OPTIS - a satellite-based test of Special and General Relativity

A new satellite based test of Special and General Relativity is proposed. For the Michelson-Morley experiment we expect an improvement of at least three orders of magnitude, and for the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment an improvement of more than one order of magnitude. Furthermore, an improvement by two orders of the test of the universality of the gravitational red shift by comparison of an atomic clock with an optical clock is projected. The tests are based on ultrastable optical cavities, an atomic clock and a comb generator.Comment: To appear in Class. Quantum Gra

Evolutionary Dynamics of the Short-Nosed Fruit Bat, \u3ci\u3eCynopterus sphinx \u3c/i\u3e (Pteropodidae): Inferences from the Spatial Scale of Genetic and Phenotypic Differentiation

We report the results of a population-genetic study of the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Pteropodidae). The purpose of our study was to assess the relative importance of drift, gene flow, and spatially varying selection in shaping patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation across a latitudinal climatic gradient in peninsular India. At a microgeographic scale, polygynous mating resulted in a substantial reduction of effective population size. However, at a macrogeographic scale, rates of migration were sufficiently high to prevent a pronounced degree of stochastic differentiation via drift. Spatial analysis of genetic and phenotypic differentiation revealed that clinal variation in body size of C. sphinx cannot be explained by a neutral model of isolation by distance. The geographic patterning of morphometric variation is most likely attributable to spatially varying selection and/or the direct influence of latitudinally ordered environmental effects. The combined analysis of genetic and phenotypic variation indicates that recognized subspecies of C. sphinx in peninsular India represent arbitrary subdivisions of a continuous spectrum of clinal size variation

Modern Michelson-Morley experiment using cryogenic optical resonators

We report on a new test of Lorentz invariance performed by comparing the resonance frequencies of two orthogonal cryogenic optical resonators subject to Earth's rotation over 1 year. For a possible anisotropy of the speed of light c, we obtain 2.6 +/- 1.7 parts in 10^15. Within the Robertson-Mansouri-Sexl test theory, this implies an isotropy violation parameter beta - delta - 1/2 of -2.2 +/- 1.5 parts in 10^9, about three times lower than the best previous result. Within the general extension of the standard model of particle physics, we extract limits on 7 parameters at accuracies down to a part in 10^15, improving the best previous result by about two orders of magnitude

Phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1)-independent activation of the protein kinase C substrate, protein kinase D

Phosphoinoisitide dependent kinase l (PDK1) is proposed to phosphorylate a key threonine residue within the catalytic domain of the protein kinase C (PKC) superfamily that controls the stability and catalytic competence of these kinases. Hence, in PDK1-null embryonic stem cells intracellular levels of PKCalpha, PKCbeta1, PKCgamma, and PKCepsilon are strikingly reduced. Although PDK1-null cells have reduced endogenous PKC levels they are not completely devoid of PKCs and the integrity of downstream PKC effector pathways in the absence of PDK1 has not been determined. In the present report, the PDK1 requirement for controlling the phosphorylation and activity of a well characterised substrate for PKCs, the serine kinase protein kinase D, has been examined. The data show that in embryonic stem cells and thymocytes loss of PDK1 does not prevent PKC-mediated phosphorylation and activation of protein kinase D. These results reveal that loss of PDK1 does not functionally inactivate all PKC-mediated signal transduction

Psychological, social and biological correlates of body perception disturbance in complex regional pain syndrome

Body Perception Disturbance (BPD) in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) still represents a poorly understood phenomenon. Research has shown that knowledge about changes in body perception can yield relevant information for understanding and treating the disease. This study addressed possible connections between BPD and psychological and social factors, pain intensity, and disease duration. Sixty patients with chronic CRPS Type I of the hand were recruited. Body Perception Disturbance was assessed using the Galer and Jensen Neurobehavioral Questionnaire (GJ) and the BATH CRPS Body Perception Disturbance Scale (BATH). Depression, anxiety, stress, childhood trauma and other life events were assessed using standardized and validated questionnaires. This study found that BPD in CRPS was significantly correlated with measures of depression, anxiety, current stress, quality of life, and pain intensity, but not with stress experienced in the twelve months preceding onset of illness, childhood trauma, or duration of illness. Future research needs to identify which patients are most likely to develop these psychological conditions of CRPS, so that early, preventive intervention is possible. This study establishes a relationship between depression, anxiety, current stress, quality of life, pain intensity, and BPD severity. It also supports literature suggesting that preexisting stress, childhood trauma, and disease duration have no influence on BPD. The findings suggest that there is a bidirectional influence between brain alterations, psychological symptoms, and illness severity