Sequencing of Proteins Extracted from Stones

Proteins from urinary tract and gallbladder stones were extracted and characterized to determine the composition of the matrix and possibly unravel the role of the organic phase in stone formation. Proteins from crushed stones were extracted by electrodialysis and concentrated in the Amicon centricon cartridge or by lyophilization after dialysis against distilled water. Aliquots were first analyzed by isoelectric focusing in gel and if suitable subjected to two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis. The most promising spots were harvested and the N-terminal amino acids sequenced, thus providing maximum information with minimum expenditure of material. The 2D separations and amino acid sequences of several protein extracts demonstrated similarities and differences in composition and achieved the identification or demonstration of previously and recently detected polypeptides

The Matrix of Urinary Tract Stones: Protein Composition, Antigenicity, and Ultrastructure

We have extracted proteins from urinary tract stones by electrodialysis and have developed antisera to the core and the shell of a renal stone. The protein composition varies between stones but is identical in the core and the shell of the same stone. One stone antigen is present in the urine of normal individuals and stone formers, as well as in cholesterol gallstone extracts. Electron microscopy of the core of a urate-calcium oxalate stone before and after demineralization reveals a fibrillar structure associated with mineral deposits, as well as aggregates of crystals

A Cationic Protein from a Urate-Calcium Oxalate Stone: Isolation and Purification of a Shared Protein

A protein extracted from a urate - calcium oxalate stone by electrodialysis is also excreted in the urine which served as the source material for its purification by FPLC after separation on an ACA44 column. It has an amino acid composition appropriate for a cationic protein. One peptide obtained by cyanogen bromide cleavage has significant (approximately 60%) homology with CD59 protein (protectin). Both proteins have wide distribution, the unknown having been found in bile, cholesterol gallstones, and the wall of the aorta. However, the two proteins appear to be immunologically different

Urinary Stone Proteins: An Update

The discovery of an organic component in kidney stones dates back to 1684. More than 150 years elapsed before the incrustation of this organic component, which is now called the matrix, was proposed as the mechanism of stone formation. The composition of the matrix remained largely unknown until the development of electron microscopy and the advances in biochemistry combined in the 1950\u27s to usher in the modern era of renal stone matrix investigation. Composed mainly of selectively incorporated proteins generally characterized by high glutamic and aspartic acid content and the frequent occurrence of y-carboxyglutamic acid, the matrix dis-plays a variable and complex composition and shares a few proteins in many stones. The embryonic stone may . first appear in the renal tubules where it can acquire the blood and cell membrane proteins recently found by analysis of stone protein extracts. The combination of supersaturation, an appropriate environment, the avail-ability of calcium binding proteins which may be abnormal, and the incorporation of proteins extracted from leukocytes and cell wall membranes may induce stone formation

Quasar 3C 298: a test-case for meteoritic nanodiamond 3.5 µm emission

Aims. We calculate the dust emission expected at 3.43 and 3.53 µm if meteoritic (i.e. hydrogenated) nanodiamonds are responsible for most of the far-UV break observed in quasars. Methods. We integrate the UV flux that hydrogenated nanodiamonds must absorb to reproduce the far-UV break. Based on laboratory spectra of H-terminated diamond surfaces, we analyse the radiative energy budget and derive theoretically the IR emission profiles expected for possible C-H surface stretch modes of the diamonds. Results. Using as test case a spectrum of 3C 298 provided by the Spitzer Observatory, we do not find evidence of these emission bands. Conclusions. While diamonds without surface adsorbates remain a viable candidate for explaining the far-UV break observed in quasars, hydrogenated nanodiamonds appear to be ruled out, as they would give rise to IR emission bands, which have not been observed so far

Extended High-Ionization Nuclear Emission-Line Region in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4051

We present an optical spectroscopic analysis of the well-known Seyfert galaxy NGC 4051. The high-ionization nuclear emission-line region (HINER) traced by [Fe X]6374 is found to be spatially extended to a radius of 3a rcseconds (150 pc) west and southwest from the nucleus; NGC 4051 is the third example which has an extended HINER. The nuclear spectrum shows that the flux of [Fe X]6374 is stronger than that of [Fe VII] 6087 in our observation. This property cannot be interpreted in terms of a simple one-zone photoionization model. In order to understand what happens in the nuclear region in NGC 4051, we investigate the physical condition of the nuclear emission-line region in detail using new photoionization models in which the following three emission-line components are taken into account; (1) optically thick, ionization-bounded clouds; (2) optically thin, matter-bounded clouds; and (3) a contamination component which emits H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines. Here the observed extended HINER is considered to be associated with the low-density, matter-bounded clouds. Candidates of the contamination component are either the broad-line region (BLR) or nuclear star forming regions or both. The complexity of the excitation condition found in NGC 4051 can be consistently understood if we take account of these contamination components.Comment: 16 pages, including figures. To Appear in the Astronomical Journal February 2000 Issu

