Observations of the cosmic microwave background indicate that baryons account for 5 per cent of the Universe's total energy content. In the local Universe, the census of all observed baryons falls ...short of this estimate by a factor of two. Cosmological simulations indicate that the missing baryons have not condensed into virialized haloes, but reside throughout the filaments of the cosmic web (where matter density is larger than average) as a low-density plasma at temperatures of 10(5)-10(7) kelvin, known as the warm-hot intergalactic medium. There have been previous claims of the detection of warm-hot baryons along the line of sight to distant blazars and of hot gas between interacting clusters. These observations were, however, unable to trace the large-scale filamentary structure, or to estimate the total amount of warm-hot baryons in a representative volume of the Universe. Here we report X-ray observations of filamentary structures of gas at 10(7) kelvin associated with the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. Previous observations of this cluster were unable to resolve and remove coincidental X-ray point sources. After subtracting these, we find hot gas structures that are coherent over scales of 8 megaparsecs. The filaments coincide with over-densities of galaxies and dark matter, with 5-10 per cent of their mass in baryonic gas. This gas has been heated up by the cluster's gravitational pull and is now feeding its core. Our findings strengthen evidence for a picture of the Universe in which a large fraction of the missing baryons reside in the filaments of the cosmic web.
Aim
We have reported earlier that a high salt intake triggered an aestivation‐like natriuretic‐ureotelic body water conservation response that lowered muscle mass and increased blood pressure. Here, ...we tested the hypothesis that a similar adaptive water conservation response occurs in experimental chronic renal failure.
Methods
In four subsequent experiments in Sprague Dawley rats, we used surgical 5/6 renal mass reduction (5/6 Nx) to induce chronic renal failure. We studied solute and water excretion in 24‐hour metabolic cage experiments, chronic blood pressure by radiotelemetry, chronic metabolic adjustment in liver and skeletal muscle by metabolomics and selected enzyme activity measurements, body Na+, K+ and water by dry ashing, and acute transepidermal water loss in conjunction with skin blood flow and intra‐arterial blood pressure.
Results
5/6 Nx rats were polyuric, because their kidneys could not sufficiently concentrate the urine. Physiological adaptation to this renal water loss included mobilization of nitrogen and energy from muscle for organic osmolyte production, elevated norepinephrine and copeptin levels with reduced skin blood flow, which by means of compensation reduced their transepidermal water loss. This complex physiologic‐metabolic adjustment across multiple organs allowed the rats to stabilize their body water content despite persisting renal water loss, albeit at the expense of hypertension and catabolic mobilization of muscle protein.
Conclusion
Physiological adaptation to body water loss, termed aestivation, is an evolutionary conserved survival strategy and an under‐studied research area in medical physiology, which besides hypertension and muscle mass loss in chronic renal failure may explain many otherwise unexplainable phenomena in medicine.
Well-conditioned, stable and infinitely smooth interpolation in arbitrary nodes is by no means a trivial task, even in the univariate setting considered here; already the most important case, ...equispaced points, is not obvious. Certain approaches have nevertheless experienced significant developments in the last decades. In this paper we review one of them, linear barycentric rational interpolation, as well as some of its applications.
In grapevine (Vitis vinifera), anthocyanins are responsible for most of the red, blue, and purple pigmentation found in the skin of berries. In cells, anthocyanins are synthesized in the cytoplasm ...and accumulated into the vacuole. However, little is known about the transport of these compounds through the tonoplast. Recently, the sequencing of the grapevine genome allowed us to identify genes encoding proteins with high sequence similarity to the Multidrug And Toxic Extrusion (MATE) family. Among them, we selected two genes as anthocyanin transporter candidates and named them anthoMATE1 (AM1) and AM3. The expression of both genes was mainly fruit specific and concomitant with the accumulation of anthocyanin pigment. Subcellular localization assays in grapevine hairy roots stably transformed with AM1:: or AM3::green fluorescent protein fusion protein revealed that AM1 and AM3 are primarily localized to the tonoplast. Yeast vesicles expressing anthoMATEs transported acylated anthocyanins in the presence of MgATP. Inhibitor studies demonstrated that AM1 and AM3 proteins act in vitro as vacuolar H⁺-dependent acylated anthocyanin transporters. By contrast, under our experimental conditions, anthoMATEs could not transport malvidin 3-O-glucoside or cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, suggesting that the acyl conjugation was essential for the uptake. Taken together, these results provide evidence that in vitro the two grapevine AM1 and AM3 proteins mediate specifically acylated anthocyanin transport.
