1,665 research outputs found
Directing the evolution of Rubisco and Rubisco activase: first impressions of a new tool for photosynthesis research
During the last decade the practice of laboratory-directed protein evolution has become firmly established as a versatile tool in biochemical research by enabling molecular evolution toward desirable phenotypes or detection of novel structure–function interactions. Applications of this technique in the field of photosynthesis research are still in their infancy, but recently first steps have been reported in the directed evolution of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco and its helper protein Rubisco activase. Here we summarize directed protein evolution strategies and review the progressive advances that have been made to develop and apply suitable selection systems for screening mutant forms of these enzymes that improve the fitness of the host organism. The goal of increasing photosynthetic efficiency of plants by improving the kinetics of Rubisco has been a long-term goal scoring modest successes. We discuss how directed evolution methodologies may one day be able to circumvent the problems encountered during this venture
Observation of Bs-Bsbar Oscillations
We report the observation of Bs-Bsbar oscillations from a time-dependent
measurement of the Bs-Bsbar oscillation frequency Delta ms. Using a data sample
of 1 fb^-1 of p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron, we find signals of 5600 fully reconstructed
hadronic Bs decays, 3100 partially reconstructed hadronic Bs decays, and 61500
partially reconstructed semileptonic Bs decays. We measure the probability as a
function of proper decay time that the Bs decays with the same, or opposite,
flavor as the flavor at production, and we find a signal for Bs-Bsbar
oscillations. The probability that random fluctuations could produce a
comparable signal is 8 X 10^-8, which exceeds 5 sigma significance. We measure
Delta ms = 17.77 +- 0.10 (stat) +- 0.07 (syst) ps^-1
and extract
|Vtd/Vts| = 0.2060 +- 0.0007 (exp) + 0.0081 - 0.0060 (theor).Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Limits on Anomalous Triple Gauge Couplings in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We present a search for anomalous triple gauge couplings (ATGC) in WW and WZ
boson production. The boson pairs are produced in ppbar collisions at
sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV, and the data sample corresponds to 350 pb-1 of integrated
luminosity collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. In this
search one W decays to leptons, and the other boson (W or Z) decays
hadronically. Combining with a previously published CDF measurement of Wgamma
boson production yields ATGC limits of -0.18 < lambda < 0.17 and -0.46 < Delta
kappa < 0.39 at the 95% confidence level, using a cut-off scale Lambda=1.5 TeV.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Search for Pair Production of Scalar Top Quarks Decaying to a tau Lepton and a b Quark in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We search for pair production of supersymmetric top quarks (~t_1), followed
by R-parity violating decay ~t_1 -> tau b with a branching ratio beta, using
322 pb^-1 of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV collected by the CDF II
detector at Fermilab. Two candidate events pass our final selection criteria,
consistent with the standard model expectation. We set upper limits on the
cross section sigma(~t_1 ~tbar_1)*beta^2 as a function of the stop mass
m(~t_1). Assuming beta=1, we set a 95% confidence level limit m(~t_1)>153
GeV/c^2. The limits are also applicable to the case of a third generation
scalar leptoquark (LQ_3) decaying LQ_3 -> tau b.Comment: 7 pages, 2 eps figure
Polarizations of J/psi and psi(2S) Mesons Produced in ppbar Collisions at 1.96 TeV
We have measured the polarizations of \jpsi and \psiprime mesons as
functions of their transverse momentum \pt when they are produced promptly in
the rapidity range with \pt \geq 5 \pgev. The analysis is performed
using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of about 800 \ipb collected
by the CDF II detector. For both vector mesons, we find that the polarizations
become increasingly longitudinal as \pt increases from 5 to 30 \pgev. These
results are compared to the predictions of nonrelativistic quantum
chromodynamics and other contemporary models. The effective polarizations of
\jpsi and \psiprime mesons from -hadron decays are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, published in Physical Review Letter
Observation and Mass Measurement of the Baryon
We report the observation and measurement of the mass of the bottom, strange
baryon through the decay chain , where
, , and .
Evidence for observation is based on a signal whose probability of arising from
the estimated background is 6.6 x 10^{-15}, or 7.7 Gaussian standard
deviations. The mass is measured to be (stat.) (syst.) MeV/.Comment: Minor text changes for the second version. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
Let
Search for Third Generation Vector Leptoquarks in p anti-p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV
We describe a search for a third generation vector leptoquark (VLQ3) that
decays to a b quark and tau lepton using the CDF II detector and 322 pb^(-1) of
integrated luminosity from the Fermilab Tevatron. Vector leptoquarks have been
proposed in many extensions of the standard model (SM). Observing a number of
events in agreement with SM expectations, assuming Yang-Mills (minimal)
couplings, we obtain the most stringent upper limit on the VLQ3 pair production
cross section of 344 fb (493 fb) and lower limit on the VLQ3 mass of 317
GeV/c^2 (251 GeV/c^2) at 95% C.L.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Measurement of the Top-Quark Mass in All-Hadronic Decays in p pbar Collisions at CDF II
We present a measurement of the top-quark mass, , in the
all-hadronic decay channel . The analysis is performed using 310 pb of
=1.96 TeV collisions collected with the CDF II detector
using a multi-jet trigger. The mass measurement is based on an event-by-event
likelihood which depends on both the sample purity and the value of the
top-quark mass, using 90 possible jet-to-parton assignments in the six-jet
final state. The joint likelihood of 290 selected events yields a value of
=177.1 4.9 (stat.) 4.7 (syst.) GeV/.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures and 1 table, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Precise measurement of the top quark mass in the lepton+jets topology at CDF II
We present a measurement of the mass of the top quark from proton-antiproton
collisions recorded at the CDF experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron.
We analyze events from the single lepton plus jets final state (). The top quark mass is extracted
using a direct calculation of the probability density that each event
corresponds to the final state. The probability is a function of both
the mass of the top quark and the energy scale of the calorimeter jets, which
is constrained {\it in situ} by the hadronic boson mass. Using 167 events
observed in 955 pb of integrated luminosity, we achieve the single
most precise measurement of the top quark mass, 170.8 2.2 (stat.)
1.4 (syst.) GeV/.Comment: accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
Searches for Direct Pair Production of Supersymmetric Top and Supersymmetric Bottom Quarks in p-pbar Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We search for direct pair production of supersymmetric top quarks and
supersymmetric bottom quarks in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96
TeV, using 295 pb^-1 of data recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF
II) experiment. The supersymmetric top (supersymmetric bottom) quarks are
selected by reconstructing their decay into a charm (bottom) quark and a
neutralino, which is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. The
signature of such processes is two energetic heavy-flavor jets and missing
transverse energy. The number of events that pass our selection for each search
process is consistent with the expected standard model background. By comparing
our results to the theoretical production cross sections of the supersymmetric
top and supersymmetric bottom quarks in the minimal supersymmetric standard
model, we exclude, at a 95% confidence level in the frame of that model, a
supersymmetric top quark mass up to 132 GeV/c^2 for a neutralino mass of 48
GeV/c^2, and a supersymmetric bottom quark mass up to 193 GeV/c^2 for a
neutralino mass of 40 GeV/c^2.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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