A resonant feature near the Perseus arm revealed by red clump stars

We investigate the extinction together with the radial velocity dispersion and distribution of red clump stars in the anti-center direction using spectra obtained with Hectospec on the MMT. We find that extinction peaks at Galactocentric radii of about 9.5 and 12.5 kpc, right in front of the locations of the Perseus and Outer arms and in line with the relative position of dust and stars in external spiral galaxies. The radial velocity dispersion peaks around 10kpc, which coincides with the location of the Perseus arm, yields an estimated arm-interarm density contrast of 1.3-1.5 and is in agreement with previous studies. Finally, we discover that the radial velocity distribution bifurcates around 10-11 kpc into two peaks at +27 km/s and -4 km/s. This seems to be naturally explained by the presence of the outer Lindblad resonance of the Galactic bar, but further observations will be needed to understand if the corotation resonance of the spirals arms also plays a role.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Preliminary Exploration of Areal Density of Angular Momentum for Spiral Galaxies

The specific angular momenta ($j_t$) of stars, baryons as a whole and dark matter haloes contain clues of vital importance about how galaxies form and evolve. Using a sample of 70 spiral galaxies, we perform a preliminary analysis of $j_t$, and introduce a new quantity, e.g., areal density of angular momentum (ADAM) ($j_t~M_\star/4R_d^2$) as an indication for the existence of jet in spiral galaxies. The percentage of spiral galaxies having jet(s) shows strong correlation with the ADAM, although the present sample is incomplete.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Identification of Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars From LAMOST DR5

We construct a new catalog of the blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) DR5 dataset, which contains 5355+81 BHB stars at high Galactic latitude (($|Glat|>20^{\circ}$). We combine the spectral line indices with a set of Balmer line profile selection criteria to identify the BHB stars. During the selection process, we use the line index of \ion{Ca}{2}\,K to exclude the metal-rich A-type dwarfs. We obtain their atmospheric parameters by cross-matching our BHB stars with the catalog provided by \citet{Xiang2022}. The results show that our sample is consistent with the theoretical $T_{\rm eff}$-log\,$g$ evolutionary tracks of the BHB stars, indicating that our method is robust for identifying BHB stars from the LAMOST spectra. Their spatial distribution indicates that most of our BHB stars are located in the inner halo or the disk of the Milky Way. Combined with other BHB samples from the literature, the BHB stars can cover a large Galactic volume, which makes it a better probe for studying the kinematics, dynamics, and structural characteristics of the Milky Way.Comment: accepted by ApJS.15 pages, 18 figure

On the identification of N-rich metal-poor field stars with future China space station telescope

During the long term evolution of globular clusters (GCs), a part of member stars are lost to the field. The recently found nitrogen-rich (N-rich) metal-poor field stars are promising candidates of these GC escapees, since N enhancement is the fingerprint of chemically enhanced populations in GCs. In this work, we discuss the possibility of identifying N-rich metal-poor field stars with the upcoming China space station telescope (CSST). We focus on the main survey camera with NUV, u, g, r, i, z, y filters and slitless spectrograph with a resolution about 200. The combination of UV sensitive equipment and prominent N-related molecular lines in the UV band bodes well for the identification: the color-color diagram of (u-g) versus (g-r) is capable of separating N-rich field stars and normal halo stars, if metallicity can be estimated without using the information of u-band photometry. Besides, the synthetic spectra show that a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 is sufficient to identify N-rich field stars. In the near future, a large sample of N-rich field stars found by CSST, combined with state-of-the-art N-body simulations will be crucial to decipher the GC-Galaxy co-evolution.Comment: 13+2 pages, 11+2 figures, 4 tables, accepted by RA

The miR167-OsARF12 module regulates grain filling and grain size downstream of miR159

Grain weight and quality are always determined by the grain filling. Plant miRNAs have drawn attention as key targets for regulating grain size and yield. Yet the mechanisms underlying the regulation of grain size are largely unclear due to the complex networks controlling this trait. Our earlier studies proved that the suppressed expression of miR167 (STTM/MIM167) substantially increased grain weight. In a field test, the increased yield up to 12.90%-21.94% due to the significantly enhanced grain filling rate. Biochemical and genetic analyses reveal the regulatory effects of miR159 on miR167 expression. Further analysis indicates that OsARF12 is the major mediator of miR167 in regulating rice grain filling. Expectedly, over expressing OsARF12 could resemble the phenotype of STTM/MIM167 plants with respect to grain weight and grain filling rate. Upon in-depth analysis, we found that OsARF12 activates OsCDKF;2 expressions by directly binding to the TGTCGG motif in the promoter region. Flow cytometric analysis in young panicles of plants overexpressing OsARF12 and cell number examination of cdkf;2 mutants verify that OsARF12 positively regulates grain filling and grain size by targeting OsCDKF;2. Moreover, RNA-seq result suggests that miR167-OsARF12 module is involved in the cell development process and hormone pathways. Additionally, plants overexpressing OsARF12 or cdkf;2 mutants present enhanced or reduced sensitivity to exogenous auxin and brassinosteroid (BR) treatments, confirming that OsCDKF;2 targeting by OsARF12 mediates auxin and BR signaling. Our results reveal that miR167-OsARF12 module works downstream of miR159 to regulate rice grain filling and grain size by OsCDKF;2 through controlling cell division and mediating auxin and BR signals

Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine Compound JieDuTongLuoShengJin Granules Treatment in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective. To evaluate the clinical therapeutic efficacy and safety of JieDuTongLuoShengJin granules + HCQ in patients with pSS. Methods. 40 patients with low-activity-level pSS and without visceral involvement participated in this study and were randomized to receive either JieDuTongLuoShengJin granules with HCQ or placebo with HCQ. Patients and investigators were blinded to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was week 12 ESSPRI score, while secondary endpoints included ESSDAI, salivary and lacrimal gland function, and some laboratory variables. Safety-related data were also assessed. Results. Comparing with the placebo group, the treatment group experienced statistically significant improvement in the mean change from baseline for the primary endpoint of ESSPRI score and also in PGA. Moreover, in comparison with baseline values, the treatment group had significantly improved ESSDAI score, unstimulated saliva flow rate, and several laboratory variables. However, upon comparison of the two groups, there were no significant differences for them. The incidence of AEs was 10.0%, one in treatment group and three in placebo group. Conclusion. Treatment with a combination of JieDuTongLuoShengJin granules with HCQ is effective in improving patients’ subjective symptoms and some objective indicators of pSS. These results indicate that JieDuTongLuoShengJin is promising as a safe and effective treatment of pSS