564 research outputs found
The Youthful Appearance of the 2003 EL61 Collisional Family
We present new solar phase curve observations of the 2003 EL61 collisional
family showing that all the members have light-scattering properties similar to
the bright icy satellites and dwarf planets. Compared to other Kuiper Belt
objects, the five family members we observe (2003 EL61, 2002 TX300, 2003 OP32,
2005 RR43, and 1995 SM55) have conspicuously neutral color (V-I = 0.6-0.8 mag)
and flat phase curves at small phase angles (phase coefficients of 0.0 - 0.1
mag deg-1). Comparing the phase curves we observe for other icy Kuiper Belt
objects to the phase curves of icy satellites, we find that the flat phase
curves of the 2003 EL61 family are an indication they have high albedo surfaces
coated with fresh ice in the last ~100 Myr. We examine possible resurfacing
processes and find none that are plausible. To avoid the influence of cosmic
radiation that darkens and reddens most icy surfaces on times scales > ~100
Myr, the family members must be unusually depleted in carbon, or else the
collision that created the family occurred so recently that the parent body and
fragments have not had time to darken. We also find a rotation period of 4.845
(+/- 0.003) h with amplitude 0.26 (+/- 0.04) mags for 2003 OP32.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 4 figure
A Survey for Outer Satellites of Mars: Limits to Completeness
We surveyed the Hill sphere of Mars for irregular satellites. Our search
covered nearly the entire Hill Sphere, but scattered light from Mars excluded
the inner few arcminutes where the satellites Phobos and Deimos reside. No new
satellites were found to an apparent limiting red magnitude of 23.5, which
corresponds to radii of about 0.09 km using an albedo of 0.07.Comment: 5 figures (1 color), 2 Tables, to appear in AJ Nov. 200
Physical Properties of Trans-Neptunian Object (20000) Varuna
We present new time-resolved photometric observations of the bright
trans-Neptunian object (20000) Varuna and use them to study the rotation
period, shape, and color. In observations from 2001 February and April, we find
a best-fit two-peaked lightcurve with period 6.3442 +-0.0002 hr. The
peak-to-peak photometric range in the R-band is 0.42 +-0.02 mag. We find no
rotational variation in colors over the 0.45 < lambda < 0.85 micron wavelength
range. From the short double-peaked period and large amplitude we suggest that
Varuna is an elongated, prolate body perhaps close in shape to one of the
Jacobi ellipsoids. If so, the ratio of the axes projected into the plane of the
sky is 1.5:1 and the density is near 1000 kg m^(-3). (20000) Varuna may be a
rotationally distorted rubble pile, with a weak internal constitution due to
fracturing by past impacts. The high specific angular momentum implied by our
observations and recent detections of binary Trans-Neptunian Objects both point
to an early, intense collisional epoch in which large Trans-Neptunian Objects
were about 100 times more abundant than now. In order to maintain a
cosmochemically plausible rock:ice mass ratio of about 0.5, Varuna must be
internally porous.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, accepted to A
The promise of whole genome pathogen sequencing for the molecular epidemiology of emerging aquaculture pathogens
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-producing sector, and the sustainability of this industry is critical both for global food security and economic welfare. The management of infectious disease represents a key challenge. Here, we discuss the opportunities afforded by whole genome sequencing of bacterial and viral pathogens of aquaculture to mitigate disease emergence and spread. We outline, by way of comparison, how sequencing technology is transforming the molecular epidemiology of pathogens of public health importance, emphasizing the importance of community-oriented databases and analysis tools
The Design and Application of Target-Focused Compound Libraries
Target-focused compound libraries are collections of compounds which are designed to interact with an individual protein target or, frequently, a family of related targets (such as kinases, voltage-gated ion channels, serine/cysteine proteases). They are used for screening against therapeutic targets in order to find hit compounds that might be further developed into drugs. The design of such libraries generally utilizes structural information about the target or family of interest. In the absence of such structural information, a chemogenomic model that incorporates sequence and mutagenesis data to predict the properties of the binding site can be employed. A third option, usually pursued when no structural data are available, utilizes knowledge of the ligands of the target from which focused libraries can be developed via scaffold hopping. Consequently, the methods used for the design of target-focused libraries vary according to the quantity and quality of structural or ligand data that is available for each target family. This article describes examples of each of these design approaches and illustrates them with case studies, which highlight some of the issues and successes observed when screening target-focused libraries
The Diverse Solar Phase Curves of Distant Icy Bodies. II. The Cause of the Opposition Surges and Their Correlations
We collect well-measured opposition surge properties for many icy bodies
orbiting the Sun (mostly from our own observations) plus for many icy moons,
resulting in a data base of surface and orbital properties for 52 icy bodies.
