299 research outputs found
Soft core thermodynamics from self-consistent hard core fluids
In an effort to generalize the self-consistent Ornstein-Zernike approximation
(SCOZA) -- an accurate liquid-state theory that has been restricted so far to
hard-core systems -- to arbitrary soft-core systems we study a combination of
SCOZA with a recently developed perturbation theory. The latter was constructed
by Ben-Amotz and Stell [J. Phys. Chem. B 108,6877-6882 (2004)] as a
reformulation of the Week-Chandler-Andersen perturbation theory directly in
terms of an arbitrary hard-sphere reference system. We investigate the accuracy
of the combined approach for the Lennard-Jones fluid by comparison with
simulation data and pure perturbation theory predictions and determine the
dependence of the thermodynamic properties and the phase behavior on the choice
of the effective hard-core diameter of the reference system.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figure
A proof of Jarzynski's non-equilibrium work theorem for dynamical systems that conserve the canonical distribution
We present a derivation of the Jarzynski identity and the Crooks fluctuation
theorem for systems governed by deterministic dynamics that conserves the
canonical distribution such as Hamiltonian dynamics, Nose-Hoover dynamics,
Nose-Hoover chains and Gaussian isokinetic dynamics. The proof is based on a
relation between the heat absorbed by the system during the non-equilibrium
process and the Jacobian of the phase flow generated by the dynamics.Comment: 12 page
Liquid-vapor transition of systems with mean field universality class
We have considered a system where the interaction, v(r) = v_IS(r) + xi^2
v_MF(r), is given as a linear combination of two potentials, each of which
being characterized with a well-defined critical behavior: for v_IS(r) we have
chosen the potential of the restricted primitive model which is known to belong
to the Ising 3D (IS) universality class, while for v_MF(r) we have considered a
long-range interaction in the Kac-limit, displaying mean field (MF) behavior.
We study the performance of two theoretical approaches and of computer
simulations in the critical region for this particular system and give a
detailed comparison between theories and simulation of the critical region and
the location of the critical point. Both, theory and simulation give evidence
that the system belongs to the MF universality class for any positive value of
xi and that it shows only non-classical behavior for xi=0. While in this
limiting case theoretical approaches are known to fail, we find good agreement
for the critical properties between the theoretical approaches and the
simulations for xi^2 larger than 0.05.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, 3 table
A numerical study of a binary Yukawa model in regimes characteristic of globular proteins in solutions
The main goal of this paper is to assess the limits of validity, in the
regime of low concentration and strong Coulomb coupling (high molecular
charges), for a simple perturbative approximation to the radial distribution
functions (RDF), based upon a low-density expansion of the potential of mean
force and proposed to describe protein-protein interactions in a recent
Small-Angle-Scattering (SAS) experimental study. A highly simplified Yukawa
(screened Coulomb) model of monomers and dimers of a charged globular protein
(-lactoglobulin) in solution is considered. We test the accuracy of the
RDF approximation, as a necessary complementary part of the previous
experimental investigation, by comparison with the fluid structure predicted by
approximate integral equations and exact Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. In the
MC calculations, an Ewald construction for Yukawa potentials has been used to
take into account the long-range part of the interactions in the weakly
screened cases. Our results confirm that the perturbative first-order
approximation is valid for this system even at strong Coulomb coupling,
provided that the screening is not too weak (i.e., for Debye length smaller
than monomer radius). A comparison of the MC results with integral equation
calculations shows that both the hypernetted-chain (HNC) and the Percus-Yevick
(PY) closures have a satisfactory behavior under these regimes, with the HNC
being superior throughout. The relevance of our findings for interpreting SAS
results is also discussed.Comment: Physical Review E, in press (2005
N-glycomic Complexity in Anatomical Simplicity: Caenorhabditis elegans as a Non-model Nematode?
