Nontrivial phase coupling in polariton multiplets

We investigate the phase coupling between spatially separated polariton condensates under nonresonant optical pulsed excitation. In the simple case of two condensates, we observe phase locking either in symmetric or antisymmetric states. We demonstrate that the coupling symmetry depends both on the separation distance and outflow velocity from the condensates. We interpret the observations through stimulated relaxation of polaritons to the phase configuration with the highest occupation. We derive an analytic criterion for the phase locking of a pair-polariton condensate and extend it to polariton multiplets. In the case of three condensates, we predict theoretically and observe experimentally either in-phase locking or the appearance of phase winding with phase differences of �2π/3 between neighbors. The latter state corresponds to a vortex of winding number �1 across the three polariton condensates..P. G. L. and A. V. K. acknowledge EPSRC through Programme Grant on Hybrid Polaritonics EP/M025330/1 and EP/F026455/1 for co-supporting this work. N. G. B acknowledges financial support by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation 1425320 (Project DOI: RFMEFI58114X0006). Y. G. R. acknowledges financial support by CONACYT (Mexico) under Grant No. 251808

New evidence on Allyn Young's style and influence as a teacher

This paper publishes the hitherto unpublished correspondence between Allyn Abbott Young's biographer Charles Blitch and 17 of Young's former students or associates. Together with related biographical and archival material, the paper shows the way in which this adds to our knowledge of Young's considerable influence as a teacher upon some of the twentieth century's greatest economists. The correspondents are as follows: James W Angell, Colin Clark, Arthur H Cole, Lauchlin Currie, Melvin G de Chazeau, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, Howard S Ellis, Frank W Fetter, Earl J Hamilton, Seymour S Harris, Richard S Howey, Nicholas Kaldor, Melvin M Knight, Bertil Ohlin, Geoffrey Shepherd, Overton H Taylor, and Gilbert Walker

The Epstein-Barr Virus G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Contributes to Immune Evasion by Targeting MHC Class I Molecules for Degradation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus that persists as a largely subclinical infection in the vast majority of adults worldwide. Recent evidence indicates that an important component of the persistence strategy involves active interference with the MHC class I antigen processing pathway during the lytic replication cycle. We have now identified a novel role for the lytic cycle gene, BILF1, which encodes a glycoprotein with the properties of a constitutive signaling G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). BILF1 reduced the levels of MHC class I at the cell surface and inhibited CD8+ T cell recognition of endogenous target antigens. The underlying mechanism involves physical association of BILF1 with MHC class I molecules, an increased turnover from the cell surface, and enhanced degradation via lysosomal proteases. The BILF1 protein of the closely related CeHV15 c1-herpesvirus of the Rhesus Old World primate (80% amino acid sequence identity) downregulated surface MHC class I similarly to EBV BILF1. Amongst the human herpesviruses, the GPCR encoded by the ORF74 of the KSHV c2-herpesvirus is most closely related to EBV BILF1 (15% amino acid sequence identity) but did not affect levels of surface MHC class I. An engineered mutant of BILF1 that was unable to activate G protein signaling pathways retained the ability to downregulate MHC class I, indicating that the immune-modulating and GPCR-signaling properties are two distinct functions of BILF1. These findings extend our understanding of the normal biology of an important human pathogen. The discovery of a third EBV lytic cycle gene that cooperates to interfere with MHC class I antigen processing underscores the importance of the need for EBV to be able to evade CD8+ T cell responses during the lytic replication cycle, at a time when such a large number of potential viral targets are expressed

Measurement and Computation of Movement of Bromide Ions and Carbofuran in Ridged Humic-Sandy Soil

