Asymmetric Synthesis of (7aS)-7a-Methyl-4,5,7,7a-tetrahydro-1H-indene-2,6-dione and Useful Derivatives Thereof

The enantioselective synthesis of the title compound, using Meyers' bicyclic lactam methodology, is described. This compound and a few of its derivatives are useful intermediates in natural product synthesis

Ongoing Mass Transfer in the Interacting Galaxy Pair NGC 1409/10

I present two-band HST STIS imaging, and WIYN spectral mapping, of ongoing mass transfer in the interacting galaxy pair NGC 1409/10 (where NGC 1410 is the Seyfert galaxy also catalogued as III Zw 55). Archival snapshot WFPC2 imaging from the survey by Malkan et al. showed a dust feature stretching between the galaxies, apparently being captured by NGC 1409. The new images allow estimates of the mass being transferred and rate of transfer. An absorption lane typically 0.25" (100 pc) wide with a representative optical depth tau_B = 0.2 cuts across the spiral structure of NGC 1410, crosses the 7-kpc projected space between the nuclei, wraps in front of and, at the limits of detection, behind NGC 1409, and becomes a denser (tau_B = 0.4) polar feature around the core of NGC 1409. Combination of extinction data in two passbands allows a crude three-dimensional recovery of the dust structure, supporting the front/back geometry derived from colors and extinction estimates. The whole feature contains of order $10^6$ solar masses in dust, implying about 2x10^7 solar masses of gas, requiring a mass transfer rate averaging ~1 solar mass per year unless we are particularly unlucky in viewing angle. Curiously, this demonstrable case of mass transfer seems to be independent of the occurrence of a Seyfert nucleus, since the Seyfert galaxy in this pair is the donor of the material. Likewise, the recipient shows no signs of recent star formation from incoming gas, although NGC 1410 has numerous luminous young star clusters and widespread H-alpha emission.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for the Astronomical Journal, March 200

DELPHES 3, A modular framework for fast simulation of a generic collider experiment

The version 3.0 of the DELPHES fast-simulation is presented. The goal of DELPHES is to allow the simulation of a multipurpose detector for phenomenological studies. The simulation includes a track propagation system embedded in a magnetic field, electromagnetic and hadron calorimeters, and a muon identification system. Physics objects that can be used for data analysis are then reconstructed from the simulated detector response. These include tracks and calorimeter deposits and high level objects such as isolated electrons, jets, taus, and missing energy. The new modular approach allows for greater flexibility in the design of the simulation and reconstruction sequence. New features such as the particle-flow reconstruction approach, crucial in the first years of the LHC, and pile-up simulation and mitigation, which is needed for the simulation of the LHC detectors in the near future, have also been implemented. The DELPHES framework is not meant to be used for advanced detector studies, for which more accurate tools are needed. Although some aspects of DELPHES are hadron collider specific, it is flexible enough to be adapted to the needs of electron-positron collider experiments.Comment: JHEP 1402 (2014

Tagging b jets with electrons and muons at CMS

The first results of identification of jets from b quarks with soft-lepton tagging algorithms are presented in this note. Jets are built from the energy deposits in the electromagnetic and hadron calorimeters, with an iterative cone algorithm. Electrons and muons are searched for among the reconstructed charged particle tracks associated to these jets with an angular distance criterion. The muon identification is based on standard muon reconstruction algorithms, exploiting the dedicated muon detectors, while electron identification is based on the extrapolation of charged particle tracks into the calorimeter and a detailed analysis of the calorimeter clusters in the region around the track. Jets from b quarks are identified from the kinematic properties of the leptons relative to the jet and the significance of the three dimensional impact parameter of the lepton with respect to the event vertex. The effect of not incorporating the impact parameter significance, as would be necessary for data collected prior to the installation of the silicon pixel tracking detector, is also studied

Abnormal repetitive behaviors in zebrafish and their relevance to human brain disorders

Abnormal repetitive behaviors (ARBs) are a prominent symptom of numerous human brain disorders and are commonly seen in rodent models as well. While rodent studies of ARBs continue to dominate the field, mounting evidence suggests that zebrafish (Danio rerio) also display ARB-like phenotypes and may therefore be a novel model organism for ARB research. In addition to clear practical research advantages as a model species, zebrafish share high genetic and physiological homology to humans and rodents, including multiple ARB-related genes and robust behaviors relevant to ARB. Here, we discuss a wide spectrum of stereotypic repetitive behaviors in zebrafish, data on their genetic and pharmacological modulation, and the overall translational relevance of fish ARBs to modeling human brain disorders. Overall, the zebrafish is rapidly emerging as a new promising model to study ARBs and their underlying mechanisms. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

