Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV is phosphorylated by an endogenous kinase

AbstractThis study was undertaken to identify novel mitochondrial membrane proteins that are potential targets for phosphorylation. Mitochondrial membranes were incubated in the presence of [γ-32P]ATP and the Triton X-114 extractable protein was subjected to ion-exchange and polyacrylamide gel chromatography to purify a major phosphorylated protein of approximately 17 000 Da. The determined peptide sequence of the purified phosphoprotein corresponded to a segment of cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV, an inner membrane protein of 17 160 Da. The identity of the phosphoprotein was confirmed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and Western blotting. The results identify mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV as a protein which is phosphorylated by an endogenous kinase

Remarks on the Central Limit Theorem for Non-Convex Bodies

In this note, we study possible extensions of the Central Limit Theorem for non-convex bodies. First, we prove a Berry-Esseen type theorem for a certain class of unconditional bodies that are not necessarily convex. Then, we consider a widely-known class of non-convex bodies, the so-called p-convex bodies, and construct a counter-example for this class

Public Perceptions of Values Associated with Wildfire Protection at the Wildland-Urban Interface: A Synthesis of National Findings

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) continues to transform rural landscapes as previously undeveloped areas are populated with residential and commercial structures which, in turn, impact ecosystems and create landscapes of risk. Within this context, the science of wildfire risk mitigation has experienced renewed and enhanced support among scientists and managers. However, risk mitigation measures have not found purchase in either the public’s acceptance or involvement in this new role of and for fire. This may partially result from little regard for the effects of wildfire prevention efforts on values other than protecting homes and other structures. We report findings from qualitative interviews conducted across the United States to identify and define various values at risk from wildfire. Values influencing risk mitigation emerged from the biophysical, sociodemographic, and sociocultural contexts of wildfire. Findings demonstrate how wildfire is intertwined with diverse sets of risks experienced in daily life. We provide a discussion of how this research impacts the transformation of landscapes and risk management strategies. Identifying and better understanding the effects of values associated with wildfire—and landscape change in the WUI—will allow natural resource managers and decision makers to develop more effective fuel treatment programs and land use policies

Evaluation of pre-workout and recovery formulations on body composition and performance after a 6-week high-intensity training program

Introduction: Activities such as high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be more time-efficient modes to stimulate rapid changes in performance and body composition. There is little research evaluating the combined effects of HIRT and HIIT on body composition and strength, particularly when paired with nutritional supplementation. Purpose: To evaluate the chronic effects of pre- and post-workout supplementation on body composition and strength, and to understand sex-specific responses. Materials and methods: 64 untrained males (n = 23) and females (n = 41) (mean ± standard deviation; age: 33.2 ± 10.0 years; %fat: 31.6 ± 7.4%) were randomized to either (1) pre-post supplementation [SUP (n = 25); pre = multi-ingredient caffeine/HMB/vit D; post = whey protein/carbohydrates/glucosamine/vitamins], (2) placebo [PL (n = 24); non-caloric], or (3) control [CON (n = 15)]. All participants completed one repetition max (1RM) strength testing for leg press and bench press at baseline and week 6. Estimates of fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM) were measured via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Participants in the SUP or PL group completed a 6-week supervised exercise intervention consisting of a full-body HIRT workout (3 × 6–8 reps) followed by a HIIT treadmill run (6 × 1 min run: 1 min rest) twice per week. Outcomes were evaluated by separate repeated measure ANOVAs (2 × 3). Results: There were no differences in FM between groups or sex (p = 0.133–0.851). LM increased from baseline to post-testing for all groups [Mean difference [MD(Post-Pre) ± Standard Error (SE) = 0.78 ± 0.12 kg; p < 0.001]. While not significant (p = 0.081), SUP gained more LM compared to PL [MD(SUP-PL) ± SE = 3.5 ± 3.3 kg] and CON [MD(SUP-CON) ± SE = 5.2 ± 3.8 kg]. LM increased over time for both males (0.84 ± 0.24 kg; p = 0.003) and females (0.73 ± 0.14 kg; p < 0.001). The SUP group resulted in a significant increase in 1RM leg press compared to the CON group (89.9 ± 30.8 kg; p = 0.015), with no significant differences compared to PL (p = 0.409). The SUP group had greater increases in 1RM bench press compared to the CON group (9.8 ± 1.8 kg; p < 0.001), with no significant differences compared to PL (p = 0.99). Both sexes increased upper- (5.5 ± 0.7 kg; p < 0.001) and lower-body strength (69.8 ± 4.5 kg p < 0.001) with training. Conclusion: Nutrient supplementation timing appears to augment body composition changes and strength compared to control. Pre-/post-nutrient timing may support greater increases in LM and lower- and upper-body strength in both men and women. Clinical trial registration: [https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04230824?cond=NCT04230824&draw=2&rank=1], identifier [NCT04230824]

