4,651 research outputs found
Circular Dichroism of RbHe and RbN Molecules
We present measurements of the circular dichroism of optically pumped Rb
vapor near the D1 resonance line. Collisions with the buffer gases He and
N reduce the transparency of the vapor, even when fully polarized. We use
two methods to measure this effect, show that the He results can be understood
from RbHe potential curves, and show how this effect conspires with the
spectral profile of the optical pumping light to increase the laser power
demands for optical pumping of very optically thick samples
A model of phase relations in the system MgO-SiO_2-H_2O-CO_2 and prediction of the compositions of liquids coexisting with forsterite and enstatite
A comprehensive model has been
developed for the system MgO-SiO_2-H_2O-CO_2 on the
basis of experimental studies, Schreinemaker's
rules, and thermodynamic data. The assemblage
forsterite plus enstatite is predicted to melt
in the presence of vapor of any H_2O/CO_2 ratio at
low pressures, in the presence of vapor whose
H_2O/CO_2 ratio is buffered by the presence of
magnesite at intermediate pressures, and at a
vapor-absent eutectic with brucite and magnetite
at high pressures. The composition of the
liquid at the solidus for a bulk composition of
forsterite plus enstatite plus a small amount of
volatiles with a 3/1 H_2O/CO_2 ratio changes from
enstatite-quartz normative at 20 kbar, to periclase-
forsterite normative at 50 kbar, to
forsterite-enstatite normative at 90 kbar and
greater pressures. Forsterite cannot coexist
with H_2O-CO_2 vapor at pressures greater than
90 kbar. Thus all melting in the earth's
mantle at higher pressures must be vapor-absent
Breakdown of Angular Momentum Selection Rules in High Pressure Optical Pumping Experiments
We present measurements, using two complementary methods, of the breakdown of
atomic angular momentum selection rules in He-broadened Rb vapor. Atomic dark
states are rendered weakly absorbing due to fine-structure mixing during Rb-He
collisions. The effect substantially increases the photon demand for optical
pumping of dense vapors
Magic wavelengths for the transition in rubidium
Magic wavelengths, for which there is no differential ac Stark shift for the
ground and excited state of the atom, allow trapping of excited Rydberg atoms
without broadening the optical transition. This is an important tool for
implementing quantum gates and other quantum information protocols with Rydberg
atoms, and reliable theoretical methods to find such magic wavelengths are thus
extremely useful. We use a high-precision all-order method to calculate magic
wavelengths for the transition of rubidium, and compare the
calculation to experiment by measuring the light shift for atoms held in an
optical dipole trap at a range of wavelengths near a calculated magic value
Solidity of viscous liquids. IV. Density fluctuations
This paper is the fourth in a series exploring the physical consequences of
the solidity of highly viscous liquids. It is argued that the two basic
characteristics of a flow event (a jump between two energy minima in
configuration space) are the local density change and the sum of all particle
displacements. Based on this it is proposed that density fluctuations are
described by a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation with rates in k-space of
the form with where is the average
intermolecular distance. The inequality expresses a long-wavelength dominance
of the dynamics which implies that the Hamiltonian (free energy) may be taken
to be ultra local. As an illustration of the theory the case with the simplest
non-trivial Hamiltonian is solved to second order in the Gaussian
approximation, where it predicts an asymmetric frequency dependence of the
isothermal bulk modulus with Debye behavior at low frequencies and an
decay of the loss at high frequencies. Finally, a general
formalism for the description of viscous liquid dynamics, which supplements the
density dynamics by including stress fields, a potential energy field, and
molecular orientational fields, is proposed
Structure and expression of nuclear oncogenes in multi-stage thyroid tumorigenesis.
We have investigated the possibility that structural alterations of the 'nuclear' oncogene family (c-myc, N-myc, L-myc, fos, myb and p53) leading to aberrant expression might, as in several other tumour types, play a role in the multi-stage development of tumorigenesis in the human thyroid follicular cell. Direct analysis of expression by slot and Northern blot RNA hybridisation showed that normal thyroid expresses surprisingly high levels of fos, and to a lesser extent c-myc, c-myc expression was markedly increased in all tumours, both benign and malignant, but no increase was seen in any other nuclear oncogene. fos expression was reduced specifically in one type of malignant tumour-follicular carcinoma-in inverse correlation with differentiation. Southern blot analysis showed no evidence of rearrangement or amplification of c-myc, or of any other 'nuclear' oncogene in any thyroid tumour. We conclude that there is no evidence that a primary abnormality of these genes plays a role in thyroid follicular cell tumorigenesis and suggest that the observed changes in expression can be adequately explained as secondary consequences of the tumour phenotype
Identification of amino acid residues of the NR2A subunit that control glutamate potency in recombinant NR1/NR2A NMDA receptors
The NMDA type of ligand-gated glutamate receptor requires the presence of both glutamate and glycine for gating. These receptors are hetero-oligomers of NR1 and NR2 subunits. Previously it was thought that the binding sites for glycine and glutamate were formed by residues on the NR1 subunit. Indeed, it has been shown that the effects of glycine are controlled by residues on the NR1 subunit, and a “Venus flytrap” model for the glycine binding site has been suggested by analogy with bacterial periplasmic amino acid binding proteins. By analysis of 10 mutant NMDA receptors, we now show that residues on the NR2A subunit control glutamate potency in recombinant NR1/NR2A receptors, without affecting glycine potency. Furthermore, we provide evidence that, at least for some mutated residues, the reduced potency of glutamate cannot be explained by alteration of gating but has to be caused primarily by impairing the binding of the agonist to the resting state of the receptor. One NR2A mutant, NR2A(T671A), had anEC50for glutamate 1000-fold greater than wild type and a 255-fold reduced affinity for APV, yet it had single-channel openings very similar to those of wild type. Therefore we propose that the glutamate binding site is located on NR2 subunits and (taking our data together with previous work) is not on the NR1 subunit. Our data further imply that each NMDA receptor subunit possesses a binding site for an agonist (glutamate or glycine).</jats:p
Susceptibility to apoptosis is differentially regulated by c-myc and mutated Ha-ras oncogenes and is associated with endonuclease availability.
