52,199 research outputs found
Distinct core promoter codes drive transcription initiation at key developmental transitions in a marine chordate
BACKGROUND: Development is largely driven by transitions between transcriptional programs. The initiation of transcription at appropriate sites in the genome is a key component of this and yet few rules governing selection are known. Here, we used cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) to generate bp-resolution maps of transcription start sites (TSSs) across the genome of Oikopleura dioica, a member of the closest living relatives to vertebrates. RESULTS: Our TSS maps revealed promoter features in common with vertebrates, as well as striking differences, and uncovered key roles for core promoter elements in the regulation of development. During spermatogenesis there is a genome-wide shift in mode of transcription initiation characterized by a novel core promoter element. This element was associated with > 70% of male-specific transcription, including the use of cryptic internal promoters within operons. In many cases this led to the exclusion of trans-splice sites, revealing a novel mechanism for regulating which mRNAs receive the spliced leader. Binding of the cell cycle regulator, E2F1, is enriched at the TSS of maternal genes in endocycling nurse nuclei. In addition, maternal promoters lack the TATA-like element found in zebrafish and have broad, rather than sharp, architectures with ordered nucleosomes. Promoters of ribosomal protein genes lack the highly conserved TCT initiator. We also report an association between DNA methylation on transcribed gene bodies and the TATA-box. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that distinct functional promoter classes and overlapping promoter codes are present in protochordates like in vertebrates, but show extraordinary lineage-specific innovations. Furthermore, we uncover a genome-wide, developmental stage-specific shift in the mode of TSS selection. Our results provide a rich resource for the study of promoter structure and evolution in Metazoa
Nature of fault planes in solid neutron star matter
The properties of tectonic earthquake sources are compared with those deduced
here for fault planes in solid neutron-star matter. The conclusion that
neutron-star matter cannot exhibit brittle fracture at any temperature or
magnetic field is significant for current theories of pulsar glitches, and of
the anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters.Comment: 5 AAS LaTeX pages 1 eps figur
Slip boundary conditions for shear flow of polymer melts past atomically flat surfaces
Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the dynamic
behavior of the slip length in thin polymer films confined between atomically
smooth thermal surfaces. For weak wall-fluid interactions, the shear rate
dependence of the slip length acquires a distinct local minimum followed by a
rapid growth at higher shear rates. With increasing fluid density, the position
of the local minimum is shifted to lower shear rates. We found that the ratio
of the shear viscosity to the slip length, which defines the friction
coefficient at the liquid/solid interface, undergoes a transition from a nearly
constant value to the power law decay as a function of the slip velocity. In a
wide range of shear rates and fluid densities, the friction coefficient is
determined by the product of the value of surface induced peak in the structure
factor and the contact density of the first fluid layer near the solid wall.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figure
Electrodynamics of Magnetars IV: Self-Consistent Model of the Inner Accelerator, with Implications for Pulsed Radio Emission
We consider the voltage structure in the open-field circuit and outer
magnetosphere of a magnetar. The standard polar-cap model for radio pulsars is
modified significantly when the polar magnetic field exceeds 1.8x10^{14} G.
Pairs are created by accelerated particles via resonant scattering of thermal
X-rays, followed by the nearly instantaneous conversion of the scattered photon
to a pair. A surface gap is then efficiently screened by e+- creation, which
regulates the voltage in the inner part of the circuit to ~10^9 V. We also
examine the electrostatic gap structure that can form when the magnetic field
is somewhat weaker, and deduce a voltage 10-30 times larger over a range of
surface temperatures. We examine carefully how the flow of charge back to the
star above the gap depends on the magnitude of the current that is extracted
from the surface of the star, on the curvature of the magnetic field lines, and
on resonant drag. The rates of different channels of pair creation are
determined self-consistently, including the non-resonant scattering of X-rays,
and collisions between gamma rays and X-rays. We find that the electrostatic
gap solution has too small a voltage to sustain the observed pulsed radio
output of magnetars unless i) the magnetic axis is nearly aligned with the
rotation axis and the light of sight; or ii) the gap is present on the closed
as well as the open magnetic field lines. Several properties of the radio
magnetars -- their rapid variability, broad pulses, and unusually hard radio
spectra -- are consistent with a third possibility, that the current in the
outer magnetosphere is strongly variable, and a very high rate of pair creation
is sustained by a turbulent cascade.Comment: 32 pages, submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
Nucleation of quark matter in neutron stars cores
We consider the general conditions of quark droplets formation in high
density neutron matter. The growth of the quark bubble (assumed to contain a
sufficiently large number of particles) can be described by means of a
Fokker-Planck equation. The dynamics of the nucleation essentially depends on
the physical properties of the medium it takes place. The conditions for quark
bubble formation are analyzed within the frameworks of both dissipative and
non-dissipative (with zero bulk and shear viscosity coefficients) approaches.
