Showing 161 - 170 of 733 Items
Vacuum states of N =1* mass deformations of N =4 and N =2 conformal gauge theories and their brane interpretations
Date: 2001-08-27
Creator: Stephen G. Naculich, Howard J. Schnitzer, Niclas Wyllard
Access: Open access
- We find the classical supersymmetric vacuum states of a class of N =1* field theories obtained by mass deforming superconformal models with simple gauge groups and N =4 or N =2 supersymmetry. In particular, new classical vacuum states for mass-deformed N =4 models with Sp(2N) and SO(N) gauge symmetry are found. We also derive the classical vacua for various mass-deformed N =2 models with Sp(2N) and SU(N) gauge groups and antisymmetric (and symmetric) hypermultiplets. We suggest interpretations of the mass-deformed vacua in terms of three-branes expanded into five-brane configurations. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.
Salix exigua clonal growth and population dynamics in relation to disturbance regime variation
Date: 2005-01-01
Creator: Vladimir Douhovnikoff, Joe R. McBride, Richard S. Dodd
Access: Open access
- Willows are important riparian colonizers. However, the predominant models of early riparian colonization, which emphasize seedling recruitment, are inadequate to explain the success of these species in light of the extremely low rates of seedling survival observed. We used molecular fingerprinting markers (AFLPs) to identify and characterize Salix exigua clones on six sites, ranging in size from 850 to 1150 m2, located on two rivers. Clones as large as 325 m2 were detected, and an average of six clones per site occupied 75% of the vegetated area. Building on Mahoney and Rood's recruitment box model, we propose a model whereby prolific clonal growth allows for long-term colonization of riparian zones, and the balance between the relative importance of seedling regeneration and clonal growth varies based upon disturbance regime. A reduction in disturbance regime resulted in greater clonal growth and reduced genotypic variation. It is probable that, with an extended reduction in disturbance, the Salix exigua component would be represented by fewer, larger clones and would eventually decline significantly when these clones are replaced by taller and more shade tolerant species. © 2005 by the Ecological Society of America.
Search for B0 decays to two charged leptons
Date: 1994-01-01
Creator: R. Ammar, S. Ball, P. Baringer, A. Bean, D., Besson, D. Coppage, N. Copty, R. Davis, N. Hancock, M. Kelly, N. Kwak, H. Lam, Y. Kubota, M. Lattery, J. K. Nelson, S. Patton, D. Perticone, R. Poling, V. Savinov, S. Schrenk, R. Wang, M. S. Alam, I. J. Kim, B. Nemati, J. J. O'Neill, H. Severini, C. R. Sun, M. M. Zoeller, G. Crawford, C. M. Daubenmier, R. Fulton
Access: Open access
- We have searched for B0 decays to two charged leptons and set 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions: B(B0→e+e-)<5. 9×10-6, B(B0→μ+μ-)<5.9×10-6, B(B0→e±μ) <5.9×10-6, B(B0→e±τ)<5.3×10-4, and B(B0→μ±τ)<8.3×10-4. © 1994 The American Physical Society.
Post-translational modification directs nuclear and hyphal tip localization of Candida albicans mRNA-binding protein Slr1
Date: 2017-05-01
Creator: Chaiyaboot Ariyachet, Christian Beißel, Xiang Li, Selena Lorrey, Olivia, Mackenzie, Patrick M. Martin, Katharine O'Brien, Tossapol Pholcharee, Sue Sim, Heike Krebber, Anne E. McBride
Access: Open access
- The morphological transition of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans from budding to hyphal growth has been implicated in its ability to cause disease in animal models. Absence of SR-like RNA-binding protein Slr1 slows hyphal formation and decreases virulence in a systemic candidiasis model, suggesting a role for post-transcriptional regulation in these processes. SR (serine–arginine)-rich proteins influence multiple steps in mRNA metabolism and their localization and function are frequently controlled by modification. We now demonstrate that Slr1 binds to polyadenylated RNA and that its intracellular localization is modulated by phosphorylation and methylation. Wildtype Slr1-GFP is predominantly nuclear, but also co-fractionates with translating ribosomes. The non-phosphorylatable slr1-6SA-GFP protein, in which six serines in SR/RS clusters are substituted with alanines, primarily localizes to the cytoplasm in budding cells. Intriguingly, hyphal cells display a slr1-6SA-GFP focus at the tip near the Spitzenkörper, a vesicular structure involved in molecular trafficking to the tip. The presence of slr1-6SA-GFP hyphal tip foci is reduced in the absence of the mRNA-transport protein She3, suggesting that unphosphorylated Slr1 associates with mRNA–protein complexes transported to the tip. The impact of SLR1 deletion on hyphal formation and function thus may be partially due to a role in hyphal mRNA transport.
