Magnetoresistance of antidot lattices with grain boundaries

The magnetotransport properties of antidot lattices containing artificially designed grain boundaries have been measured. We find that the grain boundaries broaden the commensurability resonances and displace them anisotropically. These phenomena are unexpectedly weak but differ characteristically from isotropic, Gaussian disorder in the antidot positions. The observations are interpreted in terms of semiclassical trajectories which tend to localize along the grain boundaries within certain magnetic field intervals. Furthermore, our results indicate how the transport through superlattices generated by self-organizing templates may get influenced by grain boundaries.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Dynamics of the Volterra-type integral and differentiation operators on generalized Fock spaces

[EN] Various dynamical properties of the differentiation and Volterra-type integral operators on generalized Fock spaces are studied. We show that the differentiation operator is always supercyclic on these spaces. We further characterize when it is hypercyclic, power bounded and uniformly mean ergodic. We prove that the operator satisfies the Ritt's resolvent condition if and only if it is power bounded and uniformly mean ergodic. Some similar results are obtained for the Volterra-type and Hardy integral operators.J. Bonet was partially supported by the research projects MTM2016-76647-P and GV Prometeo 2017/102 (Spain). M. Worku is supported by ISP project, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.Bonet Solves, JA.; Mengestie, T.; Worku, M. (2019). Dynamics of the Volterra-type integral and differentiation operators on generalized Fock spaces. Results in Mathematics. 74(4):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00025-019-1123-7S115744Abanin, A.V., Tien, P.T.: Differentiation and integration operators on weighted Banach spaces of holomorphic functions. Math. Nachr. 290(8–9), 1144–1162 (2017)Atzmon, A., Brive, B.: Surjectivity and invariant subspaces of differential operators on weighted Bergman spaces of entire functions, Bergman spaces and related topics in complex analysis, Contemp. Math., vol. 404, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, pp. 27–39 (2006)Bayart, F., Matheron, E.: Dynamics of Linear Operators, Cambridge Tracts in Math, vol. 179. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge (2009)Bermúdez, T., Bonilla, A., Peris, A.: On hypercyclicity and supercyclicity criteria. Bull. Austral. Math. Soc. 70, 45–54 (2004)Beltrán, M.J.: Dynamics of differentiation and integration operators on weighted space of entire functions. Studia Math. 221, 35–60 (2014)Beltrán, M.J., Bonet, J., Fernández, C.: Classical operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 141, 4293–4303 (2013)Bès, J., Peris, A.: Hereditarily hypercyclic operators. J. Funct. Anal. 167, 94–112 (1999)Bonet, J.: Dynamics of the differentiation operator on weighted spaces of entire functions. Math. Z. 26, 649–657 (2009)Bonet, J.: The spectrum of Volterra operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Q. J. Math. 66, 799–807 (2015)Bonet, J., Bonilla, A.: Chaos of the differentiation operator on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 7, 33–42 (2013)Bonet, J., Taskinen, J.: A note about Volterra operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Math. Nachr. 288, 1216–1225 (2015)Constantin, O., Persson, A.-M.: The spectrum of Volterra-type integration operators on generalized Fock spaces. Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 47, 958–963 (2015)Constantin, O., Peláez, J.-Á.: Integral operators, embedding theorems and a Littlewood–Paley formula on weighted Fock spaces. J. Geom. Anal. 26, 1109–1154 (2016)De La Rosa, M., Read, C.: A hypercyclic operator whose direct sum is not hypercyclic. J. Oper. Theory 61, 369–380 (2009)Dunford, N.: Spectral theory. I. Convergence to projections. Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 54, 185–217 (1943)Grosse-Erdmann, K.G., Peris Manguillot, A.: Linear Chaos. Springer, New York (2011)Harutyunyan, A., Lusky, W.: On the boundedness of the differentiation operator between weighted spaces of holomorphic functions. Studia Math. 184, 233–247 (2008)Krengel, U.: Ergodic Theorems. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (1985)Lyubich, Yu.: Spectral localization, power boundedness and invariant subspaces under Ritt’s type condition. Studia Mathematica 143(2), 153–167 (1999)Mengestie, T.: A note on the differential operator on generalized Fock spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 458(2), 937–948 (2018)Mengestie, T.: Spectral properties of Volterra-type integral operators on Fock–Sobolev spaces. J. Kor. Math. Soc. 54(6), 1801–1816 (2017)Mengestie, T.: On the spectrum of volterra-type integral operators on Fock–Sobolev spaces. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 11(6), 1451–1461 (2017)Mengestie, T., Ueki, S.: Integral, differential and multiplication operators on weighted Fock spaces. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 13, 935–95 (2019)Mengestie, T., Worku, M.: Isolated and essentially isolated Volterra-type integral operators on generalized Fock spaces. Integr. Transf. Spec. Funct. 30, 41–54 (2019)Nagy, B., Zemanek, J.A.: A resolvent condition implying power boundedness. Studia Math. 134, 143–151 (1999)Nevanlinna, O.: Convergence of iterations for linear equations. Lecture Notes in Mathematics. ETH Zürich, Birkhäuser, Basel (1993)Ritt, R.K.: A condition that $$\lim _{n\rightarrow \infty } n^{-1}T^n =0$$. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 4, 898–899 (1953)Ueki, S.: Characterization for Fock-type space via higher order derivatives and its application. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 8, 1475–1486 (2014)Yosida, K.: Functional Analysis. Springer, Berlin (1978)Yosida, K., Kakutani, S.: Operator-theoretical treatment of Marko’s process and mean ergodic theorem. Ann. Math. 42(1), 188–228 (1941

