Probing the Disk-jet Connection of the Radio Galaxy 3C120 Observed with Suzaku

Broad line radio galaxies (BLRGs) are a rare type of radio-loud AGN, in which the broad optical permitted emission lines have been detected in addition to the extended jet emission. Here we report on deep (40ksec x4) observations of the bright BLRG 3C~120 using Suzaku. The observations were spaced a week apart, and sample a range of continuum fluxes. An excellent broadband spectrum was obtained over two decades of frequency (0.6 to 50 keV) within each 40 ksec exposure. We clearly resolved the iron K emission line complex, finding that it consists of a narrow K_a core (sigma ~ 110 eV or an EW of 60 eV), a 6.9 keV line, and an underlying broad iron line. Our confirmation of the broad line contrasts with the XMM-Newton observation in 2003, where the broad line was not required. The most natural interpretation of the broad line is iron K line emission from a face-on accretion disk which is truncated at ~10 r_g. Above 10 keV, a relatively weak Compton hump was detected (reflection fraction of R ~ 0.6), superposed on the primary X-ray continuum of Gamma ~ 1.75. Thanks to the good photon statistics and low background of the Suzaku data, we clearly confirm the spectral evolution of 3C120, whereby the variability amplitude decreases with increasing energy. More strikingly, we discovered that the variability is caused by a steep power-law component of Gamma ~2.7, possibly related to the non-thermal jet emission. We discuss our findings in the context of similarities and differences between radio-loud/quiet objects

Bacterial artificial chromosomes as analytical basis for gene transcriptional machineries

Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes (BACs) had been minimal components of various genome-sequencing projects, constituting perfect analytical basis for functional genomics. Here we describe an enhancer screening strategy in which BAC clones that cover any genomic segments of interest are modified to harbor a reporter cassette by transposon tagging, then processed to carry selected combinations of gene regulatory modules by homologous recombination mediated systematic deletions. Such engineered BAC-reporter constructs in bacterial cells are ready for efficient transgenesis in mice to evaluate activities of gene regulatory modules intact or absent in the constructs. By utilizing the strategy, we could speedily identify a critical genomic fragment for spatio-temporally regulated expression of a mouse cadherin gene whose structure is extraordinarily huge and intricate. This BAC-based methodology would hence provide a novel screening platform for gene transcriptional machineries that dynamically fluctuate during development, pathogenesis and/or evolution

Loss of Deacetylation Activity of Hdac6 Affects Emotional Behavior in Mice

Acetylation is mediated by acetyltransferases and deacetylases, and occurs not only on histones but also on diverse proteins. Although histone acetylation in chromatin structure and transcription has been well studied, the biological roles of non-histone acetylation remain elusive. Histone deacetylase 6 (Hdac6), a member of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) family, is a unique deacetylase that localizes to cytoplasm and functions in many cellular events by deacetylating non-histone proteins including α-tubulin, Hsp90, and cortactin. Since robust expression of Hdac6 is observed in brain, it would be expected that Hdac6-mediated reversible acetylation plays essential roles in CNS. Here we demonstrate the crucial roles of Hdac6 deacetylase activity in the expression of emotional behavior in mice. We found that Hdac6-deficient mice exhibit hyperactivity, less anxiety, and antidepressant-like behavior in behavioral tests. Moreover, administration of Hdac6-specific inhibitor replicated antidepressant-like behavior in mice. In good agreement with behavioral phenotypes of Hdac6-deficient mice, Hdac6 dominantly localizes to the dorsal and median raphe nuclei, which are involved in emotional behaviors. These findings suggest that HDAC6-mediated reversible acetylation might contribute to maintain proper neuronal activity in serotonergic neurons, and also provide a new therapeutic target for depression

Post-Training Dephosphorylation of eEF-2 Promotes Protein Synthesis for Memory Consolidation

