660 research outputs found
Modality-specific tracking of attention and sensory statistics in the human electrophysiological spectral exponent
A hallmark of electrophysiological brain activity is its 1/f-like spectrum â power decreases with increasing frequency. The steepness of this âroll-offâ is approximated by the spectral exponent, which in invasively recorded neural populations reflects the balance of excitatory to inhibitory neural activity (E:I balance). Here, we first establish that the spectral exponent of non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) recordings is highly sensitive to general (i.e., anaesthesia-driven) changes in E:I balance. Building on the EEG spectral exponent as a viable marker of E:I, we then demonstrate its sensitivity to the focus of selective attention in an EEG experiment during which participants detected targets in simultaneous audio-visual noise. In addition to these endogenous changes in E:I balance, EEG spectral exponents over auditory and visual sensory cortices also tracked auditory and visual stimulus spectral exponents, respectively. Individualsâ degree of this selective stimulusâbrain coupling in spectral exponents predicted behavioural performance. Our results highlight the rich information contained in 1/f-like neural activity, providing a window into diverse neural processes previously thought to be inaccessible in non-invasive human recordings
Dsg2 Upregulation as a Rescue Mechanism in Pemphigus
In pemphigus vulgaris (PV), autoantibodies directed against the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein (Dsg) 3 cause loss of intercellular adhesion. It is known that Dsg3 interactions are directly inhibited by autoantibody binding and that Dsg2 is upregulated in epidermis of PV patients. Here, we investigated whether heterophilic Dsg2-Dsg3 interactions occur and would modulate PV pathogenesis. Dsg2 was upregulated in PV patientsâ biopsies and in a human ex vivo pemphigus skin model. Immunoprecipitation and cell-free atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments demonstrated heterophilic Dsg2-Dsg3 interactions. Similarly, in Dsg3-deficient keratinocytes with severely disturbed intercellular adhesion Dsg2 was upregulated in the desmosome containing fraction. AFM revealed that Dsg2-Dsg3 heterophilic interactions showed binding frequency, strength, Ca2+-dependency and catch-bond behavior comparable to homophilic Dsg3-Dsg3 or homophilic Dsg2-Dsg2 interactions. However, heterophilic Dsg2-Dsg3 interactions had a longer lifetime compared to homophilic Dsg2-Dsg2 interactions and PV autoantibody-induced direct inhibition was significantly less pronounced for heterophilic Dsg2-Dsg3 interactions compared to homophilic Dsg3 interactions. In contrast, a monoclonal anti-Dsg2 inhibitory antibody reduced heterophilic Dsg2-Dsg3 and homophilic Dsg2-Dsg2 binding to the same degree and further impaired intercellular adhesion in Dsg3-deficient keratinocytes. Taken together, the data demonstrate that Dsg2 undergoes heterophilic interactions with Dsg3, which may attenuate autoantibody-induced loss of keratinocyte adhesion in pemphigus
Bloch oscillations, Zener tunneling and Wannier-Stark ladders in the time-domain
We present a time-domain analysis of carrier dynamics in a semiconductor
superlattice with two minibands. Integration of the density-matrix equations of
motion reveals a number of new features: (i) for certain values of the applied
static electric field strong interband transitions occur; (ii) in static fields
the complex time-dependence of the density-matrix displays a sequence of stable
plateaus in the low field regime, and (iii) for applied fields with a periodic
time-dependence the dynamic response can be understood in terms of the
quasienergy spectra.Comment: 4 pages, 6 PostScript figures available from [email protected], REVTEX
3.
