The Mating-specific Gα Interacts with a Kinesin-14 and Regulates Pheromone-induced Nuclear Migration in Budding Yeast

As a budding yeast cell elongates toward its mating partner, cytoplasmic microtubules connect the nucleus to the cell cortex at the growth tip. The Kar3 kinesin-like motor protein is then thought to stimulate plus-end depolymerization of these microtubules, thus drawing the nucleus closer to the site where cell fusion and karyogamy will occur. Here, we show that pheromone stimulates a microtubule-independent interaction between Kar3 and the mating-specific Gα protein Gpa1 and that Gpa1 affects both microtubule orientation and cortical contact. The membrane localization of Gpa1 was found to polarize early in the mating response, at about the same time that the microtubules begin to attach to the incipient growth site. In the absence of Gpa1, microtubules lose contact with the cortex upon shrinking and Kar3 is improperly localized, suggesting that Gpa1 is a cortical anchor for Kar3. We infer that Gpa1 serves as a positional determinant for Kar3-bound microtubule plus ends during mating.</jats:p

Consolidated fuel reprossing program: The implications of force reflection for teleoperation in space

Previous research on teleoperator force feedback is reviewed and results of a testing program which assessed the impact of force reflection on teleoperator task performance are reported. Force relection is a type of force feedback in which the forces acting on the remote portion of the teleoperator are displayed to the operator by back-driving the master controller. The testing program compared three force reflection levels: 4 to 1 (four units of force on the slave produce one unit of force at the master controller), 1 to 1, and infinity to 1 (no force reflection). Time required to complete tasks, rate of occurrence of errors, the maximum force applied to tasks components, and variability in forces applied to components during completion of representative remote handling tasks were used as dependent variables. Operators exhibited lower error rates, lower peak forces, and more consistent application of forces using force relection than they did without it. These data support the hypothesis that force reflection provides useful information for teleoperator users. The earlier literature and the results of the experiment are discussed in terms of their implications for space based teleoperator systems. The discussion described the impact of force reflection on task completion performance and task strategies, as suggested by the literature. It is important to understand the trade-offs involved in using telerobotic systems with and without force reflection

Decuplet Baryon Structure from Lattice QCD

The electromagnetic properties of the SU(3)-flavor baryon decuplet are examined within a lattice simulation of quenched QCD. Electric charge radii, magnetic moments, and magnetic radii are extracted from the E0 and M1 form factors. Preliminary results for the E2 and M3 moments are presented giving the first model independent insight to the shape of the quark distribution in the baryon ground state. As in our octet baryon analysis, the lattice results give evidence of spin-dependent forces and mass effects in the electromagnetic properties. The quark charge distribution radii indicate these effects act in opposing directions. Some baryon dependence of the effective quark magnetic moments is seen. However, this dependence in decuplet baryons is more subtle than that for octet baryons. Of particular interest are the lattice predictions for the magnetic moments of $\Omega^-$ and $\Delta^{++}$ for which new recent experimental measurements are available. The lattice prediction of the $\Delta^{++}/p$ ratio appears larger than the experimental ratio, while the lattice prediction for the $\Omega^-/p$ magnetic moment ratio is in good agreement with the experimental ratio.Comment: RevTeX manuscript, 34 pages plus 21 figures (available upon request

Using Rheo-Small-Angle Neutron Scattering to Understand How Functionalised Dipeptides Form Gels

We explore the use of rheo-small-angle neutron scattering as a method to collect structural information from neutron scattering simultaneously with rheology to understand how low-molecular-weight hydrogels form and behave under shear. We examine three different gelling hydrogel systems to assess what structures are formed and how these influence the rheology. Furthermore, we probe what is happening to the network during syneresis and why the gels do not recover after an applied strain. All this information is vital when considering gels for applications such as 3D-printing and injection

ΦCrAss001 represents the most abundant bacteriophage family in the human gut and infects Bacteroides intestinalis

peer-reviewedCrAssphages are an extensive and ubiquitous family of tailed bacteriophages, predicted to infect bacteria of the order Bacteroidales. Despite being found in ~50% of individuals and representing up to 90% of human gut viromes, members of this viral family have never been isolated in culture and remain understudied. Here, we report the isolation of a CrAssphage (ΦCrAss001) from human faecal material. This bacteriophage infects the human gut symbiont Bacteroides intestinalis, confirming previous in silico predictions of the likely host. DNA sequencing demonstrates that the bacteriophage genome is circular, 102 kb in size, and has unusual structural traits. In addition, electron microscopy confirms that ΦcrAss001 has a podovirus-like morphology. Despite the absence of obvious lysogeny genes, ΦcrAss001 replicates in a way that does not disrupt proliferation of the host bacterium, and is able to maintain itself in continuous host culture during several weeks

