INTEGRAL high energy behaviour of 4U 1812-12

The low mass X-ray binary system 4U 1812-12 was monitored with the INTEGRAL observatory in the period 2003-2004 and with BeppoSAX on April 20, 2000. We report here on the spectral and temporal analysis of both persistent and burst emission. The full data set confirms the persistent nature of this burster, and reveals the presence of emission up to 200 keV. The persistent spectrum is well described by a comptonization (CompTT) model plus a soft blackbody component. The source was observed in a hard spectral state with a 1-200 keV luminosity of 2*10^(36) ergs/s and L/LEdd~1% and no meaningful flux variation has been revealed, as also confirmed by a 2004 RXTE observation. We have also detected 4 bursts showing double peaked profiles and blackbody spectra with temperatures ranging from 1.9 to 3.1 keV.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication by A&

The 3rd IBIS/ISGRI soft gamma-ray survey catalog

In this paper we report on the third soft gamma-ray source catalog obtained with the IBIS/ISGRI gamma-ray imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite. The scientific dataset is based on more than 40 Ms of high quality observations performed during the first three and a half years of Core Program and public IBIS/ISGRI observations. Compared to previous IBIS/ISGRI surveys, this catalog includes a substantially increased coverage of extragalactic fields, and comprises more than 400 high-energy sources detected in the energy range 17-100 keV, including both transients and faint persistent objects which can only be revealed with longer exposure times.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Suppl.; 11 pages; 4 figures Minor changes to conten

Discovery of the INTEGRAL X/Gamma-ray transient IGR J00291+5934: a Comptonised accreting ms pulsar ?

We report the discovery of a high-energy transient with the IBIS/ISGRI detector on board the INTEGRAL observatory. The source, namely IGR J00291+5934, was first detected on 2nd December 2004 in the routine monitoring of the IBIS/ISGRI 20--60 keV images. The observations were conducted during Galactic Plane Scans, which are a key part of the INTEGRAL Core Programme observations. After verifying the basic source behaviour, the discovery was announced on 3rd December. The transient shows a hard Comptonised spectrum, with peak energy release at about 20 keV and a total luminosity of ~ 0.9E36 erg/s in the 5--100 keV range, assuming a distance of 3 kpc. Following the INTEGRAL announcement of the discovery of IGR J00291+5934, a number of observations were made by other instruments. We summarise the results of those observations and, together with the INTEGRAL data, identifiy IGR J00291+5934 as the 6th member of a class of accreting X-ray millisecond pulsars.Comment: Accepted for publication as an A&A Letter 24/01/2005. 5 pages, 2 figure

The 2009 outburst of H~1743-322 as observed by RXTE

We analyze the RXTE observations of the 2009 outburst of H~1743-322, as well as the observations of the previous five outbursts for comparison. The hardness-intensity diagram (HID) shows a complete counter-clockwise q-track for the 2009 outburst and, interestingly, the track falls in} between a huge one in 2003, with a complete transition to high/soft state, and that of} the failed outburst in 2008. It leaves the low/hard state but does not reach the leftmost edge of the overall HID. While the lowest hardness (6--19 keV/3--6 keV) values} in the HID is about 0.3--0.4 for the 2009 outburst, similar to the ``failed state transition" seen in the persistent black hole XRB Cyg X-1, the timing analysis shows that a transition to the high soft state occurred. During the low/hard state of the 2009 outburst, the inner radius of the accretion disk is found to be closer to the central black hole and have an anti-correlation with the disk temperature. These results may be understood as the reprocessing} of the hot corona on the disk's} soft X-rays, which can lead to an underestimation of the inner radius of the accretion disk. In the luminosity diagram of the corona versus the disk, the tracks of the outbursts} in 2003 and 2009 cross the line which represents a roughly equal contribution to the entire emission from the thermal and the non-thermal components;} the track of the 2008 outburst has the turn-over falling} on this line. This may be indicative of an emission balance between the corona and the disk, which prevents the state transition from going further than the low/hard state.Comment: accepted by A&

XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL observations of the very faint X-ray transient IGRJ17285-2922/XTEJ1728-295 during the 2010 outburst

