3,913 research outputs found
Differential regulation of local mRNA dynamics and translation following long-term potentiation and depression
Decades of work have demonstrated that messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are localized and translated within neuronal dendrites and axons to provide proteins for remodeling and maintaining growth cones or synapses. It remains unknown, however, whether specific forms of plasticity differentially regulate the dynamics and translation of individual mRNA species. To address this, we targeted three individual synaptically localized mRNAs, CamkIIa, β-actin, Psd95, and used molecular beacons to track endogenous mRNA movements. We used reporters and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to track mRNA translation in cultured neurons. We found alterations in mRNA dynamic properties occurred during two forms of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (cLTP) and depression (mGluR-LTD). Changes in mRNA dynamics following either form of plasticity resulted in an enrichment of mRNA in the vicinity of dendritic spines. Both the reporters and tagging of endogenous proteins revealed the transcript-specific stimulation of protein synthesis following cLTP or mGluR-LTD. As such, the plasticity-induced enrichment of mRNA near synapses could be uncoupled from its translational status. The enrichment of mRNA in the proximity of spines allows for localized signaling pathways to decode plasticity milieus and stimulate a specific translational profile, resulting in a customized remodeling of the synaptic proteome
The median nerve in the carpal tunnel
A study of the variations of the course and branching pattern of the median
nerve within the carpal tunnel were carried out on 60 wrists from 30 fresh
cadavers autopsied in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Jagiellonian
University Medical College. The results were compared with the literature. The
study confirmed that the extraligamentous type of motor branch variation is
most common. The transligamentous course of the nerve is of special importance:
it is usually accompanied by hypertrophic muscle, and the nerve hidden
within this muscle can easily be cut during transection of the retinaculum. The
results proved the necessity of approaching the median nerve from the ulnar
side when opening the carpal tunnel. (Folia Morphol 2011; 70, 1: 41-46
An Obstruction to Quantization of the Sphere
In the standard example of strict deformation quantization of the symplectic
sphere , the set of allowed values of the quantization parameter
is not connected; indeed, it is almost discrete. Li recently constructed a
class of examples (including ) in which can take any value in an
interval, but these examples are badly behaved. Here, I identify a natural
additional axiom for strict deformation quantization and prove that it implies
that the parameter set for quantizing is never connected.Comment: 23 page. v2: changed sign conventio
Logical independence and quantum randomness
We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We
demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators
are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum
measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is
logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical
proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured
state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes.
This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it
also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed
in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum
theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not
subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, published version plus additional experimental
appendi
Sublingual allergen immunotherapy with a liquid birch pollen product in patients with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis with or without asthma
Background: Sublingual allergen immunotherapy (SLIT) has been demonstrated to be both clinically efficacious and safe. However, in line with the current regulatory guidance from the European Medicines Agency, allergen immunotherapy (AIT) products must demonstrate their efficacy and safety in pivotal phase III trials for registration.
Objective: We sought to investigate the efficacy and safety of sublingual high-dose liquid birch pollen extract (40,000 allergy units native [AUN]/mL) in adults with birch pollen allergy.
Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group multicenter trial was conducted in 406 adult patients with moderate-to-severe birch pollen-induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis with or without mild-to-moderate controlled asthma. Treatment was started 3 to 6 months before the birch pollen season and continued during the season in 40 clinical study centers in 5 European countries. For primary end point assessment, the recommended combined symptom and medication score of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology was used. Secondary end points included quality-of-life assessments, immunologic parameters, and safety.
Results: Primary efficacy results demonstrated a significant (P < .0001) and clinically relevant (32%) reduction in the combined symptom and medication score compared with placebo after 3 to 6 months of SLIT. Significantly better rhinoconjunctivitis quality-of-life scores (P < .0001) and the patient's own overall assessment of his or her health status, including the visual analog scale score (Euro Quality of Life Visual Analogue Scale; P = .0025), were also demonstrated. In total, a good safety profile of SLIT was observed.
Conclusion: This study confirmed both the clinical efficacy and safety of a sublingual liquid birch pollen extract in adults with birch pollen allergy in a pivotal phase III trial (EudraCT: 2013-005550-30; ClinicalTrials. gov: NCT02231307)
Regular black holes in an asymptotically de Sitter universe
A regular solution of the system of coupled equations of the nonlinear
electrodynamics and gravity describing static and spherically-symmetric black
holes in an asymptotically de Sitter universe is constructed and analyzed.
Special emphasis is put on the degenerate configurations (when at least two
horizons coincide) and their near horizon geometry. It is explicitly
demonstrated that approximating the metric potentials in the region between the
horizons by simple functions and making use of a limiting procedure one obtains
the solutions constructed from maximally symmetric subspaces with different
absolute values of radii. Topologically they are for the
cold black hole, when the event and cosmological horizon
coincide, and the Pleba\'nski- Hacyan solution for the ultraextremal black
hole. A physically interesting solution describing the lukewarm black holes is
briefly analyze
Convergence and multiplicities for the Lempert function
Given a domain , the Lempert function is a
functional on the space Hol (\D,\Omega) of analytic disks with values in
, depending on a set of poles in . We generalize its definition
to the case where poles have multiplicities given by local indicators (in the
sense of Rashkovskii's work) to obtain a function which still dominates the
corresponding Green function, behaves relatively well under limits, and is
monotonic with respect to the indicators. In particular, this is an improvement
over the previous generalization used by the same authors to find an example of
a set of poles in the bidisk so that the (usual) Green and Lempert functions
differ.Comment: 24 pages; many typos corrected thanks to the referee of Arkiv for
Matemati
Opinion Formation in Laggard Societies
We introduce a statistical physics model for opinion dynamics on random
networks where agents adopt the opinion held by the majority of their direct
neighbors only if the fraction of these neighbors exceeds a certain threshold,
p_u. We find a transition from total final consensus to a mixed phase where
opinions coexist amongst the agents. The relevant parameters are the relative
sizes in the initial opinion distribution within the population and the
connectivity of the underlying network. As the order parameter we define the
asymptotic state of opinions. In the phase diagram we find regions of total
consensus and a mixed phase. As the 'laggard parameter' p_u increases the
regions of consensus shrink. In addition we introduce rewiring of the
underlying network during the opinion formation process and discuss the
resulting consequences in the phase diagram.Comment: 5 pages, eps fig
Schumpeterian economic dynamics as a quantifiable minimum model of evolution
We propose a simple quantitative model of Schumpeterian economic dynamics.
New goods and services are endogenously produced through combinations of
existing goods. As soon as new goods enter the market they may compete against
already existing goods, in other words new products can have destructive
effects on existing goods. As a result of this competition mechanism existing
goods may be driven out from the market - often causing cascades of secondary
defects (Schumpeterian gales of destruction). The model leads to a generic
dynamics characterized by phases of relative economic stability followed by
phases of massive restructuring of markets - which could be interpreted as
Schumpeterian business `cycles'. Model timeseries of product diversity and
productivity reproduce several stylized facts of economics timeseries on long
timescales such as GDP or business failures, including non-Gaussian fat tailed
distributions, volatility clustering etc. The model is phrased in an open,
non-equilibrium setup which can be understood as a self organized critical
system. Its diversity dynamics can be understood by the time-varying topology
of the active production networks.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure
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