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In Darmstadt ist mit der Alnatura Arbeitswelt ein architektonischer Meilenstein in puncto Nachhaltigkeit, Materialeffizienz, Offenheit und moderner Arbeitsformen entstanden. Zu seinen Besonderheiten zählt der Einsatz einer innovativen Stampflehmfassade, die weltweit erstmals mit einer geothermischen Wandheizung belegt wurde. Außergewöhnlich ist auch die schallwirksame Holzlamellendecke, die das Atrium und die komplett offen gehaltenen Büroflächen überspannt. Diese Metadaten wurden zur Verfügung gestellt von der Literaturdatenbank RSWB®plus

We present the results of the reverberation monitoring aimed at MgII broad line and FeII pseudocontinuum for the luminous quasar CTS C30.10 (z = 0.90052) with the Southern African Large Telescope covering the years 2012-2021. We aimed at disentangling the MgII and UV FeII variability and the first measurement of UV FeII time delay for a distant quasar. We used several methods for time-delay measurements and determined both FeII and MgII time delays as well as performed a wavelength-resolved time delay study for a combination of MgII and FeII in the 2700 - 2900 \AA restframe wavelength range. We obtain the time delay for MgII of $275.5^{+12.4}_{-19.5}$ days in the rest frame, while for FeII we have two possible solutions of $270.0^{+13.8}_{-25.3}$ days and $180.3^{+26.6}_{-30.0}$ in the rest frame. Combining this result with the old measurement of FeII UV time delay for NGC 5548 we discuss for the first time the radius-luminosity relation for UV FeII with the slope consistent with $0.5$ within uncertainties. Since FeII time delay has a shorter time-delay component but lines are narrower than MgII, we propose that the line delay measurement is biased towards the BLR part facing the observer, with the bulk of the Fe II emission may arise from the more distant BLR region, one that is shielded from the observer., Comment: 22 pages, 19 Figures, 6 Tables, Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics, Comments are welcome

We present time-series photometry of 21 nearby Type II Cepheids in the near-infrared J, H and Ks passbands. We use this photometry, together with the Third Gaia Early Data Release parallaxes, to determine for the first time period-luminosity relations (PLRs) for Type II Cepheids from field representatives of these old pulsating stars in the near-infrared regime. We found PLRs to be very narrow for BL Herculis stars, which makes them candidates for precision distance indicators. We then use archival photometry and the most accurate distance obtained from eclipsing binaries to recalibrate PLRs for Type II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Slopes of our PLRs in the Milky Way and in the LMC differ by slightly more than 2{\sigma} and are in a good agreement with previous studies of the LMC, Galactic Bulge and Galactic Globular Clusters Type II Cepheids samples. We use PLRs of Milky Way Type II Cepheids to measure the distance to the LMC and we obtain a distance modulus of 18.540$\pm$0.026(stat.)$\pm$0.034(syst.)mag in the WJKs Wesenheit index. We also investigate the metallicity effect within our Milky Way sample and we find rather significant value of about -0.2mag/dex in each band meaning that more metal-rich Type II Cepheids are intrinsically brighter than their more metal-poor counterparts, in agreement with the value obtained from Type II Cepheids in Galactic Globular Clusters. The main source of systematic error on our Milky Way PLRs calibration and the LMC distance is the current uncertainty of the Gaia parallax zero point., Comment: Accepted for ApJ

We have monitored a 3 deg2 area toward Serpens Main in the Pan-STARRS1 r, i, and z bands from 2016 April to September. Light curves of more than 11,000 stars in each band were obtained, and 143 variables have been identified. Among those, 119 variables are new discoveries, while 24 variables were previously known. We present variability classes and periods of 99 stars. Of these, 81 are located in the upper giant branch, displaying long periods, while the remaining 18 variables are pre-main-sequence objects with short periods. We also identify eight eclipsing binary systems, including the known binary V0623 Ser, and derive their physical parameters. According to a clustering analysis of Gaia DR2 stars in the observed field, there are 10 variable members in Serpens Main, where six members have been classified as young stellar objects in previous studies. Here we provide color-magnitude and color-color diagrams for these variables. The color variability of most variables in the color-magnitude diagrams produce the expected displacements, while the movements of cluster members point in different directions; this behavior may be associated with accretion spots or circumstellar disks., Comment: 35 pages, accepted by AJ; typos corrected

Mrk926 is known to be a highly variable AGN with very broad line profiles. We studied the continuum and line profile variations of this object with high temporal resolution in order to determine its broad-line region structure and to derive its BH mass. We carried out a high-cadence spectroscopic variability campaign of Mrk926 with the 10m HET telescope, aided by photometric V-band data taken at the Wise Observatory, over a period of about five months. We extracted spectroscopic continuum and line light curves, and computed CCFs as well as velocity-resolved CCFs with respect to the combined continuum V-band light curve. The continuum luminosity of Mrk926 showed a drastic decrease during our campaign: it dropped to less than 50% of its original value within only 2.5 months. The spectra show complex and very broad Balmer line profiles, including outer Balmer satellites ranging from +-5000 to +-13,000 kms-1. The Ha, Hb, and HeI5876 line light curves are delayed relative to the continuum light curve. The Ha and Hb lines show two velocity-delay structures in the central part of their line profile (within +- 5000 kms-1), at ~10 and ~57 ld and at ~5 and ~48 ld, respectively. These structures might be interpreted as the signature of a line-emitting ring, inclined by ~50 deg to the line of sight and orbiting the BH at radii, R, of 33.5 and 26.5 ld. We determined continuum luminosities, log(lambda\,L_(lambda)/erg s-1), of 43.68 to 44.13, which are in good agreement with the established R_(BLR)-L_(AGN) relation. We derive a black hole mass of 1.1 +- 0.2 * 10^8 M_solar; this indicates a low Eddington ratio, which decreased from 8 to 3 percent during our campaign. The Balmer satellite components show a response to the continuum variations on the order of only 3-5 days. We attribute this to the central line segment and the Balmer satellites having different, spatially distinct regions of origin., Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Using the six years of the spectroscopic monitoring of the luminous quasar HE 0435-4312 ($z=1.2231$) with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), in combination with the photometric data (CATALINA, OGLE, SALTICAM, and BMT), we determined the rest-frame time-delay of $296^{+13}_{-14}$ days between the MgII broad-line emission and the ionizing continuum using seven different time-delay inference methods. Artefact time-delay peaks and aliases were mitigated using the bootstrap method, prior weighting probability function as well as by analyzing unevenly sampled mock light curves. The MgII emission is considerably variable with the fractional variability of $\sim 5.4\%$, which is comparable to the continuum variability ($\sim 4.8\%$). Because of its high luminosity ($L_{3000}=10^{46.4}\,{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$), the source is beneficial for a further reduction of the scatter along the MgII-based radius-luminosity relation and its extended versions, especially when the high-accreting subsample that has an RMS scatter of $\sim 0.2$ dex is considered. This opens up a possibility to use the high-accretor MgII-based radius-luminosity relation for constraining cosmological parameters. With the current sample of 27 reverberation-mapped sources, the best-fit cosmological parameters $(\Omega_{\rm m}, \Omega_{\Lambda})=(0.19; 0.62)$ are consistent with the standard cosmological model within 1$\sigma$ confidence level., Comment: 34 pages, 23 figures, 6 tables; accepted by the Astrophysical Journal; Main body as well as the Appendix extended; added references

BackgroundMetastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains uncurable and novel therapies are needed to better treat patients. Aberrant Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) signaling has been implicated in advanced prostate cancer (PCa), and FGFR1 is suggested to be a promising therapeutic target along with current androgen deprivation therapy.MethodsWe established a novel in vitro 3D culture system to study endogenous FGFR signaling in a rare subpopulation of prostate cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the cell lines PC3, DU145, LNCaP, and the induced pluripotent iPS87 cell line.Results3D-propagation of PCa cells generated spheroids with increased stemness markers ALDH7A1 and OCT4, while inhibition of FGFR signaling by BGJ398 or Dovitinib decreased cell survival and proliferation of 3D spheroids. The 3D spheroids exhibited altered expression of EMT markers associated with metastasis such as E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail, compared to 2D monolayer cells. TKI treatment did not result in significant changes of EMT markers, however, specific inhibition of FGFR signaling by BGJ398 showed more favorable molecular-level changes than treatment with the multi-RTK inhibitor Dovitinib.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence for the first time that FGFR1 plays an essential role in the proliferation of PCa CSCs at a molecular and cellular level, and suggests that TKI targeting of FGFR signaling may be a promising strategy for AR-independent CRPC.

