3,046 research outputs found
Reconstitution of T cell receptor signaling in ZAP-70-deficient cells by retroviral transduction of the ZAP-70 gene.
A variant of severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID) with a selective inability to produce CD8 single positive T cells and a signal transduction defect in peripheral CD4+ cells has recently been shown to be the result of mutations in the ZAP-70 gene. T cell receptor (TCR) signaling requires the association of the ZAP-70 protein tyrosine kinase with the TCR complex. Human T cell leukemia virus type I-transformed CD4+ T cell lines were established from ZAP-70-deficient patients and normal controls. ZAP-70 was expressed and appropriately phosphorylated in normal T cell lines after TCR engagement, but was not detected in T cell lines from ZAP-70-deficient patients. To determine whether signaling could be reconstituted, wild-type ZAP-70 was introduced into deficient cells with a ZAP-70 retroviral vector. High titer producer clones expressing ZAP-70 were generated in the Gibbon ape leukemia virus packaging line PG13. After transduction, ZAP-70 was detected at levels equivalent to those observed in normal cells, and was appropriately phosphorylated on tyrosine after receptor engagement. The kinase activity of ZAP-70 in the reconstituted cells was also appropriately upregulated by receptor aggregation. Moreover, normal and transduced cells, but not ZAP-70-deficient cells, were able to mobilize calcium after receptor ligation, indicating that proximal TCR signaling was reconstituted. These results indicate that this form of SCID may be corrected by gene therapy
Decomposition of meron configuration of SU(2) gauge field
For the meron configuration of the SU(2) gauge field in the four dimensional
Minkowskii spacetime, the decomposition into an isovector field \bn,
isoscalar fields and , and a U(1) gauge field is
attained by solving the consistency condition for \bn. The resulting \bn
turns out to possess two singular points, behave like a monopole-antimonopole
pair and reduce to the conventional hedgehog in a special case. The
field also possesses singular points, while and are regular
everywhere.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, Sec.4 rewritten. 5 refs. adde
Prenatal healthcare after sentencing reform: heterogeneous effects for prenatal healthcare access and equity
BACKGROUND: High rates of imprisonment in the U.S. have significant health, social, and economic consequences, particularly for marginalized communities. This study examines imprisonment as a contextual driver of receiving prenatal care by evaluating whether early and adequate prenatal care improved after Pennsylvaniaâs criminal sentencing reform reduced prison admissions.
METHODS: We linked individual-level birth certificate microdata on births (nâ=â999,503) in Pennsylvania (2009â2015), to monthly county-level rates of prison admissions. We apply an interrupted time series approach that contrasts post-policy changes in early and adequate prenatal care across counties where prison admissions were effectively reduced or continued to rise. We then tested whether prenatal care improvements were stronger among Black birthing people and those with lower levels of educational attainment.
RESULTS: In counties where prison admissions declined the most after the policy, early prenatal care increased from 69.0% to 73.2%, and inadequate prenatal care decreased from 18.1% to 15.9%. By comparison, improvements in early prenatal care were smaller in counties where prison admissions increased the most post-policy (73.5 to 76.4%) and there was no change to prenatal care inadequacy (14.4% pre and post). We find this pattern of improvements to be particularly strong among Black birthing people and those with lower levels of educational attainment.
CONCLUSIONS: Pennsylvaniaâs sentencing reforms were associated with small advancements in racial and socioeconomic equity in prenatal care.1(PG012452-02) - Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York; Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New YorkPublished versio
Absence of quantum-confined Stark effect in GaN quantum disks embedded in (Al,Ga)N nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy
Several of the key issues of planar (Al,Ga)N-based deep-ultraviolet light
emitting diodes could potentially be overcome by utilizing nanowire
heterostructures, exhibiting high structural perfection and improved light
extraction. Here, we study the spontaneous emission of GaN/(Al,Ga)N nanowire
ensembles grown on Si(111) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The
nanowires contain single GaN quantum disks embedded in long (Al,Ga)N nanowire
segments essential for efficient light extraction. These quantum disks are
found to exhibit intense emission at unexpectedly high energies, namely,
significantly above the GaN bandgap, and almost independent of the disk
thickness. An in-depth investigation of the actual structure and composition of
the nanowires reveals a spontaneously formed Al gradient both along and across
the nanowire, resulting in a complex core/shell structure with an Al deficient
core and an Al rich shell with continuously varying Al content along the entire
length of the (Al,Ga)N segment. This compositional change along the nanowire
growth axis induces a polarization doping of the shell that results in a
degenerate electron gas in the disk, thus screening the built-in electric
fields. The high carrier density not only results in the unexpectedly high
transition energies, but also in radiative lifetimes depending only weakly on
temperature, leading to a comparatively high internal quantum efficiency of the
GaN quantum disks up to room temperature.Comment: This document is the unedited Author's version of a Submitted Work
that was subsequently accepted for publication in Nano Letters (2019),
