We present a power spectrum analysis of the Herschel-SPIRE observations of the Polaris flare, a high Galactic latitude cirrus cloud midway between the diffuse and molecular phases. The SPIRE images ...of the Polaris flare reveal for the first time the structure of the diffuse interstellar medium down to 0.01 parsec over a 10 square degrees region. These exceptional observations highlight the highly filamentary and clumpy structure of the interstellar medium even in diffuse regions of the map. The power spectrum analysis shows that the structure of the interstellar medium is well described by a single power law with an exponent of -2.7±0.1 at all scales from 30” to 8°. That the power spectrum slope of the dust emission is constant down to the SPIRE angular resolution is an indication that the inertial range of turbulence extends down to the 0.01 pc scale. The power spectrum analysis also allows the identification of a Poissonian component at sub-arcminute scales in agreement with predictions of the cosmic infrared background level at SPIRE wavelengths. Finally, the comparison of the SPIRE and IRAS 100 μm data of the Polaris flare clearly assesses the capability of SPIRE in maping diffuse emission over large areas.
We use Herschel Space Observatory data to place observational constraints on the peak and Rayleigh-Jeans slope of dust emission observed at 70–500 μm in the nearby spiral galaxy M81. We find that the ...ratios of wave bands between 160 and 500 μm are primarily dependent on radius but that the ratio of 70 to 160 μm emission shows no clear dependence on surface brightness or radius. These results along with analyses of the spectral energy distributions imply that the 160–500 μm emission traces 15–30 K dust heated by evolved stars in the bulge and disc whereas the 70 μm emission includes dust heated by the active galactic nucleus and young stars in star forming regions.
A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) survey was conducted in a densely built-up area to generate a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) to look for active faults. The urban district of ...Matsumoto City in central Japan is located in a 3-km
2 basin along the Itoigawa–Shizuoka Tectonic Line active fault system, one of Japanese onshore fault systems with the highest earthquake probability. A high-resolution DEM at a 0.5-m-grid interval was obtained after removing the effects of laser returns from buildings, clouds and vegetation. It revealed a continuous scarp, up to ~
2 m in height. Borehole data and archaeological studies indicate the scarp was formed during the most recent faulting event associated with historical earthquakes. In addition, the fault scarp strongly supports that the urban district is in a pull-apart basin related to a fault step-over between two left-lateral strike-slip faults. Consequently, accurate interpretation of fault geometry is crucial to provide estimates of future surface deformation and to allow modeling of basin structure and strong ground motion. Thus, the LiDAR mapping survey in urban districts is effective for detailed active fault mapping in order to constrain basin structure and to forecast the exact location of surface rupturing associated with large earthquakes.
A new application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the high-speed charge-to-time converter (QTC) IWATSU CLC101, provides three channels, each consisting of preamplifier, discriminator, low-pass ...filter, and charge integration circuitry, optimized for the waveform of a photomultiplier tube (PMT). This ASIC detects PMT signals using individual built-in discriminators and drives output timing signals whose width represents the integrated charge of the PMT signal. Combined with external input circuits composed of passive elements, the QTC provides full analog signal processing for the detector's PMTs, ready for further processing by time-to-digital converters (TDCs). High-rate
(
>
1
MHz
)
signal processing is achieved by short-charge-conversion-time and baseline-restoration circuits. Wide-range charge measurements are enabled by offering three gain ranges while maintaining a short cycle time. QTC chip test results show good analog performance, with efficient detection for a single photoelectron signal, four orders of magnitude dynamic range
(
0.3
mV
∼
3
V
;
0.2
∼
2500
pC
), 1% charge linearity, 0.2
pC charge resolution, and 0.1
ns timing resolution. Test results on ambient temperature dependence, channel isolation, and rate dependence also meet specifications.
Aims/hypothesis
Despite advances in pharmacological treatments, diabetes with hypertension continues to be a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality rates. We recently ...identified a circulating peptide coupling factor 6 (CF6), which binds to the plasma membrane ATP synthase (ecto-F
1
F
o
complex), resulting in intracellular acidosis. We investigated whether overexpression of CF6 contributes to diabetes and hypertension by intracellular acidosis.
Methods
Transgenic mice overexpressing
CF6
(also known as
ATP5J
) were generated, and physiological, biochemical and molecular biology studies were performed.
Results
CF6 overexpression elicited a sustained decrease in intracellular pH in tissues (aorta, kidney, skeletal muscle and liver, with the exception of adipose tissue) that express its receptor, the β-subunit of ecto-F
1
F
o
complex. Consistent with the receptor distribution, phospho-insulin receptor β, phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity and the phospho-Akt1:total Akt1 ratio were all decreased in the skeletal muscle and the liver in transgenic compared with wild-type mice, resulting in a decrease of plasma membrane-bound GLUT4 and an increase in hepatic glucose production. Under a high-sucrose diet, transgenic mice had insulin resistance and mild glucose intolerance; under a high-salt diet, they had elevated blood pressure with increased renal RAS-related C3 botulinum substrate 1 (RAC1)-GTP, which is an activator of mineralocorticoid receptor.
