4,233 research outputs found
Effective Dynamics of the Matrix Big Bang
We study the leading quantum effects in the recently introduced Matrix Big
Bang model. This amounts to a study of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory
compactified on the Milne orbifold. We find a one-loop potential that is
attractive near the Big Bang. Surprisingly, the potential decays very rapidly
at late times, where it appears to be generated by D-brane effects. Usually,
general covariance constrains the form of any effective action generated by
renormalization group flow. However, the form of our one-loop potential seems
to violate these constraints in a manner that suggests a connection between the
cosmological singularity and long wavelength, late time physics.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX; some minor changes; an improved discussion of the
potentia
Intersecting black branes in strong gravitational waves
We consider intersecting black branes with strong gravitational waves
propagating along their worldvolume in the context of supergravity theories.
Both near-horizon and space-filling gravitational wave modes are included in
our ansatz. The equations of motion (originally, partial differential
equations) are shown to reduce to ordinary differential equations, which
include a Toda-like system. For special arrangements of intersecting black
branes, the Toda-like system becomes integrable, permitting a more thorough
analysis of the gravitational equations of motion.Comment: 17 pages; v2: cosmetic improvements, published versio
FUCA1 is induced by wild-type p53 and expressed at different levels in thyroid cancers depending on p53 status
Fucose residues of cell surface glycans, which play important roles in growth, invasion and metastasis, are added by fucosyltransferases (FUTs) and removed by α-L-fucosidases (FUCAs). By the differential display method, we isolated a 3' non-coding region of α-L-fucosidase-1 (FUCA1) (a gene coding for the lysosomal fucosidase-1 enzyme) as a wild-type p53-inducible gene: 18S and 20S FUCA1 mRNA species were induced in Saos-2 cells transfected with a temperature-sensitive p53 mutant at the permissive temperature. By microarray analyses of thyroid cancer biopsy samples, FUCA1 RNA expression levels were found to be lower in anaplastic thyroid cancer samples (ATCs), while they were higher in papillary thyroid cancer samples (PTCs) and in normal thyroid tissues. Since most ATCs were reported to carry the mutated form of p53, while PTCs carry mostly the wild-type form of p53, it is likely that FUCA1 expression levels are regulated, at least in part, by the p53 status in thyroid cancers. In order to better understand the role played by FUCA genes in thyroid tumorigenesis, we examined the clonogenic potential in vitro of thyroid cell lines transfected with either FUCA1 or FUCA2 (the latter gene coding for a secreted, non-lysosomal enzyme). We found that α-L-fucosidases did not suppress grossly cell growth. Contrary to what we observed with the expression of FUCA1, the FUT8 expression levels were found high in ATCsbut lower in PTCs and normal thyroid tissues. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility that the higher fucose levels on cell surface glycans of aggressive ATCs, compared to those of less aggressive PTCs, may be at least in part responsible for the more aggressive and metastatic phenotype of ATCs compared to PTCs, as the expression levels of FUCA1 and FUT8 were inversely related in these two types of cancers. Fucose residues of cell surface glycans, which play important roles in growth, invasion and metastasis, are added by fucosyltransferases (FUTs) and removed by α-L-fucosidases (FUCAs). By the differential display method, we isolated a 3' non-coding region of α-L-fucosidase-1 (FUCA1) (a gene coding for the lysosomal fucosidase-1 enzyme) as a wild-type p53-inducible gene: 18S and 20S FUCA1 mRNA species were induced in Saos-2 cells transfected with a temperature-sensitive p53 mutant at the permissive temperature. By microarray analyses of thyroid cancer biopsy samples, FUCA1 RNA expression levels were found to be lower in anaplastic thyroid cancer samples (ATCs), while they were higher in papillary thyroid cancer samples (PTCs) and in normal thyroid tissues. Since most ATCs were reported to carry the mutated form of p53, while PTCs carry mostly the wild-type form of p53, it is likely that FUCA1 expression levels are regulated, at least in part, by the p53 status in thyroid cancers. In order to better understand the role played by FUCA genes in thyroid tumorigenesis, we examined the clonogenic potential in vitro of thyroid cell lines transfected with either FUCA1 or FUCA2 (the latter gene coding for a secreted, non-lysosomal enzyme). We found that α-L-fucosidases did not suppress grossly cell growth. Contrary to what we observed with the expression of FUCA1, the FUT8 expression levels were found high in ATCs but lower in PTCs and normal thyroid tissues. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility that the higher fucose levels on cell surface glycans of aggressive ATCs, compared to those of less aggressive PTCs, may be at least in part responsible for the more aggressive and metastatic phenotype of ATCs compared to PTCs, as the expression levels of FUCA1 and FUT8 were inversely related in these two types of cancers
Cosmologies with Null Singularities and their Gauge Theory Duals
We investigate backgrounds of Type IIB string theory with null singularities
and their duals proposed in hep-th/0602107. The dual theory is a deformed N=4
Yang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensions with couplings dependent on a light-like
direction. We concentrate on backgrounds which become AdS_5 x S^5 at early and
late times and where the string coupling is bounded, vanishing at the
singularity. Our main conclusion is that in these cases the dual gauge theory
is nonsingular. We show this by arguing that there exists a complete set of
gauge invariant observables in the dual gauge theory whose correlation
functions are nonsingular at all times. The two-point correlator for some
operators calculated in the gauge theory does not agree with the result from
the bulk supergravity solution. However, the bulk calculation is invalid near
the singularity where corrections to the supergravity approximation become
important. We also obtain pp-waves which are suitable Penrose limits of this
general class of solutions, and construct the Matrix Membrane theory which
describes these pp-wave backgrounds.Comment: 43 pages REVTeX and AMSLaTeX. v2: references adde
Gauge Theories with Time Dependent Couplings and their Cosmological Duals
We consider the N=4 SYM theory in flat 3+1 dimensional spacetime with a time
dependent coupling constant which vanishes at , like . In an
analogous quantum mechanics toy model we find that the response is singular.