We report the first broad-band (0.5-150 keV) simultaneous X-ray observations of the very faint X-ray transient IGRJ17285-2922/XTEJ1728-295 performed with XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL satellites during its last outburst, started on 2010, August 28. XMM-Newton observed the source on 2010 September 9-10, for 22ks. INTEGRAL observations were part of the publicly available Galactic Bulge program, and overlapped with the times covered by XMM-Newton. The broad-band spectroscopy resulted in a best-fit with an absorbed power law displaying a photon index of 1.61+/-0.01, an absorbing column density of (5.10+/-0.05)E21 cm-2, and a flux of 2.4E-10 erg/cm2/s (1-100 keV), corrected for the absorption. The data did not require either a spectral cut-off (E>50 keV) or an additional soft component. The slopes of the XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL separate spectra were compatible, within the uncertainties. The timing analysis does not show evidence either for X-ray pulsations or for type I X-ray bursts. The broad band X-ray spectrum as well as the power density spectrum are indicative of a low hard state in a low mass X-ray binary, although nothing conclusive can be said about the nature of the compact object (neutron star or black hole). The results we are reporting here allow us to conclude that IGRJ17285-2922 is a low mass X-ray binary, located at a distance greater than 4 kpc.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 7 pages, 6 figure, 1 table. Accepted 2011 April 5. Received 2011 April 5; in original form 2011 February 2

Early predictors of impaired social functioning in male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognition impairments but its basic disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. Progress has been impeded by the absence of animal models that manifest behavioral phenotypes relevant to ASD. Rhesus monkeys are an ideal model organism to address this barrier to progress. Like humans, rhesus monkeys are highly social, possess complex social cognition abilities, and exhibit pronounced individual differences in social functioning. Moreover, we have previously shown that Low-Social (LS) vs. High-Social (HS) adult male monkeys exhibit lower social motivation and poorer social skills. It is not known, however, when these social deficits first emerge. The goals of this study were to test whether juvenile LS and HS monkeys differed as infants in their ability to process social information, and whether infant social abilities predicted later social classification (i.e., LS vs. HS), in order to facilitate earlier identification of monkeys at risk for poor social outcomes. Social classification was determined for N = 25 LS and N = 25 HS male monkeys that were 1–4 years of age. As part of a colony-wide assessment, these monkeys had previously undergone, as infants, tests of face recognition memory and the ability to respond appropriately to conspecific social signals. Monkeys later identified as LS vs. HS showed impairments in recognizing familiar vs. novel faces and in the species-typical adaptive ability to gaze avert to scenes of conspecific aggression. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression using infant social ability measures perfectly predicted later social classification of all N = 50 monkeys. These findings suggest that an early capacity to process important social information may account for differences in rhesus monkeys’ motivation and competence to establish and maintain social relationships later in life. Further development of this model will facilitate identification of novel biological targets for intervention to improve social outcomes in at-risk young monkeys

The INTEGRAL Galactic bulge monitoring program: the first 1.5 years

The Galactic bulge region is a rich host of variable high-energy point sources. Since 2005, February 17 we are monitoring the source activity in this region about every three days with INTEGRAL. Thanks to the large field of view, the imaging capabilities and the sensitivity at hard X-rays, we are able to present for the first time a detailed homogeneous (hard) X-ray view of a sample of 76 sources in the Galactic bulge region. We describe the successful monitoring program and show the first results for a period of about one and a half year. We focus on the short (hour), medium (month) and long-term (year) variability in the 20-60 keV and 60-150 keV bands. When available, we discuss the simultaneous observations in the 3-10 keV and 10-25 keV bands. Per visibility season we detect 32/33 sources in the 20-60 keV band and 8/9 sources in the 60-150 keV band. On average, we find per visibility season one active bright (>~100 mCrab, 20-60 keV) black-hole candidate X-ray transient and three active weaker (<~25 mCrab, 20-60 keV) neutron star X-ray transients. Most of the time a clear anti-correlation can be seen between the soft and hard X-ray emission in some of the X-ray bursters. Hard X-ray flares or outbursts in X-ray bursters, which have a duration of the order of weeks, are accompanied by soft X-ray drops. On the other hand, hard X-ray drops can be accompanied by soft X-ray flares/outbursts. We found a number of new sources, IGR J17354-3255, IGR 17453-2853, IGR J17454-2703, IGR J17456-2901b, IGR J17536-2339, and IGR J17541-2252. We report here on some of the high-energy properties of these sources. The high-energy light curves of all the sources in the field of view, and the high-energy images of the region, are made available through the WWW at http://isdc.unige.ch/Science/BULGE/.Comment: 27 pages, 42 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract abridged. Tables 3,4,6,7 appear at the end. Images have been compressed and are reduced in quality; original PostScript images can be retrieved from http://isdc.unige.ch/~kuulkers/bulge

