New biological models are incorporating the realistic processes underlying biological responses to climate change and other human-caused disturbances. However, these more realistic models require ...detailed information, which is lacking for most species on Earth. Current monitoring efforts mainly document changes in biodiversity, rather than collecting the mechanistic data needed to predict future changes. We describe and prioritize the biological information needed to inform more realistic projections of species' responses to climate change. We also highlight how trait-based approaches and adaptive modeling can leverage sparse data to make broader predictions. We outline a global effort to collect the data necessary to better understand, anticipate, and reduce the damaging effects of climate change on biodiversity.
Abstract
The Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS) is a cycle-7 ALMA Large Program (LP) that is identifying and performing a first characterization of many of the most luminous ...star-forming galaxies known in the
z
> 6.5 universe. REBELS is providing this probe by systematically scanning 40 of the brightest UV-selected galaxies identified over a 7 deg
2
area for bright C
ii
158
μ
m
and O
iii
88
μ
m
lines and dust-continuum emission. Selection of the 40 REBELS targets was done by combining our own and other photometric selections, each of which is subject to extensive vetting using three completely independent sets of photometry and template-fitting codes. Building on the observational strategy deployed in two pilot programs, we are increasing the number of massive interstellar medium (ISM) reservoirs known at
z
> 6.5 by ∼4–5× to >30. In this manuscript, we motivate the observational strategy deployed in the REBELS program and present initial results. Based on the first-year observations, 18 highly significant ≥ 7
σ
C
ii
158
μ
m
lines have already been discovered, the bulk of which (13/18) also show ≥3.3
σ
dust-continuum emission. These newly discovered lines more than triple the number of bright ISM-cooling lines known in the
z
> 6.5 universe, such that the number of ALMA-derived redshifts at
z
> 6.5 rival Ly
α
discoveries. An analysis of the completeness of our search results versus star formation rate (SFR) suggests an ∼79% efficiency in scanning for C
ii
158
μ
m
when the SFR
UV+IR
is >28
M
⊙
yr
−1
. These new LP results further demonstrate ALMA’s efficiency as a “redshift machine,” particularly in the Epoch of Reionization.
The microscopic environment inside a metazoan organism is highly crowded. Whether individual cells can tailor their behavior to the limited space remains unclear. In this study, we found that cells ...measure the degree of spatial confinement by using their largest and stiffest organelle, the nucleus. Cell confinement below a resting nucleus size deforms the nucleus, which expands and stretches its envelope. This activates signaling to the actomyosin cortex via nuclear envelope stretch-sensitive proteins, up-regulating cell contractility. We established that the tailored contractile response constitutes a nuclear ruler-based signaling pathway involved in migratory cell behaviors. Cells rely on the nuclear ruler to modulate the motive force that enables their passage through restrictive pores in complex three-dimensional environments, a process relevant to cancer cell invasion, immune responses, and embryonic development.
Mesenchymal cells expressing platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) are known to be important in fibrosis of organs such as the liver and kidney. Here we show that PDGFRβ
cells ...contribute to skeletal muscle and cardiac fibrosis via a mechanism that depends on αv integrins. Mice in which αv integrin is depleted in PDGFRβ
cells are protected from cardiotoxin and laceration-induced skeletal muscle fibrosis and angiotensin II-induced cardiac fibrosis. In addition, a small-molecule inhibitor of αv integrins attenuates fibrosis, even when pre-established, in both skeletal and cardiac muscle, and improves skeletal muscle function. αv integrin blockade also reduces TGFβ activation in primary human skeletal muscle and cardiac PDGFRβ
cells, suggesting that αv integrin inhibitors may be effective for the treatment and prevention of a broad range of muscle fibroses.
The extragalactic background light (EBL) is of fundamental importance both for understanding the entire process of galaxy evolution and for γ-ray astronomy, but the overall spectrum of the EBL ...between 0.1 and 1000 μm has never been determined directly from galaxy spectral energy distribution (SED) observations over a wide redshift range. The evolving, overall spectrum of the EBL is derived here utilizing a novel method based on observations only. This is achieved from the observed evolution of the rest-frame K-band galaxy luminosity function up to redshift 4, combined with a determination of galaxy-SED-type fractions. These are based on fitting Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic Survey (SWIRE) templates to a multiwavelength sample of about 6000 galaxies in the redshift range from 0.2 to 1 from the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). The changing fractions of quiescent galaxies, star-forming galaxies, starburst galaxies and active galactic nucleus (AGN) galaxies in that redshift range are estimated, and two alternative extrapolations of SED types to higher redshifts are considered. This allows calculation of the evolution of the luminosity densities from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR), the evolving star formation rate density of the Universe, the evolving contribution to the bolometric EBL from the different galaxy populations including AGN galaxies and the buildup of the EBL. Our EBL calculations are compared with those from a semi-analytic model, another observationally based model and observational data. The EBL uncertainties in our modelling based directly on the data are quantified, and their consequences for attenuation of very-high-energy γ-rays due to pair production on the EBL are discussed. It is concluded that the EBL is well constrained from the UV to the mid-IR, but independent efforts from IR and γ-ray astronomy are needed in order to reduce the uncertainties in the far-IR.
The VLT Survey Telescope ATLAS Shanks, T; Metcalfe, N; Chehade, B ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2015, Letnik:
451, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The VLT Survey Telescope ATLAS survey is an optical ugriz survey aiming to cover ≈4700 deg2 of the southern sky to similar depths as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From reduced images and ...object catalogues provided by the Cambridge Astronomical Surveys Unit, we first find that the median seeing ranges from 0.8 arcsec FWHM (full width at half-maximum) in i to 1.0 arcsec in u, significantly better than the 1.2–1.5 arcsec seeing for SDSS. The 5σ mag limit for stellar sources is r
AB
= 22.7 and in all bands these limits are at least as faint as SDSS. SDSS and ATLAS are more equivalent for galaxy photometry except in the z band where ATLAS has significantly higher throughput. We have improved the original ESO magnitude zero-points by comparing m < 16 star magnitudes with the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey in gri, also extrapolating into u and z, resulting in zero-points accurate to ≈ ± 0.02 mag. We finally compare star and galaxy number counts in a 250 deg2 area with SDSS and other count data and find good agreement. ATLAS data products can be retrieved from the ESO Science Archive, while support for survey science analyses is provided by the OmegaCAM Science Archive, operated by the Wide-Field Astronomy Unit in Edinburgh.
The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a new tool to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet. In the present study, we aimed to determine the association between the DII and BMI, waist ...circumference and waist:height ratio (WHtR). We conducted a cross-sectional study of 7236 participants recruited into the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea trial. Information from a validated 137-item FFQ was used to calculate energy, food and nutrient intakes. A fourteen-item dietary screener was used to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDiet). Sex-specific multivariable linear regression models were fitted to estimate differences (and 95 % CI) in BMI, waist circumference and WHtR across the quintiles of the DII. All nutrient intakes, healthy foods and adherence to the MeDiet were higher in the quintile with the lowest DII score (more anti-inflammatory values) except for intakes of animal protein, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat. Although an inverse association between the DII and total energy was apparent, the DII was associated with higher average BMI, waist circumference and WHtR after adjusting for known risk factors. The adjusted difference in the WHtR for women and men between the highest and lowest quintiles of the DII was 1·60 % (95 % CI 0·87, 2·33) and 1·04 % (95 % CI 0·35, 1·74), respectively. Pro-inflammatory scores remained associated with obesity after controlling for the effect that adherence to a MeDiet had on inflammation. In conclusion, the present study shows a direct association between the DII and indices of obesity, and supports the hypothesis that diet may have a role in the development of obesity through inflammatory modulation mechanisms.
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