91 research outputs found
Semiclassical treatment of logarithmic perturbation theory
The explicit semiclassical treatment of logarithmic perturbation theory for
the nonrelativistic bound states problem is developed. Based upon
-expansions and suitable quantization conditions a new procedure for
deriving perturbation expansions for the one-dimensional anharmonic oscillator
is offered. Avoiding disadvantages of the standard approach, new handy
recursion formulae with the same simple form both for ground and exited states
have been obtained. As an example, the perturbation expansions for the energy
eigenvalues of the harmonic oscillator perturbed by are
considered.Comment: 6 pages, LATEX 2.09 using IOP style
Structure of Erm-modified 70S ribosome reveals the mechanism of macrolide resistance
Many antibiotics inhibit bacterial growth by binding to the ribosome and interfering with protein biosynthesis. Macrolides represent one of the most successful classes of ribosome-targeting antibiotics. The main clinically relevant mechanism of resistance to macrolides is dimethylation of the 23S rRNA nucleotide A2058, located in the drug-binding site, a reaction catalyzed by Erm-type rRNA methyltransferases. Here, we present the crystal structure of the Erm-dimethylated 70S ribosome at 2.4 Å resolution, together with the structures of unmethylated 70S ribosome functional complexes alone or in combination with macrolides. Altogether, our structural data do not support previous models and, instead, suggest a principally new explanation of how A2058 dimethylation confers resistance to macrolides. Moreover, high-resolution structures of two macrolide antibiotics bound to the unmodified ribosome reveal a previously unknown role of the desosamine moiety in drug binding, laying a foundation for the rational knowledge-based design of macrolides that can overcome Erm-mediated resistance
Evidence for a long-lived superheavy nucleus with atomic mass number A=292 and atomic number Z=~122 in natural Th
Evidence for the existence of a superheavy nucleus with atomic mass number
A=292 and abundance (1-10)x10^(-12) relative to 232Th has been found in a study
of natural Th using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry.
The measured mass matches the predictions [1,2] for the mass of an isotope with
atomic number Z=122 or a nearby element. Its estimated half-life of t1/2 >=
10^8 y suggests that a long-lived isomeric state exists in this isotope. The
possibility that it might belong to a new class of long-lived high spin super-
and hyperdeformed isomeric states is discussed.[3-6]Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
Perturbative Approach to the Quasinormal Modes of Dirty Black Holes
Using a recently developed perturbation theory for uasinormal modes (QNM's),
we evaluate the shifts in the real and imaginary parts of the QNM frequencies
due to a quasi-static perturbation of the black hole spacetime. We show the
perturbed QNM spectrum of a black hole can have interesting features using a
simple model based on the scalar wave equation.Comment: Published in PR
Theoretical analysis of the role of chromatin interactions in long-range action of enhancers and insulators
Long-distance regulatory interactions between enhancers and their target
genes are commonplace in higher eukaryotes. Interposed boundaries or insulators
are able to block these long distance regulatory interactions. The mechanistic
basis for insulator activity and how it relates to enhancer
action-at-a-distance remains unclear. Here we explore the idea that topological
loops could simultaneously account for regulatory interactions of distal
enhancers and the insulating activity of boundary elements. We show that while
loop formation is not in itself sufficient to explain action at a distance,
incorporating transient non-specific and moderate attractive interactions
between the chromatin fibers strongly enhances long-distance regulatory
interactions and is sufficient to generate a euchromatin-like state. Under
these same conditions, the subdivision of the loop into two topologically
independent loops by insulators inhibits inter-domain interactions. The
underlying cause of this effect is a suppression of crossings in the contact
map at intermediate distances. Thus our model simultaneously accounts for
regulatory interactions at a distance and the insulator activity of boundary
elements. This unified model of the regulatory roles of chromatin loops makes
several testable predictions that could be confronted with \emph{in vitro}
experiments, as well as genomic chromatin conformation capture and fluorescent
microscopic approaches.Comment: 10 pages, originally submitted to an (undisclosed) journal in May
201
Systematics of Fission Barriers in Superheavy Elements
We investigate the systematics of fission barriers in superheavy elements in
the range Z = 108-120 and N = 166-182. Results from two self-consistent models
for nuclear structure, the relativistic mean-field (RMF) model as well as the
non-relativistic Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach are compared and discussed. We
restrict ourselves to axially symmetric shapes, which provides an upper bound
on static fission barriers. We benchmark the predictive power of the models
examining the barriers and fission isomers of selected heavy actinide nuclei
for which data are available. For both actinides and superheavy nuclei, the RMF
model systematically predicts lower barriers than most Skyrme interactions. In
particular the fission isomers are predicted too low by the RMF, which casts
some doubt on recent predictions about superdeformed ground states of some
superheavy nuclei. For the superheavy nuclei under investigation, fission
barriers drop to small values around Z = 110, N = 180 and increase again for
heavier systems. For most of the forces, there is no fission isomer for
superheavy nuclei, as superdeformed states are in most cases found to be
unstable with respect to octupole distortions.Comment: 17 pages REVTEX, 12 embedded eps figures. corrected abstrac
Structural basis of ABCF-mediated resistance to pleuromutilin, lincosamide, and streptogramin A antibiotics in Gram-positive pathogens
he antibiotic target. One class of such proteins are the antibiotic resistance (ARE) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins of the F-subtype (ARE-ABCFs), which are widely distributed throughout Gram-positive bacteria and bind the ribosome to alleviate translational inhibition from antibiotics that target the large ribosomal subunit. Here, we present single-particle cryo-EM structures of ARE-ABCF-ribosome complexes from three Gram-positive pathogens: Enterococcus faecalis LsaA, Staphylococcus haemolyticus VgaALC and Listeria monocytogenes VgaL. Supported by extensive mutagenesis analysis, these structures enable a general model for antibiotic resistance mediated by these ARE-ABCFs to be proposed. In this model, ABCF binding to the antibiotic-stalled ribosome mediates antibiotic release via mechanistically diverse long-range conformational relays that converge on a few conserved ribosomal RNA nucleotides located at the peptidyltransferase center. These insights are important for the future development of antibiotics that overcome such target protection resistance mechanisms
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