448 research outputs found
Properties and strains of additional DNA repair-defective mutants in known and new genes of Neurospora crassa.
Some time ago, a number of mutants hypersensitive to MMS (methyl methane-sulfonate) were induced in Neurospora to obtain further types of DNA repair-deficient mutants; e.g., rec^- types not yet identified in Neurospora (meiotic-defective mutants generally are hyperrec ; Schroeder 1986 Curr. Genet. 10:381-387)
Influence of steps on the tilting and adsorption dynamics of ordered Pn films on vicinal Ag(111) surfaces
Here we present a structural study of pentacene (Pn) thin films on vicinal
Ag(111) surfaces by He atom diffraction measurements and density functional
theory (DFT) calculations supplemented with van der Waals (vdW) interactions.
Our He atom diffraction results suggest initial adsorption at the step edges
evidenced by initial slow specular reflection intensity decay rate as a
function of Pn deposition time. In parallel with the experimental findings, our
DFT+vdW calculations predict the step edges as the most stable adsorption site
on the surface. An isolated molecule adsorbs as tilted on the step edge with a
binding energy of 1.4 eV. In addition, a complete monolayer (ML) with
pentacenes flat on the terraces and tilted only at the step edges is found to
be more stable than one with all lying flat or tilted molecules, which in turn
influences multilayers. Hence our results suggest that step edges can trap Pn
molecules and act as nucleation sites for the growth of ordered thin films with
a crystal structure similar to that of bulk Pn.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Chronic y-secretase inhibition reduces amyloid plaque-associated instability of pre- and postsynaptic structures
The loss of synapses is a strong histological correlate of the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Amyloid bpeptide (Ab), a cleavage product of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), exerts detrimental effects on synapses, a process thought to be causally related to the cognitive deficits in AD. Here, we used in vivo two-photon microscopy to characterize the dynamics of axonal boutons and dendritic spines in APP/Presenilin 1 (APPswe/PS1L166P)–green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice. Time-lapse imaging over 4 weeks revealed a pronounced, concerted instability of pre- and postsynaptic structures within the vicinity of amyloid plaques. Treatment with a novel sulfonamide-type g-secretase inhibitor (GSI) attenuated the formation and growth of new plaques and, most importantly, led to a normalization of the enhanced dynamics of synaptic structures close to plaques. GSI treatment did neither affect spines and boutons distant from plaques in amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1-GFP (APPPS1-GFP) nor those in GFP-control mice, suggesting no obvious neuropathological side effects of the drug
Mechanical Stress Inference for Two Dimensional Cell Arrays
Many morphogenetic processes involve mechanical rearrangement of epithelial
tissues that is driven by precisely regulated cytoskeletal forces and cell
adhesion. The mechanical state of the cell and intercellular adhesion are not
only the targets of regulation, but are themselves likely signals that
coordinate developmental process. Yet, because it is difficult to directly
measure mechanical stress {\it in vivo} on sub-cellular scale, little is
understood about the role of mechanics of development. Here we present an
alternative approach which takes advantage of the recent progress in live
imaging of morphogenetic processes and uses computational analysis of high
resolution images of epithelial tissues to infer relative magnitude of forces
acting within and between cells. We model intracellular stress in terms of bulk
pressure and interfacial tension, allowing these parameters to vary from cell
to cell and from interface to interface. Assuming that epithelial cell layers
are close to mechanical equilibrium, we use the observed geometry of the two
dimensional cell array to infer interfacial tensions and intracellular
pressures. Here we present the mathematical formulation of the proposed
Mechanical Inverse method and apply it to the analysis of epithelial cell
layers observed at the onset of ventral furrow formation in the {\it
Drosophila} embryo and in the process of hair-cell determination in the avian
cochlea. The analysis reveals mechanical anisotropy in the former process and
mechanical heterogeneity, correlated with cell differentiation, in the latter
process. The method opens a way for quantitative and detailed experimental
tests of models of cell and tissue mechanics
Measurement of Semileptonic Branching Fractions of B Mesons to Narrow D** States
Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the DO detector in
proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with
centre-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B ->
\bar{D}_1^0(2420) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0}(2460) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X
and their ratio have been measured: BR(\bar{b}->B) \cdot BR(B-> \bar{D}_1^0
\mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^0 -> D*- pi+) =
(0.087+-0.007(stat)+-0.014(syst))%; BR(\bar{b}->B)\cdot BR(B->D_2^{*0} \mu^+
\nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_2^{*0} -> D*- \pi^+) =
(0.035+-0.007(stat)+-0.008(syst))%; and (BR(B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu
X)BR(D2*0->D*- pi+)) / (BR(B -> \bar{D}_1^{0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)\cdot
BR(\bar{D}_1^{0}->D*- \pi^+)) = 0.39+-0.09(stat)+-0.12(syst), where the charge
conjugated states are always implied.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Search for Large Extra Spatial Dimensions in Dimuon Production with the D0 Detector
We present the results of a search for the effects of large extra spatial
dimensions in collisions at 1.96 TeV in events
containing a pair of energetic muons. The data correspond to 246 \ipb of
integrated luminosity collected by the \D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Good agreement with the expected background was found, yielding no
evidence for large extra dimensions. We set 95% C.L. lower limits on the
fundamental Planck scale between 0.85 TeV and 1.27 TeV within several
formalisms. These are the most stringent limits achieved in the dimuon channel
to date.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. Minor
changes in v2 to match the published versio
Measurement of the Lifetime Using Semileptonic Decays
We report a measurement of the lifetime in the semileptonic decay
channel (and its charge conjugate), using
approximately 0.4 fb of data collected with the D0 detector during 2002
-- 2004. We have reconstructed 5176 signal events, where the
is identified via the decay , followed by . Using these events, we have measured the lifetime to be
. This is the most precise measurement of the lifetime to date.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., 7 pages, 2 figure
Search for the Rare Decay B0_s -> phi mu^+ mu- with the D0 Detector
We present a search for the flavor-changing neutral current decay B0_s -> phi
mu+ mu- using about 0.45 fb^-1 of data collected in p \bar p collisions at
sqrt{s} =1.96 TeV with the D{\O}detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We
find an upper limit on the branching ratio of this decay normalized to B0_s ->
J/psi phi of B(B0_s -> phi mu+ mu-)/B(B0_s -> J/psi phi) < 4.4\times 10^{-3} at
the 95% C.L. Using the central value of the world average branching fraction of
B0_s -> J/psi phi, the limit corresponds to B(B0_s -> phi mu+ mu-) < 4.1 \times
10^{-6} at the 95% C.L., the most stringent upper bound to date.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, to be submitted to Physical Review Letter
Multivariate searches for single top quark production with the D0 detector
We present a search for electroweak production of single top quarks in the
s-channel (p-pbar -> t bbar + X) and t-channel (p-pbar -> tq bbar + X) modes.
We have analyzed 230 pb^(-1) of data collected with the D0 detector at the
Fermilab Tevatron collider at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV.
Two separate analysis methods are used: neural networks and a cut-based
analysis. No evidence for a single top quark signal is found. We set 95%
confidence level upper limits on the production cross sections using Bayesian
statistics, based on event counts and binned likelihoods formed from the neural
network output. The limits from the neural network (cut-based) analysis are 6.4
pb (10.6 pb) in the s-channel and 5.0 pb (11.3 pb) in the t-channel.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. D, Fermilab preprint Fermilab-Pub-06/069-
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