373 research outputs found
Microminiaturized, biopotential conditioning system (MBCS)
Multichannel, medical monitoring system allows almost complete freedom of movement for subject during monitoring periods. System comprises monitoring unit (biobelt), transmission line, and data acquisition unit. Belt, made of polybenzimidizole fabric, is wrapped around individual's waist and held in place by overlapping sections of Velcro closure material
Interacting vector fields in Relativity without Relativity
Barbour, Foster and \'{O} Murchadha have recently developed a new framework,
called here {\it{the 3-space approach}}, for the formulation of classical
bosonic dynamics. Neither time nor a locally Minkowskian structure of spacetime
are presupposed. Both arise as emergent features of the world from
geodesic-type dynamics on a space of 3-dimensional metric--matter
configurations. In fact gravity, the universal light cone and Abelian gauge
theory minimally coupled to gravity all arise naturally through a single common
mechanism. It yields relativity -- and more -- without presupposing relativity.
This paper completes the recovery of the presently known bosonic sector within
the 3-space approach. We show, for a rather general ansatz, that 3-vector
fields can interact among themselves only as Yang--Mills fields minimally
coupled to gravity.Comment: Replaced with final version accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravity
(14 pages, no figures
A fully (3+1)-D Regge calculus model of the Kasner cosmology
We describe the first discrete-time 4-dimensional numerical application of
Regge calculus. The spacetime is represented as a complex of 4-dimensional
simplices, and the geometry interior to each 4-simplex is flat Minkowski
spacetime. This simplicial spacetime is constructed so as to be foliated with a
one parameter family of spacelike hypersurfaces built of tetrahedra. We
implement a novel two-surface initial-data prescription for Regge calculus, and
provide the first fully 4-dimensional application of an implicit decoupled
evolution scheme (the ``Sorkin evolution scheme''). We benchmark this code on
the Kasner cosmology --- a cosmology which embodies generic features of the
collapse of many cosmological models. We (1) reproduce the continuum solution
with a fractional error in the 3-volume of 10^{-5} after 10000 evolution steps,
(2) demonstrate stable evolution, (3) preserve the standard deviation of
spatial homogeneity to less than 10^{-10} and (4) explicitly display the
existence of diffeomorphism freedom in Regge calculus. We also present the
second-order convergence properties of the solution to the continuum.Comment: 22 pages, 5 eps figures, LaTeX. Updated and expanded versio
Scale-Invariant Gravity: Geometrodynamics
We present a scale-invariant theory, conformal gravity, which closely
resembles the geometrodynamical formulation of general relativity (GR). While
previous attempts to create scale-invariant theories of gravity have been based
on Weyl's idea of a compensating field, our direct approach dispenses with this
and is built by extension of the method of best matching w.r.t scaling
developed in the parallel particle dynamics paper by one of the authors. In
spatially-compact GR, there is an infinity of degrees of freedom that describe
the shape of 3-space which interact with a single volume degree of freedom. In
conformal gravity, the shape degrees of freedom remain, but the volume is no
longer a dynamical variable. Further theories and formulations related to GR
and conformal gravity are presented.
Conformal gravity is successfully coupled to scalars and the gauge fields of
nature. It should describe the solar system observations as well as GR does,
but its cosmology and quantization will be completely different.Comment: 33 pages. Published version (has very minor style changes due to
changes in companion paper
Variations on the Seventh Route to Relativity
As motivated in the full abstract, this paper further investigates Barbour,
Foster and O Murchadha (BFO)'s 3-space formulation of GR. This is based on
best-matched lapse-eliminated actions and gives rise to several theories
including GR and a conformal gravity theory. We study the simplicity postulates
assumed in BFO's work and how to weaken them, so as to permit the inclusion of
the full set of matter fields known to occur in nature.
We study the configuration spaces of gravity-matter systems upon which BFO's
formulation leans. In further developments the lapse-eliminated actions used by
BFO become impractical and require generalization. We circumvent many of these
problems by the equivalent use of lapse-uneliminated actions, which furthermore
permit us to interpret BFO's formulation within Kuchar's generally covariant
hypersurface framework. This viewpoint provides alternative reasons to BFO's as
to why the inclusion of bosonic fields in the 3-space approach gives rise to
minimally-coupled scalar fields, electromagnetism and Yang--Mills theory. This
viewpoint also permits us to quickly exhibit further GR-matter theories
admitted by the 3-space formulation. In particular, we show that the spin-1/2
fermions of the theories of Dirac, Maxwell--Dirac and Yang--Mills--Dirac, all
coupled to GR, are admitted by the generalized 3-space formulation we present.
