284 research outputs found
Identification of the prebiotic translation apparatus within the contemporary ribosome
A structural element that could have existed independently in the prebiotic era was identified at the active site of the contemporary ribosome. It is suggested to have functioned as a proto-ribosome catalyzing peptide bond formation and non-coded elongation in the same manner that contemporary ribosomes exert positional catalysis, namely by accommodating the reactants in stereochemistry favourable for inline nucleophilic attack. This simple apparatus is a dimer of self-folding RNA units that could have assembled spontaneously into a symmetrical pocket-like structure, sufficiently efficient to be preserved throughout evolution as the active site of modern ribosomes, thus presenting a conceivable starting point for translation.Here we discuss the proto-ribosome emergence hypothesis and show that the tendency for dimerization, a prerequisite for obtaining the catalytic centre, is linked to the fold of its two components, indicating functional selection at the molecular level in the prebiotic era and supporting the existence of dimeric proto-ribosome
Degree of entanglement for two qubits
In this paper, we present a measure to quantify the degree of entanglement
for two qubits in a pure state.Comment: 5 page
Structural basis of rotavirus RNA chaperone displacement and RNA annealing.
Rotavirus genomes are distributed between 11 distinct RNA molecules, all of which must be selectively copackaged during virus assembly. This likely occurs through sequence-specific RNA interactions facilitated by the RNA chaperone NSP2. Here, we report that NSP2 autoregulates its chaperone activity through its C-terminal region (CTR) that promotes RNA-RNA interactions by limiting its helix-unwinding activity. Unexpectedly, structural proteomics data revealed that the CTR does not directly interact with RNA, while accelerating RNA release from NSP2. Cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions of an NSP2-RNA complex reveal a highly conserved acidic patch on the CTR, which is poised toward the bound RNA. Virus replication was abrogated by charge-disrupting mutations within the acidic patch but completely restored by charge-preserving mutations. Mechanistic similarities between NSP2 and the unrelated bacterial RNA chaperone Hfq suggest that accelerating RNA dissociation while promoting intermolecular RNA interactions may be a widespread strategy of RNA chaperone recycling
Probing quantum phases of ultracold atoms in optical lattices by transmission spectra in cavity QED
Studies of ultracold atoms in optical lattices link various disciplines,
providing a playground where fundamental quantum many-body concepts, formulated
in condensed-matter physics, can be tested in much better controllable atomic
systems, e.g., strongly correlated phases, quantum information processing.
Standard methods to measure quantum properties of Bose-Einstein condensates
(BECs) are based on matter-wave interference between atoms released from traps
which destroys the system. Here we propose a nondestructive method based on
optical measurements, and prove that atomic statistics can be mapped on
transmission spectra of a high-Q cavity. This can be extremely useful for
studying phase transitions between Mott insulator and superfluid states, since
various phases show qualitatively distinct light scattering. Joining the
paradigms of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) and ultracold gases will
enable conceptually new investigations of both light and matter at ultimate
quantum levels, which only recently became experimentally possible. Here we
predict effects accessible in such novel setups.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
The Snail repressor recruits EZH2 to specific genomic sites through the enrollment of the lncRNA HOTAIR in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
The transcription factor Snail is a master regulator of cellular identity and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) directly repressing a broad repertoire of epithelial genes. How chromatin modifiers instrumental to its activity are recruited to Snail-specific binding sites is unclear. Here we report that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOTAIR (for HOX Transcript Antisense Intergenic RNA) mediates a physical interaction between Snail and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), an enzymatic subunit of the polycomb-repressive complex 2 and the main writer of chromatin-repressive marks. The Snail-repressive activity, here monitored on genes with a pivotal function in epithelial and hepatic morphogenesis, differentiation and cell-type identity, depends on the formation of a tripartite Snail/HOTAIR/EZH2 complex. These results demonstrate an lncRNA-mediated mechanism by which a transcriptional factor conveys a general chromatin modifier to specific genes, thereby allowing the execution of hepatocyte transdifferentiation; moreover, they highlight HOTAIR as a crucial player in the Snail-mediated EMT.Oncogene advance online publication, 25 July 2016; doi:10.1038/onc.2016.260
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Side chain variations radically alter the diffusion of poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline) functionalised nanoparticles through a mucosal barrier
Functionalised nanomaterials are gaining popularity for use as drug delivery vehicles and, in particular, mucus penetrating nanoparticles may improve drug bioavailability via the oral route. To date, few polymers have been investigated for their muco-penetration, and the effects of systematic structural changes to polymer architectures on the penetration and diffusion of functionalised nanomaterials through mucosal tissue have not been reported. We investigated the influence of poly(2-oxazoline) alkyl side chain length on nanoparticle diffusion; poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline), poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline), and poly(2-n-propyl-2-oxazoline) were grafted onto the surface of thiolated silica nanoparticles and characterised by FT-IR, Raman and NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and small angle neutron scattering. Diffusion coefficients were determined in water and in a mucin dispersion (using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis), and penetration through a mucosal barrier was assessed using an ex vivo fluorescence technique. The addition of a single methylene group in the side chain significantly altered the penetration and diffusion of the materials in both mucin dispersions and mucosal tissue. Nanoparticles functionalised with poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) were significantly more diffusive than particles with poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) while particles with poly(2-n-propyl-2-oxazoline) showed no significant increase compared to the unfunctionalised particles. These data show that variations in the polymer structure can radically alter their diffusive properties with clear implications for the future design of mucus penetrating systems
