Clinic4, John Radcliffe Hospital5, University of Siena6, Mayo Clinic7, University of Nottingham8, Medical University of Graz9, University College London10, Yale University11, University of Saskatchewan12, Medical University of Vienna13
TL;DR: A number of correlative pathological and MRI studies have helped to define in vivo the pathological substrates of MS in focal lesions and normal-appearing white matter, not only in the brain, but also in the spinal cord.
Abstract: Pathological evaluation is the gold standard for identifying processes related to multiple sclerosis that explain disease manifestations, and for guiding the development of new treatments. However, there are limitations to the techniques used, including the small number of donors available, samples often representing uncommon cases, and impossibility of follow-up. Correlative studies have demonstrated that MRI is sensitive to the different pathological substrates of multiple sclerosis (inflammation, demyelination, and neuro-axonal loss). The role of MRI in evaluating other pathological processes, such as leptomeningeal involvement, central vein and rim of lesions, microstructural abnormalities, iron accumulation, and recovery mechanisms, has been investigated. Although techniques used for quantifying pathological processes in different regions of the CNS have advanced diagnosis and monitoring of disease course and treatment of multiple sclerosis, new perspectives and questions have emerged, including how different pathological processes interact over the disease course and when remyelination might occur. Addressing these questions will require longitudinal studies using MRI in large cohorts of patients with different phenotypes.
TL;DR: This integrated mutational and cytogenetic model independently predicted survival, improved CLL prognostication accuracy compared with FISH karyotype, and was externally validated in an independent CLL cohort.
Erasmus University Rotterdam1, Radboud University Nijmegen2, University of Kiel3, University of Siena4, University of Turin5, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust6, Belfast City Hospital7, University College London8, Institute of Cancer Research9, Uppsala University Hospital10, Charité11, Paris Descartes University12, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary13, University Medical Center Groningen14, University of Southampton15
TL;DR: Collectively, the EuroClonality (BIOMED-2) guidelines and consensus reporting system should help to improve the general performance level of clonality assessment and interpretation, which will directly impact on routine clinical management in patients with suspected lymphoproliferations.
Abstract: PCR-based immunoglobulin (Ig)/T-cell receptor (TCR) clonality testing in suspected lymphoproliferations has largely been standardized and has consequently become technically feasible in a routine diagnostic setting. Standardization of the pre-analytical and post-analytical phases is now essential to prevent misinterpretation and incorrect conclusions derived from clonality data. As clonality testing is not a quantitative assay, but rather concerns recognition of molecular patterns, guidelines for reliable interpretation and reporting are mandatory. Here, the EuroClonality (BIOMED-2) consortium summarizes important pre- and post-analytical aspects of clonality testing, provides guidelines for interpretation of clonality testing results, and presents a uniform way to report the results of the Ig/TCR assays. Starting from an immunobiological concept, two levels to report Ig/TCR profiles are discerned: the technical description of individual (multiplex) PCR reactions and the overall molecular conclusion for B and T cells. Collectively, the EuroClonality (BIOMED-2) guidelines and consensus reporting system should help to improve the general performance level of clonality assessment and interpretation, which will directly impact on routine clinical management (standardized best-practice) in patients with suspected lymphoproliferations.
TL;DR: Metal ion binding to proteins involved in neurodegeneration is therefore an important factor for whole brain damage processes and details of transport and interactions with biomolecules are discussed in the review.
TL;DR: The SLC30A10 mutations cause a treatable recessive disease with pleomorphic phenotype with broad implications for understanding of the manganese biology and pathophysiology in multiple human organs and compelling evidence that SLC 30A10 plays a pivotal role inManganese transport is provided.
