Gravitational Radiation from Post-Newtonian Sources and Inspiralling Compact Binaries

The article reviews the current status of a theoretical approach to the problem of the emission of gravitational waves by isolated systems in the context of general relativity. Part A of the article deals with general post-Newtonian sources. The exterior field of the source is investigated by means of a combination of analytic post-Minkowskian and multipolar approximations. The physical observables in the far-zone of the source are described by a specific set of radiative multipole moments. By matching the exterior solution to the metric of the post-Newtonian source in the near-zone we obtain the explicit expressions of the source multipole moments. The relationships between the radiative and source moments involve many non-linear multipole interactions, among them those associated with the tails (and tails-of-tails) of gravitational waves. Part B of the article is devoted to the application to compact binary systems. We present the equations of binary motion, and the associated Lagrangian and Hamiltonian, at the third post-Newtonian (3PN) order beyond the Newtonian acceleration. The gravitational-wave energy flux, taking consistently into account the relativistic corrections in the binary moments as well as the various tail effects, is derived through 3.5PN order with respect to the quadrupole formalism. The binary's orbital phase, whose prior knowledge is crucial for searching and analyzing the signals from inspiralling compact binaries, is deduced from an energy balance argument.Comment: 109 pages, 1 figure; this version is an update of the Living Review article originally published in 2002; available on-line at http://www.livingreviews.org

Physiological traits of the symbiotic bacterium Teredinibacter turnerae isolated from the mangrove shipworm Neoteredo reynei

Nutrition in the Teredinidae family of wood-boring mollusks is sustained by cellulolytic/nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria of the Teredinibacter clade. The mangrove Teredinidae Neoteredo reynei is popularly used in the treatment of infectious diseases in the north of Brazil. In the present work, the symbionts of N. reynei, which are strictly confined to the host's gills, were conclusively identified as Teredinibacter turnerae. Symbiont variants obtained in vitro were able to grow using casein as the sole carbon/nitrogen source and under reduced concentrations of NaCl. Furthermore, cellulose consumption in T. turnerae was clearly reduced under low salt concentrations. As a point of interest, we hereby report first hand that T. turnerae in fact exerts antibiotic activity. Furthermore, this activity was also affected by NaCl concentration. Finally, T. turnerae was able to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, this including strains of Sphingomonas sp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus sciuri. Our findings introduce new points of view on the ecology of T. turnerae, and suggest new biotechnological applications for this marine bacterium

Regional differences in psychiatric disorders in Chile

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric epidemiological surveys in developing countries are rare and are frequently conducted in regions that are not necessarily representative of the entire country. In addition, in large countries with dispersed populations national rates may have low value for estimating the need for mental health services and programs. METHODS: The Chile Psychiatric Prevalence Study using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview was conducted in four distinct regions of the country on a stratified random sample of 2,978 people. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence and service utilization rates were estimated. RESULTS: Significant differences in the rates of major depressive disorder, substance abuse disorders, non-affective psychosis, and service utilization were found across the regions. The differential prevalence rates could not be accounted by socio-demographic differences between sites. CONCLUSIONS: Regional differences across countries may exist that have both implications for prevalence rates and service utilization. Planning mental health services for population centers that span wide geographical areas based on studies conducted in a single region may be misleading, and may result in areas with high need being underserved

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model

P. brasiliensis virulence is affected by SconC, the negative regulator of inorganic sulfur assimilation

Conidia/mycelium-to-yeast transition of Paracoccidioidesbrasiliensis is a critical step for the establishment of paracoccidioidomycosis, a systemic mycosis endemic in Latin America. Thus, knowledge of the factors that mediate this transition is of major importance for the design of intervention strategies. So far, the only known pre-requisites for the accomplishment of the morphological transition are the temperature shift to 37°C and the availability of organic sulfur compounds. In this study, we investigated the auxotrophic nature to organic sulfur of the yeast phase of Paracoccidioides, with special attention to P. brasiliensis species. For this, we addressed the role of SconCp, the negative regulator of the inorganic sulfur assimilation pathway, in the dimorphism and virulence of this pathogen. We show that down-regulation of SCONC allows initial steps of mycelium-to-yeast transition in the absence of organic sulfur compounds, contrarily to the wild-type fungus that cannot undergo mycelium-to-yeast transition under such conditions. However, SCONC down-regulated transformants were unable to sustain yeast growth using inorganic sulfur compounds only. Moreover, pulses with inorganic sulfur in SCONC down-regulated transformants triggered an increase of the inorganic sulfur metabolism, which culminated in a drastic reduction of the ATP and NADPH cellular levels and in higher oxidative stress. Importantly, the down-regulation of SCONC resulted in a decreased virulence of P. brasiliensis, as validated in an in vivo model of infection. Overall, our findings shed light on the inability of P. brasiliensis yeast to rely on inorganic sulfur compounds, correlating its metabolism with cellular energy and redox imbalances. Furthermore, the data herein presented reveal SconCp as a novel virulence determinant of P. brasiliensis.J.F.M. and J.G.R. were supported by a PhD grant from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT). This work was supported by a grant from FCT (PTDC/BIA-MIC/108309/2008). M. Sturme. and M. Saraiva are Ciencia 2008 fellows. The authors would also like to thank FAPESP (Fundacao para Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico) for financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript