104 research outputs found
Nucleosynthesis in Advective Accretion Disks Around Galactic and Extra-Galactic Black Holes
We compute the nucleosynthesis of materials inside advective disks around
black holes. We show that composition of incoming matter can change
significantly depending on the accretion rate and accretion disks. These works
are improvements on the earlier works in thick accretion disks of Chakrabarti,
Jin & Arnett (1987) in presence of advection in the flow.Comment: Latex pages including figures. Kluwer Style files included. Appearing
in `Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe', ed. Sandip K.
Chakrabarti, Kluwer Academic Publishers (DORDRECHT: Holland
The effects of discreteness of galactic cosmic rays sources
Most studies of GeV Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) nuclei assume a steady
state/continuous distribution for the sources of cosmic rays, but this
distribution is actually discrete in time and in space. The current progress in
our understanding of cosmic ray physics (acceleration, propagation), the
required consistency in explaining several GCRs manifestation (nuclei,
,...) as well as the precision of present and future space missions
(e.g. INTEGRAL, AMS, AGILE, GLAST) point towards the necessity to go beyond
this approximation. A steady state semi-analytical model that describes well
many nuclei data has been developed in the past years based on this
approximation, as well as others. We wish to extend it to a time dependent
version, including discrete sources. As a first step, the validity of several
approximations of the model we use are checked to validate the approach: i) the
effect of the radial variation of the interstellar gas density is inspected and
ii) the effect of a specific modeling for the galactic wind (linear vs
constant) is discussed. In a second step, the approximation of using continuous
sources in space is considered. This is completed by a study of time
discreteness through the time-dependent version of the propagation equation. A
new analytical solution of this equation for instantaneous point-like sources,
including the effect of escape, galactic wind and spallation, is presented.
Application of time and space discretness to definite propagation conditions
and realistic distributions of sources will be presented in a future paper.Comment: final version, 8 figures, accepted in ApJ. A misprint in fig 8 labels
has been correcte
Crystal Structure of Outer Membrane Protein NMB0315 from Neisseria meningitidis
NMB0315 is an outer membrane protein of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (NMB) and a potential candidate for a broad-spectrum vaccine against meningococcal disease. The crystal structure of NMB0315 was solved by single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) at a resolution of 2.4 Å and revealed to be a lysostaphin-type peptidase of the M23 metallopeptidase family. The overall structure consists of three well-separated domains and has no similarity to any previously published structure. However, only the topology of the carboxyl-terminal domain is highly conserved among members of this family, and this domain is a zinc-dependent catalytic unit. The amino-terminal domain of the structure blocks the substrate binding pocket in the carboxyl-terminal domain, indicating that the wild-type full-length protein is in an inactive conformational state. Our studies improve the understanding of the catalytic mechanism of M23 metallopeptidases
Membranes by the Numbers
Many of the most important processes in cells take place on and across
membranes. With the rise of an impressive array of powerful quantitative
methods for characterizing these membranes, it is an opportune time to reflect
on the structure and function of membranes from the point of view of biological
numeracy. To that end, in this article, I review the quantitative parameters
that characterize the mechanical, electrical and transport properties of
membranes and carry out a number of corresponding order of magnitude estimates
that help us understand the values of those parameters.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
The spin dependence of high energy proton scattering
Motivated by the need for an absolute polarimeter to determine the beam
polarization for the forthcoming RHIC spin program, we study the spin
dependence of the proton-proton elastic scattering amplitudes at high energy
and small momentum transfer.We examine experimental evidence for the existence
of an asymptotic part of the helicity-flip amplitude phi_5 which is not
negligible relative to the largely imaginary average non-flip amplitude phi_+.
We discuss theoretical estimates of r_5, essentially the ratio of phi_5 to
phi_+, based upon extrapolation of low and medium energy Regge phenomenological
results to high energies, models based on a hybrid of perturbative QCD and
non-relativistic quark models, and models based on eikonalization techniques.
