144 research outputs found
The structure of porin from Rhodobacter capsulatus at 1.8 Å resolution
AbstractThe structure of the porin from Rhodobacter capsulanus was determined at a resolution of 1.8 Å. The analysis started from a closely related crystal structure that had been solved at a medium resolution of 3 Å using multiple isomorphous replacement and solvent flattening. The new structure contains the complete sequence of 301 amino acid residues. Refinement of the model is under way: the present R-factor is 22% with good geometry. Except for the lengths of several loops, the resulting chain fold corresponds to the medium resolution model. The membrane channel is lined by a large number of ionogenic side chains with characteristic segregation of differently charged groups
Spin-1/2 J1-J2 model on the body-centered cubic lattice
Using exact diagonalization (ED) and linear spin wave theory (LSWT) we study
the influence of frustration and quantum fluctuations on the magnetic ordering
in the ground state of the spin-1/2 J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2
model) on the body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice. Contrary to the J1-J2 model on
the square lattice, we find for the bcc lattice that frustration and quantum
fluctuations do not lead to a quantum disordered phase for strong frustration.
The results of both approaches (ED, LSWT) suggest a first order transition at
J2/J1 0.7 from the two-sublattice Neel phase at low J2 to a collinear
phase at large J2.Comment: 6.1 pages 7 figure
Small grid embeddings of 3-polytopes
We introduce an algorithm that embeds a given 3-connected planar graph as a
convex 3-polytope with integer coordinates. The size of the coordinates is
bounded by . If the graph contains a triangle we can
bound the integer coordinates by . If the graph contains a
quadrilateral we can bound the integer coordinates by . The
crucial part of the algorithm is to find a convex plane embedding whose edges
can be weighted such that the sum of the weighted edges, seen as vectors,
cancel at every point. It is well known that this can be guaranteed for the
interior vertices by applying a technique of Tutte. We show how to extend
Tutte's ideas to construct a plane embedding where the weighted vector sums
cancel also on the vertices of the boundary face
Application of Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis to Determine γ-ray-induced Double-strand Breaks in Yeast Chromosomal Molecules
The frequency of DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) was determined in yeast cells exposed to γ-rays under anoxic conditions. Genomic DNA of treated cells was separated by pulsed field gel electrophoresis, and two different approaches for the evaluation of the gels were employed: (1) The DNA mass distribution profile obtained by electrophoresis was compared to computed profiles, and the number of DSB per unit length was then derived in terms of a fitting procedure; (2) hybridization of selected chromosomes was performed, and a comparison of the hybridization signals in treated and untreated samples was then used to derive the frequency of dsb
Competing density-wave orders in a one-dimensional hard-boson model
We describe the zero-temperature phase diagram of a model of bosons,
occupying sites of a linear chain, which obey a hard-exclusion constraint: any
two nearest-neighbor sites may have at most one boson. A special case of our
model was recently proposed as a description of a ``tilted'' Mott insulator of
atoms trapped in an optical lattice. Our quantum Hamiltonian is shown to
generate the transfer matrix of Baxter's hard-square model. Aided by exact
solutions of a number of special cases, and by numerical studies, we obtain a
phase diagram containing states with long-range density-wave order with period
2 and period 3, and also a floating incommensurate phase. Critical theories for
the various quantum phase transitions are presented. As a byproduct, we show
how to compute the Luttinger parameter in integrable theories with
hard-exclusion constraints.Comment: 16 page
Low temperature electronic properties of Sr_2RuO_4 II: Superconductivity
The body centered tetragonal structure of Sr_2RuO_4 gives rise to umklapp
scattering enhanced inter-plane pair correlations in the d_{yz} and d_{zx}
orbitals. Based on symmetry arguments, Hund's rule coupling, and a bosonized
description of the in-plane electron correlations the superconducting order
parameter is found to be a orbital-singlet spin-triplet with two spatial
components. The spatial anisotropy is 7%. The different components of the order
parameter give rise to two-dimensional gapless fluctuations. The phase
transition is of third order. The temperature dependence of the pair density,
specific heat, NQR, Knight shift, and susceptibility are in agreement with
experimental results.Comment: 20 pages REVTEX, 3 figure
Comprehensive clinical and molecular analysis of 12 families with type 1 recessive cutis laxa.
Autosomal recessive cutis laxa type I (ARCL type I) is characterized by generalized cutis laxa with pulmonary emphysema and/or vascular complications. Rarely, mutations can be identified in FBLN4 or FBLN5. Recently, LTBP4 mutations have been implicated in a similar phenotype. Studying FBLN4, FBLN5, and LTBP4 in 12 families with ARCL type I, we found bi-allelic FBLN5 mutations in two probands, whereas nine probands harbored biallelic mutations in LTBP4. FBLN5 and LTBP4 mutations cause a very similar phenotype associated with severe pulmonary emphysema, in the absence of vascular tortuosity or aneurysms. Gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract involvement seems to be more severe in patients with LTBP4 mutations. Functional studies showed that most premature termination mutations in LTBP4 result in severely reduced mRNA and protein levels. This correlated with increased transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) activity. However, one mutation, c.4127dupC, escaped nonsense-mediated decay. The corresponding mutant protein (p.Arg1377Alafs(*) 27) showed reduced colocalization with fibronectin, leading to an abnormal morphology of microfibrils in fibroblast cultures, while retaining normal TGFβ activity. We conclude that LTBP4 mutations cause disease through both loss of function and gain of function mechanisms
Crossovers in Unitary Fermi Systems
Universality and crossover is described for attractive and repulsive
interactions where, respectively, the BCS-BEC crossover takes place and a
ferromagnetic phase transition is claimed. Crossovers are also described for
optical lattices and multicomponent systems. The crossovers, universal
parameters and phase transitions are described within the Leggett and NSR
models and calculated in detail within the Jastrow-Slater approximation. The
physics of ultracold Fermi atoms is applied to neutron, nuclear and quark
matter, nuclei and electrons in solids whenever possible. Specifically, the
differences between optical lattices and cuprates is discussed w.r.t.
antiferromagnetic, d-wave superfluid phases and phase separation.Comment: 50 pages, 15 figures. Contribution to Lecture Notes in Physics
"BCS-BEC crossover and the Unitary Fermi Gas" edited by W. Zwerge
The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets
This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun’s centre, equal to half of Mercury’s perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and tails are described, including dust, neutral and ionised gases, their chemical reactions, and their contributions to the near-Sun environment. Comet-solar wind interactions are discussed, including the use of comets as probes of solar wind and coronal conditions in their vicinities. We address the relevance of work on comets near the Sun to similar objects orbiting other stars, and conclude with a discussion of future directions for the field and the planned ground- and space-based facilities that will allow us to address those science topics
A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007
We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts
associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal
new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy,
particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the
underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the
period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first
science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed
for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with
the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place
limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave
emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of
merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at
http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access
area to figures, tables at
https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000
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