Microlensing modulation by quadrupole variation

We investigate microlensing in the case where the lens is considered as an extended object. We use a multipolar expansion of the lens potential and show that the time-varying nature of the quadrupole contribution allows to separate it from the mass and spin contributions and leads to specific modulations of the amplification signal. As example we study the case of binary system lenses in our galaxy. The modulation is observable if the rotation period of the system is smaller than the time over which the amplification is significant and if the impact parameter of the passing light ray is sufficiently close to the Einstein radius so that the amplification is large. Observations of this modulation can reveal important information on the quadrupole and thus on the gravitational radiation emitted by the binary lens. Even if not observed directly, because of their importance the quadrupole modulation has to be included in the error budget for high magnification ($\mu\leq7$) microlensing events.Comment: Matches publicated versio

Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention

Background and purpose: Many holistic anti-bullying interventions have been attempted, with mixed success, while little work has been done to promote a 'self-help' approach to victimisation. The rise of the ICT curriculum and computer support in schools now allows for approaches that benefit from technology to be implemented. This study evaluates the cross-cultural effects of a computer-based anti-bullying intervention on primary school-aged children's knowledge about bullying and relevant coping strategies. Programme description: FearNot! is an interactive computer-based virtual learning environment designed for use as an anti-bullying intervention. It includes interactive virtual agents who assume the most common participant roles found in episodes of bullying. FearNot! was used by children over three consecutive weeks to allow its effectiveness to be evaluated in a longitudinal in situ programme. Sample: Two comparable samples were drawn from the UK and Germany. In the UK, 651 participants (aged 8-11) were recruited from primary schools in Hertfordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, whereas the 535 German participants (aged 7-10) were sourced from Grundschulen in the Bayern and Hessen regions. Because of lack of parental consent, late joiners and absences/missing responses, data from 908 participants (UK 493; Germany 415) were analysed. Design and methods: A quasi-experimental, pre/post-tests control group design employed pre-published and bespoke questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Results: UK students possessed higher coping strategy knowledge scores than German participants, but German children's scores improved over time and as a result of the FearNot! intervention. Conclusions: Overall, while not effective at increasing children's coping strategy knowledge in this study, the FearNot! intervention could prove a useful classroom tool to approach the issue of bullying as part of a wider initiative. Cultural differences at baseline and reactions to the intervention are discussed

Sodium and Oxygen Abundances in the Open Cluster NGC 6791 from APOGEE H-Band Spectroscopy

The open cluster NGC 6791 is among the oldest, most massive and metal-rich open clusters in the Galaxy. High-resolution $H$-band spectra from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) of 11 red giants in NGC 6791 are analyzed for their chemical abundances of iron, oxygen, and sodium. The abundances of these three elements are found to be homogeneous (with abundance dispersions at the level of $\sim$ 0.05 - 0.07 dex) in these cluster red giants, which span much of the red-giant branch (T$_{\rm eff}$ $\sim$ 3500K - 4600K), and include two red-clump giants. From the infrared spectra, this cluster is confirmed to be among the most metal-rich clusters in the Galaxy ($$ = 0.34 $\pm$ 0.06), and is found to have a roughly solar value of [O/Fe] and slightly enhanced [Na/Fe]. Non-LTE calculations for the studied Na I lines in the APOGEE spectral region ($\lambda$16373.86\AA\ and $\lambda$16388.85\AA) indicate only small departures from LTE ($\leq$ 0.04 dex) for the parameter range and metallicity of the studied stars. The previously reported double population of cluster members with different Na abundances is not found among the studied sample.Comment: Accepted for publication at ApJ Letter

Long-term follow-up of cytogenetically normal CEBPA-mutated AML

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term survival of AML patients with CEBPA mutations. Patients and methods: We investigated 88 AML patients with a median age of 61 years and (1) cytogenetically normal AML (CN-AML), (2) monoallelic (moCEBPA) or biallelic (biCEBPA) CEBPA mutation, and (3) intensive induction treatment. 60/88 patients have been described previously with a shorter follow-up. Results: Median follow-up time was 9.8 years (95% CI: 9.4-10.1 years) compared to 3.2 and 5.2 years in our former analyses. Patients with biCEBPA mutations survived significantly longer compared to those with moCEBPA (median overall survival (OS) 9.6 years vs. 1.7 years, p = 0.008). Patients <= 60 years and biCEBPA mutations showed a favorable prognosis with a 10-year OS rate of 81%. Both, bi- and moCEBPA-mutated groups had a low early death (d60) rate of 7% and 9%, respectively. Complete remission (CR) rates for biCEBPA and moCEBPA mutated patients were 82% vs. 70% (p = 0.17). biCEBPA mutated patients showed a longer relapse free survival (RFS) (median RFS 9.4 years vs. 1.5 years, p = 0.021) and a lower cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) compared to moCEBPA-mutated patients. These differences in OS and RFS were confirmed after adjustment for known clinical and molecular prognostic factors. Conclusions: In this long-term observation we confirmed the favorable prognostic outcome of patients with biCEBPA mutations compared to moCEBPA-mutated CN-AML. The high probability of OS (81%) in younger patients is helpful to guide intensity of postremission therapy