Simple Summary While the intratumor microbiome has been largely unexplored in relation to prostate cancer development, our research shows that microbes may play an anti-tumor or pro-tumor role to significantly alter clinical course in prostate cancer patients. We found that the presence and absence of specific microbes are strongly correlated with known biomarkers of prostate cancer, including increased androgen receptor expression, prostate-specific antigen level, immune-associated gene dysregulation, stem-cell related gene overexpression, cancer pathways, and known chromosomal alterations. Our results provide important insight on potential mechanisms by which intratumor microbes may greatly contribute to prostate cancer progression and prognosis. We hope our results can be validated in future studies, and the key microbes that we identified can be used as effective targets for more specialized prebiotic and probiotic treatments for prostate cancer. Abstract Although 1 in 9 American men will receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer (PC), most men with this diagnosis will not die from it, as most PCs are indolent. However, there is a subset of patients in which the once-indolent PC becomes metastatic and eventually, fatal. In this study, we analyzed microbial compositions of intratumor bacteria in PC to determine the influence of the microbiome on metastatic growth. Using large-scale RNA-sequencing data and corresponding clinical data, we correlated the abundance of microbes to immune pathways and PC risk factors, identifying specific microbes that either significantly deter or contribute to cancer aggressiveness. Interestingly, most of the microbes we found appeared to play anti-tumor roles in PC. Since these anti-tumor microbes were overrepresented in tumor samples, we believe that microbes thrive in the tumor microenvironment, outcompete cancer cells, and directly mitigate tumor growth by recruiting immune cells. These include Listeria monocytogenes, Methylobacterium radiotolerans JCM 2831, Xanthomonas albilineans GPE PC73, and Bradyrhizobium japonicum, which are negatively correlated with Gleason score, Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and Androgen Receptor (AR) expression, respectively. We also identified microbes that contribute to tumor growth and are positively correlated with genomic alterations, dysregulated immune-associated (IA) genes, and prostate cancer stem cells (PCSC) genes.

To properly understand the evolution of high-redshift galaxy clusters, both passive and star-forming galaxies have to be considered. Here we study the clustering environment of 21 radio galaxies and quasars at 1 1.6, red overdensities at 1.2, Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 29 Pages, 20 Figures, 6 Tables

We present the monitoring of the AGN continuum and MgII broad line emission for the quasar HE 0413-4031 ($z=1.38$) based on the six-year monitoring by the South African Large Telescope (SALT). We managed to estimate a time-delay of $302.6^{+28.7}_{-33.1}$ days in the rest frame of the source using seven different methods: interpolated cross-correlation function (ICCF), discrete correlation function (DCF), $z$-transformed DCF, JAVELIN, two estimators of data regularity (Von Neumann, Bartels), and $\chi^2$ method. This time-delay is below the value expected from the standard radius-luminosity relation. However, based on the monochromatic luminosity of the source and the SED modelling, we interpret this departure as the shortening of the time-delay due to the higher accretion rate of the source, with the inferred Eddington ratio of $\sim 0.4$. The MgII line luminosity of HE 0413-4031 responds to the continuum variability as $L_{\rm line}\propto L_{\rm cont}^{0.43\pm 0.10}$, which is consistent with the light-travel distance of the location of MgII emission at $R_{\rm out} \sim 10^{18}\,{\rm cm}$. Using the data of 10 other quasars, we confirm the radius-luminosity relation for broad MgII line, which was previously determined for broad H$\beta$ line for lower-redshift sources. In addition, we detect a general departure of higher-accreting quasars from this relation in analogy to H$\beta$ sample. After the accretion-rate correction of the light-travel distance, the MgII-based radius-luminosity relation has a small scatter of only $0.10$ dex., Comment: 39 pages (23 pages - Main text, 16 pages - Appendix), 21 figures, 14 tables; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We report the discovery of a massive protostar M17~MIR embedded in a hot molecular core in M17. The multiwavelength data obtained during 1993--2019 show significant mid-IR (MIR) variations, which can be split into three stages: the decreasing phase during 1993.03--mid-2004, the quiescent phase from mid-2004 to mid-2010, and the rebrightening phase from mid-2010 until now. The variation of the 22\,GHz H$_2$O maser emission, together with the MIR variation, indicates an enhanced disk accretion rate onto M17~MIR during the decreasing and rebrightening phases. Radiative transfer modeling of the spectral energy distributions of M17~MIR in the 2005 epoch (quiescent) and 2017 epoch (accretion outburst) constrains the basic stellar parameters of M17~MIR, which is an intermediate-mass protostar (M~5.4 Msun) with accretion rate ~1.1x10^-5 Msun in the 2005 epoch and ~1.7x10^-3 Msun/yr in the 2017 epoch. The enhanced accretion rate during outburst induces the luminosity outburst $\Delta L\approx7600 $Lsun. In the accretion outburst, a larger stellar radius is required to produce accretion rate consistent with the value estimated from the kinematics of water masers. M17 MIR shows two accretion outbursts ($\Delta t\sim 9-20$ yr) with outburst magnitudes of 2 mag, separated by a 6 yr quiescent phase. The accretion outbusrt occupies 83\% of the time over 26 yr. The accretion rate in outburst is variable with amplitude much lower than the contrast between quiescent and outburst phases. The extreme youth of M17 MIR suggests that minor accretion bursts are frequent in the earliest stages of massive star formation., Comment: Typos corrected. The version most close to the publication

