5,447 research outputs found
Inhibition of activin/nodal signalling is necessary for pancreatic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Light Higgsino from Axion Dark Radiation
The recent observations imply that there is an extra relativistic degree of
freedom coined dark radiation. We argue that the QCD axion is a plausible
candidate for the dark radiation, not only because of its extremely small mass,
but also because in the supersymmetric extension of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism
the saxion tends to dominate the Universe and decays into axions with a sizable
branching fraction. We show that the Higgsino mixing parameter mu is bounded
from above when the axions produced at the saxion decays constitute the dark
radiation: mu \lesssim 300 GeV for a saxion lighter than 2m_W, and mu less than
the saxion mass otherwise. Interestingly, the Higgsino can be light enough to
be within the reach of LHC and/or ILC even when the other superparticles are
heavy with mass about 1 TeV or higher. We also estimate the abundance of axino
produced by the decays of Higgsino and saxion.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure; published in JHE
Glucose-induced down regulation of thiamine transporters in the kidney proximal tubular epithelium produces thiamine insufficiency in diabetes
Increased renal clearance of thiamine (vitamin B1) occurs in experimental and clinical diabetes producing thiamine insufficiency mediated by impaired tubular re-uptake and linked to the development of diabetic nephropathy. We studied the mechanism of impaired renal re-uptake of thiamine in diabetes. Expression of thiamine transporter proteins THTR-1 and THTR-2 in normal human kidney sections examined by immunohistochemistry showed intense polarised staining of the apical, luminal membranes in proximal tubules for THTR-1 and THTR-2 of the cortex and uniform, diffuse staining throughout cells of the collecting duct for THTR-1 and THTR-2 of the medulla. Human primary proximal tubule epithelial cells were incubated with low and high glucose concentration, 5 and 26 mmol/l, respectively. In high glucose concentration there was decreased expression of THTR-1 and THTR-2 (transporter mRNA: −76% and −53% respectively, p<0.001; transporter protein −77% and −83% respectively, p<0.05), concomitant with decreased expression of transcription factor specificity protein-1. High glucose concentration also produced a 37% decrease in apical to basolateral transport of thiamine transport across cell monolayers. Intensification of glycemic control corrected increased fractional excretion of thiamine in experimental diabetes. We conclude that glucose-induced decreased expression of thiamine transporters in the tubular epithelium may mediate renal mishandling of thiamine in diabetes. This is a novel mechanism of thiamine insufficiency linked to diabetic nephropathy
A geographic cline induced by negative frequency-dependent selection
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Establishment of geographic morph frequency clines is difficult to explain in organisms with limited gene flow. Balancing selection, such as negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS), is instead suggested to establish a morph frequency cline on a geographic scale at least theoretically. Here we tested whether a large-scale smooth cline in morph frequency is established by NFDS in the female-dimorphic damselfly, <it>Ischnura senegalensis</it>, where andromorphs and gynomorphs are maintained by NFDS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a large-scale latitudinal cline in the morph frequency: andromorph frequency ranged from 0.05 (South) to 0.79 (North). Based on the empirical data on the numbers of eggs, the number of ovariole, abdomen length and latitude, the potential fitness of andromorphs was estimated to be lower than that of gynomorphs in the south, and higher in the north, suggesting the gene-by-environment interaction. From the morph-specific latitudinal cline in potential fitness, the frequency of andromorphs was expected to shift from 0 to 1 without NFDS, because a morph with higher potential fitness wins completely and the two morphs will switch at some point. In contrast, NFDS led to the coexistence of two morphs with different potential fitness in a certain geographic range along latitude due to rare morph advantage, and resulted in a smooth geographic cline of morph frequency.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results provide suggestive evidence that the combination of NFDS and gene-by-environment interaction, i.e., multi-selection pressure on color morphs, can explain the geographic cline in morph frequency in the current system.</p
ALMA High-frequency Long Baseline Campaign in 2021: Highest Angular Resolution Submillimeter Wave Images for the Carbon-rich Star R Lep
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) was used in 2021 to
image the carbon-rich evolved star R Lep in Bands 8-10 (397-908 GHz) with
baselines up to 16 km. The goal was to validate the calibration, using
band-to-band (B2B) phase referencing with a close phase calibrator J0504-1512,
1.2 deg from R Lep in this case, and the imaging procedures required to obtain
the maximum angular resolution achievable with ALMA. Images of the continuum
emission and the hydrogen cyanide (HCN) maser line at 890.8 GHz, from the
J=10-9 transition between the (1110) and (0400) vibrationally excited states,
achieved angular resolutions of 13, 6, and 5 mas in Bands 8-10, respectively.
