Search

} We obtain medium-resolution spectra in the optical (550-1000 nm, R̃5400) and the near-infrared (1000-2500 nm, R̃3300) using the Wideband ultraviolet-infrared single target spectrograph (X-Shooter) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Our sample is compound of 22 brown dwarfs binary candidates with spectral types between L1 and T7. We aim to empirically confirm or refute the binarity of our candidates, comparing them to spectral templates and to other brown dwarfs in a color-magnitude diagram, for targets that have published parallaxes. } We use X-shooter at the VLT to obtain medium resolution spectra of the targets. We develop a slightly different analysis depending of the type of binaries we search for. To find L plus T brown dwarf binaries candidates, we comput spectral indices to select L-brown dwarfs plus T-brown dwarf binaries, and then we compare them to single and composite template spectra. To find potential L plus L or T plus T brown dwarf binaries, we first simulate their spectra creating synthetic binaries using combination of single template spectra. Then we compare them to our set of spectral libraries and composite of them to test if our method is able to find these binaries. } Using spectral indices, we select four possible candidates to be combination of L plus T brown dwarfs: SIMP 0136 662+0933473, 2MASSI J0423485-041403 (T0, known binary), DENIS-P J0255.0-4700 and 2MASS J13411160-3052505 We compare these candidates to single brown dwarf template spectra and combinations of them, and we select the best matches. All candidates beside SIMP 0136 662+0933473 have decent matches to composite of two single template spectra. DENIS-P J0255.0-4700 have also good agreements to several late L and early T single template spectra. To find L plus L or T plus T brown dwarfs candidates, test the comparison to templates method use before to find L plus T brown dwarf binaries. The test consist on finding synthetic L plus L and T plus T binaries by comparing with spectral templates. We conclude that we cannot find L plus L and T plus T binaries using comparing to single and composite spectral templates, because the main difference between different L or T spectral types is just the spectral energy distribution.} Optical and near infrared spectra report in this paper will serve as templates for future studies in any of these wavelengths. In the near future, Gaia satellite will release high precision parallaxes of more than one billion of objects in the Milky Way, including hundred of brown dwarfs. These parallaxes will allow us to detect the overluminosity of brown dwarf binaries.}

The VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey is one of six near-infrared ESO public surveys, and is now in its fourth year of observing. Although far from being complete, the VVV survey has already delivered many results, some directly connected to the intended science goals (detection of variable stars, microlensing events, new star clusters), others concerning more exotic objects, e.g., novae. Now, at the end of the fourth observing period, and comprising roughly 50% of the proposed observations, the status of the survey, as well some of results based on the VVV data, are presented. Fil: Hempel, Maren. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. The Milky Way Millennium Nucleus; Chile Fil: Minniti, Dante. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Vatican Observatory; Italia Fil: Dékány, István. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Saito, Roberto K.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; Brasil Fil: Lucas, Philip W.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino Unido Fil: Emerson, Jim P.. Queen Mary University of London; Reino Unido Fil: Ahumada, Andrea Veronica. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Aigrain, Suzanne. University of Exeter; Reino Unido Fil: Alonso, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina Fil: Alonso García, Javier. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Amôres, Eduardo B.. Universidade de Lisboa; Portugal Fil: Angeloni, Rodolfo. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Arias, Julia. Universidad de La Serena; Chile Fil: Bandyopadhyay, Reba. University of Florida; Estados Unidos Fil: Barba, Rodolfo Hector. Universidad de La Serena; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Barbuy, Beatriz. Universidade de São Paulo; Brasil Fil: Baume, Gustavo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina Fil: Beamin, Juan Carlos. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Bedin, Luigi. Space Telescope Science Institute; Estados Unidos Fil: Bica, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Borissova, Jordanka. Universidad de Chile; Chile Fil: Bronfman, Leonardo. Universidad de Chile; Chile Fil: Carraro, Giovanni. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Catelan, Márcio. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Claria Olmedo, Juan Jose. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Contreras, Carlos. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Cross, Nicholas. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: Davis, Christopher. Joint Astronomy Centre; Estados Unidos Fil: de Grijs, Richard. Peking University; China Fil: Drew, Janet E.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino Unido Fil: Fariña, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina Fil: Feinstein Baigorri, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina Fil: Fernandez Lajus, Eduardo Eusebio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina Fil: Folkes, Stuart. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino Unido Fil: Gamen, Roberto Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina Fil: Geisler, Douglas. Universidad de Concepción; Chile Fil: Gieren, Wolfgang. Universidad de Concepción; Chile Fil: Goldman, Bertrand. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy; Alemania Fil: González, Oscar. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Gosling, Andrew. University of Oxford; Reino Unido Fil: Gunthardt, Guillermo Ivan. Universidad de La Serena; Chile Fil: Gurovich, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; Argentina Fil: Hambly, Nigel C.. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: Hanson, Margaret. University of Cincinnati; Estados Unidos Fil: Hoare, Melvin. University of Leeds; Reino Unido Fil: Irwin, Mike J.. University of Cambridge; Reino Unido Fil: Ivanov, Valentin D.. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Jordán, Andrés. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Kerins, Eamonn. University of Manchester; Reino Unido Fil: Kinemuchi, Karen. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Estados Unidos Fil: Kurtev, Radostin. Universidad de Valparaíso; Chile Fil: Longmore, Andy. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido Fil: López Corredoira, Martin. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; España Fil: Maccarone, Tom. Texas Tech University; Estados Unidos Fil: Martín, Eduardo. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; España Fil: Masetti, Nicola. Instituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica de Bologna; Italia Fil: Mennickent, Ronald E.. Universidad de Concepción; Chile Fil: Merlo, David. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina Fil: Messineo, Maria. Rochester Institute of Technology; Estados Unidos Fil: Mirabel Miquele, Igor Felix. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Monaco, Lorenzo. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Moni Bidin, Christian. Universidad Católica del Norte; Chile Fil: Morelli, Lorenzo. Università di Padova; Italia Fil: Padilla, Nelson. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Palma, Tali. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; Argentina Fil: Parisi, Maria Celeste. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Parker, Quentin. Macquarie University; Australia Fil: Pavani, Daniela. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Pietrukowicz, Pawel. Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center; Polonia Fil: Pietrzynski, Grzegorz. Imperial College London; Reino Unido Fil: Pignata, Giuliano. Universidad Andrés Bello; Chile Fil: Rejkuba, Marina. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Rojas, Alejandra. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Roman Lopes, Alexandre. Universidad de La Serena; Chile Fil: Ruiz, María Teresa. Universidad de Chile; Chile Fil: Sale, Stuart E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Saviane, Ivo. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Schreiber, Matthias R.. Universidad de Valparaíso; Chile Fil: Schröder, Anja C.. Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory; Sudáfrica Fil: Sharma, Saurabh. Universidad de Valparaíso; Chile Fil: Smith, Michael. University Of Kent; Reino Unido Fil: Sodré Jr., Laerte. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil Fil: Soto, Mario. Universidad de La Serena; Chile Fil: Stephens, Andrew W.. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; Japón Fil: Tamura, Motohide. Gemini Observatory; Estados Unidos Fil: Tappert, Claus. Universidad de Valparaíso; Chile Fil: Thompson, Mark A.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino Unido Fil: Toledo, Ignacio. ALMA Observatory; Chile Fil: Valenti, Elena. European Southern Observatory; Chile Fil: Vanzi, Leonardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile Fil: Weidmann, Walter Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Observatorio Astronomico de Cordoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Zoccali, Manuela. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile

We fit the data for the binary-lens microlensing event MACHO 98-SMC-1 from 5 different microlensing collaborations and find two distinct solutions characterized by binary separation d and mass ratio q: (d,q)=(0.54,0.50) and (d,q)=(3.65,0.36), where d is in units of the Einstein radius. However, the relative proper motion of the lens is very similar in the two solutions, 1.30 km/s/kpc and 1.48 km/s/kpc, thus confirming that the lens is in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The close binary can be either rotating or approximately static but the wide binary must be rotating at close its maximum allowed rate to be consistent with all the data. We measure limb-darkening coefficients for five bands ranging from I to V. As expected, these progressively decrease with rising wavelength. This is the first measurement of limb darkening for a metal-poor A star., 29 pages + 9 figures + 2 tables, submitted to ApJ

Cystinuria (MIM 220100) is a common recessive disorder of renal reabsorption of cystine and dibasic amino acids. Mutations in SLC3A1, encoding rBAT, cause cystinuria type I (ref. 1), but not other types of cystinuria (ref. 2). A gene whose mutation causes non-type I cystinuria has been mapped by linkage analysis to 19q12-13.1 (Refs 3,4). We have identified a new transcript, encoding a protein (bo, +AT, for bo,+ amino acid transporter) belonging to a family of light subunits of amino acid transporters, expressed in kidney, liver, small intestine and placenta, and localized its gene (SLC7A9) to the non-type I cystinuria 19q locus. Co-transfection of bo,+AT and rBAT brings the latter to the plasma membrane, and results in the uptake of L-arginine in COS cells. We have found SLC7A9 mutations in Libyan-Jews, North American, Italian and Spanish non-type I cystinuria patients. The Libyan Jewish patients are homozygous for a founder missense mutation (V170M) that abolishes b o,+AT amino-acid uptake activity when co-transfected with rBAT in COS cells. We identified four missense mutations (G105R, A182T, G195R and G295R) and two frameshift (520insT and 596delTG) mutations in other patients. Our data establish that mutations in SLC7A9 cause non-type I cystinuria, and suggest that bo,+AT is the light subunit of rBAT.

Objective To describe the development of young boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Methods Fifty-five boys (aged 8–48 months at study entry) with the full mutation FXS received multiple developmental assessments. Results As expected, the boys’ rate of development was significantly lower than chronological age expectations. No evidence of slowing in the rate of development was found. Autistic behavior was negatively associated with development, but maternal IQ was not. Developmental delays were evident in some domains as early as 9 months; however, initial detection of delays is complicated by measures and criteria used. Developmental age scores at 31 months of age were related to scores obtained at 61 months of age only in the global composite and visual reception domain. Conclusions Developmental delays are evident in some infants with FXS as young as 9 months of age. Pediatric psychologists need to be informed about the developmental profiles in young children with FXS to accurately diagnose, treat, and support these children and their families.

30 pags., 17 figs., 12 tabs. 4 apps., We present a new compilation of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), a new data set of low-redshift nearby-Hubble-flow SNe, and new analysis procedures to work with these heterogeneous compilations. This >Union> compilation of 414 SNe Ia, which reduces to 307 SNe after selection cuts, includes the recent large samples of SNe Ia from the Supernova Legacy Survey and ESSENCE Survey, the older data sets, as well as the recently extended data set of distant supernovae observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). A single, consistent, and blind analysis procedure is used for all the various SN Ia subsamples, and a new procedure is implemented that consistently weights the heterogeneous data sets and rejects outliers. We present the latest results from this Union compilation and discuss the cosmological constraints from this new compilation and its combination with other cosmological measurements (CMB and BAO). The constraint we obtain from supernovae on the dark energy density is ¿¿ = 0.713+ 0.027¿0.029(stat)+ 0.036¿0.039(sys) , for a flat, ¿CDM universe. Assuming a constant equation of state parameter, w, the combined constraints from SNe, BAO, and CMB give w = ¿ 0.969+ 0.059¿0.063(stat)+ 0.063¿0.066(sys) . While our results are consistent with a cosmological constant, we obtain only relatively weak constraints on a w that varies with redshift. In particular, the current SN data do not yet significantly constrain w at z > 1. With the addition of our new nearby Hubble-flow SNe Ia, these resulting cosmological constraints are currently the tightest available., This work was supported in part by the Director, Office of Science, Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics, US Department of Energy, through contract DE-AC02-05CH11231. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy under contract DEAC02- 05CH11231. The use of Portuguese time for the YALO telescope was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal, and by Project PESO/ESO/P/PRO/1257/98. M. K. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). P. E. N. acknowledges support from the USDepartment of Energy Scientific Discovery throughAdvanced Computing program under contract DE-FG02-06ER06-04. A.M. M. acknowledges financial support from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through project PESO/P/PRO/ 15139/99.

