616 research outputs found
Molecular genetic and crystal structural analysis of 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol dehydrogenase from 'Aromatoleum aromaticum' EbN1.
he dehydrogenation of 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol to 4-hydroxyacetophenone represents the second reaction step during anaerobic degradation of p-ethylphenol in the denitrifying bacterium ‘Aromatoleum aromaticum' EbN1. Previous proteogenomic studies identified two different proteins (ChnA and EbA309) as possible candidates for catalyzing this reaction [Wöhlbrand et al: J Bacteriol 2008;190:5699-5709]. Physiological-molecular characterization of newly generated unmarked in-frame deletion and complementation mutants allowed defining ChnA (renamed here as Hped) as the enzyme responsible for 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol oxidation. Hped [1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol dehydrogenase] belongs to the ‘classical' family within the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily. Hped was overproduced in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized. The X-ray structures of the apo- and NAD+-soaked form were resolved at 1.5 and 1.1 Å, respectively, and revealed Hped as a typical homotetrameric SDR. Modeling of the substrate 4-hydroxyacetophenone (reductive direction of Hped) into the active site revealed the structural determinants of the strict (R)-specificity of Hped (Phe187), contrasting the (S)-specificity of previously reported 1-phenylethanol dehydrogenase (Ped; Tyr93) from strain EbN1 [Höffken et al: Biochemistry 2006;45:82-93]
A robust sar speckle tracking workflow for measuring and interpreting the 3d surface displacement of landslides
We present a workflow for investigating large, slow‐moving landslides which combines the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique, GIS post‐processing, and airborne laser scanning (ALS), and apply it to Fels landslide in Alaska, US. First, we exploit a speckle tracking (ST) approach to derive the easting, northing, and vertical components of the displacement vectors across the rock slope for two five‐year windows, 2010–2015 and 2015–2020. Then, we perform post‐processing in a GIS environment to derive displacement magnitude, trend, and plunge maps of the landslide area. Finally, we compare the ST‐derived displacement data with structural lineament maps and profiles extracted from the ALS dataset. Relying on remotely sensed data, we estimate that the thickness of the slide mass is more than 100 m and displacements occur through a combination of slumping at the toe and planar sliding in the central and upper slope. Our approach provides information and interpretations that can assist in optimizing and planning fieldwork activities and site investigations at landslides in remote locations
Near infrared and optical emission of WASP-5 b
CONTEXT: Thermal emission from extrasolar planets makes it possible to study
important physical processes in their atmospheres and derive more precise
orbital elements. AIMS: By using new near infrared and optical data, we examine
how these data constrain the orbital eccentricity and the thermal properties of
the planet atmosphere. METHODS: The full light curves acquired by the TESS
satellite from two sectors are used to put upper limit on the amplitude of the
planet's phase variation and estimate the occultation depth. Two, already
published and one, yet unpublished followup observations in the 2MASS K (Ks)
band are employed to derive a more precise occultation light curve in this near
infrared waveband. RESULTS: The merged occultation light curve in the Ks band
comprises 4515 data points. The data confirm the results of the earlier
eccentricity estimates, suggesting circular orbit: e=0.005+/-0.015. The high
value of the flux depression of (2.70+/-0.14) ppt in the Ks band excludes
simple black body emission at the 10 sigma level and disagrees also with
current atmospheric models at the (4-7) sigma level. From the analysis of the
TESS data, in the visual band we found tentative evidence for a near noise
level detection of the secondary eclipse, and placed constraints on the
associated amplitude of the planet's phase variation. A formal box fit yields
an occultation depth of (0.157+/-0.056) ppt. This implies a relatively high
geometric albedo of Ag=0.43+/-0.15 for fully efficient atmospheric circulation
and Ag=0.29+/-0.15 for no circulation at all. No preference can be seen either
for the oxygen-enhanced, or for the carbon-enhanced atmosphere models.Comment: After the 2nd referee report. Wrong citation of e*cos(w) by Baskin et
al. (2013) has been corrected. Appendix B is supplied by another figur
The Mass-Radius Relationship for Very Low Mass Stars: Four New Discoveries from the HATSouth Survey
We report the discovery of four transiting F-M binary systems with companions
between 0.1-0.2 Msun in mass by the HATSouth survey. These systems have been
characterised via a global analysis of the HATSouth discovery data, combined
with high-resolution radial velocities and accurate transit photometry
observations. We determined the masses and radii of the component stars using a
combination of two methods: isochrone fitting of spectroscopic primary star
parameters, and equating spectroscopic primary star rotation velocity with
spin-orbit synchronisation. These new very low mass companions are HATS550-016B
(0.110 -0.006/+0.005 Msun, 0.147 -0.004/+0.003 Rsun), HATS551-019B (0.17
-0.01/+0.01 Msun, 0.18 -0.01/+0.01 Rsun), HATS551-021B (0.132 -0.005/+0.014
Msun, 0.154 -0.008/+0.006 Rsun), HATS553-001B (0.20 -0.02/+0.01 Msun, 0.22
-0.01/+0.01 Rsun). We examine our sample in the context of the radius anomaly
for fully-convective low mass stars. Combining our sample with the 13 other
well-studied very low mass stars, we find a tentative 5% systematic deviation
between the measured radii and theoretical isochrone models.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Ground-based photometry of space-based transit detections: Photometric follow-up of the CoRoT mission
The motivation, techniques and performance of the ground-based photometric
