Renormalization Group Flow near the Superconformal Points in N=2 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories

The behavior of the beta-function of the low-energy effective coupling in the N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) QCD with several massive matter hypermultiplets and in the SU(3) Yang-Mills theory is determined near the superconformal points in the moduli space. The renormalization group flow is unambiguously fixed by looking at limited types of deformation near the superconformal points. It is pointed out that the scaling dimension of the beta-function is controlled by the scaling behavior of moduli parameters and the relation between them is explicitly worked out. Our scaling dimensions of the beta-functions are consistent in part with the results obtained recently by Bilal and Ferrari in a different method for the SU(2) QCD.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figure, some references adde

Wheeler-DeWitt Equation in AdS/CFT Correspondence

We discuss a quantum extension of the holographic RG flow equation obtained previously from the classical Hamiltonian constraint in the bulk AdS supergravity. The Wheeler-DeWitt equation is proposed to generate the extended RG flow and to produce 1/N subleading corrections systematically. Our formulation in five dimensions is applied to the derivation of the Weyl anomaly of boundary N=4 SU(N) super-Yang-Mills theory beyond the large N limit. It is shown that subleading 1/N^2 corrections arising from fields in AdS_5 supergravity agree with those obtained recently by Mansfield et al. using their Schroedinger equation, thereby guaranteeing to reproduce the exact form of the boundary Weyl anomaly after summing up all of the KK modes.Comment: 7 pages, LaTex, references adde

Insulin receptor substrate-2 maintains predominance of anabolic function over catabolic function of osteoblasts

Insulin receptor substrates (IRS-1 and IRS-2) are essential for intracellular signaling by insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), anabolic regulators of bone metabolism. Although mice lacking the IRS-2 gene (IRS-2−/− mice) developed normally, they exhibited osteopenia with decreased bone formation and increased bone resorption. Cultured IRS-2−/− osteoblasts showed reduced differentiation and matrix synthesis compared with wild-type osteoblasts. However, they showed increased receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) expression and osteoclastogenesis in the coculture with bone marrow cells, which were restored by reintroduction of IRS-2 using an adenovirus vector. Although IRS-2 was expressed and phosphorylated by insulin and IGF-I in both osteoblasts and osteoclastic cells, cultures in the absence of osteoblasts revealed that intrinsic IRS-2 signaling in osteoclastic cells was not important for their differentiation, function, or survival. It is concluded that IRS-2 deficiency in osteoblasts causes osteopenia through impaired anabolic function and enhanced supporting ability of osteoclastogenesis. We propose that IRS-2 is needed to maintain the predominance of bone formation over bone resorption, whereas IRS-1 maintains bone turnover, as we previously reported; the integration of these two signalings causes a potent bone anabolic action by insulin and IGF-I

Decreased ADP-Ribosyl Cyclase Activity in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Diabetic Patients with Nephropathy

Aims/hypothesis. ADP-ribosyl-cyclase activity (ADPRCA) of CD38 and other ectoenzymes mainly generate cyclic adenosine 5’diphosphate-(ADP-) ribose (cADPR) as a second messenger in various mammalian cells, including pancreatic beta cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Since PBMCs contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy, ADPRCA of PBMCs could serve as a clinical prognostic marker for diabetic nephropathy. This study aimed to investigate the connection between ADPRCA in PBMCs and diabetic complications. Methods. PBMCs from 60 diabetic patients (10 for type 1 and 50 for type 2) and 15 nondiabetic controls were fluorometrically measured for ADPRCA based on the conversion of nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide (NGD+) into cyclic GDP-ribose. Results. ADPRCA negatively correlated with the level of HbA1c (P = .040, R2 = .073), although ADPRCA showed no significant correlation with gender, age, BMI, blood pressure, level of fasting plasma glucose and lipid levels, as well as type, duration, or medication of diabetes. Interestingly, patients with nephropathy, but not other complications, presented significantly lower ADPRCA than those without nephropathy (P = .0198) and diabetes (P = .0332). ANCOVA analysis adjusted for HbA1c showed no significant correlation between ADPRCA and nephropathy. However, logistic regression analyses revealed that determinants for nephropathy were systolic blood pressure and ADPRCA, not HbA1c. Conclusion/interpretation. Decreased ADPRCA significantly correlated with diabetic nephropathy. ADPRCA in PBMCs would be an important marker associated with diabetic nephropathy

An artificial amino acid, 4-iodo-L-meta-tyrosine: Biodistribution and excretion via kidney