Invariants for tendex and vortex fields
Date: 2012-11-08
Creator: Kenneth A. Dennison, Thomas W. Baumgarte
Access: Open access
- Tendex and vortex fields, defined by the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl curvature tensor, form the basis of a recently developed approach to visualizing spacetime curvature. In analogy to electric and magnetic fields, these fields are coordinate-dependent. However, in a further analogy, we can form invariants from the tendex and vortex fields that are invariant under coordinate transformations, just as certain combinations of the electric and magnetic fields are invariant under coordinate transformations. We derive these invariants, and provide a simple, analytical demonstration for nonspherically symmetric slices of a Schwarzschild spacetime. © 2012 American Physical Society.
A simple family of analytical trumpet slices of the Schwarzschild spacetime
Date: 2014-06-07
Creator: Kenneth A. Dennison, Thomas W. Baumgarte
Access: Open access
- We describe a simple family of analytical coordinate systems for the Schwarzschild spacetime. The coordinates penetrate the horizon smoothly and are spatially isotropic. Spatial slices of constant coordinate time t feature a trumpet geometry with an asymptotically cylindrical end inside the horizon at a prescribed areal radius R0 (with 0 < R0 M) that serves as the free parameter for the family. The slices also have an asymptotically flat end at spatial infinity. In the limit R0 = 0 the spatial slices lose their trumpet geometry and become flat - in this limit, our coordinates reduce to Painlevé- Gullstrand coordinates. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Related neuropeptides use different balances of unitary mechanisms to modulate the cardiac neuromuscular system in the American lobster, Homarus americanus
Date: 2015-01-01
Creator: Patsy S. Dickinson, Andrew Calkins, Jake S. Stevens
Access: Open access
- To produce flexible outputs, neural networks controlling rhythmic motor behaviors can be modulated at multiple levels, including the pattern generator itself, sensory feedback, and the response of the muscle to a given pattern of motor output. We examined the role of two related neuropeptides, GYSDRNYLRFamide (GYS) and SGRNFLRFamide (SGRN), in modulating the neurogenic lobster heartbeat, which is controlled by the cardiac ganglion (CG). When perfused though an isolated whole heart at low concentrations, both peptides elicited increases in contraction amplitude and frequency. At higher concentrations, both peptides continued to elicit increases in contraction amplitude, but GYS caused a decrease in contraction frequency, while SGRN did not alter frequency. To determine the sites at which these peptides induce their effects, we examined the effects of the peptides on the periphery and on the isolated CG. When we removed the CG and stimulated the motor nerve with constant bursts of stimuli, both GYS and SGRN increased contraction amplitude, indicating that each peptide modulates the muscle or the neuromuscular junction. When applied to the isolated CG, neither peptide altered burst frequency at low peptide concentrations; at higher concentrations, SGRN decreased burst frequency, whereas GYS continued to have no effect on frequency. Together, these data suggest that the two peptides elicit some of their effects using different mechanisms; in particular, given the known feedback pathways within this system, the importance of the negative (nitric oxide) relative to the positive (stretch) feedback pathways may differ in the presence of the two peptides.
