357 research outputs found
Perturbative Scattering Phase Shifts in One-Dimension: Closed-form Results
A simple closed form expression is obtained for the scattering phase shift
perturbatively to any given order in effective one-dimensional problems. The
result is a hierarchical scheme, expressible in quadratures, requiring only
knowledge of the zeroth order solution and the perturbation potential.Comment: 10 pages in REVTe
Semiclassical treatment of logarithmic perturbation theory
The explicit semiclassical treatment of logarithmic perturbation theory for
the nonrelativistic bound states problem is developed. Based upon
-expansions and suitable quantization conditions a new procedure for
deriving perturbation expansions for the one-dimensional anharmonic oscillator
is offered. Avoiding disadvantages of the standard approach, new handy
recursion formulae with the same simple form both for ground and exited states
have been obtained. As an example, the perturbation expansions for the energy
eigenvalues of the harmonic oscillator perturbed by are
considered.Comment: 6 pages, LATEX 2.09 using IOP style
Evidence for a long-lived superheavy nucleus with atomic mass number A=292 and atomic number Z=~122 in natural Th
Evidence for the existence of a superheavy nucleus with atomic mass number
A=292 and abundance (1-10)x10^(-12) relative to 232Th has been found in a study
of natural Th using inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry.
The measured mass matches the predictions [1,2] for the mass of an isotope with
atomic number Z=122 or a nearby element. Its estimated half-life of t1/2 >=
10^8 y suggests that a long-lived isomeric state exists in this isotope. The
possibility that it might belong to a new class of long-lived high spin super-
and hyperdeformed isomeric states is discussed.[3-6]Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
Searches for Stable Strangelets in Ordinary Matter: Overview and a Recent Example
Our knowledge on the possible existence in nature of stable exotic particles
depends solely upon experimental observation. Guided by this general principle
and motivated by theoretical hypotheses on the existence of stable particles of
strange quark matter, a variety of experimental searches have been performed.
We provide an introduction to the theoretical hypotheses, an overview of the
past searches, and a more detailed description of a recent search for
helium-like strangelets in the Earth's atmosphere using a sensitive laser
spectroscopy method
Logarithmic perturbation theory for quasinormal modes
Logarithmic perturbation theory (LPT) is developed and applied to quasinormal
modes (QNMs) in open systems. QNMs often do not form a complete set, so LPT is
especially convenient because summation over a complete set of unperturbed
states is not required. Attention is paid to potentials with exponential tails,
and the example of a Poschl-Teller potential is briefly discussed. A numerical
method is developed that handles the exponentially large wavefunctions which
appear in dealing with QNMs.Comment: 24 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses ioplppt.sty and epsfig.st
The Antibiotics Dityromycin and GE82832 Bind Protein S12 and Block EF-G-Catalyzed Translocation
SummaryThe translocation of mRNA and tRNA through the ribosome is catalyzed by elongation factor G (EF-G), a universally conserved guanosine triphosphate hydrolase (GTPase). The mechanism by which the closely related decapeptide antibiotics dityromycin and GE82832 inhibit EF-G-catalyzed translocation is elucidated in this study. Using crystallographic and biochemical experiments, we demonstrate that these antibiotics bind to ribosomal protein S12 in solution alone as well as within the small ribosomal subunit, inducing long-range effects on the ribosomal head. The crystal structure of the antibiotic in complex with the 70S ribosome reveals that the binding involves conserved amino acid residues of S12 whose mutations result in in vitro and in vivo antibiotic resistance and loss of antibiotic binding. The data also suggest that GE82832/dityromycin inhibits EF-G-catalyzed translocation by disrupting a critical contact between EF-G and S12 that is required to stabilize the posttranslocational conformation of EF-G, thereby preventing the ribosome-EF-G complex from entering a conformation productive for translocation
Shell closure effects studied via cluster decay in heavy nuclei
The effects of shell closure in nuclei via the cluster decay is studied. In
this context, we have made use of the Preformed Cluster Model () of Gupta
and collaborators based on the Quantum Mechanical Fragmentation Theory. The key
point in the cluster radioactivity is that it involves the interplay of close
shell effects of parent and daughter. Small half life for a parent indicates
shell stabilized daughter and long half life indicates the stability of the
parent against the decay. In the cluster decay of trans lead nuclei observed so
far, the end product is doubly magic lead or its neighbors. With this in our
mind we have extended the idea of cluster radioactivity. We investigated decay
of different nuclei where Zirconium is always taken as a daughter nucleus,
which is very well known deformed nucleus. The branching ratio of cluster decay
and -decay is also studied for various nuclei, leading to magic or
almost doubly magic daughter nuclei. The calculated cluster decay half-life are
in well agreement with the observed data. First time a possibility of cluster
decay in nucleus is predicted
DNA cyclization and looping in the wormlike limit: normal modes and the validity of the harmonic approximation
For much of the last three decades Monte Carlo-simulation methods have been
the standard approach for accurately calculating the cyclization probability,
, or J factor, for DNA models having sequence-dependent bends or
inhomogeneous bending flexibility. Within the last ten years, however,
approaches based on harmonic analysis of semi-flexible polymer models have been
introduced, which offer much greater computational efficiency than Monte Carlo
techniques. These methods consider the ensemble of molecular conformations in
terms of harmonic fluctuations about a well-defined elastic-energy minimum.
