8,040 research outputs found
Science is perception: what can our sense of smell tell us about ourselves and the world around us?
Human sensory processes are well understood: hearing, seeing, perhaps even tasting and touch—but we do not understand smell—the elusive sense. That is, for the others we know what stimuli causes what response, and why and how. These fundamental questions are not answered within the sphere of smell science; we do not know what it is about a molecule that … smells. I report, here, the status quo theories for olfaction, highlighting what we do not know, and explaining why dismissing the perception of the input as ‘too subjective’ acts as a roadblock not conducive to scientific inquiry. I outline the current and new theory that conjectures a mechanism for signal transduction based on quantum mechanical phenomena, dubbed the ‘swipe card’, which is perhaps controversial but feasible. I show that such lines of thinking may answer some questions, or at least pose the right questions. Most importantly, I draw links and comparisons as to how better understanding of how small (10’s of atoms) molecules can interact so specially with large (10 000’s of atoms) proteins in a way that is so integral to healthy living. Repercussions of this work are not just important in understanding a basic scientific tool used by us all, but often taken for granted, it is also a step closer to understanding generic mechanisms between drug and receptor, for example
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Interleukin 2 activation of natural killer cells rapidly induces the expression and phosphorylation of the Leu-23 activation antigen.
IL-2 potentiates both growth and cytotoxic function of T lymphocytes and NK cells. Resting peripheral blood NK cells can respond directly to rIL-2, without requirement for accessory cells or cofactors, and enhanced cytotoxicity can be measured within a few hours after exposure to this lymphokine. In this study, we describe an activation antigen, Leu-23, that is rapidly induced and phosphorylated after IL-2 stimulation of NK cells and a subset of low buoyant density T lymphocytes. Previously, it has been uncertain whether all NK cells or only a subset are responsive to IL-2. Since within 18 h after exposure to IL-2, essentially all NK cells express Leu-23, these findings indicate that all peripheral blood NK cells are responsive to stimulation by IL-2. The Leu-23 antigen is a disulfide-bonded homodimer, composed of 24-kD protein subunits with two N-linked oligosaccharides. Appearance of this glycoprotein on NK cells is IL-2 dependent and closely parallels IL-2-induced cytotoxicity against NK-resistant solid tumor cell targets
Structure of d(TGCGCA)(2) and a comparison with other DNA Hexamers
The X-ray crystal structure of d(TGCGCA)(2) has been determined at 120 K to a resolution of 1.3 Angstrom. Hexamer duplexes, in the Z-DNA conformation, pack in an arrangement similar to the 'pure spermine form' [Egli et al. (1991). Biochemistry, 30, 11388-11402] but with significantly different cell dimensions. The phosphate backbone exists in two equally populated discrete conformations at one nucleotide step, around phosphate 11. The structure contains two ordered cobalt hexammine molecules which have roles in stabilization of both the Z-DNA conformation of the duplex and in crystal packing. A comparison of d(TGCGCA)(2) with other Z-DNA hexamer structures available in the Nucleic Acid Database illustrates the elusive nature of crystal packing. A review of the interactions with the metal cations Na+, Mg2+ and Co3+ reveals a relatively small proportion of phosphate binding and that close contacts between metal ions are common. A prediction of the water structure is compared with the observed pattern in the reported structure
NIHAO XX: The impact of the star formation threshold on the cusp-core transformation of cold dark matter haloes
We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the
NIHAO project to investigate the impact of the threshold for star formation on
the response of the dark matter (DM) halo to baryonic processes. The fiducial
NIHAO threshold, , results in strong expansion of the DM
halo in galaxies with stellar masses in the range . We find that lower thresholds such as (as employed
by the EAGLE/APOSTLE and Illustris/AURIGA projects) do not result in
significant halo expansion at any mass scale. Halo expansion driven by
supernova feedback requires significant fluctuations in the local gas fraction
on sub-dynamical times (i.e., < 50 Myr at galaxy half-light radii), which are
themselves caused by variability in the star formation rate. At one per cent of
the virial radius, simulations with have gas fractions of
and variations of , while simulations have order of
magnitude lower gas fractions and hence do not expand the halo. The observed DM
circular velocities of nearby dwarf galaxies are inconsistent with CDM
simulations with and , but in reasonable agreement with .