Distinct or shared actions of peptide family isoforms: II. Multiple pyrokinins exert similar effects in the lobster stomatogastric nervous system
Date: 2015-09-01
Creator: Patsy S. Dickinson, Sienna C. Kurland, Xuan Qu, Brett O. Parker, Anirudh, Sreekrishnan, Molly A. Kwiatkowski, Alex H. Williams, Alexandra B. Ysasi, Andrew E. Christie
Access: Open access
- Many neuropeptides are members of peptide families, with multiple structurally similar isoforms frequently found even within a single species. This raises the question of whether the individual peptides serve common or distinct functions. In the accompanying paper, we found high isoform specificity in the responses of the lobster (Homarus americanus) cardiac neuromuscular system to members of the pyrokinin peptide family: only one of five crustacean isoforms showed any bioactivity in the cardiac system. Because previous studies in other species had found little isoform specificity in pyrokinin actions, we examined the effects of the same five crustacean pyrokinins on the lobster stomatogastric nervous system (STNS). In contrast to our findings in the cardiac system, the effects of the five pyrokinin isoforms on the STNS were indistinguishable: they all activated or enhanced the gastric mill motor pattern, but did not alter the pyloric pattern. These results, in combination with those from the cardiac ganglion, suggest that members of a peptide family in the same species can be both isoform specific and highly promiscuous in their modulatory capacity. The mechanisms that underlie these differences in specificity have not yet been elucidated; one possible explanation, which has yet to be tested, is the presence and differential distribution of multiple receptors for members of this peptide family.
Arginine methylation of yeast mRNA-binding protein Npl3 directly affects its function, nuclear export, and intranuclear protein interactions
Date: 2005-09-02
Creator: Anne E. McBride, Jeffrey T. Cook, Elizabeth A. Stemmler, Kate L. Rutledge, Kelly A., McGrath, Jeffrey A. Rubens
Access: Open access
- Arginine methylation can affect both nucleocytoplasmic transport and protein-protein interactions of RNA-binding proteins. These effects are seen in cells that lack the yeast hnRNP methyltransferase (HMT1), raising the question of whether effects on specific proteins are direct or indirect. The presence of multiple arginines in individual methylated proteins also raises the question of whether overall methylation or methylation of a subset of arginines affects protein function. We have used the yeast mRNA-binding protein Npl3 to address these questions in vivo. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry was used to identify 17 methylated arginines in Npl3 purified from yeast: whereas 10 Arg-Gly-Gly (RGG) tripeptides were exclusively dimethylated, variable levels off methylation were found for 5 RGG and 2 RG motif arginines. We constructed a set of Npl3 proteins in which subsets of the RGG arginines were mutated to lysine. Expression of these mutant proteins as the sole form of Npl3 specifically affected growth of a strain that requires Hmtl. Although decreased growth generally correlated with increased numbers of Arg-to-Lys mutations, lysine substitutions in the N terminus of the RGG domain showed more severe effects. Npl3 with all 15 RGG arginines mutated to lysine exited the nucleus independent of Hmtl, indicating a direct effect of methylation on Npl3 transport. These mutations also resulted in a decreased, methylation-independent interaction of Npl3 with transcription elongation factor Tho2 and inhibited Npl3 self-association. These results support a model in which arginine methylation facilitates Npl3 export directly by weakening contacts with nuclear proteins. © 2005 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
The premonitory urge to tic: Measurement, characteristics, and correlates in older adolescents and adults
Date: 2014-01-01
Creator: Hannah E. Reese, Lawrence Scahill, Alan L. Peterson, Katherine Crowe, Douglas W., Woods, John Piacentini, John T. Walkup, Sabine Wilhelm
Access: Open access
- In addition to motor and/or vocal tics, many individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) or chronic tic disorder (CTD) report frequent, uncomfortable sensory phenomena that immediately precede the tics. To date, examination of these premonitory sensations or urges has been limited by inconsistent assessment tools. In this paper, we examine the psychometric properties of a nine-item self-report measure, the Premonitory Urge to Tic Scale (PUTS) and examine the characteristics and correlates of the premonitory urge to tic in a clinical sample of 122 older adolescents and adults with TS or CTD. The PUTS demonstrated adequate internal consistency, temporal stability, and concurrent validity. Premonitory urges were endorsed by the majority of individuals. Most individuals reported some relief from the urges after completing a tic and being able to stop their tics even if only temporarily. Degree of premonitory urges was not significantly correlated with age, and we did not observe any gender differences. Degree of premonitory urges was significantly correlated with estimated IQ and tic severity, but not severity of comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Also, it was not related to concomitant medication status. These findings represent another step forward in our understanding of the premonitory sensations associated with TS and CTD. © 2013.