5,905 research outputs found
Pepducin-mediated cardioprotection via β-arrestin-biased β2-adrenergic receptor-specific signaling
Reperfusion as a therapeutic intervention for acute myocardial infarction-induced cardiac injury itself induces further cardiomyocyte death. β-arrestin (βarr)-biased β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) activation promotes survival signaling responses in vitro; thus, we hypothesize that this pathway can mitigate cardiomyocyte death at the time of reperfusion to better preserve function. However, a lack of efficacious βarr-biased orthosteric small molecules has prevented investigation into whether this pathway relays protection against ischemic injury in vivo. We recently demonstrated that the pepducin ICL1-9, a small lipidated peptide fragment designed from the first intracellular loop of β2AR, allosterically engaged pro-survival signaling cascades in a βarr-dependent manner in vitro. Thus, in this study we tested whether ICL1-9 relays cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced injury in vivo.
Methods: Wild-type (WT) C57BL/6, β2AR knockout (KO), βarr1KO and βarr2KO mice received intracardiac injections of either ICL1-9 or a scrambled control pepducin (Scr) at the time of ischemia (30 min) followed by reperfusion for either 24 h, to assess infarct size and cardiomyocyte death, or 4 weeks, to monitor the impact of ICL1-9 on long-term cardiac structure and function. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM) were used to assess the impact of ICL1-9 versus Scr pepducin on cardiomyocyte survival and mitochondrial superoxide formation in response to either serum deprivation or hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) in vitro and to investigate the associated mechanism(s).
Results: Intramyocardial injection of ICL1-9 at the time of I/R reduced infarct size, cardiomyocyte death and improved cardiac function in a β2AR- and βarr-dependent manner, which led to improved contractile function early and less fibrotic remodeling over time. Mechanistically, ICL1-9 attenuated mitochondrial superoxide production and promoted cardiomyocyte survival in a RhoA/ROCK-dependent manner. RhoA activation could be detected in cardiomyocytes and whole heart up to 24 h post-treatment, demonstrating the stability of ICL1-9 effects on βarr-dependent β2AR signaling.
Conclusion: Pepducin-based allosteric modulation of βarr-dependent β2AR signaling represents a novel therapeutic approach to reduce reperfusion-induced cardiac injury and relay long-term cardiac remodeling benefits
The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey: Dependence of galaxy clustering on stellar mass
We have investigated the dependence of galaxy clustering on their stellar
mass at z~1, using the data from the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). We have
measured the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies, wp(rp) for a
set of stellar mass selected samples at an effective redshift =0.85. We have
control and quantify all effects on galaxy clustering due to the incompleteness
of our low mass samples. We find that more massive galaxies are more clustered.
When compared to similar results at z~0.1 in the SDSS, we observed no evolution
of the projected correlation function for massive galaxies. These objects
present a stronger linear bias at z~1 with respect to low mass galaxies. As
expected, massive objects at high redshift are found in the highest pics of the
dark matter density field.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 43rd Rencontres de Moriond - March 15-22, 2008 -
La Thuile (Val d'Aosta, Italy
Comparison of the VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey with the Munich semi-analytical model. II. The colour-density relation up to z=1.5
[Abridged] We perform on galaxy mock catalogues the same colour-density
analysis made by Cucciati et al. (2006) on a 5 Mpc/h scale using the VVDS-Deep
survey, and compare the results from mocks with observed data. We use mocks
with the same flux limits (I=24) as the VVDS (CMOCKS), built using the semi-
analytic model by De Lucia & Blaizot (2007) applied to the Millennium
Simulation. From CMOCKS, we extracted samples of galaxies mimicking the VVDS
observational strategy (OMOCKS). We computed the B-band Luminosity Function LF
and the colour-density relation (CDR) in the mocks. We find that the LF in
mocks roughly agrees with the observed LF, but at z<0.8 the faint-end slope of
the model LF is steeper than the VVDS one. Computing the LF for early and late
type galaxies, we show that mocks have an excess of faint early-type and of
bright late-type galaxies with respect to data. We find that the CDR in OMOCKS
is in excellent agreement with the one in CMOCKS. At z~0.7, the CDR in mocks
agrees with the VVDS one (red galaxies reside mainly in high densities). Yet,
the strength of the CDR in mocks does not vary within 0.2<z<1.5, while the
observed relation flattens with increasing z and possibly inverts at z=1.3. We
argue that the lack of evolution in the CDR in mocks is not due only to
inaccurate prescriptions for satellite galaxies, but that also the treatment of
central galaxies has to be revised. The reversal of the CDR can be explained by