Onsager coefficients of a Brownian Carnot cycle

We study a Brownian Carnot cycle introduced by T. Schmiedl and U. Seifert [Europhys. Lett. \textbf{81}, 20003 (2008)] from a viewpoint of the linear irreversible thermodynamics. By considering the entropy production rate of this cycle, we can determine thermodynamic forces and fluxes of the cycle and calculate the Onsager coefficients for general protocols, that is, arbitrary schedules to change the potential confining the Brownian particle. We show that these Onsager coefficients contain the information of the protocol shape and they satisfy the tight-coupling condition irrespective of whatever protocol shape we choose. These properties may give an explanation why the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency often appears in the finite-time heat engines

Effective metrics in the non-minimal Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory

We formulate a self-consistent non-minimal five-parameter Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs (EYMH) model and analyse it in terms of effective (associated, color and color-acoustic) metrics. We use a formalism of constitutive tensors in order to reformulate master equations for the gauge, scalar and gravitational fields and reconstruct in the algebraic manner the so-called associated metrics for the Yang-Mills field. Using WKB-approximation we find color metrics for the Yang-Mills field and color-acoustic metric for the Higgs field in the framework of five-parameter EYMH model. Based on explicit representation of these effective metrics for the EYMH system with uniaxial symmetry, we consider cosmological applications for Bianchi-I, FLRW and de Sitter models. We focus on the analysis of the obtained expressions for velocities of propagation of longitudinal and transversal color and color-acoustic waves in a (quasi)vacuum interacting with curvature; we show that curvature coupling results in time variations of these velocities. We show, that the effective metrics can be regular or can possess singularities depending on the choice of the parameters of non-minimal coupling in the cosmological models under discussion. We consider a physical interpretation of such singularities in terms of phase velocities of color and color-acoustic waves, using the terms ``wave stopping'' and ``trapped surface''.Comment: 25 pages, no figures, accepted to Annals of Physic

Limited Lifespan of Fragile Regions in Mammalian Evolution

An important question in genome evolution is whether there exist fragile regions (rearrangement hotspots) where chromosomal rearrangements are happening over and over again. Although nearly all recent studies supported the existence of fragile regions in mammalian genomes, the most comprehensive phylogenomic study of mammals (Ma et al. (2006) Genome Research 16, 1557-1565) raised some doubts about their existence. We demonstrate that fragile regions are subject to a "birth and death" process, implying that fragility has limited evolutionary lifespan. This finding implies that fragile regions migrate to different locations in different mammals, explaining why there exist only a few chromosomal breakpoints shared between different lineages. The birth and death of fragile regions phenomenon reinforces the hypothesis that rearrangements are promoted by matching segmental duplications and suggests putative locations of the currently active fragile regions in the human genome

Work function changes in the double layered manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7

We have investigated the behaviour of the work function of La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 as a function of temperature by means of photoemission. We found a decrease of 55 +/- 10 meV in going from 60 K to just above the Curie temperature (125 K) of the sample. Above T_C the work function appears to be roughly constant. Our results are exactly opposite to the work function changes calculated from the double-exchange model by Furukawa, but are consistent with other measurements. The disagreement with double-exchange can be explained using a general thermodynamic relation valid for second order transitions and including the extra processes involved in the manganites besides double-exchange interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures included in tex

Observing Direct CP Violation in Untagged B-Meson Decays

Direct CP violation can exist in untagged B-meson decays to self-conjugate, three-particle final states; it would be realized as a population asymmetry in the untagged decay rate across the mirror line of the Dalitz plot of the three-body decay. We explore the numerical size of this direct CP-violating effect in a variety of B-meson decays to three pseudoscalar mesons; we show that the resulting asymmetry is comparable to the partial rate asymmetry in the analogous tagged decays, making the search for direct CP violation in the untagged decay rate, for which greater statistics accrue, advantageous.Comment: 31 pages, REVTeX4, 1 eps figure, references added, typos corrected, version to appear in PR