Cool Jupiters greatly outnumber their toasty siblings : Occurrence rates from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©2019 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Our understanding of planetary systems different to our own has grown dramatically in the past 30 yr. However, our efforts to ascertain the degree to which the Solar system is abnormal or unique have been hindered by the observational biases inherent to the methods that have yielded the greatest exoplanet hauls. On the basis of such surveys, one might consider our planetary system highly unusual - but the reality is that we are only now beginning to uncover the true picture. In this work, we use the full 18-yr archive of data from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search to examine the abundance of 'cool Jupiters' - analogues to the Solar system's giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. We find that such planets are intrinsically far more common through the cosmos than their siblings, the hot Jupiters.We find that the occurrence rate of such 'cool Jupiters' is 6.73 +2.09 -1.13 per cent, almost an order of magnitude higher than the occurrence of hot Jupiters (at 0.84 +0.70 -0.20 per cent). We also find that the occurrence rate of giant planets is essentially constant beyond orbital distances of ~1 au. Our results reinforce the importance of legacy radial velocity surveys for the understanding of the Solar system's place in the cosmos.Peer reviewe

Right to Serve, Right to Lead: Lives and Legacies of the USCT

This is a catalog for an exhibit that follows the evolution of African-American participation in the Civil War, from slaves, to contrabands, to soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), as well as the lives of black veterans beyond the war, and their ultimate military and social legacy. Using a variety of period items, it creates a narrative that stretches from the Antebellum Period to the current day. In doing so, the exhibit shows how black sacrifice on the battlefield redefined the war\u27s purpose throughout the divided nation, how Jim Crowe suppressed the memory of black participation after Reconstruction, and how the illustrious African-American military tradition left by the USCT endures to this day in their modern heirs

A Downy Mildew Effector Attenuates Salicylic Acid–Triggered Immunity in Arabidopsis by Interacting with the Host Mediator Complex

Plants are continually exposed to pathogen attack but usually remain healthy because they can activate defences upon perception of microbes. However, pathogens have evolved to overcome plant immunity by delivering effectors into the plant cell to attenuate defence, resulting in disease. Recent studies suggest that some effectors may manipulate host transcription, but the specific mechanisms by which such effectors promote susceptibility remain unclear. We study the oomycete downy mildew pathogen of Arabidopsis, Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa), and show here that the nuclear-localized effector HaRxL44 interacts with Mediator subunit 19a (MED19a), resulting in the degradation of MED19a in a proteasome-dependent manner. The Mediator complex of ∼25 proteins is broadly conserved in eukaryotes and mediates the interaction between transcriptional regulators and RNA polymerase II. We found MED19a to be a positive regulator of immunity against Hpa. Expression profiling experiments reveal transcriptional changes resembling jasmonic acid/ethylene (JA/ET) signalling in the presence of HaRxL44, and also 3 d after infection with Hpa. Elevated JA/ET signalling is associated with a decrease in salicylic acid (SA)-triggered immunity (SATI) in Arabidopsis plants expressing HaRxL44 and in med19a loss-of-function mutants, whereas SATI is elevated in plants overexpressing MED19a. Using a PR1::GUS reporter, we discovered that Hpa suppresses PR1 expression specifically in cells containing haustoria, into which RxLR effectors are delivered, but not in nonhaustoriated adjacent cells, which show high PR1::GUS expression levels. Thus, HaRxL44 interferes with Mediator function by degrading MED19, shifting the balance of defence transcription from SA-responsive defence to JA/ET-signalling, and enhancing susceptibility to biotrophs by attenuating SA-dependent gene expression

Salt wedge dynamics lead to enhanced sediment trapping within side embayments in high-energy estuaries

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 2226–2242, doi:10.1002/2016JC012595.Off-river coves and embayments provide accommodation space for sediment accumulation, particularly for sandy estuaries where high energy in the main channel prevents significant long-term storage of fine-grained material. Seasonal sediment inputs to Hamburg Cove in the Connecticut River estuary (USA) were monitored to understand the timing and mechanisms for sediment storage there. Unlike in freshwater tidal coves, sediment was primarily trapped here during periods of low discharge, when the salinity intrusion extended upriver to the cove entrance. During periods of low discharge and high sediment accumulation, deposited sediment displayed geochemical signatures consistent with a marine source. Numerical simulations reveal that low discharge conditions provide several important characteristics that maximize sediment trapping. First, these conditions allow the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) to be located in the vicinity of the cove entrance, which increases sediment concentrations during flood tide. Second, the saltier water in the main channel can enter the cove as a density current, enhancing near-bed velocities and resuspending sediment, providing an efficient delivery mechanism. Finally, higher salinity water accumulates in the deep basin of the cove, creating a stratified region that becomes decoupled from ebb currents, promoting retention of sediment in the cove. This process of estuarine-enhanced sediment accumulation in off-river coves will likely extend upriver during future sea level rise.NSF Grant Numbers: EAR-1148244 , OCE-09264272017-09-1

Non-adiabatically detecting the geometric phase of the macroscopic quantum state with symmetric SQUID

We give a simple way to detect the geometric phase shift and the conditional geometric phase shift with Josephson junction system. Comparing with the previous work(Falcl G, Fazio R, Palma G.M., Siewert J and Verdal V, {\it Nature} {\bf 407}, 355(2000)), our scheme has two advantages. We use the non-adiabatic operation, thus the detection is less affected by the decoherence. Also, we take the time evolution on zero dynamic phase loop, we need not take any extra operation to cancel the dynamic phase.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Statistical Constraints on State Preparation for a Quantum Computer

Quantum computing algorithms require that the quantum register be initially present in a superposition state. To achieve this, we consider the practical problem of creating a coherent superposition state of several qubits. Owing to considerations of quantum statistics, this requires that the entropy of the system go down. This, in turn, has two practical implications: (i) the initial state cannot be controlled; (ii) the temperature of the system must be reduced. These factors, in addition to decoherence and sensitivity to errors, must be considered in the implementation of quantum computers.Comment: 7 pages; the final published versio

Molecular recording of mammalian embryogenesis.