Oncogenes and oncosuppressors can deregulate cell replication in tumours, and recently have been shown to influence the probability of apoptosis. The effects of human c-myc and mutated (T24) Ha-ras oncogenes on susceptibility to apoptosis were investigated by introducing them into immortalised rat fibroblasts. The resulting family of transfectants showed closely similar measures of proliferation, but widely divergent rates of apoptosis, differing by up to fifteen-fold, that correlated inversely with population expansion rates in vitro. T24-ras transfectants with moderate or high p21ras expression showed reduced apoptosis, and this was reversed by pharmacological inhibition of membrane localisation of p21ras by mevinolin. In contrast, c-myc stimulated apoptosis, and this was further enhanced by serum deprivation. Inducibility of effector proteins represents one possible mechanism of genetic control of the susceptibility to apoptosis, and its investigation showed that c-myc was associated with expression by viable cells of latent calcium/magnesium sensitive endonuclease activity characteristic of apoptosis. In contrast, endonuclease activity was not detected in viable cells of a T24-ras transfectant expressing high levels of p21ras. Thus, there appeared to be differential regulation of susceptibility to apoptosis, positively by c-myc and negatively by activated ras, and this was associated with availability of endonuclease activity. Genetic modulation of apoptosis in human neoplasms is likely to influence net growth rate, retention of cells acquiring new mutations and response to certain chemotherapeutic agents
Hydrous Carbonatitic Liquids Drive CO2 Recycling From Subducted Marls and Limestones
This research was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research (MIUR) program PRIN2017 and by the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO). We are greatly indebted to Andrea Risplendente for careful examination of run charges at the Electron Microprobe.Pelagic limestones are subducted in a variety of subduction zones worldwide. Despite the geochemical relevance
of systems enriched in CaCO3, previous experimental investigations mostly focused on carbonated pelites, with
low Ca/(Ca+Mg+Fe) ratio. We present the compositions and the formation conditions of liquids in the model
system CaO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐H2O‐CO2 (CASHC), building on phase relationships in the subsystems CHC and
CSHC, where a second critical endpoint was suggested at temperatures as low as 515 °C, and 3.2 GPa. Multianvil
experiments were performed at 4.2 and 6.0 GPa on five bulk compositions at variable Ca/Si/Al ratios. H2O
contents
vary from 5.6 to 21 wt%. Aragonite + kyanite + vapor and minor lawsonite form at 700 °C, replaced by
zoisite/grossular at 800 °C. Between 850 °C and 950 °C, a complex sequence of textural features is observed
upon quenching of a single volatile‐rich liquid phase formed at run conditions. Precipitates include dendritic
CaCO3, silicate glass, and Al‐rich whiskers. The bulk composition of such hydrous carbonatitic liquids is
retrieved by image analysis on X‐ray maps, showing Ca/Si ratio increasing with pressure and temperature.
Hydrous Ca‐carbonatitic liquids are efficient media for scavenging volatiles from subducted crustal material and
for metasomatizing the mantle wedge.Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR)Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO
Functional properties of in vitro excitatory cortical neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells
The in vitro derivation of regionally defined human neuron types from patient‐derived stem cells is now established as a resource to investigate human development and disease. Characterization of such neurons initially focused on the expression of developmentally regulated transcription factors and neural markers, in conjunction with the development of protocols to direct and chart the fate of differentiated neurons. However, crucial to the understanding and exploitation of this technology is to determine the degree to which neurons recapitulate the key functional features exhibited by their native counterparts, essential for determining their usefulness in modelling human physiology and disease in vitro. Here, we review the emerging data concerning functional properties of human pluripotent stem cell‐derived excitatory cortical neurons, in the context of both maturation and regional specificity. [Image: see text
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