1,410 research outputs found
Enhanced roughness of lipid membranes caused by external electric fields
The behavior of lipid membranes in the presence of an external electric field
is studied and used to examine the influence of such fields on membrane
parameters such as roughness and show that for a micro sized membrane,
roughness grows as the field increases. The dependence of bending rigidity on
the electric field is also studied and an estimation of thickness of the
accumulated charges around lipid membranes in a free-salt solution is
presented.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Computational Materials Scienc
Diagonal deformations of thin center vortices and their stability in Yang-Mills theories
The importance of center vortices for the understanding of the confining
properties of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories is well established in the lattice.
However, in the continuum, there is a problem concerning the relevance of
center vortex backgrounds. They display the so called Savvidy-Nielsen-Olesen
instability, associated with a gyromagnetic ratio for the
off-diagonal gluons.
In this work, we initially consider the usual definition of a {\it thin}
center vortex and rewrite it in terms of a local color frame in SU(N)
Yang-Mills theories. Then, we define a thick center vortex as a diagonal
deformation of the thin object. Besides the usual thick background profile,
this deformation also contains a frame defect coupled with gyromagnetic ratio
, originated from the charged sector. As a consequence, the
analysis of stability is modified. In particular, we point out that the defect
should stabilize a vortex configuration formed by a pair of straight components
separated by an appropriate finite distance.Comment: 20 pages, LaTe
Renormalisation of heavy-light light ray operators
We calculate the renormalisation of different light ray operators with one
light degree of freedom and a static heavy quark. Both - and
-kernels are considered. A comparison with the light-light case suggests
that the mixing with three-particle operators is solely governed by the light
degrees of freedom. Additionally we show that conformal symmetry is already
broken at the level of the one loop counterterms due to the additional
UV-renormalisation of a cusp in the two contributing Wilson-lines. This general
feature can be used to fix the -renormalisation kernels up to a
constant. Some examples for applications of our results are given.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures; v2: changed some wording, added a few references
and one appendix concerning some subtleties related to gauge fixing and ghost
terms; v3: clarified calculation in section 3.2., added an explicit
calculation in section 5.2, corrected a few typos and one figure, added a few
comments, results unchanged, except for typesetting matches version to appear
in JHE
Thallium isotopes reveal protracted anoxia during the Toarcian (Early Jurassic) associated with volcanism, carbon burial, and mass extinction
For this study, we generated thallium (Tl) isotope records from two anoxic basins to track the earliest changes in global bottom water oxygen contents over the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (TOAE; ∼183 Ma) of the Early Jurassic. The T-OAE, like other Mesozoic OAEs, has been interpreted as an expansion of marine oxygen depletion based on indirect methods such as organic-rich facies, carbon isotope excursions, and biological turnover. Our Tl isotope data, however, reveal explicit evidence for earlier global marine deoxygenation of ocean water, some 600 ka before the classically defined T-OAE. This antecedent deoxygenation occurs at the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary and is coeval with the onset of initial large igneous province (LIP) volcanism and the initiation of a marine mass extinction. Thallium isotopes are also perturbed during the T-OAE interval, as defined by carbon isotopes, reflecting a second deoxygenation event that coincides with the acme of elevated marine mass extinctions and the main phase of LIP volcanism. This suggests that the duration of widespread anoxic bottom waters was at least 1 million years in duration and spanned early to middle Toarcian time. Thus, the Tl data reveal a more nuanced record of marine oxygen depletion and its links to biological change during a period of climatic warming in Earth’s past and highlight the role of oxygen depletion on past biological evolution
The Regge Limit for Green Functions in Conformal Field Theory
We define a Regge limit for off-shell Green functions in quantum field
theory, and study it in the particular case of conformal field theories (CFT).
Our limit differs from that defined in arXiv:0801.3002, the latter being only a
particular corner of the Regge regime. By studying the limit for free CFTs, we
are able to reproduce the Low-Nussinov, BFKL approach to the pomeron at weak
coupling. The dominance of Feynman graphs where only two high momentum lines
are exchanged in the t-channel, follows simply from the free field analysis. We
can then define the BFKL kernel in terms of the two point function of a simple
light-like bilocal operator. We also include a brief discussion of the gravity
dual predictions for the Regge limit at strong coupling.Comment: 23 pages 2 figures, v2: Clarification of relation of the Regge limit
defined here and previous work in CFT. Clarification of causal orderings in
the limit. References adde
Identification of Membrane Proteins in the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus Furiosus Using Proteomics and Prediction Programs
Cell-free extracts from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus were
separated into membrane and cytoplasmic fractions and each was analyzed by 2D-gel
electrophoresis. A total of 66 proteins were identified, 32 in the membrane fraction and 34
in the cytoplasmic fraction. Six prediction programs were used to predict the subcellular
locations of these proteins. Three were based on signal-peptides (SignalP, TargetP, and
SOSUISignal) and three on transmembrane-spanning α-helices (TSEG, SOSUI, and
PRED-TMR2). A consensus of the six programs predicted that 23 of the 32 proteins
(72%) from the membrane fraction should be in the membrane and that all of the proteins
from the cytoplasmic fraction should be in the cytoplasm. Two membrane-associated
proteins predicted to be cytoplasmic by the programs are also predicted to consist
primarily of transmembrane-spanning β-sheets using porin protein models, suggesting that
they are, in fact, membrane components. An ATPase subunit homolog found in the
membrane fraction, although predicted to be cytoplasmic, is most likely complexed with
other ATPase subunits in the membrane fraction. An additional three proteins predicted to
be cytoplasmic but found in the membrane fraction, may be cytoplasmic contaminants.
