Cooperative DNA-binding by Bicoid provides a mechanism for threshold-dependent gene activation in the Drosophila embryo

The Bicoid morphogen directs pattern formation along the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis of the Drosophila embryo. Bicoid is distributed in a concentration gradient that decreases exponentially from the anterior pole, however, it transcribes target genes such as hunchback in a step-function-like pattern; the expression domain is uniform and has a sharply defined posterior boundary. A 'gradient-affinity' model proposed to explain Bicoid action states that (i) cooperative gene activation by Bicoid generates the sharp on/off switch for target gene transcription and (ii) target genes with different affinities for Bicoid are expressed at different positions along the A-P axis. Using an in vivo yeast assay and in vitro methods, we show that Bicoid binds DNA with pairwise cooperativity; Bicoid bound to a strong site helps Bicoid bind to a weak site. These results support the first aspect of the model, providing a mechanism by which Bicoid generates sharp boundaries of gene expression. However, contrary to the second aspect of the model, we find no significant difference between the affinity of Bicoid for the anterior gene hunchback and the posterior gene knirps, We propose, instead, that the arrangement of Bicoids bound to the target gene presents a unique signature to the transcription machinery that, in combination with overall affinity, regulates the extent of gene transcription along the A-P axis

Investigating the pre-main sequence magnetic chemically peculiar system HD 72106

The origin of the strong magnetic fields observed in chemically peculiar Ap and Bp stars stars has long been debated. The recent discovery of magnetic fields in the intermediate mass pre-main sequence Herbig Ae and Be stars links them to Ap and Bp stars, providing vital clues about Ap and Bp stars and the origin and evolution of magnetic fields in intermediate and high mass stars. A detailed study of one young magnetic B star, HD 72106A, is presented. This star appears to be in a binary system with an apparently normal Herbig Ae star. A maximum longitudinal magnetic field strength of +391 +/- 65 G is found in HD 72106A, as are strong chemical peculiarities, with photospheric abundances of some elements ranging up to 100x above solar.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Proceeding of the 2006 conference of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science

Critical evaluation of magnetic field detections reported for pulsating B-type stars in the light of ESPaDOnS, Narval and reanalyzed FORS1/2 observations

Recent spectropolarimetric studies of 7 SPB and $\beta$ Cep stars have suggested that photospheric magnetic fields are more common in B-type pulsators than in the general population of B stars, suggesting a significant connection between magnetic and pulsational phenomena. We present an analysis of new and previously published spectropolarimetric observations of these stars. New Stokes $V$ observations obtained with the high-resolution ESPaDOnS and Narval instruments confirm the presence of a magnetic field in one of the stars ($\epsilon$ Lup), but find no evidence of magnetism in 5 others. A re-analysis of the published longitudinal field measurements obtained with the low-resolution FORS1/2 spectropolarimeters finds that the measurements of all stars show more scatter from zero than can be attributed to Gaussian noise, suggesting the presence of a signal and/or systematic under-estimation of error bars. Re-reduction and re-measurement of the FORS1/2 spectra from the ESO archive demonstrates that small changes in reduction procedure lead to substantial changes in the inferred longitudinal field, and substantially reduces the number of field detections at the 3$\sigma$ level. Furthermore, we find that the published periods are not unique solutions to the time series of either the original or the revised FORS1/2 data. We conclude that the reported field detections, proposed periods and field geometry models for $\alpha$ Pyx, 15 CMa, 33 Eri and V1449 Aql are artefacts of the data analysis and reduction procedures, and that magnetic fields at the reported strength are no more common in SPB/$\beta$ Cep stars than in the general population of B stars.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, 2012, typo correcte

The Globular Cluster Systems of NGC 1400 and NGC 1407

The two brightest elliptical galaxies in the Eridanus A group, NGC 1400 and NGC 1407, have been observed in both the Washington T_1 and Kron-Cousins I filters to obtain photometry of their globular cluster systems (GCSs). This group of galaxies is of particular interest due to its exceptionally high M/L value, previously estimated at ~3000h, making this cluster highly dark-matter-dominated. NGC 1400's radial velocity (549 km/s) is extremely low compared to that of the central galaxy of Eridanus A (NGC 1407 with $v_\odot$ = 1766 km/s) and the other members of the system, suggesting that it is a foreground galaxy projected by chance onto the cluster. Using the shapes of the globular cluster luminosity functions, however, we derive distances of 17.6 +/- 3.1 Mpc to NGC 1407 and 25.4 +/- 7.0 Mpc to NGC 1400. These results support earlier conclusions that NGC 1400 is at the distance of Eridanus A and therefore has a large peculiar velocity. Specific frequencies are also derived for these galaxies, yielding values of S_N = 4.0 +/- 1.3 for NGC 1407 and S_N = 5.2 +/- 2.0 for NGC 1400. In this and other respects, these two galaxies have GCSs which are consistent with those observed in other galaxies.Comment: 14 pages (AASTeX), 3 postscript figures, submitted to the Astronomical Journa

A biophysical model of decision making in an antisaccade task through variable climbing activity

