1,766 research outputs found
Modelling the emergence of whisker barrels
Brain development relies on an interplay between genetic specification and self-organization. Striking examples of this relationship can be found in the somatosensory brainstem, thalamus, and cortex of rats and mice, where the arrangement of the facial whiskers is preserved in the arrangement of cell aggregates to form precise somatotopic maps. We show in simulation how realistic whisker maps can self-organize, by assuming that information is exchanged between adjacent cells only, under the guidance of gene expression gradients. The resulting model provides a simple account of how patterns of gene expression can constrain spontaneous pattern formation to faithfully reproduce functional maps in subsequent brain structures
The prevention of hepatitis
The identification and characterisation of the hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E has allowed greater insight into their diagnosis, prevalence and modes of transmission. The clinical, pathological and serological features of each of these viruses have been dealt with elsewhere in this issue of the SAMJ, as have general and specific measures required for the prevention and future elimination of the diseases they cause. A recent consensus statement defined the problem posed by the hepatitis viruses in South Africa and highlighted the measures necessary to manage this effectively. This article will concentrate on measures designed to convey passive or active immunity to hepatitis A and B. However, the importance of general measures for the upliftment of underprivileged communities must constantly be borne in mind since these play a vital role in reducing infection, morbidity and mortality due to the hepatitis viruses
Parity Invariance and Effective Light-Front Hamiltonians
In the light-front form of field theory, boost invariance is a manifest
symmetry. On the downside, parity and rotational invariance are not manifest,
leaving the possibility that approximations or incorrect renormalization might
lead to violations of these symmetries for physical observables. In this paper,
it is discussed how one can turn this deficiency into an advantage and utilize
parity violations (or the absence thereof) in practice for constraining
effective light-front Hamiltonians. More precisely, we will identify
observables that are both sensitive to parity violations and easily calculable
numerically in a non-perturbative framework and we will use these observables
to constrain the finite part of non-covariant counter-terms in effective
light-front Hamiltonians.Comment: REVTEX, 9 page
Limit cycle dynamics can guide the evolution of gene regulatory networks towards point attractors
Developmental dynamics in Boolean models of gene networks self-organize, either into point attractors (stable repeating patterns of gene expression) or limit cycles (stable repeating sequences of patterns), depending on the network interactions specified by a genome of evolvable bits. Genome specifications for dynamics that can map specific gene expression patterns in early development onto specific point attractor patterns in later development are essentially impossible to discover by chance mutation alone, even for small networks. We show that selection for approximate mappings, dynamically maintained in the states comprising limit cycles, can accelerate evolution by at least an order of magnitude. These results suggest that self-organizing dynamics that occur within lifetimes can, in principle, guide natural selection across lifetimes
Biological action at a distance: correlated pattern formation in adjacent tessellation domains without communication
Tessellations emerge in many natural systems, and the constituent domains often contain regular patterns, raising the intriguing possibility that pattern formation within adjacent domains might be correlated by the geometry, without the direct exchange of information between parts comprising either domain. We confirm this paradoxical effect, by simulating pattern formation via reaction-diffusion in domains whose boundary shapes tessellate, and showing that correlations between adjacent patterns are strong compared to controls that self-organize in domains with equivalent sizes but unrelated shapes. The effect holds in systems with linear and non-linear diffusive terms, and for boundary shapes derived from regular and irregular tessellations. Based on the prediction that correlations between adjacent patterns should be bimodally distributed, we develop methods for testing whether a given set of domain boundaries constrained pattern formation within those domains. We then confirm such a prediction by analysing the development of âsubbarrelâ patterns, which are thought to emerge via reaction-diffusion, and whose enclosing borders form a Voronoi tessellation on the surface of the rodent somatosensory cortex. In more general terms, this result demonstrates how causal links can be established between the dynamical processes through which biological patterns emerge and the constraints that shape them
Coupled-Cluster Approach to Electron Correlations in the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model
We have studied electron correlations in the doped two-dimensional (2D)
Hubbard model by using the coupled-cluster method (CCM) to investigate whether
or not the method can be applied to correct the independent particle
approximations actually used in ab-initio band calculations. The double
excitation version of the CCM, implemented using the approximate coupled pair
(ACP) method, account for most of the correlation energies of the 2D Hubbard
model in the weak () and the intermediate regions (). The error is always less than 1% there. The ACP approximation gets
less accurate for large () and/or near half-filling.
