34 research outputs found
Subaru Observations for the K-band Luminosity Distribution of Galaxies in Clusters near to 3C 324 at z1.2
We investigate the -band luminosity distribution of galaxies in the region
of clusters at near to the radio galaxy 3C 324. The imaging data
were obtained during the commissioning period of the Subaru telescope. There is
a significant excess of the surface number density of the galaxies with
17--20 mag in the region within 40'' from 3C 324. At this bright end,
the measured luminosity distribution shows a drop, which can be represented by
the exponential cut off of the Schechter-function formula; the best-fitted
value of the characteristic magnitude, , is . This
measurement follows the evolutionary trend of the of the rich clusters
observed at an intermediate redshift, which is consistent with passive
evolution models with a formation redshift z_f \gtsim 2. At K \gtsim 20
mag, however, the excess of the galaxy surface density in the region of the
clusters decreases abruptly, which may imply that the luminosity function of
the cluster galaxies has a negative slope at the faint end. This may imply
strong luminosity segregation between the inner and outer parts of the
clusters, or some deficit of faint galaxies in the cluster central region of
the cluster.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Superwind-Driven Intense H_2 Emission in NGC 6240
We have performed a long-slit K band spectroscopic observation of the
luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240. The peak position of the H_2 v=1-0 S(1)
emission in the slit is located ~0.3" - 0.4" north of the southern nucleus. It
is almost the midpoint between the southern nucleus and the peak position of
the ^12CO J=1-0 emission. Based on the line-ratio analyses, we suggest the
excitation mechanism of H_2 is pure thermal at most positions. In the southern
region we find the following three velocity components in the H_2 emission: the
blueshifted shell component (~-250 km s^-1 with respect to V_sys) which is
recognized as a distinct C-shape distortion in the velocity field around the
southern nucleus, the high-velocity blueshifted ``wing'' component (~-1000 km
s^-1 with respect to V_sys), and the component indicating possible line
splitting of ~500 km s^-1. The latter two components are extended to the south
from the southern nucleus. We show that the kinematic properties of these three
components can be reproduced by expanding motion of a shell-like structure
around the southern nucleus. The offset peak position of the H_2 emission can
be understood if we assume that the shell expanding to the north interacts with
the extragalactic molecular gas. At the interface between the shell and the
molecular gas concentration the cloud-crushing mechanism proposed by Cowie et
al. (1981) may work efficiently, and the intense H_2 emission is thus expected
there. All these findings lead us to propose a model that the most H_2 emission
is attributed to the shock excitation driven by the superwind activity of the
southern nucleus.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
High-Resolution Near-Infrared Imaging of the Powerful Radio Galaxy 3C 324 at z = 1.21 with the Subaru Telescope
We have obtained high-resolution K'-band images of the powerful z=1.206 radio
galaxy 3C 324 with the Subaru telescope under seeing conditions of 0.3--0.4
arcsec. We clearly resolved the galaxy and directly compared it to the optical
images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The host galaxy of 3C 324 is
revealed to be a moderately luminous elliptical galaxy with a smooth light
profile. The effective radius of the galaxy, as determined by profile fitting,
is 1.3+-0.1 arcsec (1.2 kpc), which is significantly smaller than the value of
2.2 arcsec, published in Best et al. (1998, MNRAS, 292, 758). The peak of the
K'-band light coincides with the position of the radio core, which implies that
the powerful AGN lies at the nucleus of the host galaxy. The peak also
coincides with the gap in the optical knotty structures which may be a dust
lane hiding the UV-optical emission of the AGN from our line of sight; it is
very likely that we are seeing the obscuring structure almost edge-on. We
clearly detected the `aligned component' in the K'-band image by subtracting a
model elliptical galaxy from the observed image. The red R_F702W-K color of the
outer region of the galaxy avoiding the aligned component indicates that the
near infrared light of the host galaxy is dominated by an old stellar
population.Comment: 21 pages (10 figures), accepted for publication in PAS
Computer-aided rational design of the phosphotransferase system for enhanced glucose uptake in Escherichia coli
The phosphotransferase system (PTS) is the sugar transportation machinery that is widely distributed in prokaryotes and is critical for enhanced production of useful metabolites. To increase the glucose uptake rate, we propose a rational strategy for designing the molecular architecture of the Escherichia coli glucose PTS by using a computer-aided design (CAD) system and verified the simulated results with biological experiments. CAD supports construction of a biochemical map, mathematical modeling, simulation, and system analysis. Assuming that the PTS aims at controlling the glucose uptake rate, the PTS was decomposed into hierarchical modules, functional and flux modules, and the effect of changes in gene expression on the glucose uptake rate was simulated to make a rational strategy of how the gene regulatory network is engineered. Such design and analysis predicted that the mlc knockout mutant with ptsI gene overexpression would greatly increase the specific glucose uptake rate. By using biological experiments, we validated the prediction and the presented strategy, thereby enhancing the specific glucose uptake rate
Impact of functional studies on exome sequence variant interpretation in early-onset cardiac conduction system diseases
Aims
The genetic cause of cardiac conduction system disease (CCSD) has not been fully elucidated. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) can detect various genetic variants; however, the identification of pathogenic variants remains a challenge. We aimed to identify pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in CCSD patients by using WES and 2015 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) standards and guidelines as well as evaluating the usefulness of functional studies for determining them.
