42,860 research outputs found
Molecular basis for heat desensitization of TRPV1 ion channels.
The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) ion channel is a prototypical molecular sensor for noxious heat in mammals. Its role in sustained heat response remains poorly understood, because rapid heat-induced desensitization (Dh) follows tightly heat-induced activation (Ah). To understand the physiological role and structural basis of Dh, we carried out a comparative study of TRPV1 channels in mouse (mV1) and those in platypus (pV1), which naturally lacks Dh. Here we show that a temperature-sensitive interaction between the N- and C-terminal domains of mV1 but not pV1 drives a conformational rearrangement in the pore leading to Dh. We further show that knock-in mice expressing pV1 sensed heat normally but suffered scald damages in a hot environment. Our findings suggest that Dh evolved late during evolution as a protective mechanism and a delicate balance between Ah and Dh is crucial for mammals to sense and respond to noxious heat
Two-neutron transfer reaction mechanisms in C(He,He)C using a realistic three-body He model
The reaction mechanisms of the two-neutron transfer reaction
C(He,He) have been studied at 30 MeV at the TRIUMF ISAC-II
facility using the SHARC charged-particle detector array. Optical potential
parameters have been extracted from the analysis of the elastic scattering
angular distribution. The new potential has been applied to the study of the
transfer angular distribution to the 2 8.32 MeV state in C, using
a realistic 3-body He model and advanced shell model calculations for the
carbon structure, allowing to calculate the relative contributions of the
simultaneous and sequential two-neutron transfer. The reaction model provides a
good description of the 30 MeV data set and shows that the simultaneous process
is the dominant transfer mechanism. Sensitivity tests of optical potential
parameters show that the final results can be considerably affected by the
choice of optical potentials. A reanalysis of data measured previously at 18
MeV however, is not as well described by the same reaction model, suggesting
that one needs to include higher order effects in the reaction mechanism.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Coded DS-CDMA Systems with Iterative Channel Estimation and no Pilot Symbols
In this paper, we describe direct-sequence code-division multiple-access
(DS-CDMA) systems with quadriphase-shift keying in which channel estimation,
coherent demodulation, and decoding are iteratively performed without the use
of any training or pilot symbols. An expectation-maximization
channel-estimation algorithm for the fading amplitude, phase, and the
interference power spectral density (PSD) due to the combined interference and
thermal noise is proposed for DS-CDMA systems with irregular repeat-accumulate
codes. After initial estimates of the fading amplitude, phase, and interference
PSD are obtained from the received symbols, subsequent values of these
parameters are iteratively updated by using the soft feedback from the channel
decoder. The updated estimates are combined with the received symbols and
iteratively passed to the decoder. The elimination of pilot symbols simplifies
the system design and allows either an enhanced information throughput, an
improved bit error rate, or greater spectral efficiency. The interference-PSD
estimation enables DS-CDMA systems to significantly suppress interference.Comment: To appear, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication
Analysis of LIGO data for gravitational waves from binary neutron stars
We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binary
systems in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. The analysis uses data
taken by two of the three LIGO interferometers during the first LIGO science
run and illustrates a method of setting upper limits on inspiral event rates
using interferometer data. The analysis pipeline is described with particular
attention to data selection and coincidence between the two interferometers. We
establish an observational upper limit of 1.7 \times 10^{2}M_\odot$.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
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