Overexpressing temperature-sensitive dynamin decelerates phototransduction and bundles microtubules in drosophila photoreceptors

shibire(ts1), a temperature-sensitive mutation of the Drosophila gene encoding a Dynamin orthologue, blocks vesicle endocytosis and thus synaptic transmission, at elevated, or restrictive temperatures. By targeted Gal4 expression, UAS-shibire(ts1) has been used to dissect neuronal circuits. We investigated the effects of UAS-shibire(ts1) overexpression in Drosophila photoreceptors at permissive (19 degrees C) and restrictive (31 degrees C) temperatures. At 19 degrees C, overexpression of UAS-shi(ts1) causes decelerated phototransduction and reduced neurotransmitter release. This phenotype is exacerbated with dark adaptation, age and in white mutants. Photoreceptors overexpressing UAS-shibire(ts1) contain terminals with widespread vacuolated mitochondria, reduced numbers of vesicles and bundled microtubules. Immuno-electron microscopy reveals that the latter are dynamin coated. Further, the microtubule phenotype is not restricted to photoreceptors, as UAS-shibire(ts1) overexpression in lamina cells also bundles microtubules. We conclude that dynamin has multiple functions that are interrupted by UAS-shibire(ts1) overexpression in Drosophila photoreceptors, destabilizing their neural communication irreversibly at previously reported permissive temperatures

Higgs-Dilaton cosmology: Are there extra relativistic species?

Recent analyses of cosmological data suggest the presence of an extra relativistic component beyond the Standard Model content. The Higgs-Dilaton cosmological model predicts the existence of a massless particle -the dilaton- associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of scale invariance and undetectable by any accelerator experiment. Its ultrarelativistic character makes it a suitable candidate for contributing to the effective number of light degrees of freedom in the Universe. In this Letter we analyze the dilaton production at the (p)reheating stage right after inflation and conclude that no extra relativistic degrees of freedom beyond those already present in the Standard Model are expected within the simplest Higgs-Dilaton scenario. The elusive dilaton remains thus essentially undetectable by any particle physics experiment or cosmological observation.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, corrected typos; added reference

Neural control of dynamic 3-dimensional skin papillae for cuttlefish camouflage.

The colour and pattern changing abilities of octopus, squid and cuttlefish via chromatophore neuro-muscular organs are unparalleled. Cuttlefish and octopuses also have a unique muscular hydrostat system in their skin. When expressed, dermal bumps called papillae disrupt body shape and imitate the fine texture of surrounding objects, yet the control system is unknown. Here we report for papillae: (i) the motoneurons and the neurotransmitters that control activation and relaxation, (ii) a physiologically fast expression and retraction system, and (iii) a complex of smooth and striated muscles that enables long-term expression of papillae through sustained tension in the absence of neural input. The neural circuits controlling acute shape-shifting skin papillae in cuttlefish show homology to the iridescence circuits in squids. The sustained-tension in papillary muscles for long-term camouflage utilizes muscle heterogeneity, and points toward the existence of a "catch-like" mechanism that would reduce the necessary energy expenditure.This work was funded by an AFOSR grant no. FA9550-14-1-0134 , Isaac Newton Trust/Wellcome Trust ISSF/University of Cambridge Joint Research Grant ( 097814/Z/11/Z ) to P.T.G-B., and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council David Phillips Fellowship (BBSRC, BB/L024667/1 ) to T.J.W

