Application of the Tikhonov tomography method for the gas electron multiplier (GEM) system on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak.

A novel GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) system has been installed on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) which is used for collecting the line integral of the soft X-ray radiation (SXR) through a pinhole-collimated Beryllium window. The sightline of the 2-D GEM system is tangential to the toroidal field. To obtain the local SXR emission, the Tikhonov algorithm is applied for the imaging of the poloidal cross section emission in the vacuum vessel. In the meanwhile, the L-curve method is used to find an optimized solution of the regularization parameters. The tomography reliability has been tested with a known emission function where the error is also discussed. The tomography method has been coded as a graphic user interface for the fast analysis of GEM experimental data. The typical tomography results have been shown for the EAST shot (#79282) in this paper.

The GEMpix detector as new soft X-rays diagnostic tool for laser produced plasmas.

Laser produced plasmas lend to several interesting applications. The study of X-ray emission from this kind of plasmas is important not only to characterize plasmas itself but also to study the application of these particular plasmas as intense X-ray sources. In particular several emission configurations can be obtained using different kinds of targets and tuning the characteristics of the laser pulse delivered to the target. Typically, laser pulse duration ranges between a few tens of femtoseconds and tens of nanoseconds, with energies from few mJ to tens of kJ. X-ray photon emissions last for times comparable to the laser pulses and during this time a great number of photons can be emitted. The following paper presents a measure of the soft-X-ray emission on the ECLIPSE laser facility realized with a new triple-GEM gas detector (GEMpix). It is a hybrid gas detector with a C-MOS front-end electronics based on Medipix chips. In the present work, different targets have been used in order to test X-rays of different energies. In this paper, in particular, we present results obtained for copper and iron targets. GEMpix is able to realize a 2D imaging of the X-ray emission from plasma with a signal proportional to the energy released in the gas of the detector active volume. Then through a preliminary single photon equalization realized at the NIXT lab (ENEA), also the number of photons reaching the area of the detector has been estimated.

Transcriptional repression of IFNß1 by ATF2 confers melanoma resistance to therapy.

The resistance of melanoma to current treatment modalities represents a major obstacle for durable therapeutic response, and thus the elucidation of mechanisms of resistance is urgently needed. The crucial functions of activating transcription factor-2 (ATF2) in the development and therapeutic resistance of melanoma have been previously reported, although the precise underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report a protein kinase C-ɛ (PKCɛ)- and ATF2-mediated mechanism that facilitates resistance by transcriptionally repressing the expression of interferon-ß1 (IFNß1) and downstream type-I IFN signaling that is otherwise induced upon exposure to chemotherapy. Treatment of early-stage melanomas expressing low levels of PKCɛ with chemotherapies relieves ATF2-mediated transcriptional repression of IFNß1, resulting in impaired S-phase progression, a senescence-like phenotype and increased cell death. This response is lost in late-stage metastatic melanomas expressing high levels of PKCɛ. Notably, nuclear ATF2 and low expression of IFNß1 in melanoma tumor samples correlates with poor patient responsiveness to biochemotherapy or neoadjuvant IFN-α2a. Conversely, cytosolic ATF2 and induction of IFNß1 coincides with therapeutic responsiveness. Collectively, we identify an IFNß1-dependent, cell-autonomous mechanism that contributes to the therapeutic resistance of melanoma via the PKCɛ-ATF2 regulatory axis.

Siah2 regulates tight junction integrity and cell polarity through control of ASPP2 stability.

Changes in cell adhesion and polarity are closely associated with epithelial cell transformation and metastatic capacity. The tumor suppressor protein ASPP (Apoptosis-Stimulating Proteins of p53) 2 has been implicated in control of cell adhesion and polarity through its effect on the PAR complex. Here we demonstrate that under hypoxic conditions, the ubiquitin ligase Siah (seven in absentia homolog)2 controls ASPP2 availability, with concomitant effect on epithelial cell polarity. LC-MS/MS analysis identified ASPP2 and ASPP1 as Siah2-interacting proteins. Biochemical analysis confirmed this interaction and mapped degron motifs within ASPP2, which are required for Siah2-mediated ubiquitination and proteasomal-dependent degradation. Inhibition of Siah2 expression increases ASPP2 levels and enhances ASPP2-dependent maintenance of tight junction (TJ) integrity, and polarized architecture in three dimensional (3D) organotypic culture. Conversely, increase of Siah2 expression under hypoxia decreases ASPP2 levels and the formation of apical polarity in 3D culture. In all, our studies demonstrate the role of Siah2 in regulation of TJ integrity and cell polarity under hypoxia, through its regulation of ASPP2 stability.

Population fluctuation of Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in forest and forest edge habitats in Tucumán province, Argentina.

The aim of this work was to study the possible effects of forest and forest edge habitats on the population fluctuation of the Anopheles species in northwestern Argentina, taking into consideration the relationship between this fluctuation and climatic variables. This study is one of the first that involves the Anopheles fauna in the country and its dynamics in two different habitats. Sampling was carried out from October, 2002 to October, 2003, in the forest and on the forest edge. Both habitats were compared for species diversity and abundance, and multiple regression analyses were performed to analyze the effects of environmental variables on the population dynamics. Five hundred and sixteen adult specimens of Anopheles species were collected, the most numerous group being Arribalzaga (52.1%), followed by Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) strodei (20.5%) and Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) evansae (6.4%). Mosquito abundance was greatest in the forest, the most productive habitat. Samples were collected throughout the sampling period, with a smaller peak in summer. Small numbers of Anopheles (Anopheles) pseudopunctipennis were found throughout the year. Relative humidity, with a 15-day delay, was the factor that most strongly contributed to the temporal sample fluctuation. We conclude that the best season for anopheline development in the study area is from spring to fall, although the period with the greatest transmission risk is the fall, with the greatest An. pseudopunctipennis abundance.

Un caso de delirio imaginativo en la práctica psiquiátrica forense / A clinical case of imagery delusion in the forensic psychiatric practice

Se presenta un caso visto en el contexto psiquiátrico-forense de delirio imaginativo, con un delirio sistematizado de paternidad. Se describen las características de esta poco frecuente e interesante forma de delirio crónico