Non-trivial Center Dominance in High Temperature QCD

We investigate the properties of quarks and gluons above the chiral phase transition temperature $T_c,$ using the RG improved gauge action and the Wilson quark action with two degenerate quarks mainly on a $32^3\times 16$ lattice. In the one-loop perturbation theory, the thermal ensemble is dominated by the gauge configurations with effectively $Z(3)$ center twisted boundary conditions, making the thermal expectation value of the spatial Polyakov loop take a non-trivial $Z(3)$ center. This is in agreement with our lattice simulation of high temperature QCD. We further observe that the temporal propagator of massless quarks at extremely high temperature $\beta=100.0 \, (T \simeq10^{58} T_c)$ remarkably agrees with the temporal propagator of free quarks with the $Z(3)$ twisted boundary condition for $t/L_t \geq 0.2$, but differs from that with the $Z(3)$ trivial boundary condition. As we increase the mass of quarks $m_q$, we find that the thermal ensemble continues to be dominated by the $Z(3)$ twisted gauge field configurations as long as $m_q \le 3.0 \, T$ and above that the $Z(3)$ trivial configurations come in. The transition is essentially identical to what we found in the departure from the conformal region in the zero-temperature many-flavor conformal QCD on a finite lattice by increasing the mass of quarks. We argue that the behavior is consistent with the renormalization group analysis at finite temperature.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures; 4 tables, an appendix adde

IR fixed points in SU(3)SU(3) gauge Theories

We propose a novel RG method to specify the location of the IR fixed point in lattice gauge theories and apply it to the $SU(3)$ gauge theories with $N_f$ fundamental fermions. It is based on the scaling behavior of the propagator through the RG analysis with a finite IR cut-off, which we cannot remove in the conformal field theories in sharp contrast with the confining theories. The method also enables us to estimate the anomalous mass dimension in the continuum limit at the IR fixed point. We perform the program for $N_f=16, 12, 8$ and $N_f=7$ and indeed identify the location of the IR fixed points in all cases.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 1 table: the scale of the y axis in Figs..1-4 change; minor modifications as appear in PL

Pharmacogenomics of Human ABC Transporter ABCC11 (MRP8): Potential Risk of Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy Failure

Some genetic polymorphisms of human ABC transporter genes are reportedly related to the risk of certain diseases and patients’ responses to medication. Human ABCC11 functions as an ATP-dependent efflux pump for amphipathic anions. One non-synonymous SNP 538G>A (Gly180Arg) has been found to greatly affect the function and stability of de novo synthesized ABCC11 (Arg180) variant protein. The SNP variant lacking N-linked glycosylation is recognized as a misfolded protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and readily undergoes proteasomal degradation. This ER-associated degradation of ABCC11 protein underlies the molecular mechanism of affecting the function of apocrine glands. On the other hand, the wild type (Gly180) of ABCC11 is associated with wettype earwax, axillary osmidrosis, colostrum secretion from the mammary gland, and the potential susceptibility of breast cancer. Furthermore, the wild type of ABCC11 reportedly has ability to efflux cyclic nucleotides and nucleoside-based anticancer drugs. The SNP (538G>A) of the ABCC11 gene is suggested to be a clinical biomarker for prediction of chemotherapeutic efficacy. Major obstacle to the successful chemotherapy of human cancer is development of resistance, and nucleoside-based chemotherapy is often characterized by inter-individual variability. This review provides an overview about the discovery and the genetic polymorphisms in human ABCC11. Furthermore, we focus on the impact of ABCC11 538G>A on the apocrine phenotype, patients’ response to nucleoside-based chemotherapy, and the potential risk of breast cancer

Sr-Nd-Pb isotope systematics of fine sediments from the modern rivers in SW Japan : Implications for sediment provenance of the Northwest Pacific

As reference data for comprehensive provenance analyses of deep-sea sediments in the Northwest Pacific region, we present Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions of fine sediments sampled from 48 rivers in southwest Japan. Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios are reliable indicators of sediment sources. Although isotopic data of fine sediments in Chinese arid regions, known to be Asian dust sources, are abundant, comparable data from southwest Japan are scarce, even though southwest Japan, owing to its tectonic activity, is a major sediment source to the Northwest Pacific. Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios of our riverine fine sediment samples vary greatly (87Sr/86Sr, 0.707–0.724; 143Nd/144Nd, 0.5120–0.5129; 206Pb/204Pb, 18.16–18.89; 207Pb/204Pb, 15.55–15.66; and 206Pb/204Pb, 38.13–39.09), and these variations are clearly dependent on the principal geology of each river's watershed. These results indicate that these isotope ratios can be effectively used to discriminate the geological sources of the sediments. Sediments from watersheds dominated by Quaternary volcanic rocks have the lowest 87Sr/86Sr and Pb isotope ratios and the highest 143Nd/144Nd ratios, whereas sediments from watersheds dominated by accretionary sedimentary rocks generally have high 87Sr/86Sr and Pb isotope ratios and low 143Nd/144Nd ratios, but their specific values vary depending on the age and geographic location of the rocks. The isotope compositions of sediments from watersheds with exposed Cretaceous granitic and metamorphic rocks are also distinctive. Comparison between the isotope ratios of Japanese river sediments and the Northwest Pacific seafloor sediments suggests the importance of sediment transport by the Kuroshio Current to the Northwest Pacific