Fermi-LAT study of two gamma-ray binaries, HESS J0632+057 and AGL J2241+4454

GeV gamma-ray emission from two gamma-ray binary candidates, HESS J0632+057 and AGL J2241+4454, which were recently reported by H.E.S.S. and AGILE, respectively, have been searched for using the Fermi-LAT archival dataset. Spatial and temporal distribution of gamma-ray events are studied, but there was no evidence for GeV gamma-ray signal from either sources.Comment: 2012 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C12102

Hydrodynamic Interaction between the Be Star and the Pulsar in the TeV Binary PSR B1259-63/LS 2883

We study the interaction between the Be star and the pulsar in the TeV binary PSR B1259-63/LS 2883, using 3-D SPH simulations of the tidal and wind interactions in this Be-pulsar system. We first run a simulation without pulsar wind nor Be wind, taking into account only the gravitational effect of the pulsar on the Be disk. In this simulation, the gas particles are ejected at a constant rate from the equatorial surface of the Be star, which is tilted in a direction consistent with multi-waveband observations. We run the simulation until the Be disk is fully developed and starts to repeat a regular tidal interaction with the pulsar. Then, we turn on the pulsar wind and the Be wind. We run two simulations with different wind mass-loss rates for the Be star, one for a B2V type and the other for a significantly earlier spectral type. Although the global shape of the interaction surface between the pulsar wind and the Be wind agrees with the analytical solution, the effect of the pulsar wind on the Be disk is profound. The pulsar wind strips off an outer part of the Be disk, truncating the disk at a radius significantly smaller than the pulsar orbit. Our results, therefore, rule out the idea that the pulsar passes through the Be disk around periastron, which has been assumed in the previous studies. It also turns out that the location of the contact discontinuity can be significantly different between phases when the pulsar wind directly hits the Be disk and those when the pulsar wind collides with the Be wind. It is thus important to adequately take into account the circumstellar environment of the Be star, in order to construct a satisfactory model for this prototypical TeV binary.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

Lower Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) Is Associated with Higher Risk of Fractures in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Background: Although malnutrition and bone fracture are both major complications in patients undergoing hemodialysis, their association has not been clarified. The aim of our study was to clarify the association between the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), an indicator of nutritional status, and the incidence of bone fractures in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Methods: We included 1342 registered patients undergoing hemodialysis and performed a post hoc analysis. We divided patients into the high GNRI group (≥92), considered to have a low risk of malnutrition, and the low GNRI group (<92), considered to have a high risk of malnutrition. Fracture-free survival in the low and high GNRI groups was evaluated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify the risk factors for fractures requiring hospitalization. All results were stratified by sex. Results: New bone fractures developed in 108 (8.0%) patients in 5 years of follow-up. Bone fractures occurred more frequently in the low GNRI group compared with the high GNRI group (HR: 3.51, 95% CI: 1.91–6.42, p < 0.01 in males; HR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.52–4.03, p < 0.01 in females). A low GNRI was significantly associated with an increased incidence of bone fractures, even after adjustment for covariates. However, the serum levels of calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone, and alkaline phosphatase were not associated with the incidence of bone fractures. Conclusions: A low GNRI is an independent risk factor for bone fractures in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Early intervention for the low GNRI group may be important in preventing the occurrence of fractures

Changes in a soybean during imbibition at a median longitudinal section (Fig

C, α) normal to the raphe–antiraphe of the longer axis. A soybean (‘Mikawashima’) was fixed by the method indicated in Fig. A. Images were acquired continuously for 20 h at 15-min intervals after 5 min of imbibition, and those presented here are at 60-min intervals from 5 min of imbibition for a period of 17 h, as follows: (A) 5 min, (B) 1 h 5 min, (C) 2 h 5 min, (D) 3 h 5 min, (E) 4 h 5 min, (F) 5 h 5 min, (G) 6 h 5 min, (H) 7 h 5 min, (I) 8 h 5 min, (J) 9 h 5 min, (K) 10 h 5 min, (L) 11 h 5 min, (M) 12 h 5 min, (N) 13 h 5 min, (O) 14 h 5 min, (P) 15 h 5 min, (Q) 16 h 5 min, and (R) 17 h 5 min. Highlighted signals represent water taken up.<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Role of Seed Coat in Imbibing Soybean Seeds Observed by Micro-magnetic Resonance Imaging"</p><p></p><p> 2008;102(3):343-352.</p><p>Published online 19 Jun 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2516911.</p><p></p