3,430 research outputs found
Methods of isolation and identification of pathogenic and potential pathogenic bacteria from skins and tannery effluents
Currently there is no standard protocol available within the leather industry to isolate and identify pathogenic bacteria from hides, skins or tannery effluent. This study was therefore carried out to identify simple but effective methods for isolation and identification of bacterial pathogens from the effluent and skins during leather processing. Identification methods based on both phenotypic and genotypic characteristics were investigated. Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used as indicator bacteria to evaluate the isolation and identification methods. Decontaminated calfskins were inoculated with a pure culture of the above mentioned bacterial species followed by a pre-tanning and chromium tanning processes. Effluent samples were collected and skins were swabbed at the end of each processing stage. Bacterial identification was carried out based on the phenotypic characteristics; such as colony appearance on selective solid media, cell morphology following a standard Gram-staining and spore staining techniques, and biochemical reactions, e.g., the ability of a bacterial species to ferment particular sugars and ability to produce certain enzymes. Additionally, an identification system based on bacterial phenotypic characteristics, known as BiologÂź system was applied. A pulsed-filed gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method for bacterial DNA fingerprinting was also evaluated and used for the identification of the inoculated bacteria. The methods described in the study were found to be effective for the identification of pathogenic bacteria from skins and effluent
Folding-competent and folding-defective forms of Ricin A chain have different fates following retrotranslocation from the endoplasmic reticulum
We report that a toxic polypeptide retaining the potential to refold upon dislocation from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
to the cytosol (ricin A chain; RTA) and a misfolded version that cannot (termed RTAÎ), follow ER-associated degradation
(ERAD) pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that substantially diverge in the cytosol. Both polypeptides are dislocated
in a step mediated by the transmembrane Hrd1p ubiquitin ligase complex and subsequently degraded. Canonical
polyubiquitylation is not a prerequisite for this interaction because a catalytically inactive Hrd1p E3 ubiquitin ligase
retains the ability to retrotranslocate RTA, and variants lacking one or both endogenous lysyl residues also require the
Hrd1p complex. In the case of native RTA, we established that dislocation also depends on other components of the
classical ERAD-L pathway as well as an ongoing ERâGolgi transport. However, the dislocation pathways deviate
strikingly upon entry into the cytosol. Here, the CDC48 complex is required only for RTAÎ, although the involvement of
individual ATPases (Rpt proteins) in the 19S regulatory particle (RP) of the proteasome, and the 20S catalytic chamber
itself, is very different for the two RTA variants. We conclude that cytosolic ERAD components, particularly the
proteasome RP, can discriminate between structural features of the same substrate
Path-integral dynamics of water using curvilinear centroids
We develop a path-integral dynamics method for water that resembles centroid
molecular dynamics (CMD), except that the centroids are averages of
curvilinear, rather than cartesian, bead coordinates. The curvilinear
coordinates are used explicitly only when computing the potential of mean
force, the components of which are re-expressed in terms of cartesian
'quasi-centroids' (so-called because they are close to the cartesian
centroids). Cartesian equations of motion are obtained by making small
approximations to the quantum Boltzmann distribution. Simulations of the
infrared spectra of various water models over 150-600 K show these
approximations to be justified: for a two-dimensional OH-bond model, the
quasi-centroid molecular dynamics (QCMD) spectra lie close to the exact quantum
spectra, and almost on top of the Matsubara dynamics spectra; for gas-phase
water, the QCMD spectra are close to the exact quantum spectra; for liquid
water and ice (using the q-TIP4P/F surface), the QCMD spectra are close to the
CMD spectra at 600 K, and line up with the results of thermostatted
ring-polymer molecular dynamics and approximate quantum calculations at 300 and
150 K. The QCMD spectra show no sign of the CMD 'curvature problem' (of
erroneous red shifts and broadening). In the liquid and ice simulations, the
potential of mean force was evaluated on the fly by generalising an adiabatic
CMD algorithm to curvilinear coordinates; the full limit of adiabatic
separation needed to be taken, which made the QCMD calculations 8 times more
expensive than partially adiabatic CMD at 300 K, and 32 times at 150 K (and the
intensities may still not be converged at this temperature). The QCMD method is
probably generalisable to many other systems, provided collective
bead-coordinates can be identified that yield compact mean-field ring-polymer
distributions.Cambridge University Vice Chancellor's award
Radiative Falloff in Neutron Star Spacetimes
We systematically study late-time tails of scalar waves propagating in
neutron star spacetimes. We consider uniform density neutron stars, for which
the background spacetime is analytic and the compaction of the star can be
varied continously between the Newtonian limit 2M/R << 1 and the relativistic
Buchdahl limit 2M/R = 8/9. We study the reflection of a finite wave packet off
neutron stars of different compactions 2M/R and find that a Newtonian, an
