Light Higgsino from Axion Dark Radiation

The recent observations imply that there is an extra relativistic degree of freedom coined dark radiation. We argue that the QCD axion is a plausible candidate for the dark radiation, not only because of its extremely small mass, but also because in the supersymmetric extension of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism the saxion tends to dominate the Universe and decays into axions with a sizable branching fraction. We show that the Higgsino mixing parameter mu is bounded from above when the axions produced at the saxion decays constitute the dark radiation: mu \lesssim 300 GeV for a saxion lighter than 2m_W, and mu less than the saxion mass otherwise. Interestingly, the Higgsino can be light enough to be within the reach of LHC and/or ILC even when the other superparticles are heavy with mass about 1 TeV or higher. We also estimate the abundance of axino produced by the decays of Higgsino and saxion.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure; published in JHE

RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League: Evaluation Challenges

We summarise the results of RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League in 2016 (Leipzig), including the main competition and the evaluation round. The evaluation round held in Leipzig confirmed the strength of RoboCup-2015 champion (WrightEagle, i.e. WE2015) in the League, with only eventual finalists of 2016 competition capable of defeating WE2015. An extended, post-Leipzig, round-robin tournament which included the top 8 teams of 2016, as well as WE2015, with over 1000 games played for each pair, placed WE2015 third behind the champion team (Gliders2016) and the runner-up (HELIOS2016). This establishes WE2015 as a stable benchmark for the 2D Simulation League. We then contrast two ranking methods and suggest two options for future evaluation challenges. The first one, "The Champions Simulation League", is proposed to include 6 previous champions, directly competing against each other in a round-robin tournament, with the view to systematically trace the advancements in the League. The second proposal, "The Global Challenge", is aimed to increase the realism of the environmental conditions during the simulated games, by simulating specific features of different participating countries.Comment: 12 pages, RoboCup-2017, Nagoya, Japan, July 201

A new species of cosmocercoides (Nematoda; cosmocercidae) and other helminths in leptodactylus latrans (anura; leptodactylidae) from Argentina

Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. (Cosmocercidae) from the small intestine of Leptodactylus latrans (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Northeastern Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina is described. The new species can be distinguished from their congeners by a combination of the characters, among which stands out the number of rosette papillae, the lack of gubernaculum and the presence of lateral alae in both sexes. There are over 20 species in the genus Cosmocercoides, and Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. represents the third species from the Neotropical realm and the second for Argentina. Additionally, seven previously known taxa are reported; Pseudoacanthocephalus cf. lutzi, Catadiscus uruguayensis, Rauschiella palmipedis, Aplectana hylambatis, Cosmocerca parva, Schrankiana sp. and Rhabdias elegans; providing literature records and information on distribution and host-parasite relationships.Fil: Draghi, Regina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Drago, Fabiana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Lunaschi, Lía Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentin

A Novel Role for CD55 in Granulocyte Homeostasis and Anti-Bacterial Host Defense

Background: In addition to its complement-regulating activity, CD55 is a ligand of the adhesion class G protein-coupled receptor CD97; however, the relevance of this interaction has remained elusive. We previously showed that mice lacking a functional CD97 gene have increased numbers of granulocytes. Methodology/Results: Here,wedemonstratethatCD55-deficientmicedisplay a comparable phenotype with about two-fold more circulating granulocytes in the blood stream, the marginated pool, and the spleen. This granulocytosis was independent of increased complement activity. Augmented numbers of Gr-1-positive cells in cell cycle in the bone marrow indicated a higher granulopoietic activity in mice lacking either CD55 or CD97. Concomitant with the increase in blood granulocyte numbers, Cd55-/mice challenged with the respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae developed less bacteremia and died later after infection. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that complement-independent interaction of CD55 with CD97 is functionall

Triggering of the dsRNA Sensors TLR3, MDA5, and RIG-I Induces CD55 Expression in Synovial Fibroblasts

Background: CD55 (decay-accelerating factor) is a complement-regulatory protein highly expressed on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). CD55 is also a ligand for CD97, an adhesion-type G protein-coupled receptor abundantly present on leukocytes. Little is known regarding the regulation of CD55 expression in FLS. Methods: FLS isolated from arthritis patients were stimulated with pro-inflammatory cytokines and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands. Transfection with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) and 5'-triphosphate RNA were used to activate the cytoplasmic double-stranded (ds)RNA sensors melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) and retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I). CD55 expression, cell viability, and binding of CD97-loaded beads were quantified by flow cytometry. Results: CD55 was expressed at equal levels on FLS isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis. CD55 expression in RA FLS was significantly induced by IL-1 beta and especially by the TLR3 ligand poly(I:C). Activation of MDA5 and RIG-I also enhanced CD55 expression. Notably, activation of MDA5 dose-dependently induced cell death, while triggering of TLR3 or RIG-I had a minor effect on viability. Upregulation of CD55 enhanced the binding capacity of FLS to CD97-loaded beads, which could be blocked by antibodies against CD55. Conclusions: Activation of dsRNA sensors enhances the expression of CD55 in cultured FLS, which increases the binding to CD97. Our findings suggest that dsRNA promotes the interaction between FLS and CD97-expressing leukocyte

Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity to Pandemic H1N1 Influenza in a Canadian Cohort One Year Post-Pandemic: Implications for Vaccination

