27 research outputs found
Spatial noise correlations of a chain of ultracold fermions - A numerical study
We present a numerical study of noise correlations, i.e., density-density
correlations in momentum space, in the extended fermionic Hubbard model in one
dimension. In experiments with ultracold atoms, these noise correlations can be
extracted from time-of-flight images of the expanding cloud. Using the
density-matrix renormalization group method to investigate the Hubbard model at
various fillings and interactions, we confirm that the shot noise contains full
information on the correlations present in the system. We point out the
importance of the sum rules fulfilled by the noise correlations and show that
they yield nonsingular structures beyond the predictions of bosonization
approaches. Noise correlations can thus serve as a universal probe of order and
can be used to characterize the many-body states of cold atoms in optical
lattices.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Effects of multi-species swards on dry matter production and the incidence of unsown species at three Irish sites
Recent ecological research provides evidence that an increased number of plant species in natural grasslands is associated with increased biomass productivity, and provides a wide range of other ecosystem benefits. This suggests that increases in species diversity in agricultural ecosystems may similarly lead to increased benefits. The work reported below was part of the COST 852 Agrodiversity experiment, carried out at 34 sites across Europe. In Ireland, the effects of four-species grass-clover mixtures on herbage production, species persistence and unsown species suppression at three sites over multiple years, were investigated under growing conditions that were intensive relative to unfertilised natural grassland systems. The design included a range of four-species mixtures and monocultures of perennial ryegrass, timothy, cocksfoot, white clover, red clover and Caucasian clover. Several harvests were taken at each site for two or three years. Species diversity had a strong, persistent and positive effect on overall yield and the yield of sown species, and enhanced resistance to the growth of unsown species. Mixtures generally yielded well when compared with the best monoculture, and sometimes out yielded it. These effects on total yield declined over time but were still important at the end of the experiments. The diversity effects on sown species yield and on resistance to unsown species increased with time. Diversity effects were robust to changes in species composition, and persisted for the duration of the experiments across mixtures and over time. Virtually every mixture had a higher yield, and suppressed unsown species better, than monocultures of perennial ryegrass. These patterns were broadly consistent across sites. The persistence of species varied widely and was not consistent across sites
The closed string spectrum of SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions
We use lattice techniques to study the closed-string spectrum of SU(N) gauge
theories in 2+1 dimensions. We calculate the energies of the lowest lying ~30
states for strings with lengths between l ~ 0.45 fm and l ~ 3 fm, and compare
to different theoretical predictions. We obtain unambiguous evidence that the
closed-strings are in the universality class of the Nambu-Goto free bosonic
string. Moreover, we clearly see that our data can be described by a covariant
string theory with a small/moderate correction down to very short distance
scales, and possibly on all distance scales at large-N.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 3 table
Low-Lying Nucleons from Chirally Improved Fermions
We report on our preliminary results on the low-lying excited nucleon spectra
which we obtain through a variational basis formed with three different
interpolators.Comment: Contributed to Lattice 2003(spectrum), Tsukub
Fermi-Einstein condensation in dense QCD-like theories
While pure Yang-Mills theory feature the centre symmetry, this symmetry is
explicitly broken by the presence of dynamical matter. We study the impact of
the centre symmetry in such QCD-like theories. In the analytically solvable
Schwinger model, centre transitions take place even under extreme conditions,
temperature and/or density, and we show that they are key to the solution of
the Silver-Blaze problem. We then develop an effective SU(3) quark model which
confines quarks by virtue of centre sector transitions. The phase diagram by
confinement is obtained as a function of the temperature and the chemical
potential. We show that at low temperatures and intermediate values for the
chemical potential the centre dressed quarks undergo condensation due to Bose
like statistics. This is the Fermi Einstein condensation. To corroborate the
existence of centre sector transitions in gauge theories with matter, we study
(at vanishing chemical potential) the interface tension in the
three-dimensional Z2 gauge theory with Ising matter, the distribution of the
Polyakov line in the four-dimensional SU(2)-Higgs model and devise a new type
of order parameter which is designed to detect centre sector transitions. Our
analytical and numerical findings lead us to conjecture a new state of cold,
but dense matter in the hadronic phase for which Fermi Einstein condensation is
realised.Comment: 51 pages, 32 figure
Treatment with recombinant Sirt1 rewires the cardiac lipidome and rescues diabetes-related metabolic cardiomyopathy
Background: Metabolic cardiomyopathy (MCM), characterized by intramyocardial lipid accumulation, drives the progression to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Although evidence suggests that the mammalian silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1) orchestrates myocardial lipid metabolism, it is unknown whether its exogenous administration could avoid MCM onset. We investigated whether chronic treatment with recombinant Sirt1 (rSirt1) could halt MCM progression.
Methods: db/db mice, an established model of MCM, were supplemented with intraperitoneal rSirt1 or vehicle for 4 weeks and compared with their db/ + heterozygous littermates. At the end of treatment, cardiac function was assessed by cardiac ultrasound and left ventricular samples were collected and processed for molecular analysis. Transcriptional changes were evaluated using a custom PCR array. Lipidomic analysis was performed by mass spectrometry. H9c2 cardiomyocytes exposed to hyperglycaemia and treated with rSirt1 were used as in vitro model of MCM to investigate the ability of rSirt1 to directly target cardiomyocytes and modulate malondialdehyde levels and caspase 3 activity. Myocardial samples from diabetic and nondiabetic patients were analysed to explore Sirt1 expression levels and signaling pathways.
Results: rSirt1 treatment restored cardiac Sirt1 levels and preserved cardiac performance by improving left ventricular ejection fraction, fractional shortening and diastolic function (E/A ratio). In left ventricular samples from rSirt1-treated db/db mice, rSirt1 modulated the cardiac lipidome: medium and long-chain triacylglycerols, long-chain triacylglycerols, and triacylglycerols containing only saturated fatty acids were reduced, while those containing docosahexaenoic acid were increased. Mechanistically, several genes involved in lipid trafficking, metabolism and inflammation, such as Cd36, Acox3, Pparg, Ncoa3, and Ppara were downregulated by rSirt1 both in vitro and in vivo. In humans, reduced cardiac expression levels of Sirt1 were associated with higher intramyocardial triacylglycerols and PPARG-related genes.
Conclusions: In the db/db mouse model of MCM, chronic exogenous rSirt1 supplementation rescued cardiac function. This was associated with a modulation of the myocardial lipidome and a downregulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism, trafficking, inflammation, and PPARG signaling. These findings were confirmed in the human diabetic myocardium. Treatments that increase Sirt1 levels may represent a promising strategy to prevent myocardial lipid abnormalities and MCM development
A Comparative Chemogenomics Strategy to Predict Potential Drug Targets in the Metazoan Pathogen, Schistosoma mansoni
Schistosomiasis is a prevalent and chronic helmintic disease in tropical regions. Treatment and control relies on chemotherapy with just one drug, praziquantel and this reliance is of concern should clinically relevant drug resistance emerge and spread. Therefore, to identify potential target proteins for new avenues of drug discovery we have taken a comparative chemogenomics approach utilizing the putative proteome of Schistosoma mansoni compared to the proteomes of two model organisms, the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. Using the genome comparison software Genlight, two separate in silico workflows were implemented to derive a set of parasite proteins for which gene disruption of the orthologs in both the model organisms yielded deleterious phenotypes (e.g., lethal, impairment of motility), i.e., are essential genes/proteins. Of the 67 and 68 sequences generated for each workflow, 63 were identical in both sets, leading to a final set of 72 parasite proteins. All but one of these were expressed in the relevant developmental stages of the parasite infecting humans. Subsequent in depth manual curation of the combined workflow output revealed 57 candidate proteins. Scrutiny of these for ‘druggable’ protein homologs in the literature identified 35 S. mansoni sequences, 18 of which were homologous to proteins with 3D structures including co-crystallized ligands that will allow further structure-based drug design studies. The comparative chemogenomics strategy presented generates a tractable set of S. mansoni proteins for experimental validation as drug targets against this insidious human pathogen
Pathological circuit function underlying addiction and anxiety disorders
Current models of addiction and anxiety stem from the idea that aberrant function and remodeling of neural circuits cause the pathological behaviors. According to this hypothesis, a disease-defining experience (for example, drug reward or stress) would trigger specific forms of synaptic plasticity, which in susceptible subjects would become persistent and lead to the disease. While the notion of synaptic diseases has received much attention, no candidate disorder has been sufficiently investigated to yield new, rational therapies that could be tested in the clinic. Here we review the arguments in favor of abnormal neuronal plasticity underlying addiction and anxiety disorders, with a focus on the functional diversity of neurons that make up the circuits involved. We argue that future research must strive to obtain a comprehensive description of the relevant functional anatomy. This will allow identification of molecular mechanisms that govern the induction and expression of disease-relevant plasticity in identified neurons. To establish causality, one will have to test whether normalization of function can reverse pathological behavior. With these elements in hand, it will be possible to propose blueprints for manipulations to be tested in translational studies. The challenge is daunting, but new techniques, above all optogenetics, may enable decisive advances
Timing of drought in the growing season and strong legacy effects determine the annual productivity of temperate grasses in a changing climate
The frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts, is assumed to increase and lead to alterations in ecosystem productivity and thus the terrestrial carbon cycle. Although grasslands typically show reduced productivity in response to drought, the effects of drought on grassland productivity have been shown to vary strongly. Here we tested, in a 2-year field experiment, if the resistance and the recovery of grasses to drought varies throughout a growing season and if the timing of the drought influences drought-induced reductions in annual aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of grasses. For the experiment we grew six temperate and perennial C-3 grass species and cultivars in a field as pure stands. The grasses were cut six times during the growing season and subject to 10 week drought treatments that occurred either in the spring, the summer or the fall. Averaged across all grasses, drought-induced losses in productivity in spring were smaller (-20 % to -51 %) than in summer and fall (-77 % to -87 %). This suggests a higher resistance to drought in spring when plants are in their reproductive stage and their productivity is the highest. After the release from drought, we found no prolonged suppression in growth. In contrast, post-drought growth rates of formerly drought-stressed swards outperformed the growth rates of the control swards. The strong overcompensation in growth after the drought release resulted in relatively small overall drought-induced losses in annual ANPP that ranged from -4 % to -14 % and were not affected by the timing of the drought event. In summary, our results show that (i) the resistance in growth rates of grasses to drought varies across the season and is increased during the reproductive phenological stage when growth rates are highest; (ii) that the positive legacy effects of drought indicate a high recovery potential of temperate grasses to drought; and (iii) that the high recovery can compensate for immediate drought effects on total annual biomass production to a significant extent