Subaru Studies of the Cosmic Dawn

An overview on the current status of the census of the early universe population is given. Observational surveys of high redshift objects provide direct opportunities to study the early epoch of the Universe. The target population included are Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAE), Lyman Break Galaxies (LBG), gravitationally lensed galaxies, quasars and gamma-ray bursts (GRB). The basic properties of these objects and the methods used to study them are reviewed. The present paper highlights the fact that the Subaru Telescope group made significant contributions in this field of science to elucidate the epoch of the cosmic dawn and to improve the understanding of how and when infant galaxies evolve into mature ones.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series

The Cellular Prion Protein Interacts with the Tissue Non-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase in Membrane Microdomains of Bioaminergic Neuronal Cells

BACKGROUND: The cellular prion protein, PrP(C), is GPI anchored and abundant in lipid rafts. The absolute requirement of PrP(C) in neurodegeneration associated to prion diseases is well established. However, the function of this ubiquitous protein is still puzzling. Our previous work using the 1C11 neuronal model, provided evidence that PrP(C) acts as a cell surface receptor. Besides a ubiquitous signaling function of PrP(C), we have described a neuronal specificity pointing to a role of PrP(C) in neuronal homeostasis. 1C11 cells, upon appropriate induction, engage into neuronal differentiation programs, giving rise either to serotonergic (1C11(5-HT)) or noradrenergic (1C11(NE)) derivatives. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The neuronal specificity of PrP(C) signaling prompted us to search for PrP(C) partners in 1C11-derived bioaminergic neuronal cells. We show here by immunoprecipitation an association of PrP(C) with an 80 kDa protein identified by mass spectrometry as the tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). This interaction occurs in lipid rafts and is restricted to 1C11-derived neuronal progenies. Our data indicate that TNAP is implemented during the differentiation programs of 1C11(5-HT) and 1C11(NE) cells and is active at their cell surface. Noteworthy, TNAP may contribute to the regulation of serotonin or catecholamine synthesis in 1C11(5-HT) and 1C11(NE) bioaminergic cells by controlling pyridoxal phosphate levels. Finally, TNAP activity is shown to modulate the phosphorylation status of laminin and thereby its interaction with PrP. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The identification of a novel PrP(C) partner in lipid rafts of neuronal cells favors the idea of a role of PrP in multiple functions. Because PrP(C) and laminin functionally interact to support neuronal differentiation and memory consolidation, our findings introduce TNAP as a functional protagonist in the PrP(C)-laminin interplay. The partnership between TNAP and PrP(C) in neuronal cells may provide new clues as to the neurospecificity of PrP(C) function

Lifespan cerebral grey matter changes in the marmoset monkey

International audienceLifespan cerebral grey matter changes in the marmoset monkeyF. Rémy, N. Vayssière, F. Bazzi, D. Mateo, A. Sadoun, P. Girard, M. Mescam, C. FontaIn the research field of nervous system aging, the common marmoset monkey Callithrix Jacchus may reveal a model of great interest. With its short lifespan (10 years on average), a life-long assessment of cerebral changes in an individual is made feasible in laboratory settings. Moreover, similar to humans, cognitive deficits spontaneously occur at old age and are highly variable between individuals (Sadoun et al 2019, Neurobiology of Aging 74:1-14). Here, we aimed at characterizing marmoset brain structural aging in a cross-sectional MRI study performed on 48 individuals of all ages (6 months to 14 years old, with 21 individuals above 8 years). High-resolution (0.35 × 0.35 × 0.35 mm3) T1-weighted anatomical scans were acquired on a 3T MRI system using a human wrist coil. Scans were processed in SPM12 using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) pipeline. All images were co-registered to a home-made T1 template (average of 12 individual scans). The image segmentation used Tissue Probability Maps (TPMs) of grey matter (GM), white matter (WM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and head/background, which were derived from the creation of a study-specific template using the SPM12 DARTEL procedure. GM images were then spatially normalized to the DARTEL template and smoothed. VBM of grey matter evidenced linear age-related decreases mainly in the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate region and hippocampus, in both hemispheres (figure). This is in line with age-related cortical changes observed in humans. Further analyses, using cortical regions-of-interest derived from the marmoset digital atlas developed in our group (Risser et al 2019, Brain Struct Funct 224(5):1957-1969) are currently underway and could be linked to behavioral performances of these animals in various tasks

Economic valuation of ecosystem services from small-scale agricultural management interventions in Burkina Faso: a discrete choice experiment approach

