Reactor Neutrinos

We review the status and the results of reactor neutrino experiments, that toe the cutting edge of neutrino research. Short baseline experiments have provided the measurement of the reactor neutrino spectrum, and are still searching for important phenomena such as the neutrino magnetic moment. They could open the door to the measurement of coherent neutrino scattering in a near future. Middle and long baseline oscillation experiments at Chooz and KamLAND have played a relevant role in neutrino oscillation physics in the last years. It is now widely accepted that a new middle baseline disappearance reactor neutrino experiment with multiple detectors could provide a clean measurement of the last undetermined neutrino mixing angle theta13. We conclude by opening on possible use of neutrinos for Society: NonProliferation of Nuclear materials and Geophysics

The Dystroglycan Complex Is Necessary for Stabilization of Acetylcholine Receptor Clusters at Neuromuscular Junctions and Formation of the Synaptic Basement Membrane

The dystrophin-associated protein (DAP) complex spans the sarcolemmal membrane linking the cytoskeleton to the basement membrane surrounding each myofiber. Defects in the DAP complex have been linked previously to a variety of muscular dystrophies. Other evidence points to a role for the DAP complex in formation of nerve–muscle synapses. We show that myotubes differentiated from dystroglycan−/− embryonic stem cells are responsive to agrin, but produce acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters which are two to three times larger in area, about half as dense, and significantly less stable than those on dystroglycan+/+ myotubes. AChRs at neuromuscular junctions are similarly affected in dystroglycan-deficient chimeric mice and there is a coordinate increase in nerve terminal size at these junctions. In culture and in vivo the absence of dystroglycan disrupts the localization to AChR clusters of laminin, perlecan, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but not rapsyn or agrin. Treatment of myotubes in culture with laminin induces AChR clusters on dystroglycan+/+, but not −/− myotubes. These results suggest that dystroglycan is essential for the assembly of a synaptic basement membrane, most notably by localizing AChE through its binding to perlecan. In addition, they suggest that dystroglycan functions in the organization and stabilization of AChR clusters, which appear to be mediated through its binding of laminin

Relating a calcium indicator signal to the unperturbed calcium concentration time-course

BACKGROUND: Optical indicators of cytosolic calcium levels have become important experimental tools in systems and cellular neuroscience. Indicators are known to interfere with intracellular calcium levels by acting as additional buffers, and this may strongly alter the time-course of various dynamical variables to be measured. RESULTS: By investigating the underlying reaction kinetics, we show that in some ranges of kinetic parameters one can explicitly link the time dependent indicator signal to the time-course of the calcium influx, and thus, to the unperturbed calcium level had there been no indicator in the cell

Oligo-Miocene magnetostratigraphy and rock magnetism of the Xishuigou section, Subei (Gansu Province, western China) and implications for shallow inclinations in central Asia.

Magnetostratigraphy of 222 remanent directions together with late Oligocene to early Miocene mammal and charophyte paleontology suggest that 2179 m of the Xishuigou section (Subei, Gansu Province, China) were deposited from ~26 to ~19 Ma. Stratigraphic patterns of bulk susceptibility, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility parameters, and natural and anhysteretic remanent magnetization intensities demonstrate that (1) faulting does not significantly affect the record, (2) sediment deposition was relatively continuous, (3) sediment source changed around 23 Ma, and (4) rapid uplift near Subei occurred at 21 Ma. Subei rotated 27° ± 5° counterclockwise with respect to the 20 Ma pole from the Eurasian synthetic apparent polar wander path. Folding and rotation of the section took place after 19 Ma. The paleolatitude of Subei is 14° less than at present and 19° ± 3° less than predicted from the reference pole. Both rock magnetic and paleomagnetic data sets suggest that the unusually low paleolatitude is the result of synsedimentary inclination shallowing, a phenomenon which has likely affected other paleomagnetic data from central Asia

Thermochronometer record of central Andean Plateau growth, Bolivia (19.5°S)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94850/1/tect1973.pd

