1,925 research outputs found
Premelting base pair opening probability and drug binding constant of a daunomycin-poly d(GCAT).poly d(ATGC) complex
We calculate room temperature thermal fluctuational base pair opening probability of a daunomycin-poly d(GCAT).poly d(ATGC) complex. This system is constructed at an atomic level of detail based on x-ray analysis of a crystal structure. The base pair opening probabilities are calculated from a modified self-consistent phonon approach of anharmonic lattice dynamics theory. We find that daunomycin binding substantially enhances the thermal stability of one of the base pairs adjacent the drug because of strong hydrogen bonding between the drug and the base. The possible effect of this enhanced stability on the drug inhibition of DNA transcription and replication is discussed. We also calculate the probability of drug dissociation from the helix based on the selfconsistent calculation of the probability of the disruption of drug-base H-bonds and the unstacking probability of the drug. The calculations can be used to determine the equilibrium drug binding constant which is found to be in good agreement with observations on similar daunomycin-DNA systems
Probing the stability of superheavy dark matter particles with high-energy neutrinos
Two of the most fundamental properties of the dark matter particle, the mass
and the lifetime, are only weakly constrained by the astronomical and
cosmological evidence of dark matter. We derive in this paper lower limits on
the lifetime of dark matter particles with masses in the range 10 TeV-10^15 TeV
from the non-observation of ultrahigh energy neutrinos in the AMANDA, IceCube,
Auger and ANITA experiments. For dark matter particles which produce neutrinos
in a two body or a three body decay, we find that the dark matter lifetime must
be longer than O(10^26-10^28) s for masses between 10 TeV and the Grand
Unification scale. Finally, we also calculate, for concrete particle physics
scenarios, the limits on the strength of the interactions that induce the dark
matter decay.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; v2: references added, discussion improved,
matches the version published at JCA
The quadratic spinor Lagrangian is equivalent to the teleparallel theory
The quadratic spinor Lagrangian is shown to be equivalent to the teleparallel
/ tetrad representation of Einstein's theory. An important consequence is that
the energy-momentum density obtained from this quadratic spinor Lagrangian is
essentially the same as the ``tensor'' proposed by Moller in 1961.Comment: 10 pages, RevTe
InnateDB: systems biology of innate immunity and beyond—recent updates and continuing curation
peer-reviewedInnateDB (http://www.innatedb.com) is an integrated analysis platform that has been specifically designed to facilitate systems-level analyses of mammalian innate immunity networks, pathways and genes. In this article, we provide details of recent updates and improvements to the database.
InnateDB now contains >196 000 human, mouse
and bovine experimentally validated molecular
interactions and 3000 pathway annotations of
relevance to all mammalian cellular systems (i.e. not just immune relevant pathways and interactions). In addition, the InnateDB team has, to date, manually curated in excess of 18 000 molecular interactions of relevance to innate immunity, providing unprecedented insight into innate immunity networks, pathways and their component
molecules. More recently, InnateDB has also
initiated the curation of allergy- and asthma-related interactions. Furthermore, we report a range of improvements to our integrated bioinformatics solutions
including web service access to InnateDB
interaction data using Proteomics Standards
Initiative Common Query Interface, enhanced Gene Ontology analysis for innate immunity, and the availability of new network visualizations tools. Finally, the recent integration of bovine data makes InnateDB the first integrated network analysis
platform for this agriculturally important model organism.This work was supported by Genome BC through the Pathogenomics of Innate Immunity (PI2) project and by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research under the Grand Challenges in Global Health Research Initiative [Grand Challenges ID: 419]. Further funding was also provided by AllerGen grants 12ASI1 and 12B&B2.
D.J.L. was funded in part during this project by a postdoctoral trainee award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). F.S.L.B. is a MSFHR Senior Scholar and R.E.W.H. holds a Canada Research Chair (CRC). Funding to enable bovine systems biology in InnateDB is provided by Teagasc [RMIS6018] and the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship scheme. IMEx is funded by the European Commission under the PSIMEx project [contract number FP7-HEALTH-2007-223411].