Hemodialysis Affects Phenotype and Proliferation of CD4-Positive T Lymphocytes

CD4+ T lymphocytes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are characterized by reduced levels of crucial surface antigens and changes in the cell cycle parameters. Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) normalizes their altered phenotype and proliferative capacity. Mechanisms leading to the deficient responses of T lymphocytes are still not clear but it is postulated that immunological changes are deepened by hemodialysis (HD). Study of activation parameters of CD4+ T lymphocytes in hemodialyzed and predialysis CKD patients could bring insight into this problem. Two groups of patients, treated conservatively (predialysis, PD) and hemodialyzed (HD), as well as healthy controls, were included into the study; neither had received rhEPO. Proportions of main CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD25+, CD4+CD69+, CD4+CD95+, and CD4+HLA-DR+ lymphocyte subpopulations and proliferation kinetic parameters were measured with flow cytometry, both ex vivo and in vitro. No differences were seen in the proportions of main CD4+ lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD25+, CD4+HLA-DR+, CD4+CD69+, CD4+CD95+) between all examined groups ex vivo. CD4+ T lymphocytes of HD patients exhibited significantly decreased expression of co-stimulatory molecule CD28 and activation markers CD25 and CD69 after stimulation in vitro when compared with PD patients and healthy controls. HD patients showed also decreased percentage of CD4+CD28+ lymphocytes proliferating in vitro; these cells presented decreased numbers of finished divisions after 72 h of stimulation in vitro and had longer G0→G1 time when compared to healthy controls. CD4+ T lymphocytes of PD patients and healthy controls were characterized by similar cell cycle parameters. Our study shows that repeated hemodialysis procedure influences phenotype and proliferation parameters of CD4+ T lymphocytes

Retinoids cause apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells via activation of RAR-γ and altered expression of Bcl-2/Bax

All-trans-retinoic acid and 9-cis-retinoic acid have been reported to have inhibitory effects on pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and we have shown that this is partly due to induction of apoptosis. In this study, the mechanisms whereby 9-cis-retinoic acid induces apoptosis in these cells were investigated. An involvement of the Bcl-2 family of proteins was shown, such that 9-cis-retinoic acid causes a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Overexpression of Bcl-2 also resulted in inhibition of apoptosis induced by 9-cis-retinoic acid. Furthermore, two broad-range caspase inhibitors blocked DNA fragmentation induced by 9-cis-retinoic acid, but had no effect on viability defined by mitochondrial activity. Using synthetic retinoids, which bind selectively to specific retinoic acid receptor subtypes, we further established that activation of retinoic acid receptor-γ is essential for induction of apoptosis. Only pan-retinoic acid receptor and retinoic acid receptor-γ selective agonists reduced viability and a cell line expressing very low levels of retinoic acid receptor-γ is resistant to the effects of 9-cis-retinoic acid. A retinoic acid receptor-β/γ selective antagonist also suppressed the cytotoxic effects of 9-cis-retinoic acid in a dose-dependent manner. This study provides important insight into the mechanisms involved in suppression of pancreatic tumour cell growth by retinoids. Our results encourage further work evaluating the clinical use of receptor subtype selective retinoids in pancreatic carcinoma

Changes in Striatal Dopamine Release Associated with Human Motor-Skill Acquisition

The acquisition of new motor skills is essential throughout daily life and involves the processes of learning new motor sequence and encoding elementary aspects of new movement. Although previous animal studies have suggested a functional importance for striatal dopamine release in the learning of new motor sequence, its role in encoding elementary aspects of new movement has not yet been investigated. To elucidate this, we investigated changes in striatal dopamine levels during initial skill-training (Day 1) compared with acquired conditions (Day 2) using 11C-raclopride positron-emission tomography. Ten volunteers learned to perform brisk contractions using their non-dominant left thumbs with the aid of visual feedback. On Day 1, the mean acceleration of each session was improved through repeated training sessions until performance neared asymptotic levels, while improved motor performance was retained from the beginning on Day 2. The 11C-raclopride binding potential (BP) in the right putamen was reduced during initial skill-training compared with under acquired conditions. Moreover, voxel-wise analysis revealed that 11C-raclopride BP was particularly reduced in the right antero-dorsal to the lateral part of the putamen. Based on findings from previous fMRI studies that show a gradual shift of activation within the striatum during the initial processing of motor learning, striatal dopamine may play a role in the dynamic cortico-striatal activation during encoding of new motor memory in skill acquisition

