4,266 research outputs found
ZRT1 harbors an excess of nonsynonymous polymorphism and shows evidence of balancing selection in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Estimates of the fraction of nucleotide substitutions driven by positive
selection vary widely across different species. Accounting for different
estimates of positive selection has been difficult, in part because selection
on polymorphism within a species is known to obscure a signal of positive
selection between species. While methods have been developed to control for the
confounding effects of negative selection against deleterious polymorphism, the
impact of balancing selection on estimates of positive selection has not been
assessed. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there is no signal of positive selection
within protein coding sequences as the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous
polymorphism is higher than that of divergence. To investigate the impact of
balancing selection on estimates of positive selection we examined five genes
with high rates of nonsynonymous polymorphism in S. cerevisiae relative to
divergence from S. paradoxus. One of the genes, a high affinity zinc
transporter ZRT1, shows an elevated rate of synonymous polymorphism indicative
of balancing selection. The high rate of synonymous polymorphism coincides with
nonsynonymous divergence between three haplotype groups, which we find to be
functionally indistinguishable. We conclude that balancing selection is not
likely to be a common cause of genes harboring a large excess of nonsynonymous
polymorphism in yeast
Entropy of generic quantum isolated horizons
We review our recent proposal of a method to extend the quantization of
spherically symmetric isolated horizons, a seminal result of loop quantum
gravity, to a phase space containing horizons of arbitrary geometry. Although
the details of the quantization remain formally unchanged, the physical
interpretation of the results can be quite different. We highlight several such
differences, with particular emphasis on the physical interpretation of black
hole entropy in loop quantum gravity.Comment: 4 pages, contribution to loops '11 conference proceedings; 2
references added, a sentence remove
Coherent states, constraint classes, and area operators in the new spin-foam models
Recently, two new spin-foam models have appeared in the literature, both
motivated by a desire to modify the Barrett-Crane model in such a way that the
imposition of certain second class constraints, called cross-simplicity
constraints, are weakened. We refer to these two models as the FKLS model, and
the flipped model. Both of these models are based on a reformulation of the
cross-simplicity constraints. This paper has two main parts. First, we clarify
the structure of the reformulated cross-simplicity constraints and the nature
of their quantum imposition in the new models. In particular we show that in
the FKLS model, quantum cross-simplicity implies no restriction on states. The
deeper reason for this is that, with the symplectic structure relevant for
FKLS, the reformulated cross-simplicity constraints, in a certain relevant
sense, are now \emph{first class}, and this causes the coherent state method of
imposing the constraints, key in the FKLS model, to fail to give any
restriction on states. Nevertheless, the cross-simplicity can still be seen as
implemented via suppression of intertwiner degrees of freedom in the dynamical
propagation. In the second part of the paper, we investigate area spectra in
the models. The results of these two investigations will highlight how, in the
flipped model, the Hilbert space of states, as well as the spectra of area
operators exactly match those of loop quantum gravity, whereas in the FKLS (and
Barrett-Crane) models, the boundary Hilbert spaces and area spectra are
different.Comment: 21 pages; statements about gamma limits made more precise, and minor
phrasing change
The kernel and the injectivity of the EPRL map
In this paper we prove injectivity of the EPRL map for |\gamma|<1, filling
the gap of our previous paper.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Crystalline cataract caused by a heterozygous missense mutation in ÎłD-crystallin (CRYGD)
Purpose: To describe phenotypic characteristics of two pedigrees manifesting early onset crystalline cataract with mutations in the γD-crystallin gene (CRYGD). Methods: A detailed medical history was obtained from two Caucasian pedigrees manifesting autosomal dominant congenital cataracts. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva (DNA Genotek). Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) based genome analysis of the larger pedigree revealed linkage to an 8.2 MB region on chromosome 2q33-q35 which encompassed the crystallin-gamma gene cluster (CRYG). Exons and flanking introns of CRYGA, CRYGB, CRYGC and CRYGD were amplified and sequenced to identify disease-causing mutations. Results: A morphologically unique cataract with extensive refractile “crystals ” scattered throughout the nucleus and perinuclear cortex was found in the probands from both pedigrees. A heterozygous C→A mutation was identified at position 109 of the coding sequence (R36S of the processed protein) in exon 2 of CRYGD and this missense mutation was found to cosegregate with the disease in the larger family; this mutation was then identified in affected individuals of pedigree 2 as well. Conclusions: The heterozygous 109C→A CRYGD missense mutation is associated with a distinct crystalline cataract in two US Caucasian pedigrees. This confirms crystalline cataract formation with this mutation, as previously reported in sporadic childhood case from the Czech Republic and in members of a Chinese family
Bistatic Radar System Using Satellite-Based Transmitters with Ionospheric Compensation
A system for the passive location of non-cooperating vehicles using satellite-based transmitters with ionospheric compenÂsation. The system is a light-weight, low-cost, portable, and field-deployable station to supplement deficiencies in the National Airspace System (NAS) and homeland security surÂveillance networks. The system accommodates observation modes having long integration times that potentially are greater than one second. The system utilizes satellite-based transmitters as illuminators. The passive system measures two radio waves ( e.g., a direct path and an illumination plus reflection path), and applies time-difference techniques that can compensate for the ionosphere since the ionospheric delay is applied to both signals. This also has the advantage of compensating for other uncertainties such as exist in the position of the satellite
Politics and the resilience of ecosystem services
© Cambridge University Press 2015Decisions around which ecosystem services are the focus for resilience-building initiatives, and ensuring that these choices do not lead to undesirable lock-in effects that compromise the possibility for future adaptation and change, are far from ..
Holomorphic Factorization for a Quantum Tetrahedron
We provide a holomorphic description of the Hilbert space H(j_1,..,j_n) of
SU(2)-invariant tensors (intertwiners) and establish a holomorphically
factorized formula for the decomposition of identity in H(j_1,..,j_n).
Interestingly, the integration kernel that appears in the decomposition formula
turns out to be the n-point function of bulk/boundary dualities of string
theory. Our results provide a new interpretation for this quantity as being, in
the limit of large conformal dimensions, the exponential of the Kahler
potential of the symplectic manifold whose quantization gives H(j_1,..,j_n).
For the case n=4, the symplectic manifold in question has the interpretation of
the space of "shapes" of a geometric tetrahedron with fixed face areas, and our
results provide a description for the quantum tetrahedron in terms of
holomorphic coherent states. We describe how the holomorphic intertwiners are
related to the usual real ones by computing their overlap. The semi-classical
analysis of these overlap coefficients in the case of large spins allows us to
obtain an explicit relation between the real and holomorphic description of the
space of shapes of the tetrahedron. Our results are of direct relevance for the
subjects of loop quantum gravity and spin foams, but also add an interesting
new twist to the story of the bulk/boundary correspondence.Comment: 45 pages; published versio
Physical boundary state for the quantum tetrahedron
We consider stability under evolution as a criterion to select a physical
boundary state for the spinfoam formalism. As an example, we apply it to the
simplest spinfoam defined by a single quantum tetrahedron and solve the
associated eigenvalue problem at leading order in the large spin limit. We show
that this fixes uniquely the free parameters entering the boundary state.
Remarkably, the state obtained this way gives a correlation between edges which
runs at leading order with the inverse distance between the edges, in agreement
with the linearized continuum theory. Finally, we give an argument why this
correlator represents the propagation of a pure gauge, consistently with the
absence of physical degrees of freedom in 3d general relativity.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
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