The development of a protoplanetary disk from its natal envelope

Class 0 protostars, the youngest type of young stellar objects, show many signs of rapid development from their initial, spheroidal configurations, and therefore are studied intensively for details of the formation of protoplanetary disks within protostellar envelopes. At millimetre wavelengths, kinematic signatures of collapse have been observed in several such protostars, through observations of molecular lines that probe their outer envelopes. It has been suggested that one or more components of the proto-multiple system NGC 1333-IRAS 4 (refs 1, 2) may display signs of an embedded region that is warmer and denser than the bulk of the envelope(3,4). Here we report observations that reveal details of the core on Solar System dimensions. We detect in NGC 1333-IRAS 4B a rich emission spectrum of H2O, at wavelengths 20-37 mu m, which indicates an origin in extremely dense, warm gas. We can model the emission as infall from a protostellar envelope onto the surface of a deeply embedded, dense disk, and therefore see the development of a protoplanetary disk. This is the only example of mid-infrared water emission from a sample of 30 class 0 objects, perhaps arising from a favourable orientation; alternatively, this may be an early and short-lived stage in the evolution of a protoplanetary disk.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62894/1/nature06087.pd

The Diagnosis of Delirium Superimposed on Dementia: An Emerging Challenge

Delirium occurring in patients with dementia is referred to as delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD). People who are older with dementia and who are institutionalized are at increased risk of developing delirium when hospitalized. In addition, their prior cognitive impairment makes detecting their delirium a challenge. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision are considered the standard reference for the diagnosis of delirium and include criteria of impairments in cognitive processes such as attention, additional cognitive disturbances, or altered level of arousal. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision does not provide guidance regarding specific tests for assessment of the cognitive process impaired in delirium. Importantly, the assessment or inclusion of preexisting cognitive impairment is also not addressed by these standards. The challenge of DSD gets more complex as types of dementia, particularly dementia with Lewy bodies, which has features of both delirium and dementia, are considered. The objective of this article is to critically review key elements for the diagnosis of DSD, including the challenge of neuropsychological assessment in patients with dementia and the influence of particular tests used to diagnose DSD. To address the challenges of DSD diagnosis, we present a framework for guiding the focus of future research efforts to develop a reliable reference standard to diagnose DSD. A key feature of a reliable reference standard will improve the ability to clinically diagnose DSD in facility-based patients and research studies

Perspective from a Younger Generation -- The Astro-Spectroscopy of Gisbert Winnewisser

Gisbert Winnewisser's astronomical career was practically coextensive with the whole development of molecular radio astronomy. Here I would like to pick out a few of his many contributions, which I, personally, find particularly interesting and put them in the context of newer results.Comment: 14 pages. (Co)authored by members of the MPIfR (Sub)millimeter Astronomy Group. To appear in the Proceedings of the 4th Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium "The Dense Interstellar Medium in Galaxies" eds. S. Pfalzner, C. Kramer, C. Straubmeier, & A. Heithausen (Springer: Berlin

Roles of hyaluronan in bone resorption

BACKGROUND: Hyaluronan, an unsulfated glycosaminoglycan, while being closely linked to osteoclast function several years ago, has received little attention lately. Given recent new knowledge of hyaluronan's possible cell binding abilities, it is important to re-examine the role of this polysaccharide in bone homeostasis. DISCUSSION: Previously published data demonstrating a linkage between induction of hyaluronan synthesis and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption are reviewed. Suggestions are made involving the cell binding ability of hyaluronan and its potential to mediate osteoclast binding to bone surfaces and its potential to serve as a diffusion barrier and participate in the sealing zone required for osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. SUMMARY: This brief article summarizes previous studies linking HA to bone resorption and suggests roles for hyaluronan in the process of bone resorption

Polymorphisms on SSC15q21-q26 Containing QTL for reproduction in Swine and its association with litter size

Several quantitative trait loci (QTL) for important reproductive traits (ovulation rate) have been identified on the porcine chromosome 15 (SSC15). To assist in the selection of positional candidate swine genes for these QTL on SSC15, twenty-one genes had already been assigned to SSC15 in a previous study in our lab, by using the radiation hybrid panel IMpRH. Further polymorphism studies were carried out on these positional candidate genes with four breeds of pigs (Duroc, Erhualian, Dahuabai and Landrace) harboring significant differences in reproduction traits. A total of nineteen polymorphisms were found in 21 genes. Among these, seven in six genes were used for association studies, whereby NRP2 polymorphism was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) associated with litter-size traits. NRP2 might be a candidate gene for pig-litter size based on its chromosome location (Du et al., 2006), significant association with litter-size traits and relationships with Sema and the VEGF super families

