Polarity patterns of stress fibers

Stress fibers are contractile actomyosin bundles commonly observed in the cytoskeleton of metazoan cells. The spatial profile of the polarity of actin filaments inside contractile actomyosin bundles is either monotonic (graded) or periodic (alternating). In the framework of linear irreversible thermodynamics, we write the constitutive equations for a polar, active, elastic one-dimensional medium. An analysis of the resulting equations for the dynamics of polarity shows that the transition from graded to alternating polarity patterns is a nonequilibrium Lifshitz point. Active contractility is a necessary condition for the emergence of sarcomeric, alternating polarity patterns.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Nonequilibrium Fluctuations, Travelling Waves, and Instabilities in Active Membranes

The stability of a flexible fluid membrane containing a distribution of mobile, active proteins (e.g. proton pumps) is shown to depend on the structure and functional asymmetry of the proteins. A stable active membrane is in a nonequilibrium steady state with height fluctuations whose statistical properties are governed by the protein activity. Disturbances are predicted to travel as waves at sufficiently long wavelength, with speed set by the normal velocity of the pumps. The unstable case involves a spontaneous, pump-driven undulation of the membrane, with clumping of the proteins in regions of high activity.Comment: 4 two-column pages, two .eps figures included, revtex, uses eps

Escape configuration lattice near the nematic-isotropic transition: Tilt analogue of blue phases

We predict the possible existence of a new phase of liquid crystals near the nematic-isotropic ($NI$) transition. This phase is an achiral, tilt-analogue of the blue phase and is composed of a lattice of {\em double-tilt}, escape-configuration cylinders. We discuss the structure and the stability of this phase and provide an estimate of the lattice parameter.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures (major revision, typos corrected, references added

Generic phase diagram of active polar films

We study theoretically the phase diagram of compressible active polar gels such as the actin network of eukaryotic cells. Using generalized hydrodynamics equations, we perform a linear stability analysis of the uniform states in the case of an infinite bidimensional active gel to obtain the dynamic phase diagram of active polar films. We predict in particular modulated flowing phases, and a macroscopic phase separation at high activity. This qualitatively accounts for experimental observations of various active systems, such as acto-myosin gels, microtubules and kinesins in vitro solutions, or swimming bacterial colonies.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Ventilator-induced lung injury: historical perspectives and clinical implications

Mechanical ventilation can produce lung physiological and morphological alterations termed ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Early experimental studies demonstrated that the main determinant of VILI is lung end-inspiratory volume. The clinical relevance of these experimental findings received resounding confirmation with the results of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) Network study, which showed a 22% reduction in mortality in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome through a simple reduction in tidal volume. In contrast, the clinical relevance of low lung volume injury remains debated and the application of high positive end-expiratory pressure levels can contribute to lung overdistension and thus be deleterious. The significance of inflammatory alterations observed during VILI is debated and has not translated into clinical application. This review examines seminal experimental studies that led to our current understanding of VILI and contributed to the current recommendations in the respiratory support of ARDS patients

Sexually dimorphic role for vasopressin in the development of social play

Despite the well-established role of vasopressin (AVP) in adult social behavior, its role in social development is relatively unexplored. In this paper, we focus on the most prominent social behavior of juvenile rats, social play. Previous pharmacological experiments in our laboratory suggested that AVP regulates play in a sex- and brain region-specific manner in juvenile rats. Here we investigate the role of specific AVP systems in the emergence of social play. We first characterize the development of play in male and female Wistar rats and then ask whether the development of AVP mRNA expression correlates with the emergence of play. Unexpectedly, play emerged more rapidly in weanling-aged females than in males, resulting in a sex difference opposite of that typically reported for older, juvenile rats. AVP mRNA and play were correlated in males only, with a negative correlation in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and a positive correlation in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. These findings support the hypothesis that AVP acts differentially on multiple systems in a sex-specific manner to regulate social play and suggest a role for PVN and BNST AVP systems in the development of play. Differential neuropeptide regulation of male and female social development may underlie well-documented sex differences in incidence, progression, and symptom severity of behavioral disorders during development

Biocatalytic preparation and absolute configuration of enantiomerically pure fungistatic anti-2-benzylindane derivatives. Study of the detoxification mechanism by Botrytis cinerea

Enantiomerically pure 2-benzylindane derivatives were prepared using biocatalytic methods and their absolute configuration determined. (1R,2S)-2-Benzylindan-1-ol ((1R,2S)-2) and (S)-2-benzylindan-1-one ((S)-3) were produced by fermenting baker’s yeast. Lipase-mediated esterifications and hydrolysis of the corresponding racemic substrates gave rise to the enantiopure compounds (1S,2R)-2-benzylindan-1-ol ((1S,2R)-2) and (1R,2S)-2-benzylindan-1-ol ((1R,2S)-2), respectively. The antifungal activity of these products against two strains of the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea was tested. The metabolism of anti-(±)-2-benzylindan-1-ol (anti-(±)-2) by B. cinerea as part of the fungal detoxification mechanism is also described and revealed interesting differences in the genome of both strains