Ultrathin Oxide Films by Atomic Layer Deposition on Graphene

In this paper, a method is presented to create and characterize mechanically robust, free standing, ultrathin, oxide films with controlled, nanometer-scale thickness using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) on graphene. Aluminum oxide films were deposited onto suspended graphene membranes using ALD. Subsequent etching of the graphene left pure aluminum oxide films only a few atoms in thickness. A pressurized blister test was used to determine that these ultrathin films have a Young's modulus of 154 \pm 13 GPa. This Young's modulus is comparable to much thicker alumina ALD films. This behavior indicates that these ultrathin two-dimensional films have excellent mechanical integrity. The films are also impermeable to standard gases suggesting they are pinhole-free. These continuous ultrathin films are expected to enable new applications in fields such as thin film coatings, membranes and flexible electronics.Comment: Nano Letters (just accepted

RUNX/AML and C/EBP factors regulate CD11a integrin expression in myeloid cells through overlapping regulatory elements

10 Figures. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. Therefore, and solely to indicate this fact, this article is hereby marked ‘‘advertisement’’ in accordance with 18 U.S.C. section 1734.The CD11a/CD18 (leukocyte function-associated antigen 1 [LFA-1]) integrin mediates critical leukocyte adhesive interactions during immune and inflammatory responses. The CD11a promoter directs CD11a/CD18 integrin expression, and its activity in lymphoid cells depends on a functional RUNX1/AML-1–binding site (AML-110) within the MS7 sequence. We now report that MS7 contains a C/EBP-binding site (C/EBP-100), which overlaps with AML-110 and is bound by C/EBP factors in myeloid cells. C/EBP and RUNX/AML factors compete for binding to their respective cognate elements and bind to the CD11a promoter MS7 sequence in a cell lineage- and differentiation-dependent manner. In myeloid cells MS7 is primarily recognized by C/EBP factors in proliferating cells whereas RUNX/AML factors (especially RUNX3/AML-2) bind to MS7 in differentiated cells. RUNX3/AML-2 binding to the CD11a promoter correlates with increased RUNX3/AML-2 protein levels and enhanced CD11a/CD18 cell surface expression. The relevance of the AML-110 element is underscored by the ability of AML-1/ETO to inhibit CD11a promoter activity, thus explaining the low CD11a/CD18 expression in t(8;21)–containing myeloid leukemia cells. Therefore, the expression of the CD11a/CD18 integrin in myeloid cells is determined through the differential occupancy of the CD11a proximal promoter by transcription factors implicated in the pathogenesis of myeloid leukemia.From the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain; Clínica Universitaria, Universidad de Navarra, Spain; Institute of Human Genetics, Aarhus, Denmark; Hospital Universitario Gregorio Maranón, Madrid, Spain; University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; and Department of Molecular Genetics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot Israel. Supported by grants 08.3/0026/2000.1 from Comunidad Auto´noma de Madrid, 01/0063-01 from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, and SAF2002-04615- C02-01 from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (A.L.C.). We gratefully acknowledge Drs Ana Aranda and Aurora Sánchez-Pacheco for their very generous help with ChIP assays.Peer reviewe

UBVRI Light Curves of 44 Type Ia Supernovae

We present UBVRI photometry of 44 type-Ia supernovae (SN Ia) observed from 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is the largest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SN Ia to date, nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SN Ia with published multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of U-band photometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SN Ia observed at high redshift. The decline rate of SN Ia U-band light curves correlates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U-B color at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show an increased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting for extinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ~40% intrinsic scatter compared to B-band.Comment: 84 authors, 71 pages, 51 tables, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Version with high-res figures and electronic data at http://astron.berkeley.edu/~saurabh/cfa2snIa

RUNX/AML and C/EBP factors regulate CD11a integrin expression in myeloid cells through overlapping regulatory elements

The CD11a/CD18 (leukocyte functionassociated antigen 1 [LFA-1]) integrin mediates critical leukocyte adhesive interactions during immune and inflammatory responses. The CD11a promoter directs CD11a/CD18 integrin expression, and its activity in lymphoid cells depends on a functional RUNX1/AML-1–binding site (AML-110) within the MS7 sequence. We now report that MS7 contains a C/EBPbinding site (C/EBP-100), which overlaps with AML-110 and is bound by C/EBP factors in myeloid cells. C/EBP and RUNX/ AML factors compete for binding to their respective cognate elements and bind to the CD11a promoter MS7 sequence in a cell lineage- and differentiation-dependent manner. In myeloid cells MS7 is primarily recognized by C/EBP factors in proliferating cells whereas RUNX/AMLfactors (especially RUNX3/AML-2) bind to MS7 in differentiated cells. RUNX3/AML-2 binding to the CD11a promoter correlates with increased RUNX3/AML-2 protein levels and enhanced CD11a/CD18 cell surface expression. The relevance of the AML-110 element is underscored by the ability of AML-1/ETO to inhibit CD11a promoter activity, thus explaining the low CD11a/CD18 expression in t(8;21)–containing myeloid leukemia cells. Therefore, the expression of the CD11a/CD18 integrin in myeloid cells is determined through the differential occupancy of the CD11a proximal promoter by transcription factors implicated in the pathogenesis of myeloid leukemia

Programme of the 21st European Conference on Eye Movements

About ECEM ECEM was initiated by Rudolf Groner (Bern), Dieter Heller (Bayreuth at the time) and Henk Breimer (Tilburg) in the 198 to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary group of scientists interested in eye movements. Since the inaugural meeting in Bern, the conference has been held every two years in different venues across Europe until 2021, when it was planned to take place in Leicester but was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. It was decided to hold the meeting in Leicester in August 2022 instead, and as an in person meeting rather than an online or hybrid event. Incidentally, the present meeting is the third time the conference has come to the English East Midlands, now in Leicester following previous meetings in the neighbouring cities of Derby and Nottingham. The sites of previous ECEMs and webpages can be found here

Modelling sea lice control by lumpfish on Atlantic salmon farms : interactions with mate limitation, temperature and treatment rules

Atlantic salmon farming is one of the largest aquaculture sectors in the world. A major impact on farm economics, fish welfare and, potentially, nearby wild salmonid populations, is the sea louse ectoparasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Sea louse infestations are most often controlled through application of chemicals, but in most farming regions, sea lice have evolved resistance to the small set of available chemicals. Therefore, alternative treatment methodologies are becoming more widely used. One increasingly common alternative treatment involves the co-culture of farmed salmon with cleaner fish, which prey on sea lice. However, despite their wide use, little is understood about the situations in which cleaner fish are most effective. For example, previous work suggests that a low parasite density results in sea lice finding it difficult to acquire mates, reducing fecundity and population growth. Other work suggests that environmental conditions such as temperature and external sea louse pressure have substantial impact on this mate limitation threshold and may even remove the effect entirely. We used an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to simulate cleaner fish on a salmon farm to explore interactions between sea louse mating behaviour, cleaner fish feeding rate, temperature and external sea louse pressure. We found that sea louse mating has a substantial effect on sea louse infestations under a variety of environmental conditions. Our results suggest that cleaner fish can control sea louse infestations most effectively by maintaining the population below critical density thresholds

Implications of Arm Restraint on Lower Extremity Kinetics During Gait

Background Literature indicates the importance of the upper extremities in providing stability and propulsion for the body during ambulation. However, the kinetic implications of upper extremity restraint during gait are not as well documented. Aim The objective of this study was to examine the effect of arm restraint (unilateral and bilateral) on lower extremity joint kinetics during walking. Methods Twenty-three healthy young participants were instrumented for three dimensional motion analysis, and tested in four randomly ordered upper extremity restraint conditions (unrestrained, bilateral restraint, right side restraint, and left side restraint). Temporal spatial parameters and gait/phase-specific lower extremity kinetics and kinematics were measured. For each restraint condition, pointwise differences from the unrestrained condition were compared using a two-way ANOVA model of restraint condition (“Condition”) and gait cycle phase (“Timing”). Results Decreases in walking speed and stride length were observed for all restraint conditions. Differences in kinetic demands were also noted, primarily at the hip and knee. Conclusion Upper extremity restraint in healthy young adults leads to significant changes in temporal-spatial parameters and proximal joint kinetics, most prominently during periods of load accommodation and balance

Transcriptional Reprogramming of CD11b+Esamhi Dendritic Cell Identity and Function by Loss of Runx3

Classical dendritic cells (cDC) are specialized antigen-presenting cells mediating immunity and tolerance. cDC cell-lineage decisions are largely controlled by transcriptional factor regulatory cascades. Using an in vivo cell-specific targeting of Runx3 at various stages of DC lineage development we show that Runx3 is required for cell-identity, homeostasis and function of splenic Esamhi DC. Ablation of Runx3 in DC progenitors led to a substantial decrease in splenic CD4+/CD11b+ DC. Combined chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and gene expression analysis of purified DC-subsets revealed that Runx3 is a key gene expression regulator that facilitates specification and homeostasis of CD11b+Esamhi DC. Mechanistically, loss of Runx3 alters Esamhi DC gene expression to a signature characteristic of WT Esamlow DC. This transcriptional reprogramming caused a cellular change that diminished phagocytosis and hampered Runx3-/- Esamhi DC capacity to prime CD4+ T cells, attesting to the significant role of Runx3 in specifying Esamhi DC identity and function

The application of eye-tracking in music research

Though eye-tracking is typically a methodology applied in the visual research domain, recent studies suggest its relevance in the context of music research. There exists a community of researchers interested in this kind of research from varied disciplinary backgrounds scattered across the globe. Therefore, in August 2017, an international conference was held at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, Germany, to bring this research community together. The conference was dedicated to the topic of music and eye-tracking, asking the question: what do eye movements, pupil dilation, and blinking activity tell us about musical processing? This special issue is constituted of top-scoring research from the conference and spans a range of music-related topics. From tracking the gaze of performers in musical trios to basic research on how eye movements are affected by background music, the contents of this special issue highlight a variety of experimental approaches and possible applications of eye-tracking in music research