728 research outputs found
Lyman Break Galaxies at : Rest-Frame UV Spectra
We report initial results for spectroscopic observations of candidates of
Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at in a region centered on the Hubble Deep
Field-North by using the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph attached to the
Subaru Telescope. Eight objects with mag, including one AGN, are
confirmed to be at . The rest-frame UV spectra of seven LBGs
commonly show no or weak Lyalpha emission line (rest-frame equivalent width of
0-10\AA) and relatively strong low-ionization interstellar metal absorption
lines of SiII 1260, OI+SiII 1303, and CII 1334 (mean
rest-frame equivalent widths of them are \AA). These
properties are significantly different from those of the mean rest-frame UV
spectrum of LBGs at , but are quite similar to those of subgroups of
LBGs at with no or weak Lyalpha emission. The weakness of Lyalpha
emission and strong low-ionization interstellar metal absorption lines may
indicate that these LBGs at are chemically evolved to some degree and
have a dusty environment. Since the fraction of such LBGs at in our
sample is larger than that at , we may witness some sign of evolution
of LBGs from to , though the present sample size is very
small. It is also possible, however, that the brighter LBGs tend to show no or
weak Lyalpha emission, because our spectroscopic sample is bright (brighter
than ) among LBGs at . More observations are required to
establish spectroscopic nature of LBGs at .Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap
An Iterative Genetic and Dynamical Modelling Approach Identifies Novel Features of the Gene Regulatory Network Underlying Melanocyte Development
The mechanisms generating stably differentiated cell-types from multipotent precursors are key to understanding normal development and have implications for treatment of cancer and the therapeutic use of stem cells. Pigment cells are a major derivative of neural crest stem cells and a key model cell-type for our understanding of the genetics of cell differentiation. Several factors driving melanocyte fate specification have been identified, including the transcription factor and master regulator of melanocyte development, Mitf, and Wnt signalling and the multipotency and fate specification factor, Sox10, which drive mitf expression. While these factors together drive multipotent neural crest cells to become specified melanoblasts, the mechanisms stabilising melanocyte differentiation remain unclear. Furthermore, there is controversy over whether Sox10 has an ongoing role in melanocyte differentiation. Here we use zebrafish to explore in vivo the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying melanocyte specification and differentiation. We use an iterative process of mathematical modelling and experimental observation to explore methodically the core melanocyte GRN we have defined. We show that Sox10 is not required for ongoing differentiation and expression is downregulated in differentiating cells, in response to Mitfa and Hdac1. Unexpectedly, we find that Sox10 represses Mitf-dependent expression of melanocyte differentiation genes. Our systems biology approach allowed us to predict two novel features of the melanocyte GRN, which we then validate experimentally. Specifically, we show that maintenance of mitfa expression is Mitfa-dependent, and identify Sox9b as providing an Mitfa-independent input to melanocyte differentiation. Our data supports our previous suggestion that Sox10 only functions transiently in regulation of mitfa and cannot be responsible for long-term maintenance of mitfa expression; indeed, Sox10 is likely to slow melanocyte differentiation in the zebrafish embryo. More generally, this novel approach to understanding melanocyte differentiation provides a basis for systematic modelling of differentiation in this and other cell-types
Sox10 contributes to the balance of fate choice in dorsal root ganglion progenitors
The development of functional peripheral ganglia requires a balance of specification of both neuronal and glial components. In the developing dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), these compo- nents form from partially-restricted bipotent neuroglial precursors derived from the neural crest. Work in mouse and chick has identified several factors, including Delta/Notch signal- ing, required for specification of a balance of these components. We have previously shown in zebrafish that the Sry-related HMG domain transcription factor, Sox10, plays an unex- pected, but crucial, role in sensory neuron fate specification in vivo. In the same study we described a novel Sox10 mutant allele, sox10baz1, in which sensory neuron numbers are elevated above those of wild-types. Here we investigate the origin of this neurogenic pheno- type. We demonstrate that the supernumerary neurons are sensory neurons, and that enteric and