Global communication part 1: the use of apparel CAD technology

Trends needed for improved communication systems, through the development of future computer-aided design technology (CAD) applications, is a theme that has received attention due to its perceived benefits in improving global supply chain efficiencies. This article discusses the developments of both 2D and 3D computer-aided design capabilities, found within global fashion supply chain relationships and environments. Major characteristics identified within the data suggest that CAD/CAM technology appears to be improving; however, evidence also suggest a plateau effect, which is accrediting forced profits towards information technology manufactures, and arguably compromising the industry's competitive advantage. Nevertheless, 2D CAD increases communication speed; whereas 3D human interaction technology is seen to be evolving slowly and questionably with limited success. The article discusses the findings and also presents the issues regarding human interaction; technology education; and individual communication enhancements using technology processes. These are still prevalent topics for the future developments of global strategy and cultural communication amalgamation

Following the TraCS of exoplanets with Pan-Planets: Wendelstein-1b and Wendelstein-2b

Hot Jupiters seem to get rarer with decreasing stellar mass. The goal of the Pan-Planets transit survey was the detection of such planets and a statistical characterization of their frequency. Here, we announce the discovery and validation of two planets found in that survey, Wendelstein-1b and Wendelstein-2b, which are two short-period hot Jupiters that orbit late K host stars. We validated them both by the traditional method of radial velocity measurements with the HIgh Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) and the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF) instruments and then by their Transit Color Signature (TraCS). We observed the targets in the wavelength range of $4000 - 24000$ Angstr\"om and performed a simultaneous multiband transit fit and additionally determined their thermal emission via secondary eclipse observations. Wendelstein-1b is a hot Jupiter with a radius of $1.0314_{-0.0061}^{+0.0061}$ $R_J$ and mass of $0.592_{-0.129}^{+0.165}$ $M_J$, orbiting a K7V dwarf star at a period of $2.66$ d, and has an estimated surface temperature of about $1727_{-90}^{+78}$ K. Wendelstein-2b is a hot Jupiter with a radius of $1.1592_{-0.0210}^{+0.0204}$ $R_J$ and a mass of $0.731_{-0.311}^{+0.541}$ $M_J$, orbiting a K6V dwarf star at a period of $1.75$ d, and has an estimated surface temperature of about $1852_{-140}^{+120}$ K. With this, we demonstrate that multiband photometry is an effective way of validating transiting exoplanets, in particular for fainter targets since radial velocity (RV) follow-up becomes more and more costly for those targets.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Synapsin is required for dense core vesicle capture and cAMP-dependent neuropeptide release

Release of neuropeptides from dense core vesicles (DCVs) is essential for neuromodulation. Compared to the release of small neurotransmitters, much less is known about the mechanisms and proteins contributing to neuropeptide release. By optogenetics, behavioral analysis, electrophysiology, electron microscopy, and live imaging, we show that synapsin SNN-1 is required for cAMP-dependent neuropeptide release in Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite cholinergic motor neurons. In synapsin mutants, behaviors induced by the photoactivated adenylyl cyclase bPAC, which we previously showed to depend on acetylcholine and neuropeptides (Steuer Costa et al., 2017), are altered like in animals with reduced cAMP. Synapsin mutants have slight alterations in synaptic vesicle (SV) distribution, however, a defect in SV mobilization was apparent after channelrhodopsin-based photostimulation. DCVs were largely affected in snn-1 mutants: DCVs were ∼30% reduced in synaptic terminals, and not released following bPAC stimulation. Imaging axonal DCV trafficking, also in genome-engineered mutants in the serine-9 protein kinase A phosphorylation site, showed that synapsin captures DCVs at synapses, making them available for release. SNN-1 co-localized with immobile, captured DCVs. In synapsin deletion mutants, DCVs were more mobile and less likely to be caught at release sites, and in non-phosphorylatable SNN-1B(S9A) mutants, DCVs traffic less and accumulate, likely by enhanced SNN-1 dependent tethering. Our work establishes synapsin as a key mediator of neuropeptide release

Feedback, Mass Conservation and Reaction Kinetics Impact the Robustness of Cellular Oscillations

<div><p>Oscillations occur in a wide variety of cellular processes, for example in calcium and p53 signaling responses, in metabolic pathways or within gene-regulatory networks, e.g. the circadian system. Since it is of central importance to understand the influence of perturbations on the dynamics of these systems a number of experimental and theoretical studies have examined their robustness. The period of circadian oscillations has been found to be very robust and to provide reliable timing. For intracellular calcium oscillations the period has been shown to be very sensitive and to allow for frequency-encoded signaling. We here apply a comprehensive computational approach to study the robustness of period and amplitude of oscillatory systems. We employ different prototype oscillator models and a large number of parameter sets obtained by random sampling. This framework is used to examine the effect of three design principles on the sensitivities towards perturbations of the kinetic parameters. We find that a prototype oscillator with negative feedback has lower period sensitivities than a prototype oscillator relying on positive feedback, but on average higher amplitude sensitivities. For both oscillator types, the use of Michaelis-Menten instead of mass action kinetics in all degradation and conversion reactions leads to an increase in period as well as amplitude sensitivities. We observe moderate changes in sensitivities if replacing mass conversion reactions by purely regulatory reactions. These insights are validated for a set of established models of various cellular rhythms. Overall, our work highlights the importance of reaction kinetics and feedback type for the variability of period and amplitude and therefore for the establishment of predictive models.</p></div

Sensitivities for models of circadian and calcium oscillations.

<p>A-C: Circadian models. (A) Model for mammalian cells [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref037" target="_blank">37</a>] (compare <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1A and 1C</a> red triangles); (B) model for <i>D</i>. <i>melanogaster</i> [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref046" target="_blank">46</a>]; (C) model for <i>A</i>. <i>thaliana</i> [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref047" target="_blank">47</a>]. D-F: Calcium models. (D) Phenomenological model [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref038" target="_blank">38</a>] (compare <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1B and 1C</a> blue circles); (E) open-cell model [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref048" target="_blank">48</a>]; (F) closed-cell model [<a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.ref049" target="_blank">49</a>]. Black symbols denote median values, white symbols the sensitivities for the parameter set published together with the model. G, H: Box-plots of the period (G) and the amplitude (H) sensitivity distributions for the models from A-F. The schemes and further details of the models are given in <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g006" target="_blank">Fig 6</a>.</p

Effect of structural characteristics on the sensitivities.

<p>Schematically, the effect of negative feedback (left) or positive feedback (right) and mass action kinetics (upper) or Michaelis-Menten kinetics (lower) on the period and amplitude sensitivities are depicted. The respective sensitivities are indicated by how much the period or amplitude of the perturbed system (oscillation for an example perturbation +Δ is shown in green) deviate from these characteristics in the unperturbed system (blue).</p

Model structures of the circadian and calcium oscillations models examined in Fig 5.

<p>The column ‘Id’ gives the identifier of the model according to <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g005" target="_blank">Fig 5</a>. In the model structure column, black and gray arrows denote reactions in the models, reactions with Michaelis-Menten kinetics (MM) are thereby marked in gray. Dashed arrows represent regulated productions. Red lines ending in T-shape indicate negative regulations, green arrows denote positive regulations. Green or red arrows without source (in E, F) represent regulations by species S₁ (cytosolic calcium) on the according reaction.</p

Impact of mass conservation properties on the sensitivity of the chain model.

<p>A: Schemes and equations of a mass conversion and a regulated production rate (reaction 3). For a mass conversion, the reaction rate occurs in the equation of the source species as well as of the product species (highlighted by boxes). For a regulated production rate, only the equation of the product species is affected by the reaction (highlighted by box). Regulated production rates are in the following represented by dashed arrows, mass conversions by solid lines. B, C: Schemes of the chain model with negative (B) or positive (C) feedback in that mass conversion reactions 2, 4, 6 or 4, 6, respectively, have been replaced by regulated production rates. D, E: Sensitivities for the negative (D, neg fb, red squares) and positive (E, pos fb, dark green dots) feedback chain model as shown in B and C, respectively. For comparison, sensitivities considering mass conversion reaction rates only are shown (data from <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2D</a>).</p

Impact of the reaction kinetics on the sensitivity of the chain model.

<p>A-F: Schemes of the chain models with negative (A-C) or positive (D-F) feedback employing Michaelis-Menten kinetics in degradation reactions 3, 5, 7, 8 (A, D, indicated in gray, deg MM), in conversion reactions 2, 4, 6 (B, E, indicated in gray, conv MM), or in conversion and degradation reactions 2–8 (C, F, MM). G, H: Box-plots of the period sensitivities (G) or amplitude sensitivities (H) of the chain models with negative and positive feedback. I, J: Sensitivities of the negative feedback (I, neg fb, dark red dots) or positive feedback (J, pos fb, dark green dots) chain model with Michaelis-Menten kinetics in reactions 2–8 as shown in C or F, respectively. For comparison the data for the models with mass action kinetics (ma) in reactions 2–8 from <a href="http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005298#pcbi.1005298.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2D</a> are shown in addition.</p