427 research outputs found
Structure of myelin P2 protein from equine spinal cord
Equine P2 protein has been isolated from horse spinal cord and its structure determined to 2.1 Å. Since equine myelin is a viable alternative to bovine tissue for large-scale preparations, characterization of the proteins from equine spinal cord myelin has been initiated. There is an unusually high amount of P2 protein in equine CNS myelin compared with other species. The structure was determined by molecular replacement and subsequently refined to an R value of 0.187 (<sub>free</sub> = 0.233). The structure contains a molecule of the detergent LDAO and HEPES buffer in the binding cavity and is otherwise analogous to other cellular retinol-binding proteins
Survival of, and competition between, oligodendrocytes expressing different alleles of the Plp gene
Mutations in the X-linked Plp gene lead to dysmyelinating phenotypes and oligodendrocyte cell death. Here, we exploit the X inactivation phenomenon to show that a hierarchy exists in the influence of different mutant Plp alleles on oligodendrocyte survival. We used compound heterozygote mice to study the long-term fate of oligodendrocytes expressing either the jimpy or rumpshaker allele against a background of cells expressing a Plp-null allele. Although mutant and null oligodendrocytes were generated in equal numbers, the proportion expressing the mutant allele subsequently declined, but whereas those expressing the rumpshaker allele formed a reduced but stable population, the number of jimpy cells fell progressively. The age of decline in the jimpy cells in different regions of the CNS correlated with the temporal sequence of myelination. In compound heterozygotes expressing rumpshaker and jimpy alleles, oligodendrocytes expressing the former predominated and were more abundant than when the rumpshaker and null alleles were in competition. Thus, oligodendrocyte survival is not determined solely by cell intrinsic factors, such as the conformation of the misfolded PLP, but is influenced by neighboring cells, possibly competing for cell survival factors
Wall Crossing of BPS States on the Conifold from Seiberg Duality and Pyramid Partitions
In this paper we study the relation between pyramid partitions with a general
empty room configuration (ERC) and the BPS states of D-branes on the resolved
conifold. We find that the generating function for pyramid partitions with a
length n ERC is exactly the same as the D6/D2/D0 BPS partition function on the
resolved conifold in particular Kaehler chambers. We define a new type of
pyramid partition with a finite ERC that counts the BPS degeneracies in certain
other chambers.
The D6/D2/D0 partition functions in different chambers were obtained by
applying the wall crossing formula. On the other hand, the pyramid partitions
describe T^3 fixed points of the moduli space of a quiver quantum mechanics.
This quiver arises after we apply Seiberg dualities to the D6/D2/D0 system on
the conifold and choose a particular set of FI parameters. The arrow structure
of the dual quiver is confirmed by computation of the Ext group between the
sheaves. We show that the superpotential and the stability condition of the
dual quiver with this choice of the FI parameters give rise to the rules
specifying pyramid partitions with length n ERC.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures. CMP versio
Darboux points and integrability of homogeneous Hamiltonian systems with three and more degrees of freedom
We consider natural complex Hamiltonian systems with degrees of freedom
given by a Hamiltonian function which is a sum of the standard kinetic energy
and a homogeneous polynomial potential of degree . The well known
Morales-Ramis theorem gives the strongest known necessary conditions for the
Liouville integrability of such systems. It states that for each there
exists an explicitly known infinite set \scM_k\subset\Q such that if the
system is integrable, then all eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix V''(\vd)
calculated at a non-zero \vd\in\C^n satisfying V'(\vd)=\vd, belong to
\scM_k. The aim of this paper is, among others, to sharpen this result. Under
certain genericity assumption concerning we prove the following fact. For
each and there exists a finite set \scI_{n,k}\subset\scM_k such that
if the system is integrable, then all eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix
V''(\vd) belong to \scI_{n,k}. We give an algorithm which allows to find
sets \scI_{n,k}. We applied this results for the case and we found
all integrable potentials satisfying the genericity assumption. Among them
several are new and they are integrable in a highly non-trivial way. We found
three potentials for which the additional first integrals are of degree 4 and 6
with respect to the momenta.Comment: 54 pages, 1 figur
Singularity, complexity, and quasi--integrability of rational mappings
We investigate global properties of the mappings entering the description of
symmetries of integrable spin and vertex models, by exploiting their nature of
birational transformations of projective spaces. We give an algorithmic
analysis of the structure of invariants of such mappings. We discuss some
