The Cluster-EAGLE project: Velocity bias and the velocity dispersion-mass relation of cluster galaxies

We use the Cluster-EAGLE simulations to explore the velocity bias introduced when using galaxies, rather than dark matter particles, to estimate the velocity dispersion of a galaxy cluster, a property known to be tightly correlated with cluster mass. The simulations consist of 30 clusters spanning a mass range 14.0 ≤ log 10 (M 200 c /M ⊙ ) ≤ 15.4, with their sophisticated subgrid physics modelling and high numerical resolution (subkpc gravitational softening), making them ideal for this purpose. We find that selecting galaxies by their total mass results in a velocity dispersion that is 5-10 per cent higher than the dark matter particles. However, selecting galaxies by their stellar mass results in an almost unbiased ( < 5 per cent) estimator of the velocity dispersion. This result holds out to z = 1.5 and is relatively insensitive to the choice of cluster aperture, varying by less than 5 per cent between r 500 c and r 200m . We show that the velocity bias is a function of the time spent by a galaxy inside the cluster environment. Selecting galaxies by their total mass results in a larger bias because a larger fraction of objects have only recently entered the cluster and these have a velocity bias above unity. Galaxies that entered more than 4 Gyr ago become progressively colder with time, as expected from dynamical friction. We conclude that velocity bias should not be a major issue when estimating cluster masses from kinematic methods

Multilevel ultrafast flexible nanoscale nonvolatile hybrid graphene oxide-titanium oxide memories

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Graphene oxide (GO) resistive memories offer the promise of low-cost environmentally sustainable fabrication, high mechanical flexibility and high optical transparency, making them ideally suited to future flexible and transparent electronics applications. However, the dimensional and temporal scalability of GO memories, i.e., how small they can be made and how fast they can be switched, is an area that has received scant attention. Moreover, a plethora of GO resistive switching characteristics and mechanisms has been reported in the literature, sometimes leading to a confusing and conflicting picture. Consequently, the potential for graphene oxide to deliver high-performance memories operating on nanometer length and nanosecond time scales is currently unknown. Here we address such shortcomings, presenting not only the smallest (50 nm), fastest (sub-5 ns), thinnest (8 nm) GO-based memory devices produced to date, but also demonstrate that our approach provides easily accessible multilevel (4-level, 2-bit per cell) storage capabilities along with excellent endurance and retention performance-all on both rigid and flexible substrates. Via comprehensive experimental characterizations backed-up by detailed atomistic simulations, we also show that the resistive switching mechanism in our Pt/GO/Ti/Pt devices is driven by redox reactions in the interfacial region between the top (Ti) electrode and the GO layer.This work was carried out under the auspices of the EU FP7 project CareRAMM. This project received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013) under grant agreement no. 309980. The authors are grateful for helpful discussions with all CareRAMM partners, particularly Prof. Andrea Ferrari and Ms. Anna Ott at the University of Cambridge, and Drs. Abu Sebastian and Wabe Koelmans at IBM Research Zurich. We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the National EPSRC XPS User’s Service (NEXUS) at Newcastle University, U.K. (an EPSRC Mid-Range Facility) in carrying out the XPS measurement

Characterisation and expression of SPLUNC2, the human orthologue of rodent parotid secretory protein

We recently described the Palate Lung Nasal Clone (PLUNC) family of proteins as an extended group of proteins expressed in the upper airways, nose and mouth. Little is known about these proteins, but they are secreted into the airway and nasal lining fluids and saliva where, due to their structural similarity with lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein, they may play a role in the innate immune defence. We now describe the generation and characterisation of novel affinity-purified antibodies to SPLUNC2, and use them to determine the expression of this, the major salivary gland PLUNC. Western blotting showed that the antibodies identified a number of distinct protein bands in saliva, whilst immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated protein expression in serous cells of the major salivary glands and in the ductal lumens as well as in cells of minor mucosal glands. Antibodies directed against distinct epitopes of the protein yielded different staining patterns in both minor and major salivary glands. Using RT-PCR of tissues from the oral cavity, coupled with EST analysis, we showed that the gene undergoes alternative splicing using two 5' non-coding exons, suggesting that the gene is regulated by alternative promoters. Comprehensive RACE analysis using salivary gland RNA as template failed to identify any additional exons. Analysis of saliva showed that SPLUNC2 is subject to N-glycosylation. Thus, our study shows that multiple SPLUNC2 isoforms are found in the oral cavity and suggest that these proteins may be differentially regulated in distinct tissues where they may function in the innate immune response

