The charge role in the cosmic dust evolution

В работе рассматривается влияние заряда космических пылинок на их фоторазрушение, эрозию и фрагментацию. На основе численного моделирования эволюции ансамбля пылинок сделан вывод о важности учета заряда для исследования пыли. Исследовано влияние заряда на оптические свойства мелкой пыли, проведено моделирование спектров инфракрасного излучения нейтральных и заряженных пылинок.In this work we consider the role of cosmic dust grain charge on the dust photodestruction, erosion, and fragmentation. A numerical simulation of dust ensemble evolution is used as a base for the conclusion on the necessity of taking the grain charge into account in dust studies. An influence of charge on optical properties of small grains is studied, and infrared emission spectra of neutral and charged grains are modelled.Работа выполнена при поддержке гранта РФФИ 17-02-00521

Citizenship education in the Framework of 2030 Agenda and environmental justice

Este artículo busca analizar las orientaciones de la Unesco para una educación coherente con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) señalados en la agenda; identificar sus debilidades y fortalezas para la formación de una ciudadanía comprometida con la justicia ambiental; y proponer una alternativa para subsanar las deficiencias identificadas. Se ha utilizado una metodología hermenéutica aplicada al estudio de la bibliografía y documentos. Los resultados indican que las directrices formativas de Unesco no agotan las finalidades prioritarias que el movimiento por la justicia ambiental atribuye a la educación, aunque pueden contribuir a ellas; las respectivas fortalezas de ambos enfoques podrían dar lugar a sinergias con efectos recíprocamente beneficiosos. En el artículo se destacan las características significativas de la Agenda 2030 y el concepto de justicia ambiental. Se analizan las competencias clave en sostenibilidad que la Unesco propone y se valoran desde la perspectiva de la justicia ambiental. El cuarto apartado está dedicado al tipo de ciudadanía cuya formación ambos enfoques precisan. Finalmente, se hace una propuesta integradora sobre las necesidades formativas para alcanzar tanto los ODS como la justicia ambientalThis article seeks to analyze the guidelines of Unesco for an education consistent with the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDO) set out in the agenda; identify their weaknesses and strengths for the education of a citizenship committed to environmental justice; and propose an alternative to remedy the deficiencies identified. A hermeneutic methodology has been used for the analysis of bibliography and documents. The results shown that Unesco's training guidelines do not exhaust the priority objectives that the environmental justice movement attributes to education, although they can contribute to them; the respective strengths of both approaches could lead to synergies with reciprocal beneficial effects. The article highlight the significant features of Agenda 2030 and the concept of environmental justice. The key competences in sustainability that Unesco proposes are analyzed next, and they are evaluated from the perspective of environmental justice. The fourth section is devoted to the type of citizenship that is required for the education considered in both approaches. Finally, we made an integrative proposal about the educational needs to achieve ODS and environmental justiceProyecto EDU2015-66591-R financiado por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad del Gobierno de Españ

Relation between parameters of dust and parameters of molecular and atomic gas in extragalactic star-forming regions

The relationships between atomic and molecular hydrogen and dust of various sizes in extragalactic star-forming regions are considered, based on observational data from the Spitzer and Herschel infrared space telescopes, the Very Large Array (atomic hydrogen emission) and IRAM (CO emission). The source sample consists of approximately 300 star-forming regions in 11 nearby galaxies. Aperture photometry has been applied to measure the fluxes in eight infrared bands (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8, 24, 70, 100, and 160$\mu$m), the atomic hydrogen (21cm) line and CO (2--1) lines. The parameters of the dust in the starforming regions were determined via synthetic-spectra fitting, such as the total dust mass, the fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc. Comparison of the observed fluxes with the measured parameters shows that the relationships between atomic hydrogen, molecular hydrogen, and dust are different in low- and high-metallicity regions. Low-metallicity regions contain more atomic gas, but less molecular gas and dust, including PAHs. The mass of dust constitutes about $1\%$ of the mass of molecular gas in all regions considered. Fluxes produced by atomic and molecular gas do not correlate with the parameters of the stellar radiation, whereas the dust fluxes grow with increasing mean intensity of stellar radiation and the fraction of enhanced stellar radiation. The ratio of the fluxes at 8 and 24$\mu$m, which characterizes the PAH content, decreases with increasing intensity of the stellar radiation, possibly indicating evolutionary variations of the PAH content. The results confirm that the contribution of the 24$\mu$m emission to the total IR luminosity of extragalactic star-forming regions does not depend on the metallicity.Comment: Published in Astronomy Reports, 2017, vol. 61, issue

Science signaling podcast: 21 July 2015

© 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights Reserved. This Podcast features an interview with Cristina Murga and Rocio Vila-Bedmar, authors of a Research Article that appears in the 21 July 2015 issue of Science Signaling, about how deleting the kinase GRK2 can counteract some of the metabolic effects of a bad diet. Obesity affects many of the body's normal functions, most notably metabolism. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. It also promotes hepatic steatosis, the accumulation of fat in the liver. Vila-Bedmar et al. show that deleting GRK2 can prevent further weight gain and hepatic steatosis and improve glucose sensitivity in obese mice. Deleting GRK2 improved these metabolic consequences of high-fat diet-induced obesity even if the kinase was deleted after the mice had already become obese and resistant to insulin.Peer Reviewe

