6,289 research outputs found
An Adaptation To Life In Acid Through A Novel Mevalonate Pathway.
Extreme acidophiles are capable of growth at pH values near zero. Sustaining life in acidic environments requires extensive adaptations of membranes, proton pumps, and DNA repair mechanisms. Here we describe an adaptation of a core biochemical pathway, the mevalonate pathway, in extreme acidophiles. Two previously known mevalonate pathways involve ATP dependent decarboxylation of either mevalonate 5-phosphate or mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate, in which a single enzyme carries out two essential steps: (1) phosphorylation of the mevalonate moiety at the 3-OH position and (2) subsequent decarboxylation. We now demonstrate that in extreme acidophiles, decarboxylation is carried out by two separate steps: previously identified enzymes generate mevalonate 3,5-bisphosphate and a new decarboxylase we describe here, mevalonate 3,5-bisphosphate decarboxylase, produces isopentenyl phosphate. Why use two enzymes in acidophiles when one enzyme provides both functionalities in all other organisms examined to date? We find that at low pH, the dual function enzyme, mevalonate 5-phosphate decarboxylase is unable to carry out the first phosphorylation step, yet retains its ability to perform decarboxylation. We therefore propose that extreme acidophiles had to replace the dual-purpose enzyme with two specialized enzymes to efficiently produce isoprenoids in extremely acidic environments
Generating-function method for fusion rules
This is the second of two articles devoted to an exposition of the
generating-function method for computing fusion rules in affine Lie algebras.
The present paper focuses on fusion rules, using the machinery developed for
tensor products in the companion article. Although the Kac-Walton algorithm
provides a method for constructing a fusion generating function from the
corresponding tensor-product generating function, we describe a more powerful
approach which starts by first defining the set of fusion elementary couplings
from a natural extension of the set of tensor-product elementary couplings. A
set of inequalities involving the level are derived from this set using Farkas'
lemma. These inequalities, taken in conjunction with the inequalities defining
the tensor products, define what we call the fusion basis. Given this basis,
the machinery of our previous paper may be applied to construct the fusion
generating function. New generating functions for sp(4) and su(4), together
with a closed form expression for their threshold levels are presented.Comment: Harvmac (b mode : 47 p) and Pictex; to appear in J. Math. Phy
Lie Superalgebras and the Multiplet Structure of the Genetic Code II: Branching Schemes
Continuing our attempt to explain the degeneracy of the genetic code using
basic classical Lie superalgebras, we present the branching schemes for the
typical codon representations (typical 64-dimensional irreducible
representations) of basic classical Lie superalgebras and find three schemes
that do reproduce the degeneracies of the standard code, based on the
orthosymplectic algebra osp(5|2) and differing only in details of the symmetry
breaking pattern during the last step.Comment: 34 pages, 9 tables, LaTe
A precise CNOT gate in the presence of large fabrication induced variations of the exchange interaction strength
We demonstrate how using two-qubit composite rotations a high fidelity
controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate can be constructed, even when the strength of the
interaction between qubits is not accurately known. We focus on the exchange
interaction oscillation in silicon based solid-state architectures with a
Heisenberg Hamiltonian. This method easily applies to a general two-qubit
Hamiltonian. We show how the robust CNOT gate can achieve a very high fidelity
when a single application of the composite rotations is combined with a modest
level of Hamiltonian characterisation. Operating the robust CNOT gate in a
suitably characterised system means concatenation of the composite pulse is
unnecessary, hence reducing operation time, and ensuring the gate operates
below the threshold required for fault-tolerant quantum computation.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Generating-function method for tensor products
This is the first of two articles devoted to a exposition of the
generating-function method for computing fusion rules in affine Lie algebras.
The present paper is entirely devoted to the study of the tensor-product
(infinite-level) limit of fusions rules.
We start by reviewing Sharp's character method. An alternative approach to
the construction of tensor-product generating functions is then presented which
overcomes most of the technical difficulties associated with the character
method. It is based on the reformulation of the problem of calculating tensor
products in terms of the solution of a set of linear and homogeneous
Diophantine equations whose elementary solutions represent ``elementary
couplings''. Grobner bases provide a tool for generating the complete set of
relations between elementary couplings and, most importantly, as an algorithm
for specifying a complete, compatible set of ``forbidden couplings''.Comment: Harvmac (b mode : 39 p) and Pictex; this is a substantially reduced
version of hep-th/9811113 (with new title); to appear in J. Math. Phy
Planning and Public Health professionalsâ experiences of using the planning system to regulate hot food takeaway outlets in England: A qualitative study
Takeaway food outlets offer limited seating and sell hot food to be consumed away from their premises. They typically serve energy-dense, nutrient-poor food. National planning guidelines in England offer the potential for local planning policies to promote healthier food environments through regulation of takeaway food outlets. Around half of English local government areas use this approach, but little is known about the process of adoption. We aimed to explore experiences and perceived success of planning policy adoption. In 2018 we recruited Planning and Public Health professionals from 16 local government areas in England and completed 26 telephone interviews. We analysed data with a thematic analysis approach. Participants felt that planning policy adoption was appropriate and can successfully regulate takeaway food outlets with the intention to improve health. They identified several facilitators and barriers towards adoption. Facilitators included internal co-operation between Planning and Public Health departments, and precedent for planning policy adoption set elsewhere. Barriers included ânanny-stateâ criticism, and difficulty demonstrating planning policy effectiveness. These could be considered in future guidelines to support widespread planning policy adoption
Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangles, elementary couplings and fusion rules
We present a general scheme for describing su(N)_k fusion rules in terms of
elementary couplings, using Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangles. A fusion coupling
is characterized by its corresponding tensor product coupling (i.e. its
Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangle) and the threshold level at which it first
appears. We show that a closed expression for this threshold level is encoded
in the Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangle and an explicit method to calculate it is
presented. In this way a complete solution of su(4)_k fusion rules is obtained.Comment: 14 page
- âŠ