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Integrating the inputs that shape pancreatic islet hormone release.
The pancreatic islet is a complex mini organ composed of a variety of endocrine cells and their support cells, which together tightly control blood glucose homeostasis. Changes in glucose concentration are commonly regarded as the chief signal controlling insulin-secreting beta cells, glucagon-secreting alpha cells and somatostatin-secreting delta cells. However, each of these cell types is highly responsive to a multitude of endocrine, paracrine, nutritional and neural inputs, which collectively shape the final endocrine output of the islet. Here, we review the principal inputs for each islet-cell type and the physiological circumstances in which these signals arise, through the prism of the insights generated by the transcriptomes of each of the major endocrine-cell types. A comprehensive integration of the factors that influence blood glucose homeostasis is essential to successfully improve therapeutic strategies for better diabetes management
On the viability of the shearing box approximation for numerical studies of MHD turbulence in accretion disks
Most of our knowledge on the nonlinear development of the magneto-rotational
instability (MRI) relies on the results of numerical simulations employing the
shearing box (SB) approximation. A number of difficulties arising from this
approach have recently been pointed out in the literature. We thoroughly
examine the effects of the assumptions made and numerical techniques employed
in SB simulations. This is done in order to clarify and gain better
understanding of those difficulties as well as of a number of additional
serious problems, raised here for the first time, and of their impact on the
results. Analytical derivations and estimates as well as comparative analysis
to methods used in the numerical study of turbulence are used. Numerical
experiments are performed to support some of our claims and conjectures. The
following problems, arising from the (virtually exclusive) use of the SB
simulations as a tool for the understanding and quantification of the nonlinear
MRI development in disks, are analyzed and discussed: (i) inconsistencies in
the application of the SB approximation itself; (ii) the limited spatial scale
of the SB; (iii) the lack of convergence of most ideal MHD simulations; (iv)
side-effects of the SB symmetry and the non-trivial nature of the linear MRI;
(v) physical artifacts arising on the too small box scale due to periodic
boundary conditions. The computational and theoretical challenge posed by the
MHD turbulence problem in accretion disks cannot be met by the SB
approximation, as it has been used to date. A new strategy to confront this
challenge is proposed, based on techniques widely used in numerical studies of
turbulent flows - developing (e.g., with the help of local numerical studies) a
sub-grid turbulence model and implementing it in global calculations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Lattice Distortion and Resonant X-Ray Scattering in DyB2C2
We study the resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) spectra at the Dy
absorption edge in the quadrupole ordering phase of DyBC. Analyzing the
buckling of sheets of B and C atoms, we construct an effective model that the
crystal field is acting on the and states with the principal axes
different for different sublattices. Treating the states as a band and the
states as localized states, we calculate the spectra within the dipole
transition. We take account of processes that (1) the lattice distortion
directly modulates the states and (2) the charge anisotropy of the
quadrupole ordering states modulates the states through the -
Coulomb interaction. Both processes give rise to the RXS intensities on
and spots. Both give similar
photon-energy dependences and the same azimuthal-angle dependences for the main
peak, in agreement with the experiment. The first process is found to give the
intensities much larger than the second one in a wide parameter range of
crystal field. This suggests that the main-peak of the RXS spectra is not a
direct reflection of the quadrupole order but mainly controlled by the lattice
distortion.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Latex, To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Multi-Particle Collision Dynamics -- a Particle-Based Mesoscale Simulation Approach to the Hydrodynamics of Complex Fluids
In this review, we describe and analyze a mesoscale simulation method for
fluid flow, which was introduced by Malevanets and Kapral in 1999, and is now
called multi-particle collision dynamics (MPC) or stochastic rotation dynamics
(SRD). The method consists of alternating streaming and collision steps in an
ensemble of point particles. The multi-particle collisions are performed by
grouping particles in collision cells, and mass, momentum, and energy are
locally conserved. This simulation technique captures both full hydrodynamic
interactions and thermal fluctuations. The first part of the review begins with
a description of several widely used MPC algorithms and then discusses
important features of the original SRD algorithm and frequently used
variations. Two complementary approaches for deriving the hydrodynamic
equations and evaluating the transport coefficients are reviewed. It is then
shown how MPC algorithms can be generalized to model non-ideal fluids, and
binary mixtures with a consolute point. The importance of angular-momentum
conservation for systems like phase-separated liquids with different
viscosities is discussed. The second part of the review describes a number of
recent applications of MPC algorithms to study colloid and polymer dynamics,
the behavior of vesicles and cells in hydrodynamic flows, and the dynamics of
viscoelastic fluids
Identification of a novel type of spacer element required for imprinting in fission yeast
Asymmetrical segregation of differentiated sister chromatids is thought to be important for cellular differentiation in higher
