We describe a directed search for continuous gravitational waves in data from the sixth initial LIGO science run. The target was the nearby globular cluster NGC 6544 at a distance of ≈2.7 kpc. The ...search covered a broad band of frequencies along with first and second frequency derivatives for a fixed sky position. The search coherently integrated data from the two LIGO interferometers over a time span of 9.2 days using the matched-filtering F-statistic. We found no gravitational-wave signals and set 95% confidence upper limits as stringent as 6.0×10−25 on intrinsic strain and 8.5×10−6 on fiducial ellipticity. These values beat the indirect limits from energy conservation for stars with characteristic spin-down ages older than 300 years and are within the range of theoretical predictions for possible neutron-star ellipticities. An important feature of this search was use of a barycentric resampling algorithm which substantially reduced computational cost; this method is used extensively in searches of Advanced LIGO and Virgo detector data.
Evidence for the decay X ( 3872 ) → J / ψ ω Poireau, V.; Hooberman, B.; Kerth, L. T. ...
Physical review. D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology,
07/2010, Letnik:
82, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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We present a study of the decays B^{0,+} --> J/psi pi^+ pi^- pi^0 K^{0,+}, using 467 10^6 BBbar pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. We present evidence for the decay mode X(3872) --> J/psi omega, ...with product branching fractions B(B^+ --> X(3872)K^+) B(X(3872) --> J/psi omega) =0.6\pm0.2\stat \pm 0.1\syst 10^{-5}, and B(B^0 --> X(3872)K^0) B(X(3872) --> J/psi omega) =0.6\pm0.3\stat \pm 0.1\syst 10^{-5}. A detailed study of the pi^+ pi^- pi^0 mass distribution from X(3872) decay favors a negative-parity assignment.
Adipose tissue is a prominent source of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the primary physiological inhibitor of plasminogen activation. Increased PAI-1 expression acts as a cardiovascular ...risk factor, and plasma levels of PAI-1 strongly correlate with body mass index (BMI). Elevated serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory cytokine and a member of the glycoprotein 130 (gp130) ligand family, are found in obese patients and might indicate low-grade systemic inflammation. Another gp130 ligand, oncostatin M (OSM), upregulates PAI-1 in cardiac myocytes, astrocytes, and endothelial cells. We used tissue explants and primary cultures of preadipocytes and adipocytes from human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue to investigate whether IL-6 and OSM affect PAI-1 expression in fat.
Human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue responded to treatment with IL-6 and OSM with a significant increase in PAI-1 production. Human preadipocytes were isolated from subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. Adipocyte differentiation was induced by hormone supplementation. All cell types expressed receptors for IL-6 and OSM and produced up to 12-fold increased levels of PAI-1 protein and up to 9-fold increased levels of PAI-1 mRNA on stimulation with IL-6 and OSM. AG-490, a janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription inhibitor, abolished the OSM-dependent PAI-1 induction almost completely.
We have for the first time established a link between the gp130 ligands, the proinflammatory mediators IL-6 and OSM, and the expression of PAI-1 in human adipose tissue. Thus, we speculate that IL-6 and OSM, by upregulating PAI-1 in adipose tissue, can contribute to the increased cardiovascular risk of obese patients.
The Supernovae Analysis Application (SNAP) Bayless, Amanda J.; Fryer, Chris L.; Wollaeger, Ryan ...
The Astrophysical journal,
09/2017, Letnik:
846, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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The SuperNovae Analysis aPplication (SNAP) is a new tool for the analysis of SN observations and validation of SN models. SNAP consists of a publicly available relational database with observational ...light curve, theoretical light curve, and correlation table sets with statistical comparison software, and a web interface available to the community. The theoretical models are intended to span a gridded range of parameter space. The goal is to have users upload new SN models or new SN observations and run the comparison software to determine correlations via the website. There are problems looming on the horizon that SNAP is beginning to solve. For example, large surveys will discover thousands of SNe annually. Frequently, the parameter space of a new SN event is unbounded. SNAP will be a resource to constrain parameters and determine if an event needs follow-up without spending resources to create new light curve models from scratch. Second, there is no rapidly available, systematic way to determine degeneracies between parameters, or even what physics is needed to model a realistic SN. The correlations made within the SNAP system are beginning to solve these problems.
Kidney fibrosis constitutes the shared final pathway of nearly all chronic nephropathies, but biomarkers for the non-invasive assessment of kidney fibrosis are currently not available. To address ...this, we characterize five candidate biomarkers of kidney fibrosis: Cadherin-11 (CDH11), Sparc-related modular calcium binding protein-2 (SMOC2), Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), Matrix-Gla protein, and Thrombospondin-2. Gene expression profiles in single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (sc/snRNA-seq) datasets from rodent models of fibrosis and human chronic kidney disease (CKD) were explored, and Luminex-based assays for each biomarker were developed. Plasma and urine biomarker levels were measured using independent prospective cohorts of CKD: the Boston Kidney Biopsy Cohort, a cohort of individuals with biopsy-confirmed semiquantitative assessment of kidney fibrosis, and the Seattle Kidney Study, a cohort of patients with common forms of CKD. Ordinal logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test associations of biomarkers with interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy and progression to end-stage kidney disease and death, respectively. Sc/snRNA-seq data confirmed cell-specific expression of biomarker genes in fibroblasts. After multivariable adjustment, higher levels of plasma CDH11, SMOC2, and PEDF and urinary CDH11 and PEDF were significantly associated with increasing severity of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy in the Boston Kidney Biopsy Cohort. In both cohorts, higher levels of plasma and urinary SMOC2 and urinary CDH11 were independently associated with progression to end-stage kidney disease. Higher levels of urinary PEDF associated with end-stage kidney disease in the Seattle Kidney Study, with a similar signal in the Boston Kidney Biopsy Cohort, although the latter narrowly missed statistical significance. Thus, we identified CDH11, SMOC2, and PEDF as promising non-invasive biomarkers of kidney fibrosis.
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We report results of a wideband search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars within the Orion spur towards both the inner and outer regions of our Galaxy. As gravitational ...waves interact very weakly with matter, the search is unimpeded by dust and concentrations of stars. One search disk (A) is 6.87degrees in diameter and centered on 20 super(h) 10 super(m) 54.71 super(s)+ 33degrees33'25.29'', and the other (B) is 7.45degrees in diameter and centered on 8 super(h) 35 super(m) 20.61 super(s)-46degrees49'25.15 1''. We explored the frequency range of 50-1500 Hz and frequency derivative from 0 to -5x10 super(-9)Hz/s. A multistage, loosely coherent search program allowed probing more deeply than before in these two regions, while increasing coherence length with every stage. Rigorous follow-up parameters have winnowed the initial coincidence set to only 70 candidates, to be examined manually. None of those 70 candidates proved to be consistent with an isolated gravitational-wave emitter, and 95% confidence level upper limits were placed on continuous-wave strain amplitudes. Near 169 Hz we achieve our lowest 95% C.L. upper limit on the worst-case linearly polarized strain amplitude h sub(0) of 6.3x10 super(-25), while at the high end of our frequency range we achieve a worst-case upper limit of 3.4x10 super(-24) for all polarizations and sky locations.
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