The unexpected science of estrogen receptor-β selective agonists: a new class of anti-inflammatory agents?

In the nine years since the unexpected discovery of a second form of the estrogen receptor (ER), ERβ has been mentioned in about 2,800 literature citations. Such prolific research is testimony to interest in explaining its role in estrogen physiology as well as investigating its potential as a drug target. Our current understanding is that ERα, not ERβ is responsible for mediating the effects of estrogens in “classic” model systems such as the reproductive tract and skeleton. The role of ERβ is still being defined, but profiling of ERβ selective agonists in several animal models of human disease indicates these compounds may have utility as novel anti-inflammatory agents. The challenge for the future is to elucidate their mechanism of action and determine the clinical relevance of the impressive preclinical observations

Law of large numbers for the asymmetric simple exclusion process

We consider simple exclusion processes on Z for which the underlying random walk has a finite first moment and a non-zero mean and whose initial distributions are product measures with different densities to the left and to the right of the origin. We prove a strong law of large numbers for the number of particles present at time t in an interval growing linearly with t.Comment: 16 page

The heritability of testosterone: A study of Dutch adolescent twins and their parents

Since humans are diverse social beings, exposed to a variety of differing experiences, it may not be surprising that sex steroid hormones do not have

Effect of 50 Hz Electromagnetic Fields on the Induction of Heat-Shock Protein Gene Expression in Human Leukocytes

Although evidence is controversial, exposure to environmental power-frequency magnetic fields is of public concern. Cells respond to some abnormal physiological conditions by producing cytoprotective heat-shock (or stress) proteins. In this study, we determined whether exposure to power-frequency magnetic fields in the range 0–100 μT rms either alone or concomitant with mild heating induced heat-shock protein gene expression in human leukocytes, and we compared this response to that induced by heat alone. Samples of human peripheral blood were simultaneously exposed to a range of magnetic-field amplitudes using a regimen that was designed to allow field effects to be distinguished from possible artifacts due to the position of the samples in the exposure system. Power-frequency magnetic-field exposure for 4 h at 37°C had no detectable effect on expression of the genes encoding HSP27, HSP70A or HSP70B, as determined using reverse transcriptase-PCR, whereas 2 h at 42°C elicited 10-, 5- and 12-fold increases, respectively, in the expression of these genes. Gene expression in cells exposed to power-frequency magnetic fields at 40°C was not increased compared to cells incubated at 40°C without field exposure. These findings and the extant literature suggest that power-frequency electromagnetic fields are not a universal stressor, in contrast to physical agents such as heat

Rotational and Vibrational Dynamics of Interstitial Molecular Hydrogen

The calculation of the hindered roton-phonon energy levels of a hydrogen molecule in a confining potential with different symmetries is systematized for the case when the rotational angular momentum $J$ is a good quantum number. One goal of this program is to interpret the energy-resolved neutron time of flight spectrum previously obtained for H$_{2}$C$_{60}$. This spectrum gives direct information on the energy level spectrum of H$_2$ molecules confined to the octahedral interstitial sites of solid C$_{60}$. We treat this problem of coupled translational and orientational degrees of freedom a) by construction of an effective Hamiltonian to describe the splitting of the manifold of states characterized by a given value of $J$ and having a fixed total number of phonon excitations, b) by numerical solutions of the coupled translation-rotation problem on a discrete mesh of points in position space, and c) by a group theoretical symmetry analysis. Results obtained from these three different approaches are mutually consistent. The results of our calculations explain several hitherto uninterpreted aspects of the experimental observations, but show that a truly satisfactory orientational potential for the interaction of an H$_2$ molecule with a surrounding array of C atoms has not yet been developed.Comment: 53 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev B (in press). Phys. Rev. B (in press

Painlevé Analysis and Similarity Reductions for the Magma Equation

In this paper, we examine a generalized magma equation for rational values of two parameters, m and n. Firstly, the similarity reductions are found using the Lie group method of infinitesimal transformations. The Painlevé ODE test is then applied to the travelling wave reduction, and the pairs of m and n which pass the test are identified. These particular pairs are further subjected to the ODE test on their other symmetry reductions. Only two cases remain which pass the ODE test for all such symmetry reductions and these are completely integrable. The case when m = 0, n = −1 is related to the Hirota-Satsuma equation and for m = ½, n = −½, it is a real, generalized, pumped Maxwell-Bloch equation

Demonstrating frequency-dependent transmission of sarcoptic mange in red foxes

Understanding the relationship between disease transmission and host density is essential for predicting disease spread and control. Using long-term data on sarcoptic mange in a red fox Vulpes vulpes population, we tested long-held assumptions of density- and frequency-dependent direct disease transmission. We also assessed the role of indirect transmission. Contrary to assumptions typical of epidemiological models, mange dynamics are better explained by frequency-dependent disease transmission than by density-dependent transmission in this canid. We found no support for indirect transmission. We present the first estimates of R0 and age-specific transmission coefficients for mange in foxes. These parameters are important for managing this poorly understood but highly contagious and economically damaging disease

Supernovae and Positron Annihilation

Radioactive nuclei, especially those created in SN explosion, have long been suggested to be important contributors of galactic positrons. In this paper we describe the findings of three independent OSSE/SMM/TGRS studies of positron annihilation radiation, demonstrating that the three studies are largely in agreement as to the distribution of galactic annihilation radiation. We then assess the predicted yields and distributions of SN-synthesized radionuclei, determining that they are marginally compatible with the findings of the annihilation radiation studies.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in New Astronomy Reviews (Astronomy with Radioactivites III

Advanced Compton Telescope Designs and SN Science

The Advanced Compton Telescope (ACT) has been suggested to be the optimal next-generation instrument to study nuclear gamma-ray lines. In this work, we investigate the potential of three hypothetical designs of the ACT to perform SN science. We provide estimates of 1) the SN detection rate, 2) the SN Ia discrimination rate, and 3) which gamma-ray lines would be detected from specific supernova remnants. We find that the prompt emission from a SN Ia is such that it is unlikely that one would be within the range that an INTERMEDIATE ACT would be able to distinguish between explosion scenarios, although such an instrument would detect a handful of SNRs. We further find that the SUPERIOR ACT design would be a truly breakthrough instrument for SN science. By supplying these estimates, we intend to assist the gamma-ray astrophysics community in deciding the course of the next decade of gamma-ray SN science.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in New astronomy Reviews (Astronomy with Radioactivities III

Outer Regions of the Milky Way

With the start of the Gaia era, the time has come to address the major challenge of deriving the star formation history and evolution of the disk of our MilkyWay. Here we review our present knowledge of the outer regions of the Milky Way disk population. Its stellar content, its structure and its dynamical and chemical evolution are summarized, focussing on our lack of understanding both from an observational and a theoretical viewpoint. We describe the unprecedented data that Gaia and the upcoming ground-based spectroscopic surveys will provide in the next decade. More in detail, we quantify the expect accuracy in position, velocity and astrophysical parameters of some of the key tracers of the stellar populations in the outer Galactic disk. Some insights on the future capability of these surveys to answer crucial and fundamental issues are discussed, such as the mechanisms driving the spiral arms and the warp formation. Our Galaxy, theMilkyWay, is our cosmological laboratory for understanding the process of formation and evolution of disk galaxies. What we learn in the next decades will be naturally transferred to the extragalactic domain.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, Invited review, Book chapter in "Outskirts of Galaxies", Eds. J. H. Knapen, J. C. Lee and A. Gil de Paz, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springer, in pres