272 research outputs found
Calcium signalling links MYC to NUAK1
NUAK1 is a member of the AMPK-related family of kinases. Recent evidence suggests that NUAK1 is an important regulator of cell adhesion and migration, cellular and organismal metabolism, and regulation of TAU stability. As such, NUAK1 may play key roles in multiple diseases ranging from neurodegeneration to diabetes and metastatic cancer. Previous work revealed a crucial role for NUAK1 in supporting viability of tumour cells specifically when MYC is overexpressed. This role is surprising, given that NUAK1 is activated by the tumour suppressor LKB1. Here we show that, in tumour cells lacking LKB1, NUAK1 activity is maintained by an alternative pathway involving calcium-dependent activation of PKCα. Calcium/PKCα-dependent activation of NUAK1 supports engagement of the AMPK-TORC1 metabolic checkpoint, thereby protecting tumour cells from MYC-driven cell death, and indeed, MYC selects for this pathway in part via transcriptional regulation of PKCα and ITPR. Our data point to a novel role for calcium in supporting tumour cell viability and clarify the synthetic lethal interaction between NUAK1 and MYC
Structure and absolute configuration of phenanthro-perylene quinone pigments from the deep-sea crinoid Hypalocrinus naresianus
Two new water-soluble phenanthroperylene quinones, gymnochrome H (2) and monosulfated gymnochrome A (3), as well as the known compounds gymnochrome A (4) and monosulfated gymnochrome D (5) were isolated from the deep-sea crinoid Hypalocrinus naresianus, which had been collected in the deep sea of Japan. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis including HRMS, 1D 1H and 13C NMR, and 2D NMR. The absolute configuration was determined by ECD spectroscopy, analysis of J-couplings and ROE contacts, and DFT calculations. The configuration of the axial chirality of all isolated phenanthroperylene quinones (2–5) was determined to be (P). For gymnochrome H (2) and monosulfated gymnochrome A (3), a (2′S,2″R) configuration was determined, whereas for monosulfated gymnochrome D (5) a (2′R,2″R), configuration was determined. Acetylated quinones are unusual among natural products from an echinoderm and gymnochrome H (2) together with the recently reported gymnochrome G (1) represent the first isolated acetylated phenanthroperylene quinones
Absence of a structural transition up to 40 Gpa in MgB2 and the relevance of magnesium non-stoichiometry
We report measurements on MgB2 up to ~40GPa. Increasing pressure yields a
monotonous decrease of the lattice parameters and of the c/a ratio, but no
structural transition down to parameters smaller than those of AlB2. The
transition superconducting temperature also decreases with temperature in a
sample dependent way. The results are explained by an increase of the filling
of the 2D pxy bands with pressure, the Mg stoichiometry determining the
starting position of the Fermi level. Our measurements indicate that these hole
bands are the relevant ones for superconductivity.Comment: submitted March 9th 2001, PRB accepte
High pressure transport studies of the LiFeAs analogues CuFeTe2 and Fe2As
We have synthesized two iron-pnictide/chalcogenide materials, CuFeTe2 and
Fe2As, which share crystallographic features with known iron-based
superconductors, and carried out high-pressure electrical resistivity
measurements on these materials to pressures in excess of 30 GPa. Both
compounds crystallize in the Cu2Sb-type crystal structure that is
characteristic of LiFeAs (with CuFeTe2 exhibiting a disordered variant). At
ambient pressure, CuFeTe2 is a semiconductor and has been suggested to exhibit
a spin-density-wave transition, while Fe2As is a metallic antiferromagnet. The
electrical resistivity of CuFeTe2, measured at 4 K, decreases by almost two
orders of magnitude between ambient pressure and 2.4 GPa. At 34 GPa, the
electrical resistivity decreases upon cooling the sample below 150 K,
suggesting the proximity of the compound to a metal-insulator transition.
