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Development of a 3D coculture system to study adipocyte and lymph node cell interactions
We have developed a long term 3-dimensional coculture system with adipocytes and lymph node
cells for the purpose of investigating interactions between these cells in vitro. Present experimental work with the culture system is aimed at introducing lymph node cells, in proportions similar to those found in intact lymph nodes, among differentiated adipocytes and observing interactions and the establishment of a spatial relationship between them. Co-cultures will be used to investigate the lymph node adipocyte interactions following immune stimulation (lipopolysaccharide treatment) measuring production of inflammatory mediators (cytokines) and lipolytic activity
Study of endemic syphilis in Palestine
PART I. A brief account of the history of syphilis
is given. Classical endemics in Scotland,
Norway and Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Russia and other countries are described.
The scarcity of primary manifestations and
apparent rarity of sequelae on the one hand
and the preponderance of mucous membrane
and skin lesions on the other provide a
contrast to what is observed in the modern
venereal diseasesâ clinic. These facts
suggest a difference either in the habits
of the spirochaete or in its surroundings.
Syphilis appears to have become common in
the Turkish Empire about the year 1840.
PART II. A detailed account of the authorâs original
work in Palestine is given. The disease,
as observed there by him, closely resembles
the endemics described in Part I. There is
the same scarcity of primary lesions and
apparent rarity of sequelae. The view is
gradually developed that the difference
between endemic and sporadic syphilis is
mainly that between an innocent and a
venereal disease. The author does not however
maintain that the low incidence of
sequelae is so explained.
PART III. The author holds Patersonâs view that
syphilis was introduced into the endemic
area about the year 1840. The statements
of that worker, recorded in this paper
for the first time, prove the incorrectness
of the opinion generally expressed until
to-day. According to this the British
Army was responsible for the introduction
of the disease during the Great War.
A stain has thus been removed from the
banner of the Last Crusade.
The reasons for regarding the disease
as syphilis and not yaws are given.
The view that treatment by means of
tabloids of Spirocid forms an advance in
the control of endemic syphilis amongst
native races is maintained.
Finally the evidence in favour of the
authorâs view that endemic syphilis is non-venereally spread is displayed
A New Z=0 Metagalactic Ultraviolet Background Limit
We present new integral-field spectroscopy in the outskirts of two nearby, edge-on, late-type galaxies to search for the H alpha emission that is expected from the exposure of their hydrogen gas to the metagalactic ultraviolet background (UVB). Despite the sensitivity of the VIRUS-P spectrograph on the McDonald 2.7 m telescope to low surface brightness emission and the large field of view, we do not detect H alpha to 5 sigma upper limits of 6.4 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 7321 and of 25 x 10(-19) erg s(-1) cm(-2) arcsec(-2) in UGC 1281 in each of the hundreds of independent spatial elements (fibers). We fit gas distribution models from overlapping 21 cm data of HI, extrapolate one scale length beyond the HI data, and estimate predicted H alpha surface brightness maps. We analyze three types of limits from the data with stacks formed from increasingly large spatial regions and compare to the model predictions: (1) single fibers, (2) convolution of the fiber grid with a Gaussian, circular kernel (10('') full width at half-maximum), and (3) the co-added spectra from a few hundred fibers over the brightest model regions. None of these methods produce a significant detection (>5 sigma) with the most stringent constraints on the Hi photoionization rate of Gamma(z = 0) < 1.7 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321 and Gamma(z = 0) < 14 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 1281. The UGC 7321 limit is below previous measurement limits and also below current theoretical models. Restricting the analysis to the fibers bound by the HI data leads to a comparable limit; the limit is Gamma(z = 0) < 2.3 x 10(-14) s(-1) in UGC 7321. We discuss how a low Lyman limit escape fraction in z similar to 0 redshift star-forming galaxies might explain this lower than predicted UVB strength and the prospects of deeper data to make a direct detection.U.S. Government NAG W-2166National Science FoundationUT David BrutonTexas Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program 003658-0295-2007Cynthia and George Mitchell FoundationMcDonald Observator
Secretly Eccentric: The Giant Planet and Activity Cycle of GJ 328
We announce the discovery of a ~2 Jupiter-mass planet in an eccentric 11-year
orbit around the K7/M0 dwarf GJ 328. Our result is based on 10 years' worth of
radial velocity (RV) data from the Hobby-Eberly and Harlan J. Smith telescopes
at McDonald Observatory, and from the Keck Telescope at Mauna Kea. Our analysis
of GJ 328's magnetic activity via the Na I D features reveals a long-period
stellar activity cycle, which creates an additional signal in the star's RV
curve with amplitude 6-10 m/s. After correcting for this stellar RV
contribution, we see that the orbit of the planet is more eccentric than
suggested by the raw RV data. GJ 328b is currently the most massive,
longest-period planet discovered around a low-mass dwarf.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Corrigendum to âA novel salmonid myoD gene is distinctly regulated during development and probably arose by duplication after the genome tetraploidizationâ [FEBS Lett. 580 (2006) 4996â5002]
Statistical Evidence for Three classes of Gamma-ray Bursts
Two different multivariate clustering techniques, the K-means partitioning
method and the Dirichlet process of mixture modeling, have been applied to the
BATSE Gamma-ray burst (GRB) catalog, to obtain the optimum number of coherent
groups. In the standard paradigm, GRB are classified in only two groups, the
long and short bursts. However, for both the clustering techniques, the optimal
number of classes was found to be three, a result which is consistent with
previous statistical analysis. In this classification, the long bursts are
further divided into two groups which are primarily differentiated by their
total fluence and duration and hence are named low and high fluence GRB.
