640 research outputs found
Pancreatic polypeptide inhibits somatostatin secretion
AbstractPancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a major agonist for neuropeptide Y4 receptors (NPY4R). While NPY4R has been identified in various tissues, the cells on which it is expressed and its function in those cells has not been clearly delineated. Here we report that NPY4R is present in all somatostatin-containing cells of tissues that we tested, including pancreatic islets, duodenum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. Its agonism by PP decreases somatostatin secretion from human islets. Mouse embryonic hippocampal (mHippo E18) cells expressed NPY4Rs and their activation by PP consistently decreased somatostatin secretion. Furthermore, central injection of PP in mice induced c-Fos immunoreactivity in somatostatin-containing cells in the hippocampus compared with PBS-injected mice. In sum, our results identify PP as a pivotal modulator of somatostatin secretion
Meson Exchange Effect on Color Superconductivity
We investigate the effects of pion and gluon exchanges on the formation of
two-flavor color superconductivity at moderate density, . The
chiral quark model proposed by Manohar and Georgi containing pions as well as
gluons is employed to show that the pion exchange reduces substantially the
value of the superconducting gap gotten with the gluon exchange only. It turns
out that the pion exchanges produce a repulsion between quark-quark pair in a
spin and isospin singlet state.
We suggest that the phase consisiting of pions, gluons and quarks is one of
the candidates of in-medium QCD phase at moderate density.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, minor correction
A Precursor of Chiral Symmetry Restoration in the Nuclear Medium
Spectral enhancement near the 2m_{\pi} threshold in the I=J=0 channel in
nuclei is shown to be a distinct signal of the partial restoration of chiral
symmetry. The relevance of this phenomenon with the possible detection of
2\pi^{0} and 2\gamma in hadron-nucleus and photo-nucleus reactions is
discussed.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, 3 eps figures, title and introduction changed, to
appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Elucidating glycosaminoglycanâproteinâprotein interactions using carbohydrate microarray and computational approaches
Glycosaminoglycan polysaccharides play critical roles in many cellular processes, ranging from viral invasion and angiogenesis to spinal cord injury. Their diverse biological activities are derived from an ability to regulate a remarkable number of proteins. However, few methods exist for the rapid identification of glycosaminoglycanâprotein interactions and for studying the potential of glycosaminoglycans to assemble multimeric protein complexes. Here, we report a multidisciplinary approach that combines new carbohydrate microarray and computational modeling methodologies to elucidate glycosaminoglycanâprotein interactions. The approach was validated through the study of known protein partners for heparan and chondroitin sulfate, including fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and its receptor FGFR1, the malarial protein VAR2CSA, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). We also applied the approach to identify previously undescribed interactions between a specific sulfated epitope on chondroitin sulfate, CS-E, and the neurotrophins, a critical family of growth factors involved in the development, maintenance, and survival of the vertebrate nervous system. Our studies show for the first time that CS is capable of assembling multimeric signaling complexes and modulating neurotrophin signaling pathways. In addition, we identify a contiguous CS-E-binding site by computational modeling that suggests a potential mechanism to explain how CS may promote neurotrophin-tyrosine receptor kinase (Trk) complex formation and neurotrophin signaling. Together, our combined microarray and computational modeling methodologies provide a general, facile means to identify new glycosaminoglycanâproteinâprotein interactions, as well as a molecular-level understanding of those complexes
Off-shell effects in dilepton production from hot interacting mesons
The production of dielectrons in reactions involving a_1 mesons and pions is
studied. We compare results obtained with different phenomenological
Lagrangians that have been used in connection with hadronic matter and finite
nuclei. We insist on the necessity for those interactions to satisfy known
empirical properties of the strong interaction. Large off-shell effects in
dielectron production are found and some consequences for the interpretation of
heavy ion data are outlined. We also compare with results obtained using
experimentally-extracted spectral functions.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX2e, 2 figure
Photon Rates for Heavy-Ion Collisions from Hidden Local Symmetry
We study photon production from the hidden local symmetry approach that
includes pions, rho and a1 mesons and compute the corresponding photon emission
rates from a hadronic gas in thermal equilibrium. Together with experimental
radiative decay widths of the background, these rates are used in a
relativistic transport model to calculate single photon spectra in heavy-ion
collisions at SPS energies. We then employ this effective theory to test three
scenarios for the chiral phase transition in high-temperature nuclear matter
including decreasing vector meson masses. Although all calculations respect the
upper bound set by the WA80 Collaboration, we find the scenarios could be
distinguished with more detailed data.Comment: 12 pages, 12 Postscript figures; discussion of thermal equilibrium
rates expanded, minor corrections to text and graph
Relativistic quantum transport theory of hadronic matter: the coupled nucleon, delta and pion system
We derive the relativistic quantum transport equation for the pion
distribution function based on an effective Lagrangian of the QHD-II model. The
closed time-path Green's function technique, the semi-classical, quasi-particle
and Born approximation are employed in the derivation. Both the mean field and
collision term are derived from the same Lagrangian and presented analytically.
