Ultrasensitivity in phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycles with little substrate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno M C Martins

Full Text Available Cellular decision-making is driven by dynamic behaviours, such as the preparations for sunrise enabled by circadian rhythms and the choice of cell fates enabled by positive feedback. Such behaviours are often built upon ultrasensitive responses where a linear change in input generates a sigmoidal change in output. Phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycles are one means to generate ultrasensitivity. Using bioinformatics, we show that in vivo levels of kinases and phosphatases frequently exceed the levels of their corresponding substrates in budding yeast. This result is in contrast to the conditions often required by zero-order ultrasensitivity, perhaps the most well known means for how such cycles become ultrasensitive. We therefore introduce a mechanism to generate ultrasensitivity when numbers of enzymes are higher than numbers of substrates. Our model combines distributive and non-distributive actions of the enzymes with two-stage binding and concerted allosteric transitions of the substrate. We use analytical and numerical methods to calculate the Hill number of the response. For a substrate with [Formula: see text] phosphosites, we find an upper bound of the Hill number of [Formula: see text], and so even systems with a single phosphosite can be ultrasensitive. Two-stage binding, where an enzyme must first bind to a binding site on the substrate before it can access the substrate's phosphosites, allows the enzymes to sequester the substrate. Such sequestration combined with competition for each phosphosite provides an intuitive explanation for the sigmoidal shifts in levels of phosphorylated substrate. Additionally, we find cases for which the response is not monotonic, but shows instead a peak at intermediate levels of input. Given its generality, we expect the mechanism described by our model to often underlay decision-making circuits in eukaryotic cells.

Unmasking tandem site interaction in human acetylcholinesterase. Substrate activation with a cationic acetanilide substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Joseph L; Cusack, Bernadette; Davies, Matthew P; Fauq, Abdul; Rosenberry, Terrone L

2003-05-13

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) contains a narrow and deep active site gorge with two sites of ligand binding, an acylation site (or A-site) at the base of the gorge, and a peripheral site (or P-site) near the gorge entrance. The P-site contributes to catalytic efficiency by transiently binding substrates on their way to the acylation site, where a short-lived acyl enzyme intermediate is produced. A conformational interaction between the A- and P-sites has recently been found to modulate ligand affinities. We now demonstrate that this interaction is of functional importance by showing that the acetylation rate constant of a substrate bound to the A-site is increased by a factor a when a second molecule of substrate binds to the P-site. This demonstration became feasible through the introduction of a new acetanilide substrate analogue of acetylcholine, 3-(acetamido)-N,N,N-trimethylanilinium (ATMA), for which a = 4. This substrate has a low acetylation rate constant and equilibrates with the catalytic site, allowing a tractable algebraic solution to the rate equation for substrate hydrolysis. ATMA affinities for the A- and P-sites deduced from the kinetic analysis were confirmed by fluorescence titration with thioflavin T as a reporter ligand. Values of a >1 give rise to a hydrolysis profile called substrate activation, and the AChE site-specific mutant W86F, and to a lesser extent wild-type human AChE itself, showed substrate activation with acetylthiocholine as the substrate. Substrate activation was incorporated into a previous catalytic scheme for AChE in which a bound P-site ligand can also block product dissociation from the A-site, and two additional features of the AChE catalytic pathway were revealed. First, the ability of a bound P-site ligand to increase the substrate acetylation rate constant varied with the structure of the ligand: thioflavin T accelerated ATMA acetylation by a factor a(2) of 1.3, while propidium failed to accelerate. Second, catalytic rate

ER-bound protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B interacts with Src at the plasma membrane/substrate interface.

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Melisa C Monteleone

Full Text Available PTP1B is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER anchored enzyme whose access to substrates is partly dependent on the ER distribution and dynamics. One of these substrates, the protein tyrosine kinase Src, has been found in the cytosol, endosomes, and plasma membrane. Here we analyzed where PTP1B and Src physically interact in intact cells, by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC in combination with temporal and high resolution microscopy. We also determined the structural basis of this interaction. We found that BiFC signal is displayed as puncta scattered throughout the ER network, a feature that was enhanced when the substrate trapping mutant PTP1B-D181A was used. Time-lapse and co-localization analyses revealed that BiFC puncta did not correspond to vesicular carriers; instead they localized at the tip of dynamic ER tubules. BiFC puncta were retained in ventral membrane preparations after cell unroofing and were also detected within the evanescent field of total internal reflection fluorescent microscopy (TIRFM associated to the ventral membranes of whole cells. Furthermore, BiFC puncta often colocalized with dark spots seen by surface reflection interference contrast (SRIC. Removal of Src myristoylation and polybasic motifs abolished BiFC. In addition, PTP1B active site and negative regulatory tyrosine 529 on Src were primary determinants of BiFC occurrence, although the SH3 binding motif on PTP1B also played a role. Our results suggest that ER-bound PTP1B dynamically interacts with the negative regulatory site at the C-terminus of Src at random puncta in the plasma membrane/substrate interface, likely leading to Src activation and recruitment to adhesion complexes. We postulate that this functional ER/plasma membrane crosstalk could apply to a wide array of protein partners, opening an exciting field of research.

Application of a mixed metal oxide catalyst to a metallic substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Sevener, Kathleen M. (Inventor); Lohner, Kevin A. (Inventor); Mays, Jeffrey A. (Inventor); Wisner, Daniel L. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

A method for applying a mixed metal oxide catalyst to a metallic substrate for the creation of a robust, high temperature catalyst system for use in decomposing propellants, particularly hydrogen peroxide propellants, for use in propulsion systems. The method begins by forming a prepared substrate material consisting of a metallic inner substrate and a bound layer of a noble metal intermediate. Alternatively, a bound ceramic coating, or frit, may be introduced between the metallic inner substrate and noble metal intermediate when the metallic substrate is oxidation resistant. A high-activity catalyst slurry is applied to the surface of the prepared substrate and dried to remove the organic solvent. The catalyst layer is then heat treated to bind the catalyst layer to the surface. The bound catalyst layer is then activated using an activation treatment and calcinations to form the high-activity catalyst system.

A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

Science.gov (United States)

Djordjevic, Marko; Djordjevic, Magdalena

2012-10-01

A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways.

A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Djordjevic, Marko [Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade (Serbia); Djordjevic, Magdalena [Institute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade (Serbia)

2012-10-01

A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways. (paper)

A simple biosynthetic pathway for large product generation from small substrate amounts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djordjevic, Marko; Djordjevic, Magdalena

2012-01-01

A recently emerging discipline of synthetic biology has the aim of constructing new biosynthetic pathways with useful biological functions. A major application of these pathways is generating a large amount of the desired product. However, toxicity due to the possible presence of toxic precursors is one of the main problems for such production. We consider here the problem of generating a large amount of product from a potentially toxic substrate. To address this, we propose a simple biosynthetic pathway, which can be induced in order to produce a large number of the product molecules, by keeping the substrate amount at low levels. Surprisingly, we show that the large product generation crucially depends on fast non-specific degradation of the substrate molecules. We derive an optimal induction strategy, which allows as much as three orders of magnitude increase in the product amount through biologically realistic parameter values. We point to a recently discovered bacterial immune system (CRISPR/Cas in E. coli) as a putative example of the pathway analysed here. We also argue that the scheme proposed here can be used not only as a stand-alone pathway, but also as a strategy to produce a large amount of the desired molecules with small perturbations of endogenous biosynthetic pathways. (paper)

Study on dissolution behavior of polymer-bound and polymer-blended photo-acid generator (PAG) resists

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Hiroki; Kozawa, Takahiro; Tagawa, Seiichi

2013-03-01

The requirements for the next generation resist materials are so challenging that it is indispensable for feasibility of EUV lithography to grasp basic chemistry of resist matrices in all stage of resist processes. Under such circumstances, it is very important to know dissolution characteristics of the resist film into alkaline developer though the dissolution of exposed area of resist films in alkaline developer to form a pattern is a complex reactive process. In this study, the influence of EUV and KrF exposure on the dissolution behavior of polymer bound PAG and polymer blended PAG was studied in detail using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) methods. The difference in swelling formation between KrF and EUV exposure was observed. It is likely that difference of reaction mechanism induces the difference of these swelling. Also, it is observed that the swelling of polymer-bound PAG is less than that of polymer blended PAG in both KrF and EUV exposure. This result indicates that polymer-bound PAG suppresses swelling very well and showed an excellent performance. Actually, the developed polymer bound-PAG resist showed an excellent performance (half pitch 50 nm line and space pattern). Thus, polymer bound PAG is one of the promising candidate for 16 nm EUV resist.

Effects of a potential fourth fermion generation on the upper and lower Higgs boson mass bounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerhold, Philipp; Kallarackal, Jim; Jansen, Karl

2010-12-01

We study the effect of a potential fourth fermion generation on the upper and lower Higgs boson mass bounds. This investigation is based on the numerical evaluation of a chirally invariant lattice Higgs-Yukawa model emulating the same Higgs-fermion coupling structure as in the Higgs sector of the electroweak Standard Model. In particular, the considered model obeys a Ginsparg-Wilson version of the underlying SU(2) L x U(1) Y symmetry, being a global symmetry here due to the neglection of gauge fields in this model. We present our results on the modification of the upper and lower Higgs boson mass bounds induced by the presence of a hypothetical very heavy fourth quark doublet. Finally, we compare these findings to the standard scenario of three fermion generations. (orig.)

Dynamics of bleomycin interaction with a strongly bound hairpin DNA substrate, and implications for cleavage of the bound DNA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Trevor C; Nanjunda, Rupesh; Tang, Chenhong; Liu, Yang; Segerman, Zachary J; Zaleski, Paul A; Wilson, W David; Hecht, Sidney M

2012-10-31

Recent studies involving DNAs bound strongly by bleomycins have documented that such DNAs are degraded by the antitumor antibiotic with characteristics different from those observed when studying the cleavage of randomly chosen DNAs in the presence of excess Fe·BLM. In the present study, surface plasmon resonance has been used to characterize the dynamics of BLM B(2) binding to a strongly bound hairpin DNA, to define the effects of Fe(3+), salt, and temperature on BLM-DNA interaction. One strong primary DNA binding site, and at least one much weaker site, were documented. In contrast, more than one strong cleavage site was found, an observation also made for two other hairpin DNAs. Evidence is presented for BLM equilibration between the stronger and weaker binding sites in a way that renders BLM unavailable to other, less strongly bound DNAs. Thus, enhanced binding to a given site does not necessarily result in increased DNA degradation at that site; i.e., for strongly bound DNAs, the facility of DNA cleavage must involve other parameters in addition to the intrinsic rate of C-4' H atom abstraction from DNA sugars.

An Aromatic Cap Seals the Substrate Binding Site in an ECF-Type S Subunit for Riboflavin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karpowich, Nathan K.; Song, Jinmei; Wang, Da-Neng

2016-06-13

ECF transporters are a family of active membrane transporters for essential micronutrients, such as vitamins and trace metals. Found exclusively in archaea and bacteria, these transporters are composed of four subunits: an integral membrane substrate-binding subunit (EcfS), a transmembrane coupling subunit (EcfT), and two ATP-binding cassette ATPases (EcfA and EcfA'). We have characterized the structural basis of substrate binding by the EcfS subunit for riboflavin from Thermotoga maritima, TmRibU. TmRibU binds riboflavin with high affinity, and the protein–substrate complex is exceptionally stable in solution. The crystal structure of riboflavin-bound TmRibU reveals an electronegative binding pocket at the extracellular surface in which the substrate is completely buried. Analysis of the intermolecular contacts indicates that nearly every available substrate hydrogen bond is satisfied. A conserved aromatic residue at the extracellular end of TM5, Tyr130, caps the binding site to generate a substrate-bound, occluded state, and non-conservative mutation of Tyr130 reduces the stability of this conformation. Using a novel fluorescence binding assay, we find that an aromatic residue at this position is essential for high-affinity substrate binding. Comparison with other S subunit structures suggests that TM5 and Loop5-6 contain a dynamic, conserved motif that plays a key role in gating substrate entry and release by S subunits of ECF transporters.

Effects of substrate on piezoelectricity of electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride)-nanofiber-based energy generators.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Byoung-Sun; Park, Boongik; Yang, Ho-Sung; Han, Jin Woo; Choong, Chweelin; Bae, Jihyun; Lee, Kihwan; Yu, Woong-Ryeol; Jeong, Unyong; Chung, U-In; Park, Jong-Jin; Kim, Ohyun

2014-03-12

We report the effects of various substrates and substrate thicknesses on electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-nanofiber-based energy harvesters. The electrospun PVDF nanofibers showed an average diameter of 84.6 ± 23.5 nm. A high relative β-phase fraction (85.2%) was achieved by applying high voltage during electrospinning. The prepared PVDF nanofibers thus generated considerable piezoelectric potential in accordance with the sound-driven mechanical vibrations of the substrates. Slide glass, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), and paper substrates were used to investigate the effects of the intrinsic and extrinsic substrate properties on the piezoelectricity of the energy harvesters. The thinnest paper substrate (66 μm) with a moderate Young's modulus showed the highest voltage output (0.4885 V). We used high-performance 76, 66, and 33 μm thick papers to determine the effect of paper thickness on the output voltage. The thinnest paper substrate resulted in the highest voltage output (0.7781 V), and the numerical analyses of the sound-driven mechanical deformation strongly support the hypothesis that substrate thickness has a considerable effect on piezoelectric performance.

Influence of viscoelastic property on laser-generated surface acoustic waves in coating-substrate systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Hongxiang; Zhang Shuyi; Xu Baiqiang

2011-01-01

Taking account of the viscoelasticity of materials, the pulsed laser generation of surface acoustic waves in coating-substrate systems has been investigated quantitatively by using the finite element method. The displacement spectra of the surface acoustic waves have been calculated in frequency domain for different coating-substrate systems, in which the viscoelastic properties of the coatings and substrates are considered separately. Meanwhile, the temporal displacement waveforms have been obtained by applying inverse fast Fourier transforms. The numerical results of the normal surface displacements are presented for different configurations: a single plate, a slow coating on a fast substrate, and a fast coating on a slow substrate. The influences of the viscoelastic properties of the coating and the substrate on the attenuation of the surface acoustic waves have been studied. In addition, the influence of the coating thickness on the attenuation of the surface acoustic waves has been also investigated in detail.

Bound states in curved quantum waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exner, P.; Seba, P.

1987-01-01

We study free quantum particle living on a curved planar strip Ω of a fixed width d with Dirichlet boundary conditions. It can serve as a model for electrons in thin films on a cylindrical-type substrate, or in a curved quantum wire. Assuming that the boundary of Ω is infinitely smooth and its curvature decays fast enough at infinity, we prove that a bound state with energy below the first transversal mode exists for all sufficiently small d. A lower bound on the critical width is obtained using the Birman-Schwinger technique. (orig.)

Determining the bounds of skilful forecast range for probabilistic prediction of system-wide wind power generation

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Dirk Cannon

2017-06-01

Full Text Available State-of-the-art wind power forecasts beyond a few hours ahead rely on global numerical weather prediction models to forecast the future large-scale atmospheric state. Often they provide initial and boundary conditions for nested high resolution simulations. In this paper, both upper and lower bounds on forecast range are identified within which global ensemble forecasts provide skilful information for system-wide wind power applications. An upper bound on forecast range is associated with the limit of predictability, beyond which forecasts have no more skill than predictions based on climatological statistics. A lower bound is defined at the lead time beyond which the resolved uncertainty associated with estimating the future large-scale atmospheric state is larger than the unresolved uncertainty associated with estimating the system-wide wind power response to a given large-scale state.The bounds of skilful ensemble forecast range are quantified for three leading global forecast systems. The power system of Great Britain (GB is used as an example because independent verifying data is available from National Grid. The upper bound defined by forecasts of GB-total wind power generation at a specific point in time is found to be 6–8 days. The lower bound is found to be 1.4–2.4 days. Both bounds depend on the global forecast system and vary seasonally. In addition, forecasts of the probability of an extreme power ramp event were found to possess a shorter limit of predictability (4.5–5.5 days. The upper bound on this forecast range can only be extended by improving the global forecast system (outside the control of most users or by changing the metric used in the probability forecast. Improved downscaling and microscale modelling of the wind farm response may act to decrease the lower bound. The potential gain from such improvements have diminishing returns beyond the short-range (out to around 2 days.

Deconstructing the DGAT1 enzyme: membrane interactions at substrate binding sites.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose L S Lopes

Full Text Available Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1 is a key enzyme in the triacylglyceride synthesis pathway. Bovine DGAT1 is an endoplasmic reticulum membrane-bound protein associated with the regulation of fat content in milk and meat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction of DGAT1 peptides corresponding to putative substrate binding sites with different types of model membranes. Whilst these peptides are predicted to be located in an extramembranous loop of the membrane-bound protein, their hydrophobic substrates are membrane-bound molecules. In this study, peptides corresponding to the binding sites of the two substrates involved in the reaction were examined in the presence of model membranes in order to probe potential interactions between them that might influence the subsequent binding of the substrates. Whilst the conformation of one of the peptides changed upon binding several types of micelles regardless of their surface charge, suggesting binding to hydrophobic domains, the other peptide bound strongly to negatively-charged model membranes. This binding was accompanied by a change in conformation, and produced leakage of the liposome-entrapped dye calcein. The different hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions observed suggest the peptides may be involved in the interactions of the enzyme with membrane surfaces, facilitating access of the catalytic histidine to the triacylglycerol substrates.

Cloning and Identification of Recombinant Argonaute-Bound Small RNAs Using Next-Generation Sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gangras, Pooja; Dayeh, Daniel M; Mabin, Justin W; Nakanishi, Kotaro; Singh, Guramrit

2018-01-01

Argonaute proteins (AGOs) are loaded with small RNAs as guides to recognize target mRNAs. Since the target specificity heavily depends on the base complementarity between two strands, it is important to identify small guide and long target RNAs bound to AGOs. For this purpose, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have extended our appreciation truly to the nucleotide level. However, the identification of RNAs via NGS from scarce RNA samples remains a challenge. Further, most commercial and published methods are compatible with either small RNAs or long RNAs, but are not equally applicable to both. Therefore, a single method that yields quantitative, bias-free NGS libraries to identify small and long RNAs from low levels of input will be of wide interest. Here, we introduce such a procedure that is based on several modifications of two published protocols and allows robust, sensitive, and reproducible cloning and sequencing of small amounts of RNAs of variable lengths. The method was applied to the identification of small RNAs bound to a purified eukaryotic AGO. Following ligation of a DNA adapter to RNA 3'-end, the key feature of this method is to use the adapter for priming reverse transcription (RT) wherein biotinylated deoxyribonucleotides specifically incorporated into the extended complementary DNA. Such RT products are enriched on streptavidin beads, circularized while immobilized on beads and directly used for PCR amplification. We provide a stepwise guide to generate RNA-Seq libraries, their purification, quantification, validation, and preparation for next-generation sequencing. We also provide basic steps in post-NGS data analyses using Galaxy, an open-source, web-based platform.

Market access through bound tariffs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sala, Davide; Yalcin, Erdal; Schröder, Philipp

2010-01-01

on the risk that exporters face in destination markets. The present paper formalizes the underlying interaction of risk, fixed export costs and firms' market entry decisions based on techniques known from the real options literature; doing so we highlight the important role of bound tariffs at the extensive...... margin of trade. We find that bound tariffs are more effective with higher risk destination markets, that a large binding overhang may still command substantial market access, and that reductions in bound tariffs generate effective market access even when bound rates are above current and longterm...

Market Access through Bound Tariffs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sala, Davide; Schröder, Philipp J.H.; Yalcin, Erdal

on the risk that exporters face in destination markets. The present paper formalizes the underlying interaction of risk, fixed export costs and firms' market entry decisions based on techniques known from the real options literature; doing so we highlight the important role of bound tariffs at the extensive...... margin of trade. We find that bound tariffs are more effective with higher risk destination markets, that a large binding overhang may still command substantial market access, and that reductions in bound tariffs generate effective market access even when bound rates are above current and long...

Insights into the Mechanism of Deubiquitination by JAMM Deubiquitinases from Cocrystal Structures of the Enzyme with the Substrate and Product

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

AMSH, a conserved zinc metallo deubiquitinase, controls downregulation and degradation of cell-surface receptors mediated by the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) machinery. It displays high specificity toward the Lys63-linked polyubiquitin chain, which is used as a signal for ESCRT-mediated endosomal–lysosomal sorting of receptors. Herein, we report the crystal structures of the catalytic domain of AMSH orthologue Sst2 from fission yeast, its ubiquitin (product)-bound form, and its Lys63-linked diubiquitin (substrate)-bound form at 1.45, 1.7, and 2.3 Å, respectively. The structures reveal that the P-side product fragment maintains nearly all the contacts with the enzyme as seen with the P portion (distal ubiquitin) of the Lys63-linked diubiquitin substrate, with additional coordination of the Gly76 carboxylate group of the product with the active-site Zn2+. One of the product-bound structures described herein is the result of an attempt to cocrystallize the diubiquitin substrate bound to an active site mutant presumed to render the enzyme inactive, instead yielding a cocrystal structure of the enzyme bound to the P-side ubiquitin fragment of the substrate (distal ubiquitin). This fragment was generated in situ from the residual activity of the mutant enzyme. In this structure, the catalytic water is seen placed between the active-site Zn2+ and the carboxylate group of Gly76 of ubiquitin, providing what appears to be a snapshot of the active site when the product is about to depart. Comparison of this structure with that of the substrate-bound form suggests the importance of dynamics of a flexible flap near the active site in catalysis. The crystal structure of the Thr319Ile mutant of the catalytic domain of Sst2 provides insight into structural basis of microcephaly capillary malformation syndrome. Isothermal titration calorimetry yields a dissociation constant (KD) of 10.2 ± 0.6 μM for the binding of ubiquitin to the enzyme, a value

No-arbitrage bounds for financial scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geyer, Alois; Hanke, Michael; Weissensteiner, Alex

2014-01-01

We derive no-arbitrage bounds for expected excess returns to generate scenarios used in financial applications. The bounds allow to distinguish three regions: one where arbitrage opportunities will never exist, a second where arbitrage may be present, and a third, where arbitrage opportunities...

Importance of length and sequence order on magnesium binding to surface-bound oligonucleotides studied by second harmonic generation and atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Joseph G; Geiger, Franz M

2012-06-07

The binding of magnesium ions to surface-bound single-stranded oligonucleotides was studied under aqueous conditions using second harmonic generation (SHG) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effect of strand length on the number of Mg(II) ions bound and their free binding energy was examined for 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-mers of adenine and guanine at pH 7, 298 K, and 10 mM NaCl. The binding free energies for adenine and guanine sequences were calculated to be -32.1(4) and -35.6(2) kJ/mol, respectively, and invariant with strand length. Furthermore, the ion density for adenine oligonucleotides did not change as strand length increased, with an average value of 2(1) ions/strand. In sharp contrast, guanine oligonucleotides displayed a linear relationship between strand length and ion density, suggesting that cooperativity is important. This data gives predictive capabilities for mixed strands of various lengths, which we exploit for 20-mers of adenines and guanines. In addition, the role sequence order plays in strands of hetero-oligonucleotides was examined for 5'-A(10)G(10)-3', 5'-(AG)(10)-3', and 5'-G(10)A(10)-3' (here the -3' end is chemically modified to bind to the surface). Although the free energy of binding is the same for these three strands (averaged to be -33.3(4) kJ/mol), the total ion density increases when several guanine residues are close to the 3' end (and thus close to the solid support substrate). To further understand these results, we analyzed the height profiles of the functionalized surfaces with tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). When comparing the average surface height profiles of the oligonucleotide surfaces pre- and post- Mg(II) binding, a positive correlation was found between ion density and the subsequent height decrease following Mg(II) binding, which we attribute to reductions in Coulomb repulsion and strand collapse once a critical number of Mg(II) ions are bound to the strand.

Quasi-bound states in continuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Hiroaki; Hatano, Naomichi; Garmon, Sterling; Petrosky, Tomio

2007-08-01

We report the prediction of quasi-bound states (resonant states with very long lifetimes) that occur in the eigenvalue continuum of propagating states for a wide region of parameter space. These quasi-bound states are generated in a quantum wire with two channels and an adatom, when the energy bands of the two channels overlap. A would-be bound state that lays just below the upper energy band is slightly destabilized by the lower energy band and thereby becomes a resonant state with a very long lifetime (a second QBIC lays above the lower energy band). (author)

Thermalization Time Bounds for Pauli Stabilizer Hamiltonians

Science.gov (United States)

Temme, Kristan

2017-03-01

We prove a general lower bound to the spectral gap of the Davies generator for Hamiltonians that can be written as the sum of commuting Pauli operators. These Hamiltonians, defined on the Hilbert space of N-qubits, serve as one of the most frequently considered candidates for a self-correcting quantum memory. A spectral gap bound on the Davies generator establishes an upper limit on the life time of such a quantum memory and can be used to estimate the time until the system relaxes to thermal equilibrium when brought into contact with a thermal heat bath. The bound can be shown to behave as {λ ≥ O(N^{-1} exp(-2β overline{ɛ}))}, where {overline{ɛ}} is a generalization of the well known energy barrier for logical operators. Particularly in the low temperature regime we expect this bound to provide the correct asymptotic scaling of the gap with the system size up to a factor of N -1. Furthermore, we discuss conditions and provide scenarios where this factor can be removed and a constant lower bound can be proven.

Formation of porous silicon oxide from substrate-bound silicon rich silicon oxide layers by continuous-wave laser irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Nan; Fricke-Begemann, Th.; Peretzki, P.; Ihlemann, J.; Seibt, M.

2018-03-01

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon oxide that show room temperature photoluminescence (PL) have great potential in silicon light emission applications. Nanocrystalline silicon particle formation by laser irradiation has the unique advantage of spatially controlled heating, which is compatible with modern silicon micro-fabrication technology. In this paper, we employ continuous wave laser irradiation to decompose substrate-bound silicon-rich silicon oxide films into crystalline silicon particles and silicon dioxide. The resulting microstructure is studied using transmission electron microscopy techniques with considerable emphasis on the formation and properties of laser damaged regions which typically quench room temperature PL from the nanoparticles. It is shown that such regions consist of an amorphous matrix with a composition similar to silicon dioxide which contains some nanometric silicon particles in addition to pores. A mechanism referred to as "selective silicon ablation" is proposed which consistently explains the experimental observations. Implications for the damage-free laser decomposition of silicon-rich silicon oxides and also for controlled production of porous silicon dioxide films are discussed.

Generation of substrate-free III–V nanodisks from user-defined multilayer nanopillar arrays for integration on Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naureen, S; Shahid, N; Dev, A; Anand, S

2013-01-01

High material quality InP-based multilayer nanopillar (NP) arrays are fabricated using a combination of self-assembly of silica particles for mask generation and dry etching. In particular, the NP arrays are made from user-defined epitaxial multilayer stacks with specific materials and layer thicknesses. An additional degree of flexibility in the structures is obtained by changing the lateral diameters of the NP multilayer stacks. Pre-defined NP arrays made from InGaAsP/InP and InGaAs/InP NPs are then used to generate substrate-free nanodisks of a chosen material from the stack by selective etching. A soft-stamping method is demonstrated to transfer the generated nanodisks with arbitrary densities onto Si. The transferred nanodisks retain their smooth surface morphologies and their designed geometrical dimensions. Both InP and InGaAsP nanodisks display excellent photoluminescence properties, with line-widths comparable to unprocessed reference epitaxial layers of similar composition. The multilayer NP arrays are potentially attractive for broad-band absorption in third-generation solar cells. The high optical quality, substrate-free InP and InGaAsP nanodisks on Si offer a new path to explore alternative ways to integrate III–V on Si by bonding nanodisks to Si. The method also has the advantage of re-usable III–V substrates for subsequent layer growth. (paper)

Recognition and processing of a new repertoire of DNA substrates by human 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG).

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chun-Yue I; Delaney, James C; Kartalou, Maria; Lingaraju, Gondichatnahalli M; Maor-Shoshani, Ayelet; Essigmann, John M; Samson, Leona D

2009-03-10

The human 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) recognizes and excises a broad range of purines damaged by alkylation and oxidative damage, including 3-methyladenine, 7-methylguanine, hypoxanthine (Hx), and 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine (epsilonA). The crystal structures of AAG bound to epsilonA have provided insights into the structural basis for substrate recognition, base excision, and exclusion of normal purines and pyrimidines from its substrate recognition pocket. In this study, we explore the substrate specificity of full-length and truncated Delta80AAG on a library of oligonucleotides containing structurally diverse base modifications. Substrate binding and base excision kinetics of AAG with 13 damaged oligonucleotides were examined. We found that AAG bound to a wide variety of purine and pyrimidine lesions but excised only a few of them. Single-turnover excision kinetics showed that in addition to the well-known epsilonA and Hx substrates, 1-methylguanine (m1G) was also excised efficiently by AAG. Thus, along with epsilonA and ethanoadenine (EA), m1G is another substrate that is shared between AAG and the direct repair protein AlkB. In addition, we found that both the full-length and truncated AAG excised 1,N(2)-ethenoguanine (1,N(2)-epsilonG), albeit weakly, from duplex DNA. Uracil was excised from both single- and double-stranded DNA, but only by full-length AAG, indicating that the N-terminus of AAG may influence glycosylase activity for some substrates. Although AAG has been primarily shown to act on double-stranded DNA, AAG excised both epsilonA and Hx from single-stranded DNA, suggesting the possible significance of repair of these frequent lesions in single-stranded DNA transiently generated during replication and transcription.

Substrate specificity determinants of class III nucleotidyl cyclases.

Science.gov (United States)

Bharambe, Nikhil G; Barathy, Deivanayaga V; Syed, Wajeed; Visweswariah, Sandhya S; Colaςo, Melwin; Misquith, Sandra; Suguna, Kaza

2016-10-01

The two second messengers in signalling, cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, are produced by adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases respectively. Recognition and discrimination of the substrates ATP and GTP by the nucleotidyl cyclases are vital in these reactions. Various apo-, substrate- or inhibitor-bound forms of adenylyl cyclase (AC) structures from transmembrane and soluble ACs have revealed the catalytic mechanism of ATP cyclization reaction. Previously reported structures of guanylyl cyclases represent ligand-free forms and inactive open states of the enzymes and thus do not provide information regarding the exact mode of substrate binding. The structures we present here of the cyclase homology domain of a class III AC from Mycobacterium avium (Ma1120) and its mutant in complex with ATP and GTP in the presence of calcium ion, provide the structural basis for substrate selection by the nucleotidyl cyclases at the atomic level. Precise nature of the enzyme-substrate interactions, novel modes of substrate binding and the ability of the binding pocket to accommodate diverse conformations of the substrates have been revealed by the present crystallographic analysis. This is the first report to provide structures of both the nucleotide substrates bound to a nucleotidyl cyclase. Coordinates and structure factors have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank with accession numbers: 5D15 (Ma1120 CHD +ATP.Ca 2+ ), 5D0E (Ma1120 CHD +GTP.Ca 2+ ), 5D0H (Ma1120 CHD (KDA→EGY)+ATP.Ca 2+ ), 5D0G (Ma1120 CHD (KDA→EGY)+GTP.Ca 2+ ). Adenylyl cyclase (EC number: 4.6.1.1). © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Yukawa Bound States and Their LHC Phenomenology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enkhbat Tsedenbaljir

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present the current status on the possible bound states of extra generation quarks. These include phenomenology and search strategy at the LHC. If chiral fourth-generation quarks do exist their strong Yukawa couplings, implied by current experimental lower bound on their masses, may lead to formation of bound states. Due to nearly degenerate 4G masses suggested by Precision Electroweak Test one can employ “heavy isospin” symmetry to classify possible spectrum. Among these states, the color-octet isosinglet vector ω 8 is the easiest to be produced at the LHC. The discovery potential and corresponding decay channels are covered in this paper. With possible light Higgs at ~125 GeV two-Higgs doublet version is briefly discussed.

Realisation and study of poly-phthalocyanine thin films grafted on solid substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huc, Vincent

1999-01-01

The aim of this work is to develop thin films of phthalocyanines covalently grafted to solid substrates. These thin films are formed of successive monomolecular layers of macrocycles, deposited on the substrate by a 'Merrifield' sequential method. These phthalocyanines have in their centre a metallic ion (such as ruthenium) which ensures the bonding of phthalocyanines on the substrate and the assembling of monolayers consecutive together. The deposition of these monolayers is provided by a succession of two spontaneous exchange ligands reactions between the labile groups L initially bound to ruthenium and to those present on the substrate (preliminary functionalized). The repetition of these two steps allows to consider the controlled formation of phthalocyanines multilayers by self-assembling. The main substrates used are the silicon oxide and the gold. Their different characteristics have imposed the development of separate functionalization and characterization methods. The results obtained with these two substrates are separately described. A second method of construction of successive monolayers of phthalocyanines is described involving a chemical coupling between an amine function carried out by the substrate and an aldehyde function present on the ligands bound on ruthenium. (author) [fr

Tentative identification of the second substrate binding site in Arabidopsis phytochelatin synthase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ju-Chen Chia

Full Text Available Phytochelatin synthase (PCS uses the substrates glutathione (GSH, γGlu-Cys-Gly and a cadmium (Cd-bound GSH (Cd∙GS2 to produce the shortest phytochelatin product (PC2, (γGlu-Cys2-Gly through a ping-pong mechanism. The binding of the 2 substrates to the active site, particularly the second substrate binding site, is not well-understood. In this study, we generated a structural model of the catalytic domain of Arabidopsis AtPCS1 (residues 12-218 by using the crystal structure of the γGlu-Cys acyl-enzyme complex of the PCS of the cyanobacterium Nostoc (NsPCS as a template. The modeled AtPCS1 revealed a cavity in proximity to the first substrate binding site, consisting of 3 loops containing several conserved amino acids including Arg152, Lys185, and Tyr55. Substitutions of these amino acids (R152K, K185R, or double mutation resulted in the abrogation of enzyme activity, indicating that the arrangement of these 2 positive charges is crucial for the binding of the second substrate. Recombinant AtPCS1s with mutations at Tyr55 showed lower catalytic activities because of reduced affinity (3-fold for Y55W for the Cd∙GS2, further suggesting the role of the cation-π interaction in recognition of the second substrate. Our study results indicate the mechanism for second substrate recognition in PCS. The integrated catalytic mechanism of PCS is further discussed.

Scanning electrochemical microscopy. 47. Imaging electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction in an acidic medium by the tip generation-substrate collection mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, José L; Bard, Allen J

2003-07-01

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic medium was studied on different electrode materials by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) operating in a new variation of the tip generation-substrate collection mode. An ultramicroelectrode tip placed close to the substrate electrode oxidizes water to oxygen at a constant current. The substrate is held at a potential where the tip-generated oxygen is reduced and the resulting substrate current is measured. By changing the substrate potential, it is possible to obtain a polarization (current-potential) curve, which depends on the electrocatalytic activity of the substrate material. The main difference between this mode and the classical feedback SECM mode of operation is that the feedback diffusion process is not required for the measurement, allowing its application for studying the ORR in acidic solutions. Activity-sensitive images of heterogeneous surfaces, e.g., with Pt and Au electrodes, were obtained from the substrate current when the x-y plane was scanned with the tip. The usefulness of this technique for imaging electrocatalytic activity of smooth metallic electrodes and of highly dispersed fuel cell-type electrocatalysts was demonstrated. The application of this method to the combinatorial chemical analysis of electrode materials and electrocatalysts is discussed.

Excitation mechanism in the photoisomerization of a surface-bound azobenzene derivative: Role of the metallic substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Hagen, Sebastian; Kate, Peter; Leyssner, Felix; Nandi, Dhananjay; Wolf, Martin; Tegeder, Petra

2008-10-01

Two-photon photoemission spectroscopy is employed to elucidate the electronic structure and the excitation mechanism in the photoinduced isomerization of the molecular switch tetra-tert-butyl-azobenzene (TBA) adsorbed on Au(111). Our results demonstrate that the optical excitation and the mechanism of molecular switching at a metal surface is completely different compared to the corresponding process for the free molecule. In contrast to direct (intramolecular) excitation operative in the isomerization in the liquid phase, the conformational change in the surface-bound TBA is driven by a substrate-mediated charge transfer process. We find that photoexcitation above a threshold hν ≈2.2 eV leads to hole formation in the Au d-band followed by a hole transfer to the highest occupied molecular orbital of TBA. This transiently formed positive ion resonance subsequently results in a conformational change. The photon energy dependent photoisomerization cross section exhibit an unusual shape for a photochemical reaction of an adsorbate on a metal surface. It shows a thresholdlike behavior below hν ≈2.2 eV and above hν ≈4.4 eV. These thresholds correspond to the minimum energy required to create single or multiple hot holes in the Au d-bands, respectively. This study provides important new insights into the use of light to control the structure and function of molecular switches in direct contact with metal electrodes.

Excitation mechanism in the photoisomerization of a surface-bound azobenzene derivative: Role of the metallic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagen, Sebastian; Kate, Peter; Leyssner, Felix; Nandi, Dhananjay; Wolf, Martin; Tegeder, Petra

2008-01-01

Two-photon photoemission spectroscopy is employed to elucidate the electronic structure and the excitation mechanism in the photoinduced isomerization of the molecular switch tetra-tert-butyl-azobenzene (TBA) adsorbed on Au(111). Our results demonstrate that the optical excitation and the mechanism of molecular switching at a metal surface is completely different compared to the corresponding process for the free molecule. In contrast to direct (intramolecular) excitation operative in the isomerization in the liquid phase, the conformational change in the surface-bound TBA is driven by a substrate-mediated charge transfer process. We find that photoexcitation above a threshold hν≅2.2 eV leads to hole formation in the Au d-band followed by a hole transfer to the highest occupied molecular orbital of TBA. This transiently formed positive ion resonance subsequently results in a conformational change. The photon energy dependent photoisomerization cross section exhibit an unusual shape for a photochemical reaction of an adsorbate on a metal surface. It shows a thresholdlike behavior below hν≅2.2 eV and above hν≅4.4 eV. These thresholds correspond to the minimum energy required to create single or multiple hot holes in the Au d-bands, respectively. This study provides important new insights into the use of light to control the structure and function of molecular switches in direct contact with metal electrodes.

Power generation assets. Energy constraints, upper bounds and hedging strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enge, Thomas

2010-09-20

The overall topic of this thesis is the valuation of power generation assets under energy and risk constraints. Our focus is on the modeling aspect i.e. to find the right balance between accuracy and computational feasibility. We define a new not yet investigated unit commitment problem that introduces an energy constraint to a thermal power plant. We define a continuous stochastic dynamic program with a nested mixed integer program (MIP). We introduce a fast implementation approach by replacing the MIP with an efficient matrix calculation and use principal component analysis to reduce the number of risk factors. We also provide a fast heuristic valuation approach for comparison. As both models can only provide lower bounds of the asset value, we investigate the theory of upper bounds for a proper validation of our power plant results. We review the primal dual algorithm for swing options by Meinshausen and Hambly and in particular clarify their notation and implementation. Then we provide an extension for swing options with multiple exercises at the same stage that we developed together with Prof. Bender, University of Braunschweig. We outline Prof. Bender's proof and describe the implementation in detail. Finally we provide a risk analysis for our thermal power plant. In particular we investigate strategies to reduce spot price risk to which power plants are significantly exposed. First, we focus on the measurement of spot price risk and propose three appropriate risk figures (Forward delta as opposed to Futures delta, synthetic spot delta and Earnings-at-Risk) and illustrate their application using a business case. Second we suggest risk mitigation strategies for both periods, before and in delivery. The latter tries to alter the dispatch policy i.e. pick less risky hours and accept a (desirably only slightly) smaller return. We introduce a benchmark that weighs risk versus return and that we will call EaR-efficient option value. We propose a mitigation

Generation and characterization of tabalumab, a human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes both soluble and membrane-bound B-cell activating factor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manetta J

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Joseph Manetta, Holly Bina, Paul Ryan, Niles Fox, Derrick R Witcher, Kristine Kikly Biotechnology Discovery Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA Abstract: B-cell activating factor (BAFF is a B-cell survival factor with a key role in B-cell homeostasis and tolerance. Dysregulated BAFF expression may contribute to autoimmune diseases or B-cell malignancies via effects on abnormal B-lymphocyte activation, proliferation, survival, and immunoglobulin secretion. Monoclonal antibodies were generated against human BAFF, characterized for species specificity and affinity, and screened for the ability to neutralize both membrane-bound and soluble BAFF. In addition, studies were undertaken to determine the relative potency of membrane-bound and soluble BAFF. Tabalumab has a high affinity for human, cynomolgus monkey, and rabbit BAFF. No binding to mouse BAFF was detected. Tabalumab was able to neutralize soluble human, cynomolgus monkey, or rabbit BAFF with equal potency. Our data demonstrate that membrane-bound BAFF can be a more potent stimulus for B-cells than soluble BAFF, and tabalumab also neutralized membrane-bound BAFF. Tabalumab prevented BAFF from binding to BAFF receptors and demonstrated pharmacodynamic effects in human BAFF transgenic mice. Tabalumab is a high-affinity human antibody with neutralizing activity against membrane-bound and soluble BAFF. Given our findings that membrane-bound BAFF can have greater in vitro potency than soluble BAFF, neutralization of both forms of BAFF is likely to be important for optimal therapeutic effect. Keywords: autoimmunity, B-cell malignancies, B-cell survival factor, BAFF

Competition between bound and free peptides in an ELISA-based procedure that assays peptides derived from protein digests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pace Umberto

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We describe an ELISA-based method that can be used to identify and quantitate proteins in biological samples. In this method, peptides in solution, derived from proteolytic digests of the sample, compete with substrate-attached synthetic peptides for antibodies, also in solution, generated against the chosen peptides. The peptides used for the ELISA are chosen on the basis of their being (i products of the proteolytic (e.g. tryptic digestion of the protein to be identified and (ii unique to the target protein, as far as one can know from the published sequences. Results In this paper we describe the competition assay and we define the optimal conditions for the most effective assay. We have performed an analysis of the kinetics of interaction between the four components of the assay: the plastic substratum to which the peptide is bound, the bound peptide itself, the competing added peptide, and the antibody that is specific for the peptide and we compare the results of theoretical simulations to the actual data in some model systems. Conclusion The data suggest that the peptides bind to the plastic substratum in more than one conformation and that, once bound, the peptide displays different affinities for the antibody, depending on how it has bound to the plate

Bound states in the continuum generated by supersymmetric quantum mechanics and phase rigidity of the corresponding wavefunctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demić, Aleksandar; Milanović, Vitomir; Radovanović, Jelena

2015-01-01

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) is a method that can be used for generating complex potentials with entirely real spectrum with bound states in the continuum (BIC). These complex potentials are isospectral with the initial one, but SUSYQM method adds discrete BIC's at selected energies. Corresponding wavefunctions created by SUSYQM are biorthogonal and complex, hence we can discuss their phase rigidity and illustrate the application of SUSYQM on the examples of three specific potential profiles (free electron, negative Dirac potential and quantum well with infinite walls). - Highlights: • We present SUSYQM method for generating complex potentials with entirely real spectrum. • Phase rigidity and normalizability of wavefunctions in complex potential is discussed. • Numerical application is performed on three specific potential profiles.

Membrane-bound human orphan cytochrome P450 2U1: Sequence singularities, construction of a full 3D model, and substrate docking.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducassou, Lionel; Dhers, Laura; Jonasson, Gabriella; Pietrancosta, Nicolas; Boucher, Jean-Luc; Mansuy, Daniel; André, François

2017-09-01

Human cytochrome P450 2U1 (CYP2U1) is an orphan CYP that exhibits several distinctive characteristics among the 57 human CYPs with a highly conserved sequence in almost all living organisms. We compared its protein sequence with those of the 57 human CYPs and constructed a 3D structure of a full-length CYP2U1 model bound to a POPC membrane. We also performed docking experiments of arachidonic acid (AA) and N-arachidonoylserotonin (AS) in this model. The protein sequence of CYP2U1 displayed two unique characteristics when compared to those of the human CYPs, the presence of a longer N-terminal region upstream of the putative trans-membrane helix (TMH) containing 8 proline residues, and of an insert of about 20 amino acids containing 5 arginine residues between helices A' and A. Its N-terminal part upstream of TMH involved an additional short terminal helix, in a manner similar to what was reported in the crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CYP51. Our model also showed a specific interaction between the charged residues of insert AA' and phosphate groups of lipid polar heads, suggesting a possible role of this insert in substrate recruitment. Docking of AA and AS in this model showed these substrates in channel 2ac, with the terminal alkyl chain of AA or the indole ring of AS close to the heme, in agreement with the reported CYP2U1-catalyzed AA and AS hydroxylation regioselectivities. This model should be useful to find new endogenous or exogenous CYP2U1 substrates and to interpret the regioselectivity of their hydroxylation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Simulation bounds for system availability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tietjen, G.L.; Waller, R.A.

1976-01-01

System availability is a dominant factor in the practicality of nuclear power electrical generating plants. A proposed model for obtaining either lower bounds or interval estimates on availability uses observed data on ''n'' failure-to-repair cycles of the system to estimate the parameters in the time-to-failure and time-to-repair models. These estimates are then used in simulating failure/repair cycles of the system. The availability estimate is obtained for each of 5000 samples of ''n'' failure/repair cycles to form a distribution of estimates. Specific percentile points of those simulated distributions are selected as lower simulation bounds or simulation interval bounds for the system availability. The method is illustrated with operational data from two nuclear plants for which an exponential time-to-failure and a lognormal time-to-repair are assumed

Structural basis for substrate specificities of cellular deoxyribonucleoside kinases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, K.; Ramaswamy, S.; Ljungcrantz, C.

2001-01-01

Deoxyribonucleoside kinases phosphorylate deoxyribonucleosides and activate a number of medically important nucleoside analogs. Here we report the structure of the Drosophila deoxyribonucleoside kinase with deoxycytidine bound at the nucleoside binding site and that of the human deoxyguanosine ki......; this is apparently due to the presence of Arg 118, which provides favorable hydrogen bonding interactions with the substrate. The two new structures provide an explanation for the substrate specificity of cellular deoxyribonucleoside kinases....

Versatile gradients of chemistry, bound ligands and nanoparticles on alumina nanopore arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michelmore, Andrew; Poh, Zihan; Goreham, Renee V; Short, Robert D; Vasilev, Krasimir; Mierczynska, Agnieszka; Losic, Dusan

2011-01-01

Nanoporous alumina (PA) arrays produced by self-ordering growth, using electrochemical anodization, have been extensively explored for potential applications based upon the unique thermal, mechanical and structural properties, and high surface-to-volume ratio of these materials. However, the potential applications and functionality of these materials may be further extended by molecular-level engineering of the surface of the pore rims. In this paper we present a method for the generation of chemical gradients on the surface of PA arrays based upon plasma co-polymerization of two monomers. We further extend these chemical gradients, which are also gradients of surface charge, to those of bound ligands and number density gradients of nanoparticles. The latter represent a highly exotic new class of materials, comprising aligned PA, capped by gold nanoparticles around the rim of the pores. Gradients of chemistry, ligands and nanoparticles generated by our method retain the porous structure of the substrate, which is important in applications that take advantage of the inherent properties of these materials. This method can be readily extended to other porous materials.

Versatile gradients of chemistry, bound ligands and nanoparticles on alumina nanopore arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michelmore, Andrew; Poh, Zihan; Goreham, Renee V; Short, Robert D; Vasilev, Krasimir [Mawson Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Adelaide (Australia); Mierczynska, Agnieszka; Losic, Dusan, E-mail: Krasimir.vasilev@unisa.edu.au [Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Adelaide (Australia)

2011-10-14

Nanoporous alumina (PA) arrays produced by self-ordering growth, using electrochemical anodization, have been extensively explored for potential applications based upon the unique thermal, mechanical and structural properties, and high surface-to-volume ratio of these materials. However, the potential applications and functionality of these materials may be further extended by molecular-level engineering of the surface of the pore rims. In this paper we present a method for the generation of chemical gradients on the surface of PA arrays based upon plasma co-polymerization of two monomers. We further extend these chemical gradients, which are also gradients of surface charge, to those of bound ligands and number density gradients of nanoparticles. The latter represent a highly exotic new class of materials, comprising aligned PA, capped by gold nanoparticles around the rim of the pores. Gradients of chemistry, ligands and nanoparticles generated by our method retain the porous structure of the substrate, which is important in applications that take advantage of the inherent properties of these materials. This method can be readily extended to other porous materials.

Biofunctionalization on Alkylated Silicon Substrate Surfaces via “Click” Chemistry

OpenAIRE

Qin, Guoting; Santos, Catherine; Zhang, Wen; Li, Yan; Kumar, Amit; Erasquin, Uriel J.; Liu, Kai; Muradov, Pavel; Trautner, Barbara Wells; Cai, Chengzhi

2010-01-01

Biofunctionalization of silicon substrates is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and devices. Compared to conventional organosiloxane films on silicon oxide intermediate layers, organic monolayers directly bound to the non-oxidized silicon substrates via Si-C bonds enhance the sensitivity of detection and the stability against hydrolytic cleavage. Such monolayers presenting a high density of terminal alkynyl groups for bioconjugation via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3...

Selectively Plasmon-Enhanced Second-Harmonic Generation from Monolayer Tungsten Diselenide on Flexible Substrates

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhuo

2018-01-04

Monolayer two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) exhibit promising characteristics in miniaturized nonlinear optical frequency converters, due to their inversion asymmetry and large second-order nonlinear susceptibility. However, these materials usually have a very short light interaction lengths with the pump laser because they are atomically thin, such that second-harmonic generation (SHG) is generally inefficient. In this paper, we fabricate a judiciously structured 150-nm-thick planar surface consisting of monolayer tungsten diselenide and sub-20-nm-wide gold trenches on flexible substrates, reporting ~7000-fold SHG enhancement without peak broadening or background in the spectra as compared to WSe2 on as-grown sapphire substrates. Our proof-of-concept experiment yields effective second-order nonlinear susceptibility of 2.1 × 104 pm/V. Three orders of magnitude enhancement is maintained with pump wavelength ranging from 800 nm to 900 nm, breaking the limitation of narrow pump wavelength range for cavity-enhanced SHG. In addition, SHG amplitude can be dynamically controlled via selective excitation of the lateral gap plasmon by rotating the laser polarization. Such fully open, flat and ultrathin profile enables a great variety of functional samples with high SHG from one patterned silicon substrate, favoring scalable production of nonlinear converters. The surface accessibility also enables integration with other optical components for information processing in an ultrathin and flexible form.

Selectively Plasmon-Enhanced Second-Harmonic Generation from Monolayer Tungsten Diselenide on Flexible Substrates

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhuo; Dong, Zhaogang; Zhu, Hai; Jin, Lei; Chiu, Ming-Hui; Li, Lain-Jong; Xu, Qing-Hua; Eda, Goki; Maier, Stefan A.; Wee, Andrew T. S.; Qiu, Cheng-Wei; Yang, Joel K.W.

2018-01-01

Monolayer two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) exhibit promising characteristics in miniaturized nonlinear optical frequency converters, due to their inversion asymmetry and large second-order nonlinear susceptibility. However, these materials usually have a very short light interaction lengths with the pump laser because they are atomically thin, such that second-harmonic generation (SHG) is generally inefficient. In this paper, we fabricate a judiciously structured 150-nm-thick planar surface consisting of monolayer tungsten diselenide and sub-20-nm-wide gold trenches on flexible substrates, reporting ~7000-fold SHG enhancement without peak broadening or background in the spectra as compared to WSe2 on as-grown sapphire substrates. Our proof-of-concept experiment yields effective second-order nonlinear susceptibility of 2.1 × 104 pm/V. Three orders of magnitude enhancement is maintained with pump wavelength ranging from 800 nm to 900 nm, breaking the limitation of narrow pump wavelength range for cavity-enhanced SHG. In addition, SHG amplitude can be dynamically controlled via selective excitation of the lateral gap plasmon by rotating the laser polarization. Such fully open, flat and ultrathin profile enables a great variety of functional samples with high SHG from one patterned silicon substrate, favoring scalable production of nonlinear converters. The surface accessibility also enables integration with other optical components for information processing in an ultrathin and flexible form.

Terahertz-radiation generation in low-temperature InGaAs epitaxial films on (100) and (411) InP substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galiev, G. B., E-mail: galiev-galib@mail.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Grekhov, M. M. [National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Russian Federation); Kitaeva, G. Kh. [Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics (Russian Federation); Klimov, E. A.; Klochkov, A. N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Kolentsova, O. S. [National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Russian Federation); Kornienko, V. V.; Kuznetsov, K. A. [Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics (Russian Federation); Maltsev, P. P.; Pushkarev, S. S. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation)

2017-03-15

The spectrum and waveforms of broadband terahertz-radiation pulses generated by low-temperature In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As epitaxial films under femtosecond laser pumping are investigated by terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy. The In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As films are fabricated by molecular-beam epitaxy at a temperature of 200°C under different arsenic pressures on (100)-oriented InP substrates and, for the first time, on (411)A InP substrates. The surface morphology of the samples is studied by atomic-force microscopy and the structural quality is established by high-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis. It is found that the amplitude of terahertz radiation from the LT-InGaAs layers on the (411)A InP substrates exceeds that from similar layers formed on the (100) InP substrates by a factor of 3–5.

pH and generation dependent morphologies of PAMAM dendrimers on a graphene substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Gosika, Mounika; Maiti, Prabal K

2018-03-07

The adsorption of PAMAM dendrimers at solid/water interfaces has been extensively studied, and is mainly driven by electrostatic and van der Waals interactions between the substrate and the dendrimers. However, the pH dependence of the adsorption driven predominantly by the van der Waals interactions is poorly explored, although it is crucial for investigating the potentiality of these dendrimers in supercapacitors and surface patterning. Motivated by this aspect, we have studied the adsorption behavior of PAMAM dendrimers of generations 2 (G2) to 5 (G5) with pH and salt concentration variation, on a charge neutral graphene substrate, using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The instantaneous snapshots from our simulations illustrate that the dendrimers deform significantly from their bulk structures. Based on various structural property calculations, we classify the adsorbed dendrimer morphologies into five categories and map them to a phase diagram. Interestingly, the morphologies we report here have striking analogies with those reported in star-polymer adsorption studies. From the fractional contacts and other structural property analyses we find that the deformations are more pronounced at neutral pH as compared to high and low pH. Higher generation dendrimers resist deformation following the deformation trend, G2 > G3 > G4 > G5 at any given pH level. As the adsorption here is mainly driven by van der Waals interactions, we observe no desorption of the dendrimers as the salt molarity is increased, unlike that reported in the electrostatically driven adsorption studies.

Reducing Conservatism of Analytic Transient Response Bounds via Shaping Filters

Science.gov (United States)

Kwan, Aiyueh; Bedrossian, Nazareth; Jan, Jiann-Woei; Grigoriadis, Karolos; Hua, Tuyen (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Recent results show that the peak transient response of a linear system to bounded energy inputs can be computed using the energy-to-peak gain of the system. However, analytically computed peak response bound can be conservative for a class of class bounded energy signals, specifically pulse trains generated from jet firings encountered in space vehicles. In this paper, shaping filters are proposed as a Methodology to reduce the conservatism of peak response analytic bounds. This Methodology was applied to a realistic Space Station assembly operation subject to jet firings. The results indicate that shaping filters indeed reduce the predicted peak response bounds.

