The Beta Ansatz: A Tale of Two Complex Structures

Brane tilings, sometimes called dimer models, are a class of bipartite graphs on a torus which encode the gauge theory data of four-dimensional SCFTs dual to D3-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau threefolds. An efficient way of encoding this information exploits the theory of dessin d’enfants, expressing the structure in terms of a permutation triple, which is in turn related to a Belyi pair, namely a holomorphic map from a torus to a P1 with three marked points. The procedure of a-maximization, in the context of isoradial embeddings of the dimer, also associates a complex structure to the torus, determined by the R-charges in the SCFT, which can be compared with the Belyi complex structure. Algorithms for the explicit construction of the Belyi pairs are described in detail. In the case of orbifolds, these algorithms are related to the construction of covers of elliptic curves, which exploits the properties of Weierstraß elliptic functions. We present a counter example to a previous conjecture identifying the complex structure of the Belyi curve to the complex structure associated with R-charges

ФУНКЦИИ И ОСОБЕННОСТИ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ЭЛЕКТРОЭНЕРГЕТИЧЕСКИМ КОМПЛЕКСОМ В ПЕРИОД ЕГО РЕФОРМИРОВАНИЯ

The principles and peculiarities of the corporate changes in power industry on the basis of «organizational development» theory have been considered in the paper. Special attention has been given to the functions of top-management in the transition period.Рассмотрены принципы и особенности корпоративных изменений в электроэнергетической отрасли с позиций теории «организационного развития». Особое внимание уделено функциям топ-менеджмента в период реформирования

Свойства и энергетические характеристики особых неоднородных электромагнитных волн в гиперболических метаматериалах

In this paper, it is shown that under the conditions of total internal reflection of plane homogeneous electromagnetic waves at the interface of a hyperbolic metamaterial and an ordinary isotropic medium, special inhomogeneous electromagnetic waves are excited in certain circumstances near the surface of the metamaterial and their amplitude changes with distance according to the non-exponential law. The existence conditions for such waves are established for the case when the optical axis is located within the interface plane and forms an angle with the plane of incidence. The energy flux and the energy density of special inhomogeneous waves in a hyperbolic metamaterial are determined. Показано, что в условиях полного отражения плоских однородных электромагнитных волн на границе гиперболического метаматериала с обычной изотропной средой при определенных условиях вблизи поверхности метаматериала возбуждаются особые неоднородные электромагнитные волны. Их особенность заключается в том, что амплитуда таких волн изменяется при удалении от границы по неэкспоненциальному закону. Получены условия существования особых неоднородных волн и показано, что для этого оптическая ось метаматериала должна составлять определенный угол с плоскостью падения, зависящий от ее ориентации относительно главной плоскости метаматериала и оптических свойств граничащих сред. Найдены поток и плотность энергии особых неоднородных волн в гиперболическом метаматериале

How simple can a model of an empty viral capsid be? Charge distributions in viral capsids

We investigate and quantify salient features of the charge distributions on viral capsids. Our analysis combines the experimentally determined capsid geometry with simple models for ionization of amino acids, thus yielding the detailed description of spatial distribution for positive and negative charge across the capsid wall. The obtained data is processed in order to extract the mean radii of distributions, surface charge densities and dipole moment densities. The results are evaluated and examined in light of previously proposed models of capsid charge distributions, which are shown to have to some extent limited value when applied to real viruses.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in Journal of Biological Physic

Reaction Chemistry and Kinetics of Corn Stalk Pyrolysis without and with Ga/HZSM-5

The bifunctional Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst has been proven having the capability to increase the selectivity of aromatics production during catalytic pyrolysis of furan and woody biomass. However, the reaction chemistry and kinetics of pyrolysis of herbaceous biomass promoted by Ga/HZSM-5 is rarely reported. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) analysis and non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at four heating rates were carried out to investigate the decomposition behavior and pyrolysis kinetics of corn stalk without and with Ga/HZSM-5. The effective activation energies for corn stalk pyrolysis were calculated by using the Friedman isoconversional method. The Py–GC/MS analysis results indicated that the Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst had a high selectivity toward producing the aromatic chemicals of xylene, toluene and benzene, whereas the major products from non-catalytic pyrolysis of corn stalk were oxygenated compounds. The presence of Ga/HZSM-5 could significantly reduce the effective activation energies of corn stalk pyrolysis from 159.9–352.4 kJ mol−1 to 41.6–99.8 kJ mol−1 in the conversion range of 0.10–0.85

Unexpected Inheritance: Multiple Integrations of Ancient Bornavirus and Ebolavirus/Marburgvirus Sequences in Vertebrate Genomes

