Nuclear Cusps and Cores in Early-type Galaxies As Relics of Binary Black Hole Mergers

We present an analysis of the central cusp slopes and core parameters of early-type galaxies using a large database of surface brightness profiles obtained from Hubble Space Telescope observations. We examine the relation between the central cusp slopes, core parameters, and black hole masses in early-type galaxies, in light of two models that attempt to explain the formation of cores and density cusps via the dynamical influence of black holes. Contrary to the expectations from adiabatic-growth models, we find that the cusp slopes do not steepen with increasing black hole mass fraction. Moreover, a comparison of kinematic black hole mass measurements with the masses predicted by the adiabatic models shows that they overpredict the masses by a factor of approximately 3. Simulations involving binary black hole mergers predict that both the size of the core and the central mass deficit correlate with the final black hole mass. These relations are qualitatively supported by the present data.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 8 page

Activation of p38 MAPK in the substantia nigra leads to nuclear translocation of NF-κB in MPTP-treated mice: implication in Parkinson's disease

Activation and translocation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) from cytoplasm to the nucleus has been reported in models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Our focus was to discern the upstream events which ultimately lead to NF-κB nuclear translocation using animal model of PD. We demonstrate that p38 activation results in downstream phosphorylation of NF-κB and accumulation of p65 subunit of NF-κB selectively in ventral midbrain but not in striatum. Treatment with p38 inhibitor, SB239063, prevented downstream phosphorylation of IκBα and p65 translocation to the nucleus in the ventral midbrain. Phosphorylation of anti-apoptotic Bcl2, an NF-κB target gene by p38 to inactive pBcl2ser87 was also attenuated by SB239063. Increased staining of p65 in the nuclei of cells in the substantia nigra but not in the ventral tegmental area of MPTP-treated mice further suggests a role for NF-κB in PD. In agreement with the above, sustained caspase activation is seen in the ventral midbrain but not in striatum. We demonstrate the region specific p38-mediated activation of NF-κB following MPTP treatment demonstrating the role of p38/NF-κB signaling in the pathogenesis and progression of the disease. Selective inhibitors of p38 may therefore, help preserve the surviving neurons in PD and slow down the disease progression

The Influence of GRA and TOPSIS for Assortment of Green Supply Chain Management Strategies in Cement Industry

The present paper aimed at proposing new strategies for evaluating the green supply chain management for enhancing the priority to environmental factors in cement manufacturing life cycle analysis, there by reducing the carbon foot prints. These strategies help in producing eco-friendly products there striking the balance between economy and environment. Initially green supply chain priorities are defined by using grey relational analysis (GRA). The priority weights obtained by GRA method is used to determine the weight for each indicator selected in the present study and then GRA is combined with TOPSIS methodology to obtain the priority for level-II measurement indicators used in the present study. These strategies will influence the decision making priorities during cement manufacturing. Keywords - Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM), strategy prioritization, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), TOPSIS, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA

Presence of splice variant forms of cytochrome P4502D1 in rat brain but not in liver

Cytochromes P450 (P450), a family of heme-containing proteins, is involved in the oxidative metabolism of both foreign and endogenous compounds. Although liver is quantitatively the major organ involved in the metabolism of most xenobiotics, there is increasing evidence that these enzymes are present in extrahepatic tissues, such as lung, kidney, brain, etc and they may contribute to the in situ metabolism of xenobiotics in these organs. The possible relationship between genetic polymorphism seen in P4502D6 and incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, has prompted the characterization of P4502D enzymes in rat brain. In the present study, we demonstrate that P4502D1 (the rat homologue of human P4502D6) is constitutively expressed in rat brain and the mRNA and protein are localized predominantly in neuronal cell population in the olfactory bulb, cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus. An alternate spliced transcript of CYP2D1 having exon 3 deletion was detected in rat brain but not in liver. Deletion of exon 3 causes frame shift and generates a stop codon at 391 bp relative to the start codon ATG leading to premature termination of translation. Thus, Northern blotting and in situ hybridization represent contributions from functional transcripts and alternate spliced variants that do not translate into functional protein. Further, the splice variant having partial inclusion of intron 6 detected in human brain was not detected in rat brain indicating that alternate spliced gene products of P450 enzymes are generated in species-specific and tissue-specific manner