1,452 research outputs found
A mathematical understanding of how cytoplasmic dynein walks on microtubules
Cytoplasmic dynein 1 (hereafter referred to simply as dynein) is a dimeric motor protein that walks and transports intracellular cargos towards the minus end of microtubules. In this article, we formulate, based on physical principles, a mechanical model to describe the stepping behaviour of cytoplasmic dynein walking on microtubules from the cell membrane towards the nucleus. Unlike previous studies on physical models of this nature, we base our formulation on the whole structure of dynein to include the temporal dynamics of the individual subunits such as the cargo ( for example, an endosome, vesicle or bead), two rings of six ATPase domains associated with diverse cellular activities (AAAĂľ rings) and the microtubule-binding domains which allow dynein to bind to microtubules. This mathematical framework allows us to examine experimental observations on dynein across a wide range of different species, as well as being able to make predictions on the temporal behaviour of the individual components of dynein not currently experimentally measured. Furthermore, we extend the model framework to include backward stepping, variable step size and dwelling. The power of our model is in its predictive nature; first it reflects recent experimental observations that dynein walks on microtubules using a weakly coordinated stepping pattern with predominantly not passing steps. Second, the model predicts that interhead coordination in the ATP cycle of cytoplasmic dynein is important in order to obtain the alternating stepping patterns and long run lengths seen in experiments
Exercise Addiction Prevalence and Correlates in the Absence of Eating Disorder Symptomology: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Exercise addiction (EA) can be debilitating and can be a symptom of an eating disorder. To date, the prevalence rates of EA without indicated eating disorders in the general population and associated correlates remain unreported. METHODS: Two authors searched major databases from inception to 31/12/2018 to identify studies investigating the prevalence of EA in any population without indicated eating disorders. We conducted a random effects meta-analysis to report (i) prevalence rates of EA using the exercise addiction inventory and exercise dependence scale and compare sub-populations, (ii) compare methods of EA measurement and explore heterogeneity, and (iii) report on correlates. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies including 3635 people were included. The prevalence of EA among general exercisers was 8.1% (95% CI 1.5%-34.2%), amateur competitive athletes was 5.0% (95% CI 1.3%-17.3%), and university students was 5.5% (95% CI 1.4-19.1%%). Overall prevalence rates varied depending on the EA measurement tool. EA subjects were more likely to have lower levels of overall wellbeing (only in amateur competitive athletes), higher anxiety levels, and have greater frontal brain activity. CONCLUSIONS: EA is prevalent in the absence of indicated eating disorders across populations but varies depending on measurement tool. Further research is needed to explore EA without indicated eating disorders in different populations using homogenous measurement tools, further determine psychological correlates, and examine which measures of EA without indicated eating disorders predict poor health outcomes
The Initial Mass Function in disc galaxies and in galaxy clusters: the chemo-photometric picture
The observed brightness of the Tully-Fisher relation suggests a low stellar
M/L ratio and a "bottom-light" IMF in disc galaxies, but the corresponding
efficiency of chemical enrichment tends to exceed the observational estimates.
Either suitable tuning of the IMF slope and mass limits or metal outflows from
disc galaxies must then be invoked.
A standard Solar Neighbourhood IMF cannot explain the high metallicity of the
hot intra-cluster medium: a different IMF must be at work in clusters of
galaxies. Alternatively, if the IMF is universal and chemical enrichment is
everywhere as efficient as observed in clusters, substantial loss of metals
must occur from the Solar Neighbourhood and from disc galaxies in general; a
"non-standard" scenario challenging our understanding of disc galaxy formation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; in Proceedings of IMF@50: the Initial Mass
Function 50 years later; Corbelli, Palla and Zinnecker (eds.
On the numerical evaluation of algebro-geometric solutions to integrable equations
Physically meaningful periodic solutions to certain integrable partial
differential equations are given in terms of multi-dimensional theta functions
associated to real Riemann surfaces. Typical analytical problems in the
numerical evaluation of these solutions are studied. In the case of
hyperelliptic surfaces efficient algorithms exist even for almost degenerate
surfaces. This allows the numerical study of solitonic limits. For general real
Riemann surfaces, the choice of a homology basis adapted to the
anti-holomorphic involution is important for a convenient formulation of the
solutions and smoothness conditions. Since existing algorithms for algebraic
curves produce a homology basis not related to automorphisms of the curve, we
study symplectic transformations to an adapted basis and give explicit formulae
for M-curves. As examples we discuss solutions of the Davey-Stewartson and the
multi-component nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations.Comment: 29 pages, 20 figure
Modelling and peeling extended sources with shapelets: a Fornax A case study
To make a power spectrum (PS) detection of the 21 cm signal from the Epoch of
Reionisation (EoR), one must avoid/subtract bright foreground sources. Sources
such as Fornax A present a modelling challenge due to spatial structures
spanning from arc seconds up to a degree. We compare modelling with multi-scale
(MS) CLEAN components to 'shapelets', an alternative set of basis functions. We
introduce a new image-based shapelet modelling package, SHAMFI. We also
introduce a new CUDA simulation code (WODEN) to generate point source,
Gaussian, and shapelet components into visibilities. We test performance by
modelling a simulation of Fornax A, peeling the model from simulated
visibilities, and producing a residual PS. We find the shapelet method
consistently subtracts large-angular-scale emission well, even when the
angular-resolution of the data is changed. We find that when increasing the
angular-resolution of the data, the MS CLEAN model worsens at large
angular-scales. When testing on real MWA data, the expected improvement is not
seen in real data because of the other dominating systematics still present.