Ontogeny describes the emergence of complex multicellular organisms from single totipotent cells. This field is particularly challenging in mammals, owing to the indeterminate relationship between self-renewal and differentiation, variation in progenitor field sizes, and internal gestation in these animals. Here we present a flexible, high-information, multi-channel molecular recorder with a single-cell readout and apply it as an evolving lineage tracer to assemble mouse cell-fate maps from fertilization through gastrulation. By combining lineage information with single-cell RNA sequencing profiles, we recapitulate canonical developmental relationships between different tissue types and reveal the nearly complete transcriptional convergence of endodermal cells of extra-embryonic and embryonic origins. Finally, we apply our cell-fate maps to estimate the number of embryonic progenitor cells and their degree of asymmetric partitioning during specification. Our approach enables massively parallel, high-resolution recording of lineage and other information in mammalian systems, which will facilitate the construction of a quantitative framework for understanding developmental processes

Diverse NLR immune receptors activate defence via the RPW8-NLR NRG1

Most land plant genomes carry genes that encode RPW8-NLR Resistance (R) proteins. Angiosperms carry two RPW8-NLR subclasses: ADR1 and NRG1. ADR1s act as 'helper' NLRs for multiple TIR- and CC-NLR R proteins in Arabidopsis. In angiosperm families, NRG1 co-occurs with TIR-NLR Resistance (R) genes. We tested whether NRG1 is required for signalling of multiple TIR-NLRs. Using CRISPR mutagenesis, we obtained an nrg1a-nrg1b double mutant in two Arabidopsis accessions, and an nrg1 mutant in Nicotiana benthamiana. These mutants are compromised in signalling of all TIR-NLRs tested, including WRR4A, WRR4B, RPP1, RPP2, RPP4 and the pairs RRS1/RPS4, RRS1B/RPS4B, CHS1/SOC3 and CHS3/CSA1. In Arabidopsis, NRG1 is required for the hypersensitive cell death response (HR) and full oomycete resistance, but not for salicylic acid induction or bacterial resistance. By contrast, nrg1 loss of function does not compromise the CC-NLR R proteins RPS5 and MLA. RPM1 and RPS2 (CC-NLRs) function is slightly compromised in an nrg1 mutant. Thus, NRG1 is required for full TIR-NLR function and contributes to the signalling of some CC-NLRs. Some NRG1-dependent R proteins also signal partially via the NRG1 sister clade, ADR1. We propose that some NLRs signal via NRG1 only, some via ADR1 only and some via both or neither

Probing formation of cargo/importin-α transport complexes in plant cells using a pathogen effector

Importin-αs are essential adapter proteins that recruit cytoplasmic proteins destined for active nuclear import to the nuclear transport machinery. Cargo proteins interact with the importin-α armadillo repeat domain via nuclear localization sequences (NLSs), short amino acids motifs enriched in Lys and Arg residues. Plant genomes typically encode several importin-α paralogs that can have both specific and partially redundant functions. Although some cargos are preferentially imported by a distinct importin-α it remains unknown how this specificity is generated and to what extent cargos compete for binding to nuclear transport receptors. Here we report that the effector protein HaRxL106 from the oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis co-opts the host cell's nuclear import machinery. We use HaRxL106 as a probe to determine redundant and specific functions of importin-α paralogs from Arabidopsis thaliana. A crystal structure of the importin-α3/MOS6 armadillo repeat domain suggests that five of the six Arabidopsis importin-αs expressed in rosette leaves have an almost identical NLS-binding site. Comparison of the importin-α binding affinities of HaRxL106 and other cargos in vitro and in plant cells suggests that relatively small affinity differences in vitro affect the rate of transport complex formation in vivo. Our results suggest that cargo affinity for importin-α, sequence variation at the importin-α NLS-binding sites and tissue-specific expression levels of importin-αs determine formation of cargo/importin-α transport complexes in plant cells

Autoimmunity conferred by chs3-2D relies on CSA1, its adjacent TIR-NB-LRR encoding neighbour

Plant innate immunity depends on the function of a large number of intracellular immune receptor proteins, the majority of which are structurally similar to mammalian nucleotidebinding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) proteins. CHILLING SENSITIVE 3 (CHS3) encodes an atypical Toll/Interleukin 1 Receptor (TIR)-type NLR protein with an additional Lin-11, Isl-1 and Mec-3 (LIM) domain at its C-terminus. The gain-of-function mutant allele chs3-2D exhibits severe dwarfism and constitutively activated defense responses, including enhanced resistance to virulent pathogens, high defence marker gene expression, and salicylic acid accumulation. To search for novel regulators involved in CHS3-mediated immune signaling, we conducted suppressor screens in the chs3-2D and chs3-2D pad4-1 genetic backgrounds. Alleles of sag101 and eds1-90 were isolated as complete suppressors of chs3-2D, and alleles of sgt1b were isolated as partial suppressors of chs3-2D pad4-1. These mutants suggest that SAG101, EDS1-90, and SGT1b are all positive regulators of CHS3-mediated defense signaling. Additionally, the TIR-type NLR-encoding CSA1 locus located genomically adjacent to CHS3 was found to be fully required for chs3-2D-mediated autoimmunity. CSA1 is located 3.9kb upstream of CHS3 and is transcribed in the opposite direction. Altogether, these data illustrate the distinct genetic requirements for CHS3-mediated defense signaling