Suzaku observations of subhalos in the Coma cluster

We observed three massive subhalos in the Coma cluster with {\it Suzaku}. These subhalos, labeled "ID 1", "ID 2", and "ID 32", were detected with a weak-lensing survey using the Subaru/Suprime-Cam (Okabe et al. 2014a), and are located at the projected distances of 1.4 $r_{500}$, 1.2 $r_{500}$, and 1.6 $r_{500}$ from the center of the Coma cluster, respectively. The subhalo "ID 1" has a compact X-ray excess emission close to the center of the weak-lensing mass contour, and the gas mass to weak-lensing mass ratio is about 0.001. The temperature of the emission is about 3 keV, which is slightly lower than that of the surrounding intracluster medium (ICM) and that expected for the temperature vs. mass relation of clusters of galaxies. The subhalo "ID 32" shows an excess emission whose peak is shifted toward the opposite direction from the center of the Coma cluster. The gas mass to weak-lensing mass ratio is also about 0.001, which is significantly smaller than regular galaxy groups. The temperature of the excess is about 0.5 keV and significantly lower than that of the surrounding ICM and far from the temperature vs. mass relation of clusters. However, there is no significant excess X-ray emission in the "ID 2" subhalo. Assuming an infall velocity of about 2000 $\rm km~s^{-1}$, at the border of the excess X-ray emission, the ram pressures for "ID 1" and "ID 32" are comparable to the gravitational restoring force per area. We also studied the effect of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability to strip the gas. Although we found X-ray clumps associated with the weak-lensing subhalos, their X-ray luminosities are much lower than the total ICM luminosity in the cluster outskirts.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, ApJ in pres

Is epigenome editing non-inheritable? Implications for ethics and the regulation of human applications

科学の最新動向を基に、エピゲノム編集の倫理・規制を議論. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-11-03.Potential inheritable effects and ethical considerations of epigenome editing. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-11-03.Epigenome editing offers ethical advantages with non-inheritable gene expression control. However, concerns arise regarding potential transgenerational effects in humans. Ethical and regulatory evaluation is crucial, considering recent advancements and enhanced understanding of transgenerational epigenetics in both mammals and humans

Tricellulin constitutes a novel barrier at tricellular contacts of epithelial cells

For epithelia to function as barriers, the intercellular space must be sealed. Sealing two adjacent cells at bicellular tight junctions (bTJs) is well described with the discovery of the claudins. Yet, there are still barrier weak points at tricellular contacts, where three cells join together. In this study, we identify tricellulin, the first integral membrane protein that is concentrated at the vertically oriented TJ strands of tricellular contacts. When tricellulin expression was suppressed with RNA interference, the epithelial barrier was compromised, and tricellular contacts and bTJs were disorganized. These findings indicate the critical function of tricellulin for formation of the epithelial barrier

Suzaku observations of the Hydra A cluster out to the virial radius

We report Suzaku observations of the northern half of the Hydra A cluster out to ~1.4 Mpc, reaching the virial radius. This is the first Suzaku observations of a medium-size (kT ~3 keV) cluster out to the virial radius. Two observations were conducted, north-west and north-east offsets, which continue in a filament direction and a void direction of the large-scale structure of the Universe, respectively. The X-ray emission and distribution of galaxies elongate in the filament direction. The temperature profiles in the two directions are mostly consistent with each other within the error bars and drop to 1.5 keV at 1.5 r_500. As observed by Suzaku in hot clusters, the entropy profile becomes flatter beyond r_500, in disagreement with the r^1.1 relationship that is expected from accretion shock heating models. When scaled with the average intracluster medium (ICM) temperature, the entropy profiles of clusters observed with Suzaku are universal and do not depend on system mass. The hydrostatic mass values in the void and filament directions are in good agreement, and the Navarro, Frenk, and White universal mass profile represents the hydrostatic mass distribution up to ~ 2 r_500. Beyond r_500, the ratio of gas mass to hydrostatic mass exceeds the result of the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe, and at r_100, these ratios in the filament and void directions reach 0.4 and 0.3, respectively. We discuss possible deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium at cluster outskirts. We derived radial profiles of the gasmass- to-light ratio and iron-mass-to-light ratio out to the virial radius. Within r_500, the iron-mass-to-light ratio of the Hydra A cluster was compared with those in other clusters observed with Suzaku.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures; Accepted for publication in PAS