Low-frequency radio selection finds radio-bright galaxies regardless of the amount of obscuration by gas and dust. We report Chandra observations of a complete 178 MHz–selected, and so orientation-unbiased, sample of 44 0.5 < z < 1 3CRR sources. The sample is comprised of quasars and narrow-line radio galaxies (NLRGs) with similar radio luminosities, and the radio structure serves as both an age and an orientation indicator. Consistent with unification, intrinsic obscuration (measured by N H, X-ray hardness ratio, and X-ray luminosity) generally increases with inclination. However, the sample includes a population not seen in high-z 3CRR sources: NLRGs viewed at intermediate inclination angles with N H < 1022 cm−2. Multiwavelength analysis suggests that these objects have lower L/L Edd than typical NLRGs at similar orientation. Thus, both orientation and L/L Edd are important, and a “radiation-regulated unification” provides a better explanation of the sample’s observed properties. In comparison with the 3CRR sample at 1 < z < 2, our lower-redshift sample shows a higher fraction of Compton-thin NLRGs (45% versus 29%) but a similar Compton-thick fraction (20%), implying a larger covering factor of Compton-thin material at intermediate viewing angles and thus a more “puffed-up” torus atmosphere. We posit that this is due to a range of L/L Edd extending to lower values in this sample. In contrast, at high redshifts, the narrower range and high L/L Edd values allowed orientation (and so simple unification) to dominate the sample’s observed properties.

Prostate cancer affects hundreds of thousands of men and families throughout the world. Although chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and androgen deprivation therapy are applied, these therapies do not cure metastatic prostate cancer. Patients treated by androgen deprivation often develop castration resistant prostate cancer which is incurable. Novel approaches of treatment are clearly necessary. We have previously shown that prostate cancer originates as a stem cell disease. A prostate cancer patient sample, #87, obtained from prostatectomy surgery, was collected and frozen as single cell suspension. Cancer stem cell cultures were grown, single cell-cloned, and shown to be tumorigenic in SCID mice. However, outside its natural niche, the cultured prostate cancer stem cells lost their tumor-inducing capability and stem cell marker expression after approximately 8 transfers at a 1:3 split ratio. Tumor-inducing activity could be restored by inducing the cells to pluripotency using the method of Yamanaka. Cultures of human prostate-derived normal epithelial cells acquired from commercial sources were similarly induced to pluripotency and these did not acquire a tumor phenotype in vivo. To characterize the iPS87 cell line, cells were stained with antibodies to various markers of stem cells including: ALDH7A1, LGR5, Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, Androgen Receptor, and Retinoid X Receptor. These markers were found to be expressed by iPS87 cells, and the high tumorigenicity in SCID mice of iPS87 was confirmed by histopathology. This research thus characterizes the iPS87 cell line as a cancer-inducing, stem cell-like cell line, which can be used in the development of novel treatments for prostate cancer.

