Primordial Magnetic Field from Gravitationally Coupled Electrodynamics in Bouncing Scenario

We in this paper study the generation of primordial magnetic field (PMF) in the non-singular bouncing scenario, through the coupling of the electromagnetic field to gravity. We adopt an electrodynamic model with a coupling coefficient as a function of the scale factor $a$, i.e. $f=1+(a/a_\star)^{-n}$, with $a_\star$ and $n>0$ being constants. The result implies that in this mechanism, the power spectrum of PMF today is always blue tilted on large scales from $1$ Mpc to the Hubble length, and the observational constraints favor the ekpyrotic-bounce scenario. Furthermore, the back reaction of the energy density of PMF at the bouncing point yields theoretical constraints on the bouncing model

Seasonal variation of zooplankton community in the coastal waters of the Straits of Malacca

The seasonal and annual variation of zooplankton community was investigated at a fixed station in the coastal waters of the Straits of Malacca. Sampling was carried out monthly by vertical hauls of a 140μm plankton net from June 2002 to May 2004. Zooplankton were identified and grouped into respective taxonomic groups and 23 genera of copepods were identified. Copepods dominated the zooplankton community and among them, the genera Acartia, Acrocalanus, Paracalanus, Euterpina, Corycaeus and Oithona were dominant. They accounted for approximately 90% of the total copepod population throughout the year, emphasizing the importance of small species in tropical zooplankton communities. Zooplankton biomass generally peaked at the beginning of each monsoon and gradually decreased toward the intermonsoon periods. Biomass seemed to increase with increasing ambient chlorophyll-a concentration. Cluster analysis of zooplankton abundance showed two distinct groups relative to the SW and NE monsoons. The population of Acartia pacifica and A. spinicauda, the two most abundant species in the genus Acartia (>90%), showed alternating peaks throughout the year, with A. pacifica appearing primarily during the NE monsoon and A. spinicauda, during the SW monsoon. The presence of the effect of monsoon on zooplankton community in tropical waters is suggested

Rapid profiling of tropical marine cyanobacterial communities

Cyanobacteria are important organisms in the marine ecosystem as they play vital roles in nutrient cycling and oxygen production. In this study, tropical marine cyanobacterial communities from various sites in Southeast Asia and their associated ecological parameters were examined. 16S rRNA sequences of 1502 bp were obtained for barcode amplicon sequencing using the Nanopore MinION™ sequencing platform. Planktonic and benthic cyanobacteria were observed with total of 40 genera and 46 species of cyanobacteria identified from sites in Sabah and Singapore. Species richness analyses showed that the cyanobacterial community from the West Johor Strait was approximately two times greater than that of the East Johor Strait and the Singapore Strait. This is due to the variability in ecological parameters measured between sites such as rainfall, salinity and temperature. This is the first study that has employed this technology for phytoplankton samples with species resolution, providing insight to the diversity of cyanobacteria present in tropical marine ecosystems. Furthermore, the portability of this sequencer enables the real-time monitoring of coastal environments for the specific detection and identification of harmful algal bloom species

The management and appropriation of an archaeological site with rock art, the case of Presa de la Luz, Jalisco, México

Los sitios arqueológicos con arte rupestre son quizá los más vulnerables para su conservación y protección, más aún cuando estos se encuentran dentro de zonas urbanizadas o cercanos a asentamientos humanos modernos. El caso del sitio arqueológico de La Presa de la Luz, en el Municipio de Jesús María (Jalisco, México) no es la excepción. Su estudio por más de 10 años de trabajo continuo nos ha llevado a replantear la tarea de su conservación, a través de una metodología de apropiación y sensibilización con las poblaciones cercanas y su relación con el medio ambiente que los rodea. El sitio tiene un vínculo muy cercano entre el pasado y el presente, debido a que muchos de los grabados rupestres se encuentran junto a las viviendas actuales, a la vera de los caminos, empotrados en las iglesias y, especialmente, en las estribaciones de la presa. En este sentido, este trabajo buscará abordar los procesos de intervención y las estrategias de protección corresponsables, teniendo en cuenta la magnitud de la evidencia arqueológica, que ocupa un área superior a las 500 ha de terreno y registra más de 1.200 petroglifos.Archaeological sites containing rock art are especially vulnerable and difficult to preserve and protect, particularly when they are located in urban areas or near human settlements. The case of La Presa de la Luz archaeological site in Jesús María municipality, Jalisco, Mexico is no exception. Our study of the site during more than ten years of continuous work has allowed us to rethink the task of its preservation via a methodology of appropriation and the raising of the awareness of nearby populations about their relationship with the environment that surrounds them. The site represents a close link between the past and the present due to the fact that many of the rock engravings are located near homes, along paths, embedded in the walls of churches, and, in particular, distributed among the foothills surrounding the dam. Accordingly, this article will attempt to address the issues of this intervention, keeping in mind the fact that an archaeological site covering over 500 ha and including over 1,200 rock engravings requires a protection strategy geared towards shared responsibility