Water flow and pesticide transport in the soil of fields with ridges and furrows may be more complex than in the soil of more level fields. Prior to crop emergence, the tracer bromide ion and the insecticide carbofuran were sprayed on the humic-sandy soil of a potato field with ridges and furrows. Rainfall was supplemented by sprinkler irrigation. The distribution of the substances in the soil profile of the ridges and furrows was measured on three dates in the potato growing season. Separate ridge and furrow systems were simulated by using the pesticide emission assessment at regional and local scales (PEARL) model for pesticide behavior in soil–plant systems. The substances travelled deeper in the furrow soil than in the ridge soil, because of runoff from the ridges to the furrows. At 19 days after application, the peak of the bromide distribution was measured to be in the 0.1–0.2 m layer of the ridges, while it was in the 0.3–0.5 m layer of the furrows. After 65 days, the peak of the carbofuran distribution in the ridge soil was still in the 0.1 m top layer, while the pesticide was rather evenly distributed in the top 0.6 m of the furrow soil. The wide ranges in concentration measured with depth showed that preferential water flow and substance transport occurred in the sandy soil. Part of the bromide ion distribution was measured to move faster in soil than the computed wave. The runoff of water and pesticide from the ridges to the furrows, and the thinner root zone in the furrows, are expected to increase the risk of leaching to groundwater in ridged fields, in comparison with more level fields

Holographic Vitrification

We establish the existence of stable and metastable stationary black hole bound states at finite temperature and chemical potentials in global and planar four-dimensional asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. We determine a number of features of their holographic duals and argue they represent structural glasses. We map out their thermodynamic landscape in the probe approximation, and show their relaxation dynamics exhibits logarithmic aging, with aging rates determined by the distribution of barriers.Comment: 100 pages, 25 figure

Marine Cyanobacteria Compounds with Anticancer Properties: Implication of Apoptosis

Marine cyanobacteria have been proved to be an important source of potential anticancer drugs. Although several compounds were found to be cytotoxic to cancer cells in culture, the pathways by which cells are affected are still poorly elucidated. For some compounds, cancer cell death was attributed to an implication of apoptosis through morphological apoptotic features, implication of caspases and proteins of the Bcl-2 family, and other mechanisms such as interference with microtubules dynamics, cell cycle arrest and inhibition of proteases other than caspases

Dopamine receptor alterations in female rats with diet-induced decreased brain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA): interactions with reproductive status

Decreased tissue levels of n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are implicated in the etiologies of non-puerperal and postpartum depression. This study examined the effects of a diet-induced loss of brain DHA content and concurrent reproductive status on dopaminergic parameters in adult female Long–Evans rats. An α-linolenic acid-deficient diet and breeding protocols were used to produce virgin and parous female rats with cortical phospholipid DHA levels 20–22% lower than those fed a control diet containing adequate α-linolenic acid. Decreased brain DHA produced a significant main effect of decreased density of ventral striatal D2-like receptors. Virgin females with decreased DHA also exhibited higher density of D1-like receptors in the caudate nucleus than virgin females with normal DHA. These receptor alterations are similar to those found in several rodent models of depression, and are consistent with the proposed hypodopaminergic basis for anhedonia and motivational deficits in depression

Shading Beats Binocular Disparity in Depth from Luminance Gradients: Evidence against a Maximum Likelihood Principle for Cue Combination

Perceived depth is conveyed by multiple cues, including binocular disparity and luminance shading. Depth perception from luminance shading information depends on the perceptual assumption for the incident light, which has been shown to default to a diffuse illumination assumption. We focus on the case of sinusoidally corrugated surfaces to ask how shading and disparity cues combine defined by the joint luminance gradients and intrinsic disparity modulation that would occur in viewing the physical corrugation of a uniform surface under diffuse illumination. Such surfaces were simulated with a sinusoidal luminance modulation (0.26 or 1.8 cy/deg, contrast 20%-80%) modulated either in-phase or in opposite phase with a sinusoidal disparity of the same corrugation frequency, with disparity amplitudes ranging from 0’-20’. The observers’ task was to adjust the binocular disparity of a comparison random-dot stereogram surface to match the perceived depth of the joint luminance/disparitymodulated corrugation target. Regardless of target spatial frequency, the perceived target depth increased with the luminance contrast and depended on luminance phase but was largely unaffected by the luminance disparity modulation. These results validate the idea that human observers can use the diffuse illumination assumption to perceive depth from luminance gradients alone without making an assumption of light direction. For depth judgments with combined cues, the observers gave much greater weighting to the luminance shading than to the disparity modulation of the targets. The results were not well-fit by a Bayesian cue-combination model weighted in proportion to the variance of the measurements for each cue in isolation. Instead, they suggest that the visual system uses disjunctive mechanisms to process these two types of information rather than combining them according to their likelihood ratios