Through further simulation we find the expected differences to be lower than
obtainable through current processing pipelines. We conclude shapelets are
worthwhile for subtracting extended galaxies, and may prove essential for an
EoR detection in the future, once other systematics have been addressed.Comment: 17 pages, 11 Figures, accepted for publication in Publications of the
Astronomical Society of Australia (18/05/2020). "For the SHAMFI code, see:
https://github.com/JLBLine/SHAMFI" . "For the SHAMFI documentation, see:
https://shamfi.readthedocs.io/" . "For the WODEN code and documentation see:
https://github.com/JLBLine/WODEN
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Examination of phase transformations and decomposition chemistry in thermally aged thin-film explosives
To develop predictive models for the response of weapon systems to abnormal thermal environments, such as cookoff, an improved understanding of temperature-dependent thermophysical phenomena (such as phase transformations) and decomposition chemistry in totally confined explosive samples is needed. It is particularly important to examine the effects of maintaining-intimate contact between the decomposition products and the remaining condensed-phase explosive during slow reaction at elevated temperatures since confinement of the decomposition products may significantly affect thermophysical phenomena and decomposition reaction rates. The purpose of this work has been to examine experimentally the effects on condensed-phase chemistry which result when decomposition products remain in intimate contact with the reacting explosive during isothermal aging experiments at temperatures below those of the DTA exotherm for the explosive. To provide confinement, minimize vapor space, and permit condensed-phase chemical analysis, experiments were done using thin-film samples of the explosive, which were pressed and sealed between two infrared-transmitting windows, so that condensed-phase chemistry could be monitored using infrared spectroscopy. Experiments were done with NC, HMX, HMX-NC composite, and RDX samples. Results from the experiments with NC showed that for some decomposition mechanisms, the reaction rates for confined samples compared favorably with published reaction rates from unconfined samples. However, the results also demonstrated that for other mechanisms, the reaction rates were significantly affected by confinement of the decomposition products. The experiments with HMX and RDX indicated that some decomposition occurred at temperatures well below the temperatures of the respective DTA exotherms, and the experiments with HMX-NC composite samples showed some interaction between NC and HMX at temperatures as low as 150{degrees}C
Galactic Collapse of Scalar Field Dark Matter
We present a scenario for galaxy formation based on the hypothesis of scalar
field dark matter. We interpret galaxy formation through the collapse of a
scalar field fluctuation. We find that a cosh potential for the
self-interaction of the scalar field provides a reasonable scenario for
galactic formation, which is in agreement with cosmological observations and
phenomenological studies in galaxies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figue
Evolutionary Multi-Objective Design of SARS-CoV-2 Protease Inhibitor Candidates
Computational drug design based on artificial intelligence is an emerging
research area. At the time of writing this paper, the world suffers from an
outbreak of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. A promising way to stop the virus
replication is via protease inhibition. We propose an evolutionary
multi-objective algorithm (EMOA) to design potential protease inhibitors for
SARS-CoV-2's main protease. Based on the SELFIES representation the EMOA
maximizes the binding of candidate ligands to the protein using the docking
tool QuickVina 2, while at the same time taking into account further objectives
like drug-likeliness or the fulfillment of filter constraints. The experimental
part analyzes the evolutionary process and discusses the inhibitor candidates.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PPSN 202
EWPD Constraints on Flavor Symmetric Vector Fields
Electroweak precision data constraints on flavor symmetric vector fields are
determined. The flavor multiplets of spin one that we examine are the complete
set of fields that couple to quark bi-linears at tree level while not initially
breaking the quark global flavor symmetry group. Flavor safe vector masses
proximate to, and in some cases below, the electroweak symmetry breaking scale
are found to be allowed. Many of these fields provide a flavor safe mechanism
to explain the t tbar forward backward anomaly, and can simultaneously
significantly raise the allowed values of the Standard Model Higgs mass
consistent with electroweak precision data.Comment: Matches version published in JHE
Arte convenzionale – ovvero – perché non possono esistere artisti realmente anticonformisti
The representation of the artist is generally that of a nonconformist, a lonely Bohemian eager to revolutionise the world from his studio. From this perspective, the traditional interpretation of art history is one of linear progress, spurred on by moments of innovation aiming at new states of conventionalism. This article shows how such a perspective has much to do with the philosophy of modern times, even though it doesn’t provide a satisfactory explanation of the meaning and development of art throughout the centuries, bound as they are instead to the necessity of convention with the values of society (or of its élite) rather than on wild individualism
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