The quality of political information

The article conceptualizes the quality of political information and shows how the concept can be used for empirical research. I distinguish three aspects of quality (intelligibility, relevance, validity) and use them to judge the constituent foundations of political information, that is component claims (statements of alleged facts) and connection claims (argumentative statements created by causally linking two component claims). The resulting conceptual map thus entails six manifestations of information quality (component claimintelligibility, connection claim intelligibility, component claimrelevance, connection claim relevance, component claim validity, and connection claim validity). I explain how the conceptual map can be used to make sense of the eclectic variety of existing research, and how it can advance new empirical research, as a guide for determining variation in information quality, as a conceptual template for the analysis of different types of political messages and their common quality deficiencies, and as a generator of new research questions and theoretical expectations

Transient acceleration events in LISA Pathfinder data: Properties and possible physical origin

We present an in depth analysis of the transient events, or glitches, detected at a rate of about one per day in the differential acceleration data of LISA Pathfinder. We show that these glitches fall in two rather distinct categories: fast transients in the interferometric motion readout on one side, and true force transient events on the other. The former are fast and rare in ordinary conditions. The second may last from seconds to hours and constitute the majority of the glitches. We present an analysis of the physical and statistical properties of both categories, including a cross-analysis with other time series like magnetic fields, temperature, and other dynamical variables. Based on these analyses we discuss the possible sources of the force glitches and identify the most likely, among which the outgassing environment surrounding the test-masses stands out. We discuss the impact of these findings on the LISA design and operation, and some risk mitigation measures, including experimental studies that may be conducted on the ground, aimed at clarifying some of the questions left open by our analysis

Sensor noise in <i>LISA Pathfinder</i>: An extensive in-flight review of the angular and longitudinal interferometric measurement system

In a previous article [1], we have reported on the first subpicometer interferometer flown in space as part of ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission, and have shown the residual sensor noise to be on the level of 32.0+2.4−1.7  fm/√Hz. This review provides a deeper and more complete overview of the full system and its interferometric mission performance under varying operational conditions, allowing a much more detailed view on the noise model. We also include the optical measurements of rotations through differential wave front sensing (DWS), which reached a sensitivity of as good as 100  prad/√Hz. We present more evidence for the long-term stability of the interferometric performance and components. This proves a solid foundation for future interferometry in space such as the LISA mission

CRISPR-Cas9 screens in human cells and primary neurons identify modifiers of C9ORF72 dipeptide-repeat-protein toxicity.

Hexanucleotide-repeat expansions in the C9ORF72 gene are the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (c9ALS/FTD). The nucleotide-repeat expansions are translated into dipeptide-repeat (DPR) proteins, which are aggregation prone and may contribute to neurodegeneration. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to perform genome-wide gene-knockout screens for suppressors and enhancers of C9ORF72 DPR toxicity in human cells. We validated hits by performing secondary CRISPR-Cas9 screens in primary mouse neurons. We uncovered potent modifiers of DPR toxicity whose gene products function in nucleocytoplasmic transport, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), proteasome, RNA-processing pathways, and chromatin modification. One modifier, TMX2, modulated the ER-stress signature elicited by C9ORF72 DPRs in neurons and improved survival of human induced motor neurons from patients with C9ORF72 ALS. Together, our results demonstrate the promise of CRISPR-Cas9 screens in defining mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for direct stau production in events with two hadronic tau-leptons in root s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of the supersymmetric partners ofτ-leptons (staus) in final stateswith two hadronically decayingτ-leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of139fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LargeHadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected StandardModel background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of direct production of stau pairs with eachstau decaying into the stable lightest neutralino and oneτ-lepton in simplified models where the two staumass eigenstates are degenerate. Stau masses from 120 GeV to 390 GeV are excluded at 95% confidencelevel for a massless lightest neutralino

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Identification of critical paralog groups with indispensable roles in the regulation of signaling flow

Extensive cross-talk between signaling pathways is required to integrate the myriad of extracellular signal combinations at the cellular level. Gene duplication events may lead to the emergence of novel functions, leaving groups of similar genes - termed paralogs - in the genome. To distinguish critical paralog groups (CPGs) from other paralogs in human signaling networks, we developed a signaling network-based method using cross-talk annotation and tissue-specific signaling flow analysis. 75 CPGs were found with higher degree, betweenness centrality, closeness, and ‘bowtieness’ when compared to other paralogs or other proteins in the signaling network. CPGs had higher diversity in all these measures, with more varied biological functions and more specific post-transcriptional regulation than non-critical paralog groups (non-CPG). Using TGF-beta, Notch and MAPK pathways as examples, SMAD2/3, NOTCH1/2/3 and MEK3/6-p38 CPGs were found to regulate the signaling flow of their respective pathways. Additionally, CPGs showed a higher mutation rate in both inherited diseases and cancer, and were enriched in drug targets. In conclusion, the results revealed two distinct types of paralog groups in the signaling network: CPGs and non-CPGs. Thus highlighting the importance of CPGs as compared to non-CPGs in drug discovery and disease pathogenesis

Corticotropin Releasing Factor-Induced CREB Activation in Striatal Neurons Occurs via a Novel Gβγ Signaling Pathway

The peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) was initially identified as a critical component of the stress response. CRF exerts its cellular effects by binding to one of two cognate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), CRF receptor 1 (CRFR1) or 2 (CRFR2). While these GPCRs were originally characterized as being coupled to Gαs, leading to downstream activation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) and subsequent increases in cAMP, it has since become clear that CRFRs couple to and activate numerous other downstream signaling cascades. In addition, CRF signaling influences the activity of many diverse brain regions, affecting a variety of behaviors. One of these regions is the striatum, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). CRF exerts profound effects on striatal-dependent behaviors such as drug addiction, pair-bonding, and natural reward. Recent data indicate that at least some of these behaviors regulated by CRF are mediated through CRF activation of the transcription factor CREB. Thus, we aimed to elucidate the signaling pathway by which CRF activates CREB in striatal neurons. Here we describe a novel neuronal signaling pathway whereby CRF leads to a rapid Gβγ- and MEK-dependent increase in CREB phosphorylation. These data are the first descriptions of CRF leading to activation of a Gβγ-dependent signaling pathway in neurons, as well as the first description of Gβγ activation leading to downstream CREB phosphorylation in any cellular system. Additionally, these data provide additional insight into the mechanisms by which CRF can regulate neuronal function