Spectroscopic variability of two Oe stars

The Oe stars HD45314 and HD60848 have recently been found to exhibit very different X-ray properties: whilst HD60848 has an X-ray spectrum and emission level typical of most OB stars, HD45314 features a much harder and brighter X-ray emission, making it a so-called gamma Cas analogue. Monitoring the optical spectra could provide hints towards the origin of these very different behaviours. We analyse a large set of spectroscopic observations of HD45314 and HD60848, extending over 20 years. We further attempt to fit the H-alpha line profiles of both stars with a simple model of emission line formation in a Keplerian disk. Strong variations in the strengths of the H-alpha, H-beta, and He I 5876 emission lines are observed for both stars. In the case of HD60848, we find a time lag between the variations in the equivalent widths of these lines. The emission lines are double peaked with nearly identical strengths of the violet and red peaks. The H-alpha profile of this star can be successfully reproduced by our model of a disk seen under an inclination of 30 degrees. In the case of HD45314, the emission lines are highly asymmetric and display strong line profile variations. We find a major change in behaviour between the 2002 outburst and the one observed in 2013. This concerns both the relationship between the equivalent widths of the various lines and their morphologies at maximum strength (double-peaked in 2002 versus single-peaked in 2013). Our simple disk model fails to reproduce the observed H-alpha line profiles of HD45314. Our results further support the interpretation that Oe stars do have decretion disks similar to those of Be stars. Whilst the emission lines of HD60848 are explained by a disk with a Keplerian velocity field, the disk of HD45314 seems to have a significantly more complex velocity field that could be related to the phenomenon that produces its peculiar X-ray emission.Comment: Accepted for Publication in A&

Deep Neural Networks for Automatic Classification of Anesthetic-Induced Unconsciousness

Despite the common use of anesthetics to modulate consciousness in the clinic, brain-based monitoring of consciousness is uncommon. We com-bined electroencephalographic measurement of brain activity with deep neural networks to automatically discriminate anesthetic states induced by propofol. Our results with leave-one-participant-out-cross-validation show that convolutional neural networks significantly outperform multilayer perceptrons in discrimination accuracy when working with raw time series. Perceptrons achieved comparable accuracy when provided with power spec-tral densities. These findings highlight the potential of deep convolutional networks for completely automatic extraction of useful spatio-temporo-spectral features from human EEG

Variability monitoring of OB stars during the Mons campaign

We present preliminary results of a 3-month campaign carried out in the framework of the Mons project, where time-resolved Halpha observations are used to study the wind and circumstellar properties of a number of OB stars.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure. To appear in proceedings of IAUS272 'Active OB Stars: Structure, Evolution, Mass Loss and Critical Limits

Leishmania donovani nucleoside hydrolase (NH36) Domains induce T-cell cytokine responses in human Visceral leishmaniasis