Microlensing event MACHO 97-SMC-1 is one of the rare microlensing events for which the source is a variable star, simply because most variable stars are systematically eliminated from microlensing studies. Using observational data for this event, we show that the intrinsic variability of a microlensed star is a powerful tool to constrain the nature of the lens by breaking the degeneracy between the microlens parallax and the blended light. We also present a statistical test for discriminating the location of the lens based on the \chi^2 contours of the vector \Lambda, the inverse of the projected velocity. We find that while SMC self lensing is somewhat favored over halo lensing, neither location can be ruled out with good confidence., Comment: 15 text pages + 2 tables + 7 figures. Published in the Astrophysical Journal

We present optical spectra of the peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 1999ac. The data extend from -15 to +42 days with respect to B-band maximum and reveal an event that is unusual in several respects. Prior to B-band maximum, the spectra resemble those of SN 1999aa, a slowly declining event, but possess stronger SiII and CaII signatures (more characteristic of a spectroscopically normal SN). Spectra after B-band maximum appear more normal. The expansion velocities inferred from the Iron lines appear to be lower than average; whereas, the expansion velocity inferred from Calcium H and K are higher than average. The expansion velocities inferred from SiII are among the slowest ever observed, though SN 1999ac is not particularly dim. The analysis of the parameters v_10, R(SiII), dv(SiII)/dt, and d_m15 further underlines the unique characteristics of SN 1999ac. We find convincing evidence of CII 6580 in the day -15 spectrum with ejection velocity v > 16,000 km/s, but this signature disappears by day -9. This rapid evolution at early times highlights the importance of extremely early-time spectroscopy., 40 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

We present an extensive new time-series of spectroscopic data of the peculiar SN 1999aa in NGC 2595. Our data set includes 25 optical spectra between -11 and +58 days with respect to B-band maximum light, providing an unusually complete time history. The early spectra resemble those of a SN 1991T-like object but with a relatively strong Ca H&K absorption feature. The first clear sign of Si II 6355, characteristic of Type Ia supernovae, is found at day -7 and its velocity remains constant up to at least the first month after B-band maximum light. The transition to normal-looking spectra is found to occur earlier than in SN 1991T suggesting SN 1999aa as a possible link between SN 1991T-like and Branch-normal supernovae. Comparing the observations with synthetic spectra, doubly ionized Fe, Si and Ni are identified at early epochs. These are characteristic of SN 1991T-like objects. Furthermore, in the day -11 spectrum, evidence is found for an absorption feature which could be identified as high velocity C II 6580 or H-alpha. At the same epoch C III 4648.8 at photospheric velocity is probably responsible for the absorption feature at 4500 A. High velocity Ca is found around maximum light together with Si II and Fe II confined in a narrow velocity window. Implied constraints on supernovae progenitor systems and explosion hydrodynamical models are briefly discussed., 46 pages including 23 figures. Accepted for publication by AJ. For full-resolution figures see http://www.physto.se/~gabri/sn99aa/

We present a measurement of the microlensing optical depth toward the Galactic bulge based on the analysis of 15 contiguous1 square degrees fields centered on (l=2.5 deg, b=-4.0 deg) and containing 1.42 million clump-giant stars (belonging to the extended clump area) monitored during almost three bulge seasons by EROS (Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres). We find a microlensing optical depth towards the bulge tau_bulge=0.94 +/- 0.29 10^-6 averaged over all fields, based on 16 microlensing events with clump giants as sources. This value is substantially below several other determinations by the MACHO and OGLE groups and is more in agreement with what is expected from axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric bulge models., 18 pages, 15 images, accepted for publication in A&A

The EROS collaboration has developed a real time alert system, which was operational in 1999 and 2000. A very long binary-lensing caustic crossing event, EROS-BLG-2000-5, was found in the 2000 season and monitored by EROS. EROS photometric data for this event are presented. The data are well fitted by the model of An et al. 2002 based on a completely different dataset. However, parameters of the model such as the mass ratio or the binary rotation rate are not very well constrained by EROS data., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

