Statistical properties of genealogical trees

We analyse the statistical properties of genealogical trees in a neutral model of a closed population with sexual reproduction and non-overlapping generations. By reconstructing the genealogy of an individual from the population evolution, we measure the distribution of ancestors appearing more than once in a given tree. After a transient time, the probability of repetition follows, up to a rescaling, a stationary distribution which we calculate both numerically and analytically. This distribution exhibits a universal shape with a non-trivial power law which can be understood by an exact, though simple, renormalization calculation. Some real data on human genealogy illustrate the problem, which is relevant to the study of the real degree of diversity in closed interbreeding communities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Systematic expression analysis of plasticity-related genes in mouse brain development brings PRG4 into play

Background: Plasticity-related genes (Prgs/PRGs) or lipid phosphate phosphatase-related proteins (LPPRs) comprise five known members, which have been linked to neuronal differentiation processes, such as neurite outgrowth, axonal branching, or dendritic spine formation. PRGs are highly brain-specific and belong to the lipid phosphate phosphatases (LPPs) superfamily, which influence lipid metabolism by dephosphorylation of bioactive lipids. PRGs, however, do not possess enzymatic activity, but modify lipid metabolism in a way that is still under investigation. Results: We analyzed mRNA expression levels of all Prgs during mouse brain development, in the hippocampus, neocortex, olfactory bulbs, and cerebellum. We found different spatio-temporal expression patterns for each of the Prgs, and identified a high expression of the uncharacterized Prg4 throughout brain development. Unlike its close family members PRG3 and PRG5, PRG4 did not induce filopodial outgrowth in non-neuronal cell lines, and does not localize to the plasma membrane of filopodia. Conclusion: We showed PRG4 to be highly expressed in the developing and the adult brain, suggesting that it is of vital importance for normal brain function. Despite its similarities to other family members, it seems not to be involved in changes of cell morphology; instead, it is more likely to be associated with intracellular signaling

Quark-model study of few-baryon systems

We review the application of non-relativistic constituent quark models to study one, two and three non-strange baryon systems. We present results for the baryon spectra, potentials and observables of the NN, N$\Delta$, $\Delta\Delta$ and NN$^*(1440)$ systems, and also for the binding energies of three non-strange baryon systems. We make emphasis on observable effects related to quark antisymmetry and its interplay with quark dynamics.Comment: 82 pages, 36 figures, 18 tables. Accepted for publication in Reports on Progress in Physic

Comprehensive assessment of meteorological conditions and airflow connectivity during HCCT-2010

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the meteorological conditions and atmospheric flow dur- ing the Lagrangian-type “Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia 2010” experiment (HCCT-2010), which was performed in Septem- ber and October 2010 at Mt. Schmücke in the Thuringian Forest, Germany and which used observations at three measurement sites (upwind, in-cloud, and downwind) to study physical and chemical aerosol–cloud interactions. A Lagrangian-type hill cap cloud experiment requires not only suitable cloud conditions but also connected airflow condi- tions (i.e. representative air masses at the different measure- ment sites). The primary goal of the present study was to identify time periods during the 6-week duration of the ex- periment in which these conditions were fulfilled and there- fore which are suitable for use in further data examinations. The following topics were studied in detail: (i) the general synoptic weather situations, including the mesoscale flow conditions, (ii) local meteorological conditions and (iii) lo- cal flow conditions. The latter were investigated by means of statistical analyses using best-available quasi-inert trac- ers, SF6 tracer experiments in the experiment area, and re- gional modelling. This study represents the first applica- tion of comprehensive analyses using statistical measures such as the coefficient of divergence (COD) and the cross- correlation in the context of a Lagrangian-type hill cap cloud experiment. This comprehensive examination of local flow connectivity yielded a total of 14 full-cloud events (FCEs), which are defined as periods during which all connected flow and cloud criteria for a suitable Lagrangian-type ex- periment were fulfilled, and 15 non-cloud events (NCEs), which are defined as periods with connected flow but no cloud at the summit site, and which can be used as refer- ence cases. The overall evaluation of the identified FCEs provides the basis for subsequent investigations of the mea- sured chemical and physical data during HCCT-2010 (see http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/special_issue287.html). Results obtained from the statistical flow analyses and regional-scale modelling performed in this study indicate the existence of a strong link between the three measurement sites during the FCEs and NCEs, particularly under condi- tions of constant southwesterly flow, high wind speeds and slightly stable stratification. COD analyses performed using continuous measurements of ozone and particle (49nm di- ameter size bin) concentrations at the three sites revealed, particularly for COD value

Moscow-type NN-potentials and three-nucleon bound states

A detailed description of Moscow-type (M-type) potential models for the NN interaction is given. The microscopic foundation of these models, which appear as a consequence of the composite quark structure of nucleons, is discussed. M-type models are shown to arise naturally in a coupled channel approach when compound or bag-like six-quark states, strongly coupled to the NN channel, are eliminated from the complete multiquark wave function. The role of the deep-lying bound states that appear in these models is elucidated. By introducing additional conditions of orthogonality to these compound six-quark states, a continuous series of almost on-shell equivalent nonlocal interaction models, characterized by a strong reduction or full absence of a local repulsive core (M-type models), is generated. The predictions of these interaction models for 3N systems are analyzed in detail. It is shown that M-type models give, under certain conditions, a stronger binding of the 3N system than the original phase-equivalent model with nodeless wave functions. An analysis of the 3N system with the new versions of the Moscow NN potential describing also the higher even partial waves is presented. Large deviations from conventional NN force models are found for the momentum distribution in the high momentum region. In particular, the Coulomb displacement energy for nuclei ^3He - ^3H displays a promising agreement with experiment when the ^3H binding energy is extrapolated to the experimental value.Comment: 23 pages Latex, 9 figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Comprehensive assessment of meteorological conditions and airflow connectivity during HCCT-2010

