Nature of eclipsing pulsars

We present a model for pulsar radio eclipses in some binary systems, and test this model for PSRs B1957+20 and J2051-0827. We suggest that in these binaries the companion stars are degenerate dwarfs with strong surface magnetic fields. The magnetospheres of these stars are permanently infused by the relativistic particles of the pulsar wind. We argue that the radio waves emitted by the pulsar split into the eigenmodes of the electron-positron plasma as they enter the companion's magnetosphere and are then strongly damped due to cyclotron resonance with the ambient plasma particles. Our model explains in a natural way the anomalous duration and behavior of radio eclipses observed in such systems. In particular, it provides stable, continuous, and frequency-dependent eclipses, in agreement with the observations. We predict a significant variation of linear polarization both at eclipse ingress and egress. In this paper we also suggest several possible mechanisms of generation of the optical and $X$-ray emission observed from these binary systems.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap

V-type asteroids in the middle main belt

V-type asteroids are bodies whose surfaces are constituted of basalt. In the Main Asteroid Belt, most of these asteroids are assumed to come from the basaltic crust of Asteroid (4) Vesta. This idea is mainly supported by (i) the fact that almost all the known V-type asteroids are in the same region of the belt as (4) Vesta, i.e., the inner belt (semi-major axis 2.1 1   km may come from the Vesta family by crossing over the 3/1 resonance. The remaining 70-90% must have a different origin.Fil: Roig, F.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Nesvorny, David. Southwest Research Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Gil Hutton, Ricardo Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito". Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Complejo Astronómico "El Leoncito"; ArgentinaFil: Lazzaro, D.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; Brasi

Majorana Fermions in Equilibrium and Driven Cold Atom Quantum Wires

We introduce a new approach to create and detect Majorana fermions using optically trapped 1D fermionic atoms. In our proposed setup, two internal states of the atoms couple via an optical Raman transition---simultaneously inducing an effective spin-orbit interaction and magnetic field---while a background molecular BEC cloud generates s-wave pairing for the atoms. The resulting cold atom quantum wire supports Majorana fermions at phase boundaries between topologically trivial and nontrivial regions, as well as `Floquet Majorana fermions' when the system is periodically driven. We analyze experimental parameters, detection schemes, and various imperfections.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; references adde

Proton vs. neutron halo breakup

In this paper we show how effective parameters such as effective binding energies can be defined for a proton in the combined nuclear-Coulomb potential, including also the target potential, in the case in which the proton is bound in a nucleus which is partner of a nuclear reaction. Using such effective parameters the proton behaves similarly to a neutron. In this way some unexpected results obtained from dynamical calculations for reactions initiated by very weakly bound proton halo nuclei can be interpreted. Namely the fact that stripping dominates the nuclear breakup cross section which in turn dominates over the Coulomb breakup even when the target is heavy at medium to high incident energies. Our interpretation helps also clarifying why the existence and characteristics of a proton halo extracted from different types of data have sometimes appeared contradictory.Comment: 7 Latex pages, 3 table, 3 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Transcriptional down-regulation of ccr5 in a subset of HIV+ controllers and their family members.

HIV +Elite and Viremic controllers (EC/VCs) are able to control virus infection, perhaps because of host genetic determinants. We identified 16% (21 of 131) EC/VCs with CD4 +T cells with resistance specific to R5-tropic HIV, reversed after introduction of ccr5. R5 resistance was not observed in macrophages and depended upon the method of T cell activation. CD4 +T cells of these EC/VCs had lower ccr2 and ccr5 RNA levels, reduced CCR2 and CCR5 cell-surface expression, and decreased levels of secreted chemokines. T cells had no changes in chemokine receptor mRNA half-life but instead had lower levels of active transcription of ccr2 and ccr5, despite having more accessible chromatin by ATAC-seq. Other nearby genes were also down-regulated, over a region of ~500 kb on chromosome 3p21. This same R5 resistance phenotype was observed in family members of an index VC, also associated with ccr2/ccr5 down-regulation, suggesting that the phenotype is heritable

Evaluation of Biomaterials for Bladder Augmentation using Cystometric Analyses in Various Rodent Models

