Draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pathovar syringae strain FF5, causal agent of stem tip dieback disease on ornamental pear.

addresses: The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom.notes: PMCID: PMC3393499types: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tFree on Open AccessPseudomonas syringae FF5 causes stem tip dieback disease on ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana). Its genome encodes a complete type III secretion system (T3SS) and HopAC1, HopM1, AvrE1, HopI1, HopAA1, HopJ1, HopAH2, HopAH1, HopAG1, and HopAZ1. Lacking detectable homologues of other T3SS effectors, it may encode novel, undiscovered effectors

Entanglement generation outside a Schwarzschild black hole and the Hawking effect

We examine the Hawking effect by studying the asymptotic entanglement of two mutually independent two-level atoms placed at a fixed radial distance outside a Schwarzschild black hole in the framework of open quantum systems. We treat the two-atom system as an open quantum system in a bath of fluctuating quantized massless scalar fields in vacuum and calculate the concurrence, a measurement of entanglement, of the equilibrium state of the system at large times, for the Unruh, Hartle-Hawking and Boulware vacua respectively. We find, for all three vacuum cases, that the atoms turn out to be entangled even if they are initially in a separable state as long as the system is not placed right at the even horizon. Remarkably, only in the Unruh vacuum, will the asymptotic entanglement be affected by the backscattering of the thermal radiation off the space-time curvature. The effect of the back scatterings on the asymptotic entanglement cancels in the Hartle-Hawking vacuum case.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, Revte

Phylogeny of Prokaryotes and Chloroplasts Revealed by a Simple Composition Approach on All Protein Sequences from Complete Genomes Without Sequence Alignment

The complete genomes of living organisms have provided much information on their phylogenetic relationships. Similarly, the complete genomes of chloroplasts have helped to resolve the evolution of this organelle in photosynthetic eukaryotes. In this paper we propose an alternative method of phylogenetic analysis using compositional statistics for all protein sequences from complete genomes. This new method is conceptually simpler than and computationally as fast as the one proposed by Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004). The same data sets used in Qi et al. (2004b) and Chu et al. (2004) are analyzed using the new method. Our distance-based phylogenic tree of the 109 prokaryotes and eukaryotes agrees with the biologists tree of life based on 16S rRNA comparison in a predominant majority of basic branching and most lower taxa. Our phylogenetic analysis also shows that the chloroplast genomes are separated to two major clades corresponding to chlorophytes s.l. and rhodophytes s.l. The interrelationships among the chloroplasts are largely in agreement with the current understanding on chloroplast evolution

Refined topological amplitudes in N=1 flux compactification

We study the implication of refined topological string amplitudes in the supersymmetric N=1 flux compactification. They generate higher derivative couplings among the vector multiplets and graviphoton with generically non-holomorphic moduli dependence. For a particular term, we can compute them by assuming the geometric engineering. We claim that the Dijkgraaf-Vafa large N matrix model with the beta-ensemble measure directly computes the higher derivative corrections to the supersymmetric effective action of the supersymmetric N=1$ gauge theory.Comment: 16 pages, v2: reference adde

Key exploited species as surrogates for coastal conservation in an oceanic archipelago: insights from topshells and limpets from Madeira (NE Atlantic Ocean)

As lapas e os caramujos estão entre os herbívoros mais bem adaptados ao intertidal do Atlântico Nordeste. Estas espécies-chave fornecem serviços ecossistémicos valiosos, desempenhando um papel fundamental no equilíbrio ecológico do intertidal e têm um elevado valor económico, estando sujeitas a altos níveis de exploração e representando uma das atividades económicas mais rentáveis na pesca de pequena escala no arquipélago da Madeira. Esta dissertação visa preencher as lacunas existentes na história de vida e dinâmica populacional destas espécies, e aferir os efeitos da regulamentação da apanha nos mananciais explorados. A abordagem conservacionista implícita ao longo desta tese pretende promover: (i) a regulamentação adequada da apanha de caramujos (Phorcus sauciatus) e (ii) a avaliação dos efeitos da regulamentação da apanha de lapas nas populações exploradas (Patella aspera, Patella candei). Atualmente, os mananciais de lapas e caramujos são explorados perto do rendimento máximo sustentável, e a monitorização e fiscalização são fundamentais para evitar a futura sobre-exploração. A regulamentação da apanha de lapas produziu um efeito positivo nas espécies de lapas exploradas, com um aumento no tamanho, na proporção de indivíduos reprodutores, no tamanho de maturação e num maior equilíbrio na proporção de sexos. A apanha de caramujos não está regulamentada e com o atual nível de exploração ocorrem alterações na estrutura de tamanhos, abundância e potencial reprodutivo das populações exploradas, pelo que urge implementar a regulamentação da apanha desta espécie, por forma a mitigar os efeitos negativos desta atividade. O efeito da proximidade das populações humanas e acessibilidade costeira na estrutura de tamanhos e abundância de gastrópodes explorados mostrou que a proporção de reprodutores e a abundância eram geralmente menores em áreas mais próximas das populações humanas e em áreas mais acessíveis. Os efeitos das Áreas Marinhas Protegidas na proteção das populações de lapas resultaram num aumento diferencial do tamanho, da maturidade sexual e da captura por unidade de esforço de acordo com o grau de proteção. O esclarecimento e envolvimento das comunidades locais, reguladores, decisores políticos e partes interessadas, baseados em informação e educação, são cruciais para uma gestão eficaz e sustentável destes gastrópodes marinhos e ecossistemas a médio e longo prazo.Limpets and topshells are among the most successful intertidal grazers in the North-eastern Atlantic. These keystone species play a pivotal role in structuring rocky shores communities, and provoding valuable ecosystem services. Than have an important economic value, being subject to high levels of exploitation and representing one of the most profitable economic activities in small-scale fisheries in the archipelago of Madeira. This thesis aims to fill the gaps on the life-traits and population dynamics of these species, and assess the effects of harvesting regulations on the exploited stocks. A focus on conservation is implicit throughout this thesis since it addresses the promotion of: (i) proper regulation of the unregulated harvesting of topshells (Phorcus sauciatus) and (ii) provide additional information on the effects of harvesting regulations on limpets (Patella aspera, Patella candei). Currently, limpets and topshells stocks are being exploited near the maximum sustainable yield and monitoring and enforcement must be accomplished to avoid future overexploitation. Conservation measures prompted a positive effect on both exploited limpet species with an increase in length, reproductive individuals, size-at-first maturity and a more balanced sex-ratio after harvesting regulations. The harvesting of topshells is not regulated and with the current level of exploitation there are changes in the size structure, abundance and reproductive potential of the exploited populations, so it is imperative to implement the harvesting regulations for this species, in order to mitigate the negative effects of harvesting. The effect of proximity to human settlements and coastal accessibility on the size-structure and abundance of exploited gastropods showed that the mean-size, proportion of reproductive individuals and abundance were generally smaller in areas closer to human settlements and in more accessible areas. The effects of protection from the Marine Protected Areas on limpet populations resulted in a differential increase on size, size-at-first maturity and catch-per-unit-effort according to the degree of protection. The understanding and commitment of local communities, regulators, policymakers and stakeholders, based on information and education are crucial to the effective management and to ensure the sustainability of these marine gastropods and ecosystems at medium and long term

