Post-transcriptional regulation of the steady-state levels of mitochondrial tRNAs in HeLa cells

In human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the tRNA genes are located in three different transcription units that are transcribed at three different rates. To analyze the regulation of tRNA formation by the three transcription units, we have examined the steady-state levels and metabolic properties of the tRNAs of HeLa cell mitochondria. DNA excess hybridization experiments utilizing separated strands of mtDNA and purified tRNA samples from exponential cells long term labeled with [32P]orthophosphate have revealed a steady-state level of 6 x 10(5) tRNA molecules/cell, with three-fourths being encoded in the H-strand and one-fourth in the L-strand. Hybridization of the tRNAs with a panel of M13 clones of human mtDNA containing, in most cases, single tRNA genes and a quantitation of two-dimensional electrophoretic fractionations of the tRNAs have shown that the steady-state levels of tRNA(Phe) and tRNA(Val) are two to three times higher than the average level of the other H-strand-encoded tRNAs and three to four times higher than the average level of the L-strand-encoded tRNAs. Similar experiments carried out with tRNAs isolated from cells labeled with very short pulses of [5-3H]uridine have indicated that the rates of formation of the individual tRNA species are proportional to their steady-state amounts. Therefore, the approximately 25-fold higher rate of transcription of the tRNA(Phe) and tRNA(Val) genes relative to the other H-strand tRNA genes and the 10-16-fold higher rate of transcription of the L-strand tRNA genes relative to the H-strand tRNA genes are not reflected in the steady-state levels or the rates of formation of the corresponding tRNAs. A comparison of the steady-state levels of the individual tRNAs with the corresponding codon usage for protein synthesis, as determined from the DNA sequence and the rates of synthesis of the various polypeptides, has not revealed any significant correlation between the two parameters

Weierstrass's criterion and compact solitary waves

Weierstrass's theory is a standard qualitative tool for single degree of freedom equations, used in classical mechanics and in many textbooks. In this Brief Report we show how a simple generalization of this tool makes it possible to identify some differential equations for which compact and even semicompact traveling solitary waves exist. In the framework of continuum mechanics, these differential equations correspond to bulk shear waves for a special class of constitutive laws.Comment: 4 page

Effective thermal dynamics following a quantum quench in a spin chain

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the Quantum Ising Model following an abrupt quench of the transverse field. We focus on the on-site autocorrelation function of the order parameter, and extract the phase coherence time $\tau^{\phi}_Q$ from its asymptotic behavior. We show that the initial state determines $\tau^{\phi}_Q$ only through an effective temperature set by its energy and the final Hamiltonian. Moreover, we observe that the dependence of $\tau^{\phi}_Q$ on the effective temperature fairly agrees with that obtained in thermal equilibrium as a function of the equilibrium temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Published versio

Kinetics of self-induced aggregation in Brownian particles

We study a model of interacting random walkers that proposes a simple mechanism for the emergence of cooperation in group of individuals. Each individual, represented by a Brownian particle, experiences an interaction produced by the local unbalance in the spatial distribution of the other individuals. This interaction results in a nonlinear velocity driving the particle trajectories in the direction of the nearest more crowded regions; the competition among different aggregating centers generates nontrivial dynamical regimes. Our simulations show that for sufficiently low randomness, the system evolves through a coalescence behavior characterized by clusters of particles growing with a power law in time. In addition, the typical scaling properties of the general theory of stochastic aggregation processes are verified.Comment: RevTeX, 9 pages, 9 eps-figure

Theory of the Quantum Speed Up

Insofar as quantum computation is faster than classical, it appears to be irreversible. In all quantum algorithms found so far the speed-up depends on the extra-dynamical irreversible projection representing quantum measurement. Quantum measurement performs a computation that dynamical computation cannot accomplish as efficiently.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex, 1 page of 3 figure

