563 research outputs found
Identification of miRNA signatures associated with radiation-induced late lung injury in mice.
Acute radiation exposure of the thorax can lead to late serious, and even life-threatening, pulmonary and cardiac damage. Sporadic in nature, late complications tend to be difficult to predict, which prompted this investigation into identifying non-invasive, tissue-specific biomarkers for the early detection of late radiation injury. Levels of circulating microRNA (miRNA) were measured in C3H and C57Bl/6 mice after whole thorax irradiation at doses yielding approximately 70% mortality in 120 or 180 days, respectively (LD70/120 or 180). Within the first two weeks after exposure, weight gain slowed compared to sham treated mice along with a temporary drop in white blood cell counts. 52% of C3H (33 of 64) and 72% of C57Bl/6 (46 of 64) irradiated mice died due to late radiation injury. Lung and heart damage, as assessed by computed tomography (CT) and histology at 150 (C3H mice) and 180 (C57Bl/6 mice) days, correlated well with the appearance of a local, miRNA signature in the lung and heart tissue of irradiated animals, consistent with inherent differences in the C3H and C57Bl/6 strains in their propensity for developing radiation-induced pneumonitis or fibrosis, respectively. Radiation-induced changes in the circulating miRNA profile were most prominent within the first 30 days after exposure and included miRNA known to regulate inflammation and fibrosis. Importantly, early changes in plasma miRNA expression predicted survival with reasonable accuracy (88-92%). The miRNA signature that predicted survival in C3H mice, including miR-34a-5p, -100-5p, and -150-5p, were associated with pro-inflammatory NF-κB-mediated signaling pathways, whereas the signature identified in C57Bl/6 mice (miR-34b-3p, -96-5p, and -802-5p) was associated with TGF-β/SMAD signaling. This study supports the hypothesis that plasma miRNA profiles could be used to identify individuals at high risk of organ-specific late radiation damage, with applications for radiation oncology clinical practice or in the context of a radiological incident
Depth alone is an inappropriate proxy for physiological change in the mesophotic coral Agaricia lamarcki
The physiology of mesophotic Scleractinia varies with depth in response to environmental change. Previous research has documented trends in heterotrophy and photosynthesis with depth, but has not addressed between-site variation for a single species. Environmental differences between sites at a local scale and heterogeneous microhabitats, because of irradiance and food availability, are likely important factors when explaining the occurrence and physiology of Scleractinia. Here, 108 colonies of Agaricia lamarcki were sampled from two locations off the coast of Utila, Honduras, distributed evenly down the observed 50 m depth range of the species. We found that depth alone was not sufficient to fully explain physiological variation. Pulse Amplitude-Modulation fluorometry and stable isotope analyses revealed that trends in photochemical and heterotrophic activity with depth varied markedly between sites. Our isotope analyses do not support an obligate link between photosynthetic activity and heterotrophic subsidy with increasing depth. We found that A. lamarcki colonies at the bottom of the species depth range can be physiologically similar to those nearer the surface. As a potential explanation, we hypothesize sites with high topographical complexity, and therefore varied microhabitats, may provide more physiological niches distributed across a larger depth range. Varied microhabitats with depth may reduce the dominance of depth as a physiological determinant. Thus, A. lamarcki may ‘avoid’ changes in environment with depth, by instead existing in a subset of favourable niches. Our observations correlate with site-specific depth ranges, advocating for linking physiology and abiotic profiles when defining the distribution of mesophotic taxa
TCT-703 Accuracy and Procedural Characteristics of Radiofrequency Compared With Standard Needle Transseptal Puncture for Structural Heart Interventions
1.3 mm Wavelength VLBI of Sagittarius A*: Detection of Time-Variable Emission on Event Horizon Scales
Sagittarius A*, the ~4 x 10^6 solar mass black hole candidate at the Galactic
Center, can be studied on Schwarzschild radius scales with (sub)millimeter
wavelength Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). We report on 1.3 mm
wavelength observations of Sgr A* using a VLBI array consisting of the JCMT on
Mauna Kea, the ARO/SMT on Mt. Graham in Arizona, and two telescopes of the
CARMA array at Cedar Flat in California. Both Sgr A* and the quasar calibrator
1924-292 were observed over three consecutive nights, and both sources were
clearly detected on all baselines. For the first time, we are able to extract
1.3 mm VLBI interferometer phase information on Sgr A* through measurement of
closure phase on the triangle of baselines. On the third night of observing,
the correlated flux density of Sgr A* on all VLBI baselines increased relative
to the first two nights, providing strong evidence for time-variable change on
scales of a few Schwarzschild radii. These results suggest that future VLBI
observations with greater sensitivity and additional baselines will play a
valuable role in determining the structure of emission near the event horizon
of Sgr A*.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to ApJ
Non-perturbative dynamics of hot non-Abelian gauge fields: beyond leading log approximation
Many aspects of high-temperature gauge theories, such as the electroweak
baryon number violation rate, color conductivity, and the hard gluon damping
rate, have previously been understood only at leading logarithmic order (that
is, neglecting effects suppressed only by an inverse logarithm of the gauge
coupling). We discuss how to systematically go beyond leading logarithmic order
in the analysis of physical quantities. Specifically, we extend to
next-to-leading-log order (NLLO) the simple leading-log effective theory due to
Bodeker that describes non-perturbative color physics in hot non-Abelian
plasmas. A suitable scaling analysis is used to show that no new operators
enter the effective theory at next-to-leading-log order. However, a NLLO
calculation of the color conductivity is required, and we report the resulting
value. Our NLLO result for the color conductivity can be trivially combined
with previous numerical work by G. Moore to yield a NLLO result for the hot
electroweak baryon number violation rate.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
The Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization: 8 Station Results
We are developing the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization
(PAPER) to detect 21cm emission from the early Universe, when the first stars
and galaxies were forming. We describe the overall experiment strategy and
architecture and summarize two PAPER deployments: a 4-antenna array in the
low-RFI environment of Western Australia and an 8-antenna array at our
prototyping site in Green Bank, WV. From these activities we report on system
performance, including primary beam model verification, dependence of system
gain on ambient temperature, measurements of receiver and overall system
temperatures, and characterization of the RFI environment at each deployment
site.
We present an all-sky map synthesized between 139 MHz and 174 MHz using data
from both arrays that reaches down to 80 mJy (4.9 K, for a beam size of 2.15e-5
steradians at 154 MHz), with a 10 mJy (620 mK) thermal noise level that
indicates what would be achievable with better foreground subtraction. We
calculate angular power spectra () in a cold patch and determine them
to be dominated by point sources, but with contributions from galactic
synchrotron emission at lower radio frequencies and angular wavemodes. Although
the cosmic variance of foregrounds dominates errors in these power spectra, we
measure a thermal noise level of 310 mK at for a 1.46-MHz band
centered at 164.5 MHz. This sensitivity level is approximately three orders of
magnitude in temperature above the level of the fluctuations in 21cm emission
associated with reionization.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, submitted to AJ. Revision 2 corrects a scaling
error in the x axis of Fig. 12 that lowers the calculated power spectrum
temperatur
Five Kepler target stars that show multiple transiting exoplanet candidates
We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with
the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet
candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these
five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new
insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We
discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the
Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have
been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct
objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three
systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion
commensurabilities---two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the
implications that multitransiting systems have on the distribution of orbital
inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories; as well
as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates
that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable
transit timing variations (TTV) due to gravitational interactions---though none
are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV
analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.Comment: Accepted to Ap
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