QCD equation of state in a virial expansion

We describe recent three-flavor QCD lattice data for the pressure, speed of soun d and interaction measure at nonzero temperature and vanishing chemical potentia l within a virial expansion. For the deconfined phase we use a phenomenological model which includes non-pert urbative effects from dimension two gluon condensates that reproduce the free en ergy of quenched QCD very well. The hadronic phase is parameterized by a generalized resonance-gas model. Furthermore, we extend this approach to finite quark densities introducing an ex plicit $\mu$-dependence of the interaction. We calculate pressure, quark-number density, entropy and energy density and compare to results of lattice calculatio ns. We, additionally, investigate the structure of the phase diagram by calculating the isobaric and isentropic lines as well as the critical endpoint in the ($T, \mu_q$)-plane.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Sources of parthenocarpy for Zucchini breeding: relationship with ethylene production and sensitivity

Parthenocarpy is becoming an essential trait for off-season greenhouse production of Zucchini squash. Given that winter conditions promote a reduction in the number of male flowers and in the activity of pollinators, the application of synthetic auxins is currently the most widespread method to induce fruit set. We have evaluated the parthenocarpic tendency of 48 long-fruited accessions of Cucurbita pepo spp. pepo, from morphotypes Zucchini, Vegetable marrow and Cocozelle, including 45 traditional cultivars and 3 commercial hybrids, with the goal of identifying new sources of parthenocarpy for breeding programs. After the first screening, 20 selected accessions were evaluated for the growth rate of unpollinated fruit. Twelve of the selected accessions identified as either strongly parthenocarpic or non-parthenocarpic, were compared for fruit rate growth, ethylene production and ethylene sensitivity. Apart from the three control hybrids, the fastest parthenocarpic fruit growth was observed in 'CpCAL112', 'CM-37', 'E-27', 'PI261610', and 'V-185'. The source of the parthenocarpy of some of these accessions differs from that of the hybrids as it was not associated with the conversion of female into bisexual flowers or with the so-called "fruits with attached flowers" syndrome, which is an undesirable trait in current parthenocarpic hybrids. The alternative sources of parthenocarpy may be of great importance in current Zucchini breeding programs. We also demonstrate that the parthenocarpy of these accessions is associated with downregulation of ethylene production in unpollinated fruits during the first days post anthesis (DPA). In non-parthenocarpic accessions, unpollinated fruits boosted ethylene production at 3 DPA, concomitantly with fruit abortion and senescence, while in parthenocarpic accessions, fruits produced little ethylene at 3 DPA. Therefore, ethylene production in ovaries/fruits at 3 DPA can be used as a marker to identify and select parthenocarpy in Zucchini squash. However, in the cultivars tested here, ethylene production and sensitivity in vegetative organs and in male flowers earlier than 3 PDA do not appear well associated with parthenocarpy.Martinez, C.; Manzano, S.; Megias, Z.; Garrido, D.; Picó Sirvent, MB.; Jamilena, M. (2014). Sources of parthenocarpy for Zucchini breeding: relationship with ethylene production and sensitivity. Euphytica. 200(3):349-362. doi:10.1007/s10681-014-1155-83493622003Byers R, Baker L, Dilley D, Sell H (1972) Chemical induction of perfect flowers on a gynoecious line of muskmelon, Cucumis melo L. HortSci 9:321–331Carbonell-Bejerano P, Urbez C, Granell A, Carbonell J, Perez-Amador MA (2011) Ethylene is involved in pistil fate by modulating the onset of ovule senescence and the GA-mediated fruit set in Arabidopsis. 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Palacký University, Olomouc, pp 347–352Jobst J, King K, Hemleben V (1998) Molecular evolution of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and phylogenetic relationships among species of the family Cucurbitaceae. Mol Phylogenet Evol 9:204–219Katzir N, Tadmor Y, Tzuri G, Leshzeshen E, Mozes-Daube N, Danin-Poleg Y, Paris HS (2000) Further ISSR and preliminary SSR analysis of relationships among accessions of Cucurbita pepo. Acta Hortic 510:433–439Loy JB (2012) Breeding squash and pumpkins. In: Wang Y, Behera T, Kole C (eds) Genetics, genomics and breeding of cucurbits. Hew Hampshire, Science Publisher, Enfield, pp 93–139Manzano S, Martínez C, Domínguez V, Avalos E, Garrido D, Gómez P, Jamilena M (2010) A major gene conferring reduced ethylene sensitivity and maleness in Cucurbita pepo. J Plant Growth Regul 29:73–80Manzano S, Martínez C, Megías Z, Gómez P, Garrido D, Jamilena M (2011) The role of ethylene and brassinosteroids in the control of sex expression and flower development in Cucurbita pepo. Plant Growth Regul 65:213–221Manzano S, Martínez C, Megías Z, Garrido D, Jamilena M (2013) Involvement of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in the transition from male to female flowering in the monoecious Cucurbita pepo. J Plant Growth Regul 1–10Martínez C, Manzano S, Kraaman P, Jamilena M (2008) Producción de etileno: un marcador temprano para seleccionar ginoecia en melón. Actas Hortic 51:197–198Martínez C, Manzano S, Megías Z, Garrido D, Picó B, Jamilena M (2013) Involvement of ethylene biosynthesis and signalling in fruit set and early fruit development in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). BMC Plant Biol 13:139Martínez C, Manzano S, Megías Z, Barrera A, Boualem A, Garrido D, Bendahmane A, Jamilena M (2014) Molecular and functional characterization of CpACS27A gene reveals its involvement in monoecy instability and other associated traits in squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). Planta 1–15Nee M (1990) The domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). Econ Bot 44:56–68Nepi M, Pacini E (1993) Pollination, pollen viability and pistil receptivity in Cucurbita pepo. Ann Bot 72:527–536Nitsch J, Kurtz E, Liverman J, Went F (1952) The development of sex expression in cucurbit flowers. Am J Bot 39:32–43Om Y, Hong K (1989) Evaluation of parthenocarpic fruit set in zucchini squash. Res Rpt Rural Dev Adm (Suweon) 31:30–33Orzáez D, Granell A (1997) DNA fragmentation is regulated by ethylene during carpel senescence in Pisum sativum. Plant J 11:137–144Owens K, Peterson C, Tolla G (1980) Production of hermaphrodite flowers on gynoecious muskmelon by silver nitrate and aminoethoxyvinylglycine. 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Universal Press, Raleigh, pp 171–179Peñaranda A, Payan MC, Garrido D, Gómez P, Jamilena M (2007) Production of fruits with attached flowers in zucchini squash is correlated with the arrest of maturation of female flowers. J Hortic Sci Biotechnol 82:579–584Robinson RW (1993) Genetic parthenocarpy in Cucurbita pepo L. Cucurbit Genet Coop Rep 16:55–57Robinson RW, Reiners S (1999) Parthenocarpy in summer squash. HortSci 34:715–717Rudich J (1990) Biochemical aspects of hormonal regulation of sex expression in cucurbits. In: Bates DM, Robinson RW, Jeffrey C (eds) Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 269–280Rylski I (1974) Effects of season on parthenocarpic and fertilized summer squash (Cucumis pepo L.). Expt Agr 10:39–44Rylski I, Aloni B (1990) Parthenocarpic fruit set and development in Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae under protected cultivation in a mild winter climate. 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CABI, New York, pp 345–386Yamasaki S, Fujii N, Matsuura S, Mizusawa H, Takahashi H (2001) The M locus and ethylene-controlled sex determination in andromonoecious cucumber plants. Plant Cell Physiol 42:608–61