Analysis of GRB with known red-shifts and spectral parameters suggests that low
fluence GRB have nearly constant isotropic energy output of 10^{52} ergs while
for the high fluence ones, the energy output ranges from 10^{52} to 10^{54}
ergs. It is speculated that the three kinds of GRBs reflect three different
origins: mergers of neutron star systems, mergers between white dwarfs and
neutron stars, and collapse of massive stars.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Minor
editorial change
Psychological Factors in Asthma
<p/> <p>Asthma has long been considered a condition in which psychological factors have a role. As in many illnesses, psychological variables may affect outcome in asthma via their effects on treatment adherence and symptom reporting. Emerging evidence suggests that the relation between asthma and psychological factors may be more complex than that, however. Central cognitive processes may influence not only the interpretation of asthma symptoms but also the manifestation of measurable changes in immune and physiologic markers of asthma. Furthermore, asthma and major depressive disorder share several risk factors and have similar patterns of dysregulation in key biologic systems, including the neuroendocrine stress response, cytokines, and neuropeptides. Despite the evidence that depression is common in people with asthma and exerts a negative impact on outcome, few treatment studies have examined whether improving symptoms of depression do, in fact, result in better control of asthma symptoms or improved quality of life in patients with asthma.</p
Searching for the expelled hydrogen envelope in Type I supernovae via late-time H-alpha emission
We report the first results from our long-term observational survey aimed at
discovering late-time interaction between the ejecta of hydrogen-poor Type I
supernovae and the hydrogen-rich envelope expelled from the progenitor star
several decades/centuries before explosion. The expelled envelope, moving with
a velocity of ~10 -- 100 km s, is expected to be caught up by the
fast-moving SN ejecta several years/decades after explosion depending on the
history of the mass-loss process acting in the progenitor star prior to
explosion. The collision between the SN ejecta and the circumstellar envelope
results in net emission in the Balmer-lines, especially in H-alpha. We look for
signs of late-time H-alpha emission in older Type Ia/Ibc/IIb SNe having
hydrogen-poor ejecta, via narrow-band imaging. Continuum-subtracted H-alpha
emission has been detected for 13 point sources: 9 SN Ibc, 1 SN IIb and 3 SN Ia
events. Thirty-eight SN sites were observed on at least two epochs, from which
three objects (SN 1985F, SN 2005kl, SN 2012fh) showed significant temporal
variation in the strength of their H-alpha emission in our DIAFI data. This
suggests that the variable emission is probably not due to nearby H II regions
unassociated with the SN, and hence is an important additional hint that
ejecta-CSM interaction may take place in these systems. Moreover, we
successfully detected the late-time H-alpha emission from the Type Ib SN 2014C,
which was recently discovered as a strongly interacting SN in various (radio,
infrared, optical and X-ray) bands.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted in Ap
Stellar Activity and its Implications for Exoplanet Detection on GJ 176
We present an in-depth analysis of stellar activity and its effects on radial
velocity (RV) for the M2 dwarf GJ 176 based on spectra taken over 10 years from
the High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. These data are
supplemented with spectra from previous observations with the HIRES and HARPS
spectrographs, and V- and R-band photometry taken over 6 years at the Dyer and
Fairborn observatories. Previous studies of GJ 176 revealed a super-Earth
exoplanet in an 8.8-day orbit. However, the velocities of this star are also
known to be contaminated by activity, particularly at the 39-day stellar
rotation period. We have examined the magnetic activity of GJ 176 using the
sodium I D lines, which have been shown to be a sensitive activity tracer in
cool stars. In addition to rotational modulation, we see evidence of a
long-term trend in our Na I D index, which may be part of a long-period
activity cycle. The sodium index is well correlated with our RVs, and we show
that this activity trend drives a corresponding slope in RV. Interestingly, the
rotation signal remains in phase in photometry, but not in the spectral
activity indicators. We interpret this phenomenon as the result of one or more
large spot complexes or active regions which dominate the photometric
variability, while the spectral indices are driven by the overall magnetic
activity across the stellar surface. In light of these results, we discuss the
potential for correcting activity signals in the RVs of M dwarfs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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