The highly rearranged mitochondrial genomes of the crabs Maja crispata and Maja squinado (Majidae) and gene order evolution in Brachyura

Abstract We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of the spider crabs Maja crispata and Maja squinado (Majidae, Brachyura). Both genomes contain the whole set of 37 genes characteristic of Bilaterian genomes, encoded on both \u3b1- and \u3b2-strands. Both species exhibit the same gene order, which is unique among known animal genomes. In particular, all the genes located on the \u3b2-strand form a single block. This gene order was analysed together with the other nine gene orders known for the Brachyura. Our study confirms that the most widespread gene order (BraGO) represents the plesiomorphic condition for Brachyura and was established at the onset of this clade. All other gene orders are the result of transformational pathways originating from BraGO. The different gene orders exhibit variable levels of genes rearrangements, which involve only tRNAs or all types of genes. Local homoplastic arrangements were identified, while complete gene orders remain unique and represent signatures that can have a diagnostic value. Brachyura appear to be a hot-spot of gene order diversity within the phylum Arthropoda. Our analysis, allowed to track, for the first time, the fully evolutionary pathways producing the Brachyuran gene orders. This goal was achieved by coupling sophisticated bioinformatic tools with phylogenetic analysis

Modulation of terahertz polarization on picosecond timescales using polymer-encapsulated semiconductor nanowires

© OSA 2017. We exploit the photoconductivity of semiconductor nanowires to achieve ultrafast broad-bandwidth modulation of THz pulses. A modulation depth of -8 dB was exhibited by a polarizer consisting of 14 layers of nanowires encapsulated in polymer

Introduction of article-processing charges for Population Health Metrics

Population Health Metrics is an open-access online electronic journal published by BioMed Central – it is universally and freely available online to everyone, its authors retain copyright, and it is archived in at least one internationally recognised free repository. To fund this, from November 1 2003, authors of articles accepted for publication will be asked to pay an article-processing charge of US$500. This editorial outlines the reasons for the introduction of article-processing charges and the way in which this policy will work. Waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, by the Editor-in-Chief. Article-processing charges will not apply to authors whose institutions are 'members' of BioMed Central. Current members include NHS England, the World Health Organization, the US National Institutes of Health, Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities, and all UK universities. No charge is made for articles that are rejected after peer review. Many funding agencies have also realized the importance of open access publishing and have specified that their grants may be used directly to pay APCs

Plasmonic nanogap enhanced phase-change devices with dual electrical-optical functionality

This is the final version. Available from American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this record. Modern-day computers rely on electrical signaling for the processing and storage of data, which is bandwidth-limited and power hungry. This fact has long been realized in the communications field, where optical signaling is the norm. However, exploiting optical signaling in computing will require new on-chip devices that work seamlessly in both electrical and optical domains, without the need for repeated electrical-to-optical conversion. Phase-change devices can, in principle, provide such dual electrical-optical operation, but assimilating both functionalities into a single device has so far proved elusive owing to conflicting requirements of size-limited electrical switching and diffraction-limited optical response. Here, we combine plasmonics, photonics, and electronics to deliver an integrated phase-change memory cell that can be electrically or optically switched between binary or multilevel states. Crucially, this device can also be simultaneously read out both optically and electrically, offering a new strategy for merging computing and communications technologies.European CommissionEPSRCDeutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftEuropean Research CouncilEuropean Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation progra

Silicon Atomic Quantum Dots Enable Beyond-CMOS Electronics

We review our recent efforts in building atom-scale quantum-dot cellular automata circuits on a silicon surface. Our building block consists of silicon dangling bond on a H-Si(001) surface, which has been shown to act as a quantum dot. First the fabrication, experimental imaging, and charging character of the dangling bond are discussed. We then show how precise assemblies of such dots can be created to form artificial molecules. Such complex structures can be used as systems with custom optical properties, circuit elements for quantum-dot cellular automata, and quantum computing. Considerations on macro-to-atom connections are discussed.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figure

Aplastic Crisis as Primary Manifestation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Aplastic crisis is an unusual feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report the case of a 54-year-old woman presenting with both (extravascular) Coombs-positive hemolytic anemia and laboratory findings of bone marrow hyporegeneration with concomitant severe neutropenia. A bone marrow biopsy confirmed aplastic crisis. Diagnostic work-up revealed soaring titers of autoantibodies (anti-nuclear, anti-double-stranded DNA, anti-cardiolipin-IgM, and anti-beta 2-glykoprotein-IgM antibodies), indicating a connective tissue disease as the most plausible reason for bone marrow insufficiency. As the criteria for SLE were fulfilled, we initiated an immunosuppressive therapy by steroids, which led to a rapid complete hematologic and clinical remission in our patient. In this case, we could report on one of the rare cases of SLE-induced aplastic crisis showing that this condition can be entirely reversed by immunosuppressive treatment and that SLE-induced aplastic crisis yields a good prognosis. In conclusion, in a case of aplastic crisis, physicians should be aware that SLE can be a rare cause that is accessible to specific treatment

Size-Dependent Photon Emission from Organometal Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals Embedded in an Organic Matrix

10.1021/jz502615eJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters63446-45

A constitutive model for cytoskeletal contractility of smooth muscle cells

The constitutive model presented in this article aims to describe the main bio-chemo-mechanical features involved in the contractile response of smooth muscle cells, in which the biochemical response is modelled by extending the four-state Hai–Murphy model to isotonic contraction of the cells and the mechanical response is mainly modelled based on the phosphorylation-dependent hyperbolic relation between isotonic shortening strain rate and tension. The one-dimensional version of the model is used to simulate shortening-induced deactivation with good agreement with selected experimental measurements. The results suggest that the Hai–Murphy biochemical model neglects the strain rate effect on the kinetics of cross-bridge interactions with actin filaments in the isotonic contractions. The two-dimensional version and three-dimensional versions of the model are developed using the homogenization method under finite strain continuum mechanics framework. The two-dimensional constitutive model is used to simulate swine carotid media strips under electrical field stimulation, experimentally investigated by Singer and Murphy, and contraction of a hollow airway and a hollow arteriole buried in a soft matrix subjected to multiple calcium ion stimulations. It is found that the transverse deformation may have significant influence on the response of the swine carotid medium. In both cases, the orientation of the maximal value of attached myosin is aligned with the orientation of maximum principal stress