2,032 research outputs found
Moduli spaces of toric manifolds
We construct a distance on the moduli space of symplectic toric manifolds of
dimension four. Then we study some basic topological properties of this space,
in particular, path-connectedness, compactness, and completeness. The
construction of the distance is related to the Duistermaat-Heckman measure and
the Hausdorff metric. While the moduli space, its topology and metric, may be
constructed in any dimension, the tools we use in the proofs are
four-dimensional, and hence so is our main result.Comment: To appear in Geometriae Dedicata, minor changes to previous version,
19 pages, 6 figure
High-resolution 3D phenotyping of the grapevine root system using X-ray Computed Tomography
Plant roots are essential for water and nutrient uptake and contribute to the plants' response to environmental stress factors. As the hidden half of a plant, investigation of root systems is highly challenging, most of available methods are destructive and very labour-intensive. In this proof-of-concept study, a non-invasive X-ray micro computed tomography (X-ray µCT) method was applied to investigate the phenotypic variation of the complex three-dimensional (3D) architecture of grapevine roots as a function of genotype and soil. Woody cuttings of 'Calardis Musqué', 'Villard Blanc' and V3125 ('Schiava Grossa' x 'Riesling') were cultivated in polypropylene columns filled with two different soil types, clay loam and sandy loam, for 6 weeks. Afterwards, the columns were scanned once using the technique of X-ray µCT. The received raw data were analysed for the reconstruction of 3D root system models (3D model), which display a non-destructive visualization of whole, intact root systems with a spatial resolution of 42 µm. The 3D models of all investigated plants (in total 18) were applied to quantify root system characteristics precisely by measuring adventitious root length, lateral root length, total root length, root system surface area, root system volume and root growth angles from the woody cutting relative to a horizontal axis. The results showed that: (i) early root formation and root growth differed between genotypes, especially between 'Calardis Musqué' and 'Villard Blanc'; and (ii) the soil type does influence adventitious root formation of V3125, but had minor effects on 'Calardis Musqué' and 'Villard Blanc'. In conclusion, this innovative, high-resolution method of X-ray µCT is suitable for high resolution phenotyping of root formation, architecture, and rooting characteristics of grapevine woody cuttings in a non-destructive manner, e.g. to investigate root response to drought stress and would provide new insights into phylloxera root infection
Kontrola kvalitete pri biosintezi aminoacil-tRNA
The fidelity of translation is determined at two major points: the accuracy of aminoacyl-tRNA selection by the ribosomes and synthesis of cognate amino acid/tRNA pairs by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) in the course of the aminoacylation reaction. The most important point in aminoacylation is the accurate recognition of cognate substrates coupled with discrimination of
non-cognates. While this is generally accomplished by a single enzyme, we have recently found that discrimination against lysine analogues requires the existence of two unrelated lysyl-tRNA synthetases. For other amino acids, initial recognition is not sufficiently accurate with errors being
corrected by an intrinsic editing activity. Recent studies indicate how editing prevents the misinterpretation of phenylalanine as tyrosine in the genetic code and have shown the importance of this process in vivo. More recent studies indicate that while these editing reactions are critical in
the cytoplasm, some are absent from mitochondria suggesting that the overall fidelity of protein synthesis might be reduced in this compartment.Vjernost translacije bitno ovisi o točnosti dvaju koraka: odabiru aminoacil-tRNA na ribosomu i sintezi ispravnih aminoacil-tRNA pomoću odgovarajućih aminoacil-tRNA-sintetaza u reakciji aminoaciliranja. Najvažniji događaj u aminoaciliranju precizno je prepoznavanje pripadnih supstrata (tRNA i aminokiseline) i diskriminacija nepripadnih. Iako taj posao uglavnom obavlja po jedan enzim za svaki par tRNA : aminokiselina, nedavno smo ustanovili da su za diskriminaciju analoga lizina potrebne dvije različite lizil-tRNA-sintetaze. U nekim drugim slučajevima otkriveno je da su pogreške u odabiru tRNA i njihovih pripadnih aminokiseline i suviše velike, pa je nužan