Development of immunoprotection against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) focused on the identification of antigens capable of inducing a Th1 immune response. Alternatively, antigens targeting the CD8 and T-regulatory responses are also relevant in VL pathogenesis and worthy of being included in a preventive human vaccine. We assessed in active and cured patients and VL asymptomatic subjects the clinical signs and cytokine responses to the Leishmania donovani nucleoside hydrolase NH36 antigen and its N-(F1), central (F2) and C-terminal (F3) domains. As markers of VL resistance, the F2 induced the highest levels of IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, and TNF-a and, together with F1, the strongest secretion of IL-17, IL-6, and IL-10 in DTH+ and cured subjects. F2 also promoted the highest frequencies of CD3(+)CD4(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha-IFN-gamma(-), CD3(+)CD4(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha+IFN-gamma(-), CD3(+)CD4(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha-IFN-gamma(+), and CD3(+)CD4(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha+IFN-gamma(+) T cells in cured and asymptomatic subjects. Consistent with this, the IFN-gamma increase was correlated with decreased spleen (R = -0.428, P = 0.05) and liver sizes (R = -0.428, P = 0.05) and with increased hematocrit counts (R = 0.532, P = 0.015) in response to F1 domain, and with increased hematocrit (R = 0.512, P 0.02) and hemoglobin counts (R = 0.434, P = 0.05) in response to F2. Additionally, IL-17 increases were associated with decreased spleen and liver sizes in response to F1 (R = -0.595, P = 0.005) and F2 (R = -0.462, P = 0.04). Conversely, F1 and F3 increased the CD3(+)CD8(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha-IFN-gamma(-), CD3(+)CD8(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha+IFN-gamma(-), and CD3(+)CD8(+)IL-2(+)TNF-alpha+IFN-gamma(+) T cell frequencies of VL patients correlated with increased spleen and liver sizes and decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit values. Therefore, cure and acquired resistance to VL correlate with the CD4(+)-Th1 and Th-17 T-cell responses to F2 and F1 domains. Clinical VL outcomes, by contrast, correlate with CD8(+) T-cell responses against F3 and F1, potentially involved in control of the early infection. The in silico-predicted NH36 epitopes are conserved and bind to many HL-DR and HLA and B allotypes. No human vaccine against Leishmania is available thus far. In this investigation, we identified the NH36 domains and epitopes that induce CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses, which could be used to potentiate a human universal T-epitope vaccine against leishmaniasis.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ)Fundacao Carlos Chagas de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel SuperiorCNPQ-Fundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa e a Inovacao Tecnologica do Estado de Sergipe-PRONEXFAPITEC CNPq (PRONEX)VII PN I+D+IFEDER FundsUniv Fed Sergipe HU UFS, Dept Med, Univ Hosp, Mol Biol Lab, Aracaju, Sergipe, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Microbiol Paulo de Goes, Dept Microbiol Geral, Lab Biol Bioquim Leishmania, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilPontificia Univ Catolica Rio de Janeiro, Lab Biometrol, Programa Posgrad Metrol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilInst Salud Carlos III, WHO Collaborating Ctr Leishmaniasis, Ctr Nacl Microbiol, Madrid, Comunidad De Ma, SpainInst Oswaldo Cruz, Lab Imunoparasitol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Dept Imunol, Lab Imunol Integrada, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Inst Invest Imunol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Lab Vacinas Expt, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Fac Med, Lab Imunohematol, Hosp Univ Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Sergipe HU UFS, Dept Morfol, Aracaju, Sergipe, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Lab Vacinas Expt, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilCNPq: 300639/2003-1CNPq: 310977/2014-2CNPq: 310797/2015-2CNPq: 404400/2012-4FAPERJ: E-26-201.583/2014FAPERJ: E-26-102957/2011FAPERJ: E-26/111.682/2013FAPERJ: E-26/102415/2010FAPERJ: E-26/201747/2015CAPES: 23038.005304/2011-0CNPQ-PRONEX: 12/2009FAPITEC CNPq (PRONEX): 019.203.02712/2009-8FEDER Funds: RICET RD12/0018/0003Web of Scienc

Fine-root turnover rates of European forests revisited: an analysis of data from sequential coring and ingrowth cores

Background and Aims Forest trees directly contribute to carbon cycling in forest soils through the turnover of their fine roots. In this study we aimed to calculate root turnover rates of common European forest tree species and to compare them with most frequently published values. Methods We compiled available European data and applied various turnover rate calculation methods to the resulting database. We used Decision Matrix and Maximum-Minimum formula as suggested in the literature. Results Mean turnover rates obtained by the combination of sequential coring and Decision Matrix were 0.86 yr−1 for Fagus sylvatica and 0.88 yr−1 for Picea abies when maximum biomass data were used for the calculation, and 1.11 yr−1 for both species when mean biomass data were used. Using mean biomass rather than maximum resulted in about 30 % higher values of root turnover. Using the Decision Matrix to calculate turnover rate doubled the rates when compared to the Maximum-Minimum formula. The Decision Matrix, however, makes use of more input information than the Maximum-Minimum formula. Conclusions We propose that calculations using the Decision Matrix with mean biomass give the most reliable estimates of root turnover rates in European forests and should preferentially be used in models and C reporting

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

Peer reviewe

Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Searches for electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons decaying to leptons and W, Z, and Higgs bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

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Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 Tev

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