Potassium Abundances in Red Giants of Mildly to Very Metal-Poor Globular Clusters

A non-LTE analysis of K I resonance lines at 7664.91 and 7698.97 A was carried out for 15 red giants belonging to three globular clusters of different metallicity (M 4, M 13, and M 15) along with two reference early-K giants (rho Boo and alpha Boo), in order to check whether the K abundances are uniform within a cluster and to investigate the behavior of [K/Fe] ratio at the relevant metallicity range of -2.5 <[Fe/H] < -1. We confirmed that [K/H] (as well as [Fe/H]) is almost homogeneous within each cluster to a precision of < ~0.1 dex, though dubiously large deviations are exceptionally seen for two peculiar stars showing signs of considerably increased turbulence in the upper atmosphere. The resulting [K/Fe] ratios are mildly supersolar by a few tenths of dex for three clusters, tending to gradually increase from ~+0.1-0.2 at [Fe/H] ~-1 to ~+0.3 at [Fe/H] ~ -2.5. This result connects reasonably well with the [K/Fe] trend of disk stars (-1 < [Fe/H]) and that of extremely metal-poor stars (-4 <[Fe/H] < -2.5). That is, [K/Fe] appears to continue a gradual increase from [Fe/H]~0 toward a lower metallicity regime down to [Fe/H]~-3, where a broad maximum of [K/Fe]~+0.3-0.4 is attained, possibly followed by a slight downturn at [Fe/H]<~-3.Comment: 13 pages, 4 tables, 6 figures, and 1 electronic table (accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

Unsupervised learning architecture for classifying the transient noise of interferometric gravitational-wave detectors

Abstract: In the data obtained by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors, transient noise with non-stationary and non-Gaussian features occurs at a high rate. This often results in problems such as detector instability and the hiding and/or imitation of gravitational-wave signals. This transient noise has various characteristics in the time–frequency representation, which is considered to be associated with environmental and instrumental origins. Classification of transient noise can offer clues for exploring its origin and improving the performance of the detector. One approach for accomplishing this is supervised learning. However, in general, supervised learning requires annotation of the training data, and there are issues with ensuring objectivity in the classification and its corresponding new classes. By contrast, unsupervised learning can reduce the annotation work for the training data and ensure objectivity in the classification and its corresponding new classes. In this study, we propose an unsupervised learning architecture for the classification of transient noise that combines a variational autoencoder and invariant information clustering. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture, we used the dataset (time–frequency two-dimensional spectrogram images and labels) of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) first observation run prepared by the Gravity Spy project. The classes provided by our proposed unsupervised learning architecture were consistent with the labels annotated by the Gravity Spy project, which manifests the potential for the existence of unrevealed classes

Anti-Tumor Effect against Human Cancer Xenografts by a Fully Human Monoclonal Antibody to a Variant 8-Epitope of CD44R1 Expressed on Cancer Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: CD44 is a major cellular receptor for hyaluronic acids. The stem structure of CD44 encoded by ten normal exons can be enlarged by ten variant exons (v1-v10) by alternative splicing. We have succeeded in preparing MV5 fully human IgM and its class-switched GV5 IgG monoclonal antibody (mAb) recognizing the extracellular domain of a CD44R1 isoform that contains the inserted region coded by variant (v8, v9 and v10) exons and is expressed on the surface of various human epithelial cancer cells. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrated the growth inhibition of human cancer xenografts by a GV5 IgG mAb reshaped from an MV5 IgM. The epitope recognized by MV5 and GV5 was identified to a v8-coding region by the analysis of mAb binding to various recombinant CD44 proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. GV5 showed preferential reactivity against various malignant human cells versus normal human cells assessed by flow cytometry and immunohistological analysis. When ME180 human uterine cervix carcinoma cells were subcutaneously inoculated to athymic mice with GV5, significant inhibition of tumor formation was observed. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injections of GV5markedly inhibited the growth of visible established tumors from HSC-3 human larynx carcinoma cells that had been subcutaneously transplanted one week before the first treatment with GV5. From in vitro experiments, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and internalization of CD44R1 seemed to be possible mechanisms for in vivo anti-tumor activity by GV5. CONCLUSIONS: CD44R1 is an excellent molecular target for mAb therapy of cancer, possibly superior to molecules targeted by existing therapeutic mAb, such as Trastuzumab and Cetuximab recognizing human epidermal growth factor receptor family

The influence of low-grade glioma on resting state oscillatory brain activity: a magnetoencephalography study

