Star Formation in Extreme Environments: The Effects of Cosmic Rays and Mechanical Heating

Context: Molecular data of extreme environments, such as Arp 220, but also NGC 253, show evidence for extremely high cosmic ray (CR) rates (10^3-10^4 * Milky Way) and mechanical heating from supernova driven turbulence. Aims: The consequences of high CR rates and mechanical heating on the chemistry in clouds are explored. Methods: PDR model predictions are made for low, n=10^3, and high, n=10^5.5 cm^-3, density clouds using well-tested chemistry and radiation transfer codes. Column densities of relevant species are discussed, and special attention is given to water related species. Fluxes are shown for fine-structure lines of O, C+, C, and N+, and molecular lines of CO, HCN, HNC, and HCO+. A comparison is made to an X-ray dominated region model. Results: Fine-structure lines of [CII], [CI], and [OI] are remarkably similar for different mechanical heating and CR rates, when already exposed to large amounts of UV. HCN and H2O abundances are boosted for very high mechanical heating rates, while ionized species are relatively unaffected. OH+ and H2O+ are enhanced for very high CR rates zeta > 5 * 10^-14 s^-1. A combination of OH+, OH, H2O+, H2O, and H3O+ trace the CR rates, and are able to distinguish between enhanced cosmic rays and X-rays.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, A&A accepte

Josephson Coupling, Phase Correlations, and Josephson Plasma Resonance in Vortex Liquid Phase

Josephson plasma resonance has been introduced recently as a powerful tool to probe interlayer Josephson coupling in different regions of the vortex phase diagram in layered superconductors. In the liquid phase, the high temperature expansion with respect to the Josephson coupling connects the Josephson plasma frequency with the phase correlation function. This function, in turn, is directly related to the pair distribution function of the liquid. We develop a recipe to extract the phase and density correlation functions from the dependencies of the plasma resonance frequency $\omega_p({\bf B})$ and the $c$ axis conductivity $\sigma_c({\bf B})$ on the {\it ab}-component of the magnetic field at fixed {\it c} -component. Using Langevin dynamic simulations of two-dimensional vortex arrays we calculate density and phase correlation functions at different temperatures. Calculated phase correlations describe very well the experimental angular dependence of the plasma resonance field. We also demonstrate that in the case of weak damping in the liquid phase, broadening of the JPR line is caused mainly by random Josephson coupling arising from the density fluctuations of pancake vortices. In this case the JPR line has a universal shape, which is determined only by parameters of the superconductors and temperature.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B, December

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

An Improved Measurement of Mixing-induced CP Violation in the Neutral B Meson System

We present an improved measurement of the standard model CP violation parameter sin2phi_1 (also known as sin2beta) based on a sample of 85 times 10^6 B Bbar pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is reconstructed in a J/psi K_S, psi(2S) K_S, chi_{c1} K_S, eta_c K_S, J/psi K^{*0}, or J/psi K_L CP-eigenstate decay channel and the flavor of accompanying B meson is identified from itsdecay products. From the asymmetry in the distribution of the time intervals between the two B meson decay points, we obtain sin2phi_1 = 0.719 +/- 0.074(stat) +/- 0.035(syst). We also report measurements of CP violation parameters for the related B^0 -> J/psi pi^0 decay mode and the penguin-dominated processes B^0 -> eta' K_S, phi K_S and K^+K^- K_S.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, contributed to ICHEP200

Distinct mechanisms of loss of IFN-gamma mediated HLA class I inducibility in two melanoma cell lines

