1987 Commencement Address: Sen. Bill Bradley (D-New Jersey)

Sen. Bill Bradley, U.S. senator from New Jersey, a former star basketball player for the New York Knickerbockers and a Rhodes Scholar, will receive an honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, from the College of the Holy Cross and address this year’s graduates during the College’s Commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m. on the campus. Bradley earned his indergraduate degree in 1965 at Princeton University, where he was an All American basketball player. He was also a standout on the victorious U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1964. Bradley turned down offers from professional teams to accept a Rhodes Scholarship and studied for two years at Oxford University in England, where he earned a Master\u27s degree. He was signed by the Knicks to a four-year contract begining in the 1967-68 season and retired from professional basketball in 1977. Bradley was elected as a U.S. senator (D) from New Jersey and was re-elected in 1984. He is the author of a book, Life on the Run.https://crossworks.holycross.edu/commence_address/1014/thumbnail.jp

Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies: A Near-Universal Luminosity Function?

We present the first results from our HST Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) survey of seven central supergiant cluster galaxies and their globular cluster (GC) systems. We measure a total of 48000 GCs in all seven galaxies, representing the largest single GC database. We find that a log-normal shape accurately matches the observed luminosity function (LF) of the GCs down to the GCLF turnover point, which is near our photometric limit. In addition, the LF has a virtually identical shape in all seven galaxies. Our data underscore the similarity in the formation mechanism of massive star clusters in diverse galactic environments. At the highest luminosities (log L > 10^7 L_Sun) we find small numbers of "superluminous" objects in five of the galaxies; their luminosity and color ranges are at least partly consistent with those of UCDs (Ultra-Compact Dwarfs). Lastly, we find preliminary evidence that in the outer halo (R > 20 kpc), the LF turnover point shows a weak dependence on projected distance, scaling as L_0 ~ R^-0.2, while the LF dispersion remains nearly constant.Comment: To appear in Astrophysical Journal, December 201

Observing the Evolution of the Universe

How did the universe evolve? The fine angular scale (l>1000) temperature and polarization anisotropies in the CMB are a Rosetta stone for understanding the evolution of the universe. Through detailed measurements one may address everything from the physics of the birth of the universe to the history of star formation and the process by which galaxies formed. One may in addition track the evolution of the dark energy and discover the net neutrino mass. We are at the dawn of a new era in which hundreds of square degrees of sky can be mapped with arcminute resolution and sensitivities measured in microKelvin. Acquiring these data requires the use of special purpose telescopes such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), located in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). These new telescopes are outfitted with a new generation of custom mm-wave kilo-pixel arrays. Additional instruments are in the planning stages.Comment: Science White Paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey. Full list of 177 author available at http://cmbpol.uchicago.ed

Catching Element Formation In The Act

Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, nucleosynthesis, the interstellar medium, cosmic rays and relativistic-particle acceleration, and the evolution of galaxies. MeV gamma-rays provide a unique probe of nuclear processes in astronomy, directly measuring radioactive decay, nuclear de-excitation, and positron annihilation. The substantial information carried by gamma-ray photons allows us to see deeper into these objects, the bulk of the power is often emitted at gamma-ray energies, and radioactivity provides a natural physical clock that adds unique information. New science will be driven by time-domain population studies at gamma-ray energies. This science is enabled by next-generation gamma-ray instruments with one to two orders of magnitude better sensitivity, larger sky coverage, and faster cadence than all previous gamma-ray instruments. This transformative capability permits: (a) the accurate identification of the gamma-ray emitting objects and correlations with observations taken at other wavelengths and with other messengers; (b) construction of new gamma-ray maps of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies where extended regions are distinguished from point sources; and (c) considerable serendipitous science of scarce events -- nearby neutron star mergers, for example. Advances in technology push the performance of new gamma-ray instruments to address a wide set of astrophysical questions.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure

A large scale hearing loss screen reveals an extensive unexplored genetic landscape for auditory dysfunction

The developmental and physiological complexity of the auditory system is likely reflected in the underlying set of genes involved in auditory function. In humans, over 150 non-syndromic loci have been identified, and there are more than 400 human genetic syndromes with a hearing loss component. Over 100 non-syndromic hearing loss genes have been identified in mouse and human, but we remain ignorant of the full extent of the genetic landscape involved in auditory dysfunction. As part of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium, we undertook a hearing loss screen in a cohort of 3006 mouse knockout strains. In total, we identify 67 candidate hearing loss genes. We detect known hearing loss genes, but the vast majority, 52, of the candidate genes were novel. Our analysis reveals a large and unexplored genetic landscape involved with auditory function

