1,705 research outputs found
Absence of the cbb3 terminal oxidase reveals an active oxygen-dependent cyclase involved in bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis in Rhodobacter sphaeroides.
The characteristic green color associated with chlorophyll pigments results from the formation of an isocyclic fifth ring on the tetrapyrrole macrocyle during the biosynthesis of these important molecules. This reaction is catalyzed by two unrelated cyclase enzymes employing different chemistries. Oxygenic phototrophs such as plants and cyanobacteria utilize an oxygen-dependent enzyme, the major component of which is a diiron protein named AcsF, while BchE, an oxygen-sensitive [4Fe-4S] cluster protein, dominates in phototrophs inhabiting anoxic environments, such as the purple phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides We identify a potential acsF in this organism and assay for activity of the encoded protein in a strain lacking bchE under various aeration regimes. Initially, cells lacking bchE did not demonstrate AcsF activity under any condition tested. However, on removal of a gene encoding a subunit of the cbb3-type respiratory terminal oxidase, cells cultured under regimes ranging from oxic to microoxic exhibited cyclase activity, confirming the activity of the oxygen-dependent enzyme in this model organism. Potential reasons for the utilization of an oxygen-dependent enzyme in anoxygenic phototrophs are discussed. IMPORTANCE: The formation of the E ring of (bacterio)chlorophyll pigments is the least well-characterized step in their biosynthesis, remaining enigmatic for over 60 years. Two unrelated enzymes catalyze this cyclization step; O2-dependent and O2-independent forms dominate in oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs, respectively. We uncover the activity of an O2-dependent enzyme in the anoxygenic purple phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, initially by inactivation of the high affinity terminal respiratory oxidase, cytochrome cbb3 We propose that the O2-dependent form allows for the biosynthesis of a low level of bacteriochlorophyll under oxic conditions, so that a rapid initiation of photosynthetic processes is possible for this bacterium upon a reduction of oxygen tension
Progeny of high muscling sires have reduced muscle response to adrenaline in sheep
This study investigated the impact of variation in Australian sheep breeding values (ASBVs) for yearling eye muscle depth (YEMD) within Merino and Poll Dorset sires on intermediary metabolism of progeny. Specifically, the change in the blood concentrations of lactate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and glucose in response to administration of an exogenous dose of adrenaline was studied. The experiment used 20 Merino and Merino cross Poll Dorset mixed sex sheep. The sires were selected across a range of YEMD ASBVs. The sheep were fitted with indwelling jugular catheters and administered seven levels of adrenaline over a period of 4 days at 4 months of age (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.6 mu g/kg liveweight (LW)) and 16 months of age (0.1, 0.2, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 mu g/kg LW). A total of 16 blood samples were collected between -30 min and 130 min relative to administration of the adrenaline challenge and were later measured for the plasma concentrations of lactate, NEFA and glucose. These data were then used to calculate the time to maximum substrate concentration, the maximum concentration and the area under curve (AUC) between 0 and 10 min, thus reflecting the substrate's response to exogenous adrenaline. Selection for muscling led to decreased muscle response due to adrenaline, as indicated by lower maximum concentrations and AUC for lactate. The muscles' response to adrenaline was more prominent at 16 months of age than at 4 months of age. Thus, animals selected for increased muscling have lower levels of glycogenolysis in situations where endogenous adrenaline levels are increased like pre-slaughter. This may minimise the risk of poor meat quality in these animals, as they will express higher muscle concentrations of glycogen at slaughter. Adipose tissue was more sensitive to adrenaline in young lambs from high YEMD sires. This shows that high muscled growing lambs utilise their adipose tissue deposits in times of stress to produce energy. This may explain the phenotypic leanness of these animals. Blood glucose levels that are indicative of liver response to adrenaline decreased with selection for muscling. This response may indicate a potential limiting of glucose that is available within animals selected for muscling, leanness and growth for brain function
Objective assessment of stiffness in Achilles tendinopathy: a novel approach using the MyotonPRO
Objectives The aim of this study was to establish quantitative values for asymptomatic and symptomatic Achilles tendons.
