Moduli fixing and T-duality in Type II brane gas models

We consider a compactification with a six-dimensional torus in the type II brane gas models. We show that the dilaton and the scale of each cycle of the internal space are fixed in the presence of NS5-brane and Kaluza-Klein monopoles as well as D-branes with the gauge fields. We can construct various models that lead to fixed moduli by using T-duality transformations.Comment: Revtex, v4: the dependence of the number of D-brane and KK5-monopole included in section 5, comments added, v3: 6 pages, Comments and References added, v2: 5 pages, References adde

Integrable Cosmological Models From Higher Dimensional Einstein Equations

We consider the cosmological models for the higher dimensional spacetime which includes the curvatures of our space as well as the curvatures of the internal space. We find that the condition for the integrability of the cosmological equations is that the total space-time dimensions are D=10 or D=11 which is exactly the conditions for superstrings or M-theory. We obtain analytic solutions with generic initial conditions in the four dimensional Einstein frame and study the accelerating universe when both our space and the internal space have negative curvatures.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, added reference, corrected typos(v2), explanation improved and references and acknowledgments added, accepted for publication in PRD(v3

Single-Shot Pose Estimation of Surgical Robot Instruments' Shafts from Monocular Endoscopic Images

Surgical robots are used to perform minimally invasive surgery and alleviate much of the burden imposed on surgeons. Our group has developed a surgical robot to aid in the removal of tumors at the base of the skull via access through the nostrils. To avoid injuring the patients, a collision-avoidance algorithm that depends on having an accurate model for the poses of the instruments' shafts is used. Given that the model's parameters can change over time owing to interactions between instruments and other disturbances, the online estimation of the poses of the instrument's shaft is essential. In this work, we propose a new method to estimate the pose of the surgical instruments' shafts using a monocular endoscope. Our method is based on the use of an automatically annotated training dataset and an improved pose-estimation deep-learning architecture. In preliminary experiments, we show that our method can surpass state of the art vision-based marker-less pose estimation techniques (providing an error decrease of 55% in position estimation, 64% in pitch, and 69% in yaw) by using artificial images.Comment: Accepted on ICRA 2020, 7 page

MyoD-expressing progenitors are essential for skeletal myogenesis and satellite cell development

AbstractSkeletal myogenesis in the embryo is regulated by the coordinated expression of the MyoD family of muscle regulatory factors (MRFs). MyoD and Myf-5, which are the primary muscle lineage-determining factors, function in a partially redundant manner to establish muscle progenitor cell identity. Previous diphtheria toxin (DTA)-mediated ablation studies showed that MyoD+ progenitors rescue myogenesis in embryos in which Myf-5-expressing cells were targeted for ablation, raising the possibility that the regulative behavior of distinct, MRF-expressing populations explains the functional compensatory activities of these MRFs. Using MyoDiCre mice, we show that DTA-mediated ablation of MyoD-expressing cells results in the cessation of myogenesis by embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5), as assayed by myosin heavy chain (MyHC) and Myogenin staining. Importantly, MyoDiCre/+;R26DTA/+ embryos exhibited a concomitant loss of Myf-5+ progenitors, indicating that the vast majority of Myf-5+ progenitors express MyoD, a conclusion consistent with immunofluorescence analysis of Myf-5 protein expression in MyoDiCre lineage-labeled embryos. Surprisingly, staining for the paired box transcription factor, Pax7, which functions genetically upstream of MyoD in the trunk and is a marker for fetal myoblasts and satellite cell progenitors, was also lost by E12.5. Specific ablation of differentiating skeletal muscle in ACTA1Cre;R26DTA/+ embryos resulted in comparatively minor effects on MyoD+, Myf-5+ and Pax7+ progenitors, indicating that cell non-autonomous effects are unlikely to explain the rapid loss of myogenic progenitors in MyoDiCre/+;R26DTA/+ embryos. We conclude that the vast majority of myogenic cells transit through a MyoD+ state, and that MyoD+ progenitors are essential for myogenesis and stem cell development

Lyman Alpha Emitters in the Hierarchically Clustering Galaxy Formation

We present a new theoretical model for the luminosity functions (LFs) of Lyman alpha (Lya) emitting galaxies in the framework of hierarchical galaxy formation. We extend a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation that reproduces a number of observations for local and high-z galaxies, without changing the original model parameters but introducing a physically-motivated modelling to describe the escape fraction of Lya photons from host galaxies (f_esc). Though a previous study using a hierarchical clustering model simply assumed a constant and universal value of f_esc, we incorporate two new effects on f_esc: extinction by interstellar dust and galaxy-scale outflow induced as a star formation feedback. It is found that the new model nicely reproduces all the observed Lya LFs of the Lya emitters (LAEs) at different redshifts in z ~ 3-6. Especially, the rather surprisingly small evolution of the observed LAE Lya LFs compared with the dark halo mass function is naturally reproduced. Our model predicts that galaxies with strong outflows and f_esc ~ 1 are dominant in the observed LFs. This is also consistent with available observations, while the simple universal f_esc model requires f_esc << 1 not to overproduce the brightest LAEs. On the other hand, we found that our model significantly overpredicts LAEs at z > 6, and absorption of Lya photons by neutral hydrogen in intergalactic medium (IGM) is a reasonable interpretation for the discrepancy. This indicates that the IGM neutral fraction x_HI rapidly evolves from x_HI << 1 at z < 6 to a value of order unity at z ~ 6-7, which is broadly consistent with other observational constraints on the reionization history.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; accepted to ApJ; the html abstract is replaced to match the accepted version, the .ps and .pdf files are strictly identical between the 2nd and the 3rd version