We apply EROS photometric data to interpret previously published Keck and VLT spectra of the binary-microlens caustic-crossing event EROS-BLG-2000-5. We show that the VLT data imply that the outer 4 % of the limb of the K3-giant source is strongly in emission in Halpha, in contradiction to available models of the photosphere. This conflict could be resolved if the integrated Halpha emission from the chromosphere were equal to 8 % of the integrated Halpha absorption from the source as a whole. These conclusions regarding the extreme limb are almost completely model-independent. We also present a general method for using the photometric data to facilitate direct comparison between the atmospheric model and the spectroscopic data. While this method has some model-dependent features, it is fairly robust and can serve to guide the analysis of spectra while more detailed models of the lens geometry are being developed. In addition, we find that the color of the limb of the source (outer 5.5 % by radius) is Delta(V-I) = 0.37 redder than the source as a whole, so that it has the color of a M0 giant., Comment: 7 figures, 1 table

We combine new results from the search for microlensing towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) by EROS2 (Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres) with limits previously reported by EROS1 and EROS2 towards both Magellanic Clouds. The derived upper limit on the abundance of stellar mass MACHOs rules out such objects as an important component of the Galactic halo if their mass is smaller than 1 solar mass., 4 pages, 2 figures, Accepted by A&A Letters Feb 23, 2000 (minor modifications in section 6)

Since 1996 EROS 2 has surveyed 440 square degrees at high Galactic latitude in order to search for high proper motion stars in the Solar neighbourhood. We present here the analysis of 250 square degrees for which we have three years of data. No object with halo-like kinematics has been detected. Using a detailed Monte-Carlo simulation of the observations, we calculate our detection efficiency for this kind of object and place constraints on their contribution to various halo models. If 14 Gyr old, the halo cannot be made of more than 18% of hydrogen white dwarfs (95% C.L.)., 5 pages, TeX, 3 Postscript figures, moriond2000.sty. To appear in the Proceedings of the XXth Moriond Astrophysics Meeting "Cosmological Physics with Gravitational Lensing", eds. J.-P. Kneib, Y. Mellier, M. Moniez and J. Tran Thanh Van

In Ashkenazi (East European) Jews, three predominant mutations in BRCA1 (185delAG and 5382insC) and BRCA2 (6174-delT) account for the majority of germline mutations in high risk breast and/or ovarian cancer families. Among non-Ashkenazi Jews, the 185delAG, Tyr978Ter, and a handful of "private" mutations have been reported anecdotally within both genes. In this study we attempted to determine the spectrum of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in high-risk Jewish individuals, non-carriers of any of the predominant Jewish mutations. We employed multiplex PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis for BRCA2, and combined denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and protein truncation rest (PTT) for BRCA1, complemented by DNA sequencing. We screened 47 high-risk Jewish individuals, 26 Ashkenazis, and 21 non-Ashkenazis. Overall, 13 sequence alterations in BRCA1 and eight in BRCA2 were detected: nine neutral polymorphisms and 12 missense mutations, including five novel ones. The novel missense mutations did not co-segregate with disease in BRCA1 and were detected at rates of 6.25% to 52.5% in the general population for BRCA2, Our findings suggest that except for the predominant mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in Jewish individuals, there are only a handful of pathogenic mutations within these genes. It may imply novel genes may underlie inherited susceptibility to breast/ovarian cancer in Jewish individuals. Hum Mutat 16:491-501, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We present an analysis of the light curves of 9.1 million stars observed during three seasons by EROS (Experience de Recherche d'Objets Sombres), in the Galactic plane away from the bulge. Seven stars exhibit luminosity variations compatible with gravitational microlensing effects due to unseen objects. The corresponding optical depth, averaged over four directions, is tau = 0.45 +0.24 -0.11 x 10^-6. While this value is compatible with expectations from simple galactic models under reasonable assumptions on the target distances, we find an excess of events with short timescale towards the direction closest to the Galactic Centre., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted for publication in A&A Letters