MadGraph/MadEvent v4: The New Web Generation

We present the latest developments of the MadGraph/MadEvent Monte Carlo event generator and several applications to hadron collider physics. In the current version events at the parton, hadron and detector level can be generated directly from a web interface, for arbitrary processes in the Standard Model and in several physics scenarios beyond it (HEFT, MSSM, 2HDM). The most important additions are: a new framework for implementing user-defined new physics models; a standalone running mode for creating and testing matrix elements; generation of events corresponding to different processes, such as signal(s) and backgrounds, in the same run; two platforms for data analysis, where events are accessible at the parton, hadron and detector level; and the generation of inclusive multi-jet samples by combining parton-level events with parton showers. To illustrate the new capabilities of the package some applications to hadron collider physics are presented: 1) Higgs search in pp \to H \to W^+W^-: signal and backgrounds. 2) Higgs CP properties: pp \to H jj$in the HEFT. 3) Spin of a new resonance from lepton angular distributions. 4) Single-top and Higgs associated production in a generic 2HDM. 5) Comparison of strong SUSY pair production at the SPS points. 6) Inclusive W+jets matched samples: comparison with the Tevatron data.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figure

Mixed Morphology Pairs as a Breeding Ground for Active Nuclei

Mixed morphology pairs offer a simplification of the interaction equation that involves a gas-rich fast rotator paired with a gas-poor slow rotator. In past low resolution IRAS studies it was assumed that the bulk of the far infrared emission originated in the spiral component. However our ISO studies revealed a surprising number of early-type components with significant IR emission some of which turned out to show active nuclei. This motivated us to look at the current statistics of active nuclei in mixed pairs using the FIR-radio continuum correlation as a diagnostic. We find a clear excess of early-type components with radio continuum emission and an active nucleus. We suggest that they arise more often in mixed pairs via cross fueling of gas from the spiral companion. This fuel is more efficiently channeled into the nucleus of the slow rotating receptor. In a sample of 112 mixed-morphology pairs from the Karachentsev catalog we find that about 25-30% of detected mixed pairs show a displacement from the radio-FIR relation defined by normal star forming galaxies. The latter objects show excess radio continuum emission while others extend the relation to unusually high radio and FIR flux levels. Many of the outliers/extreme emitters involve an early-type component with an active nucleus. The paired E/S0 galaxies in the sample exhibit a significant excess detection fraction and a marginal excess luminosity distribution compared to isolated unpaired E/S0 galaxies.Comment: 3 figure

Imaginal Discs – A New Source of Chromosomes for Genome Mapping of the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti

Dengue fever is an emerging health threat to as much as half of the human population around the world. No vaccines or drug treatments are currently available. Thus, disease prevention is largely based on efforts to control its major mosquito vector Ae. aegypti. Novel vector control strategies, such as population replacement with pathogen-incompetent transgenic mosquitoes, rely on detailed knowledge of the genome organization for the mosquito. However, the current genome assembly of Ae. aegypti is highly fragmented and requires additional physical mapping onto chromosomes. The absence of readable polytene chromosomes makes genome mapping for this mosquito extremely challenging. In this study, we discovered and investigated a new source of chromosomes useful for the cytogenetic analysis in Ae. aegypti – mitotic chromosomes from imaginal discs of 4th instar larvae. Using natural banding patterns of these chromosomes, we developed a new band-based approach for physical mapping of DNA probes to the precise chromosomal positions. Further application of this approach for genome mapping will greatly enhance the utility of the existing draft genome sequence assembly for Ae. aegypti and thereby facilitate application of advanced genome technologies for investigating and developing novel genetic control strategies for dengue transmission

Understanding How Stress Responses and Stress-Related Behaviors Have Evolved in Zebrafish and Mammals

Stress response is essential for the organism to quickly restore physiological homeostasis disturbed by various environmental insults. In addition to well-established physiological cascades, stress also evokes various brain and behavioral responses. Aquatic animal models, including the zebrafish (Danio rerio), have been extensively used to probe pathobiological mechanisms of stress and stress-related brain disorders. Here, we critically discuss the use of zebrafish models for studying mechanisms of stress and modeling its disorders experimentally, with a particular cross-taxon focus on the potential evolution of stress responses from zebrafish to rodents and humans, as well as its translational implications. © 2021 The AuthorsAVK is supported by the Zebrafish Platform Construction Fund from the Southwest University (Chongqing, China). The collaboration was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) grant 19-15-00053. KAD is supported by the President of Russia Graduate Fellowship, and the Special Rector's Fellowship for SPSU students. ACVVG is supported by the FAPERGS research fellowship 19/2551-0001-669-7. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript