Projective reduction of the discrete Painlev\'e system of type (A2+A1)(1)(A_2+A_1)^{(1)}

We consider the q-Painlev\'e III equation arising from the birational representation of the affine Weyl group of type $(A_2 + A_1)^{(1)}$. We study the reduction of the q-Painlev\'e III equation to the q-Painlev\'e II equation from the viewpoint of affine Weyl group symmetry. In particular, the mechanism of apparent inconsistency between the hypergeometric solutions to both equations is clarified by using factorization of difference operators and the $\tau$ functions.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Purification of Eutrophic Hydro-Environments and the Utilization for New Biomass Forage Resources by Aquatic Plants in Asia

Water pollution, especially eutrophication, has become a serious world-wide problem in recent years. On the other hand, forage is in short supply during the dry season in Asia (especially in Southeast Asia). The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of new forage resources from among aquatic plants. In conclusion, it is suggested that three emergent plants (Zizania latifolia Turcz., Pontederia cordata L., Paspalum distichum L.) are useful as new forage species because of their absorptive ability for nitrogen and phosphorus from eutrophic water and their superior feeding value following ensiling

Mars Ascent Vehicle Hybrid Propulsion Development

Hybrid propulsion is being investigated as a propulsion method for a possible Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) application. MAV is part of a proposed larger Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign plan to bring samples from Mars to earth for examination. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would launch Mars surface samples found and packaged by the Mars 2020 mission to orbit around Mars. This version of hybrid propulsion is based on a wax based solid fuel, called SP7A, and a Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen oxidizer, MON-25. SP7 is a new fuel formulation developed by Space Propulsion Group and was modified for this application to be resistant to Mars temperature extremes and modified again to lower the regression rate to become SP7A. MON-25 was chosen for its low freezing temperature. Due to cost constraints, MON-3 was the oxidizer used during testing through 2018. In 2019, full scale hybrid testing with MON-25 commenced in Mojave, CA by Whittinghill Aerospace. One flight motor will be subjected to thermal cycling in a vacuum and later fired in a vacuum to demonstrate the proposed Liquid Injection Thrust Vector Control system performance at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). In addition, there will be MON-25 characterization work done at Purdue University and WSTF. Additional testing of subscale and full scale motors will be conducted with MON-3 with fuel grain stress, fuel grain support and case design test objectives by Space Propulsion Group Inc. of Butte, MT. This paper documents some of the testing, issues and accomplishments with the MAV hybrid propulsion option that is being considered (along with a two-stage solid propulsion option)

Interplay of superexchange and orbital degeneracy in Cr-doped LaMnO3

We report on structural, magnetic and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) investigations in the manganite system LaMn_{1-x}Cr_{x}O_{3} (x<=0.5). Upon Cr-doping we observe a reduction of the Jahn-Teller distortion yielding less distorted orthorhombic structures. A transition from the Jahn-Teller distorted O' to the pseudocubic O phase occurs between 0.3<x<0.4. A clear connection between this transition and the doping dependence of the magnetic and ESR properties has been observed. The effective moments determined by ESR seem reduced with respect to the spin-only value of both Mn^{3+} and Cr^{3+} ions

S-PLUS DR1 galaxy clusters and groups catalogue using PzWav

We present a catalogue of 4499 groups and clusters of galaxies from the first data release of the multi-filter (5 broad, 7 narrow) Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS). These groups and clusters are distributed over 273 deg$^2$ in the Stripe 82 region. They are found using the PzWav algorithm, which identifies peaks in galaxy density maps that have been smoothed by a cluster scale difference-of-Gaussians kernel to isolate clusters and groups. Using a simulation-based mock catalogue, we estimate the purity and completeness of cluster detections: at S/N>3.3 we define a catalogue that is 80% pure and complete in the redshift range 0.1<z<0.4, for clusters with $M_{200} > 10^{14}$ M$_\odot$. We also assessed the accuracy of the catalogue in terms of central positions and redshifts, finding scatter of $\sigma_R=12$ kpc and $\sigma_z=8.8 \times 10^{-3}$, respectively. Moreover, less than 1% of the sample suffers from fragmentation or overmerging. The S-PLUS cluster catalogue recovers ~80% of all known X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich selected clusters in this field. This fraction is very close to the estimated completeness, thus validating the mock data analysis and paving an efficient way to find new groups and clusters of galaxies using data from the ongoing S-PLUS project. When complete, S-PLUS will have surveyed 9300 deg$^{2}$ of the sky, representing the widest uninterrupted areas with narrow-through-broad multi-band photometry for cluster follow-up studies.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, paper accepted for publication by MNRA

Protein kinase A enhances lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE2 production by human gingival fibroblasts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Periodontal disease is accompanied by inflammation of the gingiva and destruction of periodontal tissues, leading to alveolar bone loss in severe clinical cases. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and the chemical mediator prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂) are known to play important roles in inflammatory responses and tissue degradation.</p> <p>Recently, we reported that the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H-89 suppresses lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced IL-8 production by human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). In the present study, the relevance of the PKA activity and two PKA-activating drugs, aminophylline and adrenaline, to LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and PGE₂by HGFs were examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HGFs were treated with LPS from <it>Porphyromonas gingivalis </it>and H-89, the cAMP analog dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP), aminophylline, or adrenaline. After 24 h, IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂levels were evaluated by ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>H-89 did not affect LPS-induced IL-6 production, but suppressed IL-8 and PGE₂production. In contrast, dbcAMP significantly increased LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂production. Up to 10 μg/ml of aminophylline did not affect LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production, but they were significantly increased at 100 μg/ml. Similarly, 0.01 μg/ml of adrenaline did not affect LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production, but they were significantly increased at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 μg/ml. In the absence of LPS, H-89, dbcAMP, aminophylline, and adrenaline had no relevance to IL-6, IL-8, or PGE₂production.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that the PKA pathway, and also PKA-activating drugs, enhance LPS-induced IL-6, IL-8, and PGE₂production by HGFs. However, aminophylline may not have an effect on the production of these molecules at concentrations used in clinical settings (8 to 20 μg/ml in serum). These results suggest that aminophylline does not affect inflammatory responses in periodontal disease.</p

Various Spatiotemporal Expression Profiles of Anther-Expressed Genes in Rice

The male gametophyte and tapetum play different roles during anther development although they are differentiated from the same cell lineage, the L2 layer. Until now, it has not been possible to delineate their transcriptomes due to technical difficulties in separating the two cell types. In the present study, we characterized the separated transcriptomes of the rice microspore/pollen and tapetum using laser microdissection (LM)-mediated microarray. Spatiotemporal expression patterns of 28,141 anther-expressed genes were classified into 20 clusters, which contained 3,468 (12.3%) anther-enriched genes. In some clusters, synchronous gene expression in the microspore and tapetum at the same developmental stage was observed as a novel characteristic of the anther transcriptome. Noteworthy expression patterns are discussed in connection with gene ontology (GO) categories and gene annotations, which are related to important biological events in anther development, such as pollen maturation, pollen germination, pollen tube elongation and pollen wall formation

High quality RNA isolation from Aedes aegypti midguts using laser microdissection microscopy

Background: Laser microdissection microscopy (LMM) has potential as a research tool because it allows precise excision of target tissues or cells from a complex biological specimen, and facilitates tissue-specific sample preparation. However, this method has not been used in mosquito vectors to date. To this end, we have developed an LMM method to isolate midgut RNA using Aedes aegypti