Involvement of NADH Oxidase in Biofilm Formation in Streptococcus sanguinis

Biofilms play important roles in microbial communities and are related to infectious diseases. Here, we report direct evidence that a bacterial nox gene encoding NADH oxidase is involved in biofilm formation. A dramatic reduction in biofilm formation was observed in a Streptococcus sanguinis nox mutant under anaerobic conditions without any decrease in growth. The membrane fluidity of the mutant bacterial cells was found to be decreased and the fatty acid composition altered, with increased palmitic acid and decreased stearic acid and vaccenic acid. Extracellular DNA of the mutant was reduced in abundance and bacterial competence was suppressed. Gene expression analysis in the mutant identified two genes with altered expression, gtfP and Idh, which were found to be related to biofilm formation through examination of their deletion mutants. NADH oxidase-related metabolic pathways were analyzed, further clarifying the function of this enzyme in biofilm formation

Transmission eigenvalues and the bare conductance in the crossover to Anderson localization

We measure the field transmission matrix t for microwave radiation propagating through random waveguides in the crossover to Anderson localization. From these measurements, we determine the dimensionless conductance, g, and the individual eigenvalues $\tau_n$ of the transmission matrix $tt^\dagger$ whose sum equals g. In diffusive samples, the highest eigenvalue, $\tau_1$, is close to unity corresponding to a transmission of nearly 100%, while for localized waves, the average of $\tau_1$, is nearly equal to g. We find that the spacing between average values of $\ln\tau_n$ is constant and demonstrate that when surface interactions are taken into account it is equal to the inverse of the bare conductance.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Sustained Magnetorotational Turbulence in Local Simulations of Stratified Disks with Zero Net Magnetic Flux

We examine the effects of density stratification on magnetohydrodynamic turbulence driven by the magnetorotational instability in local simulations that adopt the shearing box approximation. Our primary result is that, even in the absence of explicit dissipation, the addition of vertical gravity leads to convergence in the turbulent energy densities and stresses as the resolution increases, contrary to results for zero net flux, unstratified boxes. The ratio of total stress to midplane pressure has a mean of ~0.01, although there can be significant fluctuations on long (>~50 orbit) timescales. We find that the time averaged stresses are largely insensitive to both the radial or vertical aspect ratio of our simulation domain. For simulations with explicit dissipation, we find that stratification extends the range of Reynolds and magnetic Prandtl numbers for which turbulence is sustained. Confirming the results of previous studies, we find oscillations in the large scale toroidal field with periods of ~10 orbits and describe the dynamo process that underlies these cycles.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Ap

Transverse force on a moving vortex with the acoustic geometry

We consider the transverse force on a moving vortex with the acoustic metric using the $\phi$-mapping topological current theory. In the frame of effective spacetime geometry the vortex appear naturally by virtue of the vortex tensor in the Lorentz spacetime and we show that it is just the vortex derived with the order parameter in the condensed matter. With the usual Lagrangian we obtain the equation of motion for the vortex. At last, we show that the transverse force on the moving vortex in our equation is just the usual Magnus force in a simple model.Comment: 11 pages, no figur

On parametric type interaction between light and atomic ensembles

One-photon and Raman type interactions between two-level atoms and narrow-band light are considered. We give some exactly solvable models of these processes when only one-photon Fock states are involved in the evolution. Possible application of these models for generation and transformation of entangled states of the W-class, some of which demonstrate hierarchy structure, are discussed. Finally, we consider preparation of entangled chains of atomic ensembles.Comment: 5 pages, submitted to PL

Variability and Synchronization of M&A and Alliance Behavior: An Entrainment View

We extend the M&A and alliances literature to include a temporal perspective focusing on when and under what conditions firms should accelerate or slow down their M&A and alliance initiatives. Using a social entrainment model, we explore the relationship between the temporal properties of variability, synchronization and firm performance. We test our model in the context of the U.S specialty pharmaceutical industry. We find a curvilinear relationship between the overall variability of strategic actions and performance. Establishing internal synchronization increases performance while external synchronization of variability with competitors reveals a more complex picture. Our study further opens the window for understanding the creation of competitive advantage by managing rhythm-type strategic actions against time

On Gauge Invariance of Noncommutative Chern-Simons Theories

Motivated by possible applications to condensed matter systems, in this paper we construct U(N) noncommutative Chern-Simons (NCCS) action for a disc and for a double-layer geometry, respectively. In both cases, gauge invariance severely constrains the form of the NCCS action. In the first case, it is necessary to introduce a group-valued boson field with a non-local chiral boundary action, whose gauge variation cancels that of the bulk action. In the second case, the coefficient matrix $K$ in the double U(N) NCCS action is restricted to be of the form with all the matrix elements being the same integer $k$. We suggest that this double NCCS theory with U(1) gauge group describes the so-called Halperin $(kkk)$ state in a double-layer quantum Hall system. Possible physical consequences are addressed.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, revised versio

Topological excitation in the Fractional Quantum Hall system

Two kinds of topological excitations, vortices and skyrmions, are studied in the frame of Ginzburg-Landau theory. We obtain the rigorous relation between the topological excitation and the order parameters in the fractional quantum Hall systems. We also discuss the evolution of the vortices in fractional quantum Hall systems.Comment: 11 pages, Revte