Leftward Lateralization of Auditory Cortex Underlies Holistic Sound Perception in Williams Syndrome

BACKGROUND: Individuals with the rare genetic disorder Williams-Beuren syndrome (WS) are known for their characteristic auditory phenotype including strong affinity to music and sounds. In this work we attempted to pinpoint a neural substrate for the characteristic musicality in WS individuals by studying the structure-function relationship of their auditory cortex. Since WS subjects had only minor musical training due to psychomotor constraints we hypothesized that any changes compared to the control group would reflect the contribution of genetic factors to auditory processing and musicality. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using psychoacoustics, magnetoencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging, we show that WS individuals exhibit extreme and almost exclusive holistic sound perception, which stands in marked contrast to the even distribution of this trait in the general population. Functionally, this was reflected by increased amplitudes of left auditory evoked fields. On the structural level, volume of the left auditory cortex was 2.2-fold increased in WS subjects as compared to control subjects. Equivalent volumes of the auditory cortex have been previously reported for professional musicians. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There has been an ongoing debate in the neuroscience community as to whether increased gray matter of the auditory cortex in musicians is attributable to the amount of training or innate disposition. In this study musical education of WS subjects was negligible and control subjects were carefully matched for this parameter. Therefore our results not only unravel the neural substrate for this particular auditory phenotype, but in addition propose WS as a unique genetic model for training-independent auditory system properties

Comparative analysis of two complete Corynebacterium ulcerans genomes and detection of candidate virulence factors

Trost E, Al-Dilaimi A, Papavasiliou P, et al. Comparative analysis of two complete Corynebacterium ulcerans genomes and detection of candidate virulence factors. BMC Genomics. 2011;12(1): 383.ABSTRACT: Corynebacterium ulcerans has been detected as a commensal in domestic and wild animals that may serve as reservoirs for zoonotic infections. During the last decade, the frequency and severity of human infections associated with C. ulcerans appear to be increasing in various countries. As the knowledge of genes contributing to the virulence of this bacterium was very limited, the complete genome sequences of two C. ulcerans strains detected in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro were determined and characterized by comparative genomics: C. ulcerans 809 was initially isolated from an elderly woman with fatal pulmonary infection and C. ulcerans BR-AD22 was recovered from a nasal sample of an asymptomatic dog. The circular chromosome of C. ulcerans 809 has a total size of 2,502,095 bp and encodes 2,182 predicted proteins, whereas the genome of C. ulcerans BR-AD22 is 104,279 bp larger and comprises 2,338 protein-coding regions. The minor difference in size of the two genomes is mainly caused by additional prophage-like elements in the C. ulcerans BR-AD22 chromosome. Both genomes show a highly similar order of orthologous coding regions; and both strains share a common set of 2,076 genes, demonstrating their very close relationship. A screening for prominent virulence factors revealed the presence of phospholipase D (Pld), neuraminidase H (NanH), endoglycosidase E (EndoE), and subunits of adhesive pili of the SpaDEF type that are encoded in both C. ulcerans genomes. The rbp gene coding for a putative ribosome-binding protein with striking structural similarity to Shiga-like toxins was additionally detected in the genome of the human isolate C. ulcerans 809. The molecular data deduced from the complete genome sequences provides considerable knowledge of virulence factors in C. ulcerans that is increasingly recognized as an emerging pathogen. This bacterium is apparently equipped with a broad and varying set of virulence factors, including a novel type of a ribosome-binding protein. Whether the respective protein contributes to the severity of human infections (and a fatal outcome) remains to be elucidated by genetic experiments with defined bacterial mutants and host model systems

A Molecular Phylogeny of Living Primates

Comparative genomic analyses of primates offer considerable potential to define and understand the processes that mold, shape, and transform the human genome. However, primate taxonomy is both complex and controversial, with marginal unifying consensus of the evolutionary hierarchy of extant primate species. Here we provide new genomic sequence (~8 Mb) from 186 primates representing 61 (~90%) of the described genera, and we include outgroup species from Dermoptera, Scandentia, and Lagomorpha. The resultant phylogeny is exceptionally robust and illuminates events in primate evolution from ancient to recent, clarifying numerous taxonomic controversies and providing new data on human evolution. Ongoing speciation, reticulate evolution, ancient relic lineages, unequal rates of evolution, and disparate distributions of insertions/deletions among the reconstructed primate lineages are uncovered. Our resolution of the primate phylogeny provides an essential evolutionary framework with far-reaching applications including: human selection and adaptation, global emergence of zoonotic diseases, mammalian comparative genomics, primate taxonomy, and conservation of endangered species

Quantum numbers of the X(3872)X(3872) state and orbital angular momentum in its ρ0Jψ\rho^0 J\psi decay

Angular correlations in $B^+\to X(3872) K^+$ decays, with $X(3872)\to \rho^0 J/\psi$, $\rho^0\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $J/\psi \to\mu^+\mu^-$, are used to measure orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the $J^{PC}$ value of the $X(3872)$ meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be $J^{PC}=1^{++}$. The $X(3872)$ is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit of $4\%$ at $95\%$ C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure