94 research outputs found
The secret language of destiny: stress imprinting and transgenerational origins of disease
Epigenetic regulation modulates gene expression without altering the DNA sequence to facilitate rapid adjustments to dynamically changing environmental conditions. The formation of an epigenetic memory allows passing on this information to subsequent generations. Here we propose that epigenetic memories formed by adverse environmental conditions and stress represent a critical determinant of health and disease in the F3 generation and beyond. Transgenerational programming of epigenetic regulation may represent a key to understand adult-onset complex disease pathogenesis and cumulative effects of life span and familial disease etiology. Ultimately, the mechanisms of generating an epigenetic memory may become of potentially promising diagnostic and therapeutic relevance due to their reversible nature. Exploring the role of environmental factors, such as stress, in causing variations in epigenetic profiles may lead to new avenues of personalized, preventive medicine based on epigenetic signatures and interventions
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation with monopolar pulses improves limb use after stroke by enhancing inter-hemispheric coherence
Quantum jumps induced by the center-of-mass motion of a trapped atom
We theoretically study the occurrence of quantum jumps in the resonance
fluorescence of a trapped atom. Here, the atom is laser cooled in a
configuration of level such that the occurrence of a quantum jump is associated
to a change of the vibrational center-of-mass motion by one phonon. The
statistics of the occurrence of the dark fluorescence period is studied as a
function of the physical parameters and the corresponding features in the
spectrum of resonance fluorescence are identified. We discuss the information
which can be extracted on the atomic motion from the observation of a quantum
jump in the considered setup
Size-structured populations: immigration, (bi)stability and the net growth rate
We consider a class of physiologically structured population models, a first
order nonlinear partial differential equation equipped with a nonlocal boundary
condition, with a constant external inflow of individuals. We prove that the
linearised system is governed by a quasicontraction semigroup. We also
establish that linear stability of equilibrium solutions is governed by a
generalized net reproduction function. In a special case of the model
ingredients we discuss the nonlinear dynamics of the system when the spectral
bound of the linearised operator equals zero, i.e. when linearisation does not
decide stability. This allows us to demonstrate, through a concrete example,
how immigration might be beneficial to the population. In particular, we show
that from a nonlinearly unstable positive equilibrium a linearly stable and
unstable pair of equilibria bifurcates. In fact, the linearised system exhibits
bistability, for a certain range of values of the external inflow, induced
potentially by All\'{e}e-effect.Comment: to appear in Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computin
Topographical disorientation after ischemic mini infarct in the dorsal hippocampus: whispers in silence
Open access journalSilent focal ischemic mini infarcts in the brain are thought to cause no clinically overt
symptoms. Some populations of hippocampal cells are particularly sensitive to ischemic
events, however, rendering hippocampal functions especially vulnerable to ischemiainduced
deficits. The present study investigated whether an otherwise silent ischemic
mini infarct in the hippocampus (HPC) can produce impairments in spatial performance in
rats. Spatial performance was assessed in the ziggurat task (ZT) using a 10-trial spatial
learning protocol for 4 days prior to undergoing hippocampal ischemic lesion or sham
surgery. Hippocampal silent ischemia was induced by infusion of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a
potent vasoconstrictor, into either the dorsal or the ventral hippocampus (dHPC and vHPC).
When tested postoperatively in the ZT using a standard testing protocol for 8 days, rats
with hippocampal lesions exhibited no spatial deficit. Although spatial learning and memory
in the ZT were not affected by the ET-1-induced silent ischemia, rats with dHPC stroke
showed more returns when navigating the ZT as opposed to the vHPC rats. Comparison of
region-specific HPC lesions in the present study indicated that dorsal hippocampal function
is critically required for topographic orientation in a complex environment. Topographic
disorientation as reflected by enhanced return behaviors may represent one of the earliest
predictors of cognitive decline after silent ischemic insult that may be potentially traced
with sensitive clinical examination in humans.Ye
Effect of antioxidants and ACE inhibition on chemical modification of proteins and progression of nephropathy in the streptozotocin diabetic rat
Real and Virtual Compton Scattering off the Nucleon
A review is given of the very recent developments in the fields of real and
virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon. Both real and virtual Compton
scattering reactions are discussed at low outgoing photon energy where one
accesses polarizabilities of the nucleon. The real Compton scattering at large
momentum transfer is discussed which is asymptotically a tool to obtain
information on the valence quark wave function of the nucleon. The rapid
developments in deeply virtual Compton scattering and associated meson
electroproduction reactions at high energy, high photon virtuality and small
momentum transfer to the nucleon are discussed. A unified theoretical
description of those processes has emerged over the last few years, which gives
access to new, generalized parton distributions. The experimental status and
perspectives in these fields are also discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure
Precise Measurements of Beam Spin Asymmetries in Semi-Inclusive production
We present studies of single-spin asymmetries for neutral pion
electroproduction in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 5.776 GeV
polarized electrons from an unpolarized hydrogen target, using the CEBAF Large
Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility. A substantial amplitude has been measured in the
distribution of the cross section asymmetry as a function of the azimuthal
angle of the produced neutral pion. The dependence of this amplitude
on Bjorken and on the pion transverse momentum is extracted with
significantly higher precision than previous data and is compared to model
calculations.Comment: to be submitted PL
Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: word and pseudoword discrimination
Publisher Correction: Imaging the square of the correlated two-electron wave function of a hydrogen molecule
- …