Region of Excessive Flux of PeV Cosmic Rays in the Direction Toward Pulsars PSR J1840+5640 and LAT PSR J1836+5925

An analysis of arrival directions of extensive air showers (EAS) registered with the EAS MSU and EAS-1000 prototype arrays has revealed a region of excessive flux of PeV cosmic rays in the direction toward pulsars PSR J1840+5640 and LAT PSR J1836+5925 at significance level up to 4.5sigma. The first of the pulsars was discovered almost 30 years ago and is a well-studied old radio pulsar located at the distance of 1.7pc from the Solar system. The second pulsar belongs to a new type of pulsars, discovered by the space gamma-ray observatory Fermi, pulsations of which are not observed in optical and radio wavelengths but only in the gamma-ray range of energies (gamma-ray-only pulsars). In our opinion, the existence of the region of excessive flux of cosmic rays registered with two different arrays provides a strong evidence that isolated pulsars can give a noticeable contribution to the flux of Galactic cosmic rays in the PeV energy range.Comment: 14 pages; v.2: a few remarks to match a version accepted for Astronomy Letters added. They can be found by redefining the \NEW command in the preamble of the LaTeX fil

Study of J/psi decays to Lambda Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar

The branching ratios and Angular distributions for J/psi decays to Lambda Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar are measured using BESII 58 million J/psi.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Contributions of the Women's Health Initiative to Cardiovascular Research: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

The WHI (Women's Health Initiative) enrolled 161,808 racially and ethnically diverse postmenopausal women, ages 50-79 years, from 1993 to 1998 at 40 clinical centers across the United States. In its clinical trial component, WHI evaluated 3 randomized interventions (menopausal hormone therapy; diet modification; and calcium/vitamin D supplementation) for the primary prevention of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, in older women. In the WHI observational study, numerous clinical, behavioral, and social factors have been evaluated as predictors of incident chronic disease and mortality. Although the original interventions have been completed, the WHI data and biomarker resources continue to be leveraged and expanded through ancillary studies to yield novel insights regarding cardiovascular disease prevention and healthy aging in women

Rho GTPase function in flies: insights from a developmental and organismal perspective.

Morphogenesis is a key event in the development of a multicellular organism and is reliant on coordinated transcriptional and signal transduction events. To establish the segmented body plan that underlies much of metazoan development, individual cells and groups of cells must respond to exogenous signals with complex movements and shape changes. One class of proteins that plays a pivotal role in the interpretation of extracellular cues into cellular behavior is the Rho family of small GTPases. These molecular switches are essential components of a growing number of signaling pathways, many of which regulate actin cytoskeletal remodeling. Much of our understanding of Rho biology has come from work done in cell culture. More recently, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as an excellent genetic system for the study of these proteins in a developmental and organismal context. Studies in flies have greatly enhanced our understanding of pathways involving Rho GTPases and their roles in development

Assessment of epidemic projections using recent HIV survey data in South Africa: A validation analysis of ten mathematical models of HIV epidemiology in the antiretroviral therapy era

Background: Mathematical models are widely used to simulate the effects of interventions to control HIV and to project future epidemiological trends and resource needs. We aimed to validate past model projections against data from a large household survey done in South Africa in 2012. Methods: We compared ten model projections of HIV prevalence, HIV incidence, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage for South Africa with estimates from national household survey data from 2012. Model projections for 2012 were made before the publication of the 2012 household survey. We compared adult (age 15-49 years) HIV prevalence in 2012, the change in prevalence between 2008 and 2012, and prevalence, incidence, and ART coverage by sex and by age groups between model projections and the 2012 household survey. Findings: All models projected lower prevalence estimates for 2012 than the survey estimate (18·8%), with eight models' central projections being below the survey 95% CI (17·5-20·3). Eight models projected that HIV prevalence would remain unchanged (n=5) or decline (n=3) between 2008 and 2012, whereas prevalence estimates from the household surveys increased from 16·9% in 2008 to 18·8% in 2012 (difference 1·9, 95% CI -0·1 to 3·9). Model projections accurately predicted the 1·6 percentage point prevalence decline (95% CI -0·3 to 3·5) in young adults aged 15-24 years, and the 2·2 percentage point (0·5 to 3·9) increase in those aged 50 years and older. Models accurately represented the number of adults on ART in 2012; six of ten models were within the survey 95% CI of 1·54-2·12 million. However, the differential ART coverage between women and men was not fully captured; all model projections of the sex ratio of women to men on ART were lower than the survey estimate of 2·22 (95% CI 1·73-2·71). Interpretation: Projections for overall declines in HIV epidemics during the ART era might have been optimistic. Future treatment and HIV prevention needs might be greater than previously forecasted. Additional data about service provision for HIV care could help inform more accurate projections. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

State of nature 2019

State of Nature 2019 presents an overview of how the country’s wildlife is faring, looking back over nearly 50 years of monitoring to see how nature has changed in the UK, its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. As well as this long-term view, we focus on what has happened in the last decade, and so whether things are getting better or worse for nature. In addition, we have assessed the pressures that are acting on nature, and the responses being made, collectively, to counter these pressures

Measurements of J/psi --> p \bar{p}

The process J/\psi --> p \bar{p} is studied using 57.7 X 10^6 J/\psi events collected with the BESII detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider. The branching ratio is determined to be Br(J/\psi --> p \bar{p})=(2.26 +- 0.01 +- 0.14) X 10^{-3}, and the angular distribution is well described by \frac{dN}{d cos\theta_p}=1+\alpha\cos^2\theta_p with \alpha = 0.676 +- 0.036 +- 0.042, where \theta_p is the angle between the proton and beam directions. The value of \alpha obtained is in good agreement with the predictions of first-order QCD.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, RevTex4, Submitted to Phys.Lett.