Structure of photosystem II and substrate binding at room temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Iris D; Ibrahim, Mohamed; Chatterjee, Ruchira; Gul, Sheraz; Fuller, Franklin; Koroidov, Sergey; Brewster, Aaron S; Tran, Rosalie; Alonso-Mori, Roberto; Kroll, Thomas; Michels-Clark, Tara; Laksmono, Hartawan; Sierra, Raymond G; Stan, Claudiu A; Hussein, Rana; Zhang, Miao; Douthit, Lacey; Kubin, Markus; de Lichtenberg, Casper; Long Vo, Pham; Nilsson, Håkan; Cheah, Mun Hon; Shevela, Dmitriy; Saracini, Claudio; Bean, Mackenzie A; Seuffert, Ina; Sokaras, Dimosthenis; Weng, Tsu-Chien; Pastor, Ernest; Weninger, Clemens; Fransson, Thomas; Lassalle, Louise; Bräuer, Philipp; Aller, Pierre; Docker, Peter T; Andi, Babak; Orville, Allen M; Glownia, James M; Nelson, Silke; Sikorski, Marcin; Zhu, Diling; Hunter, Mark S; Lane, Thomas J; Aquila, Andy; Koglin, Jason E; Robinson, Joseph; Liang, Mengning; Boutet, Sébastien; Lyubimov, Artem Y; Uervirojnangkoorn, Monarin; Moriarty, Nigel W; Liebschner, Dorothee; Afonine, Pavel V; Waterman, David G; Evans, Gwyndaf; Wernet, Philippe; Dobbek, Holger; Weis, William I; Brunger, Axel T; Zwart, Petrus H; Adams, Paul D; Zouni, Athina; Messinger, Johannes; Bergmann, Uwe; Sauter, Nicholas K; Kern, Jan; Yachandra, Vittal K; Yano, Junko

2016-12-15

Light-induced oxidation of water by photosystem II (PS II) in plants, algae and cyanobacteria has generated most of the dioxygen in the atmosphere. PS II, a membrane-bound multi-subunit pigment protein complex, couples the one-electron photochemistry at the reaction centre with the four-electron redox chemistry of water oxidation at the Mn 4 CaO 5 cluster in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). Under illumination, the OEC cycles through five intermediate S-states (S 0 to S 4 ), in which S 1 is the dark-stable state and S 3 is the last semi-stable state before O-O bond formation and O 2 evolution. A detailed understanding of the O-O bond formation mechanism remains a challenge, and will require elucidation of both the structures of the OEC in the different S-states and the binding of the two substrate waters to the catalytic site. Here we report the use of femtosecond pulses from an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) to obtain damage-free, room temperature structures of dark-adapted (S 1 ), two-flash illuminated (2F; S 3 -enriched), and ammonia-bound two-flash illuminated (2F-NH 3 ; S 3 -enriched) PS II. Although the recent 1.95 Å resolution structure of PS II at cryogenic temperature using an XFEL provided a damage-free view of the S 1 state, measurements at room temperature are required to study the structural landscape of proteins under functional conditions, and also for in situ advancement of the S-states. To investigate the water-binding site(s), ammonia, a water analogue, has been used as a marker, as it binds to the Mn 4 CaO 5 cluster in the S 2 and S 3 states. Since the ammonia-bound OEC is active, the ammonia-binding Mn site is not a substrate water site. This approach, together with a comparison of the native dark and 2F states, is used to discriminate between proposed O-O bond formation mechanisms.

Substrate potential of last interglacial to Holocene permafrost organic matter for future microbial greenhouse gas production

Science.gov (United States)

Stapel, Janina G.; Schwamborn, Georg; Schirrmeister, Lutz; Horsfield, Brian; Mangelsdorf, Kai

2018-04-01

In this study the organic matter (OM) in several permafrost cores from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island in NE Siberia was investigated. In the context of the observed global warming the aim was to evaluate the potential of freeze-locked OM from different depositional ages to act as a substrate provider for microbial production of greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost. To assess this potential, the concentrations of free and bound acetate, which form an appropriate substrate for methanogenesis, were determined. The largest free-acetate (in pore water) and bound-acetate (organic-matrix-linked) substrate pools were present in interstadial marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 and stadial MIS 4 Yedoma permafrost deposits. In contrast, deposits from the last interglacial MIS 5e (Eemian) contained only a small pool of substrates. The Holocene (MIS 1) deposits revealed a significant bound-acetate pool, representing a future substrate potential upon release during OM degradation. Additionally, pyrolysis experiments on the OM allocated an increased aliphatic character to the MIS 3 and 4 Late Pleistocene deposits, which might indicate less decomposed and presumably more easily degradable OM. Biomarkers for past microbial communities, including those for methanogenic archaea, also showed the highest abundance during MIS 3 and 4, which indicated OM-stimulated microbial degradation and presumably greenhouse gas production during time of deposition. On a broader perspective, Arctic warming will increase and deepen permafrost thaw and favor substrate availability from older freeze-locked permafrost deposits. Thus, the Yedoma deposits especially showed a high potential for providing substrates relevant for microbial greenhouse gas production.

Bounds for nonlinear composites via iterated homogenization

Science.gov (United States)

Ponte Castañeda, P.

2012-09-01

Improved estimates of the Hashin-Shtrikman-Willis type are generated for the class of nonlinear composites consisting of two well-ordered, isotropic phases distributed randomly with prescribed two-point correlations, as determined by the H-measure of the microstructure. For this purpose, a novel strategy for generating bounds has been developed utilizing iterated homogenization. The general idea is to make use of bounds that may be available for composite materials in the limit when the concentration of one of the phases (say phase 1) is small. It then follows from the theory of iterated homogenization that it is possible, under certain conditions, to obtain bounds for more general values of the concentration, by gradually adding small amounts of phase 1 in incremental fashion, and sequentially using the available dilute-concentration estimate, up to the final (finite) value of the concentration (of phase 1). Such an approach can also be useful when available bounds are expected to be tighter for certain ranges of the phase volume fractions. This is the case, for example, for the "linear comparison" bounds for porous viscoplastic materials, which are known to be comparatively tighter for large values of the porosity. In this case, the new bounds obtained by the above-mentioned "iterated" procedure can be shown to be much improved relative to the earlier "linear comparison" bounds, especially at low values of the porosity and high triaxialities. Consistent with the way in which they have been derived, the new estimates are, strictly, bounds only for the class of multi-scale, nonlinear composites consisting of two well-ordered, isotropic phases that are distributed with prescribed H-measure at each stage in the incremental process. However, given the facts that the H-measure of the sequential microstructures is conserved (so that the final microstructures can be shown to have the same H-measure), and that H-measures are insensitive to length scales, it is conjectured

Bounds of thermal stability of infinite cylindrical structures with non-uniform internal heat generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gadalla, M.A.

1992-01-01

This paper presents an overview analyses of the thermal instability or thermal viability of infinite cylindrical structures with non-linear and non-uniform internal heat generation. The structure may be subjected to different and combined boundary conditions. An analytical solution is obtained for the generalized problem in spite of the non-linearity and the non-homogeneity of the source term. Four case studies with different boundary conditions are presented. The analyses show that the critical parameter for thermal stability may be though of as an altitude of surface below which the cylindrical structure will be thermally stable and performance worthy. The results also show that the bounds of thermal stability of a cylindrical structure system (solid or hollow) is eminently determined by the boundary conditions to which the system is subjected and can significantly alter the life-span of the structure

Model independent bounds on magnetic moments of Majorana neutrinos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, Nicole F.; Gorchtein, Mikhail; Ramsey-Musolf, Michael J.; Vogel, Petr; Wang, Peng

2006-01-01

We analyze the implications of neutrino masses for the magnitude of neutrino magnetic moments. By considering electroweak radiative corrections to the neutrino mass, we derive model-independent naturalness upper bounds on neutrino magnetic moments, μ ν , generated by physics above the electroweak scale. For Dirac neutrinos, the bound is several orders of magnitude more stringent than present experimental limits. However, for Majorana neutrinos the magnetic moment contribution to the mass is Yukawa suppressed. The bounds we derive for magnetic moments of Majorana neutrinos are weaker than present experimental limits if μ ν is generated by new physics at ∼1 TeV, and surpass current experimental sensitivity only for new physics scales >10-100 TeV. The discovery of a neutrino magnetic moment near present limits would thus signify that neutrinos are Majorana particles

Thermal Effect of Ceramic Substrate on Heat Distribution in Thermoelectric Generators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolaei, Alireza Rezania; Rosendahl, Lasse

2012-01-01

in the heat sink, a parallel microchannel heat sink is applied to a real TEG. The focus of this study is a discussion of the temperature difference variation between the cold/hot sides of the TEG legs versus the variation of the thermal conductivity of the ceramic substrate and the thickness of the substrate...... that the temperature difference is affected remarkably by the pressure drops in the heat sink, the thermal conductivity of the ceramic substrate, and the thickness of the substrate on the hot side....

Biofunctionalization on alkylated silicon substrate surfaces via "click" chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Guoting; Santos, Catherine; Zhang, Wen; Li, Yan; Kumar, Amit; Erasquin, Uriel J; Liu, Kai; Muradov, Pavel; Trautner, Barbara Wells; Cai, Chengzhi

2010-11-24

Biofunctionalization of silicon substrates is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and devices. Compared to conventional organosiloxane films on silicon oxide intermediate layers, organic monolayers directly bound to the nonoxidized silicon substrates via Si-C bonds enhance the sensitivity of detection and the stability against hydrolytic cleavage. Such monolayers presenting a high density of terminal alkynyl groups for bioconjugation via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC, a "click" reaction) were reported. However, yields of the CuAAC reactions on these monolayer platforms were low. Also, the nonspecific adsorption of proteins on the resultant surfaces remained a major obstacle for many potential biological applications. Herein, we report a new type of "clickable" monolayers grown by selective, photoactivated surface hydrosilylation of α,ω-alkenynes, where the alkynyl terminal is protected with a trimethylgermanyl (TMG) group, on hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates. The TMG groups on the film are readily removed in aqueous solutions in the presence of Cu(I). Significantly, the degermanylation and the subsequent CuAAC reaction with various azides could be combined into a single step in good yields. Thus, oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) with an azido tag was attached to the TMG-alkyne surfaces, leading to OEG-terminated surfaces that reduced the nonspecific adsorption of protein (fibrinogen) by >98%. The CuAAC reaction could be performed in microarray format to generate arrays of mannose and biotin with varied densities on the protein-resistant OEG background. We also demonstrated that the monolayer platform could be functionalized with mannose for highly specific capturing of living targets (Escherichia coli expressing fimbriae) onto the silicon substrates.

Optimization of inoculum to substrate ratio for bio-energy generation in co-digestion of tannery solid wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sri Bala Kameswari, K.; Chitra Kalyanaraman,; Porselvam, S. [Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Environmental Technology Division, Chennai (India); Thanasekaran, K. [Anna University, Centre for Environmental Studies, Chennai (India)

2012-04-15

The inoculum to substrate (I/S) ratio is an important factor which influences the anaerobic digestion process. In this study, the effect of different I/S ratios on the performance of co-digestion of fleshings along with mixture of sludge generated during treatment of tannery wastewater was investigated. The parameters studied were biogas generation, volatile solids reduction, volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, and the stability of the digestion process based on VFA to alkalinity ratio was evaluated for various I/S ratios. Economical significance of I/S ratio as related to the volume of the anaerobic digester and the potential benefit of bio-energy generated are discussed in detail. (orig.)

Structure of Human GIVD Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 Reveals Insights into Substrate Recognition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Hui; Klein, Michael G.; Snell, Gyorgy; Lane, Weston; Zou, Hua; Levin, Irena; Li, Ke; Sang, Bi-Ching (Takeda Cali)

2016-07-01

Cytosolic phospholipases A2 (cPLA2s) consist of a family of calcium-sensitive enzymes that function to generate lipid second messengers through hydrolysis of membrane-associated glycerophospholipids. The GIVD cPLA2 (cPLA2δ) is a potential drug target for developing a selective therapeutic agent for the treatment of psoriasis. Here, we present two X-ray structures of human cPLA2δ, capturing an apo state, and in complex with a substrate-like inhibitor. Comparison of the apo and inhibitor-bound structures reveals conformational changes in a flexible cap that allows the substrate to access the relatively buried active site, providing new insight into the mechanism for substrate recognition. The cPLA2δ structure reveals an unexpected second C2 domain that was previously unrecognized from sequence alignments, placing cPLA2δ into the class of membrane-associated proteins that contain a tandem pair of C2 domains. Furthermore, our structures elucidate novel inter-domain interactions and define three potential calcium-binding sites that are likely important for regulation and activation of enzymatic activity. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms governing cPLA2's function in signal transduction.

Building high-coverage monolayers of covalently bound magnetic nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Mackenzie G.; Teplyakov, Andrew V., E-mail: andrewt@udel.edu

2016-12-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A method for forming a layer of covalently bound nanoparticles is offered. • A nearly perfect monolayer of covalently bound magnetic nanoparticles was formed on gold. • Spectroscopic techniques confirmed covalent binding by the “click” reaction. • The influence of the functionalization scheme on surface coverage was investigated. - Abstract: This work presents an approach for producing a high-coverage single monolayer of magnetic nanoparticles using “click chemistry” between complementarily functionalized nanoparticles and a flat substrate. This method highlights essential aspects of the functionalization scheme for substrate surface and nanoparticles to produce exceptionally high surface coverage without sacrificing selectivity or control over the layer produced. The deposition of one single layer of magnetic particles without agglomeration, over a large area, with a nearly 100% coverage is confirmed by electron microscopy. Spectroscopic techniques, supplemented by computational predictions, are used to interrogate the chemistry of the attachment and to confirm covalent binding, rather than attachment through self-assembly or weak van der Waals bonding. Density functional theory calculations for the surface intermediate of this copper-catalyzed process provide mechanistic insight into the effects of the functionalization scheme on surface coverage. Based on this analysis, it appears that steric limitations of the intermediate structure affect nanoparticle coverage on a flat solid substrate; however, this can be overcome by designing a functionalization scheme in such a way that the copper-based intermediate is formed on the spherical nanoparticles instead. This observation can be carried over to other approaches for creating highly controlled single- or multilayered nanostructures of a wide range of materials to result in high coverage and possibly, conformal filling.

Identification of She3 as an SCF(Grr1 substrate in budding yeast.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruiwen Wang

Full Text Available The highly orchestrated progression of the cell cycle depends on the degradation of many regulatory proteins at different cell cycle stages. One of the key cell cycle ubiquitin ligases is the Skp1-cullin-F-box (SCF complex. Acting in concert with the substrate-binding F-box protein Grr1, SCF(Grr1 promotes the degradation of cell cycle regulators as well as various metabolic enzymes. Using a yeast two-hybrid assay with a Grr1 derivative as the bait, we identified She3, which is an adaptor protein in the asymmetric mRNA transport system, as a novel Grr1 substrate. We generated stabilized She3 mutants, which no longer bound to Grr1, and found that the degradation of She3 is not required for regulating asymmetric mRNA transport. However, She3 stabilization leads to slower growth compared to wild-type cells in a co-culture assay, demonstrating that the degradation of She3 by Grr1 is required for optimal cell growth.

Two-dimensional sum-frequency generation (2D SFG) reveals structure and dynamics of a surface-bound peptide

Science.gov (United States)

Laaser, Jennifer E.; Skoff, David R.; Ho, Jia-Jung; Joo, Yongho; Serrano, Arnaldo L.; Steinkruger, Jay D.; Gopalan, Padma; Gellman, Samuel H.; Zanni, Martin T.

2014-01-01

Surface-bound polypeptides and proteins are increasingly used to functionalize inorganic interfaces such as electrodes, but their structural characterization is exceedingly difficult with standard technologies. In this paper, we report the first two-dimensional sum-frequency generation (2D SFG) spectra of a peptide monolayer, which is collected by adding a mid-IR pulse shaper to a standard femtosecond SFG spectrometer. On a gold surface, standard FTIR spectroscopy is inconclusive about the peptide structure because of solvation-induced frequency shifts, but the 2D lineshapes, anharmonic shifts, and lifetimes obtained from 2D SFG reveal that the peptide is largely α-helical and upright. Random coil residues are also observed, which do not themselves appear in SFG spectra due to their isotropic structural distribution, but which still absorb infrared light and so can be detected by cross-peaks in 2D SFG spectra. We discuss these results in the context of peptide design. Because of the similar way in which the spectra are collected, these 2D SFG spectra can be directly compared to 2D IR spectra, thereby enabling structural interpretations of surface-bound peptides and biomolecules based on the well-studied structure/2D IR spectra relationships established from soluble proteins. PMID:24372101

Enhanced 3D fluorescence live cell imaging on nanoplasmonic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gartia, Manas Ranjan; Hsiao, Austin; Logan Liu, G; Sivaguru, Mayandi; Chen Yi

2011-01-01

We have created a randomly distributed nanocone substrate on silicon coated with silver for surface-plasmon-enhanced fluorescence detection and 3D cell imaging. Optical characterization of the nanocone substrate showed it can support several plasmonic modes (in the 300-800 nm wavelength range) that can be coupled to a fluorophore on the surface of the substrate, which gives rise to the enhanced fluorescence. Spectral analysis suggests that a nanocone substrate can create more excitons and shorter lifetime in the model fluorophore Rhodamine 6G (R6G) due to plasmon resonance energy transfer from the nanocone substrate to the nearby fluorophore. We observed three-dimensional fluorescence enhancement on our substrate shown from the confocal fluorescence imaging of chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells grown on the substrate. The fluorescence intensity from the fluorophores bound on the cell membrane was amplified more than 100-fold as compared to that on a glass substrate. We believe that strong scattering within the nanostructured area coupled with random scattering inside the cell resulted in the observed three-dimensional enhancement in fluorescence with higher photostability on the substrate surface.

Enhanced 3D fluorescence live cell imaging on nanoplasmonic substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gartia, Manas Ranjan [Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Hsiao, Austin; Logan Liu, G [Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Sivaguru, Mayandi [Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Chen Yi, E-mail: loganliu@illinois.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2011-09-07

We have created a randomly distributed nanocone substrate on silicon coated with silver for surface-plasmon-enhanced fluorescence detection and 3D cell imaging. Optical characterization of the nanocone substrate showed it can support several plasmonic modes (in the 300-800 nm wavelength range) that can be coupled to a fluorophore on the surface of the substrate, which gives rise to the enhanced fluorescence. Spectral analysis suggests that a nanocone substrate can create more excitons and shorter lifetime in the model fluorophore Rhodamine 6G (R6G) due to plasmon resonance energy transfer from the nanocone substrate to the nearby fluorophore. We observed three-dimensional fluorescence enhancement on our substrate shown from the confocal fluorescence imaging of chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells grown on the substrate. The fluorescence intensity from the fluorophores bound on the cell membrane was amplified more than 100-fold as compared to that on a glass substrate. We believe that strong scattering within the nanostructured area coupled with random scattering inside the cell resulted in the observed three-dimensional enhancement in fluorescence with higher photostability on the substrate surface.

Defining the extreme substrate specificity of Euonymus alatus diacylglycerol acetyltransferase, an unusual membrane-bound O-acyltransferase

Science.gov (United States)

Bansal, Sunil; Durrett, Timothy P.

2016-01-01

Euonymus alatus diacylglycerol acetyltransferase (EaDAcT) synthesizes the unusually structured 3-acetyl-1,2-diacylglycerols (acetyl-TAG) found in the seeds of a few plant species. A member of the membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOAT) family, EaDAcT transfers the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) to produce acetyl-TAG. In vitro assays demonstrated that the enzyme is also able to utilize butyryl-CoA and hexanoyl-CoA as acyl donors, though with much less efficiency compared with acetyl-CoA. Acyl-CoAs longer than eight carbons were not used by EaDAcT. This extreme substrate specificity of EaDAcT distinguishes it from all other MBOATs which typically catalyze the transfer of much longer acyl groups. In vitro selectivity experiments revealed that EaDAcT preferentially acetylated DAG molecules containing more double bonds over those with less. However, the enzyme was also able to acetylate saturated DAG containing medium chain fatty acids, albeit with less efficiency. Interestingly, EaDAcT could only acetylate the free hydroxyl group of sn-1,2-DAG but not the available hydroxyl groups in sn-1,3-DAG or in monoacylglycerols (MAG). Consistent with its similarity to the jojoba wax synthase, EaDAcT could acetylate fatty alcohols in vitro to produce alkyl acetates. Likewise, when coexpressed in yeast with a fatty acyl-CoA reductase capable of producing fatty alcohols, EaDAcT synthesized alkyl acetates although the efficiency of production was low. This improved understanding of EaDAcT specificity confirms that the enzyme preferentially utilizes acetyl-CoA to acetylate sn-1,2-DAGs and will be helpful in engineering the production of acetyl-TAG with improved functionality in transgenic plants. PMID:27688773

Maximum error-bounded Piecewise Linear Representation for online stream approximation

KAUST Repository

Xie, Qing; Pang, Chaoyi; Zhou, Xiaofang; Zhang, Xiangliang; Deng, Ke

2014-01-01

Given a time series data stream, the generation of error-bounded Piecewise Linear Representation (error-bounded PLR) is to construct a number of consecutive line segments to approximate the stream, such that the approximation error does not exceed a prescribed error bound. In this work, we consider the error bound in L∞ norm as approximation criterion, which constrains the approximation error on each corresponding data point, and aim on designing algorithms to generate the minimal number of segments. In the literature, the optimal approximation algorithms are effectively designed based on transformed space other than time-value space, while desirable optimal solutions based on original time domain (i.e., time-value space) are still lacked. In this article, we proposed two linear-time algorithms to construct error-bounded PLR for data stream based on time domain, which are named OptimalPLR and GreedyPLR, respectively. The OptimalPLR is an optimal algorithm that generates minimal number of line segments for the stream approximation, and the GreedyPLR is an alternative solution for the requirements of high efficiency and resource-constrained environment. In order to evaluate the superiority of OptimalPLR, we theoretically analyzed and compared OptimalPLR with the state-of-art optimal solution in transformed space, which also achieves linear complexity. We successfully proved the theoretical equivalence between time-value space and such transformed space, and also discovered the superiority of OptimalPLR on processing efficiency in practice. The extensive results of empirical evaluation support and demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithms.

Maximum error-bounded Piecewise Linear Representation for online stream approximation

KAUST Repository

Xie, Qing

2014-04-04

Given a time series data stream, the generation of error-bounded Piecewise Linear Representation (error-bounded PLR) is to construct a number of consecutive line segments to approximate the stream, such that the approximation error does not exceed a prescribed error bound. In this work, we consider the error bound in L∞ norm as approximation criterion, which constrains the approximation error on each corresponding data point, and aim on designing algorithms to generate the minimal number of segments. In the literature, the optimal approximation algorithms are effectively designed based on transformed space other than time-value space, while desirable optimal solutions based on original time domain (i.e., time-value space) are still lacked. In this article, we proposed two linear-time algorithms to construct error-bounded PLR for data stream based on time domain, which are named OptimalPLR and GreedyPLR, respectively. The OptimalPLR is an optimal algorithm that generates minimal number of line segments for the stream approximation, and the GreedyPLR is an alternative solution for the requirements of high efficiency and resource-constrained environment. In order to evaluate the superiority of OptimalPLR, we theoretically analyzed and compared OptimalPLR with the state-of-art optimal solution in transformed space, which also achieves linear complexity. We successfully proved the theoretical equivalence between time-value space and such transformed space, and also discovered the superiority of OptimalPLR on processing efficiency in practice. The extensive results of empirical evaluation support and demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithms.

Next-generation Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrates for Hazard Detection

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

substrates at differing concentrations ranging from 0.05 ug/cm2 to 50 ug/cm2. These concentrations were independently validated by UV -Vis...standard Klarite substrates at a concentration of 5.0 ug/cm2. The concentration jetted was validated using a secondary UV -Vis technique.(20, 81) After... Spectros ., 994 (1997). [58] Alexander, T.A., Le, D.M., "Characterization of a commercialized SERS-active substrate and its application to the

Sites of reactive oxygen species generation by mitochondria oxidizing different substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Casey L. Quinlan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Mitochondrial radical production is important in redox signaling, aging and disease, but the relative contributions of different production sites are poorly understood. We analyzed the rates of superoxide/H2O2 production from different defined sites in rat skeletal muscle mitochondria oxidizing a variety of conventional substrates in the absence of added inhibitors: succinate; glycerol 3-phosphate; palmitoylcarnitine plus carnitine; or glutamate plus malate. In all cases, the sum of the estimated rates accounted fully for the measured overall rates. There were two striking results. First, the overall rates differed by an order of magnitude between substrates. Second, the relative contribution of each site was very different with different substrates. During succinate oxidation, most of the superoxide production was from the site of quinone reduction in complex I (site IQ, with small contributions from the flavin site in complex I (site IF and the quinol oxidation site in complex III (site IIIQo. However, with glutamate plus malate as substrate, site IQ made little or no contribution, and production was shared between site IF, site IIIQo and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. With palmitoylcarnitine as substrate, the flavin site in complex II (site IIF was a major contributor (together with sites IF and IIIQo, and with glycerol 3-phosphate as substrate, five different sites all contributed, including glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Thus, the relative and absolute contributions of specific sites to the production of reactive oxygen species in isolated mitochondria depend very strongly on the substrates being oxidized, and the same is likely true in cells and in vivo.

Ion exchange substrates for plant cultivation in extraterrestrial stations and space crafts

Science.gov (United States)

Soldatov, Vladimir

2012-07-01

Ion exchange substrates Biona were specially designed at the Belarus Academy of Sciences for plants cultivation in spacecrafts and extraterrestrial stations. The first versions of such substrates have been successfully used in several space experiments and in a long-term experiment in which three soviet test-spacemen spent a full year in hermetic cabin imitating a lunar station cabin (1067-1968). In this experiment the life support system included a section with about one ton of the ion exchange substrate, which was used to grow ten vegetations of different green cultures used in the food of the test persons. Due to failure of a number of Soviet space experiments, decay of the Soviet Union and the following economic crisis the research in this field carried out in Belarus were re-directed to the needs of usual agriculture, such as adaptation of cell cultures, growing seedlings, rootage of cuttings etc. At present ion exchange substrate Biona are produced in limited amounts at the experimental production plant of the Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry and used in a number of agricultural enterprises. New advanced substrates and technologies for their production have been developed during that time. In the presentation scientific principles of preparation and functioning of ion exchange substrates as well as results of their application for cultivation different plants are described. The ion exchange substrate is a mixture of cation and anion exchangers saturated in a certain proportions with all ions of macro and micro elements. These chemically bound ions are not released to water and become available for plants in exchange to their root metabolites. The substrates contain about 5% mass of nutrient elements far exceeding any other nutrient media for plants. They allow generating 3-5 kg of green biomass per kilogram of substrate without adding any fertilizers; they are sterile by the way of production and can be sterilized by usual methods; allow regeneration

Relativistic bound-state problem of a one-dimensional system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T.; Niwa, T.; Ohtsubo, H.; Tamura, K.

1991-01-01

A Poincare-covariant description of the two-body bound-state problem in one-dimensional space is studied by using the relativistic Schrodinger equation. We derive the many-body Hamiltonian, electromagnetic current and generators of the Poincare group in the framework of one-boson exchange. Our theory satisfies Poincare algebra within the one-boson-exchange approximation. We numerically study the relativistic effects on the bound-state wavefunction and the elastic electromagnetic form factor. The Lorentz boost of the bound-state wavefunction and the two-body exchange current are shown to play an important role in guaranteeing the Lorentz invariance of the form factor. (author)

Acetoacetate is a more efficient energy-yielding substrate for human mesenchymal stem cells than glucose and generates fewer reactive oxygen species.

Science.gov (United States)

Board, Mary; Lopez, Colleen; van den Bos, Christian; Callaghan, Richard; Clarke, Kieran; Carr, Carolyn

2017-07-01

Stem cells have been assumed to demonstrate a reliance on anaerobic energy generation, suited to their hypoxic in vivo environment. However, we found that human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have an active oxidative metabolism with a range of substrates. More ATP was consistently produced from substrate oxidation than glycolysis by cultured hMSCs. Strong substrate preferences were shown with the ketone body, acetoacetate, being oxidised at up to 35 times the rate of glucose. ROS-generation was 45-fold lower during acetoacetate oxidation compared with glucose and substrate preference may be an adaptation to reduce oxidative stress. The UCP2 inhibitor, genipin, increased ROS production with either acetoacetate or glucose by 2-fold, indicating a role for UCP2 in suppressing ROS production. Addition of pyruvate stimulated acetoacetate oxidation and this combination increased ATP production 27-fold, compared with glucose alone, which has implications for growth medium composition. Oxygen tension during culture affected metabolism by hMSCs. Between passages 2 and 5, rates of both glycolysis and substrate-oxidation increased at least 2-fold for normoxic (20% O 2 )- but not hypoxic (5% O 2 )-cultured hMSCs, despite declining growth rates and no detectable signs of differentiation. Culture of the cells with 3-hydroxybutyrate abolished the increased rates of these pathways. These findings have implications for stem cell therapy, which necessarily involves in vitro culture of cells, since low passage number normoxic cultured stem cells show metabolic adaptations without detectable changes in stem-like status. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Circuit lower bounds in bounded arithmetics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pich, Ján

2015-01-01

Roč. 166, č. 1 (2015), s. 29-45 ISSN 0168-0072 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190902 Keywords : bounded arithmetic * circuit lower bounds Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.582, year: 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168007214000888

Cryptographic applications of analytic number theory complexity lower bounds and pseudorandomness

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

The book introduces new ways of using analytic number theory in cryptography and related areas, such as complexity theory and pseudorandom number generation. Key topics and features: - various lower bounds on the complexity of some number theoretic and cryptographic problems, associated with classical schemes such as RSA, Diffie-Hellman, DSA as well as with relatively new schemes like XTR and NTRU - a series of very recent results about certain important characteristics (period, distribution, linear complexity) of several commonly used pseudorandom number generators, such as the RSA generator, Blum-Blum-Shub generator, Naor-Reingold generator, inversive generator, and others - one of the principal tools is bounds of exponential sums, which are combined with other number theoretic methods such as lattice reduction and sieving - a number of open problems of different level of difficulty and proposals for further research - an extensive and up-to-date bibliography Cryptographers and number theorists will find th...

Interband type-II miniband-to-bound state diode lasers for the midinfrared

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mermelstein, C.; Schmitz, J.; Kiefer, R.; Walther, M.; Wagner, J.

2004-01-01

A design for midinfrared diode lasers based on interband type-II miniband-to-bound state transitions is proposed and has been demonstrated experimentally. Type-II miniband-to-bound state laser structures emitting at 3.25 μm with active regions consisting of 5 and 10 W periods were grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy and processed into ridge waveguide lasers. Substrate-side down mounted devices with a 10 period active region and uncoated facets could be operated in continuous-wave (cw) mode up to 185 K and as high as 260 K in pulsed mode. A high characteristic temperature of 100 K has been achieved for heat-sink temperatures below 140 K, decreasing to 33 K for the 140 to 185 K interval. At 110 K, a 5 period laser structure exhibited a threshold current density of 177 A/cm 2 and a slope efficiency of 61 mW/A. Single-ended output powers of 144 mW in cw mode and exceeding 330 mW in pulsed operation were obtained for a substrate-side down mounted 5 period diode laser with high-reflection/antireflection coated mirror facets, operated at 110 K

Bounding the Resource Availability of Partially Ordered Events with Constant Resource Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Jeremy

2004-01-01

We compare existing techniques to bound the resource availability of partially ordered events. We first show that, contrary to intuition, two existing techniques, one due to Laborie and one due to Muscettola, are not strictly comparable in terms of the size of the search trees generated under chronological search with a fixed heuristic. We describe a generalization of these techniques called the Flow Balance Constraint to tightly bound the amount of available resource for a set of partially ordered events with piecewise constant resource impact We prove that the new technique generates smaller proof trees under chronological search with a fixed heuristic, at little increase in computational expense. We then show how to construct tighter resource bounds but at increased computational cost.

Solar thermoelectric generators fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Leon, Maria Theresa; Chong, Harold; Kraft, Michael

2014-01-01

Solar thermal power generation is an attractive electricity generation technology as it is environment-friendly, has the potential for increased efficiency, and has high reliability. The design, modelling, and evaluation of solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator substrate are presented in this paper. Solar concentration is achieved by using a focusing lens to concentrate solar input onto the membrane of the STEG. A thermal model is developed based on energy balance and heat transfer equations using lumped thermal conductances. This thermal model is shown to be in good agreement with actual measurement results. For a 1 W laser input with a spot size of 1 mm, a maximum open-circuit voltage of 3.06 V is obtained, which translates to a temperature difference of 226 °C across the thermoelements and delivers 25 µW of output power under matched load conditions. Based on solar simulator measurements, a maximum TEG voltage of 803 mV was achieved by using a 50.8 mm diameter plano-convex lens to focus solar input to a TEG with a length of 1000 µm, width of 15 µm, membrane diameter of 3 mm, and 114 thermocouples. This translates to a temperature difference of 18 °C across the thermoelements and an output power under matched load conditions of 431 nW. This paper demonstrates that by utilizing a solar concentrator to focus solar radiation onto the hot junction of a TEG, the temperature difference across the device is increased; subsequently improving the TEG’s efficiency. By using materials that are compatible with standard CMOS and MEMS processes, integration of solar-driven TEGs with on-chip electronics is seen to be a viable way of solar energy harvesting where the resulting microscale system is envisioned to have promising applications in on-board power sources, sensor networks, and autonomous microsystems. (paper)

Spectral bounds for the PT-breaking Hamiltonian p2 + x4 + iax

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Handy, C R; Wang Xiaoqian

2003-01-01

The non-Hermitian Hamiltonian p 2 + x 4 + iax, which spontaneously breaks PT-symmetry, and the subject of a recent study by Bender et al (2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 L31), is amenable to a positivity representation, facilitating the generation of converging bounds to the complex-eigenenergies of the PT-breaking states. This system is much easier (i.e. fewer variational parameters) than the previously studied case of the Hamiltonian p 2 + ix 3 + iax (2001 Handy J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 5065, Handy et al 2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 5593), as first proposed by Delabaere and Trinh (2000 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 33 8771), enabling the generation of low order algebraic spectral bounds (i.e. Re(E) > 81/4 (Im(E)/a) 4 + O(a 2 )), in addition to high order, numerically generated, converging bounds to the discrete states. We examine both approaches here

Simplified Drift Analysis for Proving Lower Bounds in Evolutionary Computation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveto, Pietro S.; Witt, Carsten

2011-01-01

Drift analysis is a powerful tool used to bound the optimization time of evolutionary algorithms (EAs). Various previous works apply a drift theorem going back to Hajek in order to show exponential lower bounds on the optimization time of EAs. However, this drift theorem is tedious to read...... and to apply since it requires two bounds on the moment-generating (exponential) function of the drift. A recent work identifies a specialization of this drift theorem that is much easier to apply. Nevertheless, it is not as simple and not as general as possible. The present paper picks up Hajek’s line...

Perceptron Mistake Bounds

OpenAIRE

Mohri, Mehryar; Rostamizadeh, Afshin

2013-01-01

We present a brief survey of existing mistake bounds and introduce novel bounds for the Perceptron or the kernel Perceptron algorithm. Our novel bounds generalize beyond standard margin-loss type bounds, allow for any convex and Lipschitz loss function, and admit a very simple proof.

Relationship of tightly bound ADP and ATP to control and catalysis by chloroplast ATP synthase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, J.; Xue, Z.; Du, Z.; Melese, T.; Boyer, P.D.

1988-07-12

Whether the tightly bound ADP that can cause a pronounced inhibition of ATP hydrolysis by the chloroplast ATP synthase and F/sub 1/ ATPase (CF/sub 1/) is bound at catalytic sites or at noncatalytic regulatory sites or both has been uncertain. The authors have used photolabeling by 2-azido-ATP and 2-azido-ADP to ascertain the location, with Mg/sup 2 +/ activation, of tightly bound ADP (a) that inhibits the hydrolysis of ATP by chloroplast ATP synthase, (b) that can result in an inhibited form of CF/sub 1/ that slowly regains activity during ATP hydrolysis, and (c) that arises when low concentrations of ADP markedly inhibit the hydrolysis of GTP by CF/sub 1/. The data show that in all instances the inhibition is associated with ADP binding without inorganic phosphate (P/sub i/) at catalytic sites. After photophosphorylation of ADP or 2-azido-ADP with (/sup 32/P)P/sub i/, similar amounts of the corresponding triphosphates are present on washed thylakoid membranes. Trials with appropriately labeled substrates show that a small portion of the tightly bound 2-azido-ATP gives rise to covalent labeling with an ATP moiety at noncatalytic sites but that most of the bound 2-azido-ATP gives rise to covalent labeling with an ATP moiety at noncatalytic sites but that most of the bound 2-azido-ATP gives rise to covalent labeling by an ADP moiety at a catalytic site. They also report the occurrence of a 1-2-min delay in the onset of the Mg/sup 2 +/-induced inhibition after addition of CF/sub 1/ to solutions containing Mg/sup 2 +/ and ATP, and that this delay is not associated with the filling of noncatalytic sites. A rapid burst of P/sub i/ formation is followed by a much lower, constant steady-state rate. The burst is not observed with GTP as a substrate or with Ca/sup 2 +/ as the activating cation.

Substrate specificity and copper loading of the manganese-oxidizing multicopper oxidase Mnx from Bacillus sp. PL-12.

Science.gov (United States)

Butterfield, Cristina N; Tebo, Bradley M

2017-02-22

Manganese(ii) oxidation in the environment is thought to be driven by bacteria because enzymatic catalysis is many orders of magnitude faster than the abiotic processes. The heterologously purified Mn oxidase (Mnx) from marine Bacillus sp. PL-12 is made up of the multicopper oxidase (MCO) MnxG and two small Cu and heme-binding proteins of unknown function, MnxE and MnxF. Mnx binds Cu and oxidizes both Mn(ii) and Mn(iii), generating Mn(iv) oxide minerals that resemble those found on the Bacillus spore surface. Spectroscopic techniques have illuminated details about the metallo-cofactors of Mnx, but very little is known about their requirement for catalytic activity, and even less is known about the substrate specificity of Mnx. Here we quantify the canonical MCO Cu and persistent peripheral Cu bound to Mnx, and test Mnx oxidizing ability toward different substrates at varying pH. Mn(ii) appears to be the best substrate in terms of k cat , but its oxidation does not follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics, instead showing a sigmoidal cooperative behavior. Mnx also oxidizes Fe(ii) substrate, but in a Michaelis-Menten manner and with a decreased activity, as well as organic substrates. The reduced metals are more rapidly consumed than the larger organic substrates, suggesting the hypothesis that the Mnx substrate site is small and tuned for metal oxidation. Of biological relevance is the result that Mnx has the highest catalytic efficiency for Mn(ii) at the pH of sea water, especially when the protein is loaded with greater than the requisite four MCO copper atoms, suggesting that the protein has evolved specifically for Mn oxidation.

The next generation CdTe technology- Substrate foil based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferekides, Chris [Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL (United States)

2017-03-22

The main objective of this project was the development of one of the most promising Photovoltaic (PV) materials CdTe into a versatile, cost effective, and high throughput technology, by demonstrating substrate devices on foil substrates using high throughput fabrication conditions. The typical CdTe cell is of the superstrate configuration where the solar cell is fabricated on a glass superstrate by the sequential deposition of a TCO, n-type heterojunction partner, p-CdTe absorber, and back contact. Large glass modules are heavy and present significant challenges during manufacturing (uniform heating, etc.). If a substrate CdTe cell could be developed (the main goal of this project) a roll-to-toll high throughput technology could be developed.

Laboratory Tests of Substrate Physical Properties May Not Represent the Retention Capacity of Green Roof Substrates In Situ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Szota

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Green roofs can be used to reduce the volume of polluted stormwater that is generated by cities. Modelling rainfall retention is critical, but green roof water balance models often rely on the physical properties of substrates. In these models, substrate water holding capacity (WHC determines the depth of water which can be stored before runoff is generated; whereas, the permanent wilting point (PWP limits evapotranspiration. The WHC and PWP, as well as plant available water (PAW; where PAW = WHC − PWP, as determined from laboratory tests, may not truly reflect how substrates perform on green roofs. We therefore ran a simulated rainfall experiment on green roof modules to (i compare the rainfall retention of vegetated and non-vegetated substrates with different WHC and PAW, and (ii relate retention to substrate storage capacity, as calculated from laboratory measures of WHC and PAW. We found that the PAW of a substrate is a better indicator of evapotranspiration and retention when compared with WHC. However, we also found that substrates always retained less water than their calculated storage capacity would suggest, most likely being due to their high permeability. Our results indicate that using laboratory-derived measures of WHC and PAW in green roof models may be over-estimating both evapotranspiration and rainfall retention.

A differential scanning calorimetric study of the effects of metal ions, substrate/product, substrate analogues and chaotropic anions on the thermal denaturation of yeast enolase 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, J M; Wampler, J E

2001-03-14

The thermal denaturation of yeast enolase 1 was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under conditions of subunit association/dissociation, enzymatic activity or substrate binding without turnover and substrate analogue binding. Subunit association stabilizes the enzyme, that is, the enzyme dissociates before denaturing. The conformational change produced by conformational metal ion binding increases thermal stability by reducing subunit dissociation. 'Substrate' or analogue binding additionally stabilizes the enzyme, irrespective of whether turnover is occurring, perhaps in part by the same mechanism. More strongly bound metal ions also stabilize the enzyme more, which we interpret as consistent with metal ion loss before denaturation, though possibly the denaturation pathway is different in the absence of metal ion. We suggest that some of the stabilization by 'substrate' and analogue binding is owing to the closure of moveable polypeptide loops about the active site, producing a more 'closed' and hence thermostable conformation.

AUTOMATIC 3D BUILDING MODEL GENERATION FROM LIDAR AND IMAGE DATA USING SEQUENTIAL MINIMUM BOUNDING RECTANGLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Kwak

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Digital Building Model is an important component in many applications such as city modelling, natural disaster planning, and aftermath evaluation. The importance of accurate and up-to-date building models has been discussed by many researchers, and many different approaches for efficient building model generation have been proposed. They can be categorised according to the data source used, the data processing strategy, and the amount of human interaction. In terms of data source, due to the limitations of using single source data, integration of multi-senor data is desired since it preserves the advantages of the involved datasets. Aerial imagery and LiDAR data are among the commonly combined sources to obtain 3D building models with good vertical accuracy from laser scanning and good planimetric accuracy from aerial images. The most used data processing strategies are data-driven and model-driven ones. Theoretically one can model any shape of buildings using data-driven approaches but practically it leaves the question of how to impose constraints and set the rules during the generation process. Due to the complexity of the implementation of the data-driven approaches, model-based approaches draw the attention of the researchers. However, the major drawback of model-based approaches is that the establishment of representative models involves a manual process that requires human intervention. Therefore, the objective of this research work is to automatically generate building models using the Minimum Bounding Rectangle algorithm and sequentially adjusting them to combine the advantages of image and LiDAR datasets.

Relativistic bound state wave functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Micu, L.

2005-01-01

A particular method of writing the bound state wave functions in relativistic form is applied to the solutions of the Dirac equation with confining potentials in order to obtain a relativistic description of a quark antiquark bound system representing a given meson. Concerning the role of the effective constituent in the present approach we first observe that without this additional constituent we couldn't expand the bound state wave function in terms of products of free states. Indeed, we notice that if the wave function depends on the relative coordinates only, all the expansion coefficients would be infinite. Secondly we remark that the effective constituent enabled us to give a Lorentz covariant meaning to the potential energy of the bound system which is now seen as the 4th component of a 4-momentum. On the other side, by relating the effective constituent to the quantum fluctuations of the background field which generate the binding, we provided a justification for the existence of some spatial degrees of freedom accompanying the interaction potential. These ones, which are quite unusual in quantum mechanics, in our model are the natural consequence of the the independence of the quarks and can be seen as the effect of the imperfect cancellation of the vector momenta during the quantum fluctuations. Related with all these we remark that the adequate representation for the relativistic description of a bound system is the momentum representation, because of the transparent and easy way of writing the conservation laws and the transformation properties of the wave functions. The only condition to be fulfilled is to find a suitable way to take into account the potential energy of the bound system. A particular feature of the present approach is that the confining forces are due to a kind of glue where both quarks are embedded. This recalls other bound state models where the wave function is factorized in terms of constituent wave functions and the confinement is

Stoichiometry and Substrate Affinity of the Mannitol Transporter, EnzymeIImtl, from Escherichia coli

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldhuis, Gertjan; Broos, Jaap; Poolman, Bert; Scheek, Ruud M.

2005-01-01

Uptake and consecutive phosphorylation of mannitol in Escherichia coli is catalyzed by the mannitol permease EnzymeIImtl. The substrate is bound at an extracellular-oriented binding site, translocated to an inward-facing site, from where it is phosphorylated, and subsequently released into the cell.

Apo and ligand-bound structures of ModA from the archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, Sum; Giuroiu, Iulia; Chernishof, Irina; Sawaya, Michael R.; Chiang, Janet; Gunsalus, Robert P.; Arbing, Mark A.; Perry, L. Jeanne

2010-01-01

Crystal structures of ModA from M. acetivorans in the apo and ligand-bound conformations confirm domain rotation upon ligand binding. The trace-element oxyanion molybdate, which is required for the growth of many bacterial and archaeal species, is transported into the cell by an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily uptake system called ModABC. ModABC consists of the ModA periplasmic solute-binding protein, the integral membrane-transport protein ModB and the ATP-binding and hydrolysis cassette protein ModC. In this study, X-ray crystal structures of ModA from the archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans (MaModA) have been determined in the apoprotein conformation at 1.95 and 1.69 Å resolution and in the molybdate-bound conformation at 2.25 and 2.45 Å resolution. The overall domain structure of MaModA is similar to other ModA proteins in that it has a bilobal structure in which two mixed α/β domains are linked by a hinge region. The apo MaModA is the first unliganded archaeal ModA structure to be determined: it exhibits a deep cleft between the two domains and confirms that upon binding ligand one domain is rotated towards the other by a hinge-bending motion, which is consistent with the ‘Venus flytrap’ model seen for bacterial-type periplasmic binding proteins. In contrast to the bacterial ModA structures, which have tetrahedral coordination of their metal substrates, molybdate-bound MaModA employs octahedral coordination of its substrate like other archaeal ModA proteins

Redox-dependent substrate-cofactor interactions in the Michaelis-complex of a flavin-dependent oxidoreductase

Science.gov (United States)

Werther, Tobias; Wahlefeld, Stefan; Salewski, Johannes; Kuhlmann, Uwe; Zebger, Ingo; Hildebrandt, Peter; Dobbek, Holger

2017-07-01

How an enzyme activates its substrate for turnover is fundamental for catalysis but incompletely understood on a structural level. With redox enzymes one typically analyses structures of enzyme-substrate complexes in the unreactive oxidation state of the cofactor, assuming that the interaction between enzyme and substrate is independent of the cofactors oxidation state. Here, we investigate the Michaelis complex of the flavoenzyme xenobiotic reductase A with the reactive reduced cofactor bound to its substrates by X-ray crystallography and resonance Raman spectroscopy and compare it to the non-reactive oxidized Michaelis complex mimics. We find that substrates bind in different orientations to the oxidized and reduced flavin, in both cases flattening its structure. But only authentic Michaelis complexes display an unexpected rich vibrational band pattern uncovering a strong donor-acceptor complex between reduced flavin and substrate. This interaction likely activates the catalytic ground state of the reduced flavin, accelerating the reaction within a compressed cofactor-substrate complex.

Catchment source contributions to the sediment-bound organic matter degrading salmonid spawning gravels in a lowland river, southern England

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, A.L.; Williams, L.J.; Zhang, Y.S.; Marius, M.; Dungait, J.A.J.; Smallman, D.J.; Dixon, E.R.; Stringfellow, A.; Sear, D.A.; Jones, J.I.; Naden, P.S.

2013-01-01

The ingress of particulate material into freshwater spawning substrates is thought to be contributing to the declining success of salmonids reported over recent years for many rivers. Accordingly, the need for reliable information on the key sources of the sediment problem has progressed up the management agenda. Whilst previous work has focussed on apportioning the sources of minerogenic fine sediment degrading spawning habitats, there remains a need to develop procedures for generating corresponding information for the potentially harmful sediment-bound organic matter that represents an overlooked component of interstitial sediment. A source tracing procedure based on composite signatures combining bulk stable 13 C and 15 N isotope values with organic molecular structures detected using near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was therefore used to assess the primary sources of sediment-bound organic matter sampled from artificial spawning redds. Composite signatures were selected using a combination of the Kruskal–Wallis H-test, principal component analysis and GA-driven discriminant function analysis. Interstitial sediment samples were collected using time-integrating basket traps which were inserted at the start of the salmonid spawning season and extracted in conjunction with critical phases of fish development (eyeing, hatch, emergence, late spawning). Over the duration of these four basket extractions, the overall relative frequency-weighted average median (± 95% confidence limits) source contributions to the interstitial sediment-bound organic matter were estimated to be in the order: instream decaying vegetation (39 ± road verges > septic tanks > farm manures

High current densities enable exoelectrogens to outcompete aerobic heterotrophs for substrate

KAUST Repository

Ren, Lijiao

2014-08-05

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates could be described by first-order kinetics with respect to COD concentration at different current densities, even under open circuit conditions with no current generation. The COD concentration was reduced more quickly with current generation due to the greater consumption of substrate by exoelectrogens, and less substrate was lost to aerobic heterotrophs. Higher current densities enabled exoelectrogens to outcompete aerobic heterotrophs for substrate, allowing for increased coulombic efficiencies with current densities. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. In mixed-culture microbial fuel cells (MFCs), exoelectrogens and other microorganisms compete for substrate. It has previously been assumed that substrate losses to other terminal electron acceptors over a fed-batch cycle, such as dissolved oxygen, are constant. However, a constant rate of substrate loss would only explain small increases in coulombic efficiencies (CEs, the fraction of substrate recovered as electrical current) with shorter cycle times, but not the large increases in CE that are usually observed with higher current densities and reduced cycle times. To better understand changes in CEs, COD concentrations were measured over time in fed-batch, single-chamber, air-cathode MFCs at different current densities (external resistances). COD degradation rates were all found to be first-order with respect to COD concentration, even under open circuit conditions with no current generation (first-order rate constant of 0.14±0.01h-1). The rate of COD removal increased when there was current generation, with the highest rate constant (0.33±0.02h-1) obtained at the lowest external resistance (100Ω). Therefore, as the substrate concentration was reduced more quickly due to current generation, the rate of loss of substrate to non-exoelectrogens decreased due to this first-order substrate-concentration dependence. As a result, coulombic

High current densities enable exoelectrogens to outcompete aerobic heterotrophs for substrate

KAUST Repository

Ren, Lijiao; Zhang, Xiaoyuan; He, Weihua; Logan, Bruce E.

2014-01-01

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates could be described by first-order kinetics with respect to COD concentration at different current densities, even under open circuit conditions with no current generation. The COD concentration was reduced more quickly with current generation due to the greater consumption of substrate by exoelectrogens, and less substrate was lost to aerobic heterotrophs. Higher current densities enabled exoelectrogens to outcompete aerobic heterotrophs for substrate, allowing for increased coulombic efficiencies with current densities. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. In mixed-culture microbial fuel cells (MFCs), exoelectrogens and other microorganisms compete for substrate. It has previously been assumed that substrate losses to other terminal electron acceptors over a fed-batch cycle, such as dissolved oxygen, are constant. However, a constant rate of substrate loss would only explain small increases in coulombic efficiencies (CEs, the fraction of substrate recovered as electrical current) with shorter cycle times, but not the large increases in CE that are usually observed with higher current densities and reduced cycle times. To better understand changes in CEs, COD concentrations were measured over time in fed-batch, single-chamber, air-cathode MFCs at different current densities (external resistances). COD degradation rates were all found to be first-order with respect to COD concentration, even under open circuit conditions with no current generation (first-order rate constant of 0.14±0.01h-1). The rate of COD removal increased when there was current generation, with the highest rate constant (0.33±0.02h-1) obtained at the lowest external resistance (100Ω). Therefore, as the substrate concentration was reduced more quickly due to current generation, the rate of loss of substrate to non-exoelectrogens decreased due to this first-order substrate-concentration dependence. As a result, coulombic

Orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase catalysis: Kinetic isotope effects and the state of hybridization of a bound transition-state analogue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acheson, S.A.; Bell, J.B.; Jones, M.E.; Wolfenden, R. (Univ. of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill (USA))

1990-04-03

The enzymatic decarboxylation of orotidine 5'-monophosphate may proceed by an addition-elimination mechanism involving a covalently bound intermediate or by elimination of CO2 to generate a nitrogen ylide. In an attempt to distinguish between these two alternatives, 1-(phosphoribosyl)barbituric acid was synthesized with 13C at the 5-position. Interaction of this potential transition-state analogue inhibitor with yeast orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase resulted in a small (0.6 ppm) downfield displacement of the C-5 resonance, indicating no rehybridization of the kind that might have been expected to accompany 5,6-addition of an enzyme nucleophile. When the substrate orotidine 5'-monophosphate was synthesized with deuterium at C-5, no significant change in kcat (H/D = 0.99 +/- 0.06) or kcat/KM (H/D = 1.00 +/- 0.06) was found to result, suggesting that C-5 does not undergo significant changes in geometry before or during the step that determines the rate of the catalytic process. These results are consistent with a nitrogen ylide mechanism and offer no support for the intervention of covalently bound intermediates in the catalytic process.

Virial Expansion Bounds

Science.gov (United States)

Tate, Stephen James

2013-10-01

In the 1960s, the technique of using cluster expansion bounds in order to achieve bounds on the virial expansion was developed by Lebowitz and Penrose (J. Math. Phys. 5:841, 1964) and Ruelle (Statistical Mechanics: Rigorous Results. Benjamin, Elmsford, 1969). This technique is generalised to more recent cluster expansion bounds by Poghosyan and Ueltschi (J. Math. Phys. 50:053509, 2009), which are related to the work of Procacci (J. Stat. Phys. 129:171, 2007) and the tree-graph identity, detailed by Brydges (Phénomènes Critiques, Systèmes Aléatoires, Théories de Jauge. Les Houches 1984, pp. 129-183, 1986). The bounds achieved by Lebowitz and Penrose can also be sharpened by doing the actual optimisation and achieving expressions in terms of the Lambert W-function. The different bound from the cluster expansion shows some improvements for bounds on the convergence of the virial expansion in the case of positive potentials, which are allowed to have a hard core.

Upper bounds on superpartner masses from upper bounds on the Higgs boson mass.

Science.gov (United States)

Cabrera, M E; Casas, J A; Delgado, A

2012-01-13

The LHC is putting bounds on the Higgs boson mass. In this Letter we use those bounds to constrain the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) parameter space using the fact that, in supersymmetry, the Higgs mass is a function of the masses of sparticles, and therefore an upper bound on the Higgs mass translates into an upper bound for the masses for superpartners. We show that, although current bounds do not constrain the MSSM parameter space from above, once the Higgs mass bound improves big regions of this parameter space will be excluded, putting upper bounds on supersymmetry (SUSY) masses. On the other hand, for the case of split-SUSY we show that, for moderate or large tanβ, the present bounds on the Higgs mass imply that the common mass for scalars cannot be greater than 10(11)  GeV. We show how these bounds will evolve as LHC continues to improve the limits on the Higgs mass.

Upper Bound for Neutron Emission from Sonoluminescing Bubbles in Deuterated Acetone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camara, C. G.; Putterman, S. J.; Hopkins, S. D.; Suslick, K. S.

2007-01-01

An experimental search for nuclear fusion inside imploding bubbles of degassed deuterated acetone at 0 degree sign C driven by a 15 atm sound field and seeded with a neutron generator reveals an upper bound that is a factor of 10 000 less than the signal reported by Taleyarkhan et al. The strength of our upper bound is limited by the weakness of sonoluminescence, which we ascribe to the relatively high vapor pressure of acetone

Synthesis of organolanthanides by metal addition on insaturated substrates in ether and reactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivier, H.

1988-01-01

The aim of the study is the extension to rare earths of the synthesis, well known for alkaline or alkaline earth metals, by direct metal addition to insaturated substrates in ether and where the metal is directly bound to carbon. A definition of formation conditions and affinity rules is attempled, both with substrates (essentially aromatic hydrocarbons and ketones) and with metals: Yb, Sm, Ce, Nd and others. The nature of obtained products by reaction of electrophiles on synthetised organometallics, allows investigations specific reactivity and structure. Potential catalytic transformation of olefins is precised [fr

The DMM Bound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emiris, Ioannis Z.; Mourrain, Bernard; Tsigaridas, Elias

2010-01-01

) resultant by means of mixed volume, as well as recent advances on aggregate root bounds for univariate polynomials, and are applicable to arbitrary positive dimensional systems. We improve upon Canny's gap theorem [7] by a factor of O(dn-1), where d bounds the degree of the polynomials, and n is the number...... bound on the number of steps that subdivision-based algorithms perform in order to isolate all real roots of a polynomial system. This leads to the first complexity bound of Milne's algorithm [22] in 2D....