Neither CuFeTe2 nor Fe2As superconduct above 1.1 K throughout the measured
pressure range.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
Retained strength of UHTCMCs after oxidation at 2278 K
In the frame of Horizon 2020 European C3HARME research project, the manufacture of ZrB2-based CMCs was developed through different processes: slurry infiltration and sintering, radio frequency chemical vapour infiltration (RF-CVI) and reactive metal infiltration (RMI). To assess the high temperature stability, room temperature bending strength was measured after oxidizing the samples at 2278 K and compared to the strength of the as-produced materials. Microstructures were analysed before and after the thermal treatment to assess the damage induced by the high temperature oxidation. Short fibre-reinforced composites showed the highest retained strength (>80%) and an unchanged stress–strain curve
Tuning a Schottky barrier in a photoexcited topological insulator with transient Dirac cone electron-hole asymmetry
The advent of Dirac materials has made it possible to realize two dimensional
gases of relativistic fermions with unprecedented transport properties in
condensed matter. Their photoconductive control with ultrafast light pulses is
opening new perspectives for the transmission of current and information. Here
we show that the interplay of surface and bulk transient carrier dynamics in a
photoexcited topological insulator can control an essential parameter for
photoconductivity - the balance between excess electrons and holes in the Dirac
cone. This can result in a strongly out of equilibrium gas of hot relativistic
fermions, characterized by a surprisingly long lifetime of more than 50 ps, and
a simultaneous transient shift of chemical potential by as much as 100 meV. The
unique properties of this transient Dirac cone make it possible to tune with
ultrafast light pulses a relativistic nanoscale Schottky barrier, in a way that
is impossible with conventional optoelectronic materials.Comment: Nature Communications, in press (12 pages, 6 figures
Pinning and switching of magnetic moments in bilayer graphene
We examine the magnetic properties of the localized states induced by lattice
vacancies in bilayer graphene with an unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculation. We
show that with realistic values of the parameters and for experimentally
accessible gate voltages we can have a magnetic switching between an
unpolarized and a fully polarized system.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Raman spectrum and lattice parameters of MgB2 as a function of pressure
We report Raman spectra and synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements of
lattice parameters of polycrystalline MgB2 under hydrostatic pressure
conditions up to 15 GPa. An anomalously broadened Raman band at 620 cm-1 is
observed that exhibits a large linear pressure shift of its frequency. The
large mode damping and Gruneisen parameter indicate a highly anharmonic nature
of the mode, broadly consistent with theoretical predictions for the E2g
in-plane boron stretching mode. The results obtained may provide additional
constraints on the electron-phonon coupling in the system.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
A Survey of Local Group Galaxies Currently Forming Stars: III. A Search for Luminous Blue Variables and Other H-alpha Emission-Lined Stars
We describe a search for H-alpha emission-lined stars in M31, M33, and seven
dwarfs in or near the Local Group (IC 10, NGC 6822, WLM, Sextans B, Sextans A,
Pegasus and the Phoenix dwarf) using interference filter imaging with the KPNO
and CTIO 4-m telescope and Mosaic cameras. The survey is aimed primarily at
identifying new Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) from their spectroscopic
similarity to known LBVs, avoiding the bias towards photometric variability,
which may require centuries to manifest itself if LBVs go through long
quiescent periods. Followup spectroscopy with WIYN confirms that our survey
detected a wealth of stars whose spectra are similar to the known LBVs. We
"classify" the spectra of known LBVs, and compare these to the spectra of the
new LBV candidates. We demonstrate spectacular spectral variability for several
of the new LBV candidates, such as AM2, previously classified as a Wolf-Rayet
star, which now shows FeI, FeII and Balmer emission lines but neither the NIII
4634,42 nor HeII 4686 emission that it did in 1982. Profound spectral changes
are also noted for other suspected and known LBVs. Several of the LBV
candidates also show >0.5 mag changes in V over the past 10-20 years. The
number of known or suspected LBVs is now 24 in M31, 37 in M33, 1 in NGC 6822,
and 3 in IC 10. We estimate that the total number of LBVs in M31 and M33 may be
several hundred, in contrast to the 8 known historically through large-scale
photometric variability. This has significant implications for the time scale
of the LBV phase. We also identify a few new WRs and peculiar emission-lined
objects.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. Version with higher quality
figures may be downloaded from http://www.lowell.edu/users/massey/has.pdf.g
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