Quantification of mutant huntingtin protein in cerebrospinal fluid from Huntington's disease patients.

Quantification of disease-associated proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been critical for the study and treatment of several neurodegenerative disorders; however, mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT), the cause of Huntington's disease (HD), is at very low levels in CSF and, to our knowledge, has never been measured previously

Two-Photon Spectroscopy Between States of Opposite Parities

Magnetic- and electric-dipole two-photon absorption (MED-TPA), recently introduced as a new spectroscopic technique for studying transitions between states of opposite parities, is investigated from a theoretical point of view. A new approximation, referred to as {\it weak quasi-closure approximation}, is used together with symmetry adaptation techniques to calculate the transition amplitude between states having well-defined symmetry properties. Selection rules for MED-TPA are derived and compared to selection rules for parity-forbidden electric-dipole two-photon absorption (ED-TPA).Comment: 7 pages, Revtex File, to be published in Physical Review

Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators

Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids, Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age

Customer emotions in service failure and recovery encounters

Emotions play a significant role in the workplace, and considerable attention has been given to the study of employee emotions. Customers also play a central function in organizations, but much less is known about customer emotions. This chapter reviews the growing literature on customer emotions in employee–customer interfaces with a focus on service failure and recovery encounters, where emotions are heightened. It highlights emerging themes and key findings, addresses the measurement, modeling, and management of customer emotions, and identifies future research streams. Attention is given to emotional contagion, relationships between affective and cognitive processes, customer anger, customer rage, and individual differences

Risk factors for breast cancer

Since 1976, data were collected to evaluate risk factors for breast cancer in a hospital-based case-control study of 1185 women with breast cancer and 3227 controls. The risk of breast cancer increased with increasing age at first birth; this effect was not accounted for by parity. An early age at first birth appeared to reduce the risk relative to no pregnancy, whereas a late age at first birth was associated with a higher risk than not having a full-term pregnancy. High parity was associated with a reduction in the risk that was independent of that of age at first birth: for parity ≧5, compared with parity 1-2, the relative risk estimate was 0.7 (95% confidence Interval, 0.5-1.0). Late age at menarche was associated with a lower risk among premenopausal women but not among postmenopausal women. The relative risk decreased with increasing obesity among premenopausal women. Among postmenopausal women, the risk was higher among those who were obese, but there was no evidence of a trend with increasing body mass index. Risk did not vary materially according to history of abortion when gravidity was controlled. Risk was lower among postmenopausal women than among premenopausal women of the same age and increased with increasing age at menopause; bilateral oophorectomy reduced the risk more than hysterectomy alone. A positive history of benign breast disease, a positive family history of breast cancer, Jewish religion, and 12 or more years of education were each independently associated with an increased risk of breast cancer