1,659 research outputs found
Synthesis of empty bacterial microcompartments, directed organelle protein incorporation, and evidence of filament-associated organelle movement
Compartmentalization is an important process, since it allows the segregation of metabolic activities and, in the era of synthetic biology, represents an important tool by which defined microenvironments can be created for specific metabolic functions. Indeed, some bacteria make specialized proteinaceous metabolic compartments called bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) or metabolosomes. Here we demonstrate that the shell of the metabolosome (representing an empty BMC) can be produced within E. coil cells by the coordinated expression of genes encoding structural proteins. A plethora of diverse structures can be generated by changing the expression profile of these genes, including the formation of large axial filaments that interfere with septation. Fusing GFP to PduC, PduD, or PduV, none of which are shell proteins, allows regiospecific targeting of the reporter group to the empty BMC. Live cell imaging provides unexpected evidence of filament-associated BMC movement within the cell in the presence of Pdu
Dynamics and Berry phase of two-species Bose-Einstein condensates
In terms of exact solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for an
effective giant spin modeled from a coupled two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate
(BEC) with adiabatic and cyclic time-varying Raman coupling between two
hyperfine states of the BEC, we obtain analytic time-evolution formulas of the
population imbalance and relative phase between two components with various
initial states, especially the SU(2)coherent state. We find the Berry phase
depending on the number parity of atoms, and particle number dependence of the
collapse revival of population-imbalance oscillation. It is shown that
self-trapping and phase locking can be achieved from initial SU(2) coherent
states with proper parameters.Comment: 18 pages,5 figure
Optimization of Sample Preparation and Phloroglucinol Analysis of Marselan Grape Skin Proanthocyanidins using HPLC-DADESI- MS/MS
Proanthocyanidins are a group of oligomeric or polymeric flavan-3-ols that are highly significantcontributors to astringency in grapes and wines. An orthogonal L9(3)4 test was adopted to determine theoptimal extraction conditions and acid-catalysis cleavage of proanthocyanidins in the presence of excessphloroglucinol. The qualitative and quantitative analyses were done using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. Theresults showed that the maximum extraction was obtained using 0.3 mol/L of HCl and 0.005 g of ascorbicacid with incubation at 70°C for 20 min. The precision and accuracy of this method were acceptable. Thecomposition of free flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins in the skins of ‘Marselan’ grapes (Vitis vinifera L.cv.) was investigated. (-)-Epigallocatechin was found to be the most abundant free flavan-3-ol monomerand terminal subunits, whereas the extension subunits were mainly (-)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate in the earlydevelopmental stages, and primarily (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin in the middle and late stages
Constitutive behavior of as-cast A356
The constitutive behavior of aluminum alloy A356 in the as-cast condition has
been characterized using compression tests performed over a wide range of
deformation temperatures (30-500{\deg}C) and strain rates (\approx0.1-10 /s).
This work is intended to support the development of process models for a wide
range of conditions including those relevant to casting, forging and machining.
The flow stress behavior as a function of temperature and strain rate has been
fit to a modified Johnson-Cook and extended Ludwik-Hollomon expression. The
data has also been assessed with both the strain-independent Kocks-Mecking and
Zener-Hollomon frameworks. The predicted plastic flow stress for each
expression are compared. The results indicate that the extended Ludwik-Hollomon
is best suited to describe small strain conditions (stage III hardening), while
the Kocks-Mecking is best employed for large strain (stage IV). At elevated
temperatures, it was found that the Zener-Hollomon model provides the best
prediction of flow stress.Comment: 34 pages, 12 figure
Conductance of a Quantum Point Contact in the presence of a Scanning Probe Microscope Tip
Using the recursive Green's function technique, we study the coherent
electron conductance of a quantum point contact in the presence of a scanning
probe microscope tip. Images of the coherent fringe inside a quantum point
contact for different widths are obtained. It is found that the conductance of
a specific channel is reduced while other channels are not affected as long as
the tip is located at the positions correspending to that channel. Moreover,
the coherent fringe is smoothed out by increasing the temperature or the
voltage across the device. Our results are consistent with the experiments
reported by Topinka et al.[Science 289, 2323 (2000)].Comment: 5 page
Turbulence induced additional deceleration in relativistic shock wave propagation: implications for gamma-ray burst
The late afterglow of gamma-ray burst is believed to be due to progressive
deceleration of the forward shock wave driven by the gamma-ray burst ejecta
propagating in the interstellar medium. We study the dynamic effect of
interstellar turbulence on shock wave propagation. It is shown that the shock
wave decelerates more quickly than previously assumed without the turbulence.
