Kinematical coherence between satellite galaxies and host stellar discs for MaNGA and SAMI galaxies

The effect of angular momentum on galaxy formation and evolution has been studied for several decades. Our recent two papers using IllustrisTNG-100 simulation have revealed the acquisition path of the angular momentum from large-scale environment (satellites within hundreds of kpc) through the circumgalactic medium (CGM) to the stellar discs, putting forward the co-rotation scenario across the three distance scales. In real observations, although the rotation signature for the CGM and environmental three-dimensional angular momentum are difficult to obtain, line-of-sight kinematics of group member galaxies and stellar disc kinematics of central galaxies are available utilizing existing group catalogue data and integral field unit (IFU) data. In this paper, we use (1) the group catalogue of SDSS DR7 and MaNGA IFU stellar kinematic maps and (2) the group catalogue of GAMA DR4 data and SAMI IFU stellar kinematic maps, to test if the prediction above can be seen in real data. We found the co-rotation pattern between stellar discs and satellites can be concluded with 99.7 per cent confidence level (∼3σ) when combining the two data sets. And the random tests show that the signal can be scarcely drawn from random distribution

Kinematical coherence between satellite galaxies and host stellar discs for MaNGA & SAMI galaxies

The effect of angular momentum on galaxy formation and evolution has been studied for several decades. Our recent two papers using IllustrisTNG-100 simulation have revealed the acquisition path of the angular momentum from large-scale environment (satellites within hundreds of kpc) through the circum-galactic medium (CGM) to the stellar discs, putting forward the co-rotation scenario across the three distance scales. In real observations, although the rotation signature for the CGM and environmental three-dimensional (3d) angular momentum are difficult to obtain, line-of-sight kinematics of group member galaxies and stellar disc kinematics of central galaxies are available utilizing existing group catalogue data and integral field unit (IFU) data. In this paper, we use (1) the group catalogue of SDSS DR7 and MaNGA IFU stellar kinematic maps and (2) the group catalogue of GAMA DR4 data and SAMI IFU stellar kinematic maps, to test if the prediction above can be seen in real data. We found the co-rotation pattern between stellar discs and satellites can be concluded with 99.7 percent confidence level ($\sim 3\sigma$) when combining the two datasets. And the random tests show that the signal can be scarcely drawn from random distribution.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Boundary integrated neural networks (BINNs) for acoustic radiation and scattering

This paper presents a novel approach called the boundary integrated neural networks (BINNs) for analyzing acoustic radiation and scattering. The method introduces fundamental solutions of the time-harmonic wave equation to encode the boundary integral equations (BIEs) within the neural networks, replacing the conventional use of the governing equation in physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). This approach offers several advantages. Firstly, the input data for the neural networks in the BINNs only require the coordinates of "boundary" collocation points, making it highly suitable for analyzing acoustic fields in unbounded domains. Secondly, the loss function of the BINNs is not a composite form, and has a fast convergence. Thirdly, the BINNs achieve comparable precision to the PINNs using fewer collocation points and hidden layers/neurons. Finally, the semi-analytic characteristic of the BIEs contributes to the higher precision of the BINNs. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method

The Arabidopsis NLP7 gene regulates nitrate signaling via NRT1.1-dependent pathway in the presence of ammonium.

Nitrate is not only an important nutrient but also a signaling molecule for plants. A few of key molecular components involved in primary nitrate responses have been identified mainly by forward and reverse genetics as well as systems biology, however, many underlining mechanisms of nitrate regulation remain unclear. In this study, we show that the expression of NRT1.1, which encodes a nitrate sensor and transporter (also known as CHL1 and NPF6.3), is modulated by NIN-like protein 7 (NLP7). Genetic and molecular analyses indicate that NLP7 works upstream of NRT1.1 in nitrate regulation when NH4+ is present, while in absence of NH4+, it functions in nitrate signaling independently of NRT1.1. Ectopic expression of NRT1.1 in nlp7 resulted in partial or complete restoration of nitrate signaling (expression from nitrate-regulated promoter NRP), nitrate content and nitrate reductase activity in the transgenic lines. Transcriptome analysis revealed that four nitrogen-related clusters including amino acid synthesis-related genes and members of NRT1/PTR family were modulated by both NLP7 and NRT1.1. In addition, ChIP and EMSA assays results indicated that NLP7 may bind to specific regions of the NRT1.1 promoter. Thus, NLP7 acts as an important factor in nitrate signaling via regulating NRT1.1 under NH4+ conditions

Cytotoxic activity of lithospermum erythrorhizon root extract against childhood acute leukemia cells via regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway

Purpose: To investigate the effect and mechanism of action of Lithospermum erythrorhizon root extract (LR) in childhood acute leukemia. Methods: Human leukemic lymphoblast (CCRF-CEM cell line) cells were treated with LR (2, 4, and 8 mg/mL). Cell viability, cell apoptosis and cell cycle were measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2- thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The levels of cell-cycle-related proteins including cyclin D1, cyclin E1, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), CDK4 and CDK6, as well as cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 9 and Bcl-2-associated x (Bax). Also determined were B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9. Cell migration and invasion were assessed using scratch and Transwell assays. Finally, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated serine/threonine kinase (pAKT), total AKT (t-AKT), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and phosphorylated mTOR (pmTOR) were measured using western blotting. Results: Lithospermum erythrorhizon root extract not only dose-dependently inhibited cell viability, induced G1 phase accumulation, and downregulated CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1, and cyclin E1, but also elevated apoptosis, cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 9, and Bax and decreased Bcl-2 expression levels. In addition, Lithospermum erythrorhizon root extract suppressed migration and invasion of CCRF-CEM cells, downregulated N-cadherin, vimentin, MMP-2, and MMP-9, and upregulated E-cadherin and ZO-1. Moreover, Lithospermum erythrorhizon root extracts dosedependently inhibited PI3K, p-AKT (ser473)/t-AKT, p-mTOR (ser2448)/mTOR, and p-mTOR (ser2481)/mTOR. Conclusion: The findings provide a potential therapeutic approach to the treatment of childhood acute leukemia

