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Laminin receptors in the retina: sequence analysis of the chick integrin alpha 6 subunit. Evidence for transcriptional and posttranslational regulation.
The integrin alpha 6 beta 1 is a prominent laminin receptor used by many cell types. In the present work, we isolate clones and determine the primary sequence of the chick integrin alpha 6 subunit. We show that alpha 6 beta 1 is a prominent integrin expressed by cells in the developing chick retina. Between embryonic days 6 and 12, both retinal ganglion cells and other retinal neurons lose selected integrin functions, including the ability to attach and extend neurites on laminin. In retinal ganglion cells, we show that this is correlated with a dramatic decrease in alpha 6 mRNA and protein, suggesting that changes in gene expression account for the developmental regulation of the interactions of these neurons with laminin. In other retinal neurons the expression of alpha 6 mRNA and protein remains high while function is lost, suggesting that the function of the alpha 6 beta 1 heterodimer in these cells is regulated by posttranslational mechanisms
Strong tree level unitarity violations in the extra dimensional Standard Model with scalars in the bulk
We show how the tree level unitarity violations of compactified extra
dimensional extensions of the Standard Model become much stronger when the
scalar sector is included in the bulk. This effect occurs when the couplings
are not suppressed for larger Kaluza-Klein levels, and could have relevant
consequences for the phenomenology of the next generation of colliders. We also
introduce a simple and generic formalism to obtain unitarity bounds for finite
energies, taking into account coupled channels including the towers of
Kaluza-Klein excitations.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D Typos corrected and remarks added
to clarify figure
Modelling of Multi-Agent Systems: Experiences with Membrane Computing and Future Challenges
Formal modelling of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) is a challenging task due to
high complexity, interaction, parallelism and continuous change of roles and
organisation between agents. In this paper we record our research experience on
formal modelling of MAS. We review our research throughout the last decade, by
describing the problems we have encountered and the decisions we have made
towards resolving them and providing solutions. Much of this work involved
membrane computing and classes of P Systems, such as Tissue and Population P
Systems, targeted to the modelling of MAS whose dynamic structure is a
prominent characteristic. More particularly, social insects (such as colonies
of ants, bees, etc.), biology inspired swarms and systems with emergent
behaviour are indicative examples for which we developed formal MAS models.
Here, we aim to review our work and disseminate our findings to fellow
researchers who might face similar challenges and, furthermore, to discuss
important issues for advancing research on the application of membrane
computing in MAS modelling.Comment: In Proceedings AMCA-POP 2010, arXiv:1008.314
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theory applied to living cells
Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory is an accurate model for strong adhesion
energies of soft slightly deformable material. Little is known about the
validity of this theory on complex systems such as living cells. We have
addressed this problem using a depletion controlled cell adhesion and measured
the force necessary to separate the cells with a micropipette technique. We
show that the cytoskeleton can provide the cells with a 3D structure that is
sufficiently elastic and has a sufficiently low deformability for JKR theory to
be valid. When the cytoskeleton is disrupted, JKR theory is no longer
applicable
Physics Behind Precision
This document provides a writeup of contributions to the FCC-ee mini-workshop
on "Physics behind precision" held at CERN, on 2-3 February 2016.Comment: https://indico.cern.ch/event/469561
Modern soil phytolith assemblages used as proxies for paleoscape reconstruction on the South Coast of South Africa
South Africa continues to receive substantial attention from scholars researching modern human origins. The importance of this region lies in the many caves and rock shelters containing well preserved evidence of human activity, cultural material complexity and a growing number of early modern human fossils dating to the Middle Stone Age (MSA). South Africa also hosts the world's smallest floral kingdom, now called the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), with high species richness and endemism. In paleoanthropological research, improving our capacity to reconstruct past climatic and environmental conditions can help us to shed light on survival strategies of hunter-gatherers. To do this, one must use actualistic studies of modern assemblages from extant habitats to develop analogies for the past and improve paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Here, we present a phytolith study of modern surface soil samples from different GCFR vegetation types of the south coast of South Africa. In this study, the phytolith concentration and morphological distribution are related to the physicochemical properties of soils, the environmental conditions and the characterization of the vegetation for the different study areas. Our results show that phytolith concentration relates mostly to vegetation types and the dominant vegetation rather than to the type of soils. More abundant phytoliths from Restionaceae and woody/shrubby vegetation are also noted from fynbos vegetation and grass phytoliths are a recurrent component in all the vegetation types in spite of being a minor component in the modern vegetation. The grass silica short cells from these plants, however, suggest a mix of C3 and C4 grasses in most of the vegetation types with a major presence of the rondels ascribed to C3 grasses. The exceptions are riparian, coastal thicket and coastal forest vegetation, which are characterized by the dominance of C4 grass phytoliths
Unitarity, BRST Symmetry and Ward Identities in Orbifold Gauge Theories
We discuss the use of BRST symmetry and the resulting Ward identities for
orbifold gauge theories as consistency checks in an arbitrary number of
dimensions. We verify that both the usual orbifold symmetry breaking and the
recently proposed Higgsless symmetry breaking are consistent with the
nilpotency of the BRST transformation. Imposing the Ward identities resulting
from the BRST symmetry on the 4-point functions of theory, we obtain relations
on the coupling constants that are shown to be equivalent to the conditions for
tree level unitarity. We present the complete set of these sum rules also for
inelastic scattering and discuss applications to 6-dimensional models and to
incomplete matter multiplets on orbifold fixed points.Comment: 34 pages, LaTeX (feynmf.sty, url.sty and thophys.sty included),
v2:references added, v3:typos corrected, sec.3 revise
Fermions on an Interval: Quark and Lepton Masses without a Higgs
We consider fermions on an extra dimensional interval. We find the boundary
conditions at the ends of the interval that are consistent with the variational
principle, and explain which ones arise in various physical circumstances. We
apply these results to higgsless models of electroweak symmetry breaking, where
electroweak symmetry is not broken by a scalar vacuum expectation value, but
rather by the boundary conditions of the gauge fields. We show that it is
possible to find a set of boundary conditions for bulk fermions that would give
a realistic fermion mass spectrum without the presence of a Higgs scalar, and
present some sample fermion mass spectra for the standard model quarks and
leptons as well as their resonances.Comment: LaTeX, 36 pages, 5 figure
The Perceived Size and Shape of Objects in Peripheral Vision
Little is known about how we perceive the size and shape of objects in far peripheral vision. Observations made during an artistic study of visual space suggest that objects appear smaller and compressed in the periphery compared with central vision. To test this, we conducted three experiments. In Experiment 1, we asked participants to draw how a set of peripheral discs appeared when viewed peripherally without time or eye movement constraints. In Experiment 2, we used the method of constant stimuli to measure when a briefly presented peripheral stimulus appeared bigger or smaller compared with a central fixated one. In Experiment 3, we measured how accurate participants were in discriminating shapes presented briefly in the periphery. In Experiment 1, the peripheral discs were reported as appearing significantly smaller than the central disc, and as having an elliptical or polygonal contour. In Experiment 2, participants judged the size of peripheral discs as being significantly smaller when compared with the central disc across most of the peripheral field, and in Experiment 3, participants were quite accurate in reporting the shape of the peripheral object, except in the far periphery. Our results show that objects in the visual periphery are perceived as diminished in size when presented for long and brief exposures, suggesting diminution is an intrinsic feature of the structure of the visual space. Shape distortions, however, are reported only with longer exposures
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