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A conserved morphogenetic mechanism for epidermal ensheathment of nociceptive sensory neurites.
Interactions between epithelial cells and neurons influence a range of sensory modalities including taste, touch, and smell. Vertebrate and invertebrate epidermal cells ensheath peripheral arbors of somatosensory neurons, including nociceptors, yet the developmental origins and functional roles of this ensheathment are largely unknown. Here, we describe an evolutionarily conserved morphogenetic mechanism for epidermal ensheathment of somatosensory neurites. We found that somatosensory neurons in Drosophila and zebrafish induce formation of epidermal sheaths, which wrap neurites of different types of neurons to different extents. Neurites induce formation of plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate microdomains at nascent sheaths, followed by a filamentous actin network, and recruitment of junctional proteins that likely form autotypic junctions to seal sheaths. Finally, blocking epidermal sheath formation destabilized dendrite branches and reduced nociceptive sensitivity in Drosophila. Epidermal somatosensory neurite ensheathment is thus a deeply conserved cellular process that contributes to the morphogenesis and function of nociceptive sensory neurons
The Relativistic Levinson Theorem in Two Dimensions
In the light of the generalized Sturm-Liouville theorem, the Levinson theorem
for the Dirac equation in two dimensions is established as a relation between
the total number of the bound states and the sum of the phase shifts
of the scattering states with the angular momentum :
\noindent The critical case, where the Dirac equation has a finite
zero-momentum solution, is analyzed in detail. A zero-momentum solution is
called a half bound state if its wave function is finite but does not decay
fast enough at infinity to be square integrable.Comment: Latex 14 pages, no figure, submitted to Phys.Rev.A; Email:
[email protected], [email protected]
SCRIBBLE is required for pregnancy-induced alveologenesis in the adult mammary gland
The cell polarity protein SCRIB is a critical regulator of polarization, cell migration and tumourigenesis. Whereas SCRIB is known to regulate early stages of mouse mammary gland development, its function in the adult gland is not known. Using an inducible RNAi mouse model for downregulating SCRIB expression, we report an unexpected role for SCRIB as a positive regulator of cell proliferation during pregnancy associated mammary alveologenesis. SCRIB was required in the epithelial cell compartment of the mammary gland. Lack of SCRIB attenuated prolactin-induced activation of the JAK2/STAT5 signaling pathway. In addition, loss of SCRIB resulted in the downregulation of PRLR at cell surface and accumulation in intracellular structures that express markers of the Golgi apparatus and the recycling endosome. Unlike its role in virgin gland as a negative regulator cell proliferation, SCRIB is a positive regulator of mammary epithelial cell proliferation during pregnancy
Structures in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence: detection and scaling
We present a systematic analysis of statistical properties of turbulent
current and vorticity structures at a given time using cluster analysis. The
data stems from numerical simulations of decaying three-dimensional (3D)
magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the absence of an imposed uniform magnetic
field; the magnetic Prandtl number is taken equal to unity, and we use a
periodic box with grids of up to 1536^3 points, and with Taylor Reynolds
numbers up to 1100. The initial conditions are either an X-point configuration
embedded in 3D, the so-called Orszag-Tang vortex, or an
Arn'old-Beltrami-Childress configuration with a fully helical velocity and
magnetic field. In each case two snapshots are analyzed, separated by one
turn-over time, starting just after the peak of dissipation. We show that the
algorithm is able to select a large number of structures (in excess of 8,000)
for each snapshot and that the statistical properties of these clusters are
remarkably similar for the two snapshots as well as for the two flows under
study in terms of scaling laws for the cluster characteristics, with the
structures in the vorticity and in the current behaving in the same way. We
also study the effect of Reynolds number on cluster statistics, and we finally
analyze the properties of these clusters in terms of their velocity-magnetic
field correlation. Self-organized criticality features have been identified in
the dissipative range of scales. A different scaling arises in the inertial
range, which cannot be identified for the moment with a known self-organized
criticality class consistent with MHD. We suggest that this range can be
governed by turbulence dynamics as opposed to criticality, and propose an
interpretation of intermittency in terms of propagation of local instabilities.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