Well-posedness for a monotone solver for traffic junctions

In this paper we aim at proving well-posedness of solutions obtained as vanishing viscosity limits for the Cauchy problem on a traffic junction where $m$ incoming and $n$ outgoing roads meet. The traffic on each road is governed by a scalar conservation law $\rho_{h,t} + f_h(\rho_h)_x = 0$, for $h\in \{1,\ldots, m+n\}$. Our proof relies upon the complete description of the set of road-wise constant solutions and its properties, which is of some interest on its own. Then we introduce a family of Kruzhkov-type adapted entropies at the junction and state a definition of admissible solution in the same spirit as in \cite{diehl, ColomboGoatinConstraint, scontrainte, AC_transmission, germes}

Quantum Fields on Noncommutative Spacetimes: Theory and Phenomenology

In the present work we review the twisted field construction of quantum field theory on noncommutative spacetimes based on twisted Poincar\'e invariance. We present the latest development in the field, in particular the notion of equivalence of such quantum field theories on a noncommutative spacetime, in this regard we work out explicitly the inequivalence between twisted quantum field theories on Moyal and Wick-Voros planes; the duality between deformations of the multiplication map on the algebra of functions on spacetime $\mathscr{F}(\mathbb{R}^4)$ and coproduct deformations of the Poincar\'e-Hopf algebra $H\mathscr{P}$ acting on~$\mathscr{F}(\mathbb{R}^4)$; the appearance of a nonassociative product on $\mathscr{F}(\mathbb{R}^4)$ when gauge fields are also included in the picture. The last part of the manuscript is dedicated to the phenomenology of noncommutative quantum field theories in the particular approach adopted in this review. CPT violating processes, modification of two-point temperature correlation function in CMB spectrum analysis and Pauli-forbidden transition in ${\rm Be}^4$ are all effects which show up in such a noncommutative setting. We review how they appear and in particular the constraint we can infer from comparison between theoretical computations and experimental bounds on such effects. The best bound we can get, coming from Borexino experiment, is $\gtrsim 10^{24}$ TeV for the energy scale of noncommutativity, which corresponds to a length scale $\lesssim 10^{-43}$ m. This bound comes from a different model of spacetime deformation more adapted to applications in atomic physics. It is thus model dependent even though similar bounds are expected for the Moyal spacetime as well as argued elsewhere

Quantum tomography of the GHZ state

We present a method of generation of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state involving type II and type I parametric downconversion, and triggering photodetectors. The state generated by the proposed experimental set-up can be reconstructed through multi-mode quantum homodyne tomography. The feasibility of the measurement is studied on the basis of Monte-Carlo simulations.Comment: Paper submitted to the proceedings of the III Adriatico Research Conference on Quantum Interferometry, ICTP, March 1-5,1999. 5 pages, 3 eps figure

Evidence from multivariate morphometric study of the quercus pubescens complex in southeast Italy

The name Quercus pubescens s.l. encompasses a complex of deciduous oak taxa with mainly southeastEuropean distribution and a large ecological niche. As the easternmost region of Italy, Apulia is rather isolated from a geographical and physiographical viewpoint and counts the highest number of oak species (10). In the taxonomic and phytosociological literature, the occurrence of several species belonging to the Quercus pubescens collective group is reported for this region. In order to verify if different sets of morphological characters are associated with different taxa, 24 populations of Quercus pubescens s.l. located in different ecological-geographical areas of Apulia were sampled. A total of 367 trees, 4254 leaves and 1120 fruits were collected and morphologically analysed. Overall, 25 morphological characters of oak leaves and fruits were statistically treated using both univariate and multivariate analysis. Nested ANOVA showed that leaves collected from a single tree exhibited a degree of morphological variability higher than that observed when comparing leaves coming from different trees of the same population and from different trees of different populations as well. Almost all the morphological characters analysed exhibited a continuous trend of variation so that none of them can be used as a character to discriminate between populations. Only leaf and fruit “size” and fruit petiole length emerged as slightly discriminating characters. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that more than one species belonging to the Quercus pubescens complex occurs in the Apulia region. Comparison between the Apulian populations and a genetically pure Q. pubescens population coming from a different area (the Molise region) strengthened the assumption as to the existence of a single species that can provisionally be classified under the name of Q. pubescens s.