What a difference a term makes:the effect of educational attainment on marital outcomes in the UK

Abstract In the past, students in England and Wales born within the first 5 monthsof the academic year could leave school one term earlier than those born later inthe year. Focusing on women, those who were required to stay on an extra termmore frequently hold some academic qualification. Using having been required tostay on as an exogenous factor affecting academic attainment, we find that holding alow-level academic qualification has no effect on the probability of being currentlymarried for women aged 25 or above, but increases the probability of the husbandholding some academic qualification and being economically active.33 Halama

Pulmonary stretch receptor activity during partial liquid ventilation in cats with healthy lungs

Aim: To study whether pulmonary stretch receptor (PSR) activity in mechanically ventilated young cats with healthy lungs during partial liquid ventilation (PLV) is different from that during gas ventilation (GV). Methods: In 10 young cats (4.4 +/- 0.4 months, 2.3 +/- 0.3 kg; mean B SD), PSR instantaneous impulse frequency (PSR f(imp)) was recorded from single fibres in the vagal nerve during GV and PLV with perfluorocarbon (30 ml/kg) at increasing positive inspiratory pressures (PIP; 1.2, 1.8, 2.2 and 2.7 kPa), and at a positive end-expiratory pressure of 0.5 kPa. Results: All PSRs studied during GV maintained their phasic character with increased impulse frequency during inspiration during PLV. Peak PSR fimp was lower at PIP 1.2 kPa (p < 0.05) and at PIP 2.7 kPa (p = 0.10) during PLV than during GV, giving a lower number of PSR impulses at these two settings during PLV (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The phasic character of PSR activity is similar during GV and PLV. PSR activity is not higher during PLV than during GV in cats with healthy lungs, indicating no extensive stretching of the lung during PLV. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Refined Cigar and Omega-deformed Conifold

Antoniadis et al proposed a relation between the Omega-deformation and refined correlation functions of the topological string theory. We investigate the proposal for the deformed conifold geometry from a non-compact Gepner model approach. The topological string theory on the deformed conifold has a dual description in terms of the c=1 non-critical string theory at the self-dual radius, and the Omega-deformation yields the radius deformation. We show that the refined correlation functions computed from the twisted SL(2,R)/U(1) Kazama-Suzuki coset model at level k=1 have direct c=1 non-critical string theory interpretations. After subtracting the leading singularity to procure the 1PI effective action, we obtain the agreement with the proposal.Comment: 15 pages, v2: reference added, v3: published versio

Can spacetime curvature induced corrections to Lamb shift be observable?

The Lamb shift results from the coupling of an atom to vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields, so corrections are expected to arise when the spacetime is curved since the vacuum fluctuations are modified by the presence of spacetime curvature. Here, we calculate the curvature-induced correction to the Lamb shift outside a spherically symmetric object and demonstrate that this correction can be remarkably significant outside a compact massive astrophysical body. For instance, for a neutron star or a stellar mass black hole, the correction is $\sim$ 25% at a radial distance of $4GM/c^2$, $\sim$ 16% at $10GM/c^2$ and as large as $\sim$ 1.6% even at $100GM/c^2$, where $M$ is the mass of the object, $G$ the Newtonian constant, and $c$ the speed of light. In principle, we can look at the spectra from a distant compact super-massive body to find such corrections. Therefore, our results suggest a possible way of detecting fundamental quantum effects in astronomical observations.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, slight title change, clarifications and more discussions added, version to be published in JHE