295 research outputs found
Recent progress in mesoporous titania materials: adjusting morphology for innovative applications
This review article summarizes recent developments in mesoporous titania materials, particularly in the fields of morphology control and applications. We first briefly introduce the history of mesoporous titania materials and then review several synthesis approaches. Currently, mesoporous titania nanoparticles (MTNs) have attracted much attention in various fields, such as medicine, catalysis, separation and optics. Compared with bulk mesoporous titania materials, which are above a micrometer in size, nanometer-sized MTNs have additional properties, such as fast mass transport, strong adhesion to substrates and good dispersion in solution. However, it has generally been known that the successful synthesis of MTNs is very difficult owing to the rapid hydrolysis of titanium-containing precursors and the crystallization of titania upon thermal treatment. Finally, we review four emerging fields including photocatalysis, photovoltaic devices, sensing and biomedical applications of mesoporous titania materials. Because of its high surface area, controlled porous structure, suitable morphology and semiconducting behavior, mesoporous titania is expected to be used in innovative applications
Direct Production of Furfural in One-pot Fashion from Raw Biomass Using Brønsted Acidic Ionic Liquids
The conversion of raw biomass into C5-sugars and furfural was demonstrated with the one-pot method using Brønsted acidic ionic liquids (BAILs) without any mineral acids or metal halides. Various BAILs were synthesized and characterized using NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and CHNS microanalysis and were used as the catalyst for raw biomass conversion. The remarkably high yield (i.e. 88%) of C5 sugars from bagasse can be obtained using 1-methyl-3(3-sulfopropyl)-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([C 3 SO 3 HMIM][HSO 4 ]) BAIL catalyst in a water medium. Similarly, the [C 3 SO 3 HMIM][HSO 4 ] BAIL also converts the bagasse into furfural with very high yield (73%) in one-pot method using a water/toluene biphasic solvent system
A scalable lysyl hydroxylase 2 expression system and luciferase-based enzymatic activity assay
Hydroxylysine aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (HLCCs) accumulate in fibrotic tissues and certain types of cancer and are thought to drive the progression of these diseases. HLCC formation is initiated by lysyl hydroxylase 2 (LH2), an Fe(II) and α-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent oxygenase that hydroxylates telopeptidyl lysine residues on collagen. Development of LH2 antagonists for the treatment of these diseases will require a reliable source of recombinant LH2 protein and a non-radioactive LH2 enzymatic activity assay that is amenable to high throughput screens of small molecule libraries. However, LH2 protein generated previously using E coli– or insect-based expression systems was either insoluble or enzymatically unstable, and LH2 enzymatic activity assays have measured radioactive CO2 released from 14C-labeled αKG during its conversion to succinate. To address these deficiencies, we have developed a scalable process to purify human LH2 protein from Chinese hamster ovary cell-derived conditioned media samples and a luciferase-based assay that quantifies LH2-dependent conversion of αKG to succinate. These methodologies may be applicable to other Fe(II) and αKG-dependent oxygenase systems
Galaxy Zoo: Reproducing Galaxy Morphologies Via Machine Learning
We present morphological classifications obtained using machine learning for
objects in SDSS DR6 that have been classified by Galaxy Zoo into three classes,
namely early types, spirals and point sources/artifacts. An artificial neural
network is trained on a subset of objects classified by the human eye and we
test whether the machine learning algorithm can reproduce the human
classifications for the rest of the sample. We find that the success of the
neural network in matching the human classifications depends crucially on the
set of input parameters chosen for the machine-learning algorithm. The colours
and parameters associated with profile-fitting are reasonable in separating the
objects into three classes. However, these results are considerably improved
when adding adaptive shape parameters as well as concentration and texture. The
adaptive moments, concentration and texture parameters alone cannot distinguish
between early type galaxies and the point sources/artifacts. Using a set of
twelve parameters, the neural network is able to reproduce the human
classifications to better than 90% for all three morphological classes. We find
that using a training set that is incomplete in magnitude does not degrade our
results given our particular choice of the input parameters to the network. We
conclude that it is promising to use machine- learning algorithms to perform
morphological classification for the next generation of wide-field imaging
surveys and that the Galaxy Zoo catalogue provides an invaluable training set
for such purposes.Comment: 13 Pages, 5 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS.
