10,329 research outputs found
Canalization and Symmetry in Boolean Models for Genetic Regulatory Networks
Canalization of genetic regulatory networks has been argued to be favored by
evolutionary processes due to the stability that it can confer to phenotype
expression. We explore whether a significant amount of canalization and partial
canalization can arise in purely random networks in the absence of evolutionary
pressures. We use a mapping of the Boolean functions in the Kauffman N-K model
for genetic regulatory networks onto a k-dimensional Ising hypercube to show
that the functions can be divided into different classes strictly due to
geometrical constraints. The classes can be counted and their properties
determined using results from group theory and isomer chemistry. We demonstrate
that partially canalized functions completely dominate all possible Boolean
functions, particularly for higher k. This indicates that partial canalization
is extremely common, even in randomly chosen networks, and has implications for
how much information can be obtained in experiments on native state genetic
regulatory networks.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; version to appear in J. Phys.
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Complex epithelial remodeling underlie the fusion event in early fetal development of the human penile urethra.
We recently described a two-step process of urethral plate canalization and urethral fold fusion to form the human penile urethra. Canalization ("opening zipper") opens the solid urethral plate into a groove, and fusion ("closing zipper") closes the urethral groove to form the penile urethra. We hypothesize that failure of canalization and/or fusion during human urethral formation can lead to hypospadias. Herein, we use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analysis of transverse serial sections to better characterize development of the human fetal penile urethra as contrasted to the development of the human fetal clitoris. Eighteen 7-13 week human fetal external genitalia specimens were analyzed by SEM, and fifteen additional human fetal specimens were sectioned for histologic analysis. SEM images demonstrate canalization of the urethral/vestibular plate in the developing male and female external genitalia, respectively, followed by proximal to distal fusion of the urethral folds in males only. The fusion process during penile development occurs sequentially in multiple layers and through the interlacing of epidermal "cords". Complex epithelial organization is also noted at the site of active canalization. The demarcation between the epidermis of the shaft and the glans becomes distinct during development, and the epithelial tag at the distal tip of the penile and clitoral glans regresses as development progresses. In summary, SEM analysis of human fetal specimens supports the two-zipper hypothesis of formation of the penile urethra. The opening zipper progresses from proximal to distal along the shaft of the penis and clitoris into the glans in identical fashion in both sexes. The closing zipper mechanism is active only in males and is not a single process but rather a series of layered fusion events, uniquely different from the simple fusion of two epithelial surfaces as occurs in formation of the palate and neural tube
Replica symmetry breaking in an adiabatic spin-glass model of adaptive evolution
We study evolutionary canalization using a spin-glass model with replica
theory, where spins and their interactions are dynamic variables whose
configurations correspond to phenotypes and genotypes, respectively. The spins
are updated under temperature T_S, and the genotypes evolve under temperature
T_J, according to the evolutionary fitness. It is found that adaptation occurs
at T_S < T_S^{RS}, and a replica symmetric phase emerges at T_S^{RSB} < T_S <
T_S^{RS}. The replica symmetric phase implies canalization, and replica
symmetry breaking at lower temperatures indicates loss of robustness.Comment: 5pages, 2 figure
Molecular Network Control Through Boolean Canalization
Boolean networks are an important class of computational models for molecular
interaction networks. Boolean canalization, a type of hierarchical clustering
of the inputs of a Boolean function, has been extensively studied in the
context of network modeling where each layer of canalization adds a degree of
stability in the dynamics of the network. Recently, dynamic network control
approaches have been used for the design of new therapeutic interventions and
for other applications such as stem cell reprogramming. This work studies the
role of canalization in the control of Boolean molecular networks. It provides
a method for identifying the potential edges to control in the wiring diagram
of a network for avoiding undesirable state transitions. The method is based on
identifying appropriate input-output combinations on undesirable transitions
that can be modified using the edges in the wiring diagram of the network.
Moreover, a method for estimating the number of changed transitions in the
state space of the system as a result of an edge deletion in the wiring diagram
is presented. The control methods of this paper were applied to a mutated
cell-cycle model and to a p53-mdm2 model to identify potential control targets
Comparison of imaging with sub-wavelength resolution in the canalization and resonant tunnelling regimes
We compare the properties of subwavelength imaging in the visible wavelength
range for metal-dielectric multilayers operating in the canalization and the
resonant tunnelling regimes. The analysis is based on the transfer matrix
method and time domain simulations. We show that Point Spread Functions for the
first two resonances in the canalization regime are approximately Gaussian in
shape. Material losses suppress transmission for higher resonances, regularise
the PSF but do not compromise the resolution. In the resonant tunnelling
regime, the MTF may dramatically vary in their phase dependence. Resulting PSF
may have a sub-wavelength thickness as well as may be broad with multiple
maxima and a rapid phase modulation. We show that the width of PSF may be
reduced by further propagation in free space, and we provide arguments to
explain this surprising observation.Comment: 17 pages,12 figure
Pseudocanalization regime for magnetic dark-field hyperlens
Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) are the cornerstone of the hyperlens, which
brings the superresolution effect from the near-field to the far-field zone.
For effective application of the hyperlens it should operate in so-called
canalization regime, when the phase advancement of the propagating fields is
maximally supressed, and thus field broadening is minimized. For conventional
hyperlenses it is relatively straightforward to achieve canalization by tuning
the anisotropic permittivity tensor. However, for a dark-field hyperlens
designed to image weak scatterers by filtering out background radiation
(dark-field regime) this approach is not viable, because design requirements
for such filtering and elimination of phase advancement i.e. canalization, are
mutually exclusive. Here we propose the use of magnetic (-positive and
negative) HMMs to achieve phase cancellation at the output equivalent to the
performance of a HMM in the canalized regime. The proposed structure offers
additional flexibility over simple HMMs in tuning light propagation. We show
that in this ``pseudocanalizing'' configuration quality of an image is
comparable to a conventional hyperlens, while the desired filtering of the
incident illumination associated with the dark-field hyperlens is preserved
The Emergence of Canalization and Evolvability in an Open-Ended, Interactive Evolutionary System
Natural evolution has produced a tremendous diversity of functional
organisms. Many believe an essential component of this process was the
evolution of evolvability, whereby evolution speeds up its ability to innovate
by generating a more adaptive pool of offspring. One hypothesized mechanism for
evolvability is developmental canalization, wherein certain dimensions of
variation become more likely to be traversed and others are prevented from
being explored (e.g. offspring tend to have similarly sized legs, and mutations
affect the length of both legs, not each leg individually). While ubiquitous in
nature, canalization almost never evolves in computational simulations of
evolution. Not only does that deprive us of in silico models in which to study
the evolution of evolvability, but it also raises the question of which
conditions give rise to this form of evolvability. Answering this question
would shed light on why such evolvability emerged naturally and could
accelerate engineering efforts to harness evolution to solve important
engineering challenges. In this paper we reveal a unique system in which
canalization did emerge in computational evolution. We document that genomes
entrench certain dimensions of variation that were frequently explored during
their evolutionary history. The genetic representation of these organisms also
evolved to be highly modular and hierarchical, and we show that these
organizational properties correlate with increased fitness. Interestingly, the
type of computational evolutionary experiment that produced this evolvability
was very different from traditional digital evolution in that there was no
objective, suggesting that open-ended, divergent evolutionary processes may be
necessary for the evolution of evolvability.Comment: SI can be found at: http://www.evolvingai.org/files/SI_0.zi
Magnification of Subwavelength Field Distributions at Microwave Frequencies Using a Wire Medium Slab Operating in the Canalization Regime
Magnification of subwavelength field distributions using a wire medium slab
operating in the canalization regime is demonstrated using numerical
simulations. The magnifying slab is implemented by radially enlarging the
distance between adjacent wires, and the operational frequency is tuned to
coincide with the Fabry-Perot resonance condition. The near-field distribution
of a complex-shaped source is canalized over an electrical distance
corresponding roughly to , and the distribution details are magnified
by a factor of three. The operation of the slab is studied at several
frequencies deviating from the Fabry-Perot resonance.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
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