44 research outputs found
Sequence-dependent structure/function relationships of catalytic peptide-enabled gold nanoparticles generated under ambient synthetic conditions
YesPeptide-enabled nanoparticle (NP) synthesis routes can create and/or assemble functional nanomaterials under environmentally friendly conditions, with properties dictated by complex interactions at the biotic/abiotic interface. Manipulation of this interface through sequence modification can provide the capability for material properties to be tailored to create enhanced materials for energy, catalysis, and sensing applications. Fully realizing the potential of these materials requires a comprehensive understanding of sequence-dependent structure/function relationships that is presently lacking. In this work, the atomic-scale structures of a series of peptide-capped Au NPs are determined using a combination of atomic pair distribution function analysis of high-energy X-ray diffraction data and advanced molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The Au NPs produced with different peptide sequences exhibit varying degrees of catalytic activity for the exemplar reaction 4-nitrophenol reduction. The experimentally derived atomic-scale NP configurations reveal sequence-dependent differences in structural order at the NP surface. Replica exchange with solute-tempering MD simulations are then used to predict the morphology of the peptide overlayer on these Au NPs and identify factors determining the structure/catalytic properties relationship. We show that the amount of exposed Au surface, the underlying surface structural disorder, and the interaction strength of the peptide with the Au surface all influence catalytic performance. A simplified computational prediction of catalytic performance is developed that can potentially serve as a screening tool for future studies. Our approach provides a platform for broadening the analysis of catalytic peptide-enabled metallic NP systems, potentially allowing for the development of rational design rules for property enhancemenAir Force Office for Scientific Research (Grant #FA9550-12-1-0226, RRN; AFOSR LRIR) and DOE-BES grant DE-SC0006877, fellowship support from the National Research Council Research Associateshi
Scattering amplitudes with massive fermions using BCFW recursion
We study the QCD scattering amplitudes for \bar{q}q \to gg and \bar{q}q \to
ggg where q is a massive fermion. Using a particular choice of massive fermion
spinor we are able to derive very compact expressions for the partial spin
amplitudes for the 2 \to 2 process. We then investigate the corresponding 2 \to
3 amplitudes using the BCFW recursion technique. For the helicity conserving
partial amplitudes we again derive very compact expressions, but were unable to
treat the helicity-flip amplitudes recursively, except for the case where all
the gluon helicities are the same. We therefore evaluate the remaining partial
amplitudes using standard Feynman diagram techniques.Comment: 21 page
Scattering of Noncommutative Waves and Solitons in a Supersymmetric Chiral Model in 2+1 Dimensions
Interactions of noncommutative waves and solitons in 2+1 dimensions can be
analyzed exactly for a supersymmetric and integrable U(n) chiral model
extending the Ward model. Using the Moyal-deformed dressing method in an
antichiral superspace, we construct explicit time-dependent solutions of its
noncommutative field equations by iteratively solving linear equations. The
approach is illustrated by presenting scattering configurations for two
noncommutative U(2) plane waves and for two noncommutative U(2) solitons as
well as by producing a noncommutative U(1) two-soliton bound state.Comment: 1+13 pages; v2: reference added, version published in JHE
Multigluon tree amplitudes with a pair of massive fermions
We consider the calculation of n-point multigluon tree amplitudes with a pair
of massive fermions in QCD. We give the explicit transformation rules of this
kind of massive fermion-pair amplitudes with respect to different reference
momenta and check the correctness of them by SUSY Ward identities. Using these
rules and onshell BCFW recursion relation, we calculate the analytic results of
several n-point multigluon amplitudes.Comment: 15page
MHV Rules for Higgs Plus Multi-Gluon Amplitudes
We use tree-level perturbation theory to show how non-supersymmetric one-loop
scattering amplitudes for a Higgs boson plus an arbitrary number of partons can
be constructed, in the limit of a heavy top quark, from a generalization of the
scalar graph approach of Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten. The Higgs boson couples to
gluons through a top quark loop which generates, for large top mass, a
dimension-5 operator H tr G^2. This effective interaction leads to amplitudes
which cannot be described by the standard MHV rules; for example, amplitudes
where all of the gluons have positive helicity. We split the effective
interaction into the sum of two terms, one holomorphic (selfdual) and one
anti-holomorphic (anti-selfdual). The holomorphic interactions give a new set
of MHV vertices -- identical in form to those of pure gauge theory, except for
momentum conservation -- that can be combined with pure gauge theory MHV
vertices to produce a tower of amplitudes with more than two negative
helicities. Similarly, the anti-holomorphic interactions give anti-MHV vertices
that can be combined with pure gauge theory anti-MHV vertices to produce a
tower of amplitudes with more than two positive helicities. A Higgs boson
amplitude is the sum of one MHV-tower amplitude and one anti-MHV-tower
amplitude. We present all MHV-tower amplitudes with up to four
negative-helicity gluons and any number of positive-helicity gluons (NNMHV).
