294 research outputs found
A Comparison and Joint Analysis of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Measurements from Planck and Bolocam for a set of 47 Massive Galaxy Clusters
We measure the SZ signal toward a set of 47 clusters with a median mass of
M and a median redshift of 0.40 using data from
Planck and the ground-based Bolocam receiver. When Planck XMM-like masses are
used to set the scale radius , we find consistency between
the integrated SZ signal, , derived from Bolocam and Planck
based on gNFW model fits using A10 shape parameters, with an average ratio of
(allowing for the % Bolocam flux calibration
uncertainty). We also perform a joint fit to the Bolocam and Planck data using
a modified A10 model with the outer logarithmic slope allowed to vary,
finding (measurement error followed by
intrinsic scatter). In addition, we find that the value of scales with
mass and redshift according to . This mass scaling is in good agreement with recent
simulations. We do not observe the strong trend of with redshift seen
in simulations, though we conclude that this is most likely due to our sample
selection. Finally, we use Bolocam measurements of to test the
accuracy of the Planck completeness estimate. We find consistency, with the
actual number of Planck detections falling approximately below the
expectation from Bolocam. We translate this small difference into a constraint
on the the effective mass bias for the Planck cluster cosmology results, with
.Comment: Updated to include one additional co-author. Also some minor changes
to the text based on initial feedbac
Isolation of a strong Arabidopsis guard cell promoter and its potential as a research tool
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A common limitation in guard cell signaling research is that it is difficult to obtain consistent high expression of transgenes of interest in <it>Arabidopsis </it>guard cells using known guard cell promoters or the constitutive 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promoter. An additional drawback of the 35S promoter is that ectopically expressing a gene throughout the organism could cause pleiotropic effects. To improve available methods for targeted gene expression in guard cells, we isolated strong guard cell promoter candidates based on new guard cell-specific microarray analyses of 23,000 genes that are made available together with this report.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A promoter, <it>pGC1</it>(At1g22690), drove strong and relatively specific reporter gene expression in guard cells including GUS (beta-glucuronidase) and yellow cameleon YC3.60 (GFP-based calcium FRET reporter). Reporter gene expression was weaker in immature guard cells. The expression of YC3.60 was sufficiently strong to image intracellular Ca<sup>2+ </sup>dynamics in guard cells of intact plants and resolved spontaneous calcium transients in guard cells. The <it>GC1 </it>promoter also mediated strong reporter expression in clustered stomata in the stomatal development mutant <it>too-many-mouths </it>(<it>tmm</it>). Furthermore, the same promoter::reporter constructs also drove guard cell specific reporter expression in tobacco, illustrating the potential of this promoter as a method for high level expression in guard cells. A serial deletion of the promoter defined a guard cell expression promoter region. In addition, anti-sense repression using <it>pGC1 </it>was powerful for reducing specific GFP gene expression in guard cells while expression in leaf epidermal cells was not repressed, demonstrating strong cell-type preferential gene repression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>pGC1 </it>promoter described here drives strong reporter expression in guard cells of <it>Arabidopsis </it>and tobacco plants. It provides a potent research tool for targeted guard cell expression or gene silencing. It is also applicable to reduce specific gene expression in guard cells, providing a method for circumvention of limitations arising from genetic redundancy and lethality. These advances could be very useful for manipulating signaling pathways in guard cells and modifying plant performance under stress conditions. In addition, new guard cell and mesophyll cell-specific 23,000 gene microarray data are made publicly available here.</p
Negative emotions boost users activity at BBC Forum
We present an empirical study of user activity in online BBC discussion
forums, measured by the number of posts written by individual debaters and the
average sentiment of these posts. Nearly 2.5 million posts from over 18
thousand users were investigated. Scale free distributions were observed for
activity in individual discussion threads as well as for overall activity. The
number of unique users in a thread normalized by the thread length decays with
thread length, suggesting that thread life is sustained by mutual discussions
rather than by independent comments. Automatic sentiment analysis shows that
most posts contain negative emotions and the most active users in individual
threads express predominantly negative sentiments. It follows that the average
emotion of longer threads is more negative and that threads can be sustained by
negative comments. An agent based computer simulation model has been used to
reproduce several essential characteristics of the analyzed system. The model
stresses the role of discussions between users, especially emotionally laden
quarrels between supporters of opposite opinions, and represents many observed
