The Presence of Weak Active Galactic Nuclei in High Redshift Star Forming Galaxies

We present [OIII 5007A] observations of the star forming galaxy HDF-BMZ1299 (z=1.598) using Keck Observatory's Adaptive Optics system with the near-infrared integral field spectrograph OSIRIS. Using previous Halpha and [NII] measurements of the same source, we are able for the first time to use spatially resolved observations to place a high-redshift galaxy's substructure on a traditional HII diagnostic diagram. We find that HDF-BMZ1299's spatially concentrated nebular ratios in the central ~1.5 kiloparsec (0."2) are best explained by the presence of an AGN: log([NII]/Halpha)=-0.22+/-0.05 and 2sigma limit of log([OIII]/Hbeta)>0.26. The dominant energy source of this galaxy is star formation, and integrating a single aperture across the galaxy yields nebular ratios that are composite spectra from both AGN and HII regions. The presence of an embedded AGN in HDF-BMZ1299 may suggest a potential contamination in a fraction of other high-redshift star forming galaxies, and we suggest that this may be a source of the "elevated" nebular ratios previously seen in seeing-limited metallicity studies. HDF-BMZ1299's estimated AGN luminosity is L_Halpha = 3.7e41 erg/s and L_[OIII] = 5.8e41 erg/s, making it one of the lowest luminosity AGN discovered at this early epoch.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, ApJ Accepted, new version to be published (updated text, figures, and table

Related flavonoids cause cooperative inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ ATPase by multimode mechanisms.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ogunbayo, O. A., & Michelangeli, F. (2014). Related flavonoids cause cooperative inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase by multimode mechanisms. FEBS Journal, 281(3), 766-777, which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1111/febs.12621. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Flavonoids are group of plant-derived hydroxylated polycyclic molecules found in fruit and vegetables. They are known to bio-accumulate within humans and are considered to have beneficial health effects, including cancer chemoprotection. One mechanism proposed to explain this is that they are able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells by inhibiting a variety of kinases and also the Ca²⁺ ATPase. An investigation was undertaken with respect to the mechanism of inhibition for three flavonoids: quercetin, galangin and 3,6 dihydroxyflavone (3,6-DHF). Each inhibited the Ca²⁺ ATPase with K(i) values of 8.7, 10.3 and 5.4 μM, respectively, showing cooperative inhibition with n ~ 2. Given their similar structures, the flavonoids showed several differences in their mechanisms of inhibition. All three flavonoids stabilized the ATPase in the E₁ conformation and reduced [³²P]-ATP binding. However, both galangin and 3,6-DHF increased the affinity of Ca²⁺ for the ATPase by decreasing the Ca²⁺-dissociation rate constant, whereas quercetin had little effect. Ca²⁺-induced changes in tryptophan fluorescence levels were reduced in the presence of 3,6-DHF and galangin (but not with quercetin), indicating that Ca²⁺-associated changes within the transmembrane helices are altered. Both galangin and quercetin reduced the rates of ATP-dependent phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, whereas 3,6-DHF did not. Modelling studies suggest that flavonoids could potentially bind to two sites: one directly where nucleotides bind within ATP binding site and the other at a site close by. We hypothesize that interactions of these two neighbouring sites may account for both the cooperative inhibition and the multimode mechanisms of action seen with related flavonoids

Automatic correction of hand pointing in stereoscopic depth

In order to examine whether stereoscopic depth information could drive fast automatic correction of hand pointing, an experiment was designed in a 3D visual environment in which participants were asked to point to a target at different stereoscopic depths as quickly and accurately as possible within a limited time window (≤300 ms). The experiment consisted of two tasks: "depthGO" in which participants were asked to point to the new target position if the target jumped, and "depthSTOP" in which participants were instructed to abort their ongoing movements after the target jumped. The depth jump was designed to occur in 20% of the trials in both tasks. Results showed that fast automatic correction of hand movements could be driven by stereoscopic depth to occur in as early as 190 ms.This work was supported by the Grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (60970062 and 61173116) and the Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (20110072110014)

A Computation in a Cellular Automaton Collider Rule 110

A cellular automaton collider is a finite state machine build of rings of one-dimensional cellular automata. We show how a computation can be performed on the collider by exploiting interactions between gliders (particles, localisations). The constructions proposed are based on universality of elementary cellular automaton rule 110, cyclic tag systems, supercolliders, and computing on rings.Comment: 39 pages, 32 figures, 3 table

The influence of polygenic risk for bipolar disorder on neural activation assessed using fMRI

