A putative SUMO interacting motif in the B30.2/SPRY domain of rhesus macaque TRIM5α important for NF-κB/AP-1 signaling and HIV-1 restriction

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Marie-Édith Nepveu-Traversy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available TRIM5α from the rhesus macaque (TRIM5αRh is a restriction factor that shows strong activity against HIV-1. TRIM5αRh binds specifically to HIV-1 capsid (CA through its B30.2/PRYSPRY domain shortly after entry of the virus into the cytoplasm. Recently, three putative SUMO interacting motifs (SIMs have been identified in the PRYSPRY domain of human and macaque TRIM5α. However, structural modeling of this domain suggested that two of them were buried in the hydrophobic core of the protein, implying that interaction with SUMO was implausible, while the third one was not relevant to restriction. In light of these results, we re-analyzed the TRIM5αRh PRYSPRY sequence and identified an additional putative SIM (435VIIC438 which we named SIM4. This motif is exposed at the surface of the PRYSPRY domain, allowing potential interactions with SUMO or SUMOylated proteins. Introducing a double mutation in SIM4 (V435K, I436K did not alter stability, unlike mutations in SIM1. SIM4-mutated TRIM5αRh failed to bind HIV-1CA and lost the ability to restrict this virus. Accordingly, SIM4 undergoes significant variation among primates and substituting this motif with naturally occurring SIM4 variants affected HIV-1 restriction by TRIM5αRh, suggesting a direct role in capsid recognition. Interestingly, SIM4-mutated TRIM5αRh also failed to activate NF-κB and AP-1-mediated transcription. Although there is no direct evidence that SIM4 is involved in direct interaction with SUMO or a SUMOylated protein, mutating this motif strongly reduced co-localization of TRIM5αRh with SUMO-1 and with PML, a SUMOylated nuclear protein. In conclusion, this new putative SIM is crucial for both direct interaction with incoming capsids and for NF-κB/AP-1 signaling. We speculate that the latter function is mediated by interactions of SIM4 with a SUMOylated protein involved in the NF-κB/AP-1 signaling pathways.

Normalization of informatisation parameter on airfield light-signal bar at flights in complex meteorological conditions

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П.В. Попов

2005-03-01

Full Text Available  The technique of maintenance of the set level of flights safetivness is developed by normalization of informatisation parameters functional groups of light-signal lightings at technological stages of interaction of crew of the airplane with the airfield light-signals bar at flights in a complex weathercast conditions.

Melanopsin-expressing amphioxus photoreceptors transduce light via a phospholipase C signaling cascade.

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Juan Manuel Angueyra

Full Text Available Melanopsin, the receptor molecule that underlies light sensitivity in mammalian 'circadian' receptors, is homologous to invertebrate rhodopsins and has been proposed to operate via a similar signaling pathway. Its downstream effectors, however, remain elusive. Melanopsin also expresses in two distinct light-sensitive cell types in the neural tube of amphioxus. This organism is the most basal extant chordate and can help outline the evolutionary history of different photoreceptor lineages and their transduction mechanisms; moreover, isolated amphioxus photoreceptors offer unique advantages, because they are unambiguously identifiable and amenable to single-cell physiological assays. In the present study whole-cell patch clamp recording, pharmacological manipulations, and immunodetection were utilized to investigate light transduction in amphioxus photoreceptors. A G(q was identified and selectively localized to the photosensitive microvillar membrane, while the pivotal role of phospholipase C was established pharmacologically. The photocurrent was profoundly depressed by IP₃ receptor antagonists, highlighting the importance of IP₃ receptors in light signaling. By contrast, surrogates of diacylglycerol (DAG, as well as poly-unsaturated fatty acids failed to activate a membrane conductance or to alter the light response. The results strengthen the notion that calcium released from the ER via IP₃-sensitive channels may fulfill a key role in conveying--directly or indirectly--the melanopsin-initiated light signal to the photoconductance; moreover, they challenge the dogma that microvillar photoreceptors and phoshoinositide-based light transduction are a prerogative of invertebrate eyes.

Evaluation of Red Light Camera Enforcement at Signalized Intersections

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Abdulrahman AlJanahi

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The study attempts to find the effectiveness of adopting red light cameras in reducing red light violators. An experimental approach was adopted to investigate the use of red light cameras at signalized intersections in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The study locations were divided into three groups. The first group was related to the approaches monitored with red light cameras. The second group was related to approaches without red light cameras, but located within an intersection that had one of its approaches monitored with red light cameras. The third group was related to intersection approaches located at intersection without red light cameras (controlled sites. A methodology was developed for data collection. The data were then tested statistically by Z-test using proportion methods to compare the proportion of red light violations occurring at different sites. The study found that the proportion of red light violators at approaches monitored with red light cameras was significantly less than those at the controlled sites for most of the time. Approaches without red light cameras located within intersections having red light cameras showed, in general, fewer violations than controlled sites, but the results were not significant for all times of the day. The study reveals that red light cameras have a positive effect on reducing red light violations. However, these conclusions need further evaluations to justify their safe and economic use.

Light Signaling in Bud Outgrowth and Branching in Plants

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Nathalie Leduc

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Branching determines the final shape of plants, which influences adaptation, survival and the visual quality of many species. It is an intricate process that includes bud outgrowth and shoot extension, and these in turn respond to environmental cues and light conditions. Light is a powerful environmental factor that impacts multiple processes throughout plant life. The molecular basis of the perception and transduction of the light signal within buds is poorly understood and undoubtedly requires to be further unravelled. This review is based on current knowledge on bud outgrowth-related mechanisms and light-mediated regulation of many physiological processes. It provides an extensive, though not exhaustive, overview of the findings related to this field. In parallel, it points to issues to be addressed in the near future.

EXTRACTING PERIODIC TRANSIT SIGNALS FROM NOISY LIGHT CURVES USING FOURIER SERIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samsing, Johan [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2015-07-01

We present a simple and powerful method for extracting transit signals associated with a known transiting planet from noisy light curves. Assuming the orbital period of the planet is known and the signal is periodic, we illustrate that systematic noise can be removed in Fourier space at all frequencies by only using data within a fixed time frame with a width equal to an integer number of orbital periods. This results in a reconstruction of the full transit signal, which on average is unbiased despite no prior knowledge of either the noise or the transit signal itself being used in the analysis. The method therefore has clear advantages over standard phase folding, which normally requires external input such as nearby stars or noise models for removing systematic components. In addition, we can extract the full orbital transit signal (360°) simultaneously, and Kepler-like data can be analyzed in just a few seconds. We illustrate the performance of our method by applying it to a dataset composed of light curves from Kepler with a fake injected signal emulating a planet with rings. For extracting periodic transit signals, our presented method is in general the optimal and least biased estimator and could therefore lead the way toward the first detections of, e.g., planet rings and exo-trojan asteroids.

SPEAKING IN LIGHT - Jupiter radio signals as deflections of light-emitting electron beams in a vacuum chamber

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Petrovic, K.

2015-10-01

Light emitting electron beam generated in a vacuum chamber is used as a medium for visualizing Jupiter's electromagnetic radiation. Dual dipole array antenna is receiving HF radio signals that are next amplified to radiate a strong electromagnetic field capable of influencing the propagation of electron beam in plasma. Installation aims to provide a platform for observing the characteristics of light emitting beam in 3D, as opposed to the experiments with cathode ray tubes in 2-dimensional television screens. Gas giant 'speaking' to us by radio waves bends the light in the tube, allowing us to see and hear the messages of Jupiter - God of light and sky.

Optimization of signal-to-noise ratio for wireless light-emitting diode communication in modern lighting layouts

Science.gov (United States)

Azizan, Luqman A.; Ab-Rahman, Mohammad S.; Hassan, Mazen R.; Bakar, A. Ashrif A.; Nordin, Rosdiadee

2014-04-01

White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are predicted to be widely used in domestic applications in the future, because they are becoming widespread in commercial lighting applications. The ability of LEDs to be modulated at high speeds offers the possibility of using them as sources for communication instead of illumination. The growing interest in using these devices for both illumination and communication requires attention to combine this technology with modern lighting layouts. A dual-function system is applied to three models of modern lighting layouts: the hybrid corner lighting layout (HCLL), the hybrid wall lighting layout (HWLL), and the hybrid edge lighting layout (HELL). Based on the analysis, the relationship between the space adversity and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance is demonstrated for each model. The key factor that affects the SNR performance of visible light communication is the reliance on the design parameter that is related to the number and position of LED lights. The model of HWLL is chosen as the best layout, since 61% of the office area is considered as an excellent communication area and the difference between the area classification, Δp, is 22%. Thus, this system is applicable to modern lighting layouts.

33 CFR 81.20 - Lights and sound signal appliances.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lights and sound signal appliances. 81.20 Section 81.20 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY... appliances. Each vessel under the 72 COLREGS, except the vessels of the Navy, is exempt from the requirements...

The Putative Son's Attractiveness Alters the Perceived Attractiveness of the Putative Father.

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Prokop, Pavol

2015-08-01

A body of literature has investigated female mate choice in the pre-mating context (pre-mating sexual selection). Humans, however, are long-living mammals forming pair-bonds which sequentially produce offspring. Post-mating evaluations of a partner's attractiveness may thus significantly influence the reproductive success of men and women. I tested herein the theory that the attractiveness of putative sons provides extra information about the genetic quality of fathers, thereby influencing fathers' attractiveness across three studies. As predicted, facially attractive boys were more frequently attributed to attractive putative fathers and vice versa (Study 1). Furthermore, priming with an attractive putative son increased the attractiveness of the putative father with the reverse being true for unattractive putative sons. When putative fathers were presented as stepfathers, the effect of the boy's attractiveness on the stepfather's attractiveness was lower and less consistent (Study 2). This suggests that the presence of an attractive boy has the strongest effect on the perceived attractiveness of putative fathers rather than on non-fathers. The generalized effect of priming with beautiful non-human objects also exists, but its effect is much weaker compared with the effects of putative biological sons (Study 3). Overall, this study highlighted the importance of post-mating sexual selection in humans and suggests that the heritable attractive traits of men are also evaluated by females after mating and/or may be used by females in mate poaching.

Synaptic membrane rafts: traffic lights for local neurotrophin signaling?

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Zonta, Barbara; Minichiello, Liliana

2013-10-18

Lipid rafts, cholesterol and lipid rich microdomains, are believed to play important roles as platforms for the partitioning of transmembrane and synaptic proteins involved in synaptic signaling, plasticity, and maintenance. There is increasing evidence of a physical interaction between post-synaptic densities and post-synaptic lipid rafts. Localization of proteins within lipid rafts is highly regulated, and therefore lipid rafts may function as traffic lights modulating and fine-tuning neuronal signaling. The tyrosine kinase neurotrophin receptors (Trk) and the low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) are enriched in neuronal lipid rafts together with the intermediates of downstream signaling pathways, suggesting a possible role of rafts in neurotrophin signaling. Moreover, neurotrophins and their receptors are involved in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Cholesterol is an important component of lipid rafts and its depletion leads to gradual loss of synapses, underscoring the importance of lipid rafts for proper neuronal function. Here, we review and discuss the idea that translocation of neurotrophin receptors in synaptic rafts may account for the selectivity of their transduced signals.

Synaptic membrane rafts: traffic lights for local neurotrophin signalling?

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Barbara eZonta

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Lipid rafts, cholesterol and lipid rich microdomains, are believed to play important roles as platforms for the partitioning of transmembrane and synaptic proteins involved in synaptic signalling, plasticity and maintenance. There is increasing evidence of a physical interaction between post-synaptic densities and post-synaptic lipid rafts. Localization of proteins within lipid rafts is highly regulated, and therefore lipid rafts may function as traffic lights modulating and fine-tuning neuronal signalling. The tyrosine kinase neurotrophin receptors (Trk and the low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR are enriched in neuronal lipid rafts together with the intermediates of downstream signalling pathways, suggesting a possible role of rafts in neurotrophin signalling. Moreover, neurotrophins and their receptors are involved in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Cholesterol is an important component of lipid rafts and its depletion leads to gradual loss of synapses, underscoring the importance of lipid rafts for proper neuronal function. Here, we review and discuss the idea that translocation of neurotrophin receptors in synaptic rafts may account for the selectivity of their transduced signals.

The time light signals of New Zealand: yet another way of communicating time in the pre-wireless era

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Kinns, Roger

2017-08-01

The signalling of exact time using an array of lights appears to have been unique to New Zealand. It was a simple and effective solution for calibration of marine chronometers when transmission of time signals by wireless was in its infancy. Three lights, coloured green, red and white, were arranged in a vertical array. They were switched on in a defined sequence during the evening and then extinguished together to signal exact time. Time lights were first operated at the Dominion Observatory in Wellington during February 1912 and on the Ferry Building in Auckland during October 1915. The Wellington lights were immediately adjacent to the observatory buildings, but those in Auckland were operated using telegraph signals from Wellington. The timings varied over the years, but the same physical arrangement was retained at each location. The time light service was withdrawn during 1937, when wireless signals had become almost universally available for civil and navigation purposes.

p38-MK2 signaling axis regulates RNA metabolism after UV-light-induced DNA damage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borisova, Marina E; Voigt, Andrea; Tollenaere, Maxim A X

2018-01-01

quantitative phosphoproteomics and protein kinase inhibition to provide a systems view on protein phosphorylation patterns induced by UV light and uncover the dependencies of phosphorylation events on the canonical DNA damage signaling by ATM/ATR and the p38 MAP kinase pathway. We identify RNA-binding proteins......Ultraviolet (UV) light radiation induces the formation of bulky photoproducts in the DNA that globally affect transcription and splicing. However, the signaling pathways and mechanisms that link UV-light-induced DNA damage to changes in RNA metabolism remain poorly understood. Here we employ...

Light-induced fading of the PSL signal from irradiated herbs and spices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberti, A.; Corda, U.; Fuochi, P.; Bortolin, E.; Calicchia, A.; Onori, S.

2007-01-01

Reliability of the photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) technique, as screening method for irradiated food identification, has been tested with three kinds of herbs and spices (oregano, red pepper and fennel), prepared in two different ways (granular: i.e. seeds and flakes, or powdered), over a long period of storage with different light exposures. The irradiated samples kept in the dark gave always a positive response (the sample is correctly classified as 'irradiated') for the overall examination period. The samples kept under ambient light conditions, in typical commercial glass containers, exhibited a reduction of the PSL signal, more or less pronounced depending on the type of food and packaging. The different PSL response of the irradiated samples is to be related to the quantity and quality of the mineral debris present in the individual food. It was also found that, for the same type of food, the light-induced fading was much stronger for the flaked and seed samples than for the corresponding powder samples, the penetrating capability of light being much more inhibited in powdered than in whole seeds or flaked form samples. The observed light bleaching of the PSL signal in irradiated herbs and spices is of practical relevance since it may lead to false negative classifications

Signal-to-noise limitations in white light holography.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribak, E; Roddier, C; Roddier, F; Breckinridge, J B

1988-03-15

A simple derivation is given for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in images reconstructed from incoherent holograms. Dependence is shown to be on the hologram SNR, object complexity, and the number of pixels in the detector. Reconstruction of involved objects becomes possible with high dynamic range detectors such as charge coupled devices. We have produced such white light holograms by means of a rotational shear interferometer combined with a chromatic corrector. A digital inverse transform recreated the object.

Enhanced detection of a low-frequency signal by using broad squeezed light and a bichromatic local oscillator

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Li, Wei; Jin, Yuanbin; Yu, Xudong; Zhang, Jing

2017-08-01

We experimentally study a protocol of using the broadband high-frequency squeezed vacuum to detect the low-frequency signal. In this scheme, the lower sideband field of the squeezed light carries the low-frequency modulation signal, and the two strong coherent light fields are applied as the bichromatic local oscillator in the homodyne detection to measure the quantum entanglement of the upper and lower sideband for the broadband squeezed light. The power of one of the local oscillators for detecting the upper sideband can be adjusted to optimize the conditional variance in the low-frequency regime by subtracting the photocurrent of the upper sideband field of the squeezed light from that of the lower sideband field. By means of the quantum correlation of the upper and lower sideband for the broadband squeezed light, the low-frequency signal beyond the standard quantum limit is measured. This scheme is appropriate for enhancing the sensitivity of the low-frequency signal by the aid of the broad squeezed light, such as gravitational waves detection, and does not need to directly produce the low-frequency squeezing in an optical parametric process.

Evidence for some signal transduction elements involved in UV-light-dependent responses in parsley protoplasts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frohnmeyer, H.; Bowler, C.; Schäfer, E.

1997-01-01

The signalling pathways used by UV-light are largely unknown. Using protoplasts from a heterotrophic parsley (Petroselinum crispum L.) cell culture that exclusively respond to UV-B light between 300 and 350 nm with a fast induction of genes encoding flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes, information was obtained about the UV-light signal transduction pathway for chalcone synthase (CHS) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene expression. Pharmacological effectors which influence intracellular calcium levels, calmodulin and the activity of serine/threonine kinases also changed the UV-light-dependent expression of these genes. This evaluation indicated the participation of these components on the UV-B-mediated signal transduction cascade to CHS. In contrast, neither membrane-permeable cyclic GMP nor the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein affected CHS or PAL expression. Similar results were obtained in protoplasts, which have been transiently transformed with CHS-promoter/GUS (β-glucuronidase) reporter fusion constructs. The involvement of calcium and calmodulin was further indicated in a cell-free light-responsive in vitro transcription system from evacuolated parsley protoplasts. In conclusion, there is evidence now that components of the UV-light-dependent pathway leading to the CHS-promoter are different from the previously characterized cGMP-dependent pathway to CHS utilized by phytochrome in soybean (Glycine max) and tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum). (author)

Optimized lighting method of applying shaped-function signal for increasing the dynamic range of LED-multispectral imaging system

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xue; Hu, Yajia; Li, Gang; Lin, Ling

2018-02-01

This paper proposes an optimized lighting method of applying a shaped-function signal for increasing the dynamic range of light emitting diode (LED)-multispectral imaging system. The optimized lighting method is based on the linear response zone of the analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) and the spectral response of the camera. The auxiliary light at a higher sensitivity-camera area is introduced to increase the A/D quantization levels that are within the linear response zone of ADC and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The active light is modulated by the shaped-function signal to improve the gray-scale resolution of the image. And the auxiliary light is modulated by the constant intensity signal, which is easy to acquire the images under the active light irradiation. The least square method is employed to precisely extract the desired images. One wavelength in multispectral imaging based on LED illumination was taken as an example. It has been proven by experiments that the gray-scale resolution and the accuracy of information of the images acquired by the proposed method were both significantly improved. The optimum method opens up avenues for the hyperspectral imaging of biological tissue.

Large-signal modulation characteristics of a GaN-based micro-LED for Gbps visible-light communication

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Pengfei; Wu, Zhengyuan; Liu, Xiaoyan; Fang, Zhilai; Zhang, Shuailong; Zhou, Xiaolin; Liu, Kefu; Liu, Ming-Gang; Chen, Shu-Jhih; Lee, Chia-Yu; Cong, Chunxiao; Hu, Laigui; Qiu, Zhi-Jun; Zheng, Lirong; Liu, Ran

2018-04-01

The large-signal modulation characteristics of a GaN-based micro-LED have been studied for Gbps visible-light communication. With an increasing signal modulation depth the modulation bandwidth decreases, which matches up with the increase in the sum of the signal rise time and fall time. By simulating the band diagram and the carrier recombination rate of the micro-LED under large-signal modulation, carrier recombination and the carrier sweep-out effect are analyzed and found to be the dominant mechanisms behind the variation of modulation bandwidth. These results give further insight into improving the modulation bandwidth for high-speed visible-light communication.

Molecular mechanisms and ecological function of far-red light signalling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheerin, David J; Hiltbrunner, Andreas

2017-11-01

Land plants possess the ability to sense and respond to far-red light (700-760 nm), which serves as an important environmental cue. Due to the nature of far-red light, it is not absorbed by chlorophyll and thus is enriched in canopy shade and will also penetrate deeper into soil than other visible wavelengths. Far-red light responses include regulation of seed germination, suppression of hypocotyl growth, induction of flowering and accumulation of anthocyanins, which depend on one member of the phytochrome photoreceptor family, phytochrome A (phyA). Here, we review the current understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of how plants sense far-red light through phyA and the physiological responses to this light quality. Light-activated phytochromes act on two primary pathways within the nucleus; suppression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex CUL4/DDB1 COP1/SPA and inactivation of the PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR (PIF) family of bHLH transcription factors. These pathways integrate with other signal transduction pathways, including phytohormones, for tissue and developmental stage specific responses. Unlike other phytochromes that mediate red-light responses, phyA is transported from the cytoplasm to the nucleus in far-red light by the shuttle proteins FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 1 (FHY1) and FHY1-LIKE (FHL). However, additional mechanisms must exist that shift the action of phyA to far-red light; current hypotheses are discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Differential signaling spread-spectrum modulation of the LED visible light wireless communications using a mobile-phone camera

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shih-Hao; Chow, Chi-Wai

2015-02-01

Visible light communication (VLC) using spread spectrum modulation (SSM) and differential signaling (DS), detected by a mobile-phone camera is proposed and demonstrated for the first time to provide high immunity to background ambient light interference. The SSM signal provides the coding gain while the DS scheme enhances the clock recovery particular under high background ambient light. Experiment results confirm the feasibility of the proposed scheme, showing that the proposed system has 6-dB gain comparing with the traditional on-off keying (OOK) modulation under background ambient light of 3000 lux. The direct incident ambient light to the mobile-phone camera is 520 lux.

Luminance and chromatic signals interact differently with melanopsin activation to control the pupil light response.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrionuevo, Pablo A; Cao, Dingcai

2016-09-01

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) express the photopigment melanopsin. These cells receive afferent inputs from rods and cones, which provide inputs to the postreceptoral visual pathways. It is unknown, however, how melanopsin activation is integrated with postreceptoral signals to control the pupillary light reflex. This study reports human flicker pupillary responses measured using stimuli generated with a five-primary photostimulator that selectively modulated melanopsin, rod, S-, M-, and L-cone excitations in isolation, or in combination to produce postreceptoral signals. We first analyzed the light adaptation behavior of melanopsin activation and rod and cones signals. Second, we determined how melanopsin is integrated with postreceptoral signals by testing with cone luminance, chromatic blue-yellow, and chromatic red-green stimuli that were processed by magnocellular (MC), koniocellular (KC), and parvocellular (PC) pathways, respectively. A combined rod and melanopsin response was also measured. The relative phase of the postreceptoral signals was varied with respect to the melanopsin phase. The results showed that light adaptation behavior for all conditions was weaker than typical Weber adaptation. Melanopsin activation combined linearly with luminance, S-cone, and rod inputs, suggesting the locus of integration with MC and KC signals was retinal. The melanopsin contribution to phasic pupil responses was lower than luminance contributions, but much higher than S-cone contributions. Chromatic red-green modulation interacted with melanopsin activation nonlinearly as described by a "winner-takes-all" process, suggesting the integration with PC signals might be mediated by a postretinal site.

Polarized light modulates light-dependent magnetic compass orientation in birds

Science.gov (United States)

Muheim, Rachel; Sjöberg, Sissel; Pinzon-Rodriguez, Atticus

2016-01-01

Magnetoreception of the light-dependent magnetic compass in birds is suggested to be mediated by a radical-pair mechanism taking place in the avian retina. Biophysical models on magnetic field effects on radical pairs generally assume that the light activating the magnetoreceptor molecules is nondirectional and unpolarized, and that light absorption is isotropic. However, natural skylight enters the avian retina unidirectionally, through the cornea and the lens, and is often partially polarized. In addition, cryptochromes, the putative magnetoreceptor molecules, absorb light anisotropically, i.e., they preferentially absorb light of a specific direction and polarization, implying that the light-dependent magnetic compass is intrinsically polarization sensitive. To test putative interactions between the avian magnetic compass and polarized light, we developed a spatial orientation assay and trained zebra finches to magnetic and/or overhead polarized light cues in a four-arm “plus” maze. The birds did not use overhead polarized light near the zenith for sky compass orientation. Instead, overhead polarized light modulated light-dependent magnetic compass orientation, i.e., how the birds perceive the magnetic field. Birds were well oriented when tested with the polarized light axis aligned parallel to the magnetic field. When the polarized light axis was aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field, the birds became disoriented. These findings are the first behavioral evidence to our knowledge for a direct interaction between polarized light and the light-dependent magnetic compass in an animal. They reveal a fundamentally new property of the radical pair-based magnetoreceptor with key implications for how birds and other animals perceive the Earth’s magnetic field. PMID:26811473

Light and gravity signals synergize in modulating plant development

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenbrink, Joshua P.; Kiss, John Z.; Herranz, Raul; Medina, F. Javier

2014-01-01

Tropisms are growth-mediated plant movements that help plants to respond to changes in environmental stimuli. The availability of water and light, as well as the presence of a constant gravity vector, are all environmental stimuli that plants sense and respond to via directed growth movements (tropisms). The plant response to gravity (gravitropism) and the response to unidirectional light (phototropism) have long been shown to be interconnected growth phenomena. Here, we discuss the similarities in these two processes, as well as the known molecular mechanisms behind the tropistic responses. We also highlight research done in a microgravity environment in order to decouple two tropisms through experiments carried out in the absence of a significant unilateral gravity vector. In addition, alteration of gravity, especially the microgravity environment, and light irradiation produce important effects on meristematic cells, the undifferentiated, highly proliferating, totipotent cells which sustain plant development. Microgravity produces the disruption of meristematic competence, i.e., the decoupling of cell proliferation and cell growth, affecting the regulation of the cell cycle and ribosome biogenesis. Light irradiation, especially red light, mediated by phytochromes, has an activating effect on these processes. Phytohormones, particularly auxin, also are key mediators in these alterations. Upcoming experiments on the International Space Station will clarify some of the mechanisms and molecular players of the plant responses to these environmental signals involved in tropisms and the cell cycle. PMID:25389428

Light and gravity signals synergize in modulating plant development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua P. Vandenbrink

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Tropisms are growth-mediated plant movements that help plants to respond to changes in environmental stimuli. The availability of water and light, as well as the presence of a constant gravity vector, are all environmental stimuli that plants sense and respond to via directed growth movements (tropisms. The plant response to gravity (gravitropism and the response to unidirectional light (phototropism have long been shown to be interconnected growth phenomena. Here, we discuss the similarities in these two processes, as well as the known molecular mechanisms behind the tropistic responses. We also highlight experiments done in a microgravity environment in order to decouple two tropisms through experiments carried out in the absence of a significant unilateral gravity vector. In addition, alteration of gravity, especially the microgravity environment, and light irradiation produce important effects on meristematic cells, the undifferentiated, highly proliferating, totipotent cells which sustain plant development. Microgravity produces the disruption of meristematic competence, i.e. the decoupling of cell proliferation and cell growth, affecting the regulation of cell cycle and ribosome biogenesis. Light irradiation, especially red light, mediated by phytochromes, has an activating effect on these processes. Phytohormones, particularly auxin, are key mediators in these alterations. Upcoming experiments on the International Space Station will clarify some of the unknown mechanisms and molecular players of the plant responses to these environmental signals involved in tropisms and the cell cycle.