We report photometry and spectroscopy of the outburst of the young stellar object ESO-Halpha 99. The outburst was first noticed in Gaia alert Gaia18dvc and later by ATLAS. We have established the outburst light curve with archival ATLAS ``Orange'' filter photometry, Gaia data, new V-band photometry, and J, H, and K_s photometry from IRIS and UKIRT. The brightness has fluctuated several times near the light curve maximum. The TESS satellite observed ESO-Halpha 99 with high cadence during one of these minor minima and found brightness fluctuations on timescales of days and hours. Imaging with UKIRT shows the outline of an outflow cavity, and we find one knot of H_2 1-0 S(1) emission, now named MHO 1520, on the symmetry axis of this nebula, indicating recent collimated outflow activity from ESO-Halpha 99. Its pre-outburst SED shows a flat FIR spectrum, confirming its early evolutionary state and its similarity to other deeply embedded objects in the broader EXor class. The pre-outburst luminosity is 34 L_sun, a much higher luminosity than typical EXors, indicating that ESO-Halpha 99 may be a star of intermediate mass. Infrared and optical spectroscopy show a rich emission line spectrum, including HI lines, strong red CaII emission, as well as infrared CO bandhead emission, all characteristic EXors in the broadest sense. Comparison of the present spectra with an optical spectrum obtained in 1993, presumably in the quiescent state of the object, shows that during the present outburst the continuum component of the spectrum has increased notably more than the emission lines. The Halpha equivalent width during the outburst is down to one half of its 1993 level, and shock-excited emission lines are much less prominent., Accepted by The Astronomical Journal

Renal osteodystrophy affects the majority of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is characterized by progressive bone loss. This study evaluated the effects of sclerostin knockout on bone in a murine model of severe, surgically induced CKD in both sclerostin knockout and wild-type mice. Mice of both genotypes with normal kidney function served as controls. Tibiae were analyzed using micro-computed tomography, and lumbar vertebrae were analyzed by histomorphometry. Results were tested for statistical significance by 2-way ANOVA to investigate whether bone of the knockout mice reacted differently to CKD compared with bone of wild-type mice. In the tibiae, there was no difference after creation of CKD between wild-type and knockout animals for cortical thickness or cross-sectional moment of inertia. Increases in cortical porosity induced by CKD differed significantly between genotypes in the tibial metaphysis but not in the diaphysis. In the trabecular compartment, no difference in reaction to CKD between genotypes was found for bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness, and trabecular separation. In the lumbar vertebrae, significant differences in response to CKD between wild-type and knockout mice were seen for both bone volume and trabecular thickness. Osteoblast parameters did not differ significantly, whereas osteoclast numbers significantly increased in the wild-type but significantly decreased in knockout mice with CKD. No differences in response to CKD between genotypes were found for bone formation rate or mineral apposition rate. Thus, complete absence of sclerostin has only minor effects on CKD-induced bone loss in mice.

Using the Herschel Space Observatory we have observed a representative sample of 87 powerful 3CR sources at redshift z < 1. The far-infrared (FIR, 70-500 micron) photometry is combined with mid-infrared (MIR) photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and catalogued data to analyse the complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of each object from optical to radio wavelength. To disentangle the contributions of different components, the SEDs are fitted with a set of templates to derive the luminosities of host galaxy starlight, dust torus emission powered by active galactic nuclei (AGN) and cool dust heated by stars. The level of emission from relativistic jets is also estimated, in order to isolate the thermal host galaxy contribution. The new data are in line with the orientation-based unification of high-excitation radio-loud AGN, in that the dust torus becomes optically thin longwards of 30 micron. The low excitation radio galaxies and the MIR weak sources represent MIR- and FIR-faint AGN population different from the high-excitation MIR-bright objects; it remains an open question whether they are at a later evolutionary state or an intrinsically different population. The derived luminosities for host starlight and dust heated by star formation are converted to stellar masses and star formation rates (SFR). The host-normalized SFR of the bulk of the 3CR sources is low when compared to other galaxy populations at the same epoch. Estimates of the dust mass yield a 1--100 times lower dust/stellar mass ratio than for the Milky Way, indicating that these 3CR hosts have very low levels of interstellar matter explaining the low level of star formation. Less than 10% of the 3CR sources show levels of star formation above those of the main sequence of star forming galaxies., Comment: Submitted to the Astronomical Journal on 2015-07-28, accepted on 2016-02-22, not all figures are included in the preprint due to size limitations but available from http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/irac/publications/

