158 research outputs found
Spial: analysis of subtype-specific features in multiple sequence alignments of proteins
Motivation: Spial (Specificity in alignments) is a tool for the comparative analysis of two alignments of evolutionarily related sequences that differ in their function, such as two receptor subtypes. It highlights functionally important residues that are either specific to one of the two alignments or conserved across both alignments. It permits visualization of this information in three complementary ways: by colour-coding alignment positions, by sequence logos and optionally by colour-coding the residues of a protein structure provided by the user. This can aid in the detection of residues that are involved in the subtype-specific interaction with a ligand, other proteins or nucleic acids. Spial may also be used to detect residues that may be post-translationally modified in one of the two sets of sequences
The hadron-quark phase transition in dense matter and neutron stars
We study the hadron-quark phase transition in the interior of neutron stars
(NS's). We calculate the equation of state (EOS) of hadronic matter using the
Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone formalism with realistic two-body and three-body
forces, as well as a relativistic mean field model. For quark matter we employ
the MIT bag model constraining the bag constant by using the indications coming
from the recent experimental results obtained at the CERN SPS on the formation
of a quark-gluon plasma. We find necessary to introduce a density dependent bag
parameter, and the corresponding consistent thermodynamical formalism. We
calculate the structure of NS interiors with the EOS comprising both phases,
and we find that the NS maximum masses fall in a relatively narrow interval,
. The precise value of the
maximum mass turns out to be only weakly correlated with the value of the
energy density at the assumed transition point in nearly symmetric nuclear
matter.Comment: 25 pages, Revtex4, 16 figures included as postscrip
Modeling the strangeness content of hadronic matter
The strangeness content of hadronic matter is studied in a string-flip model
that reproduces various aspects of the QCD-inspired phenomenology, such as
quark clustering at low density and color deconfinement at high density, while
avoiding long range van der Waals forces. Hadronic matter is modeled in terms
of its quark constituents by taking into account its internal flavor (u,d,s)
and color (red, blue, green) degrees of freedom. Variational Monte-Carlo
simulations in three spatial dimensions are performed for the ground-state
energy of the system. The onset of the transition to strange matter is found to
be influenced by weak, yet not negligible, clustering correlations. The phase
diagram of the system displays an interesting structure containing both
continuous and discontinuous phase transitions. Strange matter is found to be
absolutely stable in the model.Comment: 14 pages, 1 table, 8 eps figures, revtex. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C,
Presented at INPC2001 Berkeley, Ca. july 29-Aug
Hybrid stars with the color dielectric and the MIT bag models
We study the hadron-quark phase transition in the interior of neutron stars
(NS). For the hadronic sector, we use a microscopic equation of state (EOS)
involving nucleons and hyperons derived within the Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone
many-body theory, with realistic two-body and three-body forces. For the
description of quark matter, we employ both the MIT bag model with a density
dependent bag constant, and the color dielectric model. We calculate the
structure of NS interiors with the EOS comprising both phases, and we find that
the NS maximum masses are never larger than 1.7 solar masses, no matter the
model chosen for describing the pure quark phase.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Insights into congenital stationary night blindness based on the structure of G90D rhodopsin
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102109/1/embr201344.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102109/2/embr201344.reviewer_comments.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102109/3/embr201344-sup-0001.pd
Phase transitions of hadronic to quark matter at finite T and \mu_B
The phase transition of hadronic to quark matter and the boundaries of the
mixed hadron-quark coexistence phase are studied within the two Equation of
State (EoS) model. The relativistic effective mean field approach with constant
and density dependent meson-nucleon couplings is used to describe hadronic
matter, and the MIT Bag model is adopted to describe quark matter. The
boundaries of the mixed phase for different Bag constants are obtained solving
the Gibbs equations.
We notice that the dependence on the Bag parameter of the critical
temperatures (at zero chemical potential) can be well reproduced by a fermion
ultrarelativistic quark gas model, without contribution from the hadron part.
At variance the critical chemical potentials (at zero temperature) are very
sensitive to the EoS of the hadron sector. Hence the study of the hadronic EoS
is much more relevant for the determination of the transition to the
quark-gluon-plasma at finite baryon density and low-T. Moreover in the low
temperature and finite chemical potential region no solutions of the Gibbs
conditions are existing for small Bag constant values, B < (135 MeV)^4. Isospin
effects in asymmetric matter appear relevant in the high chemical potential
regions at lower temperatures, of interest for the inner core properties of
neutron stars and for heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies.Comment: 24 pages and 16 figures (revtex4
The importance of the mixed phase in hybrid stars built with the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model
We investigate the structure of hybrid stars based on two different
constructions: one is based on the Gibbs condition for phase coexistence and
considers the existence of a mixed phase (MP), and the other is based on the
Maxwell construction and no mixed phase is obtained. The hadron phase is
described by the non-linear Walecka model (NLW) and the quark phase by the
Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model (NJL). We conclude that the masses and radii obtained
are model dependent but not significantly different for both constructions.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
Crystal structure of rhodopsin in complex with a mini-G_o sheds light on the principles of G protein selectivity
Selective coupling of G protein (heterotrimeric guanine nucleotideâbinding protein)âcoupled receptors (GPCRs) to specific Gα-protein subtypes is critical to transform extracellular signals, carried by natural ligands and clinical drugs, into cellular responses. At the center of this transduction event lies the formation of a signaling complex between the receptor and G protein. We report the crystal structure of light-sensitive GPCR rhodopsin bound to an engineered mini-Go protein. The conformation of the receptor is identical to all previous structures of active rhodopsin, including the complex with arrestin. Thus, rhodopsin seems to adopt predominantly one thermodynamically stable active conformation, effectively acting like a âstructural switch,â allowing for maximum efficiency in the visual system. Furthermore, our analysis of the well-defined GPCRâG protein interface suggests that the precise position of the carboxyl-terminal âhook-likeâ element of the G protein (its four last residues) relative to the TM7/helix 8 (H8) joint of the receptor is a significant determinant in selective G protein activation
Are strange stars distinguishable from neutron stars by their cooling behaviour?
The general statement that strange stars cool more rapidly than neutron stars
is investigated in greater detail. It is found that the direct Urca process
could be forbidden not only in neutron stars but also in strange stars. If so,
strange stars would be slowly cooling and their surface temperatures would be
more or less indistinguishable from those of slowly cooling neutron stars. The
case of enhanced cooling is reinvestigated as well. It is found that strange
stars cool significantly more rapidly than neutron stars within the first years after birth. This feature could become particularly interesting if
continued observation of SN 1987A would reveal the temperature of the possibly
existing pulsar at its centre.Comment: 10 pages, 3 ps-figures, to appear in the proceedings of the
International Symposium on ''Strangeness in Quark Matter 1997``, April
14--18, Thera (Santorini), Hella
Strange quark stars within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model
We investigate the properties of charge-neutral -equilibrium cold
quark matter within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. The calculations are carried
out for different ratios of coupling constants characterizing the vector and
scalar 4-fermion interaction, . It is shown that for matter is self-bound and for it has a first order phase
transition of the liquid-gas type. The Gibbs conditions in the mixed phase are
applied for the case of two chemical potentials associated with the baryon
number and electric charge. The characteristics of the quark stars are
calculated for and 1. It is found that the phase transition
leads to a strong density variation at the surface of these stars. For the properties of quark stars show behaviors typical for neutron stars. At
\xi\goo 0.4 the stars near to the maximum mass have a large admixture of
strange quarks in their interiors.Comment: 22 pages, 8 ps-figures, Submitted to PR
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