Seasonal changes in abundance of four Acartia species (Copepoda, Calanoida) in the coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia; relationship with monsoon transition

The seasonal variation of Acartia copepods from the waters of Peninsular Malaysia was studied via monthly observations at 2 fixed stations on the west coast (Pulau Pinang and Port Dickson) and 2 fixed stations on the east coast (Kijal and Penyabong) from October 2012 to March 2014. In situ temperatures recorded during this period were relatively constant (mean 29.6±0.7°C) at all stations. Salinitymeasurements were also fairly constant (mean 30.3 ± 1.1 PSU) for all stations during this study except at Penyabong where the salinity during the northeast (NE) monsoon season was significantly lower (p<0.05) (mean 23.2 ± 7.9 PSU) than during the southwest (SW) monsoon season. Concentration of chlorophyll a at Pulau Pinang during the SW monsoon period was significantly higher (p<0.05) (mean 14.6±5.4μg/L) than during the NE monsoon period. Four species of Acartia were identified at all stations: A. amboinensis, A. erythraea, A. pacifica and A. spinicauda. At Kijal, Acartia erythraeapopulation was significantly higher (p<0.05) (mean 695.7 ± 618.4 inds/m3) compared with the other stations. Acartia species composition at Port Dickson was similar to Penyabong, while Kijal was similar to Pulau Pinang. Small-sized species, Acartia pacifica and A. spinicauda were dominant at Port Dickson and Penyabong, while the larger-sized species, Acartia amboinensis and A. erythraea were dominant at Kijal. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were applied to abundance data to describe the environmental preference associated with population recruitment of these species, and the results identified a relative contrast in environmental envelopes occupied by the larger and smaller-sized species. The large-sized species preferred colder and more saline water while the small-sized species preferred warmer and lower salinity water. The succession and co-occurrence of similar sized species is suggested to be a result of the combined effect of species-specific preference to varying temperature–salinity regimes

Intake of Radionuclides in the Trees of Fukushima Forests 3. Removal of Radiocesium from Stem Wood, Cryptomeria Japonica (L.f.) D. Don.

Nuclear power plant accidents have dispersed radiocesium into the atmosphere to contaminate trees with no turnover in heartwood, as occurred in Fukushima, and as has persisted for over 30 years around Chernobyl. Here we employ the ponding method, in which radiocesium can be flushed out from the cross-cut edges of Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don., stem with water due to xyloglucan degradation in tracheids. Furthermore, lab-scale ponding experiments have shown that a non-detectable level of radiocesium has been observed not only in the pool water used for 575 days but also in the water containing recombinant xyloglucanase. This traditional technology is now a new biotechnology

Pharmacokinetic Behavior of Cyclosporine A in Liver Dysfunction

The pharmacokinetic behavior of cyclosporine A (CyA), known as a potential immunosuppressive agent to prevent graft rejection in transplantation, was studied in patients with acute hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The ratios of blood concentration of total CyA (CyA and its metabolites), CyA, and CyA metabolites to dose/kg body weight, (t-CyA/dose, CyA/dose, and CyA-Met/dose, respectively) were significantly higher in patients with hepatitis than those in renal transplantation. In PBC patients these ratios showed a tendency to be smaller than those in renal transplantation, but were not significant. The ratio of CyA-Met/ CyA was higher in the patients with hepatitis and PBC than that in renal transplantation. It was highest in the patients with PBC. The ratio of CyA-Met/CyA was significantly increased with a decrease of liver functions evaluated by serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), and total serum bilirubin (t-Bil). These results indicate that hepatic function affects the pharmacokinetic behavior of CyA and the increased ratio of CyA-Met/dose could be caused by a possible increased efflux of metabolites into the blood circulation due to impaired bile excretion. These results also indicate the importance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in the use of CyA with patients with hepatic dysfunction

Suzaku Observation of the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar CXOU J164710.2--455216

