Analysis of the genome sequence of an alpaca coronavirus

AbstractCoronaviral infection of New World camelids was first identified in 1998 in llamas and alpacas with severe diarrhea. In order to understand this infection, one of the coronavirus isolates was sequenced and analyzed. It has a genome of 31,076 nt including the poly A tail at the 3′ end. This virus designated as ACoV-00-1381 (ACoV) encodes all 10 open reading frames (ORFs) characteristic of Group 2 bovine coronavirus (BCoV). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the ACoV genome is clustered closely (>99.5% identity) with two BCoV strains, ENT and LUN, and was also closely related to other BCoV strains (Mebus, Quebec, DB2), a human corona virus (strain 043) (>96%), and porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (>93% identity). A total of 145 point mutations and one nucleotide deletion were found relative to the BCoV ENT. Most of the ORFs were highly conserved; however, the predicted spike protein (S) has 9 and 12 amino acid differences from BCoV LUN and ENT, respectively, and shows a higher relative number of changes than the other proteins. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that ACoV shares the same ancestor as BCoV ENT and LUN

Warped Domain Wall Fermions

We consider Kaplan's domain wall fermions in the presence of an Anti-de Sitter (AdS) background in the extra dimension. Just as in the flat space case, in a completely vector-like gauge theory defined after discretizing this extra dimension, the spectrum contains a very light charged fermion whose chiral components are localized at the ends of the extra dimensional interval. The component on the IR boundary of the AdS space can be given a large mass by coupling it to a neutral fermion via the Higgs mechanism. In this theory, gauge invariance can be restored either by taking the limit of infinite proper length of the extra dimension or by reducing the AdS curvature radius towards zero. In the latter case, the Kaluza-Klein modes stay heavy and the resulting classical theory approaches a chiral gauge theory, as we verify numerically. Potential difficulties for this approach could arise from the coupling of the longitudinal mode of the light gauge boson, which has to be treated non-perturbatively

The mass insertion approximation without squark degeneracy

We study the applicability of the mass insertion approximation (MIA) for calculations of neutral meson mixing when squark masses are not degenerate and, in particular, in models of alignment. We show that the MIA can give results that are much better than an order of magnitude estimate as long as the masses are not strongly hierarchical. We argue that, in an effective two-squark framework, m_q=(m_1+m_2)/2 is the best choice for the MIA expansion point, rather than, for example, m_q^2=(m_1^2+m_2^2)/2.Comment: 7 pages, revtex

Simple extensions of reflection subgroups of primitive complex reflection groups

If $G$ is a finite primitive complex reflection group, all reflection subgroups of $G$ and their inclusions are determined up to conjugacy. As a consequence, it is shown that if the rank of $G$ is $n$ and if $G$ can be generated by $n$ reflections, then for every set $R$ of $n$ reflections which generate $G$, every subset of $R$ generates a parabolic subgroup of $G$.Comment: 17 pages, 20 table

On the shape of a D-brane bound state and its topology change

As is well known, coordinates of D-branes are described by NxN matrices. From generic non-commuting matrices, it is difficult to extract physics, for example, the shape of the distribution of positions of D-branes. To overcome this problem, we generalize and elaborate on a simple prescription, first introduced by Hotta, Nishimura and Tsuchiya, which determines the most appropriate gauge to make the separation between diagonal components (D-brane positions) and off-diagonal components. This prescription makes it possible to extract the distribution of D-branes directly from matrices. We verify the power of it by applying it to Monte-Carlo simulations for various lower dimensional Yang-Mills matrix models. In particular, we detect the topology change of the D-brane bound state for a phase transition of a matrix model; the existence of this phase transition is expected from the gauge/gravity duality, and the pattern of the topology change is strikingly similar to the counterpart in the gravity side, the black hole/black string transition. We also propose a criterion, based on the behavior of the off-diagonal components, which determines when our prescription gives a sensible definition of D-brane positions. We provide numerical evidence that our criterion is satisfied for the typical distance between D-branes. For a supersymmetric model, positions of D-branes can be defined even at a shorter distance scale. The behavior of off-diagonal elements found in this analysis gives some support for previous studies of D-brane bound states.Comment: 29 pages, 16 figure

Can multi-TeV (top and other) squarks be natural in gauge mediation?