(1) We put forward four criteria for determining whether the surge is being
dominated by shadow hiding (SH) or coherent backscattering (CB) based on
readily measured quantities. The CB surge mechanism dominates if the surge is
color dependent, the phase curve is steeper than 0.04 mag/deg, the phase curve
shape matches the CB model of Hapke, or if the albedo is higher than roughly
40%. (2) We find that virtually all of our sample have their phase curves
dominated by CB at low phase angles. (3) We present a graphical method to
determine the Hapke surge parameters B_C0 and h_C. (4) The Kuiper Belt Objects
(KBOs) and Centaurs have relatively high surge amplitudes, B_C0 > ~0.5 and
widths with h_C ~ 3 deg. (5) We find highly significant but loose correlations
between surge properties and the colors, albedos, and inclinations. We
interpret this as young surfaces tending to have low surge slopes, high albedo,
and gray colors. (6) Nereid has its surface properties similar to other icy
moons and greatly different from KBOs and Centaurs, so we conclude that Nereid
is likely a nearly-ejected inner Neptunian moon rather than a captured KBO.Comment: Astronomical Journal, in press, 41 pages, 5 figure
Phase Curves of Nine Trojan Asteroids over a Wide Range of Phase Angles
We have observed well-sampled phase curves for nine Trojan asteroids in B-,
V-, and I-bands. These were constructed from 778 magnitudes taken with the
1.3-m telescope on Cerro Tololo as operated by a service observer for the
SMARTS consortium. Over our typical phase range of 0.2-10 deg, we find our
phase curves to be adequately described by a linear model, for slopes of
0.04-0.09 mag/deg with average uncertainty less than 0.02 mag/deg. (The one
exception, 51378 (2001 AT33), has a formally negative slope of -0.02 +- 0.01
mag/deg.) These slopes are too steep for the opposition surge mechanism to be
shadow hiding (SH), so we conclude that the dominant surge mechanism must be
coherent backscattering (CB). In a detailed comparison of surface properties
(including surge slope, B-R color, and albedo), we find that the Trojans have
surface properties similar to the P and C class asteroids prominent in the
outer main belt, yet they have significantly different surge properties (at a
confidence level of 99.90%). This provides an imperfect argument against the
traditional idea that the Trojans were formed around Jupiter's orbit. We also
find no overlap in Trojan properties with either the main belt asteroids or
with the small icy bodies in the outer Solar System. Importantly, we find that
the Trojans are indistinguishable from other small bodies in the outer Solar
System that have lost their surface ices (such as the gray Centaurs, gray
Scattered Disk Objects, and dead comets). Thus, we find strong support for the
idea that the Trojans originally formed as icy bodies in the outer Solar
System, were captured into their current orbits during the migration of the gas
giant planets, and subsequently lost all their surface ices.Comment: Icarus, in pres
Heterovalent and A-atom effects in A(B'B'')O3 perovskite alloys
Using first-principles supercell calculations, we have investigated
energetic, structural and dielectric properties of three different A(B'B'')O_3
perovskite alloys: Ba(Zn_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3 (BZN), Pb(Zn_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3
(PZN), and Pb(Zr_{1/3}Ti_{2/3})O_3 (PZT). In the homovalent alloy PZT, the
energetics are found to be mainly driven by atomic relaxations. In the
heterovalent alloys BZN and PZN, however, electrostatic interactions among B'
and B'' atoms are found to be very important. These electrostatic interactions
are responsible for the stabilization of the observed compositional long-range
order in BZN. On the other hand, cell relaxations and the formation of short
Pb--O bonds could lead to a destabilization of the same ordered structure in
PZN. Finally, comparing the dielectric properties of homovalent and
heterovalent alloys, the most dramatic difference arises in connection with the
effective charges of the B' atom. We find that the effective charge of Zr in
PZT is anomalous, while in BZN and PZN the effective charge of Zn is close to
its nominal ionic value.Comment: 7 pages, two-column style with 2 postscript figures embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#lb_he
A comparative study of fragment screening methods on the p38α kinase: new methods, new insights
The stress-activated kinase p38α was used to evaluate a fragment-based drug discovery approach using the BioFocus fragment library. Compounds were screened by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on a Biacore(™) T100 against p38α and two selectivity targets. A sub-set of our library was the focus of detailed follow-up analyses that included hit confirmation, affinity determination on 24 confirmed, selective hits and competition assays of these hits with respect to a known ATP binding site inhibitor. In addition, functional activity against p38α was assessed in a biochemical assay using a mobility shift platform (LC3000, Caliper LifeSciences). A selection of fragments was also evaluated using fluorescence lifetime (FLEXYTE(™)) and microscale thermophoresis (Nanotemper) technologies. A good correlation between the data for the different assays was found. Crystal structures were solved for four of the small molecules complexed to p38α. Interestingly, as determined both by X-ray analysis and SPR competition experiments, three of the complexes involved the fragment at the ATP binding site, while the fourth compound bound in a distal site that may offer potential as a novel drug target site. A first round of optimization around the remotely bound fragment has led to the identification of a series of triazole-containing compounds. This approach could form the basis for developing novel and active p38α inhibitors. More broadly, it illustrates the power of combining a range of biophysical and biochemical techniques to the discovery of fragments that facilitate the development of novel modulators of kinase and other drug targets. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10822-011-9454-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users
Cladistical analysis of the Jovian and Saturnian satellite systems
Jupiter and Saturn each have complex systems of satellites and rings. These satellites can be classified into dynamical groups, implying similar formation scenarios. Recently, a larger number of additional irregular satellites have been discovered around both gas giants that have yet to be classified. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between the satellites and rings of the gas giants, using an analytical technique called cladistics. Cladistics is traditionally used to examine relationships between living organisms, the 'tree of life.' In this work, we perform the first cladistical study of objects in a planetary science context. Our method uses the orbital, physical, and compositional characteristics of satellites to classify the objects in the Jovian and Saturnian systems. We find that the major relationships between the satellites in the two systems, such as families, as presented in previous studies, are broadly preserved. In addition, based on our analysis of the Jovian system, we identify a new retrograde irregular family, the Iocaste family, and suggest that the Phoebe family of the Saturnian system can be further divided into two subfamilies. We also propose that the Saturnian irregular families be renamed, to be consistent with the convention used in Jovian families. Using cladistics, we are also able to assign the new unclassified irregular satellites into families. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate the potential use of the cladistical technique in the investigation of relationships between orbital bodies
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