6,519 research outputs found
Neuroepithelial circuit formed by innervation of sensory enteroendocrine cells.
Satiety and other core physiological functions are modulated by sensory signals arising from the surface of the gut. Luminal nutrients and bacteria stimulate epithelial biosensors called enteroendocrine cells. Despite being electrically excitable, enteroendocrine cells are generally thought to communicate indirectly with nerves through hormone secretion and not through direct cell-nerve contact. However, we recently uncovered in intestinal enteroendocrine cells a cytoplasmic process that we named neuropod. Here, we determined that neuropods provide a direct connection between enteroendocrine cells and neurons innervating the small intestine and colon. Using cell-specific transgenic mice to study neural circuits, we found that enteroendocrine cells have the necessary elements for neurotransmission, including expression of genes that encode pre-, post-, and transsynaptic proteins. This neuroepithelial circuit was reconstituted in vitro by coculturing single enteroendocrine cells with sensory neurons. We used a monosynaptic rabies virus to define the circuit's functional connectivity in vivo and determined that delivery of this neurotropic virus into the colon lumen resulted in the infection of mucosal nerves through enteroendocrine cells. This neuroepithelial circuit can serve as both a sensory conduit for food and gut microbes to interact with the nervous system and a portal for viruses to enter the enteric and central nervous systems
Complexity without chaos: Plasticity within random recurrent networks generates robust timing and motor control
It is widely accepted that the complex dynamics characteristic of recurrent
neural circuits contributes in a fundamental manner to brain function. Progress
has been slow in understanding and exploiting the computational power of
recurrent dynamics for two main reasons: nonlinear recurrent networks often
exhibit chaotic behavior and most known learning rules do not work in robust
fashion in recurrent networks. Here we address both these problems by
demonstrating how random recurrent networks (RRN) that initially exhibit
chaotic dynamics can be tuned through a supervised learning rule to generate
locally stable neural patterns of activity that are both complex and robust to
noise. The outcome is a novel neural network regime that exhibits both
transiently stable and chaotic trajectories. We further show that the recurrent
learning rule dramatically increases the ability of RRNs to generate complex
spatiotemporal motor patterns, and accounts for recent experimental data
showing a decrease in neural variability in response to stimulus onset
Nonlinear Realization of Spontaneously Broken N=1 Supersymmetry Revisited
This paper revisits the nonlinear realization of spontaneously broken N=1
supersymmetry. It is shown that the constrained superfield formalism can be
reinterpreted in the language of standard realization of nonlinear
supersymmetry via a new and simpler route. Explicit formulas of actions are
presented for general renormalizable theories with or without gauge
interactions. The nonlinear Wess-Zumino gauge is discussed and relations are
pointed out for different definitions of gauge fields. In addition, a general
procedure is provided to deal with theories of arbitrary Kahler potentials.Comment: 1+18 pages, LaTe
Intergrain Effects in the AC Susceptibility of Polycrystalline LaFeAsO_{0.94}F_{0.06}
The AC susceptibility, chi, at zero DC magnetic field of a polycrystalline sample of LaFeAsO_{0.94}F_{0.06} (Tc ≈ 24 K) has been investigated as a function of the temperature, the amplitude of the AC magnetic field (in the range Hac = 0.003 Oe - 4 Oe) and the frequency (in the range f = 10 kHz - 100 kHz). The chi(T) curve exhibits the typical two-step transition arising from the combined response of superconducting grains and intergranular weak-coupled medium. The intergranular part of chi strongly depends on both the amplitude and the frequency of the AC driving field, from few Kelvin below Tc down to T = 4.2 K. Our results show that, in the investigated sample, the intergrain critical current is not determined by pinning of Josephson vortices but by Josephson critical current across neighboring grains
Facile Synthesis of High Quality Graphene Nanoribbons
Graphene nanoribbons have attracted attention for their novel electronic and
spin transport properties1-6, and because nanoribbons less than 10 nm wide have
a band gap that can be used to make field effect transistors. However,
producing nanoribbons of very high quality, or in high volumes, remains a
challenge. Here, we show that pristine few-layer nanoribbons can be produced by
unzipping mildly gas-phase oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube using
mechanical sonication in an organic solvent. The nanoribbons exhibit very high
quality, with smooth edges (as seen by high-resolution transmission electron
microscopy), low ratios of disorder to graphitic Raman bands, and the highest
electrical conductance and mobility reported to date (up to 5e2/h and 1500
cm2/Vs for ribbons 10-20 nm in width). Further, at low temperature, the
nanoribbons exhibit phase coherent transport and Fabry-Perot interference,
suggesting minimal defects and edge roughness. The yield of nanoribbons was ~2%
of the starting raw nanotube soot material, which was significantly higher than
previous methods capable of producing high quality narrow nanoribbons1. The
relatively high yield synthesis of pristine graphene nanoribbons will make
these materials easily accessible for a wide range of fundamental and practical
applications.Comment: Nature Nanotechnology in pres
Control of Emi2 activity and stability through Mos-mediated recruitment of PP2A.
