192 research outputs found
Ground State Properties of One Dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg Model with Dimerization and Quadrumerization
The one dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg model with dimerization and
quadrumerization is studied by means of the numerical exact diagonalization of
finite size systems. Using the phenomenological renormalization group and
finite size scaling law, the ground state phase diagram is obtained in the
isotropic case. It exhibits a variety of the ground states which contains the
S=1 Haldane state, S=1 dimer state and S=1/2 dimer state as limiting cases. The
gap exponent is also calculated which coincides with the value for the
dimerization transition of the isotropic Heisenberg chain. In the XY limit, the
phase diagram is obtained analytically and the comparison is made with the
isotropic case.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Conserved Expression and Functionality of Furin between Chickens and Ducks as an Activating Protease of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Hemagglutinins
Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) typically emerge from low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs) of the H5 and H7 subtypes upon spillover from wild aquatic birds into poultry. The conversion from LPAIV to HPAIV is characterized by the acquisition of a multibasic cleavage site (MBCS) at the proteolytic cleavage site in the viral binding and fusion protein, hemagglutinin (HA), resulting in cleavage and activation of HA by ubiquitously expressed furin-like proteases. The ensuing HPAIVs disseminate systemically in gallinaceous poultry, are endotheliotropic, and cause hemorrhagic disease with high mortality. HPAIV infections in wild aquatic birds are generally milder, often asymptomatic, and generally not associated with systemic dissemination nor endotheliotropic. As MBCS cleavage by host proteases is the main virulence determinant of HPAIVs in poultry, we set out to determine whether cleavage of HPAIV HA by host proteases might influence the observed species-specific pathogenesis and tropism. Here, we sequenced, cloned, and characterized the expression and functionality of duck furin. The furin sequence was strongly conserved between chickens and ducks, and duck furin cleaved HPAIV and tetrabasic HA in an overexpression system, confirming its functionality. Furin was expressed ubiquitously and to similar extents in duck and chicken tissues, including in primary duck endothelial cells, which sustained multicycle replication of H5N1 HPAIV but not LPAIVs. In conclusion, differences in furin-like protease biology between wild aquatic birds and gallinaceous poultry are unlikely to largely determine the stark differences observed in species-specific pathogenesis of HPAIVs. IMPORTANCE HPAIV outbreaks are a global concern due to the health risks for poultry, wildlife, and humans and their major economic impact. The number of LPAIV-to-HPAIV conversions, which is associated with spillover from wild birds to poultry, has been increasing over recent decades. Furthermore, H5 HPAIVs from the A/goose/Guangdong/1/96 lineage have been circulating in migratory birds, causing increasingly frequent epizootics in poultry and wild birds. Milder symptoms in migratory birds allow for dispersion of HPAIVs over long distances, justifying the importance of understanding the pathogenesis of HPAIVs in wild birds. Here, we examined whether host proteases are a likely candidate to explain some differences in the degree of HPAIV systemic dissemination between avian species. This is the first report to show that furin function and expression is comparable between chickens and ducks, which renders the hypothesis unlikely that furin-like protease differences influence the HPAIV species-specific pathogenesis and tropism.</p
Insertions of codons encoding basic amino acids in H7 hemagglutinins of influenza A viruses occur by recombination with RNA at hotspots near snoRNA binding sites
Computer Systems, Imagery and Medi
Density Matrix Renormalization Group Study of the Spin 1/2 Heisenberg Ladder with Antiferromagnetic Legs and Ferromagnetic Rungs
The ground state and low lying excitation of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg ladder
with antiferromagnetic leg () and ferromagnetic rung () interaction is studied by means of the density matrix renormalization
group method. It is found that the state remains in the Haldane phase even for
small suggesting the continuous transition to the gapless
phase at . The critical behavior for small is studied by
the finite size scaling analysis. The result is consistent with the recent
field theoretical prediction.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, figures upon reques
Return to work trajectories among employees with mental health problems:Insights from longitudinal sickness absence data and a multi-stakeholder expert meeting
IOSH, the Chartered body for health and safety professionals, is committed to evidence-based practice in workplace safety and health. We maintain a Research Fund to support research and inspire innovation as part of our work as a thought leader in health and safet
Magnetic excitation spectrum of dimerized antiferromagnetic chains
Motivated by recent measurements on CuGeO the spectrum of magnetic
excitations of an antiferromagnetic chain with alternating
coupling strength is investigated. Wave vector dependent magnons and a
continuum with square root behavior at the band edges are found. The spectral
density of the continua is calculated. Spin rotation symmetry fixes the gap of
the continuum to be twice the elementary magnon gap. This is in excellent
agreement with experimental results. In addition, the existence of bound states
of two magnons is predicted: below the continuum a singlet and a triplet, above
the continuum an ``anti-bound'' quintuplet. The results are based on field
theoretic arguments, RPA calculations, and consideration of the limit of strong
alternation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures included, Revte
Phase diagram of the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model with attractive and/or repulsive interactions at quarter filling
We study the phase diagram of the one dimensional (1D) model at quarter
filling in the most general case where the on-site and first-neighbour
interactions and can be both attractive and repulsive. The results have
been obtained using exact diagonalization of small clusters and variational
techniques, as well as exact results in various limits. We have analyzed four
properties of the groundstate: i)~whether it is insulating or metallic;
\hbox{ii)~whether} it is homogenous or phase separated; iii)~whether it has a
spin gap; iv)~whether it has dominant superconducting fluctuations. With eight
phases, the resulting phase diagram is unexpectedly rich. The four phases not
found in the weak coupling limit are: i) an insulating phase when and
are large enough; ii) a region of phase separation when is attractive; iii)
another region of phase separation when is large enough and small; iv)
a region with dominant superconducting fluctuations when is intermediate
and small. The actual nature of this last phase, which has pairs but no
spin gap, is not fully clear yet.Comment: 24 pages, RevTeX (4 postscript figures attached to the end
Identifying return to work trajectories among employees on sick leave due to mental health problems using latent class transition analysis
OBJECTIVES: To develop effective return to work (RTW) interventions for employees on sick leave due to mental health problems (MHPs), a better understanding of individual variation in the RTW process is needed. We investigated which RTW trajectories can be identified among employees with MHPs in terms of RTW duration and relapse occurrence during the RTW process. Additionally, we examined how different RTW trajectories can be described in terms of personal and work characteristics. METHODS: Longitudinal sickness absence registry data were collected retrospectively from the largest Dutch occupational health service. Quantitative RTW information as well as personal and work characteristics were extracted. In total, 9517 employees with a sickness absence due to MHPs were included in the analyses (62 938 data points; RTW durations from 29 to 730 days). RESULTS: A latent class transition analysis revealed five distinct RTW trajectories, namely (1) fast RTW with little chance of relapse, (2) slow RTW with little chance of relapse, (3) fast RTW with considerable chance of relapse, (4) slow RTW with considerable chance of relapse and (5) very fast RTW with very small chance of relapse. Differences between employees in the slower and faster trajectories were observed regarding gender, age, type of MHP, organisation sector and organisation size but not regarding part-time work. CONCLUSIONS: RTW trajectories among employees with MHPs showed large individual variability and differed on personal and work characteristics. Knowledge on different RTW trajectories and their characteristics contributes to the development of personalised RTW treatments, tailored to specific individuals and organisations
Spin-Peierls Dimerization of a s=1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet on a Square Lattice
Dimerization of a spin-half Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice is
investigated for several possible dimerized configurations, some of which are
shown to have lower ground state energies than the others. In particular, the
lattice deformations resulting in alternate stronger and weaker couplings along
both the principal axes of a square lattice are shown to result in a larger
gain in magnetic energy. In addition, a `columnar' configuration is shown to
have a lower ground state energy and a faster increase in the energy gap
parameter than a `staggered' configuration. The inclusion of unexpanded
exchange coupling leads to a power law behaviour for the magnetic energy gain
and energy gap, which is qualitatively different from that reported earlier.
Instead of increasing as , the two quantities depend on
as This is true both in the near critical
regime as well as in the far regime . It is suggested that the unexpanded exchange coupling is as much a source
of the logarithmic dependence as a correction due to the contribution of
umklapp processes. Staggered magnetization is shown to follow the same -dependence in all the configurations in the small -regime, while for
, it follows the power law .Comment: 12 pages, 7 Postscript figures, RevTex forma
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