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We present preliminary results on a study of the 2--850 micron SEDs of a sample of 30 FIRBACK galaxies selected at 170 micron. These sources are representative of the brightest ~10% of the Cosmic Infrared Background. They are a mixture of mostly local (z<~0.3) starforming galaxies, and a tail of ULIGs that extend up to z~1, and are likely to be a similar population to faint SCUBA sources. We use archival Spitzer IRAC and MIPS data to extend the spectral coverage to the mid-IR regime, resulting in an unprecended (for this redshift range) census of their infrared SEDs. This allows us to study in far greater detail this important population linking the near-IR stellar emission with PAH and thermal dust emission. We do this using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, which easily allows for the inclusion of ~6 free parameters, as well as an estimate of parameter uncertainties and correlations. Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Proceeding for the conference "Starbursts: From 30 Doradus to Lyman Break Galaxies", held in Cambridge (UK) in September, 2004

We explore the application of phase diversity to calibrate the non common path aberrations (NCPA) in the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI). This is first investigated in simulation in order to characterize the ideal technique parameters with simulated GPI calibration source data. The best working simulation parameters are derived and we establish the algorithm's capability to recover an injected astigmatism. Furthermore, the real data appear to exhibit signs of de-centering between the in and out of focus images that are required by phase diversity; this effect can arise when the diverse images are acquired in closed loop and are close to the non-linear regime of the wavefront sensor. We show in simulation that this effect can inhibit our algorithm, which does not take into account the impact of de-centering between images. To mitigate this effect, we validate the technique of using a single diverse image with our algorithm; this is first demonstrated in simulation and then applied to the real GPI data. Following this approach, we find that we can successfully recover a known astigmatism injection using the real GPI data and subsequently apply an NCPA correction to GPI (in the format of offset reference slopes) to improve the relative Strehl ratio by 5%; we note this NCPA correction application is rudimentary and a more thorough application will be investigated in the near future. Finally, the estimated NCPA in the form of astigmatism and coma agree well with the magnitude of the same modes reported by Poyneer et al. 2016.

Geochemical micro-environments within serpentinizing systems can abiotically synthesize hydrocarbons and provide the ingredients required to support life. Observations of organic matter in microgeode-like hydrogarnets found in Mid-Atlantic Ridge serpentinites suggest these garnets possibly represent unique nests for the colonization of microbial ecosystems within the oceanic lithosphere. However, little is known about the mineralogical and geochemical processes that allow such unique environments to form. Here we present work on outcrop-scale vein networks from an ultramafic massif in Norway that contain massive amounts of spherulitic garnets (andradite), which help to constrain such processes. Vein andradite spherulites are associated with polyhedral serpentine, brucite, Ni–Fe alloy (awaruite), and magnetite indicative of low temperature (<200 °C) alteration under low fO2 and low aSiO2,aq geochemical conditions. Together with the outcrop- and micro-scale analysis geochemical reaction path modeling shows that there was limited mass transport and fluid flow over a large scale. Once opened the veins remained isolated (closed system), forming non-equilibrium microenvironments that allowed, upon a threshold supersaturation, the rapid crystallization (seconds to weeks) of spherulitic andradite. The presence of polyhedral serpentine spheres indicates that veins were initially filled with a gel-like protoserpentine phase. In addition, massive Fe oxidation associated with andradite formation could have generated as much as 600 mmol H2,aq per 100 cm3 vein. Although no carboneous matter was detected, the vein networks fulfill the reported geochemical criteria required to generate abiogenic hydrocarbons and support microbial communities. Thus, systems similar to those investigated here are of prime interest when searching for life-supporting environments within the deep subsurface.

International audience; Hypovitaminosis D is associated with cognitive decline in the elderly, but the issue of causality remains unresolved. Definitive evidence would include the visualization of brain lesions resulting from hypovitaminosis D. The aim of the present article is to determine, through a literature review, the location and nature of possible brain disorders in hypovitaminosis D. We found limited brain-imaging data, which reported ischemic infarcts and white matter hyperintensities in hypovitaminosis D, though did not provide their specific location or report any focal atrophy. Based on the finding of executive dysfunctions (i.e., mental shifting and information updating impairments) in the presence of hypovitaminosis D, we suggest that hypovitaminosis D is associated with a dysfunction of the frontal-subcortical neuronal circuits, particularly the dorsolateral circuit. Further imaging studies are required to corroborate this assumption and to determine whether hypovitaminosis D results in degenerative and / or vascular lesions.

