On the Abundance of Circumbinary Planets

We present here the first observationally based determination of the rate of occurrence of circumbinary planets. This is derived from the publicly available Kepler data, using an automated search algorithm and debiasing process to produce occurrence rates implied by the seven systems already known. These rates depend critically on the planetary inclination distribution: if circumbinary planets are preferentially coplanar with their host binaries, as has been suggested, then the rate of occurrence of planets with $R_p>6R_\oplus$ orbiting with $P_p<300$\ d is $10.0 ^{+18}_{-6.5}$\% (95\% confidence limits), higher than but consistent with single star rates. If on the other hand the underlying planetary inclination distribution is isotropic, then this occurrence rate rises dramatically, to give a lower limit of 47\%. This implies that formation and subsequent dynamical evolution in circumbinary disks must either lead to largely coplanar planets, or proceed with significantly greater ease than in circumstellar disks. As a result of this investigation we also show that giant planets (${>}10R_\oplus$) are significantly less common in circumbinary orbits than their smaller siblings, and confirm that the proposed shortfall of circumbinary planets orbiting the shorter period binaries in the Kepler sample is a real effect.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (1st August 2014). 12 pages. Update to match final version, including clarifications and new figures. Results are unchange

Properties of Regge Trajectories

Early Chew-Frautschi plots show that meson and baryon Regge trajectoies are approximately linear and non-intersecting. In this paper, we reconstruct all Regge trajectories from the most recent data. Our plots show that meson trajectories are non-linear and intersecting. We also show that all current meson Regge trajectories models are ruled out by data.Comment: 30 pages, latex, 18 figures, to be published in Physical Review

Retinal glia promote dorsal root ganglion axon regeneration.

Axon regeneration in the adult central nervous system (CNS) is limited by several factors including a lack of neurotrophic support. Recent studies have shown that glia from the adult rat CNS, specifically retinal astrocytes and Müller glia, can promote regeneration of retinal ganglion cell axons. In the present study we investigated whether retinal glia also exert a growth promoting effect outside the visual system. We found that retinal glial conditioned medium significantly enhanced neurite growth and branching of adult rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRG) in culture. Furthermore, transplantation of retinal glia significantly enhanced regeneration of DRG axons past the dorsal root entry zone after root crush in adult rats. To identify the factors that mediate the growth promoting effects of retinal glia, mass spectrometric analysis of retinal glial conditioned medium was performed. Apolipoprotein E and secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) were found to be present in high abundance, a finding further confirmed by western blotting. Inhibition of Apolipoprotein E and SPARC significantly reduced the neuritogenic effects of retinal glial conditioned medium on DRG in culture, suggesting that Apolipoprotein E and SPARC are the major mediators of this regenerative response.This work was supported by a van Geest Fight for Sight Early Career Investigator Award, grant number 1868 [BL].This is the final version of the article. It first appeared at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.011599

Refining the scalar and tensor contributions in τ→πππντ\tau\to \pi\pi\pi\nu_\tau decays

In this article we analyze the contribution from intermediate spin-0 and spin-2 resonances to the $\tau\to\nu \pi\pi\pi$ decay by means of a chiral invariant Lagrangian incorporating these mesons. In particular, we study the corresponding axial-vector form-factors. The advantage of this procedure with respect to previous analyses is that it incorporates chiral (and isospin) invariance and, hence, the partial conservation of the axial-vector current. This ensures the recovery of the right low-energy limit, described by chiral perturbation theory, and the transversality of the current in the chiral limit at all energies. Furthermore, the meson form-factors are further improved by requiring appropriate QCD high-energy conditions. We end up with a brief discussion on its implementation in the Tauola Monte Carlo and the prospects for future analyses of Belle's data.Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures. Extended discussion on the numerical importance of the tensor and scalar resonances and the parametrization of the scalar propagator. Version published in JHE

On the abundance of circumbinary planets

We present here the first observationally based determination of the rate of occurrence of circumbinary planets. This is derived from the publicly available Kepler data, using an automated search algorithm and debiasing process to produce occurrence rates implied by the seven systems already known. These rates depend critically on the planetary inclination distribution: if circumbinary planets are preferentially coplanar with their host binaries, as has been suggested, then the rate of occurrence of planets with Rp > 6R⊕ orbiting with Pp 10R⊕) are significantly less common in circumbinary orbits than their smaller siblings, and confirm that the proposed shortfall of circumbinary planets orbiting the shorter period binaries in the Kepler sample is a real effec

Size rather than complexity of sexual ornaments prolongs male metamorphosis and explains sexual size dimorphism in sepsid flies

