12,887 research outputs found
Expression and purification of an adenylation domain from a eukaryotic nonribosomal peptide synthetase: Using structural genomics tools for a challenging target
Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are large multimodular and multidomain enzymes that are involved in synthesising an array of molecules that are important in human and animal health. NRPSs are found in both bacteria and fungi but most of the research to date has focused on the bacterial enzymes. This is largely due to the technical challenges in producing active fungal NRPSs, which stem from their large size and multidomain nature. In order to target fungal NRPS domains for biochemical and structural characterisation, we tackled this challenge by using the cloning and expression tools of structural genomics to screen the many variables that can influence the expression and purification of proteins. Using these tools we have screened 32 constructs containing 16 different fungal NRPS domains or domain combinations for expression and solubility. Two of these yielded soluble protein with one, the third adenylation domain of the SidN NRPS (SidNA3) from the grass endophyte Neotyphodium lolii, being tractable for purification using Ni-affinity resin. The initial purified protein exhibited poor solution behaviour but optimisation of the expression construct and the buffer conditions used for purification, resulted in stable recombinant protein suitable for biochemical characterisation, crystallisation and structure determination
Limits to ion energy control in high density glow discharges: Measurement of absolute metastable ion concentrations
Unprecedented demands for uniformity, throughput, anisotropy, and damage control in submicron pattern transfer are spurring development of new, low pressure, high charge density plasma reactors. Wafer biasing, independent of plasma production in these new systems is intended to provide improved ion flux and energy control so that selectivity can be optimized and damage can be minimized. However, as we show here, an inherent property of such discharges is the generation of significant densities of excited, metastable ionic states that can bombard workpiece surfaces with higher translational and internal energy. Absolute metastable ion densities are measured using the technique of self-absorption, while the corresponding velocity distributions and density scaling with pressure and electron density are measured using laser-induced fluorescence. For a low pressure, helicon-wave excited plasma, the metastable ion flux is at least 24% of the total ion flux to device surfaces. Because the metastable ion density scales roughly as the reciprocal of the pressure and as the square of the electron density, the metastable flux is largest in low pressure, high charge density plasmas. This metastable ion energy flux effectively limits ion energy and flux control in these plasma reactors, but the consequences for etching and deposition of thin films depend on the material system and remain an open question
Phenomenology of the Baryon Resonance 70-plet at Large N_c
We examine the multiplet structure and decay channels of baryon resonances in
the large N_c QCD generalization of the N_c = 3 SU(6) spin-flavor 70. We show
that this ``70'', while a construct of large N_c quark models, actually
consists of five model-independent irreducible spin-flavor multiplets in the
large N_c limit. The preferred decay modes for these resonances fundamentally
depend upon which of the five multiplets to which the resonance belongs. For
example, there exists an SU(3) ``8'' of resonances that is eta-philic and
pi-phobic, and an ``8'' that is the reverse. Moreover, resonances with a strong
SU(3) ``1'' component prefer to decay via a K-bar rather than via a pi.
Remarkably, available data appears to bear out these conclusions.Comment: 26 pages, ReVTe
Fermions in 3D Optical Lattices: Cooling Protocol to Obtain Antiferromagnetism
A major challenge in realizing antiferromagnetic (AF) and superfluid phases
in optical lattices is the ability to cool fermions. We determine the equation
of state for the 3D repulsive Fermi-Hubbard model as a function of the chemical
potential, temperature and repulsion using unbiased determinantal quantum Monte
Carlo methods, and we then use the local density approximation to model a
harmonic trap. We show that increasing repulsion leads to cooling, but only in
a trap, due to the redistribution of entropy from the center to the metallic
wings. Thus, even when the average entropy per particle is larger than that
required for antiferromagnetism in the homogeneous system, the trap enables the
formation of an AF Mott phase.Comment: 4 pages; 5 figures; also see supplementary material in 2 pages with 1
figur
Measurement of the Hyperfine Structure and Isotope Shifts of the 3s23p2 3P2 to 3s3p3 3Do3 Transition in Silicon
The hyperfine structure and isotope shifts of the 3s23p2 3P2 to 3s3p3 3Do3
transition in silicon have been measured. The transition at 221.7 nm was
studied by laser induced fluorescence in an atomic Si beam. For 29Si, the
hyperfine A constant for the 3s23p2 3P2 level was determined to be -160.1+-1.3
MHz (1 sigma error), and the A constant for the 3s3p3 3Do3 level is -532.9+-0.6
MHz. This is the first time that these constants were measured. The isotope
shifts (relative to the abundant isotope 28Si) of the transition were
determined to be 1753.3+-1.1 MHz for 29Si and 3359.9+-0.6 MHz for 30Si. This is
an improvement by about two orders of magnitude over a previous measurement.
From these results we are able to predict the hyperfine structure and isotope
shift of the radioactive 31Si atom, which is of interest in building a scalable
quantum computer
Stellar Populations and Star Cluster Formation in Interacting Galaxies with the Advanced Camera for Surveys
Pixel-by-pixel colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams - based on a
subset of the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys Early Release
Observations - provide a powerful technique to explore and deduce the star and
star cluster formation histories of the Mice and the Tadpole interacting
galaxies. In each interacting system we find some 40 bright young star clusters
(20 <= F606W (mag) <= 25, with a characteristic mass of ~3 x 10^6 Msun), which
are spatially coincident with blue regions of active star formation in their
tidal tails and spiral arms. We estimate that the main events triggering the
formation of these clusters occurred ~(1.5-2.0) x 10^8 yr ago. We show that
star cluster formation is a major mode of star formation in galaxy
interactions, with >= 35% of the active star formation in encounters occurring
in star clusters. This is the first time that young star clusters have been
detected along the tidal tails in interacting galaxies. The tidal tail of the
Tadpole system is dominated by blue star forming regions, which occupy some 60%
of the total area covered by the tail and contribute ~70% of the total flux in
the F475W filter (decreasing to ~40% in F814W). The remaining pixels in the
tail have colours consistent with those of the main disk. The tidally triggered
burst of star formation in the Mice is of similar strength in both interacting
galaxies, but it has affected only relatively small, spatially coherent areas.Comment: 23 pages in preprint form, 6 (encapsulated) postscript figures;
accepted for publication in New Astronomy; ALL figures (even the grey-scale
ones) need to be printed on a colour printer style files included; for
full-resolution paper, see http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/STELLARPOPS/ACSpaper
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