These include a chaperone homolog that may have attached to denatured membrane
proteins during cell fractionation. Omitting these three proteins would boost the
membrane-protein predictability of the models to near 80%. A consensus prediction using
all six programs for all 2242 ORFs in the P. furiosus genome estimates that 24% of the
ORF products are found in the membrane. However, this is likely to be a minimum value
due to the programs’ inability to recognize certain membrane-related proteins, such as
subunits associated with membrane complexes and porin-type proteins
Patterns of Early Gut Colonization Shape Future Immune Responses of the Host
The most important trigger for immune system development is the exposure to microbial components immediately after birth. Moreover, targeted manipulation of the microbiota can be used to change host susceptibility to immune-mediated diseases. Our aim was to analyze how differences in early gut colonization patterns change the composition of the resident microbiota and future immune system reactivity. Germ-free (GF) mice were either inoculated by single oral gavage of caecal content or let colonized by co-housing with specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice at different time points in the postnatal period. The microbiota composition was analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for 16S rRNA gene followed by principal component analysis. Furthermore, immune functions and cytokine concentrations were analyzed using flow cytometry, ELISA or multiplex bead assay. We found that a single oral inoculation of GF mice at three weeks of age permanently changed the gut microbiota composition, which was not possible to achieve at one week of age. Interestingly, the ex-GF mice inoculated at three weeks of age were also the only mice with an increased pro-inflammatory immune response. In contrast, the composition of the gut microbiota of ex-GF mice that were co-housed with SPF mice at different time points was similar to the gut microbiota in the barrier maintained SPF mice. The existence of a short GF postnatal period permanently changed levels of systemic regulatory T cells, NK and NKT cells, and cytokine production. In conclusion, a time window exists that enables the artificial colonization of GF mice by a single oral dose of caecal content, which may modify the future immune phenotype of the host. Moreover, delayed microbial colonization of the gut causes permanent changes in the immune system
Planck 2013 results. XXII. Constraints on inflation
We analyse the implications of the Planck data for cosmic inflation. The Planck nominal mission temperature anisotropy measurements, combined with the WMAP large-angle polarization, constrain the scalar spectral index to be ns = 0:9603 _ 0:0073, ruling out exact scale invariance at over 5_: Planck establishes an upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r < 0:11 (95% CL). The Planck data thus shrink the space of allowed standard inflationary models, preferring potentials with V00 < 0. Exponential potential models, the simplest hybrid inflationary models, and monomial potential models of degree n _ 2 do not provide a good fit to the data. Planck does not find statistically significant running of the scalar spectral index, obtaining dns=dln k = 0:0134 _ 0:0090. We verify these conclusions through a numerical analysis, which makes no slowroll approximation, and carry out a Bayesian parameter estimation and model-selection analysis for a number of inflationary models including monomial, natural, and hilltop potentials. For each model, we present the Planck constraints on the parameters of the potential and explore several possibilities for the post-inflationary entropy generation epoch, thus obtaining nontrivial data-driven constraints. We also present a direct reconstruction of the observable range of the inflaton potential. Unless a quartic term is allowed in the potential, we find results consistent with second-order slow-roll predictions. We also investigate whether the primordial power spectrum contains any features. We find that models with a parameterized oscillatory feature improve the fit by __2 e_ _ 10; however, Bayesian evidence does not prefer these models. We constrain several single-field inflation models with generalized Lagrangians by combining power spectrum data with Planck bounds on fNL. Planck constrains with unprecedented accuracy the amplitude and possible correlation (with the adiabatic mode) of non-decaying isocurvature fluctuations. The fractional primordial contributions of cold dark matter (CDM) isocurvature modes of the types expected in the curvaton and axion scenarios have upper bounds of 0.25% and 3.9% (95% CL), respectively. In models with arbitrarily correlated CDM or neutrino isocurvature modes, an anticorrelated isocurvature component can improve the _2 e_ by approximately 4 as a result of slightly lowering the theoretical prediction for the ` <_ 40 multipoles relative to the higher multipoles. Nonetheless, the data are consistent with adiabatic initial conditions
Evidence for Impaired CARD15 Signalling in Crohn's Disease without Disease Linked Variants
BACKGROUND:Sensing of muramyl dipeptide (MDP) is impaired in Crohn's disease (CD) patients with disease-linked variants of the CARD15 (caspase activation and recruitment domain 15) gene. Animal studies suggest that normal CARD15 signalling prevents inflammatory bowel disease, and may be important for disease development in CD. However, only a small fraction of CD patients carry the disease linked CARD15 variants. The aim of this study was thus to investigate if changes could be found in CARD15 signalling in patients without disease associated CARD15 variants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:By mapping the response to MDP in peripheral monocytes obtained from CD patients in remission not receiving immunosuppresives, an impaired response to MDP was found in patients without disease linked CARD15 variants compared to control monocytes. This impairment was accompanied by a decreased activation of IkappaB kinase alpha/beta (IKKalpha/beta), the initial step in the nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) pathway, whereas activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP)-kinases was unaffected. MDP additionally stimulates the inflammasome which is of importance for processing of cytokines. The inflammasome was constitutively activated in CD, but unresponsive to MDP both in CD and control monocytes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:These results suggest that inhibited MDP-dependent pathways in CD patients not carrying the disease-associated CARD15 variants might be of importance for the pathogenesis of CD. The results reveal a dysfunctional immune response in CD patients, not able to sense relevant stimuli on the one hand, and on the other hand possessing constitutively active cytokine processing
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