Before fertilization, vertebrate eggs are arrested in meiosis II by cytostatic factor (CSF), which holds the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) in an inactive state. It was recently reported that Mos, an integral component of CSF, acts in part by promoting the Rsk-mediated phosphorylation of the APC inhibitor Emi2/Erp1. We report here that Rsk phosphorylation of Emi2 promotes its interaction with the protein phosphatase PP2A. Emi2 residues adjacent to the Rsk phosphorylation site were important for PP2A binding. An Emi2 mutant that retained Rsk phosphorylation but lacked PP2A binding could not be modulated by Mos. PP2A bound to Emi2 acted on two distinct clusters of sites phosphorylated by Cdc2, one responsible for modulating its stability during CSF arrest and one that controls binding to the APC. These findings provide a molecular mechanism for Mos action in promoting CSF arrest and also define an unusual mechanism, whereby protein phosphorylation recruits a phosphatase for dephosphorylation of distinct sites phosphorylated by another kinase
Electronic Origin of High Temperature Superconductivity in Single-Layer FeSe Superconductor
The latest discovery of high temperature superconductivity signature in
single-layer FeSe is significant because it is possible to break the
superconducting critical temperature ceiling (maximum Tc~55 K) that has been
stagnant since the discovery of Fe-based superconductivity in 2008. It also
blows the superconductivity community by surprise because such a high Tc is
unexpected in FeSe system with the bulk FeSe exhibiting a Tc at only 8 K at
ambient pressure which can be enhanced to 38 K under high pressure. The Tc is
still unusually high even considering the newly-discovered intercalated FeSe
system A_xFe_{2-y}Se_2 (A=K, Cs, Rb and Tl) with a Tc at 32 K at ambient
pressure and possible Tc near 48 K under high pressure. Particularly
interesting is that such a high temperature superconductivity occurs in a
single-layer FeSe system that is considered as a key building block of the
Fe-based superconductors. Understanding the origin of high temperature
superconductivity in such a strictly two-dimensional FeSe system is crucial to
understanding the superconductivity mechanism in Fe-based superconductors in
particular, and providing key insights on how to achieve high temperature
superconductivity in general. Here we report distinct electronic structure
associated with the single-layer FeSe superconductor. Its Fermi surface
topology is different from other Fe-based superconductors; it consists only of
electron pockets near the zone corner without indication of any Fermi surface
around the zone center. Our observation of large and nearly isotropic
superconducting gap in this strictly two-dimensional system rules out existence
of node in the superconducting gap. These results have provided an unambiguous
case that such a unique electronic structure is favorable for realizing high
temperature superconductivity
HIV prevention trial design in an era of effective pre-exposure prophylaxis
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness protecting at-risk individuals from HIV-1 infection. Despite this record of effectiveness, concerns persist about the diminished protective effect observed in women compared with men and the influence of adherence and risk behaviors on effectiveness in targeted subpopulations. Furthermore, the high prophylactic efficacy of the first PrEP agent, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC), presents challenges for demonstrating the efficacy of new candidates. Trials of new agents would typically require use of non-inferiority (NI) designs in which acceptable efficacy for an experimental agent is determined using pre-defined margins based on the efficacy of the proven active comparator (i.e. TDF/FTC) in placebo-controlled trials. Setting NI margins is a critical step in designing registrational studies. Under- or over-estimation of the margin can call into question the utility of the study in the registration package. The dependence on previous placebo-controlled trials introduces the same issues as external/historical controls. These issues will need to be addressed using trial design features such as re-estimated NI margins, enrichment strategies, run-in periods, crossover between study arms, and adaptive re-estimation of sample sizes. These measures and other innovations can help to ensure that new PrEP agents are made available to the public using stringent standards of evidence
Sequences of dipole black rings and Kaluza-Klein bubbles
We construct new exact solutions to 5D Einstein-Maxwell equations describing
sequences of Kaluza-Klein bubbles and dipole black rings. The solutions are
generated by 2-soliton transformations from vacuum black ring - bubble
sequences. The properties of the solutions are investigated. We also derive the
Smarr-like relations and the mass and tension first laws in the general case
for such configurations of Kaluza-Klein bubbles and dipole black rings. The
novel moment is the appearance of the magnetic flux in the Smarr-like relations
and the first laws.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figur
- …