68 research outputs found
Symmetry between absorption and amplification in disordered media
We address the issue of whether amplification, like absorption, suppresses
wave transmission at large gain, as has been claimed in previous studies of
wave propagation in active random media. A closer examination reveals that the
paradoxical symmetry between absorption and amplification is an artifact of
unphysical solutions from the time-independent wave equation. Solutions from
the time-dependent equation demonstrate clearly that when gain is above the
threshold, the amplitude of both the transmitted and the reflected wave
actually increases with time, apparently without bound. The implications of the
current finding is discusse
Scaling Properties of Conductance at Integer Quantum Hall Plateau Transitions
We investigate the scaling properties of zero temperature conductances at
integer quantum Hall plateau transitions in the lowest Landau band of a
two-dimensional tight-binding model. Scaling is obeyed for all energy and
system sizes with critical exponent nu =7/3 . The arithmetic average of the
conductance at the localization-delocalization critical point is found to be
_c = 0.506 e^2 / h, in agreement with the universal longitudinal conductance
predicted by an analytical theory. The probability distribution of the
conductance at the critical point is broad with a dip at small G.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures, Submitted to PR
Identification of Genome-Wide Variations among Three Elite Restorer Lines for Hybrid-Rice
Rice restorer lines play an important role in three-line hybrid rice production. Previous research based on molecular tagging has suggested that the restorer lines used widely today have narrow genetic backgrounds. However, patterns of genetic variation at a genome-wide scale in these restorer lines remain largely unknown. The present study performed re-sequencing and genome-wide variation analysis of three important representative restorer lines, namely, IR24, MH63, and SH527, using the Solexa sequencing technology. With the genomic sequence of the Indica cultivar 9311 as the reference, the following genetic features were identified: 267,383 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 52,847 insertion/deletion polymorphisms (InDels), and 3,286 structural variations (SVs) in the genome of IR24; 288,764 SNPs, 59,658 InDels, and 3,226 SVs in MH63; and 259,862 SNPs, 55,500 InDels, and 3,127 SVs in SH527. Variations between samples were also determined by comparative analysis of authentic collections of SNPs, InDels, and SVs, and were functionally annotated. Furthermore, variations in several important genes were also surveyed by alignment analysis in these lines. Our results suggest that genetic variations among these lines, although far lower than those reported in the landrace population, are greater than expected, indicating a complicated genetic basis for the phenotypic diversity of the restorer lines. Identification of genome-wide variation and pattern analysis among the restorer lines will facilitate future genetic studies and the molecular improvement of hybrid rice
Mouse Sphingosine Kinase 1a Is Negatively Regulated through Conventional PKC-Dependent Phosphorylation at S373 Residue
Sphingosine kinase is a lipid kinase that converts sphingosine into sphingosine-1-phosphate, an important signaling molecule with intracellular and extracellular functions. Although diverse extracellular stimuli influence cellular sphingosine kinase activity, the molecular mechanisms underlying its regulation remain to be clarified. In this study, we investigated the phosphorylation-dependent regulation of mouse sphingosine kinase (mSK) isoforms 1 and 2. mSK1a was robustly phosphorylated in response to extracellular stimuli such as phorbol ester, whereas mSK2 exhibited a high basal level of phosphorylation in quiescent cells regardless of agonist stimulation. Interestingly, phorbol ester-induced phosphorylation of mSK1a correlated with suppression of its activity. Chemical inhibition of conventional PKCs (cPKCs) abolished mSK1a phosphorylation, while overexpression of PKC alpha, a cPKC isoform, potentiated the phosphorylation, in response to phorbol ester. Furthermore, an in vitro kinase assay showed that PKC alpha directly phosphorylated mSK1a. In addition, phosphopeptide mapping analysis determined that the S373 residue of mSK1a was the only site phosphorylated by cPKC. Interestingly, alanine substitution of S373 made mSK1a refractory to the inhibitory effect of phorbol esters, whereas glutamate substitution of the same residue resulted in a significant reduction in mSK1a activity, suggesting the significant role of this phosphorylation event. Taken together, we propose that mSK1a is negatively regulated through cPKC-dependent phosphorylation at S373 residueopen
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