sympathetic neurons are almost absent just as in classical sox10 null alleles; peripheral glial development is also severely abrogated in a manner similar to other sox10 mutant alleles. Examination of proliferation and apoptosis in the developing DRG reveals very low levels of both processes in wild-type and sox10baz1, excluding changes in the bal- ance of these as an explanation for the overproduction of sensory neurons. Using chemical inhibition of Delta-Notch-Notch signaling we demonstrate that in embryonic zebrafish, as in mouse and chick, lateral inhibition during the phase of trunk DRG development is required to achieve a balance between glial and neuronal numbers. Importantly, however, we show that this mechanism is insufficient to explain quantitative aspects of the baz1 phenotype. The Sox10(baz1) protein shows a single amino acid substitution in the DNA binding HMG domain; structural analysis indicates that this change is likely to result in reduced flexibility in the HMG domain, consistent with sequence-specific modification of Sox10 binding to DNA. Unlike other Sox10 mutant proteins, Sox10(baz1) retains an ability to drive neurogenin1 transcription. We show that overexpression of neurogenin1 is sufficient to produce supernu- merary DRG sensory neurons in a wild-type background, and can rescue the sensory neu- ron phenotype of sox10 morphants in a manner closely resembling the baz1 phenotype. We conclude that an imbalance of neuronal and glial fate specification results from the Sox10 (baz1) protein\u2019s unique ability to drive sensory neuron specification whilst failing to drive glial development. The sox10baz1 phenotype reveals for the first time that a Notch-dependent lat- eral inhibition mechanism is not sufficient to fully explain the balance of neurons and glia in the developing DRGs, and that a second Sox10-dependent mechanism is necessary. Sox10 is thus a key transcription factor in achieving the balance of sensory neuronal and glial fates
Properties of charmonium in lattice QCD with 2+1 flavors of improved staggered sea quarks
We use the dynamical gluon configurations provided by the MILC collaboration
in a study of the charmonium spectrum and psi leptonic width. We examine sea
quark effects on mass splitting and on the leptonic decay matrix element for
light masses as low as m_s/5, while keeping the strange quark mass fixed and
the lattice spacing nearly constant.Comment: Lattice2003(heavy
The History of Cosmological Star Formation: Three Independent Approaches and a Critical Test Using the Extragalactic Background Light
Taking three independent approaches, we investigate the simultaneous
constraints set on the cosmic star formation history from various observations,
including stellar mass density and extragalactic background light (EBL). We
compare results based on: 1) direct observations of past light-cone, 2) a model
using local fossil evidence constrained by SDSS observations at z~0 (the
`Fossil' model), and 3) theoretical ab initio models from three calculations of
cosmic star formation history: (a) new (1024)^3 Total Variation Diminishing
(TVD) cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, (b) analytic expression of
Hernquist & Springel based on cosmological Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
(SPH) simulations, and (c) semi-analytic model of Cole et al. We find good
agreement among the three independent approaches up to the order of
observational errors, except that all the models predict bolometric EBL of
I_tot ~= 37-52 nW m^-2 sr^-1, which is at the lower edge of the the
observational estimate by Hauser & Dwek. We emphasize that the Fossil model
that consists of two components -- spheroids and disks --, when normalized to
the local observations, provides a surprisingly simple but accurate description
of the cosmic star formation history and other observable quantities. Our
analysis suggests that the consensus global parameters at z=0 are: Omega_* =
0.0023+-0.0004, I_EBL = 43+-7 nW m^-2 sr^-1 rho_SFR=(1.06+-0.22)e-2 Msun yr^-1
Mpc^-3, j_bol = (3.1+-0.2)e8 Lsun Mpc^-3.Comment: 40 page, 10 figures. ApJ in press. Matched to the accepted versio
D_s spectrum and leptonic decays with Fermilab heavy quarks and improved staggered light quarks
We present preliminary results for the D_s meson spectrum and decay constants
in unquenched lattice QCD. Simulations are carried out with 2+1 dynamical
quarks using gauge configurations generated by the MILC collaboration. We use
the ``asqtad'' a^2 improved staggered action for the light quarks, and the
clover heavy quark action with the Fermilab interpretation. We compare our
spectrum results with the newly discovered 0+ and 1+ states in the D_s system.Comment: 3pp. Presented at 21st International Symposium on Lattice Field
Theory (LATTICE 2003), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, 15-19 Jul 200
Isolation of the Paenibacillus phoenicis, a Spore-Forming Bacterium
