35,135 research outputs found
A Solid State Pulsed Coagulating Diathermy Instrument
Solid state pulsed coagulating diathermy instrumen
Reversibility of Red blood Cell deformation
The ability of cells to undergo reversible shape changes is often crucial to
their survival. For Red Blood Cells (RBCs), irreversible alteration of the cell
shape and flexibility often causes anemia. Here we show theoretically that RBCs
may react irreversibly to mechanical perturbations because of tensile stress in
their cytoskeleton. The transient polymerization of protein fibers inside the
cell seen in sickle cell anemia or a transient external force can trigger the
formation of a cytoskeleton-free membrane protrusion of micrometer dimensions.
The complex relaxation kinetics of the cell shape is shown to be responsible
for selecting the final state once the perturbation is removed, thereby
controlling the reversibility of the deformation. In some case, tubular
protrusion are expected to relax via a peculiar "pearling instability".Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
NMR analysis of the dynamic exchange of the NS2B cofactor between open and closed conformations of the West Nile Virus NS2B-NS3 protease
BACKGROUND The two-component NS2B-NS3 proteases of West Nile and dengue viruses are essential for viral replication and established targets for drug development. In all crystal structures of the proteases to date, the NS2B cofactor is located far from the substrate binding site (open conformation) in the absence of inhibitor and lining the substrate binding site (closed conformation) in the presence of an inhibitor. METHODS In this work, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of isotope and spin-labeled samples of the West Nile virus protease was used to investigate the occurrence of equilibria between open and closed conformations in solution. FINDINGS In solution, the closed form of the West Nile virus protease is the predominant conformation irrespective of the presence or absence of inhibitors. Nonetheless, dissociation of the C-terminal part of the NS2B cofactor from the NS3 protease (open conformation) occurs in both the presence and the absence of inhibitors. Low-molecular-weight inhibitors can shift the conformational exchange equilibria so that over 90% of the West Nile virus protease molecules assume the closed conformation. The West Nile virus protease differs from the dengue virus protease, where the open conformation is the predominant form in the absence of inhibitors. CONCLUSION Partial dissociation of NS2B from NS3 has implications for the way in which the NS3 protease can be positioned with respect to the host cell membrane when NS2B is membrane associated via N- and C-terminal segments present in the polyprotein. In the case of the West Nile virus protease, discovery of low-molecular-weight inhibitors that act by breaking the association of the NS2B cofactor with the NS3 protease is impeded by the natural affinity of the cofactor to the NS3 protease. The same strategy can be more successful in the case of the dengue virus NS2B-NS3 protease.The project was funded by the Australian Research Council (http://www.arc.gov.au), grant DP0877540
A scheme for symmetrization verification
We propose a scheme for symmetrization verification in two-particle systems,
based on one-particle detection and state determination. In contrast to
previous proposals, it does not follow a Hong-Ou-Mandel-type approach.
Moreover, the technique can be used to generate superposition states of single
particles
Unexpected phase locking of magnetic fluctuations in the multi-k magnet USb
The spin waves in the multi-k antiferromagnet USb soften and become quasielastic well below the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature TN. This occurs without a magnetic or structural transition. It has been suggested that this change is in fact due to dephasing of the different multi-k components: a switch from 3-k to 1-k behavior. In this work, we use inelastic neutron scattering with tridirectional polarization analysis to probe the quasielastic magnetic excitations and reveal that the 3-k structure does not dephase. More surprisingly, the paramagnetic correlations also maintain the same clear phase correlations well above TN (up to at least 1.4TN)
Temporal evolution of magnetic molecular shocks II. Analytics of the steady state and semi-analytical construction of intermediate ages
In the first paper of this series (Paper I) we computed time dependent
simulations of multifluid shocks with chemistry and a transverse magnetic field
frozen in the ions, using an adaptive moving grid. In this paper, we present
new analytical results on steady-state molecular shocks. Relationships between
density and pressure in the neutral fluid are derived for the cold magnetic
precursor, hot magnetic precursor, adiabatic shock front, and the following
cooling layer. The compression ratio and temperature behind a fully
dissociative adiabatic shock is also derived. To prove that these results may
even hold for intermediate ages, we design a test to locally characterise the
validity of the steady state equations in a time-dependent shock simulation.
Applying this tool to the results of Paper I, we show that most of these shocks
(all the stable ones) are indeed in a quasi-steady state at all times, i.e. : a
given snapshot is composed of one or more truncated steady shock. Finally, we
use this property to produce a construction method of any intermediate time of
low velocity shocks (u < 20 km/s) with only a steady-state code. In particular,
this method allows one to predict the occurrence of steady CJ-type shocks more
accurately than previously proposed criteria.Comment: A&A in pres
Narratives of therapeutic art-making in the context of marital breakdown: Older women reflect on a significant mid-life experience
This paper explores the narratives of three women aged 65-72 years. They reflected on an episode of therapeutic art-making in midlife, which addressed depression associated with marital crisis and breakdown. The narrative analysis focused upon on the ways in which participants narrated the events leading up to their participation in therapeutic art-making; the aspects of therapeutic art-making that continued to be given significance; the characters given primacy in the stories they told about their journey through therapy and marital breakdown; meanings, symbolic and otherwise, that participants ascribed to their artwork made during this turning point in their lives; and aspects of the narratives that conveyed present-day identities and artistic endeavors. The narratives revealed the complexity of the journey through marital breakdown and depression into health, and showed that therapeutic art-making could best be understood, not as a stand-alone experience, but as given meaning within the context of wider personal and social resources. Participants looked back on therapeutic art-making that occurred two decades earlier and still described this as a significant turning point in their personal development. Art as an adjunct to counselling/therapy was not only symbolically self-expressive but provided opportunity for decision-making, agency and a reformulated self-image
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