Examining topological domain influence on enhancer function

Enhancers regulate the expression of target genes across large genomic distances, but it is unclear how recently discovered topological domains affect this regulation. Reporting in this issue of Developmental Cell, Symmons et al. (2016) show that the endogenous Shh topological domain promotes functional interactions between Shh and its remote enhancer

Discounting the effect of memory on repeated measures of beauty judgment

The intrinsic variance of beauty judgment is key to modeling beauty ratings. However, in repeated measures of beauty, observers surely make use of what they remember. To test how memory contributes to repeated beauty ratings, we asked participants to rate 75 arbitrarily named images (e.g., Fred). Initially, participants rated (1 to 7) how much beauty they felt from looking at a named image. Then participants completed two conditions. In the memory condition, participants saw only the name of an image and were asked to remember the image corresponding to that name and rate how much beauty they felt. In the repeat condition, they once again rated how much beauty they felt from looking at a named image. Lastly, in a memory check, participants tried to select which image was associated with a name. Only considering the correctly remembered trials (60%), we calculated the distribution of the differences between the initial beauty rating and that from either the memory condition or the repeat condition. The variance for the memory condition was more than double that of the repeat condition. Likewise, the initial beauty ratings predicted 84% of the variance in the repeat ratings but only 30% of the variance in the memory ratings. Cue combination studies report that observers typically combine cues by the optimal Bayesian rule: The combined reliability is the sum of the separate reliabilities for each cue, where reliability is one over variance. Assuming optimal combination of memory and immediate-perception judgment, we can discount the contribution of memory to estimate the variance of the immediate-perception judgment. Thus, in our paradigm the 0.83 variance of the repeated beauty rating corresponds to a 0.97 immediate-perception judgment variance (without memory). Overall, since there also was no significant difference in means, our results indicate that memory contributes little to repeated beauty ratings

Einstein-Maxwell-scalar black holes: the hot, the cold and the bald

The phenomenon of spontaneous scalarisation of charged black holes (BHs) has recently motivated studies of various Einstein-Maxwell-scalar models. Within these models, different classes of BH solutions are possible, depending on the non-minimal coupling function $f(\phi)$, between the scalar field and the Maxwell invariant. Here we consider the class wherein both the (bald) electrovacuum Reissner-Nordstr\"om (RN) BH and new scalarised BHs co-exist, and the former are never unstable against scalar perturbations. In particular we examine the model, within this subclass, with a quartic coupling function: $f(\Phi) = 1+\alpha \Phi ^4$. The domain of existence of the scalarised BHs, for fixed $\alpha$, is composed of two branches. The first branch (cold scalarised BHs) is continuously connected to the extremal RN BH. The second branch (hot scalarised BHs) connects to the first one at the minimum value of the charge to mass ratio and it includes overcharged BHs. We then assess the perturbative stability of the scalarised solutions, focusing on spherical perturbations. On the one hand, cold scalarised BHs are shown to be unstable by explicitly computing growing modes. The instability is quenched at both endpoints of the first branch. On the other hand, hot scalarised BHs are shown to be stable by using the S-deformation method. Thus, in the spherical sector this model possesses two stable BH local ground states (RN and hot scalarised). We point out that the branch structure of BHs in this model parallels the one of BHs in five dimensional vacuum gravity, with [Myer-Perry BHs, fat rings, thin rings] playing the role of [RN, cold scalarised, hot scalarised] BHs.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Keep them close: PRC2 poises enhancer-promoter interactions at anterior neuronal genes

Enhancers exist in different epigenetic states: active, primed, or poised. However, it is not yet understood how the different enhancer states influence gene activation. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Cruz-Molina et al. (2017) unravel how poised enhancers activate anterior neural genes and the role of Polycomb proteins in enhancer-promoter contacts

A finer print than TADs: PRC1-mediated domains

Polycomb proteins are well-known epigenetic repressors with unexplained roles in chromatin folding. In this issue of Molecular Cell, Kundu et al. (2017) investigate the structures of PRC1-mediated domains in stem cells and probe their changes upon differentiation and in PRC knockouts

Einstein-Maxwell-scalar black holes: classes of solutions, dyons and extremality

Spherical black hole (BH) solutions in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar (EMS) models wherein the scalar field is non-minimally coupled to the Maxwell invariant by some coupling function are discussed. We suggest a classification for these models into two classes, based on the properties of the coupling function, which, in particular, allow, or not, the ReissnerNordstr¨om (RN) BH solution of electrovacuum to solve a given model. Then, a comparative analysis of two illustrative families of solutions, one belonging to each class is performed: dilatonic versus scalarised BHs. By including magnetic charge, that is considering dyons, we show that scalarised BHs can have a smooth extremal limit, unlike purely electric or magnetic solutions. In particular, we study this extremal limit using the entropy function formalism, which provides insight on why both charges are necessary for extremal solutions to exist.publishe

A study on wear evaluation of railway wheels based on multibody dynamics and wear computation

The wear evolution of railway wheels is a very important issue in railway engineering. In the past, the reprofiling intervals of railway vehicle steel wheels have been scheduled according to designers' experience. Today, more reliable and accurate tools in predicting wheel wear evolution and wheelset lifetime can be used in order to achieve economical and safety benefits. In this work, a computational tool that is able to predict the evolution of the wheel profiles for a given railway system, as a function of the distance run, is presented. The strategy adopted consists of using a commercial multibody software to study the railway dynamic problem and a purpose-built code for managing its pre- and post-processing data in order to compute the wear. The tool is applied here to realistic operation scenarios in order to assess the effect of some service conditions on the wheel wear progression

First report of Scaphoideus titanus for Madeira Island

This is the first report of Scaphoideus titanus, the main vector of flavescence dor ee, for Madeira (Portugal) and also for Macaronesia. This new record currently represents its southernmost occurrence in Europe. This leafhopper is present in most of the primary wine production regions in the north of Madeira island. There were no symptoms of flavescence dor ee disease during the monitoring period from 2010 to 2017. The ability of S. titanus to survive in regions with a subtropical climate suggests that it may also live in the most meridional areas of the Mediterranean region where, until now, it has been absent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Field-scale 13C-labeling of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and dissolved inorganic carbon: tracing acetate assimilation and mineralization in a petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer

This study was conducted to determine the feasibility of labeling phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFA) of an active microbial population with a 13C-labeled organic substrate in the denitrifying zone of a petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer during a single-well push-pull test. Anoxic test solution was prepared from 500 l of groundwater with addition of 0.5 mM Br− as a conservative tracer, 0.5 mM NO3−, and 0.25 mM [2-13C]acetate. At 4, 23 and 46 h after injection, 1000 l of test solution/groundwater mixture were sequentially extracted. During injection and extraction phases we measured Br−, NO3− and acetate concentrations, characterized the microbial community structure by PLFA and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, and determined 13C/12C ratios in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and PLFA. Computed first-order rate coefficients were 0.63±0.08 day−1 for NO3− and 0.70±0.05 day−1 for acetate consumption. Significant 13C incorporation in DIC and PLFA was detected as early as 4 h after injection. At 46 h we measured δ13C values of up to 5614‰ in certain PLFA (especially monounsaturated fatty acids), and up to 59.8‰ in extracted DIC. Profiles of enriched PLFA and FISH analysis suggested the presence of active denitrifiers. Our results demonstrate the applicability of 13C labeling of PLFA and DIC in combination with FISH to link microbial structure and activities at the field scale during a push-pull tes