New Cepheid variables in the young open clusters Berkeley 51 and Berkeley 55

As part of a wider investigation of evolved massive stars in Galactic open clusters, we have spectroscopically identified three candidate classical Cepheids in the little-studied clusters Berkeley 51, Berkeley 55 and NGC 6603. Using new multi-epoch photometry, we confirm that Be 51 #162 and Be 55 #107 are bona fide Cepheids, with pulsation periods of 9.83±0.01 d and 5.850±0.005 d respectively, while NGC 6603 star W2249 does not show significant photometric variability. Using the period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables, we determine a distance to Be 51 of 5.3 +1.0 −0.8 kpc and an age of 44 +9 −8 Myr, placing it in a sparsely-attested region of the Perseus arm. For Be 55, we find a distance of 2.2±0.3 kpc and age of 63 +12 −11 Myr, locating the cluster in the Local arm. Taken together with our recent discovery of a long-period Cepheid in the starburst cluster VdBH222, these represent an important increase in the number of young, massive Cepheids known in Galactic open clusters. We also consider new Gaia (data release 2) parallaxes and proper motions for members of Be 51 and Be 55; the uncertainties on the parallaxes do not allow us to refine our distance estimates to these clusters, but the well-constrained proper motion measurements furnish further confirmation of cluster membership. However, future final Gaia parallaxes for such objects should provide valuable independent distance measurements, improving the calibration of the period-luminosity relationship, with implications for the distance ladder out to cosmological scales

Changes in the Proliferative Activity of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells in NOD/SCID Mice and Enhancement of Their Transplantability after In Vivo Treatment with Cell Cycle Inhibitors

Human hematopoietic tissue contains rare stem cells with multilineage reconstituting ability demonstrable in receptive xenogeneic hosts. We now show that within 3 wk nonobese diabetic severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice transplanted with human fetal liver cells regenerate near maximum levels of daughter human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) able to repopulate secondary NOD/SCID mice. At this time, most of the human HSCs (and other primitive progenitors) are actively proliferating as shown by their sensitivity to treatments that kill cycling cells selectively (e.g., exposure to high specific-activity [3H]thymidine in vitro or 5-fluorouracil in vivo). Interestingly, the proliferating human HSCs were rapidly forced into quiescence by in vivo administration of stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and this was accompanied by a marked increase in the numbers of human HSCs detectable. A similar result was obtained when transforming growth factor-β was injected, consistent with a reversible change in HSCs engrafting potential linked to changes in their cell cycle status. By 12 wk after transplant, most of the human HSCs had already entered Go and treatment with SDF-1 had no effect on their engrafting activity. These findings point to the existence of novel mechanisms by which inhibitors of HSC cycling can regulate the engrafting ability of human HSCs executing self-renewal divisions in vivo

A long-period Cepheid variable in the starburst cluster VdBH222

Galactic starburst clusters play a twin role in astrophysics, serving as laboratories for the study of stellar physics and also delineating the structure and recent star formation history of the Milky Way. In order to exploit these opportunities we have undertaken a multi-epoch spectroscopic survey of the red supergiant dominated young massive clusters thought to be present at both near and far ends of the Galactic Bar. Significant spectroscopic variability suggestive of radial pulsations was found for the yellow supergiant VdBH 222 #505. Follow-up photometric investigations revealed modulation with a period of ~23.325d; both timescale and pulsational profile are consistent with a Cepheid classification. As a consequence #505 may be recognised as one of the longest period Galactic cluster Cepheids identified to date and hence of considerable use in constraining the bright end of the period/luminosity relation at solar metallicities. In conjunction with extant photometry we infer a distance of ~6kpc for VdBH222 and an age of ~20Myr. This results in a moderate reduction in both integrated cluster mass (~2x10^4Msun) and the initial stellar masses of the evolved cluster members (~10Msun). As such, VdBH222 becomes an excellent test-bed for studying the properties of some of the lowest mass stars observed to undergo type-II supernovae. Moreover, the distance is in tension with a location of VdBH 222 at the far end of the Galactic Bar. Instead a birthsite in the near 3kpc arm is suggested; providing compelling evidence of extensive recent star formation in a region of the inner Milky Way which has hitherto been thought to be devoid of such activity

Live to cheat another day: bacterial dormancy facilitates the social exploitation of beta-lactamases

The breakdown of antibiotics by β-lactamases may be cooperative, since resistant cells can detoxify their environment and facilitate the growth of susceptible neighbours. However, previous studies of this phenomenon have used artificial bacterial vectors or engineered bacteria to increase the secretion of β-lactamases from cells. Here, we investigated whether a broad-spectrum β-lactamase gene carried by a naturally occurring plasmid (pCT) is cooperative under a range of conditions. In ordinary batch culture on solid media, there was little or no evidence that resistant bacteria could protect susceptible cells from ampicillin, although resistant colonies could locally detoxify this growth medium. However, when susceptible cells were inoculated at high densities, late-appearing phenotypically susceptible bacteria grew in the vicinity of resistant colonies. We infer that persisters, cells that have survived antibiotics by undergoing a period of dormancy, founded these satellite colonies. The number of persister colonies was positively correlated with the density of resistant colonies and increased as antibiotic concentrations decreased. We argue that detoxification can be cooperative under a limited range of conditions: if the toxins are bacteriostatic rather than bacteridical; or if susceptible cells invade communities after resistant bacteria; or if dormancy allows susceptible cells to avoid bactericides. Resistance and tolerance were previously thought to be independent solutions for surviving antibiotics. Here, we show that these are interacting strategies: the presence of bacteria adopting one solution can have substantial effects on the fitness of their neighbours

Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegans male mating behavior

Background To survive and reproduce, animals must be able to modify their motor behavior in response to changes in the environment. We studied a complex behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans, male mating behavior, which provided a model for understanding motor behaviors at the genetic, molecular as well as circuit level. C. elegans male mating behavior consists of a series of six sub-steps: response to contact, backing, turning, vulva location, spicule insertion, and sperm transfer. The male tail contains most of the sensory structures required for mating, in addition to the copulatory structures, and thus to carry out the steps of mating behavior, the male must keep his tail in contact with the hermaphrodite. However, because the hermaphrodite does not play an active role in mating and continues moving, the male must modify his tail posture to maintain contact. We provide a better understanding of the molecular and neuro-muscular pathways that regulate male tail posture during mating. Results Genetic and laser ablation analysis, in conjunction with behavioral assays were used to determine neurotransmitters, receptors, neurons and muscles required for the regulation of male tail posture. We showed that proper male tail posture is maintained by the coordinated activity of opposing muscle groups that curl the tail ventrally and dorsally. Specifically, acetylcholine regulates both ventral and dorsal curling of the male tail, partially through anthelmintic levamisole-sensitive, nicotinic receptor subunits. Male-specific muscles are required for acetylcholine-driven ventral curling of the male tail but dorsal curling requires the dorsal body wall muscles shared by males and hermaphrodites. Gamma-aminobutyric acid activity is required for both dorsal and ventral acetylcholine-induced curling of the male tail and an inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor, UNC-49, prevents over-curling of the male tail during mating, suggesting that cross-inhibition of muscle groups helps maintain proper tail posture. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups, through the activity of multiple neurotransmitters, is required for regulation of male tail posture during mating. We have provided a simple model for regulation of male tail posture that provides a foundation for studies of how genes, molecular pathways, and neural circuits contribute to sensory regulation of this motor behavior

Posthumanist Education

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Fermiology and superconductivity of topological surface states in PdTe2

We gratefully acknowledge support from the Leverhulme Trust, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK (Grant Nos. EP/M023427/1 and EP/I031014/1), the Royal Society. JC, MJN, LB, VS, and JMR acknowledge EPSRC for PhD studentship support through grant Nos. EP/K503162/1, EP/G03673X/1, EP/L505079/1, and EP/L015110/1.We study the low-energy surface electronic structure of the transition-metal dichalcogenide superconductor PdTe2 by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density-functional theory-based supercell calculations. Comparing PdTe2 with its sister compound PtSe2, we demonstrate how enhanced interlayer hopping in the Te-based material drives a band inversion within the antibonding p -orbital manifold well above the Fermi level. We show how this mediates spin-polarized topological surface states which form rich multivalley Fermi surfaces with complex spin textures. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals type-II superconductivity at the surface, and moreover shows no evidence for an unconventional component of its superconducting order parameter, despite the presence of topological surface states.PostprintPeer reviewe

Operational experience, improvements, and performance of the CDF Run II silicon vertex detector

The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) pursues a broad physics program at Fermilab's Tevatron collider. Between Run II commissioning in early 2001 and the end of operations in September 2011, the Tevatron delivered 12 fb-1 of integrated luminosity of p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. Many physics analyses undertaken by CDF require heavy flavor tagging with large charged particle tracking acceptance. To realize these goals, in 2001 CDF installed eight layers of silicon microstrip detectors around its interaction region. These detectors were designed for 2--5 years of operation, radiation doses up to 2 Mrad (0.02 Gy), and were expected to be replaced in 2004. The sensors were not replaced, and the Tevatron run was extended for several years beyond its design, exposing the sensors and electronics to much higher radiation doses than anticipated. In this paper we describe the operational challenges encountered over the past 10 years of running the CDF silicon detectors, the preventive measures undertaken, and the improvements made along the way to ensure their optimal performance for collecting high quality physics data. In addition, we describe the quantities and methods used to monitor radiation damage in the sensors for optimal performance and summarize the detector performance quantities important to CDF's physics program, including vertex resolution, heavy flavor tagging, and silicon vertex trigger performance.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods A (07/31/2013

Functional diversity of chemokines and chemokine receptors in response to viral infection of the central nervous system.

Encounters with neurotropic viruses result in varied outcomes ranging from encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis or other serious consequences to relatively benign infection. One of the principal factors that control the outcome of infection is the localized tissue response and subsequent immune response directed against the invading toxic agent. It is the role of the immune system to contain and control the spread of virus infection in the central nervous system (CNS), and paradoxically, this response may also be pathologic. Chemokines are potent proinflammatory molecules whose expression within virally infected tissues is often associated with protection and/or pathology which correlates with migration and accumulation of immune cells. Indeed, studies with a neurotropic murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), have provided important insight into the functional roles of chemokines and chemokine receptors in participating in various aspects of host defense as well as disease development within the CNS. This chapter will highlight recent discoveries that have provided insight into the diverse biologic roles of chemokines and their receptors in coordinating immune responses following viral infection of the CNS