689 research outputs found
The HIV-1 Protein Vpr Targets the Endoribonuclease Dicer for Proteasomal Degradation to Boost Macrophage Infection
The HIV-1 protein Vpr enhances macrophage infection, triggers G2 cell cycle arrest, and targets cells for NK-cell killing. Vpr acts through the CRL4DCAF1 ubiquitin ligase complex to cause G2 arrest and trigger expression of NK ligands. Corresponding ubiquitination targets have not been identified. UNG2 and SMUG1 are the only known substrates for Vpr-directed depletion through CRL4DCAF1. Here we identify the endoribonuclease Dicer as a target of HIV-1 Vpr-directed proteasomal degradation through CRL4DCAF1. We show that HIV-1 Vpr inhibits short hairpin RNA function as expected upon reduction of Dicer levels. Dicer inhibits HIV-1 replication in T cells. We demonstrate that Dicer also restricts HIV-1 replication in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and that reducing Dicer expression in MDMs enhances HIV-1 infection in a Vpr-dependent manner. Our results support a model in which Vpr complexes with human Dicer to boost its interaction with the CRL4DCAF1 ubiquitin ligase complex and its subsequent degradation
Numerical study of pattern formation following a convective instability in non-Boussinesq fluids
We present a numerical study of a model of pattern formation following a
convective instability in a non-Boussinesq fluid. It is shown that many of the
features observed in convection experiments conducted on gas can be
reproduced by using a generalized two-dimensional Swift-Hohenberg equation. The
formation of hexagonal patterns, rolls and spirals is studied, as well as the
transitions and competition among them. We also study nucleation and growth of
hexagonal patterns and find that the front velocity in this two dimensional
model is consistent with the prediction of marginal stability theory for one
dimensional fronts.Comment: 9 pages, report FSU-SCRI-92-6
Can Short-Range Interactions Mediate a Bose Metal Phase in 2D?
We show here based on a 1-loop scaling analysis that short-range interactions
are strongly irrelevant perturbations near the insulator-superconductor (IST)
quantum critical point. The lack of any proof that short-range interactions
mediate physics which is present only in strong coupling leads us to conclude
that short-range interactions are strictly irrelevant near the IST quantum
critical point. Hence, we argue that no new physics, such as the formation of a
uniform Bose metal phase can arise from an interplay between on-site and
nearest-neighbour interactions.Comment: 3 pages, 1 .eps file. SUbmitted to Phys. Rev.
Self Duality and Oblique Confinement in Planar Gauge Theories
We investigate the non-perturbative structure of two planar
lattice gauge models and discuss their relevance to two-dimensional condensed
matter systems and Josephson junction arrays. Both models involve two compact
U(1) gauge fields with Chern-Simons interactions, which break the symmetry down
to . By identifying the relevant topological excitations
(instantons) and their interactions we determine the phase structure of the
models. Our results match observed quantum phase transitions in Josephson
junction arrays and suggest also the possibility of {\it oblique confining
ground states} corresponding to quantum Hall regimes for either charges or
vortices.Comment: 32 pages, harvma
A new displacement-based approach to calculate stress intensity factors with the boundary element method
The analysis of cracked brittle mechanical components considering linear elastic fracture mechanics is usually reduced to the evaluation of stress intensity factors (SIFs). The SIF calculation can be carried out experimentally, theoretically or numerically. Each methodology has its own advantages but the use of numerical methods has be-come very popular. Several schemes for numerical SIF calculations have been developed, the J-integral method being one of the most widely used because of its energy-like formulation. Additionally, some variations of the J-integral method, such as displacement-based methods, are also becoming popular due to their simplicity. In this work, a simple displacement-based scheme is proposed to calculate SIFs, and its performance is compared with contour integrals. These schemes are all implemented with the Boundary Element Method (BEM) in order to exploit its advantages in crack growth modelling. Some simple examples are solved with the BEM and the calculated SIF values are compared against available solutions, showing good agreement between the different schemes
Blow up criterion for compressible nematic liquid crystal flows in dimension three
In this paper, we consider the short time strong solution to a simplified
hydrodynamic flow modeling the compressible, nematic liquid crystal materials
in dimension three. We establish a criterion for possible breakdown of such
solutions at finite time in terms of the temporal integral of both the maximum
norm of the deformation tensor of velocity gradient and the square of maximum
norm of gradient of liquid crystal director field.Comment: 22 page
Spin Ordering and Quasiparticles in Spin Triplet Superconducting Liquids
Spin ordering and its effect on low energy quasiparticles in a p-wave
superconducting liquid are investigated. We show that there is a new 2D p-wave
superconducting liquid where the ground state is rotation invariant. In quantum
spin disordered liquids, the low energy quasiparticles are bound states of the
bare Bogolubov- De Gennes ({\em BdeG}) quasiparticles and zero energy
skyrmions, which are charge neutral bosons at the low energy limit. Further
more, spin collective excitations are fractionalized ones carrying a half spin
and obeying fermionic statistics. In thermally spin disordered limits, the
quasi-particles are bound states of bare {\em BdeG} quasi-particles. The
latter situation can be realized in some layered p-wave superconductors where
the spin-orbit coupling is weak.Comment: 5 pages, no figures; published versio
Nondissipative Drag Conductance as a Topological Quantum Number
We show in this paper that the boundary condition averaged nondissipative
drag conductance of two coupled mesoscopic rings with no tunneling, evaluated
in a particular many-particle eigenstate, is a topological invariant
characterized by a Chern integer. Physical implications of this observation are
discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figure. Title modified and significant revision made to
the text. Final version appeared in PR
Well-Posedness of Nematic Liquid Crystal Flow in
In this paper, we establish the local well-posedness for the Cauchy problem
of the simplified version of hydrodynamic flow of nematic liquid crystals
(\ref{LLF}) in for any initial data having small
-norm of . Here is the space of uniformly locally -integrable functions. For any
initial data with small , we show that there exists a unique, global solution
to (\ref{LLF}) which is smooth for and has monotone deceasing
-energy for .Comment: 29 page
A reduction of unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced renal fibrosis by a therapy combining valsartan with aliskiren
Wu WP, Chang CH, Chiu YT, Ku CL, Wen MC, Shu KH, Wu MJ. A reduction of unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced renal fibrosis by a therapy combining valsartan with aliskiren. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 299: F929-F941, 2010. First published August 4, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00192.2010.-The protective effect of combination therapy with valsartan and aliskiren against renal fibrosis remains to be defined. This study was undertaken to examine the protective effects of the combination of valsartan and aliskiren against renal fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Combination therapy with valsartan (15 mg . kg(-1) . day(-1)) and aliskiren (10 mg . kg(-1) . day(-1)), valsartan monotherapy (30 mg . kg(-1) . day(-1)), and aliskiren monotherapy (20 mg . kg(-1) . day(-1)) all significantly ameliorated the increase in blood urea nitrogen and the degree of hydronephrosis determined by the increase in weight and length of the obstructed kidney. The dose titration study and blood pressure measurement confirmed that the combination therapy provided a greater benefit independent of the vasodilatory effect. There were no significant changes in serum levels of creatinine, sodium, and potassium in UUO rats and any treatment groups. Combination therapy also attenuated UUO-related increases in the scores of tubular dilatation, interstitial volume, interstitial collagen deposition, alpha-smooth muscle actin, the activation of ERK 1/2, the infiltration of monocytes/macrophages, the mRNA expression of snail-1, and transforming growth factor-beta 1 to a greater extent compared with aliskiren or valsartan used alone. The mRNA expression of renin and the (pro) renin receptor significantly increased after UUO. Combination therapy and monotherapy of valsartan and aliskiren had a comparable enhancing effect on the mRNA expression of renin, whereas all these treatments did not affect the expression of the (pro) renin receptor. In conclusion, a direct renin inhibitor in conjunction with an angiotensin II receptor blocker exerts increased renal protection against renal fibrosis and inflammation during obstruction over either agent alone
- …