Identification of the OGLE-2003-BLG-235/MOA-2003-BLG-53 Planetary Host Star

We present the results of HST observations of the host star for the first definitive extrasolar planet detected by microlensing. The light curve model for this event predicts that the lens star should be separated from the source star by ~6mas at the time of the HST images. If the lens star is a late G, K or early M dwarf, then it will be visible in the HST images as an additional source of light that is blended with the source image. Unless the lens and source have exactly the same colors, its presence will also be revealed by a systematic shift between centroids of the source plus lens in different filter bands. The HST data indicates both of these effects: the HST source that matches the position of the source star is 0.21 magnitudes brighter in the ACS/HRC-F814W filter than the microlensing model predicts, and there is an offset of ~0.7mas between the centroid of this source in the F814W and F435W filter bands. We conclude the planetary host star has been detected in these HST images, and this identification of the lens star enables a complete solution of the lens system. The lens parameters are determined with a Bayesian analysis, averaging over uncertainties in the measured parameters, interstellar extinction, and allowing for the possibility of a binary companion to the source star. This yields a stellar mass of M_* = 0.63(+0.07/-0.09) M_solar and a planet mass of M_p = 2.6 (+0.8/-0.6) M_Jup at an orbital separation of 4.3 (+2.5/-0.8) AU. Thus, the lens system resembles our own Solar System, with a planet of ~3 Jupiter-masses in a Jupiter-like orbit around a star of two-thirds of a Solar mass. These conclusions can be tested with future HST images, which should reveal a broadening of the blended source-plus-lens point spread function due to the relative lens-source proper motion.Comment: 11 pages, with 3 figures. to appear in ApJ Lett (Aug 20 issue

New Product Theorems for Z-Cyclic Whist Tournaments

AbstractThe aim of this note is to show how existing product constructions for cyclic and 1-rotational block designs can be adapted to provide a highly effective method of obtaining product theorems for whist tournaments

Helping and hurting others: Person and situation effects on aggressive and prosocial behavior as assessed by the Tangram task

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136251/1/ab21669.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136251/2/ab21669_am.pd

Generation of correlated photons in controlled spatial modes by down-conversion in nonlinear waveguides

We report the observation of correlated photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a quasi-phase matched KTiOPO4 nonlinear waveguide. The highest ratio of coincidence to single photon count rates observed in the 830 nm wavelength region exceeds 18%. This makes nonlinear waveguides a promising source of correlated photons for metrology and quantum information processing applications. We also discuss possibilities of controlling the spatial characteristics of the down-converted photons produced in multimode waveguide structures.Comment: 4 pages, REVTe

Is there a role for DAZL in human female fertility?

The RNA binding protein deleted in azoospermia-like (Dazl) is a key determinant of germ cell maturation and entry into meiosis in rodents and other animal species. Although the complex phenotype of Dazl deficiency in both sexes, with defects at multiple stages of germ cell development and during meiosis, demonstrates its obligate significance in fertility in animal models, its involvement in human fertility is less clear. As an RNA binding protein, identification of the in vivo mRNA targets of DAZL is necessary to understand its influence. Thus far, only a small number of Dazl targets have been identified, which typically have pivotal roles in germ cell development and meiotic progression. However, it is likely that there are a number of additional germ cell and meiosis-relevant transcripts whose translation is affected in the absence of Dazl. Efforts to identify these RNA targets have mainly been focused on spermatogenesis, and restricted to mouse. In women, prophase I occurs in fetal life and it is during this period that the ovarian follicle pool is established, thus factors that have a role in determining the quality and quantity of the ovarian reserve may have significant impact on reproductive outcomes later in adult life. Here, we suggest that DAZL may be one such factor, and there is a need for greater understanding of the role of DAZL in human oogenesis and its contribution to lifelong female fertility

Preoperative brain imaging using functional near-infrared spectroscopy helps predict cochlear implant outcome in deaf adults

Currently it is not possible to accurately predict how well a deaf individual will be able to understand speech when hearing is (re)introduced via a cochlear implant. Differences in brain organisation following deafness are thought to contribute to variability in speech understanding with a cochlear implant and may offer unique insights that could help to more reliably predict outcomes. An emerging optical neuroimaging technique, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), was used to determine whether a preoperative measure of brain activation could explain variability in CI outcomes and offer additional prognostic value above that provided by known clinical characteristics. Cross-modal activation to visual speech was measured in bilateral superior temporal cortex of profoundly deaf adults before cochlear implantation. Behavioural measures of auditory speech understanding were obtained in the same individuals following six months of cochlear-implant use. The results showed that stronger preoperative cross-modal activation of auditory brain regions by visual speech was predictive of poorer auditory speech understanding after implantation. Further investigation suggested that this relationship may have been driven primarily by group differences between pre- and post-lingually deaf individuals. Nonetheless, preoperative cortical imaging provided additional prognostic value above that of influential clinical characteristics, including the age-at-onset and duration of auditory deprivation, suggesting that objectively assessing the physiological status of the brain using fNIRS imaging preoperatively may support more accurate prediction of individual CI outcomes. Whilst activation of auditory brain regions by visual speech prior to implantation was related to the CI user’s clinical history of deafness, activation to visual speech did not relate to the future ability of these brain regions to respond to auditory speech stimulation with a CI. Greater preoperative activation of left superior temporal cortex by visual speech was associated with enhanced speechreading abilities, suggesting that visual-speech processing may help to maintain left temporal-lobe specialisation for language processing during periods of profound deafness