385 research outputs found
The WTO Cotton Case and US Domestic Policy
Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,
Bioinformatics Analysis of the FREM1 Gene—Evolutionary Development of the IL-1R1 Co-Receptor, TILRR
The TLRs and IL-1 receptors have evolved to coordinate the innate immune response following pathogen invasion. Receptors and signalling intermediates of these systems are generally characterised by a high level of evolutionary conservation. The recently described IL-1R1 co-receptor TILRR is a transcriptional variant of the FREM1 gene. Here we investigate whether innate co-receptor differences between teleosts and mammals extend to the expression of the TILRR isoform of FREM1. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic approaches were used to analyse the genome sequences of FREM1 from eukaryotic organisms including 37 tetrapods and five teleost fish. The TILRR consensus peptide sequence was present in the FREM1 gene of the tetrapods, but not in fish orthologs of FREM1, and neither FREM1 nor TILRR were present in invertebrates. The TILRR gene appears to have arisen via incorporation of adjacent non-coding DNA with a contiguous exonic sequence after the teleost divergence. Comparing co-receptors in other systems, points to their origin during the same stages of evolution. Our results show that modern teleost fish do not possess the IL-1RI co-receptor TILRR, but that this is maintained in tetrapods as early as amphibians. Further, they are consistent with data showing that co-receptors are recent additions to these regulatory systems and suggest this may underlie differences in innate immune responses between mammals and fish
Large-scale collective motion of RFGC galaxies in curved space-time
We consider large-scale collective motion of flat edge-on spiral galaxies
from the Revised Flat Galaxy Catalogue (RFGC) taking into account the curvature
of space-time in the Local Universe at the scale 100 Mpc/h. We analyse how the
relativistic model of collective motion should be modified to provide the best
possible values of parameters, the effects that impact these parameters and
ways to mitigate them. Evolution of galactic diameters, selection effects, and
difference between isophotal and angular diameter distances are inadequate to
explain this impact. At the same time, measurement error in HI line widths and
angular diameters can easily provide such an impact. This is illustrated in a
toy model, which allows analytical consideration, and then in the full model
using Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting velocity field is very close to
that provided by the non-relativistic model of motion. The obtained bulk flow
velocity is consistent with {\Lambda}CDM cosmology.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
Imaging Spectroscopy of a White-Light Solar Flare
We report observations of a white-light solar flare (SOL2010-06-12T00:57,
M2.0) observed by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the Solar Dynamics
Observatory (SDO) and the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager
(RHESSI). The HMI data give us the first space-based high-resolution imaging
spectroscopy of a white-light flare, including continuum, Doppler, and magnetic
signatures for the photospheric FeI line at 6173.34{\AA} and its neighboring
continuum. In the impulsive phase of the flare, a bright white-light kernel
appears in each of the two magnetic footpoints. When the flare occurred, the
spectral coverage of the HMI filtergrams (six equidistant samples spanning
\pm172m{\AA} around nominal line center) encompassed the line core and the blue
continuum sufficiently far from the core to eliminate significant Doppler
crosstalk in the latter, which is otherwise a possibility for the extreme
conditions in a white-light flare. RHESSI obtained complete hard X-ray and
\Upsilon-ray spectra (this was the first \Upsilon-ray flare of Cycle 24). The
FeI line appears to be shifted to the blue during the flare but does not go
into emission; the contrast is nearly constant across the line profile. We did
not detect a seismic wave from this event. The HMI data suggest stepwise
changes of the line-of-sight magnetic field in the white-light footpoints.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Accepted by Solar Physic
Energy Release During Slow Long Duration Flares Observed by RHESSI
Slow Long Duration Events (SLDEs) are flares characterized by long duration
of rising phase. In many such cases impulsive phase is weak with lack of
typical short-lasting pulses. Instead of that smooth, long-lasting Hard X-ray
(HXR) emission is observed. We analysed hard X-ray emission and morphology of
six selected SLDEs. In our analysis we utilized data from RHESSI and GOES
satellites. Physical parameters of HXR sources were obtained from imaging
spectroscopy and were used for the energy balance analysis. Characteristic time
of heating rate decrease, after reaching its maximum value, is very long, which
explains long rising phase of these flares.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physic
Rapid convergence of time-averaged frequency in phase synchronized systems
Numerical and experimental evidence is presented to show that many phase
synchronized systems of non-identical chaotic oscillators, where the chaotic
state is reached through a period-doubling cascade, show rapid convergence of
the time-averaged frequency. The speed of convergence toward the natural
frequency scales as the inverse of the measurement period. The results also
suggest an explanation for why such chaotic oscillators can be phase
synchronized.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure
The Evolution of Sunspot Magnetic Fields Associated with a Solar Flare
Solar flares occur due to the sudden release of energy stored in
active-region magnetic fields. To date, the pre-cursors to flaring are still
not fully understood, although there is evidence that flaring is related to
changes in the topology or complexity of an active region's magnetic field.
Here, the evolution of the magnetic field in active region NOAA 10953 was
examined using Hinode/SOT-SP data, over a period of 12 hours leading up to and
after a GOES B1.0 flare. A number of magnetic-field properties and low-order
aspects of magnetic-field topology were extracted from two flux regions that
exhibited increased Ca II H emission during the flare. Pre-flare increases in
vertical field strength, vertical current density, and inclination angle of ~
8degrees towards the vertical were observed in flux elements surrounding the
primary sunspot. The vertical field strength and current density subsequently
decreased in the post-flare state, with the inclination becoming more
horizontal by ~7degrees. This behaviour of the field vector may provide a
physical basis for future flare forecasting efforts.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Solar Physics. 16 pages, 4 figure
Effect of bilayer coupling on tunneling conductance of double-layer high T_c cuprates
Physical effects of bilayer coupling on the tunneling spectroscopy of high
T cuprates are investigated. The bilayer coupling separates the bonding
and antibonding bands and leads to a splitting of the coherence peaks in the
tunneling differential conductance. However, the coherence peak of the bonding
band is strongly suppressed and broadened by the particle-hole asymmetry in the
density of states and finite quasiparticle life-time, and is difficult to
resolve by experiments. This gives a qualitative account why the bilayer
splitting of the coherence peaks was not clearly observed in tunneling
measurements of double-layer high-T oxides.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PR
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