Tandemly repeated C-C-C-C-A-A hexanucleotide of Tetrahymena rDNA is present elsewhere in the genome and may be related to the alteration of the somatic genome.

The ribosomal RNA genes of the Tetrahymena macronucleus exist as extrachromosomal, linear molecules. The termini of these molecules have been shown to contain the tandemly repeated hexanucleotide (C-C-C-C-A-A)n. In this study the same or related sequences were found in other locations of the genome. Using the depurination method, we showed that macronuclear DNA contained this sequence even after rDNA had been removed. The sequence was found mainly in the repetitive fraction of the DNA. The presence of this sequence in both the macronucleus and the micronucleus was also shown by Southern hybridization using C-C-C-C-A-A repeat as a probe. Comparison between the hybridization patterns of macronuclei and micronuclei reveals interesting differences. Whereas the two nuclei share the same genetic origin, the majority of the restriction enzyme digestion sites flanking the C-C-C-C-A-A repeat appear to be different. Such a difference was found to be specific for this sequence, because it was not detected when other sequences were used for hybridization. These results suggest that some kind of alteration has occurred in the genome during the formation of the macronucleus, and that the C-C-C-C-A-A repeat may be related to this process

Renormalization of the three-boson system with short-range interactions revisited

We consider renormalization of the three-body scattering problem in low-energy effective field theory of self-interacting scalar particles by applying time-ordered perturbation theory to the manifestly Lorentz-invariant formulation. The obtained leading-order equation is perturbatively renormalizable and non-perturbatively finite and does not require a three-body counter term in contrast to its non-relativistic approximation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Anatomy of molecular structures in 20^{20}Ne

We present a beyond mean-field study of clusters and molecular structures in low-spin states of $^{20}$Ne with a multireference relativistic energy density functional, where the dynamical correlation effects of symmetry restoration and quadrupole-octupole shapes fluctuation are taken into account with projections on parity, particle number and angular momentum in the framework of the generator coordinate method. Both the energy spectrum and the electric multipole transition strengths for low-lying parity-doublet bands are better reproduced after taking into account the dynamical octupole vibration effect. Consistent with the finding in previous studies, a rotation-induced dissolution of the $\alpha+^{16}$O molecular structure in $^{20}$Ne is predicted.Comment: 6 pages with 6 figures, version to be published in Phys. Lett.

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN FOOD MARKETS? INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE RICE MARKET

We investigate the Philippine government's price stabilization policy for rice. Seemingly Unrelated Regressions are used to examine the effectiveness of the program at regional and national levels over a 21-year period (January 1983 to December 2003). Results of the regional analysis indicate some NFA-induced spatial and temporal differences in terms of producer prices. The NFA successfully increased producer prices in 5 of 13 regions through stock accumulation and paddy rice purchase at floor prices. NFA stock releases do not correlate strongly with retail prices at the national level, although results from the regional model indicate that NFA stock releases reduced retail prices in five regions, leading to perceptible spatial and temporal differences between regions. Although the NFA support price appears to have been moderately successful in increasing producer prices at a national level, on average, the support price led to an increase in consumer prices in ten regions and contributed little to price stabilization. Overall, therefore, our results indicate very limited success on the part of the NFA to achieve its major objectives at either regional or national level. We suggest the NFA should concentrate its resources in the poorest areas of the country, where it might exert greater and more useful influence in smaller and locally thin rice markets.Marketing,

Thermal Diffusivities of Functionalized Pentacene Semiconductors

We have measured the interlayer and in-plane (needle axis) thermal diffusivities of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn). The needle axis value is comparable to the phonon thermal conductivities of quasi-one dimensional organic metals with excellent pi-orbital overlap, and its value suggests that a significant fraction of heat is carried by optical phonons. Furthermore, the interlayer (c-axis) thermal diffusivity is at least an order of magnitude larger, and this unusual anisotropy implies very strong dispersion of optical modes in the interlayer direction, presumably due to interactions between the silyl-containing side groups. Similar values for both in-plane and interlayer diffusivities have been observed for several other functionalized pentacene semiconductors with related structures.Comment: 9 pages, including 4 figures; submitted to Applied Physics Letter

The effects of age and ganglioside composition on the rate of motor nerve terminal regeneration following antibody-mediated injury in mice

Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids highly enriched in neural plasma membranes, where they mediate a diverse range of functions and can act as targets for auto-antibodies present in human immune-mediated neuropathy sera. The ensuing autoimmune injury results in axonal and motor nerve terminal (mNT) degeneration. Both aging and ganglioside-deficiency have been linked to impaired axonal regeneration. To assess the effects of age and ganglioside expression on mNT regeneration in an autoimmune injury paradigm, anti-ganglioside antibodies and complement were applied to young adult and aged mice wildtype (WT) mice, mice deficient in either b- and c-series (GD3sKO) or mice deficient in all complex gangliosides (GM2sKO). The extent of mNT injury and regeneration was assessed immediately or after 5 days, respectively. Depending on ganglioside expression and antibody-specificity, either a selective mNT injury or a combined injury of mNTs and neuromuscular glial cells was elicited. Immediately after induction of the injury, between 1.5% and 11.8% of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in the young adult groups exhibited healthy mNTs. Five days later, most NMJs, regardless of age and strain, had recovered their mNTs. No significant differences could be observed between young and aged WT and GM2sKO mice; aged GD3sKO showed a mildly impaired rate of mNT regeneration when compared with their younger counterparts. Comparable rates were observed between all strains in the young and the aged mice. In summary, the rate of mNT regeneration following anti-ganglioside antibody and complement-mediated injury does not differ majorly between young adult and aged mice irrespective of the expression of particular gangliosides

Incompatibility of modulated checkerboard patterns with the neutron scattering resonance peak in cuprate superconductors

Checkerboard patterns have been proposed in order to explain STM experiments on the cuprates BSCCO and Na-CCOC. However the presence of these patterns has not been confirmed by a bulk probe such as neutron scattering. In particular, simple checkerboard patterns are inconsistent with neutron scattering data, in that they have low energy incommsensurate (IC) spin peaks rotated 45 degrees from the direction of the charge IC peaks. However, it is unclear whether other checkerboard patterns can solve the problem. In this paper, we have studied more complicated checkerboard patterns ("modulated checkerboards") by using spin wave theory and analyzed noncollinear checkerboards as well. We find that the high energy response of the modulated checkerboards is inconsistent with neutron scattering results, since they fail to exhibit a resonance peak at (pi,pi), which has recently been shown to be a universal feature of cuprate superconductors. We further argue that the newly proposed noncollinear checkerboard also lacks a resonance peak. We thus conclude that to date no checkerboard pattern has been proposed which satisfies both the low energy constraints and the high energy constraints imposed by the current body of experimental data in cuprate superconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Fig.2 update

Properties of a two orbital model for oxypnictide superconductors: Magnetic order, B_2g spin-singlet pairing channel, and its nodal structure

A two orbital model for the new Fe-based superconductors is studied using the Lanczos method as well as pairing mean-field approximations. Our main goals are (i) to provide a comprehensive analysis of this model using numerical techniques with focus on half-filling and on the state with two more electrons than half-filling and (ii) to investigate the nodal structure of the mean-field superconducting state and compare the results with angle-resolved photoemission data. In particular, we provide evidence that at half-filling spin 'stripes', as observed experimentally, dominate over competing states. Depending on parameters, the state with two more electrons added to half filling is either triplet or singlet. Since experiments suggest spin singlet pairs, our focus is on this state. Under rotation, it transforms as the B_2g representation of the D_4h group. We also show that the s+/- pairing operator transforms as A_1g and becomes dominant only in an unphysical regime of the model where the undoped state is an insulator. For robust values of the effective electronic attraction producing the Cooper pairs, assumption compatible with recent angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) results that suggesting small Cooper-pair size, the nodes of the two-orbital model are found to be located only at the electron pockets. Since recent ARPES efforts have searched for nodes at the hole pockets or only in a few directions at the electron pockets, our results for the nodal distribution may help to guide future experiments. More in general, the investigations reported here aim to establish several of the properties of the two orbital model. Only a detailed comparison with experiments will clarify how far this simple model present a valid description of the Fe pnictides

The Electric Double Layer Structure Around Charged Spherical Interfaces

We derive a formally simple approximate analytical solution to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for the spherical system via a geometric mapping. Its regime of applicability in the parameter space of the spherical radius and the surface potential is determined, and its superiority over the linearized solution is demonstrated.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Partition function of the eight-vertex model with domain wall boundary condition

We derive the recursive relations of the partition function for the eight-vertex model on an $N\times N$ square lattice with domain wall boundary condition. Solving the recursive relations, we obtain the explicit expression of the domain wall partition function of the model. In the trigonometric/rational limit, our results recover the corresponding ones for the six-vertex model.Comment: Latex file, 20 pages; V2, references adde