A microorganism was isolated from the surfaces of the cleanroom facility in which the Phoenix lander was assembled. The isolated bacterial strain was subjected to a comprehensive polyphasic analysis to characterize its taxonomic position. Both phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses clearly indicate that this isolate belongs to the genus Paenibacillus and represents a novel species. Bacillus spores have been utilized to assess the degree and level of microbiological contamination on spacecraft and their associated spacecraft assembly facilities. Spores of Bacillus species are of particular concern to planetary protection due to the extreme resistance of some members of the genus to space environmental conditions such as UV and gamma radiation, vacuum, oxidation, and temperature fluctuation. These resistive spore phenotypes have enhanced potential for transfer, and subsequent proliferation, of terrestrial microbes on another solar body. Due to decreased nutrient conditions within spacecraft assembly facility clean rooms, the vegetative cells of Bacillus species and other spore-forming Paenibacillus species are induced to sporulate, thereby enhancing their survivability of bioreductio
Human Young Children as well as Adults Demonstrate ‘Superior’ Rapid Snake Detection When Typical Striking Posture Is Displayed by the Snake
Humans as well as some nonhuman primates have an evolved predisposition to associate snakes with fear by detecting their presence as fear-relevant stimuli more rapidly than fear-irrelevant ones. In the present experiment, a total of 74 of 3- to 4-year-old children and adults were asked to find a single target black-and-white photo of a snake among an array of eight black-and-white photos of flowers as distracters. As target stimuli, we prepared two groups of snake photos, one in which a typical striking posture was displayed by a snake and the other in which a resting snake was shown. When reaction time to find the snake photo was compared between these two types of the stimuli, its mean value was found to be significantly smaller for the photos of snakes displaying striking posture than for the photos of resting snakes in both the adults and children. These findings suggest the possibility that the human perceptual bias for snakes per se could be differentiated according to the difference of the degree to which their presence acts as a fear-relevant stimulus
Semileptonic decays of mesons in unquenched lattice QCD
We present our preliminary results for semileptonic form factors of
mesons in unquenched lattice QCD. Simulations are carried out with
dynamical quarks using gauge configurations generated by the MILC
collaboration. For the valence quarks, we adopt an improved staggered light
quark action and the clover heavy quark action. Our results for and
form factors at are in agreement with the experimental
values.Comment: Lattice2003(heavy), 3 page
Adaptive Optics Rest-Frame V-band Imaging of Lyman Break Galaxies at z~3: High-surface Density Disk-like Galaxies ?
In order to reveal the rest-frame V-band morphology of galaxies at z~3, we
conducted AO-assisted K-band imaging observations of z~3 LBGs with Mv*-0.5 to
Mv*+3.0 mag. LBGs brighter than Mv* have larger rHL (0.40") than the fainter
LBGs (0.23") on average, and there is no bright LBGs with a small rHL. The LBGs
brighter than Mv* have red rest-frame U-V colors (average of 0.2 mag) and most
of the fainter LBGs show blue rest-frame U-V colors (average of -0.4 mag). The
K-band peaks of some of the LBGs brighter than K=22.0 mag show significant
shift from those in the optical images. The images of all but one of the LBGs
with K<21.5 mag are fitted well with Sersic profile with n index less than 2,
similar to disk galaxies in the local universe. Assuming that the LBGs have a
disk-shape, we compared their size-luminosity and size-stellar mass relation
with those of z=0 and z=1 disk galaxies. The LBGs are brighter than z=0 and z=1
disk galaxies at the same effective radius. The rest-frame V-band surface
brightness of the LBGs are 2.2-2.9 mag and 1.2-1.9 mag brighter than the disk
galaxies at z=0 and z=1, respectively. The size-stellar mass relation of the
LBGs shows that the effective radii of the LBGs do not depend on their stellar
mass. For the LBGs brighter than Mv*, the average surface stellar mass density
is 3-6 times larger than those of the z=0 and z=1 disk galaxies. We also
examine the profiles of the serendipitously observed DRGs. They are also fitted
with the Sersic profiles with n<2. The implications of the dominance of n<2
population among galaxies at z~3 and the presence of the high surface stellar
mass density disk systems are discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 38
pages, 26 postscript figures. Original version with high resolution figures
is available from http://www.naoj.org/staff/akiyama/papers/LBG_AO.pd
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