University of Warsaw

About: University of Warsaw is a education organization based out in Warsaw, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 20832 authors who have published 56617 publications receiving 1185084 citations. The organization is also known as: Uniwersytet Warszawski & Warsaw University.

MicroRNA inhibition of translation initiation in vitro by targeting the cap-binding complex eIF4F

Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in gene regulatory networks in animals. Yet, the mechanistic details of their function in translation inhibition or messenger RNA (mRNA) destabilization remain controversial. To directly examine the earliest events in this process, we have developed an in vitro translation system using mouse Krebs-2 ascites cell-free extract that exhibits an authentic miRNA response. We show here that translation initiation, specifically the 5' cap recognition process, is repressed by endogenous let-7 miRNAs within the first 15 minutes of mRNA exposure to the extract when no destabilization of the transcript is observed. Our results indicate that inhibition of translation initiation is the earliest molecular event effected by miRNAs. Other mechanisms, such as mRNA degradation, may subsequently consolidate mRNA silencing.

Gaia Data Release 2. Observations of solar system objects

Abstract: Context. The Gaia spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) has been securing observations of solar system objects (SSOs) since the beginning of its operations. Data Release 2 (DR2) contains the observations of a selected sample of 14,099 SSOs. These asteroids have been already identified and have been numbered by the Minor Planet Center repository. Positions are provided for each Gaia observation at CCD level. As additional information, complementary to astrometry, the apparent brightness of SSOs in the unfiltered G band is also provided for selected observations.Aims. We explain the processing of SSO data, and describe the criteria we used to select the sample published in Gaia DR2. We then explore the data set to assess its quality.Methods. To exploit the main data product for the solar system in Gaia DR2, which is the epoch astrometry of asteroids, it is necessary to take into account the unusual properties of the uncertainty, as the position information is nearly one-dimensional. When this aspect is handled appropriately, an orbit fit can be obtained with post-fit residuals that are overall consistent with the a-priori error model that was used to define individual values of the astrometric uncertainty. The role of both random and systematic errors is described. The distribution of residuals allowed us to identify possible contaminants in the data set (such as stars). Photometry in the G band was compared to computed values from reference asteroid shapes and to the flux registered at the corresponding epochs by the red and blue photometers (RP and BP).Results. The overall astrometric performance is close to the expectations, with an optimal range of brightness G ~ 12 − 17. In this range, the typical transit-level accuracy is well below 1 mas. For fainter asteroids, the growing photon noise deteriorates the performance. Asteroids brighter than G ~ 12 are affected by a lower performance of the processing of their signals. The dramatic improvement brought by Gaia DR2 astrometry of SSOs is demonstrated by comparisons to the archive data and by preliminary tests on the detection of subtle non-gravitational effects.

Interrelation between H-bond and Pi-electron delocalization.

Abstract: Among many various kinds of molecular interactions, the H-bond has a special position. The term is ubiquitous in the world that surrounds us, but also it is often applied in different ways. The H-bond is of great importance in natural sciences. This relates particularly to biological aspects, such as molecular recognition that could be a basis for the creation of life,1-4 formation of higher order structures of peptides and nucleic acids,5 and biochemical processes, particularly the enzymes catalyzed.6,7 One can say that the H-bond plays a double role in biological systems: on one hand, as a relatively strong directional interaction, it leads to relatively stable supramolecular structures, and on the other hand, because of dynamic features of the proton, it is an active site for initiation of chemical reactions. H-bonds are the source of specific properties of associated liquids, with water being the most popular among them.8 Water as a medium in which life was most probably created is saturated by H-bonds with highly mobile protons in between, even in the solid state.9 In many crystal lattices of organic compounds, the H-bonds are a decisive factor governing packing.10 In designing new interesting crystal structures, which is the subject of fast developing crystal engineer* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: slagra@ uni.lodz.pl or slagra@ccmsi.us. Fax: +48-42-6790447. 3513 Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 3513−3560

Ultrabright source of entangled photon pairs

Abstract: Entangled photon pairs are essential components for practical quantum information applications. Two different approaches for producing entanglement are available: parametric conversion in a nonlinear optical medium, or radiative decay of electron–hole pairs trapped in a semiconductor quantum dot. The first approach has a low intrinsic efficiency; the second suffers from poor collection efficiency. In general, collection of emitted photons from quantum dots is often improved by coupling them to an optical cavity, but this is not straightforward to implement for entangled photon pairs. Dousse et al. have now constructed a suitable optical cavity in the form of a 'photonic molecule' — two connecting identical microcavities that are deterministically coupled to the optically active modes of a pre-selected quantum dot. They show that entangled photon pairs are emitted into two cavity modes, with a rate of 0.12 per excitation pulse. The authors believe that improvements in the fabrication of the device should enable triggered sources of entangled photon pairs, with an overall (creation and collection) efficiency of 80%. Quantum information science requires a source of entangled photon pairs, but existing sources suffer from a low intrinsic efficiency or poor extraction efficiency. Collecting emitted photons from quantum dots can be improved by coupling the dots to an optical cavity, but this is not easy for entangled photon pairs. Now, a suitable optical cavity has been made in the form of a 'photonic' molecule — two identical, connecting microcavities that are deterministically coupled to the optically active modes of a pre-selected quantum dot. A source of triggered entangled photon pairs is a key component in quantum information science1; it is needed to implement functions such as linear quantum computation2, entanglement swapping3 and quantum teleportation4. Generation of polarization entangled photon pairs can be obtained through parametric conversion in nonlinear optical media5,6,7 or by making use of the radiative decay of two electron–hole pairs trapped in a semiconductor quantum dot8,9,10,11. Today, these sources operate at a very low rate, below 0.01 photon pairs per excitation pulse, which strongly limits their applications. For systems based on parametric conversion, this low rate is intrinsically due to the Poissonian statistics of the source12. Conversely, a quantum dot can emit a single pair of entangled photons with a probability near unity but suffers from a naturally very low extraction efficiency. Here we show that this drawback can be overcome by coupling an optical cavity in the form of a ‘photonic molecule’13 to a single quantum dot. Two coupled identical pillars—the photonic molecule—were etched in a semiconductor planar microcavity, using an optical lithography method14 that ensures a deterministic coupling to the biexciton and exciton energy states of a pre-selected quantum dot. The Purcell effect ensures that most entangled photon pairs are emitted into two cavity modes, while improving the indistinguishability of the two optical recombination paths15,16. A polarization entangled photon pair rate of 0.12 per excitation pulse (with a concurrence of 0.34) is collected in the first lens. Our results open the way towards the fabrication of solid state triggered sources of entangled photon pairs, with an overall (creation and collection) efficiency of 80%.