Star formation rates are more variable for higher , lower galaxy masses, and
when star formation is measured on shorter time scales. For example,
simulations with have up to 0.4 dex higher scatter in specific star
formation rates than simulations with . Thus observationally
constraining the sub-grid model for star formation, and hence the nature of DM,
should be possible in the near future.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, accepted to MNRA
The edge of galaxy formation III: The effects of warm dark matter on Milky Way satellites and field dwarfs
In this third paper of the series, we investigate the effects of warm dark
matter with a particle mass of on the smallest
galaxies in our Universe. We present a sample of 21 hydrodynamical cosmological
simulations of dwarf galaxies and 20 simulations of satellite-host galaxy
interaction that we performed both in a Cold Dark Matter (CDM) and Warm Dark
Matter (WDM) scenario. In the WDM simulations, we observe a higher critical
mass for the onset of star formation. Structure growth is delayed in WDM, as a
result WDM haloes have a stellar population on average two Gyrs younger than
their CDM counterparts. Nevertheless, despite this delayed star formation, CDM
and WDM galaxies are both able to reproduce the observed scaling relations for
velocity dispersion, stellar mass, size, and metallicity at . WDM
satellite haloes in a Milky Way mass host are more susceptible to tidal
stripping due to their lower concentrations, but their galaxies can even
survive longer than the CDM counterparts if they live in a dark matter halo
with a steeper central slope. In agreement with our previous CDM satellite
study we observe a steepening of the WDM satellites' central dark matter
density slope due to stripping. The difference in the average stellar age for
satellite galaxies, between CDM and WDM, could be used in the future for
disentangling these two models.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
Crack Depth Measurements with the Aid of SAW NDE
This report presents results of measurements of crack depth with the aid of acoustic bulk and surface waves. Both simulated and real fatigue cracks were examined. Two techniques were employed, one took advantage of the very efficient mode conversion between acoustic surface waves and shear waves at the crack tip; the other technique used the diffraction of shear waves at the crack tip. Both techniques were used on a number of simulated {spark eroded) and real cracks in Al 2024. In one fatigue specimen which contained an elliptical crack 4.5 mm in length and 1.25 mm in depth, crack closure studies were carried out. The precision of crack depth determination was judged to be better than 10%
alpha-nucleus potentials for the neutron-deficient p nuclei
alpha-nucleus potentials are one important ingredient for the understanding
of the nucleosynthesis of heavy neutron-deficient p nuclei in the astrophysical
gamma-process where these p nuclei are produced by a series of (gamma,n),
(gamma,p), and (gamma,alpha) reactions. I present an improved alpha-nucleus
potential at the astrophysically relevant sub-Coulomb energies which is derived
from the analysis of alpha decay data and from a previously established
systematic behavior of double-folding potentials.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Characterization of Knots and Links Arising From Site-specific Recombination on Twist Knots
We develop a model characterizing all possible knots and links arising from
recombination starting with a twist knot substrate, extending previous work of
Buck and Flapan. We show that all knot or link products fall into three
well-understood families of knots and links, and prove that given a positive
integer , the number of product knots and links with minimal crossing number
equal to grows proportionally to . In the (common) case of twist knot
substrates whose products have minimal crossing number one more than the
substrate, we prove that the types of products are tightly prescribed. Finally,
we give two simple examples to illustrate how this model can help determine
previously uncharacterized experimental data.Comment: 32 pages, 7 tables, 27 figures, revised: figures re-arranged, and
minor corrections. To appear in Journal of Physics
The S(0) structure in highly compressed hydrogen and the orientational transition
A calculation of the rotational S(0) frequencies in high pressure solid
para-hydrogen is performed. Convergence of the perturbative series at high
density is demonstrated by the calculation of second and third order terms. The
results of the theory are compared with the available experimental data to
derive the density behaviour of structural parameters. In particular, a strong
increase of the value of the lattice constant ratio and of the
internuclear distance is determined. Also a decrease of the anisotropic
intermolecular potential is observed which is attributed to charge transfer
effects. The structural parameters determined at the phase transition may be
used to calculate quantum properties of the rotationally ordered phase.Comment: accepted Europhysics Letter
Clarification of the relationship between bound and scattering states in quantum mechanics: Application to 12C + alpha
Using phase-equivalent supersymmetric partner potentials, a general result
from the inverse problem in quantum scattering theory is illustrated, i.e.,
that bound-state properties cannot be extracted from the phase shifts of a
single partial wave, as a matter of principle. In particular, recent R-matrix
analyses of the 12C + alpha system, extracting the asymptotic normalization
constant of the 2+ subthreshold state, C12, from the l=2 elastic-scattering
phase shifts and bound-state energy, are shown to be unreliable. In contrast,
this important constant in nuclear astrophysics can be deduced from the
simultaneous analysis of the l=0, 2, 4, 6 partial waves in a simplified
potential model. A new supersymmetric inversion potential and existing models
give C12=144500+-8500 fm-1/2.Comment: Expanded version (50% larger); three errors corrected (conversion of
published reduced widths to ANCs); nine references added, one remove
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