ABSTRACT
We present strong-lensing analyses of three galaxy clusters, RX J2129.4 + 0009 (z = 0.235), MS 0451.6 − 0305 (z = 0.55), and MACS J2129.4 − 0741 (z = 0.589), using the powerful combination ...of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multiband observations, and Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectroscopy. In RX J2129, we newly spectroscopically confirm 15 cluster members. Our resulting mass model uses 8 multiple image systems as we include a galaxy–galaxy lensing system north-east of the cluster, and is composed of 71 haloes including one dark matter cluster-scale halo and two galaxy-scale haloes optimized individually. For MS 0451, we report the spectroscopic identification of two new systems of multiple images in the northern region and 112 cluster members. Our mass model uses 16 multiple image systems and 146 haloes, including 2 large-scale haloes and 7 galaxy-scale haloes independently optimized. For MACS J2129, we report the spectroscopic identification of one new multiple image system at z = 4.41, and newly measure spectroscopic redshifts for four cluster members. Our mass model uses 14 multiple image systems, and is composed of 151 haloes, including 2 large-scale haloes and 4 galaxy-scale haloes independently optimized. Our best models have rms of 0.29, 0.6, 0.74 arcsec in the image plane for RX J2129, MS 0451, and MACS J2129, respectively. This analysis presents a detailed comparison with the existing literature showing excellent agreements, and discuss specific studies of lensed galaxies, e.g. a group of submillimetre galaxies at z = 2.9 in MS 0451, and a bright z = 2.1472 red singly imaged galaxy in MACS J2129.
Derivatives of polynomial interpolants lead in a natural way to approximations of derivatives of the interpolated function, e.g., through finite differences. We extend a study of the approximation of ...derivatives of linear barycentric rational interpolants and present improved finite difference formulas arising from these interpolants. The formulas contain the classical finite differences as a special case and are more stable for calculating one-sided derivatives as well as derivatives close to boundaries.
Background
Preferential publication of studies with positive findings can lead to overestimation of diagnostic test accuracy (i.e. publication bias). Understanding the contribution of the editorial ...process to publication bias could inform interventions to optimize the evidence guiding clinical decisions.
Purpose/Hypothesis
To evaluate whether accuracy estimates, conclusion positivity, and completeness of reporting are associated with acceptance to radiology conferences and journals.
Study Type
Meta‐research.
Population
s submitted to radiology conferences (European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) and International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM)) from 2008 to 2018 and manuscripts submitted to radiology journals (Radiology, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging JMRI) from 2017 to 2018. Primary clinical studies evaluating sensitivity and specificity of a diagnostic imaging test in humans with available editorial decisions were included.
Assessment
Primary variables (Youden's index YI > 0.8 vs. <0.8, conclusion positivity positive vs. neutral/negative, number of reported items on the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies STARD for guideline) and confounding variables (prospective vs. retrospective/unreported, sample size, study duration, interobserver agreement assessment, subspecialty, modality) were extracted.
Statistical Tests
Multivariable logistic regression to obtain adjusted odds ratio (OR) as a measure of the association between the primary variables and acceptance by radiology conferences and journals; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and P‐values were obtained; the threshold for statistical significance was P < 0.05.
Results
A total of 1000 conference s (500 ESGAR and 500 ISMRM) and 1000 journal manuscripts (505 Radiology and 495 JMRI) were included. Conference acceptance was not significantly associated with YI (adjusted OR = 0.97 for YI > 0.8; CI = 0.70–1.35), conclusion positivity (OR = 1.21 for positive conclusions; CI = 0.75–1.90) or STARD for s adherence (OR = 0.96 per unit increase in reported items; CI = 0.82–1.18). Manuscripts with positive conclusions were less likely to be accepted by radiology journals (OR = 0.45; CI = 0.24–0.86), while YI (OR = 0.85; CI = 0.56–1.29) and STARD for s adherence (OR = 1.06; CI = 0.87–1.30) showed no significant association. Positive conclusions were present in 86.7% of submitted conference s and 90.2% of journal manuscripts.
