Multi-temporal unmixing analysis of Hyperion images over the Guanica Dry Forest

This paper presents a methodology to analyze time-series data from Hyperion to study seasonal vegetation dynamics on the Guánica Dry Forest in Puerto Rico. Unmixing analysis is performed over ten near-cloud-free Hyperion images collected in different months in 2008. Abundance maps and endmembers estimated from the unmixing procedure are used to analyze the seasonal changes in the forest. Results from the analysis are compared with published knowledge of the Guanica Forest phenology

EnzMet™: An Enzymatic Metallography Reagent for Accurately Delineating Neuronal Boundaries for Segmenting Gap Junction-Coupled Neurons in their Three-dimensional Space

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 - August 2, 201

Genetic susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus protects against cerebral malaria in mice.

Plasmodium falciparum has exerted tremendous selective pressure on genes that improve survival in severe malarial infections. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that is six to eight times more prevalent in women of African descent than in women of European descent. Here we provide evidence that a genetic susceptibility to SLE protects against cerebral malaria. Mice that are prone to SLE because of a deficiency in FcγRIIB or overexpression of Toll-like receptor 7 are protected from death caused by cerebral malaria. Protection appears to be by immune mechanisms that allow SLE-prone mice better to control their overall inflammatory responses to parasite infections. These findings suggest that the high prevalence of SLE in women of African descent living outside of Africa may result from the inheritance of genes that are beneficial in the immune control of cerebral malaria but that, in the absence of malaria, contribute to autoimmune disease

The Sensitivity of HAWC to High-Mass Dark Matter Annihilations

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is a wide field-of-view detector sensitive to gamma rays of 100 GeV to a few hundred TeV. Located in central Mexico at 19 degrees North latitude and 4100 m above sea level, HAWC will observe gamma rays and cosmic rays with an array of water Cherenkov detectors. The full HAWC array is scheduled to be operational in Spring 2015. In this paper, we study the HAWC sensitivity to the gamma-ray signatures of high-mass (multi- TeV) dark matter annihilation. The HAWC observatory will be sensitive to diverse searches for dark matter annihilation, including annihilation from extended dark matter sources, the diffuse gamma-ray emission from dark matter annihilation, and gamma-ray emission from non-luminous dark matter subhalos. Here we consider the HAWC sensitivity to a subset of these sources, including dwarf galaxies, the M31 galaxy, the Virgo cluster, and the Galactic center. We simulate the HAWC response to gamma rays from these sources in several well-motivated dark matter annihilation channels. If no gamma-ray excess is observed, we show the limits HAWC can place on the dark matter cross-section from these sources. In particular, in the case of dark matter annihilation into gauge bosons, HAWC will be able to detect a narrow range of dark matter masses to cross-sections below thermal. HAWC should also be sensitive to non-thermal cross-sections for masses up to nearly 1000 TeV. The constraints placed by HAWC on the dark matter cross-section from known sources should be competitive with current limits in the mass range where HAWC has similar sensitivity. HAWC can additionally explore higher dark matter masses than are currently constrained.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, version to be published in PR

The 2HWC HAWC Observatory Gamma Ray Catalog

We present the first catalog of TeV gamma-ray sources realized with the recently completed High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC). It is the most sensitive wide field-of-view TeV telescope currently in operation, with a 1-year survey sensitivity of ~5-10% of the flux of the Crab Nebula. With an instantaneous field of view >1.5 sr and >90% duty cycle, it continuously surveys and monitors the sky for gamma ray energies between hundreds GeV and tens of TeV. HAWC is located in Mexico at a latitude of 19 degree North and was completed in March 2015. Here, we present the 2HWC catalog, which is the result of the first source search realized with the complete HAWC detector. Realized with 507 days of data and represents the most sensitive TeV survey to date for such a large fraction of the sky. A total of 39 sources were detected, with an expected contamination of 0.5 due to background fluctuation. Out of these sources, 16 are more than one degree away from any previously reported TeV source. The source list, including the position measurement, spectrum measurement, and uncertainties, is reported. Seven of the detected sources may be associated with pulsar wind nebulae, two with supernova remnants, two with blazars, and the remaining 23 have no firm identification yet.Comment: Submitted 2017/02/09 to the Astrophysical Journa

Resistance to autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease in an APOE3 Christchurch homozygote: a case report.