Thymic Alterations in GM2 Gangliosidoses Model Mice

BACKGROUND: Sandhoff disease is a lysosomal storage disorder characterized by the absence of β-hexosaminidase and storage of GM2 ganglioside and related glycolipids. We have previously found that the progressive neurologic disease induced in Hexb(-/-) mice, an animal model for Sandhoff disease, is associated with the production of pathogenic anti-glycolipid autoantibodies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In our current study, we report on the alterations in the thymus during the development of mild to severe progressive neurologic disease. The thymus from Hexb(-/-) mice of greater than 15 weeks of age showed a marked decrease in the percentage of immature CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells and a significantly increased number of CD4(+)/CD8(-) T cells. During involution, the levels of both apoptotic thymic cells and IgG deposits to T cells were found to have increased, whilst swollen macrophages were prominently observed, particularly in the cortex. We employed cDNA microarray analysis to monitor gene expression during the involution process and found that genes associated with the immune responses were upregulated, particularly those expressed in macrophages. CXCL13 was one of these upregulated genes and is expressed specifically in the thymus. B1 cells were also found to have increased in the thy mus. It is significant that these alterations in the thymus were reduced in FcRγ additionally disrupted Hexb(-/-) mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that the FcRγ chain may render the usually poorly immunogenic thymus into an organ prone to autoimmune responses, including the chemotaxis of B1 cells toward CXCL13

Diagnosis and treatment trends in mucopolysaccharidosis I: findings from the MPS I Registry

Our objective was to assess how the diagnosis and treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS I) have changed over time. We used data from 891 patients in the MPS I Registry, an international observational database, to analyze ages at symptom onset, diagnosis, treatment initiation, and treatment allocation (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, enzyme replacement therapy with laronidase, both, or neither) over time for all disease phenotypes (Hurler, Hurler–Scheie, and Scheie syndromes). The interval between diagnosis and treatment has become shorter since laronidase became available in 2003 (gap during 2006–2009: Hurler—0.2 year, Hurler–Scheie—0.5 year, Scheie—1.4 years). However, the age at diagnosis has not decreased for any MPS I phenotype over time, and the interval between symptom onset and treatment initiation remains substantial for both Hurler–Scheie and Scheie patients (gap during 2006–2009, 2.42 and 6.71 years, respectively). Among transplanted patients, an increasing proportion received hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood (34 out of 64 patients by 2009) and was also treated with laronidase (42 out of 45 patients by 2009). Conclusions: Despite the availability of laronidase since 2003, the diagnosis of MPS I is still substantially delayed for patients with Hurler–Scheie and Scheie phenotypes, which can lead to a sub-optimal treatment outcome. Increased awareness of MPS I signs and symptoms by primary care providers and pediatric subspecialists is crucial to initiate early treatment and to improve the quality of life of MPS I patients

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

A Research Agenda for Helminth Diseases of Humans: Health Research and Capacity Building in Disease-Endemic Countries for Helminthiases Control

Capacity building in health research generally, and helminthiasis research particularly, is pivotal to the implementation of the research and development agenda for the control and elimination of human helminthiases that has been proposed thematically in the preceding reviews of this collection. Since helminth infections affect human populations particularly in marginalised and low-income regions of the world, they belong to the group of poverty-related infectious diseases, and their alleviation through research, policy, and practice is a sine qua non condition for the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Current efforts supporting research capacity building specifically for the control of helminthiases have been devised and funded, almost in their entirety, by international donor agencies, major funding bodies, and academic institutions from the developed world, contributing to the creation of (not always equitable) North–South “partnerships”. There is an urgent need to shift this paradigm in disease-endemic countries (DECs) by refocusing political will, and harnessing unshakeable commitment by the countries' governments, towards health research and capacity building policies to ensure long-term investment in combating and sustaining the control and eventual elimination of infectious diseases of poverty. The Disease Reference Group on Helminth Infections (DRG4), established in 2009 by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), was given the mandate to review helminthiases research and identify research priorities and gaps. This paper discusses the challenges confronting capacity building for parasitic disease research in DECs, describes current capacity building strategies with particular reference to neglected tropical diseases and human helminthiases, and outlines recommendations to redress the balance of alliances and partnerships for health research between the developed countries of the “North” and the developing countries of the “South”. We argue that investing in South–South collaborative research policies and capacity is as important as their North–South counterparts and is essential for scaled-up and improved control of helminthic diseases and ultimately for regional elimination

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012