7,672 research outputs found
Inactivation of the major hemolysin gene influences expression of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene swrA in the insect pathogen Serratia sp. strain SCBI
Hemolysins are important virulence factors for many bacterial pathogens, including Serratia marcescens. The role of the major hemolysin gene in the insect pathogen Serratia sp. SCBI was investigated using both forward and reverse genetics approaches. Introduction of the major hemolysin gene into Escherichia coli resulted in a gain of both virulence and hemolytic activity. Inactivation of this hemolysin in Serratia sp. SCBI resulted in loss of hemolysis, but did not attenuate insecticidal activity. Unexpectedly, inactivation of the hemolysin gene in Serratia sp. SCBI resulted in significantly increased motility as well as increased antimicrobial activity. qRT-PCR analysis of mutants with a disrupted hemolysin gene showed a dramatic increase in mRNA levels of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene, swrA, which produces the surfactant serrawettin W2. Mutation of the swrA gene in Serratia sp. SCBI resulted in highly variable antibiotic activity, motility, virulence and hemolysis phenotypes that were dependent on the site of disruption within this 17.75 KB gene. When introduced into E. coli, swrA increases rates of motility and confers antimicrobial activity. While it is unclear how inactivation of the major hemolysin gene influences expression of swrA, these results suggest swrA plays an important role in motility and antimicrobial activity in Serratia sp. SCBI
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Expanding Nebular Remnant of the Recurrent Nova RS Ophiuchi (2006)
We report Hubble Space Telescope imaging obtained 155 days after the 2006
outburst of RS Ophiuchi. We detect extended emission in both [O III] and [Ne V]
lines. In both lines, the remnant has a double ring structure. The E-W
orientation and total extent of these structures (580+-50 AU at d=1.6kpc) is
consistent with that expected due to expansion of emitting regions imaged
earlier in the outburst at radio wavelengths. Expansion at high velocity
appears to have been roughly constant in the E-W direction (v_{exp} = 3200+-300
km/s in the plane of the sky), with tentative evidence of deceleration N-S. We
present a bipolar model of the remnant whose inclination is consistent with
that of the central binary. The true expansion velocities of the polar
components are then v = 5600+-1100 km/s. We suggest that the bipolar morphology
of the remnant results from interaction of the outburst ejecta with a
circumstellar medium that is significantly denser in the equatorial regions of
the binary than at the poles. This is also consistent with observations of
shock evolution in the X-ray and the possible presence of dust in the infrared.
Furthermore, it is in line with models of the shaping of planetary nebulae with
close binary central systems, and also with recent observations relating to the
progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, for which recurrent novae are a proposed
candidate. Our observations also reveal more extended structures to the S and E
of the remnant whose possible origin is briefly discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
The symbiotic star CH Cygni. III. A precessing radio jet
VLA, MERLIN and Hubble Space Telescope imaging observations of the extended
regions of the symbiotic system CH Cygni are analysed. These extensions are
evidence of a strong collimation mechanism, probably an accretion disk
surrounding the hot component of the system. Over 16 years (between 1985 and
2001) the general trend is that these jets are seen to precess. Fitting a
simple ballistic model of matter ejection to the geometry of the extended
regions suggests a period of 6520 +/- 150 days, with a precession cone opening
angle of 35 +/- 1 degrees. This period is of the same order as that proposed
for the orbital period of the outer giant in the system, suggesting a possible
link between the two. Anomalous knots in the emission, not explained by the
simple model, are believed to be the result of older, slower moving ejecta, or
possibly jet material that has become disrupted through sideways interaction
with the surrounding medium.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Evolution of the Cluster Correlation Function
We study the evolution of the cluster correlation function and its
richness-dependence from z = 0 to z = 3 using large-scale cosmological