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have demonstrated a significant polygenic contribution to bipolar disorder (BD) where disease risk is determined by the summation of many alleles of small individual magnitude. Modelling polygenic risk scores may be a powerful way of identifying disrupted brain regions whose genetic architecture is related to that of BD. We determined the extent to which common genetic variation underlying risk to BD affected neural activation during an executive processing/language task in individuals at familial risk of BD and healthy controls. Polygenic risk scores were calculated for each individual based on GWAS data from the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium Bipolar Disorder Working Group (PGC-BD) of over 16 000 subjects. The familial group had a significantly higher polygene score than the control group (P=0.04). There were no significant group by polygene interaction effects in terms of association with brain activation. However, we did find that an increasing polygenic risk allele load for BD was associated with increased activation in limbic regions previously implicated in BD, including the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala, across both groups. The findings suggest that this novel polygenic approach to examine brain-imaging data may be a useful means of identifying genetically mediated traits mechanistically linked to the aetiology of BD

Age-related changes in global motion coherence: conflicting haemodynamic and perceptual responses

Our aim was to use both behavioural and neuroimaging data to identify indicators of perceptual decline in motion processing. We employed a global motion coherence task and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Healthy adults (n = 72, 18-85) were recruited into the following groups: young (n = 28, mean age = 28), middle-aged (n = 22, mean age = 50), and older adults (n = 23, mean age = 70). Participants were assessed on their motion coherence thresholds at 3 different speeds using a psychophysical design. As expected, we report age group differences in motion processing as demonstrated by higher motion coherence thresholds in older adults. Crucially, we add correlational data showing that global motion perception declines linearly as a function of age. The associated fNIRS recordings provide a clear physiological correlate of global motion perception. The crux of this study lies in the robust linear correlation between age and haemodynamic response for both measures of oxygenation. We hypothesise that there is an increase in neural recruitment, necessitating an increase in metabolic need and blood flow, which presents as a higher oxygenated haemoglobin response. We report age-related changes in motion perception with poorer behavioural performance (high motion coherence thresholds) associated with an increased haemodynamic response

On the Nature and Genesis of EUV Waves: A Synthesis of Observations from SOHO, STEREO, SDO, and Hinode

A major, albeit serendipitous, discovery of the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory mission was the observation by the Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (EIT) of large-scale Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) intensity fronts propagating over a significant fraction of the Sun's surface. These so-called EIT or EUV waves are associated with eruptive phenomena and have been studied intensely. However, their wave nature has been challenged by non-wave (or pseudo-wave) interpretations and the subject remains under debate. A string of recent solar missions has provided a wealth of detailed EUV observations of these waves bringing us closer to resolving their nature. With this review, we gather the current state-of-art knowledge in the field and synthesize it into a picture of an EUV wave driven by the lateral expansion of the CME. This picture can account for both wave and pseudo-wave interpretations of the observations, thus resolving the controversy over the nature of EUV waves to a large degree but not completely. We close with a discussion of several remaining open questions in the field of EUV waves research.Comment: Solar Physics, Special Issue "The Sun in 360",2012, accepted for publicatio

Structural parameters of galaxies in CANDELS

We present global structural parameter measurements of 109,533 unique, H-F160W-selected objects from the CANDELS multi-cycle treasury program. Sersic model fits for these objects are produced with GALFIT in all available near-infrared filters (H-F160W, J(F125W) and, for a subset, Y-F105W). The parameters of the best-fitting Sersic models (total magnitude, half-light radius, Sersic index, axis ratio, and position angle) are made public, along with newly constructed point-spread functions for each field and filter. Random uncertainties in the measured parameters are estimated for each individual object based on a comparison between multiple, independent measurements of the same set of objects. To quantify systematic uncertainties, we create a mosaic with simulated galaxy images with a realistic distribution of input parameters and then process and analyze the mosaic in an identical manner as the real data. We find that accurate and precise measurements-to 10% or better-of all structural parameters can typically be obtained for galaxies with H-F160W < 23, with comparable fidelity for basic size and shape measurements for galaxies to H-F160W similar to 24.5

Prime movers : mechanochemistry of mitotic kinesins

Mitotic spindles are self-organizing protein machines that harness teams of multiple force generators to drive chromosome segregation. Kinesins are key members of these force-generating teams. Different kinesins walk directionally along dynamic microtubules, anchor, crosslink, align and sort microtubules into polarized bundles, and influence microtubule dynamics by interacting with microtubule tips. The mechanochemical mechanisms of these kinesins are specialized to enable each type to make a specific contribution to spindle self-organization and chromosome segregation