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Relationship of metabolic syndrome and its components with -844 G/A and HindIII C/G PAI-1 gene polymorphisms in Mexican children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several association studies have shown that -844 G/A and <it>HindIII </it>C/G <it>PAI-1 </it>polymorphisms are related with increase of PAI-1 levels, obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension and dyslipidemia, which are components of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to analyze the allele and genotype frequencies of these polymorphisms in <it>PAI-1 </it>gene and its association with metabolic syndrome and its components in a sample of Mexican mestizo children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study included 100 children with an age range between 6-11 years divided in two groups: a) 48 children diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and b) 52 children metabolically healthy without any clinical and biochemical alteration. Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of three or more of the following criteria: fasting glucose levels ≥ 100 mg/dL, triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL, HDL-cholesterol < 40 mg/dL, obesity BMI ≥ 95^thpercentile, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 95^thpercentile and insulin resistance HOMA-IR ≥ 2.4. The -844 G/A and <it>HindIII </it>C/G <it>PAI-1 </it>polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For the -844 G/A polymorphism, the G/A genotype (OR = 2.79; 95% CI, 1.11-7.08; <it>p </it>= 0.015) and the A allele (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.10-4.43; <it>p </it>= 0.015) were associated with metabolic syndrome. The -844 G/A and A/A genotypes were associated with increase in plasma triglycerides levels (OR = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.16 to 6.04; <it>p </it>= 0.02), decrease in plasma HDL-cholesterol levels (OR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.06 to 5.42; <it>p </it>= 0.03) and obesity (OR = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.17-5.92; <it>p </it>= 0.01). The C/G and G/G genotypes of the <it>HindIII </it>C/G polymorphism contributed to a significant increase in plasma total cholesterol levels (179 vs. 165 mg/dL; <it>p </it>= 0.02) in comparison with C/C genotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The -844 G/A <it>PAI-1 </it>polymorphism is related with the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, obesity and atherogenic dyslipidemia, and the <it>HindIII </it>C/G <it>PAI-1 </it>polymorphism was associated with the increase of total cholesterol levels in Mexican children.</p

In Vitro vs In Silico Detected SNPs for the Development of a Genotyping Array: What Can We Learn from a Non-Model Species?

Background: There is considerable interest in the high-throughput discovery and genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to accelerate genetic mapping and enable association studies. This study provides an assessment of EST-derived and resequencing-derived SNP quality in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.), a conifer characterized by a huge genome size (~23.8 Gb/C). [br/] Methodology/Principal Findings: A 384-SNPs GoldenGate genotyping array was built from i/ 184 SNPs originally detected in a set of 40 re-sequenced candidate genes (in vitro SNPs), chosen on the basis of functionality scores, presence of neighboring polymorphisms, minor allele frequencies and linkage disequilibrium and ii/ 200 SNPs screened from ESTs (in silico SNPs) selected based on the number of ESTs used for SNP detection, the SNP minor allele frequency and the quality of SNP flanking sequences. The global success rate of the assay was 66.9%, and a conversion rate (considering only polymorphic SNPs) of 51% was achieved. In vitro SNPs showed significantly higher genotyping-success and conversion rates than in silico SNPs (+11.5% and +18.5%, respectively). The reproducibility was 100%, and the genotyping error rate very low (0.54%, dropping down to 0.06% when removing four SNPs showing elevated error rates). [br/] Conclusions/Significance: This study demonstrates that ESTs provide a resource for SNP identification in non-model species, which do not require any additional bench work and little bio-informatics analysis. However, the time and cost benefits of in silico SNPs are counterbalanced by a lower conversion rate than in vitro SNPs. This drawback is acceptable for population-based experiments, but could be dramatic in experiments involving samples from narrow genetic backgrounds. In addition, we showed that both the visual inspection of genotyping clusters and the estimation of a per SNP error rate should help identify markers that are not suitable to the GoldenGate technology in species characterized by a large and complex genome