BACKGROUND: The inability of cancer cells to present antigen on the cell surface via MHC class I molecules is one of the mechanisms by which tumor cells evade anti-tumor immunity. Alterations of Jak-STAT components of interferon (IFN)-mediated signaling can contribute to the mechanism of cell resistance to IFN, leading to lack of MHC class I inducibility. Hence, the identification of IFN-γ-resistant tumors may have prognostic and/or therapeutic relevance. In the present study, we investigated a mechanism of MHC class I inducibility in response to IFN-γ treatment in human melanoma cell lines. METHODS: Basal and IFN-induced expression of HLA class I antigens was analyzed by means of indirect immunofluorescence flow cytometry, Western Blot, RT-PCR, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR (TaqMan(® )Gene Expression Assays). In demethylation studies cells were cultured with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) was used to assay whether IRF-1 promoter binding activity is induced in IFN-γ-treated cells. RESULTS: Altered IFN-γ mediated HLA-class I induction was observed in two melanoma cells lines (ESTDAB-004 and ESTDAB-159) out of 57 studied, while treatment of these two cell lines with IFN-α led to normal induction of HLA class I antigen expression. Examination of STAT-1 in ESTDAB-004 after IFN-γ treatment demonstrated that the STAT-1 protein was expressed but not phosphorylated. Interestingly, IFN-α treatment induced normal STAT-1 phosphorylation and HLA class I expression. In contrast, the absence of response to IFN-γ in ESTDAB-159 was found to be associated with alterations in downstream components of the IFN-γ signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: We observed two distinct mechanisms of loss of IFN-γ inducibility of HLA class I antigens in two melanoma cell lines. Our findings suggest that loss of HLA class I induction in ESTDAB-004 cells results from a defect in the earliest steps of the IFN-γ signaling pathway due to absence of STAT-1 tyrosine-phosphorylation, while absence of IFN-γ-mediated HLA class I expression in ESTDAB-159 cells is due to epigenetic blocking of IFN-regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) transactivation

Evolutionary Diversification of Plant Shikimate Kinase Gene Duplicates

Shikimate kinase (SK; EC 2.7.1.71) catalyzes the fifth reaction of the shikimate pathway, which directs carbon from the central metabolism pool to a broad range of secondary metabolites involved in plant development, growth, and stress responses. In this study, we demonstrate the role of plant SK gene duplicate evolution in the diversification of metabolic regulation and the acquisition of novel and physiologically essential function. Phylogenetic analysis of plant SK homologs resolves an orthologous cluster of plant SKs and two functionally distinct orthologous clusters. These previously undescribed genes, shikimate kinase-like 1 (SKL1) and -2 (SKL2), do not encode SK activity, are present in all major plant lineages, and apparently evolved under positive selection following SK gene duplication over 400 MYA. This is supported by functional assays using recombinant SK, SKL1, and SKL2 from Arabidopsis thaliana (At) and evolutionary analyses of the diversification of SK-catalytic and -substrate binding sites based on theoretical structure models. AtSKL1 mutants yield albino and novel variegated phenotypes, which indicate SKL1 is required for chloroplast biogenesis. Extant SKL2 sequences show a strong genetic signature of positive selection, which is enriched in a protein–protein interaction module not found in other SK homologs. We also report the first kinetic characterization of plant SKs and show that gene expression diversification among the AtSK inparalogs is correlated with developmental processes and stress responses. This study examines the functional diversification of ancient and recent plant SK gene duplicates and highlights the utility of SKs as scaffolds for functional innovation

Chd8 mediates cortical neurogenesis via transcriptional regulation of cell cycle and Wnt signaling

De novo mutations in CHD8 are strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder, but the basic biology of CHD8 remains poorly understood. Here we report that Chd8 knockdown during cortical development results in defective neural progenitor proliferation and differentiation that ultimately manifests in abnormal neuronal morphology and behaviors in adult mice. Transcriptome analysis revealed that while Chd8 stimulates the transcription of cell cycle genes, it also precludes the induction of neural-specific genes by regulating the expression of PRC2 complex components. Furthermore, knockdown of Chd8 disrupts the expression of key transducers of Wnt signaling, and enhancing Wnt signaling rescues the transcriptional and behavioral deficits caused by Chd8 knockdown. We propose that these roles of Chd8 and the dynamics of Chd8 expression during development help negotiate the fine balance between neural progenitor proliferation and differentiation. Together, these observations provide new insights into the neurodevelopmental role of Chd8.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant UH1-MH106018-03

The formation of nuclear stellar discs in bar-induced gas inflows

The role of gas in the mass assembly at the nuclei of galaxies is still subject to some uncertainty. Stellar nuclear discs bridge the gap between the large-scale galaxy and the central massive objects that reside there. Using a high resolution simulation of a galaxy forming out of gas cooling and settling into a disc, we study the formation and properties of nuclear discs. Gas, driven to the centre by a bar, settles into a rotating star-forming nuclear disc (ND). This ND is thinner, younger, kinematically cooler, and more metal-rich than the surrounding bar. The ND is elliptical and orthogonal to the bar. The complex kinematics in the region of the ND are a result of the superposition of older stars streaming along the bar and younger stars circulating within the ND. The signature of the ND is therefore subtle in the kinematics. Instead the ND stands out clearly in metallicity and age maps. We compare the model to the density and kinematics of real galaxies with NDs finding qualitative similarities. Our results suggest that gas dissipation is very important for forming nuclear structures

