Kinematic Evidence of Minor Mergers in Normal Sa Galaxies: NGC3626, NGC3900, NGC4772 and NGC5854

BVRI and H-alpha imaging and long-slit optical spectroscopic data are presented for four morphologically normal and relatively isolated Sa galaxies, NGC3626, NGC3900, NGC4772 and NGC5854. VLA HI synthesis imaging is presented for the first 3 objects. In all 4 galaxies, evidence of kinematic decoupling of ionized gas components is found; the degree and circumstances of the distinct kinematics vary from complete counterrotation of all of the gas from all of the stars (NGC3626) to nuclear gas disks decoupled from the stars (NGC5854) to anomalous velocity central gas components (NGC3900 and NGC4772). In the 3 objects mapped in HI, the neutral gas extends far beyond the optical radius, R_HI/R_25 > 2. In general, the HI surface density is very low and the outer HI is patchy and asymmetric or found in a distinct ring, exterior to the optical edge. While the overall HI velocity fields are dominated by circular motions, strong warps are suggested in the outer regions. Optical imaging is also presented for NGC 4138 previously reported by Jore et al. (1996) to show counterrotating stellar components. The multiwavelength evidence is interpreted in terms of the kinematic "memory" of past minor mergers in objects that otherwise exhibit no morphological signs of interaction.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in Astron. J., postscript figures available at ftp://culebra.tn.cornell.edu/pub/haynes/figures.tar.g

Association Between Cytokines and Liver Histology in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

BackgroundReliable non-invasive markers to characterize inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, and fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are lacking. We investigated the relationship between plasma cytokine levels and features of NAFLD histology to gain insight into cellular pathways driving NASH and to identify potential non-invasive discriminators of NAFLD severity and pattern.MethodsCytokines were measured from plasma obtained at enrollment in pediatric participants in NASH Clinical Research Network studies with liver biopsy-proven NAFLD. Cytokines were chosen a priori as possible discriminators of NASH and its components. Minimization of Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to determine cytokines retained in multivariable models.ResultsOf 235 subjects, 31% had "Definite NASH" on liver histology, 43% had "Borderline NASH", and 25% had NAFLD but not NASH. Total plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1) and activated PAI1 levels were higher in pediatric participants with Definite NASH and with lobular inflammation. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was higher in those with stage 3-4 fibrosis and lobular inflammation. sIL-2rα was higher in children with stage 3-4 fibrosis and portal inflammation. In multivariable analysis, PAI1 variables were discriminators of Borderline/Definite NASH, definite NASH, lobular inflammation and ballooning. IL-8 increased with steatosis and fibrosis severity; sIL-2rα increased with fibrosis severity and portal inflammation. IL-7 decreased with portal inflammation and fibrosis severity.ConclusionsPlasma cytokines associated with histology varied considerably among NASH features, suggesting promising avenues for investigation. Future, more targeted analysis is needed to identify the role of these markers in NAFLD and to evaluate their potential as non-invasive discriminators of disease severity

Histologic Abnormalities in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Normal or Mildly Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase Levels.

Objectives: To investigate the histological spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children with normal, mildly elevated (26–50 U/L boys, 23–44 U/L girls), or elevated (> 50 boys, > 44 girls) serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Study design: The Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) enrolls children 5–18 years with NAFLD. We analyzed baseline clinical and histological data from 91 children with suspected NAFLD and normal or mildly elevated ALT and liver biopsy within 180 days of ALT, and compared them with 392 children with elevated ALT. Results: Of 91 children, 17 (19%) had normal and 74 (81%) had mildly elevated ALT levels. Overall, 45% of biopsies had ≥ 33% steatosis, lobular inflammation grade was ≥ 2 in 22%, 81% had portal inflammation, 29% had ballooned hepatocytes, 35% had “suspicious/borderline” steatohepatitis, and 8% had definite NASH, 34% had NAFLD activity score (NAS) ≥ 4. Overall, 46% had fibrosis (38% mild/moderate and 8% bridging/cirrhosis). Marked steatosis (50% vs 24%) and fibrosis (54% vs 12%) were significantly more common in mildly elevated vs normal, with no difference in ballooning, inflammation, or NAS ≥ 4. Fibrosis stage 3/4 was seen in none of the children with normal ALT, and in 9% of the mildly elevated and 15% of the elevated. Conclusions: Liver biopsies of children with NAFLD with normal or mildly elevated ALT levels show significant histologic abnormalities, including advanced fibrosis in children with mildly elevated ALT. ALT thus may underestimate liver injury in NAFLD. Appropriate ALT cut-off levels can help identify children at risk for more severe disease

