322 research outputs found
Efficient photochemical activity and strong dichroism of single crystals of reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas viridis
Crystallized reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas viridis (i) are photochemically active with electron transfer from the special pair to the quinones, (ii) show dichroism giving valuable information on the orientation of the different chromophores and (iii) allow chemical treatment in the crystalline phase
Inelastic Quantum Transport
We solve a Schrodinger equation for inelastic quantum transport that retains
full quantum coherence, in contrast to previous rate or Boltzmann equation
approaches. The model Hamiltonian is the zero temperature 1d Holstein model for
an electron coupled to optical phonons (polaron), in a strong electric field.
The Hilbert space grows exponentially with electron position, forming a
non-standard Bethe lattice. We calculate nonperturbatively the transport
current, electron-phonon correlations, and quantum diffusion. This system is a
toy model for the constantly branching ``wavefunction of the universe''.Comment: revtex, 13 pages, 4 figure
Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study
This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis Group via the DOI in this recordOne of the key strategic objectives of the World Health Organisation's global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plan is to improve public awareness and understanding of this issue. Very few AMR awareness campaigns have targeted the animal production sector, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where rural communities can be geographically difficult to access via traditional face-to-face community engagement methods. Aquaculture is a major food production industry in Bangladesh and across Asia, an area which poses a significant risk to global AMR dissemination. In this pilot study, we sought to investigate the potential for digital communication materials to rapidly and effectively communicate AMR messages to rural aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh. Working with stakeholders from the Bangladesh aquaculture industry, we developed a 4-minute digital animation designed specifically for this audience and assessed its capacity to engage and communicate AMR messages to farmers. We then conducted a small-scale social media campaign, to determine the potential for rapidly disseminating AMR awareness materials to a large audience across Bangladesh, where there is an extensive 4Ā G internet network and an ever-increasing proportion of the population (57% as of December 2019) have mobile internet access. Thirty-six farmers were surveyed: all of them liked this method of communication and 97% said it would change the way they use antibiotics in the future. Through the social media campaign, the animation received 9,100 views in the first 2 weeks alone. Although preliminary, these results demonstrate the huge potential for digital communication methods for the rapid and widespread communication of AMR awareness materials to rural aquaculture communities in Bangladesh and across Asia. Our results support the need for more research into the most appropriate and effective content of AMR awareness campaigns for aquaculture communities and question the need for explaining the science underlying AMR in such communication materials
Theory of bound polarons in oxide compounds
We present a multilateral theoretical study of bound polarons in oxide
compounds MgO and \alpha-Al_2O_3 (corundum). A continuum theory at arbitrary
electron-phonon coupling is used for calculation of the energies of thermal
dissociation, photoionization (optically induced release of an electron (hole)
from the ground self-consistent state), as well as optical absorption to the
non-relaxed excited states. Unlike the case of free strong-coupling polarons,
where the ratio \kappa of the photoionization energy to the thermal
dissociation energy was shown to be always equal to 3, here this ratio depends
on the Froehlich coupling constant \alpha and the screened Coulomb interaction
strength \beta. Reasonable variation of these two parameters has demonstrated
that the magnitude of \kappa remains usually in the narrow interval from 1 to
2.5. This is in agreement with atomistic calculations and experimental data for
hole O^- polarons bound to the cation vacancy in MgO. The thermal dissociation
energy for the ground self-consistent state and the energy of the optically
induced charge transfer process (hops of a hole between O^{2-} ions) have been
calculated using the quantum-chemical method INDO. Results obtained within the
two approaches for hole O polarons bound by the cation vacancies (V^-) in
MgO and by the Mg^{2+} impurity (V_{Mg}) in corundum are compared to
experimental data and to each other. We discuss a surprising closeness of the
results obtained on the basis of independent models and their agreement with
experiment.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, E-mail addresses:
[email protected], [email protected]
Differentiation of haploid and diploid fertilities in Gracilaria chilensis affect ploidy ratio
Background
Algal isomorphic biphasic life cycles alternate between free-living diploid (tetrasporophytes) and haploid (dioicious gametophytes) phases and the hypotheses explaining their maintenance are still debated. Classic models state that conditional differentiation between phases is required for the evolutionary stability of biphasic life cycles while other authors proposed that the uneven ploidy abundances observed in the field are explained by their cytological differences in spore production. Results
We monitored the state and fate of individuals of the red seaweed Gracilaria chilensis periodically for 3 years in five intertidal pools from two sites with distinct conditions. We tested for differentiation in fecundity and spore survival among the gametophyte males and females (haploids) and the tetrasporophytes (diploids). We tested for the influence of fecundity and spore survival on the observed uneven ploidy abundances in recruits. The probability of a frond becoming fecund was size-dependent, highest for the haploid males and lowest for the haploid females, with the diploids displaying intermediate probabilities. Fecund diploids released more tetraspores than carpospores released by the haploid females. Spore survival depended on ploidy and on the local density of co-habiting adult fronds. An advantage of diploid over haploid germlings was observed at very low and very high adult fronds densities.
Conclusions
Neither spore production nor spore survival determined the highly variable ploidy ratio within G. chilensis recruits. This result invalidates the hypothesis of natural cytological differences in spore production as the only driver of uneven field ploidy abundances in this species. Diploid spores (carpospores) survived better than haploid spores (tetraspores), especially in locations and time periods that were associated with the occurrence of strong biotic and abiotic stressors. We hypothesise that carpospore survival is higher due to support by their haploid female progenitors passing-on nutrients and chemical compounds improving survival under stressful conditions.AHE was supported by fellowships SFRH/BPD/63703/2009, SFRH/BPD/
107878/2015 and UID/Multi/04326/2016 of the National Science Foundation
FCT of Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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Differential Roles of the PKC Novel Isoforms, PKCĪ“ and PKCĪµ, in Mouse and Human Platelets
Background
Increasing evidence suggests that individual isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) play distinct roles in regulating platelet activation.
Methodology/Principal Findings
In this study, we focus on the role of two novel PKC isoforms, PKCĪ“ and PKCĪµ, in both mouse and human platelets. PKCĪ“ is robustly expressed in human platelets and undergoes transient tyrosine phosphorylation upon stimulation by thrombin or the collagen receptor, GPVI, which becomes sustained in the presence of the pan-PKC inhibitor, Ro 31-8220. In mouse platelets, however, PKCĪ“ undergoes sustained tyrosine phosphorylation upon activation. In contrast the related isoform, PKCĪµ, is expressed at high levels in mouse but not human platelets. There is a marked inhibition in aggregation and dense granule secretion to low concentrations of GPVI agonists in mouse platelets lacking PKCĪµ in contrast to a minor inhibition in response to G protein-coupled receptor agonists. This reduction is mediated by inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation of the FcRĪ³-chain and downstream proteins, an effect also observed in wild-type mouse platelets in the presence of a PKC inhibitor.
Conclusions
These results demonstrate a reciprocal relationship in levels of the novel PKC isoforms Ī“ and Īµ in human and mouse platelets and a selective role for PKCĪµ in signalling through GPVI
X-ray Absorption Studies of Ceria with Trivalent Dopants
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65899/1/j.1151-2916.1991.tb04328.x.pd
First, do no harm: time for a systems approach to address the problem of health-care-derived pharmaceutical pollution.
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