MOIRCS Deep Survey V: A Universal Relation for Stellar Mass and Surface Brightness of Galaxies

We present a universal linear correlation between the stellar mass and surface brightness (SB) of galaxies at 0.3<z<3, using a deep K-band selected catalog in the GOODS-North region. The correlation has a nearly constant slope, independent of redshift and color of galaxies in the rest-z frame. Considering unresolved compact galaxies, the tight correlation gives a lower boundary of SB for a given stellar mass; lower SB galaxies are prohibited over the boundary. The universal slope suggests that the stellar mass in galaxies was build up over their cosmic histories in a similar manner irrelevant to galaxy mass, as oppose to the scenario that massive galaxies mainly accumulated their stellar mass by major merging. In contrast, SB shows a strong dependence on redshift for a given stellar mass. It evolves as (1+z)^(-2.0~-0.8), in addition to dimming as (1+z)^4 by the cosmological expansion effect. The brightening depends on galaxy color and stellar mass. The blue population (rest-frame U-V<0), which is dominated by young and star-forming galaxies, evolves as ~(1+z)^(-0.8 +-0.3) in the rest-V band. On the other hand, the red population (U-V>0) and the massive galaxies (M_*>10^(10)M_sun) shows stronger brightening, (1+z)^(-1.5+-0.1). Based on the comparison with galaxy evolution models, we find that the phenomena are well explained by the pure luminosity evolution of galaxies out to z~3.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

MOIRCS Deep Survey. X. Evolution of Quiescent Galaxies as a Function of Stellar Mass at 0.5<z<2.5

We study the evolution of quiescent galaxies at 0.5<z<2.5 as a function of stellar mass, using very deep NIR imaging data taken with the Multi-Object Infrared Camera and Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope in the GOODS-North region. The deep NIR data allow us to construct a stellar mass-limited sample of quiescent galaxies down to ~10^{10} Msun even at z~2 for the first time. We selected quiescent galaxies with age/tau>6 by performing SED fitting of the multi broad-band photometry from the U to Spitzer 5.8um bands with the population synthesis model of Bruzual & Charlot (2003) where exponentially decaying star formation histories are assumed. The number density of quiescent galaxies increases by a factor of ~3 from 1.0<z<1.5 to 0.5<z<1.0, and by a factor of ~10 from 1.5<z<2.5 to 0.5<z<1.0, while that of star-forming galaxies with age/tau<4 increases only by factors of ~2 and ~3 in the same redshift ranges. At 0.5<z<2.5, the low-mass slope of the stellar mass function of quiescent galaxies is alpha ~ 0 -- 0.6, which is significantly flatter than those of star-forming galaxies (alpha ~ -1.3 -- -1.5). As a result, the fraction of quiescent galaxies in the overall galaxy population increases with stellar mass in the redshift range. The fraction of quiescent galaxies at 10^{11}-10^{11.5} Msun increases from ~20-30% at z~2 to ~40-60% at z~0.75, while that at 10^{10}-10^{10.5} Msun increases from <~ 5% to ~15% in the same redshift range. These results could suggest that the quenching of star formation had been more effective in more massive galaxies at 1<~z<~2. Such a mass-dependent quenching could explain the rapid increase of the number density of ~M* galaxies relative to lower-mass galaxies at z >~ 1-1.5.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Subaru special issue). Updated to accepted versio

MOIRCS Deep Survey. VII: NIR Morphologies of Star-forming Galaxies at Redshift z~1