Thermodynamics of the PNJL model

QCD thermodynamics is investigated by means of the Polyakov-loop-extended Nambu Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model, in which quarks couple simultaneously to the chiral condensate and to a background temporal gauge field representing Polyakov loop dynamics. The behaviour of the Polyakov loop as a function of temperature is obtained by minimizing the thermodynamic potential of the system. A Taylor series expansion of the pressure is performed. Pressure difference and quark number density are then evaluated up to sixth order in quark chemical potential, and compared to the corresponding lattice data. The validity of the Taylor expansion is discussed within our model, through a comparison between the full results and the truncated ones.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Talk given at the Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Hot Quarks 2006), Villasimius, Italy, 15-20 May 200

Goldstones in Diphotons

We study the conditions for a new scalar resonance to be observed first in diphotons at the LHC Run-2. We focus on scenarios where the scalar arises either from an internal or spacetime symmetry broken spontaneously, for which the mass is naturally below the cutoff and the low-energy interactions are fixed by the couplings to the broken currents, UV anomalies, and selection rules. We discuss the recent excess in diphoton resonance searches observed by ATLAS and CMS at 750 GeV, and explore its compatibility with other searches at Run-1 and its interpretation as Goldstone bosons in supersymmetry and composite Higgs models. We show that two candidates naturally emerge: a Goldstone boson from an internal symmetry with electromagnetic anomalies, and the scalar partner of the Goldstone of supersymmetry breaking: the sgoldstino. The dilaton from conformal symmetry breaking is instead disfavoured by present data, in its minimal natural realization.Comment: 18 pages + refs, 2 figures. v2: typos corrected, references added, discussions extended and three new plots. Conclusion unchanged. v3: published versio

Three-loop HTL gluon thermodynamics at intermediate coupling

We calculate the thermodynamic functions of pure-glue QCD to three-loop order using the hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory (HTLpt) reorganization of finite temperature quantum field theory. We show that at three-loop order hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory is compatible with lattice results for the pressure, energy density, and entropy down to temperatures $T\simeq3\;T_c$. Our results suggest that HTLpt provides a systematic framework that can used to calculate static and dynamic quantities for temperatures relevant at LHC.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figs. 2nd version: improved discussion and fixing typos. Published in JHE

Shear viscosity of the Quark-Gluon Plasma from a virial expansion

We calculate the shear viscosity $\eta$ in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase within a virial expansion approach with particular interest in the ratio of $\eta$ to the entropy density $s$, i.e. $\eta/s$. The virial expansion approach allows us to include the interactions between the partons in the deconfined phase and to evaluate the corrections to a single-particle partition function. In the latter approach we start with an effective interaction with parameters fixed to reproduce thermodynamical quantities of QCD such as energy and/or entropy density. We also directly extract the effective coupling \ga_{\rm V} for the determination of $\eta$. Our numerical results give a ratio $\eta/s\approx 0.097$ at the critical temperature $T_{\rm c}$, which is very close to the theoretical bound of $1/(4\pi)$. Furthermore, for temperatures $T\leq 1.8 T_{\rm c}$ the ratio $\eta/s$ is in the range of the present experimental estimates $0.1-0.3$ at RHIC. When combining our results for $\eta/s$ in the deconfined phase with those from chiral perturbation theory or the resonance gas model in the confined phase we observe a pronounced minimum of $\eta/s$ close to the critical temperature $T_{\rm c}$.Comment: Published in Eur. Phys. J. C, 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tabl

Identification of a novel Drosophila gene, beltless, using injectable embryonic and adult RNA interference (RNAi)

BACKGROUND: RNA interference (RNAi) is a process triggered by a double-stranded RNA that leads to targeted down-regulation/silencing of gene expression and can be used for functional genomics; i.e. loss-of-function studies. Here we report on the use of RNAi in the identification of a developmentally important novel Drosophila (fruit fly) gene (corresponding to a putative gene CG5652/GM06434), that we named beltless based on an embryonic loss-of-function phenotype. RESULTS: Beltless mRNA is expressed in all developmental stages except in 0–6 h embryos. In situ RT-PCR localized beltless mRNA in the ventral cord and brain of late stage embryos and in the nervous system, ovaries, and the accessory glands of adult flies. RNAi was induced by injection of short (22 bp) beltless double-stranded RNAs into embryos or into adult flies. Embryonic RNAi altered cuticular phenotypes ranging from partially-formed to missing denticle belts (thus beltless) of the abdominal segments A2–A4. Embryonic beltless RNAi was lethal. Adult RNAi resulted in the shrinkage of the ovaries by half and reduced the number of eggs laid. We also examined Df(1)RK4 flies in which deletion removes 16 genes, including beltless. In some embryos, we observed cuticular abnormalities similar to our findings with beltless RNAi. After differentiating Df(1)RK4 embryos into those with visible denticle belts and those missing denticle belts, we assayed the presence of beltless mRNA; no beltless mRNA was detectable in embryos with missing denticle belts. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified a developmentally important novel Drosophila gene, beltless, which has been characterized in loss-of-function studies using RNA interference. The putative beltless protein shares homologies with the C. elegans nose resistant to fluoxetine (NRF) NRF-6 gene, as well as with several uncharacterized C. elegans and Drosophila melanogaster genes, some with prominent acyltransferase domains. Future studies should elucidate the role and mechanism of action of beltless during Drosophila development and in adults, including in the adult nervous system

Control of Cell Migration and Inflammatory Mediators Production by CORM-2 in Osteoarthritic Synoviocytes

BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is the most widespread degenerative joint disease. Inflamed synovial cells contribute to the release of inflammatory and catabolic mediators during OA leading to destruction of articular tissues. We have shown previously that CO-releasing molecules exert anti-inflammatory effects in animal models and OA chondrocytes. We have studied the ability of CORM-2 to modify the migration of human OA synoviocytes and the production of chemokines and other mediators sustaining inflammatory and catabolic processes in the OA joint.Methodology/Principal FindingsOA synoviocytes were stimulated with interleukin(IL)-1β in the absence or presence of CORM-2. Migration assay was performed using transwell chambers. Gene expression was analyzed by quantitative PCR and protein expression by Western Blot and ELISA. CORM-2 reduced the proliferation and migration of OA synoviocytes, the expression of IL-8, CCL2, CCL20, matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-1 and MMP-3, and the production of oxidative stress. We found that CORM-2 reduced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase1/2 and to a lesser extent p38. Our results also showed that CORM-2 significantly decreased the activation of nuclear factor-κB and activator protein-1 regulating the transcription of chemokines and MMPs in OA synoviocytes.Conclusion/SignificanceA number of synoviocyte functions relevant in OA synovitis and articular degradation can be down-regulated by CORM-2. These results support the interest of this class of agents for the development of novel therapeutic strategies in inflammatory and degenerative conditions