We also apply the model-independent methods of analyticity and unitarity.The
preponderence of evidence at available energy indicates that r_5 is small,
probably less than 10%. The best available experimental limit comes from
Fermilab E704:those data indicate that |r_5|<15%. These bounds are important
because rigorous methods allow much larger values. In contradiction to a
widely-held prejudice that r_5 decreases with energy, general principles allow
it to grow as fast as ln(s) asymptotically, and some models show an even faster
growth in the RHIC range. One needs a more precise measurement of r_5 or to
bound it to be smaller than 5% in order to use the classical Coulomb-nuclear
interference technique for RHIC polarimetry. As part of this study, we
demonstrate the surprising result that proton-proton elastic scattering is
self-analysing, in the sense that all the helicity amplitudes can, in
principle, be determined experimentally at small momentum transfer without a
knowledge of the magnitude of the beam and target polarization
CdTe Quantum Dot/Dye Hybrid System as Photosensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy
We have studied the photodynamic properties of novel CdTe quantum dots—methylene blue hybrid photosensitizer. Absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging of this system reveal efficient charge transfer between nanocrystals and the methylene blue dye. Near-infrared photoluminescence measurements provide evidence for an increased efficiency of singlet oxygen production by the methylene blue dye. In vitro studies on the growth of HepG2 and HeLa cancerous cells were also performed, they point toward an improvement in the cell kill efficiency for the methylene blue-semiconductor nanocrystals hybrid system
Modulating Activity of Vancomycin and Daptomycin on the Expression of Autolysis Cell-Wall Turnover and Membrane Charge Genes in hVISA and VISA Strains
Glycopeptides are still the gold standard to treat MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections, but their widespread use has led to vancomycin-reduced susceptibility [heterogeneous Vancomycin-Intermediate-Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) and Vancomycin-Intermediate-Staphylococcus aureus (VISA)], in which different genetic loci (regulatory, autolytic, cell-wall turnover and cell-envelope positive charge genes) are involved. In addition, reduced susceptibility to vancomycin can influence the development of resistance to daptomycin. Although the phenotypic and molecular changes of hVISA/VISA have been the focus of different papers, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these different phenotypes and for the vancomycin and daptomycin cross-resistance are not clearly understood. The aim of our study was to investigate, by real time RT-PCR, the relative quantitative expression of genes involved in autolysis (atl-lytM), cell-wall turnover (sceD), membrane charges (mprF-dltA) and regulatory mechanisms (agr-locus-graRS-walKR), in hVISA and VISA cultured with or without vancomycin and daptomycin, in order to better understand the molecular basis of vancomycin-reduced susceptibility and the modulating activity of vancomycin and daptomycin on the expression of genes implicated in their reduced susceptibility mechanisms. Our results show that hVISA and VISA present common features that distinguish them from Vancomycin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (VSSA), responsible for the intermediate glycopeptide resistance i.e. an increased cell-wall turnover, an increased positive cell-wall charge responsible for a repulsion mechanism towards vancomycin and daptomycin, and reduced agr-functionality. Indeed, VISA emerges from hVISA when VISA acquires a reduced autolysis caused by a down-regulation of autolysin genes, atl/lytM, and a reduction of the net negative cell-envelope charge via dltA over-expression. Vancomycin and daptomycin, acting in a similar manner in hVISA and VISA, can influence their cross-resistance mechanisms promoting VISA behavior in hVISA and enhancing the cell-wall pathways responsible for the intermediate vancomycin resistance in VISA. Daptomycin can also induce a charge repulsion mechanism both in hVISA and VISA increasing the activity of the mprF
Constraining Galactic cosmic-ray parameters with Z<=2 nuclei
The secondary-to-primary B/C ratio is widely used to study Galactic
cosmic-ray propagation processes. The 2H/4He and 3He/4He ratios probe a
different Z/A regime, therefore testing the `universality' of propagation. We
revisit the constraints on diffusion-model parameters set by the quartet (1H,
2H, 3He, 4He), using the most recent data as well as updated formulae for the
inelastic and production cross-sections. The analysis relies on the USINE
propagation package and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique to estimate the
probability density functions of the parameters. Simulated data are also used
to validate analysis strategies. The fragmentation of CNO cosmic rays (resp.
NeMgSiFe) on the ISM during their propagation contributes to 20% (resp. 20%) of
the 2H and 15% (resp. 10%) of the 3He flux at high energy. The C to Fe elements
are also responsible for up to 10% of the 4He flux measured at 1 GeV/n. The
analysis of 3He/4He (and to a less extent 2H/4He) data shows that the transport
parameters are consistent with those from the B/C analysis: the diffusion model
with delta~0.7 (diffusion slope), Vc~20 km/s (galactic wind), Va~40 km/s
(reacceleration) is favoured, but the combination delta~0.2, Vc~0, and Va~80
km/s is a close second. The confidence intervals on the parameters show that
the constraints set by the quartet data are competitive with those brought by
the B/C data. These constraints are tighter when adding the 3He (or 2H) flux
measurements, and the tightest when further adding the He flux. For the latter,
the analysis of simulated and real data show an increased sensitivity to
biases. Using secondary-to-primary ratio along with a loose prior on the source
parameters is recommended to get the most robust constraints on the transport
parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 7 tables, 20 figures (submitted to A&A
Association of Lipidome Remodeling in the Adipocyte Membrane with Acquired Obesity in Humans
The authors describe a new approach to studying cellular lipid profiles and
propose a compensatory mechanism that may help maintain the normal membrane
function of adipocytes in the context of obesity
Response of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus to Amicoumacin A
Amicoumacin A exhibits strong antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), hence we sought to uncover its mechanism of action. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of S. aureus COL in response to amicoumacin A showed alteration in transcription of genes specifying several cellular processes including cell envelope turnover, cross-membrane transport, virulence, metabolism, and general stress response. The most highly induced gene was lrgA, encoding an antiholin-like product, which is induced in cells undergoing a collapse of Δψ. Consistent with the notion that LrgA modulates murein hydrolase activity, COL grown in the presence of amicoumacin A showed reduced autolysis, which was primarily caused by lower hydrolase activity. To gain further insight into the mechanism of action of amicoumacin A, a whole genome comparison of wild-type COL and amicoumacin A-resistant mutants isolated by a serial passage method was carried out. Single point mutations generating codon substitutions were uncovered in ksgA (encoding RNA dimethyltransferase), fusA (elongation factor G), dnaG (primase), lacD (tagatose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase), and SACOL0611 (a putative glycosyl transferase). The codon substitutions in EF-G that cause amicoumacin A resistance and fusidic acid resistance reside in separate domains and do not bring about cross resistance. Taken together, these results suggest that amicoumacin A might cause perturbation of the cell membrane and lead to energy dissipation. Decreased rates of cellular metabolism including protein synthesis and DNA replication in resistant strains might allow cells to compensate for membrane dysfunction and thus increase cell survivability
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