Response inhibition signals and miscoding of direction in dorsomedial striatum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel W Bryden

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The ability to inhibit action is critical for everyday behavior and is affected by a variety of disorders. Behavioral control and response inhibition is thought to depend on a neural circuit that includes the dorsal striatum, yet the neural signals that lead to response inhibition and its failure are unclear. To address this issue, we recorded from neurons in rat dorsomedial striatum (mDS in a novel task in which rats responded to a spatial cue that signaled that reward would be delivered either to the left or to the right. On 80% of trials rats were instructed to respond in the direction cued by the light (GO. On 20% of trials a second light illuminated instructing the rat to refrain from making the cued movement and move in the opposite direction (STOP. Many neurons in mDS encoded direction, firing more or less strongly for GO movements made ipsilateral or contralateral to the recording electrode. Neurons that fired more strongly for contralateral GO responses were more active when rats were faster, showed reduced activity on STOP trials, and miscoded direction on errors, suggesting that when these neurons were overly active, response inhibition failed. Neurons that decreased firing for contralateral movement were excited during trials in which the rat was required to stop the ipsilateral movement. For these neurons activity was reduced when errors were made and was negatively correlated with movement time suggesting that when these neurons were less active on STOP trials, response inhibition failed. Finally, the activity of a significant number of neurons represented a global inhibitory signal, firing more strongly during response inhibition regardless of response direction. Breakdown by cell type suggests that putative medium spiny neurons tended to fire more strongly under STOP trials, whereas putative interneurons exhibited both activity patterns. 

Photosynthesis-dependent H2O2 transfer from chloroplasts to nuclei provides a high-light signalling mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Exposito-Rodriguez, Marino; Laissue, Pierre Philippe; Yvon-Durocher, Gabriel; Smirnoff, Nicholas; Mullineaux, Philip M

2017-06-29

Chloroplasts communicate information by signalling to nuclei during acclimation to fluctuating light. Several potential operating signals originating from chloroplasts have been proposed, but none have been shown to move to nuclei to modulate gene expression. One proposed signal is hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) produced by chloroplasts in a light-dependent manner. Using HyPer2, a genetically encoded fluorescent H 2 O 2 sensor, we show that in photosynthetic Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells, exposure to high light increases H 2 O 2 production in chloroplast stroma, cytosol and nuclei. Critically, over-expression of stromal ascorbate peroxidase (H 2 O 2 scavenger) or treatment with DCMU (photosynthesis inhibitor) attenuates nuclear H 2 O 2 accumulation and high light-responsive gene expression. Cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase over-expression has little effect on nuclear H 2 O 2 accumulation and high light-responsive gene expression. This is because the H 2 O 2 derives from a sub-population of chloroplasts closely associated with nuclei. Therefore, direct H 2 O 2 transfer from chloroplasts to nuclei, avoiding the cytosol, enables photosynthetic control over gene expression.Multiple plastid-derived signals have been proposed but not shown to move to the nucleus to promote plant acclimation to fluctuating light. Here the authors use a fluorescent hydrogen peroxide sensor to provide evidence that H 2 O 2 is transferred directly from chloroplasts to nuclei to control nuclear gene expression.

Influences of motorcycle rider and driver characteristics and road environment on red light running behavior at signalized intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensupakarn, Auearree; Kanitpong, Kunnawee

2018-04-01

In Thailand, red light running is considered as one of the most dangerous behaviors at intersection. Red light running (RLR) behavior is the failure to obey the traffic control signal. However, motorcycle riders and car drivers who are running through red lights could be influenced by human factors or road environment at intersection. RLR could be advertent or inadvertent behavior influenced by many factors. Little research study has been done to evaluate the contributing factors influencing the red-light violation behavior. This study aims to determine the factors influencing the red light running behavior including human characteristics, physical condition of intersection, traffic signal operation, and traffic condition. A total of 92 intersections were observed in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Chonburi, the major provinces in each region of Thailand. In addition, the socio-economic characteristics of red light runners were obtained from self-reported questionnaire survey. The Binary Logistic Regression and the Multiple Linear Regression models were used to determine the characteristics of red light runners and the factors influencing rates of red light running respectively. The results from this study can help to understand the characteristics of red light runners and factors affecting them to run red lights. For motorcycle riders and car drivers, age, gender, occupation, driving license, helmet/seatbelt use, and the probability to be penalized when running the red light significantly affect RLR behavior. In addition, the results indicated that vehicle travelling direction, time of day, existence of turning lane, number of lanes, lane width, intersection sight distance, type of traffic signal pole, type of traffic signal operation, length of yellow time interval, approaching speed, distance from intersection warning sign to stop line, and pavement roughness significantly affect RLR rates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dark Matter in Light of the LUX Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fox, Patrick J. [Fermilab; Jung, Gabriel [Fermilab; Sorensen, Peter [LLNL, Livermore; Weiner, Neal [New York U.

2014-05-22

The landscape of dark matter direct detection has been profoundly altered by the slew of recent experiments. While some have claimed signals consistent with dark matter, others have seen few, if any, events consistent with dark matter. The results of the putative detections are often incompatible with each other in the context of naive spin-independent scattering, as well as with the null results. In particular, in light of the conflicts between the DM interpretation of the three events recently reported by the CDMS-Si experiment and the first results of the LUX experiment, there is a strong need to revisit the assumptions that go into the DM interpretations of both signals and limits. We attempt to reexamine a number of particle physics, astrophysics and experimental uncertainties. Specifically, we examine exothermic scattering, isospin-dependent couplings, modified halo models through astrophysics independent techniques, and variations in the assumptions about the scintillation light in liquid Xenon. We find that only a highly tuned isospin-dependent scenario remains as a viable explanation of the claimed detections, unless the scintillation properties of LXe are dramatically different from the assumptions used by the LUX experiment.

Light Signaling-Dependent Regulation of Photoinhibition and Photoprotection in Tomato.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Feng; Wu, Nan; Zhang, Luyue; Ahammed, Golam Jalal; Chen, Xiaoxiao; Xiang, Xun; Zhou, Jie; Xia, Xiaojian; Shi, Kai; Yu, Jingquan; Foyer, Christine H; Zhou, Yanhong

2018-02-01

Photoreceptor-mediated light signaling plays a critical role in plant growth, development, and stress responses but its contribution to the spatial regulation of photoinhibition and photoprotection within the canopy remains unclear. Here, we show that low-red/far-red ( L - R / FR ) ratio light conditions significantly alleviate PSII and PSI photoinhibition in the shade leaves of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) plants. This protection is accompanied by a phytochrome A-dependent induction of LONG HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5). HY5 binds to the promoter of ABA INSENSITIVE 5 ( ABI5 ), triggering RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG1 ( RBOH1 )-dependent H 2 O 2 production in the apoplast. Decreased levels of HY5 , ABI5 , and RBOH1 transcripts increased cold-induced photoinhibition and abolished L - R / FR -induced alleviation of photoinhibition. L - R / FR illumination induced nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll a fluorescence and increased the activities of Foyer-Halliwell-Asada cycle enzymes and cyclic electron flux (CEF) around PSI. In contrast, decreased HY5 , ABI5 , and RBOH1 transcript levels abolished the positive effect of L - R / FR on photoprotection. Loss of PROTON GRADIENT REGULATION5 -dependent CEF led to increased photoinhibition and attenuated L - R / FR -dependent NPQ. These data demonstrate that HY5 is an important hub in the cross talk between light and cold response pathways, integrating ABA and reactive oxygen species signaling, leading to the attenuation of photoinhibition by enhanced induction of photoprotection in shade leaves. © 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

The ratio of red light to far red light alters Arabidopsis axillary bud growth and abscisic acid signalling before stem auxin changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Holalu, Srinidhi V; Finlayson, Scott A

2017-02-01

Arabidopsis thaliana shoot branching is inhibited by a low red light to far red light ratio (R:FR, an indicator of competition), and by loss of phytochrome B function. Prior studies have shown that phytochrome B deficiency suppresses bud growth by elevating systemic auxin signalling, and that increasing the R:FR promotes the growth of buds suppressed by low R:FR by inhibiting bud abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation and signalling. Here, systemic auxin signalling and bud ABA signalling were examined in the context of rapid bud responses to an increased R:FR. Increasing the R:FR promoted the growth of buds inhibited by a low R:FR within 6 h. Relative to a low R:FR, bud ABA accumulation and signalling in plants given a high R:FR showed a sustained decline within 3 h, prior to increased growth. Main stem auxin levels and signalling showed a weak, transient response. Systemic effects and those localised to the bud were further examined by decapitating plants maintained either under a low R:FR or provided with a high R:FR. Increasing the R:FR promoted bud growth before decapitation, but decapitated plants eventually formed longer branches. The data suggest that rapid responses to an increased R:FR may be mediated by changes in bud ABA physiology, although systemic auxin signalling is necessary for sustained bud repression under a low R:FR. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Putative midkine family protein up-regulation in Patella caerulea (Mollusca, Gastropoda) exposed to sublethal concentrations of cadmium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanucci, Silvana; Minerdi, Daniela; Kadomatsu, Kenji; Mengoni, Alessio; Bazzicalupo, Marco

2005-01-01

A cDNA sequence of a putative midkine (MK) family protein was identified and characterised in the mollusc Patella caerulea. The midkine family consists of two members, midkine and pleiotrophin (PTN), and it is one of the recently discovered cytokines. Our results show that this putative midkine protein is up-regulated in specimens of P. caerulea exposed to sublethal cadmium concentrations (i.e. 0.5 and 1 mg l -1 Cd) over a 10-day exposure period. Semiquantitative RT-PCR and quantitative Real time RT-PCR estimations indicate elevated expression of midkine mRNA in exposed specimens compared to controls. Moreover, RT-PCR Real time values were higher in the viscera (here defined as the part of the soft tissue including digestive gland plus gills) than in the foot (i.e. foot plus head plus heart) of the limpets. At present, information on the functional signalling significance of the midkine family proteins suggests that the up-regulation of P. caerulea putative midkine family protein is a distress signal likely with informative value on health status of the organism and with potential prognostic capability

Distinct UV-B and UV-A/blue light signal transduction pathways induce chalcone synthase gene expression in Arabidopsis cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christie, J.M.; Jenkins, G.I.

1996-01-01

UV and blue light control the expression of flavonoid biosynthesis genes in a range of higher plants. To investigate the signal transduction processes involved in the induction of chalcone synthase (CHS) gene expression by UV-B and UV-A/blue light, we examined the, effects of specific agonists and inhibitors of known signaling components in mammalian systems in a photomixotrophic Arabidopsis cell suspension culture. CHS expression is induced specifically by these wavelengths in the cell culture, in a manner similar to that in mature Arabidopsis leaf tissue. Both the UV-B and UV-A/blue phototransduction processes involve calcium, although the elevation of cytosolic calcium is insufficient on its own to stimulate CHS expression. The UV-A/blue light induction of CHS expression does not appear to involve calmodulin, whereas the UV-B response does; this difference indicates that the signal transduction pathways are, at least in part, distinct. We provide evidence that both pathways involve reversible protein phosphorylation and require protein synthesis. The UV-B and UV-A/blue light signaling pathways are therefore different from the phytochrome signal transduction pathway regulating CHS expression in other species

Cellular chromophores and signaling in low level light therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Hamblin, Michael R.; Demidova-Rice, Tatiana N.

2007-02-01

The use of low levels of visible or near infrared light (LLLT) for reducing pain, inflammation and edema, promoting healing of wounds, deeper tissues and nerves, and preventing tissue damage by reducing cellular apoptosis has been known for almost forty years since the invention of lasers. Originally thought to be a peculiar property of laser light (soft or cold lasers), the subject has now broadened to include photobiomodulation and photobiostimulation using non-coherent light. Despite many reports of positive findings from experiments conducted in vitro, in animal models and in randomized controlled clinical trials, LLLT remains controversial. This likely is due to two main reasons; firstly the biochemical mechanisms underlying the positive effects are incompletely understood, and secondly the complexity of rationally choosing amongst a large number of illumination parameters such as wavelength, fluence, power density, pulse structure and treatment timing has led to the publication of a number of negative studies as well as many positive ones. In recent years major advances have been made in understanding the mechanisms that operate at the cellular and tissue levels during LLLT. Mitochondria are thought to be the main site for the initial effects of light and specifically cytochrome c oxidase that has absorption peaks in the red and near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum matches the action spectra of LLLT effects. The discovery that cells employ nitric oxide (NO) synthesized in the mitochondria by neuronal nitric oxide synthase, to regulate respiration by competitive binding to the oxygen binding of cytochrome c oxidase, now suggests how LLLT can affect cell metabolism. If LLLT photodissociates inhibitory NO from cytochrome c oxidase, this would explain increased ATP production, modulation of reactive oxygen species, reduction and prevention of apoptosis, stimulation of angiogenesis, increase of blood flow and induction of transcription factors. In

Light Controls Cytokinin Signaling via Transcriptional Regulation of Constitutively Active Sensor Histidine Kinase CKI1.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobisova, Tereza; Hrdinova, Vendula; Cuesta, Candela; Michlickova, Sarka; Urbankova, Ivana; Hejatkova, Romana; Zadnikova, Petra; Pernisova, Marketa; Benkova, Eva; Hejatko, Jan

2017-05-01

In plants, the multistep phosphorelay (MSP) pathway mediates a range of regulatory processes, including those activated by cytokinins. The cross talk between cytokinin response and light has been known for a long time. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between light and cytokinin signaling remains elusive. In the screen for upstream regulators we identified a LONG PALE HYPOCOTYL ( LPH ) gene whose activity is indispensable for spatiotemporally correct expression of CYTOKININ INDEPENDENT1 ( CKI1 ), encoding the constitutively active sensor His kinase that activates MSP signaling. lph is a new allele of HEME OXYGENASE1 ( HY1 ) that encodes the key protein in the biosynthesis of phytochromobilin, a cofactor of photoconvertible phytochromes. Our analysis confirmed the light-dependent regulation of the CKI1 expression pattern. We show that CKI1 expression is under the control of phytochrome A (phyA), functioning as a dual (both positive and negative) regulator of CKI1 expression, presumably via the phyA-regulated transcription factors (TF) PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR3 and CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1. Changes in CKI1 expression observed in lph / hy1 - 7 and phy mutants correlate with misregulation of MSP signaling, changed cytokinin sensitivity, and developmental aberrations that were previously shown to be associated with cytokinin and/or CKI1 action. Besides that, we demonstrate a novel role of phyA-dependent CKI1 expression in the hypocotyl elongation and hook development during skotomorphogenesis. Based on these results, we propose that the light-dependent regulation of CKI1 provides a plausible mechanistic link underlying the well-known interaction between light- and cytokinin-controlled plant development. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

The effects of clouds on the detection of light signals from near-ground nuclear bursts at satellite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhongshan; Zhang Enshan; Zhao Wenli; Gao Chunxia

2002-01-01

The effects of clouds on the detection of light signals from near-ground nuclear bursts are analysed quantitatively. The results indicate: the degree of the effect increasing with the growth of clouds optical thickness and satellite look angle; clouds lead really harmful effect in detectable signal intensity and precision of optical location, but degree of the effect is not great too. The enhancement of the photon optical paths by multiple scattering within the cloud will cause both a delay and a time-broadening of an impulsive light signal, and get 'lower and fat'; upward optical transmission of light through clouds is essentially the same as if there were no cloud present at all, when a point source is above the geometrical mid-plane of the cloud. And if the point source is below the mid-plane, then upward optical transmission of light through clods will be related closely to the distance of the source below the mid-plane. Given also some charts which evaluate conveniently degree of the effect due to clouds for the purpose of reference and use of a person of the same trade or occupation are given also

Cloning of a two-component signal transduction system of Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans strain BXPF65

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chan, JWYF; Maynard, Scott; Goodwin, PH

1998-01-01

A putative two-component signal transduction system was amplified and cloned from the plant pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans isolate BXPF65. The 620 bp amplified fragment was sequenced and analyzed with the BLAST Enhanced Alignment Utility (BEAUTY). BEAUTY...... that the putative histidine kinase has homology with conserved “transmitter” domains of sensor proteins in two-component signal transduction systems. RFLP analysis using the putative signal transduction system showed polymorphisms among the strains....

Absorption and emission spectroscopic characterization of blue-light receptor Slr1694 from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.

Science.gov (United States)

Zirak, P; Penzkofer, A; Lehmpfuhl, C; Mathes, T; Hegemann, P

2007-01-03

The BLUF protein Slr1694 from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is characterized by absorption and emission spectroscopy. Slr1694 expressed from E. coli which non-covalently binds FAD, FMN, and riboflavin (called Slr1694(I)), and reconstituted Slr1694 which dominantly contains FAD (called Slr1694(II)) are investigated. The receptor conformation of Slr1694 (dark adapted form Slr1694(r)) is transformed to the putative signalling state (light adapted form Slr1694(s)) with red-shifted absorption and decreased fluorescence efficiency by blue-light excitation. In the dark at 22 degrees C, the signalling state recovers back to the initial receptor state with a time constants of about 14.2s for Slr1694(I) and 17s for Slr1694(II). Quantum yields of signalling state formation of approximately 0.63+/-0.07 for both Slr1694(I) and Slr1694(II) were determined by transient transmission measurements and intensity dependent steady-state transmission measurements. Extended blue-light excitation causes some bound flavin conversion to the hydroquinone form and some photo-degradation, both with low quantum efficiency. The flavin-hydroquinone re-oxidizes slowly back (time constant 5-9 min) to the initial flavoquinone form in the dark. A photo-cycle dynamics scheme is presented.

Improved slow-light performance of 10 Gb/s NRZ, PSBT and DPSK signals in fiber broadband SBS.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Lilin; Jaouen, Yves; Hu, Weisheng; Su, Yikai; Bigo, Sébastien

2007-12-10

We have demonstrated error-free operations of slow-light via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fiber for 10-Gb/s signals with different modulation formats, including non-return-to-zero (NRZ), phase-shaped binary transmission (PSBT) and differential phase-shiftkeying (DPSK). The SBS gain bandwidth is broadened by using current noise modulation of the pump laser diode. The gain shape is simply controlled by the noise density function. Super-Gaussian noise modulation of the Brillouin pump allows a flat-top and sharp-edge SBS gain spectrum, which can reduce slow-light induced distortion in case of 10-Gb/s NRZ signal. The corresponding maximal delay-time with error-free operation is 35 ps. Then we propose the PSBT format to minimize distortions resulting from SBS filtering effect and dispersion accompanied with slow light because of its high spectral efficiency and strong dispersion tolerance. The sensitivity of the 10-Gb/s PSBT signal is 5.2 dB better than the NRZ case with a same 35-ps delay. The maximal delay of 51 ps with error-free operation has been achieved. Futhermore, the DPSK format is directly demodulated through a Gaussian-shaped SBS gain, which is achieved using Gaussian-noise modulation of the Brillouin pump. The maximal error-free time delay after demodulation of a 10-Gb/s DPSK signal is as high as 81.5 ps, which is the best demonstrated result for 10-Gb/s slow-light.

Evaluation of signal energy calculation methods for a light-sharing SiPM-based PET detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, Qingyang [School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, University of Science & Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Beijing Engineering Research Center of Industrial Spectrum Imaging, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Ma, Tianyu; Xu, Tianpeng; Liu, Yaqiang; Wang, Shi [Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Gu, Yu, E-mail: guyu@ustb.edu.cn [School of Automation and Electrical Engineering, University of Science & Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

2017-03-11

Signals of a light-sharing positron emission tomography (PET) detector are commonly multiplexed to three analog pulses (E, X, and Y) and then digitally sampled. From this procedure, the signal energy that are critical to detector performance are obtained. In this paper, different signal energy calculation strategies for a self-developed SiPM-based PET detector, including pulse height and different integration methods, are evaluated in terms of energy resolution and spread of the crystal response in the flood histogram using a root-mean-squared (RMS) index. Results show that integrations outperform the pulse height. Integration using the maximum derivative value of the pulse E as the landmark point and 28 integrated points (448 ns) has the best performance in these evaluated methods for our detector. Detector performance in terms of energy and position is improved with this integration method. The proposed methodology is expected to be applicable for other light-sharing PET detectors.

Signaling Games and the Evolution of Structure in Language and Music: A Reply to Ravignani and Verhoef (2018) ‡.

Science.gov (United States)

Lumaca, Massimo; Baggio, Giosuè

2018-04-17

In their commentary on our work, Ravignani and Verhoef (2018) raise concerns about two methodological aspects of our experimental paradigm (the signaling game): (1) the use of melodic signals of fixed length and duration, and (2) the fact that signals are endowed with meaning. They argue that music is hardly a semantic system and that our methodological choices may limit the capacity of our paradigm to shed light on the emergence and evolution of a number of putative musical universals. We reply that musical systems are semantic systems and that the aim of our research is not to study musical universals as such, but to compare more closely the kinds of principles that organize meaning and structure in linguistic and musical systems.

Protein Redox Dynamics During Light-to-Dark Transitions in Cyanobacteria and Impacts Due to Nutrient Limitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron T Wright

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Protein redox chemistry constitutes a major void in knowledge pertaining to photoautotrophic system regulation and signaling processes. We have employed a chemical biology approach to analyze redox sensitive proteins in live Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 cells in both light and dark periods, and to understand how cellular redox balance is disrupted during nutrient perturbation. The present work identified 300 putative redox-sensitive proteins that are involved in the generation of reductant, macromolecule synthesis, and carbon flux through central metabolic pathways, and may be involved in cell signaling and response mechanisms. Furthermore, our research suggests that dynamic redox changes in response to specific nutrient limitations, including carbon and nitrogen limitations, contribute to the regulatory changes driven by a shift from light to dark. Taken together, these results contribute to a high-level understanding of post-translational mechanisms regulating flux distributions and suggest potential metabolic engineering targets for redirecting carbon towards biofuel precursors.

Converging Light, Energy and Hormonal Signaling Control Meristem Activity, Leaf Initiation, and Growth1[CC-BY

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Binish; Bilooei, Sara Farahi; Grove, Elliot; Railo, Saana; Palme, Klaus

2018-01-01

The development of leaf primordia is subject to light control of meristematic activity. Light regulates the expression of thousands of genes with roles in cell proliferation, organ development, and differentiation of photosynthetic cells. Previous work has highlighted roles for hormone homeostasis and the energy-dependent Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase in meristematic activity, yet a picture of how these two regulatory mechanisms depend on light perception and interact with each other has yet to emerge. Their relevance beyond leaf initiation also is unclear. Here, we report the discovery that the dark-arrested meristematic region of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) experiences a local energy deprivation state and confirm previous findings that the PIN1 auxin transporter is diffusely localized in the dark. Light triggers a rapid removal of the starvation state and the establishment of PIN1 polar membrane localization consistent with auxin export, both preceding the induction of cell cycle- and cytoplasmic growth-associated genes. We demonstrate that shoot meristematic activity can occur in the dark through the manipulation of auxin and cytokinin activity as well as through the activation of energy signaling, both targets of photomorphogenesis action, but the organ developmental outcomes differ: while TOR-dependent energy signals alone stimulate cell proliferation, the development of a normal leaf lamina requires photomorphogenesis-like hormonal responses. We further show that energy signaling adjusts the extent of cell cycle activity and growth of young leaves non-cellautonomously to available photosynthates and leads to organs constituted of a greater number of cells developing under higher irradiance. This makes energy signaling perhaps the most important biomass growth determinant under natural, unstressed conditions. PMID:29284741

Light flavon signals at electron-photon colliders

Science.gov (United States)

Muramatsu, Yu; Nomura, Takaaki; Shimizu, Yusuke; Yokoya, Hiroshi

2018-01-01

Flavor symmetries are useful to realize fermion flavor structures in the standard model (SM). In particular, the discrete A4 symmetry is used to realize lepton flavor structures, and some scalars—called flavons—are introduced to break this symmetry. In many models, flavons are assumed to be much heavier than the electroweak scale. However, our previous work showed that a flavon mass around 100 GeV is allowed by experimental constraints in the A4 symmetric model with a residual Z3 symmetry. In this paper, we discuss collider searches for such a light flavon φT. We find that electron-photon collisions at the International Linear Collider have advantages for searching for these signals. In electron-photon collisions, flavons are produced as e-γ →l-φT and decay into two charged leptons. Then, we analyze signals of the flavor-conserving final state τ+τ-e- and the flavor-violating final states τ+μ-μ- and μ+τ-τ- by carrying out numerical simulations. For the former final state, SM background can be strongly suppressed by imposing cuts on the invariant masses of final-state leptons. For the latter final states, SM background is extremely small, because in the SM there are no such flavor-violating final states. We then find that sufficient discovery significance can be obtained, even if flavons are heavier than the lower limits from flavor physics.

The effect of visible light stress on chemical signaling in two life stages of Emiliania huxleyi

Science.gov (United States)

Valentin-Alvarado, L.; Cooney, E.; Bright, K.; Strom, S.

2016-02-01

The cosmopolitan marine phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi presents a digenetic heteromorphic life cycle, with the non-motile diploid phase bearing coccoliths and the flagellated haploid phase being non-calcified. E. huxleyi contains high concentrations of dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of dimethylsulphide (DMS). DMSP is a multifactorial compound; it acts as a compatible solute in cell metabolism and as a chemical signal influencing bacterial and protist behavior. In the atmosphere DMS enhances cloud formation influencing climate. However, little has been documented on E. huxleyi chemical signal responses to high light stress, and how this relates to the heteromorphic life cycle. To this end, low light acclimated cultures of both haploid and diploid E. huxleyi were exposed to high light for 2 hr and allowed to recover in low light for 2 hr. During and after these treatments, growth, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), DMSP (intracellular and released) and cell chlorophyll content were measured. Our preliminary results suggest that presence of high light decreased Fv/Fm to a greater extent in haploid than in diploid (calcified) cells, while recovery of Fv/Fm was rapid in both life stages. The chlorophyll content and intracellular DMSP was not different in both life stages. However, the dissolved DMSP increased after light stress in diploid cells suggesting a possible advantage as antioxidant protection or another cellular function, such as grazing protection in this life stage.

A powerful test for weak periodic signals with unknown light curve shape in sparse data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jager De, O.C.; Raubenheimer, B.C.; Swanepoel, J.W.H.