Deposition of Co-Ti alloy on mild steel substrate using laser cladding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alemohammad, Hamidreza; Esmaeili, Shahrzad; Toyserkani, Ehsan

2007-01-01

Laser cladding of a Co-Ti alloy on a mild steel substrate is studied. Premixed powders with the composition of 85 wt% cobalt and 15 wt% titanium are pre-placed on the substrate and a moving laser beam at different velocities is used to produce clad layers well bounded to the substrate. Characteristics of the clad are investigated using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and microhardness tests. The results reveal that the intermetallic phase TiCo 3 and β (i.e. fcc) cobalt are formed in the clad layer. The clad layer can also have major dilution from the substrate depending on the laser scanning velocity. It is observed that a finer microstructure is achievable with higher laser velocities whereas higher hardness is achieved using lower velocities. The latter is due to the formation of a larger fraction of TiCo 3 phase

Deposition of Co-Ti alloy on mild steel substrate using laser cladding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alemohammad, Hamidreza [University of Waterloo, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 (Canada)], E-mail: shalemoh@engmail.uwaterloo.ca; Esmaeili, Shahrzad [University of Waterloo, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 (Canada); Toyserkani, Ehsan [University of Waterloo, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 (Canada)

2007-05-15

Laser cladding of a Co-Ti alloy on a mild steel substrate is studied. Premixed powders with the composition of 85 wt% cobalt and 15 wt% titanium are pre-placed on the substrate and a moving laser beam at different velocities is used to produce clad layers well bounded to the substrate. Characteristics of the clad are investigated using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and microhardness tests. The results reveal that the intermetallic phase TiCo{sub 3} and {beta} (i.e. fcc) cobalt are formed in the clad layer. The clad layer can also have major dilution from the substrate depending on the laser scanning velocity. It is observed that a finer microstructure is achievable with higher laser velocities whereas higher hardness is achieved using lower velocities. The latter is due to the formation of a larger fraction of TiCo{sub 3} phase.

Upper bounds on entangling rates of bipartite Hamiltonians

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bravyi, Sergey

2007-01-01

We discuss upper bounds on the rate at which unitary evolution governed by a nonlocal Hamiltonian can generate entanglement in a bipartite system. Given a bipartite Hamiltonian H coupling two finite dimensional particles A and B, the entangling rate is shown to be upper bounded by c log(d) parallel H parallel, where d is the smallest dimension of the interacting particles parallel H parallel is the operator norm of H, and c is a constant close to 1. Under certain restrictions on the initial state we prove an analogous upper bound for the ancilla-assisted entangling rate with a constant c that does not depend upon dimensions of local ancillas. The restriction is that the initial state has at most two distinct Schmidt coefficients (each coefficient may have arbitrarily large multiplicity). Our proof is based on analysis of a mixing rate - a functional measuring how fast entropy can be produced if one mixes a time-independent state with a state evolving unitarily

Contribution of Bound States to the Harmonic Generation in Hydrogen at Moderate Laser Intensities

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Davis, Jack

2002-01-01

.... The disappearance of bound parabolic states with large electric dipole moments in moderately strong fields leads to the simplification of the expression for the total time-dependent dipole moment of the atom...

Nitrite and hydroxylamine as nitrogenase substrates: mechanistic implications for the pathway of N₂ reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Sudipta; Lukoyanov, Dmitriy; Danyal, Karamatullah; Dean, Dennis R; Hoffman, Brian M; Seefeldt, Lance C

2014-09-10

Investigations of reduction of nitrite (NO2(-)) to ammonia (NH3) by nitrogenase indicate a limiting stoichiometry, NO2(-) + 6e(-) + 12ATP + 7H(+) → NH3 + 2H2O + 12ADP + 12Pi. Two intermediates freeze-trapped during NO2(-) turnover by nitrogenase variants and investigated by Q-band ENDOR/ESEEM are identical to states, denoted H and I, formed on the pathway of N2 reduction. The proposed NO2(-) reduction intermediate hydroxylamine (NH2OH) is a nitrogenase substrate for which the H and I reduction intermediates also can be trapped. Viewing N2 and NO2(-) reductions in light of their common reduction intermediates and of NO2(-) reduction by multiheme cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNIR) leads us to propose that NO2(-) reduction by nitrogenase begins with the generation of NO2H bound to a state in which the active-site FeMo-co (M) has accumulated two [e(-)/H(+)] (E2), stored as a (bridging) hydride and proton. Proton transfer to NO2H and H2O loss leaves M-[NO(+)]; transfer of the E2 hydride to the [NO(+)] directly to form HNO bound to FeMo-co is one of two alternative means for avoiding formation of a terminal M-[NO] thermodynamic "sink". The N2 and NO2(-) reduction pathways converge upon reduction of NH2NH2 and NH2OH bound states to form state H with [-NH2] bound to M. Final reduction converts H to I, with NH3 bound to M. The results presented here, combined with the parallels with ccNIR, support a N2 fixation mechanism in which liberation of the first NH3 occurs upon delivery of five [e(-)/H(+)] to N2, but a total of seven [e(-)/H(+)] to FeMo-co when obligate H2 evolution is considered, and not earlier in the reduction process.

Mitigation of organically bound sulphate from water treatment plants at Bruce NGS and impact on steam generator secondary side chemistry control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nashiem, R.; Davloor, R.; Harper, B.; Smith, K. [Bruce Power, Tiverton, Ontario (Canada); Gauthier, C. [CTGIX Services Inc., Burlington, Ontario (Canada); Schexnailder, S. [GE Water and Process Technologies, Dallas, Texas (United States)

2010-07-01

Bruce Power is the source of more than 20 per cent of Ontario's electricity and currently operates six reactor units at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station A (two units) and B (four units) stations located on Lake Huron. This paper discusses the challenges faced and operating experience (OPEX) gained in meeting WANO 1.0 chemistry performance objectives for steam generator secondary side chemistry control, particularly with control of steam generator sulphates. A detailed sampling and analysis program conducted as part of this study concluded that a major contributor to steam generator (SG) elevated sulphates is Organically Bound Sulphate (OBS) in Water Treatment Plants (WTP) effluent. The Bruce A and B WTPs consist of clarification with downstream sand and carbon filtration for Lake Water pre-treatment, which are followed by conventional Ion Exchange (IX) demineralization. Samples taken from various locations in the process stream were analyzed for a variety of parameters including both organic bound and inorganic forms of sulphate. The results are inconclusive with respect to finding the definitive source of OBS. This is primarily due to the condition that the OBS in the samples, which are in relatively low levels, are masked during chemical analysis by the considerably higher inorganic sulphate background. Additionally, it was also determined that on-line Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels at different WTP locations did not always correlate well with OBS levels in the effluent, such that TOC could not be effectively used as a control parameter to improve OBS performance of the WTP operation. Improvement efforts at both plants focused on a number of areas including optimization of clarifier operation, replacement of IX resins, addition of downstream mobile polishing trailers, testing of new resins and adsorbents, pilot-scale testing with a Reverse Osmosis (RO) rig, review of resin regeneration and backwashing practices, and operating procedure improvements

Mitigation of organically bound sulphate from water treatment plants at Bruce NGS and impact on steam generator secondary side chemistry control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nashiem, R.; Davloor, R.; Harper, B.; Smith, K.; Gauthier, C.; Schexnailder, S.

2010-01-01

Bruce Power is the source of more than 20 per cent of Ontario's electricity and currently operates six reactor units at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station A (two units) and B (four units) stations located on Lake Huron. This paper discusses the challenges faced and operating experience (OPEX) gained in meeting WANO 1.0 chemistry performance objectives for steam generator secondary side chemistry control, particularly with control of steam generator sulphates. A detailed sampling and analysis program conducted as part of this study concluded that a major contributor to steam generator (SG) elevated sulphates is Organically Bound Sulphate (OBS) in Water Treatment Plants (WTP) effluent. The Bruce A and B WTPs consist of clarification with downstream sand and carbon filtration for Lake Water pre-treatment, which are followed by conventional Ion Exchange (IX) demineralization. Samples taken from various locations in the process stream were analyzed for a variety of parameters including both organic bound and inorganic forms of sulphate. The results are inconclusive with respect to finding the definitive source of OBS. This is primarily due to the condition that the OBS in the samples, which are in relatively low levels, are masked during chemical analysis by the considerably higher inorganic sulphate background. Additionally, it was also determined that on-line Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels at different WTP locations did not always correlate well with OBS levels in the effluent, such that TOC could not be effectively used as a control parameter to improve OBS performance of the WTP operation. Improvement efforts at both plants focused on a number of areas including optimization of clarifier operation, replacement of IX resins, addition of downstream mobile polishing trailers, testing of new resins and adsorbents, pilot-scale testing with a Reverse Osmosis (RO) rig, review of resin regeneration and backwashing practices, and operating procedure improvements

Organically bound tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diabate, S.; Strack, S.

1993-01-01

Tritium released into the environment may be incorporated into organic matter. Organically bound tritium in that case will show retention times in organisms that are considerably longer than those of tritiated water which has significant consequences on dose estimates. This article reviews the most important processes of organically bound tritium production and transport through food networks. Metabolic reactions in plant and animal organisms with tritiated water as a reaction partner are of great importance in this respect. The most important production process, in quantitative terms, is photosynthesis in green plants. The translocation of organically bound tritium from the leaves to edible parts of crop plants should be considered in models of organically bound tritium behavior. Organically bound tritium enters the human body on several pathways, either from the primary producers (vegetable food) or at a higher tropic level (animal food). Animal experiments have shown that the dose due to ingestion of organically bound tritium can be up to twice as high as a comparable intake of tritiated water in gaseous or liquid form. In the environment, organically bound tritium in plants and animals is often found to have higher specific tritium concentrations than tissue water. This is not due to some tritium enrichment effects but to the fact that no equilibrium conditions are reached under natural conditions. 66 refs

Physical Uncertainty Bounds (PUB)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaughan, Diane Elizabeth [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Preston, Dean L. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-03-19

This paper introduces and motivates the need for a new methodology for determining upper bounds on the uncertainties in simulations of engineered systems due to limited fidelity in the composite continuum-level physics models needed to simulate the systems. We show that traditional uncertainty quantification methods provide, at best, a lower bound on this uncertainty. We propose to obtain bounds on the simulation uncertainties by first determining bounds on the physical quantities or processes relevant to system performance. By bounding these physics processes, as opposed to carrying out statistical analyses of the parameter sets of specific physics models or simply switching out the available physics models, one can obtain upper bounds on the uncertainties in simulated quantities of interest.

HARP preferentially co-purifies with RPA bound to DNA-PK and blocks RPA phosphorylation.

Science.gov (United States)

Quan, Jinhua; Yusufzai, Timur

2014-05-01

The HepA-related protein (HARP/SMARCAL1) is an ATP-dependent annealing helicase that is capable of rewinding DNA structures that are stably unwound due to binding of the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-binding protein Replication Protein A (RPA). HARP has been implicated in maintaining genome integrity through its role in DNA replication and repair, two processes that generate RPA-coated ssDNA. In addition, mutations in HARP cause a rare disease known as Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia. In this study, we purified HARP containing complexes with the goal of identifying the predominant factors that stably associate with HARP. We found that HARP preferentially interacts with RPA molecules that are bound to the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). We also found that RPA is phosphorylated by DNA-PK in vitro, while the RPA-HARP complexes are not. Our results suggest that, in addition to its annealing helicase activity, which eliminates the natural binding substrate for RPA, HARP blocks the phosphorylation of RPA by DNA-PK.

Substrate vibrations during courtship in three Drosophila species.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerio Mazzoni

Full Text Available While a plethora of studies have focused on the role of visual, chemical and near-field airborne signals in courtship of Drosophila fruit flies, the existence of substrate-borne vibrational signals has been almost completely overlooked. Here we describe substrate vibrations generated during courtship in three species of the D. melanogaster group, from the allegedly mute species D. suzukii, its sister species D. biarmipes, and from D. melanogaster. In all species, we recorded several types of substrate vibrations which were generated by locomotion, abdominal vibrations and most likely through the activity of thoracic wing muscles. In D. melanogaster and D. suzukii, all substrate vibrations described in intact males were also recorded in males with amputated wings. Evidence suggests that vibrational signalling may be widespread among Drosophila species, and fruit flies may provide an ideal model to study various aspects of this widespread form of animal communication.

Design of a bounded wave EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Sevat, P. A. A.

1989-06-01

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) simulators are used to simulate the EMP generated by a nuclear weapon and to harden equipment against the effects of EMP. At present, DREO has a 1 m EMP simulator for testing computer terminal size equipment. To develop the R and D capability for testing larger objects, such as a helicopter, a much bigger threat level facility is required. This report concerns the design of a bounded wave EMP simulator suitable for testing large size equipment. Different types of simulators are described and their pros and cons are discussed. A bounded wave parallel plate type simulator is chosen for it's efficiency and the least environmental impact. Detailed designs are given for 6 m and 10 m parallel plate type wire grid simulators. Electromagnetic fields inside and outside the simulators are computed. Preliminary specifications for a pulse generator required for the simulator are also given. Finally, the electromagnetic fields radiated from the simulator are computed and discussed.

Crystal Structure and Substrate Specificity of D-Galactose-6-Phosphate Isomerase Complexed with Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung-Kul; Pan, Cheol-Ho

2013-01-01

D-Galactose-6-phosphate isomerase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LacAB; EC 5.3.1.26), which is encoded by the tagatose-6-phosphate pathway gene cluster (lacABCD), catalyzes the isomerization of D-galactose-6-phosphate to D-tagatose-6-phosphate during lactose catabolism and is used to produce rare sugars as low-calorie natural sweeteners. The crystal structures of LacAB and its complex with D-tagatose-6-phosphate revealed that LacAB is a homotetramer of LacA and LacB subunits, with a structure similar to that of ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (Rpi). Structurally, LacAB belongs to the RpiB/LacAB superfamily, having a Rossmann-like αβα sandwich fold as has been identified in pentose phosphate isomerase and hexose phosphate isomerase. In contrast to other family members, the LacB subunit also has a unique α7 helix in its C-terminus. One active site is distinctly located at the interface between LacA and LacB, whereas two active sites are present in RpiB. In the structure of the product complex, the phosphate group of D-tagatose-6-phosphate is bound to three arginine residues, including Arg-39, producing a different substrate orientation than that in RpiB, where the substrate binds at Asp-43. Due to the proximity of the Arg-134 residue and backbone Cα of the α6 helix in LacA to the last Asp-172 residue of LacB with a hydrogen bond, a six-carbon sugar-phosphate can bind in the larger pocket of LacAB, compared with RpiB. His-96 in the active site is important for ring opening and substrate orientation, and Cys-65 is essential for the isomerization activity of the enzyme. Two rare sugar substrates, D-psicose and D-ribulose, show optimal binding in the LacAB-substrate complex. These findings were supported by the results of LacA activity assays. PMID:24015281

Crystal structure and substrate specificity of D-galactose-6-phosphate isomerase complexed with substrates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woo-Suk Jung

Full Text Available D-Galactose-6-phosphate isomerase from Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LacAB; EC 5.3.1.26, which is encoded by the tagatose-6-phosphate pathway gene cluster (lacABCD, catalyzes the isomerization of D-galactose-6-phosphate to D-tagatose-6-phosphate during lactose catabolism and is used to produce rare sugars as low-calorie natural sweeteners. The crystal structures of LacAB and its complex with D-tagatose-6-phosphate revealed that LacAB is a homotetramer of LacA and LacB subunits, with a structure similar to that of ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (Rpi. Structurally, LacAB belongs to the RpiB/LacAB superfamily, having a Rossmann-like αβα sandwich fold as has been identified in pentose phosphate isomerase and hexose phosphate isomerase. In contrast to other family members, the LacB subunit also has a unique α7 helix in its C-terminus. One active site is distinctly located at the interface between LacA and LacB, whereas two active sites are present in RpiB. In the structure of the product complex, the phosphate group of D-tagatose-6-phosphate is bound to three arginine residues, including Arg-39, producing a different substrate orientation than that in RpiB, where the substrate binds at Asp-43. Due to the proximity of the Arg-134 residue and backbone Cα of the α6 helix in LacA to the last Asp-172 residue of LacB with a hydrogen bond, a six-carbon sugar-phosphate can bind in the larger pocket of LacAB, compared with RpiB. His-96 in the active site is important for ring opening and substrate orientation, and Cys-65 is essential for the isomerization activity of the enzyme. Two rare sugar substrates, D-psicose and D-ribulose, show optimal binding in the LacAB-substrate complex. These findings were supported by the results of LacA activity assays.

Kerogen-bound and free hopanoic acids in the messel oil shale kerogen.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, G D; Bashir, F Z; Sugden, M A

2001-08-01

The distribution of the free and bound hopanoic acids in both unheated and heated (350 degrees C for 50 h) kerogens, isolated from the Messel oil shale, were analyzed by GC-MS. The bound acids were released by subjecting the kerogen to three different treatments, namely, thermochemolysis in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), as well as basic and acidic hydrolyses. All of these methods gave a series of hopanoic acids ranging from C(30) to C(34), in which the biological 17beta, 21beta(H) configuration is prominent. Both 22R and 22S epimers are present for the C(30) acid, whereas the others are dominated by the sidechain 22R-configuration. Thermochemolysis in the presence of TMAH was the most efficient in releasing kerogen-bound hopanoids. Following pyrolysis, the acids are generated and released into the free fraction with apparent epimerization occurring at C-17, C-21, and C-22. The bound hopanoic acids may be both chemically bonded as well as possibly being physically encapsulated within the macromolecular fraction of sedimentary organic matter. They are therefore either generated by breaking the bonds which bind them to the kerogen or they are released as a result of the macromolecular cage being broken apart. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Structural features and dynamic investigations of the membrane-bound cytochrome P450 17A1.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Ying-Lu; Xue, Qiao; Zheng, Qing-Chuan; Zhang, Ji-Long; Kong, Chui-Peng; Fan, Jing-Rong; Zhang, Hong-Xing

2015-10-01

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 17A1 is a dual-function monooxygenase with a critical role in the synthesis of many human steroid hormones. The enzyme is an important target for treatment of breast and prostate cancers that proliferate in response to estrogens and androgens. Despite the crystallographic structures available for CYP17A1, no membrane-bound structural features of this enzyme at atomic level are available. Accumulating evidence has indicated that the interactions between bounded CYPs and membrane could contribute to the recruitment of lipophilic substrates. To this end, we have investigated the effects on structural characteristics in the presence of the membrane for CYP17A1. The MD simulation results demonstrate a spontaneous insertion process of the enzyme to the lipid. Two predominant modes of CYP17A1 in the membrane are captured, characterized by the depths of insertion and orientations of the enzyme to the membrane surface. The measured heme tilt angles show good consistence with experimental data, thereby verifying the validity of the structural models. Moreover, conformational changes induced by the membrane might have impact on the accessibility of the active site to lipophilic substrates. The dynamics of internal aromatic gate formed by Trp220 and Phe224 are suggested to regulate tunnel opening motions. The knowledge of the membrane binding characteristics could guide future experimental and computational works on membrane-bound CYPs so that various investigations of CYPs in their natural, lipid environment rather than in artificially solubilized forms may be achieved. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Structural pathway of regulated substrate transfer and threading through an Hsp100 disaggregase.

Science.gov (United States)

Deville, Célia; Carroni, Marta; Franke, Kamila B; Topf, Maya; Bukau, Bernd; Mogk, Axel; Saibil, Helen R

2017-08-01

Refolding aggregated proteins is essential in combating cellular proteotoxic stress. Together with Hsp70, Hsp100 chaperones, including Escherichia coli ClpB, form a powerful disaggregation machine that threads aggregated polypeptides through the central pore of tandem adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) rings. To visualize protein disaggregation, we determined cryo-electron microscopy structures of inactive and substrate-bound ClpB in the presence of adenosine 5'- O -(3-thiotriphosphate), revealing closed AAA+ rings with a pronounced seam. In the substrate-free state, a marked gradient of resolution, likely corresponding to mobility, spans across the AAA+ rings with a dynamic hotspot at the seam. On the seam side, the coiled-coil regulatory domains are locked in a horizontal, inactive orientation. On the opposite side, the regulatory domains are accessible for Hsp70 binding, substrate targeting, and activation. In the presence of the model substrate casein, the polypeptide threads through the entire pore channel and increased nucleotide occupancy correlates with higher ATPase activity. Substrate-induced domain displacements indicate a pathway of regulated substrate transfer from Hsp70 to the ClpB pore, inside which a spiral of loops contacts the substrate. The seam pore loops undergo marked displacements, along with ordering of the regulatory domains. These asymmetric movements suggest a mechanism for ATPase activation and substrate threading during disaggregation.

78 FR 18326 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

...; Comment Request; Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math Science Annual Performance Report AGENCY: The Office... considered public records. Title of Collection: Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math Science Annual Performance...) and Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Programs. The Department is requesting a new APR because of...

Optical nonlinearity and bistability in the bound exciton energy range of CdS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoenig, T.; Gutowski, J.

1988-01-01

Under high excitation conditions thick CdS samples show pronounced broad-band nonlinear transmission in the bound exciton region and up to a wavelength of about 515 nm at cryo-temperatures. This behavior is only explainable in a model based on impurity neutralization and bound exciton creation. The suitability of these nonlinearities to yield optical bistability will be shown. Bistable operation is investigated in dependence of crystal thickness, impurity concentration, excitation density, wavelength, and temperature. A strong correlation to acceptor-bound exciton generation is obtained, and the explanation of this bistable operation fits well with that of the above mentioned transmission behavior. (author)

Quivers of Bound Path Algebras and Bound Path Coalgebras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Intan Muchtadi

2010-09-01

Full Text Available bras and coalgebras can be represented as quiver (directed graph, and from quiver we can construct algebras and coalgebras called path algebras and path coalgebras. In this paper we show that the quiver of a bound path coalgebra (resp. algebra is the dual quiver of its bound path algebra (resp. coalgebra.

Self-Powered Functional Device Using On-Chip Power Generation

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2012-01-26

An apparatus, system, and method for a self-powered device using on-chip power generation. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a substrate, a power generation module on the substrate, and a power storage module on the substrate. The power generation module may include a thermoelectric generator made of bismuth telluride.

Self-Powered Functional Device Using On-Chip Power Generation

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2012-01-01

An apparatus, system, and method for a self-powered device using on-chip power generation. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a substrate, a power generation module on the substrate, and a power storage module on the substrate. The power generation module may include a thermoelectric generator made of bismuth telluride.

Structural basis of the substrate specificity of Bacillus cereus adenosine phosphorylase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dessanti, Paola; Zhang, Yang; Allegrini, Simone; Tozzi, Maria Grazia; Sgarrella, Francesco; Ealick, Steven E. (Cornell); (Sassari); (Pisa)

2012-10-08

Purine nucleoside phosphorylases catalyze the phosphorolytic cleavage of the glycosidic bond of purine (2{prime}-deoxy)nucleosides, generating the corresponding free base and (2{prime}-deoxy)ribose 1-phosphate. Two classes of PNPs have been identified: homotrimers specific for 6-oxopurines and homohexamers that accept both 6-oxopurines and 6-aminopurines. Bacillus cereus adenosine phosphorylase (AdoP) is a hexameric PNP; however, it is highly specific for 6-aminopurines. To investigate the structural basis for the unique substrate specificity of AdoP, the active-site mutant D204N was prepared and kinetically characterized and the structures of the wild-type protein and the D204N mutant complexed with adenosine and sulfate or with inosine and sulfate were determined at high resolution (1.2-1.4 {angstrom}). AdoP interacts directly with the preferred substrate through a hydrogen-bond donation from the catalytically important residue Asp204 to N7 of the purine base. Comparison with Escherichia coli PNP revealed a more optimal orientation of Asp204 towards N7 of adenosine and a more closed active site. When inosine is bound, two water molecules are interposed between Asp204 and the N7 and O6 atoms of the nucleoside, thus allowing the enzyme to find alternative but less efficient ways to stabilize the transition state. The mutation of Asp204 to asparagine led to a significant decrease in catalytic efficiency for adenosine without affecting the efficiency of inosine cleavage.

Structural studies of Pseudomonas and Chromobacterium ω-aminotransferases provide insights into their differing substrate specificity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayer, Christopher; Isupov, Michail N.; Westlake, Aaron; Littlechild, Jennifer A.

2013-01-01

The X-ray structures of two ω-aminotransferases from P. aeruginosa and C. violaceum in complex with an inhibitor offer the first detailed insight into the structural basis of the substrate specificity of these industrially important enzymes. The crystal structures and inhibitor complexes of two industrially important ω-aminotransferase enzymes from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chromobacterium violaceum have been determined in order to understand the differences in their substrate specificity. The two enzymes share 30% sequence identity and use the same amino acceptor, pyruvate; however, the Pseudomonas enzyme shows activity towards the amino donor β-alanine, whilst the Chromobacterium enzyme does not. Both enzymes show activity towards S-α-methylbenzylamine (MBA), with the Chromobacterium enzyme having a broader substrate range. The crystal structure of the P. aeruginosa enzyme has been solved in the holo form and with the inhibitor gabaculine bound. The C. violaceum enzyme has been solved in the apo and holo forms and with gabaculine bound. The structures of the holo forms of both enzymes are quite similar. There is little conformational difference observed between the inhibitor complex and the holoenzyme for the P. aeruginosa aminotransferase. In comparison, the crystal structure of the C. violaceum gabaculine complex shows significant structural rearrangements from the structures of both the apo and holo forms of the enzyme. It appears that the different rigidity of the protein scaffold contributes to the substrate specificity observed for the two ω-aminotransferases

Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goblirsch, Brandon R.; Jensen, Matthew R.; Mohamed, Fatuma A.; Wackett, Lawrence P.; Wilmot, Carrie M.

2016-11-04

Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety—unusual for a thiolase—are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys143) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C12 and C14) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ117) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation.

Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Goblirsch, Brandon R; Jensen, Matthew R; Mohamed, Fatuma A; Wackett, Lawrence P; Wilmot, Carrie M

2016-12-23

Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety-unusual for a thiolase-are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys 143 ) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C 12 and C 14 ) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ 117 ) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Substrate Trapping in Crystals of the Thiolase OleA Identifies Three Channels That Enable Long Chain Olefin Biosynthesis*

Science.gov (United States)

Goblirsch, Brandon R.; Jensen, Matthew R.; Mohamed, Fatuma A.; Wackett, Lawrence P.; Wilmot, Carrie M.

2016-01-01

Phylogenetically diverse microbes that produce long chain, olefinic hydrocarbons have received much attention as possible sources of renewable energy biocatalysts. One enzyme that is critical for this process is OleA, a thiolase superfamily enzyme that condenses two fatty acyl-CoA substrates to produce a β-ketoacid product and initiates the biosynthesis of long chain olefins in bacteria. Thiolases typically utilize a ping-pong mechanism centered on an active site cysteine residue. Reaction with the first substrate produces a covalent cysteine-thioester tethered acyl group that is transferred to the second substrate through formation of a carbon-carbon bond. Although the basics of thiolase chemistry are precedented, the mechanism by which OleA accommodates two substrates with extended carbon chains and a coenzyme moiety—unusual for a thiolase—are unknown. Gaining insights into this process could enable manipulation of the system for large scale olefin production with hydrocarbon chains lengths equivalent to those of fossil fuels. In this study, mutagenesis of the active site cysteine in Xanthomonas campestris OleA (Cys143) enabled trapping of two catalytically relevant species in crystals. In the resulting structures, long chain alkyl groups (C12 and C14) and phosphopantetheinate define three substrate channels in a T-shaped configuration, explaining how OleA coordinates its two substrates and product. The C143A OleA co-crystal structure possesses a single bound acyl-CoA representing the Michaelis complex with the first substrate, whereas the C143S co-crystal structure contains both acyl-CoA and fatty acid, defining how a second substrate binds to the acyl-enzyme intermediate. An active site glutamate (Gluβ117) is positioned to deprotonate bound acyl-CoA and initiate carbon-carbon bond formation. PMID:27815501

Structural basis for substrate placement by an archaeal box C/D ribonucleoprotein particle.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Song; Wang, Ruiying; Yang, Fangping; Terns, Rebecca M; Terns, Michael P; Zhang, Xinxin; Maxwell, E Stuart; Li, Hong

2010-09-24

Box C/D small nucleolar and Cajal body ribonucleoprotein particles (sno/scaRNPs) direct site-specific 2'-O-methylation of ribosomal and spliceosomal RNAs and are critical for gene expression. Here we report crystal structures of an archaeal box C/D RNP containing three core proteins (fibrillarin, Nop56/58, and L7Ae) and a half-mer box C/D guide RNA paired with a substrate RNA. The structure reveals a guide-substrate RNA duplex orientation imposed by a composite protein surface and the conserved GAEK motif of Nop56/58. Molecular modeling supports a dual C/D RNP structure that closely mimics that recently visualized by electron microscopy. The substrate-bound dual RNP model predicts an asymmetric protein distribution between the RNP that binds and methylates the substrate RNA. The predicted asymmetric nature of the holoenzyme is consistent with previous biochemical data on RNP assembly and provides a simple solution for accommodating base-pairing between the C/D guide RNA and large ribosomal and spliceosomal substrate RNAs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural basis of the substrate specificity of Bacillus cereus adenosine phosphorylase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dessanti, Paola [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1301 (United States); Università di Sassari, (Italy); Zhang, Yang [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1301 (United States); Allegrini, Simone [Università di Sassari, (Italy); Tozzi, Maria Grazia [Università di Pisa, (Italy); Sgarrella, Francesco [Università di Sassari, (Italy); Ealick, Steven E., E-mail: see3@cornell.edu [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1301 (United States)

2012-03-01

Adenosine phosphorylase from B. cereus shows a strong preference for adenosine over other 6-oxopurine nucleosides. Mutation of Asp204 to asparagine reduces the efficiency of adenosine cleavage but does not affect inosine cleavage, effectively reversing the substrate specificity. The structures of D204N complexes explain these observations. Purine nucleoside phosphorylases catalyze the phosphorolytic cleavage of the glycosidic bond of purine (2′-deoxy)nucleosides, generating the corresponding free base and (2′-deoxy)ribose 1-phosphate. Two classes of PNPs have been identified: homotrimers specific for 6-oxopurines and homohexamers that accept both 6-oxopurines and 6-aminopurines. Bacillus cereus adenosine phosphorylase (AdoP) is a hexameric PNP; however, it is highly specific for 6-aminopurines. To investigate the structural basis for the unique substrate specificity of AdoP, the active-site mutant D204N was prepared and kinetically characterized and the structures of the wild-type protein and the D204N mutant complexed with adenosine and sulfate or with inosine and sulfate were determined at high resolution (1.2–1.4 Å). AdoP interacts directly with the preferred substrate through a hydrogen-bond donation from the catalytically important residue Asp204 to N7 of the purine base. Comparison with Escherichia coli PNP revealed a more optimal orientation of Asp204 towards N7 of adenosine and a more closed active site. When inosine is bound, two water molecules are interposed between Asp204 and the N7 and O6 atoms of the nucleoside, thus allowing the enzyme to find alternative but less efficient ways to stabilize the transition state. The mutation of Asp204 to asparagine led to a significant decrease in catalytic efficiency for adenosine without affecting the efficiency of inosine cleavage.

Second Generation HTs Wire Based on RABiTS Substrates and MOD YBCO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schoop, U. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Rupich, Marty [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Thieme, C. L. H. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Verebelyi, D. T. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Zhang, W. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Li, Xiaoping [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Kodenkandath, Thomas [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Nguyen, N. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Siegal, E. E. [American Superconductor Corporation, Westborough, MA; Civale, L. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Holesinger, T. G. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Maiorov, B. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Goyal, Amit [ORNL; Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans [ORNL

2005-01-01

The performance of Second Generation (2G) high temperature superconducting wire manufactured by continuous reel-to-reel processes is nearing the 300 A/cm-width (77 K, self field) performance threshold for commercial power cable applications. The 2G manufacturing approach under development at American Superconductor is based on the combination of the RABiTS substrate-buffer technology with metal organic deposition (MOD) of the YBCO layer. The capability of this process has been demonstrated in multiple 10 meter lengths with critical currents exceeding 250 A/cm-width with high uniformity and reproducibility. Critical currents of 380 A/cm-width have been achieved in short length samples prepared by the same basic process. The incorporation of nanoparticles ('nanodots') into the YBCO layer using the MOD process has resulted in a 2-fold improvement in the critical current at 65 K in a 3 T field. The research and development focus at ASMC is now directed toward the economical scale-up of the RABiTS/MOD process, optimization of the conductor properties for targeted applications and the use of 2G wire in initial demonstration applications.

Photon virtual bound state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, J.; Ohtaka, K.

2004-01-01

We study virtual bound states in photonics, which are a vectorial extension of electron virtual bound states. The condition for these states is derived. It is found that the Mie resonant state which satisfies the condition that the size parameter is less than the angular momentum should be interpreted as a photon virtual bound state. In order to confirm the validity of the concept, we compare the photonic density of states, the width of which represents the lifetime of the photon virtual bound states, with numerical results

A Note on Lower Bounds for Colourful Simplicial Depth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoine Deza

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The colourful simplicial depth problem in dimension d is to find a configuration of (d+1 sets of (d+1 points such that the origin is contained in the convex hull of each set, or colour, but contained in a minimal number of colourful simplices generated by taking one point from each set. A construction attaining d2 + 1 simplices is known, and is conjectured to be minimal. This has been confirmed up to d = 3, however the best known lower bound for d ≥ 4 is ⌈(d+12 /2 ⌉. In this note, we use a branching strategy to improve the lower bound in dimension 4 from 13 to 14.

Crystal Structure of the Oxazolidinone Antibiotic Linezolid Bound to the 50S Ribosomal Subunit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ippolito,J.; Kanyo, Z.; Wang, D.; Franceschi, F.; Moore, P.; Steitz, T.; Duffy, E.

2008-01-01

The oxazolidinone antibacterials target the 50S subunit of prokaryotic ribosomes. To gain insight into their mechanism of action, the crystal structure of the canonical oxazolidinone, linezolid, has been determined bound to the Haloarcula marismortui 50S subunit. Linezolid binds the 50S A-site, near the catalytic center, which suggests that inhibition involves competition with incoming A-site substrates. These results provide a structural basis for the discovery of improved oxazolidinones active against emerging drug-resistant clinical strains.

Dissection of structural and functional requirements that underlie the interaction of ERdj3 protein with substrates in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Science.gov (United States)

Otero, Joel H; Lizák, Beata; Feige, Matthias J; Hendershot, Linda M

2014-10-03

ERdj3, a mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Hsp40/DnaJ family member, binds unfolded proteins, transfers them to BiP, and concomitantly stimulates BiP ATPase activity. However, the requirements for ERdj3 binding to and release from substrates in cells are not well understood. We found that ERdj3 homodimers that cannot stimulate the ATPase activity of BiP (QPD mutants) bound to unfolded ER proteins under steady state conditions in much greater amounts than wild-type ERdj3. This was due to reduced release from these substrates as opposed to enhanced binding, although in both cases dimerization was strictly required for substrate binding. Conversely, heterodimers consisting of one wild-type and one mutant ERdj3 subunit bound substrates at levels comparable with wild-type ERdj3 homodimers, demonstrating that release requires only one protomer to be functional in stimulating BiP ATPase activity. Co-expressing wild-type ERdj3 and a QPD mutant, which each exclusively formed homodimers, revealed that the release rate of wild-type ERdj3 varied according to the relative half-lives of substrates, suggesting that ERdj3 release is an important step in degradation of unfolded client proteins in the ER. Furthermore, pulse-chase experiments revealed that the binding of QPD mutant homodimers remained constant as opposed to increasing, suggesting that ERdj3 does not normally undergo reiterative binding cycles with substrates. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Fabrication of complex nanoscale structures on various substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Kang-Soo; Hong, Sung-Hoon; Lee, Heon

2007-09-01

Polymer based complex nanoscale structures were fabricated and transferred to various substrates using reverse nanoimprint lithography. To facilitate the fabrication and transference of the large area of the nanostructured layer to the substrates, a water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol mold was used. After generation and transference of the nanostructured layer, the polyvinyl alcohol mold was removed by dissolving in water. A residue-free, UV-curable, glue layer was formulated and used to bond the nanostructured layer onto the substrates. As a result, nanometer scale patterned polymer layers were bonded to various substrates and three-dimensional nanostructures were also fabricated by stacking of the layers.

The rigorous bound on the transmission probability for massless scalar field of non-negative-angular-momentum mode emitted from a Myers-Perry black hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngampitipan, Tritos, E-mail: tritos.ngampitipan@gmail.com [Faculty of Science, Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, Ratchadaphisek Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand); Particle Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Boonserm, Petarpa, E-mail: petarpa.boonserm@gmail.com [Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Chatrabhuti, Auttakit, E-mail: dma3ac2@gmail.com [Particle Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Visser, Matt, E-mail: matt.visser@msor.vuw.ac.nz [School of Mathematics, Statistics, and Operations Research, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140 (New Zealand)

2016-06-02

Hawking radiation is the evidence for the existence of black hole. What an observer can measure through Hawking radiation is the transmission probability. In the laboratory, miniature black holes can successfully be generated. The generated black holes are, most commonly, Myers-Perry black holes. In this paper, we will derive the rigorous bounds on the transmission probabilities for massless scalar fields of non-negative-angular-momentum modes emitted from a generated Myers-Perry black hole in six, seven, and eight dimensions. The results show that for low energy, the rigorous bounds increase with the increase in the energy of emitted particles. However, for high energy, the rigorous bounds decrease with the increase in the energy of emitted particles. When the black holes spin faster, the rigorous bounds decrease. For dimension dependence, the rigorous bounds also decrease with the increase in the number of extra dimensions. Furthermore, as comparison to the approximate transmission probability, the rigorous bound is proven to be useful.

The rigorous bound on the transmission probability for massless scalar field of non-negative-angular-momentum mode emitted from a Myers-Perry black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngampitipan, Tritos; Boonserm, Petarpa; Chatrabhuti, Auttakit; Visser, Matt

2016-01-01

Hawking radiation is the evidence for the existence of black hole. What an observer can measure through Hawking radiation is the transmission probability. In the laboratory, miniature black holes can successfully be generated. The generated black holes are, most commonly, Myers-Perry black holes. In this paper, we will derive the rigorous bounds on the transmission probabilities for massless scalar fields of non-negative-angular-momentum modes emitted from a generated Myers-Perry black hole in six, seven, and eight dimensions. The results show that for low energy, the rigorous bounds increase with the increase in the energy of emitted particles. However, for high energy, the rigorous bounds decrease with the increase in the energy of emitted particles. When the black holes spin faster, the rigorous bounds decrease. For dimension dependence, the rigorous bounds also decrease with the increase in the number of extra dimensions. Furthermore, as comparison to the approximate transmission probability, the rigorous bound is proven to be useful.

Observational Bounds on Cosmic Doomsday

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shmakova, Marina

2003-07-11

Recently it was found, in a broad class of models, that the dark energy density may change its sign during the evolution of the universe. This may lead to a global collapse of the universe within the time t{sub c} {approx} 10{sup 10}-10{sup 11} years. Our goal is to find what bounds on the future lifetime of the universe can be placed by the next generation of cosmological observations. As an example, we investigate the simplest model of dark energy with a linear potential V({phi}) = V{sub 0}(1 + {alpha}{phi}). This model can describe the present stage of acceleration of the universe if {alpha} is small enough. However, eventually the field {phi} rolls down, V({phi}) becomes negative, and the universe collapses. The existing observational data indicate that the universe described by this model will collapse not earlier than t{sub c} {approx_equal} 10 billion years from the present moment. We show that the data from SNAP and Planck satellites may extend the bound on the ''doomsday'' time to tc 40 billion years at the 95% confidence level.

Critical size for the generation of misfit dislocations and their effects on electronic properties in GaAs nanosheets on Si substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Zaoshi; Shimamura, Kohei; Shimojo, Fuyuki; Nakano, Aiichiro

2013-01-01

While nanowires and nanosheets (NSs) grown on lattice-mismatched substrates have a number of promising technological applications such as solar cells, generation of misfit dislocations (MFDs) at their interfaces is a major concern for the efficiency of these devices. Here, combined molecular-dynamics and quantum-mechanical simulations are used to study MFDs at the interface between a GaAs NS and a Si substrate. Simulation results show the existence of a critical NS thickness, below which NSs are grown free of MFDs. The calculated critical thickness value is consistent with available experimental observations. Charge transfer at the MFD core is found to modify the electronic band profile at the GaAs/Si interface significantly. These effects should have profound impacts on the efficiency of lattice-mismatched NS devices

Experimental and Simulation Identification of Xanthohumol as an Inhibitor and Substrate of ABCB1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fangming Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Xanthohumol (XN is a well-known prenylated flavonoid found in Humulus lupulus L. It is involved in several pharmacological activities, including the sensitization of doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer (MCF-7/ADR cells to doxorubicin (DOX through a reduction in cell viability and stemness. In the present study, we revealed another mechanism to further explain the reverse of the drug resistance of XN. In the MCF-7/ADR cell line, we found that XN inhibited the efflux functions of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1. We also observed that XN was a substrate of ABCB1 and stimulated its ATPase activity. Moreover, our results revealed that XN showed a synergic effect with the ABCB1 substrate colchicine (COL in the MCF-7/ADR cell line. Further, we showed that XN bound to the central transmembrane domain (TMD site, overlapping with the DOX binding site. This mechanism was supported by molecular modeling and simulation data, which revealed that XN bound to the ABCB1 transmembrane domain, where doxorubicin also binds, and its binding affinity was stronger than that of doxorubicin, resulting in less protein and ligand position fluctuation. These results support the XN-induced reversal of drug resistance via the inhibition of ABCB1-mediated transport of doxorubicin, stimulating ABCB1 ATPase activity and acting as a substrate of ABCB1.

Atrial Heterogeneity Generates Re-entrant Substrate during Atrial Fibrillation and Anti-arrhythmic Drug Action: Mechanistic Insights from Canine Atrial Models

Science.gov (United States)

Varela, Marta; Hancox, Jules C.; Aslanidi, Oleg V.

2016-01-01

Anti-arrhythmic drug therapy is a frontline treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), but its success rates are highly variable. This is due to incomplete understanding of the mechanisms of action of specific drugs on the atrial substrate at different stages of AF progression. We aimed to elucidate the role of cellular, tissue and organ level atrial heterogeneities in the generation of a re-entrant substrate during AF progression, and their modulation by the acute action of selected anti-arrhythmic drugs. To explore the complex cell-to-organ mechanisms, a detailed biophysical models of the entire 3D canine atria was developed. The model incorporated atrial geometry and fibre orientation from high-resolution micro-computed tomography, region-specific atrial cell electrophysiology and the effects of progressive AF-induced remodelling. The actions of multi-channel class III anti-arrhythmic agents vernakalant and amiodarone were introduced in the model by inhibiting appropriate ionic channel currents according to experimentally reported concentration-response relationships. AF was initiated by applied ectopic pacing in the pulmonary veins, which led to the generation of localized sustained re-entrant waves (rotors), followed by progressive wave breakdown and rotor multiplication in both atria. The simulated AF scenarios were in agreement with observations in canine models and patients. The 3D atrial simulations revealed that a re-entrant substrate was typically provided by tissue regions of high heterogeneity of action potential duration (APD). Amiodarone increased atrial APD and reduced APD heterogeneity and was more effective in terminating AF than vernakalant, which increased both APD and APD dispersion. In summary, the initiation and sustenance of rotors in AF is linked to atrial APD heterogeneity and APD reduction due to progressive remodelling. Our results suggest that anti-arrhythmic strategies that increase atrial APD without increasing its dispersion are

An Analytical Model for Spectral Peak Frequency Prediction of Substrate Noise in CMOS Substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Ming; Mikkelsen, Jan H.

2013-01-01

This paper proposes an analytical model describing the generation of switching current noise in CMOS substrates. The model eliminates the need for SPICE simulations in existing methods by conducting a transient analysis on a generic CMOS inverter and approximating the switching current waveform us...

Flexible organic light emitting diodes fabricated on biocompatible silk fibroin substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yuqiang; Xie, Yuemin; Liu, Yuan; Song, Tao; Liao, Liangsheng; Sun, Baoquan; Zhang, Ke-Qin

2015-01-01

Flexible and biodegradable electronics are currently under extensive investigation for biocompatible and environmentally-friendly applications. Synthetic plastic foils are widely used as substrates for flexible electronics. But typical plastic substrates such as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) could not be degraded in a natural bio-environment. A great demand still exists for a next-generation biocompatible and biodegradable substrate for future application. For example, electronic devices can be potentially integrated into the human body. In this work, we demonstrate that the biocompatible and biodegradable natural silk fibroin (SF) films embedded with silver nanowires (AgNWs) mesh could be employed as conductive transparent substrates to fabricate flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Compared with commercial PEN substrates coated with indium tin oxide, the AgNWs/SF composite substrates exhibit a similar sheet resistance of 12 Ω sq −1 , a lower surface roughness, as well as a broader light transmission range. Flexible OLEDs based on AgNWs/SF substrates achieve a current efficiency of 19 cd A −1 , demonstrating the potential of the flexible AgNWs/SF films as conductive and transparent substrates for next-generation biodegradable devices. (paper)

Flexible organic light emitting diodes fabricated on biocompatible silk fibroin substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuqiang; Xie, Yuemin; Liu, Yuan; Song, Tao; Zhang, Ke-Qin; Liao, Liangsheng; Sun, Baoquan

2015-10-01

Flexible and biodegradable electronics are currently under extensive investigation for biocompatible and environmentally-friendly applications. Synthetic plastic foils are widely used as substrates for flexible electronics. But typical plastic substrates such as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) could not be degraded in a natural bio-environment. A great demand still exists for a next-generation biocompatible and biodegradable substrate for future application. For example, electronic devices can be potentially integrated into the human body. In this work, we demonstrate that the biocompatible and biodegradable natural silk fibroin (SF) films embedded with silver nanowires (AgNWs) mesh could be employed as conductive transparent substrates to fabricate flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Compared with commercial PEN substrates coated with indium tin oxide, the AgNWs/SF composite substrates exhibit a similar sheet resistance of 12 Ω sq-1, a lower surface roughness, as well as a broader light transmission range. Flexible OLEDs based on AgNWs/SF substrates achieve a current efficiency of 19 cd A-1, demonstrating the potential of the flexible AgNWs/SF films as conductive and transparent substrates for next-generation biodegradable devices.

Wetting on structured substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dietrich, S; Popescu, M N; Rauscher, M

2005-01-01

Chemically patterned surfaces are of significant interest in the context of microfluidic applications, and miniaturization of such devices aims at generating structures on the nano-scale. Whereas on the micron scale purely macroscopic descriptions of liquid flow are valid, on the nanometre scale long-ranged inter-molecular interactions, thermal fluctuations such as capillary waves, and finally the molecular structure of the liquid become important. We discuss the most important conceptual differences between flow on chemically patterned substrates on the micron scale and on the nanometre scale, and formulate four design issues for nanofluidics related to channel width, channel separation, and channel bending radius. As a specific example of nano-scale transport we present a microscopic model for the dynamics of spreading of monolayers on homogeneous substrates. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of this model on a homogeneous substrate reveal a complex spatio-temporal structure of the extracted monolayer, which includes the emergence of interfaces and of scaling properties of density profiles. These features are discussed and rationalized within the corresponding continuum limit derived from the microscopic dynamics. The corresponding spreading behaviour on a patterned substrate is briefly addressed

Apo and ligand-bound structures of ModA from the archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Sum; Giuroiu, Iulia; Chernishof, Irina; Sawaya, Michael R; Chiang, Janet; Gunsalus, Robert P; Arbing, Mark A; Perry, L Jeanne

2010-03-01

The trace-element oxyanion molybdate, which is required for the growth of many bacterial and archaeal species, is transported into the cell by an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily uptake system called ModABC. ModABC consists of the ModA periplasmic solute-binding protein, the integral membrane-transport protein ModB and the ATP-binding and hydrolysis cassette protein ModC. In this study, X-ray crystal structures of ModA from the archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans (MaModA) have been determined in the apoprotein conformation at 1.95 and 1.69 A resolution and in the molybdate-bound conformation at 2.25 and 2.45 A resolution. The overall domain structure of MaModA is similar to other ModA proteins in that it has a bilobal structure in which two mixed alpha/beta domains are linked by a hinge region. The apo MaModA is the first unliganded archaeal ModA structure to be determined: it exhibits a deep cleft between the two domains and confirms that upon binding ligand one domain is rotated towards the other by a hinge-bending motion, which is consistent with the 'Venus flytrap' model seen for bacterial-type periplasmic binding proteins. In contrast to the bacterial ModA structures, which have tetrahedral coordination of their metal substrates, molybdate-bound MaModA employs octahedral coordination of its substrate like other archaeal ModA proteins.

Facile Synthesis of Photofunctional Nanolayer Coatings on Titanium Substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyong-Hoon Choi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We developed a two-step chemical bonding process using photosensitizer molecules to fabricate photofunctional nanolayer coatings on hematoporphyrin- (HP- coated Ti substrates. In the first step, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane was covalently functionalized onto the surface of the Ti substrates to provide heterogeneous sites for immobilizing the HP molecules. Then, HP molecules with carboxyl groups were chemically attached to the amine-terminated nanolayer coatings via a carbodiimide coupling reaction. The microstructure and elemental and phase composition of the HP-coated Ti substrates were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The photophysical properties of the photofunctional nanolayer coatings were confirmed using reflectance ultraviolet-visible absorption and emission spectrophotometry. The singlet oxygen generation efficiency of the photofunctional nanolayer coatings was determined using the decomposition reaction of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran. The HP-coated Ti substrates exhibited good biocompatibility without any cytotoxicity, and these nanolayer coatings generated singlet oxygen, which can kill microorganisms using only visible light.

Analysis of apolipoprotein A-I as a substrate for matrix metalloproteinase-14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jun Hyoung; Park, Sung-Min; Park, Ki-Hoon; Cho, Kyung-Hyun; Lee, Seung-Taek

2011-01-01

Highlights: → MMP-14 degrades apoA-I more efficiently than other tested MMPs. → Lipid-free apoA-I is more susceptible to MMPs than lipid-bound apoA-I. → MMP-14 cleavage sites on apoA-I have been determined. → Cleavage of apoA-I by MMP-14 impairs its ability to form HDL. -- Abstract: Substrates for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-14 were previously identified in human plasma using proteomic techniques. One putative MMP-14 substrate was apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), a major component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). In vitro cleavage assays showed that lipid-free apoA-I is a more accessible substrate for MMP-14 compared to lipid-bound apoA-I, and that MMP-14 is more prone to digest apoA-I than MMP-3. The 28-kDa apoA-I was cleaved into smaller fragments of 27, 26, 25, 22, and 14-kDa by MMP-14. ApoA-I sites cleaved by MMP-14 were determined by isotope labeling of C-termini derived from the cleavage and analysis of the labeled peptides by mass spectrometry, along with N-terminal sequencing of the fragments. Cleavage of apoA-I by MMP-14 resulted in a loss of ability to form HDL. Our results suggest that cleavage of lipid-free apoA-I by MMP-14 may contribute to reduced HDL formation, and this may be occurring during the development of various vascular diseases as lipid metabolism is disrupted.

The roles of loosely-bound and tightly-bound extracellular polymer substances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Xiangyu; Tang, Ran; Fang, Zhendong; Xie, Chaoxin; Li, Yongqin; Xian, Guang

2017-12-01

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) have be founded to participate in the process of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), but the exact role of EPS in EBPR process is unclear. In this work, the roles of loosely-bound EPS (LB-EPS), tightly-bound EPS (TB-EPS) and microbial cell in EBPR were explored, taking the activated sludge from 4 lab-scale A/O-SBR reactors with different temperatures and organic substrates as objects. It was founded that the P of EBPR activated sludge was mainly stored in TB-EPS, but the P of non-EBPR activated sludge was primarily located in microbial cell. The P release and uptake of EBPR activated sludge was attributed to the combined action of TB-EPS and microbial cell. Furthermore, TB-EPS played an more important role than microbial cell in EBPR process. With the analysis of 31 P NMR spectroscopy, both polyP and orthoP were the main phosphorus species of TB-EPS in EBPR sludge, but only orthoP was the main phosphorus species of LB-EPS and microbial cell. During the anaerobic-aerobic cycle, the roles of LB-EPS, TB-EPS and microbial cell in transfer and transformation of P in EBPR sludge were obviously different. LB-EPS transported and retained orthoP, and microbial cell directly anaerobically released or aerobically absorbed orthoP. Importantly, TB-EPS not only transported and retained orthoP, but also participated in biological phosphorus accumulation. The EBPR performance of sludge was closely related with the polyp in TB-EPS, which might be synthesized and decomposed by extracellular enzyme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extracting Loop Bounds for WCET Analysis Using the Instrumentation Point Graph

Science.gov (United States)

Betts, A.; Bernat, G.

2009-05-01

Every calculation engine proposed in the literature of Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) analysis requires upper bounds on loop iterations. Existing mechanisms to procure this information are either error prone, because they are gathered from the end-user, or limited in scope, because automatic analyses target very specific loop structures. In this paper, we present a technique that obtains bounds completely automatically for arbitrary loop structures. In particular, we show how to employ the Instrumentation Point Graph (IPG) to parse traces of execution (generated by an instrumented program) in order to extract bounds relative to any loop-nesting level. With this technique, therefore, non-rectangular dependencies between loops can be captured, allowing more accurate WCET estimates to be calculated. We demonstrate the improvement in accuracy by comparing WCET estimates computed through our HMB framework against those computed with state-of-the-art techniques.

Curvature bound from gravitational catalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Gies, Holger; Martini, Riccardo

2018-04-01

We determine bounds on the curvature of local patches of spacetime from the requirement of intact long-range chiral symmetry. The bounds arise from a scale-dependent analysis of gravitational catalysis and its influence on the effective potential for the chiral order parameter, as induced by fermionic fluctuations on a curved spacetime with local hyperbolic properties. The bound is expressed in terms of the local curvature scalar measured in units of a gauge-invariant coarse-graining scale. We argue that any effective field theory of quantum gravity obeying this curvature bound is safe from chiral symmetry breaking through gravitational catalysis and thus compatible with the simultaneous existence of chiral fermions in the low-energy spectrum. With increasing number of dimensions, the curvature bound in terms of the hyperbolic scale parameter becomes stronger. Applying the curvature bound to the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity in four spacetime dimensions translates into bounds on the matter content of particle physics models.

Voronoi Diagrams Without Bounding Boxes

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, E. T. K.

2015-10-01

We present a technique for presenting geographic data in Voronoi diagrams without having to specify a bounding box. The method restricts Voronoi cells to points within a user-defined distance of the data points. The mathematical foundation of the approach is presented as well. The cell clipping method is particularly useful for presenting geographic data that is spread in an irregular way over a map, as for example the Dutch dialect data displayed in Figure 2. The automatic generation of reasonable cell boundaries also makes redundant a frequently used solution to this problem that requires data owners to specify region boundaries, as in Goebl (2010) and Nerbonne et al (2011).

Second-harmonic generation of Lamb modes in a solid layer supported by a semi-infinite substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Mingxi

2004-01-01

Using a second-order perturbation approximation and a modal expansion analysis approach, this study develops an effective technique for studying the generation of second harmonics of Lamb modes propagating in the composite structure consisting of a solid layer supported by a semi-infinite substrate. The nonlinearity in the elastic wave motion process can result in the generation of second harmonics of primary Lamb mode propagation in the composite structure, and this nonlinearity may be treated as a second-order perturbation of the elastic response of the primary waves. There are second-order bulk and surface/interface driving sources in the composite structure wherever the primary Lamb modes propagate. These driving sources can be thought of as the forcing functions of a finite series of double-frequency Lamb modes (DFLMs) in terms of the approach of modal expansion analysis for waveguide excitation. The fields of the second harmonics of the primary Lamb modes can be regarded as superpositions of the fields of a finite series of DFLMs. Although Lamb modes are dispersive, the field of one DFLM component can have a cumulative growth effect when its phase velocity exactly or approximately equals that of a primary Lamb mode. The formal solutions for the second harmonics of Lamb modes have been obtained. The numerical simulations clearly show the physical process of the generation of second harmonics of Lamb modes in the composite structure. The complicated problems of second-harmonic generation of Lamb modes have been exactly determined within the second-order perturbation approximation

Substrate effect on oxygen reduction electrocatalysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timperman, L.; Feng, Y.J.; Vogel, W.; Alonso-Vante, N.