These rules reproduce all of the available analytic formulae for Higgs +
n-gluon scattering (n<=5) at tree level, in some cases yielding considerably
shorter expressions.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures; v2, references correcte
The stone adze and obsidian assemblage from the Talasiu site, Kingdom of Tonga
Typological and geochemical analyses of stone adzes and other stone tools have played a significant role in identifying directionality of colonisation movements in early migratory events in the Western Pacific. In later phases of Polynesian prehistory, stone adzes are important status goods which show substantial spatial and temporal variation. However, there is a debate when standardisation of form and manufacture appeared, whether it can be seen in earliest populations colonising the Pacific or whether it is a later development. We present in this paper a stone adze and obsidian tool assemblage from an early Ancestral Polynesian Society Talasiu site on Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga. The site shows a wide variety of adze types; however, if raw material origin is taken into account, emerging standardisation in adze form might be detected. We also show that Tongatapu was strongly connected in a network of interaction to islands to the North, particularly Samoa, suggesting that these islands had permanent populations
Phenomenology of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Solar System
Recent years have seen increasing efforts to directly measure some aspects of
the general relativistic gravitomagnetic interaction in several astronomical
scenarios in the solar system. After briefly overviewing the concept of
gravitomagnetism from a theoretical point of view, we review the performed or
proposed attempts to detect the Lense-Thirring effect affecting the orbital
motions of natural and artificial bodies in the gravitational fields of the
Sun, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. In particular, we will focus on the evaluation of
the impact of several sources of systematic uncertainties of dynamical origin
to realistically elucidate the present and future perspectives in directly
measuring such an elusive relativistic effect.Comment: LaTex, 51 pages, 14 figures, 22 tables. Invited review, to appear in
Astrophysics and Space Science (ApSS). Some uncited references in the text
now correctly quoted. One reference added. A footnote adde
A cellular chemical probe targeting the chromodomains of Polycomb repressive complex 1
We report the design and characterization of UNC3866, a potent antagonist of the methyllysine (Kme) reading function of the Polycomb CBX and CDY families of chromodomains. Polycomb CBX proteins regulate gene expression by targeting Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) to sites of H3K27me3 via their chromodomains. UNC3866 binds the chromodomains of CBX4 and CBX7 most potently, with a K d of Ăą âŒ1/4100 nM for each, and is 6-to 18-fold selective as compared to seven other CBX and CDY chromodomains while being highly selective over >250 other protein targets. X-ray crystallography revealed that UNC3866's interactions with the CBX chromodomains closely mimic those of the methylated H3 tail. UNC4195, a biotinylated derivative of UNC3866, was used to demonstrate that UNC3866 engages intact PRC1 and that EED incorporation into PRC1 is isoform dependent in PC3 prostate cancer cells. Finally, UNC3866 inhibits PC3 cell proliferation, consistent with the known ability of CBX7 overexpression to confer a growth advantage, whereas UNC4219, a methylated negative control compound, has negligible effects
Dynamic protein methylation in chromatin biology
Post-translational modification of chromatin is emerging as an increasingly important regulator of chromosomal processes. In particular, histone lysine and arginine methylation play important roles in regulating transcription, maintaining genomic integrity, and contributing to epigenetic memory. Recently, the use of new approaches to analyse histone methylation, the generation of genetic model systems, and the ability to interrogate genome wide histone modification profiles has aided in defining how histone methylation contributes to these processes. Here we focus on the recent advances in our understanding of the histone methylation system and examine how dynamic histone methylation contributes to normal cellular function in mammals