intermediate, and a highly relativistic regime can be clearly distinguished. In
the highly relativistic regime, the reflected signal is dominated by
quasi-periodic peaks, which originate from the wave packet bouncing back and
forth between the center of the star and the maximum of the background
curvature potential at R ~ 3 M. Between these peaks, the field decays according
to a power-law. In the Buchdahl limit 2M/R -> 8/9 the light travel time between
the center and the maximum or the curvature potential grows without bound, so
that the first peak arrives only at infinitely late time. The modes of neutron
stars can therefore no longer be excited in the ultra-relativistic limit, and
it is in this sense that the late-time radiative decay from neutron stars
looses all its features and gives rise to power-law tails reminiscent of
Schwarzschild black holes.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, to appear in PR
Probabilities of Large Earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Region, California
In 1987 a Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities was organized by the U.S. Geological
Survey at the recommendation of the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC). The
membership included representatives from private industry, academia, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The
Working Group computed long-term probabilities of earthquakes along the major faults of the San Andreas
fault system on the basis of consensus interpretations of information then available. Faults considered by the
Working Group included the San Andreas fault proper, the San Jacinto and Imperial-faults of southern
California, and the Hayward fault of northern California. The Working Group issued a final report of its
findings in 1988 (Working Group, 1988) that was reviewed and endorsed by NEPEC.
As a consequence of the magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake of October 17, 1989, a
second Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities was organized under the auspices of NEPEC.
Its charge was to review and, as necessary, revise the findings of the 1988 report on the probability of large
earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region. In particular, the Working Group was requested to examine the
probabilities of large earthquakes in the context of new interpretations or physical changes resulting from the
Loma Prieta earthquake. In addition, it was to consider new information pertaining to the San Andreas and other
faults in the region obtained subsequent to the release of the 1988 report. Insofar as modified techniques and
improved data have been used in this study, the same approach might also, of course, modify the probabilities
for southern California. This reevaluation has, however, been specifically limited to the San Francisco Bay
region.
This report is intended to summarize the collective knowledge and judgments of a diverse group of
earthquake scientists to assist in formulation of rational earthquake policies. A considerable body of information
about active faults in the San Francisco Bay region leads to the conclusion that major earthquakes are likely
within the next tens of years. Several techniques can be used to compute probabilities of future earthquakes,
although there are uncertainties about the validity of specific assumptions or models that must be made when
applying these techniques. The body of this report describes the data and detailed assumptions that lead to
specific probabilities for different fault segments. Additional data and future advances in our understanding of
earthquake physics may alter the way that these probabilities are estimated. Even though this uncertainty must
be acknowledged, we emphasize that the findings of this report are supported by other lines of argument and
are consistent with our best understanding of the likelihood for the occurrence of earthquakes in the San
Francisco Bay region
An unfolding signifier: London's Baltic Exchange in Tallinn
In the summer of 2007 an unusual cargo arrived at Muuga and Paldiski harbors outside Tallinn. It consisted of nearly 50 containers holding over 1,000 tons of building material ranging from marble columns, staircases and fireplaces, to sculpted allegorical figures, wooden paneling and old-fashioned telephone booths. They were once part of the Baltic Exchange in the City of London. Soon they will become facets of the landscape of Tallinn. The following article charts this remarkable story and deploys this fragmented monument to analyze three issues relating to the Estonian capital: the relocation of the âBronze Soldierâ, the demolition of the Sakala Culture Center, and Tallinnâs future role as European Cultural Capital in 2011
Optical creation of vibrational intrinsic localized modes in anharmonic lattices with realistic interatomic potentials
Using an efficient optimal control scheme to determine the exciting fields,
we theoretically demonstrate the optical creation of vibrational intrinsic
localized modes (ILMs) in anharmonic perfect lattices with realistic
interatomic potentials. For systems with finite size, we show that ILMs can be
excited directly by applying a sequence of femtosecond visible laser pulses at
THz repetition rates. For periodic lattices, ILMs can be created indirectly via
decay of an unstable extended lattice mode which is excited optically either by
a sequence of pulses as described above or by a single picosecond far-infrared
laser pulse with linearly chirped frequency. In light of recent advances in
experimental laser pulse shaping capabilities, the approach is experimentally
promising.Comment: 20 pages, 7 eps figures. Accepted, Phys. Rev.
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