Subcortical cytoskeleton periodicity throughout the nervous system

Superresolution fluorescence microscopy recently revealed a ~190 nm periodic cytoskeleton lattice consisting of actin, spectrin, and other proteins underneath the membrane of cultured hippocampal neurons. Whether the periodic cytoskeleton lattice is a structural feature of all neurons and how it is modified when axons are ensheathed by myelin forming glial cells is not known. Here, STED nanoscopy is used to demonstrate that this structure is a commonplace of virtually all neuron types in vitro. To check how the subcortical meshwork is modified during myelination, we studied sciatic nerve fibers from adult mice. Periodicity of both actin and spectrin was uncovered at the internodes, indicating no substantial differences between unmyelinated and myelinated axons. Remarkably, the actin/spectrin pattern was also detected in glial cells such as cultured oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Altogether our work shows that the periodic subcortical cytoskeletal meshwork is a fundamental characteristic of cells in the nervous system and is not a distinctive feature of neurons, as previously thought

On the asymptotic behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with variable density

We are concerned with the long time behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with a variable spatial density. We prove that if the density decays slowly at infinity, then the solution approaches the Barenblatt-type solution of a proper singular fractional problem. If, on the contrary, the density decays rapidly at infinity, we show that the minimal solution multiplied by a suitable power of the time variable converges to the minimal solution of a certain fractional sublinear elliptic equation.Comment: To appear in DCDS-

Self-similarity and long-time behavior of solutions of the diffusion equation with nonlinear absorption and a boundary source

This paper deals with the long-time behavior of solutions of nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations describing formation of morphogen gradients, the concentration fields of molecules acting as spatial regulators of cell differentiation in developing tissues. For the considered class of models, we establish existence of a new type of ultra-singular self-similar solutions. These solutions arise as limits of the solutions of the initial value problem with zero initial data and infinitely strong source at the boundary. We prove existence and uniqueness of such solutions in the suitable weighted energy spaces. Moreover, we prove that the obtained self-similar solutions are the long-time limits of the solutions of the initial value problem with zero initial data and a time-independent boundary source

Internet-based medical education: a realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

Upsilon (1S+2S+3S) production in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV and cold-nuclear matter effects

The three Upsilon states, Upsilon(1S+2S+3S), are measured in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV and rapidities 1.2<|y|<2.2 by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. Cross sections for the inclusive Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) production are obtained. The inclusive yields per binary collision for d+Au collisions relative to those in p+p collisions (R_dAu) are found to be 0.62 +/- 0.26 (stat) +/- 0.13 (syst) in the gold-going direction and 0.91 +/- 0.33 (stat) +/- 0.16 (syst) in the deuteron-going direction. The measured results are compared to a nuclear-shadowing model, EPS09 [JHEP 04, 065 (2009)], combined with a final-state breakup cross section, sigma_br, and compared to lower energy p+A results. We also compare the results to the PHENIX J/psi results [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 142301 (2011)]. The rapidity dependence of the observed Upsilon suppression is consistent with lower energy p+A measurements.Comment: 495 authors, 11 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

L\'evy-stable two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in sNN=200\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV Au++Au collisions

We present a detailed measurement of charged two-pion correlation functions in 0%-30% centrality $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV Au$+$Au collisions by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The data are well described by Bose-Einstein correlation functions stemming from L\'evy-stable source distributions. Using a fine transverse momentum binning, we extract the correlation strength parameter $\lambda$, the L\'evy index of stability $\alpha$ and the L\'evy length scale parameter $R$ as a function of average transverse mass of the pair $m_T$. We find that the positively and the negatively charged pion pairs yield consistent results, and their correlation functions are represented, within uncertainties, by the same L\'evy-stable source functions. The $\lambda(m_T)$ measurements indicate a decrease of the strength of the correlations at low $m_T$. The L\'evy length scale parameter $R(m_T)$ decreases with increasing $m_T$, following a hydrodynamically predicted type of scaling behavior. The values of the L\'evy index of stability $\alpha$ are found to be significantly lower than the Gaussian case of $\alpha=2$, but also significantly larger than the conjectured value that may characterize the critical point of a second-order quark-hadron phase transition.Comment: 448 authors, 25 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, 2010 data. v2 is version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

J/psi suppression at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=39 and 62.4 GeV

We present measurements of the J/psi invariant yields in sqrt(s_NN)=39 and 62.4 GeV Au+Au collisions at forward rapidity (1.2<|y|<2.2). Invariant yields are presented as a function of both collision centrality and transverse momentum. Nuclear modifications are obtained for central relative to peripheral Au+Au collisions (R_CP) and for various centrality selections in Au+Au relative to scaled p+p cross sections obtained from other measurements (R_AA). The observed suppression patterns at 39 and 62.4 GeV are quite similar to those previously measured at 200 GeV. This similar suppression presents a challenge to theoretical models that contain various competing mechanisms with different energy dependencies, some of which cause suppression and others enhancement.Comment: 365 authors, 10 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Double Spin Asymmetry of Electrons from Heavy Flavor Decays in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV

We report on the first measurement of double-spin asymmetry, A_LL, of electrons from the decays of hadrons containing heavy flavor in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV for p_T= 0.5 to 3.0 GeV/c. The asymmetry was measured at mid-rapidity (|eta|<0.35) with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The measured asymmetries are consistent with zero within the statistical errors. We obtained a constraint for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton of |Delta g/g(log{_10}x= -1.6^+0.5_-0.4, {mu}=m_T^c)|^2 < 0.033 (1 sigma), based on a leading-order perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics model, using the measured asymmetry.Comment: 385 authors, 17 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm