Critical Properties of Spin-Glasses

The critical properties of the model of a spin-glass proposed by Edwards and Anderson are studied using the renormalization group. The critical exponents are calculated in 6−ε spatial dimensions. It is argued that a tricritical point can exist where the nonordering field is the skewness of the distribution of J

Joint Modeling of Linkage and Association Using Affected Sib-pair Data

There has been a growing interest in developing strategies for identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that explain a linkage signal by joint modeling of linkage and association. We compare several existing methods and propose a new method called the homozygote sharing transmission-disequilibrium test (HSTDT) to detect linkage and association or to identify SNPs explaining the linkage signal on chromosome 6 for rheumatoid arthritis using 100 replicates of the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 15 simulated affected sib-pair data. Existing methods considered included the family-based tests of association implemented in FBAT, a transmission-disequilibrium test, a conditional logistic regression approach, a likelihood-based approach implemented in LAMP, and the homozygote sharing test (HST). We compared the type I error rates and power for tests classified into three categories according to their null hypotheses: 1) no association in the presence of linkage (i.e., a SNP explains none of the linkage evidence), 2) no linkage adjusting for the association (i.e., a SNP explains all linkage evidence), and 3) no linkage and no association. For testing association in the presence of linkage, we found similar power among all tests except for the homozygote sharing test that had lower power. When testing linkage adjusting for association, similar power was observed between LAMP and HST, but lower power for the conditional logistic regression method. When testing linkage or association, the conditional logistic regression method was more powerful than FBAT

Joint modeling of linkage and association using affected sib-pair data

There has been a growing interest in developing strategies for identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that explain a linkage signal by joint modeling of linkage and association. We compare several existing methods and propose a new method called the homozygote sharing transmission-disequilibrium test (HSTDT) to detect linkage and association or to identify SNPs explaining the linkage signal on chromosome 6 for rheumatoid arthritis using 100 replicates of the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 15 simulated affected sib-pair data. Existing methods considered included the family-based tests of association implemented in FBAT, a transmission-disequilibrium test, a conditional logistic regression approach, a likelihood-based approach implemented in LAMP, and the homozygote sharing test (HST). We compared the type I error rates and power for tests classified into three categories according to their null hypotheses: 1) no association in the presence of linkage (i.e., a SNP explains none of the linkage evidence), 2) no linkage adjusting for the association (i.e., a SNP explains all linkage evidence), and 3) no linkage and no association. For testing association in the presence of linkage, we found similar power among all tests except for the homozygote sharing test that had lower power. When testing linkage adjusting for association, similar power was observed between LAMP and HST, but lower power for the conditional logistic regression method. When testing linkage or association, the conditional logistic regression method was more powerful than FBAT

The Structure of TGBC_C Phases

We study the transition from the cholesteric phase to two TGB$_C$ phases near the upper critical twist $k_{c2}$: the Renn-Lubensky TGB$_C$ phase, with layer normal rotating in a plane perpendicular to the pitch axis, and the Bordeaux TGB$_C$ phase, with the layer normal rotating on a cone parallel to the pitch axis. We calculate properties, including order-parameter profiles, of both phases.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Physical Review E, Rapid Communications, September 5, 2003; Revised manuscript (to the paper submitted on March 18, 2003, cond-mat/0303365)that includes an important missing reference and presents an improved analysis of a generalized mode

AMiBA Wideband Analog Correlator

A wideband analog correlator has been constructed for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy. Lag correlators using analog multipliers provide large bandwidth and moderate frequency resolution. Broadband IF distribution, backend signal processing and control are described. Operating conditions for optimum sensitivity and linearity are discussed. From observations, a large effective bandwidth of around 10 GHz has been shown to provide sufficient sensitivity for detecting cosmic microwave background variations.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures, ApJ in press

Cbl negatively regulates nlrp3 inflammasome activation through glut1-dependent glycolysis inhibition

Activation of the nod-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes is crucial for immune defense, but improper and excessive activation causes inflammatory diseases. We previously reported that Cbl plays a pivotal role in suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation by inhibiting Pyk2-mediated apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) oligomerization. Here, we showed that Cbl dampened NLRP3 inflammasome activation by inhibiting glycolysis, as demonstrated with Cbl knockout cells and treatment with the Cbl inhibitor hydrocotarnine. We revealed that the inhibition of Cbl promoted caspase-1 cleavage and interleukin (IL)-1β secretion through a glycolysis-dependent mechanism. Inhibiting Cbl increased cellular glucose uptake, glycolytic capacity, and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation capacity. Upon NLRP3 inflammasome activation, inhibiting Cbl increased glycolysis-dependent activation of mitochondrial respiration and increased the production of reactive oxygen species, which contributes to NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β secretion. Mechanistically, inhibiting Cbl increased surface expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) protein through post-transcriptional regulation, which increased cellular glucose uptake and consequently raised glycolytic capacity, and in turn enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Together, our findings provide new insights into the role of Cbl in NLRP3 inflammasome regulation through GLUT1 downregulation. We also show that a novel Cbl inhibitor, hydrocortanine, increased NLRP3 inflammasome activity via its effect on glycolysis

Phase Transition between the Cholesteric and Twist Grain Boundary C Phases

The upper critical temperature Tc2 for the phase transition between the Cholesteric phase (N*) and the Twist Grain Boundary C phase with the layer inclination tilted to the pitch axis (TGBct) in thermotropic liquid crystals is determined by the mean field Chen-Lubensky approach. We show that the N*-TGBct phase transition is split in two with the appearance of either the TGBA or the TGB2q phase in a narrow temperature interval below Tc2. The latter phase is novel in being superposed from two degenerate TGBct phases with different (left and right) layers inclinations to the pitch axis.Comment: Phys. Rev. E, to be publ; 24 pages, RevTeX + 3 ps figure