94 research outputs found
High Excitation Molecular Gas in the Galactic Center Loops; 12CO(J =2-1 and J =3-2) Observations
We have carried out 12CO(J =2-1) and 12CO(J =3-2) observations at spatial
resolutions of 1.0-3.8 pc toward the entirety of loops 1 and 2 and part of loop
3 in the Galactic center with NANTEN2 and ASTE. These new results revealed
detailed distributions of the molecular gas and the line intensity ratio of the
two transitions, R3-2/2-1. In the three loops, R3-2/2-1 is in a range from 0.1
to 2.5 with a peak at ~ 0.7 while that in the disk molecular gas is in a range
from 0.1 to 1.2 with a peak at 0.4. This supports that the loops are more
highly excited than the disk molecular gas. An LVG analysis of three
transitions, 12CO J =3-2 and 2-1 and 13CO J =2-1, toward six positions in loops
1 and 2 shows density and temperature are in a range 102.2 - 104.7 cm-3 and
15-100 K or higher, respectively. Three regions extended by 50-100 pc in the
loops tend to have higher excitation conditions as characterized by R3-2/2-1
greater than 1.2. The highest ratio of 2.5 is found in the most developed foot
points between loops 1 and 2. This is interpreted that the foot points indicate
strongly shocked conditions as inferred from their large linewidths of 50-100
km s-1, confirming the suggestion by Torii et al. (2010b). The other two
regions outside the foot points suggest that the molecular gas is heated up by
some additional heating mechanisms possibly including magnetic reconnection. A
detailed analysis of four foot points have shown a U shape, an L shape or a
mirrored-L shape in the b-v distribution. It is shown that a simple kinematical
model which incorporates global rotation and expansion of the loops is able to
explain these characteristic shapes.Comment: 59 pages, accepted to PAS
pH-resistant Inhibitor of Mitochondrial ADP/ATP Carrier
Bongkrekic acid (BKA), isolated from Burkholderia cocovenenans, is known to specifically inhibit the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier. However, the manner of its interaction with the carrier remains elusive. In the present study, we tested the inhibitory effects of 17 bongkrekic acid analogues, derived from the intermediates obtained during its total synthesis, on the mitochondrial ATP/ATP carrier. Rough screening of these chemicals, done by measuring their inhibitory effects on the mitochondrial ATP synthesis, revealed that 4 of them, KH-1, 7, 16, and 17, had moderate inhibitory effects. Further characterization of the actions of these 4 analogues on mitochondrial function showed that KH-16 had moderate; KH-1 and KH-17, weak; and KH-7, negligible side effects of both permeabilization of the mitochondrial inner membrane and inhibition of the electron transport, indicating that only KH-7 had a specific inhibitory effect on the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier. Although the parental bongkrekic acid showed a strong pH dependency of its action, the inhibitory effect of KH-7 was almost insensitive to the pH of the reaction medium, indicating the importance of the 3 carboxyl groups of BKA for its pH- dependent action. A direct inhibitory effect of KH-7 on the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier was also clearly demonstrated
Toward Open-Closed String Theoretical Description of Rolling Tachyon
We consider how the time-dependent decay process of an unstable D-brane
should be described in the full (quantum) open-closed string theory. It is
argued that the system, starting from the unstable D-brane configuration, will
evolve in time into the time-independent open string tachyon vacuum
configuration which we assume to be finite, with the total energy conserved. As
a concrete realization of this idea, we construct a toy model describing the
open and closed string tachyons which admits such a time-dependent solution.
