New Distribution Records for Mosquitoes in Michigan (Diptera: Culicidae)

(excerpt) Since the late 1940\u27s very little information has appeared in the literature dealing with the geographical distribution of mosquitoes in Michigan. The earliest attempt at establish- ing a comprehensive list of species was made by Irwin (1941) who catalogued 43 species by county. A survey by Pederson (1947) resulted in the collection of 48 species and provided the most extensive distribution list of mosquitoes in Michigan. Recent studies by Newson et al. (1975), McGroarty et al. (1976) and Grimstad (1977) have contributed several new distribution and state records. Prompted by the 1975 St. Louis encephalitis outbreak in Michigan, and a lack of current information on the species of mosquitoes in Isabella County, a survey of mosquitoes was conducted in the Mount Pleasant area

Nonlocal planar Schrödinger-Poisson systems in the fractional Sobolev limiting case

We study the nonlinear Schrodinger equation for the s-fractional p-Laplacian strongly coupled with the Poisson equation in dimension two and with p =2s, which is the limiting case for the embedding of the fractional Sobolev space Ws,p(R2). We prove existence of solutions by means of a variational approximating procedure for an auxiliary Choquard equation in which the uniformly approximated sign-changing logarithmic kernel competes with the exponential nonlinearity. Qualitative properties of solutions such as symmetry and decay are also established by exploiting a suitable moving planes technique

Lpa1-5525 : a new lpa1 mutant isolated in a mutagenized population by a novel non-disrupting screening method

Phytic acid, or myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate, is the main storage form of phosphorus in plants. It is localized in seeds, deposited as mixed salts of mineral cations in protein storage vacuoles; during germination, it is hydrolyzed by phytases to make available P together with all the other cations needed for seed germination. When seeds are used as food or feed, phytic acid and the bound cations are poorly bioavailable for human and monogastric livestock due to their lack of phytase activity. Therefore, reducing the amount of phytic acid is one strategy in breeding programs aimed to improve the nutritional properties of major crops. In this work, we present data on the isolation of a new maize (Zea mays L.) low phytic acid 1 (lpa1) mutant allele obtained by transposon tagging mutagenesis with the Ac element. We describe the generation of the mutagenized population and the screening to isolate new lpa1 mutants. In particular, we developed a fast, cheap and non-disrupting screening method based on the different density of lpa1 seed compared to the wild type. This assay allowed the isolation of the lpa1-5525 mutant characterized by a new mutation in the lpa1 locus associated with a lower amount of phytic phosphorus in the seeds in comparison with the wild type

The Controversy of Myopia as a Risk Factor for Glaucoma: a Mathematical Approach

poster abstractPurpose: to quantify how individual variations in anatomical parameters often associated with myopia (e.g. longer ocular axial length (OAL), reduced scleral thickness (ST), lamina cribrosa diameter (LCD) and thickness (LCT)) affect retinal blood flow (RBF) and its sensitivity to ocular perfusion pressure (OPP). Methods: A mathematical model is used to calculate RBF through central retinal artery (CRA), arterioles, capillaries, venules, and central retinal vein (CRV). The flow is time-dependent, driven by systemic pressure and regulated by variable resistances to account for nonlinear effects due to (1) autoregulation (AR), and (2) lamina cribrosa effect on CRA and CRV. The latter is a nonlinear function of intraocular pressure (IOP), cerebrospinal fluid pressure (CSF) and OAL, ST, LCD, and LCT. RBF is computed as the solution of a system of five non-linear ordinary differential equations. The system is solved for different OPP values, obtained by varying independently IOP and mean arterial pressure (MAP), with and without AR. Results: Four representative eyes are compared: Eye 1 (OAL=24mm, ST=1mm, LCD=3mm, LCT=0.4mm), Eye 2 (OAL=28mm, ST=1mm, LCD=3mm, LCT=0.4mm), Eye 3 (OAL=24mm, ST=0.7mm, LCD=2mm, LCT=0.2mm), Eye 4 (OAL=28mm, ST=0.7mm, LCD=2mm, LCT=0.2mm). The model predicts that the cardiac cycle RBF average (RBFav) for eyes with smaller LCD and LCT is notably less than in normal eyes when IOP is elevated and without AR (c). Without AR and reduced MAP, the four eyes show similar RBFav reductions (d). With AR, anatomical changes do not induce notable changes in RBFav, (a) and (b). Conclusions: Reduced LCD and LCT, often associated with myopia, seem to affect RBFav more than elevated OAL. RBFav reductions magnify when AR is impaired, and this might reduce IOP safe levels for eyes with reduced LCD and LCT. These findings suggest that a combination of anatomical and vascular factors might cause certain myopic eyes to be at higher risk for glaucomatous damage than others

Electro-fluid dynamics of aqueous humor production: simulations and new directions.

