Evolution of Universe to the present inert phase

We assume that current state of the Universe can be described by the Inert Doublet Model, containing two scalar doublets, one of which is responsible for EWSB and masses of particles and the second one having no couplings to fermions and being responsible for dark matter. We consider possible evolutions of the Universe to this state during cooling down of the Universe after inflation. We found that in the past Universe could pass through phase states having no DM candidate. In the evolution via such states in addition to a possible EWSB phase transition (2-nd order) the Universe sustained one 1-st order phase transition or two phase transitions of the 2-nd order.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

CP violating scalar Dark Matter

We study an extension of the Standard Model (SM) in which two copies of the SM scalar SU(2) doublet which do not acquire a Vacuum Expectation Value (VEV), and hence are inert, are added to the scalar sector. We allow for CP-violation in the inert sector, where the lightest inert state is protected from decaying to SM particles through the conservation of a Z(2) symmetry. The lightest neutral particle from the inert sector, which has a mixed CP-charge due to CP-violation, is hence a Dark Matter (DM) candidate. We discuss the new regions of DM relic density opened up by CP-violation, and compare our results to the CP-conserving limit and the Inert Doublet Model (IDM). We constrain the parameter space of the CP-violating model using recent results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and DM direct and indirect detection experiments.Peer reviewe

Complementary collider and astrophysical probes of multi-component Dark Matter

We study a new physics scenario with two inert and one active scalar doublets,hence a 3-Higgs Doublet Model (3HDM). We impose aZ(2)xZ ' 2(s)ymmetry onto such a 3HDM with one inert doublet odd under theZ(2) transformation and the other odd under the Z '(2)one.Such a construction leads to a two-component Dark Matter (DM) model. It has been shown that, when there is a sufficient mass difference between the two DM candidates, it is possible to probe the light DM candidate in the nuclear recoil energy in direct detection experiments and the heavy DM component in the photon flux in indirect detection experiments. With the DM masses at the electroweak scale, we show that, independently of astrophysical probes, this model feature can be tested at the Large Hadron Collider via scalar cascade decays in2l+is not an element of (T)final states. We study several observable distributions whose shapes hint at the presence of the two different DM candidatesPeer reviewe

Understanding first-year students’ curiosity and interest about physics : Lessons learned from the HOPE project

This paper focuses on results of an interview based survey of first-year university physics students, carried out within the EU Horizons in Physics Education (HOPE) project (http://hopenetwork.eu/). 94 interviews conducted in 13 universities have been analyzed to investigate the factors that inspire young people to study physics. In particular, the main motivational factor, which was proven to consist of personal interest and curiosity, was unfolded into different categories and detailed interest profiles were produced. The results are arguably useful to help academic curriculum developers and teaching personnel in physics departments to provide guidance to students in developing and focusing their interest towards specific sub-fields and/or to design targeted recruitment and outreach initiatives.Peer reviewe

Quantifying the impact of mergers on the angular momentum of simulated galaxies.

We use EAGLE to quantify the effect galaxy mergers have on the stellar specific angular momentum of galaxies, jstars. We split mergers into dry (gas-poor)/wet (gas-rich), major/minor and different spin alignments and orbital parameters. Wet (dry) mergers have an average neutral gas-to-stellar mass ratio of 1.1 (0.02), while major (minor) mergers are those with stellar mass ratios ≥0.3 (0.1–0.3). We correlate the positions of galaxies in the jstars–stellar mass plane at z = 0 with their merger history, and find that galaxies of low spins suffered dry mergers, while galaxies of normal/high spins suffered predominantly wet mergers, if any. The radial jstars profiles of galaxies that went through dry mergers are deficient by ≈0.3 dex at r ≲ 10 r50 (with r50 being the half-stellar mass radius), compared to galaxies that went through wet mergers. Studying the merger remnants reveals that dry mergers reduce jstars by ≈30 per cent, while wet mergers increase it by ≈10 per cent, on average. The latter is connected to the build-up of the bulge by newly formed stars of high rotational speed. Moving from minor to major mergers accentuates these effects. When the spin vectors of the galaxies prior to the dry merger are misaligned, jstars decreases by a greater magnitude, while in wet mergers corotation and high orbital angular momentum efficiently spun-up galaxies. We predict what would be the observational signatures in the jstars profiles driven by dry mergers: (i) shallow radial profiles and (ii) profiles that rise beyond ≈10 r50, both of which are significantly different from spiral galaxies

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk

European Respiratory Society Research Seminar on Preventing Pediatric Asthma.

This report is a summary of the presentations given at the European Respiratory Society's Research Seminar on Asthma Prevention. The seminar reviewed both epidemiological and mechanistic studies and concluded that; (i) reducing exposure of pregnant women and children to air pollution will reduce incident asthma, (ii) there are promising data that both fish oil and a component of raw cow's milk prevent asthma, and (iii) modulating trained immunity by either mimicking helminth infection or oral and sublingual bacterial products is a promising area of research

GIBBERELLIN 3-OXIDASE genes regulate height and grain size in bread wheat

In plants, gibberellin (GA) levels are tightly regulated to optimise growth and development. GA 3-oxidases (GA3OX) catalyse a key GA biosynthesis step, converting precursor GAs into bioactive forms. We characterised seven GA3OX homologues in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): a homoeologous triad of GA3OX2 genes expressed in vegetative and reproductive tissues and four others (a homoeologous triad of GA3OX3 genes plus GA1OX1-B1) expressed predominantly in grains. ga3ox2 mutants are severely dwarfed and infertile due to very low bioactive GA levels, indicating GA3OX2 is essential for normal wheat development. By contrast, ga3ox3 mutants have lower bioactive GA levels in grains, reducing grain size and weight, while ga1ox1 mutants accumulate high levels of bioactive GAs, producing larger grains. Unexpectedly, ga3ox3 and ga1ox1 alleles also affected height, possibly reflecting GA transport to vegetative tissues. Natural variation in adjacent GA3OX3-B1 and GA1OX1-B1 genes was associated with differences in grain size and weight, suggesting that a haplotype associated with larger grains was selected during modern breeding. Our study shows that the wheat GA3OX family has diversified roles, with GA3OX2 required for general growth and GA3OX3/GA1OX1 modulating GA levels during grain development. These findings highlight opportunities to exploit variation in GA biosynthetic pathways for wheat improvement