Projective reduction of the discrete Painlev\'e system of type (A2+A1)(1)(A_2+A_1)^{(1)}

We consider the q-Painlev\'e III equation arising from the birational representation of the affine Weyl group of type $(A_2 + A_1)^{(1)}$. We study the reduction of the q-Painlev\'e III equation to the q-Painlev\'e II equation from the viewpoint of affine Weyl group symmetry. In particular, the mechanism of apparent inconsistency between the hypergeometric solutions to both equations is clarified by using factorization of difference operators and the $\tau$ functions.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Transcriptional Characteristics and Differences in Arabidopsis Stigmatic Papilla Cells Pre- and Post-Pollination

Pollination is an important early step in sexual plant reproduction. In Arabidopsis thaliana, sequential pollination events, from pollen adhesion onto the stigma surface to pollen tube germination and elongation, occur on the stigmatic papilla cells. Following successful completion of these events, the pollen tube penetrates the stigma and finally fertilizes a female gametophyte. The pollination events are thought to be initiated and regulated by interactions between papilla cells and pollen. Here, we report the characterization of gene expression profiles of unpollinated (UP), compatible pollinated (CP) and incompatible pollinated (IP) papilla cells in A. thaliana. Based on cell type-specific transcriptome analysis from a combination of laser microdissection and RNA sequencing, 15,475, 17,360 and 16,918 genes were identified as expressed in UP, CP and IP papilla cells, respectively, and, of these, 14,392 genes were present in all three data sets. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses identified 147 and 71 genes up-regulated in CP and IP papilla cells, respectively, and 115 and 46 genes down-regulated. Gene Ontology and metabolic pathway analyses revealed that papilla cells play an active role as the female reproductive component in pollination, particularly in information exchange, signal transduction, internal physiological changes and external morphological modification. This study provides fundamental information on the molecular mechanisms involved in pollination in papilla cells, furthering our understanding of the reproductive role of papilla cell

Interplay of superexchange and orbital degeneracy in Cr-doped LaMnO3

We report on structural, magnetic and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) investigations in the manganite system LaMn_{1-x}Cr_{x}O_{3} (x<=0.5). Upon Cr-doping we observe a reduction of the Jahn-Teller distortion yielding less distorted orthorhombic structures. A transition from the Jahn-Teller distorted O' to the pseudocubic O phase occurs between 0.3<x<0.4. A clear connection between this transition and the doping dependence of the magnetic and ESR properties has been observed. The effective moments determined by ESR seem reduced with respect to the spin-only value of both Mn^{3+} and Cr^{3+} ions

Cell Type-Specific Transcriptome of Brassicaceae Stigmatic Papilla Cells From a Combination of Laser Microdissection and RNA Sequencing

Pollination is an early and critical step in plant reproduction, leading to successful fertilization. It consists of many sequential processes, including adhesion of pollen grains onto the surface of stigmatic papilla cells, foot formation to strengthen pollen-stigma interaction, pollen hydration and germination, and pollen tube elongation and penetration. We have focused on an examination of the expressed genes in papilla cells, to increase understanding of the molecular systems of pollination. From three representative species of Brassicaceae (Arabidopsis thaliana, A. halleri and Brassica rapa), stigmatic papilla cells were isolated precisely by laser microdissection, and cell type-specific gene expression in papilla cells was determined by RNA sequencing. As a result, 17,240, 19,260 and 21,026 unigenes were defined in papilla cells of A. thaliana, A. halleri and B. rapa, respectively, and, among these, 12,311 genes were common to all three species. Among the17,240 genes predicted in A. thaliana, one-third were papilla specific while approximately half of the genes were detected in all tissues examined. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that genes related to a wide range of reproduction and development functions are expressed in papilla cells, particularly metabolism, transcription and membrane-mediated information exchange. These results reflect the conserved features of general cellular function and also the specific reproductive role of papilla cells, highlighting a complex cellular system regulated by a diverse range of molecules in these cells. This study provides fundamental biological knowledge to dissect the molecular mechanisms of pollination in papilla cells and will shed light on our understanding of plant reproduction mechanism