As an observational consequence, an earlier jet break will appear in the light
curve of the forward shock wave. The scatter of the jet-corrected energy
release for gamma-ray burst, inferred from the jet-break, may be partly due to
the physical uncertainties in the turbulence/shock wave interaction. This
uncertainties also exist in two shell collisions in the well-known internal
shock model proposed for gamma-ray burst prompt emission. The large scatters of
known luminosity relations of gamma-ray burst may be intrinsic and thus
gamma-ray burst is not a good standard candle. We also discuss the other
implications.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
Neutron scattering search for static magnetism in oxygen ordered YBa2Cu3O6.5
We present elastic and inelastic neutron scattering results on highly oxygen
ordered YBa2Cu3O6.5 ortho-II. We find no evidence for the presence of ordered
magnetic moments to a sensitivity of 0.003 Bohr magnetons, an order of
magnitude smaller than has been suggested in theories of orbital or
d-density-wave (DDW) currents. The absence of sharp elastic peaks, shows that
the d-density-wave phase is not present, at least for the superconductor with
the doping of 6.5 and the ordered ortho-II structure. We cannot exclude the
possibility that a broad peak may exist with extremely short-range DDW
correlations. For less ordered or more doped crystals it is possible that
disorder may lead to static magnetism. We have also searched for the large
normal state spin gap that is predicted to exist in an ordered DDW phase.
Instead of a gap we find that the Q-correlated spin susceptibility persists to
the lowest energies studied, 6 meV. Our results are compatible with the
coexistence of superconductivity with orbital currents, but only if they are
dynamic, and exclude a sharp phase transition to an ordered d-density-wave
phase.Comment: 6 pages 4 figures RevTex Submitted to Phys Rev B January 23, 200
First Principles NMR Study of Fluorapatite under Pressure
NMR is the technique of election to probe the local properties of materials.
Herein we present the results of density functional theory (DFT) \textit{ab
initio} calculations of the NMR parameters for fluorapatite (FAp), a calcium
orthophosphate mineral belonging to the apatite family, by using the GIPAW
method [Pickard and Mauri, 2001]. Understanding the local effects of pressure
on apatites is particularly relevant because of their important role in many
solid state and biomedical applications. Apatites are open structures, which
can undergo complex anisotropic deformations, and the response of NMR can
elucidate the microscopic changes induced by an applied pressure. The computed
NMR parameters proved to be in good agreement with the available experimental
data. The structural evaluation of the material behavior under hydrostatic
pressure (from --5 to +100 kbar) indicated a shrinkage of the diameter of the
apatitic channel, and a strong correlation between NMR shielding and pressure,
proving the sensitivity of this technique to even small changes in the chemical
environment around the nuclei. This theoretical approach allows the exploration
of all the different nuclei composing the material, thus providing a very
useful guidance in the interpretation of experimental results, particularly
valuable for the more challenging nuclei such as Ca and O.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 3 table
Superconducting zero temperature phase transition in two dimensions and in the magnetic field
We derive the Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson theory for the superconducting phase
transition in two dimensions and in the magnetic field. Without disorder the
theory describes a fluctuation induced first-order quantum phase transition
into the Abrikosov lattice. We propose a phenomenological criterion for
determining the transition field and discuss the qualitative effects of
disorder. Comparison with recent experiments on MoGe films is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
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