ALBERT

Description: Obesity stimulates chronic inflammation in adipose tissue, which is associated with insulin resistance, although the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here we showed that obesity-related adipocyte degeneration causes release of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which promotes macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), originally known as a sensor of exogenous DNA fragments. Fat-fed obese wild-type mice showed increased release of cfDNA, as determined by the concentrations of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in plasma. cfDNA released from degenerated adipocytes promoted monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expression in wild-type macrophages, but not in TLR9-deficient ( Tlr9 –/– ) macrophages. Fat-fed Tlr9 –/– mice demonstrated reduced macrophage accumulation and inflammation in adipose tissue and better insulin sensitivity compared with wild-type mice, whereas bone marrow reconstitution with wild-type bone marrow restored the attenuation of insulin resistance observed in fat-fed Tlr9 –/– mice. Administration of a TLR9 inhibitory oligonucleotide to fat-fed wild-type mice reduced the accumulation of macrophages in adipose tissue and improved insulin resistance. Furthermore, in humans, plasma ssDNA level was significantly higher in patients with computed tomography–determined visceral obesity and was associated with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), which is the index of insulin resistance. Our study may provide a novel mechanism for the development of sterile inflammation in adipose tissue and a potential therapeutic target for insulin resistance.

Description: Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory during the past 3.7 years, we demonstrated a correlation between the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above 6 x 10(19) electron volts and the positions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) lying within approximately 75 megaparsecs. We rejected the hypothesis of an isotropic distribution of these cosmic rays with at least a 99% confidence level from a prescribed a priori test. The correlation we observed is compatible with the hypothesis that the highest-energy particles originate from nearby extragalactic sources whose flux has not been substantially reduced by interaction with the cosmic background radiation. AGN or objects having a similar spatial distribution are possible sources.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Pierre Auger Collaboration -- Abraham, J -- Abreu, P -- Aglietta, M -- Aguirre, C -- Allard, D -- Allekotte, I -- Allen, J -- Allison, P -- Alvarez, C -- Alvarez-Muniz, J -- Ambrosio, M -- Anchordoqui, L -- Andringa, S -- Anzalone, A -- Aramo, C -- Argiro, S -- Arisaka, K -- Armengaud, E -- Arneodo, F -- Arqueros, F -- Asch, T -- Asorey, H -- Assis, P -- Atulugama, B S -- Aublin, J -- Ave, M -- Avila, G -- Backer, T -- Badagnani, D -- Barbosa, A F -- Barnhill, D -- Barroso, S L C -- Bauleo, P -- Beatty, J -- Beau, T -- Becker, B R -- Becker, K H -- Bellido, J A -- Benzvi, S -- Berat, C -- Bergmann, T -- Bernardini, P -- Bertou, X -- Biermann, P L -- Billoir, P -- Blanch-Bigas, O -- Blanco, F -- Blasi, P -- Bleve, C -- Blumer, H -- Bohacova, M -- Bonifazi, C -- Bonino, R -- Boratav, M -- Brack, J -- Brogueira, P -- Brown, W C -- Buchholz, P -- Bueno, A -- Busca, N G -- Caballero-Mora, K S -- Cai, B -- Camin, D V -- Caruso, R -- Carvalho, W -- Castellina, A -- Catalano, O -- Cataldi, G -- Cazon-Boado, L -- Cester, R -- Chauvin, J -- Chiavassa, A -- Chinellato, J A -- Chou, A -- Chye, J -- Clark, P D J -- Clay, R W -- Colombo, E -- Conceicao, R -- Connolly, B -- Contreras, F -- Coppens, J -- Cordier, A -- Cotti, U -- Coutu, S -- Covault, C E -- Creusot, A -- Cronin, J -- Dagoret-Campagne, S -- Daumiller, K -- Dawson, B R -- de Almeida, R M -- De Donato, C -- de Jong, S J -- De La Vega, G -- de Mello Junior, W J M -- de Mello Neto, J R T -- De Mitri, I -- de Souza, V -- Del Peral, L -- Deligny, O -- Selva, A Della -- Fratte, C Delle -- Dembinski, H -- Di Giulio, C -- Diaz, J C -- Dobrigkeit, C -- D'Olivo, J C -- Dornic, D -- Dorofeev, A -- Dos Anjos, J C -- Dova, M T -- D'Urso, D -- Duvernois, M A -- Engel, R -- Epele, L -- Erdmann, M -- Escobar, C O -- Etchegoyen, A -- Facal San Luis, P -- Falcke, H -- Farrar, G -- Fauth, A C -- Fazzini, N -- Fernandez, A -- Ferrer, F -- Ferry, S -- Fick, B -- Filevich, A -- Filipcic, A -- Fleck, I -- Fonte, R -- Fracchiolla, C E -- Fulgione, W -- Garcia, B -- Garcia Gamez, D -- Garcia-Pinto, D -- Garrido, X -- Geenen, H -- Gelmini, G -- Gemmeke, H -- Ghia, P L -- Giller, M -- Glass, H -- Gold, M S -- Golup, G -- Albarracin, F Gomez -- Berisso, M Gomez -- Herrero, R Gomez -- Goncalves, P -- Goncalves do Amaral, M -- Gonzalez, D -- Gonzalez, J G -- Gonzalez, M -- Gora, D -- Gorgi, A -- Gouffon, P -- Grassi, V -- Grillo, A -- Grunfeld, C -- Guardincerri, Y -- Guarino, F -- Guedes, G P -- Gutierrez, J -- Hague, J D -- Hamilton, J C -- Hansen, P -- Harari, D -- Harmsma, S -- Harton, J L -- Haungs, A -- Hauschildt, T -- Healy, M D -- Hebbeker, T -- Heck, D -- Hojvat, C -- Holmes, V C -- Homola, P -- Horandel, J -- Horneffer, A -- Horvat, M -- Hrabovsky, M -- Huege, T -- Iarlori, M -- Insolia, A -- Ionita, F -- Italiano, A -- Kaducak, M -- Kampert, K H -- Keilhauer, B -- Kemp, E -- Kieckhafer, R M -- Klages, H O -- Kleifges, M -- Kleinfeller, J -- Knapik, R -- Knapp, J -- Koang, D-H -- Kopmann, A -- Krieger, A -- Kromer, O -- Kumpel, D -- Kunka, N -- Kusenko, A -- La Rosa, G -- Lachaud, C -- Lago, B L -- Lebrun, D -- Lebrun, P -- Lee, J -- Leigui de Oliveira, M A -- Letessier-Selvon, A -- Leuthold, M -- Lhenry-Yvon, I -- Lopez, R -- Lopez Aguera, A -- Lozano Bahilo, J -- Maccarone, M C -- Macolino, C -- Maldera, S -- Malek, M -- Mancarella, G -- Mancenido, M E -- Mandat, D -- Mantsch, P -- Mariazzi, A G -- Maris, I C -- Martello, D -- Martinez, J -- Martinez Bravo, O -- Mathes, H J -- Matthews, J -- Matthews, J A J -- Matthiae, G -- Maurizio, D -- Mazur, P O -- McCauley, T -- McEwen, M -- McNeil, R R -- Medina, M C -- Medina-Tanco, G -- Meli, A -- Melo, D -- Menichetti, E -- Menschikov, A -- Meurer, Chr -- Meyhandan, R -- Micheletti, M I -- Miele, G -- Miller, W -- Mollerach, S -- Monasor, M -- Monnier Ragaigne, D -- Montanet, F -- Morales, B -- Morello, C -- Moreno, E -- Moreno, J C -- Morris, C -- Mostafa, M -- Muller, M A -- Mussa, R -- Navarra, G -- Navarro, J L -- Navas, S -- Nellen, L -- Newman-Holmes, C -- Newton, D -- Thi, T Nguyen -- Nierstenhofer, N -- Nitz, D -- Nosek, D -- Nozka, L -- Oehlschlager, J -- Ohnuki, T -- Olinto, A -- Olmos-Gilbaja, V M -- Ortiz, M -- Ostapchenko, S -- Otero, L -- Pakk Selmi-Dei, D -- Palatka, M -- Pallotta, J -- Parente, G -- Parizot, E -- Parlati, S -- Pastor, S -- Patel, M -- Paul, T -- Pavlidou, V -- Payet, K -- Pech, M -- Pekala, J -- Pelayo, R -- Pepe, I M -- Perrone, L -- Petrera, S -- Petrinca, P -- Petrov, Y -- Ngoc, Dieppham -- Ngoc, Dongpham -- Pham Thi, T N -- Pichel, A -- Piegaia, R -- Pierog, T -- Pimenta, M -- Pinto, T -- Pirronello, V -- Pisanti, O -- Platino, M -- Pochon, J -- Porter, T A -- Privitera, P -- Prouza, M -- Quel, E J -- Rautenberg, J -- Reucroft, S -- Revenu, B -- Rezende, F A S -- Ridky, J -- Riggi, S -- Risse, M -- Riviere, C -- Rizi, V -- Roberts, M -- Robledo, C -- Rodriguez, G -- Rodriguez Frias, D -- Rodriguez Martino, J -- Rodriguez Rojo, J -- Rodriguez-Cabo, I -- Ros, G -- Rosado, J -- Roth, M -- Rouille-d'Orfeuil, B -- Roulet, E -- Rovero, A C -- Salamida, F -- Salazar, H -- Salina, G -- Sanchez, F -- Santander, M -- Santo, C E -- Santos, E M -- Sarazin, F -- Sarkar, S -- Sato, R -- Scherini, V -- Schieler, H -- Schmidt, F -- Schmidt, T -- Scholten, O -- Schovanek, P -- Schussler, F -- Sciutto, S J -- Scuderi, M -- Segreto, A -- Semikoz, D -- Settimo, M -- Shellard, R C -- Sidelnik, I -- Siffert, B B -- Sigl, G -- De Grande, N Smetniansky -- Smialkowski, A -- Smida, R -- Smith, A G K -- Smith, B E -- Snow, G R -- Sokolsky, P -- Sommers, P -- Sorokin, J -- Spinka, H -- Squartini, R -- Strazzeri, E -- Stutz, A -- Suarez, F -- Suomijarvi, T -- Supanitsky, A D -- Sutherland, M S -- Swain, J -- Szadkowski, Z -- Takahashi, J -- Tamashiro, A -- Tamburro, A -- Tascau, O -- Tcaciuc, R -- Thomas, D -- Ticona, R -- Tiffenberg, J -- Timmermans, C -- Tkaczyk, W -- Todero Peixoto, C J -- Tome, B -- Tonachini, A -- Torresi, D -- Travnicek, P -- Tripathi, A -- Tristram, G -- Tscherniakhovski, D -- Tueros, M -- Tunnicliffe, V -- Ulrich, R -- Unger, M -- Urban, M -- Valdes Galicia, J F -- Valino, I -- Valore, L -- van den Berg, A M -- van Elewyck, V -- Vazquez, R A -- Veberic, D -- Veiga, A -- Velarde, A -- Venters, T -- Verzi, V -- Videla, M -- Villasenor, L -- Vorobiov, S -- Voyvodic, L -- Wahlberg, H -- Wainberg, O -- Waldenmaier, T -- Walker, P -- Warner, D -- Watson, A A -- Westerhoff, S -- Wieczorek, G -- Wiencke, L -- Wilczynska, B -- Wilczynski, H -- Wileman, C -- Winnick, M G -- Wu, H -- Wundheiler, B -- Xu, J -- Yamamoto, T -- Younk, P -- Zas, E -- Zavrtanik, D -- Zavrtanik, M -- Zech, A -- Zepeda, A -- Ziolkowski, M -- Kegl, B -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2007 Nov 9;318(5852):938-43.