607 research outputs found
First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data
Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of
continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a
fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters
obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto-
noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch
between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have
been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a
fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of
11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGO’s first observing run. Although we have found several initial
outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal.
Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of
the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for
the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the
spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried
out so far
Uptake epithelia behave in a cell-centric and not systems homeostatic manner in response to zinc depletion and supplementation.
Much remains to be understood about systemic regulation of zinc uptake in vertebrates, and adequate zinc status is far from always achieved in animals or human. In addition to absorbing zinc from the diet, fish are able to take up zinc directly from the water with the gills. This provides an elegant system to study zinc uptake, how it relates to zinc status, and the expression of genes for proteins involved in zinc acquisition. A 21-day experiment was conducted in which zebrafish were acclimated to deficient, control or excess zinc concentrations in the water and feed. Deficient provision of zinc reduced whole body zinc, potassium, sodium and calcium levels whilst zinc concentrations in the uptake epithelia (gills and gut) remained unchanged. Excess levels of zinc caused accumulation of zinc in the gills, intestine and carcass, but impaired whole body iron, sodium and calcium concentrations. Fish subjected to zinc deficiency had, surprisingly, a reduced zinc influx across the gill epithelium, even when tested at a high concentration of zinc in the water. Zinc influx in the excess group was indistinct from the control. Expression of genes for metallothionein-2 (Mt2) and zinc transporters-1, -2, and -8 (Znt1, Znt2, Znt8) in uptake epithelia showed in general a direct relationship with zinc supply, while mRNA for Zip4 was inversely related to zinc supply. Transcripts for the epithelial calcium channel (Ecac/Trpv6) showed time-dependent increased expression in the gills of the deficiency group, and a transient decrease of expression during zinc excess. Transcriptome profiling by microarrays showed that in both gills and intestine, the most markedly affected biological functions were those related to cell growth, proliferation and cancer, closely followed by processes of gene transcription and protein synthesis in general. Whilst changes in zinc supply had profound effects in the intestine on genes associated with uptake and metabolism of macronutrients, many of the unique categories of genes preferentially regulated in the gill could be mapped onto signalling pathways. This included pathways for PPAR/RXR, LXR/RXR, ATM, chemokine, and BMP signalling. Overall, the responses of epithelial tissue to zinc deficiency and excess are best explained by local epithelial homeostasis with no evidence of systemic control
Rapid Detection of Infestation of Apple Fruits by the Peach Fruit Moth, Carposina sasakii Matsumura, Larvae Using a 0.2-T Dedicated Magnetic Resonance Imaging Apparatus
Infestation of harvested apple fruits by the peach fruit moth (Carposina sasakii Matsumura) was studied using a dedicated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus equipped with a 0.2-T permanent magnet. Infested holes on the three-dimensional (3-D) images tracked ecological movements of peach fruit moth larvae within the food fruits, and thus in their natural habitat. Sensitive short solenoid coil and surface coil detectors were devised to shorten measurement times. The short solenoid coil detected infestation holes at a rate of 6.4 s per image by the single-slice 2-D measurement. The multi-slice 2-D measurement provided six slice images of a fruit within 2 min taken by the two detectors. These results indicate that the 0.2-T MRI apparatus allows one to distinguish sound fruits from infested ones, and also as a means for plant protection and the preservation of natural ecological systems in foreign trade
Low-latency gravitational wave alert products and their performance in anticipation of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run
Multi-messenger searches for binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star-black
hole (NSBH) mergers are currently one of the most exciting areas of astronomy.
The search for joint electromagnetic and neutrino counterparts to gravitational
wave (GW)s has resumed with Advanced LIGO (aLIGO)'s, Advanced Virgo (AdVirgo)'s
and KAGRA's fourth observing run (O4). To support this effort, public
semi-automated data products are sent in near real-time and include
localization and source properties to guide complementary observations.
Subsequent refinements, as and when available, are also relayed as updates. In
preparation for O4, we have conducted a study using a simulated population of
compact binaries and a Mock Data Challenge (MDC) in the form of a real-time
replay to optimize and profile the software infrastructure and scientific
deliverables. End-to-end performance was tested, including data ingestion,
running online search pipelines, performing annotations, and issuing alerts to
the astrophysics community. In this paper, we present an overview of the
low-latency infrastructure as well as an overview of the performance of the
data products to be released during O4 based on a MDC. We report on expected
median latencies for the preliminary alert of full bandwidth searches (29.5 s)
and for the creation of early warning triggers (-3.1 s), and show consistency
and accuracy of released data products using the MDC. This paper provides a
performance overview for LVK low-latency alert structure and data products
using the MDC in anticipation of O4
Sex Pheromone Evolution Is Associated with Differential Regulation of the Same Desaturase Gene in Two Genera of Leafroller Moths
