Sparticle Spectrum of Large Volume Compactification

We examine the large volume compactification of Type IIB string theory or its F theory limit and the associated supersymmetry breakdown and soft terms. It is crucial to incorporate the loop-induced moduli mixing, originating from radiative corrections to the Kahler potential. We show that in the presence of moduli mixing, soft scalar masses generically receive a D-term contribution of the order of the gravitino mass m_{3/2} when the visible sector cycle is stabilized by the D-term potential of an anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry, while the moduli-mediated gaugino masses and A-parameters tend to be of the order of m_{3/2}/8pi^2. It is noticed also that a too large moduli mixing can destabilize the large volume solution by making it a saddle point.Comment: 29 page

Dynamical Boson Stars

The idea of stable, localized bundles of energy has strong appeal as a model for particles. In the 1950s John Wheeler envisioned such bundles as smooth configurations of electromagnetic energy that he called {\em geons}, but none were found. Instead, particle-like solutions were found in the late 1960s with the addition of a scalar field, and these were given the name {\em boson stars}. Since then, boson stars find use in a wide variety of models as sources of dark matter, as black hole mimickers, in simple models of binary systems, and as a tool in finding black holes in higher dimensions with only a single killing vector. We discuss important varieties of boson stars, their dynamic properties, and some of their uses, concentrating on recent efforts.Comment: 79 pages, 25 figures, invited review for Living Reviews in Relativity; major revision in 201

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries.

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition

Cervical intramedullary schwannoma: a case report and review of the literature

Intramedullary schwannomas unrelated with neurofibromatosis are uncommon tumors, but if correctly diagnosed and properly treated they may have a good prognosis

Adjuvant Effect of Killed Propionibacterium acnes on Mouse Peritoneal B-1 Lymphocytes and Their Early Phagocyte Differentiation

B-1 lymphocytes are the predominant cells in mouse peritoneal cavity. They express macrophage and lymphocyte markers and are divided into B-1a, B-1b and B-1c subtypes. The role of B-1 cells is not completely clear, but they are responsible for natural IgM production and seem to play a regulatory role. An enriched B-1b cell population can be obtained from non-adherent peritoneal cell cultures, and we have previously demonstrated that these cells undergo differentiation to acquire a mononuclear phagocyte phenotype upon attachment to the substrate in vitro. Nevertheless, the B-1 cell response to antigens or adjuvants has been poorly investigated. Because killed Propionibacterium acnes exhibits immunomodulatory effects on both macrophages and B-2 lymphocytes, we analyzed whether a killed bacterial suspension or its soluble polysaccharide (PS) could modulate the absolute number of peritoneal B-1 cells in BALB/c mice, the activation status of these cells and their ability to differentiate into phagocytes in vitro. In vivo, P. acnes treatment elevated the absolute number of all B-1 subsets, whereas PS only increased B-1c. Moreover, the bacterium increased the number of B-1b cells that were positive for MHC II, TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-12, in addition to up-regulating TLR9, CD80 and CD86 expression. PS increased B-1b cell expression of TLR4, TLR9, CD40 and CD86, as well as IL-10 and IL-12 synthesis. Both of the treatments decreased the absolute number of B-1b cells in vitro, suggesting their early differentiation into B-1 cell-derived phagocytes (B-1CDP). We also observed a higher phagocytic activity from the phagocytes that were derived from B-1b cells after P. acnes and PS treatment. The adjuvant effect that P. acnes has on B-1 cells, mainly the B-1b subtype, reinforces the importance of B-1 cells in the innate and adaptive immune responses

Anomalous U(1) Mediation in Large Volume Compactification

We study the general effects of anomalous U(1)_A gauge symmetry on soft supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking terms in large volume scenario, where the MSSM sector is localized on a small cycle whose volume is stabilized by the D-term potential of the U(1)_A. Since it obtains SUSY breaking mass regardless of the detailed form of K\"ahler potential, the U(1)_A vector superfield acts as a messenger mediating the SUSY breaking in the moduli sector to the MSSM sector. Then, through the loops of U(1)_A vector superfield, there arise soft masses of the order of m_{3/2}^2/8\pi^2 for scalar mass squares, m_{3/2}/(8\pi^2)^2 for gaugino masses, and m_{3/2}/8\pi^2 for A-paramteres. In addition, the massive U(1)_A vector superfield can have non-zero F and D-components through the moduli mixing in the K\"ahler potential, and this can result in larger soft masses depending upon the details of the moduli mixing. For instance, in the presence of one-loop induced moduli mixing between the visible sector modulus and the large volume modulus, the U(1)_A D-term provides soft scalar mass squares of the order of m_{3/2}^2. However, if the visible sector modulus is mixed only with small cycle moduli, its effect on soft terms depends on how to stabilize the small cycle moduli.Comment: 28pages, no fi

Synaptic dysfunction, memory deficits and hippocampal atrophy due to ablation of mitochondrial fission in adult forebrain neurons

Well-balanced mitochondrial fission and fusion processes are essential for nervous system development. Loss of function of the main mitochondrial fission mediator, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), is lethal early during embryonic development or around birth, but the role of mitochondrial fission in adult neurons remains unclear. Here we show that inducible Drp1 ablation in neurons of the adult mouse forebrain results in progressive, neuronal subtype-specific alterations of mitochondrial morphology in the hippocampus that are marginally responsive to antioxidant treatment. Furthermore, DRP1 loss affects synaptic transmission and memory function. Although these changes culminate in hippocampal atrophy, they are not sufficient to cause neuronal cell death within 10 weeks of genetic Drp1 ablation. Collectively, our in vivo observations clarify the role of mitochondrial fission in neurons, demonstrating that Drp1 ablation in adult forebrain neurons compromises critical neuronal functions without causing overt neurodegeneration