Relatedness among cryo-bank bulls of the Yakutian Cattle breed as estimated with microsatellite data

We analysed 30 autosomal microsatellites in order to clarify genetic relatedness between these bulls and provide recommendations for the use of their semen in conservation and breed management

Deterministic Walks in Quenched Random Environments of Chaotic Maps

This paper concerns the propagation of particles through a quenched random medium. In the one- and two-dimensional models considered, the local dynamics is given by expanding circle maps and hyperbolic toral automorphisms, respectively. The particle motion in both models is chaotic and found to fluctuate about a linear drift. In the proper scaling limit, the cumulative distribution function of the fluctuations converges to a Gaussian one with system dependent variance while the density function shows no convergence to any function. We have verified our analytical results using extreme precision numerical computations.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Langevin Dynamics Simulations of Polymer Translocation through Nanopores

We investigate the dynamics of polymer translocation through a nanopore using two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations. In the absence of an external driving force, we consider a polymer which is initially placed in the middle of the pore and study the escape time τe required for the polymer to completely exit the pore on either side. The distribution of the escape times is wide and has a long tail. We find that τe scales with the chain length N as τe∼N1+2ν, where ν is the Flory exponent. For driven translocation, we concentrate on the influence of the friction coefficient ξ, the driving force E, and the length of the chain N on the translocation time τ, which is defined as the time duration between the first monomer entering the pore and the last monomer leaving the pore. For strong driving forces, the distribution of translocation times is symmetric and narrow without a long tail and τ∼E−1. The influence of ξ depends on the ratio between the driving and frictional forces. For intermediate ξ, we find a crossover scaling for τ with N from τ∼N2ν for relatively short chains to τ∼N1+ν for longer chains. However, for higher ξ, only τ∼N1+ν is observed even for short chains, and there is no crossover behavior. This result can be explained by the fact that increasing ξ increases the Rouse relaxation time of the chain, in which case even relatively short chains have no time to relax during translocation. Our results are in good agreement with previous simulations based on the fluctuating bond lattice model of polymers at intermediate friction values, but reveal additional features of dependency on friction.Peer reviewe

Submonolayer Growth with Anomalously High Island Density in Hyperthermal Deposition

We present a rate equation model for submonolayer island growth under conditions where hyperthermal deposition techniques such as low-energy ion deposition are employed to achieve smooth layer-by-layer growth. By asymptotic analysis, we demonstrate that the model exhibits stationary behavior with well-defined dynamic and growth exponents β and χ, respectively, in the limit of small and high detachment rates. We verify these predictions by using the particle coalescence simulation method. The simulations reveal the existence of a relatively sharp transition regime with an increasing detachment rate of adatoms from high values of the growth exponent β≈1 to much smaller values of β determined by detachment and island diffusion processes. Our numerical results for the island size distribution indicate an anomalously high number of small islands, in agreement with available experimental data.Peer reviewe

In vivo screening reveals interactions between Drosophila Manf and genes involved in the mitochondria and the ubiquinone synthesis pathway

Background: Mesencephalic Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic Factor (MANF) and Cerebral Dopamine Neurotrophic Factor (CDNF) form an evolutionarily conserved family of neurotrophic factors. Orthologues for MANF/CDNF are the only neurotrophic factors as yet identified in invertebrates with conserved amino acid sequence. Previous studies indicate that mammalian MANF and CDNF support and protect brain dopaminergic system in non-cell-autonomous manner. However, MANF has also been shown to function intracellularly in the endoplasmic reticulum. To date, the knowledge on the interacting partners of MANF/CDNF and signaling pathways they activate is rudimentary. Here, we have employed the Drosophila genetics to screen for potential interaction partners of Drosophila Manf (DmManf) in vivo. Results: We first show that DmManf plays a role in the development of Drosophila wing. We exploited this function by using Drosophila UAS-RNAi lines and discovered novel genetic interactions of DmManf with genes known to function in the mitochondria. We also found evidence of an interaction between DmManf and the Drosophila homologue encoding Ku70, the closest structural homologue of SAP domain of mammalian MANF. Conclusions: In addition to the previously known functions of MANF/CDNF protein family, DmManf also interacts with mitochondria-related genes. Our data supports the functional importance of these evolutionarily significant proteins and provides new insights for the future studies.Peer reviewe