Vertebrate genomes contain numerous copies of retroviral sequences, acquired over the course of evolution. Until recently they were thought to be the only type of RNA viruses to be so represented, because integration of a DNA copy of their genome is required for their replication. In this study, an extensive sequence comparison was conducted in which 5,666 viral genes from all known non-retroviral families with single-stranded RNA genomes were matched against the germline genomes of 48 vertebrate species, to determine if such viruses could also contribute to the vertebrate genetic heritage. In 19 of the tested vertebrate species, we discovered as many as 80 high-confidence examples of genomic DNA sequences that appear to be derived, as long ago as 40 million years, from ancestral members of 4 currently circulating virus families with single strand RNA genomes. Surprisingly, almost all of the sequences are related to only two families in the Order Mononegavirales: the Bornaviruses and the Filoviruses, which cause lethal neurological disease and hemorrhagic fevers, respectively. Based on signature landmarks some, and perhaps all, of the endogenous virus-like DNA sequences appear to be LINE element-facilitated integrations derived from viral mRNAs. The integrations represent genes that encode viral nucleocapsid, RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase, matrix and, possibly, glycoproteins. Integrations are generally limited to one or very few copies of a related viral gene per species, suggesting that once the initial germline integration was obtained (or selected), later integrations failed or provided little advantage to the host. The conservation of relatively long open reading frames for several of the endogenous sequences, the virus-like protein regions represented, and a potential correlation between their presence and a species' resistance to the diseases caused by these pathogens, are consistent with the notion that their products provide some important biological advantage to the species. In addition, the viruses could also benefit, as some resistant species (e.g. bats) may serve as natural reservoirs for their persistence and transmission. Given the stringent limitations imposed in this informatics search, the examples described here should be considered a low estimate of the number of such integration events that have persisted over evolutionary time scales. Clearly, the sources of genetic information in vertebrate genomes are much more diverse than previously suspected

Гидроэнергетика - национальный ресурс Беларуси

The main reason of return to so called «small hydraulic power engineering», involvement of local hydraulic power resources in power balance of the Republic is significant changes of social and economical conditions of management, acute deficit and high price of local and in^orted resources of fuel, oil, gas, electric power, respectively.The paper analyses hydraulic power engineering potential of the Republic of Belarus. History of the development of hydraulic power engineering in the Republic, program of restoration and construction of hydraulic power stations, some prospective projects that ate planned for realization are presented in the paper.Основной причиной возврата к «малой гидроэнергетике», вовлечения собственных гидроэнергоресурсов в энергобаланс республики явились существенное изменение социально- экономических условий хозяйствования, резкий дефицит собственных и удорожание импортируемых нефти, газа, электроэнергии.Проведен анализ гидроэнергетического потенциала Республики Беларусь, представлены история развития гидроэнергетики в стране, программа восстановления и строительства ГЭС, ряд перспективных проектов, которые намечены к реализации

Evolutionary Reconstructions of the Transferrin Receptor of Caniforms Supports Canine Parvovirus Being a Re-emerged and Not a Novel Pathogen in Dogs

Parvoviruses exploit transferrin receptor type-1 (TfR) for cellular entry in carnivores, and specific interactions are key to control of host range. We show that several key mutations acquired by TfR during the evolution of Caniforms (dogs and related species) modified the interactions with parvovirus capsids by reducing the level of binding. These data, along with signatures of positive selection in the TFRC gene, are consistent with an evolutionary arms race between the TfR of the Caniform clade and parvoviruses. As well as the modifications of amino acid sequence which modify binding, we found that a glycosylation site mutation in the TfR of dogs which provided resistance to the carnivore parvoviruses which were in circulation prior to about 1975 predates the speciation of coyotes and dogs. Because the closely-related black-backed jackal has a TfR similar to their common ancestor and lacks the glycosylation site, reconstructing this mutation into the jackal TfR shows the potency of that site in blocking binding and infection and explains the resistance of dogs until recent times. This alters our understanding of this well-known example of viral emergence by indicating that canine parvovirus emergence likely resulted from the re-adaptation of a parvovirus to the resistant receptor of a former host

Genomic Fossils Calibrate the Long-Term Evolution of Hepadnaviruses

Ancient hepadnavirus sequences found in bird genomes reveal that this family of viruses, which includes the human hepatitis B virus, is much older than previously thought

Inositol Hexakisphosphate-Induced Autoprocessing of Large Bacterial Protein Toxins

Large bacterial protein toxins autotranslocate functional effector domains to the eukaryotic cell cytosol, resulting in alterations to cellular functions that ultimately benefit the infecting pathogen. Among these toxins, the clostridial glucosylating toxins (CGTs) produced by Gram-positive bacteria and the multifunctional-autoprocessing RTX (MARTX) toxins of Gram-negative bacteria have distinct mechanisms for effector translocation, but a shared mechanism of post-translocation autoprocessing that releases these functional domains from the large holotoxins. These toxins carry an embedded cysteine protease domain (CPD) that is activated for autoprocessing by binding inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP6), a molecule found exclusively in eukaryotic cells. Thus, InsP6-induced autoprocessing represents a unique mechanism for toxin effector delivery specifically within the target cell. This review summarizes recent studies of the structural and molecular events for activation of autoprocessing for both CGT and MARTX toxins, demonstrating both similar and potentially distinct aspects of autoprocessing among the toxins that utilize this method of activation and effector delivery