Observation of plasma density dependence of electromagnetic soliton excitation by an intense laser pulse

The experimental evidence of the correlation between the initial electron density of the plasma and electromagnetic soliton excitation at the wake of an intense (10(19) W/cm(2)) and short (1 ps) laser pulse is presented. The spatial distribution of the solitons, together with their late time evolution into post-solitons, is found to be dependent upon the background plasma parameters, in agreement with published analytical and numerical findings. The measured temporal evolution and electrostatic field distribution of the structures are consistent with their late time evolution and the occurrence of multiple merging of neighboring post-solitons. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3625261]

A Spitzer space telescope study of Sn 2002hh: An infrared echo from a Type IIP supernova

We present late-time ( 590 - 994 days) mid-IR photometry of the normal but highly reddened Type IIP supernova SN 2002hh. Bright, cool, slowly fading emission is detected from the direction of the supernova. Most of this flux appears not to be driven by the supernova event but instead probably originates in a cool, obscured star formation region or molecular cloud along the line of sight. We also show, however, that the declining component of the flux is consistent with an SN-powered IR echo from a dusty progenitor CSM. Mid-IR emission could also be coming from newly condensed dust and/or an ejecta/CSM impact, but their contributions are likely to be small. For the case of a CSM-IR echo, we infer a dust mass of as little as 0.036 M-. with a corresponding CSM mass of 3.6(0.01/ r(dg)) M-., where rdg is the dust-to-gas mass ratio. Such a CSM would have resulted from episodic mass loss whose rate declined significantly about 28,000 years ago. Alternatively, an IR echo from a surrounding, dense, dusty molecular cloud might also have been responsible for the fading component. Either way, this is the first time that an IR echo has been clearly identified in a Type IIP supernova. We find no evidence for or against the proposal that Type IIP supernovae produce large amounts of dust via grain condensation in the ejecta. However, within the CSM-IR echo scenario, the mass of dust derived implies that the progenitors of the most common of core-collapse supernovae may make an important contribution to the universal dust content.

Genome-wide association study identifies five new schizophrenia loci

We examined the role of common genetic variation in schizophrenia in a genome-wide association study of substantial size: a stage 1 discovery sample of 21,856 individuals of European ancestry and a stage 2 replication sample of 29,839 independent subjects. The combined stage 1 and 2 analysis yielded genome-wide significant associations with schizophrenia for seven loci, five of which are new (1p21.3, 2q32.3, 8p23.2, 8q21.3 and 10q24.32-q24.33) and two of which have been previously implicated (6p21.32-p22.1 and 18q21.2). The strongest new finding (P = 1.6 x 10(-11)) was with rs1625579 within an intron of a putative primary transcript for MIR137 (microRNA 137), a known regulator of neuronal development. Four other schizophrenia loci achieving genome-wide significance contain predicted targets of MIR137, suggesting MIR137-mediated dysregulation as a previously unknown etiologic mechanism in schizophrenia. In a joint analysis with a bipolar disorder sample (16,374 affected individuals and 14,044 controls), three loci reached genome-wide significance: CACNA1C (rs4765905, P = 7.0 x 10(-9)), ANK3 (rs10994359, P = 2.5 x 10(-8)) and the ITIH3-ITIH4 region (rs2239547, P = 7.8 x 10(-9)).

Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 May 2009-31 July 2009

This article documents the addition of 512 microsatellite marker loci and nine pairs of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alcippe morrisonia morrisonia, Bashania fangiana, Bashania fargesii, Chaetodon vagabundus, Colletes floralis, Coluber constrictor flaviventris, Coptotermes gestroi, Crotophaga major, Cyprinella lutrensis, Danaus plexippus, Fagus grandifolia, Falco tinnunculus, Fletcherimyia fletcheri, Hydrilla verticillata, Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus, Leavenworthia alabamica, Marmosops incanus, Miichthys miiuy, Nasua nasua, Noturus exilis, Odontesthes bonariensis, Quadrula fragosa, Pinctada maxima, Pseudaletia separata, Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Podocarpus elatus, Portunus trituberculatus, Rhagoletis cerasi, Rhinella schneideri, Sarracenia alata, Skeletonema marinoi, Sminthurus viridis, Syngnathus abaster, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) chinensis, Verticillium dahliae, Wasmannia auropunctata, and Zygochlamys patagonica. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Chaetodon baronessa, Falco columbarius, Falco eleonorae, Falco naumanni, Falco peregrinus, Falco subbuteo, Didelphis aurita, Gracilinanus microtarsus, Marmosops paulensis, Monodelphis Americana, Odontesthes hatcheri, Podocarpus grayi, Podocarpus lawrencei, Podocarpus smithii, Portunus pelagicus, Syngnathus acus, Syngnathus typhle,Uroteuthis (Photololigo) edulis, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli and Verticillium albo-atrum. This article also documents the addition of nine sequencing primer pairs and sixteen allele specific primers or probes for Oncorhynchus mykiss and Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; these primers and assays were cross-tested in both species.

