301 research outputs found
Radial glial cells in the adult dentate gyrus : What are they and where do they come from?
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Multi-Year Lags Between Forest Browning and Soil Respiration at High Northern Latitudes
High-latitude northern ecosystems are experiencing rapid climate changes, and represent a large potential climate feedback because of their high soil carbon densities and shifting disturbance regimes. A significant carbon flow from these ecosystems is soil respiration (RS, the flow of carbon dioxide, generated by plant roots and soil fauna, from the soil surface to atmosphere), and any change in the high-latitude carbon cycle might thus be reflected in RSobserved in the field. This study used two variants of a machine-learning algorithm and least squares regression to examine how remotely-sensed canopy greenness (NDVI), climate, and other variables are coupled to annual RS based on 105 observations from 64 circumpolar sites in a global database. The addition of NDVI roughly doubled model performance, with the best-performing models explaining ~62% of observed RS variability. We show that early-summer NDVI from previous years is generally the best single predictor of RS, and is better than current-year temperature or moisture. This implies significant temporal lags between these variables, with multi-year carbon pools exerting large-scale effects. Areas of decreasing RS are spatially correlated with browning boreal forests and warmer temperatures, particularly in western North America. We suggest that total circumpolar RS may have slowed by ~5% over the last decade, depressed by forest stress and mortality, which in turn decrease RS. Arctic tundra may exhibit a significantly different response, but few data are available with which to test this. Combining large-scale remote observations and small-scale field measurements, as done here, has the potential to allow inferences about the temporal and spatial complexity of the large-scale response of northern ecosystems to changing climate
Differential Timing and Coordination of Neurogenesis and Astrogenesis in Developing Mouse Hippocampal Subregions
Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, grant number R35NS097370 to G.-l.M. and grant number R35NS116843 to H.S.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Anomalous Microwave Emission from the HII region RCW175
We present evidence for anomalous microwave emission in the RCW175 \hii
region. Motivated by 33 GHz 13\arcmin resolution data from the Very Small
Array (VSA), we observed RCW175 at 31 GHz with the Cosmic Background Imager
(CBI) at a resolution of 4\arcmin. The region consists of two distinct
components, G29.0-0.6 and G29.1-0.7, which are detected at high signal-to-noise
ratio. The integrated flux density is Jy at 31 GHz, in good
agreement with the VSA. The 31 GHz flux density is Jy
() above the expected value from optically thin free-free emission
based on lower frequency radio data and thermal dust constrained by IRAS and
WMAP data. Conventional emission mechanisms such as optically thick emission
from ultracompact \hii regions cannot easily account for this excess. We
interpret the excess as evidence for electric dipole emission from small
spinning dust grains, which does provide an adequate fit to the data.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submmited to ApJ Letter
Fast Large Volume Simulations of the 21 cm Signal from the Reionization and pre-Reionization Epochs
While limited to low spatial resolution, the next generation low-frequency
radio interferometers that target 21 cm observations during the era of
reionization and prior will have instantaneous fields-of-view that are many
tens of square degrees on the sky. Predictions related to various statistical
measurements of the 21 cm brightness temperature must then be pursued with
numerical simulations of reionization with correspondingly large volume box
sizes, of order 1000 Mpc on one side. We pursue a semi-numerical scheme to
simulate the 21 cm signal during and prior to Reionization by extending a
hybrid approach where simulations are performed by first laying down the linear
dark matter density field, accounting for the non-linear evolution of the
density field based on second-order linear perturbation theory as specified by
the Zel'dovich approximation, and then specifying the location and mass of
collapsed dark matter halos using the excursion-set formalism. The location of
ionizing sources and the time evolving distribution of ionization field is also
specified using an excursion-set algorithm. We account for the brightness
temperature evolution through the coupling between spin and gas temperature due
to collisions, radiative coupling in the presence of Lyman-alpha photons and
heating of the intergalactic medium, such as due to a background of X-ray
photons. The hybrid simulation method we present is capable of producing the
required large volume simulations with adequate resolution in a reasonable time
so a large number of realizations can be obtained with variations in
assumptions related to astrophysics and background cosmology that govern the 21
cm signal.Comment: 14 pages and 15 figures. New version to match accepted version for
MNRAS. Code available in: http://www.SimFast21.or
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Real-time continuous glucose monitoring in preterm infants (REACT): an international, open-label, randomised controlled trial.