Male sexual ornaments often evolve rapidly and are thought to be costly, thus contributing to sexual size dimorphism. However, little is known about their developmental costs, and even less about costs associated with structural complexity. Here, we quantified the size and complexity of three morphologically elaborate sexually dimorphic male ornaments that starkly differ across sepsid fly species (Diptera: Sepsidae): (i) male forelegs range from being unmodified, like in most females, to being adorned with spines and large cuticular protrusions; (ii) the fourth abdominal sternites are either unmodified or are converted into complex de novo appendages; and (iii) male genital claspers range from small and simple to large and complex (e.g. bifurcated). We tracked the development of 18 sepsid species from egg to adult to determine larval feeding and pupal metamorphosis times of both sexes. We then statistically explored whether pupal and adult body size, ornament size and/or ornament complexity are correlated with sex-specific development times. Larval growth and foraging periods of male and female larvae did not differ, but the time spent in the pupal stage was ca 5% longer for sepsid males despite emerging 9% smaller than females on average. Surprisingly, we found no evidence that sexual trait complexity prolongs pupal development beyond some effects of trait size. Evolving more complex traits thus does not incur developmental costs at least in this system

Curvature-induced expulsion of actomyosin bundles during cytokinetic ring contraction

Many eukaryotes assemble a ring-shaped actomyosin network that contracts to drive cytokinesis. Unlike actomyosin in sarcomeres, which cycles through contraction and relaxation, the cytokinetic ring disassembles during contraction through an unknown mechanism. Here we find in Schizosaccharomyces japonicus and Schizosaccharomyces pombe that, during actomyosin ring contraction, actin filaments associated with actomyosin rings are expelled as micron-scale bundles containing multiple actomyosin ring proteins. Using functional isolated actomyosin rings we show that expulsion of actin bundles does not require continuous presence of cytoplasm. Strikingly, mechanical compression of actomyosin rings results in expulsion of bundles predominantly at regions of high curvature. Our work unprecedentedly reveals that the increased curvature of the ring itself promotes its disassembly. It is likely that such a curvature-induced mechanism may operate in disassembly of other contractile networks

Evidence for the existence of powder sub-populations in micronized materials : Aerodynamic size-fractions of aerosolized powders possess distinct physicochemical properties

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.Purpose: To investigate the agglomeration behaviour of the fine ( 12.8 µm) particle fractions of salmeterol xinafoate (SX) and fluticasone propionate (FP) by isolating aerodynamic size fractions and characterising their physicochemical and re-dispersal properties. Methods: Aerodynamic fractionation was conducted using the Next Generation Impactor (NGI). Re-crystallized control particles, unfractionated and fractionated materials were characterized for particle size, morphology, crystallinity and surface energy. Re-dispersal of the particles was assessed using dry dispersion laser diffraction and NGI analysis. Results: Aerosolized SX and FP particles deposited in the NGI as agglomerates of consistent particle/agglomerate morphology. SX particles depositing on Stages 3 and 5 had higher total surface energy than unfractionated SX, with Stage 5 particles showing the greatest surface energy heterogeneity. FP fractions had comparable surface energy distributions and bulk crystallinity but differences in surface chemistry. SX fractions demonstrated higher bulk disorder than unfractionated and re-crystallized particles. Upon aerosolization, the fractions differed in their intrinsic emission and dispersion into a fine particle fraction (< 5.0 µm). Conclusions: Micronized powders consisted of sub-populations of particles displaying distinct physicochemical and powder dispersal properties compared to the unfractionated bulk material. This may have implications for the efficiency of inhaled drug deliveryPeer reviewe

Relativistic resonances: Their masses, widths, lifetimes, superposition, and causal evolution

Whether one starts form the analytic S-matrix definition or the requirement of gauge parameter independence in renormalization theory, a relativistic resonance is given by a pole at a complex value s of energy squared. The complex number s does not define the mass and width separately and this definition does not lead to interfering Breit-Wigner if two or more resonances are involved. To accomplish both we invoke the decaying particle aspect of a resonance and associate to each pole a space of relativistic Gamow kets which transform irreducibly under causal Poincare transformations. A Gamow state has an exponential time evolution and one can choose of the many possible width parameters, that parameter as the width of the relativistic resonance which equals the inverse lifetime. This uniquely defines the mass and width parameters for a relativistic resonance. Two or more poles in the same partial wave are given by the sum of Breit-Wigners in the scattering amplitude and by a superposition of Gamow vectors with each Gamow vector corresponding to one Breit-Wigner. In addition to the sum of Breit-Wigners the scattering amplitude contains a background amplitude representing direct production of the final state (contact terms).This contact amplitude is associated to a background vector which is a continuous superposition of Lippmann-Schwinger states. Omitting this continuum gives the Weisskopf-Wigner approximation.Comment: 22 pages, REVTe

History of exotic Meson (4-quark) and Baryon (5-quark) States

I briefly review the history of exotic meson (4-quark) and baryon (5-quark) states, which is rooted in the formalism of Regge pole and duality. There are robust model-independent predictions for the exchange of 4-quark (Baryonium) Regge trajectories in several processes, which are strongly supported by experiment. On the other hand the predictions for the spectroscopy of 4-quark resonances are based on specific QCD inspired models, with some experimental support. The corresponding predictions for the recently discovered exotic baryon (Pentaquark) state are briefly discussed.Comment: 14 pages Latex including 4 eps figures, final version to appear as a topical review in J. Phys.