follow-up of transit detections by the CoRoT space mission are presented. Its
principal raison d'\^{e}tre arises from the much higher spatial resolution of
common ground-based telescopes in comparison to CoRoT's cameras. This allows
the identification of many transit candidates as arising from eclipsing
binaries that are contaminating CoRoT's lightcurves, even in low-amplitude
transit events that cannot be detected with ground-based obervations. For the
ground observations, 'on'-'off' photometry is now largely employed, in which
only a short timeseries during a transit and a section outside a transit is
observed and compared photometrically. CoRoT planet candidates' transits are
being observed by a dedicated team with access to telescopes with sizes ranging
from 0.2 to 2 m. As an example, the process that led to the rejection of
contaminating eclipsing binaries near the host star of the Super-Earth planet
CoRoT-7b is shown. Experiences and techniques from this work may also be useful
for other transit-detection experiments, when the discovery instrument obtains
data with a relatively low angular resolution.Comment: Accepted for the A&A special issue on CoRo
HATS-3b: An inflated hot Jupiter transiting an F-type star
We report the discovery by the HATSouth survey of HATS-3b, a transiting
extrasolar planet orbiting a V=12.4 F-dwarf star. HATS-3b has a period of P =
3.5479d, mass of Mp = 1.07MJ, and radius of Rp = 1.38RJ. Given the radius of
the planet, the brightness of the host star, and the stellar rotational
velocity (vsini = 9.0km/s), this system will make an interesting target for
future observations to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and determine its
spin-orbit alignment. We detail the low/medium-resolution reconnaissance
spectroscopy that we are now using to deal with large numbers of transiting
planet candidates produced by the HATSouth survey. We show that this important
step in discovering planets produces logg and Teff parameters at a precision
suitable for efficient candidate vetting, as well as efficiently identifying
stellar mass eclipsing binaries with radial velocity semi-amplitudes as low as
1 km/s.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A
HATS-5b: A Transiting hot-Saturn from the HATSouth Survey
We report the discovery of HATS-5b, a transiting hot-Saturn orbiting a G type
star, by the HAT-South survey. HATS-5b has a mass of Mp=0.24 Mj, radius of
Rp=0.91 Rj, and transits its host star with a period of P=4.7634d. The radius
of HATS-5b is consistent with both theoretical and empirical models. The host
star has a V band magnitude of 12.6, mass of 0.94 Msun, and radius of 0.87
Rsun. The relatively high scale height of HATS-5b, and the bright,
photometrically quiet host star, make this planet a favourable target for
future transmission spectroscopy follow-up observations. We reexamine the
correlations in radius, equilibrium temperature, and metallicity of the
close-in gas-giants, and find hot Jupiter-mass planets to exhibit the strongest
dependence between radius and equilibrium temperature. We find no significant
dependence in radius and metallicity for the close-in gas-giant population.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to A
Consistency checks of results from a Monte Carlo code intercomparison for emitted electron spectra and energy deposition around a single gold nanoparticle irradiated by X-rays
Organized by the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS), a Monte Carlo code intercomparison exercise was conducted where participants simulated the emitted electron spectra and energy deposition around a single gold nanoparticle (GNP) irradiated by X-rays. In the exercise, the participants scored energy imparted in concentric spherical shells around a spherical volume filled with gold or water as well as the spectral distribution of electrons leaving the GNP. Initially, only the ratio of energy deposition with and without GNP was to be reported. During the evaluation of the exercise, however, the data for energy deposition in the presence and absence of the GNP were also requested. A GNP size of 50 nm and 100 nm diameter was considered as well as two different X-ray spectra (50 kVp and 100 kVp). This introduced a redundancy that can be used to cross-validate the internal consistency of the simulation results. In this work, evaluation of the reported results is presented in terms of integral quantities that can be benchmarked against values obtained from physical properties of the radiation spectra and materials involved. The impact of different interaction cross-section datasets and their implementation in the different Monte Carlo codes is also discussed
HATS-11b and HATS-12b: Two transiting Hot Jupiters orbiting sub-solar metallicity stars selected for the K2 Campaign 7
We report the discovery of two transiting extrasolar planets from the
HATSouth survey. HATS-11, a V=14.1 G0-star shows a periodic 12.9 mmag dip in
its light curve every 3.6192 days and a radial velocity variation consistent
with a Keplerian orbit. HATS-11 has a mass of 1.000 0.060 M, a
radius of 1.444 0.057 M and an effective temperature of 6060
150 K, while its companion is a 0.85 0.12 M, 1.510 0.078
R planet in a circular orbit. HATS-12 shows a periodic 5.1 mmag flux
decrease every 3.1428 days and Keplerian RV variations around a V=12.8 F-star.
HATS-12 has a mass of 1.489 0.071 M, a radius of 2.21
0.21 R, and an effective temperature of 6408 75 K. For HATS-12,
our measurements indicate that this is a 2.38 0.11 M, 1.35 0.17
R planet in a circular orbit. Both host stars show sub-solar metallicity of
-0.390 0.060 dex and -0.100 0.040 dex, respectively and are
(slightly) evolved stars. In fact, HATS-11 is amongst the most metal-poor and,
HATS-12 is amongst the most evolved stars hosting a hot Jupiter planet.
Importantly, HATS-11 and HATS-12 have been observed in long cadence by Kepler
as part of K2 campaign 7 (EPIC216414930 and EPIC218131080 respectively).Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, submitted to A
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