We evaluated a cohort of Canadian donors for T cell and antibody responses against influenza A/California/7/2009 (pH1N1) at 8-10 months after the 2nd pandemic wave by flow cytometry and microneutralization assays. Memory CD8 T cell responses to pH1N1 were detectable in 58% (61/105) of donors. These responses were largely due to cross-reactive CD8 T cell epitopes as, for those donors tested, similar recall responses were obtained to A/California 2009 and A/PR8 1934 H1N1 Hviruses. Longitudinal analysis of a single infected individual showed only a small and transient increase in neutralizing antibody levels, but a robust CD8 T cell response that rose rapidly post symptom onset, peaking at 3 weeks, followed by a gradual decline to the baseline levels seen in a seroprevalence cohort post-pandemic. The magnitude of the influenza-specific CD8 T cell memory response at one year post-pandemic was similar in cases and controls as well as in vaccinated and unvaccinated donors, suggesting that any T cell boosting from infection was transient. Pandemic H1-specific antibodies were only detectable in approximately half of vaccinated donors. However, those who were vaccinated within a few months following infection had the highest persisting antibody titers, suggesting that vaccination shortly after influenza infection can boost or sustain antibody levels. For the most part the circulating influenza-specific T cell and serum antibody levels in the population at one year post-pandemic were not different between cases and controls, suggesting that natural infection does not lead to higher long term T cell and antibody responses in donors with pre-existing immunity to influenza. However, based on the responses of one longitudinal donor, it is possible for a small population of pre-existing cross-reactive memory CD8 T cells to expand rapidly following infection and this response may aid in viral clearance and contribute to a lessening of disease severity

Dynamical mean-field approach to materials with strong electronic correlations

We review recent results on the properties of materials with correlated electrons obtained within the LDA+DMFT approach, a combination of a conventional band structure approach based on the local density approximation (LDA) and the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). The application to four outstanding problems in this field is discussed: (i) we compute the full valence band structure of the charge-transfer insulator NiO by explicitly including the p-d hybridization, (ii) we explain the origin for the simultaneously occuring metal-insulator transition and collapse of the magnetic moment in MnO and Fe2O3, (iii) we describe a novel GGA+DMFT scheme in terms of plane-wave pseudopotentials which allows us to compute the orbital order and cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion in KCuF3 and LaMnO3, and (iv) we provide a general explanation for the appearance of kinks in the effective dispersion of correlated electrons in systems with a pronounced three-peak spectral function without having to resort to the coupling of electrons to bosonic excitations. These results provide a considerable progress in the fully microscopic investigations of correlated electron materials.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, final version, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. for publication in the Special Topics volume "Cooperative Phenomena in Solids: Metal-Insulator Transitions and Ordering of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom

How well do second-year students learn physical diagnosis? Observational study of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)

BACKGROUND: Little is known about using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in physical diagnosis courses. The purpose of this study was to describe student performance on an OSCE in a physical diagnosis course. METHODS: Cross-sectional study at Harvard Medical School, 1997–1999, for 489 second-year students. RESULTS: Average total OSCE score was 57% (range 39–75%). Among clinical skills, students scored highest on patient interaction (72%), followed by examination technique (65%), abnormality identification (62%), history-taking (60%), patient presentation (60%), physical examination knowledge (47%), and differential diagnosis (40%) (p < .0001). Among 16 OSCE stations, scores ranged from 70% for arthritis to 29% for calf pain (p < .0001). Teaching sites accounted for larger adjusted differences in station scores, up to 28%, than in skill scores (9%) (p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Students scored higher on interpersonal and technical skills than on interpretive or integrative skills. Station scores identified specific content that needs improved teaching

On line clinical reasoning assessment with Script Concordance test in urology: results of a French pilot study

BACKGROUND: The Script Concordance test (SC) test is an assessment tool that measures the capacity to solve ill-defined problems, that is, reasoning in a context of uncertainty. This study assesses the feasibility, reliability and validity of the SC test made available on the Web to French urologists. METHODS: A 97 items SC test was developed based on major educational objectives of French urology training programmes. A secure Web site was created with two sequential modules: a) The first one for the reference panel to elaborate the scoring system; b) The second for candidates with different levels of experience in urology: Board certified urologists, chief-residents, residents, medical students. All participants were recruited on a voluntary basis. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics of the participants' scores and factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) to study differences between groups' means. Reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: The on line SC test has been operational since June 2004. Twenty-six faculty members constituted the reference panel. During the following 10 months, 207 participants took the test online (124 urologists, 29 chief-residents, 38 residents, 16 students). No technical problem was encountered. Forty-five percent of the participants completed the test partially only. Differences between the means scores for the 4 groups were statistically significant (P = 0.0123). The Bonferroni post-hoc correction indicated that significant differences were present between students and chief-residents, between students and urologists. There were no differences between chief-residents and urologists. Reliability coefficient was 0.734 for the total group of participants. CONCLUSION: Feasibility of Web-based SC test was proved successful by the large number of participants who participated in a few months. This Web site has permitted to quickly confirm reliability of the SC test and develop strategy to improve construct validity of the test when applied in the field of urology. Nevertheless, optimisation of the SC test content, with a smaller number of items will be necessary. Virtual medical education initiative such as this SC test delivered on the Internet warrants consideration in the current context of national pre-residency certification examination in France