Interpretation of UV Absorption Lines in SN1006

We present a theoretical interpretation of the broad silicon and iron UV absorption features observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in the spectrum of the Schweizer-Middleditch star behind the remnant of Supernova 1006. These features are caused by supernova ejecta in SN1006. We propose that the redshifted SiII2 1260 A feature consists of both unshocked and shocked SiII. The sharp red edge of the line at 7070 km/s indicates the position of the reverse shock, while its Gaussian blue edge reveals shocked Si with a mean velocity of 5050 km/s and a dispersion of 1240 km/s, implying a reverse shock velocity of 2860 km/s. The measured velocities satisfy the energy jump condition for a strong shock, provided that all the shock energy goes into ions, with little or no collisionless heating of electrons. The line profiles of the SiIII and SiIV absorption features indicate that they arise mostly from shocked Si. The total mass of shocked and unshocked Si inferred from the SiII, SiIII and SiIV profiles is M_Si = 0.25 \pm 0.01 Msun on the assumption of spherical symmetry. Unshocked Si extends upwards from 5600 km/s. Although there appears to be some Fe mixed with the Si at lower velocities < 7070 km/s, the absence of FeII absorption with the same profile as the shocked SiII suggests little Fe mixed with Si at higher (before being shocked) velocities. The column density of shocked SiII is close to that expected for SiII undergoing steady state collisional ionization behind the reverse shock, provided that the electron to SiII ratio is low, from which we infer that most of the shocked Si is likely to be of a fairly high degree of purity, unmixed with other elements. We propose that the ambient interstellar density on the far side of SN1006 is anomalously low compared to the density around the rest of the remnant. ThisComment: 24 pages, with 8 figures included. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

GPS water level measurements for Indonesia's Tsunami Early Warning System

On Boxing Day 2004, a severe tsunami was generated by a strong earthquake in Northern Sumatra causing a large number of casualties. At this time, neither an offshore buoy network was in place to measure tsunami waves, nor a system to disseminate tsunami warnings to local governmental entities. Since then, buoys have been developed by Indonesia and Germany, complemented by NOAA's Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys, and have been moored offshore Sumatra and Java. The suite of sensors for offshore tsunami detection in Indonesia has been advanced by adding GPS technology for water level measurements. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The usage of GPS buoys in tsunami warning systems is a relatively new approach. The concept of the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) (Rudloff et al., 2009) combines GPS technology and ocean bottom pressure (OBP) measurements. Especially for near-field installations where the seismic noise may deteriorate the OBP data, GPS-derived sea level heights provide additional information. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The GPS buoy technology is precise enough to detect medium to large tsunamis of amplitudes larger than 10 cm. The analysis presented here suggests that for about 68% of the time, tsunamis larger than 5 cm may be detectable

Chronically stressed or stress-preconditioned neurons fail to maintain stress granule assembly

Dysregulation of stress granules (SGs) and their resident proteins contributes to pathogenesis of a number of (neuro)degenerative diseases. Phosphorylation of eIF2α is an event integrating different types of cellular stress and it is required for SG assembly. Phosphorylated eIF2α (p-eIF2α) is upregulated in the nervous system in some neurodegenerative conditions. We found that increasing p-eIF2α level by proteasomal inhibition in cultured cells, including mouse and human neurons, prior to a SG-inducing stress (‘stress preconditioning’), limits their ability to maintain SG assembly. This is due to upregulation of PP1 phosphatase regulatory subunits GADD34 and/or CReP in preconditioned cells and early decline of p-eIF2α levels during subsequent acute stress. In two model systems with constitutively upregulated p-eIF2α, mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking CReP and brain neurons of tau transgenic mice, SG formation was also impaired. Thus neurons enduring chronic stress or primed by a transient mild stress fail to maintain p-eIF2α levels following subsequent acute stress, which would compromise protective function of SGs. Our findings provide experimental evidence on possible loss of function for SGs in certain neurodegenerative diseases

Bubbles and denaturation in DNA

The local opening of DNA is an intriguing phenomenon from a statistical physics point of view, but is also essential for its biological function. For instance, the transcription and replication of our genetic code can not take place without the unwinding of the DNA double helix. Although these biological processes are driven by proteins, there might well be a relation between these biological openings and the spontaneous bubble formation due to thermal fluctuations. Mesoscopic models, like the Peyrard-Bishop-Dauxois model, have fairly accurately reproduced some experimental denaturation curves and the sharp phase transition in the thermodynamic limit. It is, hence, tempting to see whether these models could be used to predict the biological activity of DNA. In a previous study, we introduced a method that allows to obtain very accurate results on this subject, which showed that some previous claims in this direction, based on molecular dynamics studies, were premature. This could either imply that the present PBD should be improved or that biological activity can only be predicted in a more complex frame work that involves interactions with proteins and super helical stresses. In this article, we give detailed description of the statistical method introduced before. Moreover, for several DNA sequences, we give a thorough analysis of the bubble-statistics as function of position and bubble size and the so-called $l$-denaturation curves that can be measured experimentally. These show that some important experimental observations are missing in the present model. We discuss how the present model could be improved.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, published as Eur. Phys. J. E 20 : 421-434 AUG 200

SRM targeted proteomics in search for biomarkers of HCV ‐induced progression of fibrosis to cirrhosis in HALT ‐ C patients

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92042/1/pmic7038.pd