BACKGROUND: Hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia are common in preterm infants and have been associated with increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Interventions to reduce risk associated with these exposures are particularly challenging due to the infrequent measurement of blood glucose concentrations, with the potential of causing more harm instead of improving outcomes for these infants. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is widely used in adults and children with diabetes to improve glucose control, but has not been approved for use in neonates. The REACT trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CGM in preterm infants requiring intensive care. METHODS: This international, open-label, randomised controlled trial was done in 13 neonatal intensive care units in the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands. Infants were included if they were within 24 h of birth, had a birthweight of 1200 g or less, had a gestational age up to 33 weeks plus 6 days, and had parental written informed consent. Infants were randomly assigned (1:1) to real-time CGM or standard care (with masked CGM for comparison) using a central web randomisation system, stratified by recruiting centre and gestational age (<26 or â„26 weeks). The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of time sensor glucose concentration was 2·6-10 mmol/L for the first week of life. Safety outcomes related to hypoglycaemia (glucose concentrations <2·6 mmol/L) in the first 7 days of life. All outcomes were assessed on the basis of intention to treat in the full analysis set with available data. The study is registered with the International Standard Randomised Control Trials Registry, ISRCTN12793535. FINDINGS: Between July 4, 2016, and Jan 27, 2019, 182 infants were enrolled, 180 of whom were randomly assigned (85 to real-time CGM, 95 to standard care). 70 infants in the real-time CGM intervention group and 85 in the standard care group had CGM data and were included in the primary analysis. Compared with infants in the standard care group, infants managed using CGM had more time in the 2·6-10 mmol/L glucose concentration target range (mean proportion of time 84% [SD 22] vs 94% [11]; adjusted mean difference 8·9% [95% CI 3·4-14·4]), equivalent to 13 h (95% CI 5-21). More infants in the standard care group were exposed to at least one episode of sensor glucose concentration of less than 2·6 mmol/L for more than 1 h than those in the intervention group (13 [15%] of 85 vs four [6%] of 70). There were no serious adverse events related to the use of the device or episodes of infection. INTERPRETATION: Real-time CGM can reduce exposure to prolonged or severe hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia. Further studies using CGM are required to determine optimal glucose targets, strategies to obtain them, and the potential effect on long-term health outcomes. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research Efficacy and Mechanisms Evaluation Programme.NIHR EM
Heating of the Intergalactic Medium by Primordial Miniquasars
A simple analytical model is used to calculate the X-ray heating of the IGM
for a range of black hole masses. This process is efficient enough to decouple
the spin temperature of the intergalactic medium from the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) temperature and produce a differential brightness temperature
of the order of out to distances as large as a few
co-moving Mpc, depending on the redshift, black hole mass and lifetime. We
explore the influence of two types of black holes, those with and without
ionising UV radiation. The results of the simple analytical model are compared
to those of a full spherically symmetric radiative transfer code. Two simple
scenarios are proposed for the formation and evolution of black hole mass
density in the Universe. The first considers an intermediate mass black hole
that form as an end-product of Population III stars, whereas the second
considers super-massive black holes that form directly through the collapse of
massive halos with low spin parameter. These scenarios are shown not to violate
any of the observational constraints, yet produce enough X-ray photons to
decouple the spin-temperature from that of the CMB. This is an important issue
for future high redshift 21 cm observations.Comment: Replaced with a revised version to match the MNRAS accepted versio
Lipid zonation and phospholipid remodeling in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can progress from simple steatosis (i.e., nonalcoholic fatty liver [NAFL]) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, and cancer. Currently, the driver for this progression is not fully understood; in particular, it is not known how NAFLD and its early progression affects the distribution of lipids in the liver, producing lipotoxicity and inflammation. In this study, we used dietary and genetic mouse models of NAFL and NASH and translated the results to humans by correlating the spatial distribution of lipids in liver tissue with disease progression using advanced mass spectrometry imaging technology. We identified several lipids with distinct zonal distributions in control and NAFL samples and observed partial to complete loss of lipid zonation in NASH. In addition, we found increased hepatic expression of genes associated with remodeling the phospholipid membrane, release of arachidonic acid (AA) from the membrane, and production of eicosanoid species that promote inflammation and cell injury. The results of our immunohistochemistry analyses suggest that the zonal location of remodeling enzyme LPCAT2 plays a role in the change in spatial distribution for AA-containing lipids. This results in a cycle of AA-enrichment in pericentral hepatocytes, membrane release of AA, and generation of proinflammatory eicosanoids and may account for increased oxidative damage in pericentral regions in NASH. Conclusion: NAFLD is associated not only with lipid enrichment, but also with zonal changes of specific lipids and their associated metabolic pathways. This may play a role in the heterogeneous development of NAFLD. (Hepatology 2017;65:1165-1180)
The detection of the imprint of filaments on cosmic microwave background lensing
Galaxy redshift surveys, such as 2dF, SDSS, 6df, GAMA and VIPERS, have shown
that the spatial distribution of matter forms a rich web, known as the cosmic
web. The majority of galaxy survey analyses measure the amplitude of galaxy
clustering as a function of scale, ignoring information beyond a small number
of summary statistics. Since the matter density field becomes highly
non-Gaussian as structure evolves under gravity, we expect other statistical
descriptions of the field to provide us with additional information. One way to
study the non-Gaussianity is to study filaments, which evolve non-linearly from
the initial density fluctuations produced in the primordial Universe. In our
study, we report the first detection of CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background)
lensing by filaments and we apply a null test to confirm our detection.
Furthermore, we propose a phenomenological model to interpret the detected
signal and we measure how filaments trace the matter distribution on large
scales through filament bias, which we measure to be around 1.5. Our study
provides a new scope to understand the environmental dependence of galaxy
formation. In the future, the joint analysis of lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
observations might reveal the properties of `missing baryons', the vast
majority of the gas which resides in the intergalactic medium and has so far
evaded most observations
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