Chemical signals are prevalent in sexual communication systems. Mate recognition has been extensively studied within the Lepidoptera, where the production and recognition of species-specific sex pheromone signals are typically the defining character. While the specific blend of compounds that makes up the sex pheromones of many species has been characterized, the molecular mechanisms underpinning the evolution of pheromone-based mate recognition systems remain largely unknown. We have focused on two sets of sibling species within the leafroller moth genera Ctenopseustis and Planotortrix that have rapidly evolved the use of distinct sex pheromone blends. The compounds within these blends differ almost exclusively in the relative position of double bonds that are introduced by desaturase enzymes. Of the six desaturase orthologs isolated from all four species, functional analyses in yeast and gene expression in pheromone glands implicate three in pheromone biosynthesis, two Δ9-desaturases, and a Δ10-desaturase, while the remaining three desaturases include a Δ6-desaturase, a terminal desaturase, and a non-functional desaturase. Comparative quantitative real-time PCR reveals that the Δ10-desaturase is differentially expressed in the pheromone glands of the two sets of sibling species, consistent with differences in the pheromone blend in both species pairs. In the pheromone glands of species that utilize (Z)-8-tetradecenyl acetate as sex pheromone component (Ctenopseustis obliquana and Planotortrix octo), the expression levels of the Δ10-desaturase are significantly higher than in the pheromone glands of their respective sibling species (C. herana and P. excessana). Our results demonstrate that interspecific sex pheromone differences are associated with differential regulation of the same desaturase gene in two genera of moths. We suggest that differential gene regulation among members of a multigene family may be an important mechanism of molecular innovation in sex pheromone evolution and speciation
Reproducibility of histopathological findings in experimental pathology of the mouse: a sorry tail
Reproducibility of research using the mouse as a model organism depends on many factors, including experimental design, strain or stock, experimental protocols, and methods of data evaluation. Gross and histopathology are often the endpoints of such research and there is increasing concern about the accuracy and reproducibility of diagnoses in the literature. To reproduce histopathological results, the pathology protocol, including necropsy methods and slide preparation, should be followed by interpretation of the slides by a pathologist familiar with reading mouse slides and familiar with the consensus medical nomenclature used in mouse pathology. Likewise, it is important that pathologists are consulted as reviewers of manuscripts where histopathology is a key part of the investigation. The absence of pathology expertise in planning, executing and reviewing research using mice leads to questionable pathology-based findings and conclusions from studies, even in high-impact journals. We discuss the various aspects of this problem, give some examples from the literature and suggest solutions.This work was supported in part by US National Institutes of Health grants R01 AR049288, CA089713 and R21 AR063781 (to J.P.S.) and by The Warden and Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge (to P.N.S.)
Identification and mitigation of narrow spectral artifacts that degrade searches for persistent gravitational waves in the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO
Searches are under way in Advanced LIGO and Virgo data for persistent gravitational waves from continuous sources, e.g. rapidly rotating galactic neutron stars, and stochastic sources, e.g. relic gravitational waves from the Big Bang or superposition of distant astrophysical events such as mergers of black holes or neutron stars. These searches can be degraded by the presence of narrow spectral artifacts (lines) due to instrumental or environmental disturbances. We describe a variety of methods used for finding, identifying and mitigating these artifacts, illustrated with particular examples. Results are provided in the form of lists of line artifacts that can safely be treated as non-astrophysical. Such lists are used to improve the efficiencies and sensitivities of continuous and stochastic gravitational wave searches by allowing vetoes of false outliers and permitting data cleaning
Application of the rainbow trout derived intestinal cell line (RTgutGC) for ecotoxicological studies: molecular and cellular responses following exposure to copper.
There is an acknowledged need for in vitro fish intestinal model to help understand dietary exposure to chemicals in the aquatic environment. The presence and use of such models is however largely restrictive due to technical difficulties in the culturing of enterocytes in general and the availability of appropriate established cell lines in particular. In this study, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) intestinal derived cell line (RTgutGC) was used as a surrogate for the "gut sac" method. To facilitate comparison, RTgutGC cells were grown as monolayers (double-seeded) on permeable Transwell supports leading to a two-compartment intestinal model consisting of polarised epithelium. This two-compartment model divides the system into an upper apical (lumen) and a lower basolateral (portal blood) compartment. In our studies, these cells stained weakly for mucosubstances, expressed the tight junction protein ZO-1 in addition to E-cadherin and revealed the presence of polarised epithelium in addition to microvilli protrusions. The cells also revealed a comparable transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) to the in vivo situation. Importantly, the cell line tolerated apical saline (1:1 ratio) thus mimicking the intact organ to allow assessment of uptake of compounds across the intestine. Following an exposure over 72 h, our study demonstrated that the RTgutGC cell line under sub-lethal concentrations of copper sulphate (Cu) and modified saline solutions demonstrated uptake of the metal with saturation levels comparable to short term ex situ gut sac preparations. Gene expression analysis revealed no significant influence of pH or time on mRNA expression levels of key stress related genes (i.e. CYP3A, GST, mtA, Pgp and SOD) in the Transwell model. However, significant positive correlations were found between all genes investigated suggesting a co-operative relationship amongst the genes studied. When the outlined characteristics of the cell line are combined with the division of compartments, the RTgutGC double seeded model represents a potential animal replacement model for ecotoxicological studies. Overall, this model could be used to study the effects and predict aquatic gastrointestinal permeability of metals and other environmentally relevant contaminants in a cost effective and high throughput manner
Identification and mitigation of narrow spectral artifacts that degrade searches for persistent gravitational waves in the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO
Searches are under way in Advanced LIGO and Virgo data for persistent
gravitational waves from continuous sources, e.g. rapidly rotating galactic
neutron stars, and stochastic sources, e.g. relic gravitational waves from the
Big Bang or superposition of distant astrophysical events such as mergers of
black holes or neutron stars. These searches can be degraded by the presence of
narrow spectral artifacts (lines) due to instrumental or environmental
disturbances. We describe a variety of methods used for finding, identifying
and mitigating these artifacts, illustrated with particular examples. Results
are provided in the form of lists of line artifacts that can safely be treated
as non-astrophysical. Such lists are used to improve the efficiencies and
sensitivities of continuous and stochastic gravitational wave searches by
allowing vetoes of false outliers and permitting data cleaning.Comment: 21 page
- …