540 research outputs found
The Roles of PPARs in the Fetal Origins of Metabolic Health and Disease
Beyond the short-term effects on fertility, there is increasing evidence that obesity or the consumption of an inappropriate diet by the mother during pregnancy adversely affects the long-term health of her offspring. PPAR and RXR isotypes are widely expressed in reproductive tissues and in the developing fetus. Through their interactions with fatty acids, they may mediate adaptive responses to the changes in the maternal diet. In the maturing follicle, PPAR-Îł has an important role in the granulosa cells that surround the maturing oocyte. After fertilisation, PPAR-Îł and PPAR-ÎČ/ÎŽ are essential regulators of placentation and the subsequent development of key metabolic tissues such as skeletal muscle and adipose cells. Activation of PPAR-Îł and PPAR-ÎČ/ÎŽ during fetal development has the potential to modify the growth and development of these tissues. PPAR-α is expressed at low levels in the fetal liver, however, this expression may be important, as changes in the methylation of DNA in its promoter region are reported to take place during this period of development. This epigenetic modification then programmes subsequent expression. These findings suggest that two separate PPAR-dependent mechanisms may be involved in the fetal adaptations to the maternal diet, one, mediated by PPAR-Îł and PPAR-ÎČ/ÎŽ, regulating cell growth and differentiation; and another adapting long-term lipid metabolism via epigenetic changes in PPAR-α to optimise postnatal survival
Bridging the Divide between Manual Gating and Bioinformatics with the Bioconductor Package flowFlowJo
In flow cytometry, different cell types are usually selected or âgatedâ by a series of 1- or 2-dimensional geometric subsets of the measurements made on each cell. This is easily accomplished in commercial flow cytometry packages but it is difficult to work computationally with the results of this process. The ability to retrieve the results and work with both them and the raw data is critical; our experience points to the importance of bioinformatics tools that will allow us to examine gating robustness, combine manual and automated gating, and perform exploratory data analysis. To provide this capability, we have developed a Bioconductor package called flowFlowJo that can import gates defined by the commercial package FlowJo and work with them in a manner consistent with the other flow packages in Bioconductor. We present this package and illustrate some of the ways in which it can be used
The valuation of European financial firms
We extend the recent literature concerning accounting based valuation models to investigate financial firms from six European countries with substantial financial sectors: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Not only are these crucial industries worthy of study in their own right, but unusual accounting practices, and inter-country differences in those accounting practices, provide valuable insights into the accounting-value relationship. Our sample consists of 7,714 financial firm/years observations from 1,140 companies drawn from 1989-2000. Sub-samples include 1,309 firm/years for banks, 650 for insurance companies, 1,705 for real estate firms, and 3,239 for investment companies. In most countries we find that the valuation models work as well or better in explaining cross-sectional variations in the market-to-book ratio for financial firms as they do for industrial and commercial firms in the same countries, although Switzerland is an exception to this generalization. As expected, the results are sensitive to industrial differences, accounting regulation and accounting practices. In particular, marking assets to market value reduces the relevance of earnings figures and increases that of equity
BATSE Observations of Gamma-Ray Burst Spectra. IV. Time-Resolved High-Energy Spectroscopy
We report on the temporal behavior of the high-energy power law continuum
component of gamma-ray burst spectra with data obtained by the Burst and
Transient Source Experiment. We have selected 126 high fluence and high flux
bursts from the beginning of the mission up until the present. Much of the data
were obtained with the Large Area Detectors, which have nearly all-sky
coverage, excellent sensitivity over two decades of energy and moderate energy
resolution, ideal for continuum spectra studies of a large sample of bursts at
high time resolution. At least 8 spectra from each burst were fitted with a
spectral form that consisted of a low-energy power law, a spectral break at
middle energies and a high-energy continuum. In most bursts (122), the
high-energy continuum was consistent with a power law. The evolution of the
fitted high-energy power-law index over the selected spectra for each burst is
inconsistent with a constant for 34% of the total sample. The sample
distribution of the average value for the index from each burst is fairly
narrow, centered on -2.12. A linear trend in time is ruled out for only 20% of
the bursts, with hard-to-soft evolution dominating the sample (100 events). The
distribution for the total change in the power-law index over the duration of a
burst peaks at the value -0.37, and is characterized by a median absolute
deviation of 0.39, arguing that a single physical process is involved. We
present analyses of the correlation of the power-law index with time, burst
intensity and low-energy time evolution. In general, we confirm the general
hard-to-soft spectral evolution observed in the low-energy component of the
continuum, while presenting evidence that this evolution is different in nature
from that of the rest of the continuum.Comment: 30 pages, with 2 tables and 9 figures To appear in The Astrophysical
Journal, April 1, 199
Self-Generated Magnetic Fields in Galactic Cooling Flows
Interstellar magnetic fields in elliptical galaxies are assumed to have their
origin in stellar fields that accompany normal mass loss from an evolving
population of old stars. The seed fields are amplified by interstellar
turbulence driven by stellar mass loss and supernova events. These disordered
fields are further amplified by time-dependent compression in the inward moving
galactic cooling flow and are expected to dominate near the galactic core.
Under favorable circumstances, fields similar in strength to those observed G can be generated solely from these natural
galactic processes. In general the interstellar field throughout elliptical
galaxies is determined by the outermost regions in the interstellar gas where
the turbulent dynamo process can occur. Because of the long hydrodynamic flow
times in galactic cooling flows, currently observed magnetic fields may result
from periods of intense turbulent field amplification that occurred in the
outer galaxy in the distant past. Particularly strong fields in ellipticals may
result from ancient galactic mergers or shear turbulence introduced at the
boundary between the interstellar gas and ambient cluster gas.Comment: 21 pages in AASTEX LaTeX with 2 figures; accepted by Astrophysical
Journa
Triggered Star Formation in a Massive Galaxy at z=3.8: 4C41.17
Spectropolarimetric observations obtained with the W. M. Keck Telescope of
the z=3.8 radio galaxy 4C41.17 show that the UV continuum emission from this
galaxy, which is aligned with the radio axis, is unpolarized (P[2sigma] <
2.4%). This implies that scattered AGN light, which is generally the dominant
contributor to the rest-frame UV emission in z~1 radio galaxies, is unlikely to
be a major component of the UV flux from 4C41.17. The spectrum shows absorption
lines that are similar to those detected in the spectra of the recently
discovered population of star forming galaxies at z~2-3. A galaxian outflow may
contribute partially to the low ionization absorption lines; however, the high
velocity wings of the high ionization lines are unlikely to be dominated by a
galaxian wind since the implied outflow mass is very large. The detection of
stellar absorption lines, the shape of the SiIV profile, the unpolarized
continuum, the inability of any AGN-related processes to account for the UV
flux, and the similarity of the UV continuum spectra of 4C41.17 and the nearby
starburst region NGC 1741B1 suggest that the UV light in 4C41.17 is dominated
by young stars. If so, the implied star-formation rate is roughly
140-1100Msun/yr. We discuss the possibility that star formation in 4C41.17 was
triggered by the radio source. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that
4C41.17 is undergoing its major epoch of star formation at z~4, and that by z~1
it will have evolved to have spectral and morphological properties similar to
those observed in known z~1 powerful radio galaxies.Comment: 28 pages (Latex text + figures); Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journal (Dec 1, 1997 issue
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Highly selective and solvent-dependent reduction of Nitrobenzene to N-phenylhydroxylamine, azoxybenzene, and aniline catalyzed by phosphino-modified polymer immobilized ionic liquid-stabilized AuNPs
Gold nanoparticles stabilized by phosphine-decorated polymer immobilized ionic liquids (AuNP@PPh2-PIILP) is an extremely efficient multiproduct selective catalyst for the sodium borohydride-mediated reduction of nitrobenzene giving N-phenylhydroxylamine, azoxybenzene, or aniline as the sole product under mild conditions and a very low catalyst loading. The use of a single nanoparticle-based catalyst for the partial and complete reduction of nitroarenes to afford three different products with exceptionally high selectivities is unprecedented. Under optimum conditions, thermodynamically unfavorable N-phenylhydroxylamine can be obtained as the sole product in near quantitative yield in water, whereas a change in reaction solvent to ethanol results in a dramatic switch in selectivity to afford azoxybenzene. The key to obtaining such a high selectivity for N-phenylhydroxylamine is the use of a nitrogen atmosphere at room temperature as reactions conducted under an inert atmosphere occur via the direct pathway and are essentially irreversible, while reactions in air afford significant amounts of azoxy-based products by virtue of competing condensation due to reversible formation of N-phenylhydroxylamine. Ultimately, aniline can also be obtained quantitatively and selectively by adjusting the reaction temperature and time accordingly. Introduction of PEG onto the polyionic liquid resulted in a dramatic improvement in catalyst efficiency such that N-phenylhydroxylamine could be obtained with a turnover number (TON) of 100âŻ000 (turnover frequency (TOF) of 73âŻ000 hâ1, with >99% selectivity), azoxybenzene with a TON of 55âŻ000 (TOF of 37âŻ000 hâ1 with 100% selectivity), and aniline with a TON of 500âŻ000 (TOF of 62âŻ500 hâ1, with 100% selectivity). As the combination of ionic liquid and phosphine is required to achieve high activity and selectivity, further studies are currently underway to explore whether interfacial electronic effects influence adsorption and thereby selectivity and whether channeling of the substrate by the electrostatic potential around the AuNPs is responsible for the high activity. This is the first report of a AuNP-based system that can selectively reduce nitroarenes to either of two synthetically important intermediates as well as aniline and, in this regard, is an exciting discovery that will form the basis to develop a continuous flow process enabling facile scale-up
Conditions for spontaneous homogenization of the Universe
The present-day Universe appears to be homogeneous on very large scales. Yet
when the casual structure of the early Universe is considered, it becomes
apparent that the early Universe must have been highly inhomogeneous. The
current paradigm attempts to answer this problem by postulating the inflation
mechanism However, inflation in order to start requires a homogeneous patch of
at least the horizon size. This paper examines if dynamical processes of the
early Universe could lead to homogenization. In the past similar studies seem
to imply that the set of initial conditions that leads to homogenization is of
measure zero. This essay proves contrary: a set of initial conditions for
spontaneous homogenization of cosmological models can form a set of non-zero
measure.Comment: 7 pages. Fifth Award in the 2010 Gravity Research Foundation essay
competitio
Spectral reflectance of whale skin above the sea surface: a proposed measurement protocol
Great whales have been detected using veryâhighâresolution satellite imagery, suggesting this technology could be used to monitor whales in remote areas. However, the application of this method to whale studies is at an early developmental stage and several technical factors need to be addressed, including capacity for species differentiation and the maximum depth of detection in the water column. Both require knowledge of the spectral reflectance of the various whale species just above the sea surface, as when whales bodies break the surface of the water to breath, log or breach, there is, at times, no sea water between the whale's skin and the satellite sensor. Here we tested whether such reflectance could be measured on dead whale tissue. We measured the spectral reflectance of fresh integument collected during the bowhead subsistence harvest, and of thawed integument samples from various species obtained following strandings and stored at â20°C. We show that fresh and thawed samples of whale integument have different spectral properties. The reflectance of fresh samples was higher than the reflectance of thawed samples, as integument appears to darken after death and with time, even under frozen conditions. In this study, we present the first whale reflectance estimates (without the influence of sea water and for dead tissue). These provide a baseline for additional work, needed to advance the use of satellite imagery to monitor whales and facilitate their conservation
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