Multiple emission components in the Cygnus cocoon detected from Fermi-LAT observations

Star-forming regions may play an important role in the life cycle of Galactic cosmic rays. Gamma-ray observations of Cygnus X have revealed the presence of an excess of hard-spectrum gamma-ray emission, possibly related to a cocoon of freshly accelerated particles. Based on ~13 years of observations with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT), we performed an improved spectro-morphological characterisation of the residual emission including the cocoon. The best-fit model for the cocoon includes two main emission components: an extended component FCES G78.74+1.56, described by a 2D Gaussian of extension r_{68} = 4.4^\circ \pm 0.1^\circ\,^{+0.1^\circ}_{-0.1^\circ}, and a central component FCES G80.00+0.50, traced by the distribution of ionised gas within the borders of the photo-dissociation regions. The two have significantly different spectra. An additional extended emission component FCES G78.83+3.57, located on the edge of the central cavities in Cygnus X and with a spectrum compatible with that of FCES G80.00+0.50, is likely related to the cocoon. For the two main components, spectra and radial-azimuthal profiles of the emission can be accounted for in a diffusion-loss framework involving one single population of non-thermal particles. Particles span the full extent of FCES G78.74+1.56 as a result of diffusion from a central source, and give rise to source FCES G80.00+0.50 by interacting with ionised gas in the innermost region. For this simple diffusion-loss model, viable setups can be very different in terms of energetics, transport conditions, and timescales involved, and both hadronic and leptonic scenarios are possible. The solutions range from long-lasting particle acceleration, possibly in prominent star clusters such as Cyg OB2 and NGC 6910, to a more recent and short-lived release of particles within the last 10-100 kyr, likely from a supernova remnant. (Abridged)Comment: Published in A&A. Fixed typos in metadata. The main results are available in machine-readable format at https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/671/A4

G313.3+00.3: A New Planetary Nebula discovered by the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Spitzer Space Telescope

We present a new planetary nebula, first identified in images from the Australia Telescope Compact Array, although not recognized at that time. Recent observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope during the GLIMPSE Legacy program have rediscovered the object. The high-resolution radio and infrared images enable the identification of the central star or its wind, the recognition of the radio emission as thermal, and the probable presence of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons in and around the source. These lead to the conclusion that G313.3+00.3 is a planetary nebula. This object is of particular interest because it was discovered solely through radio and mid-infrared imaging, without any optical (or near-infrared) confirmation, and acts as a proof of concept for the discovery of many more highly extinguished planetary nebulae. G313.3+00.3 is well-resolved by both the instruments with which it was identified, and suffers extreme reddening due to its location in the Scutum-Crux spiral arm.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX (aastex), incl. 8 PostScript (eps) figures and 1 table. Accepted by ApJ (Part 1

The European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) : Current status and prospects for advancement

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the participants of the five workshops in which the issues presented in this paper were discussed and the revised guidelines prepared, as well as the EUROTOX Executive Committee and the societies of toxicology of Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and France for their support which allowed the workshops to take place.Peer reviewedPostprin

Estimated GFR, Albuminuria, and Cognitive Performance:The Maastricht Study

BACKGROUND: Reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria have been associated with worse cognitive performance. However, few studies have examined whether these associations are confined to older individuals or may be extended to the middle-aged population. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses of a prospective population-based cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 2,987 individuals aged 40 to 75 years from the general population (The Maastricht Study). PREDICTOR: eGFR and urinary albumin excretion (UAE). OUTCOMES: Memory function, information processing speed, and executive function. MEASUREMENTS: Analyses were adjusted for demographic variables (age, sex, and educational level), lifestyle factors (smoking behavior and alcohol consumption), depression, and cardiovascular disease risk factors (glucose metabolism status, waist circumference, total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, triglyceride level, use of lipid-modifying medication, systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medication, and prevalent cardiovascular disease). RESULTS: UAE was <15mg/24 h in 2,439 (81.7%) participants, 15 to <30 mg/24 h in 309 (10.3%), and ≥30mg/24 h in 239 (8.0%). In the entire study population, UAE≥30mg/24 h was associated with lower information processing speed as compared to UAE<15mg/24 h (β [SD difference] = -0.148; 95% CI, -0.263 to -0.033) after full adjustment, whereas continuous albuminuria was not. However, significant interaction terms (P for interaction < 0.05) suggested that albuminuria was most strongly and extensively associated with cognitive performance in older individuals. Mean (±SD) eGFR, estimated by the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine-cystatin C equation (eGFRcr-cys), was 88.4±14.6 mL/min/1.73m(2). eGFRcr-cys was not associated with any of the domains of cognitive performance after full adjustment. However, significant interaction terms (P for interaction < 0.05) suggested that eGFRcr-cys was associated with cognitive performance in older individuals. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design, which limited causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS: In the entire study population, albuminuria was independently associated with lower information processing speed, whereas eGFRcr-cys was not associated with cognitive performance. However, both were more strongly and extensively associated with cognitive performance in older individuals