Hydrostatic Stokes Equations With Non-smooth Date For Mixed Boundary Conditions

The main subject of this work is to study the concept of very weak solution for the hydrostatic Stokes system with mixed boundary conditions (non-smooth Neumann conditions on the rigid surface and homogeneous Dirichlet conditions elsewhere on the boundary). In the Stokes framework, this concept has been studied by Conca [Rev. Mat. Apl. 10 (1989)] imposing non-smooth Dirichlet boundary conditions. In this paper, we introduce the dual problem that turns out to be a hydrostatic Stokes system with non-free divergence condition. First, we obtain strong regularity for this dual problem (which can be viewed as a generalisation of the regularity results for the hydrostatic Stokes system with free divergence condition obtained by Ziane [Appl. Anal. 58 (1995)]). Afterwards, we prove existence and uniqueness of very weak solution for the (primal) problem. As a consequence of this result, the existence of strong solution for the non-stationary hydrostatic Navier-Stokes equations is proved, weakening the hypothesis over the time derivative of the wind stress tensor imposed by Guillén-González, Masmoudi and Rodríguez-Bellido [Differential Integral Equations 50 (2001)]. © 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.216807826Amrouche, C., Girault, V., Decomposition of vector spaces and application to the Stokes problem in arbitrary dimension (1994) Czechoslovak Math. J., 44 (119), pp. 109-140Azérad, P., Guillén, F., Mathematical justification of the hydrostatic approximation in the Primitive Equations of qeophysical fluid dynamics (2001) SIAM J. Math. Anal., 33 (4), pp. 847-859Besson, O., Laydi, M.R., Some estimates for the anisotropic Navier-Stokes equations and for the hydrostatic approximation (1992) M2AN-Mod. Math. Ana. Nume., 7, pp. 855-865Cattabriga, L., Sur un problema al contorno relativo al sistema di equazioni di Stokes (1961) Rend. Mat. Sem. Univ. Padova, 31, pp. 308-340Chacón, T., Guillén, F., An intrinsic analysis of existence of solutions for the hydrostatic approximation of the Navier-Stokes equations (2000) C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Série I, 330, pp. 841-846Conca, C., Stokes equations with non-smooth data (1989) Revista de Matemáticas Aplicadas, 10, pp. 115-122Girault, V., Raviart, P.A., (1986) Finite Element Methods for Navier-Stokes Equations, , Berlin: Springer-VerlagGuillén-González, F., Rodríguez-Bellido, M.A., On the strong solutions of the Primitive Equations in 2D domains (2002) Nonlin. Anal., 50, pp. 621-646Guillén-González, F., Masmoudi, N., Rodríguez-Bellido, M.A., Anisotropic estimates and strong solutions of the Primitive Equations (2001) Differential Integral Equations, 14 (11), pp. 1381-1408Lewandowski, R., (1997) Analyse Mathématique et Océanographie, , MassonLions, J.L., Magenes, E., (1969) Problèmes aux Limites Non Homogènes et Applications, 1. , Paris: DunodLions, J.L., Temam, R., Wang, S., New formulation of the primitive equations of the atmosphere and applications (1992) Nonlinearity, 5, pp. 237-288Lions, J.L., Temam, R., Wang, S., On the equations of the large scale ocean (1992) Nonlinearity, 5, pp. 1007-1053Pedlosky, J., (1987) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, , Berlin: Springer-VerlagTemam, R., (1977) Navier-Stokes Equations: Theory and Numerical Analysis, , Amsterdam: North HollandZiane, M., Regularity results for Stokes type systems (1995) Appl. Anal., 58, pp. 263-29

Target detection in insects: optical, neural and behavioral optimizations.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2016.09.001Motion vision provides important cues for many tasks. Flying insects, for example, may pursue small, fast moving targets for mating or feeding purposes, even when these are detected against self-generated optic flow. Since insects are small, with size-constrained eyes and brains, they have evolved to optimize their optical, neural and behavioral target visualization solutions. Indeed, even if evolutionarily distant insects display different pursuit strategies, target neuron physiology is strikingly similar. Furthermore, the coarse spatial resolution of the insect compound eye might actually be beneficial when it comes to detection of moving targets. In conclusion, tiny insects show higher than expected performance in target visualization tasks.Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant ID: FA9550-15-1-0188

Visual approach computation in feeding hoverflies.

On warm sunny days, female hoverflies are often observed feeding from a wide range of wild and cultivated flowers. In doing so, hoverflies serve a vital role as alternative pollinators, and are suggested to be the most important pollinators after bees and bumblebees. Unless the flower hoverflies are feeding from is large, they do not readily share the space with other insects, but instead opt to leave if another insect approaches. We used high-speed videography followed by 3D reconstruction of flight trajectories to quantify how female Eristalis hoverflies respond to approaching bees, wasps and two different hoverfly species. We found that, in 94% of the interactions, the occupant female left the flower when approached by another insect. We found that compared with spontaneous take-offs, the occupant hoverfly's escape response was performed at ∼3 times higher speed (spontaneous take-off at 0.2±0.05 m s-1 compared with 0.55±0.08 m s-1 when approached by another Eristalis). The hoverflies tended to take off upward and forward, while taking the incomer's approach angle into account. Intriguingly, we found that, when approached by wasps, the occupant Eristalis took off at a higher speed and when the wasp was further away. This suggests that feeding hoverflies may be able to distinguish these predators, demanding impressive visual capabilities. Our results, including quantification of the visual information available before occupant take-off, provide important insight into how freely behaving hoverflies perform escape responses from competitors and predators (e.g. wasps) in the wild.This work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0188 to P.T. Gonzalez-Bellido and K. Nordström), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/L024667/1 David Phillips Fellowship to T. Wardill), Australian Research Council (DP170100008), Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist Byggmästare (2016/348) and Stiftelsen Längmanska Kulturfonden (BA17-0812)

The Neurological Traces of Look-Alike Avatars

We designed an observational study where participants (n = 17) were exposed to pictures and look-alike avatars pictures of themselves, a familiar friend or an unfamiliar person. By measuring participants’ brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG), we found face-recognition event related potentials (ERPs) in the visual cortex, around 200–250 ms, to be prominent for the different familiarity levels. A less positive component was found for self-recognized pictures (P200) than pictures of others, showing similar effects in both real faces and look-alike avatars. A rapid adaptation in the same component was found when comparing the neural processing of avatar faces vs. real faces, as if avatars in general were assimilated as real face representations over time. ERP results also showed that in the case of the self-avatar, the P200 component correlated with more complex conscious encodings of self-representation, i.e., the difference in voltage in the P200 between the self-avatar and the self-picture was reduced in participants that felt the avatar looked like them. This study is put into context within the literature of self-recognition and face recognition in the visual cortex. Additionally, the implications of these results on look-alike avatars are discussed both for future virtual reality (VR) and neuroscience studies

Primordial magnetic fields from preheating at the electroweak scale

We analyze the generation of helical magnetic fields during preheating in a model of low-scale electroweak (EW) hybrid inflation. We show how the inhomogeneities in the Higgs field, resulting from tachyonic preheating after inflation, seed the magnetic fields in a way analogous to that predicted by Vachaspati and Cornwall in the context of the EW symmetry breaking. At this stage, the helical nature of the generated magnetic fields is linked to the non-trivial winding of the Higgs-field. We analyze non-perturbatively the evolution of these helical seeds through the highly non-linear stages of symmetry breaking (SB) and beyond. Electroweak SB occurs via the nucleation and growth of Higgs bubbles which squeeze the magnetic fields into string-like structures. The W-boson charge density clusters in lumps around the magnetic strings. After symmetry breaking, a detailed analysis of the magnetic field Fourier spectrum shows two well differentiated components: a UV radiation tail at a temperature T ~ 0.23 m_higgs slowly growing with time, and an IR peak associated to the helical magnetic fields, which seems to follow inverse cascade. The system enters a regime in which we observe that both the amplitude (\rho_B/\rho_{EW} ~ 0.01) and the correlation length of the magnetic field grow linearly with time. During this stage of evolution we also observe a power-law growth in the helical susceptibility. These properties support the possibility that our scenario could provide the seeds eventually evolving into the microgauss fields observed today in galaxies and clusters of galaxies.Comment: 55 pages, late