Conical Stream of the Two-Sided Jets in NGC 4261 over the Range of 103–109 Schwarzschild Radii

We report the jet width profile of of the nearby ( ∼ 30 Mpc ) AGN NGC 4261 for both the approaching jet and the counter jet at radial distances ranging from ∼ 10 3 – 10 9 Schwarzschild radius ( R S ) from the central engine. Our Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations reveal that the jets maintain a conical structure on both sides over the range 10 3 – 10 9 R S without any structural transition (i.e., parabolic to conical) like in the approaching jet in M87. Thus, NGC 4261 will provide a unique opportunity to examine the conical jet hypothesis in blazars, while it may require some additional consideration on the acceleration and collimation process in AGN jets

Molecular cloning of the complement regulatory factor I isotypes from the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Factor I is a novel serine protease that regulates complement activation. Here we report the complete primary structure of two isotypic factor Is isolated from the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), a pseudotetraploid teleost. A carp hepatopancreas cDNA library was screened using two RT-PCR-amplified cDNA fragments encoding part of the carp factor I-like serine protease domain. Two distinct cDNA clones, designated FI-A and FI-B, were isolated. Their deduced amino acid sequences share 75.2% identity with each other. FI-A has a typical factor I-like domain organization composed of two disulfide-linked polypeptides (H-chain and L-chain). On the other hand, FI-B contains a novel sequence of 115 amino acids inserted at the N-terminus of the H-chain. Genomic Southern hybridization suggests that FI-A and FI-B are encoded by distinct genes in the carp genome. Expression analysis by RT-PCR revealed that the major site of FI-A expression is the ovary, whereas FI-B expression is detected mainly in the hepatopancreas at a level higher than that of FI-A. The present data, taken together, suggest that carp have duplicated genes coding for factor I, and FI-B with the novel insertion plays a dominant role in the complement system. In addition, homology search of the fugu genome database using the carp FI-A and FI-B sequences identified a putative fugu factor I gene, which has an exon/intron organization different from that of the human orthologue