422 research outputs found
A bio-inspired image coder with temporal scalability
We present a novel bio-inspired and dynamic coding scheme for static images.
Our coder aims at reproducing the main steps of the visual stimulus processing
in the mammalian retina taking into account its time behavior. The main novelty
of this work is to show how to exploit the time behavior of the retina cells to
ensure, in a simple way, scalability and bit allocation. To do so, our main
source of inspiration will be the biologically plausible retina model called
Virtual Retina. Following a similar structure, our model has two stages. The
first stage is an image transform which is performed by the outer layers in the
retina. Here it is modelled by filtering the image with a bank of difference of
Gaussians with time-delays. The second stage is a time-dependent
analog-to-digital conversion which is performed by the inner layers in the
retina. Thanks to its conception, our coder enables scalability and bit
allocation across time. Also, our decoded images do not show annoying artefacts
such as ringing and block effects. As a whole, this article shows how to
capture the main properties of a biological system, here the retina, in order
to design a new efficient coder.Comment: 12 pages; Advanced Concepts for Intelligent Vision Systems (ACIVS
2011
Optimization of regeneration and transformation parameters in tomato and improvement of its salinity and drought tolerance
As part of our efforts to improve tomato tolerance to abiotic stress, we have undertaken this study to introduce two candidate genes encoding: a sodium antiporter and a vacuolar pyrophosphatase, previously shown to enhance drought and salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. First, we evaluated the potential of primary leaves from three to four week-old in vitro-grown tomato seedlings as alternative explants to cotyledons for tomato transformation. Our results demonstrated that primaryleaves are three times more efficient then cotyledons in terms of regeneration percentage, productivity, and transformation frequencies independently of the medium and genetic construct used. Second,primary leaves were used to introduce the genes of interest using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Many transgenic tomato plants were easily recovered. The presence of the transgenes and their expression were confirmed by PCR and RT-PCR analysis. The transformation frequencies for primary leaf explants ranged from 4 to 10% depending on the genetic construct used. The time requiredfrom inoculation of primary leaves with Agrobacterium cells to transfer of transgenic tomato plants to soil was only 2 months compared to 3 to 4 months using standard tomato transformation protocols. The transgenic tomato plants obtained in the current study were more tolerant to salinity and drought stress than their wild-type counterparts
Regulation of durum wheat Na(+)/H (+) exchanger TdSOS1 by phosphorylation
We have identified a plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchanger from durum wheat, designated TdSOS1. Heterologous expression of TdSOS1 in a yeast strain lacking endogenous Na+ efflux proteins showed complementation of the Na+- and Li+-sensitive phenotype by a mechanism involving cation efflux. Salt tolerance conferred by TdSOS1 was maximal when co-expressed with the Arabidopsis protein kinase complex SOS2/SOS3. In vitro phosphorylation of TdSOS1 with a hyperactive form of the Arabidopsis SOS2 kinase (T/DSOS2∆308) showed the importance of two essential serine residues at the C-terminal hydrophilic tail (S1126, S1128). Mutation of these two serine residues to alanine decreased the phosphorylation of TdSOS1 by T/DSOS2∆308 and prevented the activation of TdSOS1. In addition, deletion of the C-terminal domain of TdSOS1 encompassing serine residues at position 1126 and 1128 generated a hyperactive form that had maximal sodium exclusion activity independent from the regulatory SOS2/SOS3 complex. These results are consistent with the presence of an auto-inhibitory domain at the C-terminus of TdSOS1 that mediates the activation of TdSOS1 by the protein kinase SOS2. Expression of TdSOS1 mRNA in young seedlings of the durum wheat variety Om Rabia3, using different abiotic stresses (ionic and oxidative stress) at different times of exposure, was monitored by RT–PCR.Peer Reviewe
Dynamical elastic bodies in Newtonian gravity
Well-posedness for the initial value problem for a self-gravitating elastic
body with free boundary in Newtonian gravity is proved. In the material frame,
the Euler-Lagrange equation becomes, assuming suitable constitutive properties
for the elastic material, a fully non-linear elliptic-hyperbolic system with
boundary conditions of Neumann type. For systems of this type, the initial data
must satisfy compatibility conditions in order to achieve regular solutions.
