A distinct mechanism for the ABC transporter BtuCD–BtuF revealed by the dynamics of complex formation

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are integral membrane proteins that translocate a diverse array of substrates across cell membranes. We present here the dynamics of complex formation of three structurally characterized ABC transporters—the BtuCD vitamin B_(12) importer and MetNI d/l-methionine importer from Escherichia coli and the Hi1470/1 metal-chelate importer from Haemophilus influenzae—in complex with their cognate binding proteins. Similarly to other ABC importers, MetNI interacts with its binding protein with low affinity (K_d ~10^(−4) M). In contrast, BtuCD–BtuF and Hi1470/1–Hi1472 form stable, high-affinity complexes (K_d ~10^(−13) and 10^(−9) M, respectively). In BtuCD–BtuF, vitamin B_(12) accelerates the complex dissociation rate ~10^7-fold, with ATP having an additional destabilizing effect. The findings presented here highlight substantial mechanistic differences between BtuCD–BtuF, and likely Hi1470/1–Hi1472, and the better-characterized maltose and related ABC transport systems, indicating that there is considerable mechanistic diversity within this large protein super-family

A Dispersive Analysis on the f0(600)f_0(600) and f0(980)f_0(980) Resonances in γγ→π+π−,π0π0\gamma\gamma\to\pi^+\pi^-, \pi^0\pi^0 Processes

We estimate the di-photon coupling of $f_0(600)$, $f_0(980)$ and $f_2(1270)$ resonances in a coupled channel dispersive approach. The $f_0(600)$ di-photon coupling is also reinvestigated using a single channel $T$ matrix for $\pi\pi$ scattering with better analyticity property, and it is found to be significantly smaller than that of a $\bar qq$ state. Especially we also estimate the di-photon coupling of the third sheet pole located near $\bar KK$ threshold, denoted as $f_0^{III}(980)$. It is argued that this third sheet pole may be originated from a coupled channel Breit-Wigner description of the $f_0(980)$ resonance.Comment: 24 pages and 13 eps figures. A nuerical bug in previous version is fixed. Some results changed. References and new figures added. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Systematic Theoretical Search for Dibaryons in a Relativistic Model

A relativistic quark potential model is used to do a systematic search for quasi-stable dibaryon states in the $u$, $d$, and $s$ three flavor world. Flavor symmetry breaking and channel coupling effects are included and an adiabatic method and fractional parentage expansion technique are used in the calculations. The relativistic model predicts dibaryon candidates completely consistent with the nonrelativistic model.Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figure

An Inward-Facing Conformation of a Putative Metal-Chelate–Type ABC Transporter

The crystal structure of a putative metal-chelate–type adenosine triphosphate (ATP)–binding cassette (ABC) transporter encoded by genes HI1470 and HI1471 of Haemophilus influenzae has been solved at 2.4 angstrom resolution. The permeation pathway exhibits an inward-facing conformation, in contrast to the outward-facing state previously observed for the homologous vitamin B12 importer BtuCD. Although the structures of both HI1470/1 and BtuCD have been solved in nucleotide-free states, the pairs of ABC subunits in these two structures differ by a translational shift in the plane of the membrane that coincides with a repositioning of the membrane-spanning subunits. The differences observed between these ABC transporters involve relatively modest rearrangements and may serve as structural models for inward- and outward-facing conformations relevant to the alternating access mechanism of substrate translocation

Spatial stochastic resonance in 1D Ising systems

The 1D Ising model is analytically studied in a spatially periodic and oscillatory external magnetic field using the transfer-matrix method. For low enough magnetic field intensities the correlation between the external magnetic field and the response in magnetization presents a maximum for a given temperature. The phenomenon can be interpreted as a resonance phenomenon induced by the stochastic heatbath. This novel "spatial stochastic resonance" has a different origin from the classical stochastic resonance phenomenon.Comment: REVTex, 5 pages, 3 figure

Clustering and Sharing Incentives in BitTorrent Systems

Peer-to-peer protocols play an increasingly instrumental role in Internet content distribution. Consequently, it is important to gain a full understanding of how these protocols behave in practice and how their parameters impact overall performance. We present the first experimental investigation of the peer selection strategy of the popular BitTorrent protocol in an instrumented private torrent. By observing the decisions of more than 40 nodes, we validate three BitTorrent properties that, though widely believed to hold, have not been demonstrated experimentally. These include the clustering of similar-bandwidth peers, the effectiveness of BitTorrent's sharing incentives, and the peers' high average upload utilization. In addition, our results show that BitTorrent's new choking algorithm in seed state provides uniform service to all peers, and that an underprovisioned initial seed leads to the absence of peer clustering and less effective sharing incentives. Based on our observations, we provide guidelines for seed provisioning by content providers, and discuss a tracker protocol extension that addresses an identified limitation of the protocol

Linguistic expert creation in online health practices

In this chapter, we explore how the construction of an expert identity varies across online e-health settings with different socio-technological features. Our methodology is qualitative in nature and draws on insights from discourse analysis, in particular positioning theory. Results show that four aspects of creating expertise are vital: the embeddedness of the posi-tioning strategies in the online health context, the interplay between these strategies within each setting, the interactivity of the medium, and the fact that not only professionals, but also clients and laypeople construct their expertise. The results reveal that previously found strategies to create expertise (e.g., using jargon or showing empathy) could be confirmed in our corpus, and that the interplay of several strategies is in fact needed to create credible and trustworthy expert identities for all participants involved. This interplay varies accord-ing to the practice