While young stellar objects sometimes undergo bursts of accretion, these bursts usually occur sporadically, making them challenging to study observationally and to explain theoretically. We build a schematic description of cyclical bursts of the young stellar object EC 53 using near-IR and sub-mm monitoring obtained over six cycles, each lasting $\approx530$ days. EC 53 brightens over $0.12$ yr by $0.3$ mag at 850 $\mu$m, $2$ mag at 3.35 $\mu$m, and $1.5$ mag at near-IR wavelengths, to a maximum luminosity consistent with an accretion rate of $\sim8\times10^{-6}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. The emission then decays with an e-folding timescale of $\approx0.74$ yr until the accretion rate is $\sim1\times10^{-6}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. The next eruption then occurs, likely triggered by the buildup of $\sim5\times10^{-6}$ M$_\odot$ of mass in the inner disk, enough that it becomes unstable and drains onto the star. Just before outburst, when the disk is almost replenished, the near-IR colors become redder, indicating an increase in the geometrical height of the disk by this mass buildup. The reddening disappears soon after the initial burst, as much of the mass is drained from the disk. We quantify physical parameters related to the accretion process in EC 53 by assuming an $\alpha$-disk formulation, constrained by the observed disk properties and accretion rate. While we can only speculate about the possible trigger for these faithful eruptions, we hope that our quantified schematic will motivate theorists to test the hypothesized mechanisms that could cause the cyclical buildup and draining of mass in the inner disk., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

We monitored the z=0.158 quasar 3C273 between 2015 and 2019 in the optical (BVrz) and near-infrared (JHK) with the aim to perform dust reverberation mapping. Accounting for host galaxy and accretion disk contributions, we obtained pure dust light curves in JHK. Cross correlations between the V-band and the dust light curves yield an average rest-frame delay for the hot dust of tau_cent ~ 410 days. This is a factor 2 shorter than expected from the the dust ring radius R_x ~ 900 light days reported from interferometric studies. The dust covering factor (CF) is about 8%, much smaller than predicted from the half covering angle of 45 degree found for active galactic nuclei (AGN). We analyse the asymmetric shape of the correlation functions and explore whether an inclined bi-conical bowl-shaped dust torus geometry could bring these findings (tau_cent, R_x and CF) into a consistent picture. The hot varying dust emission originates from the edge of the bowl rim with a small covering angle 40 < theta < 45 degree, and we see only the near side of the bi-conus. Such a dust gloriole with R_x = 900 +/- 200 ld and an inclination i = 12 degree matches the data remarkably well. Comparing the results of 3C273 with literature for less luminous AGN, we find a lag-luminosity relation tau propto L^alpha with alpha between 0.33 and 0.40, flatter than the widely adopted relation with alpha = 0.5. We address several explanations for the new lag - luminosity relation., 24 pages, 19 Figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have the potential to cause adverse effects on wildlife and human health. Two important EDCs are the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and bisphenol-A (BPA) both of which are xenoestrogens (XEs) as they bind the estrogen receptor and disrupt estrogen physiology in mammals and other vertebrates. In the recent years the influence of XEs on oncogenes, specifically in relation to breast and prostate cancer has been the subject of considerable study. Methodology: In this study, healthy primary human prostate epithelial cells (PrECs) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of BPA (5nM and 25nM BPA) and interrogated using a whole genome microarray. Results: Exposure to 5 and 25nM BPA resulted in 7,182 and 7,650 differentially expressed (DE) genes, respectively in treated PrECs. Exposure to EE2 had the greatest effect on the PrEC transcriptome (8,891 DE genes). Conclusion: We dissected and investigated the nature of the non-estrogenic gene signature associated with BPA with a focus on transcripts relevant to epigenetic modifications. The expression of transcripts encoding nuclear hormone receptors as well as histone and DNA methylation, modifying enzymes were significantly perturbed by exposure to BPA.