copyright (C) American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the
final edited and published work see
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01521, the supporting information is
available (free of charge) under the same lin
k-strings and baryon vertices in SU(N) gauge theories
It is pointed out that the sine law for the k-string tension emerges as the
critical threshold below which the spatial Z_N symmetry of the static baryon
potential is spontaneously broken. This result applies not only to SU(N) gauge
theories, but to any gauge system with stable k-strings admitting a baryon
vertex made with N sources in the fundamental representation. Some simple
examples are worked out.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, v2: reference added, v3: comments and references
adde
Irreducible Representations of Diperiodic Groups
The irreducible representations of all of the 80 diperiodic groups, being the
symmetries of the systems translationally periodical in two directions, are
calculated. To this end, each of these groups is factorized as the product of a
generalized translational group and an axial point group. The results are
presented in the form of the tables, containing the matrices of the irreducible
representations of the generators of the groups. General properties and some
physical applications (degeneracy and topology of the energy bands, selection
rules, etc.) are discussed.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, 28 tables, 18 refs, LaTex2.0
Global Aspects of Abelian and Center Projections in SU(2) Gauge Theory
We show that the global aspects of Abelian and center projection of a SU(2)
gauge theory on an arbitrary manifold are naturally described in terms of
smooth Deligne cohomology. This is achieved through the introduction of a novel
type of differential topological structure, called Cho structure. Half integral
monopole charges appear naturally in this framework.Comment: 43 pages, no figures, requires AMS font files AMSSYM.DEF and
amssym.tex. Completely rewritten, corrected and streamlined versio
Microscopic modelling of doped manganites
Colossal magneto-resistance manganites are characterised by a complex
interplay of charge, spin, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom. Formulating
microscopic models for these compounds aims at meeting to conflicting
objectives: sufficient simplification without excessive restrictions on the
phase space. We give a detailed introduction to the electronic structure of
manganites and derive a microscopic model for their low energy physics.
Focussing on short range electron-lattice and spin-orbital correlations we
supplement the modelling with numerical simulations.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figs, accepted for publ. in New J. Phys., Focus issue on
Orbital Physic
Molecular Aspects of Secretory Granule Exocytosis by Neurons and Endocrine Cells
Neuronal communication and endocrine signaling are fundamental for integrating
the function of tissues and cells in the body. Hormones released by endocrine
cells are transported to the target cells through the circulation. By contrast, transmitter
release from neurons occurs at specialized intercellular junctions, the synapses.
Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which signal molecules are synthesized,
stored, and eventually secreted by neurons and endocrine cells are very similar.
Neurons and endocrine cells have in common two different types of secretory
organelles, indicating the presence of two distinct secretory pathways. The synaptic
vesicles of neurons contain excitatory or inhibitory neurotransmitters, whereas the
secretory granules (also referred to as dense core vesicles, because of their electron
dense content) are filled with neuropeptides and amines. In endocrine cells, peptide
hormones and amines predominate in secretory granules. The function and content
of vesicles, which share antigens with synaptic vesicles, are unknown for most
endocrine cells. However, in B cells of the pancreatic islet, these vesicles contain
GABA, which may be involved in intrainsular signaling.'
Exocytosis of both synaptic vesicles and secretory granules is controlled by
cytoplasmic calcium. However, the precise mechanisms of the subsequent steps,
such as docking of vesicles and fusion of their membranes with the plasma membrane,
are still incompletely understood. This contribution summarizes recent observations
that elucidate components in neurons and endocrine cells involved in
exocytosis. Emphasis is put on the intracellular aspects of the release of secretory
granules that recently have been analyzed in detail
Canonical Formulation of the Light-Front Gluodynamics and Quantization of the Non-Abelian Plane Waves
Without a gauge fixing, canonical variables for the light-front SU(2)
gluodynamics are determined. The Gauss law is written in terms of the canonical
variables. The system is qualified as a generalized dynamical system with first
class constraints. Abeliazation is a specific feature of the formulation (most
of the canonical variables transform nontrivially only under the action of an
Abelian subgroup of the gauge transformations). At finite volume, a discrete
spectrum of the light-front Hamiltonian is obtained in the sector of
vanishing . We obtain, therefore, a quantized form of the classical
solutions previously known as non-Abelian plane waves. Then, considering the
infinite volume limit, we find that the presence of the mass gap depends on the
way the infinite volume limit is taken, which may suggest the presence of
different ``phases'' of the infinite volume theory. We also check that the
formulation obtained is in accord with the standard perturbation theory if the
latter is taken in the covariant gauges.Comment: REVTEX, 18 pages, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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