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the meteorological conditions and atmospheric flow during the Lagrangian-type "Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia 2010" experiment (HCCT-2010), which was performed in September and October 2010 at Mt. Schmücke in the Thuringian Forest, Germany and which used observations at three measurement sites (upwind, in-cloud, and downwind) to study physical and chemical aerosol–cloud interactions. A Lagrangian-type hill cap cloud experiment requires not only suitable cloud conditions but also connected airflow conditions (i.e. representative air masses at the different measurement sites). The primary goal of the present study was to identify time periods during the 6-week duration of the experiment in which these conditions were fulfilled and therefore which are suitable for use in further data examinations. The following topics were studied in detail: (i) the general synoptic weather situations, including the mesoscale flow conditions, (ii) local meteorological conditions and (iii) local flow conditions. The latter were investigated by means of statistical analyses using best-available quasi-inert tracers, SF6 tracer experiments in the experiment area, and regional modelling. This study represents the first application of comprehensive analyses using statistical measures such as the coefficient of divergence (COD) and the cross-correlation in the context of a Lagrangian-type hill cap cloud experiment. This comprehensive examination of local flow connectivity yielded a total of 14 full-cloud events (FCEs), which are defined as periods during which all connected flow and cloud criteria for a suitable Lagrangian-type experiment were fulfilled, and 15 non-cloud events (NCEs), which are defined as periods with connected flow but no cloud at the summit site, and which can be used as reference cases. The overall evaluation of the identified FCEs provides the basis for subsequent investigations of the measured chemical and physical data during HCCT-2010 (see https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/special_issue287.html)

Granular Solid Hydrodynamics

Granular elasticity, an elasticity theory useful for calculating static stress distribution in granular media, is generalized to the dynamic case by including the plastic contribution of the strain. A complete hydrodynamic theory is derived based on the hypothesis that granular medium turns transiently elastic when deformed. This theory includes both the true and the granular temperatures, and employs a free energy expression that encapsulates a full jamming phase diagram, in the space spanned by pressure, shear stress, density and granular temperature. For the special case of stationary granular temperatures, the derived hydrodynamic theory reduces to {\em hypoplasticity}, a state-of-the-art engineering model.Comment: 42 pages 3 fi

Surfactant protein D modulates HIV infection of both T-cells and dendritic cells

Surfactant Protein D (SP-D) is an oligomerized C-type lectin molecule with immunomodulatory properties and involvement in lung surfactant homeostasis in the respiratory tract. SP-D binds to the enveloped viruses, influenza A virus and respiratory syncytial virus and inhibits their replication in vitro and in vivo. SP-D has been shown to bind to HIV via the HIV envelope protein gp120 and inhibit infectivity in vitro. Here we show that SP-D binds to different strains of HIV (BaL and IIIB) and the binding occurs at both pH 7.4 and 5.0 resembling physiological relevant pH values found in the body and the female urogenital tract, respectively. The binding of SP-D to HIV particles and gp120 was inhibited by the presence of several hexoses with mannose found to be the strongest inhibitor. Competition studies showed that soluble CD4 and CVN did not interfere with the interaction between SP-D and gp120. However, soluble recombinant DC-SIGN was shown to inhibit the binding between SP-D and gp120. SP-D agglutinated HIV and gp120 in a calcium dependent manner. SP-D inhibited the infectivity of HIV strains at both pH values of 7.4 and 5.0 in a concentration dependent manner. The inhibition of the infectivity was abolished by the presence of mannose. SP-D enhanced the binding of HIV to immature monocyte derived dendritic cells (iMDDCs) and was also found to enhance HIV capture and transfer to the T-cell like line PM1. These results suggest that SP-D can bind to and inhibit direct infection of T-cells by HIV but also enhance the transfer of infectious HIV particles from DCs to T-cells in vivo

The Pion-Nucleon Form Factor From QCD Sum Rules

QCD sum rules are used to calculate the $q^2$ dependence of the $\pi NN$ coupling $g_{\pi NN} (q^2)$ in the spacelike region 0.5 \ {\mbox{GeV}}^2 \lesssim q^2 \lesssim 1.5\ {\mbox{GeV}}^2. We study the Borel sum rule for the three point function of one pseudoscalar and two nucleon currents up to order four in the operator product expansion. The Borel transform is performed with respect to the nucleon momenta, whereas the momentum $q^2$ of the pseudoscalar vertex is kept fixed at spacelike values. The results can be well fitted using a monopole form with a cutoff mass of about $\Lambda_\pi \approx 800 \ {\mbox{MeV}}.Comment: 13 pages (REVTEX), 6 figures as 5 postscript files (as fig.uu tarred, compressed, uudecoded

Search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decay D0→μ+μ−D^0 \to \mu^+\mu^- with the HERA-B Detector

We report on a search for the flavor-changing neutral current decay $D^0 \to \mu^+\mu^-$ using $50 \times 10^6$ events recorded with a dimuon trigger in interactions of 920 GeV protons with nuclei by the HERA-B experiment. We find no evidence for such decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on the branching fraction $Br(D^0 \to \mu^+\mu^-) <2.0 \times 10^{-6}$.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures (of which 1 double), paper to be submitted to Physics Letters