simulations. A standard flat LCDM model with \Omega_m = 0.3 and, for
comparison, a tilted \Omega_m = 1 model, TSCDM, are used. The evolutionary
predictions are presented in a format suitable for direct comparisons with
observations. We find that the cluster correlation strength increases with
redshift: high redshift clusters are clustered more strongly (in comoving
scale) than low redshift clusters of the same mass. The increased correlations
with redshift, in spite of the decreasing mass correlation strength, is caused
by the strong increase in cluster bias with redshift: clusters represent higher
density peaks of the mass distribution as the redshift increases. The
richness-dependent cluster correlation function, presented as the
correlation-scale versus cluster mean separation relation, R_0 - d, is found to
be, remarkably, independent of redshift to z <~ 2 for LCDM and z <~ 1 for TCDM
(for a fixed correlation function slope and cluster mass within a fixed
comoving radius). The non-evolving R_0 - d relation implies that both the
comoving clustering scale and the cluster mean separation increase with
redshift for the same mass clusters so that the R_0 - d relation remains
essentially unchanged. The evolution of the R_0 - d relation from z ~ 0 to z ~
3 provides an important new tool in cosmology; it can be used to break
degeneracies that exist at z ~ 0 and provide precise determination of
cosmological parameters.Comment: AASTeX, 15 pages, including 5 figures, accepted version for
publication in ApJ, vol.603, March 200
GRB060218 as a Tidal Disruption of a White Dwarf by an Intermediate Mass Black Hole
A highly unusual pair of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB060218 and an associated
supernova SN2006aj has puzzled theorists for years. A supernova shock breakout
and a jet from a newborn stellar mass compact object were put forward to
explain its multiwavelength signature. We propose that the source is naturally
explained by another channel, a tidal disruption of a white dwarf (WD) by an
intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). The tidal disruption is accompanied by a
tidal pinching, which leads to the ignition of a WD and a supernova. Some
debris falls back onto the IMBH, forms a disk, which quickly amplifies the
magnetic field, and launches a jet. We successfully fit soft X-ray spectrum
with the Comptonized blackbody emission from a jet photosphere. The optical/UV
emission is consistent with self-absorbed synchrotron from the expanding jet
front. The accretion rate temporal dependence Mdot(t) in a tidal disruption
provides a good fit to soft X-ray lightcurve. The IMBH mass is found to be
about 10^4Msun in three independent estimates: (1) fitting tidal disruption
Mdot(t) to soft X-ray lightcurve; (2) computing the jet base radius in a jet
photospheric emission model; (3) inferring the central BH mass based on a host
dwarf galaxy stellar mass. The supernova position is consistent with the center
of the host galaxy, while low supernova ejecta mass is consistent with a WD
mass. High expected rate of tidal disruptions in dwarf galaxies is consistent
with one source observed by Swift satellite over several years at GRB060218
distance of 150Mpc. The encounters with the WDs provide a lot of fuel for IMBH
growth.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted to ApJ, minor change
Dynamical overlap simulations using HMC
We apply the Hybrid Monte Carlo method to the simulation of overlap fermions.
We give the fermionic force for the molecular dynamics update. We present early
results on a small dynamical chiral ensemble.Comment: Lattice2004(machines), 3 pages; references updated, minor changes to
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ZZE-Configuration of chromophore Ăź-153 in C-phycocyanin from Mastigocladus laminosus
The photochemistry of C-phycocyanin has been studied after denaturation in the dark. It shows
an irreversible reaction which has characteristics of a Ζ,Ζ,Ε- to Z,Z,Z-isomerization of dihydrobilins.
Its amplitude depends on the reaction conditions, with a maximum corresponding to 15%
conversion of one of the three PC chromophores. This chromophore is suggested to be Ăź-153, for
which recent X-ray data T. Schirmer, W. Bode, and R. Huber, J. Mol. Biol., submitted, show
ring D being highly twisted out of the plane of the other rings. During unfolding, there is thus a
probability of falling into the photochemically labile Z,Z,^-configuration
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