298 research outputs found
The hydrogen atom in an electric field: Closed-orbit theory with bifurcating orbits
Closed-orbit theory provides a general approach to the semiclassical
description of photo-absorption spectra of arbitrary atoms in external fields,
the simplest of which is the hydrogen atom in an electric field. Yet, despite
its apparent simplicity, a semiclassical quantization of this system by means
of closed-orbit theory has not been achieved so far. It is the aim of this
paper to close that gap. We first present a detailed analytic study of the
closed classical orbits and their bifurcations. We then derive a simple form of
the uniform semiclassical approximation for the bifurcations that is suitable
for an inclusion into a closed-orbit summation. By means of a generalized
version of the semiclassical quantization by harmonic inversion, we succeed in
calculating high-quality semiclassical spectra for the hydrogen atom in an
electric field
Semiclassical quantization of the hydrogen atom in crossed electric and magnetic fields
The S-matrix theory formulation of closed-orbit theory recently proposed by
Granger and Greene is extended to atoms in crossed electric and magnetic
fields. We then present a semiclassical quantization of the hydrogen atom in
crossed fields, which succeeds in resolving individual lines in the spectrum,
but is restricted to the strongest lines of each n-manifold. By means of a
detailed semiclassical analysis of the quantum spectrum, we demonstrate that it
is the abundance of bifurcations of closed orbits that precludes the resolution
of finer details. They necessitate the inclusion of uniform semiclassical
approximations into the quantization process. Uniform approximations for the
generic types of closed-orbit bifurcation are derived, and a general method for
including them in a high-resolution semiclassical quantization is devised
Semiclassical quantization with bifurcating orbits
Bifurcations of classical orbits introduce divergences into semiclassical
spectra which have to be smoothed with the help of uniform approximations. We
develop a technique to extract individual energy levels from semiclassical
spectra involving uniform approximations. As a prototype example, the method is
shown to yield excellent results for photo-absorption spectra for the hydrogen
atom in an electric field in a spectral range where the abundance of
bifurcations would render the standard closed-orbit formula without uniform
approximations useless. Our method immediately applies to semiclassical trace
formulae as well as closed-orbit theory and offers a general technique for the
semiclassical quantization of arbitrary systems
Photoabsorption spectra of the diamagnetic hydrogen atom in the transition regime to chaos: Closed orbit theory with bifurcating orbits
With increasing energy the diamagnetic hydrogen atom undergoes a transition
from regular to chaotic classical dynamics, and the closed orbits pass through
various cascades of bifurcations. Closed orbit theory allows for the
semiclassical calculation of photoabsorption spectra of the diamagnetic
hydrogen atom. However, at the bifurcations the closed orbit contributions
diverge. The singularities can be removed with the help of uniform
semiclassical approximations which are constructed over a wide energy range for
different types of codimension one and two catastrophes. Using the uniform
approximations and applying the high-resolution harmonic inversion method we
calculate fully resolved semiclassical photoabsorption spectra, i.e.,
individual eigenenergies and transition matrix elements at laboratory magnetic
field strengths, and compare them with the results of exact quantum
calculations.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, submitted to J. Phys.
Electron Accepting Units of the Diheme Cytochrome c TsdA, a Bifunctional Thiosulfate Dehydrogenase/Tetrathionate Reductase
The enzymes of the thiosulfate dehydrogenase (TsdA) family are wide-spread diheme c-type cytochromes. Here, redox carriers were studied mediating the flow of electrons arising from thiosulfate oxidation into respiratory or photosynthetic electron chains. In a number of organisms, including Thiomonas intermedia and Sideroxydans lithotrophicus the tsdA gene is immediately preceded by tsdB encoding for another diheme cytochrome. Spectrophotometric experiments in combination with enzymatic assays in solution showed that TsdB acts as an effective electron acceptor of TsdA in vitro when TsdA and TsdB originate from the same source organism. While TsdA covers a range from -300 mV to +150 mV, TsdB is redox active between -100 to +300 mV, thus enabling electron transfer between these hemoproteins. The three-dimensional structure of the TsdB-TsdA fusion protein from the purple sulfur bacterium Marichromatium purpuratum was solved by X-ray crystallography to 2.75 Å resolution providing insights into internal electron transfer. In the oxidized state, this tetraheme cytochrome c contains three hemes with axial His/Met ligation, while heme 3 exhibits the His/Cys coordination typical for TsdA active sites. Interestingly, thiosulfate is covalently bound to Cys330 on heme 3. In several bacteria including Allochromatium vinosum, TsdB is not present, precluding a general and essential role for electron flow. Both, AvTsdA and the MpTsdBA fusion react efficiently in vitro with high potential iron sulfur protein from A. vinosum (Em +350 mV). HiPIP not only acts as direct electron donor to the reaction center in anoxygenic phototrophs but can also be involved in aerobic respiratory chains
Propylene Carbonate Reexamined: Mode-Coupling Scaling without Factorisation ?
The dynamic susceptibility of propylene carbonate in the moderately viscous
regime above is reinvestigated by incoherent neutron and
depolarised light scattering, and compared to dielectric loss and solvation
response. Depending on the strength of relaxation, a more or less
extended scaling regime is found. Mode-coupling fits yield consistently
and K, although different positions of the
susceptibility minimum indicate that not all observables have reached the
universal asymptotics
MicroRNAs targeting oncogenes are down-regulated in pancreatic malignant transformation from benign tumors
BACKGROUND
MicroRNA (miRNA) expression profiles have been described in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but these have not been compared with pre-malignant pancreatic tumors. We wished to compare the miRNA expression signatures in pancreatic benign cystic tumors (BCT) of low and high malignant potential with PDAC, in order to identify miRNAs deregulated during PDAC development. The mechanistic consequences of miRNA dysregulation were further evaluated.
METHODS
Tissue samples were obtained at a tertiary pancreatic unit from individuals with BCT and PDAC. MiRNA profiling was performed using a custom microarray and results were validated using RT-qPCR prior to evaluation of miRNA targets.
RESULTS
Widespread miRNA down-regulation was observed in PDAC compared to low malignant potential BCT. We show that amongst those miRNAs down-regulated, miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d regulate known PDAC oncogenes (targeting BCL2, CRK and KRAS respectively). Notably, miR-126 also directly targets the KRAS transcript at a "seedless" binding site within its 3'UTR. In clinical specimens, miR-126 was strongly down-regulated in PDAC tissues, with an associated elevation in KRAS and CRK proteins. Furthermore, miR-21, a known oncogenic miRNA in pancreatic and other cancers, was not elevated in PDAC compared to serous microcystic adenoma (SMCA), but in both groups it was up-regulated compared to normal pancreas, implicating early up-regulation during malignant change.
CONCLUSIONS
Expression profiling revealed 21 miRNAs down-regulated in PDAC compared to SMCA, the most benign lesion that rarely progresses to invasive carcinoma. It appears that miR-21 up-regulation is an early event in the transformation from normal pancreatic tissue. MiRNA expression has the potential to distinguish PDAC from normal pancreas and BCT. Mechanistically the down-regulation of miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d promotes PDAC transformation by post-transcriptional up-regulation of crucial PDAC oncogenes. We show that miR-126 is able to directly target KRAS; re-expression has the potential as a therapeutic strategy against PDAC and other KRAS-driven cancers
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