How to Cross-Examine Opposing Experts

Accomplished Georgia Law alumni Kay Deming (J.D.\u2778) and Rick Deane (J.D.\u2777) addressed how one should cross-examine opposing experts

Solar astronomy

An overview is given of modern solar physics. Topics covered include the solar interior, the solar surface, the solar atmosphere, the Large Earth-based Solar Telescope (LEST), the Orbiting Solar Laboratory, the High Energy Solar Physics mission, the Space Exploration Initiative, solar-terrestrial physics, and adaptive optics. Policy and related programmatic recommendations are given for university research and education, facilitating solar research, and integrated support for solar research

Preliminary Results on HAT-P-4, TrES-3, XO-2, and GJ 436 from the NASA EPOXI Mission

EPOXI (EPOCh + DIXI) is a NASA Discovery Program Mission of Opportunity using the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft. The EPOCh (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization) Science Investigation will gather photometric time series of known transiting exoplanet systems from January through August 2008. Here we describe the steps in the photometric extraction of the time series and present preliminary results of the first four EPOCh targets.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the 253rd IAU Symposium: "Transiting Planets", May 2008, Cambridge, M

Mars Aeronomy Observer: Report of the Science Working Team

The Mars Aeronomy Observer (MAO) is a candidate follow-on mission to Mars Observer (MO) in the Planetary Observer Program. The four Mariner and two Viking spacecraft sent to Mars between 1965 and 1976 have provided a wealth of information concerning Martian planetology. The Mars Observer, to be launched in 1990, will build on their results by further examining the elemental and mineralogical composition of the surface, the strength and multipolar composition of the planetary magnetic field, the gravitational field and topography, and the circulation of the lower atmosphere. The Mars Aeronomy Observer is intended to address the last major aspects of Martian environment which have yet to be investigated: the upper atmosphere, the ionsphere, and the solar wind interaction region

High C/O Chemistry and Weak Thermal Inversion in the Extremely Irradiated Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-12b

The carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) in a planet provides critical information about its primordial origins and subsequent evolution. A primordial C/O greater than 0.8 causes a carbide-dominated interior as opposed to the silicate-dominated composition as found on Earth; the solar C/O is 0.54. Theory, shows that high C/O leads to a diversity of carbon-rich planets that can have very different interiors and atmospheres from those in the solar system. Here we report the detection of C/O greater than or equal to 1 in a planetary atmosphere. The transiting hot Jupiter WASP-12b has a dayside atmosphere depleted in water vapour and enhanced in methane by over two orders of magnitude compared to a solar-abundance chemical equilibrium model at the expected temperatures. The observed concentrations of the prominent molecules CO, CH4, and H2O are consistent with theoretical expectations for an atmosphere with the observed C/O = 1. The C/O ratios are not known for giant planets in the solar system, although they are expected to equal the solar value. If high C/O ratios are common, then extrasolar planets are likely very different in interior composition, and formed very differently, from expectations based on solar composition, potentially explaining the large diversity in observed radii. We also find that the extremely irradiated atmosphere (greater than 2500 K) of WASP-12b lacks a prominent thermal inversion, or a stratosphere, and has very efficient day-night energy circulation. The absence of a strong thermal inversion is in stark contrast to theoretical predictions for the most highly irradiated hot-Jupiter atmospheres

A common haplotype lowers PU.1 expression in myeloid cells and delays onset of Alzheimer's disease

A genome-wide survival analysis of 14,406 Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases and 25,849 controls identified eight previously reported AD risk loci and 14 novel loci associated with age at onset. Linkage disequilibrium score regression of 220 cell types implicated the regulation of myeloid gene expression in AD risk. The minor allele of rs1057233 (G), within the previously reported CELF1 AD risk locus, showed association with delayed AD onset and lower expression of SPI1 in monocytes and macrophages. SPI1 encodes PU.1, a transcription factor critical for myeloid cell development and function. AD heritability was enriched within the PU.1 cistrome, implicating a myeloid PU.1 target gene network in AD. Finally, experimentally altered PU.1 levels affected the expression of mouse orthologs of many AD risk genes and the phagocytic activity of mouse microglial cells. Our results suggest that lower SPI1 expression reduces AD risk by regulating myeloid gene expression and cell function

