691 research outputs found
Mutations in human dynamin block an intermediate stage in coated vesicle formation
The role of human dynamin in receptor-mediated endocytosis was investigated by transient expression of GTP-binding domain mutants in mammalian cells. Using assays which detect intermediates in coated vesicle formation, the dynamin mutants were found to block endocytosis at a stage after the initiation of coat assembly and preceding the sequestration of ligands into deeply invaginated coated pits. Membrane transport from the ER to the Golgi complex was unaffected indicating that dynamin mutants specifically block early events in endocytosis. These results demonstrate that mutations in the GTP-binding domain of dynamin block Tfn-endocytosis in mammalian cells and suggest that a functional dynamin GTPase is required for receptor-mediated endocytosis via clathrin-coated pits
Regulation of the mitochondrial dynamin-like protein Opa1 by proteolytic cleavage
The dynamin-related protein Opa1 is localized to the mitochondrial intermembrane space, where it facilitates fusion between mitochondria. Apoptosis causes Opa1 release into the cytosol and causes mitochondria to fragment. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential also causes mitochondrial fragmentation but not Opa1 release into the cytosol. Both conditions induce the proteolytic cleavage of Opa1, suggesting that mitochondrial fragmentation is triggered by Opa1 inactivation. The opposite effect was observed with knockdown of the mitochondrial intermembrane space protease Yme1. Knockdown of Yme1 prevents the constitutive cleavage of a subset of Opa1 splice variants but does not affect carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone or apoptosis-induced cleavage. Knockdown of Yme1 also increases mitochondrial connectivity, but this effect is independent of Opa1 because it also occurs in Opa1 knockdown cells. We conclude that Yme1 constitutively regulates a subset of Opa1 isoforms and an unknown mitochondrial morphology protein, whereas the loss of membrane potential induces the further proteolysis of Opa1
The Brown Dwarf Kinematics Project (BDKP). III. Parallaxes for 70 Ultracool Dwarfs
We report parallax measurements for 70 ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). Using both
literature values and our sample, we report new polynomial relations between
spectral type and M. Including resolved L/T transition binaries in the
relations, we find no reason to differentiate between a "bright" (unresolved
binary) and "faint" (single source) sample across the L/T boundary. Isolating
early T dwarfs, we find that the brightening of T0-T4 sources is prominent in
M where there is a [1.2 - 1.4] magnitude difference. A similar yet
dampened brightening of [0.3 - 0.5] magnitude happens at M and a plateau
or dimming of [-0.2 - -0.3] magnitude is seen in M. Comparing with
evolutionary models that vary gravity, metallicity, and cloud thickness we find
that a near constant temperature of 1200 100 K along a narrow spectral
subtype of T0-T4 is required to account for the brightening and color magnitude
diagram of the L-dwarf/T-dwarf transition. Furthermore, there is a significant
population of both L and T dwarfs which are red or potentially "ultra-cloudy"
compared to the models, many of which are known to be young indicating a
correlation between enhanced photospheric dust and youth. For the low
surface-gravity or young companion L dwarfs we find that 8 out of 10 are at
least [0.2-1.0] magnitude underluminous in M and/or M compared to
equivalent spectral type objects. We speculate that this is a consequence of
increased dust opacity and conclude that low-surface gravity L dwarfs require a
completely new spectral-type/absolute magnitude polynomial for analysis.Comment: 65 pages, Accepted for publication to Ap
Integrating direct and indirect load control for congestion management in LV networks
With the energy transition, capacity challenges are expected to occur more frequently in low-voltage (LV) distribution networks. In the literature, several direct and indirect load control methods have been suggested as solutions to alleviate network congestion. Direct methods involve the network operator directly controlling appliances at the households, while indirect methods aim to motivate end-users to shift their consumption through price changes. In this paper, the direct and indirect methods are combined into an integrated approach, making use of the advantages of both methods. An agent-based architecture is adopted so that distributed and computational intelligence can be combined to ensure a smooth coordination among the actors. A sensitivity-based curtailment scheme is used to incorporate the unbalanced loading condition of the LV networks. The efficiency of the proposed integrated approach is investigated through simulations in the unbalanced IEEE European LV test feeder. Simulation results reveal up to 94% reduction in congestion by the integrated approach, while maintaining the required levels of supply in the network.</p
High-resolution imaging at the SOAR telescope
Bright single and binary stars were observed at the 4.1-m telescope with a
fast electron-multiplication camera in the regime of partial turbulence
correction by the visible-light adaptive optics system. We compare the angular
resolution achieved by simple averaging of AO-corrected images (long-exposure),
selection and re-centering (shift-and-add or "lucky" imaging) and speckle
interferometry. The effect of partial AO correction, vibrations, and image
post-processing on the attained resolution is shown. Potential usefulness of
these techniques is evaluated for reaching the diffraction limit in
ground-based optical imaging. Measurements of 75 binary stars obtained during
these tests are given and objects of special interest are discussed. We report
tentative resolution of the astrometric companion to Zeta Aqr B. A concept of
advanced high-resolution camera is outlined.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASP. 14 pages, 9 figures, 2 tabl
The mineralogy, geometry and mass-loss history of IRAS 16342-3814
We present the 2-200 um Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) spectrum and 3.8-20
um ISAAC and TIMMI2 images of the extreme OH/IR star IRAS 16342-3814. Amorphous
silicate absorption features are seen, together with crystalline silicate
absorption features up to almost 45 um. No other OH/IR star is known to have
crystalline silicate features in absorption up to these wavelengths. This
suggests that IRAS 16342-3814 must have, or recently had, an extremely high
mass-loss rate. Preliminary radiative transfer calculations suggest that the
mass-loss rate may be as large as 10^{-3} Msun/yr. The 3.8 um ISAAC image shows
a bipolar reflection nebula with a dark equatorial waist or torus, similar to
that seen in optical Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. The position angle of
the nebula decreases significantly with increasing wavelength, suggesting that
the dominant source of emission changes from scattering to thermal emission.
Still, even up to 20 um the nebula is oriented approximately along the major
axis of the nebula seen in the HST and ISAAC images, suggesting that the torus
must be very cold, in agreement with the very red ISO spectrum. The 20 um image
shows a roughly spherically symmetric extended halo, approximately 6'' in
diameter, which is probably due to a previous phase of mass-loss on the AGB,
suggesting a transition from a (more) spherically symmetric to a (more) axial
symmetric form of mass-loss at the end of the AGB. We estimate the maximum dust
particle sizes in the torus and in the reflection nebula to be 1.3 and 0.09 um
respectively. The size of the particles in the torus is large compared to
typical ISM values, but in agreement with high mass-loss rate objects like AFGL
4106 and HD161796. We discuss the possible reason for the difference in
particle size between the torus and the reflection nebula.Comment: Accepted for publication by A&
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