Abstract: Manganese is essential for several metabolic pathways but becomes toxic in excessive amounts. Manganese levels in the body are therefore tightly regulated, but the responsible protein(s) remain incompletely known. We studied two consanguineous families with neurologic disorders including juvenile-onset dystonia, adult-onset parkinsonism, severe hypermanganesemia, polycythemia, and chronic hepatic disease, including steatosis and cirrhosis. We localized the genetic defect by homozygosity mapping and then identified two different homozygous frameshift SLC30A10 mutations, segregating with disease. SLC30A10 is highly expressed in the liver and brain, including in the basal ganglia. Its encoded protein belongs to a large family of membrane transporters, mediating the efflux of divalent cations from the cytosol. We show the localization of SLC30A10 in normal human liver and nervous system, and its depletion in liver from one affected individual. Our in silico analyses suggest that SLC30A10 possesses substrate specificity different from its closest (zinc-transporting) homologs. We also show that the expression of SLC30A10 and the levels of the encoded protein are markedly induced by manganese in vitro. The phenotype associated with SLC30A10 mutations is broad, including neurologic, hepatic, and hematologic disturbances. Intrafamilial phenotypic variability is also present. Chelation therapy can normalize the manganesemia, leading to marked clinical improvements. In conclusion, we show that SLC30A10 mutations cause a treatable recessive disease with pleomorphic phenotype, and provide compelling evidence that SLC30A10 plays a pivotal role in manganese transport. This work has broad implications for understanding of the manganese biology and pathophysiology in multiple human organs.
TL;DR: The present study gives an overview of the current knowledge on the energy-producing metabolic pathways operating inside human sperm mitochondria and critically analyse the differences with respect to somatic mitochondria.
Abstract: Mitochondria of spermatozoa are different from the corresponding organelles of somatic cells, in both their morphology and biochemistry. The biochemical differences are essentially related to the existence of specific enzyme isoforms, which are characterized by peculiar kinetic and regulatory properties. As mitochondrial energy metabolism is a key factor supporting several sperm functions, these organelles host critical metabolic pathways during germ cell development and fertilization. Furthermore, spermatozoa can use different substrates, and therefore activate different metabolic pathways, depending on the available substrates and the physico-chemical conditions in which they operate. This versatility is critical to ensure fertilization success. However, the most valuable aspect of mitochondria function in all types of cells is the production of chemical energy in the form of ATP which can be used, in the case of spermatozoa, for sustaining sperm motility. The latter, on the other hand, represents one of the major determinants of male fertility. Accordingly, the presence of structural and functional alterations in mitochondria from asthenozoospermic subjects confirms the important role played by these organelles in energy maintenance of sperm motility. The present study gives an overview of the current knowledge on the energy-producing metabolic pathways operating inside human sperm mitochondria and critically analyse the differences with respect to somatic mitochondria. Such a comparison has also been carried out between the functional characteristics of human sperm mitochondria and those of other mammalian species. A deeper understanding of mitochondrial energy metabolism could open up new avenues of investigation in bioenergetics of human sperm mitochondria, both in physiological and pathological conditions.
TL;DR: Virgo as discussed by the authors is a very large Michelson interferometer with 3 km-long arms, built at Cascina, near Pisa (Italy), with a detailed description of all its different elements is given.
Abstract: This paper presents a complete description of Virgo, the French-Italian gravitational wave detector. The detector, built at Cascina, near Pisa (Italy), is a very large Michelson interferometer, with 3 km-long arms. In this paper, following a presentation of the physics requirements, leading to the specifications for the construction of the detector, a detailed description of all its different elements is given. These include civil engineering infrastructures, a huge ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber (about 6000 cubic metres), all of the optical components, including high quality mirrors and their seismic isolating suspensions, all of the electronics required to control the interferometer and for signal detection. The expected performances of these different elements are given, leading to an overall sensitivity curve as a function of the incoming gravitational wave frequency. This description represents the detector as built and used in the first data-taking runs. Improvements in different parts have been and continue to be performed, leading to better sensitivities. These will be detailed in a forthcoming paper.
TL;DR: Refilling the lesions with intensities matching the surrounding normal‐appearing WM ensured accurate tissue‐class measurements and thus represents a promising approach for accurate tissue classification and brain volume measurements.
