1,313 research outputs found
A eubacterial origin for the human tRNA nucleotidyltransferase?
tRNA CCA-termini are generated and maintained by tRNA nucleotidyltransferases. Together with poly(A) polymerases and other enzymes they belong to the nucleotidyltransferase superfamily. However, sequence alignments within this family do not allow to distinguish between CCA-adding enzymes and poly(A) polymerases. Furthermore, due to the lack of sequence information about animal CCA-adding enzymes, identification of corresponding animal genes was not possible so far. Therefore, we looked for the human homolog using the baker's yeast tRNA nucleotidyltransferase as a query sequence in a BLAST search. This revealed that the human gene transcript CGI-47, (\#AF151805) deposited in GenBank is likely to encode such an enzyme. To identify the nature of this protein, the cDNA of the transcript was cloned and the recombinant protein biochemically characterized, indicating that CGI-47 encodes a bona fide CCA-adding enzyme and not a poly(A) polymerase. This confirmed animal CCA-adding enzyme allowed us to identify putative homologs from other animals. Calculation of a neighbor-joining tree, using an alignment of several CCA-adding enzymes, revealed that the animal enzymes resemble more eubacterial ones than eukaryotic plant and fungal tRNA nucleotidyltransferases, suggesting that the animal nuclear cca genes might have been derived from the endosymbiotic progenitor of mitochondria and are therefore of eubacterial origin
Andreev reflections on Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7-delta evidence for an unusual proximity effect
We have measured Andreev reflections between an Au tip and
Y_{1-x}Ca_{x}Ba_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7 - \delta} thin films in the in-plane orientation.
The conductance spectra are best fitted with a pair potential having the
"d_{x^{2}-y^{2}+is" symmetry. We find that the amplitude of the "is" component
is enhanced as the contact transparency is increased. This is an indication for
an unusual proximity effect that modifies the pair potential in the
superconductor near the surface with the normal metal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The arctic seasonal cycle of total column CO2 and CH4 from ground-based solar and lunar FTIR absorption spectrometry
Solar absorption spectroscopy in the near infrared has been performed in Ny-Ålesund (78.9° N, 11.9° E) since 2002; however, due to the high latitude of the site, the sun is below the horizon from October to March (polar night) and no solar absorption measurements are possible. Here we present a novel method of retrieving the total column dry-air mole fractions (DMFs) of CO2 and CH4 using moonlight in winter. Measurements have been taken during the polar nights from 2012 to 2016 and are validated with TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network) measurements by solar and lunar absorption measurements on consecutive days and nights during spring and autumn. The complete seasonal cycle of the DMFs of CO2 and CH4 is presented and a precision of up to 0.5 % is achieved. A comparison of solar and lunar measurements on consecutive days during day and night in March 2013 yields non-significant biases of 0. 66 ± 4. 56 ppm for xCO2 and −1. 94 ± 20. 63 ppb for xCH4. Additionally a model comparison has been performed with data from various reanalysis models
Towards understanding the variability in biospheric CO2 fluxes:Using FTIR spectrometry and a chemical transport model to investigate the sources and sinks of carbonyl sulfide and its link to CO2
Understanding carbon dioxide (CO2) biospheric processes is of great importance because the terrestrial exchange drives the seasonal and interannual variability of CO2 in the atmosphere. Atmospheric inversions based on CO2 concentration measurements alone can only determine net biosphere fluxes, but not differentiate between photosynthesis (uptake) and respiration (production). Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) could provide an important additional constraint: it is also taken up by plants during photosynthesis but not emitted during respiration, and therefore is a potential means to differentiate between these processes. Solar absorption Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometry allows for the retrievals of the atmospheric concentrations of both CO2 and OCS from measured solar absorption spectra. Here, we investigate co-located and quasi-simultaneous FTIR measurements of OCS and CO2 performed at five selected sites located in the Northern Hemisphere. These measurements are compared to simulations of OCS and CO2 using a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem). The coupled biospheric fluxes of OCS and CO2 from the simple biosphere model (SiB) are used in the study. The CO2 simulation with SiB fluxes agrees with the measurements well, while the OCS simulation reproduced a weaker drawdown than FTIR measurements at selected sites, and a smaller latitudinal gradient in the Northern Hemisphere during growing season when comparing with HIPPO (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations) data spanning both hemispheres. An offset in the timing of the seasonal cycle minimum between SiB simulation and measurements is also seen. Using OCS as a photosynthesis proxy can help to understand how the biospheric processes are reproduced in models and to further understand the carbon cycle in the real world
Triple-gap superconductivity of MgB2 - (La,Sr)MnO3 composite. Which of the gaps is proximity induced?
Interplay of superconductivity and magnetism in a composite prepared of the
ferromagnetic half-metallic La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO (LSMO) nanoparticles and the
conventional s-wave superconductor MgB_2 has been studied. A few principal
effects have been found in bulk samples. With an onset of the MgB_2
superconductivity, a spectacular drop of the sample resistance has been
detected and superconductivity has been observed at temperature up to 20K.
