Measuring Shapes of Galaxy Images I: Ellipticity and Orientation

We suggest a set of morphological measures that we believe can help in quantifying the shapes of two-dimensional cosmological images such as galaxies, clusters, and superclusters of galaxies. The method employs non-parametric morphological descriptors known as the Minkowski functionals in combination with geometric moments widely used in the image analysis. For the purpose of visualization of the morphological properties of image contour lines we introduce three auxiliary ellipses representing the vector and tensor Minkowski functionals. We study the discreteness, seeing, and noise effects on elliptic contours as well as their morphological characteristics such as the ellipticity and orientation. In order to reduce the effect of noise we employ a technique of contour smoothing. We test the method by studying simulated elliptic profiles of toy spheroidal galaxies ranging in ellipticity from E0 to E7. We then apply the method to real galaxies, including eight spheroidals, three disk spirals and one peculiar galaxy, as imaged in the near-infrared $K_s$-band (2.2 microns) with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). The method is numerically very efficient and can be used in the study of hundreds of thousands images obtained in modern surveys.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Revised version contains 20 pages, 17 PostScript figures. Results unchanged; high-resolution figures # 1,6,7,11,13,16 can be obtained from author

Branched Chain Fatty Acids Reduce the Incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Alter Gastrointestinal Microbial Ecology in a Neonatal Rat Model

Branched chain fatty acids (BCFA) are found in the normal term human newborn's gut, deposited as major components of vernix caseosa ingested during late fetal life. We tested the hypothesis that premature infants' lack of exposure to gastrointestinal (GI) BCFA is associated with their microbiota and risk for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) using a neonatal rat model.Pups were collected one day before scheduled birth. The pups were exposed to asphyxia and cold stress to induce NEC. Pups were assigned to one of three experimental treatments. DF (dam-fed); Control, hand-fed rat milk substitute; BCFA, hand-fed rat milk substitute with 20%w/w BCFA. Total fat was equivalent (11%wt) for both the Control and BCFA groups. Cecal microbiota were characterized by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, and intestinal injury, ileal cytokine and mucin gene expression, interleukin-10 (IL-10) peptide immunohistochemistry, and BCFA uptake in ileum phospholipids, serum and liver were assessed.NEC incidence was reduced by over 50% in the BCFA group compared to the Control group as assessed in ileal tissue; microbiota differed among all groups. BCFA-fed pups harbored greater levels of BCFA-associated Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to Controls. Bacillus subtilis levels were five-fold greater in healthy pups compared to pups with NEC. BCFA were selectively incorporated into ileal phospholipids, serum and liver tissue. IL-10 expression increased three-fold in the BCFA group versus Controls and no other inflammatory or mucosal mRNA markers changed.At constant dietary fat level, BCFA reduce NEC incidence and alter microbiota composition. BCFA are also incorporated into pup ileum where they are associated with enhanced IL-10 and may exert other specific effects

Longitudinal Survey of Carotenoids in Human Milk from Urban Cohorts in China, Mexico, and the USA.

Emerging evidence indicates that carotenoids may have particular roles in infant nutrition and development, yet data on the profile and bioavailability of carotenoids from human milk remain sparse. Milk was longitudinally collected at 2, 4, 13, and 26 weeks postpartum from twenty mothers each in China, Mexico, and the USA in the Global Exploration of Human Milk Study (n = 60 donors, n = 240 samples). Maternal and neonatal plasma was analyzed for carotenoids from the USA cohort at 4 weeks postpartum. Carotenoids were analyzed by HPLC and total lipids by Creamatocrit. Across all countries and lactation stages, the top four carotenoids were lutein (median 114.4 nmol/L), β-carotene (49.4 nmol/L), β-cryptoxanthin (33.8 nmol/L), and lycopene (33.7 nmol/L). Non-provitamin A carotenoids (nmol/L) and total lipids (g/L) decreased (p<0.05) with increasing lactation stage, except the provitamin A carotenoids α- and β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene did not significantly change (p>0.05) with lactation stage. Total carotenoid content and lutein content were greatest from China, yet lycopene was lowest from China (p<0.0001). Lutein, β-cryptoxanthin, and β-carotene, and lycopene concentrations in milk were significantly correlated to maternal plasma and neonatal plasma concentrations (p<0.05), with the exception that lycopene was not significantly associated between human milk and neonatal plasma (p>0.3). This enhanced understanding of neonatal exposure to carotenoids during development may help guide dietary recommendations and design of human milk mimetics

Demographic characteristics of human milk donors.

<p>All comparisons significantly (p<0.05) different across the three sites, tested for continuous variables by Kruskal-Wallis test, and for categorical variables.</p><p>Demographic characteristics of human milk donors.</p

Total lipid content (g/L) by country and lactation stage.

<p>Boxes represent 25^th, 50^th, and 75^th percentiles. Circle represent mean. Whiskers represent either minimum/maximum or 25^th/75^th minus/plus 1.5 x interquartile range, whichever is closer to the median.</p

Scatterplots representing correlations between major carotenoids in milk (nmol/g lipid) and maternal/ neonatal plasma (nmol/L).

<p>Beta-carotene and lycopene represent sum of cis and trans isomers. All-trans-lutein was used for correlations instead of sum of isomers because cis-lutein isomers were below the detection limit in neonatal plasma.</p

Carotenoid species identified in milk.

<p>C atoms are labeled to indicate positions of <i>cis-</i> isomers.</p

Chromatogram at 450 nm of carotenoids.

<p>Milk (top), neonatal plasma (middle), and maternal plasma (bottom) from the same family in the USA cohort at week 4. Peak identification: (a) <i>13</i>- or <i>13’-cis-</i>lutein (b) <i>13’-</i> or <i>13-cis-</i>lutein, (c) <i>all-trans-</i> lutein, (*) unidentified, (d) <i>all-trans</i>-zeaxanthin, (e) <i>9-</i> or <i>9’-cis-</i> lutein, (f) α-cryptoxanthin, (g) β-cryptoxanthin, (h) echinenone <i>internal standard</i>,(i) <i>15-cis</i>-β-carotene, (j) <i>13-cis</i>-β- carotene, (k) α-carotene, (l) <i>all-trans</i>-β- carotene, (m) <i>9-cis</i>-β-carotene, (n,o) <i>cis</i>-lycopene isomers, (p) <i>all-trans-</i>lycopene, (q) <i>5-cis-</i>lycopene.</p