Nodal quasiparticle meltdown in ultra-high resolution pump-probe angle-resolved photoemission

High-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors are characterized by a strong momentum-dependent anisotropy between the low energy excitations along the Brillouin zone diagonal (nodal direction) and those along the Brillouin zone face (antinodal direction). Most obvious is the d-wave superconducting gap, with the largest magnitude found in the antinodal direction and no gap in the nodal direction. Additionally, while antinodal quasiparticle excitations appear only below $T_c$, superconductivity is thought to be indifferent to nodal excitations as they are regarded robust and insensitive to $T_c$. Here we reveal an unexpected tie between nodal quasiparticles and superconductivity using high resolution time- and angle-resolved photoemission on optimally doped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. We observe a suppression of the nodal quasiparticle spectral weight following pump laser excitation and measure its recovery dynamics. This suppression is dramatically enhanced in the superconducting state. These results reduce the nodal-antinodal dichotomy and challenge the conventional view of nodal excitation neutrality in superconductivity.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure. To be published in Nature Physic

NMR structure and dynamics of the agonist dynorphin peptide bound to the human kappa opioid receptor

The human kappa opioid receptor (KOR) is implicated in addiction, pain, reward, mood, cognition, and perception. Activation of KOR by the neuropeptide dynorphin is critical in mediating analgesia and tolerance. Our solution NMR study of dynorphin (1–13) provided quantitative data on a KOR-bound conformation. Analysis of the peptide structure and dynamics revealed a central helical turn bounded on both sides by flexibly disordered peptide segments. Future drug development will benefit from knowledge of the dynorphin structure bound to its human receptor

Two family interventions to reduce BMI in low-income urban youth: A randomized trial

BACKGROUND: Our primary aim was to evaluate the effects of 2 family-based obesity management interventions compared with a control group on BMI in low-income adolescents with overweight or obesity. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 360 urban-residing youth and a parent were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 behaviorally distinct family interventions or an education-only control group. Eligible children were entering the sixth grade with a BMI $85th percentile. Interventions were 3 years in length; data were collected annually for 3 years. Effects of the interventions on BMI slope (primary outcome) over 3 years and a set of secondary outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: Participants were primarily African American (77%), had a family income of,25 000 per year, and obese at enrollment (68%). BMI increased over time in all study groups, with group increases ranging from 0.95 to 1.08. In an intent-to-treat analysis, no significant differences were found in adjusted BMI slopes between either of the family-based interventions and the control group (P = .35). No differences were found between the experimental and control groups on secondary outcomes of diet, physical activity, sleep, perceived stress, or cardiometabolic factors. No evidence of effect modification of the study arms by sex, race and/or ethnicity, household income, baseline levels of child and parent obesity, or exposure to a school fitness program were found. CONCLUSIONS: In this low-income, adolescent population, neither of the family-based interventions improved BMI or health-related secondary outcomes. Future interventions should more fully address poverty and other social issues contributing to childhood obesity

Body silhouette, menstrual function at adolescence and breast cancer risk in the E3N cohort study

We analysed the relation between adult breast cancer risk and adiposity in ages 8–25, and among 90 509 women included in the E3N cohort study, and investigated the potential modification effect of certain factors. Participants completed a questionnaire that included a set of eight silhouettes corresponding to body shape at different ages. During the follow-up (mean=11.4 years), 3491 breast cancer cases were identified. Negative trends in risk of breast cancer with increasing body silhouettes at age 8 and at menarche were observed, irrespective of menopausal status, with relative risks of 0.73 (0.53–0.99) and 0.82 (0.66–1.02) for women who reported a silhouette equal or greater than the fifth silhouette at age 8 and at menarche, respectively. We observed no clear effect modification by age at menarche, delay between age at menarche, regular cycling, regularity of cycles in adult life or body mass index at baseline

Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation in Infancy Reduces Heart Rate and Positively Affects Distribution of Attention

A double-blind, randomized, controlled, parallel-group prospective trial was conducted to determine whether a dose-response existed for four different levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on the cognitive performance of infants. A total of 122 term infants were fed one of four different formulas varying in their DHA composition (0.00%, 0.32%, 0.64% and 0.96% of total fatty acids as DHA) from birth to 12 months. The three DHA-supplemented formulas also contained 0.64% of total fatty acids as arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6). Infants were tested at 4, 6, and 9 months of age on a visual habituation protocol that yielded both behavioral and psychophysiological indices of attention. Infants in all DHA+ARA-supplemented conditions had lower heart rates than those in the unsupplemented condition; there was no dose-response for this effect. The distribution of time that infants spent in different phases of attention (a cognitive index derived from the convergence of behavioral and cardiac responses) varied as a function of dosage. Infants supplemented at the two lower DHA doses spent proportionately more time engaged in active stimulus processing than infants fed the unsupplemented formula, while infants fed the highest dose were intermediate and did not differ from any other group

