483 research outputs found
The key role of micrornas in self-renewal and differentiation of embryonic stem cells
NaĂŻve pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) represent distinctive developmental stages, mimicking the pre-and the post-implantation events during the embryo development, respectively. The complex molecular mechanisms governing the transition from ESCs into EpiSCs are orchestrated by fluctuating levels of pluripotency transcription factors (Nanog, Oct4, etc.) and wide-ranging remodeling of the epigenetic landscape. Recent studies highlighted the pivotal role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in balancing the switch from self-renewal to differentiation of ESCs. Of note, evidence deriving from miRNA-based reprogramming strategies underscores the role of the non-coding RNAs in the induction and maintenance of the stemness properties. In this review, we revised recent studies concerning the functions mediated by miRNAs in ESCs, with the aim of giving a comprehensive view of the highly dynamic miRNA-mediated tuning, essential to guarantee cell cycle progression, pluripotency maintenance and the proper commitment of ESCs
Characterizing the transition from balanced to unbalanced motions in the Southern California Current
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2019. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans 124(3), (2019): 2088-2109, doi:10.1029/2018JC014583.As observations and models improve their resolution of oceanic motions at ever finer horizontal scales, interest has grown in characterizing the transition from the geostrophically balanced flows that dominate at largeâscale to submesoscale turbulence and waves that dominate at small scales. In this study we examine the mesoscaleâtoâsubmesoscale (100 to 10 km) transition in an eastern boundary current, the southern California Current System (CCS), using repeated acoustic Doppler current profiler transects, sea surface height from highâresolution nadir altimetry and output from a (1/48)° global model simulation. In the CCS, the submesoscale is as energetic as in western boundary current regions, but the mesoscale is much weaker, and as a result the transition lacks the change in kinetic energy (KE) spectral slope observed for western boundary currents. Helmholtz and vortexâwave decompositions of the KE spectra are used to identify balanced and unbalanced contributions. At horizontal scales greater than 70 km, we find that observed KE is dominated by balanced geostrophic motions. At scales from 40 to 10 km, unbalanced contributions such as inertiaâgravity waves contribute as much as balanced motions. The model KE transition occurs at longer scales, around 125 km. The altimeter spectra are consistent with acoustic Doppler current profiler/model spectra at scales longer than 70/125 km, respectively. Observed seasonality is weak. Taken together, our results suggest that geostrophic velocities can be diagnosed from sea surface height on scales larger than about 70 km in the southern CCS.This research was funded by NASA (NNX13AE44G, NNX13AE85G, NNX16AH67G, NNX16AO5OH, and NNX17AH53G). We thank Sung Yong Kim for providing the highâfrequency radar spectral estimates and the two anonymous reviewers for providing useful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. Highâfrequency ALES data for Jasonâ1 and Jasonâ2 altimeters are available upon request (https://openadb.dgfi.tum.de/en/contact/ALES). Both AltiKa and Sentinelâ3 altimeter products were produced and distributed by the Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS; http://www.marine.copernicus.eu). D. M. worked on the modeling component of this study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Highâend computing resources were provided by the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division of the Ames Research Center. The LLC output can be obtained from the ECCO project (ftp://ecco.jpl.nasa.gov/ECCO2/LLC4320/). The ADCP data are available at the Joint Archive for Shipboard ADCP data (JASADCP; http://ilikai.soest.hawaii.edu/sadcp).2019-08-2
third order bragg grating filters in small soi waveguides
Third order grating filters fabricated in small Silicon-on-Insulator rib waveguides are demonstrated. Variations in grating etch depth and duty cycle are considered, and a maximum experimental reflection of 42% is demonstrated for gratings of 1500 ”m in length, with a grating period of approximately 689nm and an etch depth of 200nm. Agreement with modeling is shown to be good
In-Line-Test of Variability and Bit-Error-Rate of HfOx-Based Resistive Memory
Spatial and temporal variability of HfOx-based resistive random access memory
(RRAM) are investigated for manufacturing and product designs. Manufacturing
variability is characterized at different levels including lots, wafers, and
chips. Bit-error-rate (BER) is proposed as a holistic parameter for the write
cycle resistance statistics. Using the electrical in-line-test cycle data, a
method is developed to derive BERs as functions of the design margin, to
provide guidance for technology evaluation and product design. The proposed BER
calculation can also be used in the off-line bench test and build-in-self-test
(BIST) for adaptive error correction and for the other types of random access