However, the harmonic approximation is only applicable for small systems,
because the accessible conformation space of larger systems is increasingly
dominated by anharmonic contributions. In the case of computed values of the J
factor, deviations of the harmonic approximation from the exact value of as
a function of DNA length have not been characterized. Using a recent,
numerically exact method that accounts for both anharmonic and harmonic
contributions to for wormlike chains of arbitrary size, we report here the
apparent error that results from neglecting anharmonic behavior. For wormlike
chains having contour lengths less than four times the persistence length the
error in arising from the harmonic approximation is generally small,
amounting to free energies less than the thermal energy, . For larger
systems, however, the deviations between harmonic and exact values increase
approximately linearly with size.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures. Typos corrected. Manuscript improve
Theoretical analysis of the role of chromatin interactions in long-range action of enhancers and insulators
Long-distance regulatory interactions between enhancers and their target
genes are commonplace in higher eukaryotes. Interposed boundaries or insulators
are able to block these long distance regulatory interactions. The mechanistic
basis for insulator activity and how it relates to enhancer
action-at-a-distance remains unclear. Here we explore the idea that topological
loops could simultaneously account for regulatory interactions of distal
enhancers and the insulating activity of boundary elements. We show that while
loop formation is not in itself sufficient to explain action at a distance,
incorporating transient non-specific and moderate attractive interactions
between the chromatin fibers strongly enhances long-distance regulatory
interactions and is sufficient to generate a euchromatin-like state. Under
these same conditions, the subdivision of the loop into two topologically
independent loops by insulators inhibits inter-domain interactions. The
underlying cause of this effect is a suppression of crossings in the contact
map at intermediate distances. Thus our model simultaneously accounts for
regulatory interactions at a distance and the insulator activity of boundary
elements. This unified model of the regulatory roles of chromatin loops makes
several testable predictions that could be confronted with \emph{in vitro}
experiments, as well as genomic chromatin conformation capture and fluorescent
microscopic approaches.Comment: 10 pages, originally submitted to an (undisclosed) journal in May
201
Structure of Erm-modified 70S ribosome reveals the mechanism of macrolide resistance
Many antibiotics inhibit bacterial growth by binding to the ribosome and interfering with protein biosynthesis. Macrolides represent one of the most successful classes of ribosome-targeting antibiotics. The main clinically relevant mechanism of resistance to macrolides is dimethylation of the 23S rRNA nucleotide A2058, located in the drug-binding site, a reaction catalyzed by Erm-type rRNA methyltransferases. Here, we present the crystal structure of the Erm-dimethylated 70S ribosome at 2.4 Å resolution, together with the structures of unmethylated 70S ribosome functional complexes alone or in combination with macrolides. Altogether, our structural data do not support previous models and, instead, suggest a principally new explanation of how A2058 dimethylation confers resistance to macrolides. Moreover, high-resolution structures of two macrolide antibiotics bound to the unmodified ribosome reveal a previously unknown role of the desosamine moiety in drug binding, laying a foundation for the rational knowledge-based design of macrolides that can overcome Erm-mediated resistance
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