First Light of Engineered Diffusers at the Nordic Optical Telescope Reveal Time Variability in the Optical Eclipse Depth of WASP-12b

We present the characterization of two engineered diffusers mounted on the 2.5 meter Nordic Optical Telescope, located at Roque de Los Muchachos, Spain. To assess the reliability and the efficiency of the diffusers, we carried out several test observations of two photometric standard stars, along with observations of one primary transit observation of TrES-3b in the red (R-band), one of CoRoT-1b in the blue (B-band), and three secondary eclipses of WASP-12b in V-band. The achieved photometric precision is in all cases within the sub-millimagnitude level for exposures between 25 and 180 seconds. Along a detailed analysis of the functionality of the diffusers, we add a new transit depth measurement in the blue (B-band) to the already observed transmission spectrum of CoRoT-1b, disfavouring a Rayleigh slope. We also report variability of the eclipse depth of WASP-12b in the V-band. For the WASP-12b secondary eclipses, we observe a secondary-depth deviation of about 5-sigma, and a difference of 6-sigma and 2.5-sigma when compared to the values reported by other authors in similar wavelength range determined from Hubble Space Telescope data. We further speculate about the potential physical processes or causes responsible for this observed variabilityComment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Psychiatric morbidity in epilepsy: a case controlled study of adults receiving disability benefits

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of non-organic psychiatric disorders among disabled patients of normal intelligence with epilepsy with the prevalence of similar psychiatric disorders among age and sex matched disabled patients with other somatic diseases. METHODS: A case-control study was carried out in Iceland among people receiving disability benefits using information available at the State Social Security Institute. There were 344 patients with epilepsy in Iceland 16 to 66 years of age (inclusive) receiving disability benefits in 1995. By excluding mentally retarded patients, autistic patients, and patients with organic psychoses, 241 index cases with epilepsy qualified for the study. For each case two age and sex matched controls were selected from all patients receiving disability benefits who had cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, or arthropathies. The same exclusion criteria were applied to the controls as the index cases. In both patient groups psychiatric diagnoses were classified into one of the four following categories: (1) psychotic illness; (2) neurotic illness or personality disorders; (3) alcohol or drug dependence or misuse; and (4) other mental disorders. RESULTS: Psychiatric diagnosis was present among 35% (85/241) of the cases compared with 30% (143/482) of the controls (p=0.15). There was a difference in the distribution of the two groups into different psychiatric categories (p=0.02). This was mainly due to an excess of men in the index group with psychosis, particularly schizophrenia or paranoid states. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that there is not a difference in the prevalence of non-organic psychiatric disorders among disabled patients of normal intelligence with epilepsy compared with patients with other disabling somatic diseases. However, the data indicate that when psychopathology is present disabled patients with epilepsy are more likely to have psychotic illness than the other disabled patients

Comparison of Radioimmuno and Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor Assays for Measuring Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in a Preclinical Model of Human Breast Cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To realize the promise of personalized medicine, diagnostic instruments used for detecting and measuring biomarkers must become smaller, faster and less expensive. Although most techniques used currently to detect biomarkers are sensitive and specific, many suffer from several disadvantages including their complexity, high cost and long turnaround time. One strategy to overcome these problems is to exploit carbon nanotube (CNT) based biosensors, which are sensitive, use inexpensive disposable components and can be easily adapted to current assay protocols. In this study we investigated the applicability of using a CNT field-effect transistor (CNT-FET) as a diagnostic instrument for measuring cancer biomarkers in serum using a mouse model of <it>Breast Cancer Susceptibility 1</it>-related breast cancer. Insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was chosen because it is highly relevant in breast cancer and because measuring serum IGF-1 levels by conventional methods is complicated due to specific IGF-1 serum binding proteins.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Our results show that there is good correlation between the two platforms with respect to detecting serum IGF-1. In fact, the CNT-FETs required only one antibody, gave real-time results and required approximately 100-fold less mouse serum than the radioimmunoassay.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both IGF-1 radioimmuno and CNT-FET assays gave comparable results. Indeed, the CNT-FET assay was simpler and faster than the radioimmunoassay. Additionally, the low serum sample required by CNT-FETs can be especially advantageous for studies constricted by limited amount of human clinical samples and for mouse studies, since animals often need to be sacrificed to obtain enough serum for biomarker evaluation.</p

Pressure Buildup Monitoring of the Krafla Geothermal Field, Iceland

A break in electrical power generation from the Krafla geothermal plant was planned from beginning of May to early September 1984. Early in June most of the production wells were shutin and their pressure recovery monitored. A regular monitoring of the pressure buildup was carried out on a well to well basis until mid-August, when the wells were put back into production except for wells 12 and 16. They were used to monitor the pressure drawdown due to the start of production. This was abruptly brought to an end by a nearby volcanic eruption in early September. The pressure buildup in the two-phase geothermal reservoir at Krafla is described and the first results presented. The results are compared with parameters determined on the completion of the wells and with predictions from numerical simulations of the reservoir. Finally the status of the Krafla geothermal system is discussed with regard to the comparison

Immune gene profiles in Atlantic salmon (salmo salar L.) post-smolts infected with SAV3 by bath-challenge show a delayed response and lower levels of gene transcription compared to injected fish

Acknowledgements This research was funded by the Research Council of Norway, Research grant # 224885/E40. The following people are thanked for their expert technical assistance and help during sampling; Ann Catherine Bårdsgjære Einen, Stig Mæhle, Ingrid Fiksdal and Miriam Castillo Furné. Thanks also to Ivar Helge Matre at Matre Research Station, IMR for the production of fish and Joachim Nordbø for fish husbandry and help with sampling. Øystein Evensen, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, is acknowledged for providing the SAV3 isolate.Peer reviewedPostprin