Black Holes in the 3D Higher Spin Theory and Their Quasi Normal Modes

We present a class of 3D Black Holes based on flat connections which are polynomials in the BTZ $hs(\lambda) \times hs(\lambda)$-valued connection. We solve analytically the fluctuation equations of matter in their background and find the spectrum of their Quasi Normal Modes. We analyze the bulk to boundary two-point functions. We also relate our results and those arising in other backgrounds discussed recently in the literature on the subject.Comment: v3: typo corrected in first line of Eq (4.2), improved presentatio

One fungus, which genes?: development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes

The aim of this study was to assess potential candidate gene regions and corresponding universal primer pairs as secondary DNA barcodes for the fungal kingdom, additional to ITS rDNA as primary barcode. Amplification efficiencies of 14 (partially) universal primer pairs targeting eight genetic markers were tested across > 1 500 species (1 931 strains or specimens) and the outcomes of almost twenty thousand (19 577) polymerase chain reactions were evaluated. We tested several well-known primer pairs that amplify: i) sections of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene large subunit (D1-D2 domains of 26/28S); ii) the complete internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1/2); iii) partial beta-tubulin II (TUB2); iv) gamma-actin (ACT); v) translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1 alpha); and vi) the second largest subunit of RNA-polymerase II (partial RPB2, section 5-6). Their PCR efficiencies were compared with novel candidate primers corresponding to: i) the fungal-specific translation elongation factor 3 (TEF3); ii) a small ribosomal protein necessary for t-RNA docking; iii) the 60S L10 (L1) RP; iv) DNA topoisomerase I (TOPI); v) phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK); vi) hypothetical protein LNS2; and vii) alternative sections of TEF1 alpha. Results showed that several gene sections are accessible to universal primers (or primers universal for phyla) yielding a single PCR-product. Barcode gap and multi-dimensional scaling analyses revealed that some of the tested candidate markers have universal properties providing adequate infra- and inter-specific variation that make them attractive barcodes for species identification. Among these gene sections, a novel high fidelity primer pair for TEF1 alpha, already widely used as a phylogenetic marker in mycology, has potential as a supplementary DNA barcode with superior resolution to ITS. Both TOPI and PGK show promise for the Ascomycota, while TOPI and LNS2 are attractive for the Pucciniomycotina, for which universal primers for ribosomal subunits often fail

Rare disruptive mutations in ciliary function genes contribute to testicular cancer susceptibility

Testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) is the most common cancer in young men. Here we sought to identify risk factors for TGCT by performing whole-exome sequencing on 328 TGCT cases from 153 families, 634 sporadic TGCT cases and 1,644 controls. We search for genes that are recurrently affected by rare variants (minor allele frequency <0.01) with potentially damaging effects and evidence of segregation in families. A total of 8.7% of TGCT families carry rare disruptive mutations in the cilia-microtubule genes (CMG) as compared with 0.5% of controls (P=2.1 × 10¯⁸). The most significantly mutated CMG is DNAAF1 with biallelic inactivation and loss of DNAAF1 expression shown in tumours from carriers. DNAAF1 mutation as a cause of TGCT is supported by a dnaaf1hu²⁵⁵h(+/−) zebrafish model, which has a 94% risk of TGCT. Our data implicate cilia-microtubule inactivation as a cause of TGCT and provide evidence for CMGs as cancer susceptibility genes

Superconformal indices at large N and the entropy of AdS5 x SE5 black holes

The large N limit of the four-dimensional superconformal index was computed and successfully compared to the entropy of a class of AdS5 black holes only in the particular case of equal angular momenta. Using the Bethe ansatz formulation, we compute the index at large N with arbitrary chemical potentials for all charges and angular momenta, for general four-dimensional conformal theories with a holographic dual. We conjecture and bring some evidence that a particular universal contribution to the sum over Bethe vacua dominates the index at large N. For SYM, this contribution correctly leads to the entropy of BPS Kerr-Newman black holes in AdS5 x S5 for arbitrary values of the conserved charges, thus completing the microscopic derivation of their microstates. We also consider theories dual to AdS5 x SE5, where SE5 is a Sasaki-Einstein manifold. We first check our results against the so-called universal black hole. We then explicitly construct the near-horizon geometry of BPS Kerr-Newman black holes in AdS5 T^{1,1}, charged under the baryonic symmetry of the conifold theory and with equal angular momenta. We compute the entropy of these black holes using the attractor mechanism and find complete agreement with the field theory predictions

Tachyonic de Sitter solutions of 10d type II supergravities

Cosmological models of the early or late universe exhibit (quasi) de Sitter space-times with different stability properties. Considering models derived from string theory, the swampland program does not provide for now a definite characterisation of this stability. In this work we focus on de Sitter solutions of 10d type II supergravities, candidates for classical de Sitter string backgrounds: surprisingly, all known examples are unstable with $\eta_V < -1$. We aim at proving the existence of such a systematic tachyon, and getting formally a bound on the value of $\eta_V$. To that end, we develop three methods, giving us various sufficient conditions for having a tachyon upon assumptions, in analogy with de Sitter no-go theorems. Our analysis eventually indicates the existence of variety of different tachyons, and related bounds on $\eta_V$. We use this knowledge to find 10 new de Sitter solutions of type IIB supergravity, that have tachyons of a different kind, higher $\eta_V$ values and new 6d geometries. One solution even appears to be stable, with however non-compact extra dimensions.Comment: v2: 31 pages + appendices; few additions, including references and 5 figures. A Mathematica Notebook is provided here as an ancillary file with all solutions of this paper arXiv:2101.06251, as well as those of arXiv:2005.1293

Mutations in TRAF3IP1/IFT54 reveal a new role for IFT proteins in microtubule stabilization

Ciliopathies are a large group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders caused by defects in primary cilia. Here we identified mutations in TRAF3IP1 (TNF Receptor-Associated Factor Interacting Protein 1) in eight patients from five families with nephronophthisis (NPH) and retinal degeneration, two of the most common manifestations of ciliopathies. TRAF3IP1 encodes IFT54, a subunit of the IFT-B complex required for ciliogenesis. The identified mutations result in mild ciliary defects in patients but also reveal an unexpected role of IFT54 as a negative regulator of microtubule stability via MAP4 (microtubule-associated protein 4). Microtubule defects are associated with altered epithelialization/polarity in renal cells and with pronephric cysts and microphthalmia in zebrafish embryos. Our findings highlight the regulation of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics as a role of the IFT54 protein beyond the cilium, contributing to the development of NPH-related ciliopathies