Coupling of cytoplasm and adhesion dynamics determines cell polarization and locomotion

Observations of single epidermal cells on flat adhesive substrates have revealed two distinct morphological and functional states, namely a non-migrating symmetric unpolarized state and a migrating asymmetric polarized state. These states are characterized by different spatial distributions and dynamics of important biochemical cell components: F-actin and myosin-II form the contractile part of the cytoskeleton, and integrin receptors in the plasma membrane connect F-actin filaments to the substratum. In this way, focal adhesion complexes are assembled, which determine cytoskeletal force transduction and subsequent cell locomotion. So far, physical models have reduced this phenomenon either to gradients in regulatory control molecules or to different mechanics of the actin filament system in different regions of the cell. Here we offer an alternative and self-organizational model incorporating polymerization, pushing and sliding of filaments, as well as formation of adhesion sites and their force dependent kinetics. All these phenomena can be combined into a non-linearly coupled system of hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptic differential equations. Aim of this article is to show how relatively simple relations for the small-scale mechanics and kinetics of participating molecules may reproduce the emergent behavior of polarization and migration on the large-scale cell level.Comment: v2 (updates from proof): add TOC, clarify Fig. 4, fix several typo

Generating analyzers with PAG

To produce high qualitiy code, modern compilers use global optimization algorithms based on it abstract interpretation. These algorithms are rather complex; their implementation is therfore a non-trivial task and error-prone. However, since thez are based on a common theory, they have large similar parts. We conclude that analyzer writing better should be replaced with analyzer generation. We present the tool sf PAG that has a high level functional input language to specify data flow analyses. It offers th specifications of even recursive data structures and is therfore not limited to bit vector problems. sf PAG generates efficient analyzers wich can be easily integrated in existing compilers. The analyzers are interprocedural, they can handle recursive procedures with local variables and higher order functions. sf PAG has successfully been tested by generating several analyzers (e.g. alias analysis, constant propagation, inerval analysis) for an industrial quality ANSI-C and Fortran90 compiler. This technical report consits of two parts; the first introduces the generation system and the second evaluates generated analyzers with respect to their space and time consumption. bf Keywords: data flow analysis, specification and generation of analyzers, lattice specification, abstract syntax specification, interprocedural analysis, compiler construction

Design Options for Service Directories in Business Networks

Web services and service oriented architectures (SOA) are spreading in many organizations toachieve business interoperability of their intra- and inter-organizational business processes. SOA isbased on the idea that service providers develop and publish web services via standardized interfacesin directories (registries) where the services will be found and bound by service consumers. Whilethese registry structures have emerged into a standard for local SOA implementations, the questionremains how service directories should be organized in a business network, i.e. when multiple companieswith individual SOA solutions interact. This research develops a framework for the analysis ofservice directories in business networks and provides design options for combining separate and distributedservice directories. These design options are based on the range, reach, and richness of webservice markets in the business network. The framework is applied to two business network cases

Single atoms in a standing-wave dipole trap

We trap a single cesium atom in a standing-wave optical dipole trap. Special experimental procedures, designed to work with single atoms, are used to measure the oscillation frequency and the atomic energy distribution in the dipole trap. These methods rely on unambiguously detecting presence or loss of the atom using its resonance fluorescence in the magneto-optical trap.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

EyeScout: Active Eye Tracking for Position and Movement Independent Gaze Interaction with Large Public Displays

While gaze holds a lot of promise for hands-free interaction with public displays, remote eye trackers with their confined tracking box restrict users to a single stationary position in front of the display. We present EyeScout, an active eye tracking system that combines an eye tracker mounted on a rail system with a computational method to automatically detect and align the tracker with the user's lateral movement. EyeScout addresses key limitations of current gaze-enabled large public displays by offering two novel gaze-interaction modes for a single user: In "Walk then Interact" the user can walk up to an arbitrary position in front of the display and interact, while in "Walk and Interact" the user can interact even while on the move. We report on a user study that shows that EyeScout is well perceived by users, extends a public display's sweet spot into a sweet line, and reduces gaze interaction kick-off time to 3.5 seconds -- a 62% improvement over state of the art solutions. We discuss sample applications that demonstrate how EyeScout can enable position and movement-independent gaze interaction with large public displays

An optical conveyor belt for single neutral atoms

Using optical dipole forces we have realized controlled transport of a single or any desired small number of neutral atoms over a distance of a centimeter with sub-micrometer precision. A standing wave dipole trap is loaded with a prescribed number of cesium atoms from a magneto-optical trap. Mutual detuning of the counter-propagating laser beams moves the interference pattern, allowing us to accelerate and stop the atoms at preselected points along the standing wave. The transportation efficiency is close to 100%. This optical "single-atom conveyor belt" represents a versatile tool for future experiments requiring deterministic delivery of a prescribed number of atoms on demand.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Applied Physics

Cache behavior prediction by abstract interpretation

Abstract interpretation is a technique for the static detection of dynamic properties of programs. It is semantics based, that is, it computes approximative properties of the semantics of programs. On this basis, it allows for correctness proofs of analyses. It replaces commonly used ad hoc techniques by systematic, provable ones, and it allows the automatic generation of analyzers from specifications as in the Program Analyzer Generator, PAG. In this paper, abstract interpretation is applied to the problem of predicting the cache behavior of programs. Abstract semantics of machine programs are defined which determine the contents of caches. For interprocedural analysis, existing methods are examined and a new approach that is especially tailored for the cache analysis is presented. This allows for a static classification of the cache behavior of memory references of programs. The calculated information can be used to sharpen worst case execution time estimations. It is possible to analyze instruction, data, and combined instruction/data caches for common (re)placement and write strategies. Experimental results are presented that demonstrate the applicability of the analysis

Generalized Voronoi Tessellation as a Model of Two-dimensional Cell Tissue Dynamics

Voronoi tessellations have been used to model the geometric arrangement of cells in morphogenetic or cancerous tissues, however so far only with flat hypersurfaces as cell-cell contact borders. In order to reproduce the experimentally observed piecewise spherical boundary shapes, we develop a consistent theoretical framework of multiplicatively weighted distance functions, defining generalized finite Voronoi neighborhoods around cell bodies of varying radius, which serve as heterogeneous generators of the resulting model tissue. The interactions between cells are represented by adhesive and repelling force densities on the cell contact borders. In addition, protrusive locomotion forces are implemented along the cell boundaries at the tissue margin, and stochastic perturbations allow for non-deterministic motility effects. Simulations of the emerging system of stochastic differential equations for position and velocity of cell centers show the feasibility of this Voronoi method generating realistic cell shapes. In the limiting case of a single cell pair in brief contact, the dynamical nonlinear Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is analytically investigated. In general, topologically distinct tissue conformations are observed, exhibiting stability on different time scales, and tissue coherence is quantified by suitable characteristics. Finally, an argument is derived pointing to a tradeoff in natural tissues between cell size heterogeneity and the extension of cellular lamellae.Comment: v1: 34 pages, 19 figures v2: reformatted 43 pages, 21 figures, 1 table; minor clarifications, extended supplementary materia