We present a biophysical model of saccade initiation based on competitive integration of planned and reactive cortical saccade decision signals in the intermediate layer of the superior colliculus. In the model, the variable slopes of the climbing activities of the input cortical decision signals are produced from variability in the conductances of Na+, K+, Ca2+ activated K+, NMDA and GABA currents. These cortical decision signals are integrated in the activities of buildup neurons in the intermediate layer of the superior colliculus, whose activities grow nonlinearly towards a preset criterion level. When the level is crossed, a movement is initiated. The resultant model reproduces the unimodal distributions of saccade reaction times (SRTs) for correct antisaccades and erroneous prosaccades as well as the variability of SRTs (ranging from 80ms to 600ms) and the overall 25% of erroneous prosaccade responses in a large sample of 2006 young men performing an antisaccade task

Colloids in light fields: particle dynamics in random and periodic energy landscapes

The dynamics of colloidal particles in potential energy landscapes have mainly been investigated theoretically. In contrast, here we discuss the experimental realization of potential energy landscapes with the help of light fields and the observation of the particle dynamics by video microscopy. The experimentally observed dynamics in periodic and random potentials are compared to simulation and theoretical results in terms of, e.g. the mean-squared displacement, the time-dependent diffusion coefficient or the non-Gaussian parameter. The dynamics are initially diffusive followed by intermediate subdiffusive behaviour which again becomes diffusive at long times. How pronounced and extended the different regimes are, depends on the specific conditions, in particular the shape of the potential as well as its roughness or amplitude but also the particle concentration. Here we focus on dilute systems, but the dynamics of interacting systems in external potentials, and thus the interplay between particle-particle and particle-potential interactions, is also mentioned briefly. Furthermore, the observed dynamics of dilute systems resemble the dynamics of concentrated systems close to their glass transition, with which it is compared. The effect of certain potential energy landscapes on the dynamics of individual particles appears similar to the effect of interparticle interactions in the absence of an external potential

A New Evolutionary Path to Type Ia Supernovae: Helium-Rich Super-Soft X-Ray Source Channel

We have found a new evolutionary path to Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) which has been overlooked in previous work. In this scenario, a carbon-oxygen white dwarf (C+O WD) is originated, not from an asymptotic giant branch star with a C+O core, but from a red-giant star with a helium core of $\sim 0.8-2.0 M_\odot$. The helium star, which is formed after the first common envelope evolution, evolves to form a C+O WD of $\sim 0.8-1.1 M_\odot$ with transferring a part of the helium envelope onto the secondary main-sequence star. This new evolutionary path, together with the optically thick wind from mass-accreting white dwarf, provides a much wider channel to SNe Ia than previous scenarios. A part of the progenitor systems are identified as the luminous supersoft X-ray sources or the recurrent novae like U Sco, which are characterized by the accretion of helium-rich matter. The white dwarf accretes hydrogen-rich, helium-enhanced matter from a lobe-filling, slightly evolved companion at a critical rate and blows excess matter in the wind. The white dwarf grows in mass to the Chandrasekhar mass limit and explodes as an SN Ia. A theoretical estimate indicates that this channel contributes a considerable part of the inferred rate of SNe Ia in our Galaxy, i.e., the rate is about ten times larger than the previous theoretical estimates for white dwarfs with slightly evolved companions.Comment: 19 pages including 12 figures, to be published in ApJ, 519, No.

Resolving the Mystery of X-ray Faint Elliptical Galaxies: Chandra X-ray Observations of NGC 4697

Chandra observations of the X-ray faint elliptical galaxy NGC 4697 resolve much of the X-ray emission (61% within one effective radius) into ~80 point sources, of which most are low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). These LMXBs provide the bulk of the hard emission and much of the soft emission as well. Of the remaining unresolved emission, it is likely that about half is from fainter LMXBs, while the other half (~23% of the total emission) is from interstellar gas. Three of the resolved sources are supersoft sources. In the outer regions of NGC 4697, eight of the LMXBs (about 25%) are coincident with candidate globular clusters, which indicates that globulars have a high probability of containing X-ray binaries compared to the normal stellar population. The X-ray luminosities (0.3-10 keV) of the resolved LMXBs range from ~5e37 to ~2.5e39 ergs/s. The luminosity function of the LMXBs has a "knee" at 3.2e38 ergs/s, which is roughly the Eddington luminosity of a 1.4 M_sun neutron star (NS); this knee might be useful as a distance indicator. The highest luminosity source has the Eddington luminosity of a ~20 M_sun black hole (BH). The presence of this large population of NS and massive BH stellar remnants in this elliptical galaxy shows that it (or its progenitors) once contained a large population of massive main sequence stars.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press. 4 pages in emulateapj5 style with 4 embedded Postscript figures. Higher quality version of paper and figures 1 and 2 are available at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~cls7i/papers/NGC4697-Chandra.ps.gz, http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~cls7i/papers/NGC4697-Chandra_fig1.ps.gz, and http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~cls7i/papers/NGC4697-Chandra_fig2.ps.g