Suzaku Observations of AWM 7 Cluster of Galaxies: Temperature, Abundance and Bulk Motions

We carried out 3 observations of the cluster of galaxies AWM 7, for the central region and 20'-east and 20'-west offset regions, with Suzaku. Temperature and abundance profiles are measured out to 27'~ 570 /h_70 kpc, which corresponded to ~0.35 r_180. The temperature of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) slightly decreases from 3.8 keV at the center to 3.4 keV in ~0.35 r_180 region, indicating a flatter profile than those in other nearby clusters. Abundance ratio of Si to Fe is almost constant in our observation, while Mg to Fe ratio increases with radius from the cluster center. O to Fe ratio in the west region shows increase with radius, while that in the east region is almost flat, though the errors are relatively large. These features suggest that the enrichment process is significantly different between products of type II supernovae (O and Mg) and those by type Ia supernovae (Si and Fe). We also examined positional shift of the central energy of He-like Fe-Ka line, in search of possible rotation of the ICM. The 90% upper limit for the line-of-sight velocity difference was derived to be v ~ 2000 km/s, suggesting that the ellipticity of AWM 7 is rather caused by a recent directional infall of the gas along the large-scale filament.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Cellular Immunity of Patients with Lung Cancer and Other Lung Diseases II. Analysis of interleukin-2 production

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with lung cancer and noncancerous respiratory diseases was determined. The results are as follows: 1) Neither sex nor age difference was observed for IL-2 production among healthy people. 2) IL-2 production showed a positive correlation with the Leu-3a/Leu-2a ratio and a negative correlation with the percentage of HLA-DR+ cells. 3) IL-2 production of patients with lung cancer and noncancerous respiratory diseases did not differ from that of healthy persons. 4) No difference in IL-2 production was found in relation to the clinical stage of lung cancer, but subjects with low IL-2 production were mostly observed in the advanced stage group (Stage IV)

A県内の高齢者向け住まいのサービス提供体制と医療的ケア及び看取りの受け入れ意向との関連

目的：A県の高齢者向け住まいのサービス提供体制と医療的ケア及び看取りの受け入れ意向との関連を明らかにする． 方法：A県の高齢者向け住まい（463か所）に勤務する管理者等を対象とし，入居者の状況，サービス提供体制等の自記式質問紙調査を実施した．サービス提供体制と医療的ケア及び看取りの受け入れ意向の有無との関連について，χ2検定又はFisherの直接確率検定を行った． 結果：有効回答は130施設（有効回答率28.1％）であった．医療的ケアの受け入れ意向では，「施設に看護師が常駐」「夜間ケアを提供する職員の配置」等の11項目，看取りの受け入れ意向では，「施設に常勤の介護職員」「施設に常勤の看護師」「協力医療機関の24時間緊急往診要請への対応」「看取りのマニュアルの整備」等の14項目に関連があった． 結論：高齢者向け住まいにおける医療的ケア及び看取りの受け入れには，看護職員・介護職員の配置及び医療機関等との連携の必要性が示唆された．Objectives: To clarify the relationship between the service provision system of housing for the elderly in A prefecture and the intention to accept medical care and end-of-life care. Method: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on residents’ status and components of the service provision system for managers working in residences for senior citizens in A Prefecture (463 facilities). The χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test was performed on the relationship between the service provision system and the intention to accept medical care and end-of-life care. Results: 130 valid responses were returned (effective response rate 28.1%). For the intention to accept medical care, 11 items were extracted, including “nurse resident in facility” and “allocation of staff providing night care”. For the intention to accept end-of-life care, 14 items were extracted, including“ full-time caregiver at facility”,“ full-time nurse at facility”,“ responding to 24-hour emergency visit requests with cooperating medical institutions” and“ maintenance manual”. Conclusion: It was suggested that the placement of nursing staff and cooperation with medical institutions are necessary for the acceptance of medical care and end-of-life care for the elderly.報