The main purpose of this paper is to estimate farmers’ preferences and their willingness to pay (WTP) for ecosystem services derived from four agricultural water management (AWM) and resource recovery and reuse (RRR) intervention options in Burkina Faso, using a choice experiment (CE). These include; small water infrastructure, drip irrigation, recovery of organic matter from waste, and treated wastewater. The design decisions relating to attribute selection, the level of attributes, alternatives and choice tasks were guided by literature, field visits, focus group discussions, expert input and an iterative process of the STATA software to generate an orthogonal main-effects CE design. The data used was generated from a random sample of 300 farm households in the Dano and Ouagadougou municipalities in Burkina Faso. Results from conditional logit, latent class logit and mixt logit models show that farmers have positive and significant preferences for drip irrigation, treated wastewater, and organic matter. However, they are WTP on average more for drip irrigation and organic matter for agricultural sustainability. In line with economic theory, the cost of an intervention reduces demand for a given intervention. These findings can provide policy makers with evidence for agricultural policy design to build farmers’ resilience in the Sahel

The method of constructing of a company development trajectory for the strategic goals achievement

Розглянуто розв’язання однієї з задач стратегічного управління – побудова траєкторії розвитку підприємства. Запропоновано метод побудови траєкторії для можливої стратегії досягнення стратегічної цілі підприємства. Траєкторія представляє собою множину сегментів ринку за інтервалами стратегічного періоду, де підприємство плануватиме свою діяльність, щоб досягти стратегічної цілі. Ціль характеризується відповідними значеннями показників ефективності. На підставі траєкторій розвитку здійснюється вибір стратегії для кожної цілі, проводиться аналіз ефективності стратегічних цілей та можливість їх досягнення.Рассмотрено решение одной из задач стратегического управления – построение траектории развития предприятия. Предложен метод ее построения для возможной стратегии достижения стратегической цели предприятия. Траектория представляет собой множество сегментов рынка по интервалам стратегического периода, где предприятие будет планировать свою деятельность, чтобы достичь стратегической цели. Цель характеризуется соответствующими значениями показателей эффективности. На основании траекторий развития осуществляется выбор стратегии для каждой цели, проводится анализ эффективности стратегических целей и возможности предприятия их достигнуть.The article substantiates the relevance of solving strategic management problems. The problem of the strategic goals choice and the formation of strategies to achieve them are highlighted. It is necessary to conduct procedures of goals verification to solve it, i.e. define goals adequacy and strategies to achieve them, including analysis of the resources and the market company's opportunities, determination of the strategies effectiveness, their feasibility and the desirability of achieving goals. It is proposed to use the trajectory approach for such a procedure. A set of possible strategies is formed to achieve each strategic goal. It is necessary to choose an effective strategy and assess the reachability of the goal. The method is considered according to which the trajectories of the company’s development are constructed for applying strategies, and then a strategy is chosen to achieve the strategic company’s goal based on the analysis of these trajectories. The method is based on the idea of sequential analysis for the options. The company can carry out its activities in different segments during the strategic period and as the result to receive different profit. Since the company considers different strategies for achieving the goal, the market segments for each strategy will be different. Therefore, the task is to select efficient market segments for the company according to development strategies. The trajectory is a set of market segments at intervals of the strategic period, where the company is going to plan its activities in order to achieve the strategic goal. Each market segment is characterized by parameters: sales volume, market price and production costs of the enterprise. The criteria for selecting market segments by planning intervals is to maximize the total profit of the company for the entire strategic period. The routes of transitions from one segment to another are formed for planning intervals. Further, such a route is determined so that the total profit from the company’s activities in the market segments of this route for the entire period has been maximum. A strategy is selected for each goal based on the development trajectories, an analysis of the strategic goals effectiveness and the ability of the company to achieve them is made. Using this method, an assessment of the company resource capabilities is carried out. The values of the indicators are determined as a result of the method implementation. These indicators are used in the formation of the company performance indicators. This method is included in the part of the software of the strategic planning module of the EPM system. In this module, strategic objectives and strategies to achieve them are formed

Ablation of TNAP function compromises myelination and synaptogenesis in the mouse brain.

International audienceMutations in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) gene can result in skeletal and dental hypomineralization and severe neurological symptoms. TNAP is expressed in the synaptic cleft and the node of Ranvier in normal adults. Using TNAP knockout (KO) mice (Akp2(-/-)), we studied synaptogenesis and myelination with light- and electron microscopy during the early postnatal days. Ablation of TNAP function resulted in a significant decrease of the white matter of the spinal cord accompanied by ultrastructural evidence of cellular degradation around the paranodal regions and a decreased ratio and diameter of the myelinated axons. In the cerebral cortex, myelinated axons, while present in wild-type, were absent in the Akp2( -/- ) mice and these animals also displayed a significantly increased proportion of immature cortical synapses. The results suggest that TNAP deficiency could contribute to neurological symptoms related to myelin abnormalities and synaptic dysfunction, among which epilepsy, consistently present in the Akp2(-/-) mice and observed in severe cases of hypophosphatasia