statistics of the forum.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figure
Distribution, threats and protection of selected karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the Mediterranean region
Karst groundwater-dependent ecosystems (KGDEs) in the Mediterranean region are important in terms of ecosystem services and biodiversity but are increasingly under anthropogenic pressures and climate-change constraints. For this study, the ecohydrological characteristics, threats, and protection status of 112 selected KGDEs around the Mediterranean Sea, including caves, springs, rivers and wetlands, were evaluated, based on local expert knowledge and scientific literature. Results demonstrate that KGDEs contribute considerably to regional biodiversity. The diversity of karst landscapes, combined with the groundwater emergence at springs, leads to exceptional habitat diversity, particularly in arid climates, where KGDEs serve as a refuge for species that could not thrive in the surrounding environment. The most common threats identified among the selected sites are direct human disturbances, such as mass tourism or overfishing, water-quality deterioration and water shortage from aquifer overdraft and/or climate change. Although most of the selected sites are under protection, conservation measures are frequently insufficient. Such shortcomings are often caused by poor data availability, little knowledge on conservation needs of invertebrate species, and conflicts of interest with the local population. For this purpose, it is necessary to raise environmental awareness and promote interdisciplinary research, in order to monitor water quality and quantity in addition to the status of the biocenoses
Small Interfering RNA Efficiently Suppresses Adhesion Molecule Expression on Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelium
Background. Adhesion molecules are known to influence postoperative organ function, they are hardly involved in the inflammatory response following the ischemia-reperfusion injury. We sought to investigate the potency of small interfering RNAs to suppress adhesion molecule expression in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells. Methods. Human lung microvascular endothelial cells were transfected with specific siRNA followed by a stimulation of the cells with an inflammatory cytokine. Adhesion molecule expression was determined by FACS-analysis, and reduction of intracellular mRNA was determined by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, the attachment of isolated neutrophils on the endothelial layer was determined after siRNA transfection. Results. In summary, siRNA transfection significantly decreased the percentage positive cells in a single cocktail transfection of each adhesion molecule investigated. Adhering neutrophils were diminished as well. Conclusion. siRNA might be a promising tool for the effective suppression of adhesion molecule expression on pulmonary microvascular cells, potentially minimizing leukocyte-endothelial depending interactions of a pulmonary allograft
Computer simulations of developmental change: The contributions of working memory capacity and long-term knowledge
Increasing working memory (WM) capacity is often cited as a major influence on childrenās development and yet WM capacity is difficult to examine independently of long-term knowledge. A computational model of childrenās nonword repetition (NWR) performance is presented that independently manipulates long-term knowledge and WM capacity to determine the relative contributions of each in explaining the developmental data. The simulations show that (1) both mechanisms independently cause the same overall developmental changes in NWR performance; (2) increase in long-term knowledge provides the better fit to the child data; and (3) varying both long-term knowledge and WM capacity adds no significant gains over varying long-term knowledge alone. Given that increases in long-term knowledge must occur during development, the results indicate that increases in WM capacity may not be required to explain developmental differences. An increase in WM capacity should only be cited as a mechanism of developmental change when there are clear empirical reasons for doing so
A Phase 2 Study of Bortezomib in Relapsed, Refractory Myeloma
BACKGROUND Bortezomib, a boronic acid dipeptide, is a novel proteasome inhibitor that has been shown in preclinical and phase 1 studies to have antimyeloma activity. METHODS In this multicenter, open-label, nonrandomized, phase 2 trial, we enrolled 202 patients with relapsed myeloma that was refractory to the therapy they had received most recently. Patients received 1.3 mg of bortezomib per square meter of body-surface area twice weekly for 2 weeks, followed by 1 week without treatment, for up to eight cycles (24 weeks). In patients with a suboptimal response, oral dexamethasone (20 mg daily, on the day of and the day after bortezomib administration) was added to the regimen. The response was evaluated according to the criteria ofthe European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and confirmed by an independent review committee. RESULTS Of 193 patients who could be evaluated, 92 percent had been treated with three or more ofthe major classes of agents for myeloma, and in 91 percent, the myeloma was refractory to the therapy received most recently. The rate of response to bortezomib was 35 percent, and those with a response included 7 patients in whom myeloma protein became undetectable and 12 in whom myeloma protein was detectable only by immuno-fixation. The median overall survival was 16 months, with a median duration of response of 12 months. Grade 3 adverse events included thrombocytopenia (in 28 percent of patients), fatigue (in 12 percent), peripheral neuropathy (in 12 percent), and neutropenia (in 11 percent). Grade 4 events occurred in 14 percent of patients. CONCLUSIONS Bortezomib, a member of a new class of anticancer drugs, is active in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma that is refractory to conventional chemotherapy