Direct observation of the influence of the As-Fe-As angle on the Tc of superconducting SmFeAsO1−x_{1-x}Fx_{x}

The electrical resistivity, crystalline structure and electronic properties calculated from the experimentally measured atomic positions of the compound SmFeAsO$_{0.81}$F$_{0.19}$ have been studied up to pressures ~20GPa. The correlation between the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and crystallographic parameters on the same sample shows clearly that a regular FeAs$_{4}$ tetrahedron maximizes Tc, through optimization of carrier transfer to the FeAs planes as indicated by the evolution of the electronic band structures.Comment: 15pages, 4 figure

Microphysics of dust destruction: small catastrophes on the Universe scale

Несмотря на многочисленные исследования, природа космических пылинок до сих пор известна нам только в общих чертах. Интерпретация наблюдений отчасти затруднена тем, что универсальной модели космической пыли не существует. Наблюдения убедительно свидетельствуют, что свойства пыли заметно варьируются и в пределах нашей Галактики, и тем более за ее пределами. Одним из ключевых процессов, определяющих параметры ансамбля пылевых частиц, является их разрушение в результате действия нескольких факторов. В лекции будут описаны микрофизические аспекты этого процесса, преимущественно в отношении органических пылинок.Despite numerous studies we are still only aware of general features of the space dust nature. Interpretation of observations is in part hampered by the fact that the universal dust model simply does not exist. Observations definitely prove that dust properties vary significantly both within the Galaxy and even more so beyond its limits. One of the key processes, defining parameters of the dust grain ensemble, is their destruction under the action of several factors. In the lecture microphysical aspects of this process will be described, mostly in their relation to organic particles.Работа выполнена при поддержке гранта РФФИ 17-02-00521

G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) as a potential therapeutic target in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases

G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) is a central signaling node involved in the modulation of many G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and also displaying regulatory functions in other cell signaling routes. GRK2 levels and activity have been reported to be enhanced in patients or in preclinical models of several relevant pathological situations, such as heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension, obesity and insulin resistance conditions, or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and to contribute to disease progression by a variety of mechanisms related to its multifunctional roles. Therefore, targeting GRK2 by different strategies emerges as a potentially relevant approach to treat cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, or NAFLD, pathological conditions which are frequently interconnected and present as co-morbidities.Our laboratories are supported by Ministerio de Economía; Industria y Competitividad (MINECO) of Spain (grant SAF2017- 84125-R to FM and CM and SAF2016-80305-P to MS and AMB), CIBERCV-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain (grants CB16/11/00278 and CB16/11/00286 to FM and MS, respectively, co-funded with European FEDER contribution), and Programa de Actividades en Biomedicina de la Comunidad de Madrid (grants B2017/BMD-3671-INFLAMUNE to FM and B2017/ BMD-3676-AORTASANA to MS)

Molecular physiopathology of obesity-related diseases: multi-organ integration by GRK2

Obesity is a worldwide problem that has reached epidemic proportions both in developed and developing countries. The excessive accumulation of fat poses a risk to health since it favours the development of metabolic alterations including insulin resistance and tissue inflammation, which further contribute to the progress of the complex pathological scenario observed in the obese. In this review we put together the different outcomes of fat accumulation and insulin resistance in the main insulin-responsive tissues, and discuss the role of some of the key molecular routes that control disease progression both in an organ-specific and also in a more systemic manner. Particularly, we focus on the importance of studying the integrated regulation of different organs and pathways that contribute to the global pathophysiology of this condition with a specific emphasis on the role of emerging key molecular nodes such as the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) signalling hubMinisterio Sanidad y Consumo-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; Grants SAF2014-55511-R and SAF2012-36400 from Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Spain (to FM-CM and MS); S2010/BMD-2332 (INDISNET) from Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (to FM); an EFSDNovo Nordisk Grant (to FM) and Fundacion Ramon Areces (to CM and AMB)Peer Reviewe

The MRN complex is transcriptionally regulated by MYCN during neural cell proliferation to control replication stress

The MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 (MRN) complex is a major sensor of DNA double strand breaks, whose role in controlling faithful DNA replication and preventing replication stress is also emerging. Inactivation of the MRN complex invariably leads to developmental and/or degenerative neuronal defects, the pathogenesis of which still remains poorly understood. In particular, NBS1 gene mutations are associated with microcephaly and strongly impaired cerebellar development, both in humans and in the mouse model. These phenotypes strikingly overlap those induced by inactivation of MYCN, an essential promoter of the expansion of neuronal stem and progenitor cells, suggesting that MYCN and the MRN complex might be connected on a unique pathway essential for the safe expansion of neuronal cells. Here, we show that MYCN transcriptionally controls the expression of each component of the MRN complex. By genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the MRN complex in a MYCN overexpression model and in the more physiological context of the Hedgehog-dependent expansion of primary cerebellar granule progenitor cells, we also show that the MRN complex is required for MYCN-dependent proliferation. Indeed, its inhibition resulted in DNA damage, activation of a DNA damage response, and cell death in a MYCN- and replication-dependent manner. Our data indicate the MRN complex is essential to restrain MYCN-induced replication stress during neural cell proliferation and support the hypothesis that replication-born DNA damage is responsible for the neuronal defects associated with MRN dysfunctions.Cell Death and Differentiation advance online publication, 12 June 2015; doi:10.1038/cdd.2015.81