We identified a PSEN1 (presenilin 1) mutation carrier from the world's largest autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease kindred, who did not develop mild cognitive impairment until her seventies, three decades after the expected age of clinical onset. The individual had two copies of the APOE3 Christchurch (R136S) mutation, unusually high brain amyloid levels and limited tau and neurodegenerative measurements. Our findings have implications for the role of APOE in the pathogenesis, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease

Heterosubtypic neutralizing antibodies are produced by individuals immunized with a seasonal influenza vaccine

The target of neutralizing antibodies that protect against influenza virus infection is the viral protein HA. Genetic and antigenic variation in HA has been used to classify influenza viruses into subtypes (H1–H16). The neutralizing antibody response to influenza virus is thought to be specific for a few antigenically related isolates within a given subtype. However, while heterosubtypic antibodies capable of neutralizing multiple influenza virus subtypes have been recently isolated from phage display libraries, it is not known whether such antibodies are produced in the course of an immune response to influenza virus infection or vaccine. Here we report that, following vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine containing H1 and H3 influenza virus subtypes, some individuals produce antibodies that cross-react with H5 HA. By immortalizing IgG-expressing B cells from 4 individuals, we isolated 20 heterosubtypic mAbs that bound and neutralized viruses belonging to several HA subtypes (H1, H2, H5, H6, and H9), including the pandemic A/California/07/09 H1N1 isolate. The mAbs used different VH genes and carried a high frequency of somatic mutations. With the exception of a mAb that bound to the HA globular head, all heterosubtypic mAbs bound to acid- sensitive epitopes in the HA stem region. Four mAbs were evaluated in vivo and protected mice from challenge with influenza viruses representative of different subtypes. These findings reveal that seasonal influenza vaccination can induce polyclonal heterosubtypic neutralizing antibodies that cross-react with the swine-origin pandemic H1N1 influenza virus and with the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus

Murine B Cell Development and Antibody Responses to Model Antigens Are Not Impaired in the Absence of the TNF Receptor GITR

The Glucocorticoid-Induced Tumor necrosis factor Receptor GITR, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, has been shown to be important in modulating immune responses in the context of T cell immunity. B lymphocytes also express GITR, but a role of GITR in humoral immunity has not been fully explored. To address this question, we performed studies to determine the kinetics of GITR expression on naïve and stimulated B cells and the capacity of B cells to develop and mount antibody responses in GITR−/− mice. Results of our studies indicate that all mature B cells express GITR on the cell surface, albeit at different levels. Expression of GITR on naïve mature B cells is upregulated by BCR signaling, but is counteracted by helper T cell-related factors and other inflammatory signals in vitro. In line with these findings, expression of GITR on germinal center and memory B cells is lower than that on naïve B cells. However, the expression of GITR is strongly upregulated in plasma cells. Despite these differences in GITR expression, the absence of GITR has no effect on T cell-dependent and T cell-independent antibody responses to model antigens in GITR−/− mice, or on B cell activation and proliferation in vitro. GITR deficiency manifests only with a slight reduction of mature B cell numbers and increased turnover of naïve B cells, suggesting that GITR slightly contributes to mature B cell homeostasis. Overall, our data indicate that GITR does not play a significant role in B cell development and antibody responses to T-dependent and independent model antigens within the context of a GITR-deficient genetic background

Galactic Gamma-Ray Diffuse Emission at TeV energies with HAWC Data

The Galactic gamma-ray diffuse emission (GDE) is emitted by cosmic rays (CRs), ultra-relativistic protons and electrons, interacting with gas and electromagnetic radiation fields in the interstellar medium. Here we present the analysis of TeV diffuse emission from a region of the Galactic Plane over the range in longitude of $l\in[43^\circ,73^\circ]$, using data collected with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) detector. Spectral, longitudinal and latitudinal distributions of the TeV diffuse emission are shown. The radiation spectrum is compatible with the spectrum of the emission arising from a CR population with an "index" similar to that of the observed CRs. When comparing with the \texttt{DRAGON} \textit{base model}, the HAWC GDE flux is higher by about a factor of two. Unresolved sources such as pulsar wind nebulae and TeV halos could explain the excess emission. Finally, deviations of the Galactic CR flux from the locally measured CR flux may additionally explain the difference between the predicted and measured diffuse fluxes

The TeV Sun Rises: Discovery of Gamma rays from the Quiescent Sun with HAWC

We report the first detection of a TeV gamma-ray flux from the solar disk (6.3$\sigma$), based on 6.1 years of data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The 0.5--2.6 TeV spectrum is well fit by a power law, dN/dE = $A (E/1 \text{ TeV})^{-\gamma}$, with $A = (1.6 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-12}$ TeV$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ and $\gamma = -3.62 \pm 0.14$. The flux shows a strong indication of anticorrelation with solar activity. These results extend the bright, hard GeV emission from the disk observed with Fermi-LAT, seemingly due to hadronic Galactic cosmic rays showering on nuclei in the solar atmosphere. However, current theoretical models are unable to explain the details of how solar magnetic fields shape these interactions. HAWC's TeV detection thus deepens the mysteries of the solar-disk emission.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures including supplementary material. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter