836 research outputs found
Dissecting the Gaseous Halos of z~2 Damped Ly Systems with Close Quasar Pairs
We use spectroscopy of close pairs of quasars to study diffuse gas in the
circumgalactic medium (CGM) surrounding a sample of 40 Damped Lya systems
(DLAs). The primary sightline in each quasar pair probes an intervening DLA in
the redshift range 1.6 < z_DLA < 3.6, such that the second quasar sightline
then probes Lya, CII, SiII, and CIV absorption in the CGM transverse to the DLA
to projected distances kpc. Analysis of the Lya profiles in
these CGM sightlines constrains the covering fraction (f_C) of optically thick
HI (having column density N_HI > 10^17.2 cm^-2) to be greater than ~30% within
kpc of DLAs. Strong SiII 1526 absorption with equivalent
width W_1526 > 0.2 Ang occurs with an incidence f_C (W_1526 > 0.2 Ang) =
20(+12/-8)% within kpc, indicating that low-ionization metal
absorption associated with DLAs probes material at a physical distance R_3D <
30 kpc. However, we find that strong CIV 1548 absorption is ubiquitous in these
environments (f_C (W_1548 > 0.2 Ang) = 57(+12/-13)% within
kpc), and in addition exhibits a high degree of kinematic coherence on scales
up to ~175 kpc. We infer that this high-ionization material arises
predominantly in large, quiescent structures extending beyond the scale of the
DLA host dark matter halos rather than in ongoing galactic winds. The Lya
equivalent width in the DLA-CGM is anticorrelated with at >98%
confidence, suggesting that DLAs arise close to the centers of their host halos
rather than on their outskirts. Finally, the average Lya, CII and CIV
equivalent widths are consistent with those measured around z~2 Lyman Break
Galaxies. Assuming that DLAs trace a galaxy population with lower masses and
luminosities, this finding implies that the absorption strength of cool
circumgalactic material has a weak dependence on dark matter halo mass for M_h
< 10^12 M_sun.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. 30 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, 1 appendix. Uses
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Stromal cells from the adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular fraction and culture expanded adipose tissue-derived stromal/stem cells: A joint statement of the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS) and the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)
Adipose tissue is a rich and very convenient source of cells for regenerative medicine therapeutic approaches. However, a characterization of the population of adipose-derived stromal and stem cells (ASCs) with the greatest therapeutic potential remains unclear. Under the authority of International Federation of Adipose Therapeutics and International Society for Cellular Therapy, this paper sets out to establish minimal definitions of stromal cells both as uncultured stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and as an adherent stromal/stem cells population.Phenotypic and functional criteria for the identification of adipose-derived cells were drawn from the literature.In the SVF, cells are identified phenotypically by the following markers: CD45-CD235a-CD31-CD34+. Added value may be provided by both a viability marker and the following surface antigens: CD13, CD73, CD90 and CD105. The fibroblastoid colony-forming unit assay permits the evaluation of progenitor frequency in the SVF population. In culture, ASCs retain markers in common with other mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs), including CD90, CD73, CD105, and CD44 and remain negative for CD45 and CD31. They can be distinguished from bone-marrow-derived MSCs by their positivity for CD36 and negativity for CD106. The CFU-F assay is recommended to calculate population doublings capacity of ASCs. The adipocytic, chondroblastic and osteoblastic differentiation assays serve to complete the cell identification and potency assessment in conjunction with a quantitative evaluation of the differentiation either biochemically or by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.The goal of this paper is to provide initial guidance for the scientific community working with adipose-derived cells and to facilitate development of international standards based on reproducible parameters.Background aims: Adipose tissue is a rich and very convenient source of cells for regenerative medicine therapeutic approaches. However, a characterization of the population of adipose-derived stromal and stem cells (ASCs) with the greatest therapeutic potential remains unclear. Under the authority of International Federation of Adipose Therapeutics and International Society for Cellular Therapy, this paper sets out to establish minimal definitions of stromal cells both as uncultured stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and as an adherent stromal/stem cells population. Methods: Phenotypic and functional criteria for the identification of adipose-derived cells were drawn from the literature. Results: In the SVF, cells are identified phenotypically by the following markers: CD45-CD235a-CD31-CD34+. Added value may be provided by both a viability marker and the following surface antigens: CD13, CD73, CD90 and CD105. The fibroblastoid colony-forming unit assay permits the evaluation of progenitor frequency in the SVF population. In culture, ASCs retain markers in common with other mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs), including CD90, CD73, CD105, and CD44 and remain negative for CD45 and CD31. They can be distinguished from bone-marrow-derived MSCs by their positivity for CD36 and negativity for CD106. The CFU-F assay is recommended to calculate population doublings capacity of ASCs. The adipocytic, chondroblastic and osteoblastic differentiation assays serve to complete the cell identification and potency assessment in conjunction with a quantitative evaluation of the differentiation either biochemically or by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Conclusions: The goal of this paper is to provide initial guidance for the scientific community working with adipose-derived cells and to facilitate development of international standards based on reproducible parameters. \ua9 2013, International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Transcript-indexed ATAC-seq for precision immune profiling.
T cells create vast amounts of diversity in the genes that encode their T cell receptors (TCRs), which enables individual clones to recognize specific peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) ligands. Here we combined sequencing of the TCR-encoding genes with assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq) analysis at the single-cell level to provide information on the TCR specificity and epigenomic state of individual T cells. By using this approach, termed transcript-indexed ATAC-seq (T-ATAC-seq), we identified epigenomic signatures in immortalized leukemic T cells, primary human T cells from healthy volunteers and primary leukemic T cells from patient samples. In peripheral blood CD4+ T cells from healthy individuals, we identified cis and trans regulators of naive and memory T cell states and found substantial heterogeneity in surface-marker-defined T cell populations. In patients with a leukemic form of cutaneous T cell lymphoma, T-ATAC-seq enabled identification of leukemic and nonleukemic regulatory pathways in T cells from the same individual by allowing separation of the signals that arose from the malignant clone from the background T cell noise. Thus, T-ATAC-seq is a new tool that enables analysis of epigenomic landscapes in clonal T cells and should be valuable for studies of T cell malignancy, immunity and immunotherapy
On the fourth-order accurate compact ADI scheme for solving the unsteady Nonlinear Coupled Burgers' Equations
The two-dimensional unsteady coupled Burgers' equations with moderate to
severe gradients, are solved numerically using higher-order accurate finite
difference schemes; namely the fourth-order accurate compact ADI scheme, and
the fourth-order accurate Du Fort Frankel scheme. The question of numerical
stability and convergence are presented. Comparisons are made between the
present schemes in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency for solving
problems with severe internal and boundary gradients. The present study shows
that the fourth-order compact ADI scheme is stable and efficient
The SWELLS Survey. I. A large spectroscopically selected sample of edge-on late-type lens galaxies
The relative contribution of baryons and dark matter to the inner regions of
spiral galaxies provides critical clues to their formation and evolution, but
it is generally difficult to determine. For spiral galaxies that are strong
gravitational lenses, however, the combination of lensing and kinematic
observations can be used to break the disk-halo degeneracy. In turn, such data
constrain fundamental parameters such as i) the mass density profile slope and
axis ratio of the dark matter halo, and by comparison with dark matter-only
numerical simulations the modifications imposed by baryons; ii) the mass in
stars and therefore the overall star formation efficiency, and the amount of
feedback; iii) by comparison with stellar population synthesis models, the
normalization of the stellar initial mass function. In this first paper of a
series, we present a sample of 16 secure, 1 probable, and 6 possible strong
lensing spiral galaxies, for which multi-band high-resolution images and
rotation curves were obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck-II
Telescope as part of the Sloan WFC Edge-on Late-type Lens Survey (SWELLS). The
sample includes 8 newly discovered secure systems. [abridged] We find that the
SWELLS sample of secure lenses spans a broad range of morphologies (from
lenticular to late-type spiral), spectral types (quantified by Halpha
emission), and bulge to total stellar mass ratio (0.22-0.85), while being
limited to M_*>10^{10.5} M_sun. The SWELLS sample is thus well-suited for
exploring the relationship between dark and luminous matter in a broad range of
galaxies. We find that the deflector galaxies obey the same size-mass relation
as that of a comparison sample of elongated non-lens galaxies selected from the
SDSS survey. We conclude that the SWELLS sample is consistent with being
representative of the overall population of high-mass high-inclination disky
galaxies.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS, in pres
Quasars Probing Quasars. VI. Excess H I Absorption within one Proper Mpc of z ~ 2 Quasars
With close pairs of quasars at different redshifts, a background quasar sightline can be used to study a foreground quasar's environment in absorption. We use a sample of 650 projected quasar pairs to study the H I Lyα absorption transverse to luminous, z ~ 2 quasars at proper separations of 30 kpc 10^(17.3) cm^(-2) at separations R_⊥ < 200 kpc, which decreases to ~20% at R_⊥ ≃ 1 Mpc, but still represents a significant excess over the cosmic average. This excess of optically thick absorption can be described by a quasar-absorber cross-correlation function ξ_(QA)(r) = (r/r_0)^γ with a large correlation length r_0=12.5^(+2.7)_(-1.4)h^(-1)Mpc(comoving) and y =1.68^(+0.14)_(-0.30). The H I absorption measured around quasars exceeds that of any previously studied population, consistent with quasars being hosted by massive dark matter halos M_(halo) ≈ 10^(12.5) M_☉ at z ~ 2.5. The environments of these massive halos are highly biased toward producing optically thick gas, and may even dominate the cosmic abundance of Lyman limit systems and hence the intergalactic opacity to ionizing photons at z ~ 2.5. The anisotropic absorption around quasars implies the transverse direction is much less likely to be illuminated by ionizing radiation than the line-of-sight
Polymorphs and hydrates of acyclovir
Acyclovir (ACV) has been commonly used as an antiviral for decades. Although the crystal structure of the commercial form, a 3:2 ACV/water solvate, has been known since 1980s, investigation into the structure of anhydrous ACV has been limited. Here, we report the characterization of four anhydrous forms of ACV and a new hydrate in addition to the known hydrate. Two of the anhydrous forms appear as small needles and are stable to air exposure, whereas the third form is morphologically similar but quickly absorbs water from the atmosphere and converts back to the commercial form. The high-temperature modification is achieved by heating anhydrous form I above 180°C. The crystal structures of anhydrous form I and a novel hydrate are reported for the first time. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:949–963, 2011Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79417/1/22336_ftp.pd
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