IS BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) VAL66MET POLYMORPHISM ASSOCIATED WITH OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER? A META-ANALYSIS

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism plays an important role in neural survival and was proposed to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Genetic association studies of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265) in OCD have produced inconsistent results. A meta-analysis of studies was conducted to compare the frequency of the BDNF Val66Met variant between cases with OCD and age-matched controls. Subjects and methods: Electronic databases were searched for eligible articles in English and ten studies on the association of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with OCD were analysed. Results: A total of ten studies involving 2306 cases with OCD and 4968 healthy controls were included. Findings indicated that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism was not associated with OCD. But there was a marginally significant effect of the BDNF Val66Met variant on OCD in different ethnicity. Conclusion: Findings from this meta-analytic investigation of published literature provide little support for the Val66Met variant of BDNF as a predictor of OCD. Future well-powered agnostic genome-wide association studies with more refined phenotype are needed to clarify genetic influences on OCD

The structural and photosynthetic characteristics of the exposed peduncle of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): an important photosynthate source for grain-filling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In wheat (<it>Triticum aestivum </it>L), the flag leaf has been thought of as the main source of assimilates for grain growth, whereas the peduncle has commonly been thought of as a transporting organ. The photosynthetic characteristics of the exposed peduncle have therefore been neglected. In this study, we investigated the anatomical traits of the exposed peduncle during wheat grain ontogenesis, and we compared the exposed peduncle to the flag leaf with respect to chloroplast ultrastructure, photosystem II (PSII) quantum yield, and phospho<it>enol</it>pyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase; EC 4.1.1.31) activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transmission electron microscope observations showed well-developed chloroplasts with numerous granum stacks at grain-filling stages 1, 2 and 3 in both the flag leaf and the exposed peduncle. In the exposed peduncle, the membranes constituting the thylakoids were very distinct and plentiful, but in the flag leaf, there was a sharp breakdown at stage 4 and complete disintegration of the thylakoid membranes at stage 5. PSII quantum yield assays revealed that the photosynthetic efficiency remained constant at stages 1, 2 and 3 and then declined in both organs. However, the decline occurred more dramatically in the flag leaf than in the exposed peduncle. An enzyme assay showed that at stages 1 and 2 the PEPCase activity was lower in the exposed peduncle than in the flag leaf; but at stages 3, 4 and 5 the value was higher in the exposed peduncle, with a particularly significant difference observed at stage 5. Subjecting the exposed part of the peduncle to darkness following anthesis reduced the rate of grain growth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the exposed peduncle is a photosynthetically active organ that produces photosynthates and thereby makes a crucial contribution to grain growth, particularly during the late stages of grain-filling.</p

GestureGPT: Zero-shot Interactive Gesture Understanding and Grounding with Large Language Model Agents

Current gesture recognition systems primarily focus on identifying gestures within a predefined set, leaving a gap in connecting these gestures to interactive GUI elements or system functions (e.g., linking a 'thumb-up' gesture to a 'like' button). We introduce GestureGPT, a novel zero-shot gesture understanding and grounding framework leveraging large language models (LLMs). Gesture descriptions are formulated based on hand landmark coordinates from gesture videos and fed into our dual-agent dialogue system. A gesture agent deciphers these descriptions and queries about the interaction context (e.g., interface, history, gaze data), which a context agent organizes and provides. Following iterative exchanges, the gesture agent discerns user intent, grounding it to an interactive function. We validated the gesture description module using public first-view and third-view gesture datasets and tested the whole system in two real-world settings: video streaming and smart home IoT control. The highest zero-shot Top-5 grounding accuracies are 80.11% for video streaming and 90.78% for smart home tasks, showing potential of the new gesture understanding paradigm

Potential application of ivim and dwi imaging in parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive degenerative neurological condition, which origin remains unclear. We are interested in proposing the study ofblood flow in the substantia nigra (SN) in PD patients, based on findings that demonstrated relative hypoactivity in PD patients located to subthalamicnucleus and SN. It is believed that this hipoactivity may suggest changes in the blood flow to the SN, where the particular loss of dopaminergic neuronsoccurs.The method used is the Incoherent Motion Intravoxel (IVIM) that allows measurement of blood flow to the microvascular level and recently has been producing high resolution quantitative perfusion maps.This paper proposes to measure the perfusion in PD patients and find any correlation with neural activity and water displacements within thetissue. Assuming decreasing the local perfusion suggests the possible impairments that affect the neural activity in PD causing the progressivedeath of neurons in the SN.Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive degenerative neurological condition, which origin remains unclear. We are interested in proposing the study ofblood flow in the substantia nigra (SN) in PD patients, based on findings that demonstrated relative hypoactivity in PD patients located to subthalamicnucleus and SN. It is believed that this hipoactivity may suggest changes in the blood flow to the SN, where the particular loss of dopaminergic neuronsoccurs.The method used is the Incoherent Motion Intravoxel (IVIM) that allows measurement of blood flow to the microvascular level and recently has been producing high resolution quantitative perfusion maps.This paper proposes to measure the perfusion in PD patients and find any correlation with neural activity and water displacements within thetissue. Assuming decreasing the local perfusion suggests the possible impairments that affect the neural activity in PD causing the progressivedeath of neurons in the SN