naknadni popravak pogrešnih produkata u reakciji aminoaciliranja, koji također mogu katalizirati neke aminoacil-tRNA-sintetaze. Na primjeru krivog odabira tirozina umjesto fenilalanina, te naknadnog popravka, pokazano je kako je mogućnost korekcije važna u sprečavanju pogrešne translacije genetičkog koda in vivo. Najnovija istraživanja pokazala su da su mehanizmi popravka od ključne važnosti u citoplazmi, no neki se ne zbivaju u mitohondriju, ukazujući na smanjenu ukupnu točnost biosinteze proteina u ovom staničnom odjeljku
Quality Control During Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthesis
The fidelity of translation is determined at two major points: the accuracy of aminoacyl-tRNA selection by the ribosomes and synthesis of cognate amino acid/tRNA pairs by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) in the course of the aminoacylation reaction. The most important point in aminoacylation is the accurate recognition of cognate substrates coupled with discrimination of non-cognates. While this is generally accomplished by a single enzyme, we have recently found that discrimination against lysine analogues requires the existence of two unrelated lysyl-tRNA synthetases. For other amino acids, initial recognition is not sufficiently accurate with errors being corrected by an intrinsic editing activity. Recent studies indicate how editing prevents the misinterpretation of phenylalanine as tyrosine in the genetic code and have shown the importance of this process in vivo . More recent studies indicate that while these editing reactions are critical in the cytoplasm, some are absent from mitochondria suggesting that the overall idelity of protein synthesis might be reduced in this compartment
A robust, scanning quantum system for nanoscale sensing and imaging
Controllable atomic-scale quantum systems hold great potential as sensitive
tools for nanoscale imaging and metrology. Possible applications range from
nanoscale electric and magnetic field sensing to single photon microscopy,
quantum information processing, and bioimaging. At the heart of such schemes is
the ability to scan and accurately position a robust sensor within a few
nanometers of a sample of interest, while preserving the sensor's quantum
coherence and readout fidelity. These combined requirements remain a challenge
for all existing approaches that rely on direct grafting of individual solid
state quantum systems or single molecules onto scanning-probe tips. Here, we
demonstrate the fabrication and room temperature operation of a robust and
isolated atomic-scale quantum sensor for scanning probe microscopy.
Specifically, we employ a high-purity, single-crystalline diamond nanopillar
probe containing a single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) color center. We illustrate the
versatility and performance of our scanning NV sensor by conducting
quantitative nanoscale magnetic field imaging and near-field single-photon
fluorescence quenching microscopy. In both cases, we obtain imaging resolution
in the range of 20 nm and sensitivity unprecedented in scanning quantum probe
microscopy
Production cross sections from 82Se fragmentation as indications of shell effects in neutron-rich isotopes close to the drip-line
Production cross sections for neutron-rich nuclei from the fragmentation of a
82Se beam at 139 MeV/u were measured. The longitudinal momentum distributions
of 126 neutron-rich isotopes of elements 11 <= Z <= 32 were scanned using an
experimental approach of varying the target thickness. Production cross
sections with beryllium and tungsten targets were determined for a large number
of nuclei including several isotopes first observed in this work. These are the
most neutron-rich nuclides of the elements 22 <= Z <= 25 (64Ti, 67V, 69Cr,
72Mn). One event was registered consistent with 70Cr, and another one with
75Fe. The production cross sections are correlated with Qg systematics to
reveal trends in the data. The results presented here confirm our previous
result from a similar measurement using a 76Ge beam, and can be explained with
a shell model that predicts a subshell closure at N = 34 around Z = 20. This is
demonstrated by systematic trends and calculations with the Abrasion-Ablation
model that are sensitive to separation energies.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted to Phys.Rev.
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