Wfs1 Is Expressed In Dopaminoceptive Regions Of The Amniote Brain And Modulates Levels Of D1-Like Receptors

During amniote evolution, the construction of the forebrain has diverged across different lineages, and accompanying the structural changes, functional diversification of the homologous brain regions has occurred. This can be assessed by studying the expression patterns of marker genes that are relevant in particular functional circuits. In all vertebrates, the dopaminergic system is responsible for the behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. Here we show that the brain regions that receive dopaminergic input through dopamine receptor D1 are relatively conserved, but with some important variations between three evolutionarily distant vertebrate lines–house mouse (Mus musculus), domestic chick (Gallus gallus domesticus) / common quail (Coturnix coturnix) and red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta). Moreover, we find that in almost all instances, those brain regions expressing D1-like dopamine receptor genes also express Wfs1. Wfs1 has been studied primarily in the pancreas, where it regulates the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, cellular Ca2+ homeostasis, and insulin production and secretion. Using radioligand binding assays in wild type and Wfs1-/- mouse brains, we show that the number of binding sites of D1-like dopamine receptors is increased in the hippocampus of the mutant mice. We propose that the functional link between Wfs1 and D1-like dopamine receptors is evolutionarily conserved and plays an important role in adjusting behavioral reactions to environmental stimuli

Pricing Discretely Monitored Asian Options by Maturity Randomization

We present methodologies to price discretely monitored Asian options when the underlying evolves according to a generic Levy process. For geometric Asian options we provide closed-form solutions in terms of the Fourier transform and we study in particular these formulas in the Levy-stable case. For arithmetic Asian options we solve the valuation problem by recursive integration and derive a recursive theoretical formula for the moments to check the accuracy of the results. We compare the implementation of our method to Monte Carlo simulation implemented with control variates and using different parametric Levy processes. We also discuss model-risk issues

Anderson Transition in Disordered Graphene

We use the regularized kernel polynomial method (RKPM) to numerically study the effect disorder on a single layer of graphene. This accurate numerical method enables us to study very large lattices with millions of sites, and hence is almost free of finite size errors. Within this approach, both weak and strong disorder regimes are handled on the same footing. We study the tight-binding model with on-site disorder, on the honeycomb lattice. We find that in the weak disorder regime, the Dirac fermions remain extended and their velocities decrease as the disorder strength is increased. However, if the disorder is strong enough, there will be a {\em mobility edge} separating {\em localized states around the Fermi point}, from the remaining extended states. This is in contrast to the scaling theory of localization which predicts that all states are localized in two-dimensions (2D).Comment: 4 page

Alternative Promoter Use Governs The Expression Of IgLON Cell Adhesion Molecules In Histogenetic Fields Of The Embryonic Mouse Brain

The members of the IgLON superfamily of cell adhesion molecules facilitate fundamental cellular communication during brain development, maintain functional brain circuitry, and are associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, autism, schizophrenia, and intellectual disabilities. Usage of alternative promoter-specific 1a and 1b mRNA isoforms in Lsamp, Opcml, Ntm, and the single promoter of Negr1 in the mouse and human brain has been previously described. To determine the precise spatiotemporal expression dynamics of Lsamp, Opcml, Ntm isoforms, and Negr1, in the developing brain, we generated isoform-specific RNA probes and carried out in situ hybridization in the developing (embryonic, E10.5, E11.5, 13.5, 17; postnatal, P0) and adult mouse brains. We show that promoter-specific expression of IgLONs is established early during pallial development (at E10.5), where it remains throughout its differentiation through adulthood. In the diencephalon, midbrain, and hindbrain, strong expression patterns are initiated a few days later and begin fading after birth, being only faintly expressed during adulthood. Thus, the expression of specific IgLONs in the developing brain may provide the means for regionally specific functionality as well as for specific regional vulnerabilities. The current study will therefore improve the understanding of how IgLON genes are implicated in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders

A programmable two-qubit quantum processor in silicon

With qubit measurement and control fidelities above the threshold of fault-tolerance, much attention is moving towards the daunting task of scaling up the number of physical qubits to the large numbers needed for fault tolerant quantum computing. Here, quantum dot based spin qubits may offer significant advantages due to their potential for high densities, all-electrical operation, and integration onto an industrial platform. In this system, the initialisation, readout, single- and two-qubit gates have been demonstrated in various qubit representations. However, as seen with other small scale quantum computer demonstrations, combining these elements leads to new challenges involving qubit crosstalk, state leakage, calibration, and control hardware which provide invaluable insight towards scaling up. Here we address these challenges and demonstrate a programmable two-qubit quantum processor in silicon by performing both the Deutsch-Josza and the Grover search algorithms. In addition, we characterise the entanglement in our processor through quantum state tomography of Bell states measuring state fidelities between 85-89% and concurrences between 73-80%. These results pave the way for larger scale quantum computers using spins confined to quantum dots

Mothers behaving badly: chaotic hedonism and the crisis of neoliberal social reproduction

This article focuses on the significance of the plethora of representations of mothers ‘behaving badly’ in contemporary anglophone media texts, including the films Bad Moms, Fun Mom Dinner and Bad Mom’s Christmas, the book and online cartoons Hurrah for Gin and the recent TV comedy dramas Motherland, The Let Down and Catastrophe. All these media texts include representations of, first, mothers in the midst of highly chaotic everyday spaces where any smooth routine of domesticity is conspicuous by its absence; and second, mothers behaving hedonistically, usually through drinking and partying, behaviour that is more conventionally associated with men or women without children. After identifying the social type of the mother behaving badly (MBB), the article locates and analyses it in relation to several different social and cultural contexts. These contexts are: a neoliberal crisis in social reproduction marked by inequality and overwork; the continual if contested role of women as ‘foundation parents’; and the negotiation of longer-term discourses of female hedonism. The title gestures towards a popular British sitcom of the 1990s, Men Behaving Badly, which popularized the idea of the ‘new lad’; and this article suggests that the new lad’s counterpart, the ladette, is mutating into the mother behaving badly, or the ‘lad mom’. Asking what work this figure does now, in a later neoliberal context, it argues that the mother behaving badly is simultaneously indicative of a widening and liberating range of maternal subject positions and symptomatic of a profound contemporary crisis in social reproduction. By focusing on the classed and racialised dynamics of the MBB – by examining who exactly is permitted to be hedonistic, and how – and by considering the MBB’s limited and partial imagining of progressive social change, the article concludes by emphasizing the urgency of creating more connections between such discourses and ‘parents behaving politically’

Low energy atomic collision with dipole interactions

We apply quantum defect theory to study low energy ground state atomic collisions including aligned dipole interactions such as those induced by an electric field. Our results show that coupled even ($l$) relative orbital angular momentum partial wave channels exhibit shape resonance structures while odd ($l$) channels do not. We analyze and interpret these resonances within the framework of multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT).Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, an inadvertent typo correcte

Insulin Detemir in the Treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin detemir is a soluble long-acting human insulin analogue at neutral pH with a unique mechanism of action. Following subcutaneous injection, insulin detemir binds to albumin via fatty acid chain, thereby providing slow absorption and a prolonged metabolic effect. Insulin detemir has a less variable pharmacokinetic profile than insulin suspension isophane or insulin ultralente. The use of insulin detemir can reduce the risk of hypoglycemia (especially nocturnal hypoglycemia) in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. However, overall glycemic control, as assessed by glycated hemoglobin, is only marginally and not significantly improved compared with usual insulin therapy. The weight gain commonly associated with insulin therapy is rather limited when insulin detemir is used. In our experience, this new insulin analogue is preferably administrated at bedtime but can be proposed twice a day (in the morning and either before the dinner or at bedtime). Detemir is a promising option for basal insulin therapy in type 1 or type 2 diabetic patients

Photofission of heavy nuclei at energies up to 4 GeV

Total photofission cross sections for 238U, 235U, 233U, 237Np, 232Th, and natPb have been measured simultaneously, using tagged photons in the energy range Egamma=0.17-3.84 GeV. This was the first experiment performed using the Photon Tagging Facility in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. Our results show that the photofission cross section for 238U relative to that for 237Np is about 80%, implying the presence of important processes that compete with fission. We also observe that the relative photofission cross sections do not depend strongly on the incident photon energy over this entire energy range. If we assume that for 237Np the photofission probability is equal to unity, we observe a significant shadowing effect starting below 1.5 GeV.Comment: 4 pages of RevTex, 6 postscript figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let