Opposite polarities of ENSO drive distinct patterns of coral bleaching potentials in the southeast Indian Ocean.

Episodic anomalously warm sea surface temperature (SST) extremes, or marine heatwaves (MHWs), amplify ocean warming effects and may lead to severe impacts on marine ecosystems. MHW-induced coral bleaching events have been observed frequently in recent decades in the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO), a region traditionally regarded to have resilience to global warming. In this study, we assess the contribution of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to MHWs across the mostly understudied reefs in the SEIO. We find that in extended summer months, the MHWs at tropical and subtropical reefs (divided at ~20°S) are driven by opposite ENSO polarities: MHWs are more likely to occur at the tropical reefs during eastern Pacific El Niño, driven by enhanced solar radiation and weaker Australian Monsoon, some likely alleviated by positive Indian Ocean Dipole events, and at the subtropical reefs during central Pacific La Niña, mainly caused by increased horizontal heat transport, and in some cases reinforced by local air-sea interactions. Madden-Julian Oscillations (MJO) also modulate the MHW occurrences. Projected future increases in ENSO and MJO intensity with greenhouse warming will enhance thermal stress across the SEIO. Implementing forecasting systems of MHWs can be used to anticipate future coral bleaching patterns and prepare management responses

Prevalence and risk factors for esophageal squamous cell cancer and precursor lesions in Anyang, China: a population-based endoscopic survey

BACKGROUND: The etiology of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) in high prevalence regions of China remains unclear. METHODS: Endoscopic biopsies were conducted among 7381 inhabitants aged from 25 to 65 of Anyang, China. RESULTS: In this study, 2.57, 0.20 and 0.16% of the participants had mild, moderate and severe squamous dysplasia, respectively; 0.19 and 0.08% showed squamous carcinoma in situ and invasive ESCC. Using deep well (depth >100 meters) as water source (odds ratio = 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.54-0.96) was negatively associated with ESCC and its precursors, whereas tobacco and alcohol use were not significantly associated with ESCC. CONCLUSIONS: Water source and other factors in this region need further evaluation by longitudinal studies. British Journal of Cancer (2010) 103, 1085-1088. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605843 www.bjcancer.com Published online 10 August 2010 (C) 2010 Cancer Research UKOncologySCI(E)PubMed19ARTICLE71085-108810

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations at large transverse momenta in p+pp+p and Au+Au collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}= 200 GeV

Results on high transverse momentum charged particle emission with respect to the reaction plane are presented for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$= 200 GeV. Two- and four-particle correlations results are presented as well as a comparison of azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions to those in $p+p$ at the same energy. Elliptic anisotropy, $v_2$, is found to reach its maximum at $p_t \sim 3$ GeV/c, then decrease slowly and remain significant up to $p_t\approx 7$ -- 10 GeV/c. Stronger suppression is found in the back-to-back high-$p_t$ particle correlations for particles emitted out-of-plane compared to those emitted in-plane. The centrality dependence of $v_2$ at intermediate $p_t$ is compared to simple models based on jet quenching.Comment: 4 figures. Published version as PRL 93, 252301 (2004

Azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV

The results from the STAR Collaboration on directed flow (v_1), elliptic flow (v_2), and the fourth harmonic (v_4) in the anisotropic azimuthal distribution of particles from Au+Au collisions at sqrtsNN = 200 GeV are summarized and compared with results from other experiments and theoretical models. Results for identified particles are presented and fit with a Blast Wave model. Different anisotropic flow analysis methods are compared and nonflow effects are extracted from the data. For v_2, scaling with the number of constituent quarks and parton coalescence is discussed. For v_4, scaling with v_2^2 and quark coalescence is discussed.Comment: 26 pages. As accepted by Phys. Rev. C. Text rearranged, figures modified, but data the same. However, in Fig. 35 the hydro calculations are corrected in this version. The data tables are available at http://www.star.bnl.gov/central/publications/ by searching for "flow" and then this pape

Myosin Light-Chain Kinase Is Necessary for Membrane Homeostasis in Cochlear Inner Hair Cells

The structural homeostasis of the cochlear hair cell membrane is critical for all aspects of sensory transduction, but the regulation of its maintenance is not well understood. In this report, we analyzed the cochlear hair cells of mice with specific deletion of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) in inner hair cells. MLCK-deficient mice showed impaired hearing, with a 5- to 14-dB rise in the auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds to clicks and tones of different frequencies and a significant decrease in the amplitude of the ABR waves. The mutant inner hair cells produced several ball-like structures around the hair bundles in vivo, indicating impaired membrane stability. Inner hair cells isolated from the knockout mice consistently displayed less resistance to hypoosmotic solution and less membrane F-actin. Myosin light-chain phosphorylation was also reduced in the mutated inner hair cells. Our results suggest that MLCK is necessary for maintaining the membrane stability of inner hair cells

MCP-1 Upregulates Amylin Expression in Murine Pancreatic β Cells through ERK/JNK-AP1 and NF-κB Related Signaling Pathways Independent of CCR2