2010-01-01

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated on carbon (XC-72) supported platinum nanoparticles, generated via the carbonyl chemical route and on oxide composites supported platinum generated via the UV-photo-deposition technique in sulfuric acid medium. The behavior of Pt/C was examined using a careful dosing of the catalyst loading spanning the range from 4.3 to 131 μg cm -2 . The ORR electrochemical response of Pt/C (in line with recent literature data) is put into contrast with the Pt/oxide-composite systems. Our results point out that it is possible to use smaller amounts of catalyst for the ORR when platinum atoms interact with the oxide (anatase) surface of the substrate composite. Evidence of the incipient metal-substrate interaction is discussed in the light of the results of XRD experiments.

X-ray structures of the Pseudomonas cichorii D-tagatose 3-epimerase mutant form C66S recognizing deoxy sugars as substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Hiromi; Yoshihara, Akihide; Ishii, Tomohiko; Izumori, Ken; Kamitori, Shigehiro

2016-12-01

Pseudomonas cichorii D-tagatose 3-epimerase (PcDTE), which has a broad substrate specificity, efficiently catalyzes the epimerization of not only D-tagatose to D-sorbose but also D-fructose to D-psicose (D-allulose) and also recognizes the deoxy sugars as substrates. In an attempt to elucidate the substrate recognition and catalytic reaction mechanisms of PcDTE for deoxy sugars, the X-ray structures of the PcDTE mutant form with the replacement of Cys66 by Ser (PcDTE_C66S) in complexes with deoxy sugars were determined. These X-ray structures showed that substrate recognition by the enzyme at the 1-, 2-, and 3-positions is responsible for enzymatic activity and that substrate-enzyme interactions at the 4-, 5-, and 6-positions are not essential for the catalytic reaction of the enzyme leading to the broad substrate specificity of PcDTE. They also showed that the epimerization site of 1-deoxy 3-keto D-galactitol is shifted from C3 to C4 and that 1-deoxy sugars may bind to the catalytic site in the inhibitor-binding mode. The hydrophobic groove that acts as an accessible surface for substrate binding is formed through the dimerization of PcDTE. In PcDTE_C66S/deoxy sugar complex structures, bound ligand molecules in both the linear and ring forms were detected in the hydrophobic groove, while bound ligand molecules in the catalytic site were in the linear form. This result suggests that the sugar-ring opening of a substrate may occur in the hydrophobic groove and also that the narrow channel of the passageway to the catalytic site allows a substrate in the linear form to pass through.

Deeply bound pionic atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toki, Hiroshi; Yamazaki, Toshimitsu

1989-01-01

The standard method of pionic atom formation does not produce deeply bound pionic atoms. A study is made on the properties of deeply bound pionic atom states by using the standard pion-nucleus optical potential. Another study is made to estimate the cross sections of the formation of ls pionic atom states by various methods. The pion-nucleus optical potential is determined by weakly bound pionic atom states and pion nucleus scattering. Although this potential may not be valid for deeply bound pionic atoms, it should provide some hint on binding energies and level widths of deeply bound states. The width of the ls state comes out to be 0.3 MeV and is well separated from the rest. The charge dependence of the ls state is investigated. The binding energies and the widths increase linearly with Z azbove a Z of 30. The report then discusses various methods to populate deeply bound pionic atoms. In particular, 'pion exchange' reactions are proposed. (n, pπ) reaction is discussed first. The cross section is calculated by assuming the in- and out-going nucleons on-shell and the produced pion in (n1) pionic atom states. Then, (n, dπ - ) cross sections are estimated. (p, 2 Heπ - ) reaction would have cross sections similar to the cross section of (n, dπ - ) reaction. In conclusion, it seems best to do (n, p) experiment on heavy nuclei for deeply bound pionic atom. (Nogami, K.)

Bounding species distribution models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas J. STOHLGREN, Catherine S. JARNEVICH, Wayne E. ESAIAS,Jeffrey T. MORISETTE

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Species distribution models are increasing in popularity for mapping suitable habitat for species of management concern. Many investigators now recognize that extrapolations of these models with geographic information systems (GIS might be sensitive to the environmental bounds of the data used in their development, yet there is no recommended best practice for “clamping” model extrapolations. We relied on two commonly used modeling approaches: classification and regression tree (CART and maximum entropy (Maxent models, and we tested a simple alteration of the model extrapolations, bounding extrapolations to the maximum and minimum values of primary environmental predictors, to provide a more realistic map of suitable habitat of hybridized Africanized honey bees in the southwestern United States. Findings suggest that multiple models of bounding, and the most conservative bounding of species distribution models, like those presented here, should probably replace the unbounded or loosely bounded techniques currently used [Current Zoology 57 (5: 642–647, 2011].

Bounding Species Distribution Models

Science.gov (United States)

Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Jarnevich, Cahterine S.; Morisette, Jeffrey T.; Esaias, Wayne E.

2011-01-01

Species distribution models are increasing in popularity for mapping suitable habitat for species of management concern. Many investigators now recognize that extrapolations of these models with geographic information systems (GIS) might be sensitive to the environmental bounds of the data used in their development, yet there is no recommended best practice for "clamping" model extrapolations. We relied on two commonly used modeling approaches: classification and regression tree (CART) and maximum entropy (Maxent) models, and we tested a simple alteration of the model extrapolations, bounding extrapolations to the maximum and minimum values of primary environmental predictors, to provide a more realistic map of suitable habitat of hybridized Africanized honey bees in the southwestern United States. Findings suggest that multiple models of bounding, and the most conservative bounding of species distribution models, like those presented here, should probably replace the unbounded or loosely bounded techniques currently used [Current Zoology 57 (5): 642-647, 2011].

Mammalian folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase. 2. Substrate specificity and kinetic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cichowicz, D.J.; Shane, B.

1987-01-01

The specificity of hog liver folylpolyglutamate synthetase for folate substrates and for nucleotide and L-[ 14 C]glutamate substrates and analogues has been investigated. The kinetic mechanism, determined by using aminopterin as the folate substrate, is ordered Ter-Ter with MgATP binding first, folate second, and glutamate last. This mechanism precludes the sequential addition of glutamate moieties to enzyme-bound folate. Folate, dihydrofolate, and tetrahydrofolate possess the optimal configurations for catalysis while 5- and 10-position substitutions of the folate molecule impair catalysis. k/sub cat/ values decrease with increasing glutamate chain length, and the rate of decrease varies depending on the state of reduction and substitution of the folate molecule. Folate binding, as assessed by on rates, is slow. Dihydrofolate exhibits the fastest rate, and the rates are slightly reduced for tetrahydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate and greatly reduced for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folic acid. Tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates are the only long glutamate chain length folates with detectable substrate activity. The specificity of the L-glutamate binding site is very narrow. L-Homocysteate and 4-threo-fluoroglutamate are alternate substrates and act as chain termination inhibitors in that their addition to the folate molecule prevents or severely retards the further addition of glutamate moieties. The K/sub m/ for glutamate is dependent on the folate substrate used. MgATP is the preferred nucleotide substrate, and β,γ-methylene-ATP, β,γ-imido-ATP, adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), P 1 ,P 5 -di(adenosine-5') pentaphosphate, and free ATP 4- are potent inhibitors of the reaction

Substrate-modulated unwinding of transmembrane helices in the NSS transporter LeuT.

Science.gov (United States)

Merkle, Patrick S; Gotfryd, Kamil; Cuendet, Michel A; Leth-Espensen, Katrine Z; Gether, Ulrik; Loland, Claus J; Rand, Kasper D

2018-05-01

LeuT, a prokaryotic member of the neurotransmitter:sodium symporter (NSS) family, is an established structural model for mammalian NSS counterparts. We investigate the substrate translocation mechanism of LeuT by measuring the solution-phase structural dynamics of the transporter in distinct functional states by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS). Our HDX-MS data pinpoint LeuT segments involved in substrate transport and reveal for the first time a comprehensive and detailed view of the dynamics associated with transition of the transporter between outward- and inward-facing configurations in a Na + - and K + -dependent manner. The results suggest that partial unwinding of transmembrane helices 1/5/6/7 drives LeuT from a substrate-bound, outward-facing occluded conformation toward an inward-facing open state. These hitherto unknown, large-scale conformational changes in functionally important transmembrane segments, observed for LeuT in detergent-solubilized form and when embedded in a native-like phospholipid bilayer, could be of physiological relevance for the translocation process.

The orbital ground state of the azide-substrate complex of human heme oxygenase is an indicator of distal H-bonding: Implications for the enzyme mechanism‡

OpenAIRE

Ogura, Hiroshi; Evans, John P.; Peng, Dungeng; Satterlee, James D.; de Montellano, Paul R. Ortiz; Mar, Gerd N. La

2009-01-01

The active site electronic structure of the azide complex of substrate-bound human heme oxygenase-1, (hHO) has been investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy to shed light on the orbital/spin ground state as an indicator of the unique distal pocket environment of the enzyme. 2D 1H NMR assignments of the substrate and substrate-contact residue signals reveal a pattern of substrate methyl contact shifts, that places the lone iron π-spin in the dxz orbital, rather than the dyz orbital found in the cya...

A quantitative ELISA procedure for the measurement of membrane-bound platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG).

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, D M; Lynch, J M; Howe, S E

1985-03-01

A quantitative ELISA assay for the measurement of in vivo bound platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) using intact patient platelets is presented. The assay requires quantitation and standardization of the number of platelets bound to microtiter plate wells and an absorbance curve using quantitated IgG standards. Platelet-bound IgG was measured using an F(ab')2 peroxidase labeled anti-human IgG and o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPD) as the substrate. Using this assay, PAIgG for normal individuals was 2.8 +/- 1.6 fg/platelet (mean +/- 1 SD; n = 30). Increased levels were found in 28 of 30 patients with clinical autoimmune thrombocytopenia (ATP) with a range of 7.0-80 fg/platelet. Normal PAIgG levels were found in 26 of 30 patients with nonimmune thrombocytopenia. In the sample population studied, the PAIgG assay showed a sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 90%, a positive predictive value of 0.90, and a negative predictive value of 0.93. The procedure is highly reproducible (CV = 6.8%) and useful in evaluating patients with suspected immune mediated thrombocytopenia.

Continuous adsorption and biotransformation of micropollutants by granular activated carbon-bound laccase in a packed-bed enzyme reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Luong N; Hai, Faisal I; Dosseto, Anthony; Richardson, Christopher; Price, William E; Nghiem, Long D

2016-06-01

Laccase was immobilized on granular activated carbon (GAC) and the resulting GAC-bound laccase was used to degrade four micropollutants in a packed-bed column. Compared to the free enzyme, the immobilized laccase showed high residual activities over a broad range of pH and temperature. The GAC-bound laccase efficiently removed four micropollutants, namely, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, diclofenac and bisphenol A, commonly detected in raw wastewater and wastewater-impacted water sources. Mass balance analysis showed that these micropollutants were enzymatically degraded following adsorption onto GAC. Higher degradation efficiency of micropollutants by the immobilized compared to free laccase was possibly due to better electron transfer between laccase and substrate molecules once they have adsorbed onto the GAC surface. Results here highlight the complementary effects of adsorption and enzymatic degradation on micropollutant removal by GAC-bound laccase. Indeed laccase-immobilized GAC outperformed regular GAC during continuous operation of packed-bed columns over two months (a throughput of 12,000 bed volumes). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Labeling schemes for bounded degree graphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adjiashvili, David; Rotbart, Noy Galil

2014-01-01

We investigate adjacency labeling schemes for graphs of bounded degree Δ = O(1). In particular, we present an optimal (up to an additive constant) log n + O(1) adjacency labeling scheme for bounded degree trees. The latter scheme is derived from a labeling scheme for bounded degree outerplanar...... graphs. Our results complement a similar bound recently obtained for bounded depth trees [Fraigniaud and Korman, SODA 2010], and may provide new insights for closing the long standing gap for adjacency in trees [Alstrup and Rauhe, FOCS 2002]. We also provide improved labeling schemes for bounded degree...

Casein kinase II protein kinase is bound to lamina-matrix and phosphorylates lamin-like protein in isolated pea nuclei

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H.; Roux, S. J.

1992-01-01

A casein kinase II (CK II)-like protein kinase was identified and partially isolated from a purified envelope-matrix fraction of pea (Pisum sativum L.) nuclei. When [gamma-32P]ATP was directly added to the envelope-matrix preparation, the three most heavily labeled protein bands had molecular masses near 71, 48, and 46 kDa. Protein kinases were removed from the preparation by sequential extraction with Triton X-100, EGTA, 0.3 M NaCl, and a pH 10.5 buffer, but an active kinase still remained bound to the remaining lamina-matrix fraction after these treatments. This kinase had properties resembling CK II kinases previously characterized from animal and plant sources: it preferred casein as an artificial substrate, could use GTP as efficiently as ATP as the phosphoryl donor, was stimulated by spermine, was calcium independent, and had a catalytic subunit of 36 kDa. Some animal and plant CK II kinases have regulatory subunits near 29 kDa, and a lamina-matrix-bound protein of this molecular mass was recognized on immunoblot by anti-Drosophila CK II polyclonal antibodies. Also found associated with the envelope-matrix fraction of pea nuclei were p34cdc2-like and Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases, but their properties could not account for the protein kinase activity bound to the lamina. The 71-kDa substrate of the CK II-like kinase was lamin A-like, both in its molecular mass and in its cross-reactivity with anti-intermediate filament antibodies. Lamin phosphorylation is considered a crucial early step in the entry of cells into mitosis, so lamina-bound CK II kinases may be important control points for cellular proliferation.

Sites of reactive oxygen species generation by mitochondria oxidizing different substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quinlan, Casey L; Perevoshchikova, IrinaV; Hey-Mogensen, Martin

2013-01-01

a variety of conventional substrates in the absence of added inhibitors: succinate; glycerol 3-phosphate; palmitoylcarnitine plus carnitine; or glutamate plus malate. In all cases, the sum of the estimated rates accounted fully for the measured overall rates. There were two striking results. First...

VORONOI DIAGRAMS WITHOUT BOUNDING BOXES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. T. K. Sang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We present a technique for presenting geographic data in Voronoi diagrams without having to specify a bounding box. The method restricts Voronoi cells to points within a user-defined distance of the data points. The mathematical foundation of the approach is presented as well. The cell clipping method is particularly useful for presenting geographic data that is spread in an irregular way over a map, as for example the Dutch dialect data displayed in Figure 2. The automatic generation of reasonable cell boundaries also makes redundant a frequently used solution to this problem that requires data owners to specify region boundaries, as in Goebl (2010 and Nerbonne et al (2011.

Ultrasound-Enhanced Biogas Production from Different Substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

González-Fernández, Cristina; Timmers, Rudolphus Antonius; Ruiz, Begona

2015-01-01

Among the biofuel production processes using different substrates, the biogas generation process is one of the simplest. Compared with bioethanol or biodiesel production processes, anaerobic digestion is a process where all the organic matter (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) can be biologically...... production. The present chapter is dedicated to providing a review of ultrasound pretreatment applied to different substrates (lignocelullosic materials, manures, sludge and microalgae). The advantages and constraints, that ultrasound pretreatment exhibit towards biogas production, are discussed and compared...

Sensor Technologies on Flexible Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Koehne, Jessica

2016-01-01

NASA Ames has developed sensor technologies on flexible substrates integrated into textiles for personalized environment monitoring and human performance evaluation. Current technologies include chemical sensing for gas leak and event monitoring and biological sensors for human health and performance monitoring. Targeted integration include next generation EVA suits and flexible habitats.

Scattering by bound nucleons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tezuka, Hirokazu.

1984-10-01

Scattering of a particle by bound nucleons is discussed. Effects of nucleons that are bound in a nucleus are taken as a structure function. The way how to calculate the structure function is given. (author)

Bounds for Asian basket options

Science.gov (United States)

Deelstra, Griselda; Diallo, Ibrahima; Vanmaele, Michèle

2008-09-01

In this paper we propose pricing bounds for European-style discrete arithmetic Asian basket options in a Black and Scholes framework. We start from methods used for basket options and Asian options. First, we use the general approach for deriving upper and lower bounds for stop-loss premia of sums of non-independent random variables as in Kaas et al. [Upper and lower bounds for sums of random variables, Insurance Math. Econom. 27 (2000) 151-168] or Dhaene et al. [The concept of comonotonicity in actuarial science and finance: theory, Insurance Math. Econom. 31(1) (2002) 3-33]. We generalize the methods in Deelstra et al. [Pricing of arithmetic basket options by conditioning, Insurance Math. Econom. 34 (2004) 55-57] and Vanmaele et al. [Bounds for the price of discrete sampled arithmetic Asian options, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 185(1) (2006) 51-90]. Afterwards we show how to derive an analytical closed-form expression for a lower bound in the non-comonotonic case. Finally, we derive upper bounds for Asian basket options by applying techniques as in Thompson [Fast narrow bounds on the value of Asian options, Working Paper, University of Cambridge, 1999] and Lord [Partially exact and bounded approximations for arithmetic Asian options, J. Comput. Finance 10 (2) (2006) 1-52]. Numerical results are included and on the basis of our numerical tests, we explain which method we recommend depending on moneyness and time-to-maturity.

An improved nonparametric lower bound of species richness via a modified good-turing frequency formula.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Chun-Huo; Wang, Yi-Ting; Walther, Bruno A; Chao, Anne

2014-09-01

It is difficult to accurately estimate species richness if there are many almost undetectable species in a hyper-diverse community. Practically, an accurate lower bound for species richness is preferable to an inaccurate point estimator. The traditional nonparametric lower bound developed by Chao (1984, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 11, 265-270) for individual-based abundance data uses only the information on the rarest species (the numbers of singletons and doubletons) to estimate the number of undetected species in samples. Applying a modified Good-Turing frequency formula, we derive an approximate formula for the first-order bias of this traditional lower bound. The approximate bias is estimated by using additional information (namely, the numbers of tripletons and quadrupletons). This approximate bias can be corrected, and an improved lower bound is thus obtained. The proposed lower bound is nonparametric in the sense that it is universally valid for any species abundance distribution. A similar type of improved lower bound can be derived for incidence data. We test our proposed lower bounds on simulated data sets generated from various species abundance models. Simulation results show that the proposed lower bounds always reduce bias over the traditional lower bounds and improve accuracy (as measured by mean squared error) when the heterogeneity of species abundances is relatively high. We also apply the proposed new lower bounds to real data for illustration and for comparisons with previously developed estimators. © 2014, The International Biometric Society.

Strain Multiplexed Metasurface Holograms on a Stretchable Substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Malek, Stephanie C; Ee, Ho-Seok; Agarwal, Ritesh

2017-06-14

We demonstrate reconfigurable phase-only computer-generated metasurface holograms with up to three image planes operating in the visible regime fabricated with gold nanorods on a stretchable polydimethylsiloxane substrate. Stretching the substrate enlarges the hologram image and changes the location of the image plane. Upon stretching, these devices can switch the displayed holographic image between multiple distinct images. This work opens up the possibilities for stretchable metasurface holograms as flat devices for dynamically reconfigurable optical communication and display. It also confirms that metasurfaces on stretchable substrates can serve as platform for a variety of reconfigurable optical devices.

A suitable material for the substrate of micro-strip gas chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Minglong; Xia Yiben; Wang Linjun; Zhang Weili

2004-01-01

Micro-strip Gas Chamber (MSGC) used as a position sensitive detector has perfect performances in the detection of nuclear irradiations. However, it encounters a severe problem, that is, positive charge accumulation which can be avoided by reducing the surface resistivity of insulating substrate. So, diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is coated on D263 glass to modify its electrical properties as substrate for MSGC. Raman spectroscopy demonstrates that DLC film is of sp 3 (σ bounding) and sp 2 bonding (π bonding), and therefore it is a type of electronically conducting material. It also reveals that the film deposited on D263 glass possesses very large of sp 3 content and consequently is a high quality DLC film. I-V plots indicate that samples with DLC film enjoy very steady and suitable resistivities in the range of 10 9 -10 12 Ω·cm. C-F characteristics also show that samples coated by DLC film have low and stable capacitance with frequency. These excellent performances of the new material, DLC film/D263 glass, meet the optimum requirements of MSGC. DLC film/D263 glass used as the substrate of MSGC should effectively avoid the charge pile-up effect and substrate instability and then improve its performances

Cell-Wall-Bound Proteinase of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis ACA-DC 178: Characterization and Specificity for β-Casein

Science.gov (United States)

Tsakalidou, E.; Anastasiou, R.; Vandenberghe, I.; van Beeumen, J.; Kalantzopoulos, G.

1999-01-01

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis ACA-DC 178, which was isolated from Greek Kasseri cheese, produces a cell-wall-bound proteinase. The proteinase was removed from the cell envelope by washing the cells with a Ca2+-free buffer. The crude proteinase extract shows its highest activity at pH 6.0 and 40°C. It is inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, showing that the enzyme is a serine-type proteinase. Considering the substrate specificity, the enzyme is similar to the lactococcal PI-type proteinases, since it hydrolyzes β-casein mainly and α- and κ-caseins to a much lesser extent. The cell-wall-bound proteinase from L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis ACA-DC 178 liberates four main peptides from β-casein, which have been identified. PMID:10223997

Modeling Substrate Utilization, Metabolite Production, and Uranium Immobilization in Shewanella oneidensis Biofilms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryan S. Renslow

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, we developed a two-dimensional mathematical model to predict substrate utilization and metabolite production rates in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 biofilm in the presence and absence of uranium (U. In our model, lactate and fumarate are used as the electron donor and the electron acceptor, respectively. The model includes the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS. The EPS bound to the cell surface and distributed in the biofilm were considered bound EPS (bEPS and loosely associated EPS (laEPS, respectively. COMSOL® Multiphysics finite element analysis software was used to solve the model numerically (model file provided in the Supplementary Material. The input variables of the model were the lactate, fumarate, cell, and EPS concentrations, half saturation constant for fumarate, and diffusion coefficients of the substrates and metabolites. To estimate unknown parameters and calibrate the model, we used a custom designed biofilm reactor placed inside a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR microimaging and spectroscopy system and measured substrate utilization and metabolite production rates. From these data we estimated the yield coefficients, maximum substrate utilization rate, half saturation constant for lactate, stoichiometric ratio of fumarate and acetate to lactate and stoichiometric ratio of succinate to fumarate. These parameters are critical to predicting the activity of biofilms and are not available in the literature. Lastly, the model was used to predict uranium immobilization in S. oneidensis MR-1 biofilms by considering reduction and adsorption processes in the cells and in the EPS. We found that the majority of immobilization was due to cells, and that EPS was less efficient at immobilizing U. Furthermore, most of the immobilization occurred within the top 10 μm of the biofilm. To the best of our knowledge, this research is one of the first biofilm immobilization mathematical models based on experimental

Anaerobic solid state fermentation of cellulosic substrates with possible application to cellulase production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vandevoorde, L; Verstraete, W

1987-08-01

A solid state fermentation process was developed for the conversion of straw and cellulose under anaerobic conditions by a mixed culture of cellulolytic and methanogenic organisms. The bioconversion rate and efficiency were compared under mesophilic (35/sup 0/C) and thermophilic (55/sup 0/C) conditions. Cellulolytic activity was assayed in terms of sugar and overall soluble organic matter (chemical oxygen demand, COD) production. Maximum conversion rates were obtained under thermophilic conditions, i.e. 8.4 g and 14.2 g COD/kg.d, respectively, when wheat straw and cellulose were used as substrates. The cellulolytic activity of the reactor contents (23% dry matter), measured under substrate excess conditions, amounted to 50 g COD/kg.d. As a comparison, the activity of rumen contents (15 % dry matter) measured by the same assay amounted to 150 g COD/kg . d. The anaerobic cellulases appeared to be substrate bound. This and the relative low activity levels attained, limit the perspectives of producing cellulase enzymes by this type of process.

Higgs boson mass bounds in the presence of a heavy fourth quark family

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulava, John [European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Gerhold, Philipp; Kallarackal, Jim; Nagy, Attila [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik; Jansen, Karl [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC

2013-01-15

We present Higgs boson mass bounds in a lattice regularization allowing thus for non-perturbative investigations. In particular, we employ a lattice modified chiral invariant Higgs-Yukawa model using the overlap operator. We show results for the upper and lower Higgs boson mass bounds in the presence of a heavy mass-degenerate quark doublet with masses ranging up to 700 GeV. We perform infinite volume extrapolations in most cases, and examine several values of the lattice cutoff. Furthermore, we argue that the lower Higgs boson mass bound is stable with respect to the addition of higher dimensional operators to the scalar field potential. Our results have severe consequences for the phenomenology of a fourth generation of quarks if a light Higgs boson is discovered at the LHC.

Higgs boson mass bounds in the presence of a heavy fourth quark family

CERN Document Server

Bulava, John; Nagy, Attila; Kallarackal, Jim; Jansen, Karl

2012-01-01

We present Higgs boson mass bounds in a lattice regularization allowing thus for non-perturbative investigations. In particular, we employ a lattice modified chiral invariant Higgs-Yukawa model using the overlap operator. We show results for the upper and lower Higgs boson mass bounds in the presence of a heavy mass-degenerate quark doublet with masses ranging up to 700 GeV. We perform infinite volume extrapolations in most cases, and examine several values of the lattice cutoff. Furthermore, we argue that the lower Higgs boson mass bound is stable with respect to the addition of higher dimensional operators to the scalar field potential. Our results have severe consequences for the phenomenology of a fourth generation of quarks if a light Higgs boson is discovered at the LHC.

Secretion of non-cell-bound phytase by the yeast Pichia kudriavzevii TY13.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellström, A; Qvirist, L; Svanberg, U; Veide Vilg, J; Andlid, T

2015-05-01

Mineral deficiencies cause several health problems in the world, especially for populations consuming cereal-based diets rich in the anti-nutrient phytate. Our aim was to characterize the phytate-degrading capacity of the yeast Pichia kudriavzevii TY13 and its secretion of phytase. The phytase activity in cell-free supernatants from cultures with 100% intact cells was 35-190 mU ml(-1) depending on the media. The Km was 0.28 mmol l(-1) and the specific phytase activity 0.32 U mg(-1) total protein. The phytase activity and secretion of extracellular non-cell-bound phytase was affected by the medium phosphate concentrations. Further, addition of yeast extract had a clearly inducing effect, resulting in over 60% of the cultures total phytase activity as non-cell-bound. Our study reveals that it is possible to achieve high extracellular phytase activity from the yeast P. kudriavzevii TY13 by proper composition of the growth medium. TY13 could be a promising future starter culture for fermented foods with improved mineral bioavailability. Using strains that secrete phytase to the food matrix may significantly improve the phytate degradation by facilitating the enzyme-to-substrate interaction. The secreted non-cell-bound phytase activities by TY13 could further be advantageous in industrial production of phytase. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Substrate sequence selectivity of APOBEC3A implicates intra-DNA interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvas, Tania V; Hou, Shurong; Myint, Wazo; Nalivaika, Ellen; Somasundaran, Mohan; Kelch, Brian A; Matsuo, Hiroshi; Kurt Yilmaz, Nese; Schiffer, Celia A

2018-05-14

The APOBEC3 (A3) family of human cytidine deaminases is renowned for providing a first line of defense against many exogenous and endogenous retroviruses. However, the ability of these proteins to deaminate deoxycytidines in ssDNA makes A3s a double-edged sword. When overexpressed, A3s can mutate endogenous genomic DNA resulting in a variety of cancers. Although the sequence context for mutating DNA varies among A3s, the mechanism for substrate sequence specificity is not well understood. To characterize substrate specificity of A3A, a systematic approach was used to quantify the affinity for substrate as a function of sequence context, length, secondary structure, and solution pH. We identified the A3A ssDNA binding motif as (T/C)TC(A/G), which correlated with enzymatic activity. We also validated that A3A binds RNA in a sequence specific manner. A3A bound tighter to substrate binding motif within a hairpin loop compared to linear oligonucleotide, suggesting A3A affinity is modulated by substrate structure. Based on these findings and previously published A3A-ssDNA co-crystal structures, we propose a new model with intra-DNA interactions for the molecular mechanism underlying A3A sequence preference. Overall, the sequence and structural preferences identified for A3A leads to a new paradigm for identifying A3A's involvement in mutation of endogenous or exogenous DNA.

Quantitative Photochemical Immobilization of Biomolecules on Planar and Corrugated Substrates: A Versatile Strategy for Creating Functional Biointerfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Teresa A.; Herman, Christine T.; Limpoco, Francis T.; Michael, Madeline C.; Potts, Gregory K.; Bailey, Ryan C.

2014-01-01

Methods for the generation of substrates presenting biomolecules in a spatially controlled manner are enabling tools for applications in biosensor systems, microarray technologies, fundamental biological studies and biointerface science. We have implemented a method to create biomolecular patterns by using light to control the direct covalent immobilization of biomolecules onto benzophenone-modified glass substrates. We have generated substrates presenting up to three different biomolecules patterned in sequence, and demonstrate biomolecular photopatterning on corrugated substrates. The chemistry of the underlying monolayer was optimized to incorporate poly(ethylene glycol) to enable adhesive cell adhesion onto patterned extracellular matrix proteins. Substrates were characterized with contact angle goniometry, AFM, and immunofluorescence microscopy. Importantly, radioimmunoassays were performed to quantify the site density of immobilized biomolecules on photopatterned substrates. Retention of function of photopatterned proteins was demonstrated both by native ligand recognition and cell adhesion to photopatterned substrates, revealing that substrates generated with this method are suitable for probing specific cell receptor-ligand interactions. This molecularly general photochemical patterning method is an enabling tool that will allow the creation of substrates presenting both biochemical and topographical variation, which is an important feature of many native biointerfaces. PMID:21793535

Calibrated kallikrein generation in human plasma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Biltoft, D; Sidelmann, J J; Olsen, L F

2016-01-01

generation method as a template. RESULTS: A suitable kallikrein specific fluorogenic substrate was identified (KM=0.91mM, kcat=19s(-1)), and kallikrein generation could be measured in undiluted plasma when silica was added as activator. Disturbing effects, including substrate depletion and the inner......-filter effect, however, affected the signal. These problems were corrected for by external calibration with α2-macroglobulin-kallikrein complexes. Selectivity studies of the substrate, experiments with FXII and PK depleted plasmas, and plasma with high or low complement C1-esterase inhibitor activity indicated...

Pro- and non-coagulant forms of non-cell-bound tissue factor in vivo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sturk-Maquelin, K. N.; Nieuwland, R.; Romijn, F. P. H. T. M.; Eijsman, L.; Hack, C. E.; Sturk, A.

2003-01-01

Background: Concentrations of non-cell-bound (NCB; soluble) tissue factor (TF) are elevated in blood collecting in the pericardial cavity of patients during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Previously, we reported microparticles supporting thrombin generation in such blood samples. In this study we

Metabolism of organically bound tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travis, C.C.

1984-01-01

The classic methodology for estimating dose to man from environmental tritium ignores the fact that organically bound tritium in foodstuffs may be directly assimilated in the bound compartment of tissues without previous oxidation. We propose a four-compartment model consisting of a free body water compartment, two organic compartments, and a small, rapidly metabolizing compartment. The utility of this model lies in the ability to input organically bound tritium in foodstuffs directly into the organic compartments of the model. We found that organically bound tritium in foodstuffs can increase cumulative total body dose by a factor of 1.7 to 4.5 times the free body water dose alone, depending on the bound-to-loose ratio of tritium in the diet. Model predictions are compared with empirical measurements of tritium in human urine and tissue samples, and appear to be in close agreement. 10 references, 4 figures, 3 tables

Bound states in string nets

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Marc Daniel; Dusuel, Sébastien; Vidal, Julien

2016-11-01

We discuss the emergence of bound states in the low-energy spectrum of the string-net Hamiltonian in the presence of a string tension. In the ladder geometry, we show that a single bound state arises either for a finite tension or in the zero-tension limit depending on the theory considered. In the latter case, we perturbatively compute the binding energy as a function of the total quantum dimension. We also address this issue in the honeycomb lattice where the number of bound states in the topological phase depends on the total quantum dimension. Finally, the internal structure of these bound states is analyzed in the zero-tension limit.

Bounding approaches to system identification

CERN Document Server

Norton, John; Piet-Lahanier, Hélène; Walter, Éric

1996-01-01

In response to the growing interest in bounding error approaches, the editors of this volume offer the first collection of papers to describe advances in techniques and applications of bounding of the parameters, or state variables, of uncertain dynamical systems. Contributors explore the application of the bounding approach as an alternative to the probabilistic analysis of such systems, relating its importance to robust control-system design.

Bounded Intention Planning Revisited

OpenAIRE

Sievers Silvan; Wehrle Martin; Helmert Malte

2014-01-01

Bounded intention planning provides a pruning technique for optimal planning that has been proposed several years ago. In addition partial order reduction techniques based on stubborn sets have recently been investigated for this purpose. In this paper we revisit bounded intention planning in the view of stubborn sets.

Bounded Gaussian process regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Bjørn Sand; Nielsen, Jens Brehm; Larsen, Jan

2013-01-01

We extend the Gaussian process (GP) framework for bounded regression by introducing two bounded likelihood functions that model the noise on the dependent variable explicitly. This is fundamentally different from the implicit noise assumption in the previously suggested warped GP framework. We...... with the proposed explicit noise-model extension....

A symmetric Roos bound for linear codes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duursma, I.M.; Pellikaan, G.R.

2006-01-01

The van Lint–Wilson AB-method yields a short proof of the Roos bound for the minimum distance of a cyclic code. We use the AB-method to obtain a different bound for the weights of a linear code. In contrast to the Roos bound, the role of the codes A and B in our bound is symmetric. We use the bound

Bounded Tamper Resilience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgård, Ivan Bjerre; Faust, Sebastian; Mukherjee, Pratyay

2013-01-01

Related key attacks (RKAs) are powerful cryptanalytic attacks where an adversary can change the secret key and observe the effect of such changes at the output. The state of the art in RKA security protects against an a-priori unbounded number of certain algebraic induced key relations, e.......g., affine functions or polynomials of bounded degree. In this work, we show that it is possible to go beyond the algebraic barrier and achieve security against arbitrary key relations, by restricting the number of tampering queries the adversary is allowed to ask for. The latter restriction is necessary......-protocols (including the Okamoto scheme, for instance) are secure even if the adversary can arbitrarily tamper with the prover’s state a bounded number of times and obtain some bounded amount of leakage. Interestingly, for the Okamoto scheme we can allow also independent tampering with the public parameters. We show...

P2-16: Dual-Bound Model and the Role of Time Bound in Perceptual Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daeseob Lim

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The diffusion model (DM encapsulates the dynamics of perceptual decision within a ‘diffusion field’ that is defined by a basis with sensory-evidence (SE and time vectors. At the core of the DM, it assumes that a decision is not made until an evidence particle drifts in the diffusion field and eventually hits one of the two pre-fixed bounds defined in the SE axis. This assumption dictates when and which choice is made by referring to when and which bound will be hit by the evidence particle. What if urgency pressures the decision system to make a choice even when the evidence particle has yet hit the SE bound? Previous modeling attempts at coping with time pressure, despite differences in detail, all manipulated the coordinate of SE bounds. Here, we offer a novel solution by adopting another bound on the time axis. This ‘dual-bound’ model (DBM posits that decisions can also be made when the evidence particle hits a time bound, which is determined on a trial-by-trial basis by a ‘perceived time interval’ – how long the system can stay in the ‘diffusion’ field. The classic single-bound model (SBM exhibited systematic errors in predicting both the reaction time distributions and the time-varying bias in choice. Those errors were not corrected by previously proposed variants of the SBM until the time bound was introduced. The validity of the DBM was further supported by the strong across-individual correlation between observed precision of interval timing and the predicted trial-by-trial variability of the time bound.

SLITHER: a web server for generating contiguous conformations of substrate molecules entering into deep active sites of proteins or migrating through channels in membrane transporters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Po-Hsien; Kuo, Kuei-Ling; Chu, Pei-Ying; Liu, Eric M; Lin, Jung-Hsin

2009-07-01

Many proteins use a long channel to guide the substrate or ligand molecules into the well-defined active sites for catalytic reactions or for switching molecular states. In addition, substrates of membrane transporters can migrate to another side of cellular compartment by means of certain selective mechanisms. SLITHER (http://bioinfo.mc.ntu.edu.tw/slither/or http://slither.rcas.sinica.edu.tw/) is a web server that can generate contiguous conformations of a molecule along a curved tunnel inside a protein, and the binding free energy profile along the predicted channel pathway. SLITHER adopts an iterative docking scheme, which combines with a puddle-skimming procedure, i.e. repeatedly elevating the potential energies of the identified global minima, thereby determines the contiguous binding modes of substrates inside the protein. In contrast to some programs that are widely used to determine the geometric dimensions in the ion channels, SLITHER can be applied to predict whether a substrate molecule can crawl through an inner channel or a half-channel of proteins across surmountable energy barriers. Besides, SLITHER also provides the list of the pore-facing residues, which can be directly compared with many genetic diseases. Finally, the adjacent binding poses determined by SLITHER can also be used for fragment-based drug design.

Preparation and surface characterization of plasma-treated and biomolecular-micropatterned polymer substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Langowski, Bryan Alfred

A micropatterning process creates distinct microscale domains on substrate surfaces that differ from the surfaces' original chemical/physical properties. Numerous micropatterning methods exist, each having relative advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, ease, reproducibility, and versatility. Polymeric surfaces micropatterned with biomolecules have many applications, but are specifically utilized in tissue engineering as cell scaffolds that attempt to controlled tissue generation in vivo and ex vivo. As the physical and chemical cues presented by micropatterned substrates control resulting cellular behavior, characterization of these cues via surface-sensitive analytical techniques is essential in developing cell scaffolds that mimic complex in vivo physicochemical environments. The initial focus of this thesis is the chemical and physical characterization of plasma-treated, microcontact-printed (muCP) polymeric substrates used to direct nerve cell behavior. Unmodified and oxygen plasma-treated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates were analyzed by surface sensitive techniques to monitor plasma-induced chemical and physical modifications. Additionally, protein-micropattern homogeneity and size were microscopically evaluated. Lastly, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps and contaminated PMMA substrates were characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic methods to identify a contamination source during microcontact printing. The final focus of this thesis is the development of microscale plasma-initiated patterning (muPIP) as a versatile, reproducible micropatterning method. Using muPIP, polymeric substrates were micropatterned with several biologically relevant inks. Polymeric substrates were characterized following muPIP by surface-sensitive techniques to identify the technique's underlying physical and chemical bases. In addition, neural stem cell response to muPIP-generated laminin micropatterns was microscopically and biologically evaluated

Catchment source contributions to the sediment-bound organic matter degrading salmonid spawning gravels in a lowland river, southern England

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collins, A.L., E-mail: adrian.collins@adas.co.uk [ADAS, Pendeford House, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton WV9 5AP (United Kingdom); Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Williams, L.J.; Zhang, Y.S. [ADAS, Pendeford House, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton WV9 5AP (United Kingdom); Marius, M. [Civil Engineering and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S017 1BJ (United Kingdom); Dungait, J.A.J. [Department of Sustainable Systems and Grassland Science, Rothamsted Research—North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB (United Kingdom); Smallman, D.J. [Civil Engineering and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S017 1BJ (United Kingdom); Dixon, E.R. [Department of Sustainable Systems and Grassland Science, Rothamsted Research—North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2SB (United Kingdom); Stringfellow, A. [Civil Engineering and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton S017 1BJ (United Kingdom); Sear, D.A. [Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Jones, J.I. [School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Naden, P.S. [CEH Wallingford, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB (United Kingdom)

2013-07-01

The ingress of particulate material into freshwater spawning substrates is thought to be contributing to the declining success of salmonids reported over recent years for many rivers. Accordingly, the need for reliable information on the key sources of the sediment problem has progressed up the management agenda. Whilst previous work has focussed on apportioning the sources of minerogenic fine sediment degrading spawning habitats, there remains a need to develop procedures for generating corresponding information for the potentially harmful sediment-bound organic matter that represents an overlooked component of interstitial sediment. A source tracing procedure based on composite signatures combining bulk stable {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N isotope values with organic molecular structures detected using near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was therefore used to assess the primary sources of sediment-bound organic matter sampled from artificial spawning redds. Composite signatures were selected using a combination of the Kruskal–Wallis H-test, principal component analysis and GA-driven discriminant function analysis. Interstitial sediment samples were collected using time-integrating basket traps which were inserted at the start of the salmonid spawning season and extracted in conjunction with critical phases of fish development (eyeing, hatch, emergence, late spawning). Over the duration of these four basket extractions, the overall relative frequency-weighted average median (± 95% confidence limits) source contributions to the interstitial sediment-bound organic matter were estimated to be in the order: instream decaying vegetation (39 ± < 1%; full range 0–77%); damaged road verges (28 ± < 1%; full range 0–77%); septic tanks (22 ± < 1%; full range 0–50%), and; farm yard manures/slurries (11 ± < 1%; full range 0–61%). The reported procedure provides a promising basis for understanding the key sources of interstitial sediment-bound organic matter

Setting Optimal Bounds on Risk in Asset Allocation - a Convex Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James E. Falk

2002-10-01

Full Text Available The 'Portfolio Selection Problem' is traditionally viewed as selecting a mix of investment opportunities that maximizes the expected return subject to a bound on risk. However, in reality, portfolios are made up of a few 'asset classes' that consist of similar opportunities. The asset classes are managed by individual `sub-managers', under guidelines set by an overall portfolio manager. Once a benchmark (the `strategic' allocation has been set, an overall manager may choose to allow the sub-managers some latitude in which opportunities make up the classes. He may choose some overall bound on risk (as measured by the variance and wish to set bounds that constrain the submanagers. Mathematically we show that the problem is equivalent to finding a hyper-rectangle of maximal volume within an ellipsoid. It is a convex program, albeit with potentially a large number of constraints. We suggest a cutting plane algorithm to solve the problem and include computational results on a set of randomly generated problems as well as a real-world problem taken from the literature.

Performance of microbial fuel cell double chamber using mozzarella cheese whey substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Darmawan, M. D.; Hawa, L. C.; Argo, B. D.

2018-03-01

Nowadays the availability of electric energy is decreasing, hence there is a need for innovation of electric energy producer alternative; one of them is microbial fuel cell (MFC). MFC is a bioelectrochemical system generated by bacterial metabolism that utilizes organic substrate. One of the substrates that can be used is whey, a waste generated from cheese production. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the power of potential current and voltage generated from the use of whey cheese as a substrate for bacterial metabolism. In this research, double chamber system was used in microbial fuel cell reactor by using cheese whey as substrate at anode and potassium permanganate as cathode and utilizing membrane nafion 212 as membrane of proton exchange. The variable of experiment was bacteria type. The types of bacteria used in this study were Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophillus and Lactobacillus casei. While the operating time used was 100 hours. The highest current produced was 74.6 μA and the highest voltage was 529.3 mV produced by Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacteria. In this study, it was also found that the death phase of the three bacteria was at 70-80 hours.

Instanton bound states in ABJM theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hatsuda, Yasuyuki [DESY Hamburg (Germany). Theory Group; Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan). Dept. of Physics; Moriyama, Sanefumi [Nagoya Univ. (Japan). Kobayashi Maskawa Inst. and Graduate School of Mathematics; Okuyama, Kazumi [Shinshu Univ., Matsumoto, Nagano (Japan). Dept. of Physics

2013-06-15

The partition function of the ABJM theory receives non-perturbative corrections due to instanton effects. We study these non-perturbative corrections, including bound states of worldsheet instantons and membrane instantons, in the Fermi-gas approach. We require that the total non-perturbative correction should be always finite for arbitrary Chern-Simons level. This finiteness is realized quite non-trivially because each bound state contribution naively diverges at some levels. The poles of each contribution should be canceled out in total. We use this pole cancellation mechanism to find unknown bound state corrections from known ones. We conjecture a general expression of the bound state contribution. Summing up all the bound state contributions, we find that the effect of bound states is simply incorporated into the worldsheet instanton correction by a redefinition of the chemical potential in the Fermi-gas system. Analytic expressions of the 3- and 4-membrane instanton corrections are also proposed.

DNA/RNA hybrid substrates modulate the catalytic activity of purified AID.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdouni, Hala S; King, Justin J; Ghorbani, Atefeh; Fifield, Heather; Berghuis, Lesley; Larijani, Mani

2018-01-01

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) converts cytidine to uridine at Immunoglobulin (Ig) loci, initiating somatic hypermutation and class switching of antibodies. In vitro, AID acts on single stranded DNA (ssDNA), but neither double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) oligonucleotides nor RNA, and it is believed that transcription is the in vivo generator of ssDNA targeted by AID. It is also known that the Ig loci, particularly the switch (S) regions targeted by AID are rich in transcription-generated DNA/RNA hybrids. Here, we examined the binding and catalytic behavior of purified AID on DNA/RNA hybrid substrates bearing either random sequences or GC-rich sequences simulating Ig S regions. If substrates were made up of a random sequence, AID preferred substrates composed entirely of DNA over DNA/RNA hybrids. In contrast, if substrates were composed of S region sequences, AID preferred to mutate DNA/RNA hybrids over substrates composed entirely of DNA. Accordingly, AID exhibited a significantly higher affinity for binding DNA/RNA hybrid substrates composed specifically of S region sequences, than any other substrates composed of DNA. Thus, in the absence of any other cellular processes or factors, AID itself favors binding and mutating DNA/RNA hybrids composed of S region sequences. AID:DNA/RNA complex formation and supporting mutational analyses suggest that recognition of DNA/RNA hybrids is an inherent structural property of AID. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of the enzyme system for hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulose substrates; Optimering av enzymsystemet foer hydrolys av foerbehandlade lignocellulosa substrat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tjerneld, Folke [Lund univ., (Sweden). Dept. of Biochemistry

2000-06-01

comparisons before and after hydrolysis. For better interpretation of enzyme effects on substrates we have started studies with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) where we aim to study enzyme binding to the cellulose and lignin parts of the substrate. Studies of enzymatic hydrolysis of steam pretreated spruce have been done to clarify the reasons for the drastic reduction on hydrolysis rate in the later stage of hydrolysis. Results show that the hydrolysis rate for the enzymes CBHI and EGI is reduced to 10% of the initial rate already after 60 min. Additions of fresh enzymes to the hydrolysed substrate leads to increased hydrolysis rate. Our conclusion is that the enzymes become unproductively bound to the substrate during the course of hydrolysis which leads to reduction of the effective enzyme concentration. In studies of the synergy between CBHI and EGI we have observed that the synergy between the enzymes is increasing during the hydrolysis, which can be explained by the increased need for the exo-enzyme CBHI to have access to free cellulose chain ends which can be formed by the action of endo glucanase I. This points to the possibility to increase the hydrolysis rate by addition of extra endo glucanase during the later stages of the hydrolysis. The adsorption of the enzymes on the lignin is of importance since the pretreated substrate is a lignocellulose complex. A strong adsorption to the lignin may reduce the amount of enzymes available for cellulose hydrolysis, and can reduce the possibilities for enzyme recycling. Our studies show that the central enzyme CBHI is strongly adsorbed to alkali extracted lignin and that the binding kinetics are fast.

Upper bound for the length of commutative algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markova, Ol'ga V

2009-01-01

By the length of a finite system of generators for a finite-dimensional associative algebra over an arbitrary field one means the least positive integer k such that the words of length not exceeding k span this algebra (as a vector space). The maximum length for the systems of generators of an algebra is referred to as the length of the algebra. In the present paper, an upper bound for the length of a commutative algebra in terms of a function of two invariants of the algebra, the dimension and the maximal degree of the minimal polynomial for the elements of the algebra, is obtained. As a corollary, a formula for the length of the algebra of diagonal matrices over an arbitrary field is obtained. Bibliography: 8 titles.

Hierarchical order in wall-bounded shear turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbone, F.; Aubry, N.

1996-01-01

Since turbulence at realistic Reynolds numbers, such as those occurring in the atmosphere or in the ocean, involve a high number of modes that cannot be resolved computationally in the foreseeable future, there is a strong motivation for finding techniques which drastically decrease the number of such required modes, particularly under inhomogeneous conditions. The significance of this work is to show that wall-bounded shear turbulence, in its strongly inhomogeneous direction (normal to the wall), can be decomposed into one (or a few) space endash time mother mode(s), with each mother generating a whole family of modes by stretching symmetry. In other words, the generated modes are similar, dilated copies of their mother. In addition, we show that the nature of all previous modes strongly depends on the symmetry itself. These findings constitute the first scaling theory of inhomogeneous turbulence. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Career Development and Personal Functioning Differences between Work-Bound and Non-Work Bound Students

Science.gov (United States)

Creed, Peter A.; Patton, Wendy; Hood, Michelle

2010-01-01

We surveyed 506 Australian high school students on career development (exploration, planning, job-knowledge, decision-making, indecision), personal functioning (well-being, self-esteem, life satisfaction, school satisfaction) and control variables (parent education, school achievement), and tested differences among work-bound, college-bound and…

A Branch and Bound Algorithm for a Class of Biobjective Mixed Integer Programs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stidsen, Thomas Riis; Andersen, Kim Allan; Dammann, Bernd

2014-01-01

there is the complicating factor that some of the variables are required to be integral. The resulting class of problems is named multiobjective mixed integer programming (MOMIP) problems. Solving these kinds of optimization problems exactly requires a method that can generate the whole set of nondominated points (the...... Pareto-optimal front). In this paper, we first give a survey of the newly developed branch and bound methods for solving MOMIP problems. After that, we propose a new branch and bound method for solving a subclass of MOMIP problems, where only two objectives are allowed, the integer variables are binary......, and one of the two objectives has only integer variables. The proposed method is able to find the full set of nondominated points. It is tested on a large number of problem instances, from six different classes of MOMIP problems. The results reveal that the developed biobjective branch and bound method...

Nanoscale observation of local bound charges of patterned protein arrays by scanning force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Y J; Jo, W; Kim, S; Park, S; Kim, Y S

2008-01-01

A protein patterned surface using micro-contact printing methods has been investigated by scanning force microscopy. Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) was utilized for imaging the topography and detecting the electrical properties such as the local bound charge distribution of the patterned proteins. It was found that the patterned IgG proteins are arranged down to 1 μm, and the 90 deg. rotation of patterned anti-IgG proteins was successfully undertaken. Through the estimation of the effective areas, it was possible to determine the local bound charges of patterned proteins which have opposite electrostatic force behaviors. Moreover, we studied the binding probability between IgG and anti-IgG in a 1 μm 2 MIMIC system by topographic and electrostatic signals for applicable label-free detections. We showed that the patterned proteins can be used for immunoassay of proteins on the functional substrate, and that they can also be used for bioelectronics device application, indicating distinct advantages with regard to accuracy and a label-free detection

Biochemical Properties of Soluble and Bound Peroxidases from Artichoke Heads and Leaves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Cardinali

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Soluble (SP, ionically bound (IBP and covalently bound (CBP peroxidases (POD from artichoke leaves and heads have been characterized for the main biochemical parameters. The three PODs, in both leaves and heads, showed the major apparent catalytic efficiency (vmax,app/Km,app towards ferulic acid, even though, in some cases, they showed higher affinity (Km,app for other substrates. In leaves, SP and IBP showed higher Km,app for ferulic and chlorogenic acids, and CBP for ferulic and caffeic acids. In heads, SP showed higher Km,app for chlorogenic acid, IBP for caffeic and ferulic acids, and CBP for ferulic acid. It was shown that pH optimum for PODs ranged between 5.0 and 6.0 in leaves. In heads, pH optimum for SP and IBP was 5.5, while CBP presented a very low activity in a wide pH range. All PODs showed high thermal stability but different ability to regenerate: the bound forms were more able to regenerate than the soluble one. The results obtained show that (i CBP from heads is able to work under very different cellular conditions, (ii all PODs, in both tissues, have a high apparent catalytic efficiency for ferulic acid, which could explain the effective involvement of POD in lignin biosynthesis, (iii in heads, high Km,app of SP for chlorogenic acid, particularly abundant in artichoke, could justify the possible involvement of PODs in browning mechanism, and (iv in heat-processed artichoke, the ability of PODs to regenerate could contribute to oxidation and loss of product quality.

SAR and characterization of non-substrate isoindoline urea inhibitors of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtin, Michael L.; Heyman, H. Robin; Clark, Richard F.; Sorensen, Bryan K.; Doherty, George A.; Hansen, T. Matthew; Frey, Robin R.; Sarris, Kathy A.; Aguirre, Ana L.; Shrestha, Anurupa; Tu, Noah; Woller, Kevin; Pliushchev, Marina A.; Sweis, Ramzi F.; Cheng, Min; Wilsbacher, Julie L.; Kovar, Peter J.; Guo, Jun; Cheng, Dong; Longenecker, Kenton L.; Raich, Diana; Korepanova, Alla V.; Soni, Nirupama B.; Algire, Mikkel A.; Richardson, Paul L.; Marin, Violeta L.; Badagnani, Ilaria; Vasudevan, Anil; Buchanan, F.Greg; Maag, David; Chiang, Gary G.; Tse, Chris; Michaelides, Michael R. (AbbVie)

2017-08-01

Herein we disclose SAR studies that led to a series of isoindoline ureas which we recently reported were first-in-class, non-substrate nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) inhibitors. Modification of the isoindoline and/or the terminal functionality of screening hit 5 provided inhibitors such as 52 and 58 with nanomolar antiproliferative activity and preclinical pharmacokinetics properties which enabled potent antitumor activity when dosed orally in mouse xenograft models. X-ray crystal structures of two inhibitors bound in the NAMPT active-site are discussed.

Compression of the DNA substrate by a viral packaging motor is supported by removal of intercalating dye during translocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixit, Aparna Banerjee; Ray, Krishanu; Black, Lindsay W

2012-12-11

Viral genome packaging into capsids is powered by high-force-generating motor proteins. In the presence of all packaging components, ATP-powered translocation in vitro expels all detectable tightly bound YOYO-1 dye from packaged short dsDNA substrates and removes all aminoacridine dye from packaged genomic DNA in vivo. In contrast, in the absence of packaging, the purified T4 packaging ATPase alone can only remove up to ∼1/3 of DNA-bound intercalating YOYO-1 dye molecules in the presence of ATP or ATP-γ-S. In sufficient concentration, intercalating dyes arrest packaging, but rare terminase mutations confer resistance. These distant mutations are highly interdependent in acquiring function and resistance and likely mark motor contact points with the translocating DNA. In stalled Y-DNAs, FRET has shown a decrease in distance from the phage T4 terminase C terminus to portal consistent with a linear motor, and in the Y-stem DNA compression between closely positioned dye pairs. Taken together with prior FRET studies of conformational changes in stalled Y-DNAs, removal of intercalating compounds by the packaging motor demonstrates conformational change in DNA during normal translocation at low packaging resistance and supports a proposed linear "DNA crunching" or torsional compression motor mechanism involving a transient grip-and-release structural change in B form DNA.

Determining Normal-Distribution Tolerance Bounds Graphically

Science.gov (United States)

Mezzacappa, M. A.

1983-01-01

Graphical method requires calculations and table lookup. Distribution established from only three points: mean upper and lower confidence bounds and lower confidence bound of standard deviation. Method requires only few calculations with simple equations. Graphical procedure establishes best-fit line for measured data and bounds for selected confidence level and any distribution percentile.

Photoluminescence investigation of thick GaN films grown on Si substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, M.; Ahn, H. S.; Chang, J. H.; Yi, S. N.; Kim, K. H.; Kim, H.; Kim, S. W.

2003-01-01

The optical properties of thick GaN films grown by hydried vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) using a low-temperature intermediate GaN buffer layer grown on a (111) Si substrate with a ZnO thin film were investigated by using photoluminescence (PL) measurement at 300 K and 77 K. The strong donor bound exciton (DBE) at 357 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 15 meV was observed at 77 K. The value of 15 meV is extremely narrow for GaN grown on Si substrate by HVPE. An impurity-related peak was also observed at 367 nm. The origin of impurity was investigated using Auger spectroscopy.

Binding energies of two deltas bound states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Hiroshi; Saito, Koichi.

1982-06-01

Bound states of the two-deltas system are investigated by employing the realistic one boson exchange potential. It is found that there exist many bound states in each isospin channel and also found that the tensor interaction plays important role in producing these bound states. Relationship between these bound states and dibaryon resonances is discussed. (J.P.N.)

Variational lower bound on the scattering length

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, L.; Spruch, L.