Abstract: MR-based measurements of brain volumes may be affected by the presence of white matter (WM) lesions Here, we assessed how and to what extent this may happen for WM lesions of various sizes and intensities After inserting WM lesions of different sizes and intensities into T1-W brain images of healthy subjects, we assessed the effect on two widely used automatic methods for brain volume measurement such as SIENAX (segmentation-based) and SIENA (registration-based) To explore the relevance of partial volume (PV) estimation, we performed the experiments with two different PV models, implemented by the same segmentation algorithm (FAST) of SIENAX and SIENA Finally, we tested potential solutions to this issue The presence of WM lesions did not bias measurements for registration-based method such as SIENA By contrast, the presence of WM lesions affected segmentation-based brain volume measurements such as SIENAx The misclassification of both gray matter (GM) and WM volumes varied considerably with lesion size and intensity, especially when the lesion intensity was similar to that of the GM/WM interface The extent to which the presence of WM lesions could affect tissue-class measures was clearly driven by the PV modeling used, with the mixel-type PV model giving a lower error in the presence of WM lesions The tissue misclassification due to WM lesions was still present when they were masked out By contrast, refilling the lesions with intensities matching the surrounding normal-appearing WM ensured accurate tissue-class measurements and thus represents a promising approach for accurate tissue classification and brain volume measurements
TL;DR: In this paper, a reduced-form model for S&P 500 volatility is proposed and the forecasting performance can be improved by introducing a persistent leverage effect with a long-range dependence similar to that of volatility itself.
Abstract: We first propose a reduced-form model in discrete time for S&P 500 volatility showing that the forecasting performance can be significantly improved by introducing a persistent leverage effect with a long-range dependence similar to that of volatility itself. We also find a strongly significant positive impact of lagged jumps on volatility, which however is absorbed more quickly. We then estimate continuous-time stochastic volatility models that are able to reproduce the statistical features captured by the discrete-time model. We show that a single-factor model driven by a fractional Brownian motion is unable to reproduce the volatility dynamics observed in the data, while a multifactor Markovian model fully replicates the persistence of both volatility and leverage effect. The impact of jumps can be associated with a common jump component in price and volatility. This article has online supplementary materials.
TL;DR: In this paper, the suppression of individual nS states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured, and the results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states from the dimuon invariant mass spectra.
Abstract: The suppression of the individual Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured. The PbPb and pp data sets used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 150 μb^(-1) and 230 nb^(-1), respectively, collected in 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. The Υ(nS) yields are measured from the dimuon invariant mass spectra. The suppression of the Υ(nS) yields in PbPb relative to the yields in pp, scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions, R_(AA), is measured as a function of the collision centrality. Integrated over centrality, the R_(AA) values are 0.56±0.08(stat)±0.07(syst), 0.12±0.04(stat)±0.02(syst), and lower than 0.10 (at 95% confidence level), for the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) states, respectively. The results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions at LHC energies.
TL;DR: An excess of events in the data is interpreted as evidence for the presence of a new particle consistent with the standard model Higgs boson, which is produced in association with a weak vector boson and decays to a bottom-antibottom quark pair.
Abstract: We combine searches by the CDF and D0 Collaborations for the associated production of a Higgs boson with a W or Z boson and subsequent decay of the Higgs boson to a bottom-antibottom quark pair. The data, originating from Fermilab Tevatron p (p) over bar collisions at root s = 1.96 TeV, correspond to integrated luminosities of up to 9.7 fb(-1). The searches are conducted for a Higgs boson with mass in the range 100-150 GeV/c(2). We observe an excess of events in the data compared with the background predictions, which is most significant in the mass range between 120 and 135 GeV/c(2). The largest local significance is 3.3 standard deviations, corresponding to a global significance of 3.1 standard deviations. We interpret this as evidence for the presence of a new particle consistent with the standard model Higgs boson, which is produced in association with a weak vector boson and decays to a bottom-antibottom quark pair.
TL;DR: MAGIC as discussed by the authors is a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes located in the Canary island of La Palma, which has been working together in stereoscopic mode, providing a significant improvement with respect to the previous single-telescope observations.
TL;DR: A careful clinical evaluation of sleep disorders should be performed routinely in the clinical setting of persons with cognitive decline, and Instrumental supports should be used only in selected patients.
Abstract: Background/Aims: Sleep disturbances are common in the elderly and in persons with cognitive decline The aim of this study was to describe frequency and characteristics of insomnia,
TL;DR: Genomic features that were common and distinct to various gut-derived adenocarcinomas were defined, potentially informing novel opportunities for targeted therapeutic interventions and suggesting the potential use of genomic amplifications as biomarkers to guide therapy of gastric and esophageal cancers.
