19 research outputs found
Cosmic star formation history revealed by the AKARI, & Spatially-resolved spectroscopy of an E+A (Post-starburst) system
We reveal cosmic star-formation history obscured by dust using deep infrared
observation with the AKARI. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR
wavelength (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24um) by the AKARI satellite
allows us to estimate restframe 8um and 12um luminosities without using a large
extrapolation based on a SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous
work. We found that restframe 8um (0.38<z<2.2), 12um (0.15<z<1.16), and total
infrared (TIR) luminosity functions (LFs) (0.2<z<1.6) constructed from the
AKARI NEP deep data, show a continuous and strong evolution toward higher
redshift. In terms of cosmic infrared luminosity density (Omega_IR), which was
obtained by integrating analytic fits to the LFs, we found a good agreement
with previous work at z<1.2, with Omega_IR propto (1+z)^4.4+-1.0. When we
separate contributions to Omega_IR by LIRGs and ULIRGs, we found more IR
luminous sources are increasingly more important at higher redshift. We found
that the ULIRG (LIRG) contribution increases by a factor of 10 (1.8) from
z=0.35 to z=1.4.Comment: To appear in "Hunting for the Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy
Formation", Malta, 19-23 Oct. 2009, eds. V.P. Debattista & C.C. Popescu, AIP
Conf. Se
Far-infrared all sky diffuse mapping with AKARI
We discuss the capability of AKARI in recovering diffuse far-infrared
emission, and examine the achieved reliability. Critical issues in making
images of diffuse emission are the transient response and long-term stability
of the far-infrared detectors. Quantitative evaluation of these characteristics
are the key to achieving sensitivity comparable to or better than that for
point sources (< 20 -- 95 MJy sr-1). We describe current activity and progress
toward the production of high quality images of the diffuse far-infrared
emission using the AKARI all-sky survey data.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the Conference
"AKARI, a light to illuminate the misty Universe", Fukutake Hall, The
University of Tokyo, Japan, 16-19 February 200
AKARI Far-Infrared All Sky Survey
We demonstrate the capability of AKARI for mapping diffuse far-infrared
emission and achieved reliability of all-sky diffuse map. We have conducted an
all-sky survey for more than 94 % of the whole sky during cold phase of AKARI
observation in 2006 Feb. -- 2007 Aug. The survey in far-infrared waveband
covers 50 um -- 180 um with four bands centered at 65 um, 90 um, 140 um, and
160 um and spatial resolution of 3000 -- 4000 (FWHM).This survey has allowed us
to make a revolutionary improvement compared to the IRAS survey that was
conducted in 1983 in both spatial resolution and sensitivity after more than a
quarter of a century. Additionally, it will provide us the first all-sky survey
data with high-spatial resolution beyond 100 um. Considering its extreme
importance of the AKARI far-infrared diffuse emission map, we are now
investigating carefully the quality of the data for possible release of the
archival data. Critical subjects in making image of diffuse emission from
detected signal are the transient response and long-term stability of the
far-infrared detectors. Quantitative evaluation of these characteristics is the
key to achieve sensitivity comparable to or better than that for point sources
(< 20 -- 95 [MJy/sr]). We describe current activities and progress that are
focused on making high quality all-sky survey images of the diffuse
far-infrared emission.Comment: To appear in Proc. Workshop "The Space Infrared Telescope for
Cosmology & Astrophysics: Revealing the Origins of Planets and Galaxies".
Eds. A.M. Heras, B. Swinyard, K. Isaak, and J.R. Goicoeche
Subzero Nonfreezing Hypothermia with Insect Antifreeze Protein Dramatically Improves Survival Rate of Mammalian Cells
Cells for therapeutic use are often preserved at +4 °C, and the storage period is generally limited to 2–3 days. Here, we report that the survival rate (%) of mammalian cells is improved to 10–20 days when they are preserved with a subzero supercooled solution containing the antifreeze protein (AFP), for which an ability to stabilize both supercooled water and cell membrane integrity has been postulated. We chose adherent rat insulinoma (RIN-5F) cells as the preservation target, which were immersed into −5 °C-, −2 °C-, or +4 °C-chilled “unfrozen” solution of Euro-Collins or University of Washington (UW) containing the AFP sample obtained from insect or fish. Our results show that the survival rate of the cells preserved with the solution containing insect AFP was always higher than that of the fish AFP solution. A combination of the −5 °C-supercooling and insect AFP gave the best preservation result, namely, UW solution containing insect AFP kept 53% of the cells alive, even after 20 days of preservation at −5 °C. The insect AFP locates highly organized ice-like waters on its molecular surface. Such waters may bind to semiclathrate waters constructing both embryonic ice crystals and a membrane–water interface in the supercooled solution, thereby protecting the cells from damage due to chilling
Structure-function relationship of ice-binding proteins from cold-adapted organisms [an abstract of dissertation and a summary of dissertation review]
Subzero Nonfreezing Hypothermia with Insect Antifreeze Protein Dramatically Improves Survival Rate of Mammalian Cells
Cells for therapeutic use are often preserved at +4 °C, and the storage period is generally limited to 2–3 days. Here, we report that the survival rate (%) of mammalian cells is improved to 10–20 days when they are preserved with a subzero supercooled solution containing the antifreeze protein (AFP), for which an ability to stabilize both supercooled water and cell membrane integrity has been postulated. We chose adherent rat insulinoma (RIN-5F) cells as the preservation target, which were immersed into −5 °C-, −2 °C-, or +4 °C-chilled “unfrozen” solution of Euro-Collins or University of Washington (UW) containing the AFP sample obtained from insect or fish. Our results show that the survival rate of the cells preserved with the solution containing insect AFP was always higher than that of the fish AFP solution. A combination of the −5 °C-supercooling and insect AFP gave the best preservation result, namely, UW solution containing insect AFP kept 53% of the cells alive, even after 20 days of preservation at −5 °C. The insect AFP locates highly organized ice-like waters on its molecular surface. Such waters may bind to semiclathrate waters constructing both embryonic ice crystals and a membrane–water interface in the supercooled solution, thereby protecting the cells from damage due to chilling
Discovery of Hyperactive Antifreeze Protein from Phylogenetically Distant Beetles Questions Its Evolutionary Origin
Beetle hyperactive antifreeze protein (AFP) has a unique ability to maintain a supercooling state of its body fluids, however, less is known about its origination. Here, we found that a popular stag beetle Dorcus hopei binodulosus (Dhb) synthesizes at least 6 isoforms of hyperactive AFP (DhbAFP). Cold-acclimated Dhb larvae tolerated −5 °C chilled storage for 24 h and fully recovered after warming, suggesting that DhbAFP facilitates overwintering of this beetle. A DhbAFP isoform (~10 kDa) appeared to consist of 6−8 tandem repeats of a 12-residue consensus sequence (TCTxSxNCxxAx), which exhibited 3 °C of high freezing point depression and the ability of binding to an entire surface of a single ice crystal. Significantly, these properties as well as DNA sequences including the untranslated region, signal peptide region, and an AFP-encoding region of Dhb are highly similar to those identified for a known hyperactive AFP (TmAFP) from the beetle Tenebrio molitor (Tm). Progenitor of Dhb and Tm was branched off approximately 300 million years ago, so no known evolution mechanism hardly explains the retainment of the DNA sequence for such a long divergence period. Existence of unrevealed gene transfer mechanism will be hypothesized between these two phylogenetically distant beetles to acquire this type of hyperactive AFP