Suzaku TOO observation of the anomalous X-ray pulsar CXOU J164710.2-455216 was performed on 2006 September 23--24 for a net exposure of 38.8 ks. During the observation, the XIS was operated in 1/8 window option to achieve a time resolution of 1 s. Pulsations are clearly detected in the XIS light curves with a barycenter corrected pulse period of 10.61063(2) s. The XIS pulse profile shows 3 peaks of different amplitudes with RMS fractional amplitude of ~11% in 0.2--6.0 keV energy band. Though the source was observed with the HXD of Suzaku, the data is highly contaminated by the nearby bright X-ray source GX 340+0 which was in the HXD field of view. The 1-10 keV XIS spectra are well fitted by two blackbody components. The temperatures of two blackbody components are found to be 0.61+/-0.01 keV and 1.22+/-0.06 keV and the value of the absorption column density is 1.73+/-0.03 x 10^{22} atoms cm^{-2}. The observed source flux in 1-10 keV energy range is calculated to be 2.6 x 10^{-11} ergs cm^{-2} s^{-1} with significant contribution from the soft blackbody component (kT = 0.61 keV). Pulse phase resolved spectroscopy of XIS data shows that the flux of the soft blackbody component consists of three narrow peaks, whereas the flux of the other component shows a single peak over the pulse period of the AXP. The blackbody radii changes between 2.2-2.7 km and 0.28-0.38 km (assuming the source distance to be 5 kpc) over pulse phases for the soft and hard components, respectively. The details of the results obtained from the timing and spectral analysis is presented.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ

Relationship between Semenogelins bound to human sperm and other semen parameters and pregnancy outcomes

BackgroundSemenogelins (SEMGs) are major components of human seminal vesicle secretions. Due to SEMG’s sperm-motility inhibitor, a significant negative correlation between sperm motility and the proportion of SEMG-bound spermatozoa (SEMG+) was found in asthenozoospermic patients. SEMGs also show intrinsic inhibitory capability for sperm capacitation; however, studies on actual clinical specimens have not been conducted.MethodsTo reveal the relationship between SEMGs and the fertilizing capacity of sperm from male infertile patients who are not restricted to asthenozoospermia, we measured the proportion of SEMG+ in the spermatozoa of 142 male infertile patients. The pregnancy outcomes in partners of these patients were retrospectively analyzed using questionnaires.ResultsAmong examined semen parameters, only the total SEMG-unbound sperm count showed a tendency to be different between the spontaneous pregnancy or intra-uterine-insemination-pregnancy groups and in-vitro-fertilization- or intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection-pregnancy groups. It was elevated in the former group, which includes patients who used in vivo fertilization.ConclusionsThe total SEMG-unbound sperm count would be a relevant parameter for in vivo fertilization. This result suggests that SEMGs inhibit ectopic capacitation before sperm reach the fertilization site and that the number of total SEMG-unbound sperm is a parameter directly linked to the possibility of in vivo fertilization

A novel y chromosome microdeletion with the loss of an endogenous retrovirus related, testis specific transcript in AZFb region

Purpose: We identified the endogenous retroviruses associated with TTYs (testis specific transcripts linked to the Y) in the AZFb region. We evaluated the relationship between endogenous retroviruses, and TTY expression patterns and function in spermatogenesis. Materials and Methods: We identified family members of TTYs in the AZFb region using computational screening. After investigating the relationship between the endogenous retrovirus genome and TTY expression patterns we screened genomic polymerase chain reaction products from TTY13 amplified from 790 Japanese men, including 275 with azoospermia, 285 with oligozoospermia and 230 who were fertile. Results: Computational screening revealed that 3 members of the TTY family, TTY9, 10 and 13, were regulated by endogenous retroviruses in the AZFb region. Homologous recombination between long terminal repeat of the TTY13 associated human endogenous retrovirus-K14C resulted in TTY13 deletion events. These deletions were more common in patients with azoospermia and oligozoospermia than in fertile males. Specifically 15.63% of the azoospermia group, 10.88% of the oligozoospermia group and 0% of fertile controls had only the deletion variant, indicating an association between the homologous recombination rate and the severity of spermatogenesis failure that was statistically significant (p <0.05). Conclusions: Because of the finding of what are to our knowledge novel microdeletions due to endogenous retrovirus in the AZFb region, our study raises the possibility that specific variations in genomic structure may contribute to some forms of human idiopathic male infertility. © 2011 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc