Pressure balance in the multiphase ISM of cosmologically simulated disc galaxies

Pressure balance plays a central role in models of the interstellar medium (ISM), but whether and how pressure balance is realized in a realistic multiphase ISM is not yet well understood. We address this question by using a set of FIRE-2 cosmological zoom-in simulations of Milky Way-mass disc galaxies, in which a multiphase ISM is self-consistently shaped by gravity, cooling, and stellar feedback. We analyse how gravity determines the vertical pressure profile as well as how the total ISM pressure is partitioned between different phases and components (thermal, dispersion/turbulence, and bulk flows). We show that, on average and consistent with previous more idealized simulations, the total ISM pressure balances the weight of the overlying gas. Deviations from vertical pressure balance increase with increasing galactocentric radius and with decreasing averaging scale. The different phases are in rough total pressure equilibrium with one another, but with large deviations from thermal pressure equilibrium owing to kinetic support in the cold and warm phases, which dominate the total pressure near the mid-plane. Bulk flows (e.g. inflows and fountains) are important at a few disc scale heights, while thermal pressure from hot gas dominates at larger heights. Overall, the total mid-plane pressure is well-predicted by the weight of the disc gas and we show that it also scales linearly with the star formation rate surface density (ςSFR). These results support the notion that the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation arises because ςSFR and the gas surface density (ςg) are connected via the ISM mid-plane pressure

China and the changing economic geography of coffee value chains

For the past three centuries, the economic geography of the global coffee sector has been characterized by the supply of beans from tropical countries for consumption in North America and Europe, with various modes of value chain coordination enacted by lead firms to ensure reliable and affordable supply. This pattern is now fundamentally changing, with growth in coffee consumption in emerging markets, including China, exceeding that in established markets. But China is not only a growing consumer market, it is less well known that rapidly increasing agricultural production in Yunnan province of southwest China has also inserted the country as an important source region for coffee, and this has been pivotal in facilitating the emergence of Chinese lead firms in the sector. This article presents the emergence of China, and Chinese firms, at a critical juncture for the structure and governance of the global value chain for coffee. The processes through which this is occurring are outlined, and the implications for regional development prospects across Southeast Asia are discussed. We argue that the changing economic geography of coffee value chains, and their increasing driven-ness by Chinese actors, is starting to reshape the regional coffee industry in profoundly new ways

Molecular characterisation of protist parasites in human-habituated mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), humans and livestock, from Bwindi impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Over 60 % of human emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, and there is growing evidence of the zooanthroponotic transmission of diseases from humans to livestock and wildlife species, with major implications for public health, economics, and conservation. Zooanthroponoses are of relevance to critically endangered species; amongst these is the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) of Uganda. Here, we assess the occurrence of Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Giardia, and Entamoeba infecting mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, using molecular methods. We also assess the occurrence of these parasites in humans and livestock species living in overlapping/adjacent geographical regions

Localization of hRad9 in breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>hRad9 </it>is a cell cycle checkpoint gene that is up-regulated in breast cancer. We have previously shown that the mRNA up-regulation correlated with tumor size and local recurrence. Immunohistochemical studies were made to better define the role of <it>hRad9 </it>in breast carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Localisation of hRad9 protein were performed on paired tumor and normal breast tissues. Immunoblotting with and without dephosphorylation was used to define the protein isolated from breast cancer cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Increased hRad9 protein was observed in breast cancer cells nucleus compared to non-tumor epithelium. This nuclear protein existed in hyperphosphorylated forms which may be those of the hRad9-hRad1-hHus1 complex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Finding of hyperphosphorylated forms of hRad9 in the nucleus of cancer cells is in keeping with its function in ameliorating DNA instability, whereby it inadvertently assists tumor growth.</p

Effect of propofol and etomidate on normoxic and chronically hypoxic pulmonary artery

BACKGROUND: Chronic alveolar hypoxia results in sustained arterial constriction, and increase in pulmonary vascular resistance leading to pulmonary artery hypertension (PAHT). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of propofol and etomidate on pulmonary artery (PA) reactivity in chronically hypoxic (CH) rats, a model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAHT), in normoxic animals, and human PA. METHODS: CH rats were maintained 14 days at 380 mmHg pressure in a hypobaric chamber. Human tissue was retrieved from histological lung pieces from patients undergoing resection for carcinoma. Cumulative concentrations of anaesthetics were tested on isolated vascular rings precontracted with phenylephrine (PHE) or 100 mM KCl. Statistical comparisons were done by ANOVA, followed, when needed, by Student t tests with Bonferroni correction as post-hoc tests. RESULTS: In normoxic rat PA, maximal relaxation (R(max)) induced by etomidate and propofol was 101.3 ± 0.8% and 94.0 ± 2.3%, respectively, in KCl-precontracted rings, and 63.3 ± 9.7% and 46.1 ± 9.1%, respectively, in PHE-precontracted rings (n = 7). In KCl-precontracted human PA, R(max )was 84.7 ± 8.6 % and 66.5 ± 11.8%, for etomidate and propofol, respectively, and 154.2 ± 22.4 % and 51.6 ± 15.1 %, respectively, in PHE-precontracted human PA (n = 7). In CH rat PA, the relaxant effect of both anaesthetics was increased in PHE-precontracted and, for etomidate only, in KCl-precontracted PA. In aorta, CH induced no change in the relaxant effect of anaesthetics. CONCLUSION: Propofol and etomidate have relaxant properties in PA from human and normoxic rat. The relaxant effect is specifically accentuated in PA from CH rat, mainly via an effect on the pharmacomechanical coupling. Etomidate appears to be more efficient than propofol at identical concentration, but, taking into account clinical concentrations, etomidate is less potent than propofol, which effect was in the range of clinical doses. Although these findings provide experimental support for the preferential use of etomidate for haemodynamic stability in patients suffering from PAHT, the clinical relevance of the observations requires further investigation

Bonobo personality traits are heritable and associated with vasopressin receptor gene 1a variation

Despite being closely related, bonobos and chimpanzees show remarkable behavioral differences, the proximate origins of which remain unknown. This study examined the link between behavioral variation and variation in the vasopressin 1a receptor gene (Avpr1a) in bonobos. Chimpanzees are polymorphic for a ~360 bp deletion (DupB), which includes a microsatellite (RS3) in the 5′ promoter region of Avpr1a. In chimpanzees, the DupB deletion has been linked to lower sociability, lower social sensitivity, and higher anxiety. Chimpanzees and bonobos differ on these traits, leading some to believe that the absence of the DupB deletion in bonobos may be partly responsible for these differences, and to the prediction that similar associations between Avpr1a genotypes and personality traits should be present in bonobos. We identified bonobo personality dimensions using behavioral measures (Sociability(B), Boldness(B), Openness(B), Activity(B)) and trait ratings (Assertiveness(R), Conscientiousness(R), Openness(R), Agreeableness(R), Attentiveness(R), Extraversion(R)). In the present study we found that all 10 dimensions have nonzero heritabilities, indicating there is a genetic basis to personality, and that bonobos homozygous for shorter RS3 alleles were lower in Attentiveness(R) and higher in Openness(B). These results suggest that variations in Avpr1a genotypes explain both within and between species differences in personality traits of bonobos and chimpanzees