Avidity enhancement of L-selectin bonds by flow: shear-promoted rotation of leukocytes turn labile bonds into functional tethers

L-selectin is a key lectin essential for leukocyte capture and rolling on vessel walls. Functional adhesion of L-selectin requires a minimal threshold of hydrodynamic shear. Using high temporal resolution videomicroscopy, we now report that L-selectin engages its ligands through exceptionally labile adhesive bonds (tethers) even below this shear threshold. These tethers share a lifetime of 4 ms on distinct physiological ligands, two orders of magnitude shorter than the lifetime of the P-selectin–PSGL-1 bond. Below threshold shear, tether duration is not shortened by elevated shear stresses. However, above the shear threshold, selectin tethers undergo 14-fold stabilization by shear-driven leukocyte transport. Notably, the cytoplasmic tail of L-selectin contributes to this stabilization only above the shear threshold. These properties are not shared by P-selectin– or VLA-4–mediated tethers. L-selectin tethers appear adapted to undergo rapid avidity enhancement by cellular transport, a specialized mechanism not used by any other known adhesion receptor

p-forms on d-spherical tessellations

The spectral properties of p-forms on the fundamental domains of regular tesselations of the d-dimensional sphere are discussed. The degeneracies for all ranks, p, are organised into a double Poincare series which is explicitly determined. In the particular case of coexact forms of rank (d-1)/2, for odd d, it is shown that the heat--kernel expansion terminates with the constant term, which equals (-1)^{p+1}/2 and that the boundary terms also vanish, all as expected. As an example of the double domain construction, it is shown that the degeneracies on the sphere are given by adding the absolute and relative degeneracies on the hemisphere, again as anticipated. The eta invariant on a fundamental domain is computed to be irrational. The spectral counting function is calculated and the accumulated degeneracy give exactly. A generalised Weyl-Polya conjecture for p-forms is suggested and verified.Comment: 23 pages. Section on the counting function adde

Molecular gas in high-velocity clouds: revisited scenario

We report a new search for 12CO(1-0) emission in high-velocity clouds (HVCs) performed with the IRAM 30 m telescope. This search was motivated by the recent detection of cold dust emission in the HVCs of Complex C. Despite a spatial resolution which is three times better and sensitivity twice as good compared to previous studies, no CO emission is detected in the HVCs of Complex C down to a best 5 sigma limit of 0.16 K km/s at a 22'' resolution. The CO emission non-detection does not provide any evidence in favor of large amounts of molecular gas in these HVCs and hence in favor of the infrared findings. We discuss different configurations which, however, allow us to reconcile the negative CO result with the presence of molecular gas and cold dust emission. H2 column densities higher than our detection limit, N(H2) = 3x10^{19} cm^{-2}, are expected to be confined in very small and dense clumps with 20 times smaller sizes than the 0.5 pc clumps resolved in our observations according to the results obtained in cirrus clouds, and might thus still be highly diluted. As a consequence, the inter-clump gas at the 1 pc scale has a volume density lower than 20 cm^{-3} and already appears as too diffuse to excite the CO molecules. The observed physical conditions in the HVCs of Complex C also play an important role against CO emission detection. It has been shown that the CO-to-H2 conversion factor in low metallicity media is 60 times higher than at the solar metallicity, leading for a given H2 column density to a 60 times weaker integrated CO intensity. And the very low dust temperature estimated in these HVCs implies the possible presence of gas cold enough (< 20 K) to cause CO condensation onto dust grains under interstellar medium pressure conditions and thus CO depletion in gas-phase observations.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Climate-informed stochastic hydrological modeling: Incorporating decadal-scale variability using paleo data