Data Conclusion
Diagnostic test accuracy studies with positive findings were not preferentially accepted by the evaluated radiology conferences or journals.
Evidence Level
3
Technical Efficacy
Stage 2.
The gut microbiota is altered in obesity and is strongly influenced by nutrients and xenobiotics. We have tested the impact of native inulin as prebiotic present in vegetables and added as a ...supplement on gut microbiota-related outcomes in obese patients. Metformin treatment was analyzed as a potential modulator of the response.
A randomized, single-blinded, multicentric, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 150 obese patients who received 16 g/d native inulin versus maltodextrin, coupled to dietary advice to consume inulin-rich versus -poor vegetables for 3 months, respectively, in addition to dietary caloric restriction. Anthropometry, diagnostic imaging (abdominal CT-scan, fibroscan), food-behavior questionnaires, serum biology and fecal microbiome (primary outcome; 16S rDNA sequencing) were analyzed before and after the intervention.
Both placebo and prebiotic interventions lowered energy intake, BMI, systolic blood pressure, and serum γ-GT. The prebiotic induced greater weight loss and additionally decreased diastolic blood pressure, AST and insulinemia. Metformin treatment compromised most of the gut microbiota changes and metabolic improvements linked to prebiotic intervention. The prebiotic modulated specific bacteria, associated with the improvement of anthropometry (i.e. a decrease in Desulfovibrio and Clostridium sensu stricto). A large increase in Bifidobacterium appears as a signature of inulin intake rather than a driver of prebiotic-linked biological outcomes.
Inulin-enriched diet is able to promote weight loss in obese patients, the treatment efficiency being related to gut microbiota characteristics. This treatment is more efficacious in patients who did not receive metformin as anti-diabetic drugs prior the intervention, supporting that both drug treatment and microbiota might be taken into account in personalized nutrition interventions.
Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no NCT03852069.
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In the process of desalination by indirect freezing, ice formed on the cooled surface contains impurities due to kinetic effects. Sweating is an efficient method by which ice layer is purified under ...the effect of temperature gradient. The main kinetic parameters influencing sweating of ice are initial concentration of ice, sweating temperature and sweating time. In the present work, the effects of these parameters were studied using an experimental design. A statistical model for ice weight and ice purity was developed. The graphical representation of this model in the space of the variables enabled optimization of the whole desalination process time, which led to ice salinity less than the drinking water standards (0.5g/kg).
►Layer melt crystallization was applied to seawater desalination. ►The process involves two consecutives steps: freezing and sweating. ►Sweating has enabled the obtention of ice with low salt concentration, satisfying standards of potability. ►Optimal operating conditions are proposed by means of an experimental design.
This work aims at developing a dynamic layer crystallizer operated batchwise, for freezing desalination of sea water. The experiments were performed with water/NaCl solutions and with samples of sea ...water from Nice, Rabat and Marseille. The pilot crystallizer consists of a cooled tube immersed in a cylindrical double jacketed tank. The solution is poured into the tank and the crystallization takes place on the external surface of the tube, by applying a cooling ramp in the tube. The solution is agitated by air bubbling. The whole process involves the freezing step, leading to the crystallization of the ice layer and the sweating step, which consists of purifying in depth the ice layer by melting the impure zones. A parametric study on the effect of the operating parameters has allowed quantifying the role of the different key parameters of the freezing and sweating steps. Three experiments allowed reaching salinities lower than 0.5g/kg, satisfying the standards of drinking water. The duration of the whole process dropped to only 8h (5h for freezing and 3h for sweating), with a yield of sweating equal to about 50%, provided severe conditions were applied for sweating. Higher yields required longer times. Overall, the results show the feasibility of the technique.
► Initial temperature, ice growth rate and solution salinity are the parameters affecting ice purity. ► The sweating step is able to efficiently complete the purification. ► The duration of the whole process dropped to only 8h (5h for freezing and 3h for sweating).
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