Purpose: to theoretically investigate the role of bicarbonate ion (HCO− 3 ) on the nonpigmented transepithelial potential di erence Vm, the sodium potassium pump (Na/K) and the active secretion of aqueous humor. Methods: a three-dimensional mathematical model is proposed to isolate the roles of HCO− 3 and Na+, which are di icult to investigate experimentally. The model combines the velocity-extended Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations to describe ion electrodi usion and the Stokes equations to describe aqueous humor flow into the basolateral space adjacent to the nonpigmented ephitelial cells. Results: Computations show that Vm is close to baseline experimental measurements (on monkeys) in the range [−2.7, −2.3]mV only if HCO− 3 is included in the simulation. The model is also capable of reproducing the flow of Na+ exiting the cell and the flow of K+ entering the cell, in accordance with the physiology of the Na/K pump. The simulated Na/K ratio is 1.53, which is in very good agreement with the theoretical value of 1.5. Conclusion: Model simulations suggest that HCO− 3 inhibition may prevent physiologically correct baseline values of the nonpigmented transepithelial potential di erence and Na/K ATPase function. This may provide useful indication in the design of medications that decrease the active secretion of aqueous humor, and supports the advantage of using mathematical models as a noninvasive complement of animal models

de Sitter Supersymmetry Revisited

We present the basic $\mathcal{N} =1$ superconformal field theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space-time, namely the non-abelian super Yang-Mills theory and the chiral multiplet theory with gauge interactions or cubic superpotential. These theories have eight supercharges and are invariant under the full $SO(4,2)$ group of conformal symmetries, which includes the de Sitter isometry group $SO(4,1)$ as a subgroup. The theories are ghost-free and the anti-commutator $\sum_\alpha\{Q_\alpha, Q^{\alpha\dagger}\}$ is positive. SUSY Ward identities uniquely select the Bunch-Davies vacuum state. This vacuum state is invariant under superconformal transformations, despite the fact that de Sitter space has non-zero Hawking temperature. The $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories are classically invariant under the $SU(2,2|1)$ superconformal group, but this symmetry is broken by radiative corrections. However, no such difficulty is expected in the $\mathcal{N}=4$ theory, which is presented in appendix B.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure

Heterotic Flux Attractors

We find attractor equations describing moduli stabilization for heterotic compactifications with generic SU(3)-structure. Complex structure and K\"ahler moduli are treated on equal footing by using SU(3)xSU(3)-structure at intermediate steps. All independent vacuum data, including VEVs of the stabilized moduli, is encoded in a pair of generating functions that depend on fluxes alone. We work out an explicit example that illustrates our methods.Comment: 37 pages, references and clarifications adde

Actin cortex architecture regulates cell surface tension

Animal cell shape is largely determined by the cortex, a thin actin network underlying the plasma membrane in which myosin-driven stresses generate contractile tension. Tension gradients result in local contractions and drive cell deformations. Previous cortical tension regulation studies have focused on myosin motors. Here, we show that cortical actin network architecture is equally important. First, we observe that actin cortex thickness and tension are inversely correlated during cell-cycle progression. We then show that the actin filament length regulators CFL1, CAPZB and DIAPH1 regulate mitotic cortex thickness and find that both increasing and decreasing thickness decreases tension in mitosis. This suggests that the mitotic cortex is poised close to a tension maximum. Finally, using a computational model, we identify a physical mechanism by which maximum tension is achieved at intermediate actin filament lengths. Our results indicate that actin network architecture, alongside myosin activity, is key to cell surface tension regulation

Lifshitz black holes in string theory

We provide the first black hole solutions with Lifshitz asymptotics found in string theory. These are expected to be dual to models enjoying anisotropic scale invariance with dynamical exponent z=2 at finite temperature. We employ a consistent truncation of type IIB supergravity to four dimensions with an arbitrary 5-dimensional Einstein manifold times a circle as internal geometry. New interesting features are found that significantly differ from previous results in phenomenological models. In particular, small black holes are shown to be thermodynamically unstable, analogously to the usual AdS-Schwarzschild black holes, and extremality is never reached. This signals a possible Hawking-Page like phase transition at low temperatures.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. v2 references adde

N=2 consistent truncations from wrapped M5-branes

We discuss consistent truncations of eleven-dimensional supergravity on a six-dimensional manifold M, preserving minimal N = 2 supersymmetry in five dimensions. These are based on GS ⊆ USp(6) structures for the generalised E6(6) tangent bundle on M, such that the intrinsic torsion is a constant GS singlet. We spell out the algorithm defining the full bosonic truncation ansatz and then apply this formalism to consistent truncations that contain warped AdS5 ×w M solutions arising from M5-branes wrapped on a Riemann surface. The generalised U(1) structure associated with the N = 2 solution of Maldacena-Nuñez leads to five-dimensional supergravity with four vector multiplets, one hypermultiplet and SO(3) × U(1) × ℝ gauge group. The generalised structure associated with “BBBW” solutions yields two vector multiplets, one hypermultiplet and an abelian gauging. We argue that these are the most general consistent truncations on such backgrounds