Notes on some plant collections from Bachok and several forest reserves in Kelantan

A botanical survey of Bachok and various forest reserves at Jeram Linang, Jeram Pasu and Bukit Bakar was part of an expedition from 14–20 June 2008 carried out by the IOES (Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences) University of Malaya to survey and prepare an inventory of the biodiversity of the coastal region around Bachok, Kelantan. A total of 54 species from 30 families, consisting of seashore and mangrove plants were identified from the coastal area of Bachok and Semerak; while 89 species of flowering plants representing 44 families, a single gymnosperm, Agathis borneensis (Araucariaceae); and 15 genera and 23 species of mosses (from 10 families) were recorded in the three forest reserves. Several of the species collected were rarely found outside Kelantan. Satu survei tumbuhan di Bachok dan beberapa hutan simpanan termasuk Jeram Linang, Jeram Pasu dan Bukit Bakar, Kelantan adalah sebahagian ekspedisi survei biodiversiti kawasan pantai di sekitar Bachok Kelantan oleh IOES (Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences) Universiti Malaya pada 14–20 Jun 2008. Sejumlah 54 spesies daripada 30 famili tumbuhan pantai dan bakau dikenalpasti dari kawasan pantai Bachok dan Semerak; sedangkan 89 spesies tumbuhan berbunga (mewakili 44 famili), satu gimnosperma, Agathis borneensis (Araucariaceae); serta 15 genera dan 23 spesies daripada 10 famili lumut sejati telah direkodkan di kawasan sekitar Jeram Linang, Jeram Pasu dan Hutan Lipur Bukit Bakar. Beberapa spesies yang dikutip adalah jarang ditemui di luar Kelantan

RELA governs a network of islet-specific metabolic genes necessary for beta cell function

Published online: 14 June 2023AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: NF-κB activation unites metabolic and inflammatory responses in many diseases yet less is known about the role that NF-κB plays in normal metabolism. In this study we investigated how RELA impacts the beta cell transcriptional landscape and provides network control over glucoregulation. METHODS: We generated novel mouse lines harbouring beta cell-specific deletion of either the Rela gene, encoding the canonical NF-κB transcription factor p65 (βp65KO mice), or the Ikbkg gene, encoding the NF-κB essential modulator NEMO (βNEMOKO mice), as well as βA20Tg mice that carry beta cell-specific and forced transgenic expression of the NF-κB-negative regulator gene Tnfaip3, which encodes the A20 protein. Mouse studies were complemented by bioinformatics analysis of human islet chromatin accessibility (assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing [ATAC-seq]), promoter capture Hi-C (pcHi-C) and p65 binding (chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing [ChIP-seq]) data to investigate genome-wide control of the human beta cell metabolic programme. RESULTS: Rela deficiency resulted in complete loss of stimulus-dependent inflammatory gene upregulation, consistent with its known role in governing inflammation. However, Rela deletion also rendered mice glucose intolerant because of functional loss of insulin secretion. Glucose intolerance was intrinsic to beta cells as βp65KO islets failed to secrete insulin ex vivo in response to a glucose challenge and were unable to restore metabolic control when transplanted into secondary chemical-induced hyperglycaemic recipients. Maintenance of glucose tolerance required Rela but was independent of classical NF-κB inflammatory cascades, as blocking NF-κB signalling in vivo by beta cell knockout of Ikbkg (NEMO), or beta cell overexpression of Tnfaip3 (A20), did not cause severe glucose intolerance. Thus, basal p65 activity has an essential and islet-intrinsic role in maintaining normal glucose homeostasis. Genome-wide bioinformatic mapping revealed the presence of p65 binding sites in the promoter regions of specific metabolic genes and in the majority of islet enhancer hubs (~70% of ~1300 hubs), which are responsible for shaping beta cell type-specific gene expression programmes. Indeed, the islet-specific metabolic genes Slc2a2, Capn9 and Pfkm identified within the large network of islet enhancer hub genes showed dysregulated expression in βp65KO islets. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: These data demonstrate an unappreciated role for RELA as a regulator of islet-specific transcriptional programmes necessary for the maintenance of healthy glucose metabolism. These findings have clinical implications for the use of anti-inflammatories, which influence NF-κB activation and are associated with diabetes.Nathan W. Zammit, Ying Ying Wong, Stacey N. Walters, Joanna Warren, Simon C. Barry, Shane T. Gre

