Epigenetic mechanisms might play a role in the pathophysiology of hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and renal failure. We aimed to systematically review studies ...investigating the association between epigenetic marks (global, candidate-gene or genome-wide methylation of DNA, and histone modifications) and blood pressure or hypertension. Five bibliographic databases were searched until the 7th of December 2018. Of 2984 identified references, 26 articles based on 25 unique studies met our inclusion criteria, which involved a total of 28,382 participants. The five studies that assessed global DNA methylation generally found lower methylation levels with higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and/or presence of hypertension. Eighteen candidate-gene studies reported, in total, 16 differentially methylated genes, including renin-angiotensin-system-related genes (ACE promoter and AGTR1) and genes involved in sodium homeostasis and extracellular fluid volume maintenance system (NET promoter, SCNN1A, and ADD1). Between the three identified epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), lower methylation levels of SULF1, EHMT2, and SKOR2 were found in hypertensive patients as compared with normotensive subjects, and lower methylation levels of PHGDH, SLC7A11, and TSPAN2 were associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In summary, the most convincing evidence has been reported from candidate-gene studies, which show reproducible epigenetic changes in the interconnected renin-angiotensin and inflammatory systems. Our study highlights gaps in the literature on the role of histone modifications in blood pressure and the need to conduct high-quality studies, in particular, hypothesis-generating studies that may help to elucidate new molecular mechanisms.
Large vessel vasculitis (LVV) is defined as a disease mainly affecting the large arteries, with two major variants, Takayasu arteritis (TA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA). GCA often coexists with ...polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in the same patient, since both belong to the same disease spectrum. FDG-PET/CT is a functional imaging technique which is an established tool in oncology, and has also demonstrated a role in the field of inflammatory diseases. Functional FDG-PET combined with anatomical CT angiography, FDG-PET/CT(A), may be of synergistic value for optimal diagnosis, monitoring of disease activity, and evaluating damage progression in LVV. There are currently no guidelines regarding PET imaging acquisition for LVV and PMR, even though standardization is of the utmost importance in order to facilitate clinical studies and for daily clinical practice. This work constitutes a joint procedural recommendation on FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging in large vessel vasculitis (LVV) and PMR from the Cardiovascular and Inflammation & Infection Committees of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), the Cardiovascular Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), and the PET Interest Group (PIG), and endorsed by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC). The aim of this joint paper is to provide recommendations and statements, based on the available evidence in the literature and consensus of experts in the field, for patient preparation, and FDG-PET/CT(A) acquisition and interpretation for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with suspected or diagnosed LVV and/or PMR. This position paper aims to set an internationally accepted standard for FDG-PET/CT(A) imaging and reporting of LVV and PMR.
Phragmites australis
is a common wetland plant species worldwide and best known in North America as a persistent invasive species. Only in recent decades was a native lineage,
Phragmites australis
...subsp.
americanus
, confirmed in North American wetlands. This study investigated whether the two lineages support unique microbial communities in the rhizosphere. Paired stands of the native and invasive lineages were sampled at four locations across a Chesapeake Bay subestuary to assess differences in soil chemical parameters and the microbial community. Microbial characterization included quantification of genes coding for bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA, archaeal ammonia-monooxygenase, methane co-enzyme A, and particulate methane-monooxygenase. These gene targets helped quantify bacterial biomass, archaeal biomass, ammonia-oxidizers, methanogens, and methane oxidizers, respectively. Bacterial and archaeal community composition was determined by creating terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles of the 16S rRNA, and bacterial and fungal composition was assessed using phospholipid fatty acid profiles. Bacterial biomass and composition did not differ between the two lineages, but significant differences were observed in archaeal community composition. There were significantly more copies of archaeal 16S rRNA genes in invasive (1.8 × 10
8
g
−1
soil) compared to native (7.2 × 10
7
g
−1
soil) lineages (
P
= 0.04) and composition profiles were significantly different according to PerMANOVA (
P
= 0.006). Phospholipid fatty acid profiles also differed between invasive and native lineages (
P
= 0.023). These findings support other studies that have noted the ability of native and invasive
Phragmites
to differentially affect soil biogeochemistry and suggest that archaea in the rhizosphere of wetland plants may be more sensitive to plant variation than bacteria.
