Redshifts and Neutral Hydrogen Observations of Compact Symmetric Objects in the COINS Sample

Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) are young radio galaxies whose jet axes lie close to the plane of the sky, and whose appearance is therefore not dominated by relativistic beaming effects. The small linear sizes of CSOs make them valuable for studies of both the evolution of radio galaxies and testing unified schemes for active galactic nuclei (AGN). A parsec-scale region of gas surrounding the central engine is predicted by both accretion and obscuration scenarios. Working surfaces, or ``hot spots,'' and the radio jets of CSOs are close enough to the central engines that this circumnuclear gas can be seen in absorption. The CSOs Observed in the Northern Sky (COINS) sample is comprised of 52 CSO candidates identified in three VLBI surveys. Of these, 27 have now been confirmed as CSOs. Optical redshifts are available in the literature for 28 of the CSO candidates, and HI absorption has been detected toward four. We present new optical spectroscopic redshifts for three of the candidates and summarize the current status of optical identifications. We further report on the discovery of HI in absorption towards the CSO J1816+3457 and summarize the results of neutral hydrogen absorption studies of the sources in this sample.Comment: 12 pages, Accepted for publication in Ap

Cell wall protection by the Candida albicans class I chitin synthases

Open Access funded by Medical Research Council Acknowledgments We thank Kevin Mackenzie in the Microscopy and Histology Core Facility (Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen), and Donna MacCallum for helpful statistical advice. This work was supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust (0868827 and 080088) including a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (097377) and an Investigator Award to NG (101873), an MRC New Investigator Award to ML (MR/J008230/1) and a PhD scholarship awarded to KP from the Ministry of Sciences and Technology and Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Author contributions are as follows: KP constructed strains, performed the majority of the experiments, analyzed the data and contributed to the preparation of the manuscript. JA produced Fig. S1 using the data from the phosphoproteomic analysis conducted by SP and AB. NG conceived and designed experiments, analyzed data and commented on drafts of the manuscript. ML constructed strains, conceived, designed and performed experiments, analyzed data and wrote the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Spittlebugs: Bioecology, Host Plant Resistance and Advances in IPM

Several species and genera of spittlebugs (Homoptera: Cercopidae) are economic pests of grasses in tropical America. These insects compete with grazing animals by reducing forage availability and quality. They may cause serious losses on millions of hectares of improved pastures based on cultivars of several species of Brachiaria (signal grasses). Except for the cultivar Marandu, most of the available commercial cultivars of Brachiaria are susceptible to spittlebugs. In spite of their economic importance, much research need to be done yet. Such insect-plant system encompasses a diverse group of spittlebug species, a diverse group of forage grass species, which are under different management systems, in a broad range of ecological zones. Control efforts have been directed to host plant resistance, alternative that has been recognized as being of easy adoption and of low cost to farmers. It is probably the best control measure for controlling insect pests in low value crops, like pastures, widely established over vast areas. Screening for spittlebug resistance has been conducted both at CIAT and Embrapa-Beef Cattle Center, and promising accessions have been found. It is important however, that additional biological and behavioral studies of these insects, together with evaluations of other control techniques, like biological control and cultural practices, are also performed. Promising control measures and future research needs are discussed

At Risk Students at Urban and Rural Community Colleges

Research conducted at one urban and one rural community college illustrated factors that lead to persistence in completing educational goals, what specific factors put the students at risk, and how formal and informal actions taken at community colleges can improve successful completion for first generation college students living in poverty

Toward understanding the structure of Amot’s ACCH Domain

poster abstractAmots are a family of adaptor proteins widely involved in cell signaling and lipid binding. Amot80 has been linked to cellular proliferation in breast cancer via the VEGF and MAPK signaling pathways, while Amot130 and AmotL1 have been linked to cellular inhibition via the HIPPO signaling pathway. Amot family members also have a characteristic lipid-binding domain – named the ACCH Domain for its predicted coil-coil structure – that has the ability to selectively target phosphoinositols followed by deformation of the membrane. Understanding the structure-function relationship of this domain may provide options to modulate these signaling pathways, directly affecting cellular differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Extensive crystallization attempts for this domain have failed, leading to a bioinformatics and biophysics-combined approach. Using SAXS, data for the globular structure of Amot80 has been generated and analyzed. Additionally, the threading programs ITASSER and LOMETS were used to develop 20 computational theoretical models. By fitting the computational models to the SAXS data, potential ACCH domain models were generated, and then scored based on accuracy of fit via C-score, TMScore, and RMSD values. This 3D model can then be used to discover how Amot interacts with lipids and further the understanding of Amot’s role in the cancer-signaling cascade

A Compact Supermassive Binary Black Hole System

We report on the discovery of a supermassive binary black hole system in the radio galaxy 0402+379, with a projected separation between the two black holes of just 7.3 pc. This is the closest black hole pair yet found by more than two orders of magnitude. These results are based upon recent multi-frequency observations using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) which reveal two compact, variable, flat-spectrum, active nuclei within the elliptical host galaxy of 0402+379. Multi-epoch observations from the VLBA also provide constraints on the total mass and dynamics of the system. Low spectral resolution spectroscopy using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope indicates two velocity systems with a combined mass of the two black holes of ~1.5 x 10^8 solar masses. The two nuclei appear stationary while the jets emanating from the weaker of the two nuclei appear to move out and terminate in bright hot spots. The discovery of this system has implications for the number of close binary black holes that might be sources of gravitational radiation. Green Bank Telescope observations at 22 GHz to search for water masers in this interesting system are also presented.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures, Accepted to The Astrophysical Journa

Measurement of the ΔS=-ΔQ Amplitude from K_(e3)^0 Decay

We have measured the time distribution of the π^+e^-ν and π^-e^+ν modes from initial K^0's in a spark-chamber experiment performed at the Bevatron. From 1079 events between 0.2 and 7 K_S^0 lifetime, we find ReX=-0.069±0.036, ImX=+0.108_(-0.074)^(+0.092). This result is consistent with X=0 (relative probability = 0.25), but more than 4 standard deviations from the existing world average, +0.14 -0.13i

Observation of Muon Neutrino Disappearance with the MINOS Detectors in the NuMI Neutrino Beam

This Letter reports results from the MINOS experiment based on its initial exposure to neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. The rates and energy spectra of charged current ν_μ interactions are compared in two detectors located along the beam axis at distances of 1 and 735 km. With 1.27×10^(20) 120 GeV protons incident on the NuMI target, 215 events with energies below 30 GeV are observed at the Far Detector, compared to an expectation of 336±14 events. The data are consistent with ν_μ disappearance via oscillations with Δm_(32)^2|=2.74_(-0.26)^(+0.44)×10^(-3)  eV^2 and sin^2(2θ_(23))>0.87 (68% C.L.)

Searches for New Quarks and Leptons Produced in Z-Boson Decay

We have searched for events with new-particle topologies in 390 hadronic Z decays with the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider. We place 95%-confidence-level lower limits of 40.7 GeV/c^2 for the top-quark mass, 42.0 GeV/c^2 for the mass of a fourth-generation charge - 1/3 quark, and 41.3 GeV/c^2 for the mass of an unstable Dirac neutral lepton