Stability and structural transitions of tomato aspermy virus and cucumber mosaic virus

The properties of the S-strain of cucumber mosaic virus (S-CMV) and the B-strain of tomato aspermy virus (B-TAV) have been studied with respect to their (i) size and sedimentation behavior, (ii) requirement of divalent metal ions for stability, (iii) sensitivity towards chloride salts and the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate, (iv) solubility in ammonium sulfate-containing buffers, and (v) pH-dependent structural transitions. The results indicate that the coat protein of B-TAV is more hydrophobic than the other well-studied strains of TAV and CMV. Circular dichroism and uv absorption studies reveal pH-dependent structural transitions, although these do not result in particle swelling. These transitions appear to alter the strength of protein-nucleic acid interactions in these viruses.

Structural transitions in (La,Ln)2CuO4 and La2(Cu,Ni)O4 systems

Solid solutions of the formula La2−xLnxCuO4 (Ln = Pr, Nd) possess the orthorhombic structure of La2CuO4 for small values of x and transform to the tetragonal Nd2CuO4 structure at a critical value of x. At the critical composition, there is an abrupt change in specific volume as well as the Image ratio. The material exhibits temperature-independent electrical resistivity below the critical value x and semiconducting behaviour above it. The specific volume and Image ratio smoothly decrease with increase in x in the La2Cu1−xNixO4 system, although the solid solution possess the tetragonal K2NiF4 structure when x>0.1. Compositions with x>0.1 exhibit a gradual semiconductor metal transition similar to that of La2NiO4, the transition temperature decreasing with increasing

Allosteric serine hydroxymethyltransferase from monkey liver: temperature induced conformational transitions

The homogeneous serine hydroxymethyltransferase from monkey liver was optimally activate at 60°C and the Arrhenius plot for the enzyme was nonlinear with a break at 15°C. The monkey liver enzyme showed high thermal stability of 62°C, as monitored by circular dichroism at 222 nm, absorbance at 280 nm and enzyme activity. The enzyme exhibited a sharp co-operative thermal transition in the range of 50°-70° (Tm= 65°C), as monitored by circular dichroism. L-Serine protected the enzyme against both thermal inactivation and thermal disruption of the secondary structure. The homotropic interactions of tetrahydrofolate with the enzyme was abolished at high temperatures (at 70°C, the Hill coefficient value was 1.0). A plot of h values vs. assay temperature of tetrahydrofolate saturation experiments, showed the presence of an intermediate conformer with an h value of 1.7 in the temperature range of 45°-60°C. Inclusion of a heat denaturation step in the scheme employed for the purification of serine hydroxymethyltransferase resulted in the loss of cooperative interactions with tetrahydrofolate. The temperature effects on the serine hydroxylmethyltransferase, reported for the first time, lead to a better understanding of the heat induced alterations in conformation and activity for this oligomeric protein.

Ultrasonic velocities and thermal expansion coefficients of amorphous Se80Te20 and Se90Te10 alloys near glass transitions

Precise measurements of the ultrasonic velocities and thermal expansivities of amorphous Se80Te20 and Se90Te10 alloys are reported near the glass transition. The samples are produced by liquid quenching. The longitudinal and transverse velocities are measured at 10 MHz frequency using the McSkimin pulse superposition technique. The thermal expansivities,agr, are measured using a three-terminal capacitance bridge. Theagr-values show a sharp maximum near the glass transition temperature,T g. The ultrasonic velocities also show a large temperature derivative, dV/dT nearT g. The data are discussed in terms of existing theories of the glass transition. The continuous change inagr shows that the glass transition is not a first-order transition, as suggested by some theories. The samples are found to be deformed by small loads nearT g. The ultrasonic velocities and dV/dT have contributions arising from this deformation.

Monte Carlo simulation of Ising chains showing several phase transitions

A Monte Carlo simulation of Ising chains with competing short-range and infiniterange interactions has been carried out. Results show that whenever the system does not enter a metastable state, variation of temperature brings about phase transitions in the Ising chain. These phase transitions, except for two sets of interaction strengths, are generally of higher order and involve changes in the long-range order while the short-range order remains unaffected.

