We report the discovery of a high mass ratio planet, q = 0.012, i.e., 13 times higher than the Jupiter/Sun ratio. The host mass has not yet been measured but can be determined or strongly constrained ...from adaptive optics imaging. The planet was discovered in a small archival study of high-magnification events in pure-survey microlensing data, which was unbiased by the presence of anomalies. The fact that it was previously unnoticed may indicate that more such planets lie in archival data and could be discovered by a similar systematic study. In order to understand the transition from predominantly survey+followup to predominately survey-only planet detections, we conduct the first analysis of these detections in the observational (s, q) plane. Here s is the projected separation in units of the Einstein radius. We find some evidence that survey+followup is relatively more sensitive to planets near the Einstein ring, but that there is no statistical difference in sensitivity by mass ratio.
We present an analysis of microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0693, based on the survey-only microlensing observations by the OGLE and KMTNet groups. In order to analyze the light curve, we consider the ...effects of parallax, orbital motion, and baseline slope, and also refine the result using a Galactic model prior. From the microlensing analysis, we find that the event is a binary composed of a low-mass brown dwarf ( ) companion and a K- or G-dwarf host, which lies at a distance of 5.0 0.6 kpc toward the Galactic bulge. The projected separation between the brown dwarf and its host star is less than ∼5 au, thus it is likely that the brown dwarf companion is located in the brown dwarf desert.
We report on the discovery and analysis of the short-timescale binary-lens microlensing event, MOA-2015-BLG-337. The lens system could be a planetary system with a very low-mass host, around the ...brown dwarf (BD)/planetary-mass boundary, or a BD binary. We found two competing models that explain the observed light curves with companion/host mass ratios of q ∼ 0.01 and ∼0.17, respectively. A significant finite source effect in the best-fit planetary model (q ∼ 0.01) reveals a small angular Einstein radius of θE 0.03 mas, which favors a low-mass lens. We obtain the posterior probability distribution of the lens properties from a Bayesian analysis. The results for the planetary models strongly depend on a power-law index in planetary-mass regime, pl, in the assumed mass function. In summary, there are two solutions of the lens system: (1) a BD/planetary-mass boundary object orbited by a super-Neptune (the planetary model with pl = 0.49) and (2) a BD binary (the binary model). If the planetary models are correct, this system can be one of a new class of planetary system, having a low host mass and also a planetary-mass ratio (q < 0.03) between the companion and its host. The discovery of the event is important for the study of planetary formation in very low-mass objects. In addition, it is important to consider all viable solutions in these kinds of ambiguous events in order for the future comprehensive statistical analyses of planetary/binary microlensing events.
Preeclampsia (PE) is a placental disorder caused by endothelial dysfunction via trophoblast inadequate invasion activity. Adrenomedullin (ADM) and ADM2 are multifunctional peptides that can support ...vascular activity and placental growth. However, correlation between ADMs and trophoblast functions is currently unclear. The objective of this study was to analyze changes in expression of ADMs in placenta and HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells under hypoxia and their effects on invasion activity of trophoblast cells and expression of HLA-G. In placental tissues of PE, expression levels of ADM and HLA-G were significantly increased (P < 0.05) whereas expression of ADM2 was decreased compared to that in normal term placenta. Under hypoxia, expression levels of ADM, ADM2, and HLA-G and invasion ability of trophoblast cells were increased in hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α)- dependent manner (P < 0.05). Treatment with ADMs agonists reduced HIF-1α activity whereas enhanced invasion ability under hypoxia. However, they were not changed after cotreatment of ADMs and HIF-1α inhibitor, YC-1, although expression levels of invasion-related genes MMP2, MMP9, and Rac1 were altered (P < 0.05). ADMs also increased HLA-G expression under normoxia whereasADM2 or cotreatment of ADMs under hypoxia attenuated HLA-G expression (P < 0.05). Our findings demonstrate that altered expression of ADMs plays a critical role in placental physiology, especially in trophoblast invasion and immune-modulation under hypoxia. Summary sentence Altered expression of ADMs plays a critical role in placental physiology, especially in trophoblast invasion and immune-modulation under hypoxia.
For the assessment of existing slab-between-girder bridges, the shear capacity and failure mode are under discussion. In particular, preliminary assessment calculations showed that the critical ...failure mode of the girders is shear-tension. In this paper, four girders taken from a demolished bridge that were tested in the lab are analyzed according to existing codes. The comparison between the experiments and the analysis shows that the Dutch RBK provisions are conservative and the ACI 318-19 provisions result in good predictions of the shear capacity at inclined cracking and at ultimate. These observations are then combined into recommendations for the assessment of prestressed concrete girders in existing slab-between-girder bridges for shear cracking and the ultimate shear capacity. Keywords: bridge assessment; concrete bridges; flexure-shear; large-scale testing; prestressed concrete; shear; shear-compression; shear-tension.
