232 research outputs found
Modern nucleon-nucleon interactions and charge-symmetry breaking in nuclei
Coulomb displacement energies, i.e., the differences between the energies of
corresponding nuclear states in mirror nuclei, are evaluated using recent
models for the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction. These modern NN potentials
account for breaking of isospin symmetry and reproduce and phase
shifts accurately. The predictions by these new potentials for the binding of
are calculated. A particular focus of our study are effects due to
nuclear correlations and charge-symmetry breaking (CSB). We find that the CSB
terms in the modern NN interactions substantially reduce the discrepancy
between theory and experiment for the Coulomb displacement energies; however,
our calculations do not completely explain the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly.
Potential sources for the remaining discrepancies are discussed.Comment: 10 pages RevTeX, no figure
Sulfatide activator protein : alternative splicing that generates three mRNAs and a newly found mutation responsible for a clinical disease
The sulfatide activator protein, also known as SAP-1, is derived from a gene that generates an mRNA coding for four homologous proteins. Its physiological function is to stimulate hydrolysis of sulfatide by arylsulfatase A in vivo. A genetic defect in the sulfatide activator results in a metabolic disorder similar to classical metachromatic leukodystrophy, which is itself caused by a genetic defect in arylsulfatase A. In a patient with sulfatide activator deficiency, a nucleotide transversion G722----C (counted from A of the initiation codon ATG) was found in the mRNA of the sulfatide activator precursor, resulting in the substitution of serine for Cys241 in the mature sulfatide activator. The remainder of the coding sequence was completely normal except for a polymorphism C to T in position 1389, which does not change the amino acid sequence. The patient produces at least three different forms of mRNA for the precursor. Two of them include a stretch of an additional 9 and 6 bases, respectively, within the sulfatide activator coding region. In normal individuals this stretch of additional bases has also been observed. This could be explained by the presence of a small 9-base pair exon which can be introduced, or not, by alternative splicing as a stretch of 9 or 6 bases into the mature mRNA. The shortest form of the mRNA yields an active sulfatide activator (Fürst, W., Schubert, J., Machleidt, W., Meier, H. E., and Sandhoff, K. (1990) Eur. J. Biochem. 192, 709-714)
Influence of short-term dietary measures on dioxin concentrations in human milk.
Breast-feeding may expose infants to high levels of toxic chlorinated dioxins. To diminish intake of these lipophilic compounds by the baby, two diets were tested for their ability to reduce concentrations of dioxins in human milk. The diets were a low-fat/high- carbohydrate/low-dioxin diet. (about 20% of energy intake derived from fat) and a high fat /low-carbohydrate/low-dioxin diet. These diets were tested in 16 and 18 breast-feeding women, respectively. The test diets were followed for 5 consecutive days in the fourth week after delivery. Milk was sampled before and at the end of the dietary regimen, and dioxin concentrations and fatty acid concentrations were determined. Despite significant influences of these diets on the fatty acid profiles, no significant influence on the dioxin concentrations in breast milk could be found. We conclude that short-term dietary measures will not reduce dioxin concentration in human milk
Absence of stable collinear configurations in Ni(001)ultrathin films: canted domain structure as ground state
Brillouin light scattering (BLS) measurements were performed for (17-120)
Angstrom thick Cu/Ni/Cu/Si(001) films. A monotonic dependence of the frequency
of the uniform mode on an in-plane magnetic field H was observed both on
increasing and on decreasing H in the range (2-14) kOe, suggesting the absence
of a metastable collinear perpendicular ground state. Further investigation by
magneto-optical vector magnetometry (MOKE-VM) in an unconventional canted-field
geometry provided evidence for a domain structure where the magnetization is
canted with respect to the perpendicular to the film. Spin wave calculations
confirm the absence of stable collinear configurations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures (text, appendix and 1 figure added
Influence of uncorrelated overlayers on the magnetism in thin itinerant-electron films
The influence of uncorrelated (nonmagnetic) overlayers on the magnetic
properties of thin itinerant-electron films is investigated within the
single-band Hubbard model. The Coulomb correlation between the electrons in the
ferromagnetic layers is treated by using the spectral density approach (SDA).