1975-01-01

The scattering length A characterizes the zero-energy scattering of one system by another. It was shown some time ago that a variational upper bound on A could be obtained using methods, of the Rayleigh-Ritz type, which are commonly employed to obtain upper bounds on energy eigenvalues. Here we formulate a method for obtaining a variational lower bound on A. Once again the essential idea is to express the scattering length as a variational estimate plus an error term and then to reduce the problem of bounding the error term to one involving bounds on energy eigenvalues. In particular, the variational lower bound on A is rigorously established provided a certin modified Hamiltonian can be shown to have no discrete states lying below the level of the continuum threshold. It is unfortunately true that necessary conditions for the existence of bound states are not available for multiparticle systems in general. However, in the case of positron-atom scattering the adiabatic approximation can be introduced as an (essentially) solvable comparison problem to rigorously establish the nonexistence of bound states of the modified Hamiltonian. It has recently been shown how the validity of the variational upper bound on A can be maintained when the target ground-state wave function is imprecisely known. Similar methods can be used to maintain the variational lower bound on A. Since the bound is variational, the error in the calculated scattering length will be of second order in the error in the wave function. The use of the adiabatic approximation in the present context places no limitation in principle on the accuracy achievable

Native Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis Mass Spectrometry: Analysis of Noncovalent Protein Complexes Directly from Dried Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Nicholas J.; Griffiths, Rian L.; Edwards, Rebecca L.; Cooper, Helen J.

2015-08-01

Liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA) mass spectrometry is a promising tool for the analysis of intact proteins from biological substrates. Here, we demonstrate native LESA mass spectrometry of noncovalent protein complexes of myoglobin and hemoglobin from a range of surfaces. Holomyoglobin, in which apomyoglobin is noncovalently bound to the prosthetic heme group, was observed following LESA mass spectrometry of myoglobin dried onto glass and polyvinylidene fluoride surfaces. Tetrameric hemoglobin [(αβ)2 4H] was observed following LESA mass spectrometry of hemoglobin dried onto glass and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) surfaces, and from dried blood spots (DBS) on filter paper. Heme-bound dimers and monomers were also observed. The `contact' LESA approach was particularly suitable for the analysis of hemoglobin tetramers from DBS.

Influence of substrate rocks on Fe-Mn crust composition

Science.gov (United States)

Hein, J.R.; Morgan, C.L.

1999-01-01

Principal Component and other statistical analyses of chemical and mineralogical data of Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide crusts and their underlying rock substrates in the central Pacific indicate that substrate rocks do not influence crust composition. Two ridges near Johnston Atoll were dredged repetitively and up to seven substrate rock types were recovered from small areas of similar water depths. Crusts were analyzed mineralogically and chemically for 24 elements, and substrates were analyzed mineralogically and chemically for the 10 major oxides. Compositions of crusts on phosphatized substrates are distinctly different from crusts on substrates containing no phosphorite. However, that relationship only indicates that the episodes of phosphatization that mineralized the substrate rocks also mineralized the crusts that grew on them. A two-fold increase in copper contents in crusts that grew on phosphatized clastic substrate rocks, relative to crusts on other substrate rock types, is also associated with phosphatization and must have resulted from chemical reorganization during diagenesis. Phosphatized crusts show increases in Sr, Zn, Ca, Ba, Cu, Ce, V, and Mo contents and decreases in Fe, Si, and As contents relative to non-phosphatized crusts. Our statistical results support previous studies which show that crust compositions reflect predominantly direct precipitation from seawater (hydrogenetic), and to lesser extents reflect detrital input and diagenetic replacement of parts of the older crust generation by carbonate fluorapatite.

Aluminum stimulates uptake of non-transferrin bound iron and transferrin bound iron in human glial cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yongbae; Olivi, Luisa; Cheong, Jae Hoon; Maertens, Alex; Bressler, Joseph P.

2007-01-01

Aluminum and other trivalent metals were shown to stimulate uptake of transferrin bound iron and nontransferrin bound iron in erytholeukemia and hepatoma cells. Because of the association between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease, and findings of higher levels of iron in Alzheimer's disease brains, the effects of aluminum on iron homeostasis were examined in a human glial cell line. Aluminum stimulated dose- and time-dependent uptake of nontransferrin bound iron and iron bound to transferrin. A transporter was likely involved in the uptake of nontransferrin iron because uptake reached saturation, was temperature-dependent, and attenuated by inhibitors of protein synthesis. Interestingly, the effects of aluminum were not blocked by inhibitors of RNA synthesis. Aluminum also decreased the amount of iron bound to ferritin though it did not affect levels of divalent metal transporter 1. These results suggest that aluminum disrupts iron homeostasis in Brain by several mechanisms including the transferrin receptor, a nontransferrin iron transporter, and ferritin

Helical structure of longitudinal vortices embedded in turbulent wall-bounded flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Velte, Clara Marika; Hansen, Martin Otto Laver; Okulov, Valery

2009-01-01

Embedded vortices in turbulent wall-bounded flow over a flat plate, generated by a passive rectangular vane-type vortex generator with variable angle \\beta to the incoming flow in a low-Reynolds number flow (Re = 2600 based on the inlet grid mesh size L = 0:039 m and free stream velocity U....... This is important for flow control, since one thereby can determine the axial velocity induced by the helical vortex as well as the swirl redistributing the axial velocity component for a given device angle \\beta. This also simplifies theoretical studies, e.g. to understand and predict the stability of the vortex...

Sputtering of silicon and glass substrates with polyatomic molecular ion beams generated from ionic liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeuchi, Mitsuaki, E-mail: m-takeuchi@kuee.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Hoshide, Yuki; Ryuto, Hiromichi; Takaoka, Gikan H. [Photonics and Electronics Science and Engineering Center, Kyoto University, Kyotodaigaku-Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510 (Japan)

2016-03-15

The effect of irradiating 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium positive (EMIM{sup +}) or dicyanamide negative (DCA{sup –}) ion beams using an ionic liquid ion source was characterized concerning its sputtering properties for single crystalline Si(100) and nonalkaline borosilicate glass substrates. The irradiation of the DCA{sup –} ion beam onto the Si substrate at an acceleration voltage of 4 and 6 kV exhibited detectable sputtered depths greater than a couple of nanometers with an ion fluence of only 1 × 10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}, while the EMIM{sup +} ion beam produced the same depths with an ion fluence 5 × 10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}. The irradiation of a 4 kV DCA{sup –} ion beam at a fluence of 1 × 10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2} also yields large etching depths in Si substrates, corresponding to a sputtering yield of Si/DCA{sup – }= 10, and exhibits a smoothed surface roughness of 0.05 nm. The interaction between DCA{sup –} and Si likely causes a chemical reaction that relates to the high sputtering yield and forms an amorphous C-N capping layer that results in the smooth surface. Moreover, sputtering damage by the DCA{sup –} irradiation, which was estimated by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy with the channeling technique, was minimal compared to Ar{sup +} irradiation at the same condition. In contrast, the glass substrates exhibited no apparent change in surface roughnesses when sputtered by the DCA{sup –} irradiation compared to the unirradiated glass substrates.

Structure of active IspH enzyme from escherichia coli provides mechanistic insights into substrate reduction

KAUST Repository

Gräwert, Tobias

2009-07-20

The terminal step of the non-mevalonate pathway of terpene biosynthesis is catalyzed by IspH (see scheme). In the crystal structure of IspH from E. coli, a bound inorganic diphosphate ligand occupies the position of the diphosphate residue of the substrate. Together with mutation studies and theoretical calculations, these data support a mechanism which is analogous to the Birch reduction of allylic alcohols. © 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Delay Bounded Multi-Source Multicast in Software-Defined Networking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thabo Semong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Software-Defined Networking (SDN is the next generation network architecture with exciting application prospects. The control function in SDN is decoupled from the data forwarding plane, hence it provides a new centralized architecture with flexible network resource management. Although SDN is attracting much attention from both industry and research, its advantage over the traditional networks has not been fully utilized. Multicast is designed to deliver content to multiple destinations. The current traffic engineering in SDN focuses mainly on unicast, however, multicast can effectively reduce network resource consumption by serving multiple clients. This paper studies a novel delay-bounded multi-source multicast SDN problem, in which among the set of potential sources, we select a source to build the multicast-tree, under the constraint that the transmission delay for every destination is bounded. This problem is more difficult than the traditional Steiner minimum tree (SMT problem, since it needs to find a source from the set of all potential sources. We model the problem as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP and prove its NP-Hardness. To solve the problem, a delay bounded multi-source (DBMS scheme is proposed, which includes a DBMS algorithm to build a minimum delay cost DBMS-Forest. Through a MATLAB experiment, we demonstrate that DBMS is significantly more efficient and outperforms other existing algorithms in the literature.

Lower bound earthquake magnitude for probabilistic seismic hazard evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCann, M.W. Jr.; Reed, J.W.

1990-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study that develops an engineering and seismological basis for selecting a lower-bound magnitude (LBM) for use in seismic hazard assessment. As part of a seismic hazard analysis the range of earthquake magnitudes that are included in the assessment of the probability of exceedance of ground motion must be defined. The upper-bound magnitude is established by earth science experts based on their interpretation of the maximum size of earthquakes that can be generated by a seismic source. The lower-bound or smallest earthquake that is considered in the analysis must also be specified. The LBM limits the earthquakes that are considered in assessing the probability that specified ground motion levels are exceeded. In the past there has not been a direct consideration of the appropriate LBM value that should be used in a seismic hazard assessment. This study specifically looks at the selection of a LBM for use in seismic hazard analyses that are input to the evaluation/design of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Topics addressed in the evaluation of a LBM are earthquake experience data at heavy industrial facilities, engineering characteristics of ground motions associated with small-magnitude earthquakes, probabilistic seismic risk assessments (seismic PRAs), and seismic margin evaluations. The results of this study and the recommendations concerning a LBM for use in seismic hazard assessments are discussed. (orig.)

Capacity Bounds for Parallel Optical Wireless Channels

KAUST Repository

Chaaban, Anas; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

A system consisting of parallel optical wireless channels with a total average intensity constraint is studied. Capacity upper and lower bounds for this system are derived. Under perfect channel-state information at the transmitter (CSIT), the bounds have to be optimized with respect to the power allocation over the parallel channels. The optimization of the lower bound is non-convex, however, the KKT conditions can be used to find a list of possible solutions one of which is optimal. The optimal solution can then be found by an exhaustive search algorithm, which is computationally expensive. To overcome this, we propose low-complexity power allocation algorithms which are nearly optimal. The optimized capacity lower bound nearly coincides with the capacity at high SNR. Without CSIT, our capacity bounds lead to upper and lower bounds on the outage probability. The outage probability bounds meet at high SNR. The system with average and peak intensity constraints is also discussed.

Photosynthetic water oxidation: binding and activation of substrate waters for O-O bond formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinyard, David J; Khan, Sahr; Brudvig, Gary W

2015-01-01

Photosynthetic water oxidation occurs at the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of Photosystem II (PSII). The OEC, which contains a Mn4CaO5 inorganic cluster ligated by oxides, waters and amino-acid residues, cycles through five redox intermediates known as S(i) states (i = 0-4). The electronic and structural properties of the transient S4 intermediate that forms the O-O bond are not well understood. In order to gain insight into how water is activated for O-O bond formation in the S4 intermediate, we have performed a detailed analysis of S-state dependent substrate water binding kinetics taking into consideration data from Mn coordination complexes. This analysis supports a model in which the substrate waters are both bound as terminal ligands and react via a water-nucleophile attack mechanism.

Binding of the Ras activator son of sevenless to insulin receptor substrate-1 signaling complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Baltensperger, K; Kozma, L M; Cherniack, A D; Klarlund, J K; Chawla, A; Banerjee, U; Czech, M P

1993-06-25

Signal transmission by insulin involves tyrosine phosphorylation of a major insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1) and exchange of Ras-bound guanosine diphosphate for guanosine triphosphate. Proteins containing Src homology 2 and 3 (SH2 and SH3) domains, such as the p85 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2), bind tyrosine phosphate sites on IRS-1 through their SH2 regions. Such complexes in COS cells were found to contain the heterologously expressed putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor encoded by the Drosophila son of sevenless gene (dSos). Thus, GRB2, p85, or other proteins with SH2-SH3 adapter sequences may link Sos proteins to IRS-1 signaling complexes as part of the mechanism by which insulin activates Ras.

Product differentiation under bounded rationality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, B.; Poutré, La J.A.; Kok, de A.G.; Pyka, A.; Handa, H.; Ishibuchi, H.; Ong, Y.-S.; Tan, K.-C.

2015-01-01

We study product differentiation equilibria and dynamics on the Salop circle under bounded rationality. Due to bounded rationality, firms tend to agglomerate in pairs. Upon adding a second tier of component suppliers, downstream assemblers may escape pairwise horizontal agglomeration. Moreover, we

Fermentative hydrogen production from agroindustrial lignocellulosic substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Reginatto, Valeria; Antônio, Regina Vasconcellos

2015-01-01

To achieve economically competitive biological hydrogen production, it is crucial to consider inexpensive materials such as lignocellulosic substrate residues derived from agroindustrial activities. It is possible to use (1) lignocellulosic materials without any type of pretreatment, (2) lignocellulosic materials after a pretreatment step, and (3) lignocellulosic materials hydrolysates originating from a pretreatment step followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. According to the current literature data on fermentative H2 production presented in this review, thermophilic conditions produce H2 in yields approximately 75% higher than those obtained in mesophilic conditions using untreated lignocellulosic substrates. The average H2 production from pretreated material is 3.17 ± 1.79 mmol of H2/g of substrate, which is approximately 50% higher compared with the average yield achieved using untreated materials (2.17 ± 1.84 mmol of H2/g of substrate). Biological pretreatment affords the highest average yield 4.54 ± 1.78 mmol of H2/g of substrate compared with the acid and basic pretreatment - average yields of 2.94 ± 1.85 and 2.41 ± 1.52 mmol of H2/g of substrate, respectively. The average H2 yield from hydrolysates, obtained from a pretreatment step and enzymatic hydrolysis (3.78 ± 1.92 mmol of H2/g), was lower compared with the yield of substrates pretreated by biological methods only, demonstrating that it is important to avoid the formation of inhibitors generated by chemical pretreatments. Based on this review, exploring other microorganisms and optimizing the pretreatment and hydrolysis conditions can make the use of lignocellulosic substrates a sustainable way to produce H2. PMID:26273246

Terahertz-radiation generation and detection in low-temperature-grown GaAs epitaxial films on GaAs (100) and (111)A substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galiev, G. B.; Pushkarev, S. S., E-mail: s-s-e-r-p@mail.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultrahigh-Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Buriakov, A. M.; Bilyk, V. R.; Mishina, E. D. [Moscow Technological University “MIREA” (Russian Federation); Klimov, E. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultrahigh-Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Vasil’evskii, I. S. [National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Russian Federation); Maltsev, P. P. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultrahigh-Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation)

2017-04-15

The efficiency of the generation and detection of terahertz radiation in the range up to 3 THz by LT-GaAs films containing equidistant Si doping δ layers and grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (100) and (111)Ga substrates is studied by terahertz spectroscopy. Microstrip photoconductive antennas are fabricated on the film surface. Terahertz radiation is generated by exposure of the antenna gap to femtosecond optical laser pulses. It is shown that the intensity of terahertz radiation from the photoconductive antenna on LT-GaAs/GaAs (111)Ga is twice as large as the intensity of a similar antenna on LT-GaAs/GaAs(100) and the sensitivity of the antenna on LT-GaAs/GaAs (111)Ga as a terahertz-radiation detector exceeds that of the antenna on LT-GaAs/GaAs(100) by a factor of 1.4.

Recent Advances in Substrate-Controlled Asymmetric Cyclization for Natural Product Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeyun Jo

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Asymmetric synthesis of naturally occurring diverse ring systems is an ongoing and challenging research topic. A large variety of remarkable reactions utilizing chiral substrates, auxiliaries, reagents, and catalysts have been intensively investigated. This review specifically describes recent advances in successful asymmetric cyclization reactions to generate cyclic architectures of various natural products in a substrate-controlled manner.

Spin Measurements of an Electron Bound to a Single Phosphorous Donor in Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Luhman, D. R.; Nguyen, K.; Tracy, L. A.; Carr, S. M.; Borchardt, J.; Bishop, N. C.; Ten Eyck, G. A.; Pluym, T.; Wendt, J.; Carroll, M. S.; Lilly, M. P.

2014-03-01

The spin of an electron bound to a single donor implanted in silicon is potentially useful for quantum information processing. We report on our efforts to measure and manipulate the spin of an electron bound to a single P donor in silicon. A low number of P donors are implanted using a self-aligned process into a silicon substrate in close proximity to a single-electron-transistor (SET) defined by lithographically patterned polysilicon gates. The SET is used to sense the occupancy of the electron on the donor and for spin read-out. An adjacent transmission line allows the application of microwave pulses to rotate the spin of the electron. We will present data from various experiments designed to exploit these capabilities. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences user facility. The work was supported by Sandia National Laboratories Directed Research and Development Program. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Massive Galileon positivity bounds

Science.gov (United States)

de Rham, Claudia; Melville, Scott; Tolley, Andrew J.; Zhou, Shuang-Yong

2017-09-01

The EFT coefficients in any gapped, scalar, Lorentz invariant field theory must satisfy positivity requirements if there is to exist a local, analytic Wilsonian UV completion. We apply these bounds to the tree level scattering amplitudes for a massive Galileon. The addition of a mass term, which does not spoil the non-renormalization theorem of the Galileon and preserves the Galileon symmetry at loop level, is necessary to satisfy the lowest order positivity bound. We further show that a careful choice of successively higher derivative corrections are necessary to satisfy the higher order positivity bounds. There is then no obstruction to a local UV completion from considerations of tree level 2-to-2 scattering alone. To demonstrate this we give an explicit example of such a UV completion.

Cryogenic Q-factor measurement of optical substrate materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nietzsche, S; Nawrodt, R; Zimmer, A; Thuerk, M; Vodel, W; Seidel, P [Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena (Germany)

2006-03-02

Upcoming generations of interferometric gravitational wave detectors are likely to be operated at cryogenic temperatures because one of the sensitivity limiting factors of the present generation is the thermal noise of optical components (e.g. end mirrors, cavity couplers, beam splitters). The main contributions to this noise are due to the substrate, the optical coating, and the suspension. The thermal noise can be reduced by cooling to cryogenic temperatures. In addition the overall mechanical quality factor should preferable increase at low temperatures. The experimental details of a new cryogenic apparatus for investigations of the temperature dependency of the Q-factor of several substrate materials in the range of 5 to 300 K are presented. To perform a ring down recording an electrostatic mode excitation of the samples and an interferometric read-out of the amplitude of the vibrations was used.

PREFACE: Cell-substrate interactions Cell-substrate interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Gardel, Margaret; Schwarz, Ulrich

2010-05-01

cytoskeleton-bound microbeads—the effect of bead-receptor binding dynamics J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194105 [10] Ryzhkov P, Prass M, Gummich M, Kühn J-S, Oettmeier C and Döbereiner H-G 2010 Adhesion patterns in early cell spreading J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194106 [11] Cretel E, Touchard D, Benoliel A M, Bongrand P and Pierres A 2010 Early contacts between T lymphocytes and activating surfaces J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194107 [12] Heil P and Spatz J P 2010 Lateral shear forces applied to cells with single elastic micropillars to influence focal adhesion dynamics J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194108 [13] Kirchenbüchler D, Born S, Kirchgeßner N, Houben S, Hoffmann B and Merkel R 2010 Substrate, focal adhesions, and actin filaments: a mechanical unit with a weak spot for mechanosensitive proteins J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194109 [14] Zemel A, Rehfeldt F, Brown A E X, Discher D E and Safran S A 2010 Cell shape, spreading symmetry, and the polarization of stress-fibers in cells J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194110 [15] Biton Y Y and Safran S A 2010 Theory of the mechanical response of focal adhesions to shear flow J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194111 [16] Sabass B and Schwarz U S 2010 Modeling cytoskeletal flow over adhesion sites: competition between stochastic bond dynamics and intracellular relaxation J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194112 [17] Li Y, Bhimalapuram P and Dinner A R 2010 Model for how retrograde actin flow regulates adhesion traction stresses J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194113 [18] Moshayedi P, da F Costa L, Christ A, Lacour S P, Fawcett J, Guck J and Franze K 2010 Mechanosensitivity of astrocytes on optimized polyacrylamide gels analyzed by quantitative morphometry J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194114 [19] Lee S, Zeiger A, Maloney J M, Kotecki M, Van Vliet K J and Herman I M 2010 Pericyte contraction at the cell-material interface can modulate the microvascular niche J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 22 194115 [20] Buxboim A, Rajagopal K, Brown A E X and

New bounds on isotropic Lorentz violation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carone, Christopher D.; Sher, Marc; Vanderhaeghen, Marc

2006-01-01

Violations of Lorentz invariance that appear via operators of dimension four or less are completely parametrized in the Standard Model Extension (SME). In the pure photonic sector of the SME, there are 19 dimensionless, Lorentz-violating parameters. Eighteen of these have experimental upper bounds ranging between 10 -11 and 10 -32 ; the remaining parameter, k-tilde tr , is isotropic and has a much weaker bound of order 10 -4 . In this Brief Report, we point out that k-tilde tr gives a significant contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron and find a new upper bound of order 10 -8 . With reasonable assumptions, we further show that this bound may be improved to 10 -14 by considering the renormalization of other Lorentz-violating parameters that are more tightly constrained. Using similar renormalization arguments, we also estimate bounds on Lorentz-violating parameters in the pure gluonic sector of QCD

Tight Bounds for Distributed Functional Monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Woodruff, David P.; Zhang, Qin

2011-01-01

$, our bound resolves their main open question. Our lower bounds are based on new direct sum theorems for approximate majority, and yield significant improvements to problems in the data stream model, improving the bound for estimating $F_p, p > 2,$ in $t$ passes from $\\tilde{\\Omega}(n^{1-2/p}/(\\eps^{2/p......} t))$ to $\\tilde{\\Omega}(n^{1-2/p}/(\\eps^{4/p} t))$, giving the first bound for estimating $F_0$ in $t$ passes of $\\Omega(1/(\\eps^2 t))$ bits of space that does not use the gap-hamming problem, and showing a distribution for the gap-hamming problem with high external information cost or super...

Combining Alphas via Bounded Regression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zura Kakushadze

2015-11-01

Full Text Available We give an explicit algorithm and source code for combining alpha streams via bounded regression. In practical applications, typically, there is insufficient history to compute a sample covariance matrix (SCM for a large number of alphas. To compute alpha allocation weights, one then resorts to (weighted regression over SCM principal components. Regression often produces alpha weights with insufficient diversification and/or skewed distribution against, e.g., turnover. This can be rectified by imposing bounds on alpha weights within the regression procedure. Bounded regression can also be applied to stock and other asset portfolio construction. We discuss illustrative examples.

Molecular docking simulations provide insights in the substrate binding sites and possible substrates of the ABCC6 transporter.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Jakir Hosen

Full Text Available The human ATP-binding cassette family C member 6 (ABCC6 gene encodes an ABC transporter protein (ABCC6, primarily expressed in liver and kidney. Mutations in the ABCC6 gene cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE, an autosomal recessive connective tissue disease characterized by ectopic mineralization of the elastic fibers. The pathophysiology underlying PXE is incompletely understood, which can at least partly be explained by the undetermined nature of the ABCC6 substrates as well as the unknown substrate recognition and binding sites. Several compounds, including anionic glutathione conjugates (N-ethylmaleimide; NEM-GS and leukotriene C4 (LTC4 were shown to be modestly transported in vitro; conversely, vitamin K3 (VK3 was demonstrated not to be transported by ABCC6. To predict the possible substrate binding pockets of the ABCC6 transporter, we generated a 3D homology model of ABCC6 in both open and closed conformation, qualified for molecular docking and virtual screening approaches. By docking 10 reported in vitro substrates in our ABCC6 3D homology models, we were able to predict the substrate binding residues of ABCC6. Further, virtual screening of 4651 metabolites from the Human Serum Metabolome Database against our open conformation model disclosed possible substrates for ABCC6, which are mostly lipid and biliary secretion compounds, some of which are found to be involved in mineralization. Docking of these possible substrates in the closed conformation model also showed high affinity. Virtual screening expands this possibility to explore more compounds that can interact with ABCC6, and may aid in understanding the mechanisms leading to PXE.

Molecular mechanism of strict substrate specificity of an extradiol dioxygenase, DesB, derived from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keisuke Sugimoto

Full Text Available DesB, which is derived from Sphingobium sp. SYK-6, is a type II extradiol dioxygenase that catalyzes a ring opening reaction of gallate. While typical extradiol dioxygenases show broad substrate specificity, DesB has strict substrate specificity for gallate. The substrate specificity of DesB seems to be required for the efficient growth of S. sp. SYK-6 using lignin-derived aromatic compounds. Since direct coordination of hydroxyl groups of the substrate to the non-heme iron in the active site is a critical step for the catalytic reaction of the extradiol dioxygenases, the mechanism of the substrate recognition and coordination of DesB was analyzed by biochemical and crystallographic methods. Our study demonstrated that the direct coordination between the non-heme iron and hydroxyl groups of the substrate requires a large shift of the Fe (II ion in the active site. Mutational analysis revealed that His124 and His192 in the active site are essential to the catalytic reaction of DesB. His124, which interacts with OH (4 of the bound gallate, seems to contribute to proper positioning of the substrate in the active site. His192, which is located close to OH (3 of the gallate, is likely to serve as the catalytic base. Glu377' interacts with OH (5 of the gallate and seems to play a critical role in the substrate specificity. Our biochemical and structural study showed the substrate recognition and catalytic mechanisms of DesB.

Bounded Rationality and Budgeting

OpenAIRE

Ibrahim, Mukdad

2016-01-01

This article discusses the theory of bounded rationality which had been introduced by Herbert Simon in the 1950s. Simon introduced the notion of bounded rationality stating that while decision-makers strive for rationality, they are limited by the effect of the environment, their information process capacity and by the constraints on their information storage and retrieval capabilities. Moreover, this article tries to specifically blend this notion into budgeting, using the foundations of inc...

Fuzzy upper bounds and their applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soleimani-damaneh, M. [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Science and Computer Engineering, Teacher Training University, 599 Taleghani Avenue, Tehran 15618 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: soleimani_d@yahoo.com

2008-04-15

This paper considers the concept of fuzzy upper bounds and provides some relevant applications. Considering a fuzzy DEA model, the existence of a fuzzy upper bound for the objective function of the model is shown and an effective approach to solve that model is introduced. Some dual interpretations are provided, which are useful for practical purposes. Applications of the concept of fuzzy upper bounds in two physical problems are pointed out.

Power electronics substrate for direct substrate cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Khiet [Mission Viejo, CA; Ward, Terence G [Redondo Beach, CA; Mann, Brooks S [Redondo Beach, CA; Yankoski, Edward P [Corona, CA; Smith, Gregory S [Woodland Hills, CA

2012-05-01

Systems and apparatus are provided for power electronics substrates adapted for direct substrate cooling. A power electronics substrate comprises a first surface configured to have electrical circuitry disposed thereon, a second surface, and a plurality of physical features on the second surface. The physical features are configured to promote a turbulent boundary layer in a coolant impinged upon the second surface.

A Lagrangian lower bound for the container transshipment problem at a railway hub for a fast branch-and-bound algorithm

OpenAIRE

M Barketau; H Kopfer; E Pesch

2013-01-01

In this paper, we consider the container transshipment problem at a railway hub. A simple lower bound known for this problem will be improved by a new Lagrangian relaxation lower bound. Computational tests show that this lower bound outperforms the simple one and decreases substantially the run time of the branch-and-bound algorithm.

Mycelium-Bound Lipase from a Locally Isolated Strain of Geotrichum candidum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joo Ling Loo

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Mycelium-bound lipase (MBL, from a locally isolated Geotrichum candidum strain, was produced and characterized as a natural immobilized lipase. A time course study of its lipolytic activity in 1 L liquid broth revealed the maximum MBL activity at 4 h for mycelium cells harvested after 54 h. The yield and specific activity of MBL were 3.87 g/L dry weight and 508.33 U/g protein, respectively, while less than 0.2 U/mL lipase activity was detected in the culture supernatant. Prolonged incubation caused release of the bound lipase into the growth medium. The growth pattern of G. candidum, and production and properties of MBL were not affected by the scale. The stability of mycelia harboring lipase (MBL, harvested and lyophilized after 54 h, studied at 4 °C depicted a loss of 4.3% and 30% in MBL activity after 1 and 8 months, while the activity of free lipase was totally lost after 14 days of storage. The MBL from G. candidum displayed high substrate selectivity for unsaturated fatty acids containing a cis-9 double bond, even in crude form. This unique specificity of MBL could be a direct, simple and inexpensive way in the fats and oil industry for the selective hydrolysis or transesterification of cis-9 fatty acid residues in natural triacylglycerols.

Efficient, Robust and Constant-Round Distributed RSA Key Generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgård, Ivan Bjerre; Mikkelsen, Gert Læssøe

2010-01-01

We present the first protocol for distributed RSA key generation which is constant round, secure against malicious adversaries and has a negligibly small bound on the error probability, even using only one iteration of the underlying primality test on each candidate number.......We present the first protocol for distributed RSA key generation which is constant round, secure against malicious adversaries and has a negligibly small bound on the error probability, even using only one iteration of the underlying primality test on each candidate number....

Fast conformational exchange between the sulfur-free and persulfide-bound rhodanese domain of E. coli YgaP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Wei [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Zhou, Peng [High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China); He, Yao; Yu, Lu; Xiong, Ying [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Tian, Changlin, E-mail: cltian@ustc.edu.cn [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China); Wu, Fangming, E-mail: fmwu@hmfl.ac.cn [High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031 (China)

2014-09-26

Highlights: • Three dimensional solution NMR structure of YgaP rhodanese domain. • Function validation of YgaP rhodanese domain to substrate Na{sub 2}S{sub 2}O{sub 3}. • Fast exchange between the intact and persulfide-intermediate rhodanese domain. - Abstract: Rhodanese domains are abundant structural modules that catalyze the transfer of a sulfur atom from thiolsulfates to cyanide via formation of a covalent persulfide intermediate that is bound to an essential conserved cysteine residue. In this study, the three-dimensional structure of the rhodanese domain of YgaP from Escherichia coli was determined using solution NMR. A typical rhodanese domain fold was observed, as expected from the high homology with the catalytic domain of other sulfur transferases. The initial sulfur-transfer step and formation of the rhodanese persulfide intermediate were monitored by addition of sodium thiosulfate using two-dimensional {sup 1}H–{sup 15}N correlation spectroscopy. Discrete sharp signals were observed upon substrate addition, indicting fast exchange between sulfur-free and persulfide-intermediate forms. Residues exhibiting pronounced chemical shift changes were mapped to the structure, and included both substrate binding and surrounding residues.

An evolutionary model of bounded rationality and intelligence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas J Brennan

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Most economic theories are based on the premise that individuals maximize their own self-interest and correctly incorporate the structure of their environment into all decisions, thanks to human intelligence. The influence of this paradigm goes far beyond academia-it underlies current macroeconomic and monetary policies, and is also an integral part of existing financial regulations. However, there is mounting empirical and experimental evidence, including the recent financial crisis, suggesting that humans do not always behave rationally, but often make seemingly random and suboptimal decisions. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here we propose to reconcile these contradictory perspectives by developing a simple binary-choice model that takes evolutionary consequences of decisions into account as well as the role of intelligence, which we define as any ability of an individual to increase its genetic success. If no intelligence is present, our model produces results consistent with prior literature and shows that risks that are independent across individuals in a generation generally lead to risk-neutral behaviors, but that risks that are correlated across a generation can lead to behaviors such as risk aversion, loss aversion, probability matching, and randomization. When intelligence is present the nature of risk also matters, and we show that even when risks are independent, either risk-neutral behavior or probability matching will occur depending upon the cost of intelligence in terms of reproductive success. In the case of correlated risks, we derive an implicit formula that shows how intelligence can emerge via selection, why it may be bounded, and how such bounds typically imply the coexistence of multiple levels and types of intelligence as a reflection of varying environmental conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Rational economic behavior in which individuals maximize their own self interest is only one of many possible types of behavior that

An evolutionary model of bounded rationality and intelligence.

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, Thomas J; Lo, Andrew W

2012-01-01

Most economic theories are based on the premise that individuals maximize their own self-interest and correctly incorporate the structure of their environment into all decisions, thanks to human intelligence. The influence of this paradigm goes far beyond academia-it underlies current macroeconomic and monetary policies, and is also an integral part of existing financial regulations. However, there is mounting empirical and experimental evidence, including the recent financial crisis, suggesting that humans do not always behave rationally, but often make seemingly random and suboptimal decisions. Here we propose to reconcile these contradictory perspectives by developing a simple binary-choice model that takes evolutionary consequences of decisions into account as well as the role of intelligence, which we define as any ability of an individual to increase its genetic success. If no intelligence is present, our model produces results consistent with prior literature and shows that risks that are independent across individuals in a generation generally lead to risk-neutral behaviors, but that risks that are correlated across a generation can lead to behaviors such as risk aversion, loss aversion, probability matching, and randomization. When intelligence is present the nature of risk also matters, and we show that even when risks are independent, either risk-neutral behavior or probability matching will occur depending upon the cost of intelligence in terms of reproductive success. In the case of correlated risks, we derive an implicit formula that shows how intelligence can emerge via selection, why it may be bounded, and how such bounds typically imply the coexistence of multiple levels and types of intelligence as a reflection of varying environmental conditions. Rational economic behavior in which individuals maximize their own self interest is only one of many possible types of behavior that arise from natural selection. The key to understanding which types of

Albumin solder covalently bound to a polymer membrane: New approach to improve binding strength in laser tissue soldering in-vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiebl, B; Ascher, L; Luetzow, K; Kratz, K; Gruber, C; Mrowietz, C; Nehring, M E; Lendlein, A; Franke, R-P; Jung, F

2018-01-01

Laser tissue soldering (LTS) based on indocyanine green (ICG)-mediated heat-denaturation of proteins might be a promising alternative technique for micro-suturing, but up to now the problem of too weak shear strength of the solder welds in comparison to sutures is not solved. Earlier reports gave promising results showing that solder supported by carrier materials can enhance the cohesive strength of the liquid solder. In these studies, the solder was applied to the carriers by dip coating. Higher reliability of the connection between the solder and the carrier material is expected when the solder is bound covalently to the carrier material. In the present study a poly(ether imide) (PEI) membrane served as carrier material and ICG-supplemented albumin as solder substrate. The latter was covalently coupled to the carrier membrane under physiological conditions to prevent structural protein changes. As laser source a diode continuous-wave laser emitting at 808 nm with intensities between 250 mW and 1500 mW was utilized. The albumin functionalized carrier membrane was placed onto the tunica media of explanted pig thoracic aortae forming an overlapping area of approximately 0.5×0.5 cm2. All tests were performed in a dry state to prevent laser light absorption by water. Infrared spectroscopy, spectro-photometrical determination of the secondary and primary amine groups after acid orange II staining, contact angle measurements, and atomic force microscopy proved the successful functionalization of the PEI membrane with albumin. A laser power of 450 mW LTS could generate a membrane-blood vessel connection which was characterized by a shear strength of 0.08±0.002 MPa, corresponding to 15% of the tensile strength of the native blood vessel. Theoretically, an overlapping zone of 4.1 mm around the entire circumference of the blood vessel could have provided shear strength of the PEI membrane-blood vessel compound identical to the tensile strength of the native

Improved Range Searching Lower Bounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kasper Green; Nguyen, Huy L.

2012-01-01

by constructing a hard input set and query set, and then invoking Chazelle and Rosenberg's [CGTA'96] general theorem on the complexity of navigation in the pointer machine. For the group model, we show that input sets and query sets that are hard for range reporting in the pointer machine (i.e. by Chazelle...... and Rosenberg's theorem), are also hard for dynamic range searching in the group model. This theorem allows us to reuse decades of research on range reporting lower bounds to immediately obtain a range of new group model lower bounds. Amongst others, this includes an improved lower bound for the fundamental...

Influence of substrate and film thickness on polymer LIPSS formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Jing; Nogales, Aurora; Ezquerra, Tiberio A. [Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (IEM-CSIC), Serrano 121, Madrid 28006 (Spain); Rebollar, Esther, E-mail: e.rebollar@csic.es [Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano (IQFR-CSIC), Serrano 119, Madrid 28006 (Spain)

2017-02-01

Highlights: • The estimation of temperature upon pulse accumulation shows that a small positive offset is caused by each individual pulse. • Number of pulses needed for LIPSS formation in PS thin films depends on polymer thickness. • Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of supporting substrate influence the onset for LIPSS formation and their quality. • Quality of LIPSS is affected by the substrate optical properties. - Abstract: Here we focus on the influence of both, substrate and film thickness on polymer Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) formation in polymer films. For this aim a morphological description of ripples structures generated on spin-coated polystyrene (PS) films by a linearly polarized laser beam with a wavelength of 266 nm is presented. The influence of different parameters on the quality and characteristics of the formed laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) was investigated. We found that well-ordered LIPSS are formed either on PS films thinner than 200 nm or thicker than 400 nm supported on silicon substrates as well as on thicker free standing films. However less-ordered ripples are formed on silicon supported films with intermediate thicknesses in the range of 200–380 nm. The effect of the thermal and optical properties of the substrate on the quality of LIPSS was analyzed. Differences observed in the fluence and number of pulses needed for the onset of surface morphological modifications is explained considering two main effects which are: (1) The temperature increase on polymer surface induced by the action of cumulative laser irradiation and (2) The differences in thermal conductivity between the polymer and the substrate which strongly affect the heat dissipation generated by irradiation.

Comment on "Modified quantum-speed-limit bounds for open quantum dynamics in quantum channels"

Science.gov (United States)

Mirkin, Nicolás; Toscano, Fabricio; Wisniacki, Diego A.

2018-04-01

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. A 95, 052118 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevA.95.052118], the authors claim that our criticism, in Phys. Rev. A 94, 052125 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevA.94.052125, to some quantum speed limit bounds for open quantum dynamics that appeared recently in literature are invalid. According to the authors, the problem with our analysis would be generated by an artifact of the finite-precision numerical calculations. We analytically show here that it is not possible to have any inconsistency associated with the numerical precision of calculations. Therefore, our criticism of the quantum speed limit bounds continues to be valid.

Two-phonon bound states in imperfect crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behera, S.N.; Samsur, Sk.

1980-01-01

The question of the occurrence of two-phonon bound states in imperfect crystals is investigated. It is shown that the anharmonicity mediated two-phonon bound state which is present in perfect crystals gets modified due to the presence of impurities. Moreover, the possibility of the occurrence of a purely impurity mediated two-phonon bound state is demonstrated. The bound state frequencies are calculated using the simple Einstein oscillator model for the host phonons. The two-phonon density of states for the imperfect crystal thus obtained has peaks at the combination and difference frequencies of two host phonons besides the peaks at the bound state frequencies. For a perfect crystal the theory predicts a single peak at the two-phonon bound state frequency in conformity with experimental observations and other theoretical calculations. Experimental data on the two-phonon infrared absorption and Raman scattering from mixed crystals of Gasub(1-c)Alsub(c)P and Gesub(1-c)Sisub(c) are analysed to provide evidence in support of impurity-mediated two-phonon bound states. The relevance of the zero frequency (difference spectrum) peak to the central peak, observed in structural phase transitions, is conjectured. (author)

Dissociation and purification of the endogenous membrane-bound Vo complex from Pichia pastoris.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sumei; Hong, Tao; Wang, Kun; Lu, Yinghong; Zhou, Min

2017-10-01

Most proteins occur and function in complexes rather than as isolated entities in membranes. In most cases macromolecules with multiple subunits are purified from endogenous sources. In this study, an endogenous membrane-protein complex was obtained from Pichia pastoris, which can be grown at high densities to significantly improve the membrane protein yield. We successfully isolated the membrane-bound Vo complex of V-ATPase from P. pastoris using a fusion FLAG tag attached to the C-terminus of subunit a to generate the vph-tag strain, which was used for dissociation and purification. After FLAG affinity and size exclusion chromatography purification, the production quantity and purity of the membrane-bound Vo complex was 20 μg l -1 and >98%, respectively. The subunits of the endogenous membrane-bound Vo complex observed in P. pastoris were similar to those obtained from S. cerevisiae, as demonstrated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Therefore, successful dissociation and purification of the membrane-bound Vo complex at a high purity and sufficient quantity was achieved via a rapid and simple procedure that can be used to obtain the endogenous membrane-protein complexes from P. pastoris. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oxidase catalysis via aerobically generated hypervalent iodine intermediates

Science.gov (United States)

Maity, Asim; Hyun, Sung-Min; Powers, David C.

2018-02-01

The development of sustainable oxidation chemistry demands strategies to harness O2 as a terminal oxidant. Oxidase catalysis, in which O2 serves as a chemical oxidant without necessitating incorporation of oxygen into reaction products, would allow diverse substrate functionalization chemistry to be coupled to O2 reduction. Direct O2 utilization suffers from intrinsic challenges imposed by the triplet ground state of O2 and the disparate electron inventories of four-electron O2 reduction and two-electron substrate oxidation. Here, we generate hypervalent iodine reagents—a broadly useful class of selective two-electron oxidants—from O2. This is achieved by intercepting reactive intermediates of aldehyde autoxidation to aerobically generate hypervalent iodine reagents for a broad array of substrate oxidation reactions. The use of aryl iodides as mediators of aerobic oxidation underpins an oxidase catalysis platform that couples substrate oxidation directly to O2 reduction. We anticipate that aerobically generated hypervalent iodine reagents will expand the scope of aerobic oxidation chemistry in chemical synthesis.

On semidefinite programming bounds for graph bandwidth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Klerk, E.; Nagy, M.; Sotirov, R.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we propose two new lower bounds on graph bandwidth and cyclic bandwidth based on semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations of the quadratic assignment problem. We compare the new bounds with two other SDP bounds reported in [A. Blum, G. Konjevod, R. Ravi, and S. Vempala,

Structure of d-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase prepared in the presence of the substrate d-3-hydroxybutyrate and NAD+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoque, Md Mominul; Shimizu, Satoru; Juan, Ella Czarina Magat; Sato, Yoshiteru; Hossain, Md Tofazzal; Yamamoto, Tamotsu; Imamura, Shigeyuki; Suzuki, Kaoru; Amano, Hitoshi; Sekiguchi, Takeshi; Tsunoda, Masaru; Takénaka, Akio

2009-01-01

The crystal structure of A. faecalisd-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase prepared in the presence of d-3-hydroxybutyrate and NAD + reveals the substrate/product-binding geometry as the first example which suggests that the catalytic reaction occurs by shuttle movements of a hydrogen negative ion from the substrate to NAD + and from NADH to the product. d-3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from Alcaligenes faecalis catalyzes the reversible conversion between d-3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. The enzyme was crystallized in the presence of the substrate d-3-hydroxybutyrate and the cofactor NAD + at the optimum pH for the catalytic reaction. The structure, which was solved by X-ray crystallography, is isomorphous to that of the complex with the substrate analogue acetate. The product as well as the substrate molecule are accommodated well in the catalytic site. Their binding geometries suggest that the reversible reactions occur by shuttle movements of a hydrogen negative ion from the C3 atom of the substrate to the C4 atom of NAD + and from the C4 atom of NADH to the C3 atom of the product. The reaction might be further coupled to the withdrawal of a proton from the hydroxyl group of the substrate by the ionized Tyr155 residue. These structural features strongly support the previously proposed reaction mechanism of d-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, which was based on the acetate-bound complex structure

Halo(natronoarchaea isolated from hypersaline lakes utilize cellulose and chitin as growth substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitry Y Sorokin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Until recently, extremely halophilic euryarchaeota were considered mostly as aerobic heterotrophs utilizing simple organic compounds as growth substrates. Almost nothing is known on the ability of these prokaryotes to utilize complex polysaccharides as cellulose, xylan and chitin. Although few haloarchaeal cellulases and chitinases were recently characterized, the analysis of currently available haloarchaeal genomes deciphered numerous genes encoding glycosidases (GHs of various families including endoglucanases and chitinases. However, all these haloarchaea were isolated and cultivated on simple substrates and their ability to grow on polysaccharides in situ or in vitro is unknown. This study examines several halo(natronoarchaeal strains from geographically distant hypersaline lakes for the ability to grow on insoluble polymers as a sole growth substrate in salt-saturated mineral media. Some of them belonged to known taxa, while other represented novel phylogenetic lineages within the class Halobacteria. All isolates produced extracellular extremely salt tolerant cellulases or chitinases, either cell-free or cell-bound. Obtained results demonstrate a presence of diverse population of haloarchaeal cellulo/chitinotrophs in hypersaline habitats indicating that euryarchaea participate in aerobic mineralization of recalcitrant organic polymers in salt-saturated environments.

Institutional Analysis of Bounded Rationality of the Contemporary Russians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan V. Rozmainsky

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper argues that behavior of present-day Russians is inconsistent with standard Neoclassical economics and can be better explained by the synthesis of various branches of Institutionalism and Post Keynesianism. Authors try to show that the present-day Russians are characterized by bounded rationality when they invest in health and financial assets, by fits and starts spend their incomes and cannot predict future levels of these incomes. Sometimes such bounded rationality manifests itself as investor myopia – a phenomenon that describes a situation when people exclude future variables from consideration starting from some threshold point of time. Investor myopia can lead to negative investment in health via smoking and heavy drinking, and also generate non-rational saving behavior. Furthermore, the contemporary Russians behave in the opportunistic manner. In particular, in the course of important examination writing the majority of people prefer to cheat off. Finally, the social pressure modifies the consumptive choice of the present-day Russians; in other words, this choice is not intrinsic. These statements are verified on the base of opinion poll findings by authors in 2016 and 2017. Sample included 521 persons, mainly young people. These data are analyzed by means of econometric – binomial and multinomial logit-models. The results of these studies show that the contemporary Russians are really characterized by bounded rather than perfect rationality. One of the conclusions is that fee-paying educated students are significantly less rational in their saving choice.

Dipole-bound states as doorways in (dissociative) electron attachment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sommerfeld, Thomas

2005-01-01

This communication starts with a comparison of dissociative recombination and dissociative attachment placing emphasis on the role of resonances as reactive intermediates. The main focus is then the mechanism of electron attachment to polar molecules at very low energies (100 meV). The scheme considered consists of two steps: First, an electron is captured in a diffuse dipole-bound state depositing its energy in the vibrational degrees of freedom, in other words, a vibrational Feshbach resonance is formed. Then, owing to the coupling with a valence state, the electron is transferred into a compact valence orbital, and depending on the electron affinities of the valence state and possible dissociation products, as well as on the details of the intramolecular redistribution of vibrational energy, long-lived anions can be generated or dissociation reactions can be initiated. The key property in this context is the electronic coupling strength between the diffuse dipole-bound and the compact valence states. We describe how the coupling strength can be extracted from ab initio data, and present results for Nitromethane, Uracil and Cyanoacetylene

Bounded elements in Locally C*-algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Harti, Rachid

2001-09-01

In order to get more useful information about Locally C*-algebras, we introduce in this paper the notion of bounded elements. First, we study the connection between bounded elements and spectrally bounded elements. Some structural results of Locally C*-algebras are established in Theorems 1 , 2 and 3. As an immediate consequence of Theorem 3, we give a characterization of the connected component of the identity in the group of unitary elements for a Locally C*-algebra. (author)

Behavioral effects of chronic exposure to organically bound tritium and tritiated water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radwan, I.

1982-01-01

The results of developmental testing of F-1 and F-2-animals indicate that in HTO group no differences with control animals were observed, while there was delay in development of righting reflex in F-1-animals of T-food exposed rats, but the difference was not statistically significant. The comparison of data obtained for F-1 and F2-generation shows no cumulative effect of tritium irradiation in subsequent generations. The effects of HTO and organically bound tritium exposure on acute individual locomotor activity of 70 days old rats showed statistically significant hypoactivity of females of t-food group. The differences with the control animals were highest and statistically significant in first 20 minutes of their run in the maze, what suggests that tritium esposure alters the females reactivity to a novel situation. This effects may nor persists for the lifetime. The data of locomotor activity of 110 days old rats recorded in diurnal and nocturnal periods, showed no differences between HTO-group and control group and only slight but no statistically significant hypoactivity of females exposed to organically bound tritium. (orig./MG)

Covariant entropy bound and loop quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashtekar, Abhay; Wilson-Ewing, Edward

2008-01-01

We examine Bousso's covariant entropy bound conjecture in the context of radiation filled, spatially flat, Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models. The bound is violated near the big bang. However, the hope has been that quantum gravity effects would intervene and protect it. Loop quantum cosmology provides a near ideal setting for investigating this issue. For, on the one hand, quantum geometry effects resolve the singularity and, on the other hand, the wave function is sharply peaked at a quantum corrected but smooth geometry, which can supply the structure needed to test the bound. We find that the bound is respected. We suggest that the bound need not be an essential ingredient for a quantum gravity theory but may emerge from it under suitable circumstances.

Studies of neutrino asymmetries generated by ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillations in the early Universe and implications for big bang nucleosynthesis bounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foot, R.; Volkas, R.R. [Research Centre for High Energy Physics, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 (Australia)

1997-04-01

Ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillations can generate a significant lepton number asymmetry in the early Universe. We study this phenomenon in detail. We show that the dynamics of ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillations in the early Universe can be approximately described by a single integrodifferential equation which we derive from both the density matrix and Hamiltonian formalisms. This equation reduces to a relatively simple ordinary first-order differential equation if the system is sufficiently smooth (static limit). We study the conditions for which the static limit is an acceptable approximation. We also study the effect of the thermal distribution of neutrino momenta on the generation of lepton number. We apply these results to show that it is possible to evade (by many orders of magnitude) the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) bounds on the mixing parameters {delta}m{sup 2} and sin{sup 2}2{theta}{sub 0} describing ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillations. We show that the large angle or maximal vacuum oscillation solution to the solar neutrino problem does not significantly modify BBN for most of the parameter space of interest, provided that the {tau} and/or {mu} neutrinos have masses greater than about 1 eV. We also show that the large angle or maximal ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillation solution to the atmospheric neutrino anomaly does not significantly modify BBN for a range of parameters. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

Nickel W14 substrates for high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb-Telieps, Angelika; Gehrmann, Bodo

2008-01-01

High-temperature superconductivity is on the threshold of market launch. Starting from the results of a research project, ThyssenKrupp VDM has successfully developed an industrial-scale production process for nickel W14, which is used as substrate strip in superconductors destined for applications such as generators for wind turbines. The deoxidation of the melt presented a particular challenge. On the one hand, this is required in order to avoid fractures during the hot forming, on the other, the usual deoxidation elements have negative effects on the nanoscale texture and surface roughness needed for the substrate strip. (orig.)

An upper and lower bound of the Medication Possession Ratio

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sperber CM

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Christian M Sperber, Suren R Samarasinghe, Grace P Lomax Patient Connect Limited, Guildford, UK Background: The Medication Possession Ratio (MPR is a ubiquitous and central measurement for adherence in the health care industry. However, attempts to standardize its calculation have failed, possibly due to the opacity of a single, static MPR, incapability of directly lending itself to a variety of studies, and challenges of comparing the value across studies. This work shows that the MPR strictly depends on the length of the time interval over which it is measured as well as on the dominant dispense quantity for short time intervals. Furthermore, removing a proportion of the patient cohort based on the number of acquisitions may also have a severe impact on the MPR. Therefore, it is suggested that the MPR is represented as a trend over a range of time intervals. To this end, an upper and lower bound of the MPR trend is developed with an upper bound acknowledging patients who change their treatment and the lower bound acknowledging patients who discontinue their treatment.Purpose: Introducing a representation of the MPR value as a trend rather than a static number by developing a quantitative description of an upper and lower bound of the MPR trend, while shedding light on the impacts on prefiltering the patient cohort.Patients and methods: Anonymized patient-level data was utilized as an example for a suggested calculation of an upper and lower bound of the MPR.Results: Representation of the MPR for a predefined time interval precludes a reliable MPR assessment. A quantitative approach is suggested to generate an upper and lower trend of the MPR while emphasizing the impact on removing patients with a limited number of acquisitions.Conclusion: An upper and lower trend makes the MPR more transparent and allows a better comparison across different studies. Removing patients with a limited number of acquisitions should be avoided. Keywords: MPR

Evaluation of upper and lower bounds to energy eigenvalues in Shoenberg's perturbation-theory ground state by means of partitioning technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logrado, P.G.; Vianna, J.D.M.

Upper and lower bounds for the energy eigenvalues is Schoenberg's perturbation-theory ground state are studied. After a review of the characteristic features of the partitioning techniques the perturbative expansion proposed by Schoenberg is generated from an exact operator equation. The upper and lower bounds for the ground state eigenvalue are derived by using reaction and wave operators concepts, the bracketing function and operator inequalities. (Author) [pt

Degenerate quantum codes and the quantum Hamming bound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarvepalli, Pradeep; Klappenecker, Andreas

2010-01-01

The parameters of a nondegenerate quantum code must obey the Hamming bound. An important open problem in quantum coding theory is whether the parameters of a degenerate quantum code can violate this bound for nondegenerate quantum codes. In this article we show that Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes, over a prime power alphabet q≥5, cannot beat the quantum Hamming bound. We prove a quantum version of the Griesmer bound for the CSS codes, which allows us to strengthen the Rains' bound that an [[n,k,d

Some Improved Nonperturbative Bounds for Fermionic Expansions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lohmann, Martin, E-mail: marlohmann@gmail.com [Universita di Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Matematica (Italy)

2016-06-15

We reconsider the Gram-Hadamard bound as it is used in constructive quantum field theory and many body physics to prove convergence of Fermionic perturbative expansions. Our approach uses a recursion for the amplitudes of the expansion, discovered in a model problem by Djokic (2013). It explains the standard way to bound the expansion from a new point of view, and for some of the amplitudes provides new bounds, which avoid the use of Fourier transform, and are therefore superior to the standard bounds for models like the cold interacting Fermi gas.

Sharp Bounds for Symmetric and Asymmetric Diophantine Approximation

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Cornelis KRAAIKAMP; Ionica SMEETS

2011-01-01

In 2004,Tong found bounds for the approximation quality of a regular continued fraction convergent to a rational number,expressed in bounds for both the previous and next approximation.The authors sharpen his results with a geometric method and give both sharp upper and lower bounds.The asymptotic frequencies that these bounds occur are also calculated.

SHARP ENTRYWISE PERTURBATION BOUNDS FOR MARKOV CHAINS.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiede, Erik; VAN Koten, Brian; Weare, Jonathan

For many Markov chains of practical interest, the invariant distribution is extremely sensitive to perturbations of some entries of the transition matrix, but insensitive to others; we give an example of such a chain, motivated by a problem in computational statistical physics. We have derived perturbation bounds on the relative error of the invariant distribution that reveal these variations in sensitivity. Our bounds are sharp, we do not impose any structural assumptions on the transition matrix or on the perturbation, and computing the bounds has the same complexity as computing the invariant distribution or computing other bounds in the literature. Moreover, our bounds have a simple interpretation in terms of hitting times, which can be used to draw intuitive but rigorous conclusions about the sensitivity of a chain to various types of perturbations.

21 CFR 862.1640 - Protein-bound iodine test system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Protein-bound iodine test system. 862.1640 Section... Systems § 862.1640 Protein-bound iodine test system. (a) Identification. A protein-bound iodine test system is a device intended to measure protein-bound iodine in serum. Measurements of protein-bound...

A cosmological lower bound on the neutron electric dipole moment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.; Nanopoulos, D.V.; Rudaz, S.; Gaillard, M.K.

1980-10-01

We argue that in a wide class of grand unified theories diagrams similar to those generating baryon number in the early universe also contribute to renormalization of the CP-violating theta parameter of QCD and hence to the neutron electric dipole moment dsub(n). We then use the apparent baryon-to-photon ratio (nsub(B)/nsub(γ))>=1.3 x 10 -10 to deduce an order-of-magnitude lower bound on the neutron electric dipole moment: dsub(n) > approximately 3 x 10 -28 e-cm. Conversely the present experimental upper limit on dsub(n) implies (nsub(B)/nsub(γ) -7 . We find as a corollary that there is not much scope for entropy generation after the creation of the baryon-antibaryon asymmetry in the very early universe

Optimization and characterization of biomolecule immobilization on silicon substrates using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde linker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunda, Naga Siva Kumar; Singh, Minashree; Norman, Lana; Kaur, Kamaljit; Mitra, Sushanta K.

