240 research outputs found
A Budding-Defective M2 Mutant Exhibits Reduced Membrane Interaction, Insensitivity To Cholesterol, And Perturbed Interdomain Coupling
Influenza A M2 is a membrane-associated protein with a C-terminal amphipathic helix that plays a cholesterol-dependent role in viral budding. An M2 mutant with alanine substitutions in the C-terminal amphipathic helix is deficient in viral scission. With the goal of providing atomic-level understanding of how the wild-type protein functions, we used a multipronged site-directed spin labeling electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (SDSL-EPR) approach to characterize the conformational properties of the alanine mutant. We spin-labeled sites in the transmembrane (TM) domain and the C-terminal amphipathic helix (AH) of wild-type (WT) and mutant M2, and collected information on line shapes, relaxation rates, membrane topology, and distances within the homotetramer in membranes with and without cholesterol. Our results identify marked differences in the conformation and dynamics between the WT and the alanine mutant. Compared to WT, the dominant population of the mutant AH is more dynamic, shallower in the membrane, and has altered quaternary arrangement of the C-terminal domain. While the AH becomes more dynamic, the dominant population of the TM domain of the mutant is immobilized. The presence of cholesterol changes the conformation and dynamics of the WT protein, while the alanine mutant is insensitive to cholesterol. These findings provide new insight into how M2 may facilitate budding. We propose the AH–membrane interaction modulates the arrangement of the TM helices, effectively stabilizing a conformational state that enables M2 to facilitate viral budding. Antagonizing the properties of the AH that enable interdomain coupling within M2 may therefore present a novel strategy for anti-influenza drug design
Unpacking the narrative decontestation of CSR: Aspiration for change or defense of the status quo?
Nonlinear Dirac operator and quaternionic analysis
Properties of the Cauchy-Riemann-Fueter equation for maps between
quaternionic manifolds are studied. Spaces of solutions in case of maps from a
K3-surface to the cotangent bundle of a complex projective space are computed.
A relationship between harmonic spinors of a generalized nonlinear Dirac
operator and solutions of the Cauchy-Riemann-Fueter equation are established.Comment: Cosmetic changes onl
Is Gravitational Lensing by Intercluster Filaments Always Negligible?
Intercluster filaments negligibly contribute to the weak lensing signal in
general relativity (GR), . In the context of
relativistic modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) introduced by Bekenstein,
however, a single filament inclined by from the line of
sight can cause substantial distortion of background sources pointing towards
the filament's axis (); this is rigorous
for infinitely long uniform filaments, but also qualitatively true for short
filaments (Mpc), and even in regions where the projected matter
density of the filament is equal to zero. Since galaxies and galaxy clusters
are generally embedded in filaments or are projected on such structures, this
contribution complicates the interpretation of the weak lensing shear map in
the context of MOND. While our analysis is of mainly theoretical interest
providing order-of-magnitude estimates only, it seems safe to conclude that
when modeling systems with anomalous weak lensing signals, e.g. the "bullet
cluster" of Clowe et al., the "cosmic train wreck" of Abell 520 from Mahdavi et
al., and the "dark clusters" of Erben et al., filamentary structures might
contribute in a significant and likely complex fashion. On the other hand, our
predictions of a (conceptual) difference in the weak lensing signal could, in
principle, be used to falsify MOND/TeVeS and its variations.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, published versio
A importância do neoliberalismo na entrada do Brasil na OMC e no multilateralismo como nova política governamental
The article aims to address Brazil’s adherence in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was established in January 1995, as a founding member. Through internal and systemic analysis during the 1980’s and 1990’s decades, it examines the various factors that influenced the country to follow neoliberal policies, including the rapid approval of the WTO constitutive treaty by the Brazilian’s legislative and executive. It is possible to notice the interest by the Brazilian leaders to figure as a founding member of the Organization as a reflection of new external politics e economics approach in Brazil, based on multilateralism and neoliberal ideals.O artigo tem como objetivo abordar a adesão do Brasil na Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC), cuja entrada em vigor deu-se em janeiro de 1995, como membro fundador. Através de análises interna e sistêmica durante as décadas de 1980 e 1990, buscou-se demonstrar os vários fatores que influenciaram o país a adotar medidas de caráter neoliberal, culminando na rápida aprovação do tratado constitutivo da OMC pelo Legislativo e Executivo brasileiro. Observa-se que o interesse dos dirigentes brasileiros em figurar como membro fundador da Organizacao reflete uma nova lógica de política externa e econômica no Brasil, baseada no multilateralismo e nos ideais neoliberais