The dynamical equation for the pions is consistent with that for the nucleons
and deltas which we developed before. Thus, we obtain a relativistic transport
model which describes the hadronic matter with , and degrees
of freedom simultaneously. Within this approach, we investigate the medium
effects on the pion dispersion relation as well as the pion absorption and pion
production channels in cold nuclear matter. In contrast to the results of the
non-relativistic model, the pion dispersion relation becomes harder at low
momenta and softer at high momenta as compared to the free one, which is mainly
caused by the relativistic kinetics. The theoretically predicted free cross section is in agreement with the experimental data. Medium
effects on the cross section and momentum-dependent
-decay width are shown to be substantial.Comment: 66 pages, Latex, 12 PostScript figures included; replaced by the
revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev.
The sign problem across the QCD phase transition
The average phase factor of the QCD fermion determinant signals the strength
of the QCD sign problem. We compute the average phase factor as a function of
temperature and baryon chemical potential using a two-flavor NJL model. This
allows us to study the strength of the sign problem at and above the chiral
transition. It is discussed how the anomaly affects the sign problem.
Finally, we study the interplay between the sign problem and the endpoint of
the chiral transition.Comment: 9 pages and 9 fig
Phi Mesons from a Hadronic Fireball
Production of mesons is considered in the course of heavy-ion
collisions at SPS energies. We investigate the possible difference in momentum
distributions of mesons measured via their leptonic () and
hadronic () decays. Rescattering of secondary kaons in the dense hadron
gas together with the influence of in-medium kaon potential can lead to a
relative decrease of a yield observed in the hadronic channel. We
analyze how the in-medium modifications of meson properties affect apparent -
reconstructed momentum distributions of mesons. Quantitative results are
presented for central Pb+Pb collisions at .Comment: style Revtex4,9 pages, 5 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.
Intermediate-mass dilepton spectra and the role of secondary hadronic processes in heavy-ion collisions
We carry out a study of intermediate-mass (between 1 and 2.5 GeV) dilepton
spectra from hadronic interactions in heavy-ion collisions. The processes
considered are , , , , , and . The elementary cross sections for those are obtained
from chiral Lagrangians involving pseudoscalar, vector, and axial-vector
mesons. The respective electromagnetic form factors are determined by fitting
to experimental data for the reverse processes of . Based on
this input we calculate cross sections and thermal dilepton emission rates and
compare our results with those from other approaches. Finally we use these
elementary cross sections with a relativistic transport model and calculate
dilepton spectra in S+W collisions at SPS energies. The comparison of our
results with experimental data from the HELIOS-3 collaboration indicates the
importance of the secondary hadronic contributions to the intermediate-mass
dilepton spectra.Comment: 25 pages, including 20 postscript figure
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