Photometry of the nebulae LDN1780, LDN1642 and LBN406 is used to derive scattering properties of dust and to investigate the presence of UV fluorescence emission by molecular hydrogen and the extended red emission (ERE). We used multi-wavelength optical photometry and imaging at ground-based telescopes and archival imaging and spectroscopic UV data from the spaceborn GALEX and SPEAR/FIMS instruments. We used Monte Carlo RT and both observational data and synthetic models for the ISRF in the solar neighbourhood. The line-of-sight extinctions through the clouds have been determined using near infrared excesses of background stars and the 200/250um far infrared emission by dust measured using the ISO and Herschel space observatories. The optical surface brightness of the target clouds can be explained in terms of scattered light. The dust albedo ranges from 0.58 at 3500A to 0.72 at 7500A. The SED of LDN1780 is explained in terms of optical depth and background scattered light effects instead of ERE. The FUV surface brightness of LDN 1780 cannot be explained by scattered light only. In LDN1780 H2 fluorescent emission in the wavelength range 1400A-1700A has been detected and analysed. Our albedo values agree with the predictions of the dust model of Weingartner and Draine and with the THEMIS CMM model for evolved core-mantle grains. The H2 fluorescent emission in LDN1780 shows a pronounced dichotomy with a preference for its southern side where enhanced illumination impinges from the Sco OB2 association and the O star zeta Oph. A good correlation is found between the H2 fluorescence and a previously mapped 21-cm excess emission. The H2 fluorescence emission in LDN1780 has been modelled using a PDR code; the resulting values for H2 column density and the total gas density are consistent with the estimates derived from CO observations and optical extinction along the line of sight., Comment: 30 pages, 21 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics in press

In this work, the opportunities and challenges for the use of parallel trans- mission in combination with 2D RF pulses designed on EPI-based excitation trajectories for diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with reduced FOV are presented and analyzed in detail. The use of localized excitation allows for shortening of the EPI read-out, which is especially important for EPI applications outside of the brain. DWI is chosen as a practi- cally important and relevant example demonstrating the key aspects of 2D spatial selec- tion. The properties of accelerated pulses are explored experimentally in phantoms for two different schemes, in which the thickness of the excited limited slices is encoded either along the frequency or phase encoding directions of the excitation trajectory. The feasibility of application of parallel transmission for MR imaging in humans is analyzed based on several pilot experiments. Although the parallel transmission acceleration is demonstrated to work in some examples in the spinal cord and abdomen, the results also uncover a number of challenges. Nonetheless, the reduction of FOV in the phase encoding direction of the read-out train along with the associated substantial shortening of the minimum echo train length and reduction of geometric distortions motivates fur- ther search for an advantageous use of the parallel transmit technology in EPI applications. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engi- neering) 00B: 000-000, 2015

This paper is the second in a series describing the southern Galactic Disk Survey (GDS) performed at the Univer-sitatssternwarte Bochum near Cerro Armazones in Chile. Haas et al. (2012, Paper I) presented the survey design and the characteristics of the observations and data. They identified ∼2200 variable stars in an area of 50 square degrees with more than 50 observations in 2011. Here we present the first complete version of the GDS covering all 268 fields with 1323 square degrees along the Galactic disk including revised data from Paper I. The individual fields were observed up to 272 times and comprise a maximum time span between September 2010 and May 2015. We detect a total of 64 151 variable sources, which are presented in a catalog including some of their properties and their light curves. A comparison with the International Variable Star Index (VSX) and All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) indicates that 56794 of these sources are previously unknown variables. Furthermore, we present U, B, V, r ′, i ′, z ′ photometry for all sources within the GDS, resulting in a new multi-color catalog of nearly 16×106 sources detected in at least one filter. Both the GDS and the near-infrared VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey (VVV) complement each other in the overlap area of about 300 square degrees enabling future comparison studies. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Background: Several experimental studies in rats and a few association studies in humans suggest that the antidiuretic action of vasopressin may accelerate the progression of chronic kidney disease. We undertook a retrospective analysis in a monocentric cohort of 273 patients with chronic kidney disease stages 1-4, focusing on a strong variable of interest, urinary osmolarity, and a strong endpoint, dialysis initiation. Data was analyzed in a multivariate proportional sub-distribution hazards model for competing risk data with appropriate co-variates. Main Results: Over a median follow-up period of 92 months, dialysis was initiated in 105 patients. After adjustments for baseline creatinine clearance, and other confounding factors, a higher risk for initiation of dialysis was found in patients with higher urinary osmolarity. After 72 months, the estimated adjusted cumulative incidence probability for dialysis initiation was 15, 24, and 34% in patients with baseline urinary osmolarity of 315, 510, and 775 mosm/l, respectively (p = 0.033). Key Messages: In this retrospective, longitudinal study, a higher baseline urinary osmolarity was strongly associated with a higher risk of end-stage renal disease (after appropriate adjustments). Further, prospective studies are required to evaluate the possible benefit of interventions aiming at reducing urinary osmolarity as a potential treatment for slowing chronic kidney disease progression.

