Roles of Fukutin, the Gene Responsible for Fukuyama-Type Congenital Muscular Dystrophy, in Neurons: Possible Involvement in Synaptic Function and Neuronal Migration

Fukutin is a gene responsible for Fukuyama-type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD), accompanying ocular and brain malformations represented by cobblestone lissencephaly. Fukutin is related to basement membrane formation via the glycosylation of α-dystoglycan (α-DG), and astrocytes play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the brain lesion. On the other hand, its precise function in neurons is unknown. In this experiment, the roles of fukutin in mature and immature neurons were examined using brains from control subjects and FCMD patients and cultured neuronal cell lines. In quantitative PCR, the expression level of fukutin looked different depending on the region of the brain examined. A similar tendency in DG expression appears to indicate a relation between fukutin and α-DG in mature neurons. An increase of DG mRNA and core α-DG in the FCMD cerebrum also supports the relation. In immunohistochemistry, dot-like positive reactions for VIA4-1, one of the antibodies detecting the glycosylated α-DG, in Purkinje cells suggest that fukutin is related to at least a post-synaptic function via the glycosylation of α-DG. As for immature neurons, VIA4-1 was predominantly positive in cells before and during migration with expression of fukutin, which suggest a participation of fukutin in neuronal migration via the glycosylation of α-DG. Moreover, fukutin may prevent neuronal differentiation, because its expression was significantly lower in the adult cerebrum and in differentiated cultured cells. A knockdown of fukutin was considered to induce differentiation in cultured cells. Fukutin seems to be necessary to keep migrating neurons immature during migration, and also to support migration via α-DG

Improved α4\alpha^4 Term of the Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment

We have completed the evaluation of all mass-dependent $\alpha^4$ QED contributions to the muon $g-2$, or $a_\mu$, in two or more different formulations. Their numerical values have been greatly improved by an extensive computer calculation. The new value of the dominant $\alpha^4$ term $A_2^{(8)} (m_\mu / m_e)$ is 132.6823 (72), which supersedes the old value 127.50 (41). The new value of the three-mass term $A_3^{(8)} (m_\mu / m_e, m_\mu / m_\tau)$ is 0.0376 (1). The term $A_2^{(8)} (m_\mu / m_\tau)$ is crudely estimated to be about 0.005 and may be ignored for now. The total QED contribution to $a_\mu$ is $116 584 719.58 (0.02)(1.15)(0.85) \times 10^{-11}$, where 0.02 and 1.15 are uncertainties in the $\alpha^4$ and $\alpha^5$ terms and 0.85 is from the uncertainty in $\alpha$ measured by atom interferometry. This raises the Standard Model prediction by $13.9 \times 10^{-11}$, or about 1/5 of the measurement uncertainty of $a_\mu$. It is within the noise of current uncertainty ($\sim 100 \times 10^{-11}$) in the estimated hadronic contributions to $a_\mu$.Comment: Appendix A has been rewritten extensively. It includes the 4th-order calculation for illustration. Version accepted by PR

Determinantal Correlations of Brownian Paths in the Plane with Nonintersection Condition on their Loop-Erased Parts

As an image of the many-to-one map of loop-erasing operation \LE of random walks, a self-avoiding walk (SAW) is obtained. The loop-erased random walk (LERW) model is the statistical ensemble of SAWs such that the weight of each SAW $\zeta$ is given by the total weight of all random walks $\pi$ which are inverse images of $\zeta$, \{\pi: \LE(\pi)=\zeta \}. We regard the Brownian paths as the continuum limits of random walks and consider the statistical ensemble of loop-erased Brownian paths (LEBPs) as the continuum limits of the LERW model. Following the theory of Fomin on nonintersecting LERWs, we introduce a nonintersecting system of $N$-tuples of LEBPs in a domain $D$ in the complex plane, where the total weight of nonintersecting LEBPs is given by Fomin's determinant of an $N \times N$ matrix whose entries are boundary Poisson kernels in $D$. We set a sequence of chambers in a planar domain and observe the first passage points at which $N$ Brownian paths $(\gamma_1,..., \gamma_N)$ first enter each chamber, under the condition that the loop-erased parts (\LE(\gamma_1),..., \LE(\gamma_N)) make a system of nonintersecting LEBPs in the domain in the sense of Fomin. We prove that the correlation functions of first passage points of the Brownian paths of the present system are generally given by determinants specified by a continuous function called the correlation kernel. The correlation kernel is of Eynard-Mehta type, which has appeared in two-matrix models and time-dependent matrix models studied in random matrix theory. Conformal covariance of correlation functions is demonstrated.Comment: v3: REVTeX4, 27 pages, 10 figures, corrections made for publication in Phys.Rev.

Improved α4\alpha^4 Term of the Electron Anomalous Magnetic Moment

We report a new value of electron $g-2$, or $a_e$, from 891 Feynman diagrams of order $\alpha^4$. The FORTRAN codes of 373 diagrams containing closed electron loops have been verified by at least two independent formulations. For the remaining 518 diagrams, which have no closed lepton loop, verification by a second formulation is not yet attempted because of the enormous amount of additional work required. However, these integrals have structures that allow extensive cross-checking as well as detailed comparison with lower-order diagrams through the renormalization procedure. No algebraic error has been uncovered for them. The numerical evaluation of the entire $\alpha^4$ term by the integration routine VEGAS gives $-1.7283 (35) (\alpha/\pi)^4$, where the uncertainty is obtained by careful examination of error estimates by VEGAS. This leads to $a_e = 1 159 652 175.86 (0.10) (0.26) (8.48) \times 10^{-12}$, where the uncertainties come from the $\alpha^4$ term, the estimated uncertainty of $\alpha^5$ term, and the inverse fine structure constant, $\alpha^{-1} = 137.036 000 3 (10)$, measured by atom interferometry combined with a frequency comb technique, respectively. The inverse fine structure constant $\alpha^{-1} (a_e)$ derived from the theory and the Seattle measurement of $a_e$ is $137.035 998 83 (51)$.Comment: 64 pages and 10 figures. Eq.(16) is corrected. Comments are added after Eq.(40

The Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS). IV. Evolution of Lya Emitters from z=3.1 to 5.7 in the 1 deg^2 Field: Luminosity Functions and AGN

We present luminosity functions (LFs) and various properties of Lya emitters (LAEs) at z=3.1, 3.7, and 5.7, in a 1 deg^2 sky of the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS) Field. We obtain a photometric sample of 858 LAE candidates based on deep Subaru/Suprime-Cam imaging data, and a spectroscopic sample of 84 confirmed LAEs from Subaru/FOCAS and VLT/VIMOS spectroscopy in a survey volume of ~10^6 Mpc^3 with a limiting Lya luminosity of ~3x10^42 erg/s. We derive the LFs of Lya and UV-continuum (~1500 \AA) for each redshift, taking into account the statistical error and the field-to-field variation. We find that the apparent Lya LF shows no significant evolution between z=3.1 and 5.7 within factors of 1.8 and 2.7 in L* and phi*, respectively. On the other hand, the UV LF of LAEs increases from z=3.1 to 5.7, indicating that galaxies with Lya emission are more common at earlier epochs. We identify six LAEs with AGN activities from our spectra combined with VLA, Spitzer, and XMM-Newton data. Among the photometrically selected LAEs at z=3.1 and 3.7, only ~1 % show AGN activities, while the brightest LAEs with logL(Lya) >~ 43.4-43.6 erg/s appear to always host AGNs. Our LAEs are bluer in UV-continuum color than dropout galaxies, suggesting lower extinction and/or younger stellar populations. Our stacking analyses provide upper limits to the radio luminosity and the f(HeII)/f(Lya) line fraction, and constrain the hidden star formation (+low-luminosity AGN) and the primordial population in LAEs.Comment: 75 pages, 27 figures; ApJS in press. High resolution version at http://www.ociw.edu/~ouchi/work/astroph/sxds_LAEs/ouchi_SXDSLAE_ApJS.pd

Inclusive dileptonic rare B decays with an extra generation of vector-like quarks

We investigate the leading effects of extending the Standard Model of electroweak interactions by an extra iso-singlet up- and down- type quark pair on various distributions and total branching ratio of the inclusive B-> X_s l^+ l^- (l =e,\mu) rare B decays. The presence of the extra vector-like down quark $D$ results in the non-unitarity of the extended quark mixing matrix V, which in turn leads to b-> s FCNC at the tree level proportional to (V^\dagger V)_{sb}. On the other hand, the effective penguin and box vertex functions are sensitive to the mass of the extra iso-singlet up quark m_U. The experimental upper bound on BR(B-> X_s \mu^+ \mu^-) is used to constrain the parameters of the model. It is shown that the shapes of the differential branching ratio and forward-backward asymmetry distribution are very sensitive to the value of the model parameters. We also calculate the CP aymmetry distribution of the dileptonic decay in the vector-like quark model. It is shown that, for a typical choice of the model parameters, asymmetries up to around 10% can be achieved for certain values of the dilepton invariant mass.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Publisher Correction: An engineered human Fc domain that behaves like a pH-toggle switch for ultra-long circulation persistence.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

DNA secondary structure is influenced by genetic variation and alters susceptibility to de novo translocation

<p>Abstract</p> <p><b>Background</b></p> <p>Cumulative evidence suggests that DNA secondary structures impact DNA replication, transcription and genomic rearrangements. One of the best studied examples is the recurrent constitutional t(11;22) in humans that is mediated by potentially cruciform-forming sequences at the breakpoints, palindromic AT-rich repeats (PATRRs). We previously demonstrated that polymorphisms of PATRR sequences affect the frequency of <it>de novo </it>t(11;22)s in sperm samples from normal healthy males. These studies were designed to determine whether PATRR polymorphisms affect DNA secondary structure, thus leading to variation in translocation frequency.</p> <p><b>Methods</b></p> <p>We studied the potential for DNA cruciform formation for several PATRR11 polymorphic alleles using mobility shift analysis in gel electrophoresis as well as by direct visualization of the DNA by atomic force microscopy. The structural data for various alleles were compared with the frequency of <it>de novo </it>t(11;22)s the allele produced.</p> <p><b>Results</b></p> <p>The data indicate that the propensity for DNA cruciform structure of each polymorphic allele correlates with the frequency of <it>de novo </it>t(11;22)s produced (r = 0.77, <it>P </it>= 0.01).</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b></p> <p>Although indirect, our results strongly suggest that the PATRR adopts unstable cruciform structures during spermatogenesis that act as translocation hotspots in humans.</p