115 research outputs found
The direct evaluation of attosecond chirp from a streaking measurement
We derive an analytical expression, from classical electron trajectories in a
laser field, that relates the breadth of a streaked photoelectron spectrum to
the group-delay dispersion of an isolated attosecond pulse. Based on this
analytical expression, we introduce a simple, efficient and robust procedure to
instantly extract the attosecond pulse's chirp from the streaking measurement.Comment: 4 figure
Identification of epigenetically regulated genes that predict patient outcome in neuroblastoma
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modifications are important regulators of gene expression and are frequently involved in silencing tumor suppressor genes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to identify genes that are epigenetically regulated in neuroblastoma tumors, we treated four neuroblastoma cell lines with the demethylating agent 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-dC) either separately or in conjunction with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA). Expression was analyzed using whole-genome expression arrays to identify genes activated by the treatment. These data were then combined with data from genome-wide DNA methylation arrays to identify candidate genes silenced in neuroblastoma due to DNA methylation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present eight genes (<it>KRT19</it>, <it>PRKCDBP</it>, <it>SCNN1A</it>, <it>POU2F2</it>, <it>TGFBI</it>, <it>COL1A2</it>, <it>DHRS3 </it>and <it>DUSP23</it>) that are methylated in neuroblastoma, most of them not previously reported as such, some of which also distinguish between biological subsets of neuroblastoma tumors. Differential methylation was observed for the genes <it>SCNN1A </it>(p < 0.001), <it>PRKCDBP </it>(p < 0.001) and <it>KRT19 </it>(p < 0.01). Among these, the mRNA expression of <it>KRT19 </it>and <it>PRKCDBP </it>was significantly lower in patients that have died from the disease compared with patients with no evidence of disease (fold change -8.3, p = 0.01 for <it>KRT19 </it>and fold change -2.4, p = 0.04 for <it>PRKCDBP</it>).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In our study, a low methylation frequency of <it>SCNN1A</it>, <it>PRKCDBP </it>and <it>KRT19 </it>is significantly associated with favorable outcome in neuroblastoma. It is likely that analysis of specific DNA methylation will be one of several methods in future patient therapy stratification protocols for treatment of childhood neuroblastomas.</p
Noise Suppression and Surplus Synchrony by Coincidence Detection
The functional significance of correlations between action potentials of
neurons is still a matter of vivid debates. In particular it is presently
unclear how much synchrony is caused by afferent synchronized events and how
much is intrinsic due to the connectivity structure of cortex. The available
analytical approaches based on the diffusion approximation do not allow to
model spike synchrony, preventing a thorough analysis. Here we theoretically
investigate to what extent common synaptic afferents and synchronized inputs
each contribute to closely time-locked spiking activity of pairs of neurons. We
employ direct simulation and extend earlier analytical methods based on the
diffusion approximation to pulse-coupling, allowing us to introduce precisely
timed correlations in the spiking activity of the synaptic afferents. We
investigate the transmission of correlated synaptic input currents by pairs of
integrate-and-fire model neurons, so that the same input covariance can be
realized by common inputs or by spiking synchrony. We identify two distinct
regimes: In the limit of low correlation linear perturbation theory accurately
determines the correlation transmission coefficient, which is typically smaller
than unity, but increases sensitively even for weakly synchronous inputs. In
the limit of high afferent correlation, in the presence of synchrony a
qualitatively new picture arises. As the non-linear neuronal response becomes
dominant, the output correlation becomes higher than the total correlation in
the input. This transmission coefficient larger unity is a direct consequence
of non-linear neural processing in the presence of noise, elucidating how
synchrony-coded signals benefit from these generic properties present in
cortical networks
Design concepts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA: an advanced facility for ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy
Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has had a major breakthrough with the impressive results obtained using systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. CTA is an international initiative to build the next generation instrument, with a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV-10 TeV range and the extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA will consist of two arrays (one in the north, one in the south) for full sky coverage and will be operated as open observatory. The design of CTA is based on currently available technology. This document reports on the status and presents the major design concepts of CTA
Determination of enzyme/substrate specificity constants using a multiple substrate ESI-MS assay
Attosecond pulse characterization
In this work we propose a novel procedure for the characterization of attosecond pulses. The method relies on the conversion of the attosecond pulse into electron wave-packets through photoionization of atoms in the presence of a weak IR field. It allows for the unique determination of the spectral phase making up the pulses by accurately taking into account the atomic physics of the photoionization process. The phases are evaluated by optimizing the fit of a perturbation theory calculation to the experimental result. The method has been called iPROOF (improved Phase Retrieval by Omega Oscillation Filtering) as it bears a similarity to the PROOF technique [Chini et al. Opt. Express 18, 13006 (2010)]. The procedure has been demonstrated for the characterization of an attosecond pulse train composed of odd and even harmonics. We observe a large phase shift between consecutive odd and even harmonics. The resulting attosecond pulse train has a complex structure not resembling a single attosecond pulse once per IR period, which is the case for zero phase. Finally, the retrieval procedure can be applied to the characterization of single attosecond pulses as well
Prospective study of postoperative sensory disturbances after surgical treatment of mandibular fractures
Humoral immune responses against tumor-associated antigen OVA66 originally defined by serological analysis of recombinant cDNA expression libraries and its potentiality in cellular immunity
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