2014-01-01

In the present work, we developed and optimized a technique to produce a thin, stable silane layer on silicon substrate in a controlled environment using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). The effect of APTES concentration and silanization time on the formation of silane layer is studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Biomolecules of interest are immobilized on optimized silane layer formed silicon substrates using glutaraldehyde linker. Surface analytical techniques such as ellipsometry, FTIR, contact angle measurement system, and atomic force microscopy are employed to characterize the bio-chemically modified silicon surfaces at each step of the biomolecule immobilization process. It is observed that a uniform, homogenous and highly dense layer of biomolecules are immobilized with optimized silane layer on the silicon substrate. The developed immobilization method is successfully implemented on different silicon substrates (flat and pillar). Also, different types of biomolecules such as anti-human IgG (rabbit monoclonal to human IgG), Listeria monocytogenes, myoglobin and dengue capture antibodies were successfully immobilized. Further, standard sandwich immunoassay (antibody–antigen–antibody) is employed on respective capture antibody coated silicon substrates. Fluorescence microscopy is used to detect the respective FITC tagged detection antibodies bound to the surface after immunoassay.

Optimization and characterization of biomolecule immobilization on silicon substrates using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde linker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gunda, Naga Siva Kumar [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G8 (Canada); Singh, Minashree [Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9 (Canada); Norman, Lana [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2V4 (Canada); Kaur, Kamaljit [Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9 (Canada); Mitra, Sushanta K., E-mail: sushanta.mitra@ualberta.ca [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G8 (Canada)

2014-06-01

In the present work, we developed and optimized a technique to produce a thin, stable silane layer on silicon substrate in a controlled environment using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). The effect of APTES concentration and silanization time on the formation of silane layer is studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Biomolecules of interest are immobilized on optimized silane layer formed silicon substrates using glutaraldehyde linker. Surface analytical techniques such as ellipsometry, FTIR, contact angle measurement system, and atomic force microscopy are employed to characterize the bio-chemically modified silicon surfaces at each step of the biomolecule immobilization process. It is observed that a uniform, homogenous and highly dense layer of biomolecules are immobilized with optimized silane layer on the silicon substrate. The developed immobilization method is successfully implemented on different silicon substrates (flat and pillar). Also, different types of biomolecules such as anti-human IgG (rabbit monoclonal to human IgG), Listeria monocytogenes, myoglobin and dengue capture antibodies were successfully immobilized. Further, standard sandwich immunoassay (antibody–antigen–antibody) is employed on respective capture antibody coated silicon substrates. Fluorescence microscopy is used to detect the respective FITC tagged detection antibodies bound to the surface after immunoassay.

Bounds on poloidal kinetic energy in plane layer convection

Science.gov (United States)

Tilgner, A.

2017-12-01

A numerical method is presented that conveniently computes upper bounds on heat transport and poloidal energy in plane layer convection for infinite and finite Prandtl numbers. The bounds obtained for the heat transport coincide with earlier results. These bounds imply upper bounds for the poloidal energy, which follow directly from the definitions of dissipation and energy. The same constraints used for computing upper bounds on the heat transport lead to improved bounds for the poloidal energy.

Persistence-Based Branch Misprediction Bounds for WCET Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puffitsch, Wolfgang

2015-01-01

Branch prediction is an important feature of pipelined processors to achieve high performance. However, it can lead to overly pessimistic worst-case execution time (WCET) bounds when being modeled too conservatively. This paper presents bounds on the number of branch mispredictions for local...... dynamic branch predictors. To handle interferences between branch instructions we use the notion of persistence, a concept that is also found in cache analyses. The bounds apply to branches in general, not only to branches that close a loop. Furthermore, the bounds can be easily integrated into integer...... linear programming formulations of the WCET problem. An evaluation on a number of benchmarks shows that with these bounds, dynamic branch prediction does not necessarily lead to higher WCET bounds than static prediction schemes....

Positivity bounds on double parton distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diehl, Markus; Kasemets, Tomas

2013-03-01

Double hard scattering in proton-proton collisions is described in terms of double parton distributions. We derive bounds on these distributions that follow from their interpretation as probability densities, taking into account all possible spin correlations between two partons in an unpolarized proton. These bounds constrain the size of the polarized distributions and can for instance be used to set upper limits on the effects of spin correlations in double hard scattering. We show that the bounds are stable under leading-order DGLAP evolution to higher scales.

Comparison of Lasserre's Measure-based Bounds for Polynomial Optimization to Bounds Obtained by Simulated Annealing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Klerk, Etienne; Laurent, Monique

We consider the problem of minimizing a continuous function f over a compact set K. We compare the hierarchy of upper bounds proposed by Lasserre in [SIAM J. Optim. 21(3) (2011), pp. 864-885] to bounds that may be obtained from simulated annealing. We show that, when f is a polynomial and K a convex

Structural Evidence of a Major Conformational Change Triggered by Substrate Binding in DapE Enzymes: Impact on the Catalytic Mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Nocek, Boguslaw; Reidl, Cory; Starus, Anna; Heath, Tahirah; Bienvenue, David; Osipiuk, Jerzy; Jedrzejczak, Robert; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Becker, Daniel P; Holz, Richard C

2018-02-06

The X-ray crystal structure of the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae (HiDapE) bound by the products of hydrolysis, succinic acid and l,l-DAP, was determined at 1.95 Å. Surprisingly, the structure bound to the products revealed that HiDapE undergoes a significant conformational change in which the catalytic domain rotates ∼50° and shifts ∼10.1 Å (as measured at the position of the Zn atoms) relative to the dimerization domain. This heretofore unobserved closed conformation revealed significant movements within the catalytic domain compared to that of wild-type HiDapE, which results in effectively closing off access to the dinuclear Zn(II) active site with the succinate carboxylate moiety bridging the dinculear Zn(II) cluster in a μ-1,3 fashion forming a bis(μ-carboxylato)dizinc(II) core with a Zn-Zn distance of 3.8 Å. Surprisingly, His194.B, which is located on the dimerization domain of the opposing chain ∼10.1 Å from the dinuclear Zn(II) active site, forms a hydrogen bond (2.9 Å) with the oxygen atom of succinic acid bound to Zn2, forming an oxyanion hole. As the closed structure forms upon substrate binding, the movement of His194.B by more than ∼10 Å is critical, based on site-directed mutagenesis data, for activation of the scissile carbonyl carbon of the substrate for nucleophilic attack by a hydroxide nucleophile. Employing the HiDapE product-bound structure as the starting point, a reverse engineering approach called product-based transition-state modeling provided structural models for each major catalytic step. These data provide insight into the catalytic reaction mechanism and also the future design of new, potent inhibitors of DapE enzymes.

SiC substrate defects and III-N heteroepitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poust, B D [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Koga, T S [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Sandhu, R [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Heying, B [Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 (United States); Hsing, R [Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 (United States); Wojtowicz, M [Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 (United States); Khan, A [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States); Goorsky, M S [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

2003-05-21

This study addressed how defects in SiC substrates influence the crystallographic properties of AlGaN/GaN layers deposited by metallorganic vapour phase epitaxy and by molecular beam epitaxy. We employed double crystal reflection x-ray topography using symmetric (0008) and (00012) reflections with CuK{alpha} radiation ({lambda} = 1.54 A) to image dislocations, micropipes, and low angle boundaries in SiC substrates. Lattice strain near the core of a micropipe defect was estimated to be of the order of 10{sup -7}. The substrates investigated exhibited radial patterns of strain and, primarily, of tilt of the order of tens of arcsec. After deposition of the AlGaN and GaN layers, DCXRT images were generated from the substrate (0008) or (00012) and GaN epitaxial layer (0004) reflections. Full-width at half-maximum values ranging from {approx}100 to 300 arcsec were typical of the GaN reflections, while those of the 4H-SiC reflections were {approx}20-70 arcsec. Micropipes, tilt boundaries, and inclusions in the SiC were shown to produce structural defects in the GaN layers. A clear correlation between SiC substrate defects and GaN defects has been established.

SiC substrate defects and III-N heteroepitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poust, B D; Koga, T S; Sandhu, R; Heying, B; Hsing, R; Wojtowicz, M; Khan, A; Goorsky, M S

2003-01-01

This study addressed how defects in SiC substrates influence the crystallographic properties of AlGaN/GaN layers deposited by metallorganic vapour phase epitaxy and by molecular beam epitaxy. We employed double crystal reflection x-ray topography using symmetric (0008) and (00012) reflections with CuKα radiation (λ = 1.54 A) to image dislocations, micropipes, and low angle boundaries in SiC substrates. Lattice strain near the core of a micropipe defect was estimated to be of the order of 10 -7 . The substrates investigated exhibited radial patterns of strain and, primarily, of tilt of the order of tens of arcsec. After deposition of the AlGaN and GaN layers, DCXRT images were generated from the substrate (0008) or (00012) and GaN epitaxial layer (0004) reflections. Full-width at half-maximum values ranging from ∼100 to 300 arcsec were typical of the GaN reflections, while those of the 4H-SiC reflections were ∼20-70 arcsec. Micropipes, tilt boundaries, and inclusions in the SiC were shown to produce structural defects in the GaN layers. A clear correlation between SiC substrate defects and GaN defects has been established

Taming Chaos by Linear Regulation with Bound Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiqiang Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Chaos control has become an important area of research and consequently many approaches have been proposed to control chaos. This paper proposes a linear regulation method. Different from the existing approaches is that it can provide region of attraction while estimating the bounding behaviour of the norm of the states. The proposed method also possesses design flexibility and can be easily used to cater for special requirement such that control signal should be generated via single input, single state, static feedback and so forth. The applications to the Tigan system, the Genesio chaotic system, the novel chaotic system, and the Lorenz chaotic system justify the above claims.

Assessment of Gardening Wastes as a Co-Substrate for Diapers Degradation by the Fungus Pleurotus ostreatus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa María Espinosa-Valdemar

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Waste with high biomass content generated in cities in developing countries is sent to landfills or open dumps. This research aims to degrade biomass content in urban waste through cultivation, at pilot scale, of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus. First, the number of diapers used by one baby per week was measured with a survey in day care facilities. Then, cellulose content of diapers was assessed. Finally, cultivation of P. ostreatus was carried out using as substrate a mixture of diapers with gardening waste, a co-substrate readily available at urban settings. The factors assessed were strain of P. ostreatus (grey BPR-81, white BPR-5, conditioning of the substrate (diapers with and without plastic and co-substrate (wheat straw, grass, and withered leaves. Results show that diapers are a valuable source of biomass, as generation of diapers with urine is 15.3 kg/child/month and they contain 50.2% by weight of cellulose. The highest reductions in dry weight and volume (>64% of substrates was achieved with the substrate diaper without plastic and co-substrate wheat straw. Although diapers with plastic and grass and leaves showed lower degradation, they achieved efficiencies that make them suitable as a co-substrate (>40%, considering that their biomass is currently confined in landfills.

Universal bounds in even-spin CFTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qualls, Joshua D. [Department of Physics, National Taiwan University,Taipei, Taiwan (China)

2015-12-01

We prove using invariance under the modular S− and ST−transformations that every unitary two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) having only even-spin primary operators (with no extended chiral algebra and with right- and left-central charges c,c̃>1) contains a primary operator with dimension Δ{sub 1} satisfying 0<Δ{sub 1}<((c+c̃)/24)+0.09280…. After deriving both analytical and numerical bounds, we discuss how to extend our methods to bound higher conformal dimensions before deriving lower and upper bounds on the number of primary operators in a given energy range. Using the AdS{sub 3}/CFT{sub 2} dictionary, the bound on Δ{sub 1} proves the lightest massive excitation in appropriate theories of 3D matter and gravity with cosmological constant Λ<0 can be no heavier than 1/8G{sub N}+O(√(−Λ)); the bounds on the number of operators are related via AdS/CFT to the entropy of states in the dual gravitational theory. In the flat-space approximation, the limiting mass is exactly that of the lightest BTZ black hole.

Second harmonic generation in a bounded magnetoplasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, D.G.

1975-01-01

An experimental study of second harmonic generation in a magnetized plasma contained in a cylindrical cavity resonator shows how the harmonic power varies with fundamental power, background gas pressure, and magnetization. Two cavities were designed. For each the TM010 resonance was in the S-band and the TM011 resonance in the C-band. Both frequencies were harmonically related when the d.c. discharge sustaining the plasma was adjusted to give plasma frequencies of approximately 0.7 GHz and 1.53 GHz. The experimental results show the harmonic power approximately proportional to the square of the fundamental power from 5 to 100 mw, and a decreasing function of pressure from 10 to 150 millitorr. Experiments at constant plasma frequency and varying magnetic field from 0 to 3000 Gauss show a sharp drop in harmonic power to undetectable levels when the electron cyclotron frequency approximates either the fundamental or second harmonic frequencies. These effects are attributed, respectively, to the coupling of fundamental power to other modes and to cavity detuning away from the harmonic. With the plasma frequency adjusted to maintain simultaneous resonance of fundamental and harmonic, a harmonic signal maximum occurred when the upper hybrid frequency approximated the harmonic frequency. Several anomalies, apparently related to the magnetization, background gas, and electron density distribution were observed. Otherwise, the results are qualitatively consistent with the first order theory for a cold, collisional plasma

Error assessment of biogeochemical models by lower bound methods (NOMMA-1.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Sauerland

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Biogeochemical models, capturing the major feedbacks of the pelagic ecosystem of the world ocean, are today often embedded into Earth system models which are increasingly used for decision making regarding climate policies. These models contain poorly constrained parameters (e.g., maximum phytoplankton growth rate, which are typically adjusted until the model shows reasonable behavior. Systematic approaches determine these parameters by minimizing the misfit between the model and observational data. In most common model approaches, however, the underlying functions mimicking the biogeochemical processes are nonlinear and non-convex. Thus, systematic optimization algorithms are likely to get trapped in local minima and might lead to non-optimal results. To judge the quality of an obtained parameter estimate, we propose determining a preferably large lower bound for the global optimum that is relatively easy to obtain and that will help to assess the quality of an optimum, generated by an optimization algorithm. Due to the unavoidable noise component in all observations, such a lower bound is typically larger than zero. We suggest deriving such lower bounds based on typical properties of biogeochemical models (e.g., a limited number of extremes and a bounded time derivative. We illustrate the applicability of the method with two real-world examples. The first example uses real-world observations of the Baltic Sea in a box model setup. The second example considers a three-dimensional coupled ocean circulation model in combination with satellite chlorophyll a.

Error assessment of biogeochemical models by lower bound methods (NOMMA-1.0)

Science.gov (United States)

Sauerland, Volkmar; Löptien, Ulrike; Leonhard, Claudine; Oschlies, Andreas; Srivastav, Anand

2018-03-01

Biogeochemical models, capturing the major feedbacks of the pelagic ecosystem of the world ocean, are today often embedded into Earth system models which are increasingly used for decision making regarding climate policies. These models contain poorly constrained parameters (e.g., maximum phytoplankton growth rate), which are typically adjusted until the model shows reasonable behavior. Systematic approaches determine these parameters by minimizing the misfit between the model and observational data. In most common model approaches, however, the underlying functions mimicking the biogeochemical processes are nonlinear and non-convex. Thus, systematic optimization algorithms are likely to get trapped in local minima and might lead to non-optimal results. To judge the quality of an obtained parameter estimate, we propose determining a preferably large lower bound for the global optimum that is relatively easy to obtain and that will help to assess the quality of an optimum, generated by an optimization algorithm. Due to the unavoidable noise component in all observations, such a lower bound is typically larger than zero. We suggest deriving such lower bounds based on typical properties of biogeochemical models (e.g., a limited number of extremes and a bounded time derivative). We illustrate the applicability of the method with two real-world examples. The first example uses real-world observations of the Baltic Sea in a box model setup. The second example considers a three-dimensional coupled ocean circulation model in combination with satellite chlorophyll a.

Large-area WSe2 electric double layer transistors on a plastic substrate

KAUST Repository

Funahashi, Kazuma; Pu, Jiang; Li, Ming Yang; Li, Lain-Jong; Iwasa, Yoshihiro; Takenobu, Taishi

2015-01-01

Due to the requirements for large-area, uniform films, currently transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) cannot be used in flexible transistor industrial applications. In this study, we first transferred chemically grown large-area WSe2 monolayer films from the as-grown sapphire substrates to the flexible plastic substrates. We also fabricated electric double layer transistors using the WSe2 films on the plastic substrates. These transistors exhibited ambipolar operation and an ON/OFF current ratio of ∼104, demonstrating chemically grown WSe2 transistors on plastic substrates for the first time. This achievement can be an important first step for the next-generation TMDC based flexible devices. © 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Large-area WSe2 electric double layer transistors on a plastic substrate

KAUST Repository

Funahashi, Kazuma

2015-04-27

Due to the requirements for large-area, uniform films, currently transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) cannot be used in flexible transistor industrial applications. In this study, we first transferred chemically grown large-area WSe2 monolayer films from the as-grown sapphire substrates to the flexible plastic substrates. We also fabricated electric double layer transistors using the WSe2 films on the plastic substrates. These transistors exhibited ambipolar operation and an ON/OFF current ratio of ∼104, demonstrating chemically grown WSe2 transistors on plastic substrates for the first time. This achievement can be an important first step for the next-generation TMDC based flexible devices. © 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Compact ion source neutron generator

Science.gov (United States)

Schenkel, Thomas; Persaud, Arun; Kapadia, Rehan; Javey, Ali; Chang-Hasnain, Constance; Rangelow, Ivo; Kwan, Joe

2015-10-13

A neutron generator includes a conductive substrate comprising a plurality of conductive nanostructures with free-standing tips and a source of an atomic species to introduce the atomic species in proximity to the free-standing tips. A target placed apart from the substrate is voltage biased relative to the substrate to ionize and accelerate the ionized atomic species toward the target. The target includes an element capable of a nuclear fusion reaction with the ionized atomic species to produce a one or more neutrons as a reaction by-product.

Solar-bound weakly interacting massive particles a no-frills phenomenology

CERN Document Server

Collar, J I

1999-01-01

The case for a stable population of solar-bound Earth-crossing Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) is reviewed. A practical general expression for their speed distribution in the laboratory frame is derived under basic assumptions. If such a population exists -even with a conservative phase-space density-, the next generation of large-mass, low-threshold underground bolometers should bring about a sizable enhancement in WIMP sensitivity. Finally, a characteristic yearly modulation in their recoil signal, arising from the ellipticity of the Earth's orbit, is presented.

Lower bounds for the minimum distance of algebraic geometry codes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beelen, Peter

, such as the Goppa bound, the Feng-Rao bound and the Kirfel-Pellikaan bound. I will finish my talk by giving several examples. Especially for two-point codes, the generalized order bound is fairly easy to compute. As an illustration, I will indicate how a lower bound can be obtained for the minimum distance of some...... description of these codes in terms of order domains has been found. In my talk I will indicate how one can use the ideas behind the order bound to obtain a lower bound for the minimum distance of any AG-code. After this I will compare this generalized order bound with other known lower bounds...

Absolute Lower Bound on the Bounce Action

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Ryosuke; Takimoto, Masahiro

2018-03-01

The decay rate of a false vacuum is determined by the minimal action solution of the tunneling field: bounce. In this Letter, we focus on models with scalar fields which have a canonical kinetic term in N (>2 ) dimensional Euclidean space, and derive an absolute lower bound on the bounce action. In the case of four-dimensional space, we show the bounce action is generically larger than 24 /λcr, where λcr≡max [-4 V (ϕ )/|ϕ |4] with the false vacuum being at ϕ =0 and V (0 )=0 . We derive this bound on the bounce action without solving the equation of motion explicitly. Our bound is derived by a quite simple discussion, and it provides useful information even if it is difficult to obtain the explicit form of the bounce solution. Our bound offers a sufficient condition for the stability of a false vacuum, and it is useful as a quick check on the vacuum stability for given models. Our bound can be applied to a broad class of scalar potential with any number of scalar fields. We also discuss a necessary condition for the bounce action taking a value close to this lower bound.

Evacuation of Bed-bound Patients-STEPS Simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Anne; Dederichs, Anne Simone

2016-01-01

Fires in hospitals occur, and evacuation of bed-bound patients might be necessary in case of emergency. The current study concerns the evacuation of bed-bound patients from a fire section in a hospital using hospital porters. The simulations are performed using the STEPS program. The aim...... of the study is to investigate the evacuation time of bed-bound hospital patients using different walking speeds from the literature, and the influence of the number of hospital porters on the total evacuation times of bed-bound patients. Different scenarios were carried out with varying staff......-to-patient ratios that simulate the horizontal evacuation of 40 bed-bound patients into a different fire section. It was found that the staff-to-patient-ratio affects the total evacuation times. However, the total evacuation times do not decrease linearly and a saturation effect is seen at a staff-to-patient ratio...

Bounds in the location-allocation problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juel, Henrik

1981-01-01

Develops a family of stronger lower bounds on the objective function value of the location-allocation problem. Solution methods proposed to solve problems in location-allocation; Efforts to develop a more efficient bound solution procedure; Determination of the locations of the sources....

Interaction of metallic nanoparticles with dielectric substrates: effect of optical constants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutter, Tanya; Elliott, Stephen R; Mahajan, Sumeet

2013-01-01

In this paper, we study the local-field enhancement in a system of a metallic nanoparticle placed very near to a dielectric substrate. In such systems, intense electric fields are localized in the gap between the particle and the substrate, creating a ‘hot-spot’ under appropriate excitation conditions. We use finite-element numerical simulations in order to study the field enhancement in this dielectric–metal system. More specifically, we show how the optical properties of the dielectric substrate (n and k) affect the plasmonic field enhancement in the nano-gap. We also analyze the degree of field confinement in the gap and discuss it in the context of utilization for surface-enhanced Raman scattering. We finally show the fields generated by real substrates and compare them to metallic ones. (paper)

Architecture-independent power bound for vibration energy harvesters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halvorsen, E; Le, C P; Mitcheson, P D; Yeatman, E M

2013-01-01

The maximum output power of energy harvesters driven by harmonic vibrations is well known for a range of specific harvester architectures. An architecture-independent bound based on the mechanical input-power also exists and gives a strict limit on achievable power with one mechanical degree of freedom, but is a least upper bound only for lossless devices. We report a new theoretical bound on the output power of vibration energy harvesters that includes parasitic, linear mechanical damping while still being architecture independent. This bound greatly improves the previous bound at moderate force amplitudes and is compared to the performance of established harvester architectures which are shown to agree with it in limiting cases. The bound is a hard limit on achievable power with one mechanical degree of freedom and can not be circumvented by transducer or power-electronic-interface design

Uniform bounds for Black--Scholes implied volatility

OpenAIRE

Tehranchi, Michael R.

2015-01-01

In this note, Black--Scholes implied volatility is expressed in terms of various optimisation problems. From these representations, upper and lower bounds are derived which hold uniformly across moneyness and call price. Various symmetries of the Black--Scholes formula are exploited to derive new bounds from old. These bounds are used to reprove asymptotic formulae for implied volatility at extreme strikes and/or maturities.

Interaction of solitons and the formation of bound states in the generalized Lugiato-Lefever equation

Science.gov (United States)

Parra-Rivas, Pedro; Gomila, Damia; Colet, Pere; Gelens, Lendert

2017-07-01

Bound states, also called soliton molecules, can form as a result of the interaction between individual solitons. This interaction is mediated through the tails of each soliton that overlap with one another. When such soliton tails have spatial oscillations, locking or pinning between two solitons can occur at fixed distances related with the wavelength of these oscillations, thus forming a bound state. In this work, we study the formation and stability of various types of bound states in the Lugiato-Lefever equation by computing their interaction potential and by analyzing the properties of the oscillatory tails. Moreover, we study the effect of higher order dispersion and noise in the pump intensity on the dynamics of bound states. In doing so, we reveal that perturbations to the Lugiato-Lefever equation that maintain reversibility, such as fourth order dispersion, lead to bound states that tend to separate from one another in time when noise is added. This separation force is determined by the shape of the envelope of the interaction potential, as well as an additional Brownian ratchet effect. In systems with broken reversibility, such as third order dispersion, this ratchet effect continues to push solitons within a bound state apart. However, the force generated by the envelope of the potential is now such that it pushes the solitons towards each other, leading to a null net drift of the solitons. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Theory and Applications of the Lugiato-Lefever Equation", edited by Yanne K. Chembo, Damia Gomila, Mustapha Tlidi, Curtis R. Menyuk.

Formation of helical dislocations in ammonothermal GaN substrate by heat treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horibuchi, Kayo; Yamaguchi, Satoshi; Kimoto, Yasuji; Nishikawa, Koichi; Kachi, Tetsu

2016-01-01

GaN substrate produced by the basic ammonothermal method and an epitaxial layer on the substrate was evaluated using synchrotron radiation x-ray topography and transmission electron microscopy. We revealed that the threading dislocations present in the GaN substrate are deformed into helical dislocations and the generation of the voids by heat treatment in the substrate for the first observation in the GaN crystal. These phenomena are formed by the interactions between the dislocations and vacancies. The helical dislocation was formed in the substrate region, and not in the epitaxial layer region. Furthermore, the evaluation of the influence of the dislocations on the leakage current of Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on the epitaxial layer is discussed. The dislocations did not affect the leakage current characteristics of the epitaxial layer. Our results suggest that the deformation of dislocations in the GaN substrate does not adversely affect the epitaxial layer. (paper)

Mechanism of the Quorum-Quenching Lactonase (AiiA) from Bacillus thuringiensis. 1. Product-Bound Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Dali; Momb, Jessica; Thomas, Pei W.; Moulin, Aaron; Petsko, Gregory A.; Fast, Walter; Ringe, Dagmar (Brandeis); (Texas)

2008-08-06

Enzymes capable of hydrolyzing N-acyl-l-homoserine lactones (AHLs) used in some bacterial quorum-sensing pathways are of considerable interest for their ability to block undesirable phenotypes. Most known AHL hydrolases that catalyze ring opening (AHL lactonases) are members of the metallo-{beta}-lactamase enzyme superfamily and rely on a dinuclear zinc site for catalysis and stability. Here we report the three-dimensional structures of three product complexes formed with the AHL lactonase from Bacillus thuringiensis. Structures of the lactonase bound with two different concentrations of the ring-opened product of N-hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone are determined at 0.95 and 1.4 {angstrom} resolution and exhibit different product configurations. A structure of the ring-opened product of the non-natural N-hexanoyl-l-homocysteine thiolactone at 1.3 {angstrom} resolution is also determined. On the basis of these product-bound structures, a substrate-binding model is presented that differs from previous proposals. Additionally, the proximity of the product to active-site residues and observed changes in protein conformation and metal coordination provide insight into the catalytic mechanism of this quorum-quenching metalloenzyme.

Bounds on fluid permeability for viscous flow through porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berryman, J.G.

1985-01-01

General properties of variational bounds on Darcy's constant for slow viscous flow through porous media are studied. The bounds are also evaluated numerically for the penetrable sphere model. The bound of Doi depending on two-point correlations and the analytical bound of Weissberg and Prager give comparable results in the low density limit but the analytical bound is superior for higher densities. Prager's bound depending on three-point correlation functions is worse than the analytical bound at low densities but better (although comparable to it) at high densities. A procedure for methodically improving Prager's three point bound is presented. By introducing a Gaussian trial function, the three-point bound is improved by an order of magnitude for moderate values of porosity. The new bounds are comparable in magnitude to the Kozeny--Carman empirical relation for porous materials

Effects of polyacrylamide on soil erosion and nutrient losses from substrate material in steep rocky slope stabilization projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhang; Chen, Wenlu; Li, Chengjun; Pu, Yanpin; Sun, Haifeng

2016-06-01

Erosion of denuded steep rocky slopes causes increasing losses of nitrogen and phosphorus, which is a severe problem in rocky slope protection. Thus, it is important to determine the appropriate materials that can reduce the erodibility and losses of nitrogen and phosphorus of the soil. In this paper, twenty-seven simulated rainfall events were carried out in a greenhouse, in which the substrate material was artificial soil; nine types of anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) were studied, which consisted of three molecular weight (6, 12, and 18 Mg mol(-1)) and three charge density (10, 20, and 30%) formulations in a 3 by 3 factorial design. The results showed that: (1) Polyacrylamide application reduced total nitrogen losses by 35.3% to 50.0% and total phosphorus losses by 34.9% to 48.0% relative to the control group. (2) The losses of total nitrogen and total phosphorus had significant correlation with the molecular weight. Besides, the losses of total phosphorus, particulate-bound phosphorus and inorganic nitrogen (NH4-N) were significantly correlated with their molecular weight and charge density. However, the losses of dissolved organic nitrogen, inorganic nitrogen (NO3-N), dissolved organic phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus (PO4-P) were non-significantly correlated with molecular weight and charge density. (3) Particulate-bound nitrogen and phosphorus were responsible for the losses of nitrogen and phosphorus during runoff events, where particulate-bound nitrogen made up 71.7% to 73.2% of total nitrogen losses, and particulate-bound phosphorus made up 82.3% to 85.2% of total phosphorus losses. (4) Polyacrylamide treatments increased water-stable aggregates content by 32.3% to 59.1%, total porosity by 11.3% to 49.0%, final infiltrative rate by 41.3% to 72.5%, and reduced soil erosion by 18.9% to 39.8% compared with the control group. Overall, the results of this study indicated that polyacrylamide application in the steep rocky slope stabilization projects could

Searches for Fourth Generation Fermions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, A.; /Fermilab

2011-09-01

We present the results from searches for fourth generation fermions performed using data samples collected by the CDF II and D0 Detectors at the Fermilab Tevatron p{bar p} collider. Many of these results represent the most stringent 95% C. L. limits on masses of new fermions to-date. A fourth chiral generation of massive fermions with the same quantum numbers as the known fermions is one of the simplest extensions of the SM with three generations. The fourth generation is predicted in a number of theories, and although historically have been considered disfavored, stands in agreement with electroweak precision data. To avoid Z {yields} {nu}{bar {nu}} constraint from LEP I a fourth generation neutrino {nu}{sub 4} must be heavy: m({nu}{sub 4}) > m{sub Z}/2, where m{sub Z} is the mass of Z boson, and to avoid LEP II bounds a fourth generation charged lepton {ell}{sub 4} must have m({ell}{sub 4}) > 101 GeV/c{sup 2}. At the same time due to sizeable radiative corrections masses of fourth generation fermions cannot be much higher the current lower bounds and masses of new heavy quarks t' and b' should be in the range of a few hundred GeV/c{sup 2}. In the four-generation model the present bounds on the Higgs are relaxed: the Higgs mass could be as large as 1 TeV/c{sup 2}. Furthermore, the CP violation is significantly enhanced to the magnitude that might account for the baryon asymmetry in the Universe. Additional chiral fermion families can also be accommodated in supersymmetric two-Higgs-doublet extensions of the SM with equivalent effect on the precision fit to the Higgs mass. Another possibility is heavy exotic quarks with vector couplings to the W boson Contributions to radiative corrections from such quarks with mass M decouple as 1/M{sup 2} and easily evade all experimental constraints. At the Tevatron p{bar p} collider 4-th generation chiral or vector-like quarks can be either produced strongly in pairs or singly via electroweak production, where the

Lower bound on inconclusive probability of unambiguous discrimination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Yuan; Zhang Shengyu; Duan Runyao; Ying Mingsheng

2002-01-01

We derive a lower bound on the inconclusive probability of unambiguous discrimination among n linearly independent quantum states by using the constraint of no signaling. It improves the bound presented in the paper of Zhang, Feng, Sun, and Ying [Phys. Rev. A 64, 062103 (2001)], and when the optimal discrimination can be reached, these two bounds coincide with each other. An alternative method of constructing an appropriate measurement to prove the lower bound is also presented

Models and Techniques for Proving Data Structure Lower Bounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kasper Green

In this dissertation, we present a number of new techniques and tools for proving lower bounds on the operational time of data structures. These techniques provide new lines of attack for proving lower bounds in both the cell probe model, the group model, the pointer machine model and the I...... bound of tutq = (lgd􀀀1 n). For ball range searching, we get a lower bound of tutq = (n1􀀀1=d). The highest previous lower bound proved in the group model does not exceed ((lg n= lg lg n)2) on the maximum of tu and tq. Finally, we present a new technique for proving lower bounds....../O-model. In all cases, we push the frontiers further by proving lower bounds higher than what could possibly be proved using previously known techniques. For the cell probe model, our results have the following consequences: The rst (lg n) query time lower bound for linear space static data structures...

A generalization of resource-bounded measure, with an application (Extended abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Buhrman, Harry; van Melkebeek, Dieter; Regan, Kenneth W.; Sivakumar, D.; Strauss, Martin

We introduce resource-bounded betting games, and propose a generalization of Lutz's resource-bounded measure in which the choice of next string to bet on is fully adaptive. Lutz's martingales are equivalent to betting games constrained to bet on strings in lexicographic order. We show that if strong pseudo-random number generators exist, then betting games are equivalent to martingales, for measure on E and EXP. However, we construct betting games that succeed on certain classes whose Lutz measures are important open problems: the class of polynomial-time Turing-complete languages in EXP, and its superclass of polynomial-time Turing-autoreducible languages. If an EXP-martingale succeeds on either of these classes, or if betting games have the "finite union property" possessed by Lutz's measure, one obtains the non-relativizable consequence BPP ≠ EXP. We also show that if EXP ≠ MA, then the polynomial-time truth-table-autoreducible languages have Lutz measure zero, whereas if EXP = BPP, they have measure one.

Applications of fibrous substrates containing insolubilized phase change polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Vigo, Tyrone L.; Bruno, Joseph S.

1993-01-01

Incorporation of polyethylene glycols into fibrous substrates produces several improved functional properties when they are insolubilized by crosslinking with a methylolamide resin or by polyacetal formation by their reaction with glyoxal. The range of molecular weights of polyols that may be insolubilized is broad as are the curing conditions (0.25-10 min at 80-200C). Most representative fiber types and blends (natural and synthetic) and all types of fabric constructions (woven, nonwoven and knit) have been modified by incorporation of the bound polyols. The most novel property is the thermal adaptability of the modified substrates to many climatic conditions. This adaptability is due to the high latent heat of the crosslinked polyols that function as phase change materials, the hydrophilic nature of the crosslinked polymer and its enhanced thermal conductivity. Other enhanced properties imparted to fabrics include flex and flat abrasion, antimicrobial activity, reduced static charge, resistance to oily soils, resiliency, wind resistance and reduced lint loss. Applications commercialized in the U.S. and Japan include sportswear and skiwear. Several examples of electric sets of properties useful for specific end uses are given. In addition, other uses are biomedical horticultural, aerospace, indoor insulation, automotive interiors and components and packaging material.

Applications of fibrous substrates containing insolubilized phase change polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Vigo, Tyrone L.; Bruno, Joseph S.

1993-02-01

Incorporation of polyethylene glycols into fibrous substrates produces several improved functional properties when they are insolubilized by crosslinking with a methylolamide resin or by polyacetal formation by their reaction with glyoxal. The range of molecular weights of polyols that may be insolubilized is broad as are the curing conditions (0.25-10 min at 80-200C). Most representative fiber types and blends (natural and synthetic) and all types of fabric constructions (woven, nonwoven and knit) have been modified by incorporation of the bound polyols. The most novel property is the thermal adaptability of the modified substrates to many climatic conditions. This adaptability is due to the high latent heat of the crosslinked polyols that function as phase change materials, the hydrophilic nature of the crosslinked polymer and its enhanced thermal conductivity. Other enhanced properties imparted to fabrics include flex and flat abrasion, antimicrobial activity, reduced static charge, resistance to oily soils, resiliency, wind resistance and reduced lint loss. Applications commercialized in the U.S. and Japan include sportswear and skiwear. Several examples of electric sets of properties useful for specific end uses are given. In addition, other uses are biomedical horticultural, aerospace, indoor insulation, automotive interiors and components and packaging material.

Stacked spheres and lower bound theorem

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

BASUDEB DATTA

2011-11-20

Nov 20, 2011 ... Preliminaries. Lower bound theorem. On going work. Definitions. An n-simplex is a convex hull of n + 1 affinely independent points. (called vertices) in some Euclidean space R. N . Stacked spheres and lower bound theorem. Basudeb Datta. Indian Institute of Science. 2 / 27 ...

Exponential Lower Bounds For Policy Iteration

OpenAIRE

Fearnley, John

2010-01-01

We study policy iteration for infinite-horizon Markov decision processes. It has recently been shown policy iteration style algorithms have exponential lower bounds in a two player game setting. We extend these lower bounds to Markov decision processes with the total reward and average-reward optimality criteria.

An upper bound on Q-star masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hochron, D.R.; Selipsky, S.B.

1992-06-01

Q-stars (the gravitational generalization of Q-balls, strongly bound bulk matter that an appear in field theories of strongly interacting hadrons) are the only known impact objects consistent with the known bulk structure of nuclei and chiral symmetry that evade the Rhoades-Ruffini upper bound of 3.2M circle-dot . Generic bounds are quite weak: M Q-star circle-dot . If, however, we assume that the 1.558 ms pulsar is a Q-star, equilibrium. A stability criteria of rotating fluids place a much stronger upper bound of M c ≤ 5.3M circle-dot on such models under certain special assumptions. This has important implications for heavy compact objects such as Cygnus X-1

Upper bounds for reversible circuits based on Young subgroups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abdessaied, Nabila; Soeken, Mathias; Thomsen, Michael Kirkedal

2014-01-01

We present tighter upper bounds on the number of Toffoli gates needed in reversible circuits. Both multiple controlled Toffoli gates and mixed polarity Toffoli gates have been considered for this purpose. The calculation of the bounds is based on a synthesis approach based on Young subgroups...... that results in circuits using a more generalized gate library. Starting from an upper bound for this library we derive new bounds which improve the existing bound by around 77%....

Bounds on achievable accuracy in analog optical linear-algebra processors

Science.gov (United States)

Batsell, Stephen G.; Walkup, John F.; Krile, Thomas F.

1990-07-01

Upper arid lower bounds on the number of bits of accuracy achievable are determined by applying a seconth-ortler statistical model to the linear algebra processor. The use of bounds was found necessary due to the strong signal-dependence of the noise at the output of the optical linear algebra processor (OLAP). 1 1. ACCURACY BOUNDS One of the limiting factors in applying OLAPs to real world problems has been the poor achievable accuracy of these processors. Little previous research has been done on determining noise sources from a systems perspective which would include noise generated in the multiplication ard addition operations spatial variations across arrays and crosstalk. We have previously examined these noise sources and determined a general model for the output noise mean and variance. The model demonstrates a strony signaldependency in the noise at the output of the processor which has been confirmed by our experiments. 1 We define accuracy similar to its definition for an analog signal input to an analog-to-digital (ND) converter. The number of bits of accuracy achievable is related to the log (base 2) of the number of separable levels at the P/D converter output. The number of separable levels is fouri by dividing the dynamic range by m times the standard deviation of the signal a. 2 Here m determines the error rate in the P/D conversion. The dynamic range can be expressed as the

Structural insight into mechanism and diverse substrate selection strategy of L-ribulokinase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal R.; Swaminathan S.; Burley, S. K.

2012-01-01

The araBAD operon encodes three different enzymes required for catabolism of L-arabinose, which is one of the most abundant monosaccharides in nature. L-ribulokinase, encoded by the araB gene, catalyzes conversion of L-ribulose to L-ribulose-5-phosphate, the second step in the catabolic pathway. Unlike other kinases, ribulokinase exhibits diversity in substrate selectivity and catalyzes phosphorylation of all four 2-ketopentose sugars with comparable k{sub cat} values. To understand ribulokinase recognition and phosphorylation of a diverse set of substrates, we have determined the X-ray structure of ribulokinase from Bacillus halodurans bound to L-ribulose and investigated its substrate and ATP co-factor binding properties. The polypeptide chain is folded into two domains, one small and the other large, with a deep cleft in between. By analogy with related sugar kinases, we identified {sup 447}{und GG}LPQ{und K}{sup 452} as the ATP-binding motif within the smaller domain. L-ribulose binds in the cleft between the two domains via hydrogen bonds with the side chains of highly conserved Trp126, Lys208, Asp274, and Glu329 and the main chain nitrogen of Ala96. The interaction of L-ribulokinase with L-ribulose reveals versatile structural features that help explain recognition of various 2-ketopentose substrates and competitive inhibition by L-erythrulose. Comparison of our structure to that of the structures of other sugar kinases revealed conformational variations that suggest domain-domain closure movements are responsible for establishing the observed active site environment.

Resignation syndrome: Catatonia? Culture-bound?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl eSallin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Resignation syndrome (RS designates a long-standing disorder predominately affecting psychologically traumatised children and adolescents in the midst of a strenuous and lengthy migration process. Typically a depressive onset is followed by gradual withdrawal progressing via stupor into a state that prompts tube feeding and is characterised by failure to respond even to painful stimuli. The patient is seemingly unconscious. Recovery ensues within months to years and is claimed to be dependent on the restoration of hope to the family.Descriptions of disorders resembling RS can be found in the literature and the condition is unlikely novel. Nevertheless, the magnitude and geographical distribution stand out. Several hundred cases have been reported exclusively in Sweden in the past decade prompting the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare to recognise RS as a separate diagnostic entity. The currently prevailing stress hypothesis fails to account for the regional distribution and contributes little to treatment. Consequently, a re-evaluation of diagnostics and treatment is required. Psychogenic catatonia is proposed to supply the best fit with the clinical presentation. Treatment response, altered brain metabolism or preserved awareness would support this hypothesis.Epidemiological data suggests culture-bound beliefs and expectations to generate and direct symptom expression and we argue that culture-bound psychogenesis can accommodate the endemic distribution.Last, we review recent models of predictive coding indicating how expectation processes are crucially involved in the placebo and nocebo effect, delusions and conversion disorders. Building on this theoretical framework we propose a neurobiological model of RS in which the impact of overwhelming negative expectations are directly causative of the down-regulation of higher order and lower order behavioural systems in particularly vulnerable individuals.

Study on Buckling of Stiff Thin Films on Soft Substrates as Functional Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Teng

In engineering, buckling is mechanical instability of walls or columns under compression and usually is a problem that engineers try to prevent. In everyday life buckles (wrinkles) on different substrates are ubiquitous -- from human skin to a rotten apple they are a commonly observed phenomenon. It seems that buckles with macroscopic wavelengths are not technologically useful; over the past decade or so, however, thanks to the widespread availability of soft polymers and silicone materials micro-buckles with wavelengths in submicron to micron scale have received increasing attention because it is useful for generating well-ordered periodic microstructures spontaneously without conventional lithographic techniques. This thesis investigates the buckling behavior of thin stiff films on soft polymeric substrates and explores a variety of applications, ranging from optical gratings, optical masks, energy harvest to energy storage. A laser scanning technique is proposed to detect micro-strain induced by thermomechanical loads and a periodic buckling microstructure is employed as a diffraction grating with broad wavelength tunability, which is spontaneously generated from a metallic thin film on polymer substrates. A mechanical strategy is also presented for quantitatively buckling nanoribbons of piezoelectric material on polymer substrates involving the combined use of lithographically patterning surface adhesion sites and transfer printing technique. The precisely engineered buckling configurations provide a route to energy harvesters with extremely high levels of stretchability. This stiff-thin-film/polymer hybrid structure is further employed into electrochemical field to circumvent the electrochemically-driven stress issue in silicon-anode-based lithium ion batteries. It shows that the initial flat silicon-nanoribbon-anode on a polymer substrate tends to buckle to mitigate the lithiation-induced stress so as to avoid the pulverization of silicon anode. Spontaneously

Uniform Bounds for Black--Scholes Implied Volatility

OpenAIRE

Tehranchi, Michael Rummine

2016-01-01

In this note, Black--Scholes implied volatility is expressed in terms of various optimization problems. From these representations, upper and lower bounds are derived which hold uniformly across moneyness and call price. Various symmetries of the Black--Scholes formula are exploited to derive new bounds from old. These bounds are used to reprove asymptotic formulas for implied volatility at extreme strikes and/or maturities. the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 10.1137/14095248X

Multipartite bound entanglement and three-setting Bell inequalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaszlikowski, Dagomir; Chen Jingling; Oh, C.H.; Kwek, L.C.

2002-01-01

It was shown by Dur [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 230402 (2001)] that N (N≥4) qubits described by a certain one-parameter family F of bound entangled states violate the Mermin-Klyshko inequality for N≥8. In this paper we prove that the states from the family F violate Bell inequalities derived by Zukowski and Kaszlikowski [Phys. Rev. A 56, R1682 (1997)], in which each observer measures three noncommuting sets of orthogonal projectors, for N≥7. We also derive a simple one-parameter family of entanglement witnesses that detect entanglement for all the states belonging to F. It is possible that these entanglement witnesses could be generated by some Bell inequalities

Generation and confinement of mobile charges in buried oxide of SOI substrates; Generation et confinement de charges mobiles dans les oxydes enterres de substrats SOI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gruber, O.; Krawiec, S.; Musseau, O.; Paillet, Ph.; Courtot-Descharles, A. [CEA Bruyeres-le-Chatel, DIF, 91 (France)

1999-07-01

We analyze the mechanisms of generation and confinement of mobile protons resulting from hydrogen annealing of SOI buried oxides. This study of the mechanisms of generation and confinement of mobile protons in the buried oxide of SOI wafers emphasizes the importance of H+ diffusion in the oxide in the formation of a mobile charge. Under specific electric field conditions the irradiation of these devices results in a pinning of this mobile charge at the bottom Si-SiO{sub 2} interface. Ab initio calculations are in progress to investigate the possible precursor defects in the oxide and detail the mechanism for mobile proton generation and confinement. (authors)

Bacterial protease uses distinct thermodynamic signatures for substrate recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezerra, Gustavo Arruda; Ohara-Nemoto, Yuko; Cornaciu, Irina; Fedosyuk, Sofiya; Hoffmann, Guillaume; Round, Adam; Márquez, José A; Nemoto, Takayuki K; Djinović-Carugo, Kristina

2017-06-06

Porphyromonas gingivalis and Porphyromonas endodontalis are important bacteria related to periodontitis, the most common chronic inflammatory disease in humans worldwide. Its comorbidity with systemic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, oral cancers and cardiovascular diseases, continues to generate considerable interest. Surprisingly, these two microorganisms do not ferment carbohydrates; rather they use proteinaceous substrates as carbon and energy sources. However, the underlying biochemical mechanisms of their energy metabolism remain unknown. Here, we show that dipeptidyl peptidase 11 (DPP11), a central metabolic enzyme in these bacteria, undergoes a conformational change upon peptide binding to distinguish substrates from end products. It binds substrates through an entropy-driven process and end products in an enthalpy-driven fashion. We show that increase in protein conformational entropy is the main-driving force for substrate binding via the unfolding of specific regions of the enzyme ("entropy reservoirs"). The relationship between our structural and thermodynamics data yields a distinct model for protein-protein interactions where protein conformational entropy modulates the binding free-energy. Further, our findings provide a framework for the structure-based design of specific DPP11 inhibitors.

Growth on nonpolar and semipolar GaN: The substrate dilemma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wernicke, T.; Weyers, M. [Ferdinand-Braun-Institute, Berlin (Germany); Kneissl, M. [Ferdinand-Braun-Institute, Berlin (Germany); Institute of Solid State Physics, TU Berlin (Germany)

2009-07-01

Growth of nonpolar and semipolar GaN is very promising for achieving green laser diodes (LDs). However, the choice of the substrate is a difficult one: Heteroepitaxial growth on sapphire, SiC, LiAlO{sub 2} yields GaN films with a poor surface quality and high defect densities. On the other hand non- and semipolar bulk GaN substrates provide excellent crystal quality, but are so far only available in very small sizes. In this paper hetero- and homoepitaxial growth is compared. For all heteroepitaxially grown semi- and nonpolar GaN layers threading dislocations (TD) and basal plane stacking faults (BSF) can be found. There are four possible mechanisms for the generation of BSF: Growth of the N-polar basal plane, formation during nucleation at substrate steps, formation at the coalescence front of differently stacked nucleation islands, and generation at planar defects occurring in m-plane GaN on LiAlO{sub 2}. BSF induce surface roughening and are associated with partial dislocations causing nonradiative recombination. Thus they affect the performance of devices. We show that BSFs and TDs can be reduced by epitaxial lateral overgrowth resulting in several micrometer wide defect free areas. However, for LEDs larger defect-free areas are required. GaN layers grown on bulk GaN substrates exhibit a high crystal quality, but show in many cases long-range surface structures with a height of {approx}1{mu}m.

Proximity effect tunneling into virtual bound state alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, I.M.; Roongkkeadsakoon, S.

1984-01-01

The effects of a narrow virtual bound state formed by transition metal impurities dissolved in the normal layer of a superconducting proximity effect sandwich are studied. Using standard renormalization techniques, we obtain the changes in the transition temperatures and the jumps in the specific heat at T/sub c/ as a function of the thickness of the normal layer, of the widths of the virtual bound states, and of the impurity concentrations. It is seen that narrow virtual bound states lead to decrease in the transition temperatures, while broad virtual bound states do not. It if further seen that the narrow virtual bound state causes the reduced specific heat jump at T/sub c/ to deviate from the BCS behavior expected of the pure sandwich

A strongly quasiconvex PAC-Bayesian bound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thiemann, Niklas; Igel, Christian; Wintenberger, Olivier

2017-01-01

We propose a new PAC-Bayesian bound and a way of constructing a hypothesis space, so that the bound is convex in the posterior distribution and also convex in a trade-off parameter between empirical performance of the posterior distribution and its complexity. The complexity is measured by the Ku...

Future trends in computer waste generation in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Dwivedy, Maheshwar; Mittal, R K

2010-11-01

The objective of this paper is to estimate the future projection of computer waste in India and to subsequently analyze their flow at the end of their useful phase. For this purpose, the study utilizes the logistic model-based approach proposed by Yang and Williams to forecast future trends in computer waste. The model estimates future projection of computer penetration rate utilizing their first lifespan distribution and historical sales data. A bounding analysis on the future carrying capacity was simulated using the three parameter logistic curve. The observed obsolete generation quantities from the extrapolated penetration rates are then used to model the disposal phase. The results of the bounding analysis indicate that in the year 2020, around 41-152 million units of computers will become obsolete. The obsolete computer generation quantities are then used to estimate the End-of-Life outflows by utilizing a time-series multiple lifespan model. Even a conservative estimate of the future recycling capacity of PCs will reach upwards of 30 million units during 2025. Apparently, more than 150 million units could be potentially recycled in the upper bound case. However, considering significant future investment in the e-waste recycling sector from all stakeholders in India, we propose a logistic growth in the recycling rate and estimate the requirement of recycling capacity between 60 and 400 million units for the lower and upper bound case during 2025. Finally, we compare the future obsolete PC generation amount of the US and India. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sharp bounds for periodic solutions of Lipschitzian differential equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zevin, A A

2009-01-01

A general system of Lipschitzian differential equations, containing simultaneously terms without delay and with arbitrary constant and time-varying delays, is considered. For the autonomous case, a lower bound for the period of nonconstant periodic solutions, expressed in the respective supremum Lipschitz constants, is found. For nonautonomous periodic equations, explicit upper bounds for the amplitudes and maximum derivatives of periodic solutions are obtained. For all n ≥ 2, the bounds do not depend on n and, in general, are different from that for n = 1. All the bounds are sharp; they are attained in linear differential equations with piece-wise constant deviating arguments. A relation between the obtained bounds and the sharp bounds in other metrics is established

Ultrafast dynamics of ligand and substrate interaction in endothelial nitric oxide synthase under Soret excitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Chih-Chang; Yabushita, Atsushi; Kobayashi, Takayoshi; Chen, Pei-Feng; Liang, Keng S

2016-01-01

Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of endothelial NOS oxygenase domain (eNOS-oxy) was performed to study dynamics of ligand or substrate interaction under Soret band excitation. Photo-excitation dissociates imidazole ligand in 4ps. The eNOS-oxy without additive is partially bound with water molecule, thus its photoexcited dynamics also shows ligand dissociation in <800fs. Then it followed by vibrational cooling coupled with charge transfer in 4.8ps, and recombination of ligand to distal side of heme in 12ps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear spectroscopy of the bound exciton states in CdSe single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisitsa, M.P.; Onishchenko, N.A.; Stolyarenko, A.V.; Ananchenko, V.V.; Polishchuk, S.V.

1989-01-01

The study is devoted to the pulsed laser radiation effect on the time-resolved variations of free and bound exciton bands region at the helium temperature. A gradual disappearance of the bound I 2 exciton state is observed with increase of the excitation intensity I in CdSe transmission spectra. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that despite of the shorter life of I 2 excitons as compared to the free ones, the concentration of the centres on which they localize is rather low (≤10 16 cm -3 ) while the evolution of the light-generated electron-hole pairs is such as the most probable recombination through the bound excitons. The transmission spectrum kinetics is studied. The intensity limitation of the laser pulse transmitted through the crystal in the region of the exciton ground state region is shown to be related with two-photon absorption (TPA) in which the exciton state is an intermediate level. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experiment. The estimations show the giant TPA coefficient of ∼10 3 cm/MW. The evolution of photoexcited nonequilibrium electron-hole pairs is studied. The possibility of using CdSe single crystals as spectrum-selective limiters of the laser pulses is shown. (author)

Nonlinear bound on unstable field energy in relativistic electron beams and plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, R.C.; Yoon, P.H.

1989-01-01

This paper makes use of Fowler's method [J. Math Phys. 4, 559 (1963)] to determine the nonlinear thermodynamic bound on field energy in unstable plasmas or electron beams in which the electrons are relativistic. Treating the electrons as the only active plasma component, the nonlinear Vlasov--Maxwell equations and the associated global conservation constraints are used to calculate the lowest upper bound on the field energy [ΔE-script/sub F/]/sub max/ that can evolve for the general initial electron distribution function f/sub b//sub / 0 equivalentf/sub b/(x,p,0). The results are applied to three choices of the initial distribution function f/sub b//sub / 0 . Two of the distribution functions have an inverted population in momentum p/sub perpendicular/ perpendicular to the magnetic field B 0 e/sub z/, and the third distribution function reduces to a bi-Maxwellian in the nonrelativistic limit. The lowest upper bound on the efficiency of radiation generation, eta/sub max/ = [ΔE-script/sub F/]/sub max//[V -1 ∫ d 3 x∫ d 3 p(γ-1)mc 2 f/sub b//sub / 0 ], is calculated numerically over a wide range of system parameters for varying degrees of initial anisotropy

Release of sulfur- and oxygen-bound components from a sulfur-rich kerogen during simulated maturation by hydrous pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Putschew, A.; Schaeffer-Reiss, C.; Schaeffer, P.; Koopmans, M.P.; De Leeuw, J. W.; Lewan, M.D.; Sinninghe, Damste J.S.; Maxwell, J.R.

1998-01-01

An immature sulfur-rich marl from the Gessosso-solfifera Formation of the Vena del Gesso Basin (Messinian, Italy) has been subjected to hydrous pyrolysis (160 to 330??C) to simulate maturation under natural conditions. The kerogen of the unheated and heated samples was isolated and the hydrocarbons released by selective chemical degradation (Li/EtNH2 and HI/LiAIH4) were analysed to allow a study of the fate of sulfur- and oxygen-bound species with increasing temperature. The residues from the chemical treatments were also subjected to pyrolysis-GC to follow structural changes in the kerogens. In general, with increasing hydrous pyrolysis temperature, the amounts of sulfide- and ether-bound components in the kerogen decreased significantly. At the temperature at which the generation of expelled oil began (260??C), almost all of the bound components initially present in the unheated sample were released from the kerogen. Comparison with an earlier study of the extractable organic matter using a similar approach and the same samples provides molecular evidence that, with increasing maturation, solvent-soluble macromolecular material was initially released from the kerogen, notably as a result of thermal cleavage of weak Carbon-heteroatom bonds (sulfide, ester, ether) even at temperatures as low as 220??C. This solvent-soluble macromolecular material then underwent thermal cleavage to generate hydrocarbons at higher temperatures. This early generation of bitumen may explain the presence of unusually high amounts of extractable organic matter of macromolecular nature in very immature S-rich sediments.

Four-quark bound states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zouzou, S.

1986-01-01

In the framework of simple non-relativistic potential models, we examine the system consisting of two quarks and two antiquarks with equal or unequal masses. We search for possible bound states below the threshold for the spontaneous dissociation into two mesons. We solve the four body problem by empirical or systematic variational methods and we include the virtual meson-meson components of the wave function. With standard two-body potentials, there is no proliferation of multiquarks. With unequal quark masses, we obtain however exotic (anti Qanti Qqq) bound states with a baryonic antidiquark-quark-quark structure very analogous to the heavy flavoured (Q'qq) baryons. (orig.)

