Nonlocal Charges for Bonus Yangian Symmetries of Super-Yang-Mills

The existence of a "bonus" U(1) level-one Yangian symmetry of N=4 super-Yang-Mills has recently been proposed. We provide evidence for this proposal by constructing the BRST-invariant nonlocal charge in the pure spinor sigma model corresponding to this bonus level-one symmetry. We also construct analogous charges for bonus U(1) symmetries at all odd levels of the Yangian.Comment: LaTeX 16p

Expedited batch processing and analysis of transposon insertions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With advances in sequencing technology, greater and greater amounts of eukaryotic genome data are becoming available. Often, large portions of these genomes consist of transposable elements, frequently accounting for 50% or more in vertebrates. Each transposable element family may have thousands or tens of thousands of individual copies within a given genome, and therefore it can take an exorbitant amount of time and effort to process data in a meaningful fashion.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In order to combat this problem, we developed a set of bioinformatics techniques and programs to streamline the analysis. This includes a unique Perl script which automates the process of taking BLAST, Repeatmasker and similar data to extract and manipulate the hit sequences from the genome. This script, called Process_hits uses an object-oriented methodology to compile all hit locations from a given file for processing, organize this data into useable categories, and output it in multiple formats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The program proved capable of handling large amounts of transposon data in an efficient fashion. It is equipped with a number of useful sub-functions, each of which is contained within its own sub-module to allow for greater expandability and as a foundation for future program design.</p

Room temperature plasmon laser by total internal reflection

Plasmon lasers create and sustain intense and coherent optical fields below light's diffraction limit with the unique ability to drastically enhance light-matter interactions bringing fundamentally new capabilities to bio-sensing, data storage, photolithography and optical communications. However, these important applications require room temperature operation, which remains a major hurdle. Here, we report a room temperature semiconductor plasmon laser with both strong cavity feedback and optical confinement to 1/20th of the wavelength. The strong feedback arises from total internal reflection of surface plasmons, while the confinement enhances the spontaneous emission rate by up to 20 times.Comment: 8 Page, 2 Figure

Skeletal muscle munc18c and syntaxin 4 in human obesity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Animal and cell culture data suggest a critical role for Munc18c and Syntaxin 4 proteins in insulin mediated glucose transport in skeletal muscle, but no studies have been published in humans.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the effect of a 12 vs. 48 hr fast on insulin action and skeletal muscle Munc18c and Syntaxin 4 protein in lean and obese subjects. Healthy lean (n = 14; age = 28.0 +/- 1.4 yr; BMI = 22.8 +/- 0.42 kg/m²) and obese subjects (n = 11; age = 34.6 +/- 2.3 yr; BMI = 36.1 +/- 1.5 kg/m²) were studied twice following a 12 and 48 hr fast. Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained before a 3 hr 40 mU/m²/min hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with [6,6-²H₂]glucose infusion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Glucose rate of disappearance (Rd) during the clamp was lower in obese vs. lean subjects after the 12 hr fast (obese: 6.25 +/- 0.67 vs. lean: 9.42 +/- 1.1 mg/kgFFM/min, p = 0.007), and decreased significantly in both groups after the 48 hr fast (obese 3.49 +/- 0.31 vs. lean: 3.91 +/- 0.42 mg/kgFFM/min, p = 0.002). Munc18c content was not significantly different between lean and obese subjects after the 12 hour fast, and decreased after the 48 hr fast in both groups (p = 0.013). Syntaxin 4 content was not altered by obesity or fasting duration. There was a strong positive relationship between plasma glucose concentration and Munc18c content in lean and obese subjects during both 12 and 48 hr fasts (R²= 0.447, p = 0.0015). Significant negative relationships were also found between Munc18c and FFA (p = 0.041), beta-hydroxybutyrate (p = 0.039), and skeletal muscle AKT content (p = 0.035) in lean and obese subjects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data indicate Munc18c and Syntaxin 4 are present in human skeletal muscle. Munc18c content was not significantly different between lean and obese subjects, and is therefore unlikely to explain obesity-induced insulin resistance. Munc18c content decreased after prolonged fasting in lean and obese subjects concurrently with reduced insulin action. These data suggest changes in Munc18c content in skeletal muscle are associated with short-term changes in insulin action in humans.</p

Kerr/CFT, dipole theories and nonrelativistic CFTs

We study solutions of type IIB supergravity which are SL(2,R) x SU(2) x U(1)^2 invariant deformations of AdS_3 x S^3 x K3 and take the form of products of self-dual spacelike warped AdS_3 and a deformed three-sphere. One of these backgrounds has been recently argued to be relevant for a derivation of Kerr/CFT from string theory, whereas the remaining ones are holographic duals of two-dimensional dipole theories and their S-duals. We show that each of these backgrounds is holographically dual to a deformation of the DLCQ of the D1-D5 CFT by a specific supersymmetric (1,2) operator, which we write down explicitly in terms of twist operators at the free orbifold point. The deforming operator is argued to be exactly marginal with respect to the zero-dimensional nonrelativistic conformal (or Schroedinger) group - which is simply SL(2,R)_L x U(1)_R. Moreover, in the supergravity limit of large N and strong coupling, no other single-trace operators are turned on. We thus propose that the field theory duals to the backgrounds of interest are nonrelativistic CFTs defined by adding the single Schroedinger-invariant (1,2) operator mentioned above to the original CFT action. Our analysis indicates that the rotating extremal black holes we study are best thought of as finite right-moving temperature (non-supersymmetric) states in the above-defined supersymmetric nonrelativistic CFT and hints towards a more general connection between Kerr/CFT and two-dimensional non-relativistic CFTs.Comment: 48+8 pages, 4 figures; minor corrections and references adde

Numerical results for the exact spectrum of planar AdS4/CFT3

We compute the anomalous dimension for a short single-trace operator in planar ABJM theory at intermediate coupling. This is done by solving numerically the set of Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations which are expected to describe the exact spectrum of the theory. We implement a truncation method which significantly reduces the number of integral equations to be solved and improves numerical efficiency. Results are obtained for a range of 't Hooft coupling lambda corresponding to $0 \leq h(\lambda) \leq 1$, where h(lambda) is the interpolating function of the AdS4/CFT3 Bethe equations.Comment: v3: corrected Acknowledgements section; v4: minor changes, published version; v5: fixed typos in Eq. (3.9

Hyperglycaemia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa acidify cystic fibrosis airway surface liquid by elevating epithelial monocarboxylate transporter 2 dependent lactate-H⁺ secretion

The cystic fibrosis (CF) airway surface liquid (ASL) provides a nutrient rich environment for bacterial growth including elevated glucose, which together with defective bacterial killing due to aberrant HCO3− transport and acidic ASL, make the CF airways susceptible to colonisation by respiratory pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Approximately half of adults with CF have CF related diabetes (CFRD) and this is associated with increased respiratory decline. CF ASL contains elevated lactate concentrations and hyperglycaemia can also increase ASL lactate. We show that primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells secrete lactate into ASL, which is elevated in hyperglycaemia. This leads to ASL acidification in CFHBE, which could only be mimicked in non-CF HBE following HCO3− removal. Hyperglycaemia-induced changes in ASL lactate and pH were exacerbated by the presence of P. aeruginosa and were attenuated by inhibition of monocarboxylate lactate-H+ co-transporters (MCTs) with AR-C155858. We conclude that hyperglycaemia and P. aeruginosa induce a metabolic shift which increases lactate generation and efflux into ASL via epithelial MCT2 transporters. Normal airways compensate for MCT-driven H+ secretion by secreting HCO3−, a process which is dysfunctional in CF airway epithelium leading to ASL acidification and that these processes may contribute to worsening respiratory disease in CFRD

Comparison of the influence of cyclosporine and tacrolimus on the pharmacokinetics of prednisolone in adult male kidney transplant recipients

Cyclosporine has been observed to precipitate cushingoid features in kidney transplant recipients already on prednisolone. Some pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated increased prednisolone exposure in patients on cyclosporine therapy compared with azathioprine, whereas other studies have found no difference. The objective of this study was to determine whether cyclosporine impacts on prednisolone exposure as compared with tacrolimus

Role of the monocarboxylate transporter MCT1 in the uptake of lactate during active recovery

Purpose We assessed the role of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) on lactate clearance during an active recovery after high-intensity exercise, by comparing genetic groups based on the T1470A (rs1049434) MCT1 polymorphism, whose influence on lactate transport has been proven. Methods Sixteen young male elite field hockey players participated in this study. All of them completed two 400 m maximal run tests performed on different days, followed by 40 min of active or passive recovery. Lactate samples were measured immediately after the tests, and at min 10, 20, 30 and 40 of the recoveries. Blood lactate decreases were calculated for each 10-min period. Participants were distributed into three groups according to the T1470A polymorphism (TT, TA and AA). Results TT group had a lower blood lactate decrease than AA group during the 10?20 min period of the active recovery (p = 0.018). This period had the highest blood lactate for the whole sample, significantly differing from the other periods (p ? 0.003). During the passive recovery, lactate declines were constant except for the 0?10-min period (p ? 0.003), suggesting that liver uptake is similar in all the genetic groups, and that the difference seen during the active recovery is mainly due to muscle lactate uptake. Conclusions These differences according to the polymorphic variant T1470A suggest that MCT1 affects the plasma lactate decrease during a crucial period of active recovery, where the maximal lactate amount is cleared (i.e. 10?20 min period)

Evaluation of an open access software for calculating glucose variability parameters of a continuous glucose monitoring system applied at pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) has become an increasingly investigated tool, especially with regards to monitoring of diabetic and critical care patients. The continuous glucose data allows the calculation of several glucose variability parameters, however, without specific application the interpretation of the results is time-consuming, utilizing extreme efforts. Our aim was to create an open access software [Glycemic Variability Analyzer Program (GVAP)], readily available to calculate the most common parameters of the glucose variability and to test its usability. METHODS: The GVAP was developed in MATLAB(R) 2010b environment. The calculated parameters were the following: average area above/below the target range (Avg. AUC-H/L); Percentage Spent Above/Below the Target Range (PATR/PBTR); Continuous Overall Net Glycemic Action (CONGA); Mean of Daily Differences (MODD); Mean Amplitude of Glycemic Excursions (MAGE). For verification purposes we selected 14 CGM curves of pediatric critical care patients. Medtronic(R) Guardian(R) Real-Time with Enlite(R) sensor was used. The reference values were obtained from Medtronic(R)'s own software for Avg. AUC-H/L and PATR/PBTR, from GlyCulator for MODD and CONGA, and using manual calculation for MAGE. RESULTS: The Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were above 0.99 for all parameters. The initial execution took 30 minutes, for further analysis with the Windows(R) Standalone Application approximately 1 minute was needed. CONCLUSIONS: The GVAP is a reliable open access program for analyzing different glycemic variability parameters, hence it could be a useful tool for the study of glycemic control among critically ill patients