14 research outputs found
Naturally occuring somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibitors : isolation of alkaloids from two marine sponges
Accurate fundamental parameters and detailed abundance patterns from spectroscopy of 93 solar-type Kepler targets
We present a detailed spectroscopic study of 93 solar-type stars that are
targets of the NASA/Kepler mission and provide detailed chemical composition of
each target. We find that the overall metallicity is well-represented by Fe
lines. Relative abundances of light elements (CNO) and alpha-elements are
generally higher for low-metallicity stars. Our spectroscopic analysis benefits
from the accurately measured surface gravity from the asteroseismic analysis of
the Kepler light curves. The log g parameter is known to better than 0.03 dex
and is held fixed in the analysis. We compare our Teff determination with a
recent colour calibration of V-K (TYCHO V magnitude minus 2MASS Ks magnitude)
and find very good agreement and a scatter of only 80 K, showing that for other
nearby Kepler targets this index can be used. The asteroseismic log g values
agree very well with the classical determination using Fe1-Fe2 balance,
although we find a small systematic offset of 0.08 dex (asteroseismic log g
values are lower). The abundance patterns of metals, alpha elements, and the
light elements (CNO) show that a simple scaling by [Fe/H] is adequate to
represent the metallicity of the stars, except for the stars with metallicity
below -0.3, where alpha-enhancement becomes important. However, this is only
important for a very small fraction of the Kepler sample. We therefore
recommend that a simple scaling with [Fe/H] be employed in the asteroseismic
analyses of large ensembles of solar-type stars.Comment: MNRAS, in press, 12 page
Infrastructure for Detector Research and Development towards the International Linear Collider
The EUDET-project was launched to create an infrastructure for developing and
testing new and advanced detector technologies to be used at a future linear
collider. The aim was to make possible experimentation and analysis of data for
institutes, which otherwise could not be realized due to lack of resources. The
infrastructure comprised an analysis and software network, and instrumentation
infrastructures for tracking detectors as well as for calorimetry.Comment: 54 pages, 48 picture
Mapping and signaling of neural pathways involved in the regulation of hydromineral homeostasis
Naturally occuring somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibitors : isolation of alkaloids from two marine sponges
Neuropeptide Y : localization in the central nervous system and neuroendocrine functions
International audienceNeuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino acid peptide first isolated and characterized from porcine brain extracts. A number of immunocytochemical investigations have been conducted to determine the localization of NPY-containing neurons in various animal species including both vertebrates and invertebrates. These studies have established the widespread distribution of NPY in the brain and in sympathetic neurons. In the rat brain, a high density of immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers is observed in the cortex, caudate putamen and hippocampus. In the diencephalon, NPY-containing perikarya are mainly located in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus; numerous fibers innervate the paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, as well as the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus and the periaqueductal gray. At the electron microscope level, using the pre- and post-embedding immunoperoxidase techniques, NPY-like immunoreactivity has been observed in neuronal cell body dendrites and axonal processes. In nerve terminals of the hypothalamus, the product of the immunoreaction is associated with large dense core vesicles. In lower vertebrates, including amphibians and fish, neurons originating from the diencephalic (or telencephalic) region innervate the intermediate lobe of the pituitary where a dense network of immunoreactive fibers has been detected. At the ultrastructural level, positive endings have been observed in direct contact with pituitary melanotrophs of frog and dogfish. These anatomical data suggest that NPY can act both as a neurotransmitter (or neuromodulator) and as a hypophysiotropic neurohormone. In the rat a few NPY-containing fibers are found in the internal zone of the median eminence and high concentrations of NPY-like immunoreactivity are detected in the hypothalamo-hypophyseal portal blood, suggesting that NPY may affect anterior pituitary hormone secretion. Intrajugular injection of NPY causes a marked inhibition of LH release but does not significantly affect other pituitary hormones. Passive immunoneutralization of endogenous NPY by specific NPY antibodies induces stimulation of LH release in female rats, suggesting that NPY could affect LH secretion at the pituitary level. However, NPY has no effect on LH release from cultured pituitary cells or hemipituitaries. In addition, autoradiographic studies show that sites for 125I-labeled Bolton-Hunter NPY or 125I-labeled PYY (2 specific ligands of NPY receptors) are not present in the adenohypophysis, while moderate concentrations of these binding sites are found in the neural lobe of the pituitary. It thus appears that the inhibitory effect of NPY on LH secretion must be mediated at the hypothalamic level