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17991855" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: 〈p〉Discrete graphitic carbon compounds serve as tunable models for the properties of extended macromolecular structures such as nanotubes. Here, we report synthesis and characterization of a cylindrical C〈sub〉304〈/sub〉H〈sub〉264〈/sub〉 molecule composed of 40 benzene (phenine) units mutually bonded at the 1, 3, and 5 positions. The concise nine-step synthesis featuring successive borylations and couplings proceeded with an average yield for each benzene-benzene bond formation of 91%. The molecular structure of the nanometer-sized cylinder with periodic vacancy defects was confirmed spectroscopically and crystallographically. The nanoporous nature of the compound further enabled inclusion of multiple fullerene guests. Computations suggest that fusing many such cylinders could produce carbon nanotubes with electronic properties modulated by the periodic vacancy defects.〈/p〉

Description: The integumentary organ system is a complex system that plays important roles in waterproofing, cushioning, protecting deeper tissues, excreting waste, and thermoregulation. We developed a novel in vivo transplantation model designated as a clustering-dependent embryoid body transplantation method and generated a bioengineered three-dimensional (3D) integumentary organ system, including appendage organs such as hair follicles and sebaceous glands, from induced pluripotent stem cells. This bioengineered 3D integumentary organ system was fully functional following transplantation into nude mice and could be properly connected to surrounding host tissues, such as the epidermis, arrector pili muscles, and nerve fibers, without tumorigenesis. The bioengineered hair follicles in the 3D integumentary organ system also showed proper hair eruption and hair cycles, including the rearrangement of follicular stem cells and their niches. Potential applications of the 3D integumentary organ system include an in vitro assay system, an animal model alternative, and a bioengineered organ replacement therapy.

Description: The crystal structure of ionic nanocrystals (NCs) is usually controlled through reaction temperature, according to their phase diagram. We show that when ionic NCs with different shapes, but identical crystal structures, were subjected to anion exchange reactions under ambient conditions, pseudomorphic products with different crystal systems were obtained. The shape-dependent anionic framework (surface anion sublattice and stacking pattern) of Cu2O NCs determined the crystal system of anion-exchanged products of CuxS nanocages. This method enabled us to convert a body-centered cubic lattice into either a face-centered cubic or a hexagonally close-packed lattice to form crystallographically unusual, multiply twinned structures. Subsequent cation exchange reactions produced CdS nanocages while preserving the multiply-twinned structures. A high-temperature stable phase such as wurtzite ZnS was also obtained with this method at ambient conditions.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wu, Hsin-Lun -- Sato, Ryota -- Yamaguchi, Atsushi -- Kimura, Masato -- Haruta, Mitsutaka -- Kurata, Hiroki -- Teranishi, Toshiharu -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Mar 18;351(6279):1306-10. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5520.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan. ; Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan. teranisi@scl.kyoto-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26989249" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Understanding magnetic phases in quantum mechanical systems is one of the essential goals in condensed matter physics, and the advent of prototype quantum simulation hardware has provided new tools for experimentally probing such systems. We report on the experimental realization of a quantum simulation of interacting Ising spins on three-dimensional cubic lattices up to dimensions 8 x 8 x 8 on a D-Wave processor (D-Wave Systems, Burnaby, Canada). The ability to control and read out the state of individual spins provides direct access to several order parameters, which we used to determine the lattice’s magnetic phases as well as critical disorder and one of its universal exponents. By tuning the degree of disorder and effective transverse magnetic field, we observed phase transitions between a paramagnetic, an antiferromagnetic, and a spin-glass phase.