616 research outputs found
More on the Tensor Response of the QCD Vacuum to an External Magnetic Field
In this Letter we discuss a few issues concerning the magnetic susceptibility
of the quark condensate and the Son-Yamamoto (SY) anomaly matching equation. It
is shown that the SY relation in the IR implies a nontrivial interplay between
the kinetic and WZW terms in the chiral Lagrangian. It is also demonstrated
that in a holographic framework an external magnetic field triggers mixing
between scalar and tensor fields. Accounting for this, one may calculate the
magnetic susceptibility of the quark condensate to all orders in the magnetic
field.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure
On the stationary vibrations of a rectangular plate subjected to stress prescribed partially at the circumference
The stationary periodical problem of a vibrating rectangular plate, stressed at a segment
while fixed elsewhere at one of its edges, is considered. Using the finite Fourier transformation, the problem
is converted to a singular integral equation that in turn can be reduced to an infinite system of algebraic
equations. The truncation of the algebraic system is justified
Assembly of the Inner Perivitelline Layer, a Homo log of the Mammalian Zona Pellucida: An Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Study
The avian inner perivitelline layer (IPVL), a homologous structure to the mammalian zona pellucida, is deposited between the granulosa cells and the oocyte cell membrane during folliculogenesis. The glycoprotein meshwork of the IPVL forms a 3-dimensional matrix and possesses important functions in the fertilization process: it contributes to the binding of avian spermatozoa to the oocyte and induces acrosomal exocytosis. In contrast to the zona pellucida of mammals, the IPVL does not prevent the physiological polyspermy found in birds. Previous studies have shown that in the Japanese quail (Cotumix japonica) at least 5 glycoproteins are constituents of the IPVL (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, ZP4, and ZPD). In this study, we investigated the spatiotennporal assembly pattern of the IPVL during folliculogenesis using immunohistochemical and ultrastructural methods. The obtained results clearly show that these glycoproteins are incorporated into the IPVL at distinct points during follicular development, supporting the hypothesis that ZP2 and ZP4 form a type of prematrix into which ZP1, ZP3, and ZPD are integrated at a later stage of development. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base
PNAS plus: plasmodium falciparum responds to amino acid starvation by entering into a hibernatory state
The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is auxotrophic for most amino acids. Its amino acid needs are met largely through the degradation of host erythrocyte hemoglobin; however the parasite must acquire isoleucine exogenously, because this amino acid is not present in adult human hemoglobin. We report that when isoleucine is withdrawn from the culture medium of intraerythrocytic P. falciparum, the parasite slows its metabolism and progresses through its developmental cycle at a reduced rate. Isoleucine-starved parasites remain viable for 72 h and resume rapid growth upon resupplementation. Protein degradation during starvation is important for maintenance of this hibernatory state. Microarray analysis of starved parasites revealed a 60% decrease in the rate of progression through the normal transcriptional program but no other apparent stress response. Plasmodium parasites do not possess a TOR nutrient-sensing pathway and have only a rudimentary amino acid starvation-sensing eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) stress response. Isoleucine deprivation results in GCN2-mediated phosphorylation of eIF2α, but kinase-knockout clones still are able to hibernate and recover, indicating that this pathway does not directly promote survival during isoleucine starvation. We conclude that P. falciparum, in the absence of canonical eukaryotic nutrient stress-response pathways, can cope with an inconsistent bloodstream amino acid supply by hibernating and waiting for more nutrient to be provided
Colored Motifs Reveal Computational Building Blocks in the C. elegans Brain
Background: Complex networks can often be decomposed into less complex sub-networks whose structures can give hints about the functional
organization of the network as a whole. However, these structural
motifs can only tell one part of the functional story because in this
analysis each node and edge is treated on an equal footing. In real
networks, two motifs that are topologically identical but whose nodes
perform very different functions will play very different roles in the
network.
Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we combine structural information
derived from the topology of the neuronal network of the nematode C.
elegans with information about the biological function of these nodes,
thus coloring nodes by function. We discover that particular
colorations of motifs are significantly more abundant in the worm brain
than expected by chance, and have particular computational functions
that emphasize the feed-forward structure of information processing in
the network, while evading feedback loops. Interneurons are strongly
over-represented among the common motifs, supporting the notion that
these motifs process and transduce the information from the sensor
neurons towards the muscles. Some of the most common motifs identified
in the search for significant colored motifs play a crucial role in the
system of neurons controlling the worm's locomotion.
Conclusions/Significance: The analysis of complex networks in terms of
colored motifs combines two independent data sets to generate insight
about these networks that cannot be obtained with either data set
alone. The method is general and should allow a decomposition of any
complex networks into its functional (rather than topological) motifs
as long as both wiring and functional information is available
Holographic rho mesons in an external magnetic field
We study the rho meson in a uniform magnetic field eB using a holographic
QCD-model, more specifically a D4/D8/Dbar8 brane setup in the confinement phase
at zero temperature with two quenched flavours. The parameters of the model are
fixed by matching to corresponding dual field theory parameters at zero
magnetic field. We show that the up- and down-flavour branes respond
differently to the presence of the magnetic field in the dual QCD-like theory,
as expected because of the different electromagnetic charge carried by up- and
down-quark. We discuss how to recover the Landau levels, indicating an
instability of the QCD vacuum at eB = m_rho^2 towards a phase where charged rho
mesons are condensed, as predicted by Chernodub using effective QCD-models. We
improve on these existing effective QCD-model analyses by also taking into
account the chiral magnetic catalysis effect, which tells us that the
constituent quark masses rise with eB. This turns out to increase the value of
the critical magnetic field for the onset of rho meson condensation to eB = 1.1
m_rho^2 = 0.67 GeV^2. We briefly discuss the influence of pions, which turn out
to be irrelevant for the condensation in the approximation made.Comment: 26 pages, 10 .pdf figures, v2: version accepted for publication in
JHE
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