5,937 research outputs found
The iron binding-sites of chicken ovotransferrin
We have shown previously that the EXAFS spectrum of diferric chicken ovotransferrin (Fe2COT) can only be adequately simulated assuming a split first shell co-ordination [1]. EXAFS and XANES spectra of Fe2COT measured in solution and as a freeze-dried powder provide evidence for perturbation of the iron-binding sites on freeze-drying which involves the loss of one of the long (~2.04 Ă
) first shell ligands (presumably water). Measurement of the XANES of the C-terminal monoferric COT and a C-terminal domain fragment suggests that the metal binding site remains largely unperturbed by the fragmentation process. The possibility of site interaction is briefly discussed.We gratefully acknowledge the SERC for financial support and provision of facilities
The interferon-stimulated gene IFITM3 restricts West Nile virus infection and pathogenesis
The interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM) family of proteins inhibit infection of several different enveloped viruses in cell culture by virtue of their ability to restrict entry and fusion from late endosomes. As few studies have evaluated the importance of Ifitm3 in vivo in restricting viral pathogenesis, we investigated its significance as an antiviral gene against West Nile virus (WNV), an encephalitic flavivirus, in cells and mice. Ifitm3(â/â) mice were more vulnerable to lethal WNV infection, and this was associated with greater virus accumulation in peripheral organs and central nervous system tissues. As no difference in viral burden in the brain or spinal cord was observed after direct intracranial inoculation, Ifitm3 likely functions as an antiviral protein in nonneuronal cells. Consistent with this, Ifitm3(â/â) fibroblasts but not dendritic cells resulted in higher yields of WNV in multistep growth analyses. Moreover, transcomplementation experiments showed that Ifitm3 inhibited WNV infection independently of Ifitm1, Ifitm2, Ifitm5, and Ifitm6. Beyond a direct effect on viral infection in cells, analysis of the immune response in WNV-infected Ifitm3(â/â) mice showed decreases in the total number of B cells, CD4(+) T cells, and antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells. Finally, bone marrow chimera experiments demonstrated that Ifitm3 functioned in both radioresistant and radiosensitive cells, as higher levels of WNV were observed in the brain only when Ifitm3 was absent from both compartments. Our analyses suggest that Ifitm3 restricts WNV pathogenesis likely through multiple mechanisms, including the direct control of infection in subsets of cells. IMPORTANCE As part of the mammalian host response to viral infections, hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) are induced. The inhibitory activity of individual ISGs varies depending on the specific cell type and viral pathogen. Among ISGs, the genes encoding interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM) have been reported to inhibit multiple families of viruses in cell culture. However, few reports have evaluated the impact of IFITM genes on viral pathogenesis in vivo. In this study, we characterized the antiviral activity of Ifitm3 against West Nile virus (WNV), an encephalitic flavivirus, using mice with a targeted gene deletion of Ifitm3. Based on extensive virological and immunological analyses, we determined that Ifitm3 protects mice from WNV-induced mortality by restricting virus accumulation in peripheral organs and, subsequently, in central nervous system tissues. Our data suggest that Ifitm3 restricts WNV pathogenesis by multiple mechanisms and functions in part by controlling infection in different cell types
Emergent Quantum Near-Criticality from Baryonic Black Branes
We find new black 3-brane solutions describing the "conifold gauge theory" at
nonzero temperature and baryonic chemical potential. Of particular interest is
the low-temperature limit where we find a new kind of weakly curved
near-horizon geometry; it is a warped product AdS_2 x R^3 x T^{1,1} with warp
factors that are powers of the logarithm of the AdS radius. Thus, our solution
encodes a new type of emergent quantum near-criticality. We carry out some
stability checks for our solutions. We also set up a consistent ansatz for
baryonic black 2-branes of M-theory that are asymptotic to AdS_4 x Q^{1,1,1}.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures; v2 discussion of entropy revised, minor changes;
v3 note added, minor improvements, version published in JHE
Chiral phase transitions and quantum critical points of the D3/D7(D5) system with mutually perpendicular E and B fields at finite temperature and density
We study chiral symmetry restoration with increasing temperature and density
in gauge theories subject to mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic
fields using holography. We determine the chiral symmetry breaking phase
structure of the D3/D7 and D3/D5 systems in the temperature-density-electric
field directions. A magnetic field may break the chiral symmetry and an
additional electric field induces Ohm and Hall currents as well as restoring
the chiral symmetry. At zero temperature the D3/D5 system displays a line of
holographic BKT phase transitions in the density-electric field plane, while
the D3/D7 system shows a mean-field phase transition. At intermediate
temperatures, the transitions in the density-electric field plane are of first
order at low density, transforming to second order at critical points as
density rises. At high temperature the transition is only ever first order.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, v2: Added a referenc
Holographic Superconductors
A holographic model of superconductors based on the action proposed by
