Kant

William Wallace\u27s Kant focuses on Immanuel Kant\u27s life and the origin and development of Kant\u27s views and ideas. Please see the attached contents.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/rarebooks/1193/thumbnail.jp

A model-theoretic interpretation of environmentally-induced superselection

Environmentally-induced superselection or "einselection" has been proposed as an observer-independent mechanism by which apparently classical systems "emerge" from physical interactions between degrees of freedom described completely quantum-mechanically. It is shown that einselection can only generate classical systems if the "environment" is assumed \textit{a priori} to be classical; einselection therefore does not provide an observer-independent mechanism by which classicality can emerge from quantum dynamics. Einselection is then reformulated in terms of positive operator-valued measures (POVMs) acting on a global quantum state. It is shown that this re-formulation enables a natural interpretation of apparently-classical systems as virtual machines that requires no assumptions beyond those of classical computer science.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; minor correction

DNA sequencing with MspA: molecular dynamics simulations reveal free-energy differences between sequencing and non-sequencing mutants

MspA has been identified as a promising candidate protein as a component of a nanopore-based DNA-sequencing device. However the wildtype protein must be engineered to incorporate all of the features desirable for an accurate and efficient device. In the present study we have utilized atomistic molecular dynamics to perform umbrella-sampling calculations to calculate the potential of mean force (PMF) profiles for translocation of the four DNA nucleotides through MspA. We show there is an energetic barrier to translocation of individual nucleotides through a mutant that closely resembles the wildtype protein, but not through a mutant engineered for the purpose of sequencing. Crucially we are able to quantify the change in free energy for mutating key residues. Thus providing a quantitative characterisation of the energetic impact of individual amino acid sidechains on nucleotide translocation through the pore of MspA

Effects of the mutations Ala30 to Pro and Ala53 to Thr on the physical and morphological properties of α-synuclein protein implicated in Parkinson's disease

Abstractα-Synuclein (α-syn) protein has been found in association with the pathological lesions of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, mutations in the α-syn gene have been reported in families susceptible to an inherited form of Parkinson's disease. We report here that human wild-type α-syn, PD-linked mutant α-syn(Ala30Pro) and mutant α-syn(Ala53Thr) proteins can self-aggregate and form amyloid-like filaments. The mutant α-syn forms more β-sheet and mature filaments than the wild-type protein. These findings suggest that accumulation of α-syn as insoluble deposits of amyloid may play a major role in the pathogenesis of these neurodegenerative diseases

Contrasting biogeochemistry of nitrogen in the Atlantic and Pacific oxygen minimum zones

We present new data for the stable isotope ratio ofinorganic nitrogen species from the contrasting oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) of the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic, south of Cape Verde, and the Eastern Tropical South Pacific off Peru. Differences in minimum oxygen concentration and corresponding N-cycle processes for the two OMZs are reflected in strongly contrasting δ15N distributions. Pacific surface waters are marked by strongly positive values for δ15N-NO−3) reflecting fractionation associated withsubsurface N loss and partial NO−3 utilization. This contrasts with negative values in NO−3 depleted surface waters of the Atlantic which are lower than can be explained by N supply via N2 fixation. We suggest the negative values reflect inputs of nitrate, possibly transient, associated withdeposition of Saharan dust. Strong signals of N-loss processes in the subsurfacePacific OMZ are evident in the isotope and N2O data, both ofwhich are compatible with a contribution of canonical denitrification to overall N-loss. However the apparent N isotope fractionation factor observed is relatively low (ɛd=11.4 ‰) suggesting an effect of influence from denitrification in sediments. Identical positive correlation of N2O vs. AOU for waters with oxygen concentrations ([O2]<5 μmol l−1) in both regions reflect a nitrification source. Sharp decrease in N2O concentrations is observed in the Pacific OMZ due to denitrification under oxygen concentrations O2 <5 μmol l−1

The role of epigenetics in cardiovascular health and ageing: A focus on physical activity and nutrition

The cardiovascular system is responsible for transport of blood and nutrients to tissues, and is pivotal to the physiological health and longevity. Epigenetic modification is a natural, age-associated process resulting in highly contextualised gene expression with clear implications for cell differentiation and disease onset. Biological/epigenetic age is independent of chronological age, constituting a highly reflective snapshot of an individual\u27s overall health. Accelerated vascular ageing is of major concern, effectively lowering disease threshold. Age-related chronic illness involves a complex interplay between many biological processes and is modulated by non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors. These alter the static genome by a number of epigenetic mechanisms, which change gene expression in an age and lifestyle dependent manner. This \u27epigenetic drift\u27 impacts health and contributes to the etiology of chronic illness. Lifestyle factors may cause acceleration of this epigenetic "clock", pre-disposing individuals to cardiovascular disease. Nutrition and physical activity are modifiable lifestyle choices, synergistically contributing to cardiovascular health. They represent a powerful potential epigenetic intervention point for effective cardiovascular protective and management strategies. Thus, together with traditional risk factors, monitoring the epigenetic signature of ageing may prove beneficial for tailoring lifestyle to fit biology - supporting the increasingly popular concept of "ageing well"

Generalized Farey trees, transfer Operators and phase transitions

We consider a family of Markov maps on the unit interval, interpolating between the tent map and the Farey map. The latter map is not uniformly expanding. Each map being composed of two fractional linear transformations, the family generalizes many particular properties which for the case of the Farey map have been successfully exploited in number theory. We analyze the dynamics through the spectral analysis of generalized transfer operators. Application of the thermodynamic formalism to the family reveals first and second order phase transitions and unusual properties like positivity of the interaction function.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figure

On the inner Double-Resonance Raman scattering process in bilayer graphene

The dispersion of phonons and the electronic structure of graphene systems can be obtained experimentally from the double-resonance (DR) Raman features by varying the excitation laser energy. In a previous resonance Raman investigation of graphene, the electronic structure was analyzed in the framework of the Slonczewski-Weiss-McClure (SWM) model, considering the outer DR process. In this work we analyze the data considering the inner DR process, and obtain SWM parameters that are in better agreement with those obtained from other experimental techniques. This result possibly shows that there is still a fundamental open question concerning the double resonance process in graphene systems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure