1,911 research outputs found
Baculovirus-Mediated Expression of Human 65 kDa and 67 kDa Glutamic Acid Decarboxylases in SF9 Insect Cells and Their Relevance in Diagnosis of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
cDNAs coding for the full-length human 65 and 67 kDa glutamic acid decarboxylases (GAD65 and GAD67) were amplified from pancreas and hippocampus cDNA libraries by polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Both cDNAs were inserted into a baculovirus vector which mediated highly efficient expression of the human GAD65 and GAD67 with histidine-hexapeptides as affinity ligands at their C-termini in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. The recombinant GAD proteins were purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography using a metal-chelating matrix. The infected Sf9 insect cells expressed the recombinant human GAD65 and GAD67 with natural-like conformations, as confirmed by measurement of their enzyme activities as well as their fully restored autoantigenicities. Immunoprecipitation of metabolically labeled infected Sf9 cells demonstrated the autoantigenic potential of the recombinant GAD proteins. The practicability of using recombinant GAD65 and GAD67 derived from the baculovirus expression system for the development of an immunoassay for the diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is discussed
Linking Dynamical and Thermal Models of Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Scattering
To analyse ultrarelativistic nuclear interactions, usually either dynamical
models like the string model are employed, or a thermal treatment based on
hadrons or quarks is applied. String models encounter problems due to high
string densities, thermal approaches are too simplistic considering only
average distributions, ignoring fluctuations. We propose a completely new
approach, providing a link between the two treatments, and avoiding their main
shortcomings: based on the string model, connected regions of high energy
density are identified for single events, such regions referred to as quark
matter droplets. Each individual droplet hadronizes instantaneously according
to the available n-body phase space. Due to the huge number of possible hadron
configurations, special Monte Carlo techniques have been developed to calculate
this disintegration.Comment: Complete paper enclosed as postscript file (uuencoded
Isolation and Characterization of Adhesive Secretion from Cuvierian Tubules of Sea Cucumber Holothuria forskåli (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)
The sea cucumber Holothuria forskåli possesses a specialized system called Cuvierian tubules. During mechanical stimulation white filaments (tubules) are expelled and become sticky upon contact with any object. We isolated a protein with adhesive properties from protein extracts of Cuvierian tubules from H. forskåli. This protein was identified by antibodies against recombinant precollagen D which is located in the byssal threads of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. To find out the optimal procedure for extraction and purification, the identified protein was isolated by several methods, including electroelution, binding to glass beads, immunoprecipitation, and gel filtration. Antibodies raised against the isolated protein were used for localization of the adhesive protein in Cuvierian tubules. Immunostaining and immunogold electron microscopical studies revealed the strongest immunoreactivity in the mesothelium; this tissue layer is involved in adhesion. Adhesion of Cuvierian tubule extracts was measured on the surface of various materials. The extracted protein showed the strongest adhesion to Teflon surface. Increased adhesion was observed in the presence of potassium and EDTA, while cadmium caused a decrease in adhesion. Addition of antibodies and trypsin abolished the adhesive properties of the extract
Pair correlations in nuclei involved in neutrinoless double beta decay: 76Ge and 76Se
Precision measurements were carried out to test the similarities between the
ground states of 76Ge and 76Se. The extent to which these two nuclei can be
characterized as consisting of correlated pairs of neutrons in a BCS-like
ground state was studied. The pair removal (p,t) reaction was measured at the
far forward angle of 3 degrees. The relative cross sections are consistent (at
the 5% level) with the description of these nuclei in terms of a correlated
pairing state outside the N=28 closed shells with no pairing vibrations. Data
were also obtained for 74Ge and 78Se
Cold fronts and multi-temperature structures in the core of Abell 2052
The physics of the coolest phases in the hot Intra-Cluster Medium (ICM) of
clusters of galaxies is yet to be fully unveiled. X-ray cavities blown by the
central Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) contain enough energy to heat the
surrounding gas and stop cooling, but locally blobs or filaments of gas appear
to be able to cool to low temperatures of 10^4 K. In X-rays, however, gas with
temperatures lower than 0.5 keV is not observed. Using a deep XMM-Newton
observation of the cluster of galaxies Abell 2052, we derive 2D maps of the
temperature, entropy, and iron abundance in the core region. About 130 kpc
South-West of the central galaxy, we discover a discontinuity in the surface
brightness of the hot gas which is consistent with a cold front. Interestingly,
the iron abundance jumps from ~0.75 to ~0.5 across the front. In a smaller
region to the North-West of the central galaxy we find a relatively high
contribution of cool 0.5 keV gas, but no X-ray emitting gas is detected below
that temperature. However, the region appears to be associated with much cooler
H-alpha filaments in the optical waveband. The elliptical shape of the cold
front in the SW of the cluster suggests that the front is caused by sloshing of
the hot gas in the clusters gravitational potential. This effect is probably an
important mechanism to transport metals from the core region to the outer parts
of the cluster. The smooth temperature profile across the sharp jump in the
metalicity indicates the presence of heat conduction and the lack of mixing
across the discontinuity. The cool blob of gas NW of the central galaxy was
probably pushed away from the core and squeezed by the adjacent bubble, where
it can cool efficiently and relatively undisturbed by the AGN. Shock induced
mixing between the two phases may cause the 0.5 keV gas to cool non-radiatively
and explain our non-detection of gas below 0.5 keV.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, A&A, in pres
The large-scale shock in the cluster of galaxies Hydra A
We analyzed a deep XMM-Newton observation of the cluster of galaxies Hydra A,
focusing on the large-scale shock discovered as a surface brightness
discontinuity in Chandra images. The shock front can be seen both in the
pressure map and in temperature profiles in several sectors. The Mach numbers
determined from the temperature jumps are in good agreement with the Mach
numbers derived from EPIC/pn surface brightness profiles and previously from
Chandra data and are consistent with M~1.3. The estimated shock age in the
different sectors using a spherically symmetric point explosion model ranges
between 130 and 230 Myr and the outburst energy between 1.5 and 3e61 ergs. The
shape of the shock seen in the pressure map can be approximated with an ellipse
centered 70 kpc towards the NE from the cluster center. We aimed to develop a
better model that can explain the offset between the shock center and the AGN
and give a consistent result on the shock age and energy. To this end, we
performed 3D hydrodynamical simulations in which the shock is produced by a
symmetrical pair of AGN jets launched in a spherical galaxy cluster. As an
explanation of the observed offset of the shock center, we consider large-scale
bulk flows in the intracluster medium. The simulation successfully reproduces
the size, ellipticity, and average Mach number of the observed shock front. The
predicted age of the shock is 160 Myr and the total input energy 3e61 erg. Both
values are within the range determined by the spherically symmetric model.
Matching the observed 70 kpc offset of the shock ellipse from the cluster
center requires large-scale coherent motions with a high velocity of 670 km/s.
We discuss the feasibility of this scenario and offer alternative ways to
produce the offset and to further improve the simulation.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in A&A, minor revision compared to
previous versio
Feedback under the microscope: thermodynamic structure and AGN driven shocks in M87
(abridged) Using a deep Chandra exposure (574 ks), we present high-resolution
thermodynamic maps created from the spectra of 16,000 independent
regions, each with 1,000 net counts. The excellent spatial resolution of
the thermodynamic maps reveals the dramatic and complex temperature, pressure,
entropy and metallicity structure of the system. Excluding the 'X-ray arms',
the diffuse cluster gas at a given radius is strikingly isothermal. This
suggests either that the ambient cluster gas, beyond the arms, remains
relatively undisturbed by AGN uplift, or that conduction in the intracluster
medium (ICM) is efficient along azimuthal directions. We confirm the presence
of a thick (40 arcsec or 3 kpc) ring of high pressure gas at a
radius of 180 arcsec (14 kpc) from the central AGN. We verify that
this feature is associated with a classical shock front, with an average Mach
number M = 1.25. Another, younger shock-like feature is observed at a radius of
40 arcsec (3 kpc) surrounding the central AGN, with an estimated
Mach number M > 1.2. As shown previously, if repeated shocks occur every
10 Myrs, as suggested by these observations, then AGN driven weak shocks
could produce enough energy to offset radiative cooling of the ICM. A high
significance enhancement of Fe abundance is observed at radii 350 - 400 arcsec
(27 - 31 kpc). This ridge is likely formed in the wake of the rising bubbles
filled with radio-emitting plasma that drag cool, metal-rich gas out of the
central galaxy. We estimate that at least solar masses of
Fe has been lifted and deposited at a radius of 350-400 arcsec; approximately
the same mass of Fe is measured in the X-ray bright arms, suggesting that a
single generation of buoyant radio bubbles may be responsible for the observed
Fe excess at 350 - 400 arcsec.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures. Accepted to MNRA
Dilepton Enhancement by Thermal Pion Annihilation in the CERES Experiment
We compare the recent CERES data on dielectron production in 200 GeV/u S+Au
collisions with the theoretical predictions due to pion annihilation in a
thermal hadronization and a string fragmentation scenario. Both models yield
similar results for the dilepton mass spectrum. A satisfactory description of
the experimental spectrum requires an in-medium reduction of the rho-mass and a
freeze-out temperature of about 150 MeV in the thermal model. We emphasize and
discuss the influence of experimental acceptance and resolution corrections.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, 4 eps figures, To appear in Phys. Lett.
Fibroblastoid and ephitelioid cells in tissue culture: differences in sensivity to ouabain and on phospholipid composition
Investigations on nine different mammalian cell lines revealed that permanently growing cells of one morphological class have numerous membrane properties in common which are different or even lacking in the other cell class. With electrophysiological methods it is shown that the sensitivity of the Na+-K+ pump to ouabain is three orders of magnitude higher in the ionically non-coupled epithelioid cells than in the ionically coupled fibroblastoid cells which respond like primary cultures. This is accompanied by considerably higher binding constants for ouabain of the epithelioid cells as was shown by [3 H] ouabain binding and membrane potential measurements. The epithelioid cells also revealed a 50% lower relative amount of phosphatidylethanolamine and a 60-fold less net synthesis of phospatidylinositol. Finally, although primary cultures cannot proliferate without serum, permanent fibroblastoid cells have a reduced serum requirement and permanent epithelioid cells can proliferate without any serum
Investigation of octupole vibrational states in 150Nd via inelastic proton scattering (p,p'g)
Octupole vibrational states were studied in the nucleus
via inelastic proton scattering with \unit[10.9]{MeV} protons which are an
excellent probe to excite natural parity states. For the first time in
, both the scattered protons and the rays were
detected in coincidence giving the possibility to measure branching ratios in
detail. Using the coincidence technique, the ratios of the decaying
transitions for 10 octupole vibrational states and other negative-parity states
to the yrast band were determined and compared to the Alaga rule. The positive
and negative-parity states revealed by this experiment are compared with
Interacting Boson Approximation (IBA) calculations performed in the (spdf)
boson space. The calculations are found to be in good agreement with the
experimental data, both for positive and negative-parity states
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