Mossbauer lineshape in the presence of NMR transitions

The general expression for the Mössbauer lineshape in the presence of radio frequency perturbation derived earlier has been further extended. This involves the calculation of the off-diagonal matrix elements of the correlation function. The results show that there are additional transition lines owing to the nuclear magnetic resonance induced transition in the resonance region. These lines do not show any broadening or splitting. As an example the effect of the rf field on 57Fe nuclei is discussed.

Studies on Wage Differentials and Labour Market Transitions

This thesis consists of four studies. The first study examines wage differentials between women and men in the Finnish manufacturing sector. A matched employer-employee data set is used to decompose the overall gender wage gap into the contributions of sex differences in human capital, labour market segregation, and residual within-job wage differentials. The topic of the second study is the relationship between the extended unemployment benefits and labour market transitions of older workers. The analysis exploits a quasi-experimental setting caused by a change in the law that raised the eligibility age of workers benefiting from extended benefits. Roughly half of the unemployed workers with extended benefits are estimated to be effectively withdrawn from labour market search. The risk of unemployment declined and the re-employment probability increased among the age groups directly affected by the reform. The third study provides an empirical analysis of a structural equilibrium search model. Estimation results from various model specifications are compared and discussed. The last study is a methodological study where the difficulties of interpreting the results of competing risks hazard models are discussed and a solution for a particular class of models is proposed. It is argued that a common practice of reporting the results of qualitative response models in terms of marginal effects is also useful in the context of competing risks duration models.

Anderson transitions in Ln1-xSrxCoO3 (Ln=Pr or Nd)

Electrical conductivity measurements show that Ln1-xSrxCoO3, (Ln = Pr or Nd) undergoes a non-metal-metal transition when x-0 3. The d.c. conductivity of compositions with 0

Time to rest : Signals in shoot apex developmental transitions underlying dormancy

Vuodenajat rytmittävät monivuotisten kasvien elämää pohjoisella pallonpuoliskolla, jolla varmin merkki lähestyvästä talvikaudesta on asteittain lyhenevä päivänpituus. Kun päivänpituus on lyhentynyt tiettyyn raja-arvoon saakka, kasvu hiipuu ja kasvin kehityksessä tapahtuu suuria muutoksia. Väitöskirjatyössäni tutkittiin mekanismeja, jotka liittyvät pituuskasvun päättymiseen, silmujen lepotilan kehittymiseen ja kärkisilmun muodostumiseen hybridihaavan ja koivuntaimilla lyhyen päivänpituuden seurauksena kasvihuoneolosuhteissa. Vain lepotilaiset silmut selviytyvät luonnossa ankaran talvikauden yli, joten etenkin lepotilan kehittymisen tutkiminen on keskeistä pyrittäessä selvittämään monivuotisille kasveille tyypillisen kasvutavan mekanismeja. Jo pitkään on tiedetty, että täysikasvuiset lehdet vastaanottavat tiedon päivänpituudesta ja lähettävät signaaleja varren johtojänteissä ylöspäin kohti kasvin kärkiosaa. Sen sijaan varren kärjen ja kärkikasvupisteen roolia lepotilan kehittymisessä on selvitetty vain vähän. Kuitenkin juuri kärkikasvupisteen selviytyminen vuodesta toiseen on tärkeää, koska sen jakautumiskykyiset solukot tuottavat kasvin maanpäälliset osat. Tässä työssä tehdyissä varttamiskokeissa osoitettiin, että varren kärki ei ainoastaan vastaanota signaaleja lehdistä ja ajoita toimintaansa niiden mukaan, vaan myös kärjellä itsellään on aktiivinen rooli lepotilan kehittymisessä. Erityisesti kiinnitettiin huomiota kärkikasvupisteen eri alueiden, ns. apikaalimeristeemin ja rib-meristeemin erilaisiin tehtäviin ja pääteltiin, että molemmat vaikuttavat lepotilan kehittymiseen. Kokeissa käytettiin normaalien hybridihaapojen lisäksi siirtogeenisiä hybridihaapoja, jotka eivät lopeta kasvuaan lyhyt päivä –olosuhteissa. Siirtogeeniset hybridihaavat ilmensivät voimakkaasti fytokromi A -nimistä valon vastaanottajamolekyyliä rib-meristeemin alueella, mikä saattoi osaltaan vaikuttaa poikkeavaan pituuskasvukäyttäytymiseen. Myös useiden lepotilan kehittymiseen liittyvien geenien ilmenemisessä havaittiin poikkeavuuksia verrattuna ei-siirtogeenisiin kontrolleihin, joiden silmuissa kehittyi lepotila lyhyt päivä –altistuksen seurauksena. Väitöskirjatyössäni havaittiin, että myös kaasumainen kasvihormoni etyleeni toimii viestinvälittäjänä silmujen lepotilan kehittymisessä ja vaikuttaa etenkin lepotilan oikeaan ajoittumiseen. Etyleenillä huomattiin olevan määräävä rooli päätesilmun muodostumisessa: siirtogeeniset koivut, jotka eivät aisti etyleeniä, eivät muodostaneet päätesilmua. Silti siirtogeeniset koivut vaipuivat lepotilaan, joskin myöhemmin kuin ei-siirtogeeniset kontrollit. Tämän perusteella todettiin, että lepotilan ja päätesilmun kehittyminen ovat erillisiä kehitystapahtumia, vaikka ne saattavatkin ajoittua osaksi päällekkäin.