Abstract: A more detailed understanding of the somatic genetic events that drive gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas is necessary to improve diagnosis and therapy. Using data from high-density genomic profiling arrays, we conducted an analysis of somatic copy-number aberrations (SCNAs) in 486 gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas including 296 esophageal and gastric cancers. Focal amplifications were substantially more prevalent in gastric/esophageal adenocarcinomas than colorectal tumors. We identified 64 regions of significant recurrent amplification and deletion, some shared and others unique to the adenocarcinoma types examined. Amplified genes were noted in 37% of gastric/esophageal tumors, including in therapeutically targetable kinases such as ERBB2, FGFR1, FGFR2, EGFR, and MET, suggesting the potential utility of genomic amplifications as biomarkers to guide therapy of gastric and esophageal cancers where targeted therapeutics have been less developed compared to colorectal cancers. Amplified loci implicated genes with known involvement in carcinogenesis but also pointed to regions harboring potentially novel cancer genes, including a recurrent deletion found in 15% of esophageal tumors where the Runt transcription factor subunit RUNX1 was implicated, including by functional experiments in tissue culture. Together, our results defined genomic features that were common and distinct to various gut-derived adenocarcinomas, potentially informing novel opportunities for targeted therapeutic interventions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the yields of both prompt and non-prompt J/psi, as well as Y(1S) mesons, are measured by the CMS experiment via their dimuon decays in PbPb and pp collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV.
Abstract: Yields of prompt and non-prompt J/psi, as well as Y(1S) mesons, are measured by the CMS experiment via their dimuon decays in PbPb and pp collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV for quarkonium rapidity |y|<2.4. Differential cross sections and nuclear modification factors are reported as functions of y and transverse momentum pt, as well as collision centrality. For prompt J/psi with relatively high pt (6.5
TL;DR: Model organisms that have not been conventionally used for risk assessment and the development of eco-toxicogenomic approaches will result in an improved understanding of the mechanistic modes of action of contaminating ENPs in the marine environment.
18 Oct 2012
TL;DR: The paper aims at providing an overview of the existing video processing techniques, considering all the possible alterations that can be operated on a single signal and also the possibility of identifying the traces that could reveal important information about its origin and use.
Abstract: Validating a given multimedia content is nowadays quite a hard task because of the huge amount of possible alterations that could have been operated on it. In order to face this problem, image and video experts have proposed a wide set of solutions to reconstruct the processing history of a given multimedia signal. These strategies rely on the fact that non-reversible operations applied to a signal leave some traces ("footprints") that can be identified and classified in order to reconstruct the possible alterations that have been operated on the original source. These solutions permit also to identify which source generated a specific image or video content given some device-related peculiarities. The paper aims at providing an overview of the existing video processing techniques, considering all the possible alterations that can be operated on a single signal and also the possibility of identifying the traces that could reveal important information about its origin and use.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed an X-band isoflux circularly polarized antenna for LEO satellite platforms based on a metasurface composed by a dense texture of sub-wavelength metal patches on a grounded dielectric slab, excited by a surface wave generated by a coplanar feeder.
Abstract: Theory, design, realization and measurements of an X-band isoflux circularly polarized antenna for LEO satellite platforms are presented. The antenna is based on a metasurface composed by a dense texture of sub-wavelength metal patches on a grounded dielectric slab, excited by a surface wave generated by a coplanar feeder. The antenna is extremely flat (1.57 mm) and light (less than 1 Kg) and represents a competitive solution for space-to-ground data link applications.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009, and October 20, 2010.
Abstract: We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009, and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25M(circle dot); this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up to 40 Mpc distant for binary neutron stars, and further for higher mass systems. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass, including the results from previous LIGO and Virgo observations. The cumulative 90% confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of binary neutron star, neutron star-black hole, and binary black hole systems are 1.3 x 10(-4), 3.1 x 10(-5), and 6.4 x 10(-6) Mpc(-3) yr(-1), respectively. These upper limits are up to a factor 1.4 lower than previously derived limits. We also report on results from a blind injection challenge.