Purpose In the present MEG-study, power spectral analysis of oscillatory brain activity was used to compare resting state brain activity in both low-grade glioma (LGG) patients and healthy controls. We hypothesized that LGG patients show local as well as diffuse slowing of resting state brain activity compared to healthy controls and that particularly global slowing correlates with neurocognitive dysfunction. Patient and methods Resting state MEG recordings were obtained from 17 LGG patients and 17 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls. Relative spectral power was calculated in the delta, theta, upper and lower alpha, beta, and gamma frequency band. A battery of standardized neurocognitive tests measuring 6 neurocognitive domains was administered. Results LGG patients showed a slowing of the resting state brain activity when compared to healthy controls. Decrease in relative power was mainly found in the gamma frequency band in the bilateral frontocentral MEG regions, whereas an increase in relative power was found in the theta frequency band in the left parietal region. An increase of the relative power in the theta and lower alpha band correlated with impaired executive functioning, information processing, and working memory. Conclusion LGG patients are characterized by global slowing of their resting state brain activity and this slowing phenomenon correlates with the observed neurocognitive deficits

Chick Embryo Partial Ischemia Model: A New Approach to Study Ischemia Ex Vivo

Background: Ischemia is a pathophysiological condition due to blockade in blood supply to a specific tissue thus damaging the physiological activity of the tissue. Different in vivo models are presently available to study ischemia in heart and other tissues. However, no ex vivo ischemia model has been available to date for routine ischemia research and for faster screening of anti-ischemia drugs. In the present study, we took the opportunity to develop an ex vivo model of partial ischemia using the vascular bed of 4th day incubated chick embryo. Methodology/Principal Findings: Ischemia was created in chick embryo by ligating the right vitelline artery using sterile surgical suture. Hypoxia inducible factor- 1 alpha (HIF-1a), creatine phospho kinase-MB and reactive oxygen species in animal tissues and cells were measured to confirm ischemia in chick embryo. Additionally, ranolazine, N-acetyl cysteine and trimetazidine were administered as an anti-ischemic drug to validate the present model. Results from the present study depicted that blocking blood flow elevates HIF-1a, lipid peroxidation, peroxynitrite level in ischemic vessels while ranolazine administration partially attenuates ischemia driven HIF-1a expression. Endothelial cell incubated on ischemic blood vessels elucidated a higher level of HIF-1a expression with time while ranolazine treatment reduced HIF-1a in ischemic cells. Incubation of caprine heart strip on chick embryo ischemia model depicted an elevated creatine phospho kinase-MB activity under ischemic condition while histology of the treated heart sections evoked edema and disruption of myofibril structures. Conclusions/Significance: The present study concluded that chick embryo partial ischemia model can be used as a novel ex vivo model of ischemia. Therefore, the present model can be used parallel with the known in vivo ischemia models in understanding the mechanistic insight of ischemia development and in evaluating the activity of anti-ischemic drug.status: publishe

A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Globins in Fungi

BACKGROUND: ALL GLOBINS BELONG TO ONE OF THREE FAMILIES: the F (flavohemoglobin) and S (sensor) families that exhibit the canonical 3/3 α-helical fold, and the T (truncated 3/3 fold) globins characterized by a shortened 2/2 α-helical fold. All eukaryote 3/3 hemoglobins are related to the bacterial single domain F globins. It is known that Fungi contain flavohemoglobins and single domain S globins. Our aims are to provide a census of fungal globins and to examine their relationships to bacterial globins. RESULTS: Examination of 165 genomes revealed that globins are present in >90% of Ascomycota and ∼60% of Basidiomycota genomes. The S globins occur in Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota in addition to the phyla that have FHbs. Unexpectedly, group 1 T globins were found in one Blastocladiomycota and one Chytridiomycota genome. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on the fungal globins, alone and aligned with representative bacterial globins. The Saccharomycetes and Sordariomycetes with two FHbs form two widely divergent clusters separated by the remaining fungal sequences. One of the Saccharomycete groups represents a new subfamily of FHbs, comprising a previously unknown N-terminal and a FHb missing the C-terminal moiety of its reductase domain. The two Saccharomycete groups also form two clusters in the presence of bacterial FHbs; the surrounding bacterial sequences are dominated by Proteobacteria and Bacilli (Firmicutes). The remaining fungal FHbs cluster with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The Sgbs cluster separately from their bacterial counterparts, except for the intercalation of two Planctomycetes and a Proteobacterium between the Fungi incertae sedis and the Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota. CONCLUSION: Our results are compatible with a model of globin evolution put forward earlier, which proposed that eukaryote F, S and T globins originated via horizontal gene transfer of their bacterial counterparts to the eukaryote ancestor, resulting from the endosymbiotic events responsible for the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts