6,159 research outputs found
Exploring deep microbial life in coal-bearing sediment down to ~2.5 km below the ocean floor
Microbial life inhabits deeply buried marine sediments, but the extent of this vast ecosystem remains poorly constrained. Here we provide evidence for the existence of microbial communities in ~40° to 60°C sediment associated with lignite coal beds at ~1.5 to 2.5 km below the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Microbial methanogenesis was indicated by the isotopic compositions of methane and carbon dioxide, biomarkers, cultivation data, and gas compositions. Concentrations of indigenous microbial cells below 1.5 km ranged from <10 to ~10^4 cells cm^(â3). Peak concentrations occurred in lignite layers, where communities differed markedly from shallower subseafloor communities and instead resembled organotrophic communities in forest soils. This suggests that terrigenous sediments retain indigenous community members tens of millions of years after burial in the seabed
A search for X-ray emission from rich clusters, extended halos around clusters, and superclusters
The all-sky data base acquired with the HEAO A-2 experiment was searched for X-ray emission on a variety of metagalactic size scales which were either predicted or previously detected. Results in the 0.2-60 keV energy range are presented. The optically richest clusters, including those from which a microwave decrement were observed, appear to be relatively underluminous in X-rays. Observations of Abell 576 show its luminosity to be less than earlier estimates, and moreover less than the luminosity predicted from its microwave decrement, unless the intracluster gas is a factor of approximately 10 hotter than in typical clusters. Near SC0627 there are two X-ray sources, and the identification of the dominant source with SCO627 is probably incorrect. New spectral observations of Abell 401 and 2147, possible superclusters, reveal that they have typical cluster spectra with iron line emission
Basal and Frontal Accretion Processes versus BSR Characteristics along the Chilean Margin
Multichannel seismic reflection data recorded between Itata (36°S) and Coyhaique offshores (43°S) were processed to obtain seismic images. Analysis of the seismic profiles revealed that weak and discontinuous bottom simulating reflectors were associated to basal accretion processes, while strong and continuous bottom simulating reflectors were associated to frontal accretion processes. This can be explained considering that during basal accretion processes, extensional tectonic movements due to uplifting can favour fluid escapes giving origin to weaker and most discontinuous bottom simulating reflectors. During frontal accretion processes (folding and thrusting), high fluid circulation and stable tectonic conditions however can be responsible of stronger and most continuous bottom simulating reflectors. Along the Arauco-Valdivia offshores, steep accretionary prisms, normal faults, slope basins, and thicker underplated sediment bed were associated to basal accretion, while along the Itata, Chiloe and Coyhaique offshores, small accretionary prisms, folding, and thinner underplated sediment bed were associated to frontal accretion
Cluster Model of Decagonal Tilings
A relaxed version of Gummelt's covering rules for the aperiodic decagon is
considered, which produces certain random-tiling-type structures. These
structures are precisely characterized, along with their relationships to
various other random tiling ensembles. The relaxed covering rule has a natural
realization in terms of a vertex cluster in the Penrose pentagon tiling. Using
Monte Carlo simulations, it is shown that the structures obtained by maximizing
the density of this cluster are the same as those produced by the corresponding
covering rules. The entropy density of the covering ensemble is determined
using the entropic sampling algorithm. If the model is extended by an
additional coupling between neighboring clusters, perfectly ordered structures
are obtained, like those produced by Gummelt's perfect covering rules.Comment: 10 pages, 20 figures, RevTeX; minor changes; to be published in Phys.
Rev.
Temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering fine structure in equiatomic CuAu
The temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering fine structure from
disordered equiatomic CuAu was studied using {\it in situ} x-ray scattering. In
contrast to CuAu the diffuse peak splitting in CuAu was found to be
relatively insensitive to temperature. Consequently, no evidence for a
divergence of the antiphase length-scale at the transition temperature was
found. At all temperatures studied the peak splitting is smaller than the value
corresponding to the CuAuII modulated phase. An extended Ginzburg-Landau
approach is used to explain the temperature dependence of the diffuse peak
profiles in the ordering and modulation directions. The estimated mean-field
instability point is considerably lower than is the case for CuAu.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Multiple functional neurosteroid binding sites on GABAA receptors
