Implications of WMAP observations on Li abundance and stellar evolution models

The WMAP determination of the baryon-to-photon ratio implies, through Big Bang nucleosynthesis, a cosmological Li abundance larger, by a factor of 2 to 3, than the Li abundance plateau observed in the oldest Pop II stars. It is however inescapable that there be a reduction by a factor of at least 1.6 to 2.0 of the surface Li abundance during the evolution of Pop II field stars with [Fe/H] < -1.5. That the observed Li be lower than cosmologically produced Li is expected from stellar evolution models. Since at turnoff most of the Li abundance reduction is caused by gravitational settling, the presence of Lithium 6 in some turnoff stars is also understood. Given that the WMAP implications for Li cosmological abundance and the Li Spite plateau can be naturally explained by gravitational settling in the presence of weak turbulence, there appears little need for exotic physics as suggested by some authors. Instead, there is a need for a better understanding of turbulent transport in the radiative zones of stars. This requires simulations from first principles. Rather strict upper limits to turbulent transport are determined for the Sun and Pop II stars.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in pres

Les gares TGV dans les zones périurbaines des villes moyennes sont-elles des vecteurs de métropolisation ?

19 p Article proposé aux les Cahiers scientifiques des transports Appel à contribution au dossier thématique (N° 63/2013) " TGV et villes petites et moyennes : les enseignements d'études de cas en Europe "International audienceCet article s'interroge sur la manière dont les nouvelles gares TGV installées en bordure d'agglomération de taille moyenne prennent place dans le processus de métropolisation qui structure la hiérarchie urbaine. Plus précisément, il cherche à préciser une méthodologie adaptée à cette question dans un contexte de villes moyennes pour servir de cadre à une proposition de recherche

Corallistin A, a second example of a free porphyrin from a living organism : isolation from the demosponge Corallistes sp. of the coral see and inhibition of abnormal cells

It is shown that the demosponge #Corallistes sp. (#Tetractinomorpha, #Lithistida, #Corallistidae) collected in the Coral Sea, contains corallistin A, the second example, of a free porphyrin from a living organism. The compound proved to be active against the Kb cell line. In contrast with the geoporphyrins which do not bear any O-atom corallistin A carries two carboxylic groups. (Résumé d'auteur

A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra in patients with systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (ANAJIS trial)

To assess the efficacy of the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist anakinra in systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA).status: publishe

Long Period Variables in the Magellanic Clouds: OGLE + 2MASS + DENIS

(abridged) The 68000 I-band light curves of variable stars detected by the OGLE survey in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are fitted by Fourier series, and also correlated with the DENIS and 2MASS databases and with lists of spectroscopically confirmed M-, S- and C-stars. Lightcurves and the results of the lightcurve fitting (periods and amplitudes) and DENIS and 2MASS magnitudes are presented for 2277 M-,S-,C-stars in the MCs. The following aspects are discussed: the K-band period-luminosity relations for the spectroscopically confirmed AGB stars, period changes over a timespan of about 17 years in a subset of about 400 LPVs, and candidate obscured AGB stars.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, accepte

High-Throughput Drug Screening Identifies Pazopanib and Clofilium Tosylate as Promising Treatments for Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors

Summary: Rhabdoid tumors (RTs) are aggressive tumors of early childhood characterized by SMARCB1 inactivation. Their poor prognosis highlights an urgent need to develop new therapies. Here, we performed a high-throughput screening of approved drugs and identified broad inhibitors of tyrosine kinase receptors (RTKs), including pazopanib, and the potassium channel inhibitor clofilium tosylate (CfT), as SMARCB1-dependent candidates. Pazopanib targets were identified as PDGFRα/β and FGFR2, which were the most highly expressed RTKs in a set of primary tumors. Combined genetic inhibition of both these RTKs only partially recapitulated the effect of pazopanib, emphasizing the requirement for broad inhibition. CfT perturbed protein metabolism and endoplasmic reticulum stress and, in combination with pazopanib, induced apoptosis of RT cells in vitro. In vivo, reduction of tumor growth by pazopanib was enhanced in combination with CfT, matching the efficiency of conventional chemotherapy. These results strongly support testing pazopanib/CfT combination therapy in future clinical trials for RTs. : Rhabdoid tumors (RTs) are aggressive pediatric tumors characterized by SMARCB1 inactivation. Chauvin et al. identify two SMARCB1-dependent targeted therapies for RT: pazopanib, which inhibits PDGFR and FGFR2, and the potassium channel inhibitor clofilium tosylate, which induces endoplasmic reticulum stress. Combining both drugs induces cell apoptosis and reduces PDX tumor growth. Keywords: rhabdoid tumors, SMARCB1, pazopanib, clofilium tosylate, high-throughput drug screening, tyrosine kinase inhibitor

The remnants of galaxy formation from a panoramic survey of the region around M31

In hierarchical cosmological models, galaxies grow in mass through the continual accretion of smaller ones. The tidal disruption of these systems is expected to result in loosely bound stars surrounding the galaxy, at distances that reach $10 - 100$ times the radius of the central disk. The number, luminosity and morphology of the relics of this process provide significant clues to galaxy formation history, but obtaining a comprehensive survey of these components is difficult because of their intrinsic faintness and vast extent. Here we report a panoramic survey of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). We detect stars and coherent structures that are almost certainly remnants of dwarf galaxies destroyed by the tidal field of M31. An improved census of their surviving counterparts implies that three-quarters of M31's satellites brighter than $M_V < -6$ await discovery. The brightest companion, Triangulum (M33), is surrounded by a stellar structure that provides persuasive evidence for a recent encounter with M31. This panorama of galaxy structure directly confirms the basic tenets of the hierarchical galaxy formation model and reveals the shared history of M31 and M33 in the unceasing build-up of galaxies.Comment: Published in Nature. Supplementary movie available at https://www.astrosci.ca/users/alan/PANDAS/Latest%20news%3A%20movie%20of%20orbit.htm

PerDiS: design, implementation, and use of a PERsistent DIstributed Store

International audienceThe PerDiS (Persistent Distributed Store) project addresses the issue of providing support for distributed collaborative engineering applications. We describe the design and implementation of the PerDiS platform, and its support for such applications. Collaborative engineering raises system issues related to the sharing of large volumes of fine-grain, complex objects across wide-area networks and administrative boundaries. PerDiS manages all these aspects in a well defined, integrated, and automatic way. Distributed application programming is simplified because it uses the same memory abstraction as in the centralized case. Porting an existing centralized program written in C or C++ is usually a matter of a few, well-isolated changes. We present some performance results from a proof-of-concept platform that runs a number of small, but real, distributed applications on Unix and Windows NT. These confirm that the PerDiS abstraction is well adapted to the targeted application area and that the overall performance is promising compared to alternative approache

Performance of the ATLAS Electromagnetic Calorimeter End-cap Module 0

The construction and beam test results of the ATLAS electromagnetic end-cap calorimeter pre-production module 0 are presented. The stochastic term of the energy resolution is between 10% GeV^1/2 and 12.5% GeV^1/2 over the full pseudorapidity range. Position and angular resolutions are found to be in agreement with simulation. A global constant term of 0.6% is obtained in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 < eta < 3.2 (inner wheel)

Performance of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter end-cap module 0

The construction and beam test results of the ATLAS electromagnetic end-cap calorimeter pre-production module 0 are presented. The stochastic term of the energy resolution is between 10% GeV^1/2 and 12.5% GeV^1/2 over the full pseudorapidity range. Position and angular resolutions are found to be in agreement with simulation. A global constant term of 0.6% is obtained in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 eta 3.2 (inner wheel)