Point-contact (PC) spectroscopy has been used to measure directly the
superconducting energy coupling. For small voltage, an excess current and
doubling of the PC's normal state conductance have been found. Conductance
peaks corresponding to three energy gaps are clearly observed. Two of these
gaps we identified as enhanced \Delta_{\pi} and \Delta_{\sigma} gaps
originating from the MgB_2; the third gap \Delta_{tr} is more than three times
larger than the largest MgB_2 gap. The experimental results provide unambiguous
evidences for a new type of proximity effect which follows the phase coherency
scenario of proximity induced superconductivity. Specifically, at low
temperature, the p-wave spin-triplet condensate with pairing energy \Delta_{tr}
is essentially sustained in LSMO but is incapable to display long-range
supercurrent response because of a phase-disordering state. The proximity
coupling to MgB_2 restores the long-range phase coherency of the triplet
superconducting state, which, in turn, enhances superconducting state of the
MgB_2.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Spontaneous magnetization and Hall effect in superconductors with broken time-reversal symmetry
Broken time reversal symmetry (BTRS) in d wave superconductors is studied and
is shown to yield current carrying surface states. The corresponding
spontaneous magnetization is temperature independent near the critical
temperature Tc for weak BTRS, in accord with recent data. For strong BTRS and
thin films we expect a temperature dependent spontaneous magnetization with a
paramagnetic anomaly near Tc. The Hall conductance is found to vanish at zero
wavevector q and finite frequency w, however at finite q,w it has an unusual
structure.Comment: 7 pages, 1 eps figure, Europhysics Letters (in press
Symmetry and Temperature dependence of the Order parameter in MgB2 from point contact measurements
We have performed differential conductance versus voltage measurements of
Au/MgB2 point contacts. We find that the dominant component in the conductance
is due to Andreev reflection. The results are fitted to the theoretical model
of BTK for an s-wave symmetry from which we extract the value of the order
parameter (Delta) and its temperature dependence. From our results we also
obtain a lower experimental bound on the Fermi velocity in MgB2.Comment: 7 pages (Including figure captions) and 4 figure
The importance of transport model uncertainties for the estimation of CO2 sources and sinks using satellite measurements
This study presents a synthetic model intercomparison to investigate the importance of transport model errors for estimating the sources and sinks of CO2 using satellite measurements. The experiments were designed for testing the potential performance of the proposed CO2 lidar A-SCOPE, but also apply to other space borne missions that monitor total column CO2. The participating transport models IFS, LMDZ, TM3, and TM5 were run in forward and inverse mode using common a priori CO2 fluxes and initial concentrations. Forward simulations of column averaged CO2 (xCO2) mixing ratios vary between the models by s=0.5 ppm over the continents and s=0.27 ppm over the oceans. Despite the fact that the models agree on average on the sub-ppm level, these modest differences nevertheless lead to significant discrepancies in the inverted fluxes of 0.1 PgC/yr per 106 km2 over land and 0.03 PgC/yr per 106 km2 over the ocean. These transport model induced flux uncertainties exceed the target requirement that was formulated for the A-SCOPE mission of 0.02 PgC/yr per 106 km2, and could also limit the overall performance of other CO2 missions such as GOSAT. A variable, but overall encouraging agreement is found in comparison with FTS measurements at Park Falls, Darwin, Spitsbergen, and Bremen, although systematic differences are found exceeding the 0.5 ppm level. Because of this, our estimate of the impact of transport model uncerainty is likely to be conservative. It is concluded that to make use of the remote sensing technique for quantifying the sources and sinks of CO2 not only requires highly accurate satellite instruments, but also puts stringent requirements on the performance of atmospheric transport models. Improving the accuracy of these models should receive high priority, which calls for a closer collaboration between experts in atmospheric dynamics and tracer transpor
Proximity Effect in Normal Metal - High Tc Superconductor Contacts
We study the proximity effect in good contacts between normal metals and high
Tc (d-wave) superconductors. We present theoretical results for the spatially
dependent order parameter and local density of states, including effects of
impurity scattering in the two sides, s-wave pairing interaction in the normal
metal side (attractive or repulsive), as well as subdominant s-wave paring in
the superconductor side. For the [100] orientation, a real combination d+s of
the order parameters is always found. The spectral signatures of the proximity
effect in the normal metal includes a suppression of the low-energy density of
states and a finite energy peak structure. These features are mainly due to the
impurity self-energies, which dominate over the effects of induced pair
potentials. For the [110] orientation, for moderate transparencies, induction
of a d+is order parameter on the superconductor side, leads to a proximity
induced is order parameter also in the normal metal. The spectral signatures of
this type of proximity effect are potentially useful for probing time-reversal
symmetry breaking at a [110] interface.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Local and macroscopic tunneling spectroscopy of Y(1-x)CaxBa2Cu3O(7-d) films: evidence for a doping dependent is or idxy component in the order parameter
Tunneling spectroscopy of epitaxial (110) Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7-d films reveals a
doping dependent transition from pure d(x2-y2) to d(x2-y2)+is or d(x2-y2)+idxy
order parameter. The subdominant (is or idxy) component manifests itself in a
splitting of the zero bias conductance peak and the appearance of subgap
structures. The splitting is seen in the overdoped samples, increases
systematically with doping, and is found to be an inherent property of the
overdoped films. It was observed in both local tunnel junctions, using scanning
tunneling microscopy (STM), and in macroscopic planar junctions, for films
prepared by either RF sputtering or laser ablation. The STM measurements
exhibit fairly uniform splitting size in [110] oriented areas on the order of
10 nm2 but vary from area to area, indicating some doping inhomogeneity. U and
V-shaped gaps were also observed, with good correspondence to the local
faceting, a manifestation of the dominant d-wave order parameter
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