Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships within Eucalyptus marginata (Myrtaceae)

The eucalypt species Eucalyptus marginata which is harvested for high quality timber comprises three subspecies recognized by morphological characters; E. marginata ssp. marginata, ssp. thalassica, and ssp. elegantella. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between the subspecies were examined using anonymous nuclear RFLP loci, with Eucalyptus staerei included as an outgroup in the phylogenetic analysis. The level of diversity within the nuclear genome was lower than that found in comparative studies with other eucalypts (A = 2. 7, H4 = 0.345). Most of the variation occurred with ill the populations (96. 9%, H4 = 0.334) The two populations sampled for each of ssp. thalassica and ssp. elegantella clustered together in the UPGMA analysis, however there was little differentiation between the three subspecies overall (D = 0.029). Eucalyptus marginata was clearly distinct from its closest relative E. staerei (0 = 0.16). There is little genetic support for the separation of the subspecies

DF's visual brain in action: the role of tactile cues

Patient DF, an extensively-tested woman with visual form agnosia from ventral-stream damage, is able to scale her grip aperture to match a goal object's geometry when reaching out to pick it up, despite being unable to explicitly distinguish amongst objects on the basis of their different geometries. Using evidence from a range of sources, including functional MRI, we have proposed that she does this through a functionally intact visuomotor system housed within the dorsal stream of the posterior parietal lobe. More recently, however, Schenk (2012a). The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(6), 2013–2017; Schenk (2012b). Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(5), 258–259. has argued that DF performs well in visually guided grasping, not through spared and functioning visuomotor networks in the dorsal stream, but because haptic feedback about the locations of the edges of the target is available to calibrate her grasps in such tasks, whereas it is not available in standard visual perceptual tasks. We have tested this 'calibration hypothesis' directly, by presenting DF with a grasping task in which the visible width of a target varied from trial to trial while its actual width remained the same. According to the calibration hypothesis, because haptic feedback was completely uninformative, DF should be unable to calibrate her grip aperture in this task. Contrary to this prediction, we found that DF continued to scale her grip aperture to the visual width of the targets and did so well within the range of healthy controls. We also found that DF's inability to distinguish shapes perceptually is not improved by providing haptic feedback. These findings strengthen the notion that DF’s spared visuomotor abilities are driven largely by visual feedforward processing of the geometric properties of the target. Crucially, these findings also indicate that simple tactile contact with an object is needed for the visuomotor dorsal stream to be engaged, and accordingly enables DF to execute visually guided grasping successfully. This need for actions to have a tangible endpoint provides an important new modification of the Two Visual Systems theory

Crystal field splitting on D↔S transitions of atomic manganese isolated in solid krypton

Narrow excitation features present on the [Ar]3d⁶4s¹ a⁶D(J=9/2–1/2)←[Ar]3d⁵4s² a⁶S1/2 transitions of manganese atoms isolated in solid Kr are analyzed within the framework of weak crystal field splitting. Use of the Wp optical lineshape function allowed identification of multiple zero-phonon lines for individual spin-orbit J states of the a⁶D←a⁶S transition recorded with laser-induced excitation spectroscopy. Excellent agreement exists between the predicted crystal field splitting patterns for the J levels of the a⁶D state isolated in the «red» tetravacancy site of solid Kr. The tetrahedral crystal field of the «red» trapping site splits J>3/2 levels of the a⁶DJ and a⁴D₇/₂ states by approximately 30 cm⁻¹. This report represents the first definitive evidence of crystal field splitting, induced by the weak van der Waals interactions between a neutral metal atom and the rare gas atoms surrounding it in a well defined solid state site

Anomaly-Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking with Axion

We construct hadronic axion models in the framework of the anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking scenario. If the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking is related to the supersymmetry breaking, mass spectrum of the minimal anomaly-mediated scenario is modified, which may solve the negative slepton mass problem in the minimal anomaly-mediated model. We find several classes of phenomenologically viable models of axion within the framework of the anomaly mediation and, in particular, we point out a new mechanism of stabilizing the axion potential. In this class of models, the Peccei-Quinn scale is related to the messenger scale. We also study phenomenological aspects of this class of models. We will see that, in some case, the lightest particle among the superpartners of the standard-model particles is stau while the lightest superparticle becomes the axino, the superpartner of the axion. With such a unique mass spectrum, conventional studies of the collider physics and cosmology for supersymmetric models should be altered.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, added footnotes and references for section

Nab: Measurement Principles, Apparatus and Uncertainties

The Nab collaboration will perform a precise measurement of 'a', the electron-neutrino correlation parameter, and 'b', the Fierz interference term in neutron beta decay, in the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the SNS, using a novel electric/magnetic field spectrometer and detector design. The experiment is aiming at the 10^{-3} accuracy level in (Delta a)/a, and will provide an independent measurement of lambda = G_A/G_V, the ratio of axial-vector to vector coupling constants of the nucleon. Nab also plans to perform the first ever measurement of 'b' in neutron decay, which will provide an independent limit on the tensor weak coupling.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, talk presented at the International Workshop on Particle Physics with Slow Neutrons, Grenoble, 29-31 May 2008; to appear in Nucl. Instrum. Meth. in Physics Research

Higher serum immunoglobulin G3 levels may predict the development of multiple sclerosis in individuals with Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is a first episode of neurological symptoms that may precede a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Therefore, studying individuals with CIS may lead to breakthroughs in understanding the development and pathogenesis of MS. In this study, serum levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA, IgM, and IgG1–4 were measured in 20 people with CIS and compared with those in 10 healthy controls (HC) and 8 people with MS. Serum Ig levels in individuals with CIS were compared with (a) the time to their conversion from CIS to MS, (b) serum levels of antibodies to Epstein–Barr virus, (c) frequencies of T regulatory (Treg), T follicular regulatory (Tfr), and B cell subsets, and (d) Treg/Tfr expression of Helios. Serum IgG, IgM, and IgG2 levels were significantly lower in people with CIS than HC, and IgG, IgM, and IgG1 levels were significantly lower in people with CIS than MS. After adjusting for age, sex, and serum 25(OH) vitamin D3 [25(OH)D] levels, CIS was associated with lower serum levels of IgG and IgG2 compared with HC (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). People with MS had lower IgG2 levels (p < 0.001) and IgG2 proportions (%IgG; p = 0.007) compared with HC. After adjusting for age, sex, and 25(OH)D, these outcomes remained, in addition to lower serum IgA levels (p = 0.01) and increased IgG3 levels (p = 0.053) in people with MS compared with HC. Furthermore, serum from people with MS had increased proportions of IgG1 and IgG3 (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively), decreased proportions of IgG2 (p = 0.007), and greater ratios of “upstream” to “downstream” IgG subclasses (p = 0.001) compared with HC. Serum IgG3 proportions (%IgG) from people with CIS correlated with the frequency of plasmablasts in peripheral blood (p = 0.02). Expression of Helios by Treg and Tfr cell subsets from individuals with CIS correlated with levels of serum IgG2 and IgG4. IgG3 levels and proportions of IgG3 (%IgG) in serum at CIS diagnosis were inversely correlated with the time until conversion to MS (p = 0.018 and p < 0.001, respectively), suggesting they may be useful prognostic markers of individuals with CIS who rapidly convert to MS