Interbirth interval is associated with childhood type 1 diabetes risk

Short interbirth interval has been associated with maternal complications and childhood autism and leukemia, possibly due to deficiencies in maternal micronutrients at conception or increased exposure to sibling infections. A possible association between interbirth interval and subsequent risk of childhood type 1 diabetes has not been investigated. A secondary analysis of 14 published observational studies of perinatal risk factors for type 1 diabetes was conducted. Risk estimates of diabetes by category of interbirth interval were calculated for each study. Random effects models were used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and investigate heterogeneity between studies. Overall, 2,787 children with type 1 diabetes were included. There was a reduction in the risk of childhood type 1 diabetes in children born to mothers after interbirth intervals <3 years compared with longer interbirth intervals (OR 0.82 [95% CI 0.72-0.93]). Adjustments for various potential confounders little altered this estimate. In conclusion, there was evidence of a 20% reduction in the risk of childhood diabetes in children born to mothers after interbirth intervals <3 years.

Independent Discovery of the Transiting Exoplanet HAT-P-14b

We present SuperWASP observations of HAT-P-14b, a hot Jupiter discovered by Torres et al. The planet was found independently by the SuperWASP team and named WASP-27b after follow-up observations had secured the discovery, but prior to the publication by Torres et al. Our analysis of HAT-P-14/WASP-27 is in good agreement with the values found by Torres et al. and we provide additional evidence against astronomical false positives. Due to the brightness of the host star, V-mag = 10, HAT-P-14b is an attractive candidate for further characterization observations. The planet has a high impact parameter and the primary transit is close to grazing. This could readily reveal small deviations in the orbital parameters indicating the presence of a third body in the system, which may be causing the small but significant orbital eccentricity. Our results suggest that the planet may undergo a grazing secondary eclipse. However, even a non-detection would tightly constrain the system parameters.

WASP-39b: a highly inflated Saturn-mass planet orbiting a late G-type star

We present the discovery of WASP-39b, a highly inflated transiting Saturn-mass planet orbiting a late G-type dwarf star with a period of 4.055259 +/- 0.000008 d, Transit Epoch T-0 = 2 455 342.9688 +/- 0.0002 (HJD), of duration 0.1168 +/- 0.0008 d. A combined analysis of the WASP photometry, high-precision follow-up transit photometry, and radial velocities yield a planetary mass of M-pl = 0.28 +/- 0.03 M-J and a radius of R-pl = 1.27 +/- 0.04 R-J, resulting in a mean density of 0.14 +/- 0.02 rho(J). The stellar parameters are mass M-star = 0.93 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot, radius R-star = 0.895 +/- 0.23 R-circle dot, and age 9(-4)(+3) Gyr. Only WASP-17b and WASP-31b have lower densities than WASP-39b, although they are slightly more massive and highly irradiated planets. From our spectral analysis, the metallicity of WASP-39 is measured to be [Fe/H] = -0.12 +/- 0.1 dex, and we find the planet to have an equilibrium temperature of 1116(-32)(+33) K. Both values strengthen the observed empirical correlation between these parameters and the planetary radius for the known transiting Saturn-mass planets.

Eclipsing Binary Science via the Merging of Transit and Doppler Exoplanet Survey Data—A Case Study with the MARVELS Pilot Project and SuperWASP

Exoplanet transit and Doppler surveys discover many binary stars during their operation that can be used to conduct a variety of ancillary science. Specifically, eclipsing binary stars can be used to study the stellar mass-radius relationship and to test predictions of theoretical stellar evolution models. By cross-referencing 24 binary stars found in the MARVELS Pilot Project with SuperWASP photometry, we find two new eclipsing binaries, TYC 0272-00458-1 and TYC 1422-01328-1, which we use as case studies to develop a general approach to eclipsing binaries in survey data. TYC 0272-00458-1 is a single-lined spectroscopic binary for which we calculate a mass of the secondary and radii for both components using reasonable constraints on the primary mass through several different techniques. For a primary mass of M 1 = 0.92 ± 0.1 M sun, we find M 2 = 0.610 ± 0.036 M sun, R 1 = 0.932 ± 0.076 R sun, and R 2 = 0.559 ± 0.102 R sun, and find that both stars have masses and radii consistent with model predictions. TYC 1422-01328-1 is a triple-component system for which we can directly measure the masses and radii of the eclipsing pair. We find that the eclipsing pair consists of an evolved primary star (M 1 = 1.163 ± 0.034 M sun, R 1 = 2.063 ± 0.058 R sun) and a G-type dwarf secondary (M 2 = 0.905 ± 0.067 M sun, R 2 = 0.887 ± 0.037 R sun). We provide the framework necessary to apply this analysis to much larger data sets.