Temperature and Density Distribution in the Molecular Gas Toward Westerlund 2: Further Evidence for Physical Association

Furukawa et al. 2009 reported the existence of a large mass of molecular gas associated with the super star cluster Westerlund 2 and the surrounding HII region RCW49, based on a strong morphological correspondence between NANTEN2 12CO(J=2-1) emission and Spitzer IRAC images of the HII region. We here present temperature and density distributions in the associated molecular gas at 3.5 pc resolution, as derived from an LVG analysis of the 12CO(J=2-1), 12CO(J=1-0) and 13CO(J=2-1) transitions. The kinetic temperature is as high as 60-150 K within a projected distance of 5-10 pc from Westerlund 2 and decreases to as low as 10 K away from the cluster. The high temperature provides robust verification that the molecular gas is indeed physically associated with the HII region, supporting Furukawa et al.'s conclusion. The derived temperature is also roughly consistent with theoretical calculations of photo dissociation regions (PDRs), while the low spatial resolution of the present study does not warrant a more detailed comparison with PDR models. We suggest that the molecular clouds presented here will serve as an ideal laboratory to test theories on PDRs in future higher resolution studies.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Discovery of possible molecular counterparts to the infrared Double Helix Nebula in the Galactic center

We have discovered two molecular features at radial velocities of -35 km/s and 0 km/s toward the infrared Double Helix Nebula (DHN) in the Galactic center with NANTEN2. The two features show good spatial correspondence with the DHN. We have also found two elongated molecular ridges at these two velocities distributed vertically to the Galactic plane over 0.8 degree. The two ridges are linked by broad features in velocity and are likely connected physically with each other. The ratio between the 12CO J=2-1 and J=1-0 transitions is 0.8 in the ridges which is larger than the average value 0.5 in the foreground gas, suggesting the two ridges are in the Galactic center. An examination of the K band extinction reveals a good coincidence with the CO 0 km/s ridge and is consistent with a distance of 8 +/-2 kpc. We discuss the possibility that the DHN was created by a magnetic phenomenon incorporating torsional Alfv\'en waves launched from the circumnuclear disk (Morris, Uchida & Do 2006) and present a first estimate of the mass and energy involved in the DHN.Comment: 32 pages, 23 figures, Accepted by Ap

Star Forming Dense Cloud Cores in the TeV {\gamma}-ray SNR RX J1713.7-3946

RX J1713.7-3946 is one of the TeV {\gamma}-ray supernova remnants (SNRs) emitting synchrotron X rays. The SNR is associated with molecular gas located at ~1 kpc. We made new molecular observations toward the dense cloud cores, peaks A, C and D, in the SNR in the 12CO(J=2-1) and 13CO(J=2-1) transitions at angular resolution of 90". The most intense core in 13CO, peak C, was also mapped in the 12CO(J=4-3) transition at angular resolution of 38". Peak C shows strong signs of active star formation including bipolar outflow and a far-infrared protostellar source and has a steep gradient with a r^{-2.2$\pm$0.4} variation in the average density within radius r. Peak C and the other dense cloud cores are rim-brightened in synchrotron X rays, suggesting that the dense cloud cores are embedded within or on the outer boundary of the SNR shell. This confirms the earlier suggestion that the X rays are physically associated with the molecular gas (Fukui et al. 2003). We present a scenario where the densest molecular core, peak C, survived against the blast wave and is now embedded within the SNR. Numerical simulations of the shock-cloud interaction indicate that a dense clump can indeed survive shock erosion, since shock propagation speed is stalled in the dense clump. Additionally, the shock-cloud interaction induces turbulence and magnetic field amplification around the dense clump that may facilitate particle acceleration in the lower-density inter-clump space leading to the enhanced synchrotron X rays around dense cores.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, to accepted in The Astrophysical Journal. A full color version with higher resolution figures is available at http://www.a.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~sano/ApJ10/ms_sano.pd

Circulating cell-free DNA as a predictive marker for distant metastasis of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

In a previous study, we showed that levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) were significantly higher in sera of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) than in sera of non-HCC patients with HCV. To confirm this finding, we analysed serum cfDNA levels in a cohort of 96 patients with HCV-related HCC and in 100 HCV carriers without known HCC. Again we found that serum cfDNA levels were significantly higher in HCC patients than in HCV carriers (115.9±98.3 vs 34.4±40.4 ng ml−1 (mean±s.d.), P<0.0001). Of 87 eligible patients who underwent curative hepatectomy, those with a high cfDNA level had a significantly shorter overall survival (OS) time than those in whom the cfDNA level was not high. Cox proportional hazards model showed the cfDNA level to be an independent prognostic factor for OS and cancer recurrence in distant organs. Our results suggest that the serum cfDNA level reflects the metastatic potential of HCV-related HCC and that it can be a useful predictive biomarker for distant metastasis after curative surgery

THE NEUTRAL INTERSTELLAR GAS TOWARD SNR W44: CANDIDATES FOR TARGET PROTONS IN HADRONIC γ-RAY PRODUCTION IN A MIDDLE-AGED SUPERNOVA REMNANT

