Calculation of the number of partitions with constraints on the fragment size

This article introduces recursive relations allowing the calculation of the number of partitions with constraints on the minimum and/or on the maximum fragment size

Self-adjoint Time Operator is the Rule for Discrete Semibounded Hamiltonians

We prove explicitly that to every discrete, semibounded Hamiltonian with constant degeneracy and with finite sum of the squares of the reciprocal of its eigenvalues and whose eigenvectors span the entire Hilbert space there exists a characteristic self-adjoint time operator which is canonically conjugate to the Hamiltonian in a dense subspace of the Hilbert space. Moreover, we show that each characteristic time operator generates an uncountable class of self- adjoint operators canonically conjugate with the same Hamiltonian in the same dense subspace.Comment: accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London

Molecular motion in cell membranes: analytic study of fence-hindered random walks

A theoretical calculation is presented to describe the confined motion of transmembrane molecules in cell membranes. The study is analytic, based on Master equations for the probability of the molecules moving as random walkers, and leads to explicit usable solutions including expressions for the molecular mean square displacement and effective diffusion constants. One outcome is a detailed understanding of the dependence of the time variation of the mean square displacement on the initial placement of the molecule within the confined region. How to use the calculations is illustrated by extracting (confinement) compartment sizes from experimentally reported published observations from single particle tracking experiments on the diffusion of gold-tagged G-protein coupled mu-opioid receptors in the normal rat kidney cell membrane, and by further comparing the analytical results to observations on the diffusion of phospholipids, also in normal rat kidney cells.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Galactic Gamma-Ray Background Radiation from Supernova Remnants

The contribution of the Source Cosmic Rays (SCRs), confined in Supernova Remnants, to the diffuse high energy \gr emission above 1 GeV from the Galactic disk is studied. \grs produced by the SCRs have a much harder spectrum compared with those generated by the Galactic Cosmic Rays which occupy a much larger residence volume uniformly. SCRs contribute less than 10% at GeV energies and become dominant at \gr energies above 100 GeV. The contributions from $\pi^0$-decay and Inverse Compton \grs have comparable magnitude and spectral shape, whereas the Bremsstrahlung component is negligible. At TeV energies the contribution from SCRs increases the expected diffuse \gr flux almost by an order of magnitude. It is shown that for the inner Galaxy the discrepancy between the observed diffuse intensity and previous model predictions at energies above a few GeV can be attributed to the SCR contribution.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figures, to appear in Ap

The p85 regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase down-regulates IRS-1 signaling via the formation of a sequestration complex

Phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase is required for most insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1–dependent cellular responses. The p85 regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase is required to mediate the insulin-dependent recruitment of PI 3-kinase to the plasma membrane, yet mice with reduced p85 expression have increased insulin sensitivity. To further understand the role of p85, we examined IGF-1–dependent translocation of p85α by using a green fluorescence protein (GFP)–tagged p85α (EGFP–p85α). In response to IGF-1, but not to PDGF signaling, EGFP–p85α translocates to discrete foci in the cell. These foci contain the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1 adaptor molecule, and their formation requires the binding of p85 to IRS-1. Surprisingly, monomeric p85 is preferentially localized to these foci compared with the p85–p110 dimer, and these foci are not sites of phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate production. Ultrastructural analysis reveals that p85–IRS-1 foci are cytosolic protein complexes devoid of membrane. These results suggest a mechanism of signal down-regulation of IRS-1 that is mediated by monomeric p85 through the formation of a sequestration complex between p85 and IRS-1

Pion-Lambda-Sigma Coupling Extracted from Hyperonic Atoms

The latest measurements of the atomic level width in Sigma-hyperonic Pb atom offer the most accurate datum in the region of low-energy Sigma-hyperon physics. Atomic widths are due to the conversion of Sigma-nucleon into Lambda-nucleon. In high angular momentum states this conversion is dominated by the one-pion exchange. A joint analysis of the data of the scattering of negative-Sigma on proton converting into a Lambda and a neutron and of the atomic widths allows to extract a pseudovector pion-hyperon-Sigma coupling constant of 0.048 with a statistical error of +-0.005 and a systematic one of +-0.004. This corresponds to a pseudoscalar coupling constant of 13.3 with a statistical uncertainty of 1.4 and a systematic one of 1.1.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, Use of Revtex.st

Distribution and Redistribution of HIV-1 Nucleocapsid Protein in Immature, Mature, and Integrase-Inhibited Virions: a Role for Integrase in Maturation