Effect of Advanced HIV Infection on the Respiratory Microbiome

RATIONALE: Previous work found the lung microbiome in healthy subjects infected with HIV was similar to that in uninfected subjects. We hypothesized the lung microbiome from subjects infected with HIV with more advanced disease would differ from that of an uninfected control population. OBJECTIVES: To measure the lung microbiome in an HIV-infected population with advanced disease. METHODS: 16s RNA gene sequencing was performed on acellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from 30 subjects infected with HIV with advanced disease (baseline mean CD4 count, 262 cells/mm(3)) before and up to 3 years after starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and compared with 22 uninfected control subjects. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The lung microbiome in subjects infected with HIV with advanced disease demonstrated decreased alpha diversity (richness and diversity) and greater beta diversity compared with uninfected BAL. Differences improved with HAART, but still persisted up to 3 years after starting therapy. Population dispersion in the group infected with HIV was significantly greater than in the uninfected cohort and declined after treatment. There were differences in the relative abundance of some bacteria between the two groups at baseline and after 1 year of therapy. After 1 year on HAART, HIV BAL contained an increased abundance of Prevotella and Veillonella, bacteria previously associated with lung inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: The lung microbiome in subjects infected with HIV with advanced disease is altered compared with an uninfected population both in diversity and bacterial composition. Differences remain up to 3 years after starting HAART. We speculate an altered lung microbiome in HIV infection may contribute to chronic inflammation and lung complications seen in the HAART era

A Search for Additional Planets in the NASA EPOXI Observations of the Exoplanet System GJ 436

We present time series photometry of the M dwarf transiting exoplanet system GJ 436 obtained with the the EPOCh (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization) component of the NASA EPOXI mission. We conduct a search of the high-precision time series for additional planets around GJ 436, which could be revealed either directly through their photometric transits, or indirectly through the variations these second planets induce on the transits of the previously known planet. In the case of GJ 436, the presence of a second planet is perhaps indicated by the residual orbital eccentricity of the known hot Neptune companion. We find no candidate transits with significance higher than our detection limit. From Monte Carlo tests of the time series, we rule out transiting planets larger than 1.5 R_Earth interior to GJ 436b with 95% confidence, and larger than 1.25 R_Earth with 80% confidence. Assuming coplanarity of additional planets with the orbit of GJ 436b, we cannot expect that putative planets with orbital periods longer than about 3.4 days will transit. However, if such a planet were to transit, we rule out planets larger than 2.0 R_Earth with orbital periods less than 8.5 days with 95% confidence. We also place dynamical constraints on additional bodies in the GJ 436 system. Our analysis should serve as a useful guide for similar analyses for which radial velocity measurements are not available, such as those discovered by the Kepler mission. These dynamical constraints on additional planets with periods from 0.5 to 9 days rule out coplanar secular perturbers as small as 10 M_Earth and non-coplanar secular perturbers as small as 1 M_Earth in orbits close in to GJ 436b. We present refined estimates of the system parameters for GJ 436. We also report a sinusoidal modulation in the GJ 436 light curve that we attribute to star spots. [Abridged]Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Genome-wide association study identifies four novel loci associated with Alzheimer's endophenotypes and disease modifiers

More than 20 genetic loci have been associated with risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but reported genome-wide significant loci do not account for all the estimated heritability and provide little information about underlying biological mechanisms. Genetic studies using intermediate quantitative traits such as biomarkers, or endophenotypes, benefit from increased statistical power to identify variants that may not pass the stringent multiple test correction in case-control studies. Endophenotypes also contain additional information helpful for identifying variants and genes associated with other aspects of disease, such as rate of progression or onset, and provide context to interpret the results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We conducted GWAS of amyloid beta (Aβ42), tau, and phosphorylated tau (ptau181) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 3146 participants across nine studies to identify novel variants associated with AD. Five genome-wide significant loci (two novel) were associated with ptau181, including loci that have also been associated with AD risk or brain-related phenotypes. Two novel loci associated with Aβ42 near GLIS1 on 1p32.3 (β = -0.059, P = 2.08 × 10-8) and within SERPINB1 on 6p25 (β = -0.025, P = 1.72 × 10-8) were also associated with AD risk (GLIS1: OR = 1.105, P = 3.43 × 10-2), disease progression (GLIS1: β = 0.277, P = 1.92 × 10-2), and age at onset (SERPINB1: β = 0.043, P = 4.62 × 10-3). Bioinformatics indicate that the intronic SERPINB1 variant (rs316341) affects expression of SERPINB1 in various tissues, including the hippocampus, suggesting that SERPINB1 influences AD through an Aβ-associated mechanism. Analyses of known AD risk loci suggest CLU and FERMT2 may influence CSF Aβ42 (P = 0.001 and P = 0.009, respectively) and the INPP5D locus may affect ptau181 levels (P = 0.009); larger studies are necessary to verify these results. Together the findings from this study can be used to inform future AD studies