A hierarchical framework for incorporating modes of climate variability into stochastic simulations of hydrological data is developed, termed the climate-informed multi-time scale stochastic (CIMSS) framework. A case study on two catchments in eastern Australia illustrates this framework. To develop an identifiable model characterizing long-term variability for the first level of the hierarchy, paleoclimate proxies, and instrumental indices describing the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are analyzed. A new paleo IPO-PDO time series dating back 440 yr is produced, combining seven IPO-PDO paleo sources using an objective smoothing procedure to fit low-pass filters to individual records. The paleo data analysis indicates that wet/dry IPO-PDO states have a broad range of run lengths, with 90% between 3 and 33 yr and a mean of 15 yr. The Markov chain model, previously used to simulate oscillating wet/dry climate states, is found to underestimate the probability of wet/dry periods >5 yr, and is rejected in favor of a gamma distribution for simulating the run lengths of the wet/dry IPO-PDO states. For the second level of the hierarchy, a seasonal rainfall model is conditioned on the simulated IPO-PDO state. The model is able to replicate observed statistics such as seasonal and multiyear accumulated rainfall distributions and interannual autocorrelations. Mean seasonal rainfall in the IPO-PDO dry states is found to be 15%-28% lower than the wet state at the case study sites. In comparison, an annual lag-one autoregressive model is unable to adequately capture the observed rainfall distribution within separate IPO-PDO states. Copyright © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.Benjamin J. Henley, Mark A. Thyer, George Kuczera and Stewart W. Frank

Climate-informed stochastic hydrological modeling: Incorporating decadal-scale variability using paleo data

A hierarchical framework for incorporating modes of climate variability into stochastic simulations of hydrological data is developed, termed the climate-informed multi-time scale stochastic (CIMSS) framework. A case study on two catchments in eastern Australia illustrates this framework. To develop an identifiable model characterizing long-term variability for the first level of the hierarchy, paleoclimate proxies, and instrumental indices describing the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are analyzed. A new paleo IPO-PDO time series dating back 440 yr is produced, combining seven IPO-PDO paleo sources using an objective smoothing procedure to fit low-pass filters to individual records. The paleo data analysis indicates that wet/dry IPO-PDO states have a broad range of run lengths, with 90% between 3 and 33 yr and a mean of 15 yr. The Markov chain model, previously used to simulate oscillating wet/dry climate states, is found to underestimate the probability of wet/dry periods >5 yr, and is rejected in favor of a gamma distribution for simulating the run lengths of the wet/dry IPO-PDO states. For the second level of the hierarchy, a seasonal rainfall model is conditioned on the simulated IPO-PDO state. The model is able to replicate observed statistics such as seasonal and multiyear accumulated rainfall distributions and interannual autocorrelations. Mean seasonal rainfall in the IPO-PDO dry states is found to be 15%-28% lower than the wet state at the case study sites. In comparison, an annual lag-one autoregressive model is unable to adequately capture the observed rainfall distribution within separate IPO-PDO states. Copyright © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.Benjamin J. Henley, Mark A. Thyer, George Kuczera and Stewart W. Frank

Numerical simulations on the relative importance of starbursts and AGN in ultra-luminous infrared galaxies

We investigate the relative importance of starbursts and AGN in nuclear activities of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) based on chemodynamical simulations combined with spectrophotometric synthesis codes. We numerically investigate both the gas accretion rates (m_acc) onto super massive black holes (SMBHs) and the star formation rates (m_sf) in ULIRGs formed by gas-rich galaxy mergers and thereby discuss what powers ULIRGs. Our principal results, which can be tested against observations, are as follows. (1) ULIRGs powered by AGN can be formed by major merging between luminous, gas-rich disk galaxies with prominent bulges containing SMBHs, owing to the efficient gas fuelling m_acc > 1 M_sun/yr of the SMBH. AGN in these ULIRGs can be surrounded by compact poststarburst stellar populations (e.g., A-type stars). (2) ULIRGs powered by starbursts with m_sf ~ 100 M_sun/yr can be formed by merging between gas-rich disk galaxies with small bulges having the bulge-to-disk-ratio (f_b) as small as 0.1. (3) The relative importance of starbursts and AGN can depend on physical properties of merger progenitor disks, such as f_b, gas mass fraction, and total masses. For example, more massive galaxy mergers are more likely to become AGN-dominated ULIRGs. (4) For most models, major mergers can become ULIRGs, powered either by starbursts or by AGN, only when the two bulges finally merge. Interacting disk galaxies can become ULIRGs with well separated two cores (> 20kpc) at their pericenter when they are very massive and have small bulges. (5) Irrespective of the choice of model, interacting/merging galaxies show the highest accretion rates onto the central SMBHs, and the resultant rapid growth of the SMBHs occur when their star formation rates are very high.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures (f1.jpg for color figure of figure 1), accepted in MNRA