Renal function and continence of urine are critically dependent on the proper function of the urinary bladder, which stores urine at low pressure and expels it with a precisely orchestrated contraction. A number of congenital and acquired urological anomalies including posterior urethral valves, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and neurogenic bladder secondary to spina bifida/spinal cord injury can result in pathologic tissue remodeling leading to impaired compliance and reduced capacity. Functional or anatomical obstruction of the urinary tract is frequently associated with these conditions, and can lead to urinary incontinence and kidney damage from increased storage and voiding pressures. Surgical implantation of gastrointestinal segments to expand organ capacity and reduce intravesical pressures represents the primary surgical treatment option for these disorders when medical management fails. However, this approach is hampered by the limitation of available donor tissue, and is associated with significant complications including chronic urinary tract infection, metabolic perturbation, urinary stone formation, and secondary malignancy. Current research in bladder tissue engineering is heavily focused on identifying biomaterial configurations which can support regeneration of tissues at defect sites. Conventional 3-D scaffolds derived from natural and synthetic polymers such as small intestinal submucosa and poly-glycolic acid have shown some short-term success in supporting urothelial and smooth muscle regeneration as well as facilitating increased organ storage capacity in both animal models and in the clinic. However, deficiencies in scaffold mechanical integrity and biocompatibility often result in deleterious fibrosis, graft contracture, and calcification, thus increasing the risk of implant failure and need for secondary surgical procedures. In addition, restoration of normal voiding characteristics utilizing standard biomaterial constructs for augmentation cystoplasty has yet to be achieved, and therefore research and development of novel matrices which can fulfill this role is needed. In order to successfully develop and evaluate optimal biomaterials for clinical bladder augmentation, efficacy research must first be performed in standardized animal models using detailed surgical methods and functional outcome assessments. We have previously reported the use of a bladder augmentation model in mice to determine the potential of silk fibroin-based scaffolds to mediate tissue regeneration and functional voiding characteristics. Cystometric analyses of this model have shown that variations in structural and mechanical implant properties can influence the resulting urodynamic features of the tissue engineered bladders. Positive correlations between the degree of matrix-mediated tissue regeneration determined histologically and functional compliance and capacity evaluated by cystometry were demonstrated in this model. These results therefore suggest that functional evaluations of biomaterial configurations in rodent bladder augmentation systems may be a useful format for assessing scaffold properties and establishing in vivo feasibility prior to large animal studies and clinical deployment. In the current study, we will present various surgical stages of bladder augmentation in both mice and rats using silk scaffolds and demonstrate techniques for awake and anesthetized cystometry

Enhancing adult hippocampal neurogenesis with lysophosphatidic acid: a proposal for erasing cocaine contextual memory

Stimulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) has been uncovered as a promising approach in the manipulation of retrograde memories. This work aims to study whether increasing AHN with lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, an endogenous lysophospholipid with proneurogenic actions) promotes the forgetting of previously established cocaine-contextual associations. C57BL/6J mice previously trained in a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm were submitted to 23 days of withdrawal, during which they received repeated intracerebroventricular infusions of LPA, ki16425 (a selective LPA1/3 receptors antagonist), or vehicle solution. Then, CPP maintenance was assessed, and the causal role of AHN in this process was evaluated using a mediation analysis. In a complementary experiment, wild-type and LPA1-null mice were acutely infused with LPA or ki16425 to determine the involvement of the LPA1 receptor in the in vivo proneurogenic actions of LPA. The chronic LPA treatment significantly weakened the long-term retention of a previously acquired cocaine-CPP memory, an effect clearly mediated by a LPA-induced increase in the number of adult-born dentate granule cells. In contrast, the ki16425-treated mice displayed aberrant responses of initially decreased CPP retention that progressively increased CPP across the extinction sessions, in absence of effects on AHN. The histological studies suggested that the proneurogenic actions of LPA were related to the enhancement of cell proliferation and critically depended on the LPA1 receptor function. Our results suggest that the LPA/LPA1-pathway acts as a potent in vivo modulator of AHN, and highlight the usefulness of a post-learning increase of adult-born hippocampal neurons as a strategy to promote the forgetting of cocaine-context associations.Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), co‐funded by the European Research Development Fund (AEI/FEDER, UE) (PSI2013‐44901‐P and PSI2017‐82604‐R to L.J.S. and PSI2015‐73156‐JIN to E.C.O.); by the National System of Health‐Instituto de Salud Carlos III, which is co‐funded by AEI/FEDER, UE (Red de Trastornos Adictivos; RD16/0017/0001 to F.R.d.F.); and by the Andalusian R&D&I Programme, Regional Ministry of Economy and Knowledge (PAIDI CTS643 to G.E.T.). D.L.G.M. hold a FPU grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (FPU13/04819 ). F.R.d.F. and G.E.T. are supported by Nicolas Monardes Programme, from the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health. E.C.O. holds a ‘Jóvenes Investigadores’ grant (code: PSI2015‐73156‐JIN) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), which is co‐funded by the AEI/FEDER, UE

The GALEX Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies

We present images, integrated photometry, surface-brightness and color profiles for a total of 1034 nearby galaxies recently observed by the GALEX satellite in its far-ultraviolet (FUV; 1516A) and near-ultraviolet (NUV; 2267A) bands. (...) This data set has been complemented with archival optical, near-infrared, and far-infrared fluxes and colors. We find that the integrated (FUV-K) color provides robust discrimination between elliptical and spiral/irregular galaxies and also among spiral galaxies of different sub-types. Elliptical galaxies with brighter K-band luminosities (i.e. more massive) are redder in (NUV-K) color but bluer in (FUV-NUV) than less massive ellipticals. In the case of the spiral/irregular galaxies our analysis shows the presence of a relatively tight correlation between the (FUV-NUV) color and the total infrared-to-UV ratio. The correlation found between (FUV-NUV) color and K-band luminosity (with lower luminosity objects being bluer than more luminous ones) can be explained as due to an increase in the dust content with galaxy luminosity. The images in this Atlas along with the profiles and integrated properties are publicly available through a dedicated web page at http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/GALEX_Atlas/Comment: 181 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS (abstract abridged