Search for Human-Specific Proteins Based on Availability Scores of Short Constituent Sequences: Identification of a WRWSH Protein in Human Testis

Little is known about protein sequences unique in humans. Here, we performed alignment-free sequence comparisons based on the availability (frequency bias) of short constituent amino acid (aa) sequences (SCSs) in proteins to search for human-specific proteins. Focusing on 5-aa SCSs (pentats), exhaustive comparisons of availability scores among the human proteome and other nine mammalian proteomes in the nonredundant (nr) database identified a candidate protein containing WRWSH, here called FAM75, as human-specific. Examination of various human genome sequences revealed that FAM75 had genomic DNA sequences for either WRWSH or WRWSR due to a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). FAM75 and its related protein FAM205A were found to be produced through alternative splicing. The FAM75 transcript was found only in humans, but the FAM205A transcript was also present in other mammals. In humans, both FAM75 and FAM205A were expressed specifically in testis at the mRNA level, and they were immunohistochemically located in cells in seminiferous ducts and in acrosomes in spermatids at the protein level, suggesting their possible function in sperm development and fertilization. This study highlights a practical application of SCS-based methods for protein searches and suggests possible contributions of SNP variants and alternative splicing of FAM75 to human evolution

A New Experimental Approach to Evaluate Plasma-induced Damage in Microcantilever

Plasma&nbsp; etching,&nbsp; during&nbsp; micro-fabrication&nbsp; processing&nbsp; is&nbsp; indispensable&nbsp; for&nbsp; fabricating&nbsp; MEMS&nbsp; structures.&nbsp; During&nbsp; the plasma&nbsp; processes,&nbsp; two&nbsp; major matters,&nbsp; charged&nbsp; ions&nbsp; and&nbsp; vacuum&ndash;ultraviolet&nbsp; (VUV)&nbsp; irradiation&nbsp; damage,&nbsp; take&nbsp; charge&nbsp; of reliability&nbsp; degradation.&nbsp; The&nbsp; charged&nbsp; ions&nbsp; induce&nbsp; unwanted&nbsp; sidewall&nbsp; etching,&nbsp; generally&nbsp; called&nbsp; as&nbsp; &ldquo;notching&rdquo;,&nbsp; which causes&nbsp; degradation&nbsp; in&nbsp; brittle&nbsp; strength.&nbsp; Furthermore,&nbsp; the&nbsp; VUV&nbsp; irradiation&nbsp; gives&nbsp; rise&nbsp; to&nbsp; crystal&nbsp; defects&nbsp; on&nbsp; the&nbsp; etching surface.&nbsp; To&nbsp; overcome&nbsp; the&nbsp; problem,&nbsp; neutral&nbsp; beam&nbsp; etching&nbsp; (NBE),&nbsp; which&nbsp; use&nbsp; neutral&nbsp; particles&nbsp; without&nbsp; the&nbsp; VUV irradiation,&nbsp; has&nbsp; been&nbsp; developed.&nbsp; In&nbsp; order&nbsp; to&nbsp; evaluate&nbsp; the&nbsp; effect&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; NBE&nbsp; quantitatively,&nbsp; we&nbsp; measured&nbsp; the&nbsp; resonance property of a micro-cantilever before and after NBE treatment. The thickness of damage layer (&delta;) times the imaginary part&nbsp; of&nbsp; the&nbsp; complex&nbsp; Young's&nbsp; modulus&nbsp; (Eds)&nbsp; were&nbsp; then&nbsp; compared,&nbsp; which&nbsp; is&nbsp; a&nbsp; parameter&nbsp; of&nbsp; surface&nbsp; damage.&nbsp; Although plasma processes&nbsp; make the initial surface of cantilevers damaged during their fabrication, the removal of that damage by NBE was confirmed as the reduction in &delta;Eds. NBE will realize a damage-free surface for microstructures

Targeting the IGF-axis potentiates immunotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma liver metastases by altering the immunosuppressive microenvironment

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy, resistant to chemotherapy and associated with high incidence of liver metastases and poor prognosis. Using murine models of aggressive PDAC, we show here that in mice bearing hepatic metastases, treatment with the IGF-Trap, an inhibitor of type I insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) signaling, profoundly altered the local, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in the liver, curtailing the recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, reversing innate immune cell polarization and inhibiting metastatic expansion. Significantly, we found that immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 antibodies also reduced the growth of experimental PDAC liver metastases, and this effect was enhanced when combined with IGF-Trap treatment, resulting in further potentiation of a T-cell response. Our results show that a combinatorial immunotherapy based on dual targeting of the prometastatic immune microenvironment of the liver via IGF blockade, on one hand, and reversing T-cell exhaustion on the other, can provide a significant therapeutic benefit in the management of PDAC metastases.Fil: Hashimoto, Masakazu. McGill University; CanadáFil: Konda, John David. McGill University; CanadáFil: Perrino, Stephanie. McGill University; CanadáFil: Fernández, María Celia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones Endocrinológicas "Dr. César Bergada". Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones Endocrinológicas "Dr. César Bergada". Fundación de Endocrinología Infantil. Centro de Investigaciones Endocrinológicas "Dr. César Bergada"; Argentina. McGill University; CanadáFil: Lowy, Andrew M.. Moores Cancer Centre; Estados UnidosFil: Brodt, Pnina. McGill University; Canad