Interstellar gas within ∼10\sim 10 pc of Sgr A∗^*

We seek to obtain a coherent and realistic three-dimensional picture of the interstellar gas out to about 10 pc of the dynamical center of our Galaxy, which is supposed to be at Sgr A$^*$. We review the existing observational studies on the different gaseous components that have been identified near Sgr A$^*$, and retain all the information relating to their spatial configuration and/or physical state. Based on the collected information, we propose a three-dimensional representation of the interstellar gas, which describes each component in terms of both its precise location and morphology and its thermodynamic properties. The interstellar gas near Sgr A$^*$ can represented by five basic components, which are, by order of increasing size: (1) a central cavity with roughly equal amounts of warm ionized and atomic gases, (2) a ring of mainly molecular gas, (3) a supernova remnant filled with hot ionized gas, (4) a radio halo of warm ionized gas and relativistic particles, and (5) a belt of massive molecular clouds. While the halo gas fills $\approx 80$ of the studied volume, the molecular components enclose $\approx 98$ of the interstellar mass.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

EpiChIP: gene-by-gene quantification of epigenetic modification levels

The combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation with next-generation sequencing technology (ChIP-seq) is a powerful and increasingly popular method for mapping protein–DNA interactions in a genome-wide fashion. The conventional way of analyzing this data is to identify sequencing peaks along the chromosomes that are significantly higher than the read background. For histone modifications and other epigenetic marks, it is often preferable to find a characteristic region of enrichment in sequencing reads relative to gene annotations. For instance, many histone modifications are typically enriched around transcription start sites. Calculating the optimal window that describes this enrichment allows one to quantify modification levels for each individual gene. Using data sets for the H3K9/14ac histone modification in Th cells and an accompanying IgG control, we present an analysis strategy that alternates between single gene and global data distribution levels and allows a clear distinction between experimental background and signal. Curve fitting permits false discovery rate-based classification of genes as modified versus unmodified. We have developed a software package called EpiChIP that carries out this type of analysis, including integration with and visualization of gene expression data

Morphological and kinematical analysis of the double-barred galaxy NGC3504 using ALMA CO (2–1) data

This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2016.1.00650.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic ofKorea), in cooperationwith theRepublic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO, and NAOJ. The authors are grateful to Krajnovi ' c et al. for the Kinemetry code. The authors thank the referee, Prof. JeffreyKenney, for valuable comments and suggestions that improved this paper. The authors also thank the support of the Astronomical Data Center of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and Anthony Moraghan for assistance on the computational facilities and resources at Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA). DE acknowledges support from a Beatriz Galindo senior fellowship (BG20/00224) from the SpanishMinistry of Science and Innovation. YTW wishes to thank Dr. Yu-Nung Su and Dr. Sheng-Yuan Liu for hosting her visit at ASIAA in 2020.We present results obtained from ALMA CO (2–1) data of the double-barred galaxy NGC3504.With three times higher angular resolution (∼0. 8) than previous studies, our observations reveal an inner molecular gas bar, a nuclear ring, and four inner spiral arm-like structures in the central 1-kpc region. Furthermore, the CO emission is clearly aligned with the two dust lanes in the outer bar region, with differences in shape and intensity between them. The total molecular gas mass in the observed region (50 arcsec×57 arcsec) is estimated to be∼3.1 × 109M , which is 17 per cent of the stellarmass.We used the Kinemetry package to fit the velocity field and found that circular motion strongly dominates at R = 0.3–0.8 kpc, but radial motion becomes important at R < 0.3 kpc and R = 1.0–2.5 kpc, which is expected due to the presence of the inner and outer bars. Finally, assuming that the gas moves along the dust lanes in the bar rotating frame, we derived the pattern speed of the outer bar to be 18 ± 5 kms−1 kpc−1, the average streaming velocities on each of the two dust lanes to be 165 and 221 km s−1, and the total mass inflow rate along the dust lanes to be 12M yr−1. Our results give a new example of an inner gas bar within a gas-rich double-barred galaxy and suggest that the formation of double-barred galaxies could be associated with the existence of such gas structures.Spanish Government BG20/0022