45,584 research outputs found
Dynamical fluctuations in biochemical reactions and cycles
We develop theory for the dynamics and fluctuations in some cyclic and linear biochemical reactions. We use the approach of maximum caliber, which computes the ensemble of paths taken by the system, given a few experimental observables. This approach may be useful for interpreting single-molecule or few-particle experiments on molecular motors, enzyme reactions, ion-channels, and phosphorylation-driven biological clocks. We consider cycles where all biochemical states are observable. Our method shows how: (1) the noise in cycles increases with cycle size and decreases with the driving force that spins the cycle and (2) provides a recipe for estimating small-number features, such as probability of backward spin in small cycles, from experimental data. The back-spin probability diminishes exponentially with the deviation from equilibrium. We believe this method may also be useful for other few-particle nonequilibrium biochemical reaction systems
Minimal Model for Disorder-induced Missing Moment of Inertia in Solid He
The absence of a missing moment inertia in clean solid He suggests that
the minimal experimentally relevant model is one in which disorder induces
superfluidity in a bosonic lattice. To this end, we explore the relevance of
the disordered Bose-Hubbard model in this context. We posit that a clean array
He atoms is a self-generated Mott insulator, that is, the He atoms
constitute the lattice as well as the `charge carriers'. With this assumption,
we are able to interpret the textbook defect-driven supersolids as excitations
of either the lower or upper Hubbard bands. In the experiments at hand,
disorder induces a closing of the Mott gap through the generation of mid-gap
localized states at the chemical potential. Depending on the magnitude of the
disorder, we find that the destruction of the Mott state takes place for
either through a Bose glass phase (strong disorder) or through a direct
transition to a superfluid (weak disorder). For , disorder is always
relevant. The critical value of the disorder that separates these two regimes
is shown to be a function of the boson filling, interaction and the momentum
cut off. We apply our work to the experimentally observed enhancement He
impurities has on the onset temperature for the missing moment of inertia. We
find quantitative agreement with experimental trends.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures: Extended version of previous paper in which the
pase diagram for the disordered Bose-Hubbard model is computed using
mean-field theory and one-loop RG. The criterion for the Bose glass is
derived explicitly. (a few typos are corrected
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Assessing the Effect of Photodynamic Therapy on Peripheral Nerve and Cancer Cells Using a Thin Tissue Engineered Collagen Culture Model
Abstract not available
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Intracellular localisation of mTHPC and effect of photodynamic therapy in cells of the mammalian peripheral nervous system
Fewer nerve-related side effects have been noted after treating head and neck cancer with photodynamic therapy (PDT) compared to conventional cancer therapy. Our aim is to investigate the biological basis for any such nerve-sparing effect. In this study the intracellular localisation and effect on cell viability of the photosensitiser meta-tetrahydroxylphenylchlorin (mTHPC) was investigated in cell culture models using peripheral nerve cells.
Primary cells from adult rat dorsal root ganglia (containing both neurons and glia) were used in these experiments. Localisation of mTHPC was detected using fluorescence and confocal microscopy. Levels of mTHPC fluorescence were quantified using digital image analysis. Immunocytochemistry with anti-?-III-tubulin and anti-S100 was used to distinguish neuronal and glial cell populations respectively. A cell-death assay using propidium iodide was used to evaluate neural cell susceptibility to PDT following incubation with mTHPC.
The results showed that mTHPC was localised in cytoplasmic regions of neurons and glia, but was not detected in neuronal axons. Necrotic cell death was detected after PDT in these neural cell types.
These results suggest that the cells of the peripheral nervous system are susceptible to PDT-mediated necrosis, but that the sparing of nerves observed during clinical PDT may be related to the heterogeneous distribution of mTHPC within neurons
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Differences in sensitivity to mTHPC-mediated photodynamic therapy of neurons, glial cells and MCF7 cells in a 3-dimensional cell culture model
The effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) on the cells of the nervous system is an important consideration in the treatment of tumours that are located within or adjacent to the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Previous studies have reported the sparing of nerves during PDT using meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (mTHPC, Foscan®) in patients and in animal models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mTHPC on key nervous system cells using a 3-dimensional cell culture system for the accurate detection of differences in sensitivity
Silicon abundance from RESIK solar flare observations
The RESIK instrument on the CORONAS-F spacecraft obtained solar flare and
active region X-ray spectra in four channels covering the wavelength range 3.8
-- 6.1 \AA in its operational period between 2001 and 2003. Several highly
ionized silicon lines were observed within the range of the long-wavelength
channel (5.00 -- 6.05 \AA). The fluxes of the \sixiv Ly- line (5.217
\AA) and the \sixiii line (5.688 \AA) during 21 flares with
optimized pulse-height analyzer settings on RESIK have been analyzed to obtain
the silicon abundance relative to hydrogen in flare plasmas. As in previous
work, the emitting plasma for each spectrum is assumed to be characterized by a
single temperature and emission measure given by the ratio of emission in the
two channels of GOES. The silicon abundance is determined to be (\sixiv) and (\sixiii) on a logarithmic scale with
H = 12. These values, which vary by only very small amounts from flare to flare
and times within flares, are and times the
photospheric abundance, and are about a factor of three higher than RESIK
measurements during a period of very low activity. There is a suggestion that
the Si/S abundance ratio increases from active regions to flares.Comment: To be published, Solar Physic
Breakdown of Strong-Coupling Perturbation Theory in Doped Mott Insulators
We show that doped Mott insulators, such as the copper-oxide superconductors,
are asymptotically slaved in that the quasiparticle weight, , near
half-filling depends critically on the existence of the high energy scale set
by the upper Hubbard band. In particular, near half filling, the following
dichotomy arises: when the high energy scale is integrated out but Z=0
in the thermodynamic limit when it is retained. Slavery to the high energy
scale arises from quantum interference between electronic excitations across
the Mott gap. Broad spectral features seen in photoemission in the normal state
of the cuprates are argued to arise from high energy slavery.Comment: Published versio
Sequence Heterogeneity Accelerates Protein Search for Targets on DNA
The process of protein search for specific binding sites on DNA is
fundamentally important since it marks the beginning of all major biological
processes. We present a theoretical investigation that probes the role of DNA
sequence symmetry, heterogeneity and chemical composition in the protein search
dynamics. Using a discrete-state stochastic approach with a first-passage
events analysis, which takes into account the most relevant physical-chemical
processes, a full analytical description of the search dynamics is obtained. It
is found that, contrary to existing views, the protein search is generally
faster on DNA with more heterogeneous sequences. In addition, the search
dynamics might be affected by the chemical composition near the target site.
The physical origins of these phenomena are discussed. Our results suggest that
biological processes might be effectively regulated by modifying chemical
composition, symmetry and heterogeneity of a genome.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
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