Expert recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy and the postpartum period in the Asia-Pacific region

Anemia during pregnancy and the postpartum period is commonly caused by iron deficiency and is a significant worldwide issue with severe consequences for both mother and developing fetus. From a worldwide perspective, iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy is highest in the Asia-Pacific region; however, there has been little guidance in this region for safe and effective treatment. An expert panel was convened to develop a concise and informative set of recommendations for the treatment of IDA in pregnant and postpartum women in the Asia-Pacific region. This manuscript provides these recommendations and aims to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with IDA in pregnant and postpartum women in the Asia-Pacific region. The consensus recommendations define anemia as a hemoglobin (Hb) level <10.5 g/dL during pregnancy and <10 g/dL during the postpartum period, and provide cut-off Hb levels to initiate therapy with oral iron, intravenous iron or red blood cell transfusion

The Host Galaxy and Central Engine of the Dwarf AGN POX 52

We present new multi-wavelength observations of the dwarf Seyfert 1 galaxy POX 52 in order to investigate the properties of the host galaxy and the active nucleus, and to examine the mass of its black hole, previously estimated to be ~ 10^5 M_sun. Hubble Space Telescope ACS/HRC images show that the host galaxy has a dwarf elliptical morphology (M_I = -18.4 mag, Sersic index n = 4.3) with no detected disk component or spiral structure, confirming previous results from ground-based imaging. X-ray observations from both Chandra and XMM show strong (factor of 2) variability over timescales as short as 500 s, as well as a dramatic decrease in the absorbing column density over a 9 month period. We attribute this change to a partial covering absorber, with a 94% covering fraction and N_H = 58^{+8.4}_{-9.2} * 10^21 cm^-2, that moved out of the line of sight in between the XMM and Chandra observations. Combining these data with observations from the VLA, Spitzer, and archival data from 2MASS and GALEX, we examine the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the active nucleus. Its shape is broadly similar to typical radio-quiet quasar SEDs, despite the very low bolometric luminosity of L_bol = 1.3 * 10^43 ergs/s. Finally, we compare black hole mass estimators including methods based on X-ray variability, and optical scaling relations using the broad H-beta line width and AGN continuum luminosity, finding a range of black hole mass from all methods to be M_bh = (2.2-4.2) * 10^5 M_sun, with an Eddington ratio of L_bol/L_edd = 0.2-0.5.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Self-similar magnetoresistance of Fibonacci ultrathin magnetic films

We study numerically the magnetic properties (magnetization and magnetoresistance) of ultra-thin magnetic films (Fe/Cr) grown following the Fibonacci sequence. We use a phenomenological model which includes Zeeman, cubic anisotropy, bilinear and biquadratic exchange energies. Our physical parameters are based on experimental data recently reported, which contain biquadratic exchange coupling with magnitude comparable to the bilinear exchange coupling. When biquadratic exchange coupling is sufficiently large a striking self-similar pattern emerges.Comment: 5 pages, 5 EPS figures, REVTeX, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Low frequency split cycle cryocooler

A split cycle Stirling cryocooler with two different drive motors and operating at a low drive frequency can have high thermodynamic efficiency. The temperature of the cold end of the cryocooler varies with drive frequency, voltage of the input electrical power and initial charge pressure values. The cryocooler operating at 8 Hz can provide 7 watts of refrigeration at 77 K for 230 watts of electrical input power

SDSS J143030.22-001115.1: A misclassified narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy with flat X-ray spectrum

We used multi-component profiles to model H$\beta$ and [O III]$\lambda \lambda$4959,5007 lines for SDSS J143030.22-001115.1, a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1) in a sample of 150 NLS1s candidates selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Early Data Release (EDR). After subtracting the H$\beta$ contribution from narrow line regions (NLRs), we found that its full width half maximum (FWHM) of broad H$\beta$ line is nearly 2900 \kms, significantly larger than the customarily adopted criterion of 2000 \kms. With its weak Fe II multiples, we think that SDSS J143030.22-001115.1 can't be classified as a genuine NLS1. When we calculate the virial black hole masses of NLS1s, we should use the H$\beta$ linewidth after subtracting the H$\beta$ contribution from NLRs.Comment: 7 pages, 1 table, accepted by ChJA

Insights into the enzymatic synthesis of alcoholic flavor esters with molecular docking analysis

\ua9 2024The enzymatic synthesis is essential for the flavor esters in the food and fragrance industries. This paper introduces a novel preparation method for lipase microarrays (CALB@PMHOS-TEOS) with loadings up to 229 \ub1 1.4 mg/g. Using surfactant-free hydrophobic silica-hybridized mesoporous materials and Candida antarctica lipase, this resulted in the effective synthesis of flavor esters. Using CALB@PMHOS-TEOS a Pickering emulsion system was formed at the oil-water interface for the sustainable synthesis of flavor esters. This resulted in a 93.5 \ub1 0.5 % conversion of hexanoic acid within 2 h at an optimal temperature of 35 \ub0C, which is the highest level recorded in the literature to date. Furthermore, the conversion of hexanoic acid was maintained at 63.9 \ub1 1.2 % after 9 cycles of CALB@PMHOS-TEOS reuse. The application of the enzyme to the synthesis in a variety of flavor esters achieved a new benchmark in the existing literature. A molecular docking model was evaluated to understand the molecular mechanism underpinning the immobilized lipase. This work introduces a novel method for the eco-friendly and efficient synthesis of flavor esters for applications across various fields including food and cosmetics

Bimodal distribution of RNA expression levels in human skeletal muscle tissue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many human diseases and phenotypes are related to RNA expression, levels of which are influenced by a wide spectrum of genetic and exposure-related factors. In a large genome-wide study of muscle tissue expression, we found that some genes exhibited a bimodal distribution of RNA expression, in contrast to what is usually assumed in studies of a single healthy tissue. As bimodality has classically been considered a hallmark of genetic control, we assessed the genome-wide prevalence, cause, and association of this phenomenon with diabetes-related phenotypes in skeletal muscle tissue from 225 healthy Pima Indians using exon array expression chips.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two independent batches of microarrays were used for bimodal assessment and comparison. Of the 17,881 genes analyzed, eight (<it>GSTM1, HLA-DRB1, ERAP2, HLA-DRB5, MAOA, ACTN3, NR4A2</it>, and <it>THNSL2</it>) were found to have bimodal expression replicated in the separate batch groups, while 24 other genes had evidence of bimodality in only one group. Some bimodally expressed genes had modest associations with pre-diabetic phenotypes, of note <it>ACTN3 </it>with insulin resistance. Most of the other bimodal genes have been reported to be involved with various other diseases and characteristics. Association of expression with <it>cis </it>genetic variation in a subset of 149 individuals found all but one of the confirmed bimodal genes and nearly half of all potential ones to be highly significant expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). The rare prevalence of these bimodally expressed genes found after controlling for batch effects was much lower than the prevalence reported in other studies. Additional validation in data from separate muscle expression studies confirmed the low prevalence of bimodality we observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the prevalence of bimodal gene expression is quite rare in healthy muscle tissue (<0.2%), and is much lower than limited reports from other studies. The major cause of these clearly bimodal expression patterns in homogeneous tissue appears to be <it>cis</it>-polymorphisms, indicating that such bimodal genes are, for the most part, eQTL. The high frequency of disease associations reported with these genes gives hope that this unique feature may identify or actually be an underlying factor responsible for disease development.</p

Spitzer IRS Spectra of Optically Faint Infrared Sources with Weak Spectral Features

Spectra have been obtained with the low-resolution modules of the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) for 58 sources having f$_{\nu}$(24 micron) > 0.75 mJy. Sources were chosen from a survey of 8.2 deg$^{2}$ within the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey region in Bootes (NDWFS) using the Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Most sources are optically very faint (I > 24mag). Redshifts have previously been determined for 34 sources, based primarily on the presence of a deep 9.7 micron silicate absorption feature, with a median z of 2.2. Spectra are presented for the remaining 24 sources for which we were previously unable to determine a confident redshift because the IRS spectra show no strong features. Optical photometry from the NDWFS and infrared photometry with MIPS and the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope (IRAC) are given, with K photometry from the Keck I telescope for some objects. The sources without strong spectral features have overall spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and distributions among optical and infrared fluxes which are similar to those for the sources with strong absorption features. Nine of the 24 sources are found to have feasible redshift determinations based on fits of a weak silicate absorption feature. Results confirm that the "1 mJy" population of 24 micron Spitzer sources which are optically faint is dominated by dusty sources with spectroscopic indicators of an obscured AGN rather than a starburst. There remain 14 of the 58 sources observed in Bootes for which no redshift could be estimated, and 5 of these sources are invisible at all optical wavelengths.Comment: Accepted by Ap