Quasar 3C298: a test-case for meteoritic nanodiamond 3.5 microns emission

We calculate the dust emission expected at 3.43 and 3.53 microns if meteoritic (i.e. hydrogenated) nanodiamonds are responsible for most of the far-UV break observed in quasars. We integrate the UV flux that hydrogenated nanodiamonds must absorb to reproduce the far-UV break. Based on laboratory spectra of H-terminated diamond surfaces, we analyse the radiative energy budget and derive theoretically the IR emission profiles expected for possible C-H surface stretch modes of the diamonds. Using as test case a spectrum of 3C298 provided by the Spitzer Observatory, we do not find evidence of these emission bands. While diamonds without surface adsorbates remain a viable candidate for explaining the far-UV break observed in quasars, hydrogenated nanodiamonds appear to be ruled out, as they would giverise to IR emission bands, which have not been observed so far.Comment: To appear in A&A Letters, 4 pages, 2 figure

On the nature of Seyfert galaxies with high [OIII]5007 blueshifts

We have studied the properties of Seyfert galaxies with high [OIII]5007 blueshifts (`blue outliers'), originally identified because of their strong deviation from the M_BH - sigma relation of normal, narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) and broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLS1) galaxies. These blue outliers turn out to be important test-beds for models of the narrow-line region (NLR), for mechanisms of driving large-scale outflows, for links between NLS1 galaxies and radio galaxies, and for orientation-dependent NLS1 models. We report the detection of a strong correlation of line blueshift with ionization potential in each galaxy, including the measurement of coronal lines with radial velocities up to 500--1000 km/s. All [OIII] blue outliers have narrow widths of their broad Balmer lines and high Eddington ratios. While the presence of non-shifted low-ionization lines signifies the presence of a classical outer quiescent NLR in blue outliers, we also report the absence of any second, non-blueshifted [OIII] component from a classical inner NLR. These results place tight constraints on NLR models. We favor a scenario in which the NLR clouds are entrained in a decelerating wind which explains the strong stratification and the absence of a zero-blueshift inner NLR of blue outliers. The origin of the wind remains speculative at this time (collimated radio plasma, thermal winds, radiatively accelerated clouds). It is perhaps linked to the high Eddington ratios of blue outliers. Similar, less powerful winds could be present in all Seyfert galaxies, but would generally only affect the coronal line region (CLR), or level off even before reaching the CLR. Similarities between blue outliers in NLS1 galaxies and (compact) radio sources are briefly discussed.Comment: ApJ in press (scheduled for June 20 issue); incl. 4 colour figures. This, and related paper showing that NLS1 galaxies follow the M-sigma relation based on [SII], is also available at http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/~skomossa

The MUSE 3D view of feedback in a high-metallicity radio galaxy at z = 2.9

We present a detailed study of the kinematic, chemical and excitation properties of the giant Ly$\alpha$ emitting nebula and the giant \ion{H}{I} absorber associated with the $z = 2.92$ radio galaxy MRC 0943--242, using spectroscopic observations from VLT/MUSE, VLT/X-SHOOTER and other instruments. Together, these data provide a wide range of rest-frame wavelength (765 \AA$\,$ -- 6378 \AA$\,$ at $z = 2.92$) and 2D spatial information. We find clear evidence for jet gas interactions affecting the kinematic properties of the nebula, with evidence for both outflows and inflows being induced by radio-mode feedback. We suggest that the regions of relatively lower ionization level, spatially correlated with the radio hotspots, may be due to localised compression of photoionized gas by the expanding radio source, thereby lowering the ionization parameter, or due to a contribution from shock-heating. We find that photoionization of super-solar metallicity gas ($Z/Z_{\odot}$ = 2.1) by an AGN-like continuum ($\alpha$=--1.0) at a moderate ionization parameter ($U$ = 0.018) gives the best overall fit to the complete X-SHOOTER emission line spectrum. We identify a strong degeneracy between column density and Doppler parameter such that it is possible to obtain a reasonable fit to the \ion{H}{I} absorption feature across the range log N(\ion{H}{I}/cm$^{-2}$) = 15.20 and 19.63, with the two best-fitting occurring near the extreme ends of this range. The extended \ion{H}{I} absorber is blueshifted relative to the emission line gas, but shows a systematic decrease in blueshift towards larger radii, consistent with a large scale expanding shell.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Published: 23 November 201