wet mergers between young galaxies, producing a starburst event. This should be
seen on group scales. A residual of this is found in observations at z=1.5 on
larger scales, but not in the mocks, suggesting that the treatment of physical
processes affecting satellites and central galaxies in models should be
revised.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The wave nature of biomolecules and fluorofullerenes
We demonstrate quantum interference for tetraphenylporphyrin, the first
biomolecule exhibiting wave nature, and for the fluorofullerene C60F48 using a
near-field Talbot-Lau interferometer. For the porphyrins, which are
distinguished by their low symmetry and their abundant occurence in organic
systems, we find the theoretically expected maximal interference contrast and
its expected dependence on the de Broglie wavelength. For C60F48 the observed
fringe visibility is below the expected value, but the high contrast still
provides good evidence for the quantum character of the observed fringe
pattern. The fluorofullerenes therefore set the new mark in complexity and mass
(1632 amu) for de Broglie wave experiments, exceeding the previous mass record
by a factor of two.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
The Millimeter- and Submillimeter-Wave Spectrum of Ethylene Oxide (c-C2H4O)
The cyclic molecule ethylene oxide (c-C_2 H_4 O) has recently been detected in the interstellar source Sgr B2N. Previous laboratory work on the rotational spectrum of this molecule extends only to a frequency of 123 GHz. We report here the extension of the laboratory rotational spectrum of this species through the frequency range 262-358 GHz using a new fast scan spectrometer (FASSST). The newly measured lines have been combined with previous data at lower frequencies to form a data set consisting of 662 lines that has been assigned and fitted via a standard semirigid asymmetric top analysis. The spectral constants obtained from the fit have allowed us to predict the frequencies of many additional lines
Task performance of midden workers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
The Frontier Fields Lens Modeling Comparison Project
Gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies offers a powerful probe of
their structure and mass distribution. Deriving a lens magnification map for a
galaxy cluster is a classic inversion problem and many methods have been
developed over the past two decades to solve it. Several research groups have
developed techniques independently to map the predominantly dark matter
distribution in cluster lenses. While these methods have all provided
remarkably high precision mass maps, particularly with exquisite imaging data
from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the reconstructions themselves have
never been directly compared. In this paper, we report the results of comparing
various independent lens modeling techniques employed by individual research
groups in the community. Here we present for the first time a detailed and
robust comparison of methodologies for fidelity, accuracy and precision. For
this collaborative exercise, the lens modeling community was provided simulated
cluster images -- of two clusters Ares and Hera -- that mimic the depth and
resolution of the ongoing HST Frontier Fields. The results of the submitted
reconstructions with the un-blinded true mass profile of these two clusters are
presented here. Parametric, free-form and hybrid techniques have been deployed
by the participating groups and we detail the strengths and trade-offs in
accuracy and systematics that arise for each methodology. We note in conclusion
that lensing reconstruction methods produce reliable mass distributions that
enable the use of clusters as extremely valuable astrophysical laboratories and
cosmological probes.Comment: 38 pages, 25 figures, submitted to MNRAS, version with full
resolution images can be found at
http://pico.bo.astro.it/~massimo/papers/FFsims.pd
The bright galaxy population of five medium redshift clusters. I. Color-Magnitude Relation, Blue Fractions and Visual Morphology
Using data of five clusters of galaxies within the redshift range 0.15
z 0.25, imaged with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in the central
1 Mpc in very good seeing conditions, we have performed an
exhaustive inspection of their bright galaxy population. That range of
redshift, where only a small amount of data with the required resolution and
quality is available, is particularly important for the understanding of the
formation and evolution of clusters of galaxies. We have inspected the
color-magnitude relation (CMR) for those clusters and measured the blue
fraction of galaxies in their cores to check for evidence of evolution as found
in other works. Moreover, the visual classification of the galaxy morphology
has been performed and the morphology-radius relation has been examined We have
not found signs of evolution neither in the slope of the CMR nor in the blue
fraction of galaxies. A diversity of situations regarding those parameters and
in the morphological mixing has been noticed, with two out of five clusters
containing a dominant late-type core population. The cluster A1878 stands out
as some of its properties differ from those of the other clusters in the
sample.
