Satellite detection of phytoplankton export from the mid-Atlantic Bight during the 1979 spring bloom

Analysis of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) imagery confirms shipboard and in situ moored fluorometer observations of resuspension of near-bottom chlorophyll within surface waters (1 to 10 m) by northwesterly wind events in the mid-Atlantic Bight. As much as 8 to 16 micrograms chl/l are found during these wind events from March to May, with a seasonal increase of algal biomass until onset of stratification of the water column. Rapid sinking or downwelling apparently occurs after subsequent wind events, however, such that the predominant surface chlorophyll pattern is approx. 0.5 to 1.5 micrograms/l over the continental shelf during most of the spring bloom. Perhaps half of the chlorophyll increase observed by satellite during a wind resuspension event represents in-situ production during the 4 to 5 day interval, with the remainder attributed to accumulation of algal biomass previously produced and temporarily stored within near-bottom water. Present calculations suggest that about 10% of the primary production of the spring bloom may be exported as ungrazed phytoplankton carbon from mid-Atlantic shelf waters to those of the continental slope

On the Extraction of Cross Sections for pi0 and eta Photoproduction off Neutrons from Deuteron Data

We discuss the procedure of extracting the photoproduction cross section for neutral pseudoscalar mesons off neutrons from deuteron data. The main statement is that the final-state interaction (FSI) corrections for the proton and neutron target are in general not equal, but for pi0 production there are special cases were they have to be identical and there are large regions in the parameter space of incident photon energy and pion polar angle, \theta^*, where they happen to be quite similar. The corrections for both target nucleons are practically identical for $\pi_0$ production in the energy range of the Delta(1232)3/2+ resonance due to the specific isospin structure of this excitation. Also above the $\Delta$-isobar range large differences between proton and neutron correction factors are only predicted for extreme forward angles ($\theta^*$ < 20 deg), but the results are similar for larger angles. Numerical results for the gp-->pi0p and gn-->pi0n correction factors are discussed. Also the model description for the available data on the differential gd-->pi0pn cross sections are given.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures; v2 fixed several minor typo

Suppression of the ferromagnetic state in LaCoO3 films by rhombohedral distortion

Epitaxially strained LaCoO3 (LCO) thin films were grown with different film thickness, t, on (001) oriented (LaAlO3)0.3(SrAl0.5Ta0.5O3)0.7 (LSAT) substrates. After initial pseudomorphic growth the films start to relieve their strain partly by the formation of periodic nano-twins with twin planes predominantly along the direction. Nano-twinning occurs already at the initial stage of growth, albeit in a more moderate way. Pseudomorphic grains, on the other hand, still grow up to a thickness of at least several tenths of nanometers. The twinning is attributed to the symmetry lowering of the epitaxially strained pseudo-tetragonal structure towards the relaxed rhombohedral structure of bulk LCO. However, the unit-cell volume of the pseudo-tetragonal structure is found to be nearly constant over a very large range of t. Only films with t > 130 nm show a significant relaxation of the lattice parameters towards values comparable to those of bulk LCO.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figure

Hepatic effects of Cimicifuga racemosa extract in vivo and in vitro

Abstract.: Extracts of Cimicifuga racemosa are used frequently for menopausal complaints. Cimicifuga is well tolerated but can occasionally cause liver injury. To assess hepatotoxicity of cimicifuga in more detail, ethanolic C. racemosa extract was administered orally to rats, and liver sections were analyzed by electron microscopy. Tests for cytotoxicity, mitochondrial toxicity and apoptosis/necrosis were performed using HepG2 cells. Mitochondrial toxicity was studied using isolated rat liver mitochondria. Microvesicular steatosis was found in rats treated with > 500 μg/kg body weight cimicifuga extract. In vitro, cytotoxicity was apparent at concentrations ≥ 75 μg/mL, and mitochondrial β-oxidation was impaired at concentrations ≥ 10 μg/mL. The mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased at concentrations ≥ 100 μg/mL, and oxidative phosphorylation was impaired at concentrations ≥ 300 μg/mL. The mechanism of cell death was predominantly apoptosis. C. racemosa exerts toxicity in vivo and in vitro, eventually resulting in apoptotic cell death. The results are compatible with idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity as observed in patients treated with cimicifuga extract

Prominin-1+/CD133+ bone marrow-derived heart-resident cells suppress experimental autoimmune myocarditis

