Stress Preconditioning of Spreading Depression in the Locust CNS

Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is closely associated with important pathologies including stroke, seizures and migraine. The mechanisms underlying SD in its various forms are still incompletely understood. Here we describe SD-like events in an invertebrate model, the ventilatory central pattern generator (CPG) of locusts. Using K+ -sensitive microelectrodes, we measured extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) in the metathoracic neuropile of the CPG while monitoring CPG output electromyographically from muscle 161 in the second abdominal segment to investigate the role K+ in failure of neural circuit operation induced by various stressors. Failure of ventilation in response to different stressors (hyperthermia, anoxia, ATP depletion, Na+/K+ ATPase impairment, K+ injection) was associated with a disturbance of CNS ion homeostasis that shares the characteristics of CSD and SD-like events in vertebrates. Hyperthermic failure was preconditioned by prior heat shock (3 h, 45°C) and induced-thermotolerance was associated with an increase in the rate of clearance of extracellular K+ that was not linked to changes in ATP levels or total Na+/K+ ATPase activity. Our findings suggest that SD-like events in locusts are adaptive to terminate neural network operation and conserve energy during stress and that they can be preconditioned by experience. We propose that they share mechanisms with CSD in mammals suggesting a common evolutionary origin

Holocene Sediment Records From the Continental Shelf of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica

Geochemical records are presented for five sediment cores from basins on the continental shelf of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica. The cores contain 2-4 m thick sequences of hemipelagic, siliceous mud and ooze (SMO) deposited under seasonally open marine conditions. The inner and middle shelf SMO sequences are massive dark olive green material, whereas the outer shelf SMO sequences are dark olive material interspersed with light olive green layers similar to1-10 cm thick. The biogenic material is dominated by marine diatoms including Fragilariopsis curta, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, and Chaetoceros spp. in the dark-colored SMO and Corethron criophilum in the light-colored layers. Radiocarbon dates suggest that the cores provide continuous accumulation records extending from \u3c 1 kyr before present (B.P.) back as far as 4-15 kyr B.P., with estimated accumulation rates of 0.07-5 mm yr(-1). The three core records from the middle and outer shelf suggest six episodes of increased accumulation of biogenic material at 5.5 kyr B.P. tall three cores), 1, 2, and 6.2 kyr B.P. (two of the three cores), and 3.8 and 10.8 kyr B.P. tone core), most of which coincide with Corethron layers. We interpret these features as the result of enhanced diatom production over the outer shelf, possibly related to climatic warm periods. The absence of such features in the inner shelf core records is thought to reflect a relatively constant level of seasonal diatom production in adjacent waters maintained by a coastal polynya

Steady shear flow thermodynamics based on a canonical distribution approach

A non-equilibrium steady state thermodynamics to describe shear flows is developed using a canonical distribution approach. We construct a canonical distribution for shear flow based on the energy in the moving frame using the Lagrangian formalism of the classical mechanics. From this distribution we derive the Evans-Hanley shear flow thermodynamics, which is characterized by the first law of thermodynamics $dE = T dS - Q d\gamma$ relating infinitesimal changes in energy $E$, entropy $S$ and shear rate $\gamma$ with kinetic temperature $T$. Our central result is that the coefficient $Q$ is given by Helfand's moment for viscosity. This approach leads to thermodynamic stability conditions for shear flow, one of which is equivalent to the positivity of the correlation function of $Q$. We emphasize the role of the external work required to sustain the steady shear flow in this approach, and show theoretically that the ensemble average of its power $\dot{W}$ must be non-negative. A non-equilibrium entropy, increasing in time, is introduced, so that the amount of heat based on this entropy is equal to the average of $\dot{W}$. Numerical results from non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation of two-dimensional many-particle systems with soft-core interactions are presented which support our interpretation.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Angiogenesis in developing rat brain: An in vivo and in vitro study

Brain capillary proliferation in postnatal rats was measured in vivo by [3H]thymidine autoradiography. Maximal capillary proliferation occurred between 5 and 9 postnatal days, and was 40 times greater than in the adult. To test the hypothesis that soluble angiogenesis factors play a role in this developmental vascularization of brain, we prepared extracts from the brains of 6-day-old rats at the peak of proliferative activity, and from adults when it was lowest. We assayed them using an in vitro growth system measuring [3H]thymidine incorporation into cultured brain capillary endothelial cells. Extracts prepared from either 6-day or adult rats and containing 150 [mu]g/ml protein caused more than a 4-fold stimulation of the endothelial cells, increasing to 8-fold at a concentration of 1500 [mu]g/ml. The presence of growth-promoting activity in brain extracts from both adult and immature rats suggests that soluble angiogenesis factors may be present in the brain throughout life, but are unavailable for stimulation of in vivo capillary growth unless released or activated by an appropriate stimulus.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25473/1/0000013.pd

Vacuum Structure of Two-Dimensional Gauge Theories on the Light Front

We discuss the problem of vacuum structure in light-front field theory in the context of (1+1)-dimensional gauge theories. We begin by reviewing the known light-front solution of the Schwinger model, highlighting the issues that are relevant for reproducing the $\theta$-structure of the vacuum. The most important of these are the need to introduce degrees of freedom initialized on two different null planes, the proper incorporation of gauge field zero modes when periodicity conditions are used to regulate the infrared, and the importance of carefully regulating singular operator products in a gauge-invariant way. We then consider SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in 1+1 dimensions coupled to massless adjoint fermions. With all fields in the adjoint representation the gauge group is actually SU(2)$/Z_2$, which possesses nontrivial topology. In particular, there are two topological sectors and the physical vacuum state has a structure analogous to a $\theta$ vacuum. We formulate the model using periodicity conditions in $x^\pm$ for infrared regulation, and consider a solution in which the gauge field zero mode is treated as a constrained operator. We obtain the expected $Z_2$ vacuum structure, and verify that the discrete vacuum angle which enters has no effect on the spectrum of the theory. We then calculate the chiral condensate, which is sensitive to the vacuum structure. The result is nonzero, but inversely proportional to the periodicity length, a situation which is familiar from the Schwinger model. The origin of this behavior is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, uses RevTeX. Improved discussion of the physical subspace generally and the vacuum states in particular. Basic conclusions are unchanged, but some specific results are modifie

