151 research outputs found
Deriving Telescope Mueller Matrices Using Daytime Sky Polarization Observations
Telescopes often modify the input polarization of a source so that the
measured circular or linear output state of the optical signal can be
signficantly different from the input. This mixing, or polarization
"cross-talk", is defined by the optical system Mueller matrix. We describe here
an efficient method for recovering the input polarization state of the light
and the full 4 x 4 Mueller matrix of the telescope with an accuracy of a few
percent without external masks or telescope hardware modification. Observations
of the bright, highly polarized daytime sky using the Haleakala 3.7m AEOS
telescope and a coude spectropolarimeter demonstrate the technique.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS
Paramagnetic Meissner effect in superconductors from self-consistent solutions of Ginzburg-Landau equations
The paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) is observed in small superconducting
samples, and a number of controversial explanations of this effect are
proposed, but there is as yet no clear understanding of its nature. In the
present paper PME is considered on the base of the Ginzburg-Landau theory (GL).
The one-dimensional solutions are obtained in a model case of a long
superconducting cylinder for different cylinder radii R, the GL-parameters
\kappa and vorticities m. Acording to GL-theory, PME is caused by the presence
of vortices inside the sample. The superconducting current flows around the
vortex to screeen the vortex own field from the bulk of the sample. Another
current flows at the boundary to screen the external field H from entering the
sample. These screening currents flow in opposite directions and contribute
with opposite signs to the total magnetic moment (or magnetization) of the
sample. Depending on H, the total magnetization M may be either negative
(diamagnetism), or positive (paramagnetism). A very complicated saw-like
dependence M(H) (and other characteristics), which are obtained on the base of
self-consistent solutions of the GL-equations, are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, RevTex, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Second harmonics and compensation effect in ceramic superconductors
A three-dimensional lattice of the Josephson junctions with a finite
self-conductance is employed to model the ceramic superconductors. The
nonlinear ac susceptibility and the compensation effect are studied by Monte
Carlo simulations in this model. The compensation effect is shown to be due to
the existence of the chiral glass phase. We demonstrate, in agreement with
experiments, that this effect may be present in the ceramic superconductors
which show the paramagnetic Meissner effect.Comment: 6 pages, latex, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. B (accepted
Aging Effect in Ceramic Superconductors
A three-dimensional lattice of the Josephson junctions with a finite
self-conductance is employed to model ceramic superconductors. Using Monte
Carlo simulations it is shown that the aging disappears in the strong screening
limit. In the weeak screening regime aging is present even at low temperatures.
For intermediate values of the self-inductance aging occurs at intermediate
temperatures interval but is suppressed entirely at high and low temperatures.
Our results are in good agreement with experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 5 eps figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) small explorer spacecraft
provides simultaneous spectra and images of the photosphere, chromosphere,
transition region, and corona with 0.33-0.4 arcsec spatial resolution, 2 s
temporal resolution and 1 km/s velocity resolution over a field-of-view of up
to 175 arcsec x 175 arcsec. IRIS was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit on
27 June 2013 using a Pegasus-XL rocket and consists of a 19-cm UV telescope
that feeds a slit-based dual-bandpass imaging spectrograph. IRIS obtains
spectra in passbands from 1332-1358, 1389-1407 and 2783-2834 Angstrom including
bright spectral lines formed in the chromosphere (Mg II h 2803 Angstrom and Mg
II k 2796 Angstrom) and transition region (C II 1334/1335 Angstrom and Si IV
1394/1403 Angstrom). Slit-jaw images in four different passbands (C II 1330, Si
IV 1400, Mg II k 2796 and Mg II wing 2830 Angstrom) can be taken simultaneously
with spectral rasters that sample regions up to 130 arcsec x 175 arcsec at a
variety of spatial samplings (from 0.33 arcsec and up). IRIS is sensitive to
emission from plasma at temperatures between 5000 K and 10 MK and will advance
our understanding of the flow of mass and energy through an interface region,
formed by the chromosphere and transition region, between the photosphere and
corona. This highly structured and dynamic region not only acts as the conduit
of all mass and energy feeding into the corona and solar wind, it also requires
an order of magnitude more energy to heat than the corona and solar wind
combined. The IRIS investigation includes a strong numerical modeling component
based on advanced radiative-MHD codes to facilitate interpretation of
observations of this complex region. Approximately eight Gbytes of data (after
compression) are acquired by IRIS each day and made available for unrestricted
use within a few days of the observation.Comment: 53 pages, 15 figure
Clathrin- and Dynamin-Independent Endocytosis of FGFR3 – Implications for Signalling
Endocytosis of tyrosine kinase receptors can influence both the duration and the specificity of the signal emitted. We have investigated the mechanisms of internalization of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) and compared it to that of FGFR1 which is internalized predominantly through clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Interestingly, we observed that FGFR3 was internalized at a slower rate than FGFR1 indicating that it may use a different endocytic mechanism than FGFR1. Indeed, after depletion of cells for clathrin, internalization of FGFR3 was only partly inhibited while endocytosis of FGFR1 was almost completely abolished. Similarly, expression of dominant negative mutants of dynamin resulted in partial inhibition of the endocytosis of FGFR3 whereas internalization of FGFR1 was blocked. Interfering with proposed regulators of clathrin-independent endocytosis such as Arf6, flotillin 1 and 2 and Cdc42 did not affect the endocytosis of FGFR1 or FGFR3. Furthermore, depletion of clathrin decreased the degradation of FGFR1 resulting in sustained signalling. In the case of FGFR3, both the degradation and the signalling were only slightly affected by clathrin depletion. The data indicate that clathrin-mediated endocytosis is required for efficient internalization and downregulation of FGFR1 while FGFR3, however, is internalized by both clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent mechanisms
13 C-, 15 N- and 31 P-NMR studies of oxidized and reduced low molecular mass thioredoxin reductase and some mutant proteins
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65853/1/j.1432-1033.2004.04043.x.pd
Listeria Membrane Protrusion Collapse: Requirement of Cyclophilin A for Listeria Cell-to-Cell Spreading
Listeria generate actin-rich tubular protrusions at the plasma membrane that propel the bacteria into neighboring cells. The precise molecular mechanisms governing the formation of these protrusions remain poorly defined. In this study, we demonstrate that the prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) cyclophilin A (CypA) is hijacked by Listeria at membrane protrusions used for cell-to-cell spreading. Cyclophilin A localizes within the F-actin of these structures and is crucial for their proper formation, as cells depleted of CypA have extended actin-rich structures that are misshaped and are collapsed due to changes within the F-actin network. The lack of structural integrity within the Listeria membrane protrusions hampers the microbes from spreading from CypA null cells. Our results demonstrate a crucial role for CypA during Listeria infections
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