1989-01-01

A problem with most tests for periodicity is that they are powerful enough to detect only certain kinds of periodic shapes in the case of weak signals. This causes a selection effect with the identification of weak periodic signals. A new test for uniformity called the H-test is derived for which the probability distribution is an exponential function. This test is shown to have a very good power against most light curve shapes encountered in X- and γ-ray Astronomy and therefore makes the detection of sources with a larger variety of shapes possible. The use of the H-test is suggested if no a priori information about the light curve shape is available. It is also shown how the probability distribution of the test statistics changes when a periodicity search is conducted using very small steps in the period or frequency range. The flux sensitivity for various light curve shapes is also derived for a few tests and this flux is on average a minimum for the H-test

Light-Triggered Soft Artificial Muscles: Molecular-Level Amplification of Actuation Control Signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Dicker, Michael P M; Baker, Anna B; Iredale, Robert J; Naficy, Sina; Bond, Ian P; Faul, Charl F J; Rossiter, Jonathan M; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Weaver, Paul M

2017-08-23

The principle of control signal amplification is found in all actuation systems, from engineered devices through to the operation of biological muscles. However, current engineering approaches require the use of hard and bulky external switches or valves, incompatible with both the properties of emerging soft artificial muscle technology and those of the bioinspired robotic systems they enable. To address this deficiency a biomimetic molecular-level approach is developed that employs light, with its excellent spatial and temporal control properties, to actuate soft, pH-responsive hydrogel artificial muscles. Although this actuation is triggered by light, it is largely powered by the resulting excitation and runaway chemical reaction of a light-sensitive acid autocatalytic solution in which the actuator is immersed. This process produces actuation strains of up to 45% and a three-fold chemical amplification of the controlling light-trigger, realising a new strategy for the creation of highly functional soft actuating systems.

Discrete redox signaling pathways regulate photosynthetic light-harvesting and chloroplast gene transcription.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John F Allen

Full Text Available In photosynthesis in chloroplasts, two related regulatory processes balance the actions of photosystems I and II. These processes are short-term, post-translational redistribution of light-harvesting capacity, and long-term adjustment of photosystem stoichiometry initiated by control of chloroplast DNA transcription. Both responses are initiated by changes in the redox state of the electron carrier, plastoquinone, which connects the two photosystems. Chloroplast Sensor Kinase (CSK is a regulator of transcription of chloroplast genes for reaction centres of the two photosystems, and a sensor of plastoquinone redox state. We asked whether CSK is also involved in regulation of absorbed light energy distribution by phosphorylation of light-harvesting complex II (LHC II. Chloroplast thylakoid membranes isolated from a CSK T-DNA insertion mutant and from wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana exhibit similar light- and redox-induced (32P-labelling of LHC II and changes in 77 K chlorophyll fluorescence emission spectra, while room-temperature chlorophyll fluorescence emission transients from Arabidopsis leaves are perturbed by inactivation of CSK. The results indicate indirect, pleiotropic effects of reaction centre gene transcription on regulation of photosynthetic light-harvesting in vivo. A single, direct redox signal is transmitted separately to discrete transcriptional and post-translational branches of an integrated cytoplasmic regulatory system.

Estimation of red-light running frequency using high-resolution traffic and signal data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Peng; Yu, Guizhen; Wu, Xinkai; Ren, Yilong; Li, Yueguang

2017-05-01

Red-light-running (RLR) emerges as a major cause that may lead to intersection-related crashes and endanger intersection safety. To reduce RLR violations, it's critical to identify the influential factors associated with RLR and estimate RLR frequency. Without resorting to video camera recordings, this study investigates this important issue by utilizing high-resolution traffic and signal event data collected from loop detectors at five intersections on Trunk Highway 55, Minneapolis, MN. First, a simple method is proposed to identify RLR by fully utilizing the information obtained from stop bar detectors, downstream entrance detectors and advance detectors. Using 12 months of event data, a total of 6550 RLR cases were identified. According to a definition of RLR frequency as the conditional probability of RLR on a certain traffic or signal condition (veh/1000veh), the relationships between RLR frequency and some influential factors including arriving time at advance detector, approaching speed, headway, gap to the preceding vehicle on adjacent lane, cycle length, geometric characteristics and even snowing weather were empirically investigated. Statistical analysis shows good agreement with the traffic engineering practice, e.g., RLR is most likely to occur on weekdays during peak periods under large traffic demands and longer signal cycles, and a total of 95.24% RLR events occurred within the first 1.5s after the onset of red phase. The findings confirmed that vehicles tend to run the red light when they are close to intersection during phase transition, and the vehicles following the leading vehicle with short headways also likely run the red light. Last, a simplified nonlinear regression model is proposed to estimate RLR frequency based on the data from advance detector. The study is expected to helpbetter understand RLR occurrence and further contribute to the future improvement of intersection safety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Field-programmable gate array based controller for multi spot light-addressable potentiometric sensors with integrated signal correction mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, Carl Frederik; Schusser, Sebastian; Spelthahn, Heiko [Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Juelich Campus, Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, Heinrich-Mussmann-Strasse 1, 52428 Juelich (Germany); Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems (IBN-2), Research Centre Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Wagner, Torsten; Yoshinobu, Tatsuo [Tohoku University, Department of Electronic Engineering, 6-6-05 Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579 (Japan); Schoening, Michael J., E-mail: schoening@fh-aachen.de [Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Juelich Campus, Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, Heinrich-Mussmann-Strasse 1, 52428 Juelich (Germany); Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems (IBN-2), Research Centre Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany)

2011-11-01

Highlights: > Flexible up-scalable design of a light-addressable potentiometric sensor set-up. > Utilisation of a field-programmable gate array to address LAPS measurement spots. > Measurements in amplitude-mode and phase-mode for different pH solutions. > Amplitude, phase and frequency behaviour of LAPS for single and multiple light stimulus. > Signal calibration method by brightness control to compensated systematic errors. - Abstract: A light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) can measure the concentration of one or several analytes at the sensor surface simultaneously in a spatially resolved manner. A modulated light pointer stimulates the semiconductor structure at the area of interest and a responding photocurrent can be read out. By simultaneous stimulation of several areas with light pointers of different modulation frequencies, the read out can be performed at the same time. With the new proposed controller electronic based on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), it is possible to control the modulation frequencies, phase shifts, and light brightness of multiple light pointers independently and simultaneously. Thus, it is possible to investigate the frequency response of the sensor, and to examine the analyte concentration by the determination of the surface potential with the help of current/voltage curves and phase/voltage curves. Additionally, the ability to individually change the light intensities of each light pointer is used to perform signal correction.

Transcriptional profiling of putative human epithelial stem cells

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Koçer Salih S

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human interfollicular epidermis is sustained by the proliferation of stem cells and their progeny, transient amplifying cells. Molecular characterization of these two cell populations is essential for better understanding of self renewal, differentiation and mechanisms of skin pathogenesis. The purpose of this study was to obtain gene expression profiles of alpha 6+/MHCI+, transient amplifying cells and alpha 6+/MHCI-, putative stem cells, and to compare them with existing data bases of gene expression profiles of hair follicle stem cells. The expression of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC class I, previously shown to be absent in stem cells in several tissues, and alpha 6 integrin were used to isolate MHCI positive basal cells, and MHCI low/negative basal cells. Results Transcriptional profiles of the two cell populations were determined and comparisons made with published data for hair follicle stem cell gene expression profiles. We demonstrate that presumptive interfollicular stem cells, alpha 6+/MHCI- cells, are enriched in messenger RNAs encoding surface receptors, cell adhesion molecules, extracellular matrix proteins, transcripts encoding members of IFN-alpha family proteins and components of IFN signaling, but contain lower levels of transcripts encoding proteins which take part in energy metabolism, cell cycle, ribosome biosynthesis, splicing, protein translation, degradation, DNA replication, repair, and chromosome remodeling. Furthermore, our data indicate that the cell signaling pathways Notch1 and NF-κB are downregulated/inhibited in MHC negative basal cells. Conclusion This study demonstrates that alpha 6+/MHCI- cells have additional characteristics attributed to stem cells. Moreover, the transcription profile of alpha 6+/MHCI- cells shows similarities to transcription profiles of mouse hair follicle bulge cells known to be enriched for stem cells. Collectively, our data suggests that alpha 6+/MHCI- cells

Regulation of Arabidopsis Early Anther Development by Putative Cell-Cell Signaling Molecules and Transcriptional Regulators

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yu-Jin Sun; Carey LH Hord; Chang-Bin Chen; Hong Ma

2007-01-01

Anther development in flowering plants involves the formation of several cell types, including the tapetal and pollen mother cells. The use of genetic and molecular tools has led to the identification and characterization of genes that are critical for normal cell division and differentiation in Arabidopsis early anther development. We review here several recent studies on these genes, including the demonstration that the putative receptor protein kinases BAM1 and BAM2 together play essential roles in the control of early cell division and differentiation. In addition, we discuss the hypothesis that BAM1/2 may form a positive-negative feedback regulatory loop with a previously identified key regulator, SPOROCYTELESS (also called NOZZLE),to control the balance between sporogenous and somatic cell types in the anther. Furthermore, we summarize the isolation and functional analysis of the DYSFUNCTIONAL TAPETUM1 (DYT1) gene in promoting proper tapetal cell differentiation. Our finding that DYT1 encodes a putative transcription factor of the bHLH family, as well as relevant expression analyses, strongly supports a model that DYT1 serves as a critical link between upstream factors and downstream target genes that are critical for normal tapetum development and function. These studies, together with other recently published works, indicate that cell-cell communication and transcriptional control are key processes essential for cell fate specification in anther development.

Logical network of genotoxic stress-induced NF-kappaB signal transduction predicts putative target structures for therapeutic intervention strategies

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Rainer Poltz

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Rainer Poltz1, Raimo Franke1,#, Katrin Schweitzer1, Steffen Klamt2, Ernst-Dieter Gilles2, Michael Naumann11Institute of Experimental Internal Medicine, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany; 2Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, Germany; #Present address: Department of Chemical Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, GermanyAbstract: Genotoxic stress is induced by a broad range of DNA-damaging agents and could lead to a variety of human diseases including cancer. DNA damage is also therapeutically induced for cancer treatment with the aim to eliminate tumor cells. However, the effectiveness of radio- and chemotherapy is strongly hampered by tumor cell resistance. A major reason for radio- and chemotherapeutic resistances is the simultaneous activation of cell survival pathways resulting in the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB. Here, we present a Boolean network model of the NF-κB signal transduction induced by genotoxic stress in epithelial cells. For the representation and analysis of the model, we used the formalism of logical interaction hypergraphs. Model reconstruction was based on a careful meta-analysis of published data. By calculating minimal intervention sets, we identified p53-induced protein with a death domain (PIDD, receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1, and protein inhibitor of activated STAT y (PIASy as putative therapeutic targets to abrogate NF-κB activation resulting in apoptosis. Targeting these structures therapeutically may potentiate the effectiveness of radio- and chemotherapy. Thus, the presented model allows a better understanding of the signal transduction in tumor cells and provides candidates as new therapeutic target structures.Keywords: apoptosis, Boolean network, cancer therapy, DNA-damage response, NF-κB

Light-voltage conversion apparatus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujioka, Yoshiki

1987-09-19

In a light-voltage conversion unit, when input signal is applied, the output signal to the control circuit has quick rise-up time and slow breaking time. In order to improve this, a short-circuit transistor is placed at the diode, and this transistor is forced ON, when an output signal to the control circuit is lowered down to a constant voltage, to short-circuit between the output terminals. This, however, has a demerit of high power consumption by a transistor. In this invention, by connecting a light-emitting element which gets ON at the first transition and a light-emitting element which gets ON at the last transition, placing a light receiving element in front of each light-emitting element, when an input signal is applied; thus a load is driven only with ON signal of each light-emitting element, eliminating the delay in the last transition. All of these give a quick responsive light-voltage conversion without unnecessary power consumption. (5 figs)

The putative bZIP transcription factor BzpN slows proliferation and functions in the regulation of cell density by autocrine signals in Dictyostelium.

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Jonathan E Phillips

Full Text Available The secreted proteins AprA and CfaD function as autocrine signals that inhibit cell proliferation in Dictyostelium discoideum, thereby regulating cell numbers by a negative feedback mechanism. We report here that the putative basic leucine zipper transcription factor BzpN plays a role in the inhibition of proliferation by AprA and CfaD. Cells lacking BzpN proliferate more rapidly than wild-type cells but do not reach a higher stationary density. Recombinant AprA inhibits wild-type cell proliferation but does not inhibit the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Recombinant CfaD also inhibits wild-type cell proliferation, but promotes the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Overexpression of BzpN results in a reduced cell density at stationary phase, and this phenotype requires AprA, CfaD, and the kinase QkgA. Conditioned media from high-density cells stops the proliferation of wild-type but not bzpN(- cells and induces a nuclear localization of a BzpN-GFP fusion protein, though this localization does not require AprA or CfaD. Together, the data suggest that BzpN is necessary for some but not all of the effects of AprA and CfaD, and that BzpN may function downstream of AprA and CfaD in a signal transduction pathway that inhibits proliferation.

The Putative bZIP Transcripton Factor BzpN Slows Proliferation and Functions in the Regulation of Cell Density by Autocrine Signals in Dictyostelium

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Phillips, Jonathan E.; Huang, Eryong; Shaulsky, Gad; Gomer, Richard H.

2011-01-01

The secreted proteins AprA and CfaD function as autocrine signals that inhibit cell proliferation in Dictyostelium discoideum, thereby regulating cell numbers by a negative feedback mechanism. We report here that the putative basic leucine zipper transcription factor BzpN plays a role in the inhibition of proliferation by AprA and CfaD. Cells lacking BzpN proliferate more rapidly than wild-type cells but do not reach a higher stationary density. Recombinant AprA inhibits wild-type cell proliferation but does not inhibit the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Recombinant CfaD also inhibits wild-type cell proliferation, but promotes the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Overexpression of BzpN results in a reduced cell density at stationary phase, and this phenotype requires AprA, CfaD, and the kinase QkgA. Conditioned media from high-density cells stops the proliferation of wild-type but not bzpN− cells and induces a nuclear localization of a BzpN-GFP fusion protein, though this localization does not require AprA or CfaD. Together, the data suggest that BzpN is necessary for some but not all of the effects of AprA and CfaD, and that BzpN may function downstream of AprA and CfaD in a signal transduction pathway that inhibits proliferation. PMID:21760904

The putative bZIP transcription factor BzpN slows proliferation and functions in the regulation of cell density by autocrine signals in Dictyostelium.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Jonathan E; Huang, Eryong; Shaulsky, Gad; Gomer, Richard H

2011-01-01

The secreted proteins AprA and CfaD function as autocrine signals that inhibit cell proliferation in Dictyostelium discoideum, thereby regulating cell numbers by a negative feedback mechanism. We report here that the putative basic leucine zipper transcription factor BzpN plays a role in the inhibition of proliferation by AprA and CfaD. Cells lacking BzpN proliferate more rapidly than wild-type cells but do not reach a higher stationary density. Recombinant AprA inhibits wild-type cell proliferation but does not inhibit the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Recombinant CfaD also inhibits wild-type cell proliferation, but promotes the proliferation of cells lacking BzpN. Overexpression of BzpN results in a reduced cell density at stationary phase, and this phenotype requires AprA, CfaD, and the kinase QkgA. Conditioned media from high-density cells stops the proliferation of wild-type but not bzpN(-) cells and induces a nuclear localization of a BzpN-GFP fusion protein, though this localization does not require AprA or CfaD. Together, the data suggest that BzpN is necessary for some but not all of the effects of AprA and CfaD, and that BzpN may function downstream of AprA and CfaD in a signal transduction pathway that inhibits proliferation.

Amplification of tumor inducing putative cancer stem cells (CSCs) by vitamin A/retinol from mammary tumors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Rohit B. [Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Wang, Qingde [Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Khillan, Jaspal S., E-mail: khillan@pitt.edu [Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States)

2013-07-12

Highlights: •Vitamin A supports self renewal of putative CSCs from mammary tumors. •These cells exhibit impaired retinol metabolism into retinoic acid. •CSCs from mammary tumors differentiate into mammary specific cell lineages. •The cells express mammary stem cell specific CD29 and CD49f markers. •Putative CSCs form highly metastatic tumors in NOD SCID mouse. -- Abstract: Solid tumors contain a rare population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that are responsible for relapse and metastasis. The existence of CSC however, remains highly controversial issue. Here we present the evidence for putative CSCs from mammary tumors amplified by vitamin A/retinol signaling. The cells exhibit mammary stem cell specific CD29{sup hi}/CD49f{sup hi}/CD24{sup hi} markers, resistance to radiation and chemo therapeutic agents and form highly metastatic tumors in NOD/SCID mice. The cells exhibit indefinite self renewal as cell lines. Furthermore, the cells exhibit impaired retinol metabolism and do not express enzymes that metabolize retinol into retinoic acid. Vitamin A/retinol also amplified putative CSCs from breast cancer cell lines that form highly aggressive tumors in NOD SCID mice. The studies suggest that high purity putative CSCs can be isolated from solid tumors to establish patient specific cell lines for personalized therapeutics for pre-clinical translational applications. Characterization of CSCs will allow understanding of basic cellular and molecular pathways that are deregulated, mechanisms of tumor metastasis and evasion of therapies that has direct clinical relevance.

Controlling microwave signals by means of slow and fast light effects in SOA-EA structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sales, Salvador; Öhman, Filip; Capmany, José

2007-01-01

We present a novel scheme for the control of microwave signals in the optical domain. We propose the use of alternating amplifying and absorbing sections to implement phase control by using fast and slow light effects in semiconductors. The potential benefits from the proposed semiconductor optic...

Fuzzy Multiobjective Traffic Light Signal Optimization

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N. Shahsavari Pour

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Traffic congestion is a major concern for many cities throughout the world. In a general traffic light controller, the traffic lights change at a constant cycle time. Hence it does not provide an optimal solution. Many traffic light controllers in current use are based on the “time-of-the-day” scheme, which use a limited number of predetermined traffic light patterns and implement these patterns depending upon the time of the day. These automated systems do not provide an optimal control for fluctuating traffic volumes. In this paper, the fuzzy traffic light controller is used to optimize the control of fluctuating traffic volumes such as oversaturated or unusual load conditions. The problem is solved by genetic algorithm, and a new defuzzification method is introduced. The performance of the new defuzzification method (NDM is compared with the centroid point defuzzification method (CPDM by using ANOVA. Finally, an illustrative example is presented to show the competency of proposed algorithm.

Application of polarization information to a light-controlling-light technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, J C; Wang, H C

2017-09-15

Nonlinear effects of photo-induced waveguides based on isomerization photochemistry are investigated. It is found that polarization information of the controlling light can be used to control the propagation of the signal light in all-optical waveguides, and an accurate and convenient light-controlling-light scheme is proposed, that is, controlling propagation of the signal light by synergic use of the intensity information and polarization information of the controlling light. The polarization dependence of optical nonlinearity is expected to enrich the connotation of the optical nonlinear effects and has theoretical significance and practical value.

Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is involved in hair growth-promoting effect of 655-nm red light and LED in in vitro culture model.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Le; Liu, Ben; Chen, Xianyan; Chen, Haiyan; Deng, Wenjia; Yang, Changsheng; Ji, Bin; Wan, Miaojian

2018-04-01

Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays an important role in hair follicle morphogenesis and hair growth. Recently, low-level laser therapy (LLLT) was evaluated for stimulating hair growth in numerous clinical studies, in which 655-nm red light was found to be most effective and practical for stimulating hair growth. We evaluated whether 655-nm red light + light-emitting diode (LED) could promote human hair growth by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. An in vitro culture of human hair follicles (HFs) was irradiated with different intensities of 655-nm red light + LED, 21 h7 (an inhibitor of β-catenin), or both. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to assess the expression of β-catenin, GSK3β, p-GSK3β, and Lef1 in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The 655-nm red light + LED not only enhanced hair shaft elongation, but also reduced catagen transition in human hair follicle organ culture, with the greatest effectiveness observed at 5 min (0.839 J/cm 2 ). Additionally, 655-nm red light + LED enhanced the expression of β-catenin, p-GSK3β, and Lef1, signaling molecules of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, in the hair matrix. Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is involved in hair growth-promoting effect of 655-nm red light and LED in vitro and therefore may serve as an alternative therapeutic option for alopecia.

Blue-light filtering alters angiogenic signaling in human retinal pigmented epithelial cells culture model.

Science.gov (United States)

Vila, Natalia; Siblini, Aya; Esposito, Evangelina; Bravo-Filho, Vasco; Zoroquiain, Pablo; Aldrees, Sultan; Logan, Patrick; Arias, Lluis; Burnier, Miguel N

2017-11-02

Light exposure and more specifically the spectrum of blue light contribute to the oxidative stress in Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of the study was to establish whether blue light filtering could modify proangiogenic signaling produced by retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells under different conditions simulating risk factors for AMD. Three experiments were carried out in order to expose ARPE-19 cells to white light for 48 h with and without blue light-blocking filters (BLF) in different conditions. In each experiment one group was exposed to light with no BLF protection, a second group was exposed to light with BLF protection, and a control group was not exposed to light. The ARPE-19 cells used in each experiment prior to light exposure were cultured for 24 h as follows: Experiment 1) Normoxia, Experiment 2) Hypoxia, and Experiment 3) Lutein supplemented media in normoxia. The media of all groups was harvested after light exposure for sandwich ELISA-based assays to quantify 10 pro-angiogenic cytokines. A significant decrease in angiogenin secretion levels and a significant increase in bFGF were observed following light exposure, compared to dark conditions, in both normoxia and hypoxia conditions. With the addition of a blue light-blocking filter in normoxia, a significant increase in angiogenin levels was observed. Although statistical significance was not achieved, blue light filters reduce light-induced secretion of bFGF and VEGF to near normal levels. This trend is also observed when ARPE-19 cells are grown under hypoxic conditions and when pre-treated with lutein prior to exposure to experimental conditions. Following light exposure, there is a decrease in angiogenin secretion by ARPE-19 cells, which was abrogated with a blue light - blocking filter. Our findings support the position that blue light filtering affects the secretion of angiogenic factors by retinal pigmented epithelial cells under normoxic, hypoxic, and lutein

Evolutionary recycling of light signaling components in fleshy fruits: new insights on the role of pigments to monitor ripening

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Briardo eLlorente

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Besides an essential source of energy, light provides environmental information to plants. Photosensory pathways are thought to have occurred early in plant evolution, probably at the time of the Archaeplastida ancestor, or perhaps even earlier. Manipulation of individual components of light perception and signaling networks in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum affects the metabolism of ripening fruit at several levels. Most strikingly, recent experiments have shown that some of the molecular mechanisms originally devoted to sense and respond to environmental light cues have been re-adapted during evolution to provide plants with useful information on fruit ripening progression. In particular, the presence of chlorophylls in green fruit can strongly influence the spectral composition of the light filtered through the fruit pericarp. The concomitant changes in light quality can be perceived and transduced by phytochromes and phytochrome-interacting factors, respectively, to regulate gene expression and in turn modulate the production of carotenoids, a family of metabolites that are relevant for the final pigmentation of ripe fruits. We raise the hypothesis that the evolutionary recycling of light-signaling components to finely adjust pigmentation to the actual ripening stage of the fruit may have represented a selective advantage for primeval fleshy-fruited plants even before the extinction of dinosaurs.

Evolutionary Recycling of Light Signaling Components in Fleshy Fruits: New Insights on the Role of Pigments to Monitor Ripening.

Science.gov (United States)

Llorente, Briardo; D'Andrea, Lucio; Rodríguez-Concepción, Manuel

2016-01-01

Besides an essential source of energy, light provides environmental information to plants. Photosensory pathways are thought to have occurred early in plant evolution, probably at the time of the Archaeplastida ancestor, or perhaps even earlier. Manipulation of individual components of light perception and signaling networks in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) affects the metabolism of ripening fruit at several levels. Most strikingly, recent experiments have shown that some of the molecular mechanisms originally devoted to sense and respond to environmental light cues have been re-adapted during evolution to provide plants with useful information on fruit ripening progression. In particular, the presence of chlorophylls in green fruit can strongly influence the spectral composition of the light filtered through the fruit pericarp. The concomitant changes in light quality can be perceived and transduced by phytochromes (PHYs) and PHY-interacting factors, respectively, to regulate gene expression and in turn modulate the production of carotenoids, a family of metabolites that are relevant for the final pigmentation of ripe fruits. We raise the hypothesis that the evolutionary recycling of light-signaling components to finely adjust pigmentation to the actual ripening stage of the fruit may have represented a selective advantage for primeval fleshy-fruited plants even before the extinction of dinosaurs.

A Proteomics Approach to Identify New Putative Cardiac Intercalated Disk Proteins.

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Siddarth Soni

Full Text Available Synchronous beating of the heart is dependent on the efficient functioning of the cardiac intercalated disk (ID. The ID is composed of a complex protein network enabling electrical continuity and chemical communication between individual cardiomyocytes. Recently, several different studies have shed light on increasingly prevalent cardiac diseases involving the ID. Insufficient knowledge of its composition makes it difficult to study these disease mechanisms in more detail and therefore here we aim expand the ID proteome. Here, using a combination of general membrane enrichment, in-depth quantitative proteomics and an intracellular location driven bioinformatics approach, we aim to discover new putative ID proteins in rat ventricular tissue.General membrane isolation, enriched amongst others also with ID proteins as based on presence of the established markers connexin-43 and n-cadherin, was performed using centrifugation. By mass spectrometry, we quantitatively evaluated the level of 3455 proteins in the enriched membrane fraction (EMF and its counterpart, the soluble cytoplasmic fraction. These data were stringently filtered to generate a final set of 97 enriched, putative ID proteins. These included Cx43 and n-cadherin, but also many interesting novel candidates. We selected 4 candidates (Flotillin-2 (FLOT2, Nexilin (NEXN, Popeye-domain-containg-protein 2 (POPDC2 and thioredoxin-related-transmembrane-protein 2 (TMX2 and confirmed their co-localization with n-cadherin in the ID of human and rat heart cryo-sections, and isolated dog cardiomyocytes.The presented proteomics dataset of putative new ID proteins is a valuable resource for future research into this important molecular intersection of the heart.

CRYSTAL STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF A PUTATIVE OXIDOREDUCTASE FROM KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baig, M.; Brown, A.; Eswaramoorthy, S.; Swaminathan, S.

