1,200 research outputs found
High-fructose corn-syrup-sweetened beverage intake increases 5-hour breast milk fructose concentrations in lactating women
This study determined the effects of consuming a high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)-sweetened beverage on breast milk fructose, glucose, and lactose concentrations in lactating women. At six weeks postpartum, lactating mothers (n = 41) were randomized to a crossover study to consume a commercially available HFCS-sweetened beverage or artificially sweetened control beverage. At each session, mothers pumped a complete breast milk expression every hour for six consecutive hours. The baseline fasting concentrations of breast milk fructose, glucose, and lactose were 5.0 ± 1.3 µg/mL, 0.6 ± 0.3 mg/mL, and 6.8 ± 1.6 g/dL, respectively. The changes over time in breast milk sugars were significant only for fructose (treatment × time, p < 0.01). Post hoc comparisons showed the HFCS-sweetened beverage vs. control beverage increased breast milk fructose at 120 min (8.8 ± 2.1 vs. 5.3 ± 1.9 µg/mL), 180 min (9.4 ± 1.9 vs. 5.2 ± 2.2 µg/mL), 240 min (7.8 ± 1.7 vs. 5.1 ± 1.9 µg/mL), and 300 min (6.9 ± 1.4 vs. 4.9 ± 1.9 µg/mL) (all p < 0.05). The mean incremental area under the curve for breast milk fructose was also different between treatments (14.7 ± 1.2 vs. −2.60 ± 1.2 µg/mL × 360 min, p < 0.01). There was no treatment × time interaction for breast milk glucose or lactose. Our data suggest that the consumption of an HFCS-sweetened beverage increased breast milk fructose concentrations, which remained elevated up to five hours post-consumption
HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiode Array Detectors with Single Photon Sensitivity and Integrated Detector Cooler Assemblies for Space Lidar Applications
A HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) focal plane array assembly with linear mode photon-counting capability has been developed for space lidar applications. An integrated detector cooler assembly (IDCA) has been built using a miniature Stirling cooler. A microlens array has been included to improve the fill factor. The HgCdTe APD has a spectral response from 0.9- to 4.3-m wavelengths, a photon detection efficiency as high as 70%, and a dark count rate of <250 kHz at 110 K. The mass of the IDCA is 0.8 kg and the total electrical power consumption is about 7 W. The HgCdTe APD arrays have been characterized at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. A series of environmental tests have been conducted for the IDCAs, including vibration, thermal cycling, and thermal vacuum tests. A description of the device and the test results at NASA are given in this paper
Statistics of gamma-ray point sources below the Fermi detection limit
An analytic relation between the statistics of photons in pixels and the
number counts of multi-photon point sources is used to constrain the
distribution of gamma-ray point sources below the Fermi detection limit at
energies above 1 GeV and at latitudes below and above 30 degrees. The derived
source-count distribution is consistent with the distribution found by the
Fermi collaboration based on the first Fermi point source catalogue. In
particular, we find that the contribution of resolved and unresolved active
galactic nuclei (AGN) to the total gamma-ray flux is below 20% - 25%. In the
best fit model, the AGN-like point source fraction is 17% +- 2%. Using the fact
that the Galactic emission varies across the sky while the extra-galactic
diffuse emission is isotropic, we put a lower limit of 51% on Galactic diffuse
emission and an upper limit of 32% on the contribution from extra-galactic weak
sources, such as star-forming galaxies. Possible systematic uncertainties are
discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 1 table; v2: clarifications and references
added, v3: more detailed presentation of the metho
PKCδ Clustering at the Leading Edge and Mediating Growth Factor-Enhanced, but not ECM-Initiated, Dermal Fibroblast Migration
We have previously shown that the immobilized extracellular matrices (ECMs) initiate cell migration and soluble growth factors (GFs) further enhance ECM-initiated cell migration. GFs alone cannot initiate cell migration. To further investigate the specificity of the two signaling mechanisms, we focused on the protein kinase C (PKC) family genes in primary human dermal fibroblasts (DFs). We here show that platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) strongly stimulates membrane translocation and leading edge clustering of protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ). In contrast, attachment to collagen matrix alone does not cause the translocation. Although the kinase function of PKCδ is dispensable for initial membrane translocation, it is critical for its sustained presence at the cells's leading edge. Blockade of endogenous PKCδ signaling with dominant-negative kinase-defective PKC (PKCδ-KD) or PKCδ-small interfering RNA (siRNA) completely inhibited PDGF-BB-stimulated DF migration. In contrast, neither PKCδ-KD nor PKCδ-siRNA affected collagen-induced initiation of DF migration. Overexpression of a constitutively activated PKCδ (PKCδ-R144/145A) partially mimics the effect of PDGF-BB. However, PKCδ-KD, PKCδ-siRNA, or PKCδ-R144/145A does not affect PDGF-BB-stimulated activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2, or c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Instead, inhibition of PKCδ blocks PDGF-BB-stimulated activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3). This study unveiled the specificity of PKCδ in the control of DF migration
Small and mighty: adaptation of superphylum Patescibacteria to groundwater environment drives their genome simplicity.