It is found that the presence of nonmagnetic layers has a strong effect on the
magnetic properties of thin films. The Curie temperatures of very thin films
are modified by the uncorrelated overlayers. The quasiparticle density of
states is used to analyze the results. In addition, the coupling between the
ferromagnetic layers and the nonmagnetic layers is discussed in detail. The
coupling depends on the band occupation of the nonmagnetic layers, while it is
almost independent of the number of the nonmagnetic layers. The induced
polarization in the nonmagnetic layers shows a long-range decreasing
oscillatory behavior and it depends on the coupling between ferromagnetic and
nonmagnetic layers.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, 6 figures, for related work see:
http://orion.physik.hu-berlin.d
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Specific saposin C deficiency: CNS impairment and acid β-glucosidase effects in the mouse
Saposins A, B, C and D are derived from a common precursor, prosaposin (psap). The few patients with saposin C deficiency develop a Gaucher disease-like central nervous system (CNS) phenotype attributed to diminished glucosylceramide (GC) cleavage activity by acid β-glucosidase (GCase). The in vivo effects of saposin C were examined by creating mice with selective absence of saposin C (C−/−) using a knock-in point mutation (cysteine-to-proline) in exon 11 of the psap gene. In C−/− mice, prosaposin and saposins A, B and D proteins were present at near wild-type levels, but the saposin C protein was absent. By 1 year, the C−/− mice exhibited weakness of the hind limbs and progressive ataxia. Decreased neuromotor activity and impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation were evident. Foamy storage cells were observed in dorsal root ganglion and there was progressive loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells and atrophy of cerebellar granule cells. Ultrastructural analyses revealed inclusions in axonal processes in the spinal cord, sciatic nerve and brain, but no excess of multivesicular bodies. Activated microglial cells and astrocytes were present in thalamus, brain stem, cerebellum and spinal cord, indicating regional pro-inflammatory responses. No storage cells were found in visceral organs of these mice. The absence of saposin C led to moderate increases in GC and lactosylceramide (LacCer) and their deacylated analogues. These results support the view that saposin C has multiple roles in glycosphingolipid (GSL) catabolism as well as a prominent function in CNS and axonal integrity independent of its role as an optimizer/stabilizer of GCase
Neurological deficits and glycosphingolipid accumulation in saposin B deficient mice
Saposin B derives from the multi-functional precursor, prosaposin, and functions as an activity enhancer for several glycosphingolipid (GSL) hydrolases. Mutations in saposin B present in humans with phenotypes resembling metachromatic leukodystrophy. To gain insight into saposin B's physiological functions, a specific deficiency was created in mice by a knock-in mutation of an essential cysteine in exon 7 of the prosaposin locus. No saposin B protein was detected in the homozygotes (B−/−) mice, whereas prosaposin, and saposins A, C and D were at normal levels. B−/− mice exhibited slowly progressive neuromotor deterioration and minor head tremor by 15 months. Excess hydroxy and non-hydroxy fatty acid sulfatide levels were present in brain and kidney. Alcian blue positive (sulfatide) storage cells were found in the brain, spinal cord and kidney. Ultrastructural analyses showed lamellar inclusion material in the kidney, sciatic nerve, brain and spinal cord tissues. Lactosylceramide (LacCer) and globotriaosylceramide (TriCer) were increased in various tissues of B−/− mice supporting the in vivo role of saposin B in the degradation of these lipids. CD68 positive microglial cells and activated GFAP positive astrocytes showed a proinflammatory response in the brains of B−/− mice. These findings delineate the roles of saposin B for the in vivo degradation of several GSLs and its primary function in maintenance of CNS function. B−/− provide a useful model for understanding the contributions of this saposin to GSL metabolism and homeostasis
Two-Body Correlations in Nuclear Systems
Correlations in the nuclear wave-function beyond the mean-field or
Hartree-Fock approximation are very important to describe basic properties of
nuclear structure. Various approaches to account for such correlations are
described and compared to each other. This includes the hole-line expansion,
the coupled cluster or ``exponential S'' approach, the self-consistent
evaluation of Greens functions, variational approaches using correlated basis
functions and recent developments employing quantum Monte-Carlo techniques.
Details of these correlations are explored and their sensitivity to the
underlying nucleon-nucleon interaction. Special attention is paid to the
attempts to investigate these correlations in exclusive nucleon knock-out
experiments induced by electron scattering. Another important issue of nuclear
structure physics is the role of relativistic effects as contained in
phenomenological mean field models. The sensitivity of various nuclear
structure observables on these relativistic features are investigated. The
report includes the discussion of nuclear matter as well as finite nuclei.Comment: Review, 104 pages including figure
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