The so-called star-forming main sequence of galaxies is the apparent tight relationship between the star formation rate and stellar mass of a galaxy. Many studies exclude galaxies which are not ...strictly ‘star forming’ from the main sequence, because they do not lie on the same tight relation. Using local galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have classified galaxies according to their emission line ratios, and studied their location on the star formation rate–stellar mass plane. We find that galaxies form a sequence from the ‘blue cloud’ galaxies which are actively forming stars, through a combination of composite, Seyfert, and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxies, ending as ‘red-and-dead’ galaxies. The sequence supports an evolutionary pathway for galaxies in which star formation quenching by active galactic nuclei plays a key role.
Variance and covariance components of growth and production traits were analyzed employing REML animal model to assess the Dahlem Red (PD-3) chicken population for direct additive genetic, maternal ...effects and to estimate the estimated breeding value (EBV), genetic parameters, genetic trends and rate of inbreeding (ΔF) utilizing seven generation's data. The generation and hatch had significant (P≤0.01) effect on the body weight at 0 day (BW0), 2 (BW2), 4 (BW4) and 6 weeks (BW6) and shank length at six weeks of age (SL6). The average least squares means (LSM) for BW6 and SL6 were 273.93±0.62 g and 53.97±0.05 mm, respectively. All the production traits were significantly (P≤0.01) influenced by generation and hatch. The average LSM for age at sexual maturity (ASM), egg production up to 40 weeks (EP40) and egg mass up to 40 weeks (EM40) were 168.82±0.25 d, 72.60±0.41 eggs and 4.21±0.07 kg, respectively. Model 5 with additive direct, maternal genetic, maternal permanent environmental and residual variance components was the best for BW0, BW2 and BW4 based on the AIC values obtained in WOMBAT. Model 4 was the best model for BW6, SL6, ASM, EP40 and EM40 with additive direct, maternal permanent environmental and residual variance components. Maternal effects were higher during early age, decreased with age, and remained present until 20 weeks of age. The heritability (h2) estimates were low to moderate in magnitude for all the growth traits and ranged from 0.02±0.03 to 0.19±0.03. The maternal heritability was high at hatch (0.35±0.06), decreased gradually until 4th week (0.02±0.01) and ceased afterwards. The heritabilities of EP40 (0.11±0.03) and EM40 (0.12±0.04) were low. The direct additive genetic correlations (ra) between BW2, BW4, BW6 and SL6 were high and positive (P≤ 0.05). The additive genetic and maternal permanent environmental correlation between EP40 and EM40 were high and positive (P≤ 0.05). The EBV of EM40 was significant (P≤ 0.05) with 0.48 kg/generation in PD-3 chicken at the end of the seventh generation. The EBV of EP40 showed an increasing trend with a genetic gain of 1.87 eggs per generation. The average inbreeding coefficient of the population was 0.019 and average ΔF was 0.007 over the last seven generations of selection. The EBV trends for primary and associated traits showed linear trends in the desired direction and negligible inbreeding.
Proper variance partitioning and estimation of genetic parameters at appropriate time interval is crucial for understanding the dynamics of trait variance and genetic correlations and for deciding ...the future breeding strategy of the population. This study was conducted on the same premise to estimate genetic parameters of major economic traits in a White Leghorn strain IWH using Bayesian approach and to identify the role of maternal effects in the regulation of trait variance. Three different models incorporating the direct additive effect (Model 1), direct additive and maternal genetic effect (Model 2) and direct additive, maternal genetic and maternal permanent environmental effects (Model 3) were tried to estimate the genetic parameters for body weight traits (birth weight, body weight at 16, 20, 40 and 52 weeks), Age at sexual maturity (ASM), egg production traits (egg production up to 24, 28, 40, 52, 64 and 72 weeks) and egg weight traits (egg weight at 28, 40 and 52 weeks). Model 2 and Model 3 with maternal effects were found to be the best having the highest accuracy for almost all the traits. The direct additive genetic heritability was moderate for ASM, moderate to high for body weight traits and egg weight traits and low to moderate for egg production traits. Though the maternal heritability (h.sup.2 .sub.mat) and permanent environmental effect (c.sup.2 .sub.mpe) was low (<0.1) for most of the traits, they formed an important component of trait variance. Traits like egg weight at 28 weeks (0.14±0.06) and egg production at 72 weeks (0.13±0.07) reported comparatively higher values for c.sup.2 .sub.mpe and h.sup.2 .sub.mat respectively. Additive genetic correlation was high and positive between body weight traits, between egg weight traits, between consecutive egg production traits and between body weight and egg weight traits. However, a negative genetic correlation existed between egg production and egg weight traits, egg production and body weight traits, ASM and early egg production traits. Overall, a moderate positive genetic correlation was estimated between ASM and body weight traits and ASM and egg weight traits. Based on our findings, we can deduce that maternal effects constitute an important source of variation for all the major economic traits in White Leghorn and should be necessarily considered in genetic evaluation programs.
