Neutron Moderation in the Oklo Natural Reactor and the Time Variation of alpha

In the analysis of the Oklo (gabon) natural reactor to test for a possible time variation of the fine structure constant alpha, a Maxwell-Boltzmann low energy neutron spectrum was assumed. We present here an analysis where a more realistic spectrum is employed and show that the most recent isotopic analysis of samples implies a non-zero change in alpha, over the last two billion years since the reactor was operating, of \Delta\alpha/\alpha\geq 4.5\times 10^{-8} (6\sigma confidence). Issues regarding the interpretation of the shifts of the low energy neutron resonances are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; version 2 included reference to Flambaum/Shuryak work and corrects error in abstract version three corrects a few points and adds discussion on hydrogen and impurity concentration

The prevalence of burning mouth syndrome: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is defined as symptoms of persistent burning in the mouth without objective findings accounting for the symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To calculate the point prevalence of BMS in Olmsted County, Minnesota, on December 31, 2010. METHODS: The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) medical records linkage system was used to identify BMS cases diagnosed or potentially diagnosed before December 31, 2009. Inclusion criteria were subjective oral discomfort, normal oral examination, and documented BMS diagnosis by a REP physician. RESULTS: In total, 149 BMS cases were confirmed, representing age- and sex-adjusted point prevalence of BMS in Olmsted County of 0.11%, or 105.6 (95% CI, 88.6–122.6) per 100,000 persons. Age-adjusted prevalence in women was significantly higher than men: 168.6 (95% CI, 139.0–198.2) vs 35.9 (95% CI, 21.4–50.3) per 100,000 persons (P<.001). The highest prevalence was in women aged 70 through 79 years (527.9 per 100,000 persons). Mean (SD) age at BMS diagnosis was 59.4 (15.1) years (range, 25–90 years). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, we provide the first report of population-based BMS prevalence. The data show that BMS most commonly affects women older than 50 years, and when defined through diagnostic criteria, it is less prevalent than described previously

Mammalian Homolog of Drosophila Tumor Suppressor Lethal (2) Giant Larvae Interacts with Basolateral Exocytic Machinery in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells

The Drosophila tumor suppressor protein lethal (2) giant larvae [l(2)gl] is involved in the establishment of epithelial cell polarity during development. Recently, a yeast homolog of the protein has been shown to interact with components of the post-Golgi exocytic machinery and to regulate a late step in protein secretion. Herein, we characterize a mammalian homolog of l(2)gl, called Mlgl, in the epithelial cell line Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK). Consistent with a role in cell polarity, Mlgl redistributes from a cytoplasmic localization to the lateral membrane after contact-naive MDCK cells make cell-cell contacts and establish a polarized phenotype. Phosphorylation within a highly conserved region of Mlgl is required to restrict the protein to the lateral domain, because a recombinant phospho-mutant is distributed in a nonpolar manner. Membrane-bound Mlgl from MDCK cell lysates was coimmunoprecipitated with syntaxin 4, a component of the exocytic machinery at the basolateral membrane, but not with other plasma membrane soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment receptor (SNARE) proteins that are either absent from or not restricted to the basolateral membrane domain. These data suggest that Mlgl contributes to apico-basolateral polarity by regulating basolateral exocytosis