eukaryotes. Similarly, in fission yeast, cellular differentiation involves the asymmetrical segregation of a chromosomal
imprint. This imprint has been shown to consist of two ribonucleotides that are incorporated into the DNA during laggingstrand
synthesis in response to a replication pause, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here we present key
novel discoveries important for unravelling this process. Our data show that cis-acting sequences within the mat1 cassette
mediate pausing of replication forks at the proximity of the imprinting site, and the results suggest that this pause dictates
specific priming at the position of imprinting in a sequence-independent manner. Also, we identify a novel type of cis-acting
spacer region important for the imprinting process that affects where subsequent primers are put down after the
replication fork is released from the pause. Thus, our data suggest that the imprint is formed by ligation of a not-fullyprocessed
Okazaki fragment to the subsequent fragment. The presented work addresses how differentiated sister
chromatids are established during DNA replication through the involvement of replication barriers
The N2K Consortium. II. A Transiting Hot Saturn Around HD 149026 With a Large Dense Core
Doppler measurements from Subaru and Keck have revealed radial velocity
variations in the V=8.15, G0IV star HD 149026 consistent with a Saturn-Mass
planet in a 2.8766 day orbit. Photometric observations at Fairborn Observatory
have detected three complete transit events with depths of 0.003 mag at the
predicted times of conjunction. HD 149026 is now the second brightest star with
a transiting extrasolar planet. The mass of the star, based on interpolation of
stellar evolutionary models, is 1.3 +/- 0.1 solar masses; together with the
Doppler amplitude, K=43.3 m s^-1, we derive a planet mass Msin(i)=0.36 Mjup,
and orbital radius of 0.042 AU. HD 149026 is chromospherically inactive and
metal-rich with spectroscopically derived [Fe/H]=+0.36, Teff=6147 K, log g=4.26
and vsin(i)=6.0 km s^-1. Based on Teff and the stellar luminosity of 2.72 Lsun,
we derive a stellar radius of 1.45 Rsun. Modeling of the three photometric
transits provides an orbital inclination of 85.3 +/- 1.0 degrees and (including
the uncertainty in the stellar radius) a planet radius of 0.725 +/- 0.05 Rjup.
Models for this planet mass and radius suggest the presence of a ~67 Mearth
core composed of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. This substantial
planet core would be difficult to construct by gravitational instability.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journa
Spin-2 spectrum of defect theories
We study spin-2 excitations in the background of the recently-discovered
type-IIB solutions of D'Hoker et al. These are holographically-dual to defect
conformal field theories, and they are also of interest in the context of the
Karch-Randall proposal for a string-theory embedding of localized gravity. We
first generalize an argument by Csaki et al to show that for any solution with
four-dimensional anti-de Sitter, Poincare or de Sitter invariance the spin-2
excitations obey the massless scalar wave equation in ten dimensions. For the
interface solutions at hand this reduces to a Laplace-Beltrami equation on a
Riemann surface with disk topology, and in the simplest case of the
supersymmetric Janus solution it further reduces to an ordinary differential
equation known as Heun's equation. We solve this equation numerically, and
exhibit the spectrum as a function of the dilaton-jump parameter .
In the limit of large a nearly-flat linear-dilaton dimension grows
large, and the Janus geometry becomes effectively five-dimensional. We also
discuss the difficulties of localizing four-dimensional gravity in the more
general backgrounds with NS5-brane or D5-brane charge, which will be analyzed
in detail in a companion paper.Comment: 41 pages, 6 figure
Drivers and uncertainties of future global marine primary production in marine ecosystem models
Past model studies have projected a global decrease in marine net primary production (NPP) over the 21st century, but these studies focused on the multi-model mean rather than on the large inter-model differences. Here, we analyze model-simulated changes in NPP for the 21st century under IPCC's high-emission scenario RCP8.5. We use a suite of nine coupled carbonâclimate Earth system models with embedded marine ecosystem models and focus on the spread between the different models and the underlying reasons. Globally, NPP decreases in five out of the nine models over the course of the 21st century, while three show no significant trend and one even simulates an increase. The largest model spread occurs in the low latitudes (between 30° S and 30° N), with individual models simulating relative changes between â25 and +40 %. Of the seven models diagnosing a net decrease in NPP in the low latitudes, only three simulate this to be a consequence of the classical interpretation, i.e., a stronger nutrient limitation due to increased stratification leading to reduced phytoplankton growth. In the other four, warming-induced increases in phytoplankton growth outbalance the stronger nutrient limitation. However, temperature-driven increases in grazing and other loss processes cause a net decrease in phytoplankton biomass and reduce NPP despite higher growth rates. One model projects a strong increase in NPP in the low latitudes, caused by an intensification of the microbial loop, while NPP in the remaining model changes by less than 0.5 %. While models consistently project increases NPP in the Southern Ocean, the regional inter-model range is also very substantial. In most models, this increase in NPP is driven by temperature, but it is also modulated by changes in light, macronutrients and iron as well as grazing. Overall, current projections of future changes in global marine NPP are subject to large uncertainties and necessitate a dedicated and sustained effort to improve the models and the concepts and data that guide their developmen
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