Intensity dependences of the nonlinear optical excitation of plasmons in graphene

Recently, we demonstrated an all-optical coupling scheme for plasmons, which takes advantage of the intrinsic nonlinear optical response of graphene. Frequency mixing using free-space, visible light pulses generates surface plasmons in a planar graphene sample, where the phase matching condition can define both the wavevector and energy of surface waves and intraband transitions. Here, we also show that the plasmon generation process is strongly intensity-dependent, with resonance features washed out for absorbed pulse fluences greater than 0.1 J m−2. This implies a subtle interplay between the nonlinear generation process and sample heating. We discuss these effects in terms of a non-equilibrium charge distribution using a two-temperature model.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Dynamic regulation of integrin activation by intracellular and extracellular signals controls oligodendrocyte morphology

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background Myelination requires precise control of oligodendrocyte morphology and myelin generation at each of the axons contacted by an individual cell. This control must involve the integration of extracellular cues, such as those on the axon surface, with intrinsic developmental programmes. We asked whether integrins represent one class of oligodendrocyte cell-surface receptors able to provide this integration. Results Integrins signal via a process of activation, a conformational change that can be induced either by "outside-in" signals comprising physiological extracellular matrix ligands (mimicked by the pharmacological use of the divalent cation manganese) or "inside-out" signalling molecules such as R-Ras. Increasing levels of outside-in signalling via the laminin receptor α6β1 integrin were found to promote oligodendrocyte processing and myelin sheet formation in culture. Similar results were obtained when inside-out signalling was increased by the expression of a constitutively-active R-Ras. Inhibiting inside-out signalling by using dominant-negative R-Ras reduces processes and myelin sheets; importantly, this can be partially rescued by the co-stimulation of outside-in signalling using manganese. Conclusion The balance of the equilibrium between active and inactive integrins regulates oligodendrocyte morphology, which is itself regulated by extrinsic and intrinsic cues so providing a mechanism of signal integration. As laminins capable of providing outside-in signals are present on axons at the time of myelination, a mechanism exists by which morphology and myelin generation might be regulated independently in each oligodendrocyte process.Peer Reviewe

Optical photonic crystals fabricated from colloidal systems

Photonic crystals of close-packed arrays of air spheres in a dielectric background of titania have been fabricated with a ceramic technique. Unlike previous methods, ordering of the spheres and the formation of the titania network are performed simultaneously. The photonic crystals exhibit a reflectance peak and a uniform color at the position of the first stop band. The wavelength of the reflectance peak scales very well with the sphere size

Revisiting the Reproductive Behaviors of Blackspotted Stickleback

Why Blackspotted Stickleback? How Behaviors Evolve Comparing closely related species can give insights into how behavior evolves. Well studied: Three-spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) Model organism for natural variation in behavioral evolution 1. Divergence in parental care in two ecotypes1,2. White and common ecotypes recently diverged 2. Lesser studied: Blackspotted Stickleback (Gasterosteus wheatlandi) Three-spined’s closest living relative. Possible behavioral intermediate of commons & whites. Blackspotted egg dispersal is similar to white three-spined 3

Integrins direct Src family kinases to regulate distinct phases of oligodendrocyte development

Specific integrins expressed on oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system, promote either differentiation and survival or proliferation by amplification of growth factor signaling. Here, we report that the Src family kinases (SFKs) Fyn and Lyn regulate each of these distinct integrin-driven behaviors. Fyn associates with α6β1 and is required to amplify platelet-derived growth factor survival signaling, to promote myelin membrane formation, and to switch neuregulin signaling from a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase to a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (thereby changing the response from proliferation to differentiation). However, earlier in the lineage Lyn, not Fyn, is required to drive αVβ3-dependent progenitor proliferation. The two SFKs respond to integrin ligation by different mechanisms: Lyn, by increased autophosphorylation of a catalytic tyrosine; and Fyn, by reduced Csk phosphorylation of the inhibitory COOH-terminal tyrosine. These findings illustrate how different SFKs can act as effectors for specific cell responses during development within a single cell lineage, and, furthermore, provide a molecular mechanism to explain similar region-specific hypomyelination in laminin- and Fyn-deficient mice

Combinatorial ECM Arrays Identify Cooperative Roles for Matricellular Proteins in Enhancing the Generation of TH+ Neurons From Human Pluripotent Cells.

The development of efficient cell culture strategies for the generation of dopaminergic neurons is an important goal for transplantation-based approaches to treat Parkinson's disease. To identify extracellular matrix molecules that enhance differentiation and might be used in these cell cultures we have used micro-contact printed arrays on glass slides presenting 190 combinations of 19 extracellular matrix molecules selected on the basis of their expression during embryonic development of the ventral midbrain. Using long-term neuroepithelial stem cells (Lt-NES), this approach identified a number of matricellular proteins that enhanced differentiation, with the combination of Sparc, Sparc-like (Sparc-l1) and Nell2 increasing the number of tyrosine hydroxylase+ neurons derived from Lt-NES cells and, critically for further translation, human pluripotent stem cells

Pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of a single co-administered dose of diethylcarbamazine, albendazole and ivermectin in adults with and without Wuchereria bancrofti infection in Cote d\u27Ivoire

BackgroundA single co-administered dose of ivermectin (IVM) plus diethylcarbamazine (DEC) plus albendazole (ALB), or triple-drug therapy, was recently found to be more effective for clearing microfilariae (Mf) than standard DEC plus ALB currently used for mass drug administration programs for lymphatic filariasis (LF) outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Triple-drug therapy has not been previously tested in LF-uninfected individuals from Africa. This study evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and efficacy of triple-drug therapy in people with and without Wuchereria bancrofti infection in West Africa.MethodsIn this open-label cohort study, treatment-naïve microfilaremic (>50 mf/mL, n = 32) and uninfected (circulating filarial antigen negative, n = 24) adults residing in Agboville district, Côte d’Ivoire, were treated with a single dose of IVM plus DEC plus ALB, and evaluated for adverse events (AEs) until 7 days post treatment. Drug levels were assessed by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Persons responsible for assessing AEs were blinded to participants’ infection status.FindingsThere was no difference in AUC0-inf or Cmax between LF-infected and uninfected participants (P>0.05 for all comparisons). All subjects experienced mild AEs; 28% and 25% of infected and uninfected participants experienced grade 2 AEs, respectively. There were no severe or serious adverse events. Only fever (16 of 32 versus 4 of 24, PConclusionsModerate to heavy W. bancrofti infection did not affect PK parameters for IVM, DEC or ALB following a single co-administered dose of these drugs compared to uninfected individuals. The drugs were well tolerated. This study confirmed the efficacy of the triple-drug therapy for clearing W. bancrofti Mf and has added important information to support the use of this regimen in LF elimination programs in areas of Africa without co-endemic onchocerciasis or loiasis.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02845713.</div

Compiling Linguistic Constraints into Finite State Automata

International audienceThis paper deals with linguistic constraints encoded in the form of (binary) tables, generally called lexicon-grammar tables. We describe a unified method to compile sets of tables of linguistic constraints into Finite State Automata. This method has been practically implemented in the linguistic platform Unitex