Self-calibration (self-cal) was used to produce ideal images as to compare with
the B2B phase referencing technique. The continuum emission was resolved in
Bands 9 and 10, leaving too little flux for self-cal of the longest baselines,
so these comparisons are made at coarser resolution. Comparisons showed that
B2B phase referencing provided phase corrections sufficient to recover 92%,
83%, and 77% of the ideal image continuum flux densities. The HCN maser was
sufficiently compact to obtain self-cal solutions in Band 10 for all baselines
(up to 16 km). In Band 10, B2B phase referencing as compared to the ideal
images recovered 61% and 70% of the flux density for the HCN maser and
continuum, respectively.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figures, 9 tables, accepted by ApJ (Aug 30, 2023
X-ray Absorption and Reflection in Active Galactic Nuclei
X-ray spectroscopy offers an opportunity to study the complex mixture of
emitting and absorbing components in the circumnuclear regions of active
galactic nuclei, and to learn about the accretion process that fuels AGN and
the feedback of material to their host galaxies. We describe the spectral
signatures that may be studied and review the X-ray spectra and spectral
variability of active galaxies, concentrating on progress from recent Chandra,
XMM-Newton and Suzaku data for local type 1 AGN. We describe the evidence for
absorption covering a wide range of column densities, ionization and dynamics,
and discuss the growing evidence for partial-covering absorption from data at
energies > 10 keV. Such absorption can also explain the observed X-ray spectral
curvature and variability in AGN at lower energies and is likely an important
factor in shaping the observed properties of this class of source.
Consideration of self-consistent models for local AGN indicates that X-ray
spectra likely comprise a combination of absorption and reflection effects from
material originating within a few light days of the black hole as well as on
larger scales. It is likely that AGN X-ray spectra may be strongly affected by
the presence of disk-wind outflows that are expected in systems with high
accretion rates, and we describe models that attempt to predict the effects of
radiative transfer through such winds, and discuss the prospects for new data
to test and address these ideas.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. 58
pages, 9 figures. V2 has fixed an error in footnote
Dark Radiation and Dark Matter in Large Volume Compactifications
We argue that dark radiation is naturally generated from the decay of the
overall volume modulus in the LARGE volume scenario. We consider both
sequestered and non-sequestered cases, and find that the axionic superpartner
of the modulus is produced by the modulus decay and it can account for the dark
radiation suggested by observations, while the modulus decay through the
Giudice-Masiero term gives the dominant contribution to the total decay rate.
In the sequestered case, the lightest supersymmetric particles produced by the
modulus decay can naturally account for the observed dark matter density. In
the non-sequestered case, on the other hand, the supersymmetric particles are
not produced by the modulus decay, since the soft masses are of order the heavy
gravitino mass. The QCD axion will then be a plausible dark matter candidate.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures; version 3: version published in JHE
Acquisition of pneumococci specific effector and regulatory Cd4+ T cells localising within human upper respiratory-tract mucosal lymphoid tissue
The upper respiratory tract mucosa is the location for commensal Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae colonization and therefore represents a major site of contact between host and bacteria. The CD4(+) T cell response to pneumococcus is increasingly recognised as an important mediator of immunity that protects against invasive disease, with data suggesting a critical role for Th17 cells in mucosal clearance. By assessing CD4 T cell proliferative responses we demonstrate age-related sequestration of Th1 and Th17 CD4(+) T cells reactive to pneumococcal protein antigens within mucosal lymphoid tissue. CD25(hi) T cell depletion and utilisation of pneumococcal specific MHCII tetramers revealed the presence of antigen specific Tregs that utilised CTLA-4 and PDL-1 surface molecules to suppress these responses. The balance between mucosal effector and regulatory CD4(+) T cell immunity is likely to be critical to pneumococcal commensalism and the prevention of unwanted pathology associated with carriage. However, if dysregulated, such responses may render the host more susceptible to invasive pneumococcal infection and adversely affect the successful implementation of both polysaccharide-conjugate and novel protein-based pneumococcal vaccines
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