Defect loops in gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models

We consider loop observables in gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models, and study the action of renormalization group flows on them. In the WZW model based on a compact Lie group G, we analyze at the classical level how the space of renormalizable defects is reduced upon the imposition of global and affine symmetries. We identify families of loop observables which are invariant with respect to an affine symmetry corresponding to a subgroup H of G, and show that they descend to gauge-invariant defects in the gauged model based on G/H. We study the flows acting on these families perturbatively, and quantize the fixed points of the flows exactly. From their action on boundary states, we present a derivation of the "generalized Affleck-Ludwig rule, which describes a large class of boundary renormalization group flows in rational conformal field theories.Comment: 43 pages, 2 figures. v2: a few typos corrected, version to be published in JHE

Variabilité climatique et son incidence sur les ressources en eaux de surface : cas des stations de Bocanda et de Dimbokro, Centre-Est de la Côte d'Ivoire en Afrique de l’Ouest

L’étude du changement climatique et de la variabilité climatique est d’une très grande importance pour la gestion et la planification des ressources en eau. Cet article examine l’impact du changement climatique sur l’évolution du N’zi (principal cours d’eau de la zone). Les séries chronologiques de pluies et de débits ont été utilisées à cet effet. L’application des méthodes de Nicholson, de Maillet ainsi que des tests statistiques de détection de ruptures (test de Buishand, test de Hubert, test de Lee Heghinian et test de Pettitt), et de tendances (test de Mann-Kendall, test de Sen’s) ont permis d’une part de mettre en évidence une variabilité climatique caractérisée par une alternance de périodes humides, normales et sèches, et d’autre part de détecter des ruptures en 1968 pour Dimbokro et en 1975 pour M’bahiakro et Bocanda Ces ruptures s’accompagnent d’une tendance de la baisse de la pluviométrie (10 à 18 %) et des volumes mobilisés par les aquifères (30 à 51 %.). Ce travail constitue une base indispensable pour une meilleure connaissance des ressources en eau des bassins étudiés.Mots-clés: variabilité climatique, séries chronologiques, tendances et ruptures, tests statistiques, Côte d'Ivoire.Climate variability and its impact on water resources of surface: case of stations of Bocanda and Dimbokro (east-central Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa) Climate change and climate variability studies are of great importance for water resources and management and planning in this paper, we put our attention on the impact of these two phenomena on the water resources availability of the N’zi river basin (Main River of the area of study). Rainfall and runoff time series have been used for. Nicholson and Maillet methods and statistical tests for homogeneity (Buishand’s, Hubert’s, Lee and Heghinian’s and Pettitt’s tests) and for trend (Mann Kendall’ test, and Sen’s slope estimator). Nicholson’s and Maillet’s method allow to put in evidence the climate variability with a random succession of periods of excess and deficits. Statistical tests for homogeneity have detected downwards shifts (10% to 51%) in the time series of rainfall beginning in 1968 for Dimbokro and in 1975 for M’bahiakro and Bocanda and in the groundwater (30% to 51%). The work we present in this paper is a preliminary for efficient water management of the N’zi river basin.Keywords: climate variability, times series, statistical tests, homogeneity and trend test, Côte d'Ivoir

Transcriptome sequencing and microarray development for the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum: genomic tools for environmental monitoring

Abstract Background The Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, is one of the major aquaculture species in the world and a potential sentinel organism for monitoring the status of marine ecosystems. However, genomic resources for R. philippinarum are still extremely limited. Global analysis of gene expression profiles is increasingly used to evaluate the biological effects of various environmental stressors on aquatic animals under either artificial conditions or in the wild. Here, we report on the development of a transcriptomic platform for global gene expression profiling in the Manila clam. Results A normalized cDNA library representing a mixture of adult tissues was sequenced using a ultra high-throughput sequencing technology (Roche 454). A database consisting of 32,606 unique transcripts was constructed, 9,747 (30%) of which could be annotated by similarity. An oligo-DNA microarray platform was designed and applied to profile gene expression of digestive gland and gills. Functional annotation of differentially expressed genes between different tissues was performed by enrichment analysis. Expression of Natural Antisense Transcripts (NAT) analysis was also performed and bi-directional transcription appears a common phenomenon in the R. philippinarum transcriptome. A preliminary study on clam samples collected in a highly polluted area of the Venice Lagoon demonstrated the applicability of genomic tools to environmental monitoring. Conclusions The transcriptomic platform developed for the Manila clam confirmed the high level of reproducibility of current microarray technology. Next-generation sequencing provided a good representation of the clam transcriptome. Despite the known limitations in transcript annotation and sequence coverage for non model species, sufficient information was obtained to identify a large set of genes potentially involved in cellular response to environmental stress.This work was partially supported by a grant from European Union-funded Network of Excellence "Marine Genomics Europe". CS wishes to acknowledge additional funding from the Ministry of Education and Science (Spain) through grant AGL2007-60049. MM had a PhD scholarship from the University of Florence, Italy. RL was recipient of PhD fellowship SFRH/BD/30112/2006, from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and LC and RL acknowledge a grant from FCT project ISOPERK (PTDC/CVT/72083/2006).Peer Reviewe