Reactor experiment for neutrino oscillation (RENO) began data-taking from August 2011. It successfully observed reactor antineutrino disappearance in April 2012 to measure the smallest mixing angle ...of θ13. Two identical detectors, one at near location and the other at far location, are constructed at the Yonggwang nuclear power plant in South Korea, to compare the observed reactor neutrino fluxes. Each RENO detector is filled with 16 mass tons of Gadolinium loaded liquid scintillator (GdLS) in the neutrino target region, and with 28 mass tons of unloaded liquid scintillator (LS) in the γ-catcher region surrounding the target. LS was developed to satisfy chemical, physical, optical properties, and safety requirements. Linear alkyl benzene (LAB) was chosen as a solvent because of its high flash-point, sufficient light yield, and being environmentally friendly. GdLS is carefully developed to keep a long attenuation length and high light yield for a long time period. In this paper, we report the characteristics and mass production of the RENO LS and GdLS.
The relationships between the levels of transcripts and the levels of the proteins they encode have not been examined comprehensively in mammals, although previous work in plants and yeast suggest a ...surprisingly modest correlation. We have examined this issue using a genetic approach in which natural variations were used to perturb both transcript levels and protein levels among inbred strains of mice. We quantified over 5,000 peptides and over 22,000 transcripts in livers of 97 inbred and recombinant inbred strains and focused on the 7,185 most heritable transcripts and 486 most reliable proteins. The transcript levels were quantified by microarray analysis in three replicates and the proteins were quantified by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry using O(18)-reference-based isotope labeling approach. We show that the levels of transcripts and proteins correlate significantly for only about half of the genes tested, with an average correlation of 0.27, and the correlations of transcripts and proteins varied depending on the cellular location and biological function of the gene. We examined technical and biological factors that could contribute to the modest correlation. For example, differential splicing clearly affects the analyses for certain genes; but, based on deep sequencing, this does not substantially contribute to the overall estimate of the correlation. We also employed genome-wide association analyses to map loci controlling both transcript and protein levels. Surprisingly, little overlap was observed between the protein- and transcript-mapped loci. We have typed numerous clinically relevant traits among the strains, including adiposity, lipoprotein levels, and tissue parameters. Using correlation analysis, we found that a low number of clinical trait relationships are preserved between the protein and mRNA gene products and that the majority of such relationships are specific to either the protein levels or transcript levels. Surprisingly, transcript levels were more strongly correlated with clinical traits than protein levels. In light of the widespread use of high-throughput technologies in both clinical and basic research, the results presented have practical as well as basic implications.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The purpose of this randomised phase III trial was to evaluate whether the addition of simvastatin, a synthetic 3-hydroxy-3methyglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, to XELIRI/FOLFIRI chemotherapy ...regimens confers a clinical benefit to patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.
We undertook a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial of 269 patients previously treated for metastatic colorectal cancer and enrolled in 5 centres in South Korea. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to one of the following groups: FOLFIRI/XELIRI plus simvastatin (40 mg) or FOLFIRI/XELIRI plus placebo. The FOLFIRI regimen consisted of irinotecan at 180 mg m(-2) as a 90-min infusion, leucovorin at 200 mg m(-2) as a 2-h infusion, and a bolus injection of 5-FU 400 mg m(-2) followed by a 46-h continuous infusion of 5-FU at 2400 mg m(-2). The XELIRI regimen consisted of irinotecan at 250 mg m(-2) as a 90-min infusion with capecitabine 1000 mg m(-2) twice daily for 14 days. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included response rate, duration of response, overall survival (OS), time to progression, and toxicity.
Between April 2010 and July 2013, 269 patients were enrolled and assigned to treatment groups (134 simvastatin, 135 placebo). The median PFS was 5.9 months (95% CI, 4.5-7.3) in the XELIRI/FOLFIRI plus simvastatin group and 7.0 months (95% CI, 5.4-8.6) in the XELIRI/FOLFIRI plus placebo group (P=0.937). No significant difference was observed between the two groups with respect to OS (median, 15.9 months (simvastatin) vs 19.9 months (placebo), P=0.826). Grade⩾3 nausea and anorexia were noted slightly more often in patients in the simvastatin arm compared with with the placebo arm (4.5% vs 0.7%, 3.0% vs 0%, respectively).
The addition of 40 mg simvastatin to the XELIRI/FOLFIRI regimens did not improve PFS in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer nor did it increase toxicity.
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