memories.Comment: 4 pages. Memory Workshop (IMW), 2015 IEEE Internationa
Quantum dynamics in high codimension tilings: from quasiperiodicity to disorder
We analyze the spreading of wavepackets in two-dimensional quasiperiodic and
random tilings as a function of their codimension, i.e. of their topological
complexity. In the quasiperiodic case, we show that the diffusion exponent that
characterizes the propagation decreases when the codimension increases and goes
to 1/2 in the high codimension limit. By constrast, the exponent for the random
tilings is independent of their codimension and also equals 1/2. This shows
that, in high codimension, the quasiperiodicity is irrelevant and that the
topological disorder leads in every case, to a diffusive regime, at least in
the time scale investigated here.Comment: 4 pages, 5 EPS figure
The Timing and Strength of Regional Brain Activation Associated with Word Recognition in Children with Reading Difficulties
The study investigates the relative degree and timing of cortical activation across parietal, temporal, and frontal regions during performance of a continuous visual-word recognition task in children who experience reading difficulties (Nâ= 44, RD) and typical readers (Nâ=â40, NI). Minimum norm estimates of regional neurophysiological activity were obtained from magnetoencephalographic recordings. Children with RD showed bilaterally reduced neurophysiological activity in the superior and middle temporal gyri, and increased activity in rostral middle frontal and ventral occipitotemporal cortices, bilaterally. The temporal profile of activity in the RD group, featured near-simultaneous activity peaks in temporal, inferior parietal, and prefrontal regions, in contrast to a clear temporal progression of activity among these areas in the NI group. These results replicate and extend previous MEG and fMRI results demonstrating atypical, latency-dependent attributes of the brain circuit involved in word reading in children with reading difficulties
Energy spectra, wavefunctions and quantum diffusion for quasiperiodic systems
We study energy spectra, eigenstates and quantum diffusion for one- and
two-dimensional quasiperiodic tight-binding models. As our one-dimensional
model system we choose the silver mean or `octonacci' chain. The
two-dimensional labyrinth tiling, which is related to the octagonal tiling, is
derived from a product of two octonacci chains. This makes it possible to treat
rather large systems numerically. For the octonacci chain, one finds singular
continuous energy spectra and critical eigenstates which is the typical
behaviour for one-dimensional Schr"odinger operators based on substitution
sequences. The energy spectra for the labyrinth tiling can, depending on the
strength of the quasiperiodic modulation, be either band-like or fractal-like.
However, the eigenstates are multifractal. The temporal spreading of a
wavepacket is described in terms of the autocorrelation function C(t) and the
mean square displacement d(t). In all cases, we observe power laws for C(t) and
d(t) with exponents -delta and beta, respectively. For the octonacci chain,
0<delta<1, whereas for the labyrinth tiling a crossover is observed from
delta=1 to 0<delta<1 with increasing modulation strength. Corresponding to the
multifractal eigenstates, we obtain anomalous diffusion with 0<beta<1 for both
systems. Moreover, we find that the behaviour of C(t) and d(t) is independent
of the shape and the location of the initial wavepacket. We use our results to
check several relations between the diffusion exponent beta and the fractal
dimensions of energy spectra and eigenstates that were proposed in the
literature.Comment: 24 pages, REVTeX, 10 PostScript figures included, major revision, new
results adde
Identification of RNA-binding proteins that partner with Lin28a to regulate Dnmt3a expression
Lin28 is an evolutionary conserved RNA-binding protein that plays important roles during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. It regulates gene expression through two different post-transcriptional mechanisms. The first one is based on the regulation of miRNA biogenesis, in particular that of the let-7 family, whose expression is suppressed by Lin28. Thus, loss of Lin28 leads to the upregulation of mRNAs that are targets of let-7 species. The second mechanism is based on the direct interaction of Lin28 with a large number of mRNAs, which results in the regulation of their translation. This second mechanism remains poorly understood. To address this issue, we purified high molecular weight complexes containing Lin28a in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Numerous proteins, co-purified with Lin28a, were identified by proteomic procedures and tested for their possible role in Lin28a-dependent regulation of the mRNA encoding DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a). The results show that Lin28a activity is dependent on many proteins, including three helicases and four RNA-binding proteins. The suppression of four of these proteins, namely Ddx3x, Hnrnph1, Hnrnpu or Syncrip, interferes with the binding of Lin28a to the Dnmt3a mRNA, thus suggesting that they are part of an oligomeric ribonucleoprotein complex that is necessary for Lin28a activity
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