We present an analysis of the interstellar medium (ISM) toward the γ-ray supernova remnant (SNR) W44. We used NANTEN2 12CO(J = 2-1) and 12CO(J = 1-0) data and Arecibo H I data in order to identify the molecular and atomic gas in the SNR. We confirmed that the molecular gas is located in the SNR shell with a primary peak toward the eastern edge of the shell. We newly identified high-excitation molecular gas along the eastern shell of the SNR in addition to the high-excitation broad gas previously observed inside the shell; the line intensity ratio between the 12CO(J = 2-1) and 12CO(J = 1-0) transitions in these regions is greater than ~1.0, suggesting a kinetic temperature of 30 K or higher, which is most likely due to heating by shock interaction. By comparing the ISM with γ-rays, we find that target protons of hadronic origin are dominated by molecular protons of average density around 200 cm–3, where the possible contribution of atomic protons is 10% or less. This average density is consistent with the recent discovery of the low-energy γ-rays suppressed in 50 MeV-10 GeV as observed with AGILE and Fermi. The γ-ray spectrum differs from place to place in the SNR, suggesting that the cosmic-ray (CR) proton spectrum significantly changes within the middle-aged SNR perhaps due to the energy-dependent escape of CR protons from the acceleration site. We finally derive a total CR proton energy of ~1049 erg, consistent with the SN origin of the majority of the CRs in the Galaxy

ACE I/D Gene Polymorphism Can't Predict the Steroid Responsiveness in Asian Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

The results from the published studies on the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) gene polymorphism and the treatment response to steroid in Asian children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is still conflicting. This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the relation between ACE I/D gene polymorphism and treatment response to steroid in Asian children and to explore whether ACE D allele or DD genotype could become a predictive marker for steroid responsiveness. = 0.85; respectively), however, the result for the association of II genotype with SRNS risk was not stable.Our results indicate that D allele or DD homozygous can't become a significant genetic molecular marker to predict the treatment response to steroid in Asian children with INS

C. elegans rrf-1 Mutations Maintain RNAi Efficiency in the Soma in Addition to the Germline

Gene inactivation through RNA interference (RNAi) has proven to be a valuable tool for studying gene function in C. elegans. When combined with tissue-specific gene inactivation methods, RNAi has the potential to shed light on the function of a gene in distinct tissues. In this study we characterized C. elegans rrf-1 mutants to determine their ability to process RNAi in various tissues. These mutants have been widely used in RNAi studies to assess the function of genes specifically in the C. elegans germline. Upon closer analysis, we found that two rrf-1 mutants carrying different loss-of-function alleles were capable of processing RNAi targeting several somatically expressed genes. Specifically, we observed that the intestine was able to process RNAi triggers efficiently, whereas cells in the hypodermis showed partial susceptibility to RNAi in rrf-1 mutants. Other somatic tissues in rrf-1 mutants, such as the muscles and the somatic gonad, appeared resistant to RNAi. In addition to these observations, we found that the rrf-1(pk1417) mutation induced the expression of several transgenic arrays, including the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. Unexpectedly, rrf-1(pk1417) mutants showed increased endogenous expression of the DAF-16 target gene sod-3; however, the lifespan and thermo-tolerance of rrf-1(pk1417) mutants were similar to those of wild-type animals. In sum, these data show that rrf-1 mutants display several phenotypes not previously appreciated, including broader tissue-specific RNAi-processing capabilities, and our results underscore the need for careful characterization of tissue-specific RNAi tools

A Pilot Study on Developing Mucosal Vaccine against Alveolar Echinococcosis (AE) Using Recombinant Tetraspanin 3: Vaccine Efficacy and Immunology

Humans and rodents become infected with E. multilocularis by oral ingesting of the eggs, which then develop into cysts in the liver and progress an endless proliferation. Untreated AE has a fatality rate of >90% in humans. Tetraspanins have been identified in Schistosoma and showed potential as the prospective vaccine candidates. In our recent study, we first identified seven tetraspanins in E. multilocularis and evaluated their protective efficacies as vaccines against AE when subcutaneously administered to BALB/c mice. Mucosal immunization of protective proteins is able to induce strong local and systemic immune responses, which might play a crucial role in protecting humans against E. multilocularis infection via the intestine, blood and liver. We focused on Em-TSP3, which achieved significant vaccine efficacy via both s.c. and i.n. routes. The adjuvanticity of nontoxic CpG OND as i.n. vaccine adjuvant was evaluated. The widespread expression of Em-TSP3 in all the developmental stages of E. multilocularis, and the strong local and systemic immune responses evoked by i.n. administration of rEm-TSP3 with CpG OND adjuvant suggest that this study might open the way for developing efficient, nontoxic human mucosal vaccines against AE

Impact of the Location of CpG Methylation within the GSTP1 Gene on Its Specificity as a DNA Marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hypermethylation of the glutathione S-transferase π 1 (GSTP1) gene promoter region has been reported to be a potential biomarker to distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from other liver diseases. However, reports regarding how specific a marker it is have ranged from 100% to 0%. We hypothesized that, to a large extent, the variation of specificity depends on the location of the CpG sites analyzed. To test this hypothesis, we compared the methylation status of the GSTP1 promoter region of the DNA isolated from HCC, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and normal liver tissues by bisulfite–PCR sequencing. We found that the 5′ region of the position −48 nt from the transcription start site of the GSTP1 gene is selectively methylated in HCC, whereas the 3′ region is methylated in all liver tissues examined, including normal liver and the HCC tissue. Interestingly, when DNA derived from fetal liver and 11 nonhepatic normal tissue was also examined by bisulfite-PCR sequencing, we found that methylation of the 3′ region of the promoter appeared to be liver-specific. A methylation-specific PCR assay targeting the 5′ region of the promoter was developed and used to quantify the methylated GSTP1 gene in various diseased liver tissues including HCC. When we used an assay targeting the 3′ region, we found that the methylation of the 5′-end of the GSTP1 promoter was significantly more specific than that of the 3′-end (97.1% vs. 60%, p<0.0001 by Fisher's exact test) for distinguishing HCC (n = 120) from hepatitis (n = 35) and cirrhosis (n = 35). Encouragingly, 33.8% of the AFP-negative HCC contained the methylated GSTP1 gene. This study clearly demonstrates the importance of the location of CpG site methylation for HCC specificity and how liver-specific DNA methylation should be considered when an epigenetic DNA marker is studied for detection of HCC