Thus all the known fundamental matter fields can be accommodated. This
corresponds to being able to pick actions for all these theories which have
less kinematics than suggested by the generally covariant hypersurface
framework. For all these theories, Wheeler's thin sandwich conjecture may be
posed, rendering them timeless in Barbour's sense.Comment: Revtex version; Journal-ref adde
Transient Phenomena in Gene Expression after Induction of Transcription
When transcription of a gene is induced by a stimulus, the number of its mRNA molecules changes with time. Here we discuss how this time evolution depends on the shape of the mRNA lifetime distribution. Analysis of the statistical properties of this change reveals transient effects on polysomes, ribosomal profiles, and rate of protein synthesis. Our studies reveal that transient phenomena in gene expression strongly depend on the specific form of the mRNA lifetime distribution
Crystallographic Snapshots of Tyrosine Phenol-lyase Show That Substrate Strain Plays a Role in C–C Bond Cleavage
Molecular and Structural Discrimination of Proline Racemase and Hydroxyproline-2-Epimerase from Nosocomial and Bacterial Pathogens
The first eukaryotic proline racemase (PRAC), isolated from the human Trypanosoma cruzi pathogen, is a validated therapeutic target against Chagas' disease. This essential enzyme is implicated in parasite life cycle and infectivity and its ability to trigger host B-cell nonspecific hypergammaglobulinemia contributes to parasite evasion and persistence. Using previously identified PRAC signatures and data mining we present the identification and characterization of a novel PRAC and five hydroxyproline epimerases (HyPRE) from pathogenic bacteria. Single-mutation of key HyPRE catalytic cysteine abrogates enzymatic activity supporting the presence of two reaction centers per homodimer. Furthermore, evidences are provided that Brucella abortus PrpA [for ‘proline racemase’ virulence factor A] and homologous proteins from two Brucella spp are bona fide HyPREs and not ‘one way’ directional PRACs as described elsewhere. Although the mechanisms of aminoacid racemization and epimerization are conserved between PRAC and HyPRE, our studies demonstrate that substrate accessibility and specificity partly rely on contraints imposed by aromatic or aliphatic residues distinctively belonging to the catalytic pockets. Analysis of PRAC and HyPRE sequences along with reaction center structural data disclose additional valuable elements for in silico discrimination of the enzymes. Furthermore, similarly to PRAC, the lymphocyte mitogenicity displayed by HyPREs is discussed in the context of bacterial metabolism and pathogenesis. Considering tissue specificity and tropism of infectious pathogens, it would not be surprising if upon infection PRAC and HyPRE play important roles in the regulation of the intracellular and extracellular amino acid pool profiting the microrganism with precursors and enzymatic pathways of the host
Global Regulatory Functions of the Staphylococcus aureus Endoribonuclease III in Gene Expression
RNA turnover plays an important role in both virulence and adaptation to stress in the Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. However, the molecular players and mechanisms involved in these processes are poorly understood. Here, we explored the functions of S. aureus endoribonuclease III (RNase III), a member of the ubiquitous family of double-strand-specific endoribonucleases. To define genomic transcripts that are bound and processed by RNase III, we performed deep sequencing on cDNA libraries generated from RNAs that were co-immunoprecipitated with wild-type RNase III or two different cleavage-defective mutant variants in vivo. Several newly identified RNase III targets were validated by independent experimental methods. We identified various classes of structured RNAs as RNase III substrates and demonstrated that this enzyme is involved in the maturation of rRNAs and tRNAs, regulates the turnover of mRNAs and non-coding RNAs, and autoregulates its synthesis by cleaving within the coding region of its own mRNA. Moreover, we identified a positive effect of RNase III on protein synthesis based on novel mechanisms. RNase III–mediated cleavage in the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) enhanced the stability and translation of cspA mRNA, which encodes the major cold-shock protein. Furthermore, RNase III cleaved overlapping 5′UTRs of divergently transcribed genes to generate leaderless mRNAs, which constitutes a novel way to co-regulate neighboring genes. In agreement with recent findings, low abundance antisense RNAs covering 44% of the annotated genes were captured by co-immunoprecipitation with RNase III mutant proteins. Thus, in addition to gene regulation, RNase III is associated with RNA quality control of pervasive transcription. Overall, this study illustrates the complexity of post-transcriptional regulation mediated by RNase III
Quality of life and burden in carers for persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease receiving oxygen therapy
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