Molecular gas in the centre of nearby galaxies from VLT/SINFONI integral field spectroscopy - II. Kinematics(star)

We present an analysis of the H2 emission-line gas kinematics in the inner ≲4 arcsec radius of six nearby spiral galaxies, based on adaptive optics-assisted integral-field observations obtained in the K band with SINFONI/VLT. Four of the six galaxies in our sample display ordered H2 velocity fields, consistent with gas moving in the plane of the galaxy and rotating in the same direction as the stars. However, the gas kinematics is typically far from simple circular motion. We can classify the observed velocity fields into four different types of flows, ordered by increasing complexity: (1) circular motion in a disc (NGC 3351); (2) oval motion in the galaxy plane (NGC 3627 and NGC 4536); (3) streaming motion superimposed on circular rotation (NGC 4501); and (4) disordered streaming motions (NGC 4569 and NGC 4579). The H2 velocity dispersion in the galaxies is usually higher than 50 km s−1 in the inner 1–2 arcsec radii. The four galaxies with ordered kinematics have v/σ < 1 at radii less than 40–80 pc. The radius at which v/σ = 1 is independent of the type of nuclear activity. While the low values of v/σ could be taken as an indication of a thick disc in the innermost regions of the galaxies, other lines of evidence (e.g. H2 morphologies and velocity fields) argue for a thin disc interpretation in the case of NGC 3351 and NGC 4536. We discuss the implications of the high values of velocity dispersion for the dynamics of the gaseous disc and suggest caution when interpreting the velocity dispersion of ionized and warm tracers as being entirely dynamical. Understanding the nature and role of the velocity dispersion in the gas dynamics, together with the full 2D information of the gas, is essential for obtaining accurate black hole masses from gas kinematics

Leptin Reduces the Expression and Increases the Phosphorylation of the Negative Regulators of GLUT4 Traffic TBC1D1 and TBC1D4 in Muscle of ob/ob Mice

Leptin improves insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Our goal was to determine whether proteins controlling GLUT4 traffic are altered by leptin deficiency and in vivo leptin administration in skeletal muscle of wild type and ob/ob mice. Leptin-deficient ob/ob mice were divided in three groups: control, leptin-treated (1 mg/kg/d) and leptin pair-fed ob/ob mice. Microarray analysis revealed that 1,546 and 1,127 genes were regulated by leptin deficiency and leptin treatment, respectively. Among these, we identified 24 genes involved in intracellular vesicle-mediated transport in ob/ob mice. TBC1 domain family, member 1 (Tbc1d1), a negative regulator of GLUT4 translocation, was up-regulated (P = 0.001) in ob/ob mice as compared to wild types. Importantly, leptin treatment reduced the transcript levels of Tbc1d1 (P<0.001) and Tbc1d4 (P = 0.004) in the leptin-treated ob/ob as compared to pair-fed ob/ob animals. In addition, phosphorylation levels of TBC1D1 and TBC1D4 were enhanced in leptin-treated ob/ob as compared to control ob/ob (P = 0.015 and P = 0.023, respectively) and pair-fed ob/ob (P = 0.036 and P = 0.034, respectively) mice. Despite similar GLUT4 protein expression in wild type and ob/ob groups a different immunolocalization of this protein was evidenced in muscle sections. Leptin treatment increased GLUT4 immunoreactivity in gastrocnemius and extensor digitorum longus sections of leptin-treated ob/ob mice. Moreover, GLUT4 protein detected in immunoprecipitates from TBC1D4 was reduced by leptin replacement compared to control ob/ob (P = 0.013) and pair-fed ob/ob (P = 0.037) mice. Our findings suggest that leptin enhances the intracellular GLUT4 transport in skeletal muscle of ob/ob animals by reducing the expression and activity of the negative regulators of GLUT4 traffic TBC1D1 and TBC1D4