Two 'b's in the Beehive: The Discovery of the First Hot Jupiters in an Open Cluster

We present the discovery of two giant planets orbiting stars in Praesepe (also known as the Beehive Cluster). These are the first known hot Jupiters in an open cluster and the only planets known to orbit Sun-like, main-sequence stars in a cluster. The planets are detected from Doppler shifted radial velocities; line bisector spans and activity indices show no correlation with orbital phase, confirming the variations are caused by planetary companions. Pr0201b orbits a V=10.52 late F dwarf with a period of 4.4264 +/- 0.0070 days and has a minimum mass of 0.540 +/- 0.039 Mjup, and Pr0211b orbits a V=12.06 late G dwarf with a period of 2.1451 +/- 0.0012 days and has a minimum mass of 1.844 +/- 0.064 Mjup. The detection of 2 planets among 53 single members surveyed establishes a lower limit on the hot Jupiter frequency of 3.8 (+5.0)(-2.4) % in this metal-rich open cluster. Given the precisely known age of the cluster, this discovery also demonstrates that, in at least 2 cases, giant planet migration occurred within 600 Myr after formation. As we endeavor to learn more about the frequency and formation history of planets, environments with well-determined properties -- such as open clusters like Praesepe -- may provide essential clues to this end.Comment: 5 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. Published in ApJ Letter

The QUEST large area CCD camera

We have designed, constructed, and put into operation a very large area CCD camera that covers the field of view of the 1.2 m Samuel Oschin Schmidt Telescope at the Palomar Observatory. The camera consists of 112 CCDs arranged in a mosaic of four rows with 28 CCDs each. The CCDs are 600 x 2400 pixel Sarnoff thinned, back-illuminated devices with 13 µm x 13 µm pixels. The camera covers an area of 4.6° x 3.6° on the sky with an active area of 9.6 deg_2. This camera has been installed at the prime focus of the telescope and commissioned, and scientific-quality observations on the Palomar-QUEST Variability Sky Survey were started in 2003 September. The design considerations, construction features, and performance parameters of this camera are described in this paper

The Role of SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) Retrotransposons in Shaping the Human Genome

Retrotransposons can alter the regulation of genes both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally, through mechanisms such as binding transcription factors and alternative splicing of transcripts. SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) retrotransposons are the most recently evolved class of retrotransposable elements, found solely in primates, including humans. SVAs are preferentially found at genic, high GC loci, and have been termed "mobile CpG islands". We hypothesise that the ability of SVAs to mobilise, and their non-random distribution across the genome, may result in differential regulation of certain pathways. We analysed SVA distribution patterns across the human reference genome and identified over-representation of SVAs at zinc finger gene clusters. Zinc finger proteins are able to bind to and repress SVA function through transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms, and the interplay between SVAs and zinc fingers has been proposed as a major feature of genome evolution. We describe observations relating to the clustering patterns of both reference SVAs and polymorphic SVA insertions at zinc finger gene loci, suggesting that the evolution of this network may be ongoing in humans. Further, we propose a mechanism to direct future research and validation efforts, in which the interplay between zinc fingers and their epigenetic modulation of SVAs may regulate a network of zinc finger genes, with the potential for wider transcriptional consequences

Mathematics difficulties in extremely preterm children : evidence of a specific deficit in basic mathematics processing

Background: Extremely preterm (EP, <26 wk gestation) children have been observed to have poor academic achievement in comparison to their term-born peers, especially in mathematics. This study investigated potential underlying causes of this difficulty. Methods: A total of 219 EP participants were compared with 153 term-born control children at 11 y of age. All children were assessed by a psychologist on a battery of standardized cognitive tests and a number estimation test assessing children’s numerical representations. Results: EP children underperformed in all tests in comparison with the term controls (the majority of Ps < 0.001). Different underlying relationships between performance on the number estimation test and mathematical achievement were found in EP as compared with control children. That is, even after controlling for cognitive ability, a relationship between number representations and mathematical performance persisted for EP children only (EP: r = 0.346, n = 186, P < 0.001; control: r = 0.095, n = 146, P = 0.256). Conclusion: Interventions for EP children may target improving children’s numerical representations in order to subsequently remediate their mathematical skills

A Merger Scenario for the Dynamics of Abell 665

We present new redshift measurements for 55 galaxies in the vicinity of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 665. When combined with results from the literature, we have good velocity measurements for a sample of 77 confirmed cluster members from which we derive the cluster's redshift z=0.1829 +/- 0.0005 and line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 1390 +/- 120 km/s. Our analysis of the kinematical and spatial data for the subset of galaxies located within the central 750 kpc reveals only subtle evidence for substructure and non-Gaussianity in the velocity distribution. We find that the brightest cluster member is not moving significantly relative to the other galaxies near the center of the cluster. On the other hand, our deep ROSAT high resolution image of A665 shows strong evidence for isophotal twisting and centroid variation, thereby confirming previous suggestions of significant substructure in the hot X-ray--emitting intracluster gas. In light of this evident substructure, we have compared the optical velocity data with N-body simulations of head-on cluster mergers. We find that a merger of two similar mass subclusters (mass ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) seen close to the time of core-crossing produces velocity distributions that are consistent with that observed.Comment: 30 pages and 7 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Full resoultion figures 1 and 3 available in postscript at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~percy/A665paper.htm

Towards norms for accreditation of biobanks for human health and medical research:Compilation of existing guidelines into an ISO certification/accreditation norm-compatible format

In recent years, biobanks have evolved into professional infrastructures that acquire, validate, process, store, manage and distribute biological material of human origin to public or private end-users/researchers. This article (a) highlights the importance of quality assurance for both the biobank basic processes and sample annotation in order to ensure reliable results of research based on these samples, (b) suggests that certification according to international standards can contribute to the organization of the biobanking processes while accreditation can contribute to the organization of sample characterization/validation, and (c) provides a compilation of all existing guidelines against an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) format.</p