2009-01-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae, a gram-negative enteric bacterium, is found in nosocomial infections which are acquired during hospital stays for about 10% of hospital patients in the United States. The crystal structure of a putative oxidoreductase from K. pneumoniae has been determined. The structural information of this K. pneumoniae protein was used to understand its function. Crystals of the putative oxidoreductase enzyme were obtained by the sitting drop vapor diffusion method using Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 3350, Bis-Tris buffer, pH 5.5 as precipitant. These crystals were used to collect X-ray data at beam line X12C of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The crystal structure was determined using the SHELX program and refi ned with CNS 1.1. This protein, which is involved in the catalysis of an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction, has an alpha/beta structure. It utilizes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) or nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to perform its function. This structure could be used to determine the active and co-factor binding sites of the protein, information that could help pharmaceutical companies in drug design and in determining the protein’s relationship to disease treatment such as that for pneumonia and other related pathologies.

The putative glutamate receptor 1.1 (AtGLR1.1) in Arabidopsis thaliana regulates abscisic acid biosynthesis and signaling to control development and water loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Jiman; Mehta, Sohum; Turano, Frank J

2004-10-01

The involvement of the putative glutamate receptor 1.1 (AtGLR1.1) gene in the regulation of abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and signaling was investigated in Arabidopsis. Seeds from AtGLR1.1-deficient (antiAtGLR1.1) lines had increased sensitivity to exogenous ABA with regard to the effect of the hormone on the inhibition of seed germination and root growth. Seed germination, which was inhibited by an animal ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonist, 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-[1H,4H]-dione, was restored by co-incubation with an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, fluridone. These results confirm that germination in antiAtGLR1.1 lines was inhibited by increased ABA. When antiAtGLR1.1 and WT seeds were co-incubated in fluridone and exogenous ABA, the antiAtGLR1.1 seeds were more sensitive to ABA. In addition, the antiAtGLR1.1 lines exhibited altered expression of ABA biosynthetic (ABA) and signaling (ABI) genes, when compared with WT. Combining the physiological and molecular results suggest that ABA biosynthesis and signaling in antiAtGLR1.1 lines are altered. ABA levels in leaves of antiAtGLR1.1 lines are higher than those in WT. In addition, the antiAtGLR1.1 lines had reduced stomatal apertures, and exhibited enhanced drought tolerance due to deceased water loss compared with WT lines. The results from these experiments imply that ABA biosynthesis and signaling can be regulated through AtGLR1.1 to trigger pre- and post-germination arrest and changes in whole plant responses to water stress. Combined with our earlier results, these findings suggest that AtGLR1.1 integrates and regulates the different aspects of C, N and water balance that are required for normal plant growth and development.

The extent to which methyl salicylate is required for signaling systemic acquired resistance is dependent on exposure to light after infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Po-Pu; von Dahl, Caroline C; Klessig, Daniel F

2011-12-01

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a state of heightened defense to a broad spectrum of pathogens that is activated throughout a plant following local infection. Development of SAR requires the translocation of one or more mobile signals from the site of infection through the vascular system to distal (systemic) tissues. The first such signal identified was methyl salicylate (MeSA) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Subsequent studies demonstrated that MeSA also serves as a SAR signal in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and potato (Solanum tuberosum). By contrast, another study suggested that MeSA is not required for SAR in Arabidopsis and raised questions regarding its signaling role in tobacco. Differences in experimental design, including the developmental age of the plants, the light intensity, and/or the strain of bacterial pathogen, were proposed to explain these conflicting results. Here, we demonstrate that the length of light exposure that plants receive after the primary infection determines the extent to which MeSA is required for SAR signaling. When the primary infection occurred late in the day and as a result infected plants received very little light exposure before entering the night/dark period, MeSA and its metabolizing enzymes were essential for SAR development. In contrast, when infection was done in the morning followed by 3.5 h or more of exposure to light, SAR developed in the absence of MeSA. However, MeSA was generally required for optimal SAR development. In addition to resolving the conflicting results concerning MeSA and SAR, this study underscores the importance of environmental factors on the plant's response to infection.

Overexpression of sweet sorghum cryptochrome 1a confers hypersensitivity to blue light, abscisic acid and salinity in Arabidopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Tingting; Meng, Lingyang; Ma, Yue; Liu, Qing; Zhang, Yunyun; Yang, Zhenming; Yang, Deguang; Bian, Mingdi

2018-02-01

This work provides the bioinformatics, expression pattern and functional analyses of cryptochrome 1a from sweet sorghum (SbCRY1a), together with an exploration of the signaling mechanism mediated by SbCRY1a. Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is considered to be an ideal candidate for biofuel production due to its high efficiency of photosynthesis and the ability to maintain yield under harsh environmental conditions. Blue light receptor cryptochromes regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development. Here, we reported the function and signal mechanism of sweet sorghum cryptochrome 1a (SbCRY1a) to explore its potential for genetic improvement of sweet sorghum varieties. SbCRY1a transcripts experienced almost 24 h diurnal cycling; however, its protein abundance showed no oscillation. Overexpression of SbCRY1a in Arabidopsis rescued the phenotype of cry1 mutant in a blue light-specific manner and regulated HY5 accumulation under blue light. SbCRY1a protein was present in both nucleus and cytoplasm. The photoexcited SbCRY1a interacted directly with a putative RING E3 ubiquitin ligase constitutive photomorphogenesis 1 (COP1) from sweet sorghum (SbCOP1) instead of SbSPA1 to suppress SbCOP1-SbHY5 interaction responding to blue light. These observations indicate that the function and signaling mechanism of cryptochromes are basically conservative between monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Moreover, SbCRY1a-overexpressed transgenic Arabidopsis showed oversensitive to abscisic acid (ABA) and salinity. The ABA-responsive gene ABI5 was up-regulated evidently in SbCRY1a transgenic lines, suggesting that SbCRY1a might regulate ABA signaling through the HY5-ABI5 regulon.

Light exposure at night disrupts host/cancer circadian regulatory dynamics: impact on the Warburg effect, lipid signaling and tumor growth prevention.

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David E Blask

Full Text Available The central circadian clock within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN plays an important role in temporally organizing and coordinating many of the processes governing cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth in synchrony with the daily light/dark cycle which may contribute to endogenous cancer prevention. Bioenergetic substrates and molecular intermediates required for building tumor biomass each day are derived from both aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect and lipid metabolism. Using tissue-isolated human breast cancer xenografts grown in nude rats, we determined that circulating systemic factors in the host and the Warburg effect, linoleic acid uptake/metabolism and growth signaling activities in the tumor are dynamically regulated, coordinated and integrated within circadian time structure over a 24-hour light/dark cycle by SCN-driven nocturnal pineal production of the anticancer hormone melatonin. Dim light at night (LAN-induced melatonin suppression disrupts this circadian-regulated host/cancer balance among several important cancer preventative signaling mechanisms, leading to hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in the host and runaway aerobic glycolysis, lipid signaling and proliferative activity in the tumor.

Illuminating the early signaling pathway of a fungal light-oxygen-voltage photoreceptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, Emanuel; Dick, Bernhard; Baeurle, Stephan A

2012-02-01

Circadian clocks are molecular timekeepers encountered in a wide variety of organisms, which allow to adapt the cell's metabolism and behavior to the daily and seasonal periods. Their function is regulated by light-sensing proteins, among which Vivid, a light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) sensitive domain of the fungus Neurospora crassa, constitutes one of the most prominent examples. Although the major photochemical and structural changes during the photocycle of this photosensor have been elucidated through experimental means, its signal transduction pathway is still poorly resolved at the molecular level. In this article, we show through molecular dynamics simulation that the primary steps after adduct formation involve a switch of Gln182 in vicinity of the chromophore FAD (flavin-adenine-dinucleotide), followed by a coupling between the Iβ- and Hβ-strands through H-bond formation between Gln182 and Asn161 as well as subsequent weakening of the H-bonding interaction between the Iβ- and Aβ-strands. These processes then induce a reorientation of the Aβ-Bβ-loop with respect to the protein core as well as a simultaneous contraction of the partially unfolded α-helix onto the α-Aβ-linker at the Ncap. Finally, we demonstrate through additional dimer simulations that the light-induced conformational changes, observed in the monomeric case, play a decisive role in controlling the dimerization tendency of Vivid with its partner domains and that the light-state homodimer shows a much larger affinity for aggregation than the dark state. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The putative E3 ubiquitin ligase ECERIFERUM9 regulates abscisic acid biosynthesis and response during seed germination and postgermination growth in arabidopsis

KAUST Repository

Zhao, Huayan; Zhang, Huoming; Cui, Peng; Ding, Feng; Wang, Guangchao; Li, Rongjun; Jenks, Matthew A.; Lü , Shiyou; Xiong, Liming

2014-01-01

The ECERIFERUM9 (CER9) gene encodes a putative E3 ubiquitin ligase that functions in cuticle biosynthesis and the maintenance of plant water status. Here, we found that CER9 is also involved in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in seeds and young

Supplemental Blue LED Lighting Array to Improve the Signal Quality in Hyperspectral Imaging of Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Katrin Mahlein

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Hyperspectral imaging systems used in plant science or agriculture often have suboptimal signal-to-noise ratio in the blue region (400–500 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum. Typically there are two principal reasons for this effect, the low sensitivity of the imaging sensor and the low amount of light available from the illuminating source. In plant science, the blue region contains relevant information about the physiology and the health status of a plant. We report on the improvement in sensitivity of a hyperspectral imaging system in the blue region of the spectrum by using supplemental illumination provided by an array of high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs with an emission peak at 470 nm.

Long-distance signalling in plant defence.

Science.gov (United States)

Heil, Martin; Ton, Jurriaan

2008-06-01

Plants use inducible defence mechanisms to fend off harmful organisms. Resistance that is induced in response to local attack is often expressed systemically, that is, in organs that are not yet damaged. In the search for translocated defence signals, biochemical studies follow the physical movement of putative signals, and grafting experiments use mutants that are impaired in the production or perception of these signals. Long-distance signals can directly activate defence or can prime for the stronger and faster induction of defence. Historically, research has focused on the vascular transport of signalling metabolites, but volatiles can play a crucial role as well. We compare the advantages and constraints of vascular and airborne signals for the plant, and discuss how they can act in synergy to achieve optimised resistance in distal plant parts.

Analysis of Hydraulic Flood Control Structure at Putat Boro River

OpenAIRE

Ruzziyatno, Ruhban

2015-01-01

Putat Boro River is one of the main drainage systems of Surakarta city which drains into Bengawan Solo river. The primary problem when flood occur is the higher water level of Bengawan Solo than Boro River and then backwater occur and inundates Putat Boro River. The objective of the study is to obtain operational method of Putat Boro River floodgate to control both inflows and outflows not only during flood but also normal condition. It also aims to know the Putat Boro rivers floodgate op...

Twenty putative palmitoyl-acyl transferase genes with distinct ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There are 20 genes containing DHHC domain predicted to encode putative palmitoyltransferase in Arabidopsis thaliana genome. However, little is known about their characteristics such as genetic relationship and expression profile. Here, we present an overview of the putative PAT genes in A. thaliana focusing on their ...

Opto-acoustic measurement of the local light absorption coefficient in turbid media: 2. On the possibility of light absorption coefficient measurement in a turbid medium from the amplitude of the opto-acoustic signal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelivanov, Ivan M; Barskaya, M I; Podymova, N B; Khokhlova, Tanya D; Karabutov, Aleksander A

2009-01-01

The second part of this work describes the experimental technique of measuring the local light absorption in turbid media. The technique is based on the measurement of the amplitude of an opto-acoustic (OA) signal excited in a turbid medium under the condition of one-sided access to the object under study. An OA transducer is developed to perform the proposed measurement procedure. Experiments are conducted for the turbid media with different optical properties (light absorption and reduced scattering coefficients) and for different diameters of the incident laser beam. It is found that the laser beam diameter can be chosen so that the dependences of the measured OA signal amplitude on the light absorption coefficient coincide upon varying the reduced scattering coefficient by more than twice. The obtained numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the OA method is applicable for measuring the local light absorption coefficient in turbid media, for example, in biological tissues. (measurement of parametrs of laser radiation)

Evolutionary Recycling of Light Signaling Components in Fleshy Fruits: New Insights on the Role of Pigments to Monitor Ripening

OpenAIRE

Llorente, Briardo; D?Andrea, Lucio; Rodr?guez-Concepci?n, Manuel

2016-01-01

Besides an essential source of energy, light provides environmental information to plants. Photosensory pathways are thought to have occurred early in plant evolution, probably at the time of the Archaeplastida ancestor, or perhaps even earlier. Manipulation of individual components of light perception and signaling networks in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) affects the metabolism of ripening fruit at several levels. Most strikingly, recent experiments have shown that some of the molecular mec...

Visible light communications using predistortion signal to enhance the response of passive optical receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Chen, Hung-Yu; Liang, Kevin; Wei, Liang-Yu; Chow, Chi-Wai; Yeh, Chien-Hung

2016-01-01

Traditional visible light communication (VLC) uses positive-intrinsic-negative photodiode (PD) or avalanche PD as the optical receivers (Rx). We demonstrate using a solar cell as the VLC Rx. The solar cell is flexible and low cost and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal directly without the need of external power supply. In addition to acting as the VLC passive Rx, the converted electrical signal from the solar cell can charge up the battery of the Rx nodes. Hence, the proposed scheme can be a promising candidate for the future Internet of Things network. However, a solar cell acting as a VLC Rx is very challenging, since the response of the solar cell is limited. Here, we propose and demonstrate using predistortion to significantly enhance the solar cell Rx response for the first time up to the authors' knowledge. Experimental results show that the response of the solar cell Rx is significantly enhanced; and the original 2-kHz detection bandwidth of the solar cell can be enhanced by 250 times for receiving 500-kbit/s VLC signal at a transmission distance of 1 m. The operation principle, the generated voltage by the solar cell, and the maximum data rates achieved at different transmission distances are also studied.

Putative bronchopulmonary flagellated protozoa in immunosuppressed patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilimcioglu, Ali Ahmet; Havlucu, Yavuz; Girginkardesler, Nogay; Celik, Pınar; Yereli, Kor; Özbilgin, Ahmet

2014-01-01

Flagellated protozoa that cause bronchopulmonary symptoms in humans are commonly neglected. These protozoal forms which were presumed to be "flagellated protozoa" have been previously identified in immunosuppressed patients in a number of studies, but have not been certainly classified so far. Since no human cases of bronchopulmonary flagellated protozoa were reported from Turkey, we aimed to investigate these putative protozoa in immunosuppressed patients who are particularly at risk of infectious diseases. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples of 110 immunosuppressed adult patients who were admitted to the Department of Chest Diseases, Hafsa Sultan Hospital of Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey, were examined in terms of parasites by light microscopy. Flagellated protozoal forms were detected in nine (8.2%) of 110 cases. Metronidazole (500 mg b.i.d. for 30 days) was given to all positive cases and a second bronchoscopy was performed at the end of the treatment, which revealed no parasites. In conclusion, immunosuppressed patients with bronchopulmonary symptoms should attentively be examined with regard to flagellated protozoa which can easily be misidentified as epithelial cells.

Cerenkov light generated in optical fibres and other light pipes irradiated by electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beddar, A.S.; Mackie, T.R.; Attix, F.H.

1992-01-01

The use of a small plastic scintillator coupled to an optical fibre bundle light pipe for the dosimetry of radiotherapy x-ray or electron beams in a phantom has been studied. Under such conditions, some light is generated by the direct action of the radiation on the optical fibres themselves, and this 'background' signal must be correctly accounted for. Electron beams were incident on fused silica optical fibres and other light pipes made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene and water. The observed light signal generated in all cases was found to depend strongly on the angle between the electron direction and the light pipe axis, and to correlate well with the angular characteristics uniquely associated with Cerenkov radiation. The use of a parallel fibre bundle light pipe, identical to the one that carries light from the scintillator, offers a suitable means of generating a similar background Cerenkov light signal that can be subtracted to obtain output from the scintillation dosimeter alone. (author)

HAB1–SWI3B Interaction Reveals a Link between Abscisic Acid Signaling and Putative SWI/SNF Chromatin-Remodeling Complexes in Arabidopsis[C][W

Science.gov (United States)

Saez, Angela; Rodrigues, Americo; Santiago, Julia; Rubio, Silvia; Rodriguez, Pedro L.

2008-01-01

Abscisic acid (ABA) has an important role for plant growth, development, and stress adaptation. HYPERSENSITIVE TO ABA1 (HAB1) is a protein phosphatase type 2C that plays a key role as a negative regulator of ABA signaling; however, the molecular details of HAB1 action in this process are not known. A two-hybrid screen revealed that SWI3B, an Arabidopsis thaliana homolog of the yeast SWI3 subunit of SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes, is a prevalent interacting partner of HAB1. The interaction mapped to the N-terminal half of SWI3B and required an intact protein phosphatase catalytic domain. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and coimmunoprecipitation assays confirmed the interaction of HAB1 and SWI3B in the nucleus of plant cells. swi3b mutants showed a reduced sensitivity to ABA-mediated inhibition of seed germination and growth and reduced expression of the ABA-responsive genes RAB18 and RD29B. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments showed that the presence of HAB1 in the vicinity of RD29B and RAB18 promoters was abolished by ABA, which suggests a direct involvement of HAB1 in the regulation of ABA-induced transcription. Additionally, our results uncover SWI3B as a novel positive regulator of ABA signaling and suggest that HAB1 modulates ABA response through the regulation of a putative SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. PMID:19033529

RPS6KA2, a putative tumour suppressor gene at 6q27 in sporadic epithelial ovarian cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bignone, P A; Lee, K Y; Liu, Y

2007-01-01

We had previously defined by allele loss studies a minimal region at 6q27 (between D6S264 and D6S297) to contain a putative tumour suppressor gene. The p90 ribosomal S6 kinase-3 gene (p90 Rsk-3, RPS6KA2) maps in this interval. It is a serine-threonine kinase that signals downstream of the mitogen...

The Extent to Which Methyl Salicylate Is Required for Signaling Systemic Acquired Resistance Is Dependent on Exposure to Light after Infection1[OA

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Po-Pu; von Dahl, Caroline C.; Klessig, Daniel F.

2011-01-01

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a state of heightened defense to a broad spectrum of pathogens that is activated throughout a plant following local infection. Development of SAR requires the translocation of one or more mobile signals from the site of infection through the vascular system to distal (systemic) tissues. The first such signal identified was methyl salicylate (MeSA) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Subsequent studies demonstrated that MeSA also serves as a SAR signal in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and potato (Solanum tuberosum). By contrast, another study suggested that MeSA is not required for SAR in Arabidopsis and raised questions regarding its signaling role in tobacco. Differences in experimental design, including the developmental age of the plants, the light intensity, and/or the strain of bacterial pathogen, were proposed to explain these conflicting results. Here, we demonstrate that the length of light exposure that plants receive after the primary infection determines the extent to which MeSA is required for SAR signaling. When the primary infection occurred late in the day and as a result infected plants received very little light exposure before entering the night/dark period, MeSA and its metabolizing enzymes were essential for SAR development. In contrast, when infection was done in the morning followed by 3.5 h or more of exposure to light, SAR developed in the absence of MeSA. However, MeSA was generally required for optimal SAR development. In addition to resolving the conflicting results concerning MeSA and SAR, this study underscores the importance of environmental factors on the plant’s response to infection. PMID:22021417

Use of the squeezed (sub-Poisson) state of light in small-signal detection with preamplification upon four-wave mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlovskii, Andrei V

2007-01-01

The scheme of an active interferometer for amplification of small optical signals for their subsequent photodetection is proposed. The scheme provides a considerable amplification of signals by preserving their quantum-statistical properties (ideal amplification) and also can improve these properties under certain conditions. The two-mode squeezed state of light produced upon four-wave mixing, which is used for signal amplification, can be transformed to the non-classical state of the output field squeezed in the number of photons. The scheme is phase-sensitive upon amplification of the input coherent signal. It is shown that in the case of the incoherent input signal with the average number of photons (n s )∼1, the amplification process introduces no additional quantum noise at signal amplification as large as is wished. A scheme is also proposed for the cascade small-signal amplification ((n s )∼1) in the coherent state producing the amplified signal in the squeezed sub-Poisson state, which can be used for the high-resolution detection of weak and ultraweak optical signals. (quantum optics)

Photonic linear chirped microwave signal generation based on the ultra-compact spectral shaper using the slow light effect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yan, Siqi; Gao, Shengqian; Zhou, Feng

2017-01-01

A novel concept to generate a linear chirped microwave signal is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The frequency to time mapping method is employed, where the photonic crystal waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure acts as the spectral shaper thanks to the slow light effect. By o....... The utilization of the slow light effect brings in significant advantages, including the ultra-small footprint of 0.096 mm(2) and simple structure to our scheme, which may be of great importance towards its potential applications. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America...

A novel two-step mechanism for removal of a mitochondrial signal sequence involves the mAAA complex and the putative rhomboid protease Pcp1.

Science.gov (United States)

Esser, Karlheinz; Tursun, Baris; Ingenhoven, Martin; Michaelis, Georg; Pratje, Elke

2002-11-08

The yeast protein cytochrome c peroxidase (Ccp1) is nuclearly encoded and imported into the mitochondrial intermembrane space, where it is involved in degradation of reactive oxygen species. It is known, that Ccp1 is synthesised as a precursor with a N-terminal pre-sequence, that is proteolytically removed during transport of the protein. Here we present evidence for a new processing pathway, involving novel signal peptidase activities. The mAAA protease subunits Yta10 (Afg3) and Yta12 (Rca1) were identified both to be essential for the first processing step. In addition, the Pcp1 (Ygr101w) gene product was found to be required for the second processing step, yielding the mature Ccp1 protein. The newly identified Pcp1 protein belongs to the rhomboid-GlpG superfamily of putative intramembrane peptidases. Inactivation of the protease motifs in mAAA and Pcp1 blocks the respective steps of proteolysis. A model of coupled Ccp1 transport and N-terminal processing by the mAAA complex and Pcp1 is discussed. Similar processing mechanisms may exist, because the mAAA subunits and the newly identified Pcp1 protein belong to ubiquitous protein families.

Five putative nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase genes are expressed in Trichomonas vaginalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Frasson, Amanda Piccoli; Dos Santos, Odelta; Meirelles, Lúcia Collares; Macedo, Alexandre José; Tasca, Tiana

2016-01-01

Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan that parasitizes the human urogenital tract causing trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease. The parasite has unique genomic characteristics such as a large genome size and expanded gene families. Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) is an enzyme responsible for hydrolyzing nucleoside tri- and diphosphates and has already been biochemically characterized in T. vaginalis. Considering the important role of this enzyme in the production of extracellular adenosine for parasite uptake, we evaluated the gene expression of five putative NTPDases in T. vaginalis. We showed that all five putative TvNTPDase genes (TvNTPDase1-5) were expressed by both fresh clinical and long-term grown isolates. The amino acid alignment predicted the presence of the five crucial apyrase conserved regions, transmembrane domains, signal peptides, phosphorylation and catalytic sites. Moreover, a phylogenetic analysis showed that TvNTPDase sequences make up a clade with NTPDases intracellularly located. Biochemical NTPDase activity (ATP and ADP hydrolysis) is responsive to the serum-restrictive conditions and the gene expression of TvNTPDases was mostly increased, mainly TvNTPDase2 and TvNTPDase4, although there was not a clear pattern of expression among them. In summary, the present report demonstrates the gene expression patterns of predicted NTPDases in T. vaginalis. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ca²⁺ signal contributing to the synthesis and emission of monoterpenes regulated by light intensity in Lilium 'siberia'.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zenghui; Li, Tianjiao; Zheng, Jian; Yang, Kai; He, Xiangfeng; Leng, Pingsheng

2015-06-01

The floral scent is an important part of plant volatile compounds, and is influenced by environmental factors. The emission of monoterpenes of Lilium 'siberia' is regulated by light intensity, but the mechanism is large unknown. In this study, the expression of Li-mTPS, a monoterpene synthase gene in the tepals of Lilium 'siberia', and net Ca(2+) flux were investigated after exposure to different levels of light intensity (0, 100, 300, 600, 1000, and 1500 μmol m(-2) s(-1)). Moreover the effect of LaCl3 and ethylene glycol-bis-(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) on the Li-mTPS expression, monoterpene emission, and net Ca(2+) flux were examined at 600 μmol m(-2) s(-1). The results showed that along with the enhancement of light intensity, the expression level of Li-mTPS increased gradually, and the net Ca(2+) influx was also enhanced showing a similar pattern. It was found that LaCl3 and EGTA effectively inhibited the increase in expression of Li-mTPS and the net Ca(2+) influx induced by light treatment. Moreover, the release amounts of monoterpenes decreased significantly after treatment with LaCl3 and EGTA. So it can be concluded that Ca(2+) signal contributed to the biosynthesis and emission of monoterpenes regulated by light intensity in Lilium 'siberia' tepals. The increased light intensity firstly triggered the Ca(2+) influx to cytoplasm, and then the gene expression of monoterpene synthases downstream was activated to regulate the biosynthesis and emission of monoterpenes. But in the signaling pathway other mechanisms were thought to be involved in the emission of monoterpenes regulated by light intensity, which need to be investigated in future research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The biological mechanisms and behavioral functions of opsin-based light detection by the skin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L Kelley

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Light detection not only forms the basis of vision (via visual retinal photoreceptors, but can also occur in other parts of the body, including many non-rod/non-cone ocular cells, the pineal complex, the deep brain, and the skin. Indeed, many of the photopigments (an opsin linked to a light-sensitive 11-cis retinal chromophore that mediate color vision in the eyes of vertebrates are also present in the skin of animals such as reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans and fishes (with related photoreceptive molecules present in cephalopods, providing a localized mechanism for light detection across the surface of the body. This form of non-visual photosensitivity may be particularly important for animals that can change their coloration by altering the dispersion of pigments within the chromatophores (pigment containing cells of the skin. Thus, skin coloration may be directly color matched or tuned to both the luminance and spectral properties of the local background environment, thereby facilitating behavioral functions such as camouflage, thermoregulation, and social signaling. This review examines the diversity and sensitivity of opsin-based photopigments present in the skin and considers their putative functional roles in mediating animal behavior. Furthermore, it discusses the potential underlying biochemical and molecular pathways that link shifts in environmental light to both photopigment expression and chromatophore photoresponses. Although photoreception that occurs independently of image formation remains poorly understood, this review highlights the important role of non-visual light detection in facilitating the multiple functions of animal coloration.

Regulation of brain insulin signaling: A new function for tau.

Science.gov (United States)

Gratuze, Maud; Planel, Emmanuel

2017-08-07

In this issue of JEM, Marciniak et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20161731) identify a putative novel function of tau protein as a regulator of insulin signaling in the brain. They find that tau deletion impairs hippocampal response to insulin through IRS-1 and PTEN dysregulation and suggest that, in Alzheimer's disease, impairment of brain insulin signaling might occur via tau loss of function. © 2017 Gratuze and Planel.

