Masticophis bilineatus

Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Masticophis taeniatus

Number of Pages: 6Integrative BiologyGeological Science

The effect of self-operated prompts on leisure participation by persons with mental retardation

The use of permanent prompts for individuals with severe disabilities has been shown to be effective in acquiring new skills, improving the accuracy and maintenance of existing skills, and in eliminating the need for trainer prompts. However, this technology has not been evaluated for its potential impact in promoting leisure participation. In this study, two men with mental retardation were administered auditory and/or visual prompts to investigate their effect on increasing participation in a leisure activity. In addition, their performance was evaluated to establish whether continuous versus intermittent schedules of the prompts would influence participation. The data were collected using a partial interval observation system and evaluated using a multiple baseline and an alternating treatment design. While both men increased their participation modestly in the leisure activity, there was no substantial difference between the two prompting schedules

Synthesis and characterization of attosecond light vortices in the extreme ultraviolet

Infrared and visible light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are currently thoroughly studied for their extremely broad applicative prospects, among which are quantum information, micromachining and diagnostic tools. Here we extend these prospects, presenting a comprehensive study for the synthesis and full characterization of optical vortices carrying OAM in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) domain. We confirm the upconversion rules of a femtosecond infrared helically phased beam into its high-order harmonics, showing that each harmonic order carries the total number of OAM units absorbed in the process up to very high orders (57). This allows us to synthesize and characterize helically shaped XUV trains of attosecond pulses. To demonstrate a typical use of these new XUV light beams, we show our ability to generate and control, through photoionization, attosecond electron beams carrying OAM. These breakthroughs pave the route for the study of a series of fundamental phenomena and the development of new ultrafast diagnosis tools using either photonic or electronic vortices

Mechanisms underlying pituitary hypoplasia and failed cell specification in Lhx3-deficient mice

AbstractThe LIM homeodomain transcription factor, LHX3, is essential for pituitary development in mouse and man. Lhx3 engineered null mice have profound pituitary hypoplasia that we find is attributable to an increase in cell death early in pituitary development. Dying cells are localized to regions of TPIT expression indicating that cell death may contribute to the severe reduction in differentiated corticotrope cells and lower expression of the corticotrope transcription factors, TPIT and NEUROD1. Lhx3 deficiency also results in dorsal ectopic expression of transcription factors characteristic of gonadotropes, SF1 and ISL1, but no gonadotropin expression. This apparent disturbance of cell differentiation may be due, in part, to loss of NOTCH2. NOTCH2 is normally expressed in the pituitary at the boundary between dorsal, proliferating cells and ventral, differentiating cells and is important for maintaining dorsal–ventral patterning in other organs. Thus, Lhx3 contributes significantly to pituitary development by maintaining normal dorsal–ventral patterning, cell survival, and normal expression of corticotrope-specific transcription factors, which are necessary for repressing ectopic gonadotrope differentiation

Molecular orbital tomography from multi-channel harmonic emission in N2

International audienceHigh-order harmonic generation in aligned molecules can be used as an ultrafast probe of molecular structure and dynamics. By characterizing the emitted signal , one can retrieve information about electronic and nuclear dynamics occurring in the molecule at the attosecond timescale. In this paper , we discuss the theoretical and experimental aspects of molecular orbital tomography in N 2 and investigate the influence of multi-channel ionization on the orbital imaging. By analyzing the spectral phase of the harmonic emission as a function of the driving laser intensity , we address two distinct cases , which in principle allow the orbital reconstruction. First , the contributions from two molecular orbitals could be disentangled in the real and imaginary parts of the measured dipole , making it possible to reconstruct both orbitals. Second , by decreasing the driving laser intensity , the transition from a multi-channel to a single-channel ionization regime is shown. The highest occupied molecular orbital may then be selected as the only one contributing efficiently to the harmonic emission. The latter approach paves the way towards the generalization of tomography to more complex systems

Spectrally resolved multi-channel contributions to the harmonic emission in N 2

International audienceWhen generated in molecules, high-order harmonics can be emitted through different ionization channels. The coherent and ultrafast electron dynamics occurring in the ion during the generation process is directly imprinted in the harmonic signal, i.e. in its amplitude and spectral phase. In aligned N2 molecules, we find evidence for a fast variation of this phase as a function of the harmonic order when varying the driving laser intensity. Basing our analysis on a three-step model, we find that this phase variation is a signature of transitions from a single- to a multi-channel regime. In particular, we show that significant nuclear dynamics may occur in the ionization channels on the attosecond timescale, affecting both the amplitude and the phase of the harmonic signal