The purification and properties of glutathione S-transferase from Ditylenchus myceliophagus

L'activité de la glutathion S-tranférase cytoplasmique chez #Dytylenchus myceliophagus$ a été attribuée à quatre isoenzymes, DmI, DmII, DmIII et DmIV, par combinaison de la chromatographie focalisante et de la chromatographie d'affinité au moyen de l'hexylglutathion. Un facteur endogène cytoplasmique a interféré avec les matrices d'affinité de la liaison entre les transférases cytosoliques et le glutathion, et la liaison ne s'est produite qu'après une purification préliminaire. Les quatre isoenzymes sont apparues être des homodimères avec des subunités de poids moléculaires respectifs de 25,3, 24, 26 et 25,7 kDa pour DmI, DmII, DmIII et DmIV. Les points isoélectriques pour DmI, DmII et DmIII sont de 7,28, 5,04 et 4,88. La séquence N-terminale de l'enzyme principale (DmIII) présente une très forte similarité de séquences avec la classe alpha GSTs des mammifères. En tout état de cause, les spécificités de substrats et les profils inhibiteurs de DmII, DmIII et DmIV montrent une ressemblance générale avec la classe mu des mammifères alors que DmI montre des caractéristiques plus proches de la classe alpha. (Résumé d'auteur

Green consumer markets in the fight against climate change

Climate change has become one of the greatest threats to environmental security, as attested by the growing frequency of severe flooding and storms, extreme temperatures and droughts. Accordingly, the European Union’s (EU) 6th Environment Action Programme (2010) lists tackling climate change as its first priority. A key aim of the EU has been to cut CO2 emissions, a major factor in climate change, by 8% until 2012 and 20% until 2020. The European Commission has proposed the encouragement of private consumer market for green products and services as one of several solutions to this problem. However, existing research suggests that the market share of these products has been only 3%, although 30% of individuals favour environmental and ethical goods. This article uses Public Goods Theory to explain why the contribution of the green consumer market to fighting climate change has been and possibly may remain limited without further public intervention

Categorical formulation of quantum algebras

We describe how dagger-Frobenius monoids give the correct categorical description of certain kinds of finite-dimensional 'quantum algebras'. We develop the concept of an involution monoid, and use it to construct a correspondence between finite-dimensional C*-algebras and certain types of dagger-Frobenius monoids in the category of Hilbert spaces. Using this technology, we recast the spectral theorems for commutative C*-algebras and for normal operators into an explicitly categorical language, and we examine the case that the results of measurements do not form finite sets, but rather objects in a finite Boolean topos. We describe the relevance of these results for topological quantum field theory.Comment: 34 pages, to appear in Communications in Mathematical Physic

Picturing classical and quantum Bayesian inference

We introduce a graphical framework for Bayesian inference that is sufficiently general to accommodate not just the standard case but also recent proposals for a theory of quantum Bayesian inference wherein one considers density operators rather than probability distributions as representative of degrees of belief. The diagrammatic framework is stated in the graphical language of symmetric monoidal categories and of compact structures and Frobenius structures therein, in which Bayesian inversion boils down to transposition with respect to an appropriate compact structure. We characterize classical Bayesian inference in terms of a graphical property and demonstrate that our approach eliminates some purely conventional elements that appear in common representations thereof, such as whether degrees of belief are represented by probabilities or entropic quantities. We also introduce a quantum-like calculus wherein the Frobenius structure is noncommutative and show that it can accommodate Leifer's calculus of `conditional density operators'. The notion of conditional independence is also generalized to our graphical setting and we make some preliminary connections to the theory of Bayesian networks. Finally, we demonstrate how to construct a graphical Bayesian calculus within any dagger compact category.Comment: 38 pages, lots of picture

Initial State Interactions for K−K^--Proton Radiative Capture

The effects of the initial state interactions on the $K^--p$ radiative capture branching ratios are examined and found to be quite sizable. A general coupled-channel formalism for both strong and electromagnetic channels using a particle basis is presented, and applied to all the low energy $K^--p$ data with the exception of the {\it 1s} atomic level shift. Satisfactory fits are obtained using vertex coupling constants for the electromagnetic channels that are close to their expected SU(3) values.Comment: 16 pages, uses revte

Rotating spin-1 bosons in the lowest Landau level

We present results for the ground states of a system of spin-1 bosons in a rotating trap. We focus on the dilute, weakly interacting regime, and restrict the bosons to the quantum states in the lowest Landau level (LLL) in the plane (disc), sphere or torus geometries. We map out parts of the zero temperature phase diagram, using both exact quantum ground states and LLL mean field configurations. For the case of a spin-independent interaction we present exact quantum ground states at angular momentum $L\leq N$. For general values of the interaction parameters, we present mean field studies of general ground states at slow rotation and of lattices of vortices and skyrmions at higher rotation rates. Finally, we discuss quantum Hall liquid states at ultra-high rotation.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, RevTe

Multinucleon transfer in the interaction of 977 MeV and 1143 MeV Hg 204 with Pb 208

A previous study of symmetric collisions of massive nuclei has shown that current models of multinucleon transfer (MNT) reactions do not adequately describe the transfer product yields. To gain further insight into this problem, we have measured the yields of MNT products in the interaction of 977 (E/A=4.79 MeV) and 1143 MeV (E/A=5.60 MeV) Hg204 with Pb208. We find that the yield of multinucleon transfer products are similar in these two reactions and are substantially lower than those observed in the reaction of 1257 MeV (E/A=6.16 MeV) Hg204+Pt198. We compare our measurements with the predictions of the GRAZING-F, dinuclear systems (DNS), and improved quantum molecular dynamics (ImQMD) models. For the observed isotopes of the elements Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, and Bi, the measured values of the MNT cross sections are orders of magnitude larger than the predicted values. Furthermore, the various models predict the formation of nuclides near the N=126 shell, which are not observed

Xe 136 + Pb 208 reaction: A test of models of multinucleon transfer reactions

The yields of over 200 projectile-like fragments (PLFs) and target-like fragments (TLFs) from the interaction of (Ec.m.=450 MeV) Xe136 with a thick target of Pb208 were measured using Gammasphere and off-line γ-ray spectroscopy, giving a comprehensive picture of the production cross sections in this reaction. The measured yields were compared to predictions of the grazing model and the predictions of Zagrebaev and Greiner using a quantitative metric, the theory evaluation factor tef. The grazing model predictions are adequate for describing the yields of nuclei near the target or projectile but they grossly underestimate the yields of all other products. The predictions of Zagrebaev and Greiner correctly describe the magnitude and maxima of the observed TLF transfer cross sections for a wide range of transfers (ΔZ=-8 to ΔZ=+2). However, for ΔZ=+4, the observed position of the maximum in the distribution is four neutrons richer than the predicted maximum. The predicted yields of the neutron-rich N=126 nuclei exceed the measured values by two orders of magnitude. Correlations between TLF and PLF yields are discussed

Dynamical complexity in the C.elegans neural network

We model the neuronal circuit of the C.elegans soil worm in terms of a Hindmarsh-Rose system of ordinary differential equa- tions, dividing its circuit into six communities which are determined via the Walktrap and Louvain methods. Using the numerical solution of these equations, we analyze important measures of dynamical com- plexity, namely synchronicity, the largest Lyapunov exponent, and the ?AR auto-regressive integrated information theory measure. We show that ?AR provides a useful measure of the information contained in the C.elegans brain dynamic network. Our analysis reveals that the C.elegans brain dynamic network generates more information than the sum of its constituent parts, and that attains higher levels of integrated information for couplings for which either all its communities are highly synchronized, or there is a mixed state of highly synchronized and de- synchronized communities

Modeling multi-nucleon transfer in symmetric collisions of massive nuclei

Symmetric collisions of massive nuclei, such as 238U + 248Cm, have been proposed as ways to make new n-rich heavy nuclei via multi-nucleon transfer (MNT) reactions. We have measured the yields of several projectile-like and target-like fragments from the reaction of 1360 MeV 204Hg + 198Pt. We find that current models for this symmetric collision (GRAZING, DNS, ImQMD) significantly underestimate the yields of these transfer products, even for small transfers