During virion maturation, HIV-1 capsid protein assembles into a conical core containing the viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complex, thought to be composed mainly of the viral RNA and nucleocapsid protein (NC). After infection, the viral RNA is reverse transcribed into double-stranded DNA, which is then incorporated into host chromosomes by integrase (IN) catalysis. Certain IN mutations (class II) and antiviral drugs (allosteric IN inhibitors [ALLINIs]) adversely affect maturation, resulting in virions that contain “eccentric condensates,” electron-dense aggregates located outside seemingly empty capsids. Here we demonstrate that in addition to this mislocalization of electron density, a class II IN mutation and ALLINIs each increase the fraction of virions with malformed capsids (from ∼12% to ∼53%). Eccentric condensates have a high NC content, as demonstrated by “tomo-bubblegram” imaging, a novel labeling technique that exploits the susceptibility of NC to radiation damage. Tomo-bubblegrams also localized NC inside wild-type cores and lining the spherical Gag shell in immature virions. We conclude that eccentric condensates represent nonpackaged vRNPs and that either genetic or pharmacological inhibition of IN can impair vRNP incorporation into mature cores. Supplying IN in trans as part of a Vpr-IN fusion protein partially restored the formation of conical cores with internal electron density and the infectivity of a class II IN deletion mutant virus. Moreover, the ability of ALLINIs to induce eccentric condensate formation required both IN and viral RNA. Based on these observations, we propose a role for IN in initiating core morphogenesis and vRNP incorporation into the mature core during HIV-1 maturation

The Role of Demography in the Transition to Sustainable Societies

Currently, although the global population has surpassed 7.5 billion and continues to increase in about 80 million each year, attention to demography is almost absent in most of the studies and publications related to the current situation of planetary emergency and the necessary transition to sustainable societies. For this reason, our first aim in this paper has been to discuss if this current lack of attention to demography is justified or not. With this purpose, we begin considering the scientific meaning of Sustainability, in order to overlay distorted and impoverish views of this concept that may hinder our study. Then, we analyse the reasons given by experts for and against the incidence of demographic growth in the current unsustainable situation of planetary emergency. Finally, we present proposals to face the ensemble of interconnected socio-environmental problems (including demographic evolution), to make possible an appropriate transition to sustainable societies. Aunque la población mundial ha sobrepasado los 7500 millones y continúa aumentando anualmente en alrededor de 80 millones, la atención a la demografía está hoy prácticamente ausente en la mayoría de los estudios y publicaciones acerca de la actual situación de emergencia planetaria y la necesidad de una transición a sociedades sostenibles. Con el propósito de analizar si esta falta de atención a la demografía está o no justificada, en esta contribución comenzamos discutiendo el significado científico de Sostenibilidad socioambiental, para evitar concepciones distorsionadas y empobrecidas de este concepto que pueden dificultar dicho análisis. A continuación estudiaremos las razones dadas por distintos expertos a favor y en contra de la incidencia del crecimiento demográfico en la insostenible situación actual de emergencia planetaria. Finalmente presentamos propuestas para hacer frente al conjunto de problemas estrechamente interconectados - incluido el problema demográfico - que caracterizan dicha situación, para hacer así posible una adecuada transición a sociedades sostenibles

Population-based assessment of cardiovascular complications of rheumatic heart disease in Fiji: a record-linkage analysis

Objective: To determine population-based rates of nonfatal complications of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Design: Retrospective cohort study based on multiple sources of routine clinical and administrative data amalgamated by probabilistic record-linkage. Setting: Fiji, an upper-middle-income country, where most of the population has access to government-funded health care services. Participants: National cohort of 2,116 patients with clinically apparent RHD aged 5-69 years during 2008-2012. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was hospitalisation for any of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, ischaemic stroke and infective endocarditis. Secondary outcomes were first hospitalisation for each of the complications individually in the national cohort as well as in hospital (n=1300) and maternity (n=210) subsets. Information on outcomes was obtained from discharge diagnoses coded in the hospital patient information system. Population-based rates were obtained using relative survival methods with census data as the denominator. Results: Among 2,116 patients in the national cohort (median age, 23.3 years; 57.7% female), 546 (25.8%) were hospitalised for an RHD complication, a substantial proportion of all cardiovascular admissions in the country during this period in those aged 0–40 years (heart failure, 210/454, 46.2%; ischaemic stroke 31/134, 23.3%). Absolute numbers of RHD complications peaked during the third decade of life with higher population-based rates in women compared to men (incidence rate ratio 1.4, 95% CI 1.3–1.6, P<0.001). Hospitalisation for any RHD complication was associated with substantially increased risk of death (hazard ratio, 5.4, 95% CI, 3.4–8.8, P<0.001), especially after the onset of heart failure (hazard ratio, 6.6, 95% CI, 4.8–9.1, P<0.001). Conclusions: Our study defines the burden of RHD-attributable morbidity in the general population of Fiji, potentially reflecting the situation in low- and middle-income countries worldwide. Hospitalisation for an RHD complication is associated with markedly increased risk of death, re- emphasising the importance of effective early prevention