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科We evaluated the use of radiolabeled 4-iodo-L-meta-tyrosine as an amino acid transport marker. The pharmacologic features of this compound, particularly the biodistribution and excretion, were examined by conducting in vivo and in vitro studies using 4-125I-iodo-L-meta-tyrosine (4- 125I-mTyr). Results obtained for L-14C-Tyr and 3- 125I-iodo-α-methyl-L-tyrosine (125I-IMT) were used for comparison. Methods: In vivo biodistribution studies of 4- 125I-mTyr were performed in male ddY mice. Urinary excretion of 4-125I-mTyr and 125I-IMT with administration of probenecid was studied. Local distribution of 4-125I-mTyr and 125I-IMT in kidney was visualized by autoradiography. We performed metabolite analysis of 4-125I-mTyr in mice. For in vitro studies, reabsorption mechanisms of 4-125I-mTyr were compared with those of 125I-IMT and the parent L-14C-Tyr using superconfluent monolayers of the porcine kidney epithelial cell line LLC-PK1 in medium containing inhibitor (L-Tyr, D-Tyr, and 2,4-dinitrophenol), in Na +-free medium, and at 4°C. Results: 4-125I-mTyr demonstrated high accumulation in the pancreas and kidney and comparable brain uptake to that of 125I-IMT. Blood clearance of 4-125I-mTyr was faster than that of 125I-IMT. Three hours after administration, >70% of 4-125I-mTyr was excreted via the urine, whereas 98.1% of the total present in kidney and >96.3% in urine. Protein incorporation was not observed. Uptake of 4-125I-mTyr into LLC-PK1 cell monolayers was remarkably reduced by 5 mmol/L L-Tyr (4.6%) and incubation at 4°C (15.6%) but was reduced by 5 mmol/L D-Tyr (50.0%). L-14C-Tyr and 125I-IMT showed similar results; however, uptake of 125I-IMT was enhanced by 0.1 mmol/L 2,4-dinitrophenol (165.1%), an inhibitor of generation of energy-rich phosphates. Conclusion: The artificial amino acid 4-125I-mTyr demonstrated high metabolic stability, rapid blood clearance, rapid urinary excretion, and similar biodistribution to other radioiabeled L-Tyr analogs. 4-125I-mTyr can be a competitive substrate of L-Tyr reabsorption. However, 4-125I-mTyr demonstrates different pharmacologic features than those of 125I-IMT, particularly in renal handling. 4-125I-mTyr may potentially be applied as a new amino acid transport marker

Downregulation of macrophage Irs2 by hyperinsulinemia impairs IL-4-indeuced M2a-subtype macrophage activation in obesity

M2a-subtype macrophage activation is known to be impaired in obesity, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Herein, we demonstrate that, the IL-4/Irs2/Akt pathway is selectively impaired, along with decreased macrophage Irs2 expression, although IL-4/STAT6 pathway is maintained. Indeed, myeloid cell-specific Irs2-deficient mice show impairment of IL-4-induced M2a-subtype macrophage activation, as a result of stabilization of the FoxO1/HDAC3/NCoR1 corepressor complex, resulting in insulin resistance under the HF diet condition. Moreover, the reduction of macrophage Irs2 expression is mediated by hyperinsulinemia via the insulin receptor (IR). In myeloid cell-specific IR-deficient mice, the IL-4/Irs2 pathway is preserved in the macrophages, which results in a reduced degree of insulin resistance, because of the lack of IR-mediated downregulation of Irs2. We conclude that downregulation of Irs2 in macrophages caused by hyperinsulinemia is responsible for systemic insulin resistance via impairment of M2a-subtype macrophage activation in obesity

Nonabelian Confinement near Nontrivial Conformal Vacua

We discuss some aspects of confinement and dynamical symmetry breaking in the so-called nonabelian Argyres-Douglas vacua, which occur very generally in supersymmetric theories. These systems are characterized by strongly-coupled nonabelian monopoles and dyons; confinement and dynamical symmetry breaking are caused by the condensation of monopole composites, rather than by condensation of single weakly-coupled monopoles. In general, there are strong constraints on which kind of monopoles can appear as the infrared degrees of freedom, related to the proper realization of the global symmetry of the theory. Drawing analogies to some of the phenomena found here, we make a speculation on the ground state of the standard QCD.Comment: 28 pages, Late

Combination of solid state NMR and DFT calculation to elucidate the state of sodium in hard carbon electrodes

We examined the state of sodium electrochemically inserted in HC prepared at 700–2000 °C using solid state Na magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR and multiple quantum (MQ) MAS NMR. The 23Na MAS NMR spectra of Na-inserted HC samples showed signals only in the range between +30 and −60 ppm. Each observed spectrum was ascribed to combinations of Na+ ions from the electrolyte, reversible ionic Na components, irreversible Na components assigned to solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) or non-extractable sodium ions in HC, and decomposed Na compounds such as Na2CO3. No quasi-metallic sodium component was observed to be dissimilar to the case of Li inserted in HC. MQMAS NMR implies that heat treatment of HC higher than 1600 °C decreases defect sites in the carbon structure. To elucidate the difference in cluster formation between Na and Li in HC, the condensation mechanism and stability of Na and Li atoms on a carbon layer were also studied using DFT calculation. Na3 triangle clusters standing perpendicular to the carbon surface were obtained as a stable structure of Na, whereas Li2 linear and Li4 square clusters, all with Li atoms being attached directly to the surface, were estimated by optimization. Models of Na and Li storage in HC, based on the calculated cluster structures were proposed, which elucidate why the adequate heat treatment temperature of HC for high-capacity sodium storage is higher than the temperature for lithium storage

Jahn-Teller effect and Electron correlation in manganites

Jahn-Teller (JT) effect both in the absence and presence of the strong Coulomb correlation is studied theoretically focusing on the reduction $\Delta K$ of the kinetic energy gain which is directly related to the spin wave stiffness. Without the Coulomb interaction, the perturbative analysis gives $\Delta K / (g^2/M\Omega^2) \cong 0.05-0.13$ depending on the electron number [$g$: electron-phonon(el-ph) coupling constant, $M$: mass of the oxygen atom, $\Omega$: frequency of the phonon]. Although there occurs many channels of the JT el-ph interaction in the multiband system, the final results of $\Delta K$ roughly scales with the density of states at the Fermi energy. In the limit of strong electron correlation, the magnitude of the orbital polarization saturate and the relevant degrees of freedom are the direction (phase) of it. An effective action is derived for the phase variable including the effect of the JT interaction. In this limit, JT interaction is {\it{enhanced}} compared with the non-interacting case, and $\Delta K$ is given by the lattice relaxation energy $E_{L}$ for the localized electrons, although the electrons remains itinerant. Discussion on experiments are given based on these theoretical results.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure