12,006 research outputs found
Thyroxine-binding globulin: investigation of microheterogeneity
Preparations of T4-binding globulin (TBG) from human serum was performed using only two affinity chromatography steps. Purity of the protein was demonstrated by a single band in overloaded disc and sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis, equimolar binding to T4, and linearity in sedimentation velocity run. The molecular weight was calculated to be 60,000 +/- 3,000 daltons (n = 3), the sedimentation coefficient was 3.95S, and the Stokes' radius was 37 A. The amino acid composition was found to be in good agreement with the calculations of other authors. By isoelectric focussing (IEF), pure TBG showed four main bands at pH 4.25, 4.35, 4.45, and 4.55 together with several fainter bands. The N- acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) content of the four TBG bands isolated by preparative IEF was found to decrease from 10.2 mol NANA/mol TBG in the band at pH 4.25 to 4.8 mol NANA/mol TBG in the band at pH 4.55. No significant difference in the affinity constants of the TBG bands to T4 was found. The affinity constants for TBG ranged from 3.1 x 10(9) to 7.2 x 10(9) M-1. Sequential kinetic desialylation of pure TBG resulted in a progressive tendency toward one major band at pH 6.0. In native sera, microheterogeneity of TBG was detected after IEF on polyacrylamide gel plates by immunofixation. The typical TBG patterns shown by pure TBG were also found in normal subjects. Characteristic deviations from this pattern were found in the sera of females during estrogen therapy or pregnancy, where there was a gradual increase in density of the band at pH 4.25 and the appearance of an additional band at pH 4.15. In sera from patients with liver disease and elevated TBG levels, there was a fading of the acidic bands, whereas the more alkaline band at pH 4.55 was intensified. It is therefore proposed that microheterogeneity of TBG is caused by differences in NANA content and that variations of TBG patterns in native sera may reflect altered TBG synthesis or degradation. A genetically related microheterogeneity of TBG could not be demonstrated after examination of 800 sera, including 2 families with quantitative TBG deficiency
Multiphoton entanglement through a Bell multiport beam splitter
Multiphoton entanglement is an important resource for linear optics quantum
computing. Here we show that a wide range of highly entangled multiphoton
states, including W-states, can be prepared by interfering single photons
inside a Bell multiport beam splitter and using postselection. A successful
state preparation is indicated by the collection of one photon per output port.
An advantage of the Bell multiport beam splitter is that it redirects the
photons without changing their inner degrees of freedom. The described setup
can therefore be used to generate polarisation, time-bin and frequency
multiphoton entanglement, even when using only a single photon source.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, carefully revised version, references adde
Steady-state stabilization due to random delays in maps with self-feedback loops and in globally delayed-coupled maps
We study the stability of the fixed-point solution of an array of mutually
coupled logistic maps, focusing on the influence of the delay times,
, of the interaction between the th and th maps. Two of us
recently reported [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 94}, 134102 (2005)] that if
are random enough the array synchronizes in a spatially homogeneous
steady state. Here we study this behavior by comparing the dynamics of a map of
an array of delayed-coupled maps with the dynamics of a map with
self-feedback delayed loops. If is sufficiently large, the dynamics of a
map of the array is similar to the dynamics of a map with self-feedback loops
with the same delay times. Several delayed loops stabilize the fixed point,
when the delays are not the same; however, the distribution of delays plays a
key role: if the delays are all odd a periodic orbit (and not the fixed point)
is stabilized. We present a linear stability analysis and apply some
mathematical theorems that explain the numerical results.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, important changes (title changed, discussion,
figures, and references added
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