We provide a non-explicit separation of the number-on-forehead communication complexity classes RP and NP when the number of players is up to \delta log(n) for any \delta<1. Recent lower bounds on Set-Disjointness [LS08,CA08] provide an explicit separation between these classes when the number of players is only up to o(loglog(n)).

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3–19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8–144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries. http://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerReviewed published version Article

Common variants in 94 loci have been associated with breast cancer including 15 loci with genome-wide significant associations (P<5 × 10−8) with oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and BRCA1-associated breast cancer risk. In this study, to identify new ER-negative susceptibility loci, we performed a meta-analysis of 11 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) consisting of 4,939 ER-negative cases and 14,352 controls, combined with 7,333 ER-negative cases and 42,468 controls and 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers genotyped on the iCOGS array. We identify four previously unidentified loci including two loci at 13q22 near KLF5, a 2p23.2 locus near WDR43 and a 2q33 locus near PPIL3 that display genome-wide significant associations with ER-negative breast cancer. In addition, 19 known breast cancer risk loci have genome-wide significant associations and 40 had moderate associations (P<0.05) with ER-negative disease. Using functional and eQTL studies we implicate TRMT61B and WDR43 at 2p23.2 and PPIL3 at 2q33 in ER-negative breast cancer aetiology. All ER-negative loci combined account for ∼11% of familial relative risk for ER-negative disease and may contribute to improved ER-negative and BRCA1 breast cancer risk prediction. B.C.A.C. was funded through a European Community Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement no 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175; COGS); Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692); the National Institutes of Health Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Breast Cancer (CA116201), R01 grants (CA128978, CA176785, CA192393), and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative); the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, the Breast Cancer Res. Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. CIMBA genotyping was supported by National Institutes of Health grant (CA128978); the Department of Defence (W81XWH-10-1-0341); and the Breast Cancer Res. Foundation. CIMBA data management and data analysis were supported by Cancer Research UK grants C12292/A11174 and C1287/A10118. This study made use of data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control consortium. Functional studies were supported by the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation. A full description of funding and acknowledgments is provided in Supplementary Note 1.

The kidney sessions of the 2017 Banff Conference focused on 2 areas: clinical implications of inflammation in areas of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (i‐IFTA) and its relationship to T cell–mediated rejection (TCMR), and the continued evolution of molecular diagnostics, particularly in the diagnosis of antibody‐mediated rejection (ABMR). In confirmation of previous studies, it was independently demonstrated by 2 groups that i‐IFTA is associated with reduced graft survival. Furthermore, these groups presented that i‐IFTA, particularly when involving >25% of sclerotic cortex in association with tubulitis, is often a sequela of acute TCMR in association with underimmunosuppression. The classification was thus revised to include moderate i‐IFTA plus moderate or severe tubulitis as diagnostic of chronic active TCMR. Other studies demonstrated that certain molecular classifiers improve diagnosis of ABMR beyond what is possible with histology, C4d, and detection of donor‐specific antibodies (DSAs) and that both C4d and validated molecular assays can serve as potential alternatives and/or complements to DSAs in the diagnosis of ABMR. The Banff ABMR criteria are thus updated to include these alternatives. Finally, the present report paves the way for the Banff scheme to be part of an integrative approach for defining surrogate endpoints in next‐generation clinical trials. The Banff consortium presents revisions to the diagnostic criteria for T cell– and antibody‐mediated kidney transplant rejection, including specific criteria for chronic active T cell–mediated rejection, plus prospects for integrative endpoints in clinical trials. See related articles on pages 321, 364, and 377.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a growing focus of cancer genomics studies, creating the need for a resource of lncRNAs with validated cancer roles. Furthermore, it remains debated whether mutated lncRNAs can drive tumorigenesis, and whether such functions could be conserved during evolution. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, we introduce the Cancer LncRNA Census (CLC), a compilation of 122 GENCODE lncRNAs with causal roles in cancer phenotypes. In contrast to existing databases, CLC requires strong functional or genetic evidence. CLC genes are enriched amongst driver genes predicted from somatic mutations, and display characteristic genomic features. Strikingly, CLC genes are enriched for driver mutations from unbiased, genome-wide transposon-mutagenesis screens in mice. We identified 10 tumour-causing mutations in orthologues of 8 lncRNAs, including LINC-PINT and NEAT1, but not MALAT1. Thus CLC represents a dataset of high-confidence cancer lncRNAs. Mutagenesis maps are a novel means for identifying deeply-conserved roles of lncRNAs in tumorigenesis. Communications Biology, 3 (1) ISSN:2399-3642