Molecular Dynamics of Yukawa System (Dust Plasma) with Deformable Periodic Boundary Conditions: Formulation

Molecular dynamics of the Yukawa system, the system of particles interacting via the Yukawa or the screened Coulomb potential, are formulated for various statistical ensembles and external conditions. The Yukawa potential smoothly interpolates the long-range Coulomb and the short-range interactions by adjusting a single parameter, the screening length. In order to reduce the effect of boundaries, the periodic boundary conditions are imposed and the deformations of the fundamental vectors of periodicity are taken into account. Ewald-type expressions for interaction energy, force, and kinematic pressure are given explicitly

Electronic States in Semiconductor Quantum Dot with Fluctuating Interfaces

Effects of interface fluctuations on the electronic states in semiconductor quantum dots are analyzed on the basis of numerical solutions for ground state wave functions and energy eigenvalues. It is shown that the effective volume of confinement becomes smaller than the real volume of quantum dots due to fluctuation. This effect comes from the fact that the wave functions with larger characteristic wavelength are not able to deform themselves following the fluctuation of interfaces exactly

Attachment Disorder and Early Media Exposure

Many studies have reported many adverse effects of children’s use of media. These effects include reduced cognitive development and hyperactivity and attention disorders. Although it has been recommended that child be kept away from the media during the early developmental period, many modern parents use the media as a way to calm their children. Consequently, these children lack the opportunity to form selective attachments by reduced social engagement. These children’s symptoms occasionally mimic autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, few studies have examined the symptoms children develop with early media exposure. Here, we present a boy exposed to the media during his early development who was diagnosed with attachment disorder. He was unable to make eye contact and was hyperactive and had delayed language development, like children with ASD. His symptoms improved dramatically after he was prevented from using all media and encouraged to play in other ways. After this treatment, he would make eye contact, and talked about playing with their parents. Simply avoiding the media and playing with others can change the behavior of a child with ASD-like symptoms. It is important to understand the symptoms caused by attachment disorder and early media exposure

Viral-mediated temporally controlled dopamine production in a rat model of Parkinson disease.

International audienceRegulation of gene expression is necessary to avoid possible adverse effects of gene therapy due to excess synthesis of transgene products. To reduce transgene expression, we developed a viral vector-mediated somatic regulation system using inducible Cre recombinase. A recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector expressing Cre recombinase fused to a mutated ligand-binding domain of the estrogen receptor alpha (CreER(T2)) was delivered along with AAV vectors expressing dopamine-synthesizing enzymes to rats of a Parkinson disease model. Treatment with 4-hydroxytamoxifen, a synthetic estrogen receptor modulator, activated Cre recombinase within the transduced neurons and induced selective excision of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) coding sequence flanked by loxP sites, leading to a reduction in transgene-mediated dopamine synthesis. Using this strategy, aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) activity was retained so that l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa), a substrate for AADC, could be converted to dopamine in the striatum and the therapeutic effects of L-dopa preserved, even after reduction of TH expression in the case of dopamine overproduction. Our data demonstrate that viral vector-mediated inducible Cre recombinase can serve as an in vivo molecular switch, allowing spatial and temporal control of transgene expression, thereby potentially increasing the safety of gene therapy