The advanced molybdenum-based rare process experiment (AMoRE) aims to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (
0
ν
β
β
) of
100
Mo with
∼
100
kg
of
100
Mo-enriched molybdenum embedded in cryogenic ...detectors with a dual heat and light readout. At the current, pilot stage of the AMoRE project we employ six calcium molybdate crystals with a total mass of 1.9 kg, produced from
48
Ca-depleted calcium and
100
Mo-enriched molybdenum (
48
depl
Ca
100
MoO
4
). The simultaneous detection of heat (phonon) and scintillation (photon) signals is realized with high resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter sensors that operate at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This stage of the project is carried out in the Yangyang underground laboratory at a depth of 700 m. We report first results from the AMoRE-Pilot
0
ν
β
β
search with a 111 kg day live exposure of
48
depl
Ca
100
MoO
4
crystals. No evidence for
0
ν
β
β
decay of
100
Mo is found, and a upper limit is set for the half-life of
0
ν
β
β
of
100
Mo of
T
1
/
2
0
ν
>
9.5
×
10
22
years
at 90% C.L. This limit corresponds to an effective Majorana neutrino mass limit in the range
⟨
m
β
β
⟩
≤
(
1.2
-
2.1
)
eV
.
BackgroundThe secondary cell wall is a defining feature of xylem cells and allows them to resist both gravitational forces and the tension forces associated with the transpirational pull on their ...internal columns of water. Secondary walls also constitute the majority of plant biomass. Formation of secondary walls requires co-ordinated transcriptional regulation of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. This co-ordinated control appears to involve a multifaceted and multilayered transcriptional regulatory programme.ScopeTranscription factor MYB46 (At5g12870) has been shown to function as a master regulator in secondary wall formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Recent studies show that MYB46 not only regulates the transcription factors but also the biosynthesis genes for all of the three major components (i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of secondary walls. This review considers our current understanding of the MYB46-mediated transcriptional regulatory network, including upstream regulators, downstream targets and negative regulators of MYB46.Conclusions and OutlookMYB46 is a unique transcription factor in that it directly regulates the biosynthesis genes for all of the three major components of the secondary wall as well as the transcription factors in the biosynthesis pathway. As such, MYB46 may offer a useful means for pathway-specific manipulation of secondary wall biosynthesis. However, realization of this potential requires additional information on the ‘MYB46-mediated transcriptional regulatory programme’, such as downstream direct targets, upstream regulators and interacting partners of MYB46.
Nonobese Fatty Liver Disease Kim, Donghee; Kim, W Ray
Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology,
04/2017, Volume:
15, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a group of conditions characterized by hepatic steatosis in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. NAFLD is seen commonly in patients with ...metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, such as type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. Evidently, however, not all obese subjects develop NAFLD and, more importantly, NAFLD can be found in nonobese individuals. Although NAFLD occurring in nonobese subjects has been reported in children and adults of all ethnicities, it appears to be recognized more frequently in Asians, even when strict ethnicity-specific body mass index criteria are used to define obesity. Studies based on liver biopsies suggest that the prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and fibrosis does not differ significantly between nonobese NAFLD and NAFLD in obese patients. Visceral obesity as opposed to general obesity, high fructose and cholesterol intake, and genetic risk factors (eg, palatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3) may be associated with nonobese NAFLD. In general, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is associated with increased mortality, primarily from cardiovascular causes, independent of other metabolic factors. Although data regarding the mortality impact of nonobese NAFLD are not as mature, it may be important to identify high-risk nonobese NAFLD patients and manage their metabolic profile. Currently, lifestyle modification to reduce visceral adiposity, including dietary changes and physical activity, remains the standard of care in patients with nonobese NAFLD.
ABO incompatibility is no longer considered a contraindication for adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) due to various strategies to overcome the ABO blood group barrier. We report the ...largest single‐center experience of ABO‐incompatible (ABOi) ALDLT in 235 adult patients. The desensitization protocol included a single dose of rituximab and total plasma exchange. In addition, local graft infusion therapy, cyclophosphamide, or splenectomy was used for a certain time period, but these treatments were eventually discontinued due to adverse events. There were three cases (1.3%) of in‐hospital mortality. The cumulative 3‐year graft and patient survival rates were 89.2% and 92.3%, respectively, and were comparable to those of the ABO‐compatible group (n = 1301). Despite promising survival outcomes, 17 patients (7.2%) experienced antibody‐mediated rejection that manifested as diffuse intrahepatic biliary stricture; six cases required retransplantation, and three patients died. ABOi ALDLT is a feasible method for expanding a living liver donor pool, but the efficacy of the desensitization protocol in targeting B cell immunity should be optimized.
This article presents the clinical results of ABO‐incompatible adult living donor liver transplantation in a single institution.
The RENO experiment reports more precisely measured values of θ_{13} and |Δm_{ee}^{2}| using ∼2200 live days of data. The amplitude and frequency of reactor electron antineutrino (νover ¯_{e}) ...oscillation are measured by comparing the prompt signal spectra obtained from two identical near and far detectors. In the period between August 2011 and February 2018, the far (near) detector observed 103 212 (850 666) νover ¯_{e} candidate events with a background fraction of 4.8% (2.0%). A clear energy and baseline dependent disappearance of reactor νover ¯_{e} is observed in the deficit of the measured number of νover ¯_{e}. Based on the measured far-to-near ratio of prompt spectra, we obtain sin^{2}2θ_{13}=0.0896±0.0048(stat)±0.0047(syst) and |Δm_{ee}^{2}|=2.68±0.12(stat)±0.07(syst)×10^{-3} eV^{2}.
Summary
Background Psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis are common erythematous‐squamous dermatoses that may present with scaly erythematous patches on the scalp. Owing to the similar ...clinicopathological features of these dermatoses, their differentiation poses a diagnostic challenge, particularly when the lesions on the scalp are isolated.
Objectives To evaluate the usefulness of dermoscopy in the clinical differentiation of scalp psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis.
Methods This was a retrospective observational study to evaluate the characteristic dermoscopic features of scalp psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis. The study included a total of 96 patients with lesions; these patients were recruited from two tertiary teaching hospitals in Korea (Pusan National University Hospital and Kyungpook National University Hospital). Among these, 55 patients had scalp psoriasis and 41 patients had seborrhoeic dermatitis.
Results The most significant dermoscopic features of scalp psoriasis were red dots and globules, twisted red loops, and glomerular vessels. In contrast, seborrhoeic dermatitis was characterized by arborizing vessels and atypical red vessels with the absence of red dots and globules. Featureless areas devoid of any particular vascular patterns were also frequently observed in seborrhoeic dermatitis. Dermoscopic findings of red lines and other vascular patterns were not considered useful for differentiation because these were uncommon features in both diseases. Although scales were observed commonly in both diseases, there was no significant difference in the frequency and characteristics of the scales when they were observed using dermoscopy.
Conclusions Our study shows that the investigation of vascular patterns by using dermoscopy can be valuable for the clinical diagnosis and differentiation of scalp psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis.
The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau region (HTP), despite being a remote and sparsely populated area, is regularly exposed to polluted air masses with significant amounts of aerosols including ...black carbon. These dark, light-absorbing particles are known to exert a great melting potential on mountain cryospheric reservoirs through albedo reduction and radiative forcing. This study combines ground-based and satellite remote sensing data to identify a severe aerosol pollution episode observed simultaneously in central Tibet and on the southern side of the Himalayas during 13-19 March 2009 (pre-monsoon). Trajectory calculations based on the high-resolution numerical weather prediction model COSMO are used to locate the source regions and study the mechanisms of pollution transport in the complex topography of the HTP. We detail how polluted air masses from an atmospheric brown cloud (ABC) over South Asia reach the Tibetan Plateau within a few days. Lifting and advection of polluted air masses over the great mountain range is enabled by a combination of synoptic-scale and local meteorological processes. During the days prior to the event, winds over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) are generally weak at lower levels, allowing for accumulation of pollutants and thus the formation of ABCs. The subsequent passing of synoptic-scale troughs leads to southwesterly flow in the middle troposphere over northern and central India, carrying the polluted air masses across the Himalayas. As the IGP is known to be a hotspot of ABCs, the cross-Himalayan transport of polluted air masses may have serious implications for the cryosphere in the HTP and impact climate on regional to global scales. Since the current study focuses on one particularly strong pollution episode, quantifying the frequency and magnitude of similar events in a climatological study is required to assess the total impact.
Current microlensing surveys are sensitive to free-floating planets down to Earth-mass objects. All published microlensing events attributed to unbound planets were identified based on their short ...timescale (below two days), but lacked an angular Einstein radius measurement (and hence lacked a significant constraint on the lens mass). Here, we present the discovery of a Neptune-mass free-floating planet candidate in the ultrashort (tE = 0.320 0.003 days) microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-1540. The event exhibited strong finite-source effects, which allowed us to measure its angular Einstein radius of θE = 9.2 0.5 as. There remains, however, a degeneracy between the lens mass and distance. The combination of the source proper motion and source-lens relative proper motion measurements favors a Neptune-mass lens located in the Galactic disk. However, we cannot rule out that the lens is a Saturn-mass object belonging to the bulge population. We exclude stellar companions up to ∼15 au.
Lateral cephalometry has been widely used for skeletal classification in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. However, this conventional system, requiring manual tracing of individual ...landmarks, contains possible errors of inter- and intravariability and is highly time-consuming. This study aims to provide an accurate and robust skeletal diagnostic system by incorporating a convolutional neural network (CNN) into a 1-step, end-to-end diagnostic system with lateral cephalograms. A multimodal CNN model was constructed on the basis of 5,890 lateral cephalograms and demographic data as an input. The model was optimized with transfer learning and data augmentation techniques. Diagnostic performance was evaluated with statistical analysis. The proposed system exhibited >90% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for vertical and sagittal skeletal diagnosis. Clinical performance of the vertical classification showed the highest accuracy at 96.40 (95% CI, 93.06 to 98.39; model III). The receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the curve both demonstrated the excellent performance of the system, with a mean area under the curve >95%. The heat maps of cephalograms were also provided for deeper understanding of the quality of the learned model by visually representing the region of the cephalogram that is most informative in distinguishing skeletal classes. In addition, we present broad applicability of this system through subtasks. The proposed CNN-incorporated system showed potential for skeletal orthodontic diagnosis without the need for intermediary steps requiring complicated diagnostic procedures.
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