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Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are found in most galactic nuclei. A significant fraction of these nuclei also contains a nuclear stellar cluster (NSC) surrounding the SMBH. In this paper, we consider the idea that the NSC forms first, from the merger of several stellar clusters that may contain intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). These IMBHs can subsequently grow in the NSC and form an SMBH.
Myrosinase from Sinapis alba hydrolyzes glycosidic bonds of β-d-S-glucosides. The enzyme shows an enhanced activity in the presence of l-ascorbic acid. In this work, we employed combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to study the catalytic reaction of wild-type myrosinase and its E464A, Q187A, and Q187E mutants. Test calculation
The main goal of this compilation thesis has been to investigate the conformational ensemble of the intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) histatin 5 by using a mixture of experimental and computational techniques including, but not limited to, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and coarse-grained Monte Carlo (M
The presence of rings and gaps in protoplanetary disks are often ascribed to planet-disk interactions, where dust and pebbles are trapped at the edges of planetary-induced gas gaps. Recent works have shown that these are likely sites for planetesimal formation via the streaming instability. Given the large amount of planetesimals that potentially form at gap edges, we address the question of their
An elastoplastic topology optimization framework for limiting plastic work generation while maximizing stiffness is presented. The kinematics and constitutive model are based on finite strain linear isotropic hardening plasticity, and the balance laws are solved using a total Lagrangian finite element formulation. Aggregation of the specific plastic work combined with an adaptive normalization sch
Hovering insects are divided into two categories: ‘normal’ hoverers that move the wing symmetrically in a horizontal stroke plane, and those with an inclined stroke plane. Normal hoverers have been suggested to support their weight during both downstroke and upstroke, shedding vortex rings each half-stroke. Insects with an inclined stroke plane should, according to theory, produce flight forces on
Determining the architecture of multi-planetary systems is one of the cornerstones of understanding planet formation and evolution. Resonant systems are especially important as the fragility of their orbital configuration ensures that no significant scattering or collisional event has taken place since the earliest formation phase when the parent protoplanetary disc was still present. In this cont
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oilseed crop worldwide, and peanut height has been shown to be closely related to yield, therefore a better understanding of the genetic base of plant height-related traits may allow us to have better control of crop yield. Plant height-related traits are quantitative traits that are genetically controlled by many genes, and distinct quantitive trait lo
In this paper, bistable gates which can be used as building blocks in logic gates are designed using topology optimization. The gate simulation is based on finite strain kinematics and hyperelastic material response. The objective of the optimization is to maximize the stiffness of a gate in the stable configurations while ensuring an adequate energy and distance separations between them and const
In the standard Lambda cold dark matter paradigm, pure dark matter simulations predict dwarf galaxies should inhabit dark matter haloes with a centrally diverging density 'cusp'. This is in conflict with observations that typically favour a constant density 'core'. We investigate this 'cusp-core problem' in 'ultra-faint' dwarf galaxies simulated as part of the 'Engineering Dwarfs at Galaxy formati
Studying the routes flown by long-distance migratory insects comes with the obvious challenge that the animal’s body size and weight is comparably low. This makes it difficult to attach relatively heavy transmitters to these insects in order to monitor their migratory routes (as has been done for instance in several species of migratory birds. However, the rather delicate anatomy of insects can be
The streaming instability provides an efficient way of overcoming the growth barriers in the initial stages of the planet formation process. Considering the realistic case of a particle size distribution, the dynamics of the system is altered compared to the outcome of single size models. In order to understand the outcome of the multispecies streaming instability in detail, we perform a large par
At least 30% of main sequence stars host planets with sizes of between 1 and 4 Earth radii and orbital periods of less than 100 days.We use N-body simulations including a model for gas-assisted pebble accretion and disk–planet tidal interaction to study the formation of super-Earth systems.We show that the integrated pebble mass reservoir creates a bifurcation between hot super-Earths or hot-Neptu
Here we discuss the current state of knowledge of terrestrial planet formation from the aspects of different planet formation models and isotopic data from 182Hf-182W, U-Pb, lithophile-siderophile elements, 48Ca/44Ca isotope samples from planetary building blocks, recent reproduction attempts from 36Ar/38Ar, 20Ne/22Ne, 36Ar/22Ne isotope ratios in Venus’ and Earth’s atmospheres, the expected solar
Solid particles in protoplanetary discs can grow by direct vapour deposition outside of ice lines. The presence of microscopic silicate particles may nevertheless hinder growth into large pebbles, since the available vapour is deposited predominantly on the small grains that dominate the total surface area. Experiments on heterogeneous ice nucleation, performed to understand ice clouds in the Mart
The topic solvation thermodynamics is an important aspect of chemistry, dealing with the effects introduced by solvents onto solutes. In particular, biological systems are highly heterogeneous in their choice of solvent typically characterized by either being in a polar or non-polar environment. For example, the cytoplasm of cells constituting the internal environment of cells is an aqueous solven
The cellular interior is a dense environment. Understanding how such an environment impacts the properties of proteins and other macromolecules, as well as how weak, non-specific interactions drive processes such as protein droplet formation through liquid-liquid phase separation, is a major challenge in biological physics. The complexity of this environment often makes experimental studies extrem
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are involved in many biological processes such as signalling, regulation and recognition. One of the main questions regarding IDPs is how sequence, structure and function are related. Phosphorylation, a type of post-translational modification prevalent in intrinsically disordered proteins and regions, is an example of how modifications at the sequence level