The age of anxiety? It depends where you look: changes in STAI trait anxiety, 1970–2010

Purpose Population-level surveys suggest that anxiety has been increasing in several nations, including the USA and UK. We sought to verify the apparent anxiety increases by looking for systematic changes in mean anxiety questionnaire scores from research publications. Methods We analyzed all available mean State–Trait Anxiety Inventory scores published between 1970 and 2010. We collected 1703 samples, representing more than 205,000 participants from 57 nations. Results Results showed a significant anxiety increase worldwide, but the pattern was less clear in many individual nations. Our analyses suggest that any increase in anxiety in the USA and Canada may be limited to students, anxiety has decreased in the UK, and has remained stable in Australia. Conclusions Although anxiety may have increased worldwide, it might not be increasing as dramatically as previously thought, except in specific populations, such as North American students. Our results seem to contradict survey results from the USA and UK in particular. We do not claim that our results are more reliable than those of large population surveys. However, we do suggest that mental health surveys and other governmental sources of disorder prevalence data may be partially biased by changing attitudes toward mental health: if respondents are more aware and less ashamed of their anxiety, they are more likely to report it to survey takers. Analyses such as ours provide a useful means of double-checking apparent trends in large population surveys

BPIFB1 (LPLUNC1) is upregulated in cystic fibrosis lung disease

Although the biology the PLUNC (recently renamed BPI fold, BPIF) family of secreted proteins is poorly understood, multiple array based studies have suggested that some are differentially expressed in lung diseases. We have examined the expression of BPIFB1 (LPLUNC1), the prototypic two-domain containing family member, in lungs from CF patients and in mouse models of CF lung disease. BPIFB1 was localized in CF lung samples along with BPIFA1, MUC5AC, CD68 and NE and directly compared to histologically normal lung tissues and that of bacterial pneumonia. We generated novel antibodies to mouse BPIF proteins to conduct similar studies on ENaC transgenic (ENaC-Tg) mice, a model for CF-like lung disease. Small airways in CF demonstrated marked epithelial staining of BPIFB1 in goblet cells but staining was absent from alveolar regions. BPIFA1 and BPIFB1 were not co-localised in the diseased lungs. In ENaC-Tg mice there was strong staining of both proteins in the airways and luminal contents. This was most marked for BPIFB1 and was noted within 2 weeks of birth. The two proteins were present in distinct cells within epithelium. BPIFB1 was readily detected in BAL from ENaC-Tg mice but was absent from wild-type mice. Alterations in the expression of BPIF proteins is associated with CF lung disease in humans and mice. It is unclear if this elevation of protein production, which results from phenotypic alteration of the cells within the diseased epithelium, plays a role in the pathogenesis of the disease

