We present the new constraints on the cosmic optical background (COB) obtained from an analysis of the Pioneer 10/11 Imaging Photopolarimeter (IPP) data. After careful examination of data quality, ...the usable measurements free from the zodiacal light are integrated into sky maps at the blue (~0.44 Delta *mm) and red (~0.64 Delta *mm) band. Accurate starlight subtraction is achieved by referring to all-sky star catalogs and a Galactic stellar population synthesis model down to 32.0 mag. We find that the residual light is separated into two components: one component shows a clear correlation with thermal 100 Delta *mm brightness, while another betrays a constant level in the lowest 100 Delta *mm brightness region. The presence of the second component is significant after all the uncertainties and possible residual light in the Galaxy are taken into account, and thus it most likely has the extragalactic origin (i.e., the COB). The derived COB brightness is (1.8 ? 0.9) X 10--9 and (1.2 ? 0.9) X 10--9 erg s--1 cm--2 sr--1 A--1 at the blue and red bands, respectively, or 7.9 ? 4.0 and 7.7 ? 5.8 nW m--2 sr--1. From comparison with the integrated brightness of galaxies, we conclude that bulk of the COB is comprised of normal galaxies which have already been resolved in the current deepest observations. There seems to be little room for contributions of other populations including 'first stars' at these wavelengths. On the other hand, the first component of the IPP residual light represents the diffuse Galactic light (DGL)--scattered starlight by the interstellar dust. We derive mean DGL-to-100 Delta *mm brightness ratios of 2.1 X 10--3 and 4.6 X 10--3 at the two bands, which are roughly consistent with the previous observations toward the denser dust regions. Extended red emission in the diffuse interstellar medium is also confirmed.
A comprehensive analysis of the extended emission-line region (EELR) around quasars is presented. A new Subaru/Suprime-Cam observation is combined with a literature search, resulting in a compilation ...of 81 EELR measurements for type-1 and type-2 quasars with an associated active galactic nucleus (AGN) and host galaxy properties. It is found that the EELR phenomenon shows clear correlation with the Eddington ratio, which links EELR to the constituents of principal component 1, or eigenvector 1, of the AGN emission correlations. We also find that EELR is preferentially associated with gas-rich, massive blue galaxies. This supports the idea that the primary determinant of EELR creation is gas availability and that the gas may be brought in by galaxy merger, triggering the current star formation as well as AGN activity, and also gives an explanation for the fact that most luminous EELRs are found around radio-loud sources with low Eddington ratio. By combining all the observations, it is suggested that EELR quasars occupy the massive blue corner of the green valley, the AGN realm, on the galaxy color-stellar mass diagram. Once a galaxy is pushed to this corner, an activated AGN would create an EELR by energy injection into the interstellar gas and eventually blow it away, leading to star formation quenching. The results presented here provide a piece of evidence for the presence of such an AGN feedback process, which may play a leading role in the co-evolution of galaxies and central super-massive black holes.
Understanding of the logic and dynamics of gene-regulatory and biochemical networks is a major challenge of systems biology. To facilitate this research topic, we have developed a modeling/simulating ...tool called CellDesigner. CellDesigner primarily has capabilities to visualize, model, and simulate gene-regulatory and biochemical networks. Two major characteristics embedded in CellDesigner boost its usability to create/import/export models: 1) solidly defined and comprehensive graphical representation (systems biology graphical notation) of network models and 2) systems biology markup language (SBML) as a model-describing basis, which function as intertool media to import/export SBML-based models. In addition, since its initial release in 2004, we have extended various capabilities of CellDesigner. For example, we integrated other systems biology workbench enabled simulation/analysis software packages. CellDesigner also supports simulation and parameter search, supported by integration with SBML ODE Solver, enabling users to simulate through our sophisticated graphical user interface. Users can also browse and modify existing models by referring to existing databases directly through CellDesigner. Those extended functions empower CellDesigner as not only a modeling/simulating tool but also an integrated analysis suite. CellDesigner is implemented in Java and thus supports various platforms (i.e., Windows, Linux, and MacOS X). CellDesigner is freely available via our Web site.
Decreased bioavailability of vitamin D in obesity WORTSMAN, Jacobo; MATSUOKA, Lois Y; CHEN, Tai C ...
The American journal of clinical nutrition,
09/2000, Letnik:
72, Številka:
3
Conference Proceeding, Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Obesity is associated with vitamin D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism.
This study assessed whether obesity alters the cutaneous production of vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol) or the ...intestinal absorption of vitamin D(2) (ergocalciferol).
Healthy, white, obese body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) > or = 30 and matched lean control subjects (BMI </= 25) received either whole-body ultraviolet radiation or a pharmacologic dose of vitamin D(2) orally.
Obese subjects had significantly lower basal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and higher parathyroid hormone concentrations than did age-matched control subjects. Evaluation of blood vitamin D(3) concentrations 24 h after whole-body irradiation showed that the incremental increase in vitamin D(3) was 57% lower in obese than in nonobese subjects. The content of the vitamin D(3) precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin of obese and nonobese subjects did not differ significantly between groups nor did its conversion to previtamin D(3) after irradiation in vitro. The obese and nonobese subjects received an oral dose of 50000 IU (1.25 mg) vitamin D(2). BMI was inversely correlated with serum vitamin D(3) concentrations after irradiation (r = -0.55, P: = 0.003) and with peak serum vitamin D(2) concentrations after vitamin D(2) intake (r = -0.56, P: = 0.007).
Obesity-associated vitamin D insufficiency is likely due to the decreased bioavailability of vitamin D(3) from cutaneous and dietary sources because of its deposition in body fat compartments.
We reanalyze the Imaging Photopolarimeter data from Pioneer 10 to study the zodiacal light in the B and R bands beyond Earth orbit, applying an improved method to subtract integrated star light (ISL) ...and diffuse Galactic light (DGL). We found that there exists a significant instrumental offset, making it difficult to examine the absolute sky brightness. Instead, we analyzed the differential brightness, i.e., the difference in sky brightness from the average at high ecliptic latitude, and compared with that expected from the model zodiacal light. At a heliocentric distance of r < 2 au, we found a fairly good correlation between the J-band model zodiacal light and the residual sky brightness after subtracting the ISL and DGL. The reflectances of the interplanetary dust derived from the correlation study are marginally consistent with previous works. The zodiacal light is not significantly detectable at r > 3 au, as previously reported. However, a clear discrepancy from the model is found at r = 2.94 au which indicates the existence of a local dust cloud produced by the collision of asteroids or dust trail from active asteroids (or main-belt comets). Our result confirms that the main component of the zodiacal light (smooth cloud) is consistent with the model even beyond the earth orbit, which justifies the detection of the extragalactic background light after subtracting the zodiacal light based on the model.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential nutrients demonstrated to have health benefits, such as decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease, improving parameters associated with ...metabolic syndrome, and decreasing anxiety symptoms and depression risk. Previous intervention studies indicated the association between blood or tissue PUFA levels and the gut microbiota; however, the details remain incompletely elucidated. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the association between PUFAs and the gut microbiota among breast cancer survivors. Adults who had been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer more than one year ago and were not currently undergoing chemotherapy were enrolled. Capillary blood and faecal samples were obtained to assess the blood PUFA levels and gut microbiota compositions. The mean age (n=124) was 58.7 years, and 46% of the participants had a history of chemotherapy. Multiple regression analysis controlling for possible confounders indicated that an increased relative abundance of Actinobacteria was significantly associated with increased levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, beta=0.304, q<0.01). At the genus level, the abundance of Bifidobacterium was positively associated with the level of DHA (beta=0.307, q<0.01). No significant association between omega-6 PUFAs and the relative abundances of gut microbiota members was observed. In addition, analyses stratified by the history of chemotherapy indicated significant associations of PUFA levels with the abundance of some bacterial taxa, including the phylum Actinobacteria (DHA, beta=0.365, q<0.01) and Bacteroidetes (EPA, beta=-0.339, q<0.01) and the genus Bifidobacterium (DHA, beta=0.368, q<0.01) only among participants without a history of chemotherapy. These findings provide the first evidence of positive associations between the abundances of Bifidobacterium among the gut microbiota and the levels of omega-3 PUFAs in the blood. Further studies are required to gain additional insight into these associations in healthy subjects as well as into the causality of the relationship.
The identification of human CD34-negative (CD34(-)) hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) provides a new concept for the hierarchy in the human HSC compartment. Previous studies demonstrated that CD34(-) ...severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-repopulating cells (SRCs) are a distinct class of primitive HSCs in comparison to the well-characterized CD34(+)CD38(-) SRCs. However, the purification level of rare CD34(-) SRCs in 18 lineage marker-negative (Lin(-)) CD34(-) cells (1/1000) is still very low compared with that of CD34(+)CD38(-) SRCs (1/40). As in the mouse, it will be necessary to identify useful positive markers for a high degree of purification of rare human CD34(-) SRCs. Using 18Lin(-)CD34(-) cells, we analyzed the expression of candidate positive markers by flow cytometric analysis. We finally identified CD133 as a reliable positive marker of human CB-derived CD34(-) SRCs and succeeded in highly purifying primitive human CD34(-) HSCs. The limiting dilution analysis demonstrated that the incidence of CD34(-) SRCs in 18Lin(-)CD34(-)CD133(+) cells was 1/142, which is the highest level of purification of these unique CD34(-) HSCs to date. Furthermore, CD133 expression clearly segregated the SRC activities of 18Lin(-)CD34(-) cells, as well as 18Lin(-)CD34(+) cells, in their positive fractions, indicating its functional significance as a common cell surface maker to isolate effectively both CD34(+) and CD34(-) SRCs.
Systematic review of observational studies has revealed that fish consumption and levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid are ...associated with a reduced risk of depression. A reverse J-shaped effect of n-3 PUFAs was suggested. However, there is limited evidence from populations with high fish consumption and no studies have used a standard psychiatrist-based diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, this population-based, prospective study investigated the association of dietary fish, n-3 PUFA, and n-6 PUFA consumption with risk of psychiatrist-diagnosed MDD in Japan. A total of 12 219 subjects were enrolled from the Saku area in 1990. Of these, we extracted 1181 participants aged 63-82 years who completed food frequency questionnaires in both 1995 and 2000 and also underwent a mental health examination in 2014-2015. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for MDD according to fish intake and PUFA quartiles were calculated. Current MDD was diagnosed in 95 patients. We found a reduced risk of MDD in the third quartile for fish intake (111.1 g per day, OR=0.44, 95% CI=0.23-0.84), second quartile for EPA (307.7 mg per day, OR=0.54, 95% CI=0.30-0.99) and third quartile for docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) (123.1 mg per day, OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.22-0.85). ORs adjusted for cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction and diabetes remained significant for fish and DPA intake. Our results suggest that moderate fish intake could be recommended for the prevention of MDD in aged Japanese individuals.
To investigate the epidemiologic aspects of colibacillosis in broiler chickens, 83 Escherichia coli isolates obtained from the pericarditis and perihepatitis lesions in broiler chickens from 4 ...commercial farms, 5 isolates recovered from 5 samples of yolk sac contents that were pooled from 25 emaciated chicks, and 4 fecal isolates obtained from a hatchery that supplied chicks to the 4 commercial farms mentioned above were genetically and bacteriologically characterized. Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), a total of 92 isolates were classified into 33 pulsotypes. Identical pulsotypes were observed in isolates obtained from hatchery samples and the affected broiler chickens on multiple farms at various sampling times. Seventeen representative isolates with no common origin belonging to 6 pulsotypes and an additional 27 isolates with the other pulsotypes were used for further experiments. Isolates with identical pulsotypes exhibited common traits for virulence-associated genes, lipopolysaccharide core types, and phylogenetic groups. Nine of the isolates were serologically typed as O125 with various types of H antigens and 3 were typed as O25:H4. In the 27 isolates resistant to ceftiofur (CTF), which is a third generation cephalosporin, the blaCTX-M-2, blaCMY-2, blaCTX-M-14, blaCTX-M-65 genes were found in 15, 8, 3, and 1 isolate(s), respectively, and another isolate resistant to CTF had both the blaCTX-M-2 and the blaCMY-2 genes. In the 16 isolates with the blaCTX-M-2 gene, the chromosomal location of the gene was identified in 12 isolates. The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes, oqxAB and aac(6')-Ib-cr, were found in 2 and 3 isolates, respectively. Conjugation experiments revealed that the blaCTX-M-2 (4 isolates), blaCTX-M-14 (3 isolates), blaSHV-12 (1 isolate), and oqxAB (2 isolates) genes were transferred. Our data suggest that E. coli strains with identical pulsotypes had been caused the incidences of colibacillosis and that the antimicrobial resistance genes on conjugative plasmids and those integrated into the chromosome may be spread among avian pathogenic E. coli strains in multiple farms.
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