Revised to match accepted version
Analyses of clinicopathological, molecular, and prognostic associations of KRAS codon 61 and codon 146 mutations in colorectal cancer: cohort study and literature review
Background: KRAS mutations in codons 12 and 13 are established predictive biomarkers for anti-EGFR therapy in colorectal cancer. Previous studies suggest that KRAS codon 61 and 146 mutations may also predict resistance to anti-EGFR therapy in colorectal cancer. However, clinicopathological, molecular, and prognostic features of colorectal carcinoma with KRAS codon 61 or 146 mutation remain unclear. Methods: We utilized a molecular pathological epidemiology database of 1267 colon and rectal cancers in the Nurse’s Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. We examined KRAS mutations in codons 12, 13, 61 and 146 (assessed by pyrosequencing), in relation to clinicopathological features, and tumor molecular markers, including BRAF and PIK3CA mutations, CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), LINE-1 methylation, and microsatellite instability (MSI). Survival analyses were performed in 1067 BRAF-wild-type cancers to avoid confounding by BRAF mutation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute mortality hazard ratio, adjusting for potential confounders, including disease stage, PIK3CA mutation, CIMP, LINE-1 hypomethylation, and MSI. Results: KRAS codon 61 mutations were detected in 19 cases (1.5%), and codon 146 mutations in 40 cases (3.2%). Overall KRAS mutation prevalence in colorectal cancers was 40% (=505/1267). Of interest, compared to KRAS-wild-type, overall, KRAS-mutated cancers more frequently exhibited cecal location (24% vs. 12% in KRAS-wild-type; P < 0.0001), CIMP-low (49% vs. 32% in KRAS-wild-type; P < 0.0001), and PIK3CA mutations (24% vs. 11% in KRAS-wild-type; P < 0.0001). These trends were evident irrespective of mutated codon, though statistical power was limited for codon 61 mutants. Neither KRAS codon 61 nor codon 146 mutation was significantly associated with clinical outcome or prognosis in univariate or multivariate analysis [colorectal cancer-specific mortality hazard ratio (HR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.29-2.26 for codon 61 mutation; colorectal cancer-specific mortality HR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.42-1.78 for codon 146 mutation]. Conclusions: Tumors with KRAS mutations in codons 61 and 146 account for an appreciable proportion (approximately 5%) of colorectal cancers, and their clinicopathological and molecular features appear generally similar to KRAS codon 12 or 13 mutated cancers. To further assess clinical utility of KRAS codon 61 and 146 testing, large-scale trials are warranted
Compact High-Redshift Galaxies Are the Cores of the Most Massive Present-Day Spheroids
Observations suggest that effective radii of high-z massive spheroids are as
much as a factor ~6 smaller than low-z galaxies of comparable mass. Given the
apparent absence of low-z counterparts, this has often been interpreted as
indicating that the high density, compact red galaxies must be 'puffed up' by
some mechanism. We compare the ensemble of high-z observations with large
samples of well-observed low-z ellipticals. At the same physical radii, the
stellar surface mass densities of low and high-z systems are comparable.
Moreover, the abundance of high surface density material at low redshift is
comparable to or larger than that observed at z>1-2, consistent with the
continuous buildup of spheroids over this time. The entire population of
compact, high-z red galaxies may be the progenitors of the high-density cores
of present-day ellipticals, with no need for a decrease in stellar density from
z=2 to z=0. The primary difference between low and high-z systems is thus the
observed low-density material at large radii in low-z spheroids (rather than
the high-density material in high-z spheroids). Such low-density material may
either (1) assemble at z2.
Mock observations of low-z massive systems show that the high-z observations do
not yet probe sufficiently low surface brightness material to detect the low
surface density 'wings' (if present). Thus, if the high-z galaxies resemble the
most massive systems today, their inferred effective radii could be
under-estimated by factors ~2-4. This difference arises because massive systems
at low redshift are not well-fit by single Sersic profiles. We discuss
implications of our results for physical models of galaxy evolution.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted to MNRAS (revised to match published
version
Status Report of the DPHEP Study Group: Towards a Global Effort for Sustainable Data Preservation in High Energy Physics
Data from high-energy physics (HEP) experiments are collected with
significant financial and human effort and are mostly unique. An
inter-experimental study group on HEP data preservation and long-term analysis
was convened as a panel of the International Committee for Future Accelerators
(ICFA). The group was formed by large collider-based experiments and
investigated the technical and organisational aspects of HEP data preservation.