The Hubble Constant

I review the current state of determinations of the Hubble constant, which gives the length scale of the Universe by relating the expansion velocity of objects to their distance. There are two broad categories of measurements. The first uses individual astrophysical objects which have some property that allows their intrinsic luminosity or size to be determined, or allows the determination of their distance by geometric means. The second category comprises the use of all-sky cosmic microwave background, or correlations between large samples of galaxies, to determine information about the geometry of the Universe and hence the Hubble constant, typically in a combination with other cosmological parameters. Many, but not all, object-based measurements give $H_0$ values of around 72-74km/s/Mpc , with typical errors of 2-3km/s/Mpc. This is in mild discrepancy with CMB-based measurements, in particular those from the Planck satellite, which give values of 67-68km/s/Mpc and typical errors of 1-2km/s/Mpc. The size of the remaining systematics indicate that accuracy rather than precision is the remaining problem in a good determination of the Hubble constant. Whether a discrepancy exists, and whether new physics is needed to resolve it, depends on details of the systematics of the object-based methods, and also on the assumptions about other cosmological parameters and which datasets are combined in the case of the all-sky methods.Comment: Extensively revised and updated since the 2007 version: accepted by Living Reviews in Relativity as a major (2014) update of LRR 10, 4, 200

Molecular Characterization of the Gastrula in the Turtle Emys orbicularis: An Evolutionary Perspective on Gastrulation

Due to the presence of a blastopore as in amphibians, the turtle has been suggested to exemplify a transition form from an amphibian- to an avian-type gastrulation pattern. In order to test this hypothesis and gain insight into the emergence of the unique characteristics of amniotes during gastrulation, we have performed the first molecular characterization of the gastrula in a reptile, the turtle Emys orbicularis. The study of Brachyury, Lim1, Otx2 and Otx5 expression patterns points to a highly conserved dynamic of expression with amniote model organisms and makes it possible to identify the site of mesoderm internalization, which is a long-standing issue in reptiles. Analysis of Brachyury expression also highlights the presence of two distinct phases, less easily recognizable in model organisms and respectively characterized by an early ring-shaped and a later bilateral symmetrical territory. Systematic comparisons with tetrapod model organisms lead to new insights into the relationships of the blastopore/blastoporal plate system shared by all reptiles, with the blastopore of amphibians and the primitive streak of birds and mammals. The biphasic Brachyury expression pattern is also consistent with recent models of emergence of bilateral symmetry, which raises the question of its evolutionary significance

Anti-Allergic Cromones Inhibit Histamine and Eicosanoid Release from Activated Human and Murine Mast Cells by Releasing Annexin A1

PMCID: PMC3601088This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Magma hybridization in the middle crust: Possible consequences for deep-crustal magma mixing

The 465 Ma Svarthopen pluton in north-central Norway was emplaced under middle-crustal conditions (∼700 MPa) into metasedimentary rocks of the Helgeland Nappe Complex. The pluton is characterized by zones of mingling and mixing of gabbro/diorite with peraluminous, garnet-bearing biotite granite. Variation in bulk-rock Sr and Nd isotope ratios are consistent with simple mixing; however, nonuniform enrichment of Zr and the rare earth elements (REEs) suggests that individual magma batches underwent postmixing fractionation. Hybrid intermediate rocks are characterized by Carich garnet. Such garnet is absent in possible mafic end members, and garnet in felsic end members is Ca poor. Evidently, the ferroan, peraluminous hybrid rocks promoted garnet stability, and we interpret these garnets to be igneous in origin. Garnets in the hybrids have low Zr contents, positive light REE slopes, and flat to negative heavy REE slopes with lower REE abundances than in typical igneous garnet. These trace-element data combined with textural evidence suggest that garnet formed near the solidus, after fractionation of zircon, allanite, and possibly xenotime. The Svarthopen pluton is not unique: similar intermediate rocks with Ca-rich garnets crop out adjacent to three other plutons in the region. Formation of garnet-bearing hybrid rocks in the Svarthopen pluton provides an analog for mixing of peraluminous and ferroan end-member magmas in the deep crust, where such mixing should be widespread, particularly in continental arcs and zones of continental collision. Postmixing fractionation of hybrid magmas could greatly increase the diversity of major- and trace-element abundances yet retain an isotopic signature of mixing. Moreover, formation of garnet-rich hybrids could result in lower-crustal rocks dense enough to delaminate from the arc crust.publishedVersionOpen Access CC-BY-N