Levinson's Theorem for the Klein-Gordon Equation in Two Dimensions
The two-dimensional Levinson theorem for the Klein-Gordon equation with a
cylindrically symmetric potential is established. It is shown that
, where denotes
the difference between the number of bound states of the particle
and the ones of antiparticle with a fixed angular momentum , and
the is named phase shifts. The constants and
are introduced to symbol the critical cases where the half bound
states occur at .Comment: Revtex file 14 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Fixed Linear Crossing Minimization by Reduction to the Maximum Cut Problem
Many real-life scheduling, routing and locating problems can be formulated as combinatorial optimization problems whose goal is to find a linear layout of an input graph in such a way that the number of edge crossings is minimized. In this paper, we study a restricted version of the linear layout problem where the order of vertices on the line is fixed, the so-called fixed linear crossing number problem (FLCNP). We show that this NP-hard problem can be reduced to the well-known maximum cut problem. The latter problem was intensively studied in the literature; practically efficient exact algorithms based on the branch-and-cut technique have been developed. By an experimental evaluation on a variety of graphs, we prove that using this reduction for solving FLCNP compares favorably to earlier branch-and-bound algorithms
Axions and the Strong CP Problem
Current upper bounds of the neutron electric dipole moment constrain the
physically observable quantum chromodynamic (QCD) vacuum angle . Since QCD explains vast experimental data from the 100 MeV
scale to the TeV scale, it is better to explain this smallness of
in the QCD framework, which is the strong \Ca\Pa problem. Now,
there exist two plausible solutions to this problem, one of which leads to the
existence of the very light axion. The axion decay constant window, $10^9\
{\gev}\lesssim F_a\lesssim 10^{12} \gev{\cal O}(1)\theta_1F_a\gtrsim 10^{12}\theta_1<{\cal O}(1)$,
axions may constitute a significant fraction of dark matter of the universe.
The supersymmetrized axion solution of the strong \Ca\Pa problem introduces its
superpartner the axino which might have affected the universe evolution
significantly. Here, we review the very light axion (theory,
supersymmetrization, and models) with the most recent particle, astrophysical
and cosmological data, and present prospects for its discovery.Comment: 47 pages with 32 figure
Anomalous Workfunction Anisotropy in Ternary Acetylides
Anomalous anisotropy of workfunction values in ternary alkali metal
transition metal acetylides is reported. Workfunction values of some
characteristic surfaces in these emerging semiconducting materials may differ
by more than 2 eV as predicted by Density Functional Theory
calculations. This large anisotropy is a consequence of the relative
orientation of rod-like [MC] negatively charged polymeric
subunits and the surfaces, with M being a transition metal or metalloid element
and C refers to the acetylide ion C, with the rods embedded
into an alkali cation matrix. It is shown that the conversion of the seasoned
CsTe photo-emissive material to ternary acetylide CsTeC
results in substantial reduction of its 3 eV workfunction down to
1.71-2.44 eV on the CsTeC(010) surface while its high quantum yield
is preserved. Similar low workfunction values are predicted for other ternary
acetylides as well, allowing for a broad range of applications from improved
electron- and light-sources to solar cells, field emission displays, detectors
and scanners.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Generalized nonreciprocity in an optomechanical circuit via synthetic magnetism and reservoir engineering
Synthetic magnetism has been used to control charge neutral excitations for
applications ranging from classical beam steering to quantum simulation. In
optomechanics, radiation-pressure-induced parametric coupling between optical
(photon) and mechanical (phonon) excitations may be used to break time-reversal
symmetry, providing the prerequisite for synthetic magnetism. Here we design
and fabricate a silicon optomechanical circuit with both optical and mechanical
connectivity between two optomechanical cavities. Driving the two cavities with
phase-correlated laser light results in a synthetic magnetic flux, which in
combination with dissipative coupling to the mechanical bath, leads to
nonreciprocal transport of photons with 35dB of isolation. Additionally,
optical pumping with blue-detuned light manifests as a particle non-conserving
interaction between photons and phonons, resulting in directional optical
amplification of 12dB in the isolator through direction. These results indicate
the feasibility of utilizing optomechanical circuits to create a more general
class of nonreciprocal optical devices, and further, to enable novel
topological phases for both light and sound on a microchip.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 4 appendice
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