Gcm proteins function in the developing nervous system

AbstractA fundamental issue during nervous system development is how individual cells are formed from the undefined precursors. Differentiated neurons and glia, two major cell types mediating neuronal function, are acquired from immature precursors via a series of explicit controls exerted by transcription factors such as proteins in the family of Glial cells missing (Gcm). In mammals, Gcm proteins are involved in placenta and parathyroid gland development, whereas in the invertebrate organism Drosophila, Gcm proteins act as fate determinants for glial cell fate, regulate neural stem cell (NSC) induction and conversion, and promote glial proliferation. In particular, Gcm protein levels are carefully tuned for Drosophila gliogenesis and their stability is under precise control via the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Here we summarize recent advances on Gcm proteins function. In addition to describe various features of Gcm protein family, the significance of their functions in the developing nervous system is also discussed

A comparative study of Sm networks in Al-10 at.%Sm glass and associated crystalline phases

The Al–Sm system is selected as a model system to study the transition process from liquid and amorphous to crystalline states. In recent work, we have shown that, in addition to long-range translational periodicity, crystal structures display well-defined short-range local atomic packing motifs that transcends liquid, amorphous and crystalline states. In this paper, we investigate the longer range spatial packing of these short-range motifs by studying the interconnections of Sm–Sm networks in different amorphous and crystalline samples obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. In our analysis, we concentrate on Sm–Sm distances in the range ~5.0–7.2 Å, corresponding to Sm atoms in the second and third shells of Sm-centred clusters. We discover a number of empirical rules characterising the evolution of Sm networks from the liquid and amorphous states to associated metastable crystalline phases experimentally observed in the initial stages of devitrification of different amorphous samples. As direct simulation of glass formation is difficult because of the vast difference between experimental quench rates and what is achievable on the computer, we hope these rules will be helpful in building a better picture of structural evolution during glass formation as well as a more detailed description of phase selection and growth during devitrification

Fe-Si networks and charge/discharge-induced phase transitions in Li2FeSiO4 cathode materials

Structural phase transitions of electrode materials are responsible for poor reversibility during charge/discharge cycling in Li-ion batteries. Using previously developed structural databases, we investigate a structural landscape for LixFeSiO4systems at x = 1. Starting with low-energy Li2FeSiO4 crystal structures, we explore the crystal structures of the material in different states of charge. The as-prepared Li2FeSiO4 materials adopt low energy structures characterized by two-dimensional (2D) Fe–Si networks. After the removal of one Li per formula unit to form LiFeSiO4, the structures with three-dimensional (3D) diamond-like Fe–Si networks become more energetically favorable without a significant impact on the charge capacity, which agrees with previous experimental and theoretical work. However, we reveal that the structure with a 3D diamond-like Fe–Si network can further transform into a new structure at x = 1. And the Li atom is hard to reinsert into these new structures. Consequently the system is prevented from returning to the Li2FeSiO4 state. We believe that the formation of this new structure plays an important role in the loss of reversible capacity of Li2FeSiO4 electrode materials

Seasonal evolution of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass and its interactions with ambient hydrodynamic system

The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) is an important component of the hydrodynamic system in the South Yellow Sea (SYS). However, its intricate interactions with the ambient flows over long time scales are not fully understood. This paper presents the analysis of the data set obtained from a seabed‐mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) deployed for nearly 1 year in the western SYS. It allowed us to study the evolution of YSCWM, including the seasonal changes of tidal currents, near‐inertial oscillations (NIOs), and the wind‐driven currents due to typhoons and winter storms. Strong NIOs were found near the bottom of mixed layer and in the pycnocline with nearly opposite current directions, with maximum velocity of nearly 20 cm·s−1 in summer. The YSCWM can also inhibit the direct downward energy transport in the water column due to typhoons. Conversely, the hydrodynamic system also feeds back to influence the change of YSCWM. A large current shear (S) of 20 cm·s−1·m−1 is generated near the top of pycnocline. Generally, the intensity and depth of the pycnocline determine S's magnitude and vertical location, respectively. Based on the monthly averaged density profile data, the Richardson number and wavelet analysis, the NIOs are considered to be capable of inducing predominant shear instability around the pycnocline. However, the NIOs are not strong enough to influence the lower YSCWM. In addition, in autumn, each fortnightly spring tide corresponds with a bottom temperature increase of nearly 2°C, indicating that tidal currents are the leading hydrodynamic driving force to decline the YSCWM

Pressure-stabilized divalent ozonide CaO3 and its impact on Earth's oxygen cycles.