Special geometry of Euclidean supersymmetry II: hypermultiplets and the c-map
We construct two new versions of the c-map which allow us to obtain the
target manifolds of hypermultiplets in Euclidean theories with rigid N =2
supersymmetry. While the Minkowskian para-c-map is obtained by dimensional
reduction of the Minkowskian vector multiplet lagrangian over time, the
Euclidean para-c-map corresponds to the dimensional reduction of the Euclidean
vector multiplet lagrangian. In both cases the resulting hypermultiplet target
spaces are para-hyper-Kahler manifolds. We review and prove the relevant
results of para-complex and para-hypercomplex geometry. In particular, we give
a second, purely geometrical construction of both c-maps, by proving that the
cotangent bundle N=T^*M of any affine special (para-)Kahler manifold M is
para-hyper-Kahler.Comment: 36 pages, 1 figur
Influence of Collision Cascade Statistics on Pattern Formation of Ion-Sputtered Surfaces
Theoretical continuum models that describe the formation of patterns on
surfaces of targets undergoing ion-beam sputtering, are based on Sigmund's
formula, which describes the spatial distribution of the energy deposited by
the ion. For small angles of incidence and amorphous or polycrystalline
materials, this description seems to be suitable, and leads to the classic BH
morphological theory [R.M. Bradley and J.M.E. Harper, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A
6, 2390 (1988)]. Here we study the sputtering of Cu crystals by means of
numerical simulations under the binary-collision approximation. We observe
significant deviations from Sigmund's energy distribution. In particular, the
distribution that best fits our simulations has a minimum near the position
where the ion penetrates the surface, and the decay of energy deposition with
distance to ion trajectory is exponential rather than Gaussian. We provide a
modified continuum theory which takes these effects into account and explores
the implications of the modified energy distribution for the surface
morphology. In marked contrast with BH's theory, the dependence of the
sputtering yield with the angle of incidence is non-monotonous, with a maximum
for non-grazing incidence angles.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, RevTe
Photodynamic action of merocyanine 540 on artificial and natural cell membranes: involvement of singlet molecular oxygen.
A direct probe of cosmological power spectra of the peculiar velocity field and the gravitational lensing magnification from photometric redshift surveys
The cosmological peculiar velocity field (deviations from the pure Hubble
flow) of matter carries significant information on dark energy, dark matter and
the underlying theory of gravity on large scales. Peculiar motions of galaxies
introduce systematic deviations between the observed galaxy redshifts z and the
corresponding cosmological redshifts z_cos. A novel method for estimating the
angular power spectrum of the peculiar velocity field based on observations of
galaxy redshifts and apparent magnitudes m (or equivalently fluxes) is
presented. This method exploits the fact that a mean relation between z_cos and
m of galaxies can be derived from all galaxies in a redshift-magnitude survey.
Given a galaxy magnitude, it is shown that the z_cos(m) relation yields its
cosmological redshift with a 1-sigma error of sigma_z~0.3 for a survey like
Euclid (~10^9 galaxies at z<~2), and can be used to constrain the angular power
spectrum of z-z_cos(m) with a high signal-to-noise ratio. At large angular
separations corresponding to l<~15, we obtain significant constraints on the
power spectrum of the peculiar velocity field. At 15<~l<~60, magnitude shifts
in the z_cos(m) relation caused by gravitational lensing magnification
dominate, allowing us to probe the line-of-sight integral of the gravitational
potential. Effects related to the environmental dependence in the luminosity
function can easily be computed and their contamination removed from the
estimated power spectra. The amplitude of the combined velocity and lensing
power spectra at z~1 can be measured with <~5% accuracy.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures; added a discussion of systematic errors,
accepted for publication in JCA
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