582 research outputs found
Physical mapping of ribosomal DNA and genome size in diploid and polyploid North African Calligonum species (Polygonaceae).
Most Calligonum species are desert plants, characteristic of the Saharan bioclimatic region. All species karyologically analyzed until present have the basic chromosome number x = 9 and comprise diploids, triploids and tetraploids. The Tunisian flora comprises diploid Calligonum arich and C. azel, of restricted distribution, and the tetraploid C. comosum with wider distribution. Analyses of their karyotypes and polyploidisation-linked rDNA changes by orcein staining, fluorochrome banding with chromomycin A3 and fluorescent in situ hybridisation with 5S and 26S ribosomal DNA probes have been performed. We report the chromosome number for Calligonum arich (2n = 18) as well as the diploid level for C. comosum for the first time. Chromosome counts have also verified the earlier described tetraploid cytotype (2n = 36) of C. comosum. A general pattern of six GC-rich bands as well as two 35S sites and four 5S sites is described for Calligonum species at the diploid level although there is intraspecific variation regarding the site number in a second type of C. comosum, with one pair of 35S rDNA sites and two pairs of 5S rDNA sites. The tetraploid cytotype of C. comosum has undergone locus loss and genome downsizing. Genome size assessments confirmed previous data. Nonetheless, statistically significant differences were found depending on the type of tissue used for estimation. Measurements from seeds had always larger values than from leaves. The presence of cytosolic compounds in leaves, interfering with DNA staining, is discussed as a possible cause of the differences
Discovery of intake biomarkers of lentils, chickpeas and white beans by untargeted LC-MS metabolomics in serum and urine.
Scope: To identify reliable biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) of pulses. Methods and results: A randomized crossover postprandial intervention study is conducted on 11 volunteers who consumed lentils, chickpeas, and white beans. Urine and serum samples are collected at distinct postprandial time points up to 48 h, and analyzed by LC-HR-MS untargeted metabolomics. Hypaphorine, trigonelline, several small peptides, and polyphenol-derived metabolites prove to be the most discriminating urinary metabolites. Two arginine-related compounds, dopamine sulfate and epicatechin metabolites, with their microbial derivatives, are identified only after intake of lentils, whereas protocatechuic acid is identified only after consumption of chickpeas. Urinary hydroxyjasmonic and hydroxydihydrojasmonic acids, as well as serum pipecolic acid and methylcysteine, are found after white bean consumption. Most of the metabolites identified in the postprandial study are replicated as discriminants in 24 h urine samples, demonstrating that in this case the use of a single, noninvasive sample is suitable for revealing the consumption of pulses. Conclusions: The results of the present untargeted metabolomics work reveals a broad list of metabolites that are candidates for use as biomarkers of pulse intake. Further studies are needed to validate these BFIs and to find the best combinations of them to boost their specificity
Absorbing photonic crystals for thin film photovoltaics
The absorption of thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers can be
efficiently enhanced through a controlled periodic patterning. Light is trapped
through coupling with photonic Bloch modes of the periodic structures, which
act as an absorbing planar photonic crystal. We theoretically demonstrate this
absorption enhancement through one or two dimensional patterning, and show the
experimental feasibility through large area holographic patterning. Numerical
simulations show over 50% absorption enhancement over the part of the solar
spectrum comprised between 380 and 750nm. It is experimentally confirmed by
optical measurements performed on planar photonic crystals fabricated by laser
holography and reactive ion etching.Comment: 6 pages. SPIE Photonics Europe pape
Single and double deprotonation/dearomatization of the N,S-donor pyridinophane ligand in ruthenium complexes
We report a series of ruthenium complexes with a tetradentate N,S-donor ligand, 2,11-dithia[3.3](2,6)pyridinophane (N2S2), that undergo single and double deprotonation in the presence of a base leading to the deprotonation of one or both pyridine rings. Both singly and doubly deprotonated complexes were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The NMR spectra are indicative of the dearomatization of one or both pyridine rings upon the deprotonation of the CH2–S arm, similar to the dearomatization of phosphine-containing pincer ligands. The deprotonated (N2S2)Ru complexes did not show appreciable catalytic or stoichiometric reactivity in transfer hydrogenation, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of alcohols, and attempted activation of H2, CO2, and other substrates. Such a lack of reactivity is likely due to the low stability of the deprotonated species as evident from the structural characterization of one of the decomposition products in which shrinkage of the macrocyclic ring occurs via picolyl arm migration.journal articl
Photo- and Electron-Production of Mesons on Nucleons and Nuclei
In these lectures I will show some results obtained with the chiral unitary
approach applied to the photo and electroproduction of mesons. The results for
photoproduction of and , together with
related reactions will be shown, having with common denominator the excitation
of the resonance which is one of those dynamically generated in
the chiral unitary approach. Then I will show results obtained for the reaction which reproduce the bulk of the data except for a
pronounced peak, giving support to a new mesonic resonance, X(2175). Results
will also be shown for the electromagnetic form factors of the
resonance, also dynamically generated in this approach. Finally, I will show
some results on the photoproduction of the in nuclei, showing that
present experimental results claiming a shift of the mass in the
medium are tied to a particular choice of background and are not conclusive.
One the other hand, the same experimental results show unambiguously a huge
increase of the width in the nuclear medium.Comment: Lecture at the "International School of Nuclear Physics", 29th Course
Quarks in Hadrons and Nuclei, Erice, Italy, September 2007. Note added in
Proofs concerning the mixed events technique and other comments on omega
productio
Three body systems with strangeness and exotic systems
We report on four 's and three 's, in the 1500 - 1800 MeV
region, as two meson - one baryon S-wave resonances found by solving
the Faddeev equations in the coupled channel approach, which can be associated
to the existing = -1, low lying baryon resonances. On the
other hand we also report on a new, hidden strangeness state, mostly made
of , with mass around 1920 MeV, which we think could be
responsible for the peak seen in the around this
energy. Finally we address a very novel topic in which we show how few body
systems of several mesons can be produced, with their spins aligned up
to J=6, and how these states found theoretically can be associated to several
known mesons with spins J=2,3,4,5,6.Comment: Talk at the 21st European Conference on Few Body Problems in Physics,
Salamanca, Sep. 201
Dynamically generated resonances from the vector octet-baryon decuplet interaction
We study the interaction of the octet of vector mesons with the decuplet of
baryons using Lagrangians of the hidden gauge theory for vector interactions.
The unitary amplitudes in coupled channels develop poles that can be associated
with some known baryonic resonances, while there are predictions for new ones
at the energy frontier of the experimental research. The work offers guidelines
on how to search for these resonances
Asteroseismology of Solar-type Stars with Kepler I: Data Analysis
We report on the first asteroseismic analysis of solar-type stars observed by
Kepler. Observations of three G-type stars, made at one-minute cadence during
the first 33.5d of science operations, reveal high signal-to-noise solar-like
oscillation spectra in all three stars: About 20 modes of oscillation can
clearly be distinguished in each star. We discuss the appearance of the
oscillation spectra, including the presence of a possible signature of faculae,
and the presence of mixed modes in one of the three stars.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure, submitted to Astronomische Nachrichte
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