The AP1 transcription factor Batf3 is required for homeostatic development of CD8α(+) classical dendritic cells that prime CD8 T-cell responses against intracellular pathogens. Here we identify an ...alternative, Batf3-independent pathway in mice for CD8α(+) dendritic cell development operating during infection with intracellular pathogens and mediated by the cytokines interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-γ. This alternative pathway results from molecular compensation for Batf3 provided by the related AP1 factors Batf, which also functions in T and B cells, and Batf2 induced by cytokines in response to infection. Reciprocally, physiological compensation between Batf and Batf3 also occurs in T cells for expression of IL-10 and CTLA4. Compensation among BATF factors is based on the shared capacity of their leucine zipper domains to interact with non-AP1 factors such as IRF4 and IRF8 to mediate cooperative gene activation. Conceivably, manipulating this alternative pathway of dendritic cell development could be of value in augmenting immune responses to vaccines.
Abstract
Attempts to trace star formation with rest-frame UV/optical observations at redshifts
z
> 2 are affected by the presence of potentially substantial, yet uncertain, dust attenuation. Recent ...studies have demonstrated the existence of a population of galaxies that are virtually invisible in the observed optical/near-infrared (NIR) due to dust obscuration, but which could contribute substantially to the star formation history at 2 <
z
< 6. Here, we make use of ultradeep 3 GHz Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations from the COSMOS-XS survey to investigate the contribution 20of radio-selected “optically dark” galaxies (undetected to a depth of
K
S
∼ 25.9 mag) to the cosmic star formation rate density (SFRD). We identify 19 such “optically dark” sources and utilize recent deblended far-infrared photometry to determine photometric redshifts based on IR and radio information for 11 of them. Through stacking, we infer that the remaining eight sources reside predominantly at high redshift (
z
> 4). Therefore, we conservatively assume these sources lie between
z
= 2 and
z
= 5. We derive the radio luminosity function (LF) for the sample with and without “optically dark” sources by fixing the faint and bright end shape of the radio LF to the local values and allowing for luminosity evolution. By integrating both LFs, we estimate the contribution of the “optically dark” galaxies to the radio SFRD to be
∼
15
−
7
+
7
%
at
z
∼ 5. This is consistent with constraints from NIR-dark and UV-dark sources, while being in disagreement with some estimates using
H
-dropouts. This result implies that “optically dark” sources play a nonnegligible role at high redshift.
Longer-term effects of prolonged selective interleukin-1β blockade with canakinumab were evaluated in the largest cohort of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) patients studied to date.
...Adult and paediatric CAPS patients (n=166, including canakinumab-naive and pretreated patients from previous studies) received canakinumab subcutaneously 150 mg or 2 mg/kg (≤40 kg) every 8 weeks for up to 2 years. Response and relapse was assessed using scores for disease activity, skin rash and C-reactive protein (CRP) and/or serum amyloid A (SAA) levels.
Complete response was achieved in 85 of 109 canakinumab-naive patients (78%; 79/85 patients within 8 days, and five patients between days 10 and 21). Of 141 patients with an available relapse assessment, 90% did not relapse, their CRP/SAA levels normalised (<10 mg/l) by day 8, and remained in the normal range thereafter. Median treatment duration was 414 days (29-687 days). Upward adjustments of dose or frequency were needed in 24.1% patients; mostly children and those with severe CAPS. Predominant adverse events (AE) were infections (65.7%) of mostly mild-to-moderate severity. Serious AE reported in 18 patients (10.8%) were mainly infections and were responsive to standard treatment. The majority of patients (92%) reported having no injection-site reactions and only 8% patients reported mild-to-moderate reactions. Patients receiving vaccination (15%) showed normal immune response.
Subcutaneous canakinumab 150 mg every 8 weeks was well tolerated and provided substantial disease control in children and adults across all CAPS phenotypes. Higher canakinumab doses in younger patients and more severe CAPS disease were efficacious in achieving complete responses without evidence of increased AE.
NCT00685373 (clinicaltrials.gov).