Information-Theoretic Bounded Rationality and ε-Optimality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel A. Braun

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Bounded rationality concerns the study of decision makers with limited information processing resources. Previously, the free energy difference functional has been suggested to model bounded rational decision making, as it provides a natural trade-off between an energy or utility function that is to be optimized and information processing costs that are measured by entropic search costs. The main question of this article is how the information-theoretic free energy model relates to simple ε-optimality models of bounded rational decision making, where the decision maker is satisfied with any action in an ε-neighborhood of the optimal utility. We find that the stochastic policies that optimize the free energy trade-off comply with the notion of ε-optimality. Moreover, this optimality criterion even holds when the environment is adversarial. We conclude that the study of bounded rationality based on ε-optimality criteria that abstract away from the particulars of the information processing constraints is compatible with the information-theoretic free energy model of bounded rationality.

Resonance Raman study on indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase: Control of reactivity by substrate-binding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yanagisawa, Sachiko; Hara, Masayuki [Graduate School of Life Science and Picobiology Institute, University of Hyogo, Koto 3-2-1, Kamigori-cho, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1297 (Japan); Sugimoto, Hiroshi; Shiro, Yoshitsugu [Biometal Science Laboratory, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, Koto 1-1-1, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Ogura, Takashi, E-mail: ogura@sci.u-hyogo.ac.jp [Graduate School of Life Science and Picobiology Institute, University of Hyogo, Koto 3-2-1, Kamigori-cho, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1297 (Japan)

2013-06-20

Highlights: • Indoleamine 2,3-dioygenase has been studied by resonance Raman spectroscopy. • Trp-binding to the enzyme induces high frequency shift of the Fe–His stretching mode. • Increased imidazolate character of histidine promotes the O–O bond cleavage step. • A fine-tuning of the reactivity of the O–O bond cleavage reaction is identified. • The results are consistent with the sequential oxygen-atom-transfer mechanism. - Abstract: Resonance Raman spectra of ligand-bound complexes including the 4-phenylimidazole complex and of free and L-Trp-bound forms of indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase in the ferric state were examined. Effects on the vinyl and propionate substituent groups of the heme were detected in a ligand-dependent fashion. The effects of phenyl group of 4-phenylimidazole on the vinyl and propionate Raman bands were evident when compared with the case of imidazole ligand. Substrate binding to the ferrous protein caused an upshift of the iron–histidine stretching mode by 3 cm{sup −1}, indicating an increase in negativity of the imidazole ring, which favors the O–O bond cleavage. The substrate binding event is likely to be communicated from the heme distal side to the iron–histidine bond through heme substituent groups and the hydrogen-bond network which includes water molecules, as identified in an X-ray structure of a 4-phenylimidazole complex. The results provide evidence for fine-tuning of the reactivity of O–O bond cleavage by the oxygenated heme upon binding of L-Trp.

Effects of substrate temperature, substrate orientation, and energetic atomic collisions on the structure of GaN films grown by reactive sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schiaber, Ziani S.; Lisboa-Filho, Paulo N.; Silva, José H. D. da [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Bauru, São Paulo 17033-360 (Brazil); Leite, Douglas M. G. [Universidade Federal de Itajubá, UNIFEI, Itajubá, Minas Gerais 37500-903 (Brazil); Bortoleto, José R. R. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Sorocaba, São Paulo 18087-180 (Brazil)

2013-11-14

The combined effects of substrate temperature, substrate orientation, and energetic particle impingement on the structure of GaN films grown by reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering are investigated. Monte-Carlo based simulations are employed to analyze the energies of the species generated in the plasma and colliding with the growing surface. Polycrystalline films grown at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 °C clearly showed a dependence of orientation texture and surface morphology on substrate orientation (c- and a-plane sapphire) in which the (0001) GaN planes were parallel to the substrate surface. A large increase in interplanar spacing associated with the increase in both a- and c-parameters of the hexagonal lattice and a redshift of the optical bandgap were observed at substrate temperatures higher than 600 °C. The results showed that the tensile stresses produced during the film's growth in high-temperature deposition ranges were much larger than the expected compressive stresses caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the film and substrate in the cool-down process after the film growth. The best films were deposited at 500 °C, 30 W and 600 °C, 45 W, which corresponds to conditions where the out diffusion from the film is low. Under these conditions the benefits of the temperature increase because of the decrease in defect density are greater than the problems caused by the strongly strained lattice that occurr at higher temperatures. The results are useful to the analysis of the growth conditions of GaN films by reactive sputtering.

Bounded-Angle Iterative Decoding of LDPC Codes

Science.gov (United States)

Dolinar, Samuel; Andrews, Kenneth; Pollara, Fabrizio; Divsalar, Dariush

2009-01-01

Bounded-angle iterative decoding is a modified version of conventional iterative decoding, conceived as a means of reducing undetected-error rates for short low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. For a given code, bounded-angle iterative decoding can be implemented by means of a simple modification of the decoder algorithm, without redesigning the code. Bounded-angle iterative decoding is based on a representation of received words and code words as vectors in an n-dimensional Euclidean space (where n is an integer).

Unexpected strong attraction in the presence of continuum bound state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delfino, A.; Frederico, T.

1992-06-01

The result of few-particle ground-state calculation employing a two-particle non-local potential supporting a continuum bound state in addition to a negative-energy bound state has occasionally revealed unexpected large attraction in producing a very strongly bound ground state. In the presence of the continuum bound state the difference of phase shift between zero and infinite energies has an extra jump of φ as in the presence of an additional bound state. The wave function of the continuum bound state is identical with that of a strongly bound negative-energy state, which leads us to postulate a pseudo bound state in the two-particle system in order to explain the unexpected attraction. The role of the Pauli forbidden states is expected to be similar to these pseudo states. (author)

On the Feng-Rao bound for generalized hamming weights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geil, Hans Olav; Thommesen, Christian

2006-01-01

The Feng-Rao bound gives good estimates of the minimum distance of a large class of codes. In this work we are concerned with the problem of how to extend the Feng-Rao bound so that it deals with all the generalized Hamming weights. The problem was solved by Heijnen and Pellikaan in [7] for a large...... family of codes that includes the duals of one-point geometric Goppa codes and the q-ary Reed-Muller codes, but not the Feng-Rao improved such ones. We show that Heijnen and Pellikaan's results holds for the more general class of codes for which the traditional Feng-Rao bound can be applied. We also...... establish the connection to the Shibuya-Sakaniwa bound for generalized Hamming weights ([15], [16], [17], [18], [19] and [20]). More precisely we show that the Shibuya-Sakaniwa bound is a consequence of the extended Feng-Rao bound. In particular the extended Feng-Rao bound gives always at least as good...

On the Feng-Rao bound for generalized Hamming weights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Geil, Olav; Thommesen, Christian

2005-01-01

The Feng-Rao bound gives good estimates of the minimum distance of a large class of codes. In this work we are concerned with the problem of how to extend the Feng-Rao bound so that it deals with all the generalized Hamming weights. The problem was solved by Heijnen and Pellikaan in [7] for a large...... family of codes that includes the duals of one-point geometric Goppa codes and the q-ary Reed-Muller codes, but not the Feng-Rao improved such ones. We show that Heijnen and Pellikaan’s results holds for the more general class of codes for which the traditional Feng-Rao bound can be applied. We also...... establish the connection to the Shibuya-Sakaniwa bound for generalized Hamming weights ([15], [16], [17], [18], [19] and [20]). More precisely we show that the Shibuya-Sakaniwa bound is a consequence of the extended Feng-Rao bound. In particular the extended Feng-Rao bound gives always at least as good...

Crystallization and X-ray crystallographic analysis of the cap-binding domain of influenza A virus H1N1 polymerase subunit PB2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yong; Meng, Geng; Luo, Ming; Zheng, Xiaofeng

2013-01-01

Substrate-free cap-binding domain of influenza A virus H1N1 polymerase subunit PB2 has been crystallized to show the structural details and clarify whether obvious conformational changes exist between the substrate-free and substrate-bound cap-binding domain. PB2 is one of the subunits of the influenza virus heterotrimeric polymerase. By its cap-binding domain (PB2 cap ), PB2 captures the 5′ cap of the host pre-mRNA to generate a capped 5′ oligonucleotide primer for virus transcription. The crystal structure of influenza A virus H3N2 PB2 cap with bound cap analogue m 7 GTP has been reported previously. To show the substrate-free structural details of PB2 cap and clarify whether obvious conformational changes exist between the substrate-free and substrate-bound cap-binding domain, we have successfully obtained the crystal of substrate-free H1N1 PB2 cap . The crystal of H1N1 PB2 cap diffracted to a high resolution of 1.32 Å. The crystal symmetry belongs to space group P1 with unit-cell parameters a = 29.49, b = 37.04, c = 38.33 Å, α = 71.10, β = 69.84, γ = 75.85°. There is one molecule in the asymmetric unit

Remarks on Bousso's covariant entropy bound

CERN Document Server

Mayo, A E

2002-01-01

Bousso's covariant entropy bound is put to the test in the context of a non-singular cosmological solution of general relativity found by Bekenstein. Although the model complies with every assumption made in Bousso's original conjecture, the entropy bound is violated due to the occurrence of negative energy density associated with the interaction of some the matter components in the model. We demonstrate how this property allows for the test model to 'elude' a proof of Bousso's conjecture which was given recently by Flanagan, Marolf and Wald. This corroborates the view that the covariant entropy bound should be applied only to stable systems for which every matter component carries positive energy density.

Comparative characterization of Cu–Ni substrates for coated conductors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, H.; Suo, H.L.; Wulff, Anders Christian

2014-01-01

Three Cu100xNix alloys, with x = 23, 33 and 45 at.%Ni, have been evaluated for use as substrates for coated conductors on the basis of measurements of their microstructure, crystallographic texture and hardness. It is found that high-temperature annealing after heavy rolling generates strong cube...

Generalized Hofmann quantum process fidelity bounds for quantum filters

Science.gov (United States)

Sedlák, Michal; Fiurášek, Jaromír

2016-04-01

We propose and investigate bounds on the quantum process fidelity of quantum filters, i.e., probabilistic quantum operations represented by a single Kraus operator K . These bounds generalize the Hofmann bounds on the quantum process fidelity of unitary operations [H. F. Hofmann, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 160504 (2005), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.160504] and are based on probing the quantum filter with pure states forming two mutually unbiased bases. Determination of these bounds therefore requires far fewer measurements than full quantum process tomography. We find that it is particularly suitable to construct one of the probe bases from the right eigenstates of K , because in this case the bounds are tight in the sense that if the actual filter coincides with the ideal one, then both the lower and the upper bounds are equal to 1. We theoretically investigate the application of these bounds to a two-qubit optical quantum filter formed by the interference of two photons on a partially polarizing beam splitter. For an experimentally convenient choice of factorized input states and measurements we study the tightness of the bounds. We show that more stringent bounds can be obtained by more sophisticated processing of the data using convex optimization and we compare our methods for different choices of the input probe states.

Structures of Gate Loop Variants of the AcrB Drug Efflux Pump Bound by Erythromycin Substrate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdessamad Ababou

Full Text Available Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli use tripartite efflux pumps such as AcrAB-TolC to expel antibiotics and noxious compounds. A key feature of the inner membrane transporter component, AcrB, is a short stretch of residues known as the gate/switch loop that divides the proximal and distal substrate binding pockets. Amino acid substitutions of the gate loop are known to decrease antibiotic resistance conferred by AcrB. Here we present two new AcrB gate loop variants, the first stripped of its bulky side chains, and a second in which the gate loop is removed entirely. By determining the crystal structures of the variant AcrB proteins in the presence and absence of erythromycin and assessing their ability to confer erythromycin tolerance, we demonstrate that the gate loop is important for AcrB export activity but is not required for erythromycin binding.

Insights into the carboxyltransferase reaction of pyruvate carboxylase from the structures of bound product and intermediate analogues

Science.gov (United States)

Lietzan, Adam D.; St. Maurice, Martin

2014-01-01

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a biotin-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the MgATP- and bicarbonate-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in central metabolism. The carboxyltransferase (CT) domain of PC catalyzes the transfer of a carboxyl group from carboxybiotin to the accepting substrate, pyruvate. It has been hypothesized that the reactive enolpyruvate intermediate is stabilized through a bidentate interaction with the metal ion in the CT domain active site. Whereas bidentate ligands are commonly observed in enzymes catalyzing reactions proceeding through an enolpyruvate intermediate, no bidentate interaction has yet been observed in the CT domain of PC. Here, we report three X-ray crystal structures of the Rhizobium etli PC CT domain with the bound inhibitors oxalate, 3-hydroxypyruvate, and 3-bromopyruvate. Oxalate, a stereoelectronic mimic of the enolpyruvate intermediate, does not interact directly with the metal ion. Instead, oxalate is buried in a pocket formed by several positively charged amino acid residues and the metal ion. Furthermore, both 3-hydroxypyruvate and 3-bromopyruvate, analogs of the reaction product oxaloacetate, bind in an identical manner to oxalate suggesting that the substrate maintains its orientation in the active site throughout catalysis. Together, these structures indicate that the substrates, products and intermediates in the PC-catalyzed reaction are not oriented in the active site as previously assumed. The absence of a bidentate interaction with the active site metal appears to be a unique mechanistic feature among the small group of biotin-dependent enzymes that act on α-keto acid substrates. PMID:24157795

Aspergillus fumigatus SidA is a highly specific ornithine hydroxylase with bound flavin cofactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Chocklett, Samuel W; Sobrado, Pablo

2010-08-10

Ferrichrome is a hydroxamate-containing siderophore produced by the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under iron-limiting conditions. This siderophore contains N(5)-hydroxylated l-ornithines essential for iron binding. A. fumigatus siderophore A (Af SidA) catalyzes the flavin- and NADPH-dependent hydroxylation of l-ornithine in ferrichrome biosynthesis. Af SidA was recombinantly expressed and purified as a soluble tetramer and is the first member of this class of flavin monooxygenases to be isolated with a bound flavin cofactor. The enzyme showed typical saturation kinetics with respect to l-ornithine while substrate inhibition was observed at high concentrations of NADPH and NADH. Increasing amounts of hydrogen peroxide were measured as a function of reduced nicotinamide coenzyme concentration, indicating that inhibition was caused by increased uncoupling. Af SidA is highly specific for its amino acid substrate, only hydroxylating l-ornithine. An 8-fold preference in the catalytic efficiency was determined for NADPH compared to NADH. In the absence of substrate, Af SidA can be reduced by NADPH, and a C4a-(hydro)peroxyflavin intermediate is observed. The decay of this intermediate is accelerated by l-ornithine binding. This intermediate was only stabilized by NADPH and not by NADH, suggesting a role for NADP(+) in the stabilization of intermediates in the reaction of Af SidA. NADP(+) is a competitive inhibitor with respect to NADPH, demonstrating that Af SidA forms a ternary complex with NADP(+) and l-ornithine during catalysis. The data suggest that Af SidA likely proceeds by a sequential kinetic mechanism.

Method of electrode printing on one or more surfaces of a dielectric substrate

KAUST Repository

Neophytou, Marios

2017-09-14

Described herein is a method for printing electrodes surfaces of a dielectric substrate. Provided herein is a new method of depositing electrically conductive electrodes of any shape on flexible and/or rigid dielectric substrates/surfaces and devices so produced. In various embodiments, the devices can generate ionic wind, for example to remove dust or other debris or contaminants or to remove ice or humidity from a surface.

Method of electrode printing on one or more surfaces of a dielectric substrate

KAUST Repository

Neophytou, Marios; Kirkus, Mindaugas; Lacoste, Deanna A.

2017-01-01

Described herein is a method for printing electrodes surfaces of a dielectric substrate. Provided herein is a new method of depositing electrically conductive electrodes of any shape on flexible and/or rigid dielectric substrates/surfaces and devices so produced. In various embodiments, the devices can generate ionic wind, for example to remove dust or other debris or contaminants or to remove ice or humidity from a surface.

SERS substrates fabricated using ceramic filters for the detection of bacteria: Eliminating the citrate interference

Science.gov (United States)

Mosier-Boss, P. A.; Sorensen, K. C.; George, R. D.; Sims, P. C.; O'braztsova, A.

2017-06-01

It was found that spectra obtained for bacteria on SERS substrates fabricated by filtering citrate-generated Ag nanoparticles (NPs) onto rigid, ceramic filters exhibited peaks due to citrate as well as the bacteria. In many cases the citrate spectrum overwhelmed that of the bacteria. Given the simplicity of the method to prepare these substrates, means of eliminating this citrate interference were explored. It was found that allowing a mixture of bacteria suspension and citrate-generated Ag NPs to incubate prior to filtering onto the ceramic filter eliminated this interference.

Liquid crystal displays with plastic substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Lueder, Ernst H.

1998-04-01

Plastic substrates for the cells of displays exhibit only 1/6 of the weight of glass substrates; they are virtually unbreakable; their flexibility allows the designer to give them a shape suppressing reflections, to realize a display board on a curved surface or meeting the requirements for an appealing styling; displays with plastics are thinner which provides a wider viewing angle. These features render them attractive for displays in portable systems such as mobile phones, pagers, smart cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable computers. Reflective displays are especially attractive as they don't need a back light. The most important requirements are the protection of plastics against gas permeation and chemical agents, the prevention of layers on plastics to crack or peel off when the plastic is bent and the development of low temperature thin film processes because the plastics, as a rule, only tolerate temperatures below 150 degrees Celsius. Bistable reflective FLC- and PSCT-displays with plastic substrates will be introduced. Special sputtered SiO2-orientation layers preserve the displayed information even if pressure or torsion is applied. MIM-addressed PDLC-displays require additional Al- or Ti-layers which provide the necessary ductility. Sputtered or PECVD-generated TFTs can be fabricated on plastics at temperatures below 150 degrees Celsius.

Twisting, supercoiling and stretching in protein bound DNA

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Pui-Man; Zhen, Yi

2018-04-01

We have calculated theoretical results for the torque and slope of the twisted DNA, with various proteins bound on it, using the Neukirch-Marko model, in the regime where plectonemes exist. We found that the torque in the protein bound DNA decreases compared to that in the bare DNA. This is caused by the decrease in the free energy g(f) , and hence the smaller persistence lengths, in the case of protein bound DNA. We hope our results will encourage experimental investigations of supercoiling in protein bound DNA, which can provide further tests of the Neukirch-Marko model.

The bound state problem and quark confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaichian, M.; Demichev, A.P.; Nelipa, N.F.

1980-01-01

A quantum field-theoretic model in which quark is confined is considered. System of equations for the Green functions of colour singlet and octet bound states is obtained. The method is based on the nonperturbative Schwinger-Dyson equations with the use of Slavnov-Taylor identities. It is shown that in the framework of the model if there exist singlet, then also exist octet bound states of the quark-antiquark system. Thus in general, confinement of free quarks does not mean absence of their coloured bound states. (author)

``Carbon Credits'' for Resource-Bounded Computations Using Amortised Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Jost, Steffen; Loidl, Hans-Wolfgang; Hammond, Kevin; Scaife, Norman; Hofmann, Martin

Bounding resource usage is important for a number of areas, notably real-time embedded systems and safety-critical systems. In this paper, we present a fully automatic static type-based analysis for inferring upper bounds on resource usage for programs involving general algebraic datatypes and full recursion. Our method can easily be used to bound any countable resource, without needing to revisit proofs. We apply the analysis to the important metrics of worst-case execution time, stack- and heap-space usage. Our results from several realistic embedded control applications demonstrate good matches between our inferred bounds and measured worst-case costs for heap and stack usage. For time usage we infer good bounds for one application. Where we obtain less tight bounds, this is due to the use of software floating-point libraries.

Improved rigorous upper bounds for transport due to passive advection described by simple models of bounded systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chang-Bae; Krommes, J.A.

1988-08-01

The work of Krommes and Smith on rigorous upper bounds for the turbulent transport of a passively advected scalar [/ital Ann. Phys./ 177:246 (1987)] is extended in two directions: (1) For their ''reference model,'' improved upper bounds are obtained by utilizing more sophisticated two-time constraints which include the effects of cross-correlations up to fourth order. Numerical solutions of the model stochastic differential equation are also obtained; they show that the new bounds compare quite favorably with the exact results, even at large Reynolds and Kubo numbers. (2) The theory is extended to take account of a finite spatial autocorrelation length L/sub c/. As a reasonably generic example, the problem of particle transport due to statistically specified stochastic magnetic fields in a collisionless turbulent plasma is revisited. A bound is obtained which reduces for small L/sub c/ to the quasilinear limit and for large L/sub c/ to the strong turbulence limit, and which provides a reasonable and rigorous interpolation for intermediate values of L/sub c/. 18 refs., 6 figs

Method of phase space beam dilution utilizing bounded chaos generated by rf phase modulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonse N. Pham

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the physics of chaos in a localized phase-space region produced by rf phase modulation applied to a double rf system. The study can be exploited to produce rapid particle bunch broadening exhibiting longitudinal particle distribution uniformity. Hamiltonian models and particle-tracking simulations are introduced to understand the mechanism and applicability of controlled particle diffusion. When phase modulation is applied to the double rf system, regions of localized chaos are produced through the disruption and overlapping of parametric resonant islands and configured to be bounded by well-behaved invariant tori to prevent particle loss. The condition of chaoticity and the degree of particle dilution can be controlled by the rf parameters. The method has applications in alleviating adverse space-charge effects in high-intensity beams, particle bunch distribution uniformization, and industrial radiation-effects experiments.

Generation of a novel regulatory NK cell subset from peripheral blood CD34+ progenitors promoted by membrane-bound IL-15.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Massimo Giuliani

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: NK cells have been long time considered as cytotoxic lymphocytes competent in killing virus-infected cells and tumors. However, NK cells may also play essential immuno-regulatory functions. In this context, the real existence of a defined NK subset with negative regulatory properties has been hypothesized but never clearly demonstrated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Herein, we show the in vitro generation from human peripheral blood haematopoietic progenitors (PB-HP, of a novel subset of non-cytolytic NK cells displaying a mature phenotype and remarkable immuno-regulatory functions (NK-ireg. The main functional hallmark of these NK-ireg cells is represented by the surface expression/release of HLA-G, a major immunosuppressive molecule. In addition, NK-ireg cells secrete two powerful immuno-regulatory factors: IL-10 and IL-21. Through these factors, NK-ireg cells act as effectors of the down-regulation of the immune response: reconverting mature myeloid DC (mDC into immature/tolerogenic DC, blocking cytolytic functions on conventional NK cells and inducing HLA-G membrane expression on PB-derived monocytes. The generation of "NK-ireg" cells is obtained, by default, in culture conditions favouring cell-to-cell contacts, and it is strictly dependent on reciprocal trans-presentation of membrane-bound IL-15 forms constitutively and selectively expressed by human CD34(+ PB-HP. Finally, a small subset of NKp46(+ HLA-G(+ IL-10(+ is detected within freshly isolated decidual NK cells, suggesting that these cells could represent an in vivo counterpart of the NK-ireg cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, NK-ireg cells represent a novel truly differentiated non-cytolytic NK subset with a self-sustainable phenotype (CD56(+ CD16(+ NKp30(+ NKp44(+ NKp46(+ CD94(+ CD69(+ CCR7(+ generated from specific pSTAT6(+ GATA3(+ precursors. NK-ireg cells could be employed to develop new immuno-suppressive strategies in autoimmune diseases, transplant

Effect of soil-bound residues of malathion on microbial activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, A.; Iqbal, Z.; Asi, M.R.; Tahira, R.; Chudhary, J.A.

2001-01-01

The effect of soil-bound residues of malathion on CO/sub 2/ evolution, dehydrogenase activity and some nitrogen transformations in a loam soil was investigated under laboratory conditions. The soil samples containing bound residues arising from 10 mg g-1 of the applied malathion were mixed in equal quantity with fresh soil and compared with solvent extracted control soil without bound residues (extracted in the same way as soil containing bound residues). Another control comprising un extracted fresh soil without bound residues was also kept to study the effect of solvent extraction on the biological activity. Rate of Carbon mineralization (CO/sub 2/ evolution) was decreased in the presence of soil-bound residues of malathion. Bound residues also affected dehydrogenase activity of soil. Over 40% inhibition of dehydrogenase activity was observed after 4 days and the inhibition persisted at least for 12 days. Nitrogen mineralization was stimulated in soil containing bound residues of malathion and this stimulatory effect increased with time of incubation. Nitrification was partially inhibited in the presence of soil-bound residues of malathion. The inhibitory effect of the soil-bound residues on nitrification did not show much variation with time. The soil-bound residues did not affect denitrification rate (N/sub 2/O evolution). Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) was partially inhibited in soil amended with bound residues of malathion and the inhibitory effect persisted for at least one week. In general, soil bound residues of malathion inhibited CO/sub 2/ evolution, dehydrogenase activity, nitrification and nitrogen fixation while mineralization of nitrogen was stimulated. Denitrification was not affected by the applied insecticide. (author)

Generalized surface tension bounds in vacuum decay

Science.gov (United States)

Masoumi, Ali; Paban, Sonia; Weinberg, Erick J.

2018-02-01

Coleman and De Luccia (CDL) showed that gravitational effects can prevent the decay by bubble nucleation of a Minkowski or AdS false vacuum. In their thin-wall approximation this happens whenever the surface tension in the bubble wall exceeds an upper bound proportional to the difference of the square roots of the true and false vacuum energy densities. Recently it was shown that there is another type of thin-wall regime that differs from that of CDL in that the radius of curvature grows substantially as one moves through the wall. Not only does the CDL derivation of the bound fail in this case, but also its very formulation becomes ambiguous because the surface tension is not well defined. We propose a definition of the surface tension and show that it obeys a bound similar in form to that of the CDL case. We then show that both thin-wall bounds are special cases of a more general bound that is satisfied for all bounce solutions with Minkowski or AdS false vacua. We discuss the limit where the parameters of the theory attain critical values and the bound is saturated. The bounce solution then disappears and a static planar domain wall solution appears in its stead. The scalar field potential then is of the form expected in supergravity, but this is only guaranteed along the trajectory in field space traced out by the bounce.

Droplets move over viscoelastic substrates by surfing a ridge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karpitschka, S.; Das, S.; van Gorcum, M.; Perrin, H.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J.H.

2015-01-01

Liquid drops on soft solids generate strong deformations below the contact line, resulting from a balance of capillary and elastic forces. The movement of these drops may cause strong, potentially singular dissipation in the soft solid. Here we show that a drop on a soft substrate moves by surfing a

An Explicit Construction of a sequence of codes attaining the Tsfasman-Vladut-Zink Bound:The first steps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høholdt, Tom; Voss, Cornelia

1997-01-01

We present a sequence of codes attaining the Tsfasman-Vladut-Zink bound. The construction is based on the tower of Artin-Schreier extensions described by Garcia and Stichtenoth (1995). We also determine the dual codes. The first steps of the constructions are explicitly given as generator matrices...

Bound entanglement and local realism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaszlikowski, Dagomir; Zukowski, Marek; Gnacinski, Piotr

2002-01-01

We show using a numerical approach, which gives necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of local realism, that the bound entangled state presented in Bennett et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 5385 (1999)] admits a local and realistic description. We also find the lowest possible amount of some appropriate entangled state that must be ad-mixed to the bound entangled state so that the resulting density operator has no local and realistic description and as such can be useful in quantum communication and quantum computation

Inequalities and bounds for nucleon-nucleon scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramandurai, K.S.

1979-08-01

The objective of this work is to derive model-independent inequalities and bounds for nucleon-nucleon elastic scattering amplitudes based on well-established theoretical principles and symmetries. Two classes of methods are used: algebraic and variational. In the algebraic part, the author derives inequalities and bounds for NN amplitudes and observables using their mutual relations and x symmetries. In the variational part, he employs Lagrange's method of undetermined multipliers to evaluate the bounds. He tests the predictions of a sample of proposed phase shifts at three different energies using the results obtained

Wetting at the nanometer scale: effects of long-range forces and substrate heterogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Checco, Antonio

2003-01-01

Wetting phenomena on the nano-scale remain poorly understood in spite of their growing theoretical and practical interest. In this context, the present work aimed at studying partial wetting of nanometer-sized alkane droplets on 'model' surfaces build by self-assembly of organic monolayers. For this purpose a novel technique, based on 'noncontact' Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), has been developed to image, with minimal artefacts, drops of adjustable size directly condensed on so- lid surfaces. We have thus shown that contact angle of alkanes, wetting a weakly heterogeneous, silanized substrate, noticeably decreases from its macroscopic value for droplets sizes in the submicron range. The line tension, arising in this case from purely dispersive long-range interactions between the liquid and the substrate, is theoretically too weak to be responsible for the observed effect. Therefore we have supposed that contact angle is affected by mesoscopic chemical heterogeneities of the substrate whenever the droplets size becomes sufficiently small. This scenario has been supported by numerical simulations based on a simplified model of the spatial distribution of surface defects. Similar experiments, performed on different substrates (monolayers made of alkane-thiols self-assembled on gold and of alkyl chains covalently bound onto a silicon surface), have also shown that wetting on small scales is strongly affected by minimal physical and chemical surface heterogeneities. Finally, to provide further examples of the potential of the above mentioned AFM technique, we have studied the wettability of nano-structured surfaces and the local wetting properties of hair. (author) [fr

Conductivity bound from dirty black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bitaghsir Fadafan, Kazem, E-mail: bitaghsir@shahroodut.ac.ir

2016-11-10

We propose a lower bound of the dc electrical conductivity in strongly disordered, strongly interacting quantum field theories using holography. We study linear response of black holes with broken translational symmetry in Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton theories of gravity. Using the generalized Stokes equations at the horizon, we derive the lower bound of the electrical conductivity for the dual two dimensional disordered field theory.

Braneworld black holes and entropy bounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Heydarzade

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Bousso's D-bound entropy for the various possible black hole solutions on a 4-dimensional brane is checked. It is found that the D-bound entropy here is apparently different from that of obtained for the 4-dimensional black hole solutions. This difference is interpreted as the extra loss of information, associated to the extra dimension, when an extra-dimensional black hole is moved outward the observer's cosmological horizon. Also, it is discussed that N-bound entropy is hold for the possible solutions here. Finally, by adopting the recent Bohr-like approach to black hole quantum physics for the excited black holes, the obtained results are written also in terms of the black hole excited states.

Efficient Multi-Valued Bounded Model Checking for LTL over Quasi-Boolean Algebras

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Jefferson O.; Kameyama, Yukiyoshi

Multi-valued Model Checking extends classical, two-valued model checking to multi-valued logic such as Quasi-Boolean logic. The added expressivity is useful in dealing with such concepts as incompleteness and uncertainty in target systems, while it comes with the cost of time and space. Chechik and others proposed an efficient reduction from multi-valued model checking problems to two-valued ones, but to the authors' knowledge, no study was done for multi-valued bounded model checking. In this paper, we propose a novel, efficient algorithm for multi-valued bounded model checking. A notable feature of our algorithm is that it is not based on reduction of multi-values into two-values; instead, it generates a single formula which represents multi-valuedness by a suitable encoding, and asks a standard SAT solver to check its satisfiability. Our experimental results show a significant improvement in the number of variables and clauses and also in execution time compared with the reduction-based one.

Engineered jadomycin analogues with altered sugar moieties revealing JadS as a substrate flexible O-glycosyltransferase.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liyuan; Pan, Guohui; Zhu, Xifen; Fan, Keqiang; Gao, Wubin; Ai, Guomin; Ren, Jinwei; Shi, Mingxin; Olano, Carlos; Salas, José A; Yang, Keqian

2017-07-01

Glycosyltransferases (GTs)-mediated glycodiversification studies have drawn significant attention recently, with the goal of generating bioactive compounds with improved pharmacological properties by diversifying the appended sugars. The key to achieving glycodiversification is to identify natural and/or engineered flexible GTs capable of acting upon a broad range of substrates. Here, we report the use of a combinatorial biosynthetic approach to probe the substrate flexibility of JadS, the GT in jadomycin biosynthesis, towards different non-native NDP-sugar substrates, enabling us to identify six jadomycin B analogues with different sugar moieties. Further structural engineering by precursor-directed biosynthesis allowed us to obtain 11 new jadomycin analogues. Our results for the first time show that JadS is a flexible O-GT that can utilize both L- and D- sugars as donor substrates, and tolerate structural changes at the C2, C4 and C6 positions of the sugar moiety. JadS may be further exploited to generate novel glycosylated jadomycin molecules in future glycodiversification studies.

Myeloperoxidase-mediated protein lysine oxidation generates 2-aminoadipic acid and lysine nitrile in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hongqiao; Levison, Bruce S; Buffa, Jennifer A; Huang, Ying; Fu, Xiaoming; Wang, Zeneng; Gogonea, Valentin; DiDonato, Joseph A; Hazen, Stanley L

2017-03-01

Recent studies reveal 2-aminoadipic acid (2-AAA) is both elevated in subjects at risk for diabetes and mechanistically linked to glucose homeostasis. Prior studies also suggest enrichment of protein-bound 2-AAA as an oxidative post-translational modification of lysyl residues in tissues associated with degenerative diseases of aging. While in vitro studies suggest redox active transition metals or myeloperoxidase (MPO) generated hypochlorous acid (HOCl) may produce protein-bound 2-AAA, the mechanism(s) responsible for generation of 2-AAA during inflammatory diseases are unknown. In initial studies we observed that traditional acid- or base-catalyzed protein hydrolysis methods previously employed to measure tissue 2-AAA can artificially generate protein-bound 2-AAA from an alternative potential lysine oxidative product, lysine nitrile (LysCN). Using a validated protease-based digestion method coupled with stable isotope dilution LC/MS/MS, we now report protein bound 2-AAA and LysCN are both formed by hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and the MPO/H 2 O 2 /Cl - system of leukocytes. At low molar ratio of oxidant to target protein N ε -lysine moiety, 2-AAA is formed via an initial N ε -monochloramine intermediate, which ultimately produces the more stable 2-AAA end-product via sequential generation of transient imine and semialdehyde intermediates. At higher oxidant to target protein N ε -lysine amine ratios, protein-bound LysCN is formed via initial generation of a lysine N ε -dichloramine intermediate. In studies employing MPO knockout mice and an acute inflammation model, we show that both free and protein-bound 2-AAA, and in lower yield, protein-bound LysCN, are formed by MPO in vivo during inflammation. Finally, both 2-AAA and to lesser extent LysCN are shown to be enriched in human aortic atherosclerotic plaque, a tissue known to harbor multiple MPO-catalyzed protein oxidation products. Collectively, these results show that MPO-mediated oxidation of protein lysyl

Crystal structure of the sodium-potassium pump (Na+,K+-ATPase) with bound potassium and ouabain

Science.gov (United States)

Ogawa, Haruo; Shinoda, Takehiro; Cornelius, Flemming; Toyoshima, Chikashi

2009-01-01

The sodium-potassium pump (Na+,K+-ATPase) is responsible for establishing Na+ and K+ concentration gradients across the plasma membrane and therefore plays an essential role in, for instance, generating action potentials. Cardiac glycosides, prescribed for congestive heart failure for more than 2 centuries, are efficient inhibitors of this ATPase. Here we describe a crystal structure of Na+,K+-ATPase with bound ouabain, a representative cardiac glycoside, at 2.8 Å resolution in a state analogous to E2·2K+·Pi. Ouabain is deeply inserted into the transmembrane domain with the lactone ring very close to the bound K+, in marked contrast to previous models. Due to antagonism between ouabain and K+, the structure represents a low-affinity ouabain-bound state. Yet, most of the mutagenesis data obtained with the high-affinity state are readily explained by the present crystal structure, indicating that the binding site for ouabain is essentially the same. According to a homology model for the high affinity state, it is a closure of the binding cavity that confers a high affinity. PMID:19666591

Crystal structure of the sodium-potassium pump (Na+,K+-ATPase) with bound potassium and ouabain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogawa, Haruo; Shinoda, Takehiro; Cornelius, Flemming; Toyoshima, Chikashi

2009-08-18

The sodium-potassium pump (Na(+),K(+)-ATPase) is responsible for establishing Na(+) and K(+) concentration gradients across the plasma membrane and therefore plays an essential role in, for instance, generating action potentials. Cardiac glycosides, prescribed for congestive heart failure for more than 2 centuries, are efficient inhibitors of this ATPase. Here we describe a crystal structure of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase with bound ouabain, a representative cardiac glycoside, at 2.8 A resolution in a state analogous to E2.2K(+).Pi. Ouabain is deeply inserted into the transmembrane domain with the lactone ring very close to the bound K(+), in marked contrast to previous models. Due to antagonism between ouabain and K(+), the structure represents a low-affinity ouabain-bound state. Yet, most of the mutagenesis data obtained with the high-affinity state are readily explained by the present crystal structure, indicating that the binding site for ouabain is essentially the same. According to a homology model for the high affinity state, it is a closure of the binding cavity that confers a high affinity.

Classical Physics and the Bounds of Quantum Correlations.

Science.gov (United States)

Frustaglia, Diego; Baltanás, José P; Velázquez-Ahumada, María C; Fernández-Prieto, Armando; Lujambio, Aintzane; Losada, Vicente; Freire, Manuel J; Cabello, Adán

2016-06-24

A unifying principle explaining the numerical bounds of quantum correlations remains elusive, despite the efforts devoted to identifying it. Here, we show that these bounds are indeed not exclusive to quantum theory: for any abstract correlation scenario with compatible measurements, models based on classical waves produce probability distributions indistinguishable from those of quantum theory and, therefore, share the same bounds. We demonstrate this finding by implementing classical microwaves that propagate along meter-size transmission-line circuits and reproduce the probabilities of three emblematic quantum experiments. Our results show that the "quantum" bounds would also occur in a classical universe without quanta. The implications of this observation are discussed.

Photophysics of aggregated 9-methylthiacarbocyanine bound to polyanions

Science.gov (United States)

Chibisov, Alexander K.; Görner, Helmut

2002-05-01

The photophysical properties of 3,3 '-diethyl-9-methylthiacarbocyanine (DTC) were studied in the presence of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polymethacrylic acid (PMA). The absorption spectra reflect a monomer/dimer equilibrium in neat aqueous solution and a shift towards bound H-aggregates, bound dimers and bound monomers on increasing the ratio of polyanion residue to dye concentrations ( r). These equilibria also determine the photodeactivation modes of DTC. The fluorescence intensity is reduced, when dimers and aggregates are present and strongly enhanced for low dye loading ( r=10 4). In contrast, the quantum yield of intersystem crossing is enhanced for bound dimers ( r=10 3).

The algebras of bounded and essentially bounded Lebesgue measurable functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mortini Raymond

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Let X be a set in ℝn with positive Lebesgue measure. It is well known that the spectrum of the algebra L∞(X of (equivalence classes of essentially bounded, complex-valued, measurable functions on X is an extremely disconnected compact Hausdorff space.We show, by elementary methods, that the spectrum M of the algebra ℒb(X, ℂ of all bounded measurable functions on X is not extremely disconnected, though totally disconnected. Let ∆ = { δx : x ∈ X} be the set of point evaluations and let g be the Gelfand topology on M. Then (∆, g is homeomorphic to (X, Τdis,where Tdis is the discrete topology. Moreover, ∆ is a dense subset of the spectrum M of ℒb(X, ℂ. Finally, the hull h(I, (which is homeomorphic to M(L∞(X, of the ideal of all functions in ℒb(X, ℂ vanishing almost everywhere on X is a nowhere dense and extremely disconnected subset of the Corona M \\ ∆ of ℒb(X, ℂ.

Similarity problems and completely bounded maps

CERN Document Server

Pisier, Gilles

2001-01-01

These notes revolve around three similarity problems, appearing in three different contexts, but all dealing with the space B(H) of all bounded operators on a complex Hilbert space H. The first one deals with group representations, the second one with C* -algebras and the third one with the disc algebra. We describe them in detail in the introduction which follows. This volume is devoted to the background necessary to understand these three problems, to the solutions that are known in some special cases and to numerous related concepts, results, counterexamples or extensions which their investigation has generated. While the three problems seem different, it is possible to place them in a common framework using the key concept of "complete boundedness", which we present in detail. Using this notion, the three problems can all be formulated as asking whether "boundedness" implies "complete boundedness" for linear maps satisfying certain additional algebraic identities. Two chapters have been added on the HALMO...

Simple functional-differential equations for the bound-state wave-function components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamuntavicius, G.P.

1986-01-01

The author presents a new method of a direct derivation of differential equations for the wave-function components of identical-particles systems. The method generates in a simple manner all the possible variants of these equations. In some cases they are the differential equations of Faddeev or Yakubovskii. It is shown that the case of the bound states allows to formulate very simple equations for the components which are equivalent to the Schroedinger equation for the complete wave function. The components with a minimal antisymmetry are defined and the corresponding equations are derived. (Auth.)

A gauge model describing N relativistic particles bound by linear forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filippov, A.T.

1988-01-01

A relativistic model of N particles bound by linear forces is obtained by applying the gauging procedure to the linear canonical symmteries of a simple (rudimentary) nonrelativistic N-particle Lagrangian extended to relativistic phase space. The new (gauged) Lagrangian is formally Poincare invariant, the Hamiltonian is a linear combination of first-class constraints which are closed with respect to Pisson brackets and generate the localized canonical symmteries. The gauge potentials appear as the Lagrange multipliers of the constraints. Gauge fixing and quantization of the model are also briefly discussed. 11 refs

Cell orientation gradients on an inverse opal substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jie; Zou, Xin; Zhao, Ze; Mu, Zhongde; Zhao, Yuanjin; Gu, Zhongze

2015-05-20

The generation of cell gradients is critical for understanding many biological systems and realizing the unique functionality of many implanted biomaterials. However, most previous work can only control the gradient of cell density and this has no effect on the gradient of cell orientation, which has an important role in regulating the functions of many connecting tissues. Here, we report on a simple stretched inverse opal substrate for establishing desired cell orientation gradients. It was demonstrated that tendon fibroblasts on the stretched inverse opal gradient showed a corresponding alignment along with the elongation gradient of the substrate. This "random-to-aligned" cell gradient reproduces the insertion part of many connecting tissues, and thus, will have important applications in tissue engineering.

Directed divergent evolution of a thermostable D-tagatose epimerase towards improved activity for two hexose substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosshart, Andreas; Hee, Chee Seng; Bechtold, Matthias; Schirmer, Tilman; Panke, Sven

2015-03-02

Functional promiscuity of enzymes can often be harnessed as the starting point for the directed evolution of novel biocatalysts. Here we describe the divergent morphing of an engineered thermostable variant (Var8) of a promiscuous D-tagatose epimerase (DTE) into two efficient catalysts for the C3 epimerization of D-fructose to D-psicose and of L-sorbose to L-tagatose. Iterative single-site randomization and screening of 48 residues in the first and second shells around the substrate-binding site of Var8 yielded the eight-site mutant IDF8 (ninefold improved kcat for the epimerization of D-fructose) and the six-site mutant ILS6 (14-fold improved epimerization of L-sorbose), compared to Var8. Structure analysis of IDF8 revealed a charged patch at the entrance of its active site; this presumably facilitates entry of the polar substrate. The improvement in catalytic activity of variant ILS6 is thought to relate to subtle changes in the hydration of the bound substrate. The structures can now be used to select additional sites for further directed evolution of the ketohexose epimerase. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Maturation related changes in the distribution of ester bound fatty acids and alcohols in a coal series from the New Zealand Coal Band covering diagenetic to catagenetic coalification levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glombitza, C.; Mangelsdorf, K.; Horsfield, B. [German Research Cemter of Geoscience GFZ, Potsdam (Germany)

2009-10-15

Several lignites and coals of low to moderate maturation levels from the New Zealand Coal Band were investigated using alkaline ester cleavage experiments to reveal compositional changes of ester bound components during increasing maturation. Ester bound alcohols are found to be present in highest amounts in the very immature lignite samples but show a rapid decrease during early diagenesis. Ester bound fatty acids also show an initial exponential decrease during diagenesis but reveal an intermittent increase during early catagenesis before decreasing again during main catagenesis. This was related to the short chain fatty acids. To obtain a maturity related signal and to eliminate facies related scattering in the amounts of fatty acids in the coal samples, the carbon preference index of fatty acids (CPIFA) parameter is introduced. For the long chain fatty acids the CPIFA decreases with increasing maturity. During diagenesis, the same trend can be observed for the short chain fatty acids but the intermittent increase in the amounts of short chain fatty acids is also accompanied by high CPIFA values. This indicates less altered organic biomass at this maturation level and is in contrast to the mature CPIFA signal of the long chain fatty acids of the same samples. Thus could be due to extremely different amounts of short and long chain fatty acids in the original source organic matter or it could due to the incorporation of immature bacterial biomass from deep microbial communities containing C{sub 16} and C{sub 18} fatty acids as main cell membrane components. Deep microbial life might be stimulated at this interval by the increasing release of thermally generated potential substrates from the organic matrix during early catagenesis. The high amounts of alcohols in the immature lignite samples are also visible in the alkene distribution from the open system pyrolysis experiments of the organic matrix before and after saponification.

Error Bounds: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Outrata, Jiří; Kruger, A.Y.; Fabian, Marián; Henrion, R.

2010-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 2 (2010), s. 121-149 ISSN 1877-0533 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100750802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506; CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : Error bounds * Calmness * Subdifferential * Slope Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.333, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/MTR/outrata-error bounds necessary and sufficient conditions.pdf

Effect of annealing on metastable shallow acceptors in Mg-doped GaN layers grown on GaN substrates

OpenAIRE

Pozina, Galia; Hemmingsson, Carl; Paskov, Plamen P.; Bergman, Peder; Monemar, Bo; Kawashima, T.; Amano, H.; Akasaki, I.; Usui, A.

2008-01-01

Mg-doped GaN layers grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on GaN substrates produced by the halide vapor phase technique demonstrate metastability of the near-band-gap photoluminescence (PL). The acceptor bound exciton (ABE) line possibly related to the C acceptor vanishes in as-grown samples within a few minutes under UV laser illumination. Annealing activates the more stable Mg acceptors and passivates C acceptors. Consequently, only the ABE line related to Mg is dominant in PL spectra...

Dynamics of Preferential Substrate Recognition in HIV-1 Protease: Redefining the Substrate Envelope

Science.gov (United States)

Özen, Ayşegül; Haliloğlu, Türkan; Schiffer, Celia A.

2011-01-01

HIV-1 protease (PR) permits viral maturation by processing the Gag and Gag-Pro-Pol polyproteins. Though HIV-1 PR inhibitors (PIs) are used in combination antiviral therapy, the emergence of drug resistance has limited their efficacy. The rapid evolution of HIV-1 necessitates the consideration of drug resistance in novel drug-design strategies. Drug-resistant HIV-1 PR variants, while no longer efficiently inhibited, continue to efficiently hydrolyze the natural viral substrates. Though highly diverse in sequence, the HIV-1 PR substrates bind in a conserved three-dimensional shape we defined as the “substrate envelope”. We previously showed that resistance mutations arise where PIs protrude beyond the substrate envelope, as these regions are crucial for drug binding but not for substrate recognition. Here, we extend this model by considering the role of protein dynamics in the interaction of HIV-1 PR with its substrates. Seven molecular dynamics simulations of PR-substrate complexes were performed to estimate the conformational flexibility of substrates in their complexes. Interdependency of the substrate-protease interactions may compensate for the variations in cleavage-site sequences, and explain how a diverse set of sequences can be recognized as substrates by the same enzyme. This diversity may be essential for regulating sequential processing of substrates. We also define a dynamic substrate envelope as a more accurate representation of PR-substrate interactions. This dynamic substrate envelope, described by a probability distribution function, is a powerful tool for drug design efforts targeting ensembles of resistant HIV-1 PR variants with the aim of developing drugs that are less susceptible to resistance. PMID:21762811

Amos-type bounds for modified Bessel function ratios☆

Science.gov (United States)

Hornik, Kurt; Grün, Bettina

2013-01-01

We systematically investigate lower and upper bounds for the modified Bessel function ratio Rν=Iν+1/Iν by functions of the form Gα,β(t)=t/(α+t2+β2) in case Rν is positive for all t>0, or equivalently, where ν≥−1 or ν is a negative integer. For ν≥−1, we give an explicit description of the set of lower bounds and show that it has a greatest element. We also characterize the set of upper bounds and its minimal elements. If ν≥−1/2, the minimal elements are tangent to Rν in exactly one point 0≤t≤∞, and have Rν as their lower envelope. We also provide a new family of explicitly computable upper bounds. Finally, if ν is a negative integer, we explicitly describe the sets of lower and upper bounds, and give their greatest and least elements, respectively. PMID:24926105

Amos-type bounds for modified Bessel function ratios.

Science.gov (United States)

Hornik, Kurt; Grün, Bettina

2013-12-01

We systematically investigate lower and upper bounds for the modified Bessel function ratio [Formula: see text] by functions of the form [Formula: see text] in case [Formula: see text] is positive for all [Formula: see text], or equivalently, where [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] is a negative integer. For [Formula: see text], we give an explicit description of the set of lower bounds and show that it has a greatest element. We also characterize the set of upper bounds and its minimal elements. If [Formula: see text], the minimal elements are tangent to [Formula: see text] in exactly one point [Formula: see text], and have [Formula: see text] as their lower envelope. We also provide a new family of explicitly computable upper bounds. Finally, if [Formula: see text] is a negative integer, we explicitly describe the sets of lower and upper bounds, and give their greatest and least elements, respectively.

A geometric bound on F-term inflation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borghese, Andrea; Roest, Diederik; Zavala, Ivonne

We discuss a general bound on the possibility to realise inflation in any minimal supergravity with F-terms. The derivation crucially depends on the sGoldstini, the scalar field directions that are singled out by spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. The resulting bound involves both slow-roll

Energy conditions bounds and supernovae data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, M.P.; Vitenti, S.D.P.; Reboucas, M.J.

2008-01-01

The energy conditions play an important role in the description of some important properties of the Universe, including the current accelerating expansion phase and the possible recent phase of super-acceleration. In a recent work we have provided a detailed study of the energy conditions for the recent past by deriving bounds from energy conditions and by making the confrontation of the bounds with supernovae data. Here, we extend and update these results in two different ways. First, by carrying out a new statistical analysis for q(z) estimates needed for the confrontation between the bounds and supernovae data. Second, by providing a new picture of the energy conditions fulfillment and violation in the light of the recently compiled Union set of 307 type Ia supernovae and by using two different statistical approaches

High-intensity laser for Ta and Ag implantation into different substrates for plasma diagnostics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cutroneo, M., E-mail: cutroneo@ujf.cas.cz [Nuclear Physics Institute, AS CR, 25068 Rez (Czech Republic); Mackova, A.; Malinsky, P. [Nuclear Physics Institute, AS CR, 25068 Rez (Czech Republic); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, J.E. Purkinje University, Ceske mladeze 8, 400 96 Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic); Matousek, J. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, J.E. Purkinje University, Ceske mladeze 8, 400 96 Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic); Torrisi, L. [Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Messina University, V.le F.S. d’Alcontres 31, 98166 S. Agata, Messina (Italy); Ullschmied, J. [Institute of Physics, ASCR, v.v.i., 182 21 Prague 8 (Czech Republic)

2015-07-01

High-intensity lasers generating non-equilibrium plasma, can be employed to accelerate ions in the keV–MeV region, useful for many applications. In the present work, we performed study of ion implantation into different substrates by using a high-intensity laser at the PALS laboratory in Prague. Multi-energy ions generated by plasma from Ta and Ag targets were implanted into polyethylene and metallic substrates (Al, Ti) at energies of tens of keV per charge state. The ion emission was monitored online using time-of-flight detectors and electromagnetic deflection systems. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) was used to characterise the elemental composition in the implanted substrates by ion plasma emission and to provide the implanted ion depth profiling. These last measurements enable offline plasma characterisation and provide information on the useful potentiality of multi-ion species and multi-energy ion implantation into different substrates. XPS analysis gives information on the chemical bonds and their modifications in the first superficial implanted layers. The depth distributions of implanted Ta and Ag ions were compared with the theoretical ones achieved by using the SRIM-2012 simulation code.

Continuous bounded cohomology of locally compact groups

CERN Document Server

2001-01-01

Recent research has repeatedly led to connections between important rigidity questions and bounded cohomology. However, the latter has remained by and large intractable. This monograph introduces the functorial study of the continuous bounded cohomology for topological groups, with coefficients in Banach modules. The powerful techniques of this more general theory have successfully solved a number of the original problems in bounded cohomology. As applications, one obtains, in particular, rigidity results for actions on the circle, for representations on complex hyperbolic spaces and on Teichmüller spaces. A special effort has been made to provide detailed proofs or references in quite some generality.

Research on culture-bound syndromes: new directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Guarnaccia, P J; Rogler, L H

1999-09-01

The unprecedented inclusion of culture-bound syndromes in DSM-IV provides the opportunity for highlighting the need to study such syndromes and the occasion for developing a research agenda to study them. The growing ethnic and cultural diversity of the U.S. population presents a challenge to the mental health field to develop truly cross-cultural approaches to mental health research and services. In this article, the authors provide a critique of previous analyses of the relationship between culture-bound syndromes and psychiatric diagnoses. They highlight the problems in previous classificatory exercises, which tend to focus on subsuming the culture-bound syndromes into psychiatric categories and fail to fully investigate these syndromes on their own terms. A detailed research program based on four key questions is presented both to understand culture-bound syndromes within their cultural context and to analyze the relationship between these syndromes and psychiatric disorders. Results of over a decade of research on ataques de nervios, a Latino-Caribbean cultural syndrome, are used to illustrate this research program. The four questions focus on the nature of the phenomenon, the social-cultural location of sufferers, the relationship of culture-bound syndromes to psychiatric disorders, and the social and psychiatric history of the syndrome in the life course of the sufferer.

Class-specific Error Bounds for Ensemble Classifiers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prenger, R; Lemmond, T; Varshney, K; Chen, B; Hanley, W

2009-10-06

The generalization error, or probability of misclassification, of ensemble classifiers has been shown to be bounded above by a function of the mean correlation between the constituent (i.e., base) classifiers and their average strength. This bound suggests that increasing the strength and/or decreasing the correlation of an ensemble's base classifiers may yield improved performance under the assumption of equal error costs. However, this and other existing bounds do not directly address application spaces in which error costs are inherently unequal. For applications involving binary classification, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, performance curves that explicitly trade off false alarms and missed detections, are often utilized to support decision making. To address performance optimization in this context, we have developed a lower bound for the entire ROC curve that can be expressed in terms of the class-specific strength and correlation of the base classifiers. We present empirical analyses demonstrating the efficacy of these bounds in predicting relative classifier performance. In addition, we specify performance regions of the ROC curve that are naturally delineated by the class-specific strengths of the base classifiers and show that each of these regions can be associated with a unique set of guidelines for performance optimization of binary classifiers within unequal error cost regimes.

Atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization of 1,3-butadiene for hydrophobic finishing of textile substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samanta, Kartick K; Jassal, Manjeet; Agrawal, Ashwini K

2010-01-01

Atmospheric pressure plasma processing of textile has both ecological and economical advantages over the wet-chemical processing. However, reaction in atmospheric pressure plasma has important challenges to be overcome before it can be successfully used for finishing applications in textile. These challenges are (i) generating stable glow plasma in presence liquid/gaseous monomer, and (ii) keeping the generated radicals active in the presence of contaminants such as oxygen and air. In this study, a stable glow plasma was generated at atmospheric pressure in the mixture of gaseous reactive monomer-1,3-butadiene and He and was made to react with cellulosic textile substrate. After 12 min of plasma treatment, the hydrophilic surface of the cellulosic substrate turned into highly hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic finish was found to be durable to soap washing. After soap washing, a water drop of 37 μl took around 250 s to get absorbed in the treated sample compared to 0 . Both top and bottom sides of the fabric showed similar hydrophobic results in terms of water absorbency and contact angle. The results may be attributed to chemical reaction of butadiene with the cellulosic textile substrate. The surface characterization of the plasma modified samples under SEM and AFM revealed modification of the surface under <100 nm. The results showed that atmospheric pressure plasma can be successfully used for carrying out reaction of 1,3-butadiene with cellulosic textile substrates for producing hydrophobic surface finish.

Lower bounds on Q of some dipole shapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Oleksiy S.