Neurosteroids are endogenous modulators of neuronal excitability and nervous system development and are being developed as anesthetic agents and treatments for psychiatric diseases. While gamma amino-butyric acid Type A (GABAA) receptors are the primary molecular targets of neurosteroid action, the structural details of neurosteroid binding to these proteins remain ill defined. We synthesized neurosteroid analogue photolabeling reagents in which the photolabeling groups were placed at three positions around the neurosteroid ring structure, enabling identification of binding sites and mapping of neurosteroid orientation within these sites. Using middle-down mass spectrometry (MS), we identified three clusters of photolabeled residues representing three distinct neurosteroid binding sites in the human α1ÎČ3 GABAA receptor. Novel intrasubunit binding sites were identified within the transmembrane helical bundles of both the α1 (labeled residues α1-N408, Y415) and ÎČ3 (labeled residue ÎČ3-Y442) subunits, adjacent to the extracellular domains (ECDs). An intersubunit site (labeled residues ÎČ3-L294 and G308) in the interface between the ÎČ3(+) and α1(-) subunits of the GABAA receptor pentamer was also identified. Computational docking studies of neurosteroid to the three sites predicted critical residues contributing to neurosteroid interaction with the GABAA receptors. Electrophysiological studies of receptors with mutations based on these predictions (α1-V227W, N408A/Y411F, and Q242L) indicate that both the α1 intrasubunit and ÎČ3-α1 intersubunit sites are critical for neurosteroid action
A clickable analogue of ketamine retains NMDA receptor activity, psychoactivity, and accumulates in neurons
Ketamine is a psychotomimetic and antidepressant drug. Although antagonism of cell-surface NMDA receptors (NMDARs) may trigger ketamineâs psychoactive effects, ketamine or its major metabolite norketamine could act intracellularly to produce some behavioral effects. To explore the viability of this latter hypothesis, we examined intracellular accumulation of novel visualizable analogues of ketamine/norketamine. We introduced an alkyne âclickâ handle into norketamine (alkyne-norketamine, A-NK) at the key nitrogen atom. Ketamine, norketamine, and A-NK, but not A-NK-amide, showed acute and persisting psychoactive effects in mice. This psychoactivity profile paralleled activity of the compounds as NMDAR channel blockers; A-NK-amide was inactive at NMDARs, and norketamine and A-NK were active but ~4-fold less potent than ketamine. We incubated rat hippocampal cells with 10âÎŒM A-NK or A-NK-amide then performed Cu(2+) catalyzed cycloaddition of azide-Alexa Fluor 488, which covalently attaches the fluorophore to the alkyne moiety in the compounds. Fluorescent imaging revealed intracellular localization of A-NK but weak A-NK-amide labeling. Accumulation was not dependent on membrane potential, NMDAR expression, or NMDAR activity. Overall, the approach revealed a correlation among NMDAR activity, intracellular accumulation/retention, and behavioral effects. Thus, we advance first generation chemical biology tools to aid in the identification of ketamine targets
Detection of an iron K Emission Line from the LINER NGC 4579
We present the results of an ASCA observation of the LINER NGC 4579. A
point-like X-ray source is detected at the nucleus with a 2-10 keV luminosity
of 1.5x10^41 ergs/s assuming a distance of 16.8 Mpc. The X-ray spectrum is
represented by a combination of a power-law with a photon index of ~1.7 and
soft thermal component with kT~0.9 keV. An iron K emission line is detected at
6.73+/-0.13 keV (rest frame) with an equivalent width of 490 +180/-190 eV and
is statistically significant at more than 99.9 % confidence. The line center
energy is consistent with Helium-like iron and is significantly higher than 6.4
keV which is expected from fluorescence by "cold" (or a lower ionization state
of) iron. The iron line profile shows no significant red tail in contrast to
Seyfert 1 galaxies although the statistics are limited. The line center energy,
equivalent width, and profile are consistent with an origin in an ionized
accretion disk. However the large mass accretion rate necessary to ionize the
accretion disk is not consistent with the observed luminosity and normal
accretion models.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa
Phosphate-dependent aggregation of [KL] peptides affects their membranolytic activity
In this study, we investigate how the length of amphiphilic ÎČ-sheet forming peptides affects their interaction with membranes. Four polycationic model peptides with lengths from 6 to 18 amino acids were constructed from simple Lys-Leu repeats, giving [KL]. We found that (1) they exhibit a pronounced antimicrobial activity with an intriguing length dependent maximum for [KL] with 10 amino acids; (2) their hemolytic effect, on the other hand, increases steadily with peptide length. CD analysis (3) and TEM (4) show that all peptides-except for the short [KL]-aggregate into amyloid-like fibrils in the presence of phosphate ions, which in turn has a critical effect on the results in (1) and (2). In fact, (5) vesicle leakage reveals an intrinsic membrane-perturbing activity (at constant peptide mass) of [KL] > [KL] > [KL]7 in phosphate buffer, which changes to [KL] â [KL] â [KL] in PIPES. A specific interaction with phosphate ions thus explains the subtle balance between two counteracting effects: phosphate-induced unproductive pre-aggregation in solution versus monomeric membrane binding and vigorous lipid perturbation due to self-assembly of the bound peptides within the bilayer. This knowledge can now be used to control and optimize the peptides in further applications
Absolute Frequency Measurements of the Hg^+ and Ca Optical Clock Transitions with a Femtosecond Laser
The frequency comb created by a femtosecond mode-locked laser and a
microstructured fiber is used to phase coherently measure the frequencies of
both the Hg^+ and Ca optical standards with respect to the SI second as
realized at NIST. We find the transition frequencies to be f_Hg=1 064 721 609
899 143(10) Hz and f_Ca=455 986 240 494 158(26) Hz, respectively. In addition
to the unprecedented precision demonstrated here, this work is the precursor to
all-optical atomic clocks based on the Hg^+ and Ca standards. Furthermore, when
combined with previous measurements, we find no time variations of these atomic
frequencies within the uncertainties of |(df_Ca/dt)/f_Ca| < 8 x 10^{-14}
yr^{-1}, and |(df_Hg/dt)/f_Hg|< 30 x 10^{-14} yr^{-1}.Comment: 6 pages, including 4 figures. RevTex 4. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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