Conclusions/interpretation
Through its action on the β-subunit of ecto-F
1
F
o
complex, which results in intracellular acidosis, CF6 plays a crucial role in the development of insulin resistance and hypertension. This finding might advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying diabetes and hypertension, possibly also providing a novel therapeutic target against cardiovascular disease.
GOODS-ALMA: 1.1 mm galaxy survey Franco, M.; Elbaz, D.; Béthermin, M. ...
Astronomy & astrophysics,
12/2018, Letnik:
620
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Aims. We present a 69 arcmin2 ALMA survey at 1.1 mm, GOODS-ALMA, matching the deepest HST-WFC3 H-band part of the GOODS-South field. Methods. We tapered the 0″24 original image with a homogeneous and ...circular synthesized beam of 0″60 to reduce the number of independent beams – thus reducing the number of purely statistical spurious detections – and optimize the sensitivity to point sources. We extracted a catalog of galaxies purely selected by ALMA and identified sources with and without HST counterparts down to a 5σ limiting depth of H = 28.2 AB (HST/WFC3 F160W). Results. ALMA detects 20 sources brighter than 0.7 mJy at 1.1 mm in the 0″60 tapered mosaic (rms sensitivity σ ≃ 0.18 mJy beam−1) with a purity greater than 80%. Among these detections, we identify three sources with no HST nor Spitzer-IRAC counterpart, consistent with the expected number of spurious galaxies from the analysis of the inverted image; their definitive status will require additional investigation. We detect additional three sources with HST counterparts either at high significance in the higher resolution map, or with different detection-algorithm parameters ensuring a purity greater than 80%. Hence we identify in total 20 robust detections. Conclusions. Our wide contiguous survey allows us to push further in redshift the blind detection of massive galaxies with ALMA with a median redshift of z = 2.92 and a median stellar mass of M⋆ = 1.1 × 1011 M⊙. Our sample includes 20% HST-dark galaxies (4 out of 20), all detected in the mid-infrared with Spitzer-IRAC. The near-infrared based photometric redshifts of two of them (z ∼ 4.3 and 4.8) suggest that these sources have redshifts z > 4. At least 40% of the ALMA sources host an X-ray AGN, compared to ∼14% for other galaxies of similar mass and redshift. The wide area of our ALMA survey provides lower values at the bright end of number counts than single-dish telescopes affected by confusion.
Summary
We conducted a placebo‐controlled, cross‐over trial to examine the effect of Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) on natural killer (NK) cell activity in humans. NK cell activity exhibited a ...declining trend during the period of placebo ingestion, but NK cell activity increased after intake for 3 weeks of fermented milk containing 4 × 1010 live LcS. When human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured in the presence of heat‐killed LcS, NK cell activity was enhanced. The ability of LcS to enhance NK cell activity and induce interleukin (IL)‐12 production was correlated, and the addition of anti‐IL‐12 monoclonal antibody reduced the enhancement of NK cell activity triggered by LcS. In addition, separation of NK cells from LcS‐stimulated monocytes with membrane filter reduced NK cell activity to the intermediate level and almost deprived monocytes of the ability to produce IL‐12. These results demonstrate that LcS can enhance NK cell activity in vivo and in vitro in humans, and IL‐12 may be responsible for enhancement of NK cell activity triggered by LcS.
We investigate the dust associated with the supernova remnant (SNR) N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) as observed with the Herschel Space Observatory. N49 is unusually bright because of an ...interaction with a molecular cloud along its eastern edge. We have used PACS and SPIRE to measure the far IR flux densities of the entire SNR and of a bright region on the eastern edge of the SNR where the SNR shock is encountering the molecular cloud. Using these fluxes supplemented with archival data at shorter wavelengths, we estimate the dust mass associated with N49 to be about 10 $M_{\odot}$. The bulk of the dust in our simple two-component model has a temperature of 20–30 K, similar to that of nearby molecular clouds. Unfortunately, as a result of the limited angular resolution of Herschel at the wavelengths sampled with SPIRE, the uncertainties are fairly large. Assuming this estimate of the dust mass associated with the SNR is approximately correct, it is probable that most of the dust in the SNR arises from regions where the shock speed is too low to produce significant X-ray emission. The total amount of warm 50–60 K dust is ~0.1 or 0.4 $M_{\odot}$, depending on whether the dust is modeled in terms of carbonaceous or silicate grains. This provides a firm lower limit to the amount of shock heated dust in N49.
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