Electrostatically induced undulations of lamellar DNA-lipid complexes

We consider DNA-cationic lipid complexes that form lamellar stacks of lipid bilayers with parallel DNA strands intercalated in between. We calculate the electrostatically induced elastic deformations of the lipid bilayers. It is found that the membranes undulate with a periodicity that is set by the DNA interaxial distance. As a consequence the lamellar repeat distance changes resulting in a swelling or compression of the lamellar stack. Such undulations may be responsible for the intermembrane coupling between DNA strands in different layers as it is observed experimentally.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to EPJ

Ermakov Systems with Multiplicative Noise

Using the Euler-Maruyama numerical method, we present calculations of the Ermakov-Lewis invariant and the dynamic, geometric, and total phases for several cases of stochastic parametric oscillators, including the simplest case of the stochastic harmonic oscillator. The results are compared with the corresponding numerical noiseless cases to evaluate the effect of the noise. Besides, the noiseless cases are analytic and their analytic solutions are briefly presented. The Ermakov-Lewis invariant is not affected by the multiplicative noise in the three particular examples presented in this work, whereas there is a shift effect in the case of the phasesComment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 22 reference

Electroconvulsive therapy mediates neuroplasticity of white matter microstructure in major depression.

Whether plasticity of white matter (WM) microstructure relates to therapeutic response in major depressive disorder (MDD) remains uncertain. We examined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) correlates of WM structural connectivity in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a rapidly acting treatment for severe MDD. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) applied to DTI data (61 directions, 2.5 mm(3) voxel size) targeted voxel-level changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), and radial (RD), axial (AD) and mean diffusivity (MD) in major WM pathways in MDD patients (n=20, mean age: 41.15 years, 10.32 s.d.) scanned before ECT, after their second ECT and at transition to maintenance therapy. Comparisons made at baseline with demographically similar controls (n=28, mean age: 39.42 years, 12.20 s.d.) established effects of diagnosis. Controls were imaged twice to estimate scanning-related variance. Patients showed significant increases of FA in dorsal fronto-limbic circuits encompassing the anterior cingulum, forceps minor and left superior longitudinal fasciculus between baseline and transition to maintenance therapy (P<0.05, corrected). Decreases in RD and MD were observed in overlapping regions and the anterior thalamic radiation (P<0.05, corrected). Changes in DTI metrics associated with therapeutic response in tracts showing significant ECT effects differed between patients and controls. All measures remained stable across time in controls. Altered WM microstructure in pathways connecting frontal and limbic areas occur in MDD, are modulated by ECT and relate to therapeutic response. Increased FA together with decreased MD and RD, which trend towards normative values with treatment, suggest increased fiber integrity in dorsal fronto-limbic pathways involved in mood regulation