Lafora disease offers a unique window into neuronal glycogen metabolism

Lafora disease (LD) is a fatal, autosomal recessive, glycogen-storage disorder that manifests as severe epilepsy. LD results from mutations in the gene encoding either the glycogen phosphatase laforin or the E3 ubiquitin ligase malin. Individuals with LD develop cytoplasmic, aberrant glycogen inclusions in nearly all tissues that more closely resemble plant starch than human glycogen. This Minireview discusses the unique window into glycogen metabolism that LD research offers. It also highlights recent discoveries, including that glycogen contains covalently bound phosphate and that neurons synthesize glycogen and express both glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase

Utlegging av rene leirmasser i Bekkelagsbassenget - etterundersøkelse 2007

Rene leirmasser (30000 m3) fra graving av trasé for senketunnel i Oslo havn ble i januar og februar 2007 deponert fra splittlekter på ca 50 m dyp i Bekkelagsbassenget. Hensikten var å bli kvitt rene overskuddsmasser og overdekke forurensede sedimenter. I følge utslippstillatelsen skulle det etter deponeringen foretas en etterundersøkelse slik at eventuelle effekter/miljøgevinster kunne dokumenteres. I denne rapporten redegjøres det for resultatene fra etterundersøkelsen. Undersøkelsen omfatter biologisk registrering ved bruk av sedimentprofilkamera (SPI), analyser av miljøgifter i sediment og semikvantitativ kartlegging av bunnfauna ved bruk av ROV/undervannsvideo. Etterundersøkelsen ble gjennomført høsten 2007 med de samme metoder som førundersøkelsen. Førundersøkelsen ble utført høsten 2006. Resultatene viser at miljøgiftkonsentrasjonen i deponeringsområdet har gått betydelig ned etter deponeringen og for enkelte miljøgifter også utenfor selve deponiområdet. Det ble 6-8 måneder etter deponeringen ikke registrert noen tydelig øket nedslamming på hardbunn i omkringliggende områder selv om en betydelig spredning av partikler trolig har funnet sted under selve deponeringen. Deponeringen har gitt en klar miljøgevinst i Bekklagsbassenget i form av lavere miljøgiftkonsentrasjoner i overflatesedimentet. Deponeringen har trolig heller ikke ført til uheldige effekter av betydning for utslippsarrangementet til Bekkelaget renseanlegg

Neutrino-Nucleus Cross Section Measurements using Stopped Pions and Low Energy Beta Beams

Two new facilities have recently been proposed to measure low energy neutrino-nucleus cross sections, the nu-SNS (Spallation Neutron Source) and low energy beta beams. The former produces neutrinos by pion decay at rest, while the latter produces neutrinos from the beta decays of accelerated ions. One of the uses of neutrino-nucleus cross section measurements is for supernova studies, where typical neutrino energies are 10s of MeV. In this energy range there are many different components to the nuclear response and this makes the theoretical interpretation of the results of such an experiment complex. Although even one measurement on a heavy nucleus such as lead is much anticipated, more than one data set would be still better. We suggest that this can be done by breaking the electron spectrum down into the parts produced in coincidence with one or two neutrons, running a beta beam at more than one energy, comparing the spectra produced with pions and a beta beam or any combination of these.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

SUSY QCD one-loop effects in (un)polarized top-pair production at hadron colliders

We study the effects of O(alpha_s) supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) corrections on the total production rate and kinematic distributions of polarized and unpolarized top-pair production in pp and p anti-p collisions. At the Fermilab Tevatron p anti-p collider, top-quark pairs are mainly produced via quark-antiquark annihilation, q anti-q -> t anti-t, while at the CERN LHC pp collider gluon-gluon scattering, g g -> t anti-t, dominates. We compute the complete set of O(alpha_s) SQCD corrections to both production channels and study their dependence on the parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. In particular, we discuss the prospects for observing strong, loop-induced SUSY effects in top-pair production at the Tevatron Run II and the LHC.Comment: 56 pages, 29 figures, RevTeX

Ultrafast spatio-temporal dynamics of terahertz generation by ionizing two-color femtosecond pulses in gases

We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of spatio-temporal propagation effects in terahertz (THz) generation in gases using two-color ionizing laser pulses. The observed strong broadening of the THz spectra with increasing gas pressure reveals the prominent role of spatio-temporal reshaping and of a plasma-induced blue-shift of the pump pulses in the generation process. Results obtained from (3+1)-dimensional simulations are in good agreement with experimental findings and clarify the mechanisms responsible for THz emission

Observation of Ising-like critical fluctuations in frustrated Josephson junction arrays with modulated coupling energies

We report the results of ac sheet conductance measurements performed on fully frustrated square arrays of Josephson junctions whose coupling energy is periodically modulated in one of the principal lattice directions. Such systems are predicted to exhibit two distinct transitions: a low-temperature Ising-like transition triggered by the proliferation of domain walls and a high-temperature transition driven by the vortex unbinding mechanism of the Beresinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) theory. Both the superfluid and dissipative components of the conductance are found to exhibit features which unambiguously demonstrate the existence of a double transition whose properties are consistent with the Ising-BKT scenario.Comment: To be published in Physica C (Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference in School Format 'Vortex Matter in Superconductors'

Observations of the Crab Nebula with H.E.S.S. Phase II

The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) phase I instrument was an array of four $100\,\mathrm{m}^2$ mirror area Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) that has very successfully mapped the sky at photon energies above $\sim 100\,$GeV. Recently, a $600\,\mathrm{m}^2$ telescope was added to the centre of the existing array, which can be operated either in standalone mode or jointly with the four smaller telescopes. The large telescope lowers the energy threshold for gamma-ray observations to several tens of GeV, making the array sensitive at energies where the Fermi-LAT instrument runs out of statistics. At the same time, the new telescope makes the H.E.S.S. phase II instrument. This is the first hybrid IACT array, as it operates telescopes of different size (and hence different trigger rates) and different field of view. In this contribution we present results of H.E.S.S. phase II observations of the Crab Nebula, compare them to earlier observations, and evaluate the performance of the new instrument with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherland

Roughening Transition in a One-Dimensional Growth Process

A class of nonequilibrium models with short-range interactions and sequential updates is presented. The models describe one dimensional growth processes which display a roughening transition between a smooth and a rough phase. This transition is accompanied by spontaneous symmetry breaking, which is described by an order parameter whose dynamics is non-conserving. Some aspects of models in this class are related to directed percolation in 1+1 dimensions, although unlike directed percolation the models have no absorbing states. Scaling relations are derived and compared with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures, 1 Postscript formula, uses RevTe

Currency Carry Trades

A wave of recent research has studied the predictability of foreign currency returns. A wide variety of forecasting structures have been proposed, including signals such as carry, value, momentum, and the forward curve. Some of these have been explored individually, and others have been used in combination. In this paper we use new econometric tools for binary classification problems to evaluate the merits of a general model encompassing all these signals. We find very strong evidence of forecastability using the full set of signals, both in sample and out-of-sample. This holds true for both an unweighted directional forecast and one weighted by returns. Our preferred model generates economically meaningful returns on a portfolio of nine major currencies versus the U.S. dollar, with favorable Sharpe and skewness characteristics. We also find no relationship between our returns and a conventional set of so-called risk factors.