S-PLUS DR1 galaxy clusters and groups catalogue using PzWav

We present a catalogue of 4499 groups and clusters of galaxies from the first data release of the multi-filter (5 broad, 7 narrow) Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS). These groups and clusters are distributed over 273 deg$^2$ in the Stripe 82 region. They are found using the PzWav algorithm, which identifies peaks in galaxy density maps that have been smoothed by a cluster scale difference-of-Gaussians kernel to isolate clusters and groups. Using a simulation-based mock catalogue, we estimate the purity and completeness of cluster detections: at S/N>3.3 we define a catalogue that is 80% pure and complete in the redshift range 0.1<z<0.4, for clusters with $M_{200} > 10^{14}$ M$_\odot$. We also assessed the accuracy of the catalogue in terms of central positions and redshifts, finding scatter of $\sigma_R=12$ kpc and $\sigma_z=8.8 \times 10^{-3}$, respectively. Moreover, less than 1% of the sample suffers from fragmentation or overmerging. The S-PLUS cluster catalogue recovers ~80% of all known X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich selected clusters in this field. This fraction is very close to the estimated completeness, thus validating the mock data analysis and paving an efficient way to find new groups and clusters of galaxies using data from the ongoing S-PLUS project. When complete, S-PLUS will have surveyed 9300 deg$^{2}$ of the sky, representing the widest uninterrupted areas with narrow-through-broad multi-band photometry for cluster follow-up studies.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, paper accepted for publication by MNRA

Various Spatiotemporal Expression Profiles of Anther-Expressed Genes in Rice

The male gametophyte and tapetum play different roles during anther development although they are differentiated from the same cell lineage, the L2 layer. Until now, it has not been possible to delineate their transcriptomes due to technical difficulties in separating the two cell types. In the present study, we characterized the separated transcriptomes of the rice microspore/pollen and tapetum using laser microdissection (LM)-mediated microarray. Spatiotemporal expression patterns of 28,141 anther-expressed genes were classified into 20 clusters, which contained 3,468 (12.3%) anther-enriched genes. In some clusters, synchronous gene expression in the microspore and tapetum at the same developmental stage was observed as a novel characteristic of the anther transcriptome. Noteworthy expression patterns are discussed in connection with gene ontology (GO) categories and gene annotations, which are related to important biological events in anther development, such as pollen maturation, pollen germination, pollen tube elongation and pollen wall formation

Protein kinase A enhances lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE2 production by human gingival fibroblasts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Periodontal disease is accompanied by inflammation of the gingiva and destruction of periodontal tissues, leading to alveolar bone loss in severe clinical cases. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and the chemical mediator prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) are known to play important roles in inflammatory responses and tissue degradation.</p> <p>Recently, we reported that the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H-89 suppresses lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced IL-8 production by human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). In the present study, the relevance of the PKA activity and two PKA-activating drugs, aminophylline and adrenaline, to LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and PGE₂by HGFs were examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HGFs were treated with LPS from <it>Porphyromonas gingivalis </it>and H-89, the cAMP analog dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), aminophylline, or adrenaline. After 24 h, IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂levels were evaluated by ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>H-89 did not affect LPS-induced IL-6 production, but suppressed IL-8 and PGE₂production. In contrast, dbcAMP significantly increased LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂production. Up to 10 μg/ml of aminophylline did not affect LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production, but they were significantly increased at 100 μg/ml. Similarly, 0.01 μg/ml of adrenaline did not affect LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production, but they were significantly increased at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 μg/ml. In the absence of LPS, H-89, dbcAMP, aminophylline, and adrenaline had no relevance to IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that the PKA pathway, and also PKA-activating drugs, enhance LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂production by HGFs. However, aminophylline may not have an effect on the production of these molecules at concentrations used in clinical settings (8 to 20 μg/ml in serum). These results suggest that aminophylline does not affect inflammatory responses in periodontal disease.</p

High quality RNA isolation from Aedes aegypti midguts using laser microdissection microscopy

Background: Laser microdissection microscopy (LMM) has potential as a research tool because it allows precise excision of target tissues or cells from a complex biological specimen, and facilitates tissue-specific sample preparation. However, this method has not been used in mosquito vectors to date. To this end, we have developed an LMM method to isolate midgut RNA using Aedes aegypti