Signal optimization in urban transport: A totally asymmetric simple exclusion process with traffic lights.

Science.gov (United States)

Arita, Chikashi; Foulaadvand, M Ebrahim; Santen, Ludger

2017-03-01

We consider the exclusion process on a ring with time-dependent defective bonds at which the hopping rate periodically switches between zero and one. This system models main roads in city traffics, intersecting with perpendicular streets. We explore basic properties of the system, in particular dependence of the vehicular flow on the parameters of signalization as well as the system size and the car density. We investigate various types of the spatial distribution of the vehicular density, and show existence of a shock profile. We also measure waiting time behind traffic lights, and examine its relationship with the traffic flow.

A strategy to discover new organizers identifies a putative heart organizer.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Claire; Khan, Mohsin A F; Wong, Frances; Solovieva, Tatiana; Oliveira, Nidia M M; Baldock, Richard A; Tickle, Cheryll; Burt, Dave W; Stern, Claudio D

2016-08-25

Organizers are regions of the embryo that can both induce new fates and impart pattern on other regions. So far, surprisingly few organizers have been discovered, considering the number of patterned tissue types generated during development. This may be because their discovery has relied on transplantation and ablation experiments. Here we describe a new approach, using chick embryos, to discover organizers based on a common gene expression signature, and use it to uncover the anterior intestinal portal (AIP) endoderm as a putative heart organizer. We show that the AIP can induce cardiac identity from non-cardiac mesoderm and that it can pattern this by specifying ventricular and suppressing atrial regional identity. We also uncover some of the signals responsible. The method holds promise as a tool to discover other novel organizers acting during development.

A putative hybrid swarm within Oonopsis foliosa (Asteraceae: Astereae)

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, J.F.; Brown, G.K.

2004-01-01

Oo??nopsis foliosa var. foliosa and var. monocephala are endemic to short-grass steppe of southeastern Colorado and until recently were considered geographically disjunct. The only known qualitative feature separating these 2 varieties is floral head type; var. foliosa has radiate heads, whereas var. monocephala heads are discoid. Sympatry between these varieties is restricted to a small area in which a range of parental types and intermediate head morphologies is observed. We used distribution mapping, morphometric analyses, chromosome cytology, and pollen stainability to characterize the sympatric zone. Morphometrics confirms that the only discrete difference between var. foliosa and var. monocephala is radiate versus discoid heads, respectively. The outer florets of putative hybrid individuals ranged from conspicuously elongated yet radially symmetric disc-floret corollas, to elongated radially asymmetric bilabiate- or deeply cleft corollas, to stunted ray florets with appendages remnant of corolla lobes. Chromosome cytology of pollen mother cells from both putative parental varieties and a series of intermediate morphological types collected at the sympatric zone reveal evidence of translocation heterozygosity. Pollen stainability shows no significant differences in viability between the parental varieties and putative hybrids. The restricted distribution of putative hybrids to a narrow zone of sympatry between the parental types and the presence of meiotic chromosome-pairing anomalies in these intermediate plants are consistent with a hybrid origin. The high stainability of putative-hybrid pollen adds to a growing body of evidence that hybrids are not universally unfit.

AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL

Science.gov (United States)

Artzt, M.

1957-08-27

A control system for a projection kinescope used in a facsimile scanning system and, in particular, meams for maintaining substantially constant the light emanating from the flying spot on the face of the kinescope are described. In general, the invention provides a feeler member disposed in such a position with respect to a projecting lens as to intercept a portion of the light striking the lens. Suitable circuitry in conjunction with a photomultiplier tube provides a signal proportional to the light intensity of the flying spot. The grid bias on the kinescope is controlled by this signal to maintain the intensity of the spot substantially constant.

Electron Signal Detection for the Beam-Finder Wire of the Linac Coherent Light Source Undulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Juhao; Emma, P.; Field, R.C.; SLAC

2006-01-01

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a SASE x-ray Free-Electron Laser (FEL) based on the final kilometer of the Stanford Linear Accelerator. The tight tolerances for positioning the electron beam close to the undulator axis calls for the introduction of Beam Finder Wire (BFW) device. A BFW device close to the upstream end of the undulator segment and a quadrupole close to the down stream end of the undulator segment will allow a beam-based undulator segment alignment. Based on the scattering of the electrons on the BFW, we can detect the electron signal in the main dump bends after the undulator to find the beam position. We propose to use a threshold Cherenkov counter for this purpose. According to the signal strength at such a Cherenkov counter, we then suggest choice of material and size for such a BFW device in the undulator

Epigenetic and Posttranslational Modifications in Light Signal Transduction and the Circadian Clock in Neurospora crassa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Proietto

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Blue light, a key abiotic signal, regulates a wide variety of physiological processes in many organisms. One of these phenomena is the circadian rhythm presents in organisms sensitive to the phase-setting effects of blue light and under control of the daily alternation of light and dark. Circadian clocks consist of autoregulatory alternating negative and positive feedback loops intimately connected with the cellular metabolism and biochemical processes. Neurospora crassa provides an excellent model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in these phenomena. The White Collar Complex (WCC, a blue-light receptor and transcription factor of the circadian oscillator, and Frequency (FRQ, the circadian clock pacemaker, are at the core of the Neurospora circadian system. The eukaryotic circadian clock relies on transcriptional/translational feedback loops: some proteins rhythmically repress their own synthesis by inhibiting the activity of their transcriptional factors, generating self-sustained oscillations over a period of about 24 h. One of the basic mechanisms that perpetuate self-sustained oscillations is post translation modification (PTM. The acronym PTM generically indicates the addition of acetyl, methyl, sumoyl, or phosphoric groups to various types of proteins. The protein can be regulatory or enzymatic or a component of the chromatin. PTMs influence protein stability, interaction, localization, activity, and chromatin packaging. Chromatin modification and PTMs have been implicated in regulating circadian clock function in Neurospora. Research into the epigenetic control of transcription factors such as WCC has yielded new insights into the temporal modulation of light-dependent gene transcription. Here we report on epigenetic and protein PTMs in the regulation of the Neurospora crassa circadian clock. We also present a model that illustrates the molecular mechanisms at the basis of the blue light control of the circadian clock.

Orbital Signatures from Observed Light Curves of Blazars

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Variability in active galactic nuclei is observed in UV to X-ray emission based light curves. This could be attributed to orbital signatures of the plasma that constitutes the accretion flow on the putative disk or in the developing jet close to the inner region of the central black hole. We discuss some theoretical ...

Wnt/β-catenin Signaling in Normal and Cancer Stem Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth C. Valkenburg

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The ability of Wnt ligands to initiate a signaling cascade that results in cytoplasmic stabilization of, and nuclear localization of, β-catenin underlies their ability to regulate progenitor cell differentiation. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying Wnt/β-catenin signaling and how the pathway regulates normal differentiation of stem cells in the intestine, mammary gland, and prostate. We will also discuss how dysregulation of the pathway is associated with putative cancer stem cells and the potential therapeutic implications of regulating Wnt signaling.

Broadband true time delay for microwave signal processing, using slow light based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Sanghoon; Thévenaz, Luc; Sancho, Juan; Sales, Salvador; Capmany, José; Berger, Perrine; Bourderionnet, Jérôme; Dolfi, Daniel

2010-10-11

We experimentally demonstrate a novel technique to process broadband microwave signals, using all-optically tunable true time delay in optical fibers. The configuration to achieve true time delay basically consists of two main stages: photonic RF phase shifter and slow light, based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in fibers. Dispersion properties of fibers are controlled, separately at optical carrier frequency and in the vicinity of microwave signal bandwidth. This way time delay induced within the signal bandwidth can be manipulated to correctly act as true time delay with a proper phase compensation introduced to the optical carrier. We completely analyzed the generated true time delay as a promising solution to feed phased array antenna for radar systems and to develop dynamically reconfigurable microwave photonic filters.

Light-controlled motility in prokaryotes and the problem of directional light perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilde, Annegret; Mullineaux, Conrad W

2017-11-01

The natural light environment is important to many prokaryotes. Most obviously, phototrophic prokaryotes need to acclimate their photosynthetic apparatus to the prevailing light conditions, and such acclimation is frequently complemented by motility to enable cells to relocate in search of more favorable illumination conditions. Non-phototrophic prokaryotes may also seek to avoid light at damaging intensities and wavelengths, and many prokaryotes with diverse lifestyles could potentially exploit light signals as a rich source of information about their surroundings and a cue for acclimation and behavior. Here we discuss our current understanding of the ways in which bacteria can perceive the intensity, wavelength and direction of illumination, and the signal transduction networks that link light perception to the control of motile behavior. We discuss the problems of light perception at the prokaryotic scale, and the challenge of directional light perception in small bacterial cells. We explain the peculiarities and the common features of light-controlled motility systems in prokaryotes as diverse as cyanobacteria, purple photosynthetic bacteria, chemoheterotrophic bacteria and haloarchaea. © FEMS 2017.

Shining a light on the Arabidopsis circadian clock.

Science.gov (United States)

Oakenfull, Rachael J; Davis, Seth J

2017-11-01

The circadian clock provides essential timing information to ensure optimal growth to prevailing external environmental conditions. A major time-setting mechanism (zeitgeber) in clock synchronization is light. Differing light wavelengths, intensities, and photoperiodic duration are processed for the clock-setting mechanism. Many studies on light-input pathways to the clock have focused on Arabidopsis thaliana. Photoreceptors are specific chromic proteins that detect light signals and transmit this information to the central circadian oscillator through a number of different signalling mechanisms. The most well-characterized clock-mediating photoreceptors are cryptochromes and phytochromes, detecting blue, red, and far-red wavelengths of light. Ultraviolet and shaded light are also processed signals to the oscillator. Notably, the clock reciprocally generates rhythms of photoreceptor action leading to so-called gating of light responses. Intermediate proteins, such as Phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs), constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) and EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), have been established in signalling pathways downstream of photoreceptor activation. However, the precise details for these signalling mechanisms are not fully established. This review highlights both historical and recent efforts made to understand overall light input to the oscillator, first looking at how each wavelength of light is detected, this is then related to known input mechanisms and their interactions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reionization on large scales. IV. Predictions for the 21 cm signal incorporating the light cone effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

La Plante, P.; Battaglia, N.; Natarajan, A.; Peterson, J. B.; Trac, H. [McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (United States); Cen, R. [Department of Astrophysical Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Loeb, A., E-mail: plaplant@andrew.cmu.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2014-07-01

We present predictions for the 21 cm brightness temperature power spectrum during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). We discuss the implications of the 'light cone' effect, which incorporates evolution of the neutral hydrogen fraction and 21 cm brightness temperature along the line of sight. Using a novel method calibrated against radiation-hydrodynamic simulations, we model the neutral hydrogen density field and 21 cm signal in large volumes (L = 2 Gpc h {sup –1}). The inclusion of the light cone effect leads to a relative decrease of about 50% in the 21 cm power spectrum on all scales. We also find that the effect is more prominent at the midpoint of reionization and later. The light cone effect can also introduce an anisotropy along the line of sight. By decomposing the 3D power spectrum into components perpendicular to and along the line of sight, we find that in our fiducial reionization model, there is no significant anisotropy. However, parallel modes can contribute up to 40% more power for shorter reionization scenarios. The scales on which the light cone effect is relevant are comparable to scales where one measures the baryon acoustic oscillation. We argue that due to its large comoving scale and introduction of anisotropy, the light cone effect is important when considering redshift space distortions and future application to the Alcock-Paczyński test for the determination of cosmological parameters.

Dual functional extracellular recording using a light-addressable potentiometric sensor for bitter signal transduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Liping; Wang, Jian; Chen, Wei; Zhao, Luhang; Wu, Chunsheng; Wang, Ping

2018-08-31

This paper presents a dual functional extracellular recording biosensor based on a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). The design and fabrication of this biosensor make it possible to record both extracellular membrane potential changes and ATP release from a single taste bud cell for the first time. For detecting ATP release, LAPS chip was functionalized with ATP-sensitive DNA aptamer by covalent immobilization. Taste bud cells isolated from rat were cultured on LAPS surface. When the desired single taste bud cell was illuminated by modulated light, ATP release from single taste bud cells can be measured by recording the shifts of bias voltage-photocurrent curves (I-V curves) when the LAPS chip is working in discrete mode. On the other hand, extracellular membrane potential changes can be monitored by recording the fluctuation of LAPS photocurrent when the LAPS chip is working in continuous mode. The results show this biosensor can effectively record the enhancive effect of the bitter substance and inhibitory effect of the carbenoxolone (CBX) on the extracellular membrane potential changes and ATP release of single taste bud cells. In addition, the inhibitory effect of CBX also confirms LAPS extracellular recordings are originated from bitter signal transduction. It is proved this biosensor is suitable for extracellular recording of ATP release and membrane potential changes of single taste bud cells. It is suggested this biosensor could be applied to investigating taste signal transduction at the single-cell level as well as applied to other types of cells which have similar functions to taste bud cells. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LM-OSL signals from some insulators: an analysis of the dependency of the detrapping probability on stimulation light intensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bulur, E.; Bøtter-Jensen, L.; Murray, A.S.

2001-01-01

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals from various insulators including quartz, Al2O3 : C, BeO and NaCl have been studied using the linear modulation OSL (LM-OSL) technique. LM-OSL is based on the linear increase of the stimulation light power from zero to a maximum during the measurement...... is not always correct. The initial decay rates of the blue (similar to 470 nm) light stimulated constant power OSL decay curves were examined to test the relation between the detrapping rates and the stimulation light intensity. In SiO2, Al2O3 : C and BeO a linear relation between the detrapping rates....... The resultant OSL curve initially increases and then decays after reaching a maximum, The analysis of LM-OSL data usually assumes a linear relationship between the detrapping rate and the stimulation light intensity. However, experiments carried out using various insulators have shown that this assumption...

Putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in pregnant women: a case-control study

OpenAIRE

Lu, Haixia; Zhu, Ce; Li, Fei; Xu, Wei; Tao, Danying; Feng, Xiping

2016-01-01

Little is known about herpesvirus and putative periodontopathic bacteria in maternal chronic periodontitis. The present case-control study aimed to explore the potential relationship between putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in maternal chronic periodontitis.Saliva samples were collected from 36 pregnant women with chronic periodontitis (cases) and 36 pregnant women with healthy periodontal status (controls). Six putative periodontopathic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis ...

Biochemical Characterization of Putative Adenylate Dimethylallyltransferase and Cytokinin Dehydrogenase from Nostoc sp. PCC 7120.

Science.gov (United States)

Frébortová, Jitka; Greplová, Marta; Seidl, Michael F; Heyl, Alexander; Frébort, Ivo

2015-01-01

Cytokinins, a class of phytohormones, are adenine derivatives common to many different organisms. In plants, these play a crucial role as regulators of plant development and the reaction to abiotic and biotic stress. Key enzymes in the cytokinin synthesis and degradation in modern land plants are the isopentyl transferases and the cytokinin dehydrogenases, respectively. Their encoding genes have been probably introduced into the plant lineage during the primary endosymbiosis. To shed light on the evolution of these proteins, the genes homologous to plant adenylate isopentenyl transferase and cytokinin dehydrogenase were amplified from the genomic DNA of cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The putative isopentenyl transferase was shown to be functional in a biochemical assay. In contrast, no enzymatic activity was detected for the putative cytokinin dehydrogenase, even though the principal domains necessary for its function are present. Several mutant variants, in which conserved amino acids in land plant cytokinin dehydrogenases had been restored, were inactive. A combination of experimental data with phylogenetic analysis indicates that adenylate-type isopentenyl transferases might have evolved several times independently. While the Nostoc genome contains a gene coding for protein with characteristics of cytokinin dehydrogenase, the organism is not able to break down cytokinins in the way shown for land plants.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Refracted light signals to discriminate exoplanets (Misra+, 2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, A. K.; Meadows, V. S.

2017-05-01

We used a suite of planetary atmospheres to calculate the refracted light signal. We have selected a combination of solar system analogs as well possible super-Earth and mini-Neptune atmospheres to cover a wide range of potential planetary atmospheres. We assumed the H2-dominated atmospheres have a solar H/He ratio (90% H, 10% He) for simplicity, but the small change in the refractive index for different H/He ratios should have a negligible effect on our results. For the super-Earth and mini-Neptune planets, we ran our models on four test cases to span the most likely bulk atmospheric compositions: 100% N2, solar composition, 100% H2O, and 100% CO2. (1 data file).

LncRNAs in Secondary Hair Follicle of Cashmere Goat: Identification, Expression, and Their Regulatory Network in Wnt Signaling Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Wen L; Zhao, Su J; Wang, Ze Y; Zhu, Yu B; Dang, Yun L; Cong, Yu Y; Xue, Hui L; Wang, Wei; Deng, Liang; Guo, Dan; Wang, Shi Q; Zhu, Yan X; Yin, Rong H

2018-07-03

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a novel class of eukaryotic transcripts. They are thought to act as a critical regulator of protein-coding gene expression. Herein, we identified and characterized 13 putative lncRNAs from the expressed sequence tags from secondary hair follicle of Cashmere goat. Furthermore, we investigated their transcriptional pattern in secondary hair follicle of Liaoning Cashmere goat during telogen and anagen phases. Also, we generated intracellular regulatory networks of upregulated lncRNAs at anagen in Wnt signaling pathway based on bioinformatics analysis. The relative expression of six putative lncRNAs (lncRNA-599618, -599556, -599554, -599547, -599531, and -599509) at the anagen phase is significantly higher than that at telogen. Compared with anagen, the relative expression of four putative lncRNAs (lncRNA-599528, -599518, -599511, and -599497) was found to be significantly upregulated at telogen phase. The network generated showed that a rich and complex regulatory relationship of the putative lncRNAs and related miRNAs with their target genes in Wnt signaling pathway. Our results from the present study provided a foundation for further elucidating the functional and regulatory mechanisms of these putative lncRNAs in the development of secondary hair follicle and cashmere fiber growth of Cashmere goat.

Identification of independent association signals and putative functional variants for breast cancer risk through fine-scale mapping of the 12p11 locus.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Chenjie; Guo, Xingyi; Long, Jirong; Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B; Droit, Arnaud; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Ghoussaini, Maya; Kar, Siddhartha; Freeman, Adam; Hopper, John L; Milne, Roger L; Bolla, Manjeet K; Wang, Qin; Dennis, Joe; Agata, Simona; Ahmed, Shahana; Aittomäki, Kristiina; Andrulis, Irene L; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Antonenkova, Natalia N; Arason, Adalgeir; Arndt, Volker; Arun, Banu K; Arver, Brita; Bacot, Francois; Barrowdale, Daniel; Baynes, Caroline; Beeghly-Fadiel, Alicia; Benitez, Javier; Bermisheva, Marina; Blomqvist, Carl; Blot, William J; Bogdanova, Natalia V; Bojesen, Stig E; Bonanni, Bernardo; Borresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Brand, Judith S; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brennan, Paul; Brenner, Hermann; Broeks, Annegien; Brüning, Thomas; Burwinkel, Barbara; Buys, Saundra S; Cai, Qiuyin; Caldes, Trinidad; Campbell, Ian; Carpenter, Jane; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Choi, Ji-Yeob; Claes, Kathleen B M; Clarke, Christine; Cox, Angela; Cross, Simon S; Czene, Kamila; Daly, Mary B; de la Hoya, Miguel; De Leeneer, Kim; Devilee, Peter; Diez, Orland; Domchek, Susan M; Doody, Michele; Dorfling, Cecilia M; Dörk, Thilo; Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Dumont, Martine; Dwek, Miriam; Dworniczak, Bernd; Egan, Kathleen; Eilber, Ursula; Einbeigi, Zakaria; Ejlertsen, Bent; Ellis, Steve; Frost, Debra; Lalloo, Fiona; Fasching, Peter A; Figueroa, Jonine; Flyger, Henrik; Friedlander, Michael; Friedman, Eitan; Gambino, Gaetana; Gao, Yu-Tang; Garber, Judy; García-Closas, Montserrat; Gehrig, Andrea; Damiola, Francesca; Lesueur, Fabienne; Mazoyer, Sylvie; Stoppa-Lyonnet, Dominique; Giles, Graham G; Godwin, Andrew K; Goldgar, David E; González-Neira, Anna; Greene, Mark H; Guénel, Pascal; Haeberle, Lothar; Haiman, Christopher A; Hallberg, Emily; Hamann, Ute; Hansen, Thomas V O; Hart, Steven; Hartikainen, Jaana M; Hartman, Mikael; Hassan, Norhashimah; Healey, Sue; Hogervorst, Frans B L; Verhoef, Senno; Hendricks, Carolyn B; Hillemanns, Peter; Hollestelle, Antoinette; Hulick, Peter J; Hunter, David J; Imyanitov, Evgeny N; Isaacs, Claudine; Ito, Hidemi; Jakubowska, Anna; Janavicius, Ramunas; Jaworska-Bieniek, Katarzyna; Jensen, Uffe Birk; John, Esther M; Joly Beauparlant, Charles; Jones, Michael; Kabisch, Maria; Kang, Daehee; Karlan, Beth Y; Kauppila, Saila; Kerin, Michael J; Khan, Sofia; Khusnutdinova, Elza; Knight, Julia A; Konstantopoulou, Irene; Kraft, Peter; Kwong, Ava; Laitman, Yael; Lambrechts, Diether; Lazaro, Conxi; Le Marchand, Loic; Lee, Chuen Neng; Lee, Min Hyuk; Lester, Jenny; Li, Jingmei; Liljegren, Annelie; Lindblom, Annika; Lophatananon, Artitaya; Lubinski, Jan; Mai, Phuong L; Mannermaa, Arto; Manoukian, Siranoush; Margolin, Sara; Marme, Frederik; Matsuo, Keitaro; McGuffog, Lesley; Meindl, Alfons; Menegaux, Florence; Montagna, Marco; Muir, Kenneth; Mulligan, Anna Marie; Nathanson, Katherine L; Neuhausen, Susan L; Nevanlinna, Heli; Newcomb, Polly A; Nord, Silje; Nussbaum, Robert L; Offit, Kenneth; Olah, Edith; Olopade, Olufunmilayo I; Olswold, Curtis; Osorio, Ana; Papi, Laura; Park-Simon, Tjoung-Won; Paulsson-Karlsson, Ylva; Peeters, Stephanie; Peissel, Bernard; Peterlongo, Paolo; Peto, Julian; Pfeiler, Georg; Phelan, Catherine M; Presneau, Nadege; Radice, Paolo; Rahman, Nazneen; Ramus, Susan J; Rashid, Muhammad Usman; Rennert, Gad; Rhiem, Kerstin; Rudolph, Anja; Salani, Ritu; Sangrajrang, Suleeporn; Sawyer, Elinor J; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Schmutzler, Rita K; Schoemaker, Minouk J; Schürmann, Peter; Seynaeve, Caroline; Shen, Chen-Yang; Shrubsole, Martha J; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Sigurdson, Alice; Singer, Christian F; Slager, Susan; Soucy, Penny; Southey, Melissa; Steinemann, Doris; Swerdlow, Anthony; Szabo, Csilla I; Tchatchou, Sandrine; Teixeira, Manuel R; Teo, Soo H; Terry, Mary Beth; Tessier, Daniel C; Teulé, Alex; Thomassen, Mads; Tihomirova, Laima; Tischkowitz, Marc; Toland, Amanda E; Tung, Nadine; Turnbull, Clare; van den Ouweland, Ans M W; van Rensburg, Elizabeth J; Ven den Berg, David; Vijai, Joseph; Wang-Gohrke, Shan; Weitzel, Jeffrey N; Whittemore, Alice S; Winqvist, Robert; Wong, Tien Y; Wu, Anna H; Yannoukakos, Drakoulis; Yu, Jyh-Cherng; Pharoah, Paul D P; Hall, Per; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Dunning, Alison M; Simard, Jacques; Couch, Fergus J; Antoniou, Antonis C; Easton, Douglas F; Zheng, Wei

2016-06-21

Multiple recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs10771399, at 12p11 that is associated with breast cancer risk. We performed a fine-scale mapping study of a 700 kb region including 441 genotyped and more than 1300 imputed genetic variants in 48,155 cases and 43,612 controls of European descent, 6269 cases and 6624 controls of East Asian descent and 1116 cases and 932 controls of African descent in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC; http://bcac.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/ ), and in 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). Stepwise regression analyses were performed to identify independent association signals. Data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project (ENCODE) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used for functional annotation. Analysis of data from European descendants found evidence for four independent association signals at 12p11, represented by rs7297051 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.12; P = 3 × 10(-9)), rs805510 (OR = 1.08, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.12, P = 2 × 10(-5)), and rs1871152 (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 1.02-1.06; P = 2 × 10(-4)) identified in the general populations, and rs113824616 (P = 7 × 10(-5)) identified in the meta-analysis of BCAC ER-negative cases and BRCA1 mutation carriers. SNPs rs7297051, rs805510 and rs113824616 were also associated with breast cancer risk at P associations were statistically significant in African descendants. Multiple candidate functional variants are located in putative enhancer sequences. Chromatin interaction data suggested that PTHLH was the likely target gene of these enhancers. Of the six variants with the strongest evidence of potential functionality, rs11049453 was statistically significantly associated with the expression of PTHLH and its nearby gene CCDC91 at P association signals at

Light storage via slow-light four-wave mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Yun-Fei; Wang, Hai-Hua; Wei, Xiao-Gang; Li, Ai-Jun; Kang, Zhi-Hui; Wu, Jin-Hui; Zhang, Han-Zhuang; Xu, Huai-Liang; Gao, Jin-Yue

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate a light storage via slow-light four-wave mixing in a solid-state medium with a four-level double lambda scheme. Using slow light based on electromagnetically induced transparency, we obtain a slowed four-wave mixing signal pulse together with the slowed probe pulse. During the propagation of light pulses, the storage and retrieval of both the slowed four-wave mixing pulse and the slowed probe pulse are studied by manipulating the intensities of the control fields. -- Highlights: ► A light storage via slow-light four-wave mixing is observed in a solid. ► The probe pulse is slowed under electromagnetically induced transparency. ► A slowed four-wave mixing pulse is obtained by slow light. ► The storage of slowed double pulses is studied.

Mathematical Models Light Up Plant Signaling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chew, Y.H.; Smith, R.W.; Jones, H.J.; Seaton, D.D.; Grima, R.; Halliday, K.J.

2014-01-01

Plants respond to changes in the environment by triggering a suite of regulatory networks that control and synchronize molecular signaling in different tissues, organs, and the whole plant. Molecular studies through genetic and environmental perturbations, particularly in the model plant Arabidopsis

Surface light scattering: integrated technology and signal processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lading, L.; Dam-Hansen, C.; Rasmussen, E.