The conversion time of the neutron star to a quark star is obtained as a
function of the equation of state of the neutron matter and of the microscopic
parameters of the quark nuclei. As an application of the obtained formalism we
analyze the first order phase transition from neutron matter to quark matter in
rapidly rotating neutron stars cores, triggered by the gravitational energy
released during the spinning down of the neutron star. The endothermic
conversion process, via gravitational energy absorption, could take place, in a
very short time interval, of the order of few tens seconds, in a class of dense
compact objects, with very high magnetic fields, called magnetars.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Ap
Haze in the Mars atmosphere as revealed by the Mariner 4 television data
Photometric investigation of haze in Mars atmosphere revealed by Mariner 4 television dat
Suppression of Kelvon-induced decay of quantized vortices in oblate Bose-Einstein Condensates
We study the Kelvin mode excitations on a vortex line in a three-dimensional
trapped Bose-Einstein condensate at finite temperature. Our stochastic
Gross-Pitaevskii simulations show that the activation of these modes can be
suppressed by tightening the confinement along the direction of the vortex
line, leading to a strong suppression in the vortex decay rate as the system
enters a regime of two-dimensional vortex dynamics. As the system approaches
the condensation transition temperature we find that the vortex decay rate is
strongly sensitive to dimensionality and temperature, observing a large
enhancement for quasi-two-dimensional traps. Three-dimensional simulations of
the recent vortex dipole decay experiment of Neely et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.
104, 160401 (2010)] confirm two-dimensional vortex dynamics, and predict a
dipole lifetime consistent with experimental observations and suppression of
Kelvon-induced vortex decay in highly oblate condensates.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
MLS: Airplane system modeling
Analysis, modeling, and simulations were conducted as part of a multiyear investigation of the more important airplane-system-related items of the microwave landing system (MLS). Particular emphasis was placed upon the airplane RF system, including the antenna radiation distribution, the cabling options from the antenna to the receiver, and the overall impact of the airborne system gains and losses upon the direct-path signal structure. In addition, effort was expended toward determining the impact of the MLS upon the airplane flight management system and developing the initial stages of a fast-time MLS automatic control system simulation model. Results ot these studies are presented
A ratio model of perceived speed in the human visual system
The perceived speed of moving images changes over time. Prolonged viewing of a pattern (adaptation) leads to an exponential decrease in its perceived speed. Similarly, responses of neurones tuned to motion reduce exponentially over time. It is tempting to link these phenomena. However, under certain conditions, perceived speed increases after adaptation and the time course of these perceptual effects varies widely. We propose a model that comprises two temporally tuned mechanisms whose sensitivities reduce exponentially over time. Perceived speed is taken as the ratio of these filters' outputs. The model captures increases and decreases in perceived speed following adaptation and describes our data well with just four free parameters. Whilst the model captures perceptual time courses that vary widely, parameter estimates for the time constants of the underlying filters are in good agreement with estimates of the time course of adaptation of direction selective neurones in the mammalian visual system
Optical Spectroscopy of K-selected Extremely Red Galaxies
We have obtained spectroscopic redshifts for 24 red galaxies from a sample
with median Ks=18.7 and F814W - Ks > 4, using the Keck telescope. These
EROshave high resolution morphologies from HST (Yan & Thompson 2003). Among the
24 redshifts, the majority (92%) are at . We derived the
rest-frame J-band luminosity function at . Our result
suggests that the luminosity evolution between bright EROs at and the
present-day L massive galaxies is at most about 0.7 magnitude. Combining
the morphologies and deep spectroscopy revealed the following properties: (1)
86% of the spectra have absorption features from old stars, suggesting that the
dominant stellar populations seen in the rest-frame UV are old stars. 50% of
the sources have pure absorption lines, while the remaining 50% have emission
lines, indicating recent star formation. We conclude that the color criterion
for EROs is very effective in selecting old stellar populations at ,
and a large fraction of these systems with prominent old stellar populations
also have recent star formation. (2) The 12 emission line systems have the same
number of disk and bulge galaxies as in the remaining 12 pure absorption line
systems. We conclude that spectral classes do not have a simple, direct
correspondence with morphological types. (3) Three EROs could be isolated, pure
passively evolving early-type galaxies at . This implies that only a
small fraction (10%--15%) of early-type galaxies are formed in a rapid burst of
star formation at high redshifts and evolved passively since then. (Abridged).Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomical
Journal, issue March 200
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