14,754 research outputs found
Comparison of on-wafer calibrations using the concept of reference impedance
A novel method that allows to compare different calibration techniques has been developed. It is based on determining the reference impedance of a given Network Analyzer calibration from the reflection coefficient measurement of a physical open circuit. The method has been applied to several on-wafer calibrations.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Current perspectives of the signaling pathways directing neural crest induction.
The neural crest is a migratory population of embryonic cells with a tremendous potential to differentiate and contribute to nearly every organ system in the adult body. Over the past two decades, an incredible amount of research has given us a reasonable understanding of how these cells are generated. Neural crest induction involves the combinatorial input of multiple signaling pathways and transcription factors, and is thought to occur in two phases from gastrulation to neurulation. In the first phase, FGF and Wnt signaling induce NC progenitors at the border of the neural plate, activating the expression of members of the Msx, Pax, and Zic families, among others. In the second phase, BMP, Wnt, and Notch signaling maintain these progenitors and bring about the expression of definitive NC markers including Snail2, FoxD3, and Sox9/10. In recent years, additional signaling molecules and modulators of these pathways have been uncovered, creating an increasingly complex regulatory network. In this work, we provide a comprehensive review of the major signaling pathways that participate in neural crest induction, with a focus on recent developments and current perspectives. We provide a simplified model of early neural crest development and stress similarities and differences between four major model organisms: Xenopus, chick, zebrafish, and mouse
Pax7 lineage contributions to the mammalian neural crest.
BackgroundNeural crest cells are vertebrate-specific multipotent cells that contribute to a variety of tissues including the peripheral nervous system, melanocytes, and craniofacial bones and cartilage. Abnormal development of the neural crest is associated with several human maladies including cleft/lip palate, aggressive cancers such as melanoma and neuroblastoma, and rare syndromes, like Waardenburg syndrome, a complex disorder involving hearing loss and pigment defects. We previously identified the transcription factor Pax7 as an early marker, and required component for neural crest development in chick embryos. In mammals, Pax7 is also thought to play a role in neural crest development, yet the precise contribution of Pax7 progenitors to the neural crest lineage has not been determined.Methodology/principal findingsHere we use Cre/loxP technology in double transgenic mice to fate map the Pax7 lineage in neural crest derivates. We find that Pax7 descendants contribute to multiple tissues including the cranial, cardiac and trunk neural crest, which in the cranial cartilage form a distinct regional pattern. The Pax7 lineage, like the Pax3 lineage, is additionally detected in some non-neural crest tissues, including a subset of the epithelial cells in specific organs.Conclusions/significanceThese results demonstrate a previously unappreciated widespread distribution of Pax7 descendants within and beyond the neural crest. They shed light regarding the regionally distinct phenotypes observed in Pax3 and Pax7 mutants, and provide a unique perspective into the potential roles of Pax7 during disease and development
Quantum Singular Value Decomposer
We present a variational quantum circuit that produces the Singular Value
Decomposition of a bipartite pure state. The proposed circuit, that we name
Quantum Singular Value Decomposer or QSVD, is made of two unitaries
respectively acting on each part of the system. The key idea of the algorithm
is to train this circuit so that the final state displays exact output
coincidence from both subsystems for every measurement in the computational
basis. Such circuit preserves entanglement between the parties and acts as a
diagonalizer that delivers the eigenvalues of the Schmidt decomposition. Our
algorithm only requires measurements in one single setting, in striking
contrast to the settings required by state tomography. Furthermore, the
adjoints of the unitaries making the circuit are used to create the
eigenvectors of the decomposition up to a global phase. Some further
applications of QSVD are readily obtained. The proposed QSVD circuit allows to
construct a SWAP between the two parties of the system without the need of any
quantum gate communicating them. We also show that a circuit made with QSVD and
CNOTs acts as an encoder of information of the original state onto one of its
parties. This idea can be reversed and used to create random states with a
precise entanglement structure.Comment: 6 + 1 pages, 5 figure
Information content versus word length in random typing
Recently, it has been claimed that a linear relationship between a measure of
information content and word length is expected from word length optimization
and it has been shown that this linearity is supported by a strong correlation
between information content and word length in many languages (Piantadosi et
al. 2011, PNAS 108, 3825-3826). Here, we study in detail some connections
between this measure and standard information theory. The relationship between
the measure and word length is studied for the popular random typing process
where a text is constructed by pressing keys at random from a keyboard
containing letters and a space behaving as a word delimiter. Although this
random process does not optimize word lengths according to information content,
it exhibits a linear relationship between information content and word length.
The exact slope and intercept are presented for three major variants of the
random typing process. A strong correlation between information content and
word length can simply arise from the units making a word (e.g., letters) and
not necessarily from the interplay between a word and its context as proposed
by Piantadosi et al. In itself, the linear relation does not entail the results
of any optimization process
Holographic dark energy linearly interacting with dark matter
We investigate a spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological
model with cold dark matter coupled to a modified holographic Ricci dark energy
through a general interaction term linear in the energy densities of dark
matter and dark energy, the total energy density and its derivative. Using the
statistical method of -function for the Hubble data, we obtain
km/sMpc, for the asymptotic equation of state and . The estimated values of which fulfill the
current observational bounds corresponds to a dark energy density varying in
the range 0.25R < \ro_x < 0.27R.Comment: March 2012. 6 pp., 6 figures. Note: To appear in the proceedings of
the CosmoSul conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 01-05 august of 201
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