BACKGROUND: Amylin is the most abundant component of islet amyloid implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes. Plasma amylin levels are elevated in individuals with obesity and insulin resistance. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1, CCL2) is involved in insulin resistance of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We investigated the effect of MCP-1 on amylin expression and the underlying mechanisms with murine pancreatic β-cell line MIN6 and pancreatic islets. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that MCP-1 induced amylin expression at transcriptional level and increased proamylin and intermediate forms of amylin at protein level in MIN6 cells and islets. However, MCP-1 had no effect on the expressions of proinsulin 1 and 2, as well as prohormone convertase (PC) 1/3 and PC2, suggesting that MCP-1 specifically induces amylin expression in β-cells. Mechanistic studies showed that although there is no detectable CCR2 mRNA in MIN6 cells and islets, pretreatment of MIN6 cells with pertussis toxin inhibited MCP-1 induced amylin expression, suggesting that alternative Gi-coupled receptor(s) mediates the inductive effect of MCP-1. MCP-1 rapidly induced ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation. Inhibitors for MEK1/2 (PD98059), JNK (SP600125) or AP1 (curcumin) significantly inhibited MCP-1-induced amylin mRNA expression. MCP-1 failed to induce amylin expression in pancreatic islets isolated from Fos knockout mice. EMSA showed that JNK and ERK1/2 were involved in MCP-1-induced AP1 activation. These results suggest that MCP-1 induces murine amylin expression through AP1 activation mediated by ERK1/2 or JNK. Further studies showed that treatment of MIN6 cells with NF-κB inhibitor or overexpression of IκBα dominant-negative construct in MIN6 cells significantly inhibited MCP-1-induced amylin expression, suggesting that NF-κB related signaling also participates in MCP-1-induced murine amylin expression. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: MCP-1 induces amylin expression through ERK1/2/JNK-AP1 and NF-κB related signaling pathways independent of CCR2. Amylin upregulation by MCP-1 may contribute to elevation of plasma amylin in obesity and insulin resistance

Gene Regulation in Giardia lambia Involves a Putative MicroRNA Derived from a Small Nucleolar RNA

Two core microRNA (miRNA) pathway proteins, Dicer and Argonaute, are found in Giardia lamblia, a deeply branching parasitic protozoan. There are, however, no apparent homologues of Drosha or Exportin5 in the genome. Here, we report a 26 nucleotide (nt) RNA derived from a 106 nt Box C/D snoRNA, GlsR2. This small RNA, designated miR5, localizes to the 3′ end of GlsR2 and has a 75 nt hairpin precursor. GlsR2 is processed by the Dicer from Giardia (GlDcr) and generated miR5. Immunoprecipitation of the Argonaute from Giardia (GlAgo) brought down miR5. When a Renilla Luciferase transcript with a 26 nt miR5 antisense sequence at the 3′-untranslated region (3′ UTR) was introduced into Giardia trophozoites, Luciferase expression was reduced ∼25% when synthetic miR5 was also introduced. The Luciferase mRNA level remained, however, unchanged, suggesting translation repression by miR5. This inhibition was fully reversed by introducing also a 2′-O-methylated antisense inhibitor of miR5, suggesting that miR5 acts by interacting specifically with the antisense sequence in the mRNA. A partial antisense knock down of GlDcr or GlAgo in Giardia indicated that the former is needed for miR5 biogenesis whereas the latter is required for miR5-mediated translational repression. Potential targets for miR5 with canonical seed sequences were predicted bioinformatically near the stop codon of Giardia mRNAs. Four out of the 21 most likely targets were tested in the Luciferase reporter assay. miR5 was found to inhibit Luciferase expression (∼20%) of transcripts carrying these potential target sites, indicating that snoRNA-derived miRNA can regulate the expression of multiple genes in Giardia

Методология синтеза архитектуры программно-технического комплекса автоматизированной системы мониторинга обстановки

Предложен подход к проектированию архитектуры программно-технического комплекса автоматизированной системы мониторинга обстановки в реальном времени, основанный на классификации решаемых функциональных задач на основе методов кластерного анализа и выбранного множества признаков подобия. Разработанный подход позволяет из множества функций системы выделить подобные (по определенным признакам) и объединить их в архитектурные компоненты (унифицированные функциональные модули).Запропоновано підхід до проектування архітектури центру обробки інформації автоматизованої системи моніторингу середовища в реальному часі, що заснований на класифікації функціональних задач на підставі методів кластерного аналізу і обраної множини ознак схожості. Розроблений підхід дозволяє вибрати із множини функцій системи схожі (за певними ознаками) і поєднати їх в архітектурні компоненти (уніфіковані функціональні модулі).The approach to designing architecture of the information processing complex of the automated real time conditions monitoring system based on classification of functional tasks on the basis of methods of cluster analysis and the chosen set of similarity attributes is offered. The developed approach allows to allocate from a set of functions the systems similar (on certain attributes) and to unite them in architectural components (unified functional modules)