Further incorporation of electron correlation effects is necessary in this
region. The accuracy does not depend on the system size and the gap between the
lowest unoccupied level and the highest occupied level due to the finite size
effect. Hence, the CCM may be favorably applied to ab-initio band calculations
on metals as well as semiconductors and insulators.Comment: RevTeX3.0, 4 pages, 4 figure
Star cluster formation and star formation: the role of environment and star-formation efficiencies
âThe original publication is available at www.springerlink.comâ. Copyright Springer. DOI: 10.1007/s10509-009-0088-5By analyzing global starburst properties in various kinds of starburst and post-starburst galaxies and relating them to the properties of the star cluster populations they form, I explore the conditions for the formation of massive, compact, long-lived star clusters. The aim is to determine whether the relative amount of star formation that goes into star cluster formation as opposed to field star formation, and into the formation of massive long-lived clusters in particular, is universal or scales with star-formation rate, burst strength, star-formation efficiency, galaxy or gas mass, and whether or not there are special conditions or some threshold for the formation of star clusters that merit to be called globular clusters a few billion years later.Peer reviewe
On Wilson loops and -potentials from the AdS/CFT relation at
We give a short introduction to and a partial review of the work on the
calculation of Wilson loops and -potentials via the conjectured
AdS/CFT duality. Included is a discussion of the relative weight of the stringy
correction to the target space background versus the correction by the quantum
fluctuations of the string world sheet.Comment: 7 pages, one figure (eps), Latex, uses lamuphys.sty and bibnorm.sty,
based on conference talks. a reference adde
The structural basis for the specificity of pyridinylimidazole inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase
AbstractBackground: The p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase regulates signal transduction in response to environmental stress. Pyridinylimidazole compounds are specific inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase that block the production of the cytokines interleukin-1 ÎČ and tumor necrosis factor α, and they are effective in animal models of arthritis, bone resorption and endotoxin shock. These compounds have been useful probes for studying the physiological functions of the p38-mediated MAP kinase pathway.Results: We report the crystal structure of a novel pyridinylimidazole compound complexed with p38 MAP kinase, and we demonstrate that this compound binds to the same site on the kinase as does ATP. Mutagenesis showed that a single residue difference between p38 MAP kinase and other MAP kinases is sufficient to confer selectivity among pyridinylimidazole compounds.Conclusions: Our results reveal how pyridinylimidazole compounds are potent and selective inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase but not other MAP kinases. It should now be possible to design other specific inhibitors of activated p38 MAP kinase using the structure of the nonphosphorylated enzyme
Magnetoluminescence
Pulsar Wind Nebulae, Blazars, Gamma Ray Bursts and Magnetars all contain
regions where the electromagnetic energy density greatly exceeds the plasma
energy density. These sources exhibit dramatic flaring activity where the
electromagnetic energy distributed over large volumes, appears to be converted
efficiently into high energy particles and gamma-rays. We call this general
process magnetoluminescence. Global requirements on the underlying, extreme
particle acceleration processes are described and the likely importance of
relativistic beaming in enhancing the observed radiation from a flare is
emphasized. Recent research on fluid descriptions of unstable electromagnetic
configurations are summarized and progress on the associated kinetic
simulations that are needed to account for the acceleration and radiation is
discussed. Future observational, simulation and experimental opportunities are
briefly summarized.Comment: To appear in "Jets and Winds in Pulsar Wind Nebulae, Gamma-ray Bursts
and Blazars: Physics of Extreme Energy Release" of the Space Science Reviews
serie
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