The energy diverges at , for a generic state. In addition, if the
phase of the wave function has a wildly oscillating behavior, which does not
allow it to be continued past . A similar effect would make the gauge
theory singular as well, though nontrivial effects of renormalization could
tame this singularity and allow a smooth continuation beyond . The gravity
dual in some cases is known to be a time dependent cosmology which exhibits a
space-like singularity at . Our results, if applicable in the gauge theory
for the case of the vanishing coupling, imply that the singularity is a genuine
sickness and does not admit a meaningful continuation. When the coupling
remains non-zero and becomes small at , the curvature in the bulk becomes
of order the string scale. The gauge theory now admits a time evolution beyond
this point. In this case, a finite amount of energy is produced which possibly
thermalizes and leads to a black hole in the bulk.Comment: 45 pages, 1 figure; v2. minor modifications; v3: PRD version,
conclusions in the field theory case significantly revised to include
possible renormalization effects, quantum mechanics toy model unchanged,
abstract and introduction revised, additional subsection 4.1 adde
A trans-homologue interaction between reciprocally imprinted miR-127 and Rtl1 regulates placenta development.
The paternally expressed imprinted retrotransposon-like 1 (Rtl1) is a retrotransposon-derived gene that has evolved a function in eutherian placentation. Seven miRNAs, including miR-127, are processed from a maternally expressed antisense Rtl1 transcript (Rtl1as) and regulate Rtl1 levels through RNAi-mediated post-transcriptional degradation. To determine the relative functional role of Rtl1as miRNAs in Rtl1 dosage, we generated a mouse specifically deleted for miR-127. The miR-127 knockout mice exhibit placentomegaly with specific defects within the labyrinthine zone involved in maternal-fetal nutrient transfer. Although fetal weight is unaltered, specific Rtl1 transcripts and protein levels are increased in both the fetus and placenta. Phenotypic analysis of single (ΔmiR-127/Rtl1 or miR-127/ΔRtl1) and double (ΔmiR-127/ΔRtl1) heterozygous miR-127- and Rtl1-deficient mice indicate that Rtl1 is the main target gene of miR-127 in placental development. Our results demonstrate that miR-127 is an essential regulator of Rtl1, mediated by a trans-homologue interaction between reciprocally imprinted genes on the maternally and paternally inherited chromosomes.This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC) and EU FP7 Marie Curie Action 290123 (INGENIUM). This work was partly funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) CJ Martin Biomedical Fellowship to A.N.S.P.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://dev.biologists.org/content/early/2015/07/01/dev.121996.abstract
Supersymmetric Intersecting Branes on the Waves
We construct a general family of supersymmetric solutions in time- and
space-dependent wave backgrounds in general supergravity theories describing
single and intersecting p-branes embedded into time-dependent dilaton-gravity
plane waves of an arbitrary (isotropic) profile, with the brane world-volume
aligned parallel to the propagation direction of the wave. We discuss how many
degrees of freedom we have in the solutions. We also propose that these
solutions can be used to describe higher-dimensional time-dependent "black
holes", and discuss their property briefly.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe
The Certification of ATLAS Thin Gap Chambers Produced in Israel and China
Thin gap chambers (TGCs) are used for the muon trigger system in the forward
region of the LHC experiment ATLAS. A TGC consists of a plane of closely spaced
wires maintained at positive high voltage, sandwiched between resistive
grounded cathode planes with an anode wire to cathode plane gap distance
smaller than the wire-to-wire spacing. The TGCs are expected to provide a
trigger signal within 25 ns of the bunch spacing of the LHC accelerator, with
an efficiency exceeding 95%, while exposed to an effective photon and neutron
background ranging from 30 to 500 Hz/cm2. About 2,500 out of the 3,600 ATLAS
TGCs are being produced at the Weizmann institute in Israel, and in Shandong
University in China. Once installed in the ATLAS detector the TGCs will be
inaccessible. A vigorous production quality control program is therefore
implemented at the production sites. Furthermore, after chamber completion, a
thorough program of quality assurance is implemented to ensure the efficient
performance of the chambers during more than ten years of operation in the LHC
high rate environment. This program consists of a detailed mapping of the
detectors response using cosmic rays, as well as checking the chambers behavior
using a high rate radiation source. An aging test performed on five chambers in
a serial gas connection is presented. Finally the results of the chambers
certification tests performed at CERN before the installation in ATLAS are
described.Comment: Presented at 2004 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium 2004, Rome, Oct 200
Light-like Big Bang singularities in string and matrix theories
Important open questions in cosmology require a better understanding of the
Big Bang singularity. In string and matrix theories, light-like analogues of
cosmological singularities (singular plane wave backgrounds) turn out to be
particularly tractable. We give a status report on the current understanding of
such light-like Big Bang models, presenting both solved and open problems.Comment: 20 pages, invited review for Class. Quant. Grav; v3: section 2.3
shortened, discussion on DLCQ added in section 3.1, published versio
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