Linear optical absorption spectra of mesoscopic structures in intense THz fields: free particle properties
We theoretically study the effect of THz radiation on the linear optical
absorption spectra of semiconductor structures. A general theoretical
framework, based on non-equilibrium Green functions, is formulated, and applied
to the calculation of linear optical absorption spectrum for several
non-equilibrium mesoscopic structures. We show that a blue-shift occurs and
sidebands appear in bulk-like structures, i.e., the dynamical Franz-Keldysh
effect [A.-P. Jauho and K. Johnsen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4576 (1996)]. An
analytic calculation leads to the prediction that in the case of superlattices
distinct stable steps appear in the absorption spectrum when conditions for
dynamical localization are met.Comment: 13 Pages, RevTex using epsf to include 8 ps figures. Submitted to
Phys. Rev. B (3 April 97
Effects of impurity scattering on electron-phonon resonances in semiconductor superlattice high-field transport
A non-equilibrium Green's function method is applied to model high-field
quantum transport and electron-phonon resonances in semiconductor
superlattices. The field-dependent density of states for elastic (impurity)
scattering is found non-perturbatively in an approach which can be applied to
both high and low electric fields. I-V curves, and specifically electron-phonon
resonances, are calculated by treating the inelastic (LO phonon) scattering
perturbatively. Calculations show how strong impurity scattering suppresses the
electron-phonon resonance peaks in I-V curves, and their detailed sensitivity
to the size, strength and concentration of impurities.Comment: 7 figures, 1 tabl
Role of ADAM10 and ADAM17 in the Regulation of Keratinocyte Adhesion in Pemphigus Vulgaris
The severe autoimmune blistering disease Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is mainly caused by autoantibodies (IgG) against desmoglein (Dsg) 3 and Dsg1. The mechanisms leading to the development of blisters are not fully understood, but intracellular signaling seems to play an important role. Sheddases ADAM10 and ADAM17 are involved in the turnover of the desmosomal cadherin Dsg2 and ADAM10 has been shown to contribute to acantholysis in a murine pemphigus model. In the present study, we further examined the role of ADAM10 and ADAM17 both in keratinocyte adhesion and in the pathogenesis of PV. First, we found that inhibition of ADAM10 enhanced adhesion of primary human keratinocytes but not of immortalized keratinocytes. In dissociation assays, inhibition of ADAM10 shifted keratinocyte adhesion towards a hyperadhesive state. However, ADAM inhibition did neither modulate protein levels of Dsg1 and Dsg3 nor activation of EGFR at Y1068 and Y845. In primary human keratinocytes, inhibition of ADAM10, but not ADAM17, reduced loss of cell adhesion and fragmentation of Dsg1 and Dsg3 immunostaining in response to a PV1-IgG from a mucocutaneous PV patient. Similarly, inhibition of ADAM10 in dissociation assay decreased fragmentation of primary keratinocytes induced by a monoclonal antibody against Dsg3 and by PV-IgG from two other patients both suffering from mucosal PV. However, such protective effect was not observed in both cultured cells and ex vivo disease models, when another mucocutaneous PV4-IgG containing more Dsg1 autoantibodies was used. Taken together, ADAM10 modulates both hyperadhesion and PV-IgG-induced loss of cell adhesion dependent on the autoantibody profile
Time Periodic Behavior of Multiband Superlattices in Static Electric Fields
We use an analytic perturbation expansion for the two-band system of tight
binding electrons to discuss Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling within this
model. We make comparison with recent numerical results and predict
analytically the frequency of radiation expected from Zener tunneling,
including its disappearance, as a function of the system parameters.Comment: 12 pages, no figure include
Schrodinger cat states prepared by Bloch oscillation in a spin-dependent optical lattice
We propose to use Bloch oscillation of ultra-cold atoms in a spin-dependent
optical lattice to prepare schrodinger cat states. Depending on its internal
state, an atom feels different periodic potentials and thus has different
energy band structures for its center-of-mass motion. Consequently, under the
same gravity force, the wave packets associated with different internal states
perform Bloch oscillation of different amplitudes in space and in particular
they can be macroscopically displaced with respect to each other. In this way,
a cat state can be prepared.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; slightly modifie
Holstein polarons in a strong electric field: delocalized and stretched states
The coherent dynamics of a Holstein polaron in strong electric fields is
considered under different regimes. Using analytical and numerical analysis, we
show that even for small hopping constant and weak electron-phonon interaction,
the original discrete Wannier-Stark (WS) ladder electronic states are each
replaced by a semi-continuous band if a resonance condition is satisfied
between the phonon frequency and the ladder spacing. In this regime, the
original localized WS states can become {\em delocalized}, yielding both
`tunneling' and `stretched' polarons. The transport properties of such a system
would exhibit a modulation of the phonon replicas in typical tunneling
experiments. The modulation will reflect the complex spectra with
nearly-fractal structure of the semi-continuous band. In the off-resonance
regime, the WS ladder is strongly deformed, although the states are still
localized to a degree which depends on the detuning: Both the spacing between
the levels in the deformed ladder and the localization length of the resulting
eigenfunctions can be adjusted by the applied electric field. We also discuss
the regime beyond small hopping constant and weak coupling, and find an
interesting mapping to that limit via the Lang-Firsov transformation, which
allows one to extend the region of validity of the analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PR
Theory of Coherent Time-dependent Transport in One-dimensional Multiband Semiconductor Superlattices
We present an analytical study of one-dimensional semiconductor superlattices
in external electric fields, which may be time-dependent. A number of general
results for the (quasi)energies and eigenstates are derived. An equation of
motion for the density matrix is obtained for a two-band model, and the
properties of the solutions are analyzed. An expression for the current is
obtained. Finally, Zener-tunneling in a two-band tight-binding model is
considered. The present work gives the background and an extension of the
theoretical framework underlying our recent Letter [J. Rotvig {\it et al.},
Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 74}, 1831 (1995)], where a set of numerical simulations
were presented.Comment: 15 pages, Revtex 3.0, uses epsf, 2 ps figures attache
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