Guanosine nucleotides regulate B2 kinin receptor affinity of agonists but not of antagonists: Discussion of a model proposing receptor precoupling to G protein

The effect of nucleotides on binding of the B2 kinin (BK) receptor agonist {[}H-3]BK and the antagonist {[}H-3]NPC17731 to particulate fractions of human foreskin fibroblasts was studied. At 0 degrees C, particulate fractions exhibited a single class of binding sites with a Kd of 2.3 nM for {[}H-3]BK and a K-d Of 3.8 nM for the antagonist {[}H-3]NPC17731. Incubation with radioligands at 37 degrees C for 5 min gave a reduction of agonist, as well as antagonist, binding that was between 0-40% depending on the preparation, even in the absence of guanosine nucleotides. As shown by Scatchard analysis, this reduction in specific binding was due to a shift in the affinity of at least a fraction of the receptors. The presence at 37 degrees C of the guanine nucleotides GTP, GDP and their poorly hydrolyzable analogs left {[}H-3]-NPC17731 binding unaffected, but reduced the receptor affinity for {[}H-3]BK to a K-d Of about 15 nM. The maximal number of receptors, however, was unchanged. This affinity change was strongly dependent on the presence of bivalent cations, in particular Mg2+. It was reversed by incubation at 0 degrees C, The rank order of the guanosine nucleotides for {[}H-3]BK binding reduction was GTP{[}gamma S] = Gpp{[}NH]p > GTP = GDP > GDP{[}beta S]. GMP, ATP, ADP and AMP showed no influence on agonist binding. A model for the interaction of the B2 kinin receptor with G proteins is discussed

Seismological imaging of ridge–arc interaction beneath the Eastern Lau Spreading Center from OBS ambient noise tomography

The Lau Basin displays large along-strike variations in ridge characters with the changing proximity of the adjacent subduction zone. The mechanism governing these changes is not well understood but one hypotheses relates them to interaction between the arc and back-arc magmatic systems. We present a 3D seismic velocity model of the shallow mantle beneath the Eastern Lau back-arc Spreading Center (ELSC) and the adjacent Tofua volcanic arc obtained from ambient noise tomography of ocean bottom seismograph data. Our seismic images reveal an asymmetric upper mantle low velocity zone (LVZ) beneath the ELSC. Two major trends are present as the ridge-to-arc distance increases: (1) the LVZ becomes increasingly offset from the ridge to the north, where crust is thinner and the ridge less magmatically active; (2) the LVZ becomes increasingly connected to a sub-arc low velocity zone to the south. The separation of the ridge and arc low velocity zones is spatially coincident with the abrupt transition in crustal composition and ridge morphology. Our results present the first mantle imaging confirmation of a direct connection between crustal properties and uppermost mantle processes at ELSC, and support the prediction that as ELSC migrates away from the arc, a changing mantle wedge flow pattern leads to the separation of the arc and ridge melting regions. Slab-derived water is cutoff from the ridge, resulting in abrupt changes in crustal lava composition and crustal porosity. The larger offset between mantle melt supply and the ridge along the northern ELSC may reduce melt extraction efficiency along the ridge, further decreasing the melt budget and leading to the observed flat and faulted ridge morphology, thinner crust and the lack of an axial melt lens

Determination of Deuteron Beam Polarizations at COSY

The vector and tensor polarizations of a deuteron beam have been measured using elastic deuteron-carbon scattering at 75.6 MeV and deuteron-proton scattering at 270 MeV. After acceleration to 1170 MeV inside the COSY ring, the polarizations of the deuterons were checked by studying a variety of nuclear reactions using a cluster target at the ANKE magnet spectrometer placed at an internal target position of the storage ring. All these measurements were consistent with the absence of depolarization during acceleration and provide a number of secondary standards that can be used in subsequent experiments at the facility.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Estimation of the hydraulic parameters of unsaturated samples by electrical resistivity tomography

In situ and laboratory experiments have shown that electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is an effective tool to image transient phenomena in soils. However, its application in quantifying soil hydraulic parameters has been limited. In this study, experiments of water inflow in unsaturated soil samples were conducted in an oedometer equipped to perform three-dimensional electrical measurements. Reconstructions of the electrical conductivity at different times confirmed the usefulness of ERT for monitoring the evolution of water content. The tomographic reconstructions were subsequently used in conjunction with a finite-element simulation to infer the water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The parameters estimated with ERT agree satisfactorily with those determined using established techniques, hence the proposed approach shows good potential for relatively fast characterisations. Similar experiments could be carried out on site to study the hydraulic behaviour of the entire soil deposi

Relative luminosity measurement of the LHC with the ATLAS forward calorimeter

In this paper it is shown that a measurement of the relative luminosity changes at the LHC may be obtained by analysing the currents drawn from the high voltage power supplies of the electromagnetic section of the forward calorimeter of the ATLAS detector. The method was verified with a reproduction of a small section of the ATLAS forward calorimeter using proton beams of known beam energies and variable intensities at the U-70 accelerator at IHEP in Protvino, Russia. The experimental setup and the data taking during a test beam run in April 2008 are described in detail. A comparison of the measured high voltage currents with reference measurements from beam intensity monitors shows a linear dependence on the beam intensity. The non-linearities are measured to be less than 0.5 % combining statistical and systematic uncertainties.Comment: 16 page

Order enables efficient electron-hole separation at an organic heterojunction with a small energy loss.

Donor-acceptor organic solar cells often show low open-circuit voltages (V OC) relative to their optical energy gap (E g) that limit power conversion efficiencies to ~12%. This energy loss is partly attributed to the offset between E g and that of intermolecular charge transfer (CT) states at the donor-acceptor interface. Here we study charge generation occurring in PIPCP:PC61BM, a system with a very low driving energy for initial charge separation (E g-E CT ~ 50 meV) and a high internal quantum efficiency (η IQE ~ 80%). We track the strength of the electric field generated between the separating electron-hole pair by following the transient electroabsorption optical response, and find that while localised CT states are formed rapidly (<100 fs) after photoexcitation, free charges are not generated until 5 ps after photogeneration. In PIPCP:PC61BM, electronic disorder is low (Urbach energy <27 meV) and we consider that free charge separation is able to outcompete trap-assisted non-radiative recombination of the CT state

Jet Substructure at the Tevatron and LHC: New results, new tools, new benchmarks

In this report we review recent theoretical progress and the latest experimental results in jet substructure from the Tevatron and the LHC. We review the status of and outlook for calculation and simulation tools for studying jet substructure. Following up on the report of the Boost 2010 workshop, we present a new set of benchmark comparisons of substructure techniques, focusing on the set of variables and grooming methods that are collectively known as "top taggers". To facilitate further exploration, we have attempted to collect, harmonise, and publish software implementations of these techniques.Comment: 53 pages, 17 figures. L. Asquith, S. Rappoccio, C. K. Vermilion, editors; v2: minor edits from journal revision