We investigate whether multi-TeV (1-3 TeV) squarks can be natural in models of gauge mediated SUSY breaking. The idea is that for some boundary condition of the scalar (Higgs and stop) masses, the Higgs (mass)$^2$, evaluated at the renormalization scale $\sim O(100)$ GeV, is not very sensitive to (boundary values of) the scalar masses (this has been called ``focussing'' in recent literature). Then, the stop masses can be multi-TeV without leading to fine-tuning in electroweak symmetry breaking. {\em Minimal} gauge mediation does {\em not} lead to this focussing (for all values of $\tan \beta$ and the messenger scale): the (boundary value of) the Higgs mass is too small compared to the stop masses. Also, in minimal gauge mediation, the gaugino masses are of the same order as the scalar masses so that multi-TeV scalars implies multi-TeV gauginos (especially gluino) leading to fine-tuning. We discuss ideas to {\em increase} the Higgs mass relative to the stop masses (so that focussing can be achieved) and also to {\em suppress} gaugino masses relative to scalar masses (or to modify the gaugino mass relations) in {\em non-minimal} models of gauge mediation -- then multi-TeV (top and other) squarks can be natural. Specific models of gauge mediation which incorporate these ideas and thus have squarks (and in some cases, the gluino) heavier than a TeV without resulting in fine-tuning are also studied and their collider signals are contrasted with those of other models which have multi-TeV squarks.Comment: LaTeX, 29 pages, 9 eps figures. Replacing an earlier version. In version 3, some references and a minor comment have been added and typos have been correcte

Dynamically Warped Theory Space and Collective Supersymmetry Breaking

We study deconstructed gauge theories in which a warp factor emerges dynamically and naturally. We present nonsupersymmetric models in which the potential for the link fields has translational invariance, broken only by boundary effects that trigger an exponential profile of vacuum expectation values. The spectrum of physical states deviates exponentially from that of the continuum for large masses; we discuss the effects of such exponential towers on gauge coupling unification. We also present a supersymmetric example in which a warp factor is driven by Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. The model is peculiar in that it possesses a global supersymmetry that remains unbroken despite nonvanishing D-terms. Inclusion of gravity and/or additional messenger fields leads to the collective breaking of supersymmetry and to unusual phenomenology.Comment: 28 pages LaTeX, JHEP format, 7 eps figures (v2: reference added

Young star clusters in M31

In our study of M31's globular cluster system with MMT/Hectospec, we have obtained high-quality spectra of 85 clusters with ages less than 1 Gyr. With the exception of Hubble V, the young cluster in NGC 205, we find that these young clusters have kinematics and spatial distribution consistent with membership in M31's young disk. Preliminary estimates of the cluster masses and structural parameters, using spectroscopically derived ages and HST imaging, confirms earlier suggestions that M31 has clusters similar to the LMC's young populous clusters.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, contributed talk at "Galaxies in the Local Volume" conference in Sydney, July 200

Mounding Instability and Incoherent Surface Kinetics

Mounding instability in a conserved growth from vapor is analysed within the framework of adatom kinetics on the growing surface. The analysis shows that depending on the local structure on the surface, kinetics of adatoms may vary, leading to disjoint regions in the sense of a continuum description. This is manifested particularly under the conditions of instability. Mounds grow on these disjoint regions and their lateral growth is governed by the flux of adatoms hopping across the steps in the downward direction. Asymptotically ln(t) dependence is expected in 1+1- dimensions. Simulation results confirm the prediction. Growth in 2+1- dimensions is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Motivation as a predictor of outcomes in school-based humanistic counselling

Recent years have seen a growth in the provision of counselling within UK secondary schools, and research indicates that it is associated with significant reductions in psychological distress. However, little is known about the moderators and mediators of positive therapeutic benefit. In the field of adult mental health, motivation has been found to be one of the strongest predictors of therapeutic outcomes, and it was hypothesised that this may also be a predictor of outcomes for young people in school-based counselling services. To assess the relationship between young people’s motivation for counselling and its effectiveness within a secondary school setting. Eighty-one young people (12 - 17 years old) who attended school-based humanistic counselling services in Scotland. Clients completed a measure of motivation for counselling at the commencement of their therapeutic work and a measure of psychological wellbeing at the commencement and termination of counselling. Motivation for counselling was not found to be significantly related to outcomes. The results indicate that the association between motivation and outcomes may be weaker in young people as compared with adults. However, a number of design factors may also account for the non-significant findings: insufficient participants, marginal reliability of the motivation measure and social desirability effects