10,263 research outputs found
A model balancing cooperation and competition explains our right-handed world and the dominance of left-handed athletes
An overwhelming majority of humans are right-handed. Numerous explanations
for individual handedness have been proposed, but this population-level
handedness remains puzzling. Here we use a minimal mathematical model to
explain this population-level hand preference as an evolved balance between
cooperative and competitive pressures in human evolutionary history. We use
selection of elite athletes as a test-bed for our evolutionary model and
account for the surprising distribution of handedness in many professional
sports. Our model predicts strong lateralization in social species with limited
combative interaction, and elucidates the rarity of compelling evidence for
"pawedness" in the animal world.Comment: 5 pages of text and 3 figures in manuscript, 8 pages of text and two
figures in supplementary materia
β-arrestin regulates estradiol membrane-initiated signaling in hypothalamic neurons.
Estradiol (E2) action in the nervous system is the result of both direct nuclear and membrane-initiated signaling (EMS). E2 regulates membrane estrogen receptor-α (ERα) levels through opposing mechanisms of EMS-mediated trafficking and internalization. While ß-arrestin-mediated mERα internalization has been described in the cortex, a role of ß-arrestin in EMS, which underlies multiple physiological processes, remains undefined. In the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH), membrane-initiated E2 signaling modulates lordosis behavior, a measure of female sexually receptivity. To better understand EMS and regulation of ERα membrane levels, we examined the role of ß-arrestin, a molecule associated with internalization following agonist stimulation. In the present study, we used an immortalized neuronal cell line derived from embryonic hypothalamic neurons, the N-38 line, to examine whether ß-arrestins mediate internalization of mERα. β-arrestin-1 (Arrb1) was found in the ARH and in N-38 neurons. In vitro, E2 increased trafficking and internalization of full-length ERα and ERαΔ4, an alternatively spliced isoform of ERα, which predominates in the membrane. Treatment with E2 also increased phosphorylation of extracellular-signal regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) in N-38 neurons. Arrb1 siRNA knockdown prevented E2-induced ERαΔ4 internalization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In vivo, microinfusions of Arrb1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) into female rat ARH knocked down Arrb1 and prevented estradiol benzoate-induced lordosis behavior compared with nonsense scrambled ODN (lordosis quotient: 3 ± 2.1 vs. 85.0 ± 6.0; p < 0.0001). These results indicate a role for Arrb1 in both EMS and internalization of mERα, which are required for the E2-induction of female sexual receptivity
The influence of societal individualism on a century of tobacco use: modelling the prevalence of smoking
Smoking of tobacco is predicted to cause approximately six million deaths
worldwide in 2014. Responding effectively to this epidemic requires a thorough
understanding of how smoking behaviour is transmitted and modified. Here, we
present a new mathematical model of the social dynamics that cause cigarette
smoking to spread in a population. Our model predicts that more individualistic
societies will show faster adoption and cessation of smoking. Evidence from a
new century-long composite data set on smoking prevalence in 25 countries
supports the model, with direct implications for public health interventions
around the world. Our results suggest that differences in culture between
societies can measurably affect the temporal dynamics of a social spreading
process, and that these effects can be understood via a quantitative
mathematical model matched to observations
Tunable Oscillations in the Purkinje Neuron
In this paper, we study the dynamics of slow oscillations in Purkinje neurons
in vitro, and derive a strong association with a forced parametric oscillator
model. We demonstrate the precise rhythmicity of the oscillations in Purkinje
neurons, as well as a dynamic tunability of this oscillation using a
photo-switchable compound. We show that this slow oscillation can be induced in
every Purkinje neuron, having periods ranging between 10-25 seconds. Starting
from a Hodgkin-Huxley model, we also demonstrate that this oscillation can be
externally modulated, and that the neurons will return to their intrinsic
firing frequency after the forced oscillation is concluded. These results
signify an additional functional role of tunable oscillations within the
cerebellum, as well as a dynamic control of a time scale in the brain in the
range of seconds.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Enhancing the Capacity of Community Health Centers to Achieve High Performance
Based on a survey of community health centers, assesses access to care, care coordination, quality improvement efforts, health information technology adoption, and ability to serve as patient-centered medical homes. Suggests policy to strengthen clinics
Embedding right-angled Artin groups into graph braid groups
We construct an embedding of any right-angled Artin group defined
by a graph into a graph braid group. The number of strands required
for the braid group is equal to the chromatic number of . This
construction yields an example of a hyperbolic surface subgroup embedded in a
two strand planar graph braid group.Comment: 8 pages. Final version, appears in Geometriae Dedicata
Detection and mapping of hydrothermally altered rocks in the vicinity of the comstock lode, Virginia Range, Nevada, using enhanced LANDSAT images
The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT images enhanced by the band-ratioing method can be used for reconnaissance alteration mapping in moderately heavily vegetated semiarid terrain as well as in sparsely vegetated to semiarid terrain where the technique was originally developed. Significant vegetation cover in a scene, however, requires the use of MSS ratios 4/5, 4/6, and 6/7 rather than 4/5, 5/6, and 6/7, and requires careful interpretation of the results. Supplemental information suitable to vegetation identification and cover estimates, such as standard LANDSAT false-color composites and low altitude aerial photographs of selected areas is desirable
Higher Order Methods for Simulations on Quantum Computers
To efficiently implement many-qubit gates for use in quantum simulations on
quantum computers we develop and present methods reexpressing exp[-i (H_1 + H_2
+ ...) \Delta t] as a product of factors exp[-i H_1 \Delta t], exp[-i H_2
\Delta t], ... which is accurate to 3rd or 4th order in \Delta t. The methods
we derive are an extended form of symplectic method and can also be used for
the integration of classical Hamiltonians on classical computers. We derive
both integral and irrational methods, and find the most efficient methods in
both cases.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, one figur
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