1,447 research outputs found
A general method for manipulating DNA sequences from any organism with optical tweezers
Mechanical manipulation of single DNA molecules can provide novel information about DNA properties and protein–DNA interactions. Here we describe and characterize a useful method for manipulating desired DNA sequences from any organism with optical tweezers. Molecules are produced from either genomic or cloned DNA by PCR using labeled primers and are tethered between two optically trapped microspheres. We demonstrate that human, insect, plant, bacterial and viral sequences ranging from ∼10 to 40 kilobasepairs can be manipulated. Force-extension measurements show that these constructs exhibit uniform elastic properties in accord with the expected contour lengths for the targeted sequences. Detailed protocols for preparing and manipulating these molecules are presented, and tethering efficiency is characterized as a function of DNA concentration, ionic strength and pH. Attachment strength is characterized by measuring the unbinding time as a function of applied force. An alternative stronger attachment method using an amino–carboxyl linkage, which allows for reliable DNA overstretching, is also described
Tunable Pinning of Burst-Waves in Extended Systems with Discrete Sources
We study the dynamics of waves in a system of diffusively coupled discrete
nonlinear sources. We show that the system exhibits burst waves which are
periodic in a traveling-wave reference frame. We demonstrate that the burst
waves are pinned if the diffusive coupling is below a critical value. When the
coupling crosses the critical value the system undergoes a depinning
instability via a saddle-node bifurcation, and the wave begins to move. We
obtain the universal scaling for the mean wave velocity just above threshold.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, revte
Tunable Nb superconducting resonators based upon a Ne-FIB-fabricated constriction nanoSQUID
Hybrid superconducting--spin systems offer the potential to combine highly
coherent atomic quantum systems with the scalability of superconducting
circuits. To fully exploit this potential requires a high quality-factor
microwave resonator, tunable in frequency and able to operate at magnetic
fields optimal for the spin system. Such magnetic fields typically rule out
conventional Al-based Josephson junction devices that have previously been used
for tunable high- microwave resonators. The larger critical field of niobium
(Nb) allows microwave resonators with large field resilience to be fabricated.
Here, we demonstrate how constriction-type weak links, patterned in parallel
into the central conductor of a Nb coplanar resonator using a neon focused ion
beam (FIB), can be used to implement a frequency-tunable resonator. We study
transmission through two such devices and show how they realise high quality
factor, tunable, field resilient devices which hold promise for future
applications coupling to spin systems
Energy Saving Melting and Revert Reduction (E-SMARRT): Optimization of Heat Treatments on Stainless Steel Castings for Improved Corrosion Resistance and Mechanical Properties
It is commonly believed that high alloy steel castings have inferior corrosion resistance to their wrought counterparts as a result of the increased amount of microsegregation remaining in the as-cast structure. Homogenization and dissolution heat treatments are often utilized to reduce or eliminate the residual microsegregation and dissolve the secondary phases. Detailed electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and light optical microscopy (LOM) were utilized to correlate the amount of homogenization and dissolution present after various thermal treatments with calculated values and with the resultant corrosion resistance of the alloys.The influence of heat treatment time and temperature on the homogenization and dissolution kinetics were investigated using stainless steel alloys CN3MN and CK3MCuN. The influence of heat treatment time and temperature on the impact toughness and corrosion reistance of cast stainless steel alloys CF-3, CF-3M, CF-8, and CF-8M was also investigated
Epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii infection in Africa: a OneHealth systematic review
Background:
Q fever is a common cause of febrile illness and community-acquired pneumonia in resource-limited settings. Coxiella burnetii, the causative pathogen, is transmitted among varied host species, but the epidemiology of the organism in Africa is poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review of C. burnetii epidemiology in Africa from a “One Health” perspective to synthesize the published data and identify knowledge gaps.<p></p>
Methods/Principal Findings:
We searched nine databases to identify articles relevant to four key aspects of C. burnetii epidemiology in human and animal populations in Africa: infection prevalence; disease incidence; transmission risk factors; and infection control efforts. We identified 929 unique articles, 100 of which remained after full-text review. Of these, 41 articles describing 51 studies qualified for data extraction. Animal seroprevalence studies revealed infection by C. burnetii (≤13%) among cattle except for studies in Western and Middle Africa (18–55%). Small ruminant seroprevalence ranged from 11–33%. Human seroprevalence was <8% with the exception of studies among children and in Egypt (10–32%). Close contact with camels and rural residence were associated with increased seropositivity among humans. C. burnetii infection has been associated with livestock abortion. In human cohort studies, Q fever accounted for 2–9% of febrile illness hospitalizations and 1–3% of infective endocarditis cases. We found no studies of disease incidence estimates or disease control efforts.<p></p>
Conclusions/Significance:
C. burnetii infection is detected in humans and in a wide range of animal species across Africa, but seroprevalence varies widely by species and location. Risk factors underlying this variability are poorly understood as is the role of C. burnetii in livestock abortion. Q fever consistently accounts for a notable proportion of undifferentiated human febrile illness and infective endocarditis in cohort studies, but incidence estimates are lacking. C. burnetii presents a real yet underappreciated threat to human and animal health throughout Africa.<p></p>
Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay
channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7
TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector,
and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No
significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper
limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the
standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at
95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE
Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV
The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in PbPb collisions at
nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS
detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (pt) range up to
approximately 60 GeV. The data cover both the low-pt region associated with
hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-pt region where the anisotropies may
reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium.
The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating
charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the
energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision
centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the
observed v2 values are found to first increase with pt, reaching a maximum
around pt = 3 GeV, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the
decline persisting up to at least pt = 40 GeV over the full centrality range
measured.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments
In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one
Rapid, metal-free and aqueous synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine under ambient conditions
A novel, rapid and efficient route to imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines under ambient, aqueous and metal-free conditions is reported. The NaOH-promoted cycloisomerisations of N-propargylpyridiniums give quantitative yield in a few minutes (10 g scale). A comparison of common green metrics to current routes showed clear improvements, with at least a one order of magnitude increase in space-time-yield
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