Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 attenuates microglial proliferation and neurodegeneration in P301S mice

Neuroinflammation and microglial activation are significant processes in Alzheimer's disease pathology. Recent genome-wide association studies have highlighted multiple immune-related genes in association with Alzheimer's disease, and experimental data have demonstrated microglial proliferation as a significant component of the neuropathology. In this study, we tested the efficacy of the selective CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 (JNJ-527) in the P301S mouse tauopathy model. We first demonstrated the anti-proliferative effects of JNJ-527 on microglia in the ME7 prion model, and its impact on the inflammatory profile, and provided potential CNS biomarkers for clinical investigation with the compound, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics and efficacy assessment by TSPO autoradiography and CSF proteomics. Then, we showed for the first time that blockade of microglial proliferation and modification of microglial phenotype leads to an attenuation of tau-induced neurodegeneration and results in functional improvement in P301S mice. Overall, this work strongly supports the potential for inhibition of CSF1R as a target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other tau-mediated neurodegenerative diseases

Inflammatory biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease plasma

Introduction: Plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis/stratification are a \u201cHoly Grail\u201d of AD research and intensively sought; however, there are no well-established plasma markers. Methods: A hypothesis-led plasma biomarker search was conducted in the context of international multicenter studies. The discovery phase measured 53 inflammatory proteins in elderly control (CTL; 259), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 199), and AD (262) subjects from AddNeuroMed. Results: Ten analytes showed significant intergroup differences. Logistic regression identified five (FB, FH, sCR1, MCP-1, eotaxin-1) that, age/APO\u3b54 adjusted, optimally differentiated AD and CTL (AUC: 0.79), and three (sCR1, MCP-1, eotaxin-1) that optimally differentiated AD and MCI (AUC: 0.74). These models replicated in an independent cohort (EMIF; AUC 0.81 and 0.67). Two analytes (FB, FH) plus age predicted MCI progression to AD (AUC: 0.71). Discussion: Plasma markers of inflammation and complement dysregulation support diagnosis and outcome prediction in AD and MCI. Further replication is needed before clinical translation

Collider aspects of flavour physics at high Q

This review presents flavour related issues in the production and decays of heavy states at LHC, both from the experimental side and from the theoretical side. We review top quark physics and discuss flavour aspects of several extensions of the Standard Model, such as supersymmetry, little Higgs model or models with extra dimensions. This includes discovery aspects as well as measurement of several properties of these heavy states. We also present public available computational tools related to this topic.Comment: Report of Working Group 1 of the CERN Workshop ``Flavour in the era of the LHC'', Geneva, Switzerland, November 2005 -- March 200

Combination of searches for WW, WZ, and ZZ resonances in pp collisions at s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider has performed searches for new, heavy bosons decaying to WW, WZ and ZZ final states in multiple decay channels using 20.3 fb-1 of pp collision data at s=8 TeV. In the current study, the results of these searches are combined to provide a more stringent test of models predicting heavy resonances with couplings to vector bosons. Direct searches for a charged diboson resonance decaying to WZ in the ℓνℓ'ℓ' (ℓ=μ, e), ℓℓqq-, ℓνqq- and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the WZ bosons are compared with predictions of an extended gauge model with a heavy W' boson. In addition, direct searches for a neutral diboson resonance decaying to WW and ZZ in the ℓℓqq-, ℓνqq-, and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the WW and ZZ bosons are compared with predictions for a heavy, spin-2 graviton in an extended Randall-Sundrum model where the Standard Model fields are allowed to propagate in the bulk of the extra dimension

Molecular characteristics, association and interfacial properties of Gum Arabic harvested from both Acacia Senegal and Acacia seyal

The molecular composition of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal gum exudate samples were studied using transmission electron microscopy. The molecules observed in both samples were found to have diameters of either ~ 20μm, ~60 μm or ~ 10μm. These most likely represent the arabinogalactan (AG), arabinogalactan-protein (AGP) and glycoprotein (GP) molecules present in Acacia gum exudates. Micrographs obtained for gum solutions that had been left to stand for up to 5 days indicated that molecular aggregation had occurred, this was particularly evident for the Acacia senegal sample. This aggregation process was attributed to intermolecular electrostatic interactions. The adsorbed layer thickness of the gums adsorbed onto polystyrene latex particles was determined using dynamic light scattering. For the Acacia senegal gum sample, it was found that the adsorbed layer thickness increased over time and after 14 days had a value of 61nm. These findings are indicative of multilayer adsorption, through intermolecular electrostatic interaction. For the Acacia seyal gum sample the adsorbed layer thickness was only ~3nm and did not increase over time. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of a distinct, thick adsorbed layer for the Acacia senegal gum and the presence of a much thinner, more diffuse layer for the Acacia seyal gum sample. Emulsification studies showed that the Acacia Senegal gum was more effective at stabilising limonene oil-in-water emulsions than the Acacia seyal sample and that this was because markedly more Acacia senegal gum adsorbed at the oil-water interface compared to the Acacia seyal gum exudate

Design and Applications of a Multimodality Image Data Warehouse Framework

A comprehensive data warehouse framework is needed, which encompasses imaging and non-imaging information in supporting disease management and research. The authors propose such a framework, describe general design principles and system architecture, and illustrate a multimodality neuroimaging data warehouse system implemented for clinical epilepsy research. The data warehouse system is built on top of a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) environment and applies an iterative object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) approach and recognized data interface and design standards. The implementation is based on a Java CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) and Web-based architecture that separates the graphical user interface presentation, data warehouse business services, data staging area, and backend source systems into distinct software layers. To illustrate the practicality of the data warehouse system, the authors describe two distinct biomedical applications—namely, clinical diagnostic workup of multimodality neuroimaging cases and research data analysis and decision threshold on seizure foci lateralization. The image data warehouse framework can be modified and generalized for new application domains