865 research outputs found
Protein connectivity in chemotaxis receptor complexes
The chemotaxis sensory system allows bacteria such as Escherichia coli to swim towards nutrients and away from repellents. The underlying pathway is remarkably sensitive in detecting chemical gradients over a wide range of ambient concentrations. Interactions among receptors, which are predominantly clustered at the cell poles, are crucial to this sensitivity. Although it has been suggested that the kinase CheA and the adapter protein CheW are integral for receptor connectivity, the exact coupling mechanism remains unclear. Here, we present a statistical-mechanics approach to model the receptor linkage mechanism itself, building on nanodisc and electron cryotomography experiments. Specifically, we investigate how the sensing behavior of mixed receptor clusters is affected by variations in the expression levels of CheA and CheW at a constant receptor density in the membrane. Our model compares favorably with dose-response curves from in vivo Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements, demonstrating that the receptor-methylation level has only minor effects on receptor cooperativity. Importantly, our model provides an explanation for the non-intuitive conclusion that the receptor cooperativity decreases with increasing levels of CheA, a core signaling protein associated with the receptors, whereas the receptor cooperativity increases with increasing levels of CheW, a key adapter protein. Finally, we propose an evolutionary advantage as explanation for the recently suggested CheW-only linker structures
The magnetic and electric transverse spin density of spatially confined light
When a beam of light is laterally confined, its field distribution can
exhibit points where the local magnetic and electric field vectors spin in a
plane containing the propagation direction of the electromagnetic wave. The
phenomenon indicates the presence of a non-zero transverse spin density. Here,
we experimentally investigate this transverse spin density of both magnetic and
electric fields, occurring in highly-confined structured fields of light. Our
scheme relies on the utilization of a high-refractive-index nano-particle as
local field probe, exhibiting magnetic and electric dipole resonances in the
visible spectral range. Because of the directional emission of dipole moments
which spin around an axis parallel to a nearby dielectric interface, such a
probe particle is capable of locally sensing the magnetic and electric
transverse spin density of a tightly focused beam impinging under normal
incidence with respect to said interface. We exploit the achieved experimental
results to emphasize the difference between magnetic and electric transverse
spin densities.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Trends in critical infrastructure protection in Germany
Critical Infrastructures failures cause harmful consequences to the population, because
they disrupt the supply of necessary goods and services. The failures pose an indirect
threat, as they will regularly be triggered by natural hazards, technical failure/human
error or intentional acts. In the risk analyses on the national level in Germany, Critical
Infrastructure failures are qualitatively described to estimate their impacts on society.
Critical Infrastructure Protection is seen as a joint task of many different stakeholders.
Rules and regulations with different degrees of compulsion build the framework for their
cooperation, and a strategy is in place that promotes the trustful exchange of information
among all the relevant stakeholders. The most important stakeholder groups are public
authorities, infrastructure operators, and the population. An example is given on how
a joint risk management of public authorities and infrastructure operators may be
performed, and the cooperation of public authorities and the population is discussed.
As Civil Protection covers the entire risk and crisis management cycle with its phases
prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, the article ends with examples of the
support, which the German Federal Offi ce of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance
and the Federal Ministry of the Interior offer for other stakeholders in order to achieve
well-protected infrastructures and, in consequence, well-protected citizens
Spin-Orbit Coupling and the Evolution of Transverse Spin
We investigate the evolution of transverse spin in tightly focused circularly
polarized beams of light, where spin-orbit coupling causes a local rotation of
the polarization ellipses upon propagation through the focal volume. The effect
can be explained as a relative Gouy-phase shift between the circularly
polarized transverse field and the longitudinal field carrying orbital angular
momentum. The corresponding rotation of the electric transverse spin density is
observed experimentally by utilizing a recently developed reconstruction
scheme, which relies on transverse-spin-dependent directional scattering of a
nano-probe.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Peter Grzybek (1957-2019)
Obituary: Peter Grzybek (1957-2019
Peter Grzybek (1957-2019)
Obituary: Peter Grzybek (1957-2019
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