1997-01-01

systems representing increasing levels of integration are considered. It is demonstrated that efficient signal and data processing can be achieved by evaluation of the statistics of the derivative of the instantaneous phase of the detector signal. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America....

Arrestin-related proteins mediate pH signaling in fungi

OpenAIRE

Herranz, Silvia; Rodríguez, José M.; Bussink, Henk-Jan; Sánchez-Ferrero, Juan C.; Arst, Herbert N.; Peñalva, Miguel A.; Vincent, Olivier

2005-01-01

Metazoan arrestins bind to seven-transmembrane (7TM) receptors to regulate function. Aspergillus nidulans PalF, a protein involved in the fungal ambient pH signaling pathway, contains arrestin N-terminal and C-terminal domains and binds strongly to two different regions within the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the 7TM, putative pH sensor PalH. Upon exposure to alkaline ambient pH, PalF is phosphorylated and, like mammalian β-arrestins, ubiquitinated in a signal-dependent and 7TM protein-depe...

REVIEW ARTICLE: Bioluminescent signals and the role of reflectors

Science.gov (United States)

Herring, Peter J.

2000-11-01

Organisms in a well lit environment use optical signals derived from the selective reflection of ambient light. In a dim or dark environment it is very difficult (because of low photon numbers) to detect the contrast between light reflected from the organism and that from the background, and many organisms use bioluminescent signals instead. The use of such signals on land is largely restricted to sexual signalling by the luminous beetles, but in the deep ocean their use is widespread, involving both many different organisms and a range of uses which parallel those of reflective signals on land. Some bioluminescent signals rely almost entirely on an optically unmodified light source (e.g. a secretion) but others depend upon complex optical structures, particularly reflectors, in the light-emitting organs. Reflectors in the light organs of many shrimp, squid and fish are based on constructive interference systems but employ different biological materials. They and other structures modify the angular, spectral and intensity distributions of bioluminescent signals. The ready availability of highly efficient biological reflectors has been a formative influence in the evolution of bioluminescent signalling in the sea.

Telocytes and putative stem cells in the lungs: electron microscopy, electron tomography and laser scanning microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Popescu, Laurentiu M; Gherghiceanu, Mihaela; Suciu, Laura C; Manole, Catalin G; Hinescu, Mihail E

2011-09-01

This study describes a novel type of interstitial (stromal) cell - telocytes (TCs) - in the human and mouse respiratory tree (terminal and respiratory bronchioles, as well as alveolar ducts). TCs have recently been described in pleura, epicardium, myocardium, endocardium, intestine, uterus, pancreas, mammary gland, etc. (see www.telocytes.com ). TCs are cells with specific prolongations called telopodes (Tp), frequently two to three per cell. Tp are very long prolongations (tens up to hundreds of μm) built of alternating thin segments known as podomers (≤ 200 nm, below the resolving power of light microscope) and dilated segments called podoms, which accommodate mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum and caveolae. Tp ramify dichotomously, making a 3-dimensional network with complex homo- and heterocellular junctions. Confocal microscopy reveals that TCs are c-kit- and CD34-positive. Tp release shed vesicles or exosomes, sending macromolecular signals to neighboring cells and eventually modifying their transcriptional activity. At bronchoalveolar junctions, TCs have been observed in close association with putative stem cells (SCs) in the subepithelial stroma. SCs are recognized by their ultrastructure and Sca-1 positivity. Tp surround SCs, forming complex TC-SC niches (TC-SCNs). Electron tomography allows the identification of bridging nanostructures, which connect Tp with SCs. In conclusion, this study shows the presence of TCs in lungs and identifies a TC-SC tandem in subepithelial niches of the bronchiolar tree. In TC-SCNs, the synergy of TCs and SCs may be based on nanocontacts and shed vesicles.

In situ calibration of a light source in a sensor device

Science.gov (United States)

Okandan, Murat; Serkland, Darwin k.; Merchant, Bion J.

2015-12-29

A sensor device is described herein, wherein the sensor device includes an optical measurement system, such as an interferometer. The sensor device further includes a low-power light source that is configured to emit an optical signal having a constant wavelength, wherein accuracy of a measurement output by the sensor device is dependent upon the optical signal having the constant wavelength. At least a portion of the optical signal is directed to a vapor cell, the vapor cell including an atomic species that absorbs light having the constant wavelength. A photodetector captures light that exits the vapor cell, and generates an electrical signal that is indicative of intensity of the light that exits the vapor cell. A control circuit controls operation of the light source based upon the electrical signal, such that the light source emits the optical signal with the constant wavelength.

Lemur tyrosine kinase-2 signalling regulates kinesin-1 light chain-2 phosphorylation and binding of Smad2 cargo.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Manser, C

2012-05-31

A recent genome-wide association study identified the gene encoding lemur tyrosine kinase-2 (LMTK2) as a susceptibility gene for prostate cancer. The identified genetic alteration is within intron 9, but the mechanisms by which LMTK2 may impact upon prostate cancer are not clear because the functions of LMTK2 are poorly understood. Here, we show that LMTK2 regulates a known pathway that controls phosphorylation of kinesin-1 light chain-2 (KLC2) by glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β). KLC2 phosphorylation by GSK3β induces the release of cargo from KLC2. LMTK2 signals via protein phosphatase-1C (PP1C) to increase inhibitory phosphorylation of GSK3β on serine-9 that reduces KLC2 phosphorylation and promotes binding of the known KLC2 cargo Smad2. Smad2 signals to the nucleus in response to transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) receptor stimulation and transport of Smad2 by kinesin-1 is required for this signalling. We show that small interfering RNA loss of LMTK2 not only reduces binding of Smad2 to KLC2, but also inhibits TGFβ-induced Smad2 signalling. Thus, LMTK2 may regulate the activity of kinesin-1 motor function and Smad2 signalling.

Phylogenetic and comparative gene expression analysis of barley (Hordeum vulgare)WRKY transcription factor family reveals putatively retained functions betweenmonocots and dicots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mangelsen, Elke; Kilian, Joachim; Berendzen, Kenneth W.; Kolukisaoglu, Uner; Harter, Klaus; Jansson, Christer; Wanke, Dierk

2008-02-01

WRKY proteins belong to the WRKY-GCM1 superfamily of zinc finger transcription factors that have been subject to a large plant-specific diversification. For the cereal crop barley (Hordeum vulgare), three different WRKY proteins have been characterized so far, as regulators in sucrose signaling, in pathogen defense, and in response to cold and drought, respectively. However, their phylogenetic relationship remained unresolved. In this study, we used the available sequence information to identify a minimum number of 45 barley WRKY transcription factor (HvWRKY) genes. According to their structural features the HvWRKY factors were classified into the previously defined polyphyletic WRKY subgroups 1 to 3. Furthermore, we could assign putative orthologs of the HvWRKY proteins in Arabidopsis and rice. While in most cases clades of orthologous proteins were formed within each group or subgroup, other clades were composed of paralogous proteins for the grasses and Arabidopsis only, which is indicative of specific gene radiation events. To gain insight into their putative functions, we examined expression profiles of WRKY genes from publicly available microarray data resources and found group specific expression patterns. While putative orthologs of the HvWRKY transcription factors have been inferred from phylogenetic sequence analysis, we performed a comparative expression analysis of WRKY genes in Arabidopsis and barley. Indeed, highly correlative expression profiles were found between some of the putative orthologs. HvWRKY genes have not only undergone radiation in monocot or dicot species, but exhibit evolutionary traits specific to grasses. HvWRKY proteins exhibited not only sequence similarities between orthologs with Arabidopsis, but also relatedness in their expression patterns. This correlative expression is indicative for a putative conserved function of related WRKY proteins in mono- and dicot species.

De Novo assembly of the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus spleen transcriptome to identify putative genes involved in immunity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Huang

Full Text Available Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus is an economically important marine fish in Asia and has suffered from disease outbreaks caused by various pathogens, which requires more information for immune relevant genes on genome background. However, genomic and transcriptomic data for Japanese flounder remain scarce, which limits studies on the immune system of this species. In this study, we characterized the Japanese flounder spleen transcriptome using an Illumina paired-end sequencing platform to identify putative genes involved in immunity.A cDNA library from the spleen of P. olivaceus was constructed and randomly sequenced using an Illumina technique. The removal of low quality reads generated 12,196,968 trimmed reads, which assembled into 96,627 unigenes. A total of 21,391 unigenes (22.14% were annotated in the NCBI Nr database, and only 1.1% of the BLASTx top-hits matched P. olivaceus protein sequences. Approximately 12,503 (58.45% unigenes were categorized into three Gene Ontology groups, 19,547 (91.38% were classified into 26 Cluster of Orthologous Groups, and 10,649 (49.78% were assigned to six Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Furthermore, 40,928 putative simple sequence repeats and 47, 362 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified. Importantly, we identified 1,563 putative immune-associated unigenes that mapped to 15 immune signaling pathways.The P. olivaceus transciptome data provides a rich source to discover and identify new genes, and the immune-relevant sequences identified here will facilitate our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the immune response. Furthermore, the plentiful potential SSRs and SNPs found in this study are important resources with respect to future development of a linkage map or marker assisted breeding programs for the flounder.

Broadband 2D electronic spectrometer using white light and pulse shaping: noise and signal evaluation at 1 and 100 kHz.

Science.gov (United States)

Kearns, Nicholas M; Mehlenbacher, Randy D; Jones, Andrew C; Zanni, Martin T

2017-04-03

We have developed a broad bandwidth two-dimensional electronic spectrometer that operates shot-to-shot at repetition rates up to 100 kHz using an acousto-optic pulse shaper. It is called a two-dimensional white-light (2D-WL) spectrometer because the input is white-light supercontinuum. Methods for 100 kHz data collection are studied to understand how laser noise is incorporated into 2D spectra during measurement. At 100 kHz, shot-to-shot scanning of the delays and phases of the pulses in the pulse sequence produces a 2D spectrum 13-times faster and with the same signal-to-noise as using mechanical stages and a chopper. Comparing 100 to 1 kHz repetition rates, data acquisition time is decreased by a factor of 200, which is beyond the improvement expected by the repetition rates alone due to reduction in 1/f noise. These improvements arise because shot-to-shot readout and modulation of the pulse train at 100 kHz enables the electronic coherences to be measured faster than the decay in correlation between laser intensities. Using white light supercontinuum for the pump and probe pulses produces high signal-to-noise spectra on samples with optical densities 200 nm bandwidth.

CIRCADIAN REGULATION METABOLIC SIGNALING MECHANISMS OF HUMAN BREAST CANCER GROWTH BY THE NOCTURNAL MELATONIN SIGNAL AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF ITS DISRUPTION BY LIGHT AT NIGHT

Science.gov (United States)

Blask, David E.; Hill, Steven M.; Dauchy, Robert T.; Xiang, Shulin; Yuan, Lin; Duplessis, Tamika; Mao, Lulu; Dauchy, Erin; Sauer, Leonard A.

2011-01-01

This review article discusses recent work on the melatonin-mediated circadian regulation and integration of molecular, dietary and metabolic signaling mechanisms involved in human breast cancer growth and the consequences of circadian disruption by exposure to light-at-night (LAN). The antiproliferative effects of the circadian melatonin signal are mediated through a major mechanism involving the activation of MT1 melatonin receptors expressed in human breast cancer cell lines and xenografts. In estrogen receptor (ERα+) human breast cancer cells, melatonin suppresses both ERα mRNA expression and estrogen-induced transcriptional activity of the ERα via MT1-induced activation of Gαi2 signaling and reduction of cAMP levels. Melatonin also regulates the transactivation of additional members of the steroid hormone/nuclear receptor super-family, enzymes involved in estrogen metabolism, expression/activation of telomerase and the expression of core clock and clock-related genes. The anti-invasive/anti-metastatic actions of melatonin involve the blockade of p38 phosphorylation and the expression of matrix metalloproteinases. Melatonin also inhibits the growth of human breast cancer xenografts via another critical pathway involving MT1-mediated suppression of cAMP leading to blockade of linoleic acid (LA) uptake and its metabolism to the mitogenic signaling molecule 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE). Down-regulation of 13-HODE reduces the activation of growth factor pathways supporting cell proliferation and survival. Experimental evidence in rats and humans indicating that LAN-induced circadian disruption of the nocturnal melatonin signal activates human breast cancer growth, metabolism and signaling provides the strongest mechanistic support, thus far, for population and ecological studies demonstrating elevated breast cancer risk in night shift workers and other individuals increasingly exposed to LAN. PMID:21605163

Optical bistability controlling light with light

CERN Document Server

Gibbs, Hyatt

1985-01-01

Optical Bistability: Controlling Light with Light focuses on optical bistability in nonlinear optical systems. Emphasis is on passive (non-laser) systems that exhibit reversible bistability with input intensity as the hysteresis variable, along with the physics and the potential applications of such systems for nonlinear optical signal processing. This book consists of seven chapters and begins with a historical overview of optical bistability in lasers and passive systems. The next chapter describes steady-state theories of optical bistability, including the Bonifacio-Lugiato model, as we

Signal processing for LED lighting systems : illumination rendering and sensing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, H.

2010-01-01

Solid state lighting, employing high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs), is becoming increasingly widely used. The advantages of LEDs include high radiative efficiency, long lifetime, limited heat generation and superior tolerance to humidity. Another important advantage of LED lighting systems

Large-Scale Phosphoproteomics Reveals Shp-2 Phosphatase-Dependent Regulators of Pdgf Receptor Signaling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Batth, Tanveer S; Papetti, Moreno; Pfeiffer, Anamarija

2018-01-01

Despite its low cellular abundance, phosphotyrosine (pTyr) regulates numerous cell signaling pathways in health and disease. We applied comprehensive phosphoproteomics to unravel differential regulators of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-initiated signaling networks upon activation by Pdgf-ββ, Fgf-2...... of Pdgfr pTyr signaling. Application of a recently introduced allosteric Shp-2 inhibitor revealed global regulation of the Pdgf-dependent tyrosine phosphoproteome, which significantly impaired cell migration. In addition, we present a list of hundreds of Shp-2-dependent targets and putative substrates...

Identification of Putative Ortholog Gene Blocks Involved in Gestant and Lactating Mammary Gland Development: A Rodent Cross-Species Microarray Transcriptomics Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Cruz, Maricela; Coral-Vázquez, Ramón M.; Hernández-Stengele, Gabriel; Sánchez, Raúl; Salazar, Emmanuel; Sanchez-Muñoz, Fausto; Encarnación-Guevara, Sergio; Ramírez-Salcedo, Jorge

2013-01-01

The mammary gland (MG) undergoes functional and metabolic changes during the transition from pregnancy to lactation, possibly by regulation of conserved genes. The objective was to elucidate orthologous genes, chromosome clusters and putative conserved transcriptional modules during MG development. We analyzed expression of 22,000 transcripts using murine microarrays and RNA samples of MG from virgin, pregnant, and lactating rats by cross-species hybridization. We identified 521 transcripts differentially expressed; upregulated in early (78%) and midpregnancy (89%) and early lactation (64%), but downregulated in mid-lactation (61%). Putative orthologous genes were identified. We mapped the altered genes to orthologous chromosomal locations in human and mouse. Eighteen sets of conserved genes associated with key cellular functions were revealed and conserved transcription factor binding site search entailed possible coregulation among all eight block sets of genes. This study demonstrates that the use of heterologous array hybridization for screening of orthologous gene expression from rat revealed sets of conserved genes arranged in chromosomal order implicated in signaling pathways and functional ontology. Results demonstrate the utilization power of comparative genomics and prove the feasibility of using rodent microarrays to identification of putative coexpressed orthologous genes involved in the control of human mammary gland development. PMID:24288657

Assessment of the Čerenkov light produced in a PbWO4 crystal by means of the study of the time structure of the signal

CERN Document Server

Cavallini, L; Mecca, A; Pinci, D; Akchurin, N; Berntzon, L; Kim, H; Roh, Y; Wigmans, R; Cardini, A; Ferrari, R; Franchino, S; Gaudio, G; Livan, M; Hauptman, J; La Rotonda, L; Meoni, E; Policicchio, A; Susinno, G; Paar, H; Penzo, A; Popescu, S; Vandelli, W

2008-01-01

On beam tests were carried out on PbWO4 crystals. One of the aims of this work was to evaluate the contribution of the Čerenkov component to the total light yield. The difference in the timing characteristics of the fast Čerenkov signals with respect to the scintillation ones, which are emitted with a decay time of about 10 ns, can be exploited in order to separate the two proportions. In this paper we present the results of an analysis performed on the time structure of signals, showing how it is possible to detect and assess the presence and the amount of Čerenkov light. Since Čerenkov light is emitted only by the electromagnetic component of a hadronic shower, its precise measurement would allow to account for one of the dominant sources of fluctuations in hadronic showers and to achieve an improvement in the energy resolution of a hadronic calorimeter.

The molecular dimension of microbial species: 3. Comparative genomics of Synechococcus strains with different light responses and in situ diel transcription patterns of associated ecotypes in the Mushroom Spring microbial mat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Millie T. Olsen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Genomes were obtained for three closely related strains of Synechococcus that are representative of putative ecotypes that predominate at different depths in the 1 mm-thick, upper-green layer in the 60°C mat of Mushroom Spring, Yellowstone National Park, and exhibit different light adaptation and acclimation responses. The genomes were compared to the published genome of a previously obtained, closely related strain from a neighboring spring, and differences in both gene content and orthologous gene alleles between high-light-adapted and low-light-adapted strains were identified. Evidence of genetic differences that relate to adaptation to light intensity and/or quality, CO2 uptake, nitrogen metabolism, organic carbon metabolism, and uptake of other nutrients were found between strains of the different putative ecotypes. In situ diel transcription patterns of genes, including genes unique to either low-light-adapted or high-light-adapted strains and different alleles of an orthologous photosystem gene, revealed that expression is fine-tuned to the different light environments experienced by ecotypes prevalent at various depths in the mat. This study suggests that strains of closely related putative ecotypes have different genomic adaptations that enable them to inhabit distinct ecological niches while living in close proximity within a microbial community.

Statistical analysis of traversal behavior under different types of traffic lights

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Boran; Wang, Ziyang; Li, Zhiyin

2017-12-01

According to the video observation, it is found that the traffic signal type signal has a significant effect on the illegal crossing behavior of pedestrians at the intersection. Through the method of statistical analysis and variance analysis, the difference between the violation rate and the waiting position of pedestrians at different intersecting lights is compared, and the influence of traffic signal type on pedestrian crossing behavior is evaluated. The results show that the violation rate of the intersection of the static pedestrian lights is significantly higher than that of the countdown signal lights. There are significant differences in the waiting position of the intersection of different signal lights.

Design for The Indoor Visible Light Communication Application System Based on LED Visible Light

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lian Wenyu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper designs an indoor visible light communication application system based on LED. The system can modulate the original signal one or more times, move to a specific frequency band, transmit on the power line, in the LED terminal use this module to decode, restore the Ethernet signals. This design is applicable to the simplicity of the LED visible light communication applications, which provide the premise and guarantee for the construction of smart home network.

Hypothalamic response to the chemo-signal androstadienone in gender dysphoric children and adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burke, S.M.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.T.; Veltman, D.J.; Klink, D.T.; Bakker, J.

2014-01-01

The odorous steroid androstadienone, a putative male chemo-signal, was previously reported to evoke sex differences in hypothalamic activation in adult heterosexual men and women. In order to investigate whether puberty modulated this sex difference in response to androstadienone, we measured the

Diode-laser-pump module with integrated signal ports for pumping amplifying fibers and method

Science.gov (United States)

Savage-Leuchs,; Matthias, P [Woodinville, WA

2009-05-26

Apparatus and method for collimating pump light of a first wavelength from laser diode(s) into a collimated beam within an enclosure having first and second optical ports, directing pump light from the collimated beam to the first port; and directing signal light inside the enclosure between the first and second port. The signal and pump wavelengths are different. The enclosure provides a pump block having a first port that emits pump light to a gain fiber outside the enclosure and that also passes signal light either into or out of the enclosure, and another port that passes signal light either out of or into the enclosure. Some embodiments use a dichroic mirror to direct pump light to the first port and direct signal light between the first and second ports. Some embodiments include a wavelength-conversion device to change the wavelength of at least some of the signal light.

Current control of light by nonreciprocal magnetoplasmonics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gong, Yongkang, E-mail: yongkang.gong@southwales.ac.uk; Li, Kang; Carver, Sara; Martinez, Juan Jose; Huang, Jungang; Copner, Nigel [Wireless and Optoelectronics Research and Innovation Centre (WORIC), Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Cardiff CF37 1DL (United Kingdom); Thueux, Yoann; Avlonitis, Nick [Airbus Group Innovations, Quadrant House, Celtic Springs, Coedkernew, NP10 8FZ Newport (United Kingdom)

2015-05-11

The ability to actively control light has long been a major scientific and technological goal. We proposed a scheme that allows for active control of light by utilizing the nonreciprocal magnetoplasmonic effect. As a proof of concept, we applied current signal through an ultrathin metallic film in a magneto-plasmonic multilayer and found that dynamic photonic nonreciprocity appears in magnetic-optical material layer due to the magnetic field being induced from current signal and modulates surface plasmon polaritons trapped in the metal surface and the light reflected. The proposed concept provides a possible way for the active control of light and could find potential applications such as ultrafast optoelectronic signal processing for plasmonic nanocircuit technology and ultrafast/large-aperture free-space electro-optic modulation platform for wireless laser communication technology.

Light Regulation of Swarming Motility in Pseudomonas syringae Integrates Signaling Pathways Mediated by a Bacteriophytochrome and a LOV Protein

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Liang; McGrane, Regina S.; Beattie, Gwyn A.

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT The biological and regulatory roles of photosensory proteins are poorly understood for nonphotosynthetic bacteria. The foliar bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae has three photosensory protein-encoding genes that are predicted to encode the blue-light-sensing LOV (light, oxygen, or voltage) histidine kinase (LOV-HK) and two red/far-red-light-sensing bacteriophytochromes, BphP1 and BphP2. We provide evidence that LOV-HK and BphP1 form an integrated network that regulates swarming motility in response to multiple light wavelengths. The swarming motility of P. syringae B728a deletion mutants indicated that LOV-HK positively regulates swarming motility in response to blue light and BphP1 negatively regulates swarming motility in response to red and far-red light. BphP2 does not detectably regulate swarming motility. The histidine kinase activity of each LOV-HK and BphP1 is required for this regulation based on the loss of complementation upon mutation of residues key to their kinase activity. Surprisingly, mutants lacking both lov and bphP1 were similar in motility to a bphP1 single mutant in blue light, indicating that the loss of bphP1 is epistatic to the loss of lov and also that BphP1 unexpectedly responds to blue light. Moreover, whereas expression of bphP1 did not alter motility under blue light in a bphP1 mutant, it reduced motility in a mutant lacking lov and bphP1, demonstrating that LOV-HK positively regulates motility by suppressing negative regulation by BphP1. These results are the first to show cross talk between the LOV protein and phytochrome signaling pathways in bacteria, and the similarity of this regulatory network to that of photoreceptors in plants suggests a possible common ancestry. PMID:23760465

Dynein light chain family in Tetrahymena thermophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, David E; Rajagopalan, Vidyalakshmi; Chan, Clarence W C; Kniazeva, Ekaterina; Wiedeman, Alice E; Asai, David J

2007-02-01

Dyneins are large protein complexes that produce directed movement on microtubules. In situ, dyneins comprise combinations of heavy, intermediate, light-intermediate, and light chains. The light chains regulate the locations and activities of dyneins but their functions are not completely understood. We have searched the recently sequenced Tetrahymena thermophila macronuclear genome to describe the entire family of dynein light chains expressed in this organism. We identified fourteen genes encoding putative dynein light chains and seven genes encoding light chain-like proteins. RNA-directed PCR revealed that all 21 genes were expressed. Quantitative real time reverse transcription PCR showed that many of these genes were upregulated after deciliation, indicating that these proteins are present in cilia. Using the nomenclature developed in Chlamydomonas, Tetrahymena expresses two isoforms each of LC2, LC4, LC7, and Tctex1, three isoforms of p28, and six LC8/LC8-like isoforms. Tetrahymena also expresses two LC3-like genes. No Tetrahymena orthologue was found for Chlamydomonas LC5 or LC6. This study provides a complete description of the different genes and isoforms of the dynein light chains that are expressed in Tetrahymena, a model organism in which the targeted manipulation of genes is straightforward. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Molecular hydrogen is involved in phytohormone signaling and stress responses in plants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiqing Zeng

Full Text Available Molecular hydrogen (H2 metabolism in bacteria and algae has been well studied from an industrial perspective because H2 is viewed as a potential future energy source. A number of clinical trials have recently reported that H2 is a therapeutic antioxidant and signaling molecule. Although H2 metabolism in higher plants was reported in some early studies, its biological effects remain unclear. In this report, the biological effects of H2 and its involvement in plant hormone signaling pathways and stress responses were determined. Antioxidant enzyme activity was found to be increased and the transcription of corresponding genes altered when the effects of H2 on the germination of mung bean seeds treated with phytohormones was investigated. In addition, upregulation of several phytohormone receptor genes and genes that encode a few key factors involved in plant signaling pathways was detected in rice seedlings treated with HW. The transcription of putative rice hydrogenase genes, hydrogenase activity, and endogenous H2 production were also determined. H2 production was found to be induced by abscisic acid, ethylene, and jasmonate acid, salt, and drought stress and was consistent with hydrogenase activity and the expression of putative hydrogenase genes in rice seedlings. Together, these results suggest that H2 may have an effect on rice stress tolerance by modulating the output of hormone signaling pathways.

Isolation and Expression analysis of OsPME1, encoding for a putative Pectin Methyl Esterase from Oryza sativa (subsp. indica)

OpenAIRE

Kanneganti, Vydehi; Gupta, Aditya Kumar

2009-01-01

Pectin Methyl Esterases (PMEs) play an essential role during plant development by affecting the mechanical properties of the plant cell walls. Recent studies indicated that PMEs play important role in pollen tube development. In this study, we isolated a 1.3 kb cDNA clone from rice panicle cDNA library. It contained a 1038 bp of open reading frame (ORF) encoding for a putative pectin methyl esterase of 345 aminoacids with a 20 aminoacid signal peptide and was hence designated as OsPME1 (Oryza...

Nuclear and nucleolar localization signals and their targeting function in phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase PI4K230

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakuk, Annamaria; Friedlaender, Elza; Vereb, Gyoergy; Lisboa, Duarte; Bagossi, Peter; Toth, Gabor; Gergely, Pal; Vereb, Gyoergy

2008-01-01

PI4K230, an isoform of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, known primarily as a cytoplasmic membrane-bound enzyme, was detected recently also in the nucleolus of several cells. Here we provide mechanistic insight on the targeting function of its putative nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequences using molecular modeling, digitonin-permeabilized HeLa cells and binding to various importins. The synthetic sequence 916 NFNHIHKRIRRVADKYLSG 934 comprising a putative monopartite NLS (NLS1), targeted covalently bound fluorescent BSA to the nucleoplasm via classical importin α/β mechanism employing importins α1 and α3 but not α5. This transport was inhibited by wheat germ agglutinin and GTPγS. The sequence 1414 SKKTNRGSQLHKYYMKRRTL 1433 , a putative bipartite NLS (NLS2) proved ineffective in nuclear targeting if conjugated to fluorescently labeled BSA. Nonetheless, NLS2 or either of its basic clusters directed to the nucleolus soybean trypsin inhibitor that can pass the nuclear pore complex passively; moreover, an expressed 58 kDa fragment of PI4K230 (AA1166-1667) comprising NLS2 was also imported into the nucleus by import factors of reticulocyte lysate or by importin α1/β or α3/β complexes and localized to the nucleolus. We conclude that the putative bipartite NLS itself is a nucleolar targeting signal, and for nuclear import PI4K230 requires a larger sequence around it or, alternatively, the monopartite NLS

Unpolarized state of light revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prakash, H.; Chandra, N.

1981-04-01

The general form of probability distribution function of analytic signal for unpolarized light is found using simple classical arguments. It is shown that the concepts of unpolarized light given in some common standard books are, strictly speaking, not correct. It is proved that if any two orthogonally polarized components of unpolarized light are statistically independent of each other, the light is of chaotic nature. (author)

FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS IDENTIFIES TIS21-DEPENDENT MECHANISMS AND PUTATIVE CANCER DRUG TARGETS UNDERLYING MEDULLOBLASTOMA SHH-TYPE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulia Gentile

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We have recently generated a novel medulloblastoma (MB mouse model with activation of the Shh pathway and lacking the MB suppressor Tis21 (Patched1+-Tis21KO.ts main phenotype is a defect of migration of the cerebellar granule precursor cells (GCPs. By genomic analysis of GCPs in vivo, we identified as drug target and major responsible of this defect the down-regulation of the promigratory chemokine Cxcl3. Consequently, the GCPs remain longer in the cerebellum proliferative area, and the MB frequency is enhanced. Here, we further analyzed the genes deregulated in a Tis21-dependent manner (Patched1+-is21 wild-type versus Ptch1+-Tis21 knockout, among which are a number of down-regulated tumor inhibitors and up-regulated tumor facilitators, focusing on pathways potentially involved in the tumorigenesis and on putative new drug targets.The data analysis using bioinformatic tools revealed: i a link between the Shh signaling and the Tis21-dependent impairment of the GCPs migration, through a Shh-dependent deregulation of the clathrin-mediated chemotaxis operating in the primary cilium through the Cxcl3-Cxcr2 axis; ii a possible lineage shift of Shh-type GCPs toward retinal precursor phenotype the neural cell type involved in group 3 MB; iii the identification of a subset of putative drug targets for MB, involved, among the others, in the regulation of Hippo signaling and centrosome assembly. Finally, our findings define also the role of Tis21 in the regulation of gene expression, through epigenetic and RNA processing mechanisms, influencing the fate of the GCPs.

Role played by Disabled-2 in albumin induced MAP Kinase signalling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diwakar, Ramaswamy; Pearson, Alexander L.; Colville-Nash, Paul; Baines, Deborah L.; Dockrell, Mark E.C.

2008-01-01

Albumin has been shown to activate the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in proximal tubular cells (PTECs) of the kidney. Megalin, the putative receptor for albumin has potential signalling properties. However, the mechanisms by which megalin signals are unclear. The adaptor phosphoprotein Disabled-2 (Dab2) is known to interact with the cytoplasmic tail of megalin and may be involved in albumin-mediated MAPK signalling. In this study, we investigated the role of Dab2 in albumin-mediated MAPK signalling and further studied the role of Dab2 in albumin-induced TGFβ-1 secretion, a MAPK dependent event. We used RNA interference to knockdown Dab2 protein abundance in HKC-8 cells a model of human PTECs. Albumin activated ERK1,2 and Elk-1 in a MEK-1 dependent manner and resulted in secretion of TGFβ-1. In the absence of albumin, knockdown of Dab2 resulted in a trend towards increase in pERK1,2 consistent with its putative role as an inhibitor of cell proliferation. However albumin-induced ERK1,2 activation was completely abolished by Dab2 knockdown. Dab2 knockdown did not however result in inhibition of albumin-induced TGFβ-1 secretion. These results suggest that Dab2 is a ligand dependent bi-directional regulator of ERK1,2 activity by demonstrating that in addition to its more traditional role as an inhibitor of ERK1,2 it may also activate ERK1,2

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of a putative UDP-N-acetyl-d-mannosamine dehydrogenase from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lokanath, Neratur K.; Pampa, Kudigana J.; Kamiya, Toshimi; Kunishima, Naoki, E-mail: kunisima@spring8.or.jp [Advanced Protein Crystallography Research Group, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan)

2007-05-01

A putative UDP-N-acetyl-d-mannosamine dehydrogenase from P. horikoshii OT3 has been crystallized in space group P2{sub 1}, with unit-cell parameters a = 80.28, b = 69.24, c = 83.10 Å, β = 114.4°. X-ray diffraction data have been collected to 1.80 Å resolution. A putative UDP-N-acetyl-d-mannosamine dehydrogenase from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3, an essential enzyme for polysaccharide biosynthesis, has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Crystals were obtained using the oil-microbatch method at 291 K. A native data set extending to 1.8 Å resolution has been collected and processed in space group P2{sub 1}. Assuming the presence of a dimer in the asymmetric unit, the V{sub M} value is calculated to be 2.3 Å{sup 3} Da{sup −1}, which is consistent with the result of a dynamic light-scattering experiment that shows a dimeric state of the protein in solution.

A novel fibrous duct structure discovered in the brain meninges by using polarized light microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Min-Ho; Jung, Sharon Jiyoon; Soh, Kwang-Sup; Lim, Jaekwan; Seo, Eunseok; Lim, Jun; Baek, Miok; Lee, Sang Joon

2016-05-01

We have previously reported the discovery of a novel fibrous structure (NFS) consisting of unidirectionally arranged collagen fibers in the spinal pia mater. Due to its unique structure, it was easily detected using polarized light microscopy. In the current study, we describe the discovery of a similar NFS in the brain meninges of rats by using polarized light microscopy. This NFS is located beneath the superior sagittal sinus. Initially, we systemically analyzed the polarization properties of the NFS. The change in the light intensity of the NFS, with respect to the polarization angle, was eight times greater than that of blood vessels, showing that the collagen fibers are oriented in a particular direction with almost perfect parallelism (0.99). The orientation angle of the polarization ellipse confirmed the orientation of the collagen fibers in the NFS. Histological studies further confirmed that the unidirectionally arranged collagen fibers were responsible for this distinct polarization property. Surprisingly, X-ray microtomography and 3D confocal imaging revealed that the NFS contains within it a duct structure, a putative primo vessel. In conclusion, we report a NFS in the brain meninges, detected by using polarized light microscopy, that provides space for a putative primo vessel, not a blood vessel.

Improving the signal-to-noise ratio in ultrasound-modulated optical tomography by a lock-in amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lili; Wu, Jingping; Lin, Guimin; Hu, Liangjun; Li, Hui

2016-10-01

With high spatial resolution of ultrasonic location and high sensitivity of optical detection, ultrasound-modulated optical tomography (UOT) is a promising noninvasive biological tissue imaging technology. In biological tissue, the ultrasound-modulated light signals are very weak and are overwhelmed by the strong unmodulated light signals. It is a difficulty and key to efficiently pick out the weak modulated light from strong unmodulated light in UOT. Under the effect of an ultrasonic field, the scattering light intensity presents a periodic variation as the ultrasonic frequency changes. So the modulated light signals would be escape from the high unmodulated light signals, when the modulated light signals and the ultrasonic signal are processed cross correlation operation by a lock-in amplifier and without a chopper. Experimental results indicated that the signal-to-noise ratio of UOT is significantly improved by a lock-in amplifier, and the higher the repetition frequency of pulsed ultrasonic wave, the better the signal-to-noise ratio of UOT.

Traffic signal synchronization.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ding-wei; Huang, Wei-neng

2003-05-01

The benefits of traffic signal synchronization are examined within the cellular automata approach. The microsimulations of traffic flow are obtained with different settings of signal period T and time delay delta. Both numerical results and analytical approximations are presented. For undersaturated traffic, the green-light wave solutions can be realized. For saturated traffic, the correlation among the traffic signals has no effect on the throughput. For oversaturated traffic, the benefits of synchronization are manifest only when stochastic noise is suppressed.

Gene Expression Patterns during Light and Dark Infection of Prochlorococcus by Cyanophage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke R Thompson

Full Text Available Cyanophage infecting the marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus require light and host photosystem activity for optimal reproduction. Many cyanophages encode multiple photosynthetic electron transport (PET proteins, which are presumed to maintain electron flow and produce ATP and NADPH for nucleotide biosynthesis and phage genome replication. However, evidence suggests phage augment NADPH production via the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP, thus calling into question the need for NADPH production by PET. Genes implicated in cyclic PET have since been identified in cyanophage genomes. It remains an open question which mode of PET, cyclic or linear, predominates in infected cyanobacteria, and thus whether the balance is towards producing ATP or NADPH. We sequenced transcriptomes of a cyanophage (P-HM2 and its host (Prochlorococcus MED4 throughout infection in the light or in the dark, and analyzed these data in the context of phage replication and metabolite measurements. Infection was robust in the light, but phage were not produced in the dark. Host gene transcripts encoding high-light inducible proteins and two terminal oxidases (plastoquinol terminal oxidase and cytochrome c oxidase-implicated in protecting the photosynthetic membrane from light stress-were the most enriched in light but not dark infection. Among the most diminished transcripts in both light and dark infection was ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR, which uses the electron acceptor NADP+ to generate NADPH in linear photosynthesis. The phage gene for CP12, which putatively inhibits the Calvin cycle enzyme that receives NADPH from FNR, was highly expressed in light infection. Therefore, both PET production of NADPH and its consumption by carbon fixation are putatively repressed during phage infection in light. Transcriptomic evidence is thus consistent with cyclic photophosphorylation using oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor as the dominant mode of PET under

33 CFR 83.36 - Signals to attract attention (Rule 36).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Signals to attract attention... SECURITY INLAND NAVIGATION RULES RULES Sound and Light Signals § 83.36 Signals to attract attention (Rule 36). If necessary to attract the attention of another vessel, any vessel may make light or sound...

Disabled is a putative adaptor protein that functions during signaling by the sevenless receptor tyrosine kinase.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, N; Simon, M A

1998-08-01

DRK, the Drosophila homolog of the SH2-SH3 domain adaptor protein Grb2, is required during signaling by the sevenless receptor tyrosine kinase (SEV). One role of DRK is to provide a link between activated SEV and the Ras1 activator SOS. We have investigated the possibility that DRK performs other functions by identifying additional DRK-binding proteins. We show that the phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain-containing protein Disabled (DAB) binds to the DRK SH3 domains. DAB is expressed in the ommatidial clusters, and loss of DAB function disrupts ommatidial development. Moreover, reduction of DAB function attenuates signaling by a constitutively activated SEV. Our biochemical analysis suggests that DAB binds SEV directly via its PTB domain, becomes tyrosine phosphorylated upon SEV activation, and then serves as an adaptor protein for SH2 domain-containing proteins. Taken together, these results indicate that DAB is a novel component of the SEV signaling pathway.

32 CFR 707.12 - Amphibious operations lights.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Amphibious operations lights. 707.12 Section 707... WITH RESPECT TO ADDITIONAL STATION AND SIGNAL LIGHTS § 707.12 Amphibious operations lights. Naval vessels engaged in night amphibious operations may display various arrangements of light systems...

An inter-lighting interference cancellation scheme for MISO-VLC systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyuntak; Lee, Kyujin; Lee, Kyesan

2017-08-01

In this paper, we propose an inter-lighting interference cancellation (ILIC) scheme to reduce the interference between adjacent light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and enhance the transmission capacity of multiple-input-single-output (MISO)-visible light communication (VLC) systems. In indoor environments, multiple LEDs have normally been used as lighting sources, allowing the design of MISO-VLC systems. To enhance the transmission capacity, different data should be simultaneously transmitted from each LED; however, that can lead to interference between adjacent LEDs. In that case, relatively low-received power signals are subjected to large interference because wireless optical systems generally use intensity modulation and direct detection. Thus, only the signal with the highest received power can be detected, while the other received signals cannot be detected. To solve this problem, we propose the ILIC scheme for MISO-VLC systems. The proposed scheme preferentially detects the highest received power signal, and this signal is referred as interference signal by an interference component generator. Then, relatively low-received power signal can be detected by cancelling the interference signal from the total received signals. Therefore, the performance of the proposed scheme can improve the total average bit error rate and throughput of a MISO-VLC system.

Analysis of putative apoplastic effectors from the nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, and identification of an expansin-like protein that can induce and suppress host defenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Shawkat; Magne, Maxime; Chen, Shiyan; Côté, Olivier; Stare, Barbara Gerič; Obradovic, Natasa; Jamshaid, Lubna; Wang, Xiaohong; Bélair, Guy; Moffett, Peter

2015-01-01

The potato cyst nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, is an important pest of potato. Like other pathogens, plant parasitic nematodes are presumed to employ effector proteins, secreted into the apoplast as well as the host cytoplasm, to alter plant cellular functions and successfully infect their hosts. We have generated a library of ORFs encoding putative G. rostochiensis putative apoplastic effectors in vectors for expression in planta. These clones were assessed for morphological and developmental effects on plants as well as their ability to induce or suppress plant defenses. Several CLAVATA3/ESR-like proteins induced developmental phenotypes, whereas predicted cell wall-modifying proteins induced necrosis and chlorosis, consistent with roles in cell fate alteration and tissue invasion, respectively. When directed to the apoplast with a signal peptide, two effectors, an ubiquitin extension protein (GrUBCEP12) and an expansin-like protein (GrEXPB2), suppressed defense responses including NB-LRR signaling induced in the cytoplasm. GrEXPB2 also elicited defense response in species- and sequence-specific manner. Our results are consistent with the scenario whereby potato cyst nematodes secrete effectors that modulate host cell fate and metabolism as well as modifying host cell walls. Furthermore, we show a novel role for an apoplastic expansin-like protein in suppressing intra-cellular defense responses.

Analysis of putative apoplastic effectors from the nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, and identification of an expansin-like protein that can induce and suppress host defenses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shawkat Ali

Full Text Available The potato cyst nematode, Globodera rostochiensis, is an important pest of potato. Like other pathogens, plant parasitic nematodes are presumed to employ effector proteins, secreted into the apoplast as well as the host cytoplasm, to alter plant cellular functions and successfully infect their hosts. We have generated a library of ORFs encoding putative G. rostochiensis putative apoplastic effectors in vectors for expression in planta. These clones were assessed for morphological and developmental effects on plants as well as their ability to induce or suppress plant defenses. Several CLAVATA3/ESR-like proteins induced developmental phenotypes, whereas predicted cell wall-modifying proteins induced necrosis and chlorosis, consistent with roles in cell fate alteration and tissue invasion, respectively. When directed to the apoplast with a signal peptide, two effectors, an ubiquitin extension protein (GrUBCEP12 and an expansin-like protein (GrEXPB2, suppressed defense responses including NB-LRR signaling induced in the cytoplasm. GrEXPB2 also elicited defense response in species- and sequence-specific manner. Our results are consistent with the scenario whereby potato cyst nematodes secrete effectors that modulate host cell fate and metabolism as well as modifying host cell walls. Furthermore, we show a novel role for an apoplastic expansin-like protein in suppressing intra-cellular defense responses.

CLONING, SEQUENCE ANALYSIS, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PUTATIVE BETA-LACTAMASE OF STENOTROPHOMONAS MALTOPHILIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chong Seng Shueh

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The main objective of current study was to explore the function of chromosomal putative beta-lactamase gene (smlt 0115 in clinical Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Antibiotic susceptibility test (AST screening for current antimicrobial drugs was done and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC level towards beta-lactams was determined by E-test. Putative beta-lactamase gene of S. maltophilia was amplified via PCR, with specific primers, then cloned into pET-15 expression plasmid and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21. The gene was sequenced and analyzed. The expressed protein was purified by affinity chromatography and the kinetic assay was performed. S. maltophilia ATCC 13637 was included in this experiment. Besides, a hospital strain which exhibited resistant to a series of beta-lactams including cefepime was identified via AST and MIC, hence it was named as S2 strain and was considered in this study. Sequencing result showed that putative beta-lactamase gene obtained from ATCC 13637 and S2 strains were predicted to have cephalosporinase activity by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI blast program. Differences in the sequences of both ATCC 13637 and S2 strains were found via ClustalW alignment software. Kinetic assay proved a cephalosporinase characteristic produced by E. coli BL21 clone that overexpressed the putative beta-lactamase gene cloned under the control of an external promoter. Yet, expressed protein purified from S2 strain had high catalytic activity against beta-lactam antibiotics which was 14-fold higher than expressed protein purified from ATCC 13637 strain. This study represents the characterization analysis of putative beta-lactamase gene (smlt 0115 of S. maltophilia. The presence of the respective gene in the chromosome of S. maltophilia suggested that putative beta-lactamase gene (smlt 0115 of S. maltophilia plays a role in beta-lactamase resistance.

Near optimal discrimination of binary coherent signals via atom–light interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Rui; Bergou, János A.; Leuchs, Gerd

2018-04-01

We study the discrimination of weak coherent states of light with significant overlaps by nondestructive measurements on the light states through measuring atomic states that are entangled to the coherent states via dipole coupling. In this way, the problem of measuring and discriminating coherent light states is shifted to finding the appropriate atom–light interaction and atomic measurements. We show that this scheme allows us to attain a probability of error extremely close to the Helstrom bound, the ultimate quantum limit for discriminating binary quantum states, through the simple Jaynes–Cummings interaction between the field and ancilla with optimized light–atom coupling and projective measurements on the atomic states. Moreover, since the measurement is nondestructive on the light state, information that is not detected by one measurement can be extracted from the post-measurement light states through subsequent measurements.

Gut Microbiome and Putative Resistome of Inca and Italian Nobility Mummies.

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago-Rodriguez, Tasha M; Fornaciari, Gino; Luciani, Stefania; Toranzos, Gary A; Marota, Isolina; Giuffra, Valentina; Cano, Raul J

2017-11-07

Little is still known about the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut. In the present study, the gut microbiota, genes associated with metabolism, and putative resistome of Inca and Italian nobility mummies were characterized by using high-throughput sequencing. The Italian nobility mummies exhibited a higher bacterial diversity as compared to the Inca mummies when using 16S ribosomal (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing, but both groups showed bacterial and fungal taxa when using shotgun metagenomic sequencing that may resemble both the thanatomicrobiome and extant human gut microbiomes. Identification of sequences associated with plants, animals, and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) may provide further insights into the dietary habits of Inca and Italian nobility mummies. Putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca and Italian nobility mummies support a human gut resistome prior to the antibiotic therapy era. The higher proportion of putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca compared to Italian nobility mummies may support the hypotheses that a greater exposure to the environment may result in a greater acquisition of antibiotic-resistance genes. The present study adds knowledge of the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut, insights of ancient dietary habits, and the preserved putative human gut resistome prior the antibiotic therapy era.

A Functional Assay for Putative Mouse and Human Definitive Endoderm using Chick Whole-Embryo Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannesson, Martina; Semb, Tor Henrik; Serup, Palle

2012-01-01

. Thus, the purpose of this study is to describe a method whereby the in vivo functionality of DE derived from ESCs can be assessed. Methods: By directed differentiation, putative DE was derived from human and mouse ESCs. This putative DE was subsequently transplanted into the endoderm of chick embryos...... to determine any occurrence of integration. Putative DE was analyzed by gene and protein expression prior to transplantation and 48 h post transplantation. Results: Putative DE, derived from mouse and human ESCs, was successfully integrated within the chick endoderm. Endoderm-specific genes were expressed...... result show that putative DE integrates with the chick endoderm and participate in the development of the chicken gut, indicating the generation of functional DE from ESCs. This functional assay can be used to assess the generation of functional DE derived from both human and mouse ESCs and provides...

Toddlers' Duration of Attention toward Putative Threat

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2011-01-01

Although individual differences in reactions to novelty in the toddler years have been consistently linked to risk of developing anxious behavior, toddlers' attention toward a novel, putatively threatening stimulus while in the presence of other enjoyable activities has rarely been examined as a precursor to such risk. The current study examined…

33 CFR 118.60 - Characteristics of lights.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Characteristics of lights. 118.60 Section 118.60 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.60 Characteristics of lights. All lights required or authorized under this...

WISP3 (CCN6 Is a Secreted Tumor-Suppressor Protein that Modulates IGF Signaling in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celina G. Kleer

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC is the most lethal form of locally advanced breast cancer. We have found that WISP3 is lost in 80% of human IBC tumors and that it has growth- and angiogenesis-inhibitory functions in breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. WISP3 is a cysteine-rich, putatively secreted protein that belongs to the CCN family. It contains a signal peptide at the N-terminus and four highly conserved motifs. Here, for the first time, we investigate the function of WISP3 protein in relationship to its structural features. We found that WISP3 is secreted into the conditioned media and into the lumens of normal breast ducts. Once secreted, WISP3 was able to decrease, directly or through induction of other molecule(s, the IGF-1-induced activation of the IGF-IR, and two of its main downstream signaling molecules, IRS1 and ERK-1/2, in SUM149 IBC cells. Furthermore, WISP3 containing conditioned media decreased the growth rate of SUM149 cells. This work sheds light into the mechanism of WISP3 function by demonstrating that it is secreted and that, once in the extracellular media, it induces a series of molecular events that leads to modulation of IGF-IR signaling pathways and cellular growth in IBC cells.

Efficient Sub-Bandgap Light Absorption and Signal Amplification in Silicon Photodetectors

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu-Hsin

This thesis focuses on two areas in silicon photodetectors, the first being enhancing the sub-bandgap light absorption of IR wavelenghts in silicon, and the second being intrinsic signal amplification in silicon photodetectors. Both of these are achieved using heavily doped p-n junction devices which create localized states that relax the k-selection rule of indirect bandgap material. The probability of transitions between impurity band and the conduction/valence band would be much more efficient than the one between band-to-band transition. The waveguide-coupled epitaxial p-n photodetector was demonstrated for 1310 nm wavelength detection. Incorporated with the Franz-Keldysh effect and the quasi-confined epitaxial layer design, an absorption coefficient around 10 cm-1 has been measured and internal quantum efficiency nearly 100% at -2.5V. The absorption coefficient is calculated from the wave function of the electron and hole in p-n diode. The heavily doped impurity wave function can be formulated as a delta function, and the quasi-confined conduction band energy states, and the wave function on each level can be obtained from the Silvaco software. The calculated theoretical absorption coefficient increases with the increasing applied bias and the doping concentration, which matches the experimental results. To solve the issues of large excess noise and high operation bias for avalanche photodiodes based on impact ionization, I presented a detector using the Cycling Excitation Process (CEP) for signal amplification. This can be realized in a heavily doped and highly compensated Si p-n junction, showing ultra high gain about 3000 at very low bias (<4 V), and possessing an intrinsic, phonon-mediated regulation process to keep the device stable without any quenching device required in today's Geiger-mode avalanche detectors. The CEP can be formulated with the rate equations in conduction bands and impurity states. The gain expression, which is a function of the

An efficient cDNA-AFLP-based strategy for the identification of putative pathogenicity factors from the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, L; Overmars, H; Helder, J; Popeijus, H; van der Voort, J R; Groenink, W; van Koert, P; Schots, A; Bakker, J; Smant, G

2000-08-01

A new strategy has been designed to identify putative pathogenicity factors from the dorsal or subventral esophageal glands of the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis. Three independent criteria were used for selection. First, genes of interest should predominantly be expressed in infective second-stage juveniles, and not, or to a far lesser extent, in younger developmental stages. For this, gene expression profiles from five different developmental stages were generated with cDNA-AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism). Secondly, the mRNA corresponding to such a putative pathogenicity factor should predominantly be present in the esophageal glands of pre-parasitic juveniles. This was checked by in situ hybridization. As a third criterion, these proteinaceous factors should be preceded by a signal peptide for secretion. Expression profiles of more than 4,000 genes were generated and three up-regulated, dorsal gland-specific proteins preceded by signal peptide for secretion were identified. No dorsal gland genes have been cloned before from plant-parasitic nematodes. The partial sequence of these three factors, A4, A18, and A41, showed no significant homology to any known gene. Their presence in the dorsal glands of infective juveniles suggests that these proteins could be involved in feeding cell initiation, and not in migration in the plant root or in protection against plant defense responses. Finally, the applicability of this new strategy in other plant-microbe interactions is discussed.

Evolutionary adaptations of plant AGC kinases: from light signaling to cell polarity regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eike Hendrik Rademacher

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Signaling and trafficking over membranes involves a plethora of transmembrane proteins that control the flow of compounds or relay specific signaling events. Next to external cues internal stimuli can modify the activity or abundance of these proteins at the plasma membrane. One such regulatory mechanism is protein phosphorylation by membrane-associated kinases and phosphatases. The AGC kinase family is one of seven kinase families that are conserved in all eukaryotic genomes. In plants evolutionary adaptations introduced specific structural changes within the plant AGC kinases that most likely allow for sensing of external stimuli (i.e. light through controlled modification of kinase activity.Starting from the well-defined structural basis common to all AGC kinases we review the current knowledge on the structure-function relationship in plant AGC kinases. Nine of the 39 Arabidopsis AGC kinases have now been shown to be involved in the regulation of auxin transport. In particular, AGC kinase-mediated phosphorylation of the auxin transporters ABCB1 and ABCB19 has been shown to regulate their activity, while auxin transporters of the PIN family are located to different positions at the plasma membrane depending on their phosphorylation status, which is a result of counteracting AGC kinase and PP2A phosphatase activities. We therefore focus on regulation of AGC kinase activity in this context. Identified structural adaptations of the involved AGC kinases may provide new insight into AGC kinase functionality and demonstrate their position as central hubs in the cellular network controlling plant development and growth.

White LED visible light communication technology research

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chao

2017-03-01

Visible light communication is a new type of wireless optical communication technology. White LED to the success of development, the LED lighting technology is facing a new revolution. Because the LED has high sensitivity, modulation, the advantages of good performance, large transmission power, can make it in light transmission light signal at the same time. Use white LED light-emitting characteristics, on the modulation signals to the visible light transmission, can constitute a LED visible light communication system. We built a small visible optical communication system. The system composition and structure has certain value in the field of practical application, and we also research the key technology of transmitters and receivers, the key problem has been resolved. By studying on the optical and LED the characteristics of a high speed modulation driving circuit and a high sensitive receiving circuit was designed. And information transmission through the single chip microcomputer test, a preliminary verification has realized the data transmission function.

