Here, we report preliminary estimates of the column averaged carbon dioxide (CO2) dry air mole fraction, XCO2, retrieved from spectra recorded over land by the Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite, ...GOSAT (nicknamed "Ibuki"), using retrieval methods originally developed for the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission. After screening for clouds and other known error sources, these retrievals reproduce much of the expected structure in the global XCO2 field, including its variation with latitude and season. However, low yields of retrieved XCO2 over persistently cloudy areas and ice covered surfaces at high latitudes limit the coverage of some geographic regions, even on seasonal time scales. Comparisons of early GOSAT XCO2 retrievals with XCO2 estimates from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) revealed a global, −2% (7–8 parts per million, ppm, with respect to dry air) XCO2 bias and 2 to 3 times more variance in the GOSAT retrievals. About half of the global XCO2 bias is associated with a systematic, 1% overestimate in the retrieved air mass, first identified as a global +10 hPa bias in the retrieved surface pressure. This error has been attributed to errors in the O2 A-band absorption cross sections. Much of the remaining bias and spurious variance in the GOSAT XCO2 retrievals has been traced to uncertainties in the instrument's calibration, oversimplified methods for generating O2 and CO2 absorption cross sections, and other subtle errors in the implementation of the retrieval algorithm. Many of these deficiencies have been addressed in the most recent version (Build 2.9) of the retrieval algorithm, which produces negligible bias in XCO2 on global scales as well as a ~30% reduction in variance. Comparisons with TCCON measurements indicate that regional scale biases remain, but these could be reduced by applying empirical corrections like those described by Wunch et al. (2011b). We recommend that such corrections be applied before these data are used in source sink inversion studies to minimize spurious fluxes associated with known biases. These and other lessons learned from the analysis of GOSAT data are expected to accelerate the delivery of high quality data products from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), once that satellite is successfully launched and inserted into orbit.
The European Collaborative Interspecific Backcross (EUCIB) resource was constructed for the purposes of high-resolution genetic mapping of the mouse genome (). The large Mus spretus/C57BL/6 backcross ...of 982 progeny has a genetic resolution of 0.3 cM at the 95% confidence level ( approximately 500 kb in the mouse genome). We have used the EUCIB mapping resource to develop a genome-wide high-resolution genetic map incorporating 3368 microsatellites. The microsatellites are distributed among 2302 genetically separated bins with 1.46 markers per bin on average. Average bin separation is 0.61 cM. This high-resolution genetic map will aid the construction of a robust physical map of the mouse genome.
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is a cell surface enzyme that initiates the cleavage of extracellular glutathione, thereby providing the cell with the amino acids necessary for increased ...synthesis of glutathione. GGT is induced in ovarian tumor cell lines selected in vitro for resistance to cisplatin. No study has examined GGT expression in primary human ovarian tumors. We analyzed frozen sections of 80 normal human ovaries and 56 ovarian tumors for expression of GGT. Histochemical staining showed that GGT was not expressed in the cells of the follicle or surface germinal epithelium of the normal ovary. GGT was expressed in some epithelial inclusion glands and occasionally in a small subset of stromal cells. Granulosa-stromal cell tumors were largely GGT-negative. In contrast, GGT-positive neoplastic cells were observed in 33 of 45 common epithelial ovarian tumors. None of the patients had been treated with chemotherapy. Some of the tumors had only rare GGT-positive cells, while others consisted almost entirely of GGT-positive cells. Among the low malignant potential and invasive tumors, at least one-half of the cells were GGT-positive in 6 of 9 serous borderline tumors (2 with mucinous foci), 0 of 1 borderline mucinous tumor, 3 of 12 serous papillary carcinomas, 2 of 3 mucinous carcinomas, 1 of 2 endometrioid carcinomas, 2 of 2 clear cell carcinomas, 0 of 2 transitional cell carcinomas, and 4 of 5 undifferentiated carcinomas. There was no correlation between the stage of the tumor and GGT expression, indicating that a GGT-negative tumor does not become GGT-positive as it progresses to a more widely disseminated lesion. In addition, there was no correlation between serum levels of CA 125 and GGT expression. These data show that GGT is expressed in many common ovarian epithelial neoplasms. We are currently following the response of these patients to chemotherapy to determine if expression of GGT serves as a marker for identifying neoplasms with enhanced resistance to platinum-based therapy.
