Competition And Recruitment In Southeast Alaskan Subtidal Kelp Communities

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2009Shallow subtidal rocky reefs in the Northeast Pacific host frequent physical and biological disturbances as well as multiple competing algal species, including kelps and algal crusts. Kelps serve a critical role in local ecosystems by generating primary productivity and essential fish habitat. While kelp forests rank among the best understood ecosystems in the marine environment, protected and subarctic systems remain largely ignored. Because of the importance of kelp habitat in Southeast Alaska, and the susceptibility of kelps to both disturbance and competition, I estimated the variability in kelp community structure of subtidal, kelp dominated reefs in the Lynn Canal and quantified kelp recruitment in response to both competing algae and bare space which included clearings, artificial reefs, and settlement tiles installed at different periods. Surveyed communities varied most within rather than among reefs. Kelps exhibited strong, rapid, variable and apparent taxa specific colonization potential to clearings, artificial reefs and settlement tiles installed from summer to late fall. Algal crusts imposed a near 100% inhibition of kelp recruits in the field and lab; however the strong colonization potential of kelps facilitated recruitment in the face of strong inhibition by algal crusts

CO(JJ=1-0) mapping survey of 64 galaxies in the Fornax cluster with the ALMA Morita array

We conduct a $^{12}$C$^{16}$O($J$=1-0) (hereafter CO) mapping survey of 64 galaxies in the Fornax cluster using the ALMA Morita array in cycle 5. CO emission is detected from 23 out of the 64 galaxies. Our sample includes dwarf, spiral and elliptical galaxies with stellar masses of $M_{\rm star}\sim10^{6.3-11.6}$~M$_\odot$. The achieved beam size and sensitivity are $15''\times8''$ and $\sim12$~mJy~beam$^{-1}$ at the velocity resolution of $\sim10$~km~s$^{-1}$, respectively. We study the cold-gas (molecular- and atomic-gas) properties of 38 subsamples with $M_{\rm star}>10^9$~M$_\odot$ combined with literature HI data. We find that: (1) the low star-formation (SF) activity in the Fornax galaxies is caused by the decrease in the cold-gas mass fraction with respect to stellar mass (hereafter, gas fraction) rather than the decrease of the SF efficiency from the cold gas; (2) the atomic-gas fraction is more heavily reduced than the molecular-gas fraction of such galaxies with low SF activity. A comparison between the cold-gas properties of the Fornax galaxies and their environmental properties suggests that the atomic gas is stripped tidally and by the ram pressure, which leads to the molecular gas depletion with an aid of the strangulation and consequently SF quenching. Pre-processes in the group environment would also play a role in reducing cold-gas reservoirs in some Fornax galaxies.Comment: 53 pages, 41 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

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

Tokyo Guidelines 2018 management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

Management bundles that define items or procedures strongly recommended in clinical practice have been used in many guidelines in recent years. Application of these bundles facilitates the adaptation of guidelines and helps improve the prognosis of target diseases. In Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13), we proposed management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Here, in Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18), we redefine the management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Critical parts of the bundles in TG18 include the diagnostic process, severity assessment, transfer of patients if necessary, and therapeutic approach at each time point. Observance of these items and procedures should improve the prognosis of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Studies are now needed to evaluate the dissemination of these TG18 bundles and their effectiveness. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: . Related clinical questions and references are also include

Sp1 Expression Is Disrupted in Schizophrenia; A Possible Mechanism for the Abnormal Expression of Mitochondrial Complex I Genes, NDUFV1 and NDUFV2

The prevailing hypothesis regards schizophrenia as a polygenic disease, in which multiple genes combine with each other and with environmental stimuli to produce the variance of its clinical symptoms. We investigated whether the ubiquitous transcription factor Sp1 is abnormally expressed in schizophrenia, and consequently can affect the expression of genes implicated in this disorder. promoter by binding to its three GC-boxes. Both activation and binding were inhibited by mithramycin.These findings suggest that abnormality in Sp1, which can be the main activator/repressor or act in combination with additional transcription factors and is subjected to environmental stimuli, can contribute to the polygenic and clinically heterogeneous nature of schizophrenia

Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome.

The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Tokyo Guidelines 2018 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis (with videos)

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were globally disseminated and various clinical studies about the management of acute cholecystitis were reported by many researchers and clinicians from all over the world. The 1st edition of the Tokyo Guidelines 2007 (TG07) was revised in 2013. According to that revision, the TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis provided better specificity and higher diagnostic accuracy. Thorough our literature search about diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis, new and strong evidence that had been released from 2013 to 2017 was not found with serious and important issues about using TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis. On the other hand, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis has been validated in numerous studies. As a result of these reviews, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis was significantly associated with parameters including 30-day overall mortality, length of hospital stay, conversion rates to open surgery, and medical costs. In terms of severity assessment, breakthrough and intensive literature for revising severity grading was not reported. Consequently, TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading were judged from numerous validation studies as useful indicators in clinical practice and adopted as TG18/TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis without any modification. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: http://www.jshbps.jp/modules/en/index.php?content_id=47. Related clinical questions and references are also include

Delphi consensus on bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy:An evolutionary cul-de-sac or the birth pangs of a new technical framework?

Bile duct injury (BDI) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains a serious iatrogenic surgical complication. BDI most often occurs as a result of misidentification of the anatomy; however, clinical evidence on its precise mechanism and surgeons' perceptions is scarce. Surgeons from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the USA, etc. (n=614) participated in a questionnaire regarding their BDI experience and near-misses; and perceptions on landmarks, intraoperative findings, and surgical techniques. Respondents voted for a Delphi process and graded each item on a five-point scale. The consensus was built when 80% of overall responses were 4 or 5. Response rates for the first- and second-round Delphi were 60.6% and 74.9%, respectively. Misidentification of local anatomy accounted for 76.2% of BDI. Final consensus was reached on: (1) Effective retraction of the gallbladder, (2) Always obtaining critical view of safety, and (3) Avoiding excessive use of electrocautery/clipping as vital procedures; and (4) Calot's triangle area and (5) Critical view of safety as important landmarks. For (6) Impacted gallstone and (7) Severe fibrosis/scarring in Calot's triangle, bail-out procedures may be indicated. A consensus was reached among expert surgeons on relevant landmarks and intraoperative findings and appropriate surgical techniques to avoid BD

TG18 management strategies for gallbladder drainage in patients with acute cholecystitis: Updated Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (with videos)

Since the publication of the Tokyo Guidelines in 2007 and their revision in 2013, appropriate management for acute cholecystitis has been more clearly established. Since the last revision, several manuscripts, especially for alternative endoscopic techniques, have been reported; therefore, additional evaluation and refinement of the 2013 Guidelines is required. We describe a standard drainage method for surgically high-risk patients with acute cholecystitis and the latest developed endoscopic gallbladder drainage techniques described in the updated Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18). Our study confirmed that percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage should be considered the first alternative to surgical intervention in surgically high-risk patients with acute cholecystitis. Also, endoscopic transpapillary gallbladder drainage or endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage can be considered in high-volume institutes by skilled endoscopists. In the endoscopic transpapillary approach, either endoscopic naso-gallbladder drainage or gallbladder stenting can be considered for gallbladder drainage. We also introduce special techniques and the latest outcomes of endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage studies. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: . Related clinical questions and references are also include