514 research outputs found
New Leptoquark Mechanism of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
A new mechanism for neutrinoless double beta (\znbb) decay based on
leptoquark exchange is discussed. Due to the specific helicity structure of the
effective four-fermion interaction this contribution is strongly enhanced
compared to the well-known mass mechanism of \znbb decay. As a result the
corresponding leptoquark parameters are severely constrained from
non-observation of \znbb-decay. These constraints are more stringent than
those derived from other experiments.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, 1 figur
An algebraic approach to manifold-valued generalized functions
We discuss the nature of structure-preserving maps of varies function
algebras. In particular, we identify isomorphisms between special Colombeau
algebras on manifolds with invertible manifold-valued generalized functions in
the case of smooth parametrization. As a consequence, and to underline the
consistency and validity of this approach, we see that this generalized version
on algebra isomorphisms in turn implies the classical result on algebras of
smooth functions.Comment: 7 page
Primary cardiac ancient schwannoma
AbstractJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;125:733-
Singularly Perturbed Monotone Systems and an Application to Double Phosphorylation Cycles
The theory of monotone dynamical systems has been found very useful in the
modeling of some gene, protein, and signaling networks. In monotone systems,
every net feedback loop is positive. On the other hand, negative feedback loops
are important features of many systems, since they are required for adaptation
and precision. This paper shows that, provided that these negative loops act at
a comparatively fast time scale, the main dynamical property of (strongly)
monotone systems, convergence to steady states, is still valid. An application
is worked out to a double-phosphorylation ``futile cycle'' motif which plays a
central role in eukaryotic cell signaling.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, corrected typos, references remove
Neutrino masses from higher than d=5 effective operators
We discuss the generation of small neutrino masses from effective operators
higher than dimension five, which open new possibilities for low scale see-saw
mechanisms. In order to forbid the radiative generation of neutrino mass by
lower dimensional operators, extra fields are required, which are charged under
a new symmetry. We discuss this mechanism in the framework of a two Higgs
doublet model. We demonstrate that the tree level generation of neutrino mass
from higher dimensional operators often leads to inverse see-saw scenarios in
which small lepton number violating terms are naturally suppressed by the new
physics scale. Furthermore, we systematically discuss tree level
generalizations of the standard see-saw scenarios from higher dimensional
operators. Finally, we point out that higher dimensional operators can also be
generated at the loop level. In this case, we obtain the TeV scale as new
physics scale even with order one couplings.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Some references adde
Neutrino masses in R-parity violating supersymmetric models
We study neutrino masses and mixing in R-parity violating supersymmetric
models with generic soft supersymmetry breaking terms. Neutrinos acquire masses
from various sources: Tree level neutrino--neutralino mixing and loop effects
proportional to bilinear and/or trilinear R-parity violating parameters. Each
of these contributions is controlled by different parameters and have different
suppression or enhancement factors which we identified. Within an Abelian
horizontal symmetry framework these factors are related and specific
predictions can be made. We found that the main contributions to the neutrino
masses are from the tree level and the bilinear loops and that the observed
neutrino data can be accommodated once mild fine-tuning is allowed.Comment: 18 pages; minor typos corrected. To be published in Physical Review
Understanding and engineering beneficial plant–microbe interactions:Plant growth promotion in energy crops
Plant production systems globally must be optimized to produce stable high yields from limited land under changing and variable climates. Demands for food, animal feed, and feedstocks for bioenergy and biorefining applications, are increasing with population growth, urbanization and affluence. Low-input, sustainable, alternatives to petrochemical-derived fertilizers and pesticides are required to reduce input costs and maintain or increase yields, with potential biological solutions having an important role to play. In contrast to crops that have been bred for food, many bioenergy crops are largely undomesticated, and so there is an opportunity to harness beneficial plant–microbe relationships which may have been inadvertently lost through intensive crop breeding. Plant–microbe interactions span a wide range of relationships in which one or both of the organisms may have a beneficial, neutral or negative effect on the other partner. A relatively small number of beneficial plant–microbe interactions are well understood and already exploited; however, others remain understudied and represent an untapped reservoir for optimizing plant production. There may be near-term applications for bacterial strains as microbial biopesticides and biofertilizers to increase biomass yield from energy crops grown on land unsuitable for food production. Longer term aims involve the design of synthetic genetic circuits within and between the host and microbes to optimize plant production. A highly exciting prospect is that endosymbionts comprise a unique resource of reduced complexity microbial genomes with adaptive traits of great interest for a wide variety of applications
Phase-fluctuation induced reduction of the kinetic energy at the superconducting transition
Recent reflectivity measurements provide evidence for a "violation" of the
in-plane optical integral in the underdoped high-T_c compound
Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} up to frequencies much higher than expected by
standard BCS theory. The sum rule violation may be related to a loss of
in-plane kinetic energy at the superconducting transition. Here, we show that a
model based on phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter can
account for this change of in-plane kinetic energy at T_c. The change is due to
a transition from a phase-incoherent Cooper-pair motion in the pseudogap regime
above T_c to a phase-coherent motion at T_c.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps-figure
Reconstructing Neutrino Properties from Collider Experiments in a Higgs Triplet Neutrino Mass Model
We extend the minimal supersymmetric standard model with bilinear R-parity
violation to include a pair of Higgs triplet superfields. The neutral
components of the Higgs triplets develop small vacuum expectation values (VEVs)
quadratic in the bilinear R-parity breaking parameters. In this scheme the
atmospheric neutrino mass scale arises from bilinear R-parity breaking while
for reasonable values of parameters the solar neutrino mass scale is generated
from the small Higgs triplet VEVs. We calculate neutrino masses and mixing
angles in this model and show how the model can be tested at future colliders.
The branching ratios of the doubly charged triplet decays are related to the
solar neutrino angle via a simple formula.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures; one formula corrected, two author's names
corrected; some explanatory comments adde
The absence of ABCA1 decreases soluble ApoE levels but does not diminish amyloid deposition in two murine models of Alzheimer disease.
J Biol Chem. 2005 Dec 30;280(52):43243-56. Epub 2005 Oct 5.
The absence of ABCA1 decreases soluble ApoE levels but does not diminish amyloid deposition in two murine models of Alzheimer disease.
Hirsch-Reinshagen V, Maia LF, Burgess BL, Blain JF, Naus KE, McIsaac SA, Parkinson PF, Chan JY, Tansley GH, Hayden MR, Poirier J, Van Nostrand W, Wellington CL.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V4Z 5H5, Canada.
Abstract
ABCA1, a cholesterol transporter expressed in the brain, has been shown recently to be required to maintain normal apoE levels and lipidation in the central nervous system. In addition, ABCA1 has been reported to modulate beta-amyloid (Abeta) production in vitro. These observations raise the possibility that ABCA1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Here we report that the deficiency of ABCA1 does not affect soluble or guanidine-extractable Abeta levels in Tg-SwDI/B or amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) mice, but rather is associated with a dramatic reduction in soluble apoE levels in brain. Although this reduction in apoE was expected to reduce the amyloid burden in vivo, we observed that the parenchymal and vascular amyloid load was increased in Tg-SwDI/B animals and was not diminished in APP/PS1 mice. Furthermore, we observed an increase in the proportion of apoE retained in the insoluble fraction, particularly in the APP/PS1 model. These data suggested that ABCA1-mediated effects on apoE levels and lipidation influenced amyloidogenesis in vivo.
PMID: 16207707 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
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