1,184 research outputs found
Protein engineering of cytochrome c by semisynthesis: substitutions at Glutamic acid 66
We have used protein semisynthesis to prepare four analogues of horse cytochrome c, in which the glutamic acid residue at position 66 has been removed and replaced by norvaline, glutamine, lysine and, as a methodological control, glutamic acid. This residue is quite strongly conserved in mitochondrial cytochrome c, and forms part of a cluster of acidic residues that occurs in all cytochromes c but whose function is obscure. Comparative studies of the physical and biochemical properties of the analogues have now disclosed two specific roles for Glu66 in the protein. It contributes significantly to the stabilization of the active conformation of the protein, probably by salt bridge formation, and it appears to participate in the redox-state-dependent ATP-binding site of cytochrome c. Our results also support two general views of the role of surface charged residues in cytochrome c, namely that their disposition influences both redox potential, through the electrostatic field felt at the redox centre, and the kinetics of electron transfer, through the dipole moment they generat
On the averaging principle for one-frequency systems. An application to satellite motions
This paper is related to our previous works [1][2] on the error estimate of
the averaging technique, for systems with one fast angular variable. In the
cited references, a general method (of mixed analytical and numerical type) has
been introduced to obtain precise, fully quantitative estimates on the
averaging error. Here, this procedure is applied to the motion of a satellite
in a polar orbit around an oblate planet, retaining only the J_2 term in the
multipole expansion of the gravitational potential. To exemplify the method,
the averaging errors are estimated for the data corresponding to two Earth
satellites; for a very large number of orbits, computation of our estimators is
much less expensive than the direct numerical solution of the equations of
motion.Comment: LaTeX, 35 pages, 12 figures. The final version published in Nonlinear
Dynamic
A relativistic dynamical model for pi-N scattering
We present a unitary relativistic quasi-potential model for describing the
low-energy pion-nucleon interaction, based on the equal time Bethe-Salpeter
equation. It preserves the covariant structure of a relativistic spin 1/2
particle for the nucleon propagator, to be contrasted to other quasi-potential
approximations.Comment: 4 pages, Latex2e. To appear in the Proceedings of XV Int. Conf. on
Few-Body Problems in Physics (Groningen, July 1997
Administration of human chorionic gonadotropin at embryo transfer induced ovulation of a first-wave dominant follicle and increased progesterone and transfer pregnancy rates
Beef Cattle Research, 2011 is known as Cattlemen’s Day, 2011Embryo transfer (ET) has become more widespread in recent years as a way to improve
cattle genetics. According to the annual statistical survey of the American Embryo
Transfer Association, more than 200,000 fresh and frozen bovine embryos were
transferred in 2008. But despite advancements in reproductive technologies that have
occurred since ET was commercialized in the 1970s, industrywide pregnancy rates are
only 62.4 and 56.9% for fresh and frozen-thawed ET, respectively. Using ET helps
avoid problems from failed fertilization; however, fertilization failure has been characterized
as a relatively unimportant factor of pregnancy loss. Approximately 10% of pregnancy
failures resulted from fertilization failure and another 10% from failed embryo
development. Approximately 20 to 25% of the pregnancy loss in an ET program could
be characterized as early embryonic loss
Racial Disparities in Incidence of Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer and Patient Survival
Background & Aims: Increasing rates of young-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) have attracted substantial research and media attention, but we know little about racial disparities among younger adults with CRC. We examined racial disparities in young-onset CRC by comparing CRC incidence and relative survival among younger (<50-year-old) adults in 2 time periods. Methods: Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of cancer registries, we estimated CRC incidence rates (per 100,000 persons 20–49 years old) from 1992 through 2014 for different periods (1992–1996 vs 2010–2014) and races (white vs black). Relative survival was calculated as the ratio of observed survival to expected survival in a comparable cancer-free population. Results: From 1992–1996 to 2010–2014, CRC incidence increased from 7.5 to 11.0 per 100,000 in white individuals and from 11.7 to 12.7 per 100,000 in black individuals. The increase in rectal cancer was larger in whites (from 2.7 to 4.5 per 100,000) than in blacks (from 3.4 to 4.0 per 100,000); in the 2010–2014 period, blacks and whites had similar rates of rectal cancer. Compared with whites, blacks had smaller increases in relative survival with proximal colon cancer but larger increases in survival with rectal cancer (from 55.3% to 70.8%). Conclusion: In an analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we found racial disparities in incidence of young-onset CRC and patient survival for cancer of the colon but minimal difference for rectal cancer. Well-documented and recent increases in young-onset CRC have largely been due to increases in rectal cancer, especially in whites
Spin-orbit final state interaction in the framework of Glauber theory for (e,e'p) reactions
We investigate the reactions D(e,e'p)n and D(\vec e,e'p)n at GeV energies and
discuss the opportunities to distinguish between different models for the
nuclear ground state by measuring the response functions. In calculating the
final-state interaction (FSI) we employ Glauber theory, and we also include
relativistic effects in the electromagnetic current. We include not only the
central FSI, but also the spin-orbit FSI which is usually neglected in (e,e'p)
calculations within the Glauber framework and we show that this contribution
plays a crucial role for the fifth response function. All of the methods
developed here can be applied to any target nucleus.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, minor change in figures 3 and 4 (changed beam
energy), correction of error in figure 4 in the previous replacemen
Effects of a nanoscopic filler on the structure and dynamics of a simulated polymer melt and the relationship to ultra-thin films
We perform molecular dynamics simulations of an idealized polymer melt
surrounding a nanoscopic filler particle to probe the effects of a filler on
the local melt structure and dynamics. We show that the glass transition
temperature of the melt can be shifted to either higher or lower
temperatures by appropriately tuning the interactions between polymer and
filler. A gradual change of the polymer dynamics approaching the filler surface
causes the change in the glass transition. We also find that while the bulk
structure of the polymers changes little, the polymers close to the surface
tend to be elongated and flattened, independent of the type of interaction we
study. Consequently, the dynamics appear strongly influenced by the
interactions, while the melt structure is only altered by the geometric
constraints imposed by the presence of the filler. Our findings show a strong
similarity to those obtained for ultra-thin polymer films (thickness nm) suggesting that both ultra-thin films and filled-polymer systems might
be understood in the same context
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