Caenorhabditis elegans is a genetically well-studied model nematode or âwormâ; however, its N-glycomic complexity is actually baffling and still not completely unraveled. Some features of its N-glycans are, to date, unique and include bisecting galactose and up to five fucose residues associated with the asparagine-linked Man2â3GlcNAc2 core; the substitutions include galactosylation of fucose, fucosylation of galactose and methylation of mannose or fucose residues as well as phosphorylcholine on antennal (non-reducing) N-acetylglucosamine. Only some of these modifications are shared with various other nematodes, while others have yet to be detected in any other species. Thus, C. elegans can be used as a model for some aspects of N-glycan function, but its glycome is far from identical to those of other organisms and is actually far from simple. Possibly the challenges of its native environment, which differ from those of parasitic or necromenic species, led to an anatomically simple worm possessing a complex glycome
The Glycosylation Capacity of Insect Cells
It is generally accepted that insects primarily synthesise oligomannosidic and paucimannosidic N-glycan structures. Indeed, insectsâ capability to produce human-like complex type N-glycans has been a matter of controversy for a number of years. The relative or complete lack of these structures was primarily attributed to low (or undetectable) activities of the glycosyltransferases needed to drive the synthesis of hybrid and complex type N-glycans (i.e., b-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases I and II, b-1,4-galactosyltransferase, a-2,3- and a-2,6-sialyltransferases). Recent developments, fuelled by availability of genomic sequences and by advances in relevant methodologies, have shed some light on the subject, with a few unexpected twists. The identification of a transmembrane/Golgi hexosaminidase, an enzyme which removes a non-reducing N-acetylglucosamine residue during N-glycan biosynthesis, has demonstrated that the synthesis of complex-type N-glycans is actively and deliberately being prevented in insects. On the other hand, the characterisation of an active a-2,6-sialyltransferase in Drosophila, combined with the occurrence of sialylated N-glycan structures as detected in a detailed analysis of Drosophila embryos, has clearly shown that insects can, and need to, synthesise low levels of these structures. The current understanding of the insect N-glycan biosynthetic pathways taking place in Golgi apparatus and trans-Golgi network are elaborated and discussed
Theoretical description of phase coexistence in model C60
We have investigated the phase diagram of the Girifalco model of C60
fullerene in the framework provided by the MHNC and the SCOZA liquid state
theories, and by a Perturbation Theory (PT), for the free energy of the solid
phase. We present an extended assessment of such theories as set against a
recent Monte Carlo study of the same model [D. Costa et al, J. Chem. Phys.
118:304 (2003)]. We have compared the theoretical predictions with the
corresponding simulation results for several thermodynamic properties. Then we
have determined the phase diagram of the model, by using either the SCOZA, or
the MHNC, or the PT predictions for one of the coexisting phases, and the
simulation data for the other phase, in order to separately ascertain the
accuracy of each theory. It turns out that the overall appearance of the phase
portrait is reproduced fairly well by all theories, with remarkable accuracy as
for the melting line and the solid-vapor equilibrium. The MHNC and SCOZA
results for the liquid-vapor coexistence, as well as for the corresponding
critical points, are quite accurate. All results are discussed in terms of the
basic assumptions underlying each theory. We have selected the MHNC for the
fluid and the first-order PT for the solid phase, as the most accurate tools to
investigate the phase behavior of the model in terms of purely theoretical
approaches. The overall results appear as a robust benchmark for further
theoretical investigations on higher order C(n>60) fullerenes, as well as on
other fullerene-related materials, whose description can be based on a
modelization similar to that adopted in this work.Comment: RevTeX4, 15 pages, 7 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.
Structure of ternary additive hard-sphere fluid mixtures
Monte Carlo simulations on the structural properties of ternary fluid
mixtures of additive hard spheres are reported. The results are compared with
those obtained from a recent analytical approximation [S. B. Yuste, A. Santos,
and M. Lopez de Haro, J. Chem. Phys. 108, 3683 (1998)] to the radial
distribution functions of hard-sphere mixtures and with the results derived
from the solution of the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation with both the
Martynov-Sarkisov and the Percus-Yevick closures. Very good agreement between
the results of the first two approaches and simulation is observed, with a
noticeable improvement over the Percus-Yevick predictions especially near
contact.Comment: 11 pages, including 8 figures; A minor change; accepted for
publication in PR
Identification and functional characterization of a highly divergent N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (TbGnTI) in <em>Trypanosoma brucei</em>
Trypanosoma brucei expresses a diverse repertoire of N-glycans, ranging from oligomannose and paucimannose structures to exceptionally large complex N-glycans. Despite the presence of the latter, no obvious homologues of known ÎČ1â4-galactosyltransferase or ÎČ1â2- or ÎČ1â6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase genes have been found in the parasite genome. However, we previously reported a family of putative UDP-sugar-dependent glycosyltransferases with similarity to the mammalian ÎČ1â3-glycosyltransferase family. Here we characterize one of these genes, TbGT11, and show that it encodes a Golgi apparatus resident UDP-GlcNAc:α3-d-mannoside ÎČ1â2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I activity (TbGnTI). The bloodstream-form TbGT11 null mutant exhibited significantly modified protein N-glycans but normal growth in vitro and infectivity to rodents. In contrast to multicellular organisms, where the GnTI reaction is essential for biosynthesis of both complex and hybrid N-glycans, T. brucei TbGT11 null mutants expressed atypical âpseudohybridâ glycans, indicating that TbGnTII activity is not dependent on prior TbGnTI action. Using a functional in vitro assay, we showed that TbGnTI transfers UDP-GlcNAc to biantennary Man(3)GlcNAc(2), but not to triantennary Man(5)GlcNAc(2), which is the preferred substrate for metazoan GnTIs. Sequence alignment reveals that the T. brucei enzyme is far removed from the metazoan GnTI family and suggests that the parasite has adapted the ÎČ3-glycosyltransferase family to catalyze ÎČ1â2 linkages
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