Given a relaxed reference configuration and a sufficiently small Newton's
constant, a neigborhood of initial data satisfying the compatibility conditions
is constructed
Genetic Association of rs1021188 and DNA Methylation Signatures of TNFSF11 in the Risk of Conductive Hearing Loss
Otosclerosis (OTSC) is a complex bone disorder of the otic capsule, which causes conductive hearing impairment in human adults. The dysregulation of the signaling axis mediated by the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa-B (RANK), RANK ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin has been widely attributed to the context of metabolic bone disorders. While genetic associations and epigenetic alterations in the TNFSF11 gene (RANKL) have been well-linked to metabolic bone diseases of the skeleton, particularly osteoporosis, they have never been addressed in OTSC. This study aimed to assess whether the genetic association of rs1021188 polymorphism in the upstream of TNFSF11 and the DNA methylation changes in its promoter CpG-region reveal the susceptibility of OTSC. Peripheral blood DNA samples were collected from unrelated Tunisian-North African subjects for genotyping (109 cases and 120 controls) and for DNA methylation analysis (40 cases and 40 controls). The gender-stratified analysis showed that the TNFSF11 rs1021188 C/T was associated with OTSC in men (p = 0.023), but not in women (p = 0.458). Individuals with CC genotype were more susceptible to OTSC, suggesting an increased risk to disease development. Using publicly available data, the rs1021188 was within a cluster grouping the subpopulations with African ethnicity. Moreover, 26 loci in the TNFSF11 gene were in linkage disequilibrium with rs1021188, revealing relative similarities between different populations. Significant differences in both DNA methylation and unmethylation status were detected with 4.53- and 4.83-fold decreases in the global DNA methylation levels in female and male OTSC groups, respectively. These changes could contribute to an increased risk of OTSC development. Bioinformatic analyses indicated that each of the rs1021188 variations and the DNA methylation changes in the promoter CpG-sites within TNFSF11 may play an important role in its transcription regulation. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates an independent effect of the rs1021188 polymorphism and DNA hypomethylation of TNFSF11 promoter in OTSC. Genetic and epigenetic changes in the regulatory regions of TNFSF11 could offer new molecular insights into the understanding of the complexity of OTSC
A Kato type Theorem for the inviscid limit of the Navier-Stokes equations with a moving rigid body
The issue of the inviscid limit for the incompressible Navier-Stokes
equations when a no-slip condition is prescribed on the boundary is a famous
open problem. A result by Tosio Kato says that convergence to the Euler
equations holds true in the energy space if and only if the energy dissipation
rate of the viscous flow in a boundary layer of width proportional to the
viscosity vanishes. Of course, if one considers the motion of a solid body in
an incompressible fluid, with a no-slip condition at the interface, the issue
of the inviscid limit is as least as difficult. However it is not clear if the
additional difficulties linked to the body's dynamic make this issue more
difficult or not. In this paper we consider the motion of a rigid body in an
incompressible fluid occupying the complementary set in the space and we prove
that a Kato type condition implies the convergence of the fluid velocity and of
the body velocity as well, what seems to indicate that an answer in the case of
a fixed boundary could also bring an answer to the case where there is a moving
body in the fluid
Decay and Continuity of Boltzmann Equation in Bounded Domains
Boundaries occur naturally in kinetic equations and boundary effects are
crucial for dynamics of dilute gases governed by the Boltzmann equation. We
develop a mathematical theory to study the time decay and continuity of
Boltzmann solutions for four basic types of boundary conditions: inflow,
bounce-back reflection, specular reflection, and diffuse reflection. We
establish exponential decay in norm for hard potentials for
general classes of smooth domains near an absolute Maxwellian. Moreover, in
convex domains, we also establish continuity for these Boltzmann solutions away
from the grazing set of the velocity at the boundary. Our contribution is based
on a new decay theory and its interplay with delicate
decay analysis for the linearized Boltzmann equation, in the presence of many
repeated interactions with the boundary.Comment: 89 pages
The Inviscid Limit and Boundary Layers for Navier-Stokes Flows
The validity of the vanishing viscosity limit, that is, whether solutions of
the Navier-Stokes equations modeling viscous incompressible flows converge to
solutions of the Euler equations modeling inviscid incompressible flows as
viscosity approaches zero, is one of the most fundamental issues in
mathematical fluid mechanics. The problem is classified into two categories:
the case when the physical boundary is absent, and the case when the physical
boundary is present and the effect of the boundary layer becomes significant.
The aim of this article is to review recent progress on the mathematical
analysis of this problem in each category.Comment: To appear in "Handbook of Mathematical Analysis in Mechanics of
Viscous Fluids", Y. Giga and A. Novotn\'y Ed., Springer. The final
publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
Viscous-Inviscid Interactions in a Boundary-Layer Flow Induced by a Vortex Array
In this paper we investigate the asymptotic validity of boundary layer
theory. For a flow induced by a periodic row of point-vortices, we compare
Prandtl's solution to Navier-Stokes solutions at different numbers. We
show how Prandtl's solution develops a finite time separation singularity. On
the other hand Navier-Stokes solution is characterized by the presence of two
kinds of viscous-inviscid interactions between the boundary layer and the outer
flow. These interactions can be detected by the analysis of the enstrophy and
of the pressure gradient on the wall. Moreover we apply the complex singularity
tracking method to Prandtl and Navier-Stokes solutions and analyze the previous
interactions from a different perspective
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