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Intravenous apoptotic spleen cell infusion induces a TGF-beta-dependent regulatory T-cell expansion.: Apoptosis and regulatory T cells

International audienceApoptotic leukocytes are endowed with immunomodulatory properties that can be used to enhance hematopoietic engraftment and prevent graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). This apoptotic cell-induced tolerogenic effect is mediated by host macrophages and not recipient dendritic cells or donor phagocytes present in the bone marrow graft as evidenced by selective cell depletion and trafficking experiments. Furthermore, apoptotic cell infusion is associated with TGF-beta-dependent donor CD4+CD25+ T-cell expansion. Such cells have a regulatory phenotype (CD62L(high) and intracellular CTLA-4+), express high levels of forkhead-box transcription factor p3 (Foxp3) mRNA and exert ex vivo suppressive activity through a cell-to-cell contact mechanism. In vivo CD25 depletion after apoptotic cell infusion prevents the apoptotic cell-induced beneficial effects on engraftment and GvHD occurrence. This highlights the role of regulatory T cells in the tolerogenic effect of apoptotic cell infusion. This novel association between apoptosis and regulatory T-cell expansion may also contribute to preventing deleterious autoimmune responses during normal turnover

Clinical spectrum of MTOR-related hypomelanosis of Ito with neurodevelopmental abnormalities

PURPOSE: Hypomelanosis of Ito (HI) is a skin marker of somatic mosaicism. Mosaic MTOR pathogenic variants have been reported in HI with brain overgrowth. We sought to delineate further the pigmentary skin phenotype and clinical spectrum of neurodevelopmental manifestations of MTOR-related HI. METHODS: From two cohorts totaling 71 patients with pigmentary mosaicism, we identified 14 patients with Blaschko-linear and one with flag-like pigmentation abnormalities, psychomotor impairment or seizures, and a postzygotic MTOR variant in skin. Patient records, including brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) were reviewed. Immunostaining (n = 3) for melanocyte markers and ultrastructural studies (n = 2) were performed on skin biopsies. RESULTS: MTOR variants were present in skin, but absent from blood in half of cases. In a patient (p.[Glu2419Lys] variant), phosphorylation of p70S6K was constitutively increased. In hypopigmented skin of two patients, we found a decrease in stage 4 melanosomes in melanocytes and keratinocytes. Most patients (80%) had macrocephaly or (hemi)megalencephaly on MRI. CONCLUSION: MTOR-related HI is a recognizable neurocutaneous phenotype of patterned dyspigmentation, epilepsy, intellectual deficiency, and brain overgrowth, and a distinct subtype of hypomelanosis related to somatic mosaicism. Hypopigmentation may be due to a defect in melanogenesis, through mTORC1 activation, similar to hypochromic patches in tuberous sclerosis complex

