6,348 research outputs found
Hybrid gold single crystals incorporating amino acids
Composite hybrid gold crystals are of profound interest in various research
areas ranging from materials science to biology. Their importance is due to
their unique properties and potential implementation, for example in sensing or
in bio-nanomedicine. Here we report on the formation of hybrid organic-metal
composites via the incorporation of selected amino acids histidine, aspartic
acid, serine, glutamine, alanine, cysteine, and selenocystine into the crystal
lattice of single crystals of gold. We used electron microscopy, chemical
analysis and high-resolution synchrotron powder X ray diffraction to examine
these composites. Crystal shape, as well as atomic concentrations of occluded
amino acids and their impact on the crystal structure of gold, were determined.
Concentration of the incorporated amino acid was highest for cysteine, followed
by serine and aspartic acid. Our results indicate that the incorporation
process probably occurs through a complex interaction of their individual
functional groups with gold atoms. Although various organic gold composites
have been prepared, to the best of our knowledge this is the first reported
finding of incorporation of organic molecules within the gold lattice. We
present a versatile strategy for fabricating crystalline nanohybrid composite
gold crystals of potential importance for a wide range of applications
Reduction of -Regular Noncrossing Partitions
In this paper, we present a reduction algorithm which transforms -regular
partitions of to -regular partitions of .
We show that this algorithm preserves the noncrossing property. This yields a
simple explanation of an identity due to Simion-Ullman and Klazar in connection
with enumeration problems on noncrossing partitions and RNA secondary
structures. For ordinary noncrossing partitions, the reduction algorithm leads
to a representation of noncrossing partitions in terms of independent arcs and
loops, as well as an identity of Simion and Ullman which expresses the Narayana
numbers in terms of the Catalan numbers
Scratches from the Past: Inflationary Archaeology through Features in the Power Spectrum of Primordial Fluctuations
Inflation may provide unique insight into the physics at the highest
available energy scales that cannot be replicated in any realistic terrestrial
experiment. Features in the primordial power spectrum are generically predicted
in a wide class of models of inflation and its alternatives, and are
observationally one of the most overlooked channels for finding evidence for
non-minimal inflationary models. Constraints from observations of the cosmic
microwave background cover the widest range of feature frequencies, but the
most sensitive constraints will come from future large-scale structure surveys
that can measure the largest number of linear and quasi-linear modes.Comment: 5 pages + references, 1 figure; science white paper submitted to the
Astro2020 decadal surve
Riordan Paths and Derangements
Riordan paths are Motzkin paths without horizontal steps on the x-axis. We
establish a correspondence between Riordan paths and
-avoiding derangements. We also present a combinatorial proof
of a recurrence relation for the Riordan numbers in the spirit of the
Foata-Zeilberger proof of a recurrence relation on the Schr\"oder numbers.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Boolean versus continuous dynamics on simple two-gene modules
We investigate the dynamical behavior of simple modules composed of two genes
with two or three regulating connections. Continuous dynamics for mRNA and
protein concentrations is compared to a Boolean model for gene activity. Using
a generalized method, we study within a single framework different continuous
models and different types of regulatory functions, and establish conditions
under which the system can display stable oscillations. These conditions
concern the time scales, the degree of cooperativity of the regulating
interactions, and the signs of the interactions. Not all models that show
oscillations under Boolean dynamics can have oscillations under continuous
dynamics, and vice versa.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
The PEST sequence does not contribute to the stability of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
BACKGROUND: Endoplasmic reticulum retention of misfolded cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutants and their rapid degradation is the major cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). An important goal is to understand the mechanism of how the misfolded proteins are recognized, retained, and targeted for degradation. RESULTS: Using a web-based algorithm, PESTFind, we found a PEST sequence in the regulatory (R) domain of CFTR. The PEST sequence is found in many short-lived eukaryotic proteins and plays a role in their degradation. To determine its role in the stability and degradation of misprocessed CFTR, we introduced a number of site-directed mutations into the PEST sequence in the cDNA of ΔF508 CFTR, the most prevalent misprocessed mutation found in CF patients. Analysis of these mutants showed that the disruption of the PEST sequence plays a minor role in the degradation of the CFTR mutants. Multiple mutations to the PEST sequence within the R domain of CFTR inhibit maturation of CFTR and prevent the formation of a 100 kDa degradation product. The mutations, however, do not improve the stability of the mutant ΔF508 CFTR. CONCLUSION: These observations show that disruption of the structure of the R domain of CFTR can inhibit maturation of the protein and that the predicted PEST sequence plays no significant role in the degradation of CFTR
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