Memory consolidation, which converts acquired information into long-term storage, is new protein synthesis-dependent. As protein synthesis is a dynamic process that is under the control of multiple translational mechanisms, however, it is still elusive how these mechanisms are recruited in response to learning for memory consolidation. Here we found that eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF-2) was dramatically dephosphorylated within 0.5–2 hr in the hippocampus and amygdala of mice following training in a fear-conditioning test, whereas genome-wide microarrays did not reveal any significant change in the expression level of the mRNAs for translational machineries or their related molecules. Moreover, blockade of NMDA receptors with MK-801 immediately following the training significantly impeded both the post-training eEF-2 dephosphorylation and memory retention. Notably, with an elegant sophisticated transgenic strategy, we demonstrated that hippocampus-specific overexpression of eEF-2 kinase, a kinase that specifically phosphorylates and hence inactivates eEF-2, significantly inhibited protein synthesis in the hippocampus, and this effects was more robust during an “ongoing” protein synthesis process. As a result, late phase long-term potentiation (L-LTP) in the hippocampus and long-term hippocampus-dependent memory in the mice were significantly impaired, whereas short-term memory and long-term hippocampus-independent memory remained intact. These results reveal a novel translational underpinning for protein synthesis pertinent to memory consolidation in the mammalian brain

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (≥140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or  ≥90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention

Energy and carbon audit of a rooftop wind turbine

Abstract: Microgeneration is being promoted as a means of lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by replacing electricity from the grid with production from small domestic genera-tors. One concern over this drive is that the use of smaller plant could lead to the loss of econ-omies of scale. Partly, this relates to cost but also in terms of energy consumed and CO2 emitted over the life cycle of the microgenerator. Here, an analysis is presented of a life-cycle audit of the energy use and CO2 emissions for the ‘SWIFT’, a 1.5 kW rooftop-mounted, grid-connected wind turbine. The analysis shows that per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the turbine, the energy intensity and CO2 emissions are comparable with larger wind turbines and significantly lower than fossil-fuelled generation. With energy and carbon intensities sensitive to assumed levels of production, assessments were carried out for an annual production range of 1000–4000 kWh, representing capacity factors of 8–31 per cent. For the manufacturer’s estimated production of 2000 to 3000 kWh and, giving credit for component recycling, the energy payback period was found to be between 17 and 25 months, whereas the CO2 payback was between 13 and 20 months. Across the full production range, the energy and carbon payback periods were 13–50 months and 10–39 months, respectively. A key outcome of the study is to inform the manufacturer of the opportunities for improving the energy and carbon intensities of the turbine. A simple example is presented showing the impact of replacing one of the larger aluminium components with alternative materials

Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10−8) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10−8). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10−6) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10−6) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexit

Causal effect of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 on coronary heart disease

Background--Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) plays an essential role in the fibrinolysis system and thrombosis. Population studies have reported that blood PAI-1 levels are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear whether the association reflects a causal influence of PAI-1 on CHD risk. Methods and Results--To evaluate the association between PAI-1 and CHD, we applied a 3-step strategy. First, we investigated the observational association between PAI-1 and CHD incidence using a systematic review based on a literature search for PAI-1 and CHD studies. Second, we explored the causal association between PAI-1 and CHD using a Mendelian randomization approach using summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies. Finally, we explored the causal effect of PAI-1 on cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic and subclinical atherosclerosis measures. In the systematic meta-analysis, the highest quantile of blood PAI-1 level was associated with higher CHD risk comparing with the lowest quantile (odds ratio=2.17; 95% CI: 1.53, 3.07) in an age- and sex-adjusted model. The effect size was reduced in studies using a multivariable-adjusted model (odds ratio=1.46; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.88). The Mendelian randomization analyses suggested a causal effect of increased PAI-1 level on CHD risk (odds ratio=1.22 per unit increase of log-transformed PAI-1; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.47). In addition, we also detected a causal effect of PAI-1 on elevating blood glucose and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions--Our study indicates a causal effect of elevated PAI-1 level on CHD risk, which may be mediated by glucose dysfunction