Adaptive plasticity in the mouse mandible

BACKGROUND: Plasticity, i.e. non-heritable morphological variation, enables organisms to modify the shape of their skeletal tissues in response to varying environmental stimuli. Plastic variation may also allow individuals to survive in the face of new environmental conditions, enabling the evolution of heritable adaptive traits. However, it is uncertain whether such a plastic response of morphology constitutes an evolutionary adaption itself. Here we investigate whether shape differences due to plastic bone remodelling have functionally advantageous biomechanical consequences in mouse mandibles. Shape characteristics of mandibles from two groups of inbred laboratory mice fed either rodent pellets or ground pellets mixed with jelly were assessed using geometric morphometrics and mechanical advantage measurements of jaw adductor musculature. RESULTS: Mandibles raised on diets with differing food consistency showed significant differences in shape, which in turn altered their biomechanical profile. Mice raised on a soft food diet show a reduction in mechanical advantage relative to mice of the same inbred strain raised on a typical hard food diet. Further, the soft food eaters showed lower levels of integration between jaw regions, particularly between the molar and angular region relative to hard food eaters. CONCLUSIONS: Bone remodelling in mouse mandibles allows for significant shifts in biomechanical ability. Food consistency significantly influences this process in an adaptive direction, as mice raised on hard food develop jaws better suited to handle hard foods. This remodelling also affects the organisation of the mandible, as mice raised on soft food appear to be released from developmental constraints showing less overall integration than those raised on hard foods, but with a shift of integration towards the most solicited regions of the mandible facing such a food, namely the incisors. Our results illustrate how environmentally driven plasticity can lead to adaptive functional changes that increase biomechanical efficiency of food processing in the face of an increased solicitation. In contrast, decreased demand in terms of food processing seems to release developmental interactions between jaw parts involved in mastication, and may generate new patterns of co-variation, possibly opening new directions to subsequent selection. Overall, our results emphasize that mandible shape and integration evolved as parts of a complex system including mechanical loading food resource utilization and possibly foraging behaviour

Fluctuations and noise in cancer development

This paper explores fluctuations and noise in various facets of cancer development. The three areas of particular focus are the stochastic progression of cells to cancer, fluctuations of the tumor size during treatment, and noise in cancer cell signalling. We explore the stochastic dynamics of tumor growth and response to treatment using a Markov model, and fluctutions in tumor size in response to treatment using partial differential equations. We also explore noise within gene networks in cancer cells, and noise in inter-cell signalling.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Elevated Hippocampal Cholinergic Neurostimulating Peptide precursor protein (HCNP-pp) mRNA in the amygdala in major depression

The amygdala is innervated by the cholinergic system and is involved in major depressive disorder (MDD). Evidence suggests a hyper-activate cholinergic system in MDD. Hippocampal Cholinergic Neurostimulating Peptide (HCNP) regulates acetylcholine synthesis. The aim of the present work was to investigate expression levels of HCNP-precursor protein (HCNP-pp) mRNA and other cholinergic-related genes in the postmortem amygdala of MDD patients and matched controls (females: N=16 pairs; males: N=12 pairs), and in the mouse unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) model that induced elevated anxiety-/depressive-like behaviors (females: N=6 pairs; males: N=6 pairs). Results indicate an up-regulation of HCNP-pp mRNA in the amygdala of women with MDD (p<0.0001), but not males, and of UCMS-exposed mice (males and females; p=0.037). HCNP-pp protein levels were investigated in the human female cohort, but no difference was found. There were no differences in gene expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), muscarinic (mAChRs) or nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) between MDD subjects and controls or UCMS and control mice, except for an up-regulation of AChE in UCMS-exposed mice (males and females; p=0.044). Exploratory analyses revealed a baseline expression difference of cholinergic signaling-related genes between women and men (p<0.0001). In conclusion, elevated amygdala HCNP-pp expression may contribute to mechanisms of MDD in women, potentially independently from regulating the cholinergic system. The differential expression of genes between women and men could also contribute to the increased vulnerability of females to develop MDD.Fil: Bassi, Sabrina Cecilia. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Seney, Marianne L.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Argibay, Pablo. Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sibille, Etienne. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Toronto; Canad

The Off-forward Quark-Quark Correlation Function

The properties of the non-forward quark-quark correlation function are examined. We derive constraints on the correlation function from the transformation properties of the fundamental fields of QCD occurring in its definition. We further develop a method to construct an ansatz for this correlator. We present the complete leading order set of generalized parton distributions in terms of the amplitudes of the ansatz. Finally we conclude that the number of independent generalized parton helicity changing distributions is four.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Using Supra-Arcade Downflows as Probes of Electron Acceleration During Solar Flares

Extracting information from coronal features above flares has become more reliable with the availability of increasingly higher spatial and temporal-resolution data in recent decades. We are now able to sufficiently probe the region high above long-duration flaring active regions where reconnection is expected to be continually occurring. Flows in the supra-arcade region, first observed with Yohkoh/SXT, have been theorized to be associated with newly-reconnected outflowing loops. High resolution data appears to confirm these assertions. Assuming that these flows are indeed reconnection outflows, then the detection of those directed toward the solar surface (i.e. downflowing) should be associated with particle acceleration between the current sheet and the loop footpoints rooted in the chromosphere. RHESSI observations of highly energetic particles with respect to downflow detections could potentially constrain electron acceleration models. I will discuss measurements of these supra-arcade downflows (SADs) in relation to reconnection model parameters and present preliminary findings comparing the downflow timings with high-energy RHESSI lightcurves