Shot Noise in Mesoscopic Conductors
Theoretical and experimental work concerned with dynamic fluctuations has
developed into a very active and fascinating subfield of mesoscopic physics. We
present a review of this development focusing on shot noise in small electric
conductors. Shot noise is a consequence of the quantization of charge. It can
be used to obtain information on a system which is not available through
conductance measurements. In particular, shot noise experiments can determine
the charge and statistics of the quasiparticles relevant for transport, and
reveal information on the potential profile and internal energy scales of
mesoscopic systems. Shot noise is generally more sensitive to the effects of
electron-electron interactions than the average conductance. We present a
discussion based on the conceptually transparent scattering approach and on the
classical Langevin and Boltzmann-Langevin methods; in addition a discussion of
results which cannot be obtained by these methods is provided. We conclude the
review by pointing out a number of unsolved problems and an outlook on the
likely future development of the field.Comment: 99 two-column pages; 38 .eps figures included. Submitted to Physics
Reports. Many minor improvements; typos corrected; references added and
update
Effects of a short individually tailored counselling session for HIV prevention in gay and bisexual men receiving Hepatitis B vaccination
Background. There is currently a trend towards unsafe unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among men who have sex with men. We evaluated a short individual counselling session on reducing UAI among gay and bisexual men. Methods. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the counselling session. This session was conducted during consulting hours at four municipal health clinics during a Hepatitis B vaccination campaign. These clinics offered free vaccination to high-risk groups, such as gay and bisexual men. All gay and bisexual men attending health clinics in four cities in the Netherlands were asked to participate. Each participant in the intervention group received a fifteen-minute individual counselling based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Motivational Interviewing. Changes in UAI were measured over a 5-months period, using self-administered questionnaires. UAI was measured separately for receptive and insertive intercourse in steady and casual partners. These measures were combined in an index-score (range 0-8). Results. While UAI in the counselling group remained stable, it increased in the controls by 66% from 0.41 to 0.68. The results show that the intervention had a protective effect on sexual behaviour with steady partners. Intervention effects were strongest within steady relationships, especially for men whose steady-relationship status changed during the study. The intervention was well accepted among the target group. Conclusion. The fifteen-minute individually tailored counselling session was not only well accepted but also had a protective effect on risk behaviour after a follow-up of six months
Shot noise in mesoscopic systems
This is a review of shot noise, the time-dependent fluctuations in the
electrical current due to the discreteness of the electron charge, in small
conductors. The shot-noise power can be smaller than that of a Poisson process
as a result of correlations in the electron transmission imposed by the Pauli
principle. This suppression takes on simple universal values in a symmetric
double-barrier junction (suppression factor 1/2), a disordered metal (factor
1/3), and a chaotic cavity (factor 1/4). Loss of phase coherence has no effect
on this shot-noise suppression, while thermalization of the electrons due to
electron-electron scattering increases the shot noise slightly. Sub-Poissonian
shot noise has been observed experimentally. So far unobserved phenomena
involve the interplay of shot noise with the Aharonov-Bohm effect, Andreev
reflection, and the fractional quantum Hall effect.Comment: 37 pages, Latex, 10 figures (eps). To be published in "Mesoscopic
Electron Transport," edited by L. P. Kouwenhoven, G. Schoen, and L. L. Sohn,
NATO ASI Series E (Kluwer Academic Publishing, Dordrecht
Phase-space formulation of quantum mechanics and quantum state reconstruction for physical systems with Lie-group symmetries
We present a detailed discussion of a general theory of phase-space
distributions, introduced recently by the authors [J. Phys. A {\bf 31}, L9
(1998)]. This theory provides a unified phase-space formulation of quantum
mechanics for physical systems possessing Lie-group symmetries. The concept of
generalized coherent states and the method of harmonic analysis are used to
construct explicitly a family of phase-space functions which are postulated to
satisfy the Stratonovich-Weyl correspondence with a generalized traciality
condition. The symbol calculus for the phase-space functions is given by means
of the generalized twisted product. The phase-space formalism is used to study
the problem of the reconstruction of quantum states. In particular, we consider
the reconstruction method based on measurements of displaced projectors, which
comprises a number of recently proposed quantum-optical schemes and is also
related to the standard methods of signal processing. A general group-theoretic
description of this method is developed using the technique of harmonic
expansions on the phase space.Comment: REVTeX, 18 pages, no figure
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