Financial rogue waves

The financial rogue waves are reported analytically in the nonlinear option pricing model due to Ivancevic, which is nonlinear wave alternative of the Black-Scholes model. These solutions may be used to describe the possible physical mechanisms for rogue wave phenomenon in financial markets and related fields.Comment: 4 papges, 2 figures, Final version accepted in Commun. Theor. Phys., 201

On the Effect of Quantum Interaction Distance on Quantum Addition Circuits

We investigate the theoretical limits of the effect of the quantum interaction distance on the speed of exact quantum addition circuits. For this study, we exploit graph embedding for quantum circuit analysis. We study a logical mapping of qubits and gates of any $\Omega(\log n)$-depth quantum adder circuit for two $n$-qubit registers onto a practical architecture, which limits interaction distance to the nearest neighbors only and supports only one- and two-qubit logical gates. Unfortunately, on the chosen $k$-dimensional practical architecture, we prove that the depth lower bound of any exact quantum addition circuits is no longer $\Omega(\log {n})$, but $\Omega(\sqrt[k]{n})$. This result, the first application of graph embedding to quantum circuits and devices, provides a new tool for compiler development, emphasizes the impact of quantum computer architecture on performance, and acts as a cautionary note when evaluating the time performance of quantum algorithms.Comment: accepted for ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing System

Influence of Pacing Strategy on Oxygen Uptake During Treadmill Middle-Distance Running

The oxygen uptake (V·O2) attained during a constant speed 800-m pace trial on a treadmill is less than the maximal V·O2 (V·O2max) in male middle-distance runners with a high V·O2max (i.e., > 65 ml · kg-1 · min-1). We therefore investigated whether the V·O2 attained was influenced by the pacing strategy adopted. Eight male middle-distance runners (age 25.8 ± 3.3 years; height 1.78 ± 0.10 m; mass 67.8 ± 4.7 kg) with a personal best 800-m time of 112.0 ± 3.3 s volunteered to participate. Subjects undertook a speed ramped progressive test to determine V·O2max and three 800-m pace runs to exhaustion all in a randomised order. The three 800-m pace runs included constant speed, acceleration, and race simulation runs. Oxygen uptake was determined throughout each test using 15-s Douglas bag collections. Following the application of a 30-s rolling average, the highest V·O2 during the progressive test (i.e., V·O2max) and the highest V·O2 during the 800-m pace runs (i.e., V·O2peak) were compared. For the eight runners, V·O2max was 67.2 ± 4.3 ml · kg-1 · min-1. V·O2peak was 60.1 ± 5.1 ml · kg-1 · min-1, 61.1 ± 5.2 ml · kg-1 · min-1, and 62.2 ± 4.9 ml · kg-1 · min-1, yielding values of 89.3 ± 2.4 %, 90.8 ± 2.8 %, and 92.5 ± 3.1 % V·O2max for the constant speed, acceleration and race simulation runs, respectively. Across runs, repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant effect (p = 0.048). Trend analysis identified a significant linear trend (p = 0.025) with the % V·O2max attained being higher for the acceleration run than the constant speed run, and higher still for the race simulation run. These results demonstrate that in middle-distance runners a) pacing strategy influences the V·O2 attained, with a race simulation run elevating the V·O2 attained compared with other pacing strategies, and b) regardless of pacing strategy the V·O2 attained in an 800-m pace run on a treadmill is less than V·O2max

Precipitation-Strengthened, High-Temperature, High-Force Shape Memory Alloys

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are an enabling component in the development of compact, lightweight, durable, high-force actuation systems particularly for use where hydraulics or electrical motors are not practical. However, commercial shape memory alloys based on NiTi are only suitable for applications near room temperature, due to their relatively low transformation temperatures, while many potential applications require higher temperature capability. Consequently, a family of (Ni,Pt)(sub 1-x)Ti(sub x) shape memory alloys with Ti concentrations ranging from about 15 to 25 at.% have been developed for applications in which there are requirements for SMA actuators to exert high forces at operating temperatures higher than those of conventional binary NiTi SMAs. These alloys can be heat treated in the range of 500 C to produce a series of fine precipitate phases that increase the strength of alloy while maintaining a high transformation temperature, even in Ti-lean compositions