We investigate rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) morphologies of a sample of 139 galaxies with M_{s} >= 1 x 10^{10} M_{sun} at z=0.8-1.2 in the GOODS-North field using our deep NIR imaging data (MOIRCS Deep Survey, MODS). We focus on Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs), which dominate high star formation rate (SFR) density at z~1, in the sample identified by cross-correlating with the Spitzer/MIPS 24um source catalog. We perform two-dimensional light profile fitting of the z~1 galaxies in the Ks-band (rest-frame J-band) with a single component Sersic model. We find that at z~1, ~90% of LIRGs have low Sersic indices (n<2.5, similar to disk-like galaxies) in the Ks-band, and those disk-like LIRGs consist of ~60% of the whole disk-like sample above M_{s} >= 3 x 10^{10} M_{sun}. The z~1 disk-like LIRGs are comparable or ~20% small at a maximum in size compared to local disk-like galaxies in the same stellar mass range. If we examine rest-frame UV-optical morphologies using the HST/ACS images, the rest-frame B-band sizes of the z~1 disk-like galaxies are comparable to those of the local disk-like galaxies as reported by previous studies on size evolution of disk-like galaxies in the rest-frame optical band. Measuring color gradients (galaxy sizes as a function of wavelength) of the z~1 and local disk-like galaxies, we find that the z~1 disk-like galaxies have 3-5 times steeper color gradient than the local ones. Our results indicate that (i) more than a half of relatively massive disk-like galaxies at z~1 are in violent star formation epochs observed as LIRGs, and also (ii) most of those LIRGs are constructing their fundamental disk structure vigorously. The high SFR density in the universe at z~1 may be dominated by such star formation in disk region in massive galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ. Catalog data will be available at http://astr.tohoku.ac.jp/MODS/wiki/index.php soo

The effect of leg hyperthermia using far infrared rays in bedridden subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus

We examined the effect of leg hyperthermia on oxidative stress in bedridden subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus using 15-min sessions of far infrared rays over a two-week period. Four subjects (male 1, female 3) incapacitated by a stroke were recruited for this study. All patients were admitted to Takahashi Central Hospital and ate the same hospital meals. Fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, free fatty acid, leptin, adiponectin and plasma 8-epi-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-epi-PGF2alpha) levels as a marker of oxidative stress were measured on admission, just before and 2 weeks after local heating of the leg. Results showed that plasma total 8-epi-PGF2alpha levels were decreased significantly while TNFalpha levels were increased significantly. On the other hand, glucose, HbA1c, free fatty acid, leptin and adiponectin levels were not changed during the study period. These results suggest that repeated leg hyperthermia may protect against oxidative stress.</p

Impact of Gba2 on neuronopathic Gaucher’s disease and α-synuclein accumulation in medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Homozygous mutations in the lysosomal glucocerebrosidase gene, GBA1, cause Gaucher's disease (GD), while heterozygous mutations in GBA1 are a strong risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), whose pathological hallmark is intraneuronal α-synuclein (asyn) aggregates. We previously reported that gba1 knockout (KO) medaka exhibited glucosylceramide accumulation and neuronopathic GD phenotypes, including short lifespan, the dopaminergic and noradrenergic neuronal cell loss, microglial activation, and swimming abnormality, with asyn accumulation in the brains. A recent study reported that deletion of GBA2, non-lysosomal glucocerebrosidase, in a non-neuronopathic GD mouse model rescued its phenotypes. In the present study, we generated gba2 KO medaka and examined the effect of Gba2 deletion on the phenotypes of gba1 KO medaka. The Gba2 deletion in gba1 KO medaka resulted in the exacerbation of glucosylceramide accumulation and no improvement in neuronopathic GD pathological changes, asyn accumulation, or swimming abnormalities. Meanwhile, though gba2 KO medaka did not show any apparent phenotypes, biochemical analysis revealed asyn accumulation in the brains. gba2 KO medaka showed a trend towards an increase in sphingolipids in the brains, which is one of the possible causes of asyn accumulation. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the deletion of Gba2 does not rescue the pathological changes or behavioral abnormalities of gba1 KO medaka, and GBA2 represents a novel factor affecting asyn accumulation in the brains

A Case of Retroperitoneal Malignant Mesenchymoma

A rare case of malignant mesenchymoma of a retroperitoneal lesion, com-posed of liposarcoma and osteosarcoma, is reported. For complete resection of the tumor, two surgical operations were performed. The first operative material showed a mass measuring 20 x 20 x 10 cm, weighing 1607g, arising from the soft tissue of the left retroperitoneum and the tumor had a smooth surface and elastic-hard consistency. The secondary operative materials exhi-bited a mass measuring 10 x 5 x 3 cm, weighing 268g. The tumor was com-posed of soft gelatinous tissues and adhered to the tail of the pancreas but was separate from the spleen. More than 3 years after the secondary operation, no recurrence has been observed. Immunohistochemical examinations showed that S-100 protein and non-specific enolase were present in the liposarcoma-tous area and that vimentin was positive in the osteosarcomatous area

Accumulation of multiple neurodegenerative disease-related proteins in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration associated with granulin mutation

In 2006, mutations in the granulin gene were identified in patients with familial Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration. Granulin transcript haploinsufficiency has been proposed as a disease mechanism that leads to the loss of functional progranulin protein. Granulin mutations were initially found in tau-negative patients, though recent findings indicate that these mutations are associated with other neurodegenerative disorders with tau pathology, including Alzheimer’s disease and corticobasal degeneration. Moreover, a reduction in progranulin in tau transgenic mice is associated with increasing tau accumulation. To investigate the influence of a decline in progranulin protein on other forms of neurodegenerative-related protein accumulation, human granulin mutation cases were investigated by histochemical and biochemical analyses. Results showed a neuronal and glial tau accumulation in granulin mutation cases. Tau staining revealed neuronal pretangle forms and glial tau in both astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Furthermore, phosphorylated α-synuclein-positive structures were also found in oligodendrocytes and the neuropil. Immunoblot analysis of fresh frozen brain tissues revealed that tau was present in the sarkosyl-insoluble fraction, and composed of three- and four-repeat tau isoforms, resembling Alzheimer’s disease. Our data suggest that progranulin reduction might be the cause of multiple proteinopathies due to the accelerating accumulation of abnormal proteins including TDP-43 proteinopathy, tauopathy and α-synucleinopathy

Penetration of the sigmoid colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Penetration of the colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis is unusual, with diagnostic methods not yet established. Non-invasive imaging, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may help to establish a proper diagnosis, but confirmation may be reached only after surgical exploration.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 78-year-old Japanese woman who presented with a low grade fever and mild diarrhea which occurred two or three times a week. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a capsular lesion including an air structure with a diameter of 5 cm, between the posterior aspect of the uterine body and the sigmoid colon. A gastrograffin enema and colonoscopy demonstrated a giant diverticulum of the sigmoid colon with no evidence of malignancy. These data confirmed the diagnosis of diverticulitis complicated by a giant diverticulum. Because of a relapsing fever after therapy with antibiotics, the patient had en bloc surgical treatment of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and sigmoid colon, the organs involved in the diverticulitis, followed by an uneventful recovery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is a rare case report of penetration of the sigmoid colon to the posterior uterine wall secondary to diverticulitis.</p

Genome-wide association studies identify polygenic effects for completed suicide in the Japanese population

Suicide is a significant public health problem worldwide, and several Asian countries including Japan have relatively high suicide rates on a world scale. Twin, family, and adoption studies have suggested high heritability for suicide, but genetics lags behind due to difficulty in obtaining samples from individuals who died by suicide, especially in non-European populations. In this study, we carried out genome-wide association studies combining two independent datasets totaling 746 suicides and 14,049 non-suicide controls in the Japanese population. Although we identified no genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we demonstrated significant SNP-based heritability (35–48%; P < 0.001) for completed suicide by genomic restricted maximum-likelihood analysis and a shared genetic risk between two datasets (P best = 2.7 × 10−13) by polygenic risk score analysis. This study is the first genome-wide association study for suicidal behavior in an East Asian population, and our results provided the evidence of polygenic architecture underlying completed suicide