AIMS: Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) is a CD4(+) T cell-mediated mouse model of inflammatory heart disease. Tissue-resident bone marrow-derived cells adopt different cellular phenotypes depending on the local milieu. We expanded a specific population of bone marrow-derived prominin-1-expressing progenitor cells (PPC) from healthy heart tissue, analysed their plasticity, and evaluated their capacity to protect mice from EAM and heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: PPC were expanded from healthy mouse hearts. Analysis of CD45.1/CD45.2 chimera mice confirmed bone marrow origin of PPC. Depending on in vitro culture conditions, PPC differentiated into macrophages, dendritic cells, or cardiomyocyte-like cells. In vivo, PPC acquired a cardiac phenotype after direct injection into healthy hearts. Intravenous injection of PPC into myosin alpha heavy chain/complete Freund's adjuvant (MyHC-alpha/CFA)-immunized BALB/c mice resulted in heart-specific homing and differentiation into the macrophage phenotype. Histology revealed reduced severity scores for PPC-treated mice compared with control animals [treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or crude bone marrow at day 21 after MyHC-alpha/CFA immunization]. Echocardiography showed preserved fractional shortening and velocity of circumferential shortening in PPC but not PBS-treated MyHC-alpha/CFA-immunized mice. In vitro and in vivo data suggested that interferon-gamma signalling on PPC was critical for nitric oxide-mediated suppression of heart-specific CD4(+) T cells. Accordingly, PPC from interferon-gamma receptor-deficient mice failed to protect MyHC-alpha/CFA-immunized mice from EAM. CONCLUSION: Prominin-1-expressing, heart-resident, bone marrow-derived cells combine high plasticity, T cell-suppressing capacity, and anti-inflammatory in vivo effect

Metabolomic serum abnormalities in dogs with hepatopathies

Hepatopathies can cause major metabolic abnormalities in humans and animals. This study examined differences in serum metabolomic parameters and patterns in left-over serum samples from dogs with either congenital portosystemic shunts (cPSS, n = 24) or high serum liver enzyme activities (HLEA, n = 25) compared to control dogs (n = 64). A validated targeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy platform was used to assess 123 parameters. Principal component analysis of the serum metabolome demonstrated distinct clustering among individuals in each group, with the cluster of HLEA being broader compared to the other groups, presumably due to the wider spectrum of hepatic diseases represented in these samples. While younger and older adult control dogs had very similar metabolomic patterns and clusters, there were changes in many metabolites in the hepatopathy groups. Higher phenylalanine and tyrosine concentrations, lower branched-chained amino acids (BCAAs) concentrations, and altered fatty acid parameters were seen in cPSS dogs compared to controls. In contrast, dogs with HLEA had increased concentrations of BCAAs, phenylalanine, and various lipoproteins. Machine learning based solely on the metabolomics data showed excellent group classification, potentially identifying a novel tool to differentiate hepatopathies. The observed changes in metabolic parameters could provide invaluable insight into the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and prognosis of hepatopathies.Peer reviewe

MetaboLab - advanced NMR data processing and analysis for metabolomics

Background\ud Despite wide-spread use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) in metabolomics for the analysis of biological samples there is a lack of graphically driven, publicly available software to process large one and two-dimensional NMR data sets for statistical analysis.\ud \ud Results\ud Here we present MetaboLab, a MATLAB based software package that facilitates NMR data processing by providing automated algorithms for processing series of spectra in a reproducible fashion. A graphical user interface provides easy access to all steps of data processing via a script builder to generate MATLAB scripts, providing an option to alter code manually. The analysis of two-dimensional spectra (1H,13C-HSQC spectra) is facilitated by the use of a spectral library derived from publicly available databases which can be extended readily. The software allows to display specific metabolites in small regions of interest where signals can be picked. To facilitate the analysis of series of two-dimensional spectra, different spectra can be overlaid and assignments can be transferred between spectra. The software includes mechanisms to account for overlapping signals by highlighting neighboring and ambiguous assignments.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud The MetaboLab software is an integrated software package for NMR data processing and analysis, closely linked to the previously developed NMRLab software. It includes tools for batch processing and gives access to a wealth of algorithms available in the MATLAB framework. Algorithms within MetaboLab help to optimize the flow of metabolomics data preparation for statistical analysis. The combination of an intuitive graphical user interface along with advanced data processing algorithms facilitates the use of MetaboLab in a broader metabolomics context.\ud \u