Design Cohort study with a single (cross-sectional) time point of patients diagnosed with unilateral Achilles tendinopathy and an asymptomatic group with comparative homogeneity.
Methods A sample of 50 participants: 25 diagnosed with symptomatic unilateral Achilles tendinopathy (AT group) and 25 with asymptomatic Achilles tendons (control group 2). The asymptomatic side of the AT group was used as a control (control group 1). Measurements at 2 cm intervals on the tendon from its insertion at the calcaneum up to the musculotendinous junction were taken non-weight bearing (NWB) and weight bearing (WB) using the MyotonPRO.
Results There was a significant (p<0.005) decrease in natural oscillation frequency (F) at points 2, 3 and 4 of the AT group (NWB condition) and points 2 and 3 for the WB condition. There was a significant (p<0.005) increase in logarithmic decrement (D) at points 2 and 3 signifying a decrease in elasticity. Dynamic stiffness (S) was significantly (p<0.005) reduced in the AT group at points 2 and 3 WB and point 3 WB. There was no significant difference in creep (C) observed between the symptomatic and asymptomatic tendons. There was a significant (p<0.005) increase in mechanical stress relaxation time (R) at point 2 NWB.
There was a correlation between body weight and gender on tendon mechanics, with the symptomatic tendons. No significant differences were observed between the control group 1 and control group 2.
Conclusions The MyotonPRO measured decreased stiffness over a section of the tendon corresponding clinically with Achilles tendinopathy. This may have potential in identifying risk of injury and informing rehabilitation, however further extensive research is required to generate baseline data for specific population groups monitoring variables over time. Age, gender and body mass index appear to have some bearing on the mechanical properties of the tendon but mainly in the tendinopathy group
Supermodels for early LHC
We investigate what new physics signatures the LHC can discover in the
2009-2010 run, beyond the expected sensitivity of the Tevatron data by 2010. We
construct "supermodels", for which the LHC sensitivity even with only 10
inverse picobarn is greater than that of the Tevatron with 10 inverse
femtobarn. The simplest supermodels involve s-channel resonances in the
quark-antiquark and especially in the quark-quark channels. We concentrate on
easily visible final states with small standard model backgrounds, and find
that there are simple searches, besides those for Z' states, which could
discover new physics in early LHC data. Many of these are well-suited to test
searches for "more conventional" models, often discussed for multi-inverse
femtobarn data sets.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; v2, references adde
The vector-valued big q-Jacobi transform
Big -Jacobi functions are eigenfunctions of a second order -difference
operator . We study as an unbounded self-adjoint operator on an
-space of functions on with a discrete measure. We describe
explicitly the spectral decomposition of using an integral transform
with two different big -Jacobi functions as a kernel, and we
construct the inverse of .Comment: 35 pages, corrected an error and typo
Late Quaternary Relative Sea-Level Change on the West Coast of Newfoundland
Two revised relative sea-level (RSL) curves are presented for the Port au Choix to Danielâs Harbour area of the Great Northern Peninsula, northwestern Newfoundland. Both curves are similar, showing continuous emergence of 120-140 m between 14 700 cal BP and present. The half-life of exponential curves fit to the RSL data is 1400 years and the rate of emergence varies from ~2.3 m per century prior to 10 000 cal BP to ~0.13 m per century since 5000 cal BP. The curves fit a general pattern of RSL history along the west coast of Newfoundland, where there is a southward transition from solely emergence to emergence followed by submergence. Isostatic depression curves are generated for four RSL records spanning the west coast. Almost double the crustal depression is recorded to the northwest, reflecting the greater glacioisostatic loading by the Laurentide Ice Sheet over southern Labrador and