Upper- and mid-mantle interaction between the Samoan plume and the Tonga-Kermadec slabs

Mantle plumes are thought to play a key role in transferring heat from the core\u2013mantle boundary to the lithosphere, where it can significantly influence plate tectonics. On impinging on the lithosphere at spreading ridges or in intra-plate settings, mantle plumes may generate hotspots, large igneous provinces and hence considerable dynamic topography. However, the active role of mantle plumes on subducting slabs remains poorly understood. Here we show that the stagnation at 660 km and fastest trench retreat of the Tonga slab in Southwestern Pacific are consistent with an interaction with the Samoan plume and the Hikurangi plateau. Our findings are based on comparisons between 3D anisotropic tomography images and 3D petrological-thermo-mechanical models, which self-consistently explain several unique features of the Fiji\u2013Tonga region. We identify four possible slip systems of bridgmanite in the lower mantle that reconcile the observed seismic anisotropy beneath the Tonga slab (VSH4VSV) with thermo-mechanical calculations

New evidence of specific synaptic remodelling by corticosterone-treated astrocytes conditioned medium

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating multifactorial neuropsychiatric syndrome, affecting about 20% of the population and representing the leading cause of disability worldwide with severe social and economic consequences [1]. Stress exposure has been recognized as the main risk factor and more in detail, an individual’s ability to cope with stress in an adaptive way can determine their resilience or vulnerability to MDD development [2]. MDD is characterized by many alterations among which, in most patients, hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and glucocorticoid resistance. In patients with severe depression, increased levels of serum and salivary cortisol have been found [3]. Astrocytes are glial cells fundamental for the central nervous system, functioning as neuronal support and participating in the regulation of ion homeostasis, neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity and neuroinflammation. Evidence from both human post-mortem brains and animal models indicate the involvement of astrocytes in MDD pathophysiology [4]. In literature the impact of glucocorticoids on astrocyte alone is still understudied and even less is known about how treated astrocytes can affect neuronal function. Thus, to shed light on this topic, we treated mouse primary hippocampal astrocytes with corticosterone (CORT) at low concentration or DMSO twice a day for 3 days and then used their conditioned medium (ACM) to treat mouse primary hippocampal neurons at DIV 17 for either 1 or 24 hours. We investigated the impact of such treatment on neurons by (i) recording miniature post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs and mIPSCs) in whole-cell patch clamp configuration, and by (ii) performing immunofluorescence experiments targeting vGLUT1 and vGAT, markers of the excitatory and inhibitory pre-synaptic compartments respectively. Interestingly, ACM-CORT-treated neurons displayed specific and persistent changes of both mEPSCs and mIPSCs frequencies compared to ACM-DMSO-treated neurons at both 1 and 24 hours whereas only minimal changes appeared in terms of amplitude. In parallel and in line, ACM-CORT-treated neurons showed changes in the expression of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic puncta. The TUNEL assay showed no changes in the number of apoptotic nuclei, indicating that the functional and structural variations in ACM-CORT-treated neurons were not related to neuronal loss. We could conclude that the medium conditioned by astrocytes treated chronically with CORT has a toxic effect on neuron synapses, specifically affecting the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic compartment at 1 hour and then at 24 hours. In order to pinpoint the mechanisms by which ACM-CORT and ACM-DMSO have different effects on neurons, ACMs were analyzed through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with label-free quantification. Of all the 1193 proteins present in both conditions, a total of 636 were significantly varied: 451 were decreased and 221 were increased in ACM-CORT compared to ACM-DMSO. 16 proteins were present only in ACM-DMSO and 20 were present only in ACM-CORT. In the next future, understanding exactly which factors released from CORT-treated astrocytes are impacting on neuronal function will be important to better understand how astrocytes and glucocorticoids can be involved in MDD pathophysiology and potentially be targeted to discover new treatments