The Many Hats of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Nervous System Development and Disease.

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling occurs concurrently with the many processes that constitute nervous system development. Although Shh is mostly known for its proliferative and morphogenic action through its effects on neural stem cells and progenitors, it also contributes to neuronal differentiation, axonal pathfinding and synapse formation and function. To participate in these diverse events, Shh signaling manifests differently depending on the maturational state of the responsive cell, on the other signaling pathways regulating neural cell function and the environmental cues that surround target cells. Shh signaling is particularly dynamic in the nervous system, ranging from canonical transcription-dependent, to non-canonical and localized to axonal growth cones. Here, we review the variety of Shh functions in the developing nervous system and their consequences for neurodevelopmental diseases and neural regeneration, with particular emphasis on the signaling mechanisms underlying Shh action

Analytic study of the three-urn model for separation of sand

We present an analytic study of the three-urn model for separation of sand. We solve analytically the master equation and the first-passage problem. We find that the stationary probability distribution obeys the detailed balance and is governed by the {\it free energy}. We find that the characteristic lifetime of a cluster diverges algebraically with exponent 1/3 at the limit of stability.Comment: 5pages, 4 figures include

Resting-state functional connectivity in mathematical expertise

To what extent are different levels of expertise reflected in the functional connectivity of the brain? We addressed this question by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in mathematicians versus non-mathematicians. To this end, we investigated how the two groups of participants differ in the correlation of their spontaneous blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations across the whole brain regions during resting state. Moreover, by using the classification algorithm in machine learning, we investigated whether the resting-state fMRI networks between mathematicians and non-mathematicians were distinguished depending on features of functional connectivity. We showed diverging involvement of the frontal–thalamic–temporal connections for mathematicians and the medial–frontal areas to precuneus and the lateral orbital gyrus to thalamus connections for non-mathematicians. Moreover, mathematicians who had higher scores in mathematical knowledge showed a weaker connection strength between the left and right caudate nucleus, demonstrating the connections’ characteristics related to mathematical expertise. Separate functional networks between the two groups were validated with a maximum classification accuracy of 91.19 using the distinct resting-state fMRI-based functional connectivity features. We suggest the advantageous role of preconfigured resting-state functional connectivity, as well as the neural efficiency for experts’ successful performance

Polarimetric clutter modeling: Theory and application

The two-layer anisotropic random medium model is used to investigate fully polarimetric scattering properties of earth terrain media. The polarization covariance matrices for the untilted and tilted uniaxial random medium are evaluated using the strong fluctuation theory and distorted Born approximation. In order to account for the azimuthal randomness in the growth direction of leaves in tree and grass fields, an averaging scheme over the azimuthal direction is also applied. It is found that characteristics of terrain clutter can be identified through the analysis of each element of the covariance matrix. Theoretical results are illustrated by the comparison with experimental data provided by MIT Lincoln Laboratory for tree and grass fields

Decoupling Strategies for Printed Circuit Boards Without Power Planes

Traditional decoupling capacitors connected between V/CC/ and GND traces can be relatively ineffective at frequencies above their self-resonant frequency. This paper evaluates decoupling capacitor mounting strategies on boards without power planes. Techniques for minimizing mutual inductance and improving decoupling at frequencies above resonance are investigated

AKARI observation of early-type galaxies in Abell 2218

We describe the AKARI InfraRed Camera (IRC) imaging observation of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in A2218 at z ≅ 0.175. With the imaging capability at 11 and 15 μm, we investigate mid-infrared (MIR) properties of ETGs in the cluster environment. Among our flux-limited sample of 22 optical red sequence ETGs, we find that more than 50% have MIR-excess emission, and the most likely cause of the MIR excess is the circumstellar dust emission from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The MIR-excess galaxies reveal a wide spread in N3-S11 (3 and 11 μm) colors, indicative of a significant spread (2–11 Gyr) in the mean ages of stellar populations. They are also preferentially located in the outer region, suggesting the environment dependence of MIR-excess ETGs over an area out to a half virial radius

Thermodynamic properties of extremely diluted symmetric Q-Ising neural networks

Using the replica-symmetric mean-field theory approach the thermodynamic and retrieval properties of extremely diluted {\it symmetric} $Q$-Ising neural networks are studied. In particular, capacity-gain parameter and capacity-temperature phase diagrams are derived for $Q=3, 4$ and $Q=\infty$. The zero-temperature results are compared with those obtained from a study of the dynamics of the model. Furthermore, the de Almeida-Thouless line is determined. Where appropriate, the difference with other $Q$-Ising architectures is outlined.Comment: 16 pages Latex including 6 eps-figures. Corrections, also in most of the figures have been mad

Retraction notice: Influence of compressing pressure on macro void formation carbon monolith for methane adsorption

RETRACTION NOTICEOn 21rd February 2019, the Editorial Board of the Mongolian Journal of Chemistry decided to retract this article entitled "Influence of compressing pressure on macro void formation of carbon monolith for methane adsorption" because of an authorship dispute. The article was originally published in Vol.18 No.44 2017 pp.24-35. doi: https://doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v18i44.93

Influence of compressing pressure on macro void formation of carbon monolith for methane adsorption

Carbon monoliths for adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage were prepared from Mongolian anthracite-based activated carbons using carboxy-methyl cellulose as a binder under different compressing pressures. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments were carried out to obtain the specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution of the monoliths.  Methane adsorption experiments on the carbon monoliths were conducted at different temperatures and pressures up to around 3.5 MPa in a high pressure volumetric adsorption apparatus. As expected, adsorption results indicated that the methane adsorption capacity of the carbon monoliths increased with increasing specific surface area and packing density.  The maximum volumetric adsorption of methane was observed as 163 V/V at 293 K and 3.5 MPa on a carbon monolith sample, PMAC1/2-3-65, that does not have the highest specific surface area but relatively high packing density comparing with other monoliths, which implies that two physical properties contribute contradictorily to the methane adsorption capacity.  Based on experimental results, the carbon monoliths prepared from Mongolian anthracite-based activated carbons can be promising media for ANG storage application