Funding for open access charge: Teagasc [RMIS6018]
Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Heterogeneous Nanocatalytic Ozonation
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized by plasma oxygen (CNTs) have been used as heterogeneous catalysts for the ozonation of methyl orange (MO) dye (CI 13025) in aqueous solutions. It was found that the addition of CNTs significantly enhanced the dye decolorization as compared to ozone alone or when activated carbon was used at the same dose as CNTs. Both the initial ozone concentration and catalyst dosage enhanced the removal of MO. However, ozone gas concentrations higher than 6 g/m3 NTP did not further improve the decolorization rates. The removal efficiency of MO increased with pH in the range 2 to 3, while a reverse trend was observed when the pH increased from 3 to 9. The addition of a radical scavenger resulted in only a limited change in the decolorization rates suggesting that molecular ozone was the main pathway by which MO decolorization occurred in solution. However, under favorable conditions for MO attraction to CNT surface (pH = 3), the decolorization rate has significantly increased. At higher pH than the pKa value of MO (3.47) and the point of zero charge of CNT (3.87), a condition that favors the electrostatic repulsion of MO from CNT, the rates were reduced in the presence of CNT as compared to ozone alone possibly due to loss of part of the supplied ozone in un-useful parallel reactions
Thermal Unparticles: A New Form of Energy Density in the Universe
Unparticle \U with scaling dimension d_\U has peculiar thermal properties
due to its unique phase space structure. We find that the equation of state
parameter \omega_\U, the ratio of pressure to energy density, is given by
1/(2d_\U +1) providing a new form of energy in our universe. In an expanding
universe, the unparticle energy density \rho_\U(T) evolves dramatically
differently from that for photons. For d_\U >1, even if \rho_\U(T_D) at a
high decoupling temperature is very small, it is possible to have a large
relic density \rho_\U(T^0_\gamma) at present photon temperature ,
large enough to play the role of dark matter. We calculate and
\rho_\U(T^0_\gamma) using photon-unparticle interactions for illustration.Comment: 5 pages; v3, journal version
Biochar Extracts Can Modulate the Toxicity of Persistent Free Radicals in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
As an effective soil amendment, biochars require a comprehensive ecological evaluation before they can be widely used in agriculture because endogenous contaminants, such as environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), certainly pose an ecological risk to soil invertebrates. In this study, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was used as a model organism to investigate the neurotoxicity of two rice straw biochars pyrolyzed at 500 and 700 °C. After 24 h exposure to unwashed biochar, washed biochar, and leaching fluids (supernatants), the neurobehavioral parameters of C. elegans were determined in a liquid toxicity test. The results showed that the washed 700 °C biochar particles significantly impaired locomotion and prolonged the defecation interval at a biochar concentration of 4 g·well−1, while the unwashed biochar and supernatants caused no apparent impairment. Supporting this, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results showed that the intensity of EPFRs in unwashed 700 °C biochar was stronger than that of the corresponding washed particles. This indicates that, in the liquid test, the EPR signal alone is not indicative of particle toxicity. The accessibility and activity of the EPFRs should be considered. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) was observed in the leaching fluids. The neurotoxic activity of the washed biochar was alleviated after the re-addition of leaching fluids to the washed biochar, suggesting that the dissolved organic materials modulate the reactivity of the EPFRs in the liquid phase. This study suggests that the leaching process may increase the risk of biochar when used in the field environment.National Natural Scientific Foundation of ChinaYunnan Province Basic Research ProjectNSFC-NCNPeer Reviewe
Bianchi type I space and the stability of inflationary Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space
Stability analysis of the Bianchi type I universe in pure gravity theory is
studied in details. We first derive the non-redundant field equation of the
system by introducing the generalized Bianchi type I metric. This non-redundant
equation reduces to the Friedmann equation in the isotropic limit. It is shown
further that any unstable mode of the isotropic perturbation with respect to a
de Sitter background is also unstable with respect to anisotropic
perturbations. Implications to the choice of physical theories are discussed in
details in this paper.Comment: 5 pages, some comment adde
The dependence of the EIT wave velocity on the magnetic field strength
"EIT waves" are a wavelike phenomenon propagating in the corona, which were
initially observed in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength by the EUV
Imaging Telescope (EIT). Their nature is still elusive, with the debate between
fast-mode wave model and non-wave model. In order to distinguish between these
models, we investigate the relation between the EIT wave velocity and the local
magnetic field in the corona. It is found that the two parameters show
significant negative correlation in most of the EIT wave fronts, {\it i.e.},
EIT wave propagates more slowly in the regions of stronger magnetic field. Such
a result poses a big challenge to the fast-mode wave model, which would predict
a strong positive correlation between the two parameters. However, it is
demonstrated that such a result can be explained by the fieldline stretching
model, \emph{i.e.,} that "EIT waves" are apparently-propagating brightenings,
which are generated by successive stretching of closed magnetic field lines
pushed by the erupting flux rope during coronal mass ejections (CMEs).Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Phy
General dissipation coefficient in low-temperature warm inflation
In generic particle physics models, the inflaton field is coupled to other
bosonic and fermionic fields that acquire large masses during inflation and may
decay into light degrees of freedom. This leads to dissipative effects that
modify the inflationary dynamics and may generate a nearly-thermal radiation
bath, such that inflation occurs in a warm rather than supercooled environment.
In this work, we perform a numerical computation and obtain expressions for the
associated dissipation coefficient in supersymmetric models, focusing on the
regime where the radiation temperature is below the heavy mass threshold. The
dissipation coefficient receives contributions from the decay of both on-shell
and off-shell degrees of freedom, which are dominant for small and large
couplings, respectively, taking into account the light field multiplicities. In
particular, we find that the contribution from on-shell decays, although
Boltzmann-suppressed, can be much larger than that of virtual modes, which is
bounded by the validity of a perturbative analysis. This result opens up new
possibilities for realizations of warm inflation in supersymmetric field
theories.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures; revised version with new results added;
published in JCA
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