Area spectrum and quasinormal modes of black holes

We demonstrate that an equidistant area spectrum for the link variables in loop quantum gravity can reproduce both the thermodynamics and the quasinormal mode properties of black holes.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; references adde

A376S in the connection subdomain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase confers increased risk of virological failure to nevirapine therapy

BACKGROUND The clinical relevance of mutations in the connection subdomain and the ribonuclease (RNase) H domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) is uncertain. METHODS The risk of virological failure to nonnucleoside RT inhibitor (NNRTI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) was evaluated in NNRTI-naive patients who started NNRTIs in the EuroSIDA study after July 1997 according to preexisting substitutions in the connection subdomain and the RNase H domain of HIV-1 RT. An observed association between A376S and virological failure was further investigated by testing in vitro NNRTI susceptibility of single site-directed mutants and patient-derived recombinant viruses. Enzymatic assays also determined the effects of A376S on nevirapine and template-primer binding to HIV-1 RT. RESULTS Virological failure occurred in 142 of 287 (49%) individuals: 77 receiving nevirapine (67%) and 65 receiving efavirenz (38%) (P < .001). Preexisting A376S was associated with an increased risk of virological failure to nevirapine (relative hazard [RH] = 10.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0-54.7), but it did not affect efavirenz outcome the same way (RH = 0.5; 95% CI, 0.1-2.2) (P value for interaction = .013). A376S conferred selective low-level nevirapine resistance in vitro, and led to greater affinity for double-stranded DNA. CONCLUSIONS The A376S substitution in the connection subdomain of HIV-1 RT causes selective nevirapine resistance and confers an increased risk of virological failure to nevirapine-based ART