Constraints on the Mass, Concentration, and Nonthermal Pressure Support of Six CLASH Clusters from a Joint Analysis of X-ray, SZ, and Lensing Data
We present a joint analysis of Chandra X-ray observations, Bolocam thermal SunyaevāZel'dovich (SZ) effect observations, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) strong-lensing data, and HST and Subaru Suprime-Cam weak-lensing data. The multiwavelength data set is used to constrain parametric models for the distribution of dark and baryonic matter in a sample of six massive galaxy clusters selected from the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). For five of the six clusters, the multiwavelength data set is well described by a relatively simple model that assumes spherical symmetry, hydrostatic equilibrium, and entirely thermal pressure support. The joint analysis yields considerably better constraints on the total mass and concentration of the clusters compared to analysis of any one data set individually. The resulting constraints are consistent with simulation-based predictions for the concentrationāmass relation. The subsample of five galaxy clusters is used to place an upper limit on the fraction of pressure support in the intracluster medium (ICM) due to nonthermal processes, such as turbulence and bulk flow of the gas. We constrain the nonthermal pressure fraction at r_(500c) to be <0.11 at 95% confidence. This is in tension with state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations, which predict a nonthermal pressure fraction of ā0.25 at r_(500c) for clusters of similar mass and redshift. This tension may be explained by the sample selection and/or our assumption of spherical symmetry
Analysis of Plasmodium vivax schizont transcriptomes from field isolates reveals heterogeneity of expression of genes involved in host-parasite interactions
Funder: Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100006492Abstract: Plasmodium vivax gene regulation remains difficult to study due to the lack of a robust in vitro culture method, low parasite densities in peripheral circulation and asynchronous parasite development. We adapted an RNA-seq protocol āDAFT-seqā to sequence the transcriptome of four P. vivax field isolates that were cultured for a short period ex vivo before using a density gradient for schizont enrichment. Transcription was detected from 78% of the PvP01 reference genome, despite being schizont-enriched samples. This extensive data was used to define thousands of 5ā² and 3ā² untranslated regions, some of which overlapped with neighbouring transcripts, and to improve the gene models of 352 genes, including identifying 20 novel gene transcripts. This dataset has also significantly increased the known amount of heterogeneity between P. vivax schizont transcriptomes from individual patients. The majority of genes found to be differentially expressed between the isolates lack Plasmodium falciparum homologs and are predicted to be involved in host-parasite interactions, with an enrichment in reticulocyte binding proteins, merozoite surface proteins and exported proteins with unknown function. An improved understanding of the diversity within P. vivax transcriptomes will be essential for the prioritisation of novel vaccine targets
A Comparison and Joint Analysis of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Measurements from Planck and Bolocam for a set of 47 Massive Galaxy Clusters
We measure the SunyaevāZel'dovich (SZ) signal toward a set of 47 clusters with a median mass of 9.5 Ć 10^(14) M_ā and a median redshift of 0.40 using data from Planck and the ground-based Bolocam receiver. When Planck XMM-like masses are used to set the scale radius Īø_s, we find consistency between the integrated SZ signal, Y_(5R500), derived from Bolocam and Planck based on generalized Navarro, Frenk, and White model fits using A10 shape parameters, with an average ratio of 1.069 Ā± 0.030 (allowing for the ā 5% Bolocam flux calibration uncertainty). We also perform a joint fit to the Bolocam and Planck data using a modified A10 model with the outer logarithmic slope Ī² allowed to vary, finding Ī² = 6.13 Ā± 0.16 Ā± 0.76 (measurement error followed by intrinsic scatter). In addition, we find that the value of Ī² scales with mass and redshift according to Ī² ā M^(0.077 Ā± 0.026) x (1 + z))^(-0.06 Ā± 0.09). This mass scaling is in good agreement with recent simulations. We do not observe the strong trend of Ī² with redshift seen in simulations, though we conclude that this is most likely due to our sample selection. Finally, we use Bolocam measurements of Y 500 to test the accuracy of the Planck completeness estimate. We find consistency, with the actual number of Planck detections falling approximately 1Ļ below the expectation from Bolocam. We translate this small difference into a constraint on the effective mass bias for the Planck cluster cosmology results, with (1 - b)=0.93 Ā± 0.06
- ā¦