Bounds on Contact Interactions from LEP1 Data and the High-Q2Q^2 HERA Events

A contact four-fermion interaction between light quarks and electrons has been evoked as a possible explanation for the excess of events observed by HERA at high-$Q^2$. We explore the 1-loop effects of such interaction in limit of the effective scale. Our results are able to discard some of the contact interactions as possible explanation for the HERA events

Redox proteins of hydroxylating bacterial dioxygenases establish a regulatory cascade that prevents gratuitous induction of tetralin biodegradation genes

Bacterial dioxygenase systems are multicomponent enzymes that catalyze the initial degradation of many environmentally hazardous compounds. In Sphingopyxis granuli strain TFA tetralin dioxygenase hydroxylates tetralin, an organic contaminant. It consists of a ferredoxin reductase (ThnA4), a ferredoxin (ThnA3) and a oxygenase (ThnA1/ThnA2), forming a NAD(P)H-ThnA4-ThnA3-ThnA1/ThnA2 electron transport chain. ThnA3 has also a regulatory function since it prevents expression of tetralin degradation genes (thn) in the presence of non-metabolizable substrates of the catabolic pathway. This role is of physiological relevance since avoids gratuitous and wasteful production of catabolic enzymes. Our hypothesis for thn regulation implies that ThnA3 exerts its action by diverting electrons towards the regulator ThnY, an iron-sulfur flavoprotein that together with the transcriptional activator ThnR is necessary for thn gene expression. Here we analyze electron transfer among ThnA4, ThnA3 and ThnY by using stopped-flow spectrophotometry and determination of midpoint reduction potentials. Our results indicate that when accumulated in its reduced form ThnA3 is able to fully reduce ThnY. In addition, we have reproduced in vitro the regulatory circuit in the proposed physiological direction, NAD(P)H-ThnA4-ThnA3-ThnY. ThnA3 represents an unprecedented way of communication between a catabolic pathway and its regulatory system to prevent gratuitous induction

Elemental Abundances of Kepler Objects of Interest in APOGEE. I. Two Distinct Orbital Period Regimes Inferred from Host Star Iron Abundances

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has observed $\sim$600 transiting exoplanets and exoplanet candidates from \textit{Kepler} (Kepler Objects of Interest, KOIs), most with $\geq$18 epochs. The combined multi-epoch spectra are of high signal-to-noise (typically $\geq$100) and yield precise stellar parameters and chemical abundances. We first confirm the ability of the APOGEE abundance pipeline, ASPCAP, to derive reliable [Fe/H] and effective temperatures for FGK dwarf stars -- the primary \textit{Kepler} host stellar type -- by comparing the ASPCAP-derived stellar parameters to those from independent high-resolution spectroscopic characterizations for 221 dwarf stars in the literature. With a sample of 282 close-in ($P<100$ days) KOIs observed in the APOGEE KOI goal program, we find a correlation between orbital period and host star [Fe/H] characterized by a critical period, $P_\mathrm{crit}$= $8.3^{+0.1}_{-4.1}$ days, below which small exoplanets orbit statistically more metal-enriched host stars. This effect may trace a metallicity dependence of the protoplanetary disk inner-radius at the time of planet formation or may be a result of rocky planet ingestion driven by inward planetary migration. We also consider that this may trace a metallicity dependence of the dust sublimation radius, but find no statistically significant correlation with host $T_\mathrm{eff}$ and orbital period to support such a claim.Comment: 18 Pages, Accepted to A

Metallic spin-glasses beyond mean-field: An approach to the impurity-concentration dependence of the freezing temperature

A relation between the freezing temperature ($T^{}_{\rm g}$) and the exchange couplings ($J^{}_{ij}$) in metallic spin-glasses is derived, taking the spin-correlations ($G^{}_{ij}$) into account. This approach does not involve a disorder-average. The expansion of the correlations to first order in $J^{}_{ij}/T^{}_{\rm g}$ leads to the molecular-field result from Thouless-Anderson-Palmer. Employing the current theory of the spin-interaction in disordered metals, an equation for $T^{}_{\rm g}$ as a function of the concentration of impurities is obtained, which reproduces the available data from {\sl Au}Fe, {\sl Ag}Mn, and {\sl Cu}Mn alloys well.Comment: 4 figures. This is a strongly revised version, where several aspects have been improved, and the equation for the freezing temperature has been refined. It is equivalent to the published version in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 25 (2013) 13600

Predicting and Characterizing Neurodegenerative Subtypes with Multimodal Neurocognitive Signatures of Social and Cognitive Processes

Background: Social cognition is critically compromised across neurodegenerative diseases, including the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). However, no previous study has used social cognition and other cognitive tasks to predict diagnoses of these conditions, let alone reporting the brain correlates of prediction outcomes. Objective: We performed a diagnostic classification analysis using social cognition, cognitive screening (CS), and executive function (EF) measures, and explored which anatomical and functional networks were associated with main predictors. Methods: Multiple group discriminant function analyses (MDAs) and ROC analyses of social cognition (facial emotional recognition, theory of mind), CS, and EF were implemented in 223 participants (bvFTD, AD, PD, controls). Gray matter volume and functional connectivity correlates of top discriminant scores were investigated. Results: Although all patient groups revealed deficits in social cognition, CS, and EF, our classification approach provided robust discriminatory characterizations. Regarding controls, probabilistic social cognition outcomes provided the best characterization for bvFTD (together with CS) and PD, but not AD (for which CS alone was the best predictor). Within patient groups, the best MDA probabilities scores yielded high classification rates for bvFTD versus PD (98.3%, social cognition), AD versus PD (98.6%, social cognition+CS), and bvFTD versus AD (71.7%, social cognition+CS). Top MDA scores were associated with specific patterns of atrophy and functional networks across neurodegenerative conditions. Conclusion: Standardized validated measures of social cognition, in combination with CS, can provide a dimensional classification with specific pathophysiological markers of neurodegeneration diagnoses.Fil: Ibanez Barassi, Agustin Mariano. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Universidad de Dublin; Irlanda. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Fittipaldi, Sol. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Trujillo, Catalina. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Jaramillo, Tania. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Torres, Alejandra. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Cardona, Juan F.. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Rivera, Rodrigo. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Slachevsky, Andrea. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Garciá, Adolfo. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; Chile. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Bertoux, Maxime. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileFil: Baez, Sandra. Universidad de los Andes; Colombi