characteristic conditions for their (quasi)--integrability, and in particular
its links with their singularities (in the 2--plane). Finally, we describe some
of their properties {\it qua\/} dynamical systems, making contact with
Arnol'd's notion of complexity, and exemplify remarkable behaviours.Comment: Latex file. 17 pages. To appear in CM
The Volume of some Non-spherical Horizons and the AdS/CFT Correspondence
We calculate the volumes of a large class of Einstein manifolds, namely
Sasaki-Einstein manifolds which are the bases of Ricci-flat affine cones
described by polynomial embedding relations in C^n. These volumes are important
because they allow us to extend and test the AdS/CFT correspondence. We use
these volumes to extend the central charge calculation of Gubser (1998) to the
generalized conifolds of Gubser, Shatashvili, and Nekrasov (1999). These
volumes also allow one to quantize precisely the D-brane flux of the AdS
supergravity solution. We end by demonstrating a relationship between the
volumes of these Einstein spaces and the number of holomorphic polynomials
(which correspond to chiral primary operators in the field theory dual) on the
corresponding affine cone.Comment: 25 pp, LaTeX, 1 figure, v2: refs adde
Calabi-Yau Duals of Torus Orientifolds
We study a duality that relates the T^6/Z_2 orientifold with N=2 flux to
standard fluxless Calabi-Yau compactifications of type IIA string theory. Using
the duality map, we show that the Calabi-Yau manifolds that arise are abelian
surface (T^4) fibrations over P^1. We compute a variety of properties of these
threefolds, including Hodge numbers, intersection numbers, discrete isometries,
and H_1(X,Z). In addition, we show that S-duality in the orientifold
description becomes T-duality of the abelian surface fibers in the dual
Calabi-Yau description. The analysis is facilitated by the existence of an
explicit Calabi-Yau metric on an open subset of the geometry that becomes an
arbitrarily good approximation to the actual metric (at most points) in the
limit that the fiber is much smaller than the base.Comment: 39 pages; uses harvmac.tex, amssym.tex; v4: minor correction
D-brane Deconstructions in IIB Orientifolds
With model building applications in mind, we collect and develop basic
techniques to analyze the landscape of D7-branes in type IIB compact Calabi-Yau
orientifolds, in three different pictures: F-theory, the D7 worldvolume theory
and D9-anti-D9 tachyon condensation. A significant complication is that
consistent D7-branes in the presence of O7^- planes are generically singular,
with singularities locally modeled by the Whitney Umbrella. This invalidates
the standard formulae for charges, moduli space and flux lattice dimensions. We
infer the correct formulae by comparison to F-theory and derive them
independently and more generally from the tachyon picture, and relate these
numbers to the closed string massless spectrum of the orientifold
compactification in an interesting way. We furthermore give concrete recipes to
explicitly and systematically construct nontrivial D-brane worldvolume flux
vacua in arbitrary Calabi-Yau orientifolds, illustrate how to read off D-brane
flux content, enhanced gauge groups and charged matter spectra from tachyon
matrices, and demonstrate how brane recombination in general leads to flux
creation, as required by charge conservation and by equivalence of geometric
and gauge theory moduli spaces.Comment: 49 pages, v2: two references adde
Higher spin quaternion waves in the Klein-Gordon theory
Electromagnetic interactions are discussed in the context of the Klein-Gordon
fermion equation. The Mott scattering amplitude is derived in leading order
perturbation theory and the result of the Dirac theory is reproduced except for
an overall factor of sixteen. The discrepancy is not resolved as the study
points into another direction. The vertex structures involved in the scattering
calculations indicate the relevance of a modified Klein-Gordon equation, which
takes into account the number of polarization states of the considered quantum
field. In this equation the d'Alembertian is acting on quaternion-like plane
waves, which can be generalized to representations of arbitrary spin. The
method provides the same relation between mass and spin that has been found
previously by Majorana, Gelfand, and Yaglom in infinite spin theories
Low Q^2 Jet Production at HERA and Virtual Photon Structure
The transition between photoproduction and deep-inelastic scattering is
investigated in jet production at the HERA ep collider, using data collected by
the H1 experiment. Measurements of the differential inclusive jet
cross-sections dsigep/dEt* and dsigmep/deta*, where Et* and eta* are the
transverse energy and the pseudorapidity of the jets in the virtual
photon-proton centre of mass frame, are presented for 0 < Q2 < 49 GeV2 and 0.3
< y < 0.6. The interpretation of the results in terms of the structure of the
virtual photon is discussed. The data are best described by QCD calculations
which include a partonic structure of the virtual photon that evolves with Q2.Comment: 20 pages, 5 Figure
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