Identification of a non-purple tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase: an evolutionary link to Ser/Thr protein phosphatases?

BACKGROUND Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatases (TRAcPs), also known as purple acid phosphatases (PAPs), are a family of binuclear metallohydrolases that have been identified in plants, animals and fungi. The human enzyme is a major histochemical marker for the diagnosis of bone-related diseases. TRAcPs can occur as a small form possessing only the ~35 kDa catalytic domain, or a larger ~55 kDa form possessing both a catalytic domain and an additional N-terminal domain of unknown function. Due to its role in bone resorption the 35 kDa TRAcP has become a promising target for the development of anti-osteoporotic chemotherapeutics. FINDINGS A new human gene product encoding a metallohydrolase distantly related to the ~55 kDa plant TRAcP was identified and characterised. The gene product is found in a number of animal species, and is present in all tissues sampled by the RIKEN mouse transcriptome project. Construction of a homology model illustrated that six of the seven metal-coordinating ligands in the active site are identical to that observed in the TRAcP family. However, the tyrosine ligand associated with the charge transfer transition and purple color of TRAcPs is replaced by a histidine. CONCLUSION The gene product identified here may represent an evolutionary link between TRAcPs and Ser/Thr protein phosphatases. Its biological function is currently unknown but is unlikely to be associated with bone metabolism.This work was funded by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene through a Dennis Burkitt Fellowship to JJM. ARD is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. JJM is supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship (GR074833MA)

Collinear laser spectroscopy of atomic cadmium

Hyperfine structure $A$ and $B$ factors of the atomic 5s\,5p\,\; ^3\rm{P}_2 \rightarrow 5s\,6s\,\; ^3\rm{S}_1 transition are determined from collinear laser spectroscopy data of $^{107-123}$Cd and $^{111m-123m}$Cd. Nuclear magnetic moments and electric quadrupole moments are extracted using reference dipole moments and calculated electric field gradients, respectively. The hyperfine structure anomaly for isotopes with $s_{1/2}$ and $d_{5/2}$ nuclear ground states and isomeric $h_{11/2}$ states is evaluated and a linear relationship is observed for all nuclear states except $s_{1/2}$. This corresponds to the Moskowitz-Lombardi rule that was established in the mercury region of the nuclear chart but in the case of cadmium the slope is distinctively smaller than for mercury. In total four atomic and ionic levels were analyzed and all of them exhibit a similar behaviour. The electric field gradient for the atomic 5s\,5p\,\; ^3\mathrm{P}_2 level is derived from multi-configuration Dirac-Hartree-Fock calculations in order to evaluate the spectroscopic nuclear quadrupole moments. The results are consistent with those obtained in an ionic transition and based on a similar calculation.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Rapid onset of collectivity in the vicinity of 78Ni

gamma-rays following the B and B-n decay of the very neutron rich 84Ga produced by photo-fission of 238U have been studied at the newly built ISOL facility of IPN Orsay: ALTO. Two activities were observed and assigned to two B-decaying states: 84gGa, I = (0\^-) and 84mGa, I = (3\^-, 4\^-). Excitation energies of the 2+1 and 4+1 excited states of 84Ge were measured at E(2+1) = 624.3 keV and E(4+1) = 1670.1 keV. Comparison with HFB+GCM calculations allows to establish the collective character of this nucleus indicating a substantial N=50 core polarization. The excitation energy of the 1/2+1 state in 83Ga known to carry a large part of the neutron 3s1/2 strength was measured at 247.8keV. Altogether these data allow to confirm the new single particle state ordering which appears immediately after the double Z=28 and N=50 shell closure and to designate 78Ni as a fragile and easily polarized doubly-magic core.Comment: 4 pages, ReVTe

Voltage scanning and technical upgrades at the Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy experiment

To optimize the performance of the Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) experiment at CERN-ISOLDE, technical upgrades are continuously introduced, aiming to enhance its sensitivity, precision, stability, and efficiency. Recently, a voltage-scanning setup was developed and commissioned at CRIS, which improved the scanning speed by a factor of three as compared to the current laser-frequency scanning approach. This leads to faster measurements of the hyperfine structure for systems with high yields (more than a few thousand ions per second). Additionally, several beamline sections have been redesigned and manufactured, including a new field-ionization unit, a sharper electrostatic bend, and improved ion optics. The beamline upgrades are expected to yield an improvement of at least a factor of 5 in the signal-to-noise ratio by suppressing the non-resonant laser ions and providing time-of-flight separation between the resonant ions and the collisional background. Overall, the presented developments will further improve the selectivity, sensitivity, and efficiency of the CRIS technique.Comment: 10 pages. Under review at NIM B as part of the proceedings of EMIS 2022 at RAON, South Kore

Regional mechanical and biochemical properties of the porcine cortical meninges

peer-reviewedThe meninges are pivotal in protecting the brain against traumatic brain injury (TBI), an ongoing issue in most mainstream sports. Improved understanding of TBI biomechanics and pathophysiology is desirable to improve preventative measures, such as protective helmets, and advance our TBI diagnostic/prognostic capabilities. This study mechanically characterised the porcine meninges by performing uniaxial tensile testing on the dura mater (DM) tissue adjacent to the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the cerebellum and superior sagittal sinus region of the DM. Mechanical characterisation revealed a significantly higher elastic modulus for the superior sagittal sinus region when compared to other regions in the DM. The superior sagittal sinus and parietal regions of the DM also displayed local mechanical anisotropy. Further, fatigue was noted in the DM following ten preconditioning cycles, which could have important implications in the context of repetitive TBI. To further understand differences in regional mechanical properties, regional variations in protein content (collagen I, collagen III, fibronectin and elastin) were examined by immunoblot analysis. The superior sagittal sinus was found to have significantly higher collagen I, elastin, and fibronectin content. The frontal region was also identified to have significantly higher collagen I and fibronectin content while the temporal region had increased elastin and fibronectin content. Regional differences in the mechanical and biochemical properties along with regional tissue thickness differences within the DM reveal that the tissue is a non-homogeneous structure. In particular, the potentially influential role of the superior sagittal sinus in TBI biomechanics warrants further investigation