More than 20 genetic loci have been associated with risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but reported genome-wide significant loci do not account for all the estimated heritability and provide little ...information about underlying biological mechanisms. Genetic studies using intermediate quantitative traits such as biomarkers, or endophenotypes, benefit from increased statistical power to identify variants that may not pass the stringent multiple test correction in case–control studies. Endophenotypes also contain additional information helpful for identifying variants and genes associated with other aspects of disease, such as rate of progression or onset, and provide context to interpret the results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We conducted GWAS of amyloid beta (Aβ
42
), tau, and phosphorylated tau (ptau
181
) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 3146 participants across nine studies to identify novel variants associated with AD. Five genome-wide significant loci (two novel) were associated with ptau
181
, including loci that have also been associated with AD risk or brain-related phenotypes. Two novel loci associated with Aβ
42
near
GLIS1
on 1p32.3 (
β
= −0.059,
P
= 2.08 × 10
−8
) and within
SERPINB1
on 6p25 (
β
= −0.025,
P
= 1.72 × 10
−8
) were also associated with AD risk (
GLIS1
: OR = 1.105,
P
= 3.43 × 10
−2
), disease progression (
GLIS1
:
β
= 0.277,
P
= 1.92 × 10
−2
), and age at onset (
SERPINB1
:
β
= 0.043,
P
= 4.62 × 10
−3
). Bioinformatics indicate that the intronic
SERPINB1
variant (rs316341) affects expression of
SERPINB1
in various tissues, including the hippocampus, suggesting that
SERPINB1
influences AD through an Aβ-associated mechanism. Analyses of known AD risk loci suggest
CLU
and
FERMT2
may influence CSF Aβ
42
(
P
= 0.001 and
P
= 0.009, respectively) and the
INPP5D
locus may affect ptau
181
levels
(P
= 0.009); larger studies are necessary to verify these results. Together the findings from this study can be used to inform future AD studies.
Thrombectomy for large-vessel-occlusion stroke is a highly impactful treatment. The spread of coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) across the United States and the globe impacts access to this crucial ...intervention through widespread societal and institutional changes. In this document, we review the implications of COVID-19 on the emergency care of large-vessel occlusion stroke, reviewing specific infection-control recommendations, available literature, existing resources, and expert consensus. As a population, patients with large-vessel occlusion stroke face unique challenges during pandemics. These are broad in scope. Responses to these challenges through adaptation of stroke systems of care and with imaging, thrombectomy, and postprocedural care are detailed. Preservation of access to thrombectomy must be prioritized for its public health impact. While the extent of required changes will vary by region, tiered planning for both escalation and de-escalation of measures must be a part of each practice. In addition, preparations described serve as templates in the event of future pandemics.
We present a novel method for estimating galaxy physical properties from spectral energy distributions (SEDs) as an alternative to template fitting techniques and based on self-organizing maps (SOMs) ...to learn the high-dimensional manifold of a photometric galaxy catalog. The method has previously been tested with hydrodynamical simulations in Davidzon et al. (2019, MNRAS, 489, 4817), however, here it is applied to real data for the first time. It is crucial for its implementation to build the SOM with a high-quality panchromatic data set, thus we selected “COSMOS2020” galaxy catalog for this purpose. After the training and calibration steps with COSMOS2020, other galaxies can be processed through SOMs to obtain an estimate of their stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR). Both quantities resulted in a good agreement with independent measurements derived from more extended photometric baseline and, in addition, their combination (i.e., the SFR vs. stellar mass diagram) shows a main sequence of star-forming galaxies that is consistent with the findings of previous studies. We discuss the advantages of this method compared to traditional SED fitting, highlighting the impact of replacing the usual synthetic templates with a collection of empirical SEDs built by the SOM in a “data-driven” way. Such an approach also allows, even for extremely large data sets, for an efficient visual inspection to identify photometric errors or peculiar galaxy types. While also considering the computational speed of this new estimator, we argue that it will play a valuable role in the analysis of oncoming large-area surveys such as
Euclid
of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time at the
Vera C. Rubin
Telescope.
Summary
Objective
To determine whether sclerostin is associated with fasting glucose, insulin levels, insulin resistance or increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes.
Background
Type 2 diabetic ...patients have a higher risk of fractures. Recent studies suggest sclerostin, a regulator of osteoblast activity, is associated with diabetes.
Materials and methods
Sclerostin levels were obtained from 1778 individuals with no history of type 2 diabetes participating in the population‐based Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos) cohort. Participants were followed until diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, death or end of the study period (31 December 2013). The relationship of sclerostin with fasting glucose, insulin levels and homoeostatic model assessment‐insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) was studied in linear regression models. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the association of sclerostin levels and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes during a mean 7·5 years of follow‐up.
Results
Fasting glucose, fasting insulin levels and HOMA‐IR were weakly correlated with sclerostin levels (Spearman's correlation coefficient: 0·11, P < 0·05; −0·09, P < 0·05; and −0·07, P = 0·02, respectively). Multiple linear regression analyses confirmed a significant association between sclerostin and fasting insulin and HOMA‐IR but no significant association with fasting glucose levels. Sclerostin levels were not found to be significantly associated with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes (HR: 1·30; 95% CI: 0·37–4·57).
Conclusions
We observed an association between sclerostin levels with fasting insulin levels and HOMA‐IR, but there was no clear association with type 2 diabetes risk. Further studies are needed to understand the role of sclerostin in type 2 diabetes.
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