An intermediate report was released in November 2009 addressing the general
issues of data preservation in HEP. This paper includes and extends the
intermediate report. It provides an analysis of the research case for data
preservation and a detailed description of the various projects at experiment,
laboratory and international levels. In addition, the paper provides a concrete
proposal for an international organisation in charge of the data management and
policies in high-energy physics
Galaxy Zoo: the dependence of morphology and colour on environment
We analyse the relationships between galaxy morphology, colour, environment
and stellar mass using data for over 100,000 objects from Galaxy Zoo, the
largest sample of visually classified morphologies yet compiled. We
conclusively show that colour and morphology fractions are very different
functions of environment. Both are sensitive to stellar mass; however, at fixed
stellar mass, while colour is also highly sensitive to environment, morphology
displays much weaker environmental trends. Only a small part of both relations
can be attributed to variation in the stellar mass function with environment.
Galaxies with high stellar masses are mostly red, in all environments and
irrespective of their morphology. Low stellar-mass galaxies are mostly blue in
low-density environments, but mostly red in high-density environments, again
irrespective of their morphology. The colour-density relation is primarily
driven by variations in colour fractions at fixed morphology, in particular the
fraction of spiral galaxies that have red colours, and especially at low
stellar masses. We demonstrate that our red spirals primarily include galaxies
with true spiral morphology. We clearly show there is an environmental
dependence for colour beyond that for morphology. Before using the Galaxy Zoo
morphologies to produce the above results, we first quantify a luminosity-,
size- and redshift-dependent classification bias that affects this dataset, and
probably most other studies of galaxy population morphology. A correction for
this bias is derived and applied to produce a sample of galaxies with reliable
morphological type likelihoods, on which we base our analysis.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures (+ 6 pages, 11 figures in appendices);
moderately revised following referee's comments; accepted by MNRA
The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly
successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical
Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy
universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range,
from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution,
high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral
resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in
the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers
covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing
hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12
keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and
a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the
40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral
resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science
themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical
Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to
Gamma Ray
The genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes may be modulated by obesity status: implications for association studies
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Considering that a portion of the heterogeneity amongst previous replication studies may be due to a variable proportion of obese subjects in case-control designs, we assessed the association of genetic variants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in large groups of obese and non-obese subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped <it>RETN</it>, <it>KCNJ11</it>, <it>HNF4A</it>, <it>HNF1A</it>, <it>GCK</it>, <it>SLC30A8</it>, <it>ENPP1</it>, <it>ADIPOQ</it>, <it>PPARG</it>, and <it>TCF7L2 </it>polymorphisms in 1,283 normoglycemic (NG) and 1,581 T2D obese individuals as well as in 3,189 NG and 1,244 T2D non-obese subjects of European descent, allowing us to examine T2D risk over a wide range of BMI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Amongst non-obese individuals, we observed significant T2D associations with <it>HNF1A </it>I27L [odds ratio (OR) = 1.14, <it>P </it>= 0.04], <it>GCK </it>-30G>A (OR = 1.23, <it>P </it>= 0.01), <it>SLC30A8 </it>R325W (OR = 0.87, <it>P </it>= 0.04), and <it>TCF7L2 </it>rs7903146 (OR = 1.89, <it>P </it>= 4.5 × 10<sup>-23</sup>), and non-significant associations with <it>PPARG </it>Pro12Ala (OR = 0.85, <it>P </it>= 0.14), <it>ADIPOQ </it>-11,377C>G (OR = 1.00, <it>P </it>= 0.97) and <it>ENPP1 </it>K121Q (OR = 0.99, <it>P </it>= 0.94). In obese subjects, associations with T2D were detected with <it>PPARG </it>Pro12Ala (OR = 0.73, <it>P </it>= 0.004), <it>ADIPOQ </it>-11,377C>G (OR = 1.26, <it>P </it>= 0.02), <it>ENPP1 </it>K121Q (OR = 1.30, <it>P </it>= 0.003) and <it>TCF7L2 </it>rs7903146 (OR = 1.30, <it>P </it>= 1.1 × 10<sup>-4</sup>), and non-significant associations with <it>HNF1A </it>I27L (OR = 0.96, <it>P </it>= 0.53), <it>GCK </it>-30G>A (OR = 1.15, <it>P </it>= 0.12) and <it>SLC30A8 </it>R325W (OR = 0.95, <it>P </it>= 0.44). However, a genotypic heterogeneity was only found for <it>TCF7L2 </it>rs7903146 (<it>P </it>= 3.2 × 10<sup>-5</sup>) and <it>ENPP1 </it>K121Q (<it>P </it>= 0.02). No association with T2D was found for <it>KCNJ11</it>, <it>RETN</it>, and <it>HNF4A </it>polymorphisms in non-obese or in obese individuals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genetic variants modulating insulin action may have an increased effect on T2D susceptibility in the presence of obesity, whereas genetic variants acting on insulin secretion may have a greater impact on T2D susceptibility in non-obese individuals.</p
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