BackgroundThe newly defined superphylum Patescibacteria such as Parcubacteria (OD1) and Microgenomates (OP11) has been found to be prevalent in groundwater, sediment, lake, and other aquifer environments. Recently increasing attention has been paid to this diverse superphylum including > 20 candidate phyla (a large part of the candidate phylum radiation, CPR) because it refreshed our view of the tree of life. However, adaptive traits contributing to its prevalence are still not well known.ResultsHere, we investigated the genomic features and metabolic pathways of Patescibacteria in groundwater through genome-resolved metagenomics analysis of > 600 Gbp sequence data. We observed that, while the members of Patescibacteria have reduced genomes (~ 1 Mbp) exclusively, functions essential to growth and reproduction such as genetic information processing were retained. Surprisingly, they have sharply reduced redundant and nonessential functions, including specific metabolic activities and stress response systems. The Patescibacteria have ultra-small cells and simplified membrane structures, including flagellar assembly, transporters, and two-component systems. Despite the lack of CRISPR viral defense, the bacteria may evade predation through deletion of common membrane phage receptors and other alternative strategies, which may explain the low representation of prophage proteins in their genomes and lack of CRISPR. By establishing the linkages between bacterial features and the groundwater environmental conditions, our results provide important insights into the functions and evolution of this CPR group.ConclusionsWe found that Patescibacteria has streamlined many functions while acquiring advantages such as avoiding phage invasion, to adapt to the groundwater environment. The unique features of small genome size, ultra-small cell size, and lacking CRISPR of this large lineage are bringing new understandings on life of Bacteria. Our results provide important insights into the mechanisms for adaptation of the superphylum in the groundwater environments, and demonstrate a case where less is more, and small is mighty
Hazy with a chance of star spots: constraining the atmosphere of the young planet, K2-33b
Although all-sky surveys have led to the discovery of dozens of young
planets, little is known about their atmospheres. Here, we present
multi-wavelength transit data for the super Neptune-sized exoplanet, K2-33b --
the youngest (~10 Myr) transiting exoplanet to-date. We combined photometric
observations of K2-33 covering a total of 33 transits spanning >2 years, taken
from K2, MEarth, Hubble, and Spitzer. The transit photometry spanned from the
optical to the near-infrared (0.6-4.5m), enabling us to construct a
transmission spectrum of the planet. We find that the optical transit depths
are nearly a factor of two deeper than those from the near-infrared. This
difference holds across multiple datasets taken over years, ruling out issues
of data analysis and unconstrained systematics. Surface inhomogeneities on the
young star can reproduce some of the difference, but required spot coverage
fractions (>60%) are ruled out by the observed stellar spectrum(<20%). We find
a better fit to the transmission spectrum using photochemical hazes, which were
predicted to be strong in young, moderate-temperature, and large-radius planets
like K2-33b. A tholin haze with CO as the dominant gaseous carbon carrier in
the atmosphere can reasonably reproduce the data with small or no stellar
surface inhomogeneities, consistent with the stellar spectrum. The HST data
quality is insufficient for the detection of any molecular features. More
observations would be required to fully characterize the hazes and spot
properties and confirm the presence of CO suggested by current data.Comment: Accepted to AJ. 26 pages, 14 figures, 6 table
Chaotic Amplification of Neutrino Chemical Potentials by Neutrino Oscillations in Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
We investigate in detail the parameter space of active-sterile neutrino
oscillations that amplifies neutrino chemical potentials at the epoch of Big
Bang Nucleosynthesis. We calculate the magnitude of the amplification and show
evidences of chaos in the amplification process. We also discuss the
implications of the neutrino chemical potential amplification in the Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis. It is shown that with a eV \nue, the amplification
of its chemical potential by active-sterile neutrino oscillations can lower the
effective number of neutrino species at Big Bang Nucleosynthesis to
significantly below 3.Comment: Revtex 20 pages, 7 postscript figures. Also by
ftp://astro.queensu.ca/pub/shi/ . Submitted to PR
The Minimal Phantom Sector of the Standard Model: Higgs Phenomenology and Dirac Leptogenesis
We propose the minimal, lepton-number conserving, SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1)
gauge-singlet, or phantom, extension of the Standard Model. The extension is
natural in the sense that all couplings are of O(1) or forbidden due to a
phantom sector global U(1)_D symmetry, and basically imitates the standard
Majorana see-saw mechanism. Spontaneous breaking of the U(1)_D symmetry
triggers consistent electroweak gauge symmetry breaking only if it occurs at a
scale compatible with small Dirac neutrino masses and baryogenesis through
Dirac leptogenesis. Dirac leptogenesis proceeds through the usual
out-of-equilibrium decay scenario, leading to left and right-handed neutrino
asymmetries that do not fully equilibrate after they are produced. The model
contains two physical Higgs bosons and a massless Goldstone boson. The
existence of the Goldstone boson suppresses the Higgs to bb branching ratio and
instead the Higgs bosons will mainly decay to invisible Goldstone and/or to
visible vector boson pairs. In a representative scenario, we estimate that with
30 fb^-1 integrated luminosity, the LHC could discover this invisibly decaying
Higgs, with mass ~120 GeV. At the same time a significantly heavier, partner
Higgs boson with mass ~210 GeV could be found through its vector boson decays.
Electroweak constraints as well as astrophysical and cosmological implications
are analysed and discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. Corrected typos and added references. To appear
in JHE
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