480 research outputs found
Regulation of mitotic progression by factors that influence spindle position and stability in fission yeast.
It has previously been proposed that in fission yeast mitotic spindle position is monitored by a checkpoint that controls the timing of anaphase onset. This checkpoint is activated by treatment of cells with Latrunculin A (Lat A), an inhibitor of actin polymerisation. It was previously thought that Lat A imposes an anaphase delay by preventing interaction of astral microtubules with the cortical actin cytoskeleton and that this interaction was required for correct spindle orientation. By contrast I show that cells lacking Mto1, a centrosomin-like protein, have mis-orientated spindles but are not delayed in the timing of sister chromatid separation. Secondly, I show that astral microtubules are only nucleated after sister chromatids separate and that mitotic spindle orientation is instead determined by the position of the spindle pole body during interphase. Spindle pole position is controlled by interphase microtubules, which also position the nucleus in the centre of the cell. Since the position of the nucleus determines the site of septation, I propose that interphase microtubules ensure perpendicular alignment of the spindle and the axis of cell division. Thirdly, in contrast to previous findings, I find that Lat A causes an anaphase delay and mitotic spindle collapse in a proportion of cells. These results suggest that Lat A delays the onset of anaphase by disrupting mitotic spindle stability rather than by causing spindle mis-orientation. Importantly, this effect is abolished in a Lat A-insensitive actin mutant, implicating a role for actin in mitotic spindle stability. Lastly, I demonstrate that the effect of Lat A is exacerbated in cells lacking Ase1, which binds and stabilises the spindle midzone. I have uncovered two factors, Mal3, and a novel kinesin, Klp9, which are required for viability in the absence of Ase1. I present a preliminary characterisation of the role of Klp9 in the mitotic cell cycle
Surface and capillary transitions in an associating binary mixture model
We investigate the phase diagram of a two-component associating fluid mixture
in the presence of selectively adsorbing substrates. The mixture is
characterized by a bulk phase diagram which displays peculiar features such as
closed loops of immiscibility. The presence of the substrates may interfere the
physical mechanism involved in the appearance of these phase diagrams, leading
to an enhanced tendency to phase separate below the lower critical solution
point. Three different cases are considered: a planar solid surface in contact
with a bulk fluid, while the other two represent two models of porous systems,
namely a slit and an array on infinitely long parallel cylinders. We confirm
that surface transitions, as well as capillary transitions for a large
area/volume ratio, are stabilized in the one-phase region. Applicability of our
results to experiments reported in the literature is discussed.Comment: 12 two-column pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Physical
Review E; corrected versio
Testbeam studies of pre-prototype silicon strip sensors for the LHCb UT upgrade project
AbstractThe LHCb experiment is preparing for a major upgrade in 2018–2019. One of the key components in the upgrade is a new silicon tracker situated upstream of the analysis magnet of the experiment. The Upstream Tracker (UT) will consist of four planes of silicon strip detectors, with each plane covering an area of about 2m2. An important consideration of these detectors is their performance after they have been exposed to a large radiation dose. In this paper we present test beam results of pre-prototype n-in-p and p-in-n sensors that have been irradiated with fluences up to 4.0×1014neq/cm2
Branching Fractions for D0 -> K+K- and D0 -> pi+pi-, and a Search for CP Violation in D0 Decays
Using the large hadroproduced charm sample collected in experiment E791 at
Fermilab, we have measured ratios of branching fractions for the two-body
singly-Cabibbo-suppressed charged decays of the D0:
(D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.109 +- 0.003 +- 0.003,
(D0 -> pipi)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.040 +- 0.002 +- 0.003, and
(D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> pipi) = 2.75 +- 0.15 +- 0.16. We have looked for
differences in the decay rates of D0 and D0bar to the CP eigenstates K+K- and
pi+pi-, and have measured the CP asymmetry parameters
A_CP(K+K-) = -0.010 +- 0.049 +- 0.012 and
A_CP(pi+pi-) = -0.049 +- 0.078 +- 0.030, both consistent with zero.Comment: 10 Postscript pages, including 2 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.
Asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons from 500 GeV/c pi- nucleon interactions as a function of xF and pt**2
We present asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons in Fermilab
experiment E791 as a function of xF and pt**2. The data used here consist of
74,000 fully-reconstructed charmed mesons produced by a 500 GeV/c pi- beam on C
and Pt foils. The measurements are compared to results of models which predict
differences between the production of heavy-quark mesons that have a light
quark in common with the beam (leading particles) and those that do not
(non-leading particles). While the default models do not agree with our data,
we can reach agreement with one of them, PYTHIA, by making a limited number of
changes to parameters used
Search for CP Violation in Charged D Meson Decays
We report results of a search for CP violation in the singly
Cabibbo-suppressed decays D+ -> K- K+ pi+, phi pi+, K*(892)0 K+, and pi- pi+
pi+ based on data from the charm hadroproduction experiment E791 at Fermilab.
We search for a difference in the D+ and D- decay rates for each of the final
states. No evidence for a difference is seen. The decay rate asymmetry
parameters A(CP), defined as the difference in the D+ and D- decay rates
divided by the sum of the decay rates, are measured to be: A(CP)(K K pi) =
-0.014 +/- 0.029, A(CP)(phi pi) = -0.028 +/- 0.036, A(CP)(K*(892) K) = -0.010
+/- 0.050, and A(CP)(pi pi pi) = -0.017 +/- 0.042.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; Elsevier LaTe
Search for Rare and Forbidden Dilepton Decays of the D+, Ds, and D0 Charmed Mesons
We report the results of a search for flavor-changing neutral current,
lepton-flavor violating, and lepton-number violating decays of D+, Ds, and D0
mesons (and their antiparticles) into modes containing muons and electrons.
Using data from Fermilab charm hadroproduction experiment E791, we examine the
pi,l,l and K,l,l decay modes of D+ and Ds and the l+l- decay modes of D0. No
evidence for any of these decays is found. Therefore, we present
branching-fraction upper limits at 90% confidence level for the 24 decay modes
examined. Eight of these modes have no previously reported limits, and fourteen
are reported with significant improvements over previously published results.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, elsart.cls, epsf.sty, amsmath.sty
Submitted to Physics Letters
Measurement of the form-factor ratios for D+ --> K* l nu
The form factor ratios rv=V(0)/A1(0), r2=A2(0)/A1(0) and r3=A3(0)/A1(0) in
the decay D+ --> K* l nu, K* -->K-pi+ have been measured using data from charm
hadroproduction experiment E791 at Fermilab. From 3034 (595) signal
(background) events in the muon channel, we obtain rv=1.84+-0.11+-0.09,
r2=0.75+-0.08+-0.09 and, as a first measurement of r3, we find 0.04+-0.33
+-0.29. The values of the form factor ratios rv and r2 measured for the muon
channel are combined with the values of rv and r2 that we have measured in the
electron channel. The combined E791 results for the muon and electron channels
are rv=1.87+-0.08+-0.07 and r2=0.73+-0.06+-0.08.Comment: 9 pages + 3 figures ; submitted to PL
Differential cross sections, charge production asymmetry, and spin-density matrix elements for D*(2010) produced in 500 GeV/c pi^- nucleon interactions
We report differential cross sections for the production of D*(2010) produced
in 500 GeV/c pi^- nucleon interactions from experiment E791 at Fermilab, as
functions of Feynman-x (x_F) and transverse momentum squared (p_T^2). We also
report the D* +/- charge asymmetry and spin-density matrix elements as
functions of these variables. Investigation of the spin-density matrix elements
shows no evidence of polarization. The average values of the spin alignment are
\eta= 0.01 +- 0.02 and -0.01 +- 0.02 for leading and non-leading particles,
respectively.Comment: LaTeX2e (elsart.cls). 13 pages, 6 figures (eps files). Submitted to
Physics Letters
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