No clear signs of evolution appear in our analysis. The data support the view
that the morphology and the stellar content of the galaxies in our clusters
have been already settled at z 0.2. Only the fraction of interacting
galaxies in the clusters appear to be larger than in clusters like Coma
although the number of clusters in the sample is small to give a definitive
conclusion.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, 1 longtable The paper has been already
accepted but still not publishe
The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). Exploring the dependence of the three-point correlation function on stellar mass and luminosity at 0.5<z<1.1
The three-point correlation function (3PCF) is a powerful probe to
investigate the clustering of matter in the Universe in a complementary way
with respect to lower-order statistics, providing additional information with
respect to the two-point correlation function and allowing us to shed light on
biasing, nonlinear processes, and deviations from Gaussian statistics. In this
paper, we analyse the first data release of the VIMOS Public Extragalactic
Redshift Survey (VIPERS), determining the dependence of the three-point
correlation function on luminosity and stellar mass at . We
exploit the VIPERS Public Data Release 1, consisting of more than 50,000
galaxies with B-band magnitudes in the range and stellar masses in the range
. We measure both the
connected 3PCF and the reduced 3PCF in redshift space, probing different
configurations and scales, in the range [Mpc/h]. We find a
significant dependence of the reduced 3PCF on scales and triangle shapes, with
stronger anisotropy at larger scales ( Mpc/h) and an almost flat trend
at smaller scales, Mpc/h. Massive and luminous galaxies present a
larger connected 3PCF, while the reduced 3PCF is remarkably insensitive to
magnitude and stellar masses in the range we explored. These trends, already
observed at low redshifts, are confirmed for the first time to be still valid
up to , providing support to the hierarchical scenario for which massive
and bright systems are expected to be more clustered. The possibility of using
the measured 3PCF to provide independent constraints on the linear galaxy bias
has also been explored, showing promising results in agreement with other
probes.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&
The galaxy-halo connection from a joint lensing, clustering and abundance analysis in the CFHTLenS/VIPERS field
We present new constraints on the relationship between galaxies and their
host dark matter halos, measured from the location of the peak of the
stellar-to-halo mass ratio (SHMR), up to the most massive galaxy clusters at
redshift and over a volume of nearly 0.1~Gpc. We use a unique
combination of deep observations in the CFHTLenS/VIPERS field from the near-UV
to the near-IR, supplemented by secure spectroscopic redshifts,
analysing galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy lensing and the stellar mass
function. We interpret our measurements within the halo occupation distribution
(HOD) framework, separating the contributions from central and satellite
galaxies. We find that the SHMR for the central galaxies peaks at with an amplitude of ,
which decreases to for massive halos (). Compared to central galaxies only, the total SHMR (including
satellites) is boosted by a factor 10 in the high-mass regime (cluster-size
halos), a result consistent with cluster analyses from the literature based on
fully independent methods. After properly accounting for differences in
modelling, we have compared our results with a large number of results from the
literature up to : we find good general agreement, independently of the
method used, within the typical stellar-mass systematic errors at low to
intermediate mass () and the statistical
errors above. We have also compared our SHMR results to semi-analytic
simulations and found that the SHMR is tilted compared to our measurements in
such a way that they over- (under-) predict star formation efficiency in
central (satellite) galaxies.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, 4 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS.
Online material available at http://www.cfhtlens.or
- …