Mislocalisation of BEST1 in iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells from a family with autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy (ADVIRC)

Autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy (ADVIRC) is a rare, early-onset retinal dystrophy characterised by distinct bands of circumferential pigmentary degeneration in the peripheral retina and developmental eye defects. ADVIRC is caused by mutations in the Bestrophin1 (BEST1) gene, which encodes a transmembrane protein thought to function as an ion channel in the basolateral membrane of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Previous studies suggest that the distinct ADVIRC phenotype results from alternative splicing of BEST1 pre-mRNA. Here, we have used induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to investigate the effects of an ADVIRC associated BEST1 mutation (c.704T > C, p.V235A) in patient-derived iPSC-RPE. We found no evidence of alternate splicing of the BEST1 transcript in ADVIRC iPSC-RPE, however in patient-derived iPSC-RPE, BEST1 was expressed at the basolateral membrane and the apical membrane. During human eye development we show that BEST1 is expressed more abundantly in peripheral RPE compared to central RPE and is also expressed in cells of the developing retina. These results suggest that higher levels of mislocalised BEST1 expression in the periphery, from an early developmental stage, could provide a mechanism that leads to the distinct clinical phenotype observed in ADVIRC patients

Identification of retinoic acid-regulated nuclear matrix-associated protein as a novel regulator of gastric cancer

Background: Retinoic acid-regulated nuclear matrix-associated protein (RAMP) is a WD40 repeat-containing protein that is involved in various biological functions, but little is known about its role in human cancer. This study aims to delineate the oncogenic role of RAMP in gastric carcinogenesis

A systematic review of physiological methods in rodent pharmacological MRI studies

Rationale: Pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) provides an approach to study effects of drug challenges on brain processes. Elucidating mechanisms of drug action helps us to better understand the workings of neurotransmitter systems, map brain function or facilitate drug development. phMRI is increasingly used in preclinical research employing rodent models; however, data interpretation and integration are complicated by the use of different experimental approaches between laboratories. In particular, the effects of different anaesthetic regimes upon neuronal and haemodynamic processes and baseline physiology could be problematic. Objectives: This paper investigates how differences in phMRI research methodologies are manifested and considers associated implications, placing particular emphasis on choice of anaesthetic regimes. Methods: A systematic review of rodent phMRI studies was conducted. Factors such as those describing anaesthetic regimes (e.g. agent, dosage) and parameters relating to physiological maintenance (e.g. ventilatory gases) and MRI method were recorded. Results: We identified 126 eligible studies and found that the volatile agents isoflurane (43.7 %) and halothane (33.3 %) were most commonly used for anaesthesia, but dosage and mixture of ventilatory gases varied substantially between laboratories. Relevant physiological parameters were usually recorded, although 32 % of studies did not provide cardiovascular measures. Conclusions: Anaesthesia and animal preparation can influence phMRI data profoundly. The variation of anaesthetic type, dosage regime and ventilatory gases makes consolidation of research findings (e.g. within a specific neurotransmitter system) difficult. Standardisation of a small(er) number of preclinical phMRI research methodologies and/or increased consideration of approaches that do not require anaesthesia is necessary to address these challenges

Mechanisms of Loss of Functions of Human Angiogenin Variants Implicated in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Background: Mutations in the coding region of angiogenin (ANG) gene have been found in patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Neurodegeneration results from the loss of angiogenic ability of ANG (protein coded by ANG). In this work, we performed extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of wild-type ANG and disease associated ANG variants to elucidate the mechanism behind the loss of ribonucleolytic activity and nuclear translocation activity, functions needed for angiogenesis. Methodology/Principal Findings: MD simulations were carried out to study the structural and dynamic differences in the catalytic site and nuclear localization signal residues between WT-ANG (Wild-type ANG) and six mutants. Variants K17I, S28N, P112L and V113I have confirmed association with ALS, while T195C and A238G single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encoding L35P and K60E mutants respectively, have not been associated with ALS. Our results show that loss of ribonucleolytic activity in K17I is caused by conformational switching of the catalytic residue His114 by 99u. The loss of nuclear translocation activity of S28N and P112L is caused by changes in the folding of the residues 31 RRR 33 that result in the reduction in solvent accessible surface area (SASA). Consequently, we predict that V113I will exhibit loss of angiogenic properties by loss of nuclear translocation activity and L35P by loss of both ribonucleolytic activity and nuclear translocation activity. No functional loss was inferred for K60E. The MD simulation results were supported by hydrogen bond interactio