217 research outputs found
Claudin expression during early postnatal development of the murine cochlea
Citation: Kudo, T., Wangemann, P., & Marcus, D. C. (2018). Claudin expression during early postnatal development of the murine cochlea. BMC Physiology, 18(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12899-018-0035-1Background: Claudins are major components of tight junctions, which form the paracellular barrier between the cochlear luminal and abluminal fluid compartments that supports the large transepithelial voltage difference and the large concentration differences of K+, Na+ and Ca2+ needed for normal cochlear function. Claudins are a family of more than 20 subtypes, but our knowledge about expression and localization of each subtype in the cochlea is limited. Results: We examined by quantitative RT-PCR the expression of the mRNA of 24 claudin isoforms in mouse cochlea during postnatal development and localized the expression in separated fractions of the cochlea. Transcripts of 21 claudin isoforms were detected at all ages, while 3 isoforms (Cldn-16, ??17 and ??18) were not detected. Claudins that increased expression during development include Cldn-9, ??13, ??14, ??15, and -19v2, while Cldn-6 decreased. Those that do not change expression level during postnatal development include Cldn-1, ??2, ??3, ??4, ??5, ??7, ??8, ?10v1, ?10v2, ??11, ??12, ?19v1, ??20, ??22, and???23. Our investigation revealed unique localization of some claudins. In particular, Cldn-13 expression rapidly increases during early development and is mainly expressed in bone but only minimally in the lateral wall (including stria vascularis) and in the medial region (including the organ of Corti). No statistically significant changes in expression of Cldn-11, ??13, or ??14 were found in the cochlea of Slc26a4 ?/? mice compared to Slc26a4 +/? mice. Conclusions: We demonstrated developmental patterns of claudin isoform transcript expression in the murine cochlea. Most of the claudins were associated with stria vascularis and organ of Corti, tissue fractions rich in tight junctions. However, this study suggests a novel function of Cldn-13 in the cochlea, which may be linked to cochlear bone marrow maturation
Point Cloud-based Proactive Link Quality Prediction for Millimeter-wave Communications
This study demonstrates the feasibility of point cloud-based proactive link
quality prediction for millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications. Previous
studies have proposed machine learning-based methods to predict received signal
strength for future time periods using time series of depth images to mitigate
the line-of-sight (LOS) path blockage by pedestrians in mmWave communication.
However, these image-based methods have limited applicability due to privacy
concerns as camera images may contain sensitive information. This study
proposes a point cloud-based method for mmWave link quality prediction and
demonstrates its feasibility through experiments. Point clouds represent
three-dimensional (3D) spaces as a set of points and are sparser and less
likely to contain sensitive information than camera images. Additionally, point
clouds provide 3D position and motion information, which is necessary for
understanding the radio propagation environment involving pedestrians. This
study designs the mmWave link quality prediction method and conducts realistic
indoor experiments, where the link quality fluctuates significantly due to
human blockage, using commercially available IEEE 802.11ad-based 60 GHz
wireless LAN devices and Kinect v2 RGB-D camera and Velodyne VLP-16 light
detection and ranging (LiDAR) for point cloud acquisition. The experimental
results showed that our proposed method can predict future large attenuation of
mmWave received signal strength and throughput induced by the LOS path blockage
by pedestrians with comparable or superior accuracy to image-based prediction
methods. Hence, our point cloud-based method can serve as a viable alternative
to image-based methods.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Machine Learning in Communications
and Networkin
Thermal Conductivity in the Bose-Einstein Condensed State of Triplons in the Bond-Alternating Spin-Chain System Pb2V3O9
In order to clarify the origin of the enhancement of the thermal conductivity
in the Bose-Einstein Condensed (BEC) state of field-induced triplons, we have
measured the thermal conductivity along the [101] direction parallel to
spin-chains, , and perpendicular to spin-chains,
, of the S=1/2 bond-alternating spin-chain system Pb2V3O9
in magnetic fields up to 14 T. With increasing field at 3 K, it has been found
that both and are suppressed in the
gapped normal state in low fields. In the BEC state of field-induced triplons
in high fields, on the other hand, is enhanced with
increasing field, while is suppressed. That is, the
thermal conductivity along the direction, where the magnetic interaction is
strong, is markedly enhanced in the BEC state. Accordingly, our results suggest
that the enhancement of in the BEC state is caused by the
enhancement of the thermal conductivity due to triplons on the basis of the
two-fluid model, as in the case of the superfluid state of liquid 4He.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Near-Infrared Coronagraphic Observations of the T Tauri Binary System UY Aur
We present a near-infrared image of UY Aur, a 0.9" separated binary system,
using the Coronagraphic Imager with Adaptive Optics on the Subaru Telescope.
Thanks to adaptive optics, the spatial resolution of our image was ~0.1" in the
full width at half maximum of the point spread function, the highest achieved.
By comparison with previous measurements, we estimated that the orbital period
is ~1640 yrs and the total mass of the binary is ~1.73 solar mass. The observed
H-band magnitude of the secondary varies by as much as 1.3 mag within a decade,
while that of the primary is rather stable. This inconstancy may arise from
photospheric variability caused by an uneven accretion rate or from the
rotation of the secondary. We detected a half-ring shaped circumbinary disk
around the binary with a bright southwest part but a barely detectable
northeast portion. The brightness ratio is ~57. Its inner radius and
inclination are about 520 AU and 42, respectively. The disk is not uniform but
has remarkable features, including a clumpy structure along the disk,
circumstellar material inside the inner cavity, and an extended armlike
structure. The circumstellar material inside the cavity probably corresponds to
a clump or material accreting from the disk onto the binary. The armlike
structure is a part of the disk, created by the accretion from the outer region
of the disk or encounters with other stellar systems.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in A
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