2016-01-01

The lower bound on the radiation Q of an arbitrary electrically small antenna shape can be determined by finding the optimal electric current density on the exterior surface of the shape, such that the Q of this current radiating in free space is minimized, and then augmenting it with a magnetic...... current density cancelling the fields inside the shape's surface. The Q of these coupled electric and magnetic currents radiating in free space is the lower bound on Q for the given shape. The approach is exemplified and its general applicability is substantiated by computing the lower bounds...... of spherically capped dipoles and comparing the results to the known bounds of a sphere and a thin cylinder....

Emergent behavior of cells on microfabricated soft polymeric substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Sandeep Venkit

In recent years, cell based bio-actuators like cardiomyocytes and skeletal muscle cells have emerged as popular choices for powering biological machines consisting of soft polymeric scaffolds at the micro and macro scales. This is owing to their unique ability to generate spontaneous, synchronous contractions either autonomously or under externally applied fields. Most of the biological machine designs reported in literature use single cells or cell clusters conjugated with biocompatible soft polymers like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and hydrogels to produce some form of locomotion by converting chemical energy of the cells to mechanical energy. The mode of locomotion may vary, but the fundamental mechanism that these biological machines exploit to achieve locomotion stems from cell substrate interactions leading to large deformations of the substrates (relative to the cell size). However, the effect of such large scale, dynamic deformation of the substrates on the cellular and cluster level organization of the cells remains elusive. This dissertation tries to explore the emergent behavior of cells on different types of micro-scale deformable, soft polymeric substrates. In the first part of the dissertation, contractile dynamics of primary cardiomyocyte clusters is studied by culturing them on deformable thin polymeric films. The cell clusters beat and generate sufficient forces to deform the substrates out of plane. Over time, the clusters reorient their force dipoles along the direction of maximum compliance. This suggests that the cells are capable of sensing substrate deformations through a mechanosensitive feedback mechanism and dynamically reorganizing themselves. Results are further validated through finite element analysis. The development, characterization and quantification of a novel 1D/2D like polymeric platform for cell culture is presented in the second part. The platform consists of a 2D surface anchoring a long (few millimeters) narrow filament (1D

Cyclotron transitions of bound ions

Science.gov (United States)

Bezchastnov, Victor G.; Pavlov, George G.

2017-06-01

A charged particle in a magnetic field possesses discrete energy levels associated with particle rotation around the field lines. The radiative transitions between these levels are the well-known cyclotron transitions. We show that a bound complex of particles with a nonzero net charge displays analogous transitions between the states of confined motion of the entire complex in the field. The latter bound-ion cyclotron transitions are affected by a coupling between the collective and internal motions of the complex and, as a result, differ from the transitions of a "reference" bare ion with the same mass and charge. We analyze the cyclotron transitions for complex ions by including the coupling within a rigorous quantum approach. Particular attention is paid to comparison of the transition energies and oscillator strengths to those of the bare ion. Selection rules based on integrals of collective motion are derived for the bound-ion cyclotron transitions analytically, and the perturbation and coupled-channel approaches are developed to study the transitions quantitatively. Representative examples are considered and discussed for positive and negative atomic and cluster ions.

Bounded Rationality, Retaliation, and the Spread of Urban Violence

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Bruce A.; Wright, Richard

2010-01-01

Drawing from in-depth interviews with 52 active street criminals, this article examines the grounded theoretic implications of bounded rationality for retaliatory street violence. The bounds on rationality that this article explores are anger, uncertainty, and time pressure. These bounds create imperfections in the retaliatory decision-making…

Magnetic flux generator for balanced membrane loudspeaker

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehder, Jörg; Rombach, Pirmin; Hansen, Ole

2002-01-01

This paper reports the development of a magnetic flux generator with an application in a hearing aid loudspeaker produced in microsystem technology (MST). The technology plans for two different designs for the magnetic flux generator utilizing a softmagnetic substrate or electroplated Ni...

Electron-spin-resonance study of radiation-induced paramagnetic defects in oxides grown on (100) silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.Y.; Lenahan, P.M.

1988-01-01

We have used electron-spin resonance to investigate radiation-induced point defects in Si/SiO 2 structures with (100) silicon substrates. We find that the radiation-induced point defects are quite similar to defects generated in Si/SiO 2 structures grown on (111) silicon substrates. In both cases, an oxygen-deficient silicon center, the E' defect, appears to be responsible for trapped positive charge. In both cases trivalent silicon (P/sub b/ centers) defects are primarily responsible for radiation-induced interface states. In earlier electron-spin-resonance studies of unirradiated (100) substrate capacitors two types of P/sub b/ centers were observed; in oxides prepared in three different ways only one of these centers, the P/sub b/ 0 defect, is generated in large numbers by ionizing radiation

A Column-Generation Approach for a Short-Term Production Planning Problem in Closed-Loop Supply Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Sahling

2013-05-01

Full Text Available We present a new model formulation for a multi-product lot-sizing problem with product returns and remanufacturing subject to a capacity constraint. The given external demand of the products has to be satisfied by remanufactured or newly produced goods. The objective is to determine a feasible production plan, which minimizes production, holding, and setup costs. As the LP relaxation of a model formulation based on the well-known CLSP leads to very poor lower bounds, we propose a column-generation approach to determine tighter bounds. The lower bound obtained by column generation can be easily transferred into a feasible solution by a truncated branch-and-bound approach using CPLEX. The results of an extensive numerical study show the high solution quality of the proposed solution approach.

ZnO homoepitaxy on the O polar face of hydrothermal and melt-grown substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rogers, D.J. [Nanovation SARL, Orsay (France); Technical Univ. of Troyes (France); CNRS, Troyes (France); Hosseini Teherani, F. [Nanovation SARL, Orsay (France); Largeteau, A.; Demazeau, G. [ICMCB-CNRS, Bordeaux 1 University (Science and Technology), Pessac (France); Moisson, C.; Turover, D. [Novasic, Savoie Technolac, Arche Bat. 4, BP 267, Le Bourget du Lac (France); Nause, J. [Cermet Inc., Atlanta, GA (United States); Garry, G. [Thales Research, Domaine de Corbeville, Orsay (France); Kling, R.; Gruber, T. [Ulm University, Department of Semiconductor Physics, Ulm (Germany); Waag, A. [Braunschweig Technical University, Institute of Semiconductor Technology, Braunschweig (Germany); Jomard, F.; Galtier, P.; Lusson, A. [LPSC-CNRS, Meudon (France); Monteiro, T.; Soares, M.J.; Neves, A.; Carmo, M.C.; Peres, M. [University of Aveiro, Physics Department, Aveiro (Portugal); Lerondel, G.; Hubert, C. [Technical University of Troyes-CNRS (FRE2671), 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, Troyes (France)

2007-07-15

2 cm diameter hydrothermal ZnO crystals were grown and then made into substrates using both mechanical and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). CMP polishing showed superior results with an (0002) {omega} scan full width half maximum (FWHM) of 67 arcsec and an root mean square (RMS) roughness of 2 Aa. In comparison, commercial melt-grown substrates exhibited broader X-ray diffraction (XRD) linewidths with evidence of sub-surface crystal damage due to polishing, including a downward shift of c-lattice parameter. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed strong Li, Fe, Co, Al and Si contamination in the hydrothermal crystals as opposed to the melt-grown substrates, for which glow discharge mass spectroscopy studies had reported high levels of Pb, Fe, Cd and Si. Low temperature photoluminescence (PL) studies indicated that the hydrothermal crystal had high defect and/or impurity concentrations compared with the melt-grown substrate. The dominant bound exciton for the melt-grown substrate was indexed to Al. ZnO films were grown using pulsed laser deposition. The melt-grown substrates gave superior results with XRD (0002) {omega} and 2{theta}/{omega} WHM of 124 and 34 arcsec, respectively. Atomic force microscope measurements indicated a low RMS roughness (1.9 nm) as confirmed by fringes in the XRD 2{theta}/{omega} scan. It was suggested that the improvement in XRD response relative to the substrate might be due to ''healing'' of sub-surface polishing damage due to the elevated T{sub s} used for the growth. Indeed the c-lattice parameter for the homoepitaxial layer on the melt-grown substrate had become that which would be expected for strain-free ZnO. Furthermore, the stability of the PL peak positions relative to bulk ZnO, confirmed that the films appear practically strain free. (orig.)

Bounds on the capacity of constrained two-dimensional codes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Søren; Justesen, Jørn

2000-01-01

Bounds on the capacity of constrained two-dimensional (2-D) codes are presented. The bounds of Calkin and Wilf apply to first-order symmetric constraints. The bounds are generalized in a weaker form to higher order and nonsymmetric constraints. Results are given for constraints specified by run-l...

Bound entangled states violate a nonsymmetric local uncertainty relation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, Holger F.

2003-01-01

As a consequence of having a positive partial transpose, bound entangled states lack many of the properties otherwise associated with entanglement. It is therefore interesting to identify properties that distinguish bound entangled states from separable states. In this paper, it is shown that some bound entangled states violate a nonsymmetric class of local uncertainty relations [H. F. Hofmann and S. Takeuchi, Phys. Rev. A 68, 032103 (2003)]. This result indicates that the asymmetry of nonclassical correlations may be a characteristic feature of bound entanglement

Impact of substrate on performance of band gap engineered graphene field effect transistor

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Durgesh Laxman; Sivasankaran, K.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the graphene field effect transistor (G-FET) to enhance the drain current saturation and to minimize the drain conductance (gd) using numerical simulation. This work focus on suppressing the drain conductance using silicon substrate. We studied the impact of different substrate on the performance of band gap engineered G-FET device. We used a non-equilibrium green function with mode space (NEGF_MS) to model the transport behavior of carriers for 10 nm channel length G-FET device. We compared the drain current saturation of G-FET at higher drain voltage regime on silicon, SiC, and the SiO2 substrate. This paper clearly demonstrates the effect of substrate on an electric field near drain region of G-FET device. It is shown that the substrate of G-FET is not only creating a band gap in graphene, which is important for current saturation and gd minimization, but also selection of suitable substrate can suppress generation of carrier concentration near drain region is also important.

Lower Bounds to the Reliabilities of Factor Score Estimators.

Science.gov (United States)

Hessen, David J

2016-10-06

Under the general common factor model, the reliabilities of factor score estimators might be of more interest than the reliability of the total score (the unweighted sum of item scores). In this paper, lower bounds to the reliabilities of Thurstone's factor score estimators, Bartlett's factor score estimators, and McDonald's factor score estimators are derived and conditions are given under which these lower bounds are equal. The relative performance of the derived lower bounds is studied using classic example data sets. The results show that estimates of the lower bounds to the reliabilities of Thurstone's factor score estimators are greater than or equal to the estimates of the lower bounds to the reliabilities of Bartlett's and McDonald's factor score estimators.

Substrate system for spray forming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chu, Men G. (Export, PA); Chernicoff, William P. (Harrisburg, PA)

2002-01-01

A substrate system for receiving a deposit of sprayed metal droplets including a movable outer substrate on which the sprayed metal droplets are deposited. The substrate system also includes an inner substrate disposed adjacent the outer substrate where the sprayed metal droplets are deposited on the outer substrate. The inner substrate includes zones of differing thermal conductivity to resist substrate layer porosity and to resist formation of large grains and coarse constituent particles in a bulk layer of the metal droplets which have accumulated on the outer substrate. A spray forming apparatus and associated method of spray forming a molten metal to form a metal product using the substrate system of the invention is also provided.

Interactions between macromolecule-bound antioxidants and Trolox during liposome autoxidation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Celik, Ecem Evrim; Amigo Rubio, Jose Manuel; Andersen, Mogens Larsen

2017-01-01

The interactions between free and macromolecule-bound antioxidants were investigated in order to evaluate their combined effects on the antioxidant environment. Dietary fiber (DF), protein and lipid-bound antioxidants, obtained from whole wheat, soybean and olive oil products, respectively and Tr...... of logistic function was successfully used for modelling the oxidation curve of liposomes. Principal component analysis revealed two separate phases of liposome autoxidation.......The interactions between free and macromolecule-bound antioxidants were investigated in order to evaluate their combined effects on the antioxidant environment. Dietary fiber (DF), protein and lipid-bound antioxidants, obtained from whole wheat, soybean and olive oil products, respectively...... of the simple addition effects of Trolox and bound antioxidants with measured values on lipid oxidation revealed synergetic interactions for DF and refined olive oil-bound antioxidants, and antagonistic interactions for protein and extra virgin olive oil-bound antioxidants with Trolox. A generalized version...

Computationally efficient analytic representations of relativistic bound-bound, bound-unbound and unbound-unbound transition matrix elements of hydrogenic atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soldatov, A.; Seke, J.; Adam, G.; Polak, M.

2008-01-01

Full text: A closed analytic form for relativistic transition matrix elements between bound-bound, bound-unbound and unbound-unbound relativistic eigenstates of hydrogenic atoms by using the plane-wave expansion for the electromagnetic-field vector potential was derived in a form convenient for large-scale numerical calculations in QED. By applying the obtained formulae, these transition matrix elements can be evaluated analytically and numerically. These exact matrix elements, which to our knowledge have not been calculated as yet, are of great importance in the analysis of various atom-field interaction processes where retardation effects cannot be ignored. The ultimate goal of the ongoing research is to develop a general universal calculation technique for Seke's approximation and renormalization method in QED, for which the usage of the plane vector expansion for the vector potential is a preferable choice. However, our primary interest lies in the Lamb-shift calculation. Our nearest objective is to carry out the plain-style relativistic calculations of the Lamb shift of the energy levels of hydrogen-like atoms and ions from first principles in the second and higher perturbative orders, using the corresponding convenient as well as novel expressions for the magnitude in question as they stand, i.e. without any additional approximations. Due to that there is no way to achieve all the above-declared goals without recourse to large-scale laborious and time-consuming high-precision numerical calculations, having the transition matrix elements of all possible types in an analytic, convenient for their efficient numerical evaluation form, would be highly advantageous and even unavoidable, especially for calculations of various QED effects in higher perturbative orders be it, equally, in traditional or novel approach. (author)

Dark-matter bound states from Feynman diagrams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petraki, K.; Postma, M.; Wiechers, M.

2015-01-01

If dark matter couples directly to a light force mediator, then it may form bound states in the early universe and in the non-relativistic environment of haloes today. In this work, we establish a field-theoretic framework for the computation of bound-state formation cross-sections, de-excitation

Influence of strong perturbations on wall-bounded flows

Science.gov (United States)

Buxton, O. R. H.; Ewenz Rocher, M.; Rodríguez-López, E.

2018-01-01

Single-point hot-wire measurements are made downstream of a series of spanwise repeating obstacles that are used to generate an artificially thick turbulent boundary layer. The measurements are made in the near field, in which the turbulent boundary layer is beginning to develop from the wall-bounded wakes of the obstacles. The recent paper of Rodríguez-López et al. [E. Rodríguez-López et al., Phys. Rev. Fluids 1, 074401 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.1.074401] broadly categorized the mechanisms by which canonical turbulent boundary layers eventually develop from wall-bounded wakes into two distinct mechanisms, the wall-driven and wake-driven mechanisms. In the present work we attempt to identify the geometric parameters of tripping arrays that trigger these two mechanisms by examining the spectra of the streamwise velocity fluctuations and the intermittent outer region of the flow. Using a definition reliant upon the magnitude of the velocity fluctuations, an intermittency function is devised that can discriminate between turbulent and nonturbulent flow. These results are presented along with the spectra in order to try to ascertain which aspects of a trip's geometry are more likely to favor the wall-driven or wake-driven mechanism. The geometrical aspects of the trips tested are the aspect ratio, the total blockage, and the blockage at the wall. The results indicate that the presence, or not, of perforations is the most significant factor in affecting the flow downstream. The bleed of fluid through the perforations reenergizes the mean recirculation and leads to a narrower intermittent region with a more regular turbulent-nonturbulent interface. The near-wall turbulent motions are found to recover quickly downstream of all of the trips with a wall blockage of 50%, but a clear influence of the outer fluctuations, generated by the tip vortices of the trips, is observed in the near-wall region for the high total blockage trips. The trip with 100% wall blockage is

Circumvention of Parker's bound on galactic magnetic monopoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicus, D.A.; Teplitz, V.L.; Maryland Univ., College Park

1983-01-01

There is a possibility that a magnetic monopole has been observed. The monopole density implied by the observation appears to violate bounds on the density of such particles derived from the total mass density of the Universe and from the existence of galactic magnetic fields. It is shown that the observation is not inconsistent with these bounds if the monopoles and antimonopoles are bound into positronium like states with principal quantum n high enough so that the Earth's magnetic field will break them apart, but small enough so that the weaker galactic magnetic field will not. A range of values for n are determined and show that lifetimes for such bound states are longer than the current age of the Universe. (author)

Comparing two reliability upper bounds for multistate systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Fan C.

2005-01-01

The path-cut reliability bound due to Esary and Proschan [J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 65 (1970) 329] and the minimax reliability bound due to Barlow and Proschan [Statistical Theory of Reliability and Life Testing: Probability Models, 1981] for binary systems have been generalized to multistate systems by Block and Savits [J. Appl. Probab. 19 (1982) 391]. Some comparison results concerning the two multistate lower bounds for various types of multistate systems are given by Meng [Probab. Eng. Inform. Sci. 16 (2002) 485]. In this note we compare the two multistate upper bounds and present results which generalize some previous ones obtained by Maymin [J. Stat. Plan. Inference 16 (1987) 337] for binary systems. Examples are given to illustrate our results

Finite energy bounds for $\\piN$ scattering

CERN Document Server

Grassberger, P; Schwela, D

1974-01-01

Upper bounds on energy averaged pi N cross sections are given. Using low energy data and data from pi N backward scattering and NN to pi pi annihilation, it is found that sigma /sub tot/bounds are based on assumptions similar to those underlying Froissart's bound and are equal to it asymptotically. However, at finite but large energies, they increase much slower than what might have been anticipated on purely numerological grounds. Related problems in pp and Kp scattering are also discussed. (25 refs) .

Turning a Substrate Peptide into a Potent Inhibitor for the Histone Methyltransferase SETD8

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Judge, Russell A.; Zhu, Haizhong; Upadhyay, Anup K.; Bodelle, Pierre M.; Hutchins, Charles W.; Torrent, Maricel; Marin, Violeta L.; Yu, Wenyu; Vedadi, Masoud; Li, Fengling; Brown, Peter J.; Pappano, William N.; Sun, Chaohong; Petros, Andrew M.

2016-12-08

SETD8 is a histone H4–K20 methyltransferase that plays an essential role in the maintenance of genomic integrity during mitosis and in DNA damage repair, making it an intriguing target for cancer research. While some small molecule inhibitors for SETD8 have been reported, the structural binding modes for these inhibitors have not been revealed. Using the complex structure of the substrate peptide bound to SETD8 as a starting point, different natural and unnatural amino acid substitutions were tested, and a potent (Ki 50 nM, IC50 0.33 μM) and selective norleucine containing peptide inhibitor has been obtained.

Entropic Lower Bound for Distinguishability of Quantum States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seungho Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available For a system randomly prepared in a number of quantum states, we present a lower bound for the distinguishability of the quantum states, that is, the success probability of determining the states in the form of entropy. When the states are all pure, acquiring the entropic lower bound requires only the density operator and the number of the possible states. This entropic bound shows a relation between the von Neumann entropy and the distinguishability.

Structural basis for high substrate-binding affinity and enantioselectivity of 3-quinuclidinone reductase AtQR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou, Feng; Miyakawa, Takuya; Kataoka, Michihiko; Takeshita, Daijiro; Kumashiro, Shoko; Uzura, Atsuko; Urano, Nobuyuki; Nagata, Koji; Shimizu, Sakayu; Tanokura, Masaru

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Crystal structure of AtQR has been determined at 1.72 Å. • NADH binding induces the formation of substrate binding site. • AtQR possesses a conserved hydrophobic wall for stereospecific binding of substrate. • Additional Glu197 residue is critical to the high binding affinity. - Abstract: (R)-3-Quinuclidinol, a useful compound for the synthesis of various pharmaceuticals, can be enantioselectively produced from 3-quinuclidinone by 3-quinuclidinone reductase. Recently, a novel NADH-dependent 3-quinuclidionone reductase (AtQR) was isolated from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and showed much higher substrate-binding affinity (>100 fold) than the reported 3-quinuclidionone reductase (RrQR) from Rhodotorula rubra. Here, we report the crystal structure of AtQR at 1.72 Å. Three NADH-bound protomers and one NADH-free protomer form a tetrameric structure in an asymmetric unit of crystals. NADH not only acts as a proton donor, but also contributes to the stability of the α7 helix. This helix is a unique and functionally significant part of AtQR and is related to form a deep catalytic cavity. AtQR has all three catalytic residues of the short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases family and the hydrophobic wall for the enantioselective reduction of 3-quinuclidinone as well as RrQR. An additional residue on the α7 helix, Glu197, exists near the active site of AtQR. This acidic residue is considered to form a direct interaction with the amine part of 3-quinuclidinone, which contributes to substrate orientation and enhancement of substrate-binding affinity. Mutational analyses also support that Glu197 is an indispensable residue for the activity

Structural basis for high substrate-binding affinity and enantioselectivity of 3-quinuclidinone reductase AtQR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Feng; Miyakawa, Takuya [Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan); Kataoka, Michihiko [Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai 559-8531 (Japan); Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Takeshita, Daijiro [Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan); Kumashiro, Shoko [Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Uzura, Atsuko [Research and Development Center, Nagase and Co., Ltd., 2-2-3 Muratani, Nishi-ku, Kobe 651-2241 (Japan); Urano, Nobuyuki [Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai 559-8531 (Japan); Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Nagata, Koji [Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan); Shimizu, Sakayu [Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Faculty of Bioenvironmental Science, Kyoto Gakuen University, Sogabe-cho, Kameoka 621-8555 (Japan); Tanokura, Masaru, E-mail: amtanok@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657 (Japan)

2014-04-18

Highlights: • Crystal structure of AtQR has been determined at 1.72 Å. • NADH binding induces the formation of substrate binding site. • AtQR possesses a conserved hydrophobic wall for stereospecific binding of substrate. • Additional Glu197 residue is critical to the high binding affinity. - Abstract: (R)-3-Quinuclidinol, a useful compound for the synthesis of various pharmaceuticals, can be enantioselectively produced from 3-quinuclidinone by 3-quinuclidinone reductase. Recently, a novel NADH-dependent 3-quinuclidionone reductase (AtQR) was isolated from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and showed much higher substrate-binding affinity (>100 fold) than the reported 3-quinuclidionone reductase (RrQR) from Rhodotorula rubra. Here, we report the crystal structure of AtQR at 1.72 Å. Three NADH-bound protomers and one NADH-free protomer form a tetrameric structure in an asymmetric unit of crystals. NADH not only acts as a proton donor, but also contributes to the stability of the α7 helix. This helix is a unique and functionally significant part of AtQR and is related to form a deep catalytic cavity. AtQR has all three catalytic residues of the short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases family and the hydrophobic wall for the enantioselective reduction of 3-quinuclidinone as well as RrQR. An additional residue on the α7 helix, Glu197, exists near the active site of AtQR. This acidic residue is considered to form a direct interaction with the amine part of 3-quinuclidinone, which contributes to substrate orientation and enhancement of substrate-binding affinity. Mutational analyses also support that Glu197 is an indispensable residue for the activity.

Entropy Bounds for Constrained Two-Dimensional Fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Søren Otto; Justesen, Jørn

1999-01-01

The maximum entropy and thereby the capacity of 2-D fields given by certain constraints on configurations are considered. Upper and lower bounds are derived.......The maximum entropy and thereby the capacity of 2-D fields given by certain constraints on configurations are considered. Upper and lower bounds are derived....

Generation mixing and CP-violation, standard and beyond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harari, H.

1987-05-01

We discuss several issues related to the observed generation pattern of quarks and leptons. Among the main topics: Masses, angles and phases and possible relations among them, a possible fourth generation of quarks and leptons, new bounds on neutrino masses, comments on the recently observed mixing in the B - anti B system, CP-violation, and recent proposals for a b-quark ''factory''

Solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem using efficient epsilon-constraint, multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm, and DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili-Damghani, Kaveh; Amiri, Maghsoud

2012-01-01

In this paper, a procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed for solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem (MORAP). In first module, a set of qualified non-dominated solutions on Pareto front of binary-state MORAP is generated using an efficient epsilon-constraint method. In order to test the quality of generated non-dominated solutions in this module, a multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm is also proposed for MORAP. The performance of both procedures is compared using different metrics on well-known benchmark instance. The statistical analysis represents that not only the proposed efficient epsilon-constraint method outperform the multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm but also it improves the founded upper bound of benchmark instance. Then, in second module, a DEA model is supplied to prune the generated non-dominated solutions of efficient epsilon-constraint method. This helps reduction of non-dominated solutions in a systematic manner and eases the decision making process for practical implementations. - Highlights: ► A procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and DEA was proposed for solving MORAP. ► The performance of proposed procedure was compared with a multi-start PBEA. ► Methods were statistically compared using multi-objective metrics.

High quality silicon-based substrates for microwave and millimeter wave passive circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Belaroussi, Y.; Rack, M.; Saadi, A. A.; Scheen, G.; Belaroussi, M. T.; Trabelsi, M.; Raskin, J.-P.

2017-09-01

Porous silicon substrate is very promising for next generation wireless communication requiring the avoidance of high-frequency losses originating from the bulk silicon. In this work, new variants of porous silicon (PSi) substrates have been introduced. Through an experimental RF performance, the proposed PSi substrates have been compared with different silicon-based substrates, namely, standard silicon (Std), trap-rich (TR) and high resistivity (HR). All of the mentioned substrates have been fabricated where identical samples of CPW lines have been integrated on. The new PSi substrates have shown successful reduction in the substrate's effective relative permittivity to values as low as 3.7 and great increase in the substrate's effective resistivity to values higher than 7 kΩ cm. As a concept proof, a mm-wave bandpass filter (MBPF) centred at 27 GHz has been integrated on the investigated substrates. Compared with the conventional MBPF implemented on standard silicon-based substrates, the measured S-parameters of the PSi-based MBPF have shown high filtering performance, such as a reduction in insertion loss and an enhancement of the filter selectivity, with the joy of having the same filter performance by varying the temperature. Therefore, the efficiency of the proposed PSi substrates has been well highlighted. From 1994 to 1995, she was assistant of physics at (USTHB), Algiers . From 1998 to 2011, she was a Researcher at characterization laboratory in ionized media and laser division at the Advanced Technologies Development Center. She has integrated the Analog Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits team as Researcher since 2011 until now in Microelectronic and Nanotechnology Division at Advanced Technologies Development Center (CDTA), Algiers. She has been working towards her Ph.D. degree jointly at CDTA and Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Algiers, since 2012. Her research interest includes fabrication and characterization of microwave passive devices on porous

Resistance of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel E Saunders

Full Text Available Before prion uptake and infection can occur in the lower gastrointestinal system, ingested prions are subjected to anaerobic digestion in the rumen of cervids and bovids. The susceptibility of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion has not been evaluated previously. In this study, prions from infectious brain homogenates as well as prions bound to a range of soils and soil minerals were subjected to in vitro rumen digestion, and changes in PrP levels were measured via western blot. Binding to clay appeared to protect noninfectious hamster PrP(c from complete digestion, while both unbound and soil-bound infectious PrP(Sc proved highly resistant to rumen digestion. In addition, no change in intracerebral incubation period was observed following active rumen digestion of unbound hamster HY TME prions and HY TME prions bound to a silty clay loam soil. These results demonstrate that both unbound and soil-bound prions readily survive rumen digestion without a reduction in infectivity, further supporting the potential for soil-mediated transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD and scrapie in the environment.

Resistance of Soil-Bound Prions to Rumen Digestion

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Samuel E.; Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon L.; Bartz, Jason C.

2012-01-01

Before prion uptake and infection can occur in the lower gastrointestinal system, ingested prions are subjected to anaerobic digestion in the rumen of cervids and bovids. The susceptibility of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion has not been evaluated previously. In this study, prions from infectious brain homogenates as well as prions bound to a range of soils and soil minerals were subjected to in vitro rumen digestion, and changes in PrP levels were measured via western blot. Binding to clay appeared to protect noninfectious hamster PrPc from complete digestion, while both unbound and soil-bound infectious PrPSc proved highly resistant to rumen digestion. In addition, no change in intracerebral incubation period was observed following active rumen digestion of unbound hamster HY TME prions and HY TME prions bound to a silty clay loam soil. These results demonstrate that both unbound and soil-bound prions readily survive rumen digestion without a reduction in infectivity, further supporting the potential for soil-mediated transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) and scrapie in the environment. PMID:22937149

Lying for the Greater Good: Bounded Rationality in a Team

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oktay Sürücü

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the interaction between fully and boundedly rational agents in situations where their interests are perfectly aligned. The cognitive limitations of the boundedly rational agent do not allow him to fully understand the market conditions and lead him to take non-optimal decisions in some situations. Using categorization to model bounded rationality, we show that the fully rational agent can nudge, i.e., he can manipulate the information he sends and decrease the expected loss caused by the boundedly rational agent. Assuming different types for the boundedly rational agent, who differ only in the categories used, we show that the fully rational agent may learn the type of the boundedly rational agent along their interaction. Using this additional information, the outcome can be improved and the amount of manipulated information can be decreased. Furthermore, as the length of the interaction increases the probability that the fully rational agent learns the type of the boundedly rational agent grows

Modelling substrate specificity and enantioselectivity for lipases and esterases by substrate-imprinted docking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyagi Sadhna

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previously, ways to adapt docking programs that were developed for modelling inhibitor-receptor interaction have been explored. Two main issues were discussed. First, when trying to model catalysis a reaction intermediate of the substrate is expected to provide more valid information than the ground state of the substrate. Second, the incorporation of protein flexibility is essential for reliable predictions. Results Here we present a predictive and robust method to model substrate specificity and enantioselectivity of lipases and esterases that uses reaction intermediates and incorporates protein flexibility. Substrate-imprinted docking starts with covalent docking of reaction intermediates, followed by geometry optimisation of the resulting enzyme-substrate complex. After a second round of docking the same substrate into the geometry-optimised structures, productive poses are identified by geometric filter criteria and ranked by their docking scores. Substrate-imprinted docking was applied in order to model (i enantioselectivity of Candida antarctica lipase B and a W104A mutant, (ii enantioselectivity and substrate specificity of Candida rugosa lipase and Burkholderia cepacia lipase, and (iii substrate specificity of an acetyl- and a butyrylcholine esterase toward the substrates acetyl- and butyrylcholine. Conclusion The experimentally observed differences in selectivity and specificity of the enzymes were reproduced with an accuracy of 81%. The method was robust toward small differences in initial structures (different crystallisation conditions or a co-crystallised ligand, although large displacements of catalytic residues often resulted in substrate poses that did not pass the geometric filter criteria.

Bounded dust-acoustic waves in a cylindrically bounded collisional dusty plasma with dust charge variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Nanxia; Xue Jukui

2006-01-01

Taking into account the boundary, particle collisions, and dust charging effects, dust-acoustic waves in a uniform cylindrically bounded dusty plasma is investigated analytically, and the dispersion relation for the dust-acoustic wave is obtained. The effects of boundary, dust charge variation, particle collision, and dust size on the dust-acoustic wave are discussed in detail. Due to the bounded cylindrical boundary effects, the radial wave number is discrete, i.e., the spectrum is discrete. It is shown that the discrete spectrum, the adiabatic dust charge variation, dust grain size, and the particle collision have significant effects on the dust-acoustic wave

A ''new'' approach to the quantitative statistical dynamics of plasma turbulence: The optimum theory of rigorous bounds on steady-state transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krommes, J.A.; Kim, Chang-Bae

1990-06-01

The fundamental problem in the theory of turbulent transport is to find the flux Γ of a quantity such as heat. Methods based on statistical closures are mired in conceptual controversies and practical difficulties. However, it is possible to bound Γ by employing constraints derived rigorously from the equations of motion. Brief reviews of the general theory and its application to passive advection are given. Then, a detailed application is made to anomalous resistivity generated by self-consistent turbulence in a reversed-field pinch. A nonlinear variational principle for an upper bound on the turbulence electromotive force for fixed current is formulated from the magnetohydrodynamic equations in cylindrical geometry. Numerical solution of a case constrained solely by energy balance leads to a reasonable bound and nonlinear eigenfunctions that share intriguing features with experimental data: the dominant mode numbers appear to be correct, and field reversal is predicted at reasonable values of the pinch parameter. Although open questions remain upon considering all bounding calculations to date one can conclude, remarkably, that global energy balance constrains transport sufficiently so that bounds derived therefrom are not unreasonable and that bounding calculations are feasible even for involved practical problems. The potential of the method has hardly been tapped; it provides a fertile area for future research. 29 refs

A ''new'' approach to the quantitative statistical dynamics of plasma turbulence: The optimum theory of rigorous bounds on steady-state transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krommes, J.A.; Kim, C.

1990-01-01

The fundamental problem in the theory of turbulent transport is to find the flux Γ of a quantity such as heat. Methods based on statistical closures are mired in conceptual controversies and practical difficulties. However, it is possible to bound Γ by employing constraints derived rigorously from the equations of motion. Brief reviews of the general theory and its application to passive advection are given. Then, a detailed application is made to anomalous resistivity generated by self-consistent turbulence in a reversed-field pinch. A nonlinear variational principle for an upper bound on the turbulent electromotive force for fixed current is formulated from the magnetohydrodynamic equations in cylindrical geometry. Numerical solution of a case constrained solely by energy balance leads to a reasonable bound and nonlinear eigenfunctions that share intriguing features with experimental data: The dominant mode numbers appear to be correct, and field reversal is predicted at reasonable values of the pinch parameter. Although open questions remain, upon considering all bounding calculations to date it can be concluded, remarkably, that global energy balance constrains transport sufficiently so that bounds derived therefrom are not unreasonable and that bounding calculations are feasible even for involved practical problems. The potential of the method has hardly been tapped; it provides a fertile area for future research

Chloroplast protein synthesis: thylakoid bound polysomes synthesize thylakoid proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hurewitz, J.; Jagendorf, A.T.

1986-01-01

Previous work indicated more polysomes bound to pea thylakoids in light than in the dark, in vivo. With isolated intact chloroplasts incubated in darkness, 24 to 74% more RNA was thylakoid-bound at pH 8.3 than at pH 7. Thus the major effect of light in vivo may be due to higher stroma pH. In isolated pea chloroplasts, initiation inhibitors (pactamycin and kanamycin) decreased the extent of RNA binding, and elongation inhibitors (lincomycin and streptomycin) increased it. Thus translation initiation and termination probably control the cycling of bound ribosomes. While only 3 to 6% of total RNA is in bound polysomes the incorporation of 3 H-Leu into thylakoids was proportional to the amount of this bound RNA. When Micrococcal nuclease-treated thylakoids were added to labeled runoff translation products of stroma ribosomes, less than 1% of the label adhered to the added membranes; but 37% of the labeled products made by thylakoid polysomes were bound. These data support the concept that stroma ribosomes are recruited into thylakoid proteins

Spectroscopy of bound multi exciton complexes and deep centers in implanted and annealed silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babich, V.M.; Valakh, M.Ya.; Kovalchuk, V.B.; Rudko, G.Yu.; Shakhrajchuk, N.I.

1989-01-01

The change of silicon properties relevant to device physics caused by ion implantation and thermal annealing is studied. It is shown that in boron-doped p-Si the increase of P + ions implantation doses from 10 12 to 10 14 ions/cm 2 lead to a decrease of the broadening of boron bound exciton bands. This behaviour is caused by implantation-induced disordering of the lattice. The subsequent thermal annealing restores the intensity and the halfwidth of the above-mentioned bands and initiates the increase of the bands which correspond to excitons bond on the implanted phosphorus ions. Measurements of phosphorus bound exciton band intensities are applicable to the characterization of the process of phosphorus activation. Analysis of low energy region of luminescence spectra of heat treated samples shows that there is a correlation between the process of implanted phosphorus activation and the one of radiation defects transformation. The influence of germanium doping on the generation of thermal donors by means of spectroscopy of deep centres luminescence has been investigated. It is shown that the introduction of germanium in concentrations of 10 19 -10 20 cm -3 effectively suppresses the generation of thermal donors and deep centres under investigation. (author)

Van der Waals interactions between planar substrate and tubular lipid membranes undergoing pearling instability

Science.gov (United States)

Valchev, G. S.; Djondjorov, P. A.; Vassilev, V. M.; Dantchev, D. M.

2017-10-01

In the current article we study the behavior of the van der Waals force between a planar substrate and an axisymmetric bilayer lipid membrane undergoing pearling instability, caused by uniform hydrostatic pressure difference. To do so, the recently suggested "surface integration approach" is used, which can be considered a generalization of the well known and widely used Derjaguin approximation. The static equilibrium shape after the occurrence of the instability is described in the framework of Helfrich's spontaneous curvature model. Some specific classes of exact analytical solutions to the corresponding shape equation are considered, and the components of the respective position vectors given in terms of elliptic integrals and Jacobi elliptic functions. The mutual orientation between the interacting objects is chosen such that the axis of revolution of the distorted cylinder be parallel to the plane bounding the substrate. Based on the discussed models and approaches we made some estimations for the studied force in real experimentally realizable systems, thus showing the possibility of pearling as an useful technique for reduction of the adhesion in variety of industrial processes using lipid membranes as carriers.

GDH-Dependent Glutamate Oxidation in the Brain Dictates Peripheral Energy Substrate Distribution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karaca, Melis; Frigerio, Francesca; Migrenne, Stephanie

2015-01-01

in a central energy-deprivation state with increased ADP/ATP ratios and phospho-AMPK in the hypothalamus. This induced changes in the autonomous nervous system balance, with increased sympathetic activity promoting hepatic glucose production and mobilization of substrates reshaping peripheral energy stores...... glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity. Here, we investigated the significance of glutamate as energy substrate for the brain. Upon glutamate exposure, astrocytes generated ATP in a GDH-dependent way. The observed lack of glutamate oxidation in brain-specific GDH null CnsGlud1(-/-) mice resulted...

Containment and Consensus-based Distributed Coordination Control for Voltage Bound and Reactive Power Sharing in AC Microgrid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Han, Renke; Meng, Lexuan; Ferrari-Trecate, Giancarlo

2017-01-01

This paper offers a highly flexible and reliable control strategy to achieve voltage bounded regulation and accurate reactive power sharing coordinately in AC Micro-Grids. A containment and consensus-based distributed coordination controller is proposed, by which each output voltage magnitude can...... be bounded within a reasonable range and the accurate reactive power sharing among distributed generators can be also achieved. Combined with the two proposed controllers and electrical part of the AC Micro-Grid, a small signal model is fully developed to analyze the sensitivity of different control...... parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed controller in case of load variation, communication failure, plug-and-play capability are verified by the experimental setup as an islanded Micro-Grid....

Zooming in on AdS3/CFT2 near a BPS bound

Science.gov (United States)

Hartong, Jelle; Lei, Yang; Obers, Niels; Oling, Gerben

2018-05-01

Any ( d + 1)-dimensional CFT with a U(1) flavor symmetry, a BPS bound and an exactly marginal coupling admits a decoupling limit in which one zooms in on the spectrum close to the bound. This limit is an Inönü-Wigner contraction of so(2 , d+1)⊕ u(1) that leads to a relativistic algebra with a scaling generator but no conformal generators. In 2D CFTs, Lorentz boosts are abelian and by adding a second u(1) we find a contraction of two copies of sl(2, ℝ) ⊕ u(1) to two copies of P 2 c , the 2-dimensional centrally extended Poincaré algebra. We show that the bulk is described by a novel non-Lorentzian geometry that we refer to as pseudo-Newton-Cartan geometry. Both the Chern-Simons action on sl(2, ℝ) ⊕ u(1) and the entire phase space of asymptotically AdS3 spacetimes are well-behaved in the corresponding limit if we fix the radial component for the u(1) connection. With this choice, the resulting Newton-Cartan foliation structure is now associated not with time, but with the emerging holographic direction. Since the leaves of this foliation do not mix, the emergence of the holographic direction is much simpler than in AdS3 holography. Furthermore, we show that the asymptotic symmetry algebra of the limit theory consists of a left- and a right-moving warped Virasoro algebra.

Responses of low pressure Andersen sampler for collecting substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamasaki, K. [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka (Japan); Yamada, Y.; Miyamoto, K.; Shimo, M. [Division of Radiotoxicology and Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)

2000-05-01

Some types of low pressure cascade impactors (Andersen, Berner, Davies, and MOUDI etc) have been used to measure the activity size distribution of radon progeny in the environment. In spite of their careful uses, their nonideal responses are not adequately known. Some important factors such as the wall loss, electrostatic attraction, and the surface nature of collecting substrates may affect the reliability of the impactor data. Size selective characteristics of a low pressure Andersen sampler for various collecting substrates were examined in a radon exposure chamber using several kinds of liquid (DOS) or solid (carnauba wax) carrier aerosols labelled with radon progeny. These carrier aerosols were produced by commercial condensation aerosol generator. Tested collecting substrates were, (1) uncoated clean stainless steel plate, (2) silicone oil or grease coated stainless steel plate, (3) polyethylene sheet covered stainless steel plate, (4) membrane filter, (5) glass fiber filter, and (6) quartz fiber filter. In the case of collecting liquid or sticky carrier aerosols, the effect of particle bounce was small and nearly any substrates might used on the impaction plate. On the other hand, in the case of solid carrier aerosols, an adhesive layer such as grease or oil might have to be applied to the substrate. It was concluded that a low pressure cascade impactor such as Andersen sampler might need an appropriate calibration procedure including the interstage characteristics for determining the accurate activity size distribution. (author)

On the range of completely bounded maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard I. Loebl

1978-01-01

Full Text Available It is shown that if every bounded linear map from a C*-algebra α to a von Neumann algebra β is completely bounded, then either α is finite-dimensional or β⫅⊗Mn, where is a commutative von Neumann algebra and Mn is the algebra of n×n complex matrices.

Experimental evidence for bounds on quantum correlations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovino, F A; Castagnoli, G; Degiovanni, I P; Castelletto, S

2004-02-13

We implemented the experiment proposed by Cabello in the preceding Letter to test the bounds of quantum correlation. As expected from the theory we found that, for certain choices of local observables, Tsirelson's bound of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality (2 x square root of 2) is not reached by any quantum states.

Bound water in Kevlar 49 fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garza, R.G.; Pruneda, C.O.; Morgan, R.J.

1981-01-01

From elemental analyses, thermogravimetric-mass spectroscopy studies and re-evaluation of previous water diffusion studies in Kevlar 49 fibers it is concluded that these fibers can contain two types of sorbed moisture. The fibers can absorb up to approx. 6 wt % loosely bound water with an activation energy for outgassing by desorption of 6 kcal/mole. This loosely bound water is a direct result of the presence of Na 2 SO 4 impurities and the perturbations they induce on the packing of the rod-like poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide) macromolecules. Kevlar 49 fibers also inherently contain up to 30 wt % additional water which is tightly bound within the crystal lattice. This water exhibits an activation energy for outgassing by diffusion of approx. 40 kcal/mole and is only evolved from the fiber in significant quantities at t > 350 0 C over a period of hours

On the Applicability of Lower Bounds for Solving Rectilinear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Jens; Karisch, Stefan E.; Perregaard, M.

1998-01-01

. Recently, lower bounds based on decomposition were proposed for the so called rectilinear QAP that proved to be the strongest for a large class of problem instances. We investigate the strength of these bounds when applied not only at the root node of a search tree but as the bound function used......The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) belongs to the hard core of NP-hard optimization problems. After almost forty years of research only relatively small instances can be solved to optimality. The reason is that the quality of the lower bounds available for exact methods is not sufficient...

Upper bounds on quantum uncertainty products and complexity measures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerrero, Angel; Sanchez-Moreno, Pablo; Dehesa, Jesus S. [Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics, University of Granada, Granada (Spain); Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Granada, Granada (Spain) and Institute Carlos I for Computational and Theoretical Physics, University of Granada, Granada (Spain); Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics, University of Granada, Granada (Spain); Institute Carlos I for Computational and Theoretical Physics, University of Granada, Granada (Spain)

2011-10-15

The position-momentum Shannon and Renyi uncertainty products of general quantum systems are shown to be bounded not only from below (through the known uncertainty relations), but also from above in terms of the Heisenberg-Kennard product . Moreover, the Cramer-Rao, Fisher-Shannon, and Lopez-Ruiz, Mancini, and Calbet shape measures of complexity (whose lower bounds have been recently found) are also bounded from above. The improvement of these bounds for systems subject to spherically symmetric potentials is also explicitly given. Finally, applications to hydrogenic and oscillator-like systems are done.

Bounded Perturbation Regularization for Linear Least Squares Estimation

KAUST Repository

Ballal, Tarig; Suliman, Mohamed Abdalla Elhag; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of selecting the regularization parameter for linear least-squares estimation. We propose a new technique called bounded perturbation regularization (BPR). In the proposed BPR method, a perturbation with a bounded

Proton NMR Studies of a Large Protein. pH, Substrate Titrations, and NOESY Experiments with Perdeuterated Yeast Phosphoglycerate Kinase Containing [ 1H]Histidine Residues

Science.gov (United States)

Pappu, K. M.; Serpersu, E. H.

Fully deuterated yeast phosphoglycerate kinase ([ 2H]PGK) was prepared biosynthetically with only histidine side chains of normal ( 1H) isotopic composition. The 1H NMR spectrum of this enzyme([ 1H]His[ 2H]PGK) showed that the histidine side chains are clearly visible as sharp signals. Thus detailed structural studies by 1H NMR became feasible with isotope-hybrid phosphoglycerate kinase which is otherwise too large ( Mr ˜ 46,000) for conventional 1H NMR studies. Proton signals of bound substrates were visible in the 1H NMR spectrum even with a substrate-to-enzyme ratio of less than 1/2 (mol/mol). The 2D NOESY spectrum of enzyme-MgdATP-glycerol 3-phosphate complex showed that, although protein concentration was very high (1.5 m M), no intraprotein cross peaks were observed other than those of intraresidue histidine NOE cross peaks. In addition, intrasubstrate NOEs and intermolecular NOEs between histidine and substrate protons were visible at a 1.5/1 substrate/enzyme (mol/mol) ratio. Paramagnetic effects of a substrate analog, Cr(III)ATP, on some of the histidine side chains indicated that the formation of the ternary enzyme-substrate complex causes large conformational changes in the enzyme.

ChIP-seq Analysis in R (CSAR): An R package for the statistical detection of protein-bound genomic regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muino, J.M.; Kaufmann, K.; Ham, van R.C.H.J.; Angenent, G.C.; Krajewski, P.

2011-01-01

Background In vivo detection of protein-bound genomic regions can be achieved by combining chromatin-immunoprecipitation with next-generation sequencing technology (ChIP-seq). The large amount of sequence data produced by this method needs to be analyzed in a statistically proper and computationally

Synthetic polymeric substrates as potent pro-oxidant versus anti-oxidant regulators of cytoskeletal remodeling and cell apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Hak-Joon; Chandra, Prafulla; Treiser, Matthew D; Liu, Er; Iovine, Carmine P; Moghe, Prabhas V; Kohn, Joachim

2009-03-01

The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cell signal transduction pathways emanating from engineered cell substrates remains unclear. To elucidate the role, polymers derived from the amino acid L-tyrosine were used as synthetic matrix substrates. Variations in their chemical properties were created by co-polymerizing hydrophobic L-tyrosine derivatives with uncharged hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, Mw = 1,000 Da), and negatively charged desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine (DT). These substrates were characterized for their intrinsic ability to generate ROS, as well as their ability to elicit Saos-2 cell responses in terms of intracellular ROS production, actin remodeling, and apoptosis. PEG-containing substrates induced both exogenous and intracellular ROS production, whereas the charged substrates reduced production of both types, indicating a coupling of exogenous ROS generation and intracellular ROS production. Furthermore, PEG-mediated ROS induction caused nuclear translocation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and an increase in caspase-3 activity, confirming a link with apoptosis. PEG-rich pro-oxidant substrates caused cytoskeletal actin remodeling through beta-actin cleavage by caspase-3 into fractins. The fractins co-localized to the mitochondria and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential. The remnant cytosolic beta-actin was polymerized and condensed, events consistent with apoptotic cell shrinkage. The cytoskeletal remodeling was integral to the further augmentation of intracellular ROS production. Conversely, the anti-oxidant DT-containing charged substrates suppressed the entire cascade of apoptotic progression. We demonstrate that ROS activity serves an important role in "outside-in" signaling for cells grown on substrates: the ROS activity couples exogenous stress, driven by substrate composition, to changes in intracellular signaling. This signaling causes cell apoptosis, which is mediated by actin remodeling.

Lower bounds on scintillation detector timing performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clinthorne, N.H.; Rogers, W.L.; Hero, A.O. III.; Petrick, N.A.

1990-01-01

Fundamental method-independent limits on the timing performance of scintillation detectors are useful for identifying regimes in which either present timing methods are nearly optimal or where a considerable performance gain might be realized using better pulse processing techniques. Several types of lower bounds on mean-squared timing error (MSE) performance have been developed and applied to scintillation detectors. The simple Cramer-Rao (CR) bound can be useful in determining the limiting MSE for scintillators having a relatively high rate of photon problction such as BaF 2 and NaI(Tl); however, it tends to overestimate the achievalbe performance for scintillators with lower rates such as BGO. For this reason, alternative bounds have been developed using rate-distortion theory or by assuming that the conversion of energy to scintillation light must pass through excited states which have exponential lifetime densities. The bounds are functions of the mean scintillation pulse shape, the scintillation intensity, and photodetector characteristics; they are simple to evaluate and can be used to conveniently assess the limiting timing performance of scintillation detectors. (orig.)

Communicating Sustainability: Do Nordic Energy Corporations Exemplify a New Generation of CSR?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aggerholm, Helle Kryger; Trapp, Leila

2011-01-01

generation CSR. The analysis reveals that although third generation thinking is apparent, it does not dominate. Approaches to CSR primarily reflect company-bound second generation thinking, framed within a global domain in a “Think global, act local” discourse....... beyond company-bound issues such as fulfilling legal obligations, improving workplace conditions and supporting local communities, to addressing broader, universal issues which affect humankind in general (Stohl, Stohl, & Popova, 2009). Due to the scope of these global problems, and the impossibility......Heightened public interest in company efforts to address global issues, such as the climate issue, has influenced corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics programs (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). This interest has sparked a so-called “third generation” approach to CSR which involves extending...

Thermotolerant Yeasts for Bioethanol Production Using Lignocellulosic Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Pasha, Chand; Rao, L. Venkateswar

No other sustainable option for production of transportation fuels can match ethanol made from lignocellulosic biomass with respect to its dramatic environmental, economic, strategic and infrastructure advantages. Substantial progress has been made in advancing biomass ethanol (bioethanol) production technology to the point that it now has commercial potential, and several firms are engaged in the demanding task of introducing first-of-a-kind technology into the marketplace to make bioethanol a reality in existing fuel-blending markets. In order to lower pollution India has a long-term goal to use biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel). Ethanol may be used either in pure form, or as a blend in petrol in different proportions. Since the cost of raw materials, which can account up to 50 % of the total production cost, is one of the most significant factors affecting the economy of alcohol, nowadays efforts are more concentrated on using cheap and abundant raw materials. Several forms of biomass resources exist (starch or sugar crops, weeds, oil plants, agricultural, forestry and municipal wastes) but of all biomass cellulosic resources represent the most abundant global source. The lignocellulosic materials include agricultural residues, municipal solid wastes (MSW), pulp mill refuse, switchgrass and lawn, garden wastes. Lignocellulosic materials contain two types of polysaccharides, cellulose and hemicellulose, bound together by a third component lignin. The principal elements of the lignocellulosic research include: i) evaluation and characterization of the waste feedstock; ii) pretreatment including initial clean up or dewatering of the feedstock; and iii) development of effective direct conversion bioprocessing to generate ethanol as an end product. Pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials is a step in which some of the hemicellulose dissolves in water, either as monomeric sugars or as oligomers and polymers. The cellulose cannot be enzymatically hydrolyzed to

Cosmological implications of Dark Matter bound states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitridate, Andrea [Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126, Pisa (Italy); Redi, Michele; Smirnov, Juri [INFN, Sezione di Firenze, and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Strumia, Alessandro, E-mail: andrea.mitridate@gmail.com, E-mail: michele.redi@fi.infn.it, E-mail: juri.smirnov@mpi-hd.mpg.de, E-mail: alessandro.strumia@cern.ch [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Università di Pisa and INFN, Pisa (Italy)

2017-05-01

We present generic formulæ for computing how Sommerfeld corrections together with bound-state formation affects the thermal abundance of Dark Matter with non-abelian gauge interactions. We consider DM as a fermion 3plet (wino) or 5plet under SU(2) {sub L} . In the latter case bound states raise to 11.5 TeV the DM mass required to reproduce the cosmological DM abundance and give indirect detection signals such as (for this mass) a dominant γ-line around 70 GeV. Furthermore, we consider DM co-annihilating with a colored particle, such as a squark or a gluino, finding that bound state effects are especially relevant in the latter case.

Wave propagation in a bounded plasma with striction nonlinearity taken into account

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brazhnik, V.A.; Grishaev, V.I.; Demchenko, V.V.; Pavlov, S.S.; Panchenko, V.I.; AN Ukrainskoj SSR, Kharkov. Fiziko-Tekhnicheskij Inst. Nizkikh Temperatur)

1981-01-01

Electromagnetic wave propagation in plasma is analyzed with striction nonlinearity taken into account. The reflection of a circularly polarized wave falling on a layer of homogeneous magnetoactive plasma is analytically investigated under conditions of linear skinning. The large amplitude TE-type wave propagation along the layer of isotropic plasma is numerically determined. It is shown that the distribution of the electric field amplitude essentially differs from the one predicted from the linear theory. Some periodic distributions across the layer become possible, in particular numerical modelling makes it possible to study the evolution of solitons generated by a monochromatic pump field in an inhomogeneous plasma layer bounded by ideally conducting surfaces. It is shown that generated solitons interact with those reflected from the boundary without any change of their form [ru

Atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization of 1,3-butadiene for hydrophobic finishing of textile substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samanta, Kartick K; Jassal, Manjeet; Agrawal, Ashwini K, E-mail: ashwini@smita-iitd.co, E-mail: manjeet.jassal@smita-iitd.co [Smart and Innovative Textile Materials Group (SMITA), Department of Textile Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016 (India)

2010-02-01

Atmospheric pressure plasma processing of textile has both ecological and economical advantages over the wet-chemical processing. However, reaction in atmospheric pressure plasma has important challenges to be overcome before it can be successfully used for finishing applications in textile. These challenges are (i) generating stable glow plasma in presence liquid/gaseous monomer, and (ii) keeping the generated radicals active in the presence of contaminants such as oxygen and air. In this study, a stable glow plasma was generated at atmospheric pressure in the mixture of gaseous reactive monomer-1,3-butadiene and He and was made to react with cellulosic textile substrate. After 12 min of plasma treatment, the hydrophilic surface of the cellulosic substrate turned into highly hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic finish was found to be durable to soap washing. After soap washing, a water drop of 37 {mu}l took around 250 s to get absorbed in the treated sample compared to < 1 s in the untreated samples. The plasma modified samples showed water contact angle of around 134{sup 0}. Both top and bottom sides of the fabric showed similar hydrophobic results in terms of water absorbency and contact angle. The results may be attributed to chemical reaction of butadiene with the cellulosic textile substrate. The surface characterization of the plasma modified samples under SEM and AFM revealed modification of the surface under <100 nm. The results showed that atmospheric pressure plasma can be successfully used for carrying out reaction of 1,3-butadiene with cellulosic textile substrates for producing hydrophobic surface finish.

Studies on the substrate mediated vibrational excitation of CO/Si(100) by means of SFG spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Xu; Lass, Kristian; Balgar, Thorsten; Hasselbrink, Eckart [Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Fachbereich Chemie, 45117 Essen (Germany)

2009-07-01

Vibrational excitations of adsorbates play an important role in chemical reaction dynamics. In the past decade CO on solid surfaces was chosen as adequate model system for studying vibrational relaxation dynamics. Our work is focused on the energy dissipation of vibrationally excited CO adsorbed on a silicon surface by means of IR/Vis sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. Here we present studies on substrate mediated excitation of vibrational modes of CO on Si(100) induced by UV radiation. We suppose the observation of highly excited internal stretch vibrations of CO caused by hot electrons generated within the silicon substrate.