Energy intake and expenditure assessed ‘in-season’ in an elite European rugby union squad.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Sport Science on 09/06/2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17461391.2015.1042528Rugby union (RU) is a complex high-intensity intermittent collision sport with emphasis placed on players possessing high lean body mass and low body fat. After an 8 to 12-week pre-season focused on physiological adaptations, emphasis shifts towards competitive performance. However, there are no objective data on the physiological demands or energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) for elite players during this period. Accordingly, in-season training load using global positioning system and session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE), alongside six-day assessments of EE and EI were measured in 44 elite RU players. Mean weekly distance covered was 7827 ± 954 m and 9572 ± 1233 m with a total mean weekly sRPE of 1776 ± 355 and 1523 ± 434 AU for forwards and backs, respectively. Mean weekly EI was 16.6 ± 1.5 and 14.2 ± 1.2 megajoules (MJ) and EE was 15.9 ± 0.5 and 14 ± 0.5 MJ. Mean carbohydrate (CHO) intake was 3.5 ± 0.8 and 3.4 ± 0.7 g.kg-1 body mass, protein intake was 2.7 ± 0.3 and 2.7 ± 0.5 g.kg-1 body mass, and fat intake was 1.4 ± 0.2 and 1.4 ± 0.3 g.kg-1 body mass. All players who completed the food diary self-selected a 'low' CHO 'high' protein diet during the early part of the week, with CHO intake increasing in the days leading up to a match, resulting in the mean EI matching EE. Based on EE and training load data, the EI and composition seems appropriate, although further research is required to evaluate if this diet is optimal for match day performance

Mineralogy and petrology of comet 81P/wild 2 nucleus samples

The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk

Frontotemporal dementia and its subtypes: a genome-wide association study

SummaryBackground Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a complex disorder characterised by a broad range of clinical manifestations, differential pathological signatures, and genetic variability. Mutations in three genes—MAPT, GRN, and C9orf72—have been associated with FTD. We sought to identify novel genetic risk loci associated with the disorder. Methods We did a two-stage genome-wide association study on clinical FTD, analysing samples from 3526 patients with {FTD} and 9402 healthy controls. To reduce genetic heterogeneity, all participants were of European ancestry. In the discovery phase (samples from 2154 patients with {FTD} and 4308 controls), we did separate association analyses for each {FTD} subtype (behavioural variant FTD, semantic dementia, progressive non-fluent aphasia, and {FTD} overlapping with motor neuron disease FTD-MND), followed by a meta-analysis of the entire dataset. We carried forward replication of the novel suggestive loci in an independent sample series (samples from 1372 patients and 5094 controls) and then did joint phase and brain expression and methylation quantitative trait loci analyses for the associated (p<5 × 10−8) single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Findings We identified novel associations exceeding the genome-wide significance threshold (p<5 × 10−8). Combined (joint) analyses of discovery and replication phases showed genome-wide significant association at 6p21.3, \{HLA\} locus (immune system), for rs9268877 (p=1·05 × 10−8; odds ratio=1·204 95% \{CI\} 1·11–1·30), rs9268856 (p=5·51 × 10−9; 0·809 0·76–0·86) and rs1980493 (p value=1·57 × 10−8, 0·775 0·69–0·86) in the entire cohort. We also identified a potential novel locus at 11q14, encompassing RAB38/CTSC (the transcripts of which are related to lysosomal biology), for the behavioural \{FTD\} subtype for which joint analyses showed suggestive association for rs302668 (p=2·44 × 10−7; 0·814 0·71–0·92). Analysis of expression and methylation quantitative trait loci data suggested that these loci might affect expression and methylation in cis. Interpretation Our findings suggest that immune system processes (link to 6p21.3) and possibly lysosomal and autophagy pathways (link to 11q14) are potentially involved in FTD. Our findings need to be replicated to better define the association of the newly identified loci with disease and to shed light on the pathomechanisms contributing to FTD. Funding The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Institute on Aging, the Wellcome/MRC Centre on Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's Research UK, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center