The CHIP-Family study to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of young children with congenital heart disease and their families: design of a randomized controlled trial

Background: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk for behavioral, emotional, and cognitive problems. They often have reduced exercise capacity and participate less in sports, which is associated with a lower quality of life. Starting school may present more challenges for children with CHD and their families than for families with healthy children. Moreover, parents of children with CHD are at risk for psychosocial problems. Therefore, a family-centered psychosocial intervention for children with CHD when starting school is needed. Until now, the 'Congenital Heart Disease Intervention Program (CHIP) - School' is the only evidence-based intervention in this field. However, CHIP-School targeted parents only and resulted in non-significant, though positive, effects as to child psychosocial wellbeing. Hence, we expanded CHIP by adding a specific child module and including siblings, creating the CHIP-Family intervention. The CHIP-Family study aims to (1) test the effects of CHIP-Family on parental mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of CHD-children and to (2) identify baseline psychosocial and medical predictors for the e

An excess of dusty starbursts related to the Spiderweb galaxy

We present APEX LABOCA 870 μm observations of the field around the high-redshift radio galaxy MRC1138−262 at z = 2.16. We detect 16 submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in this ~140 arcmin2 bolometer map with flux densities in the range 3–11 mJy. The raw number counts indicate a density of SMGs that is up to four times that of blank field surveys. Based on an exquisite multiwavelength database, including VLA 1.4 GHz radio and infrared observations, we investigate whether these sources are members of the protocluster structure at z ≈ 2.2. Using Herschel PACS and SPIRE and Spitzer MIPS photometry, we derive reliable far-infrared (FIR) photometric redshifts for all sources. Follow-up VLT ISAAC and SINFONI NIR spectra confirm that four of these SMGs have redshifts of z ≈ 2.2. We also present evidence that another SMG in this field, detected earlier at 850 μm, has a counterpart that exhibits Hα and CO(1–0) emission at z = 2.15. Including the radio galaxy and two SMGs with FIR photometric redshifts at z = 2.2, we conclude that at least eight submm sources are part of the protocluster at z = 2.16 associated with the radio galaxy MRC1138−262. We measure a star formation rate density SFRD ~1500 M⊙ yr-1 Mpc-3, four magnitudes higher than the global SFRD of blank fields at this redshift. Strikingly, these eight sources are concentrated within a region of 2 Mpc (the typical size of clusters in the local universe) and are distributed within the filaments traced by the HAEs at z ≈ 2.2. This concentration of massive, dusty starbursts is not centered on the submillimeter-bright radio galaxy which could support the infalling of these sources into the cluster center. Approximately half (6/11) of the SMGs that are covered by the Hα imaging data are associated with HAEs, demonstrating the potential of tracing SMG counterparts with this population. To summarize, our results demonstrate that submillimeter observations may enable us to study (proto)clusters of massive, dusty starbursts

Tactual perception: a review of experimental variables and procedures

This paper reviews literature on tactual perception. Throughout this review we will highlight some of the most relevant variables in touch literature: interaction between touch and other senses; type of stimuli, from abstract stimuli such as vibrations, to two- and three-dimensional stimuli, also considering concrete stimuli such as the relation between familiar and unfamiliar stimuli or the haptic perception of faces; type of participants, separating studies with blind participants, studies with children and adults, and an analysis of sex differences in performance; and finally, type of tactile exploration, considering conditions of active and passive touch, the relevance of movement in touch and the relation between exploration and time. This review intends to present an organised overview of the main variables in touch experiments, attending to the main findings described in literature, to guide the design of future works on tactual perception and memory.This work was funded by the Portuguese “Foundation for Science and Technology” through PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/35918/2007

Cognitive and Tactile Factors Affecting Human Haptic Performance in Later Life

Background: Vision and haptics are the key modalities by which humans perceive objects and interact with their environment in a target-oriented manner. Both modalities share higher-order neural resources and the mechanisms required for object exploration. Compared to vision, the understanding of haptic information processing is still rudimentary. Although it is known that haptic performance, similar to many other skills, decreases in old age, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. It is yet to be determined to what extent this decrease is related to the age-related loss of tactile acuity or cognitive capacity. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated the haptic performance of 81 older adults by means of a cross-modal object recognition test. Additionally, we assessed the subjects ’ tactile acuity with an apparatus-based two-point discrimination paradigm, and their cognitive performance by means of the non-verbal Raven-Standard-Progressive matrices test. As expected, there was a significant age-related decline in performance on all 3 tests. With the exception of tactile acuity, this decline was found to be more distinct in female subjects. Correlation analyses revealed a strong relationship between haptic and cognitive performance for all subjects. Tactile performance, on the contrary, was only significantly correlated with male subjects ’ haptic performance. Conclusions: Haptic object recognition is a demanding task in old age, especially when it comes to the exploration o