We report the observation of the b-->d penguin-dominated decay B;{0}-->K;{*0}Kover ;{*0} with a sample of 383.2+/-4.2 million BBover pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II ...asymmetric-energy e;{+}e;{-} collider at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The measured branching fraction is B(B;{0}-->K;{*0}Kover ;{*0})=1.28_{-0.30};{+0.35}+/-0.11x10;{-6} and the fraction of longitudinal polarization is f_{L}(B;{0}-->K;{*0}Kover ;{*0})=0.80_{-0.12};{+0.10}+/-0.06. The first error quoted is statistical and the second systematic. We also obtain an upper limit at the 90% confidence level on the branching fraction for B(B;{0}-->K;{*0}K;{*0})<0.41x10;{-6}.
A search for pair-produced sfermions, the scalar supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model fermions, under the assumption that R-parity is not conserved has been performed using data collected ...with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of \(\sqrt{s} = 189\hbox{--}209\) GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle is expected to be unstable. Searches for R-parity violating decays of charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of leptons, jets, or both, with or without missing energy. No significant signal-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard Model expectations. Limits on the production cross-sections of sfermions in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
To evaluate whether diet may influence the incidence of hormone-dependent cancers through an effect on blood estrogen and androgen concentrations, we analyzed diet-blood hormone relations in a ...cross-sectional study. Dietary energy, fat, and fiber intakes were estimated from 7-d food records completed by 90 premenopausal women on days 14–20 of their menstrual cycles. Fasting blood specimens were collected on days 5–7, 12–15, and 21–23 of each participant’s cycle and pooled to create follicular-, midcycle-, and luteal-phase samples, respectively, for analysis. Energy intake was associated inversely with plasma androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), averaged across the three menstrual cycle phases, and directly with the probability of a luteal-phase rise in progesterone. For each additional 1 MJ (239 kcal) consumed, androstenedione decreased by 6.0% (95% CI: -8.4%, -3.6%), DHEAS decreased by 5.1% (95% CI: -9.6%, -0.4%), and the probability of a progesterone rise increased by 60% (95% CI: 5%, 145%). After energy intake was adjusted for, the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat (P:S) in the diet was significantly inversely associated with plasma estradiol and estrone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. For each 0.1 increment in the P:S, there was a 7.6% (95% CI: -14.3%, -0.5%) decrease in estradiol and a 6.8% (95% CI: -12.7%, -0.6%) decrease in estrone. Results of this cross-sectional study support a relation between both energy and fat ingestion and plasma sex hormone concentrations in premenopausal women.
We report a measurement of the time-dependent CP-asymmetry parameters S and C in color-suppressed B{0}-->D{(*)0}h{0} decays, where h{0} is a pi{0}, eta, or omega meson, and the decays to one of the ...CP eigenstates K+K-, K{S}{0}pi{0}, or K{S}{0}omega. The data sample consists of 383 x 10{6} Upsilon(4S)-->BB decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. The results are S=-0.56+/-0.23+/-0.05 and C=-0.23+/-0.16+/-0.04, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic.
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy with few effective therapies. We performed exome sequencing and copy number analysis to define genomic aberrations in a prospectively accrued clinical ...cohort (n = 142) of early (stage I and II) sporadic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Detailed analysis of 99 informative tumours identified substantial heterogeneity with 2,016 non-silent mutations and 1,628 copy-number variations. We define 16 significantly mutated genes, reaffirming known mutations (KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, SMAD4, MLL3, TGFBR2, ARID1A and SF3B1), and uncover novel mutated genes including additional genes involved in chromatin modification (EPC1 and ARID2), DNA damage repair (ATM) and other mechanisms (ZIM2, MAP2K4, NALCN, SLC16A4 and MAGEA6). Integrative analysis with in vitro functional data and animal models provided supportive evidence for potential roles for these genetic aberrations in carcinogenesis. Pathway-based analysis of recurrently mutated genes recapitulated clustering in core signalling pathways in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and identified new mutated genes in each pathway. We also identified frequent and diverse somatic aberrations in genes described traditionally as embryonic regulators of axon guidance, particularly SLIT/ROBO signalling, which was also evident in murine Sleeping Beauty transposon-mediated somatic mutagenesis models of pancreatic cancer, providing further supportive evidence for the potential involvement of axon guidance genes in pancreatic carcinogenesis. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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