Dold-Kan correspondence for dendroidal abelian groups

We prove a Dold-Kan type correspondence between the category of dendroidal abelian groups and a suitably constructed category of dendroidal complexes. Our result naturally extends the classical Dold-Kan correspondence between the category of simplicial abelian groups and the category of non-negatively graded chain complexes

Locking of accessible information and implications for the security of quantum cryptography

The unconditional security of a quantum key distribution protocol is often defined in terms of the accessible information, that is, the maximum mutual information between the distributed key S and the outcome of an optimal measurement on the adversary's (quantum) system. We show that, even if this quantity is small, certain parts of the key S might still be completely insecure when S is used in applications, such as for one-time pad encryption. This flaw is due to a locking property of the accessible information: one additional (physical) bit of information might increase the accessible information by more than one bit.Comment: 5 pages; minor change

Identification and expression of a putative facilitative urea transporter in three species of true frogs (Ranidae): implications for terrestrial adaptation.

Urea transporters (UTs) help mediate the transmembrane movement of urea and therefore are likely important in amphibian osmoregulation. Although UTs contribute to urea reabsorption in anuran excretory organs, little is known about the protein’s distribution and functions in other tissues, and their importance in the evolutionary adaptation of amphibians to their environment remains unclear. To address these questions, we obtained a partial sequence of a putative UT and examined relative abundance of this protein in tissues of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), leopard frog (R. pipiens), and mink frog (R. septentrionalis), closely related species that are adapted to different habitats. Using immunoblotting techniques, we found the protein to be abundant in the osmoregulatory organs but also present in visceral organs, suggesting that UTs play both osmoregulatory and nonosmoregulatory roles in amphibians. UT abundance seems to relate to the species’ habitat preference, as levels of the protein were higher in the terrestrial R. sylvatica, intermediate in the semiaquatic R. pipiens, and quite low in the aquatic R. septentrionalis. These findings suggest that, in amphibians, UTs are involved in various physiological processes, including solute and water dynamics, and that they have played a role in adaptation to the osmotic challenges of terrestrial environments

Fast, Automated Implementation of Temporally Precise Blind Deconvolution of Multiphasic Excitatory Postsynaptic Currents

Records of excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) are often complex, with overlapping signals that display a large range of amplitudes. Statistical analysis of the kinetics and amplitudes of such complex EPSCs is nonetheless essential to the understanding of transmitter release. We therefore developed a maximum-likelihood blind deconvolution algorithm to detect exocytotic events in complex EPSC records. The algorithm is capable of characterizing the kinetics of the prototypical EPSC as well as delineating individual release events at higher temporal resolution than other extant methods. The approach also accommodates data with low signal-to-noise ratios and those with substantial overlaps between events. We demonstrated the algorithm’s efficacy on paired whole-cell electrode recordings and synthetic data of high complexity. Using the algorithm to align EPSCs, we characterized their kinetics in a parameter-free way. Combining this approach with maximum-entropy deconvolution, we were able to identify independent release events in complex records at a temporal resolution of less than 250 µs. We determined that the increase in total postsynaptic current associated with depolarization of the presynaptic cell stems primarily from an increase in the rate of EPSCs rather than an increase in their amplitude. Finally, we found that fluctuations owing to postsynaptic receptor kinetics and experimental noise, as well as the model dependence of the deconvolution process, explain our inability to observe quantized peaks in histograms of EPSC amplitudes from physiological recordings

Seasonal variation in the hepatoproteome of the dehydration- and freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica

Winter’s advent invokes physiological adjustments that permit temperate ectotherms to cope with stresses such as food shortage, water deprivation, hypoxia, and hypothermia. We used liquid chromatography (LC) in combination with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) quantitative isobaric (iTRAQ™) peptide mapping to assess variation in the abundance of hepatic proteins in summer- and winter-acclimatized wood frogs (Rana sylvatica), a northerly-distributed species that tolerates extreme dehydration and tissue freezing during hibernation. Thirty-three unique proteins exhibited strong seasonal lability. Livers of winter frogs had relatively high levels of proteins involved in cytoprotection, including heat-shock proteins and an antioxidant, and a reduced abundance of proteins involved in cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and mitochondrial function. They also exhibited altered levels of certain metabolic enzymes that participate in the biochemical reorganization associated with aphagia and reliance on energy reserves, as well as the freezing mobilization and post-thaw recovery of glucose, an important cryoprotective solute in freezing adaptation