Regulator of G-Protein Signaling 14 (RGS14) Is a Selective H-Ras Effector

Background: Regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins have been well-described as accelerators of Ga-mediated GTP hydrolysis (‘‘GTPase-accelerating proteins’’ or GAPs). However, RGS proteins with complex domain architectures are now known to regulate much more than Ga GTPase activity. RGS14 contains tandem Ras-binding domains that have been reported to bind to Rap- but not Ras GTPases in vitro, leading to the suggestion that RGS14 is a Rap-specific effector. However, more recent data from mammals and Drosophila imply that, in vivo, RGS14 may instead be an effector of Ras.Methodology/Principal Findings: Full-length and truncated forms of purified RGS14 protein were found to bind indiscriminately in vitro to both Rap- and Ras-family GTPases, consistent with prior literature reports. In stark contrast, however, we found that in a cellular context RGS14 selectively binds to activated H-Ras and not to Rap isoforms. Co- transfection / co-immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated the ability of full-length RGS14 to assemble a multiprotein complex with components of the ERK MAPK pathway in a manner dependent on activated H-Ras. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of RGS14 inhibited both nerve growth factor- and basic fibrobast growth factor- mediated neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells, a process which is known to be dependent on Ras-ERK signaling.Conclusions/Significance: In cells, RGS14 facilitates the formation of a selective Ras?GTP-Raf-MEK-ERK multiprotein complex to promote sustained ERK activation and regulate H-Ras-dependent neuritogenesis. This cellular function for RGS14 is similar but distinct from that recently described for its closely-related paralogue, RGS12, which shares the tandem Ras- binding domain architecture with RGS14

Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome

Tropical forests are global centres of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many tropical countries aspire to protect forest to fulfil biodiversity and climate mitigation policy targets, but the conservation strategies needed to achieve these two functions depend critically on the tropical forest tree diversity-carbon storage relationship. Assessing this relationship is challenging due to the scarcity of inventories where carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and species identifications have been simultaneously and robustly quantified. Here, we compile a unique pan-tropical dataset of 360 plots located in structurally intact old-growth closed-canopy forest, surveyed using standardised methods, allowing a multi-scale evaluation of diversity-carbon relationships in tropical forests. Diversity-carbon relationships among all plots at 1 ha scale across the tropics are absent, and within continents are either weak (Asia) or absent (Amazonia, Africa). A weak positive relationship is detectable within 1 ha plots, indicating that diversity effects in tropical forests may be scale dependent. The absence of clear diversity-carbon relationships at scales relevant to conservation planning means that carbon-centred conservation strategies will inevitably miss many high diversity ecosystems. As tropical forests can have any combination of tree diversity and carbon stocks both require explicit consideration when optimising policies to manage tropical carbon and biodiversity.Additional co-authors: Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Shin-ichiro Aiba, Everton Cristo de Almeida, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Esteban Álvarez Dávila, Ana Andrade, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Peter Ashton, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Timothy R. Baker, Michael Balinga, Lindsay F. Banin, Christopher Baraloto, Jean-Francois Bastin, Nicholas Berry, Jan Bogaert, Damien Bonal, Frans Bongers, Roel Brienen, José Luís C. Camargo, Carlos Cerón, Victor Chama Moscoso, Eric Chezeaux, Connie J. Clark, Álvaro Cogollo Pacheco, James A. Comiskey, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Greta Dargie, Stuart J. Davies, Charles De Canniere, Marie Noel Djuikouo K., Jean-Louis Doucet, Terry L. Erwin, Javier Silva Espejo, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Sophie Fauset, Ted R. Feldpausch, Rafael Herrera, Martin Gilpin, Emanuel Gloor, Jefferson S. Hall, David J. Harris, Terese B. Hart, Kuswata Kartawinata, Lip Khoon Kho, Kanehiro Kitayama, Susan G. W. Laurance, William F. Laurance, Miguel E. Leal, Thomas Lovejoy, Jon C. Lovett, Faustin Mpanya Lukasu, Jean-Remy Makana, Yadvinder Malhi, Leandro Maracahipes, Beatriz S. Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Andrew R. Marshall, Paulo S. Morandi, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Jaques Mukinzi, Reuben Nilus, Percy Núñez Vargas, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Guido Pardo, Marielos Peña-Claros, Pascal Pétronelli, Georgia C. Pickavance, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, John R. Poulsen, Richard B. Primack, Hari Priyadi, Carlos A. Quesada, Jan Reitsma, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Zorayda Restrepo, Ervan Rutishauser, Kamariah Abu Salim, Rafael P. Salomão, Ismayadi Samsoedin, Douglas Sheil, Rodrigo Sierra, Marcos Silveira, J. W. Ferry Slik, Lisa Steel, Hermann Taedoumg, Sylvester Tan, John W. Terborgh, Sean C. Thomas, Marisol Toledo, Peter M. Umunay, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Vincent A. Vos, Ophelia Wang, Simon Willcock & Lise Zemagh