Benini, Herzog, and Yarom [arXiv:1006.0731] is studied. This model has a
charged spin two field in an AdS black hole spacetime. Working in the probe
limit, the normalizable solution of the spin two field in the bulk gives rise
to a superconducting order parameter at the boundary of the AdS. We
calculate the fermion spectral function in this\ superconducting background and
confirm the existence of fermi arcs for non-vanishing Majorana couplings. By
changing the relative strength of the and condensations, the
position and the size of the fermi arcs are changed. When , the
spectrum becomes isotropic and the spectral function is s-wave like. By
changing the fermion mass, the fermi momentum is changed. We also calculate the
conductivity for these holographic superconductors where time reversal
symmetry has been broken spontaneously. A non-vanishing Hall conductivity is
obtained even without an external magnetic field.Comment: 24 pages,17 figures, Add more discussions on hall conductivity, two
new figures, Matched with published versio
Gauge gravity duality for d-wave superconductors: prospects and challenges
We write down an action for a charged, massive spin two field in a fixed
Einstein background. Despite some technical problems, we argue that in an
effective field theory framework and in the context of the AdS/CFT
correspondence, this action can be used to study the properties of a superfluid
phase transition with a d-wave order parameter in a dual strongly interacting
field theory. We investigate the phase diagram and the charge conductivity of
the superfluid phase. We also explain how possible couplings between the spin
two field and bulk fermions affect the fermion spectral function.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figure
Dynamics of Fundamental Matter in N=2* Yang-Mills Theory
We study the dynamics of quenched fundamental matter in
supersymmetric large SU(N) Yang-Mills theory at zero temperature. Our tools
for this study are probe D7-branes in the holographically dual
Pilch-Warner gravitational background. Previous work using
D3-brane probes of this geometry has shown that it captures the physics of a
special slice of the Coulomb branch moduli space of the gauge theory, where the
constituent D3-branes form a dense one dimensional locus known as the
enhancon, located deep in the infrared. Our present work shows how this physics
is supplemented by the physics of dynamical flavours, revealed by the D7-branes
embeddings we find. The Pilch-Warner background introduces new divergences into
the D7-branes free energy, which we are able to remove with a single
counterterm. We find a family of D7-brane embeddings in the geometry and
discuss their properties. We study the physics of the quark condensate,
constituent quark mass, and part of the meson spectrum. Notably, there is a
special zero mass embedding that ends on the enhancon, which shows that while
the geometry acts repulsively on the D7-branes, it does not do so in a way that
produces spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures. Corrected typos, added comment about
counterterm. To appear in JHE
Holographic DC conductivities from the open string metric
We study the DC conductivities of various holographic models using the open
string metric (OSM), which is an effective metric geometrizing density and
electromagnetic field effect. We propose a new way to compute the nonlinear
conductivity using OSM. As far as the final conductivity formula is concerned,
it is equivalent to the Karch-O'Bannon's real-action method. However, it yields
a geometrical insight and technical simplifications. Especially, a real-action
condition is interpreted as a regular geometry condition of OSM. As
applications of the OSM method, we study several holographic models on the
quantum Hall effect and strange metal. By comparing a Lifshitz background and
the Light-Cone AdS, we show how an extra parameter can change the temperature
scaling behavior of conductivity. Finally we discuss how OSM can be used to
study other transport coefficients, such as diffusion constant, and effective
temperature induced by the effective world volume horizon.Comment: 33 page
Holographic bulk viscosity: GPR vs EO
Recently Eling and Oz (EO) proposed a formula for the holographic bulk
viscosity, in arXiv:1103.1657, derived from the null horizon focusing equation.
This formula seems different from that obtained earlier by Gubser, Pufu and
Rocha (GPR) in arXiv:0806.0407 calculated from the IR limit of the two-point
function of the trace of the stress tensor. The two were shown to agree only
for some simple scaling cases. We point out that the two formulae agree in two
non-trivial holographic theories describing RG flows. The first is the strongly
coupled N=2* gauge theory plasma. The second is the semi-phenomenological model
of Improved Holographic QCD.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure
The Structure of the Non-SUSY Baryonic Branch of Klebanov-Strassler
We study the two-dimensional space of supergravity solutions corresponding to
non-supersymmetric deformations of the baryonic branch of Klebanov-Strassler.
By combining analytical methods with a numerical survey of the parameter space,
we find that this solution space includes as limits the softly-broken N=1
solutions of Gubser et al. and those of Dymarsky and Kuperstein. We also
identify a one-dimensional family of solutions corresponding to a natural
non-supersymmetric generalisation of Klebanov-Strassler, and one corresponding
to the limit in which supersymmetry is completely absent, even in the far UV.
For almost all of the parameter space we find indications that much of the
structure of the supersymmetric baryonic branch survives.Comment: 29 pages plus appendices, 11 figure
- âŠ