Possible involvement of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in N-acetylcysteine-mediated antidepressant-like effects

OpenAIRE

Al-Samhari, Marwa M; Al-Rasheed, Nouf M; Al-Rejaie, Salim; Al-Rasheed, Nawal M; Hasan, Iman H; Mahmoud, Ayman M; Dzimiri, Nduna

2015-01-01

Advances in depression research have targeted inflammation and oxidative stress to develop novel types of treatment. The JAK/STAT signaling pathway plays pivotal roles in immune and inflammatory responses. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of N-acetylcysteine, a putative precursor of the antioxidant glutathione, in an animal model of depression, with an emphasis on the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Fluoxetine, a classical antidepressant drug was also under investigation....

Collider signatures of a light NMSSM pseudoscalar in neutralino decays in the light of LHC results

CERN Document Server

Cerdeno, David G; Park, Chan Beom; Peiro, Miguel

2014-01-01

We investigate signatures induced by a very light pseudoscalar Higgs in neutralino decays in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) and determine their observability at the LHC. We concentrate on scenarios which feature two light scalar Higgs bosons (one of them is SM-like with a mass of 125 GeV and a singlet-like lighter one) with a very light (singlet-like) pseudoscalar Higgs in the mass range 2m_tau X_1 a1, which leads to topologies involving multi-leptons and missing transverse energy. We determine a set of selection cuts that can effectively isolate the signal from backgrounds of the Standard Model or the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We also exemplify the procedure with a set of benchmark points, for which we compute the expected number of events and signal strength for LHC with 8 TeV center of mass energy. We show that this signal can already be probed for some points in the NMSSM parameter space.

The photosensor protein Ppr of Rhodocista centenaria is linked to the chemotaxis signalling pathway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiefer Dorothee

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rhodocista centenaria is a phototrophic α-proteobacterium exhibiting a phototactic behaviour visible as colony movement on agar plates directed to red light. As many phototrophic purple bacteria R. centenaria possesses a soluble photoactive yellow protein (Pyp. It exists as a long fusion protein, designated Ppr, consisting of three domains, the Pyp domain, a putative bilin binding domain (Bbd and a histidine kinase domain (Pph. The Ppr protein is involved in the regulation of polyketide synthesis but it is still unclear, how this is connected to phototaxis and chemotaxis. Results To elucidate the possible role of Ppr and Pph in the chemotactic network we studied the interaction with chemotactic proteins in vitro as well as in vivo. Matrix-assisted coelution experiments were performed to study the possible communication of the different putative binding partners. The kinase domain of the Ppr protein was found to interact with the chemotactic linker protein CheW. The formation of this complex was clearly ATP-dependent. Further results indicated that the Pph histidine kinase domain and CheW may form a complex with the chemotactic kinase CheAY suggesting a role of Ppr in the chemotaxis signalling pathway. In addition, when Ppr or Pph were expressed in Escherichia coli, the chemotactic response of the cells was dramatically affected. Conclusions The Ppr protein of Rhodocista centenaria directly interacts with the chemotactic protein CheW. This suggests a role of the Ppr protein in the regulation of the chemotactic response in addition to its role in chalcone synthesis.

Identification and characterization of putative conserved IAM ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Available putative AMI sequences from a wide array of monocot and dicot plants were identified and the phylogenetic tree was constructed and analyzed. We identified in this tree, a clade that contained sequences from species across the plant kingdom suggesting that AMI is conserved and may have a primary role in plant ...

The effect of lunarlike satellites on the orbital infrared light curves of Earth-analog planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Moskovitz, Nicholas A; Gaidos, Eric; Williams, Darren M

2009-04-01

We have investigated the influence of lunarlike satellites on the infrared orbital light curves of Earth-analog extrasolar planets. Such light curves will be obtained by NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) and ESA's Darwin missions as a consequence of repeat observations to confirm the companion status of a putative planet and determine its orbit. We used an energy balance model to calculate disk-averaged infrared (bolometric) fluxes from planet-satellite systems over a full orbital period (one year). The satellites are assumed to lack an atmosphere, have a low thermal inertia like that of the Moon, and span a range of plausible radii. The planets are assumed to have thermal and orbital properties that mimic those of Earth, while their obliquities and orbital longitudes of inferior conjunction remain free parameters. Even if the gross thermal properties of the planet can be independently constrained (e.g., via spectroscopy or visible-wavelength detection of specular glint from a surface ocean), only the largest (approximately Mars-sized) lunarlike satellites can be detected by light curve data from a TPF-like instrument (i.e., one that achieves a photometric signal-to-noise ratio of 10 to 20 at infrared wavelengths). Nondetection of a lunarlike satellite can obfuscate the interpretation of a given system's infrared light curve so that it may resemble a single planet with high obliquity, different orbital longitude of vernal equinox relative to inferior conjunction, and in some cases drastically different thermal characteristics. If the thermal properties of the planet are not independently established, then the presence of a lunarlike satellite cannot be inferred from infrared data, which would thus demonstrate that photometric light curves alone can only be used for preliminary study, and the addition of spectroscopic data will be necessary.

Modeling random telegraph signal noise in CMOS image sensor under low light based on binomial distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yu; Wang Guangyi; Lu Xinmiao; Hu Yongcai; Xu Jiangtao

2016-01-01

The random telegraph signal noise in the pixel source follower MOSFET is the principle component of the noise in the CMOS image sensor under low light. In this paper, the physical and statistical model of the random telegraph signal noise in the pixel source follower based on the binomial distribution is set up. The number of electrons captured or released by the oxide traps in the unit time is described as the random variables which obey the binomial distribution. As a result, the output states and the corresponding probabilities of the first and the second samples of the correlated double sampling circuit are acquired. The standard deviation of the output states after the correlated double sampling circuit can be obtained accordingly. In the simulation section, one hundred thousand samples of the source follower MOSFET have been simulated, and the simulation results show that the proposed model has the similar statistical characteristics with the existing models under the effect of the channel length and the density of the oxide trap. Moreover, the noise histogram of the proposed model has been evaluated at different environmental temperatures. (paper)

Fast and slow light property improvement in erbium-doped amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, P. C.; Wu, F. K.; Kao, W. C.; Chen, J.; Lin, C. T.; Chi, S.

2013-01-01

This work experimentally demonstrates improvement of the fast light property in erbium-doped amplifiers at room temperature. The difference between the signal power and the pump power associated with bending loss is used to control the signal power at the different positions of the erbium-doped fiber (EDF) to improve the fast light property. Periodic bending of the EDF increases the time advance of the probe signal by over 288%. Additionally, this concept also could improve the fast light property using coherent population oscillations in semiconductor optical amplifiers.

Gut Microbiome and Putative Resistome of Inca and Italian Nobility Mummies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Little is still known about the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut. In the present study, the gut microbiota, genes associated with metabolism, and putative resistome of Inca and Italian nobility mummies were characterized by using high-throughput sequencing. The Italian nobility mummies exhibited a higher bacterial diversity as compared to the Inca mummies when using 16S ribosomal (rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, but both groups showed bacterial and fungal taxa when using shotgun metagenomic sequencing that may resemble both the thanatomicrobiome and extant human gut microbiomes. Identification of sequences associated with plants, animals, and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes may provide further insights into the dietary habits of Inca and Italian nobility mummies. Putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca and Italian nobility mummies support a human gut resistome prior to the antibiotic therapy era. The higher proportion of putative antibiotic-resistance genes in the Inca compared to Italian nobility mummies may support the hypotheses that a greater exposure to the environment may result in a greater acquisition of antibiotic-resistance genes. The present study adds knowledge of the microbiome resulting from the process of mummification of the human gut, insights of ancient dietary habits, and the preserved putative human gut resistome prior the antibiotic therapy era.

33 CFR 118.130 - Fog signals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Fog signals. 118.130 Section 118... LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.130 Fog signals. On waterways where visibility is frequently reduced due to fog or other causes, the District Commander may require or authorize the installation of one or...

Ten Putative Contributors to the Obesity Epidemic

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Emily J.; Dhurandhar, Nikhil V.; Keith, Scott W.; Aronne, Louis J.; Barger, Jamie; Baskin, Monica; Benca, Ruth M.; Biggio, Joseph; Boggiano, Mary M.; Eisenmann, Joe C.; Elobeid, Mai; Fontaine, Kevin R.; Gluckman, Peter; Hanlon, Erin C.; Katzmarzyk, Peter; Pietrobelli, Angelo; Redden, David T.; Ruden, Douglas M.; Wang, Chenxi; Waterland, Robert A.; Wright, Suzanne M.; Allison, David B.

2010-01-01

The obesity epidemic is a global issue and shows no signs of abating, while the cause of this epidemic remains unclear. Marketing practices of energy-dense foods and institutionally-driven declines in physical activity are the alleged perpetrators for the epidemic, despite a lack of solid evidence to demonstrate their causal role. While both may contribute to obesity, we call attention to their unquestioned dominance in program funding and public efforts to reduce obesity, and propose several alternative putative contributors that would benefit from equal consideration and attention. Evidence for microorganisms, epigenetics, increasing maternal age, greater fecundity among people with higher adiposity, assortative mating, sleep debt, endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical iatrogenesis, reduction in variability of ambient temperatures, and intrauterine and intergenerational effects, as contributing factors to the obesity epidemic are reviewed herein. While the evidence is strong for some contributors such as pharmaceutical-induced weight gain, it is still emerging for other reviewed factors. Considering the role of such putative etiological factors of obesity may lead to comprehensive, cause specific, and effective strategies for prevention and treatment of this global epidemic. PMID:19960394

A very light Higgs at LEP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, N.

1990-01-01

If the standard Higgs particle is very light (≤50 MeV) then it will be sufficiently long lived that it could decay outside the detectors at LEP. This could give a signal of two final state leptons which are not back-to-back, with missing transverse momentum. We show that with suitable cuts this Higgs signal can be distinguished from backgrounds with a large enough rate that such a light Higgs will either be discovered or completely ruled out. (author)

Health risks occurring when color is percepted under led lighting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.A. Kaptsov

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article deals with problems of color perception under LED lighting. We revealed that inadequate perception of a signal color by a driver led to greater risks of transport accidents. We reviewed both Jung-Helmholtz three-color hypothesis and a modern one based on fiber-optical approach to functioning of "Mueller cells and cones" system. We made an attempt to explain a number of effects related to visibility curves and time delays when defining color of light signals. Our research on assessing influence exerted by LED lighting on functional state and working capacity of railway workers during which we applied occupational selection techniques revealed negative changes. We proved there was a decrease in functional resistance to color sense between red and green signals as well as longer response time for complicated sight-motor reaction and significant decrease in readiness to emergency actions (resistance to monotony in examined individuals. The article also contains data on time peculiarities which are characteristic for defining signals color in relation to red signal (650 nm. We showed that when red color LEDs with wave length much shorter than 650 nm were used in signaling devices it caused risks of inadequate color detection, longer reaction to inhibiting signals, and greater possibility of transport accidents and negative events in everyday life. These peculiarities should be taken into account when designing traffic lights and other signaling devices which provide transport safety. We also proved that signaling traffic lights for transport systems should be designed allowing for physiology of color perception by a human visual analyzer; application of LEDs with wave length shorter than 650 nm should be absolutely excluded

Cloning and superluminal signaling£

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Cloning; cloning fidelity; superluminal signaling; state discrimination. PACS No. 03.65.Bz. 1. .... The possibility of superluminal signaling in quantum mechanics stems from the concept .... quantum mechanics and relativity [13]. .... [13] A Shimony, in Foundations of quantum mechanics in the light of new technology edited by.

Putative Risk Factors in Developmental Dyslexia: A Case-Control Study of Italian Children

Science.gov (United States)

Mascheretti, Sara; Marino, Cecilia; Simone, Daniela; Quadrelli, Ermanno; Riva, Valentina; Cellino, Maria Rosaria; Maziade, Michel; Brombin, Chiara; Battaglia, Marco

2015-01-01

Although dyslexia runs in families, several putative risk factors that cannot be immediately identified as genetic predict reading disability. Published studies analyzed one or a few risk factors at a time, with relatively inconsistent results. To assess the contribution of several putative risk factors to the development of dyslexia, we conducted…

Natural Leishmania (Viannia) spp. infections in phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from the Brazilian Amazon region reveal new putative transmission cycles of American cutaneous leishmaniasis

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Adelson Alcimar Almeida; dos Santos, Thiago Vasconcelos; Jennings, Yara Lúcia Lins; Ishikawa, Edna Aoba Yassui; Barata, Iorlando da Rocha; Silva, Maria das Graças Soares; Lima, José Aprígio Nunes; Shaw, Jeffrey; Lainson, Ralph; Silveira, Fernando Tobias

2016-01-01

In Amazonian Brazil the etiological agents of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) belong to at least seven Leishmania species but little is known about the putative phlebotomine sand fly vectors in different biomes. In 2002–2003 a survey of the phlebotomine fauna was undertaken in the “Floresta Nacional do Tapajós”, Belterra municipality, in the lower Amazon region, western Pará State, Brazil, where we recently confirmed the presence of a putative hybrid parasite, L. (V.) guyanensis × L. (V.) shawi shawi. Sand flies were collected from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps, Shannon traps and by aspiration on tree bases. Females were dissected and attempts to isolate any flagellate infections were made by inoculating homogenized midguts into Difco B45 medium. Isolates were characterized by monoclonal antibodies and isoenzyme electrophoresis. A total of 9,704 sand flies, belonging to 68 species or subspecies, were collected. Infections were found in the following sand flies: L. (V.) naiffi with Psychodopygus hirsutus hirsutus (1) and Ps. davisi (2); and L. (V.) shawi shawi with Nyssomyia whitmani (3) and Lutzomyia gomezi (1). These results provide strong evidence of new putative transmission cycles for L. (V.) naiffi and L. (V.) s. shawi. PMID:27235194

Characterization of ERAS, a putative novel human oncogene, in skin and breast

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peña Avalos, B.L. de la

2014-07-01

Most human tumors have mutations in genes of the RAS small GTPase protein family. RAS works as a molecular switch for signaling pathways that modulate many aspects of cell behavior, including proliferation, differentiation, motility and death. Oncogenic mutations in RAS prevent GTP hydrolysis, locking RAS in a permanently active state, being the most common mutations in HRAS, KRAS and NRAS. The human RAS family consists of at least 36 different genes, many of which have been scarcely studied. One of these relatively unknown genes is ERAS (ES cell-expressed RAS), which is a constitutively active RAS protein, localized in chromosome X and expressed only in embryonic cells, being undetectable in adult tissues. New high throughput technologies have made it possible to screen complete cancer genomes for identification of mutations associated to cancer. Using the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system, ERAS was identified as a putative novel oncogene in non-melanoma skin and breast cancers. The major aim of this project is to determine the general characteristics of ERAS as a putative novel human oncogene in skin and breast cells. Forced expression of ERAS results in drastic changes in cell shape, proliferation and motility. When ERAS is overexpressed in skin and breast human cells it is mainly localized in the cytoplasmic membrane. ERAS activates the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) pathway but not the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. ERAS-expressing cells suffer spontaneous morphologic and phenotypic EMT-like changes, including cytoskeleton reorganization, vimentin and N-cadherin up-regulation and down-regulation of E-cadherin, which can be associated with increased malignancy, and invasive and metastatic potential. Our results suggest that inappropriate expression of ERAS lead to transformation of human cells. (Author)

Effects of Dim Light at Night on Food Intake and Body Mass in Developing Mice

OpenAIRE

Ciss?, Yasmine M.; Peng, Juan; Nelson, Randy J.

2017-01-01

Appropriately timed light is critical for circadian organization; exposure to dim light at night (dLAN) disrupts temporal organization of endogenous biological timing. Exposure to dLAN in adult mice is associated with elevated body mass and changes in metabolism putatively driven by voluntary changes in the time of food intake. We predicted that exposure of young mice to LAN could affect adult metabolic function. At 3 weeks (Experiment 1) or 5 weeks (Experiment 2) of age, mice were either mai...

VLC-beacon detection with an under-sampled ambient light sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Jacob; Pérez-Olivas, Huetzin; Martínez-Díaz, Saúl; García-Márquez, Jorge; Domínguez-González, Carlos; Santiago-Montero, Raúl; Guan, Hongyu; Rozenblat, Marc; Topsu, Suat

2017-08-01

LEDs will replace in a near future the current worldwide lighting mainly due to their low production-cost and energy-saving assets. Visible light communications (VLC) will turn gradually the existing lighting network into a communication network. Nowadays VLC transceivers can be found in some commercial centres in Europe; some of them broadcast continuously an identification tag that contains its coordinate position. In such a case, the transceiver acts as a geolocation beacon. Nevertheless, mobile transceivers represent a challenge in the VLC communication chain, as smartphones have not integrated yet a VLC customized detection stage. In order to make current smartphones capable to detect VLC broadcasted signals, their Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) is adapted as a VLC detector. For this to be achieved, lighting transceivers need to adapt their modulation scheme. For instance, frequencies representing start bit, 1, and 0 logic values can be set to avoid flicker from illumination and to permit detecting the under-sampled signal. Decoding the signal requires a multiple steps real-time signal processing as shown here.

Red light walking, transportation time and attitudes in crossing with intelligent green light for pedestrians

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tønning, Charlotte; Agerholm, Niels; Andersen, Camilla Sloth

registration, 72+53 interviewed persons, and what will be extracted from the literature review. Based on the collected data, it will be studied, if the share of red light walking will be reduced. Also, the transportation time including any waiting time will be calculated for the two periods. Furthermore......, the attitude and experiences with this traffic signals will be measured. It is the hypotheses that red light walking will be reduced and that the overall transportation time for pedestrians will be reduced due to a more applicable and dynamic traffic signal system. Likewise, it is expected that the pedestrian...

Cryptochrome 1 regulates growth and development in Brassica through alteration in the expression of genes involved in light, phytohormone and stress signalling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Pooja; Chatterjee, Mithu; Burman, Naini; Khurana, Jitendra P

2014-04-01

The blue light photoreceptors cryptochromes are ubiquitous in higher plants and are vital for regulating plant growth and development. In spite of being involved in controlling agronomically important traits like plant height and flowering time, cryptochromes have not been extensively characterized from agriculturally important crops. Here we show that overexpression of CRY1 from Brassica napus (BnCRY1), an oilseed crop, results in short-statured Brassica transgenics, likely to be less prone to wind and water lodging. The overexpression of BnCRY1 accentuates the inhibition of cell elongation in hypocotyls of transgenic seedlings. The analysis of hypocotyl growth inhibition and anthocyanin accumulation responses in BnCRY1 overexpressors substantiates that regulation of seedling photomorphogenesis by cry1 is dependent on light intensity. This study highlights that the photoactivated cry1 acts through coordinated induction and suppression of specific downstream genes involved in phytohormone synthesis or signalling, and those involved in cell wall modification, during de-etiolation of Brassica seedlings. The microarray-based transcriptome profiling also suggests that the overexpression of BnCRY1 alters abiotic/biotic stress signalling pathways; the transgenic seedlings were apparently oversensitive to abscisic acid (ABA) and mannitol. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The two putative comS homologs of the biotechnologically important Bacillus licheniformis do not contribute to competence development.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakobs, Mareike; Hoffmann, Kerstin; Liesegang, Heiko; Volland, Sonja; Meinhardt, Friedhelm

2015-03-01

In Bacillus subtilis, natural genetic competence is subject to complex genetic regulation and quorum sensing dependent. Upon extracellular accumulation of the peptide-pheromone ComX, the membrane-bound sensor histidine kinase ComP initiates diverse signaling pathways by activating-among others-DegQ and ComS. While DegQ favors the expression of extracellular enzymes rather than competence development, ComS is crucial for competence development as it prevents proteolytic degradation of ComK, the key transcriptional activator of all genes required for the uptake and integration of DNA. In Bacillus licheniformis, ComX/ComP sensed cell density negatively influences competence development, suggesting differences from the quorum-sensing-dependent control mechanism in Bacillus subtilis. Here, we show that each of six investigated strains possesses both of two different, recently identified putative comS genes. When expressed from an inducible promoter, none of the comS candidate genes displayed an impact on competence development neither in B. subtilis nor in B. licheniformis. Moreover, disruption of the genes did not reduce transformation efficiency. While the putative comS homologs do not contribute to competence development, we provide evidence that the degQ gene as for B. subtilis negatively influences genetic competency in B. licheniformis.

The mimivirus R355 gene product: preliminary crystallographic analysis of a putative ubiquitin-like protein-specific protease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeudy, Sandra; Lartigue, Audrey; Mansuelle, Pascal; Ogata, Yuki; Abergel, Chantal

2010-01-01

The genome sequence of mimivirus, the largest known double-stranded DNA virus, encodes a putative protease: the R355 gene product. Its expression in E. coli, its crystallization and the preliminary phasing of a MAD data set using the selenium signal present in a crystal of recombinant selenomethionine-substituted protein are reported. The complete genome sequence of the largest known double-stranded DNA virus, mimivirus, reveals the presence of a gene (denoted R355) that potentially encodes a cysteine protease that is expressed late (after 6 h) in the infectious cycle of the virus. In order to verify a sequence-based functional prediction and understand its role during the infectious process, the R355 protein was produced to assay its proteolytic activity and solve its three-dimensional structure. Here, the preliminary crystallographic analysis of the recombinant viral protein is reported. The crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with a monomer in the asymmetric unit. A MAD data set was used for preliminary phasing using the selenium signal from a selenomethionine-substituted protein crystal

Turn on the lights: leveraging visible light for communications and positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Hranilovic, Steve

2015-01-01

The need for ubiquitous broadband connectivity is continually growing, however, radio spectrum is increasingly scarce and limited by interference. In addition, the energy efficiency of many radio transmitters is low and most input energy is converted to heat. A widely overlooked resource for positioning and broadband access is optical wireless communication reusing existing illumination installations. As many of the 14 billion incandescent bulbs in use worldwide are converted to energy efficient LED lighting, a unique opportunity exists to augment them with visible light communications (VLC) and visible light positioning (VLP). VLC- and VLP- enabled LED lighting is not only energy efficient but enables a host of new use cases such as location-aware ubiquitous high-speed wireless communication links. This talk presents the recent work of the Free-space Optical Communication Algorithms Laboratory (FOCAL) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada in developing novel signaling and indoor localization techniques using illumination devices. Developments in the signaling design for VLC systems will be presented along with several prototype VLC communication systems. Novel approaches to the integration of VLC networks with power line communications (PLC) are discussed. The role of visible light communications and ranging for automotive safety will also be highlighted. Several approaches to indoor positioning using illumination devices and simple smartphone-based receivers will be presented. Finally, a vision for VLC and VLP technologies will be presented along with our ongoing research directions.

Reduced IL-1Ra/IL-1 ratio in ultraviolet B-exposed skin of patients with polymorphic light eruption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, A. S.; Pavel, S.; Tensen, C. P.; Teunissen, M. B. M.; Out-Luiting, J. J.; Willemze, R.; de Gruijl, F. R.

2009-01-01

Polymorphic light eruption (PLE) is a putative delayed-type allergic reaction to (solar) ultraviolet (UV) exposure. Inadequate immune suppression after UVB-induced sunburn appears to be associated with reduced trafficking of Langerhans cells (LCs) out of and neutrophils into the epidermis of

Evidence from bioinformatics, expression and inhibition studies of phosphoinositide-3 kinase signalling in Giardia intestinalis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crompton Mark R

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Giardia intestinalis is a parasitic protozoan and major cause of diarrhoeal disease. Disease transmission is dependent on the ability of the parasite to differentiate back and forth between an intestine-colonising trophozoite and an environmentally-resistant infective cyst. Our current understanding of the intracellular signalling mechanisms that regulate parasite replication and differentiation is limited, yet such information could suggest new methods of disease control. Phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K signalling pathways have a central involvement in many vital eukaryotic processes, such as regulation of cell growth, intracellular membrane trafficking and cell motility. Here we present evidence for the existence of functional PI3K intracellular signalling pathways in G. intestinalis. Results We have identified and characterised two genes, Gipi3k1 and Gipi3k2, which encode putative PI3Ks. Both genes are expressed in trophozoites and encysting cells, suggesting a possible role of GiPI3K1 and GiPI3K2 in regulating giardial growth and differentiation. Extensive nucleotide and amino acid sequence characterisation predicts that both encoded PI3Ks are functional as indicated by the presence of highly conserved structural domains and essential catalytic residues. The inhibitory effect of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 on trophozoite proliferation also supports their functionality. Phylogenetic analysis supports the identity of GiPI3K1 as a Class I isoform and GiPI3K2 as a Class III isoform. In addition, giardial genes encoding putative homologues of phosphoinositide-metabolising enzymes such as PTEN, MTM, PIPkin and PI 5-phosphatase as well as downstream effectors with phosphoinositide-binding domains have been identified, placing GiPI3K1 and GiPI3K2 in a broader signalling context. Compared with twenty-six PI3Ks from other organisms, GiPI3K1 and GiPI3K2 are unique in that they contain large insertions within their highly conserved

Note: A portable Raman analyzer for microfluidic chips based on a dichroic beam splitter for integration of imaging and signal collection light paths

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geng, Yijia; Xu, Shuping; Xu, Weiqing, E-mail: xuwq@jlu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Chen, Lei [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Chen, Gang [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Bi, Wenbin [State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022 (China); Cui, Haining [College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China)

2015-05-15

An integrated and portable Raman analyzer featuring an inverted probe fixed on a motor-driving adjustable optical module was designed for the combination of a microfluidic system. It possesses a micro-imaging function. The inverted configuration is advantageous to locate and focus microfluidic channels. Different from commercial micro-imaging Raman spectrometers using manual switchable light path, this analyzer adopts a dichroic beam splitter for both imaging and signal collection light paths, which avoids movable parts and improves the integration and stability of optics. Combined with surface-enhanced Raman scattering technique, this portable Raman micro-analyzer is promising as a powerful tool for microfluidic analytics.

Method and Apparatus for Characterizing Pressure Sensors using Modulated Light Beam Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

Embodiments of apparatuses and methods are provided that use light sources instead of sound sources for characterizing and calibrating sensors for measuring small pressures to mitigate many of the problems with using sound sources. In one embodiment an apparatus has a light source for directing a beam of light on a sensing surface of a pressure sensor for exerting a force on the sensing surface. The pressure sensor generates an electrical signal indicative of the force exerted on the sensing surface. A modulator modulates the beam of light. A signal processