313 research outputs found
Effects of Low-Level Artificial Light at Night on Kentucky Bluegrass and Introduced Herbivore
Increasing evidence suggests that artificial light at night (ALAN) can negatively impact organisms. However, most studies examine the impacts of ALAN on a single species or under high levels of artificial light that are infrequent or unrealistic in urban environments. We currently have little information on how low levels of artificial light emanating from urban skyglow affect plants and their interactions with herbivores. We examined how low levels of ALAN affect grass and insects, including growth rate, photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance in grass, and foraging behavior and survival in crickets. We compared growth and leaf-level gas exchange of Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) under low-levels of ALAN (0.3 lux) and starlight conditions (night light at 0.001 lux). Furthermore, each light treatment was divided into treatments with and without house crickets (Acheta domesticus). Without crickets present, bluegrass grown under artificial light at night for three weeks grew taller than plants grown under natural night light levels. Once crickets were introduced at the end of week three, grass height decreased resulting in no measurable effects of light treatment. There were no measurable differences in grass physiology among treatments. Our results indicate that low levels of light resulting from skyglow affect plant growth initially. However, with herbivory, ALAN effects on grass may be inconsequential. Gaining an understanding of how ALAN affects plant-insect interactions is critical to predicting ecological and evolutionary consequences of anthropogenic disturbance
The “Mirage” Sensor in a Industrial Environment: Optical and Thermal Losses Determinations
Since the first “Mirage” experiment run in the laboratory of ESPCI in 1979 [1], this method has been used by many other laboratories for the determination of optical and thermal properties and for non destructive evaluation [2] [3] [4]
On Signatures of Short Distance Physics in the Cosmic Microwave Background
Following a self-contained review of the basics of the theory of cosmological
perturbations, we discuss why the conclusions reached in the recent paper by
Kaloper et al are too pessimistic estimates of the amplitude of possible
imprints of trans-Planckian (string) physics on the spectrum of cosmic
microwave anisotropies in an inflationary Universe. It is shown that the likely
origin of large trans-Planckian effects on late time cosmological fluctuations
comes from nonadiabatic evolution of the state of fluctuations while the
wavelength is smaller than the Planck (string) scale, resulting in an excited
state at the time that the wavelength crosses the Hubble radius during
inflation.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Trans-Planckian Physics and the Spectrum of Fluctuations in a Bouncing Universe
In this paper, we calculate the spectrum of scalar field fluctuations in a
bouncing, asymptotically flat Universe, and investigate the dependence of the
result on changes in the physics on length scales shorter than the Planck
length which are introduced via modifications of the dispersion relation. In
this model, there are no ambiguities concerning the choice of the initial
vacuum state. We study an example in which the final spectrum of fluctuations
depends sensitively on the modifications of the dispersion relation without
needing to invoke complex frequencies. Changes in the amplitude and in the
spectral index are possible, in addition to modulations of the spectrum. This
strengthens the conclusions of previous work in which the spectrum of
cosmological perturbations in expanding inflationary cosmologies was studied,
and it was found that, for dispersion relations for which the evolution is not
adiabatic, the spectrum changes from the standard prediction of
scale-invariance.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX4. Analytical determination of the
spectrum, corrected some typos, conclusions unchange
Monocyte-macrophage activation is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis in HIV monoinfection independently of the gut microbiome and bacterial translocation
Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common among people
living with HIV. There are limited data available on the pathophysiology of NAFLD
and the development of fibrosis in this population.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of bacterial
translocation, adipose tissue dysfunction, monocyte activation and gut dysbiosis in
patients with HIV monoinfection and NAFLD.
Methods: Cases with biopsy-proven NAFLD and HIV monoinfection were age and sexmatched
to HIV-positive and HIV-negative controls. Markers of bacterial translocation
[lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), bacterialDNAand lipopolysaccharide (LPS)],
adipose tissue dysfunction (leptin, adiponectin) and monocyte activation (sCD14 and
sCD163) were measured by ELISA. Hepatic patterns of macrophage activation were
explored with immunohistochemistry. 16 s rRNA sequencing was performed with stool.
Results: Thirty-three cases were included (F2 fibrosis n¼16), matched to HIV-positive
(n¼29) and HIV-negative (n¼17) controls. Cases with NAFLD were more obese (BMI
31.04.4 vs. 24.12.8 kg/m2, P<0.001) and had significantly increased levels of sCD14,
sCD163 and higher leptin to adiponectin ratio vs. HIV-positive controls. Cases with F2
verse
High star formation rates as the origin of turbulence in early and modern disk galaxies
High spatial and spectral resolution observations of star formation and
kinematics in early galaxies have shown that two-thirds are massive rotating
disk galaxies with the remainder being less massive non-rotating objects. The
line of sight averaged velocity dispersions are typically five times higher
than in today's disk galaxies. This has suggested that
gravitationally-unstable, gas-rich disks in the early Universe are fuelled by
cold, dense accreting gas flowing along cosmic filaments and penetrating hot
galactic gas halos. However these accreting flows have not been observed, and
cosmic accretion cannot power the observed level of turbulence. Here we report
on a new sample of rare high-velocity-dispersion disk galaxies we have
discovered in the nearby Universe where cold accretion is unlikely to drive
their high star-formation rates. We find that the velocity dispersion is most
fundamentally correlated with their star-formation rates, and not their mass
nor gas fraction, which leads to a new picture where star formation itself is
the energetic driver of galaxy disk turbulence at all cosmic epochs.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Supplimentary Info available at:
http://pulsar.swin.edu.au/~agreen/nature/sigma_mean_arXiv.pdf. Accepted for
publication in Natur
Board examination for anatomical pathology in Switzerland: two intense days to verify professional competence
About 15years ago, the Swiss Society of Pathology has developed and implemented a board examination in anatomical pathology. We describe herein the contents covered by this 2-day exam (autopsy pathology, cytology, histopathology, molecular pathology, and basic knowledge about mechanisms of disease) and its exact modalities, sketch a brief history of the exam, and finish with a concise discussion about the possible objectives and putative benefits weighed against the hardship that it imposes on the candidate
Challenges of drug resistance in the management of pancreatic cancer
The current treatment of choice for metastatic pancreatic cancer involves single agent gemcitabine or combination of gemcitabine with capecitabine and erlotinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitor). Only 25-30% of patients respond to this treatment and patients who do respond initially ultimately exhibit disease progression. Median survival for pancreatic cancer patients has reached a plateau due to inherent and acquired resistance to these agents. Key molecular factors implicated in this resistance include: deficiencies in drug uptake, alteration of drug targets, activations of DNA repair pathways, resistance to apoptosis, and the contribution of the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, for newer agents including tyrosine kinase inhibitors, over expression of signaling proteins, mutations in kinase domains, activation of alternative pathways, mutations of genes downstream of the target, and/or amplification of the target represent key challenges for treatment efficacy. Here we will review the contribution of known mechanisms and markers of resistance to key pancreatic cancer drug treatments
A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs)
are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our
goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters
from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous
sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi
Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular
clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been
significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae,
Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range
1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission
from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral
indices , however the presence of an exponential cut-off
can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC
6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral
properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total
number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We
show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar
encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters,
commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray
emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to
assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make
constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for
understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core
collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J.
Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz
- …