BEYOND PEROXISOME: ABCD2 MODIFIES PPARα SIGNALING AND IDENTIFIES A SUBCLASS OF PEROXISOMES IN MOUSE ADIPOSE TISSUE

ABCD2 (D2) has been proposed as a peroxisomal long-chain acyl-CoA transporter that is essential for very long chain fatty acid metabolism. In the livers of mice, D2 is highly induced by fenofibrate, a PPARα ligand that has been widely used as a lipid lowering agent in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia. To determine if D2 is a modifier of fibrate responses, wild-type and D2 deficient mice were treated with fenofibrate for 14 days. The absence of D2 altered expression of gene clusters associated with lipid metabolism, including PPARα signaling. Using 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which express high levels of D2, we confirmed that knock-down of D2 modified genomic responses to fibrate treatment. We next evaluated the impact of D2 on effects of fibrates in a mouse model of dietinduced obesity. Fenofibrate treatment opposed the development of obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and insulin resistance. However, these effects were unaffected by D2 genotype. We concluded that D2 can modulate genomic responses to fibrates, but that these effects are not sufficiently robust to alter the effects of fibrates on diet-induced obesity phenotypes. Although proposed as a peroxisomal transporter, the intracellular localization of D2, especially in adipose tissue, has not been validated with direct experimental evidence. Sequential centrifugation of mouse adipose homogenates generated a fraction enriched with D2, but lacked well-known peroxisome markers including catalase, PEX19, and ABCD3 (D3). Electron microscopic imaging of this fraction confirmed the presence of D2 protein on an organelle with evidence of a dense matrix and a diameter of ~200 nm, the typical structure and size of a microperoxisome. D2 and PEX19 antibodies recognized distinct structures in mouse adipose. Immunoisolation of the D2-containing compartment from adipose tissue confirmed the scarcity of PEX19. Proteomic profiling of the D2 compartment revealed the presence of proteins associated peroxisome, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and mitochondria. We conclude that D2 is localized to a distinct subclass of peroxisomes that lack many peroxisome proteins and may physically associate with mitochondria and the ER

Discovering inner ear and central auditory system cellular pathways that might contribute to age-related hearing loss

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a prevalent communication problem among senior citizens. Previous work (Tadros et al., 2008) has revealed genes which change their expression significantly with aging and hearing loss. However, this study is limited as it mainly focuses on apoptosis-related genes. Genes that regulate biological pathways other than apoptosis might also contribute to the development of age-related hearing loss, as suggested by some studies (Tadros et al., 2007; Souza et al., 2008). In order to circumvent this limitation and to better understand the underlying mechanisms of this communication problem, a free computational tool called Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) is used to analyze the microarray data of aging cochlea and brain. Results show that most of the pathways which are up-regulated with aging/hearing loss in cochlea play a role in apoptosis and/or inflammation, suggesting that these two processes might be crucial for the development of ARHL. In contrast to the results from the cochlea, results for the aging brain indicate that cell cycle arrest is involved in deficits in the central auditory system with age

Somewhere Else

Somewhere Else is a site-dependent, video, sound installation. Captivated by memory, landscape and time and how they affect both the physical and psychological, I construct my artwork to reflect the liminal in-between. This artwork consists of fragments of recollections of the different places, landscape, moments and locations from my past. The intermittent, jarring, and distant quality of the sounds and video fill the installation space as well as the viewers’ mental space

COST OF HOME OWNERSHIP: EVIDENCE FROM GREAT VANCOUVER

From 1991 to 2012, there was a substantial rise in real house prices in Greater Vancouver. Much research has been done to examine house market by assessing the growth of house prices and price-to-rent ratio. However, house prices are not the only expense that people make when buying houses. In this paper, we use user cost of housing to assess house market. The user cost of housing depends not only on house prices, but also on the opportunity cost, property tax, annual depreciation and risk premium. We then estimate the user cost of owner-occupied housing using Greater Vancouver data and Calgary data. We also build up two models to explain user cost of different ways to buy houses. Based on our tests, we found renting, compared to owning, is a better choice for people living in Greater Vancouver for most of the time, while in Calgary people should buy from 2007 and ever after

Novel research methods for energy use, carbon emissions, and economic growth: evidence from the USA

Researchers and governments are debating whether to use renewable energy sources or fossil fuels. The impact of the final decision on developed and developing regions is either the same or different. To investigate the answers to these issues, the current study used panel data for the US economy from 1985 to 2020. Following preliminary diagnostic testing, the researchers discovered that the data is stationary at the level and has longrun cointegration. Furthermore, the influence of economic growth (GDP), nonrenewable energy (EU), and renewable energy consumption was investigated using the quantile regression approach (REC). The analysis discovered that the impact of GDP and the EU on carbon emissions is lowest in industrialized countries and highest in underdeveloped countries. However, the corrective influence of REC on carbon emissions is lowest in industrialized countries and highest in developing regions. Although the GDP and EU have less influence on carbon emissions, the corrective effect of REC is also the least; consequently, policymakers should encourage the aggregate production system to use more REC than the EU as a sustainable alternative

鄂温克语和鄂伦春语的音系比较研究 = A PHONOLOGICAL COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EWENKI AND OROQEN LANGUAGE

Master'sMASTER OF ART

Magnetic Skyrmion Transport in a Nanotrack With Spatially Varying Damping and Non-adiabatic Torque

Reliable transport of magnetic skyrmions is required for any future skyrmion-based information processing devices. Here we present a micromagnetic study of the in-plane current-driven motion of a skyrmion in a ferromagnetic nanotrack with spatially sinusoidally varying Gilbert damping and/or non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque coefficients. It is found that the skyrmion moves in a sinusoidal pattern as a result of the spatially varying Gilbert damping and/or non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque in the nanotrack, which could prevent the destruction of the skyrmion caused by the skyrmion Hall effect. The results provide a guide for designing and developing the skyrmion transport channel in skyrmion-based spintronic applications.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

A comparative study of depression in Bantu, Khoisan and Chinese Wu – laryngeal settings and feature specifications

This paper aims to provide an overview of our current understanding of depressors by offering a comparative perspective of the types of depressors from Bantu, Khoisan and Chinese Wu. Depressor effects in Bantu/Khoisan, on the one hand, and Chinese, on the other, are hardly dealt with together leaving a more holistic approach untapped. This paper begins to bridge that gap by bringing together current findings to establish the full scope of depressor effects, from which future analyses can then build on. It is systematically observed that depressors in these languages are not restricted to voicing only. Rather, they range from voiced and breathy sounds – the most unmarked – to voiceless unaspirated sounds and even voiceless aspirated sounds as the most marked depressor type. The expansion of depressors to voiceless aspirated sounds is particularly interesting, since these sounds are traditionally assumed to correlate with a high pitch which is characteristic of high tone. Thus, the laryngeal configurations for voiceless depressors are examined and compared between Bantu, Khoisan and Chinese Wu. Proposed feature analyses for depressors are also discussed and compared.Keywords: depressors, Bantu, Khoisan, Chinese Wu, laryngeal specificatio

Mutual effects between Pinus armandii and broadleaf litter during mixed decomposition

Mixed-decomposition effects are commonly observed in natural and planted forests and affect nutrient cycling in a forest ecosystem. However, how one litter type affects the decomposition of another is still poorly understood. In this study, Pinus armandii litter was mixed with Betula albosinensis, Catalpa fargesii, Populus purdomii, Eucommia ulmoides, and Acer tsinglingense litter. The mixtures were placed in litterbags and buried in soil with consistent moisture for a 180-day indoor simulated decomposition experiment. The litterbags were periodically harvested during decomposition; the litter residues of different species were separated, and the biomass dynamics of each litter type were simulated. In addition, the soil sucrase, cellulase and polyphenol oxidase activities were also detected three times. The mutual effects of needle and broadleaf litter during mixed decomposition and the possible underlying mechanisms were investigated. The results indicated that (i) during the decomposition experiment, P. armandii needles significantly inhibited the decomposition of broadleaf litter in the first 3 months, while the broadleaf litter accelerated the decomposition of P. armandii needles in only approximately 40% of the cases. However, the inhibitory effects of needles on broadleaf litter decomposition subsequently exhibited significant weakening, while the accelerating effects of broadleaf litter were significantly enhanced. The effects of mixed decomposition on the activities of three enzymes can only partially explain the interactions between different litter types; (ii) the prediction by the decomposition model showed that most of the broadleaf litter types could continuously accelerate the decomposition of P. armandii needles throughout the mixed decomposition process, while the decomposition of broadleaf litter would be significantly inhibited at least in the short term. In general, four of the five broadleaf litter types (excluding E. ulmoides) could accelerate the early decomposition of P. armandii needles and consequently accelerate nutrient cycling in P. armandii pure forests. These species could be used for the transformation of pure P. armandii pure forests to mixed forests