Role of concerted atomic movements on the diffusion of small islands on fcc(100) metal surfaces

The master equation formalism is used to analytically calculate the center-of-mass diffusion coefficient for small two-dimensional islands on fcc(100) metal surfaces. We consider the case of Cu on Cu(100) containing up to nine atoms, with energetics obtained from semiempirical interaction potentials. In the case where only single-particle processes are taken into account, the analytic results agree well with previous Monte Carlo simulation data. However, when recently proposed many-particle processes are included, in some cases the diffusion coefficients increase by an order of magnitude at room temperatures. Qualitatively, the oscillatory behavior of diffusion as a function of the island size is not affected by the many-particle processes.Peer reviewe

Microwave-assisted synthesis, characterization and modeling of cpo-27-mg metal-organic framework for drug delivery

The coordination polymer CPO-27-Mg was rapidly synthesized under microwave irra-diation. This material exhibits a sufficiently high drug loading towards aspirin (~8% wt.) and paracetamol (~14% wt.). The binding of these two molecules with the inner surface of the metal-organic framework was studied employing the Gaussian and Plane Wave approach of the Density Functional Theory. The structure of CPO-27-Mg persists after the adsorption of aspirin or paracetamol and their desorption energies, being quite high, decrease under solvent conditions. © 2021 by the authors. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Twinfilin is required for actin-dependent developmental processes in Drosophila

The actin cytoskeleton is essential for cellular remodeling and many developmental and morphological processes. Twinfilin is a ubiquitous actin monomer–binding protein whose biological function has remained unclear. We discovered and cloned the Drosophila twinfilin homologue, and show that this protein is ubiquitously expressed in different tissues and developmental stages. A mutation in the twf gene leads to a number of developmental defects, including aberrant bristle morphology. This results from uncontrolled polymerization of actin filaments and misorientation of actin bundles in developing bristles. In wild-type bristles, twinfilin localizes diffusively to cytoplasm and to the ends of actin bundles, and may therefore be involved in localization of actin monomers in cells. We also show that twinfilin and the ADF/cofilin encoding gene twinstar interact genetically in bristle morphogenesis. These results demonstrate that the accurate regulation of size and dynamics of the actin monomer pool by twinfilin is essential for a number of actin-dependent developmental processes in multicellular eukaryotes

Effects of solar irradiation on thermally driven CO2 methanation using Ni/CeO2-based catalyst

Utilization of the renewable energy sources is one of the main challenges in the state-of-the-art technologies for CO2 recycling. Here we have taken advantage of the solar light harvesting in the thermocatalytic approach to carbon dioxide methanation. The large-surface-area Ni/CeO2 catalyst produced by a scalable low-cost method was characterized and tested in the dark and under solar light irradiation conditions. Light-assisted CO2 con-version experiments as well as in-situ DRIFT spectrometry, performed at different illumination intensities, have revealed a dual effect of the incident photons on the catalytic properties of the two-component Ni/CeO2 catalyst. On the one hand, absorbed photons induce a localized surface plasmon resonance in the Ni nanoparticles fol-lowed by dissipation of the heat to the oxide matrix. On the other hand, the illumination activates the photo-catalytic properties of the CeO2 support, which leads to an increase in the concentration of the intermediates being precursor for methane production. Analysis of the methane production at different temperatures and illumination conditions has shown that the methanation reaction in our case is controlled by a photothermally- activated process. The used approach has allowed us to increase the reaction rate up to 2.4 times and conse-quently to decrease the power consumption by 20 % under solar illumination, thus replacing the conventional thermal activation of the reaction with a green energy source