Glass transitions in arsenic-selenium glasses

Glaiis transitions of As-Se glasses have been investigated over a wide range of compositions by using differential scanning calorimetry. The variation of Tg with composition has been interpreted on the basis of a bond-lattice model.

A fluctuation-based characterization of athermal phase transitions:Application to shape memory alloys

We employ a fluctuation-based technique to investigate the athermal component associated with martensite phase transition, which is a prototype of temperature-driven structural transformation. Statistically, when the phase transition is purely athermal, we find that the temporal sequence of avalanches under constant drive is insensitive to the drive rate. We have used fluctuations in electrical resistivity or noise in nickel titanium shape memory alloys in three different forms: a thin film exhibiting well-defined transition temperatures,a highly disordered film, and a bulk wire of rectangular cross-section. Noise is studied in the realm of dynamic transition,viz.while the temperature is being ramped, which probes into the kinetics of the transformation at real time scales,and could probably stand out as a promising tool for material testing in various other systems, including nanoscale devices.

Melting of an Anchored Bilayer: Phase Transitions in the Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Pervoskite (CH3NH3)(CH3(CH2)(n)NH3)(2)Pb2I7 (n=11, 13, 15, 17)

The conformation, organization, and phase transitions of alkyl chains in organic-inorganic hybrids based on the double pervoskite-slab lead iodides, (CH3NH3)(CH3(CH2)(n)NH3)(2)Pb2I7 (n = 11, 13, 15, 17) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, calorimetry, and infrared vibrational spectroscopy. In these hybrid solids, double pervoskite (CH3NH3)Pb2I7 slabs are interleaved with alkyl ammonium chains with the anchored alkyl chains arranged as tilted bilayers and adopting a planar all-trans conformation at room temperature. The (CH3NH3)(CH3(CH2)(n)NH3)(2)Pb2I7 compounds exhibit a single reversible phase transition above room temperature with the associated enthalpy change varying linearly with alkyl chain length. This transition corresponds to the melting in two-dimensions of the alkyl chains of the anchored bilayer and is characterized by increased conformational disorder of the methylene units of the chain and loss of tilt angle coherence leading to an increase in the interslab spacing. By monitoring features in the infrared spectra that are characteristic of the global conformation of the alkyl chains, a quantitative relation between conformational disorder and melting of the anchored bilayer is established. It is found that, irrespective of the alkyl chain length, melting occurs when at least 60% of the chains in the anchored bilayer of (CH3NH3)(CH3(CH2)(n)NH3)(2)Pb2I7 have one or more gauche defects. This concentration is determined by the underlying lattice to which the alkyl chains are anchored.

Phases and transitions in the spin-1 Bose-Hubbard model: Systematics of a mean-field theory

We generalize the mean-field theory for the spinless Bose-Hubbard model to account for the different types of superfluid phases that can arise in the spin-1 case. In particular, our mean-field theory can distinguish polar and ferromagnetic superfluids, Mott insulator, that arise at integer fillings at zero temperature, and normal Bose liquids into which the Mott insulators evolve at finite temperatures. We find, in contrast to the spinless case, that several of the superfluid-Mott insulator transitions are of first order at finite temperatures. Our systematic study yields rich phase diagrams that include first-order and second-order transitions and a variety of tricritical points. We discuss the possibility of realizing such phase diagrams in experimental systems.