The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: Evidence for radiative heating in Serpens MWC 297 and its influence on local star formation

We present SCUBA-2 450micron and 850micron observations of the Serpens MWC 297 region, part of the JCMT Gould Belt Survey of nearby star-forming regions. Simulations suggest that radiative feedback influences the star-formation process and we investigate observational evidence for this by constructing temperature maps. Maps are derived from the ratio of SCUBA-2 fluxes and a two component model of the JCMT beam for a fixed dust opacity spectral index of beta = 1.8. Within 40 of the B1.5Ve Herbig star MWC 297, the submillimetre fluxes are contaminated by free-free emission with a spectral index of 1.03+-0.02, consistent with an ultra-compact HII region and polar winds/jets. Contamination accounts for 73+-5 per cent and 82+-4 per cent of peak flux at 450micron and 850micron respectively. The residual thermal disk of the star is almost undetectable at these wavelengths. Young Stellar Objects are confirmed where SCUBA-2 850micron clumps identified by the fellwalker algorithm coincide with Spitzer Gould Belt Survey detections. We identify 23 objects and use Tbol to classify nine YSOs with masses 0.09 to 5.1 Msun. We find two Class 0, one Class 0/I, three Class I and three Class II sources. The mean temperature is 15+-2K for the nine YSOs and 32+-4K for the 14 starless clumps. We observe a starless clump with an abnormally high mean temperature of 46+-2K and conclude that it is radiatively heated by the star MWC 297. Jeans stability provides evidence that radiative heating by the star MWC 297 may be suppressing clump collapse.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, 7 table

Targeted bisulfite sequencing by solution hybrid selection and massively parallel sequencing

We applied a solution hybrid selection approach to the enrichment of CpG islands (CGIs) and promoter sequences from the human genome for targeted high-throughput bisulfite sequencing. A single lane of Illumina sequences allowed accurate and quantitative analysis of ~1 million CpGs in more than 21 408 CGIs and more than 15 946 transcriptional regulatory regions. Of the CpGs analyzed, 77–84% fell on or near capture probe sequences; 69–75% fell within CGIs. More than 85% of capture probes successfully yielded quantitative DNA methylation information of targeted regions. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified in the 5′-end regulatory regions, as well as the intra- and intergenic regions, particularly in the X-chromosome among the three breast cancer cell lines analyzed. We chose 46 candidate loci (762 CpGs) for confirmation with PCR-based bisulfite sequencing and demonstrated excellent correlation between two data sets. Targeted bisulfite sequencing of three DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) knockout cell lines and the wild-type HCT116 colon cancer cell line revealed a significant decrease in CpG methylation for the DNMT1 knockout and DNMT1, 3B double knockout cell lines, but not in DNMT3B knockout cell line. We demonstrated the targeted bisulfite sequencing approach to be a powerful method to uncover novel aberrant methylation in the cancer epigenome. Since all targets were captured and sequenced as a pool through a series of single-tube reactions, this method can be easily scaled up to deal with a large number of samples

The status of GEO 600

The GEO 600 laser interferometer with 600m armlength is part of a worldwide network of gravitational wave detectors. GEO 600 is unique in having advanced multiple pendulum suspensions with a monolithic last stage and in employing a signal recycled optical design. This paper describes the recent commissioning of the interferometer and its operation in signal recycled mode

Depositional setting, provenance and tectonic-volcanic setting of Eocene-Recent deep-sea sediments of the oceanic Izu-Bonin forearc, NW Pacific (IODP Expedition 352)

New biostratigraphical, geochemical, and magnetic evidence is synthesized with IODP Expedition 352 shipboard results to understand the sedimentary and tectono-magmatic development of the Izu–Bonin outer forearc region. The oceanic basement of the Izu–Bonin forearc was created by supra-subduction zone seafloor spreading during early Eocene (c. 50–51 Ma). Seafloor spreading created an irregular seafloor topography on which talus locally accumulated. Oxide-rich sediments accumulated above the igneous basement by mixing of hydrothermal and pelagic sediment. Basaltic volcanism was followed by a hiatus of up to 15 million years as a result of topographic isolation or sediment bypassing. Variably tuffaceous deep-sea sediments were deposited during Oligocene to early Miocene and from mid-Miocene to Pleistocene. The sediments ponded into extensional fault-controlled basins, whereas condensed sediments accumulated on a local basement high. Oligocene nannofossil ooze accumulated together with felsic tuff that was mainly derived from the nearby Izu–Bonin arc. Accumulation of radiolarian-bearing mud, silty clay, and hydrogenous metal oxides beneath the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) characterized the early Miocene, followed by middle Miocene–Pleistocene increased carbonate preservation, deepened CCD and tephra input from both the oceanic Izu–Bonin arc and the continental margin Honshu arc. The Izu–Bonin forearc basement formed in a near-equatorial setting, with late Mesozoic arc remnants to the west. Subduction-initiation magmatism is likely to have taken place near a pre-existing continent–oceanic crust boundary. The Izu–Bonin arc migrated northward and clockwise to collide with Honshu by early Miocene, strongly influencing regional sedimentation