University of Warsaw

About: University of Warsaw is a education organization based out in Warsaw, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 20832 authors who have published 56617 publications receiving 1185084 citations. The organization is also known as: Uniwersytet Warszawski & Warsaw University.

General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) - integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales

Abstract: In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes fron nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. These achievements and related studies have substantially improved our understanding and reduced the uncertainties of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies.

Melatonin and its metabolites: new findings regarding their production and their radical scavenging actions.

Abstract: This review summarizes some of the recent findings concerning the long-held tenet that the enzyme, N-acetyltransferase, which is involved in the production of N-acetylserotonin, the immediate precursor of melatonin, may in fact not always control the quantity of melatonin generated. New evidence from several different laboratories indicates that hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase, which O-methylates N-acetylserotonin to melatonin may be rate-limiting in some cases. Also, the review makes the point that melatonin's actions are uncommonly widespread in organs due to the fact that it works via membrane receptors, nuclear receptors/binding sites and receptor-independent mechanisms, i.e., the direct scavenging of free radicals. Finally, the review briefly summarizes the actions of melatonin and its metabolites in the detoxification of oxygen and nitrogen-based free radicals and related non-radical products. Via these multiple processes, melatonin is capable of influencing the metabolism of every cell in the organism.

Testing the cosmological principle of isotropy: Local power spectrum estimates of the WMAP data

Abstract: We apply the Gabor transform methodology proposed in (Hansen et al. 2002, 2003) to the WMAP data in order to test the statistical properties of the CMB fluctuation field and specifically to evaluate the fundamental assumption of cosmological isotropy. In particular, we apply the transform with several apodisation scales, thus allowing the determination of the positional dependence of the angular power spectrum with either high spatial localisation or high angular resolution (ie. narrow bins in multipole space). Practically, this implies that we estimate the angular power spectrum locally in discs of various sizes positioned in different directions: small discs allow the greatest sensitivity to positional dependence, whereas larger discs allow greater sensitivity to variations over different angular scales. In addition, we determine whether the spatial position of a few outliers in the angular power spectrum could suggest the presence of residual foregrounds or systematic effects. For multipoles close to the first peak, the most deviant local estimates from the best fit WMAP model are associated with a few particular areas close to the Galactic plane. Such deviations also include the “dent” in the spectrum just shortward of the first peak which was remarked upon by the WMAP team. Estimating the angular power spectrum excluding these areas gives a slightly higher first Doppler peak amplitude. Finally, we probe the isotropy of the largest angular scales by estimating the power spectrum on hemispheres and reconfirm strong indications of a north-south asymmetry previously reported by other authors. Indeed, there is a remarkable lack of power in a region associated with the north ecliptic pole. With the greater fidelity in l-space allowed by this larger sky coverage, we find tentative evidence for residual foregrounds in the range l = 2 4, which could be associated with the low measured quadrupole amplitudes and other anomalies on these angular scales (eg. planarity and alignment). However, over the range l = 5 40 the observed asymmetry is much harder to explain in terms of residual foregrounds and known systematic effects. By reorienting the coordinate axes, we partition the sky into different hemispheres and search for the reference frame which maximises the asymmetric distribution of power. The north pole for this coordinate frame is found to intersect the sphere at (80 ◦ ,57 ◦ ) in Galactic co-latitude and longitude over almost the entire multipole range l = 5 40. Furthermore, the strong negative outlier at l = 21 and the strong positive outlier at l = 39 as determined from the global power spectrum by the WMAP team, are found to be associated with the northern and southern hemispheres respectively (in this frame of maximum asymmetry). Thus, these two outliers follow the general tendency of the multipoles l = 5 40 to be of systematically lower amplitude in the north and higher in the south. Such asymmetric distributions of power on the sky provide a serious test for the cosmological principle of isotropy.

Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus

Abstract: Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidron cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidron Neanderthal with a dental abscess and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)-the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.