Parkin–phosphoubiquitin complex reveals cryptic ubiquitin-binding site required for RBR ligase activity

RING-between-RING (RBR) E3 ligases are a class of ubiquitin ligases distinct from RING or HECT E3 ligases. An important RBR ligase is Parkin, mutations in which lead to early-onset hereditary Parkinsonism. Parkin and other RBR ligases share a catalytic RBR module but are usually autoinhibited and activated via distinct mechanisms. Recent insights into Parkin regulation predict large, unknown conformational changes during Parkin activation. However, current data on active RBR ligases reflect the absence of regulatory domains. Therefore, it remains unclear how individual RBR ligases are activated, and whether they share a common mechanism. We now report the crystal structure of a human Parkin–phosphoubiquitin complex, which shows that phosphoubiquitin binding induces movement in the 'in-between RING' (IBR) domain to reveal a cryptic ubiquitin-binding site. Mutation of this site negatively affects Parkin's activity. Furthermore, ubiquitin binding promotes cooperation between Parkin molecules, which suggests a role for interdomain association in the RBR ligase mechanism

Examining the role of genetic risk and longitudinal transmission processes underlying maternal parenting and psychopathology and children’s ADHD symptoms and aggression: utilizing the advantages of a prospective adoption design

Although genetic factors may contribute to initial liability for ADHD onset, there is growing evidence of the potential importance of the rearing environment on the developmental course of ADHD symptomatology. However, associations between family-level variables (maternal hostility, maternal depressive symptoms) and child behaviors (developmental course of ADHD and aggression) may be explained by genes that are shared by biologically related parents and children. Furthermore, ADHD symptoms and aggression commonly co-occur: it is important to consider both simultaneously to have a better understanding of processes underlying the developmental course of ADHD and aggression. To addresses these issues, we employed a longitudinal genetically sensitive parent–offspring adoption design. Analyses were conducted using Cohort I (n = 340) of the Early Growth and Development Study with cross-validation analyses conducted with Cohort II (n = 178). Adoptive mother hostility, but not depression, was associated with later child ADHD symptoms and aggression. Mothers and their adopted children were genetically unrelated, removing passive rGE as a possible explanation. Early child impulsivity/activation was associated with later ADHD symptoms and aggression. Child impulsivity/activation was also associated with maternal hostility, with some evidence for evocative gene-environment correlation processes on adoptive mother depressive symptoms. This study provides novel insights into family-based environmental influences on child ADHD and aggression symptoms, independent of shared parental genetic factors, implications of which are further explicated in the discussion

Diverse definitions of the early course of schizophrenia - a targeted literature review

Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder and patients experience significant comorbidity, especially cognitive and psychosocial deficits, already at the onset of disease. Previous research suggests that treatment during the earlier stages of disease reduces disease burden, and that a longer time of untreated psychosis has a negative impact on treatment outcomes. A targeted literature review was conducted to gain insight into the definitions currently used to describe patients with a recent diagnosis of schizophrenia in the early course of disease ('early' schizophrenia). A total of 483 relevant English-language publications of clinical guidelines and studies were identified for inclusion after searches of MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, relevant clinical trial databases and Google for records published between January 2005 and October 2015. The extracted data revealed a wide variety of terminology and definitions used to describe patients with 'early' or 'recent-onset' schizophrenia, with no apparent consensus. The most commonly used criteria to define patients with early schizophrenia included experience of their first episode of schizophrenia or disease duration of less than 1, 2 or 5 years. These varied definitions likely result in substantial disparities of patient populations between studies and variable population heterogeneity. Better agreement on the definition of early schizophrenia could aid interpretation and comparison of studies in this patient population and consensus on definitions should allow for better identification and management of schizophrenia patients in the early course of their disease