Influence of Protein Electromagnetic Field on Hydrogen Bonding

The quantum-mechanical mechanisms by which the enzymes catalyze the hydrogen transfer in biochemical reactions are considered. Up to date it was established both experimentally and theoretically that in many cases the proton tunnelling through the intermolecular potential barrier is essential. We argue that in this case the enzyme excitation and internal motion facilitate proton transfer between reactants by squeezing the potential barrier which otherwise is practically impenetrable. In the similar fashion, the enzymes can facilitate the formation of hydrogen (H) bonds between the molecules. By means of barrier squeezing, the enzymes not only facilitate such reactions but also can control their rate and their final outcome, depending of enzyme excitation. In particular, such effects can play the major role in DNA polymerization reactions where preliminary DNTP selection is quite important.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

Generalized covariant gyrokinetic dynamics of magnetoplasmas

A basic prerequisite for the investigation of relativistic astrophysical magnetoplasmas, occurring typically in the vicinity of massive stellar objects (black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, etc.), is the accurate description of single-particle covariant dynamics, based on gyrokinetic theory (Beklemishev et al.,1999-2005). Provided radiation-reaction effects are negligible, this is usually based on the assumption that both the space-time metric and the EM fields (in particular the magnetic field) are suitably prescribed and are considered independent of single-particle dynamics, while allowing for the possible presence of gravitational/EM perturbations driven by plasma collective interactions which may naturally arise in such systems. The purpose of this work is the formulation of a generalized gyrokinetic theory based on the synchronous variational principle recently pointed out (Tessarotto et al., 2007) which permits to satisfy exactly the physical realizability condition for the four-velocity. The theory here developed includes the treatment of nonlinear perturbations (gravitational and/or EM) characterized locally, i.e., in the rest frame of a test particle, by short wavelength and high frequency. Basic feature of the approach is to ensure the validity of the theory both for large and vanishing parallel electric field. It is shown that the correct treatment of EM perturbations occurring in the presence of an intense background magnetic field generally implies the appearance of appropriate four-velocity corrections, which are essential for the description of single-particle gyrokinetic dynamics.Comment: Contributed paper at RGD26 (Kyoto, Japan, July 2008

Spinning Loop Black Holes

In this paper we construct four Kerr-like spacetimes starting from the loop black hole Schwarzschild solutions (LBH) and applying the Newman-Janis transformation. In previous papers the Schwarzschild LBH was obtained replacing the Ashtekar connection with holonomies on a particular graph in a minisuperspace approximation which describes the black hole interior. Starting from this solution, we use a Newman-Janis transformation and we specialize to two different and natural complexifications inspired from the complexifications of the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom metrics. We show explicitly that the space-times obtained in this way are singularity free and thus there are no naked singularities. We show that the transformation move, if any, the causality violating regions of the Kerr metric far from r=0. We study the space-time structure with particular attention to the horizons shape. We conclude the paper with a discussion on a regular Reissner-Nordstrom black hole derived from the Schwarzschild LBH and then applying again the Newmann-Janis transformation.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure

The exact radiation-reaction equation for a classical charged particle

An unsolved problem of classical mechanics and classical electrodynamics is the search of the exact relativistic equations of motion for a classical charged point-particle subject to the force produced by the action of its EM self-field. The problem is related to the conjecture that for a classical charged point-particle there should exist a relativistic equation of motion (RR equation) which results both non-perturbative, in the sense that it does not rely on a perturbative expansion on the electromagnetic field generated by the charged particle and non-asymptotic, i.e., it does not depend on any infinitesimal parameter. In this paper we intend to propose a novel solution to this well known problem, and in particular to point out that the RR equation is necessarily variational. The approach is based on two key elements: 1) the adoption of the relativistic hybrid synchronous Hamilton variational principle recently pointed out (Tessarotto et al, 2006). Its basic feature is that it can be expressed in principle in terms of arbitrary "hybrid" variables (i.e., generally non-Lagrangian and non-Hamiltonian variables); 2) the variational treatment of the EM self-field, taking into account the exact particle dynamics.Comment: Contributed paper at RGD26 (Kyoto, Japan, July 2008

Entropic force, noncommutative gravity and ungravity

After recalling the basic concepts of gravity as an emergent phenomenon, we analyze the recent derivation of Newton's law in terms of entropic force proposed by Verlinde. By reviewing some points of the procedure, we extend it to the case of a generic quantum gravity entropic correction to get compelling deviations to the Newton's law. More specifically, we study: (1) noncommutative geometry deviations and (2) ungraviton corrections. As a special result in the noncommutative case, we find that the noncommutative character of the manifold would be equivalent to the temperature of a thermodynamic system. Therefore, in analogy to the zero temperature configuration, the description of spacetime in terms of a differential manifold could be obtained only asymptotically. Finally, we extend the Verlinde's derivation to a general case, which includes all possible effects, noncommutativity, ungravity, asymptotically safe gravity, electrostatic energy, and extra dimensions, showing that the procedure is solid versus such modifications.Comment: 8 pages, final version published on Physical Review

SELF ASSESSMENT: A CRUCIAL PROCESS IN E-TRAINING

The paper offers a discussion about the concept of training from a psychological point of view. Training is a process that concerns a lifelong learning perspective, especially if referred to e-learning and on line activities. We present the Child Observation in School Context Workshop, an experience of e-training at Macerata University. We intend to stress the crucial relevance of self assessment in training processes that involve adults\u2019 participation. We describe the methodology used in the Workshop, according to the on line educational context. Besides peer discussion and negotiation, we pay attention to the final phase of the training process. In the instructional design it is significant to insert a phase in which teachers or trainers share with participants the criterions through which they will make the assessment. We show the differences, in terms of curricular results, between two editions of the same on line course: in the first one we did not share the criterions of assessment with participants, on the contrary in the second edition we dedicated a special moment to this activity. We demonstrate the importance to plan a moment in which participants are requested to evaluate their involvement both in terms of process and outcomes

MUCIDS: an operative C environment for acquisition and processing of polarized-light scattered from biological specimens

In this work, we describe a software package, MUCIDS, completely developed in our laboratory, for acquisition and processing of differential polarizxition light-scattering data from specimens of biophysical interest. MUCIDS is a C environment that manages the whole activity of an instrument used for measurements of Mueller matrix scattering elements. It allows one to capture, analyse, process and display data from this or from other similar light-scattering experiments. The entire system is suitable for routine measurements in a general biophysical (or microbiological) laboratory because of its easy handling and maintenance. The software was written in C lattice and will run on IBM personal computers and similar. It uses IBM/DAC and GPIB/IBM interface card

H-theorem for classical matter around a black hole

We propose a classical solution for the kinetic description of matter falling into a black hole, which permits to evaluate both the kinetic entropy and the entropy production rate of classical infalling matter at the event horizon. The formulation is based on a relativistic kinetic description for classical particles in the presence of an event horizon. An H-theorem is established which holds for arbitrary models of black holes and is valid also in the presence of contracting event horizons