NFκB signaling plays a significant role in human disease, including breast and ovarian carcinoma, insulin resistance, embryonic lethality and liver degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, aging and Multiple Myeloma (MM). Inhibitor of κB (IκB) kinase β (IKKβ) regulates canonical Nuclear Factor κB (NFκB) signaling in response to inflammation and cellular stresses. NFκB activation requires Lys63-linked (K63-linked) ubiquitination of upstream proteins such as NEMO or TAK1, forming molecular complexes with membrane-bound receptors. We demonstrate that IKKβ itself undergoes K63-linked ubiquitination. Mutations in IKKβ at Lys171, identified in Multiple Myeloma and other cancers, lead to a dramatic increase in kinase activation and K63-linked ubiquitination. These mutations also result in persistent activation of STAT3 signaling. Liquid chromatography (LC)-high mass accuracy tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis identified Lys147, Lys418, Lys555 and Lys703 as predominant ubiquitination sites in IKKβ. Specific inhibition of the UBC13-UEV1A complex responsible for K63-linked ubiquitination establishes Lys147 as the predominant site of K63-ubiquitin conjugation and responsible for STAT3 activation. Thus, IKKβ activation leads to ubiquitination within the kinase domain and assemblage of a K63-ubiquitin conjugated signaling platform. These results are discussed with respect to the importance of upregulated NFκB signaling known to occur frequently in MM and other cancers.

During five decades astronomers have been puzzled by the presence of strong absorption features including metal lines, observed in the optical and ultraviolet spectra of quasars, signalling in- and outflowing gas winds with relative velocities up to several thousands of km/sec. In particular the location of these winds - close to the quasar, further out in its host galaxy, or in its direct environment - and the possible impact on their surroundings have been issues of intense discussion and uncertainty. Using our Herschel Space Observatory data, we report a tendency for this so-called associated metal absorption to occur along with prodigious star formation in the quasar host galaxy, indicating that the two phenomena are likely to be interrelated, that the gas winds likely occur on the kiloparsec scale and would then have a strong impact on the interstellar medium of the galaxy. This correlation moreover would imply that the unusually high cold dust luminosities in these quasars are connected with ongoing star formation. Given that we find no correlation with the AGN strength, the wind feedback which we establish in these radio-loud objects is most likely associated with their host star formation rather than with their black hole accretion., Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

It is a matter of debate whether vascular calcification and bone loss are simultaneously occurring but largely independent processes or whether poor bone health predisposes to vascular calcification, especially in patients with kidney disease. Here we investigated the association between the changes of microarchitecture in weight bearing bone and the extent of coronary artery calcification in patients with chronic renal failure. The bone microarchitecture of the tibia using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), bone mineral density using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the lumbar spine, femoral neck and distal radius as well as coronary artery calcification using multi-slice CT and reported as Agatston score were measured in 66 patients with end-stage renal disease on chronic hemodialysis. Markers of bone turnover, vitamin D status and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were assessed. CAC score was found to be100 in 39% and ≥100 in 61% of patients. The median [95% CI] total CAC score was 282 [315-2587]. By univariate analysis, significant correlations between CAC and age (R=0.52, p0.001), weight (R=0.3, p0.01) and serum cross laps (CTX, R=-0.39, p0.01) were found, and parameters of bone microarchitecture were numerically but not significantly lower in patients with CAC scores ≥100. In multivariate analysis stratifying for gender and correcting for age, tibial density (Dtot) and bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) were significantly lower in patients with CAC scores ≥100 (p0.05 for both). Low trabecular bone volume and decreased cortical bone density are associated with coronary artery calcification in dialysis patients.