Methods and Results
We performed WES of 23 probands diagnosed with early-onset (<65 years) CCSD and analyzed 117 genes linked to arrhythmogenic diseases or cardiomyopathies. We focused on rare variants (minor allele frequency < 0.1%) that were absent from population databases. Five probands had protein truncating variants in EMD and LMNA which were classified as âpathogenicâ by 2015 ACMG standards and guidelines. To evaluate the functional changes brought about by these variants, we generated a knock-out zebrafish with CRISPR-mediated insertions or deletions of the EMD or LMNA homologs in zebrafish. The mean heart rate and conduction velocities in the CRISPR/Cas9-injected embryos and F2 generation embryos with homozygous deletions were significantly decreased. Twenty-one variants of uncertain significance were identified in 11 probands. Cellular electrophysiological study and in vivo zebrafish cardiac assay showed that 2 variants in KCNH2 and SCN5A, 4 variants in SCN10A, and 1 variant in MYH6 damaged each gene, which resulted in the change of the clinical significance of them from âUncertain significanceâ to âLikely pathogenicâ in 6 probands.
Conclusions
Of 23 CCSD probands, we successfully identified pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 11 probands (48%). Functional analyses of a cellular electrophysiological study and in vivo zebrafish cardiac assay might be useful for determining the pathogenicity of rare variants in patients with CCSD. SCN10A may be one of the major genes responsible for CCSD.
Translational Perspective
Whole-exome sequencing (WES) may be helpful in determining the causes of cardiac conduction system disease (CCSD), however, the identification of pathogenic variants remains a challenge. We performed WES of 23 probands diagnosed with early-onset CCSD, and identified 12 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 11 of these probands (48%) according to the 2015 ACMG standards and guidelines. In this context, functional analyses of a cellular electrophysiological study and in vivo zebrafish cardiac assay might be useful for determining the pathogenicity of rare variants, and SCN10A may be one of the major development factors in CCSD
Hyper-luminous Dust Obscured Galaxies discovered by the Hyper Suprime-Cam on Subaru and WISE
We present the photometric properties of a sample of infrared (IR) bright
dust obscured galaxies (DOGs). Combining wide and deep optical images obtained
with the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the Subaru Telescope and all-sky mid-IR
(MIR) images taken with Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), we
discovered 48 DOGs with and , where
, , and [22] represent AB magnitude in the -band,
-band, and 22 m, respectively, in the GAMA 14hr field
( 9 deg). Among these objects, 31 ( 65 %) show power-law
spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in the near-IR (NIR) and MIR regime, while
the remainder show a NIR bump in their SEDs. Assuming that the redshift
distribution for our DOGs sample is Gaussian, with mean and sigma = 1.99
0.45, we calculated their total IR luminosity using an empirical relation
between 22 m luminosity and total IR luminosity. The average value of the
total IR luminosity is (3.5 1.1) L, which
classifies them as hyper-luminous infrared galaxies (HyLIRGs). We also derived
the total IR luminosity function (LF) and IR luminosity density (LD) for a
flux-limited subsample of 18 DOGs with 22 m flux greater than 3.0 mJy and
with -band magnitude brighter than 24 AB magnitude. The derived space
density for this subsample is log = -6.59 0.11 [Mpc]. The
IR LF for DOGs including data obtained from the literature is well fitted by a
double-power law. The derived lower limit for the IR LD for our sample is
3.8 10 [L Mpc] and
its contributions to the total IR LD, IR LD of all ultra-luminous infrared
galaxies (ULIRGs), and that of all DOGs are 3 %, 9 %, and 15 %,
respectively.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, and 3 tables, accepted for publication in PASJ
(Subaru special issue
Current Performance and On-Going Improvements of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope
An overview of the current status of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope constructed
and operated at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan is presented. The basic design concept and the verified performance of
the telescope system are described. Also given are the status of the instrument
package offered to the astronomical community, the status of operation, and
some of the future plans. The status of the telescope reported in a number of
SPIE papers as of the summer of 2002 are incorporated with some updates
included as of 2004 February. However, readers are encouraged to check the most
updated status of the telescope through the home page,
http://subarutelescope.org/index.html, and/or the direct contact with the
observatory staff.Comment: 18 pages (17 pages in published version), 29 figures (GIF format),
This is the version before the galley proo
Microbial Production Potential of Pantoea ananatis: From Amino Acids to Secondary Metabolites
Pantoea ananatis, a gram-negative bacterium belonging to the Erwiniaceae family, is a well-known phytopathogen isolated from many ecological niches and plant hosts. However, this bacterium also provides us with various beneficial characteristics, such as the growth promotion of their host plants and increased crop yield. Some isolated non-pathogenic strains are promising for the microbial production of useful substances. P. ananatis AJ13355 was isolated as an acidophilic bacterium and was used as an excellent host to produce L-glutamic acid under acidic conditions. The genome sequence of P. ananatis AJ13355 was determined, and specific genome-engineering technologies were developed. As a result, P. ananatis was successfully used to construct a bacterial strain that produces cysteine, a sulfur-containing amino acid that has been difficult to produce through fermentation because of complex regulation. Furthermore, by heterologous expression including plant-derived genes, construction of a strain that produces isoprenoids such as isoprene and linalool as secondary metabolites was achieved. P. ananatis is shown to be a useful host for the production of secondary metabolites, as well as amino acids, and is expected to be used as a platform for microbial production of bioactive substances, aromatic substances, and other high-value-added substances of plant origin in the future