We present Herschel observations of 6 fine-structure lines in 25 ultraluminous infrared galaxies at z < 0.27. The lines, OIII52 mum, NIII57 mum, Oi63 mum, NII122 mum, OI145 mum, and CII158 mum, are ...mostly single Gaussians with widths <600 km s super(-1) and luminosities of 10 super(7)-10 super(9) L sub(middot in circle). There are deficits in the OI63/L sub(IR), NII/L sub(IR), OI145/L sub(IR), and CII/L sub(IR) ratios compared to lower luminosity systems. The majority of the line deficits are consistent with dustier H II regions, but part of the CII deficit may arise from an additional mechanism, plausibly charged dust grains. This is consistent with some of the CII originating from photodissociation regions or the interstellar medium (ISM). We derive relations between far-IR line luminosities and both the IR luminosity and star formation rate. We find that NII and both O I lines are good tracers of the IR luminosity and star formation rate. In contrast, CII is a poor tracer of the IR luminosity and star formation rate, and does not improve as a tracer of either quantity if the CII deficit is accounted for. The continuum luminosity densities also correlate with the IR luminosity and star formation rate. We derive ranges for the gas density and ultraviolet radiation intensity of 10 super(1) < n < 10 super(2.5) and 10 super(2.2) < G sub(0) < 10 super(3.6), respectively. These ranges depend on optical type, the importance of star formation, and merger stage. We do not find relationships between far-IR line properties and several other parameters: active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity, merger stage, mid-IR excitation, and SMBH mass. We conclude that these far-IR lines arise from gas heated by starlight, and that they are not strongly influenced by AGN activity.
Abstract
The MGRO J2019+37 region is one of the brightest sources in the sky at TeV energies. It was detected in the second HAWC catalog as 2HWC J2019+367 and here we present a detailed study of this ...region using data from HAWC. This analysis resolves the region into two sources: HAWC J2019+368 and HAWC J2016+371. We associate HAWC J2016+371 with the evolved supernova remnant CTB 87, although its low significance in this analysis prevents a detailed study at this time. An investigation of the morphology (including possible energy-dependent morphology) and spectrum for HAWC J2019+368 is the focus of this work. We associate HAWC J2019+368 with PSR J2021+3651 and its X-ray pulsar wind nebula, the Dragonfly nebula. Modeling the spectrum measured by HAWC and Suzaku reveals a ∼7 kyr pulsar and nebula system producing the observed emission at X-ray and
γ
-ray energies.
We review progress in our understanding of the importance of waterbirds as dispersal vectors of other organisms, and identify priorities for further research.
Waterbirds are excellent for ...long‐distance dispersal (LDD), whereas other vectors such as fish and mammals disperse similar propagules, but over shorter distances. Empirical studies of internal and external transport by waterbirds have shown that the former mechanism generally is more important. Internal transport is widely recognised for aquatic plants and aquatic invertebrates with resting eggs, but also is important for other organisms (e.g., terrestrial flowering plants not dispersed by frugivores, bryophytes, tardigrades, fish eggs).
Waterbird vectors also are important in terrestrial habitats, and provide connectivity across terrestrial–aquatic boundaries. There are important differences in the roles of different waterbird species, especially those using different habitats along the aquatic–terrestrial gradient. Early attempts to predict zoochory based on propagule morphology have been found wanting, and more research is needed into how the traits of vectors and vectored organisms (including life history, dormancy and growth traits) explain dispersal interactions. Experimental studies have focused on the potential of propagules to survive internal or external transport, and research into factors determining the establishment success of propagules after dispersal is lacking.
Recent spatially explicit models of seed dispersal by waterbirds should be expanded to include invertebrate dispersal, and to compare multiple bird species in the same landscape. Network approaches have been applied to plant–waterbird dispersal interactions, and these are needed for invertebrates. Genetic studies support effective LDD of plants and invertebrates along waterbird flyways, but there remains a lack of examples at a local scale. Next Generation Sequencing and genomics should be applied to waterbird‐mediated dispersal across the landscape. More studies of biogeography, community ecology, or population genetics should integrate waterbird movements at the design stage.
Zoochory research has paid little attention to the dispersal of non‐pathogenic microbes (both eukaryotic and prokaryotic). Nevertheless, there is evidence that dispersal via avian guts can be central to the connectivity of aquatic microbial metacommunities. More work on microbial dispersal by waterbirds should explore its implications for biogeochemistry, and the interchange with gut flora of other aquatic organisms. In the Anthropocene, the role of migratory waterbirds in LDD of plants and other organisms is particularly important, for example in compensating for loss of large migratory mammals and fish, allowing native species to adjust their distributions under global warming, and spreading alien species along flyways after their initial introductions by human vectors. Recent technological advances have opened exciting opportunities that should be fully exploited to further our understanding of dispersal by waterbirds.
We present a search for very high-energy gamma-ray emission from the Northern Fermi Bubble region using data collected with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov gamma-ray observatory. The size of the ...data set is 290 days. No significant excess is observed in the Northern Fermi Bubble region, so upper limits above 1 TeV are calculated. The upper limits are between and . The upper limits disfavor a proton injection spectrum that extends beyond 100 TeV without being suppressed. They also disfavor a hadronic injection spectrum derived from neutrino measurements.
The standard model of particle physics
describes the known fundamental particles and forces that make up our Universe, with the exception of gravity. One of the central features of the standard model ...is a field that permeates all of space and interacts with fundamental particles
. The quantum excitation of this field, known as the Higgs field, manifests itself as the Higgs boson, the only fundamental particle with no spin. In 2012, a particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson of the standard model was observed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
. Since then, more than 30 times as many Higgs bosons have been recorded by the ATLAS experiment, enabling much more precise measurements and new tests of the theory. Here, on the basis of this larger dataset, we combine an unprecedented number of production and decay processes of the Higgs boson to scrutinize its interactions with elementary particles. Interactions with gluons, photons, and W and Z bosons-the carriers of the strong, electromagnetic and weak forces-are studied in detail. Interactions with three third-generation matter particles (bottom (b) and top (t) quarks, and tau leptons (τ)) are well measured and indications of interactions with a second-generation particle (muons, μ) are emerging. These tests reveal that the Higgs boson discovered ten years ago is remarkably consistent with the predictions of the theory and provide stringent constraints on many models of new phenomena beyond the standard model.
Thermal pasteurization is a well known and old technique for reducing the microbial count of foods. Traditional thermal processing, however, can destroy heat-sensitive nutrients and food product ...qualities such as flavor, color and texture. For more than 2 decades now, the use of high-pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) has been proposed as an alternative cold pasteurization technique for foods. This method presents some fundamental advantages related to the mild conditions employed, particularly because it allows processing at much lower temperature than the ones used in thermal pasteurization. In spite of intensified research efforts the last couple of years, the HPCD preservation technique has not yet been implemented on a large scale by the food industry until now. This review presents a survey of published knowledge concerning the HPCD technique for microbial inactivation, and addresses issues of the technology such as the mechanism of carbon dioxide bactericidal action, the potential for inactivating vegetative cells and bacterial spores, and the regulatory hurdles which need to be overcome. In addition, the review also reflects on the opportunities and especially the current drawbacks of the HPCD technique for the food industry.
Abstract
The highest-energy known gamma-ray sources are all located within 0.°5 of extremely powerful pulsars. This raises the question of whether ultra-high-energy (UHE; >56 TeV) gamma-ray emission ...is a universal feature expected near pulsars with a high spin-down power. Using four years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory, we present a joint-likelihood analysis of 10 extremely powerful pulsars to search for subthreshold UHE gamma-ray emission correlated with these locations. We report a significant detection (>3
σ
), indicating that UHE gamma-ray emission is a generic feature of powerful pulsars. We discuss the emission mechanisms of the gamma rays and the implications of this result. The individual environment, such as the magnetic field and particle density in the surrounding area, appears to play a role in the amount of emission.
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