The structure of our model has some resemblance to that of open-closed string
field theory.Comment: 1+10 pages, 6 figures. v2: a reference adde
On Ghost Structure of Vacuum Superstring Field Theory
After discussing the general form of the kinetic operator around the tachyon
vacuum, we determine the specific form of the pure-ghost kinetic operator Q^ by
requiring the twist invariance of the action. We obtain a novel result that the
Grassmann-even piece Q_even of Q^ must act differently on GSO(+) sector and on
GSO(-) sector to preserve the twist invariance, and show that this structure is
crucial for gauge invariance of the action. With this choice of Q^, we
construct a solution in an approximation scheme which is conjectured to
correspond to a non-BPS D9-brane. We consider both 0-picture cubic and
Berkovits' non-polynomial superstring field theories for the NS sector.Comment: 1+42 pages, 5 figures. v2: a reference added, and a brief comment
added (footnote 14). v3: version to appear in NPB. Numerical coefficients in
front of the kinetic operators, and some signs in the eqs. of motion, have
been corrected. Some minor modification
Comments on Solutions of Vacuum Superstring Field Theory
We study classical solutions of vacuum version of Berkovits' superstring
field theory, focusing on the (super)ghost sector. We first argue that the
supersliver state which is annihilated by eta_0, though it has the correct
quantum numbers and solves the equation of motion, is actually
non-perturbatively pure-gauge, and hence it fails to describe a D-brane. As a
step toward the construction of non-trivial solutions, we calculate
e^{-Phi}Qe^{Phi} for twisted superslivers. As a by-product, we find that the
bc-twisted sliver solution in bosonic VSFT can, at least formally, also be
written as a pure-gauge configuration.Comment: 1+21 pages, no figures. v2:Some expressions in eqs.(4.11)-(5.4) have
been corrected, with our main conclusions unchange
Widely Targeted Metabolomics Based on Large-Scale MS/MS Data for Elucidating Metabolite Accumulation Patterns in Plants
Metabolomics is an ‘omics’ approach that aims to analyze all metabolites in a biological sample comprehensively. The detailed metabolite profiling of thousands of plant samples has great potential for directly elucidating plant metabolic processes. However, both a comprehensive analysis and a high throughput are difficult to achieve at the same time due to the wide diversity of metabolites in plants. Here, we have established a novel and practical metabolomics methodology for quantifying hundreds of targeted metabolites in a high-throughput manner. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (TQMS), which monitors both the specific precursor ions and product ions of each metabolite, is a standard technique in targeted metabolomics, as it enables high sensitivity, reproducibility and a broad dynamic range. In this study, we optimized the MRM conditions for specific compounds by performing automated flow injection analyses with TQMS. Based on a total of 61,920 spectra for 860 authentic compounds, the MRM conditions of 497 compounds were successfully optimized. These were applied to high-throughput automated analysis of biological samples using TQMS coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). By this analysis, approximately 100 metabolites were quantified in each of 14 plant accessions from Brassicaceae, Gramineae and Fabaceae. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on the metabolite accumulation patterns clearly showed differences among the plant families, and family-specific metabolites could be predicted using a batch-learning self-organizing map analysis. Thus, the automated widely targeted metabolomics approach established here should pave the way for large-scale metabolite profiling and comparative metabolomics
Pathway Projector: Web-Based Zoomable Pathway Browser Using KEGG Atlas and Google Maps API
BACKGROUND: Biochemical pathways provide an essential context for understanding comprehensive experimental data and the systematic workings of a cell. Therefore, the availability of online pathway browsers will facilitate post-genomic research, just as genome browsers have contributed to genomics. Many pathway maps have been provided online as part of public pathway databases. Most of these maps, however, function as the gateway interface to a specific database, and the comprehensiveness of their represented entities, data mapping capabilities, and user interfaces are not always sufficient for generic usage. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have identified five central requirements for a pathway browser: (1) availability of large integrated maps showing genes, enzymes, and metabolites; (2) comprehensive search features and data access; (3) data mapping for transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic experiments, as well as the ability to edit and annotate pathway maps; (4) easy exchange of pathway data; and (5) intuitive user experience without the requirement for installation and regular maintenance. According to these requirements, we have evaluated existing pathway databases and tools and implemented a web-based pathway browser named Pathway Projector as a solution. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Pathway Projector provides integrated pathway maps that are based upon the KEGG Atlas, with the addition of nodes for genes and enzymes, and is implemented as a scalable, zoomable map utilizing the Google Maps API. Users can search pathway-related data using keywords, molecular weights, nucleotide sequences, and amino acid sequences, or as possible routes between compounds. In addition, experimental data from transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses can be readily mapped. Pathway Projector is freely available for academic users at (http://www.g-language.org/PathwayProjector/)
- …