High pressure can drastically alter chemical bonding and produce exotic compounds that defy conventional wisdom. Especially significant are compounds pertaining to oxygen cycles inside Earth, which hold key to understanding major geological events that impact the environment essential to life on Earth. Here we report the discovery of pressure-stabilized divalent ozonide CaO3 crystal that exhibits intriguing bonding and oxidation states with profound geological implications. Our computational study identifies a crystalline phase of CaO3 by reaction of CaO and O2 at high pressure and high temperature conditions; ensuing experiments synthesize this rare compound under compression in a diamond anvil cell with laser heating. High-pressure x-ray diffraction data show that CaO3 crystal forms at 35 GPa and persists down to 20 GPa on decompression. Analysis of charge states reveals a formal oxidation state of -2 for ozone anions in CaO3. These findings unravel the ozonide chemistry at high pressure and offer insights for elucidating prominent seismic anomalies and oxygen cycles in Earth's interior. We further predict multiple reactions producing CaO3 by geologically abundant mineral precursors at various depths in Earth's mantle

A miniature multi-functional photoacoustic probe

Photoacoustic technology is a promising tool to provide morphological and functional information in biomedical research. To enhance the imaging efficiency, the reported photoacoustic probes have been designed coaxially involving complicated optical/acoustic prisms to bypass the opaque piezoelectric layer of ultrasound transducers, but this has led to bulky probes and has hindered the applications in limited space. Though the emergence of transparent piezoelectric materials helps to save effort on the coaxial design, the reported transparent ultrasound transducers were still bulky. In this work, a miniature photoacoustic probe with an outer diameter of 4 mm was developed, in which an acoustic stack was made with a combination of transparent piezoelectric material and a gradient-index lens as a backing layer. The transparent ultrasound transducer exhibited a high center frequency of ~47 MHz and a −6 dB bandwidth of 29.4%, which could be easily assembled with a pigtailed ferrule of a single-mode fiber. The multi-functional capability of the probe was successfully validated through experiments of fluid flow sensing and photoacoustic imaging

Nonequilibrium Dynamics in Noncommutative Spacetime

We study the effects of spacetime noncommutativity on the nonequilibrium dynamics of particles in a thermal bath. We show that the noncommutative thermal bath does not suffer from any further IR/UV mixing problem in the sense that all the finite-temperature non-planar quantities are free from infrared singularities. We also point out that the combined effect of finite temperature and noncommutative geometry has a distinct effect on the nonequilibrium dynamics of particles propagating in a thermal bath: depending on the momentum of the mode of concern, noncommutative geometry may switch on or switch off their decay and thermalization. This momentum dependent alternation of the decay and thermalization rates could have significant impacts on the nonequilibrium phenomena in the early universe at which spacetime noncommutativity may be present. Our results suggest a re-examination of some of the important processes in the early universe such as reheating after inflation, baryogenesis and the freeze-out of superheavy dark matter candidates.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure

Miniature intravascular photoacoustic endoscopy with coaxial excitation and detection

Recent research pointed out that the degree of inflammation in the adventitia could correlate with the severity of atherosclerotic plaques. Intravascular photoacoustic endoscopy can provide the information of arterial morphology and plaque composition, and even detecting the inflammation. However, most reported work used a non-coaxial configuration for the photoacoustic catheter design, which formed a limited light-sound overlap area for imaging so as to miss the adventitia information. Here we developed a novel 0.9 mm-diameter intravascular photoacoustic catheter with coaxial excitation and detection to resolve the aforementioned issue. A miniature hollow ultrasound transducer with a 0.18 mm-diameter orifice in the center was successfully fabricated. To show the significance and merits of our design, phantom and ex vivo imaging experiments were conducted on both coaxial and non-coaxial catheters for comparison. The results demonstrated that the coaxial catheter exhibited much better photoacoustic/ultrasound imaging performance from the intima to the adventitia