The Iowa Homemaker vol.2, no.8

Table of Contents Make Thanksgiving a Real Homecoming With a Dinner in Your Church by N. Beth Bailey, page 1 Marie Reviews Fifth Avenue by Mildred Boyt, page 2 Art, As Frank Alvah Parsons Sees It by Viola Jammer, page 2 Costuming and Its Relation to the Individual by Marion B. Gardner, page 3 Painting the Fall and Winter Landscapes by Juanita Beard, page 4 “A Timely Thought Saves Nerves Distraught” by Maida Heiner, page 4 In the Light of Experience by Marcia E. Turner, page 5 Naming Canned Fruits by Katherine Goeppinger, page 5 Who’s There and Where by Jeanette Beyer, page 6 A Tea Room That is Different by Opal F. Milligan, page 7 Sour Milk and Its Uses by Elizabeth Storm, page 7 An Indian Romance by Millie Lerdall, page 10 The Song of Thanksgiving Pie by Eleanor Murray, page 13 Scarlet November by Eleanor Murray, page 1

Integrating stakeholder knowledge through modular cooperative participatory processes for marine spatial planning outcomes (CORPORATES)

This research was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council NERC (Knowledge Exchange Award 2014-2016) RC Grant reference: NE/M000184/1Peer reviewedPostprin

Surfactant Protein-D is essential for immunity to Helminth Infection

Author Summary Infections by parasitic worms are very common, and controlling them is a major medical and veterinary challenge. Very few drugs exist to treat them, and the parasites can develop resistance to these. In order to find new ways to control worm infections, understanding how our immune system responds to them is essential. Many important parasitic worm infections move through the host lung. In this study we show that a major secreted protein in the lung, Surfactant Protein D (SP-D), is essential for immunity to a parasitic worm infection. We found that this protein binds to worm larvae in the lung to help the immune system kill them. Infecting mice that do not express SP-D with worms demonstrates SP-D is important in this immune response. These mice are unable to launch an effective anti-worm immune response and have many more worms in their intestine compared to mice that do express SP-D. We also show that if we increase SP-D levels in the lung the mouse has better immunity to worms. Together this shows for the first time that SP-D is very important for immunity to worm infections

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 10

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

The ice-nucleating ability of quartz immersed in water and its atmospheric importance compared to K-feldspar

Mineral dust particles are thought to be an important type of ice-nucleating particle (INP) in the mixedphase cloud regime around the globe. While K-rich feldspar (K-feldspar) has been identified as being a particularly important component of mineral dust for ice nucleation, it has been shown that quartz is also relatively ice-nucleation active. Given quartz typically makes up a substantial proportion of atmospheric desert dust, it could potentially be important for cloud glaciation. Here, we survey the ice-nucleating ability of 10 α-quartz samples (the most common quartz polymorph) when immersed in microlitre supercooled water droplets. Despite all samples being α-quartz, the temperature at which they induce freezing varies by around 12 ◦C for a constant active site density. We find that some quartz samples are very sensitive to ageing in both aqueous suspension and air, resulting in a loss of ice-nucleating activity, while other samples are insensitive to exposure to air and water over many months. For example, the ice-nucleation temperatures for one quartz sample shift down by ∼ 2 ◦C in 1 h and 12 ◦C after 16 months in water. The sensitivity to water and air is perhaps surprising, as quartz is thought of as a chemically resistant mineral, but this observation suggests that the active sites responsible for nucleation are less stable than the bulk of the mineral. We find that the quartz group of minerals is generally less active than K-feldspars by roughly 7 ◦C, although the most active quartz samples are of a similar activity to some K-feldspars with an active site density, ns(T ), of 1 cm−2 at −9◦C. We also find that the freshly milled quartz samples are generally more active by roughly 5 ◦C than the plagioclase feldspar group of minerals and the albite end member has an intermediate activity. Using both the new and literature data, active site density parameterizations have been proposed for freshly milled quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase and albite. Combining these parameterizations with the typical atmospheric abundance of each mineral supports previous work that suggests that K-feldspar is the most important ice-nucleating mineral in airborne mineral dust

Prediction of Emerging Technologies Based on Analysis of the U.S. Patent Citation Network

The network of patents connected by citations is an evolving graph, which provides a representation of the innovation process. A patent citing another implies that the cited patent reflects a piece of previously existing knowledge that the citing patent builds upon. A methodology presented here (i) identifies actual clusters of patents: i.e. technological branches, and (ii) gives predictions about the temporal changes of the structure of the clusters. A predictor, called the {citation vector}, is defined for characterizing technological development to show how a patent cited by other patents belongs to various industrial fields. The clustering technique adopted is able to detect the new emerging recombinations, and predicts emerging new technology clusters. The predictive ability of our new method is illustrated on the example of USPTO subcategory 11, Agriculture, Food, Textiles. A cluster of patents is determined based on citation data up to 1991, which shows significant overlap of the class 442 formed at the beginning of 1997. These new tools of predictive analytics could support policy decision making processes in science and technology, and help formulate recommendations for action