QuĂ©bec compared to a smaller loading centre by a regional ice complex over Newfoundland. Only the St. Georgeâs Bay RSL record in the southwest appears to show evidence for a proglacial forebulge, when at 6000 cal BP an isostatic ridge of 4 m amplitude begins to collapse.Deux courbes du niveau marin relatif (NMR) sont prĂ©sentĂ©es pour la rĂ©gion allant de Port-au-Choix Ă Danielâs Harbour sur la Grande PĂ©ninsule Nord, au nord-ouest de Terre-Neuve. Les deux courbes sont semblables, montrant une Ă©mergence continue de 120 Ă 140 m entre 14 700 cal BP et lâactuel. La demi-vie des courbes exponentielles ajustĂ©es au NMR est de 1400 ans, et le taux dâĂ©mergence varie de ~2.3 m par siĂšcle avant 10 000 cal BP Ă ~0.13 m par siĂšcle depuis 5000 cal BP. Les courbes sâajustent au modĂšle gĂ©nĂ©ral de lâhistoire du NMR de la cĂŽte ouest de Terre-Neuve, oĂč il existe une transition dâĂ©mergence seule Ă une Ă©mergence suivie dâune submergence, en allant vers le sud. Des courbes de dĂ©pressions isostatiques prĂ©liminaires sont gĂ©nĂ©rĂ©es pour quatre chronologies du NMR couvrant la cĂŽte ouest. Presque le double de la dĂ©pression de la croĂ»te est enregistrĂ© au nord-ouest, reflĂ©tant la charge glacio-isostatique plus grande de lâInlandsis Laurentidien sur le sud du Labrador et du QuĂ©bec comparĂ©e Ă la charge plus faible du complexe glaciaire rĂ©gional localisĂ© sur Terre-Neuve. Seules les donnĂ©es du NMR de St. Georgeâs Bay, au sud-ouest, semble dĂ©montrer lâaffaissement du bourrelet pĂ©riphĂ©rique lorsquâune vague isostatique de 4 m dâamplitude commence Ă sâeffondrer vers 6000 cal BP
Determinantal Characterization of Canonical Curves and Combinatorial Theta Identities
We characterize genus g canonical curves by the vanishing of combinatorial
products of g+1 determinants of Brill-Noether matrices. This also implies the
characterization of canonical curves in terms of (g-2)(g-3)/2 theta identities.
A remarkable mechanism, based on a basis of H^0(K_C) expressed in terms of
Szego kernels, reduces such identities to a simple rank condition for matrices
whose entries are logarithmic derivatives of theta functions. Such a basis,
together with the Fay trisecant identity, also leads to the solution of the
question of expressing the determinant of Brill-Noether matrices in terms of
theta functions, without using the problematic Klein-Fay section sigma.Comment: 35 pages. New results, presentation improved, clarifications added.
Accepted for publication in Math. An
On the Representation Theory of an Algebra of Braids and Ties
We consider the algebra introduced by F. Aicardi and J.
Juyumaya as an abstraction of the Yokonuma-Hecke algebra. We construct a tensor
space representation for and show that this is faithful. We use
it to give a basis for and to classify its irreducible
representations.Comment: 24 pages. Final version. To appear in Journal of Algebraic
Combinatorics
Negative Kaons in Dense Baryonic Matter
Kaon polarization operator in dense baryonic matter of arbitrary isotopic
composition is calculated including s- and p-wave kaon-baryon interactions. The
regular part of the polarization operator is extracted from the realistic
kaon-nucleon interaction based on the chiral and 1/N_c expansion. Contributions
of the Lambda(1116), Sigma(1195), Sigma*(1385) resonances are taken explicitly
into account in the pole and regular terms with inclusion of mean-field
potentials. The baryon-baryon correlations are incorporated and fluctuation
contributions are estimated. Results are applied for K- in neutron star matter.
Within our model a second-order phase transition to the s-wave K- condensate
state occurs at rho_c \gsim 4 \rho_0 once the baryon-baryon correlations are
included. We show that the second-order phase transition to the p-wave
condensate state may occur at densities in
dependence on the parameter choice. We demonstrate that a first-order phase
transition to a proton-enriched (approximately isospin-symmetric) nucleon
matter with a p-wave K- condensate can occur at smaller densities, \rho\lsim 2
\rho_0. The transition is accompanied by the suppression of hyperon
concentrations.Comment: 41 pages, 24 figures, revtex4 styl
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