Cosmological parameters from SDSS and WMAP

We measure cosmological parameters using the three-dimensional power spectrum P(k) from over 200,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in combination with WMAP and other data. Our results are consistent with a ``vanilla'' flat adiabatic Lambda-CDM model without tilt (n=1), running tilt, tensor modes or massive neutrinos. Adding SDSS information more than halves the WMAP-only error bars on some parameters, tightening 1 sigma constraints on the Hubble parameter from h~0.74+0.18-0.07 to h~0.70+0.04-0.03, on the matter density from Omega_m~0.25+/-0.10 to Omega_m~0.30+/-0.04 (1 sigma) and on neutrino masses from <11 eV to <0.6 eV (95%). SDSS helps even more when dropping prior assumptions about curvature, neutrinos, tensor modes and the equation of state. Our results are in substantial agreement with the joint analysis of WMAP and the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, which is an impressive consistency check with independent redshift survey data and analysis techniques. In this paper, we place particular emphasis on clarifying the physical origin of the constraints, i.e., what we do and do not know when using different data sets and prior assumptions. For instance, dropping the assumption that space is perfectly flat, the WMAP-only constraint on the measured age of the Universe tightens from t0~16.3+2.3-1.8 Gyr to t0~14.1+1.0-0.9 Gyr by adding SDSS and SN Ia data. Including tensors, running tilt, neutrino mass and equation of state in the list of free parameters, many constraints are still quite weak, but future cosmological measurements from SDSS and other sources should allow these to be substantially tightened.Comment: Minor revisions to match accepted PRD version. SDSS data and ppt figures available at http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~max/sdsspars.htm

Nucleon charge exchange on the deuteron: A critical review

The existing experimental data on the d(n,p)nn and d(p,n)pp cross sections in the forward direction are reviewed in terms of the Dean sum rule. It is shown that the measurement of the ratio of the charge exchange on the deuteron to that on the proton might, if taken together with other experimental data, allow a direct construction of the np -> np scattering amplitude in the backward direction with few ambiguities.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figure

The relationship between body mass index and sleep in women with risk factors for gestational diabetes mellitus

OnlinePublBackground: Both obesity and sleep disorders are common among women during pregnancy. Although prior research has identified a relationship between obesity and sleep disorders, those findings are from women later in pregnancy. Objective: To explore the relationships between self‐reported sleep duration, insufficient sleep and snoring with body mass index (BMI) among multiethnic women at risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)in early pregnancy.Methods: Cross‐sectional study of baseline data from women at risk of GDM enrolled in the Treatment of BOoking Gestational diabetes Mellitus (TOBOGM) multicentre trial across 12 Australian/Austrian sites. Participants completed a questionnaire before 20 weeks’ gestation to evaluate sleep. BMI 5 days/ month was higher in class II and class III obesity (1.38 (1.03–1.85) and 1.34 (1.01– 1.80), respectively), and the risk of snoring increased as BMI increased (1.59 (1.25– 2.02), 2.68 (2.07–3.48), 4.35 (3.21–5.88) to 4.96 (3.65–6.74), respectively)). Conclusions: Obesity is associated with insufficient sleep among pregnant women at risk of GDM. Snoring is more prevalent with increasing BMI.Pamela Acosta Reyes, Jincy Immanuel, William M. Hague, Helena Teede, Emily Hibbert, Christopher J. Nolan, Michael J. Peek, Vincent Wong, Jeffrey R. Flack, Mark McLean, Raiyomand Dalal, Jürgen Harreiter, Alexandra Kautzky, Willer, Rohit Rajagopal, Arianne Sweeting, Glynis P. Ross, Ngai Wah Cheung, David Simmon

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association analysis of corneal thickness strengthens link between complex and Mendelian eye diseases

Central corneal thickness (CCT) is a highly heritable trait associated with complex eye diseases such as keratoconus and glaucoma. We perform a genome-wide association meta-analysis of CCT and identify 19 novel regions. In addition to adding support for known connective tissue-related pathways, pathway analyses uncover previously unreported gene sets. Remarkably, >20% of the CCT-loci are near or within Mendelian disorder genes. These included FBN1, ADAMTS2 and TGFB2 which associate with connective tissue disorders (Marfan, Ehlers-Danlos and Loeys-Dietz syndromes), and the LUM-DCN-KERA gene complex involved in myopia, corneal dystrophies and cornea plana. Using index CCT-increasing variants, we find a significant inverse correlation in effect sizes between CCT and keratoconus (r =-0.62, P = 5.30 × 10-5) but not between CCT and primary open-angle glaucoma (r =-0.17, P = 0.2). Our findings provide evidence for shared genetic influences between CCT and keratoconus, and implicate candidate genes acting in collagen and extracellular matrix regulation

Measurement of the cross section for isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti- algorithm with radius parameter and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon–jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon–jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from Sherpa and Pythia as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from Jetphox and Sherpa are compared to the measurements

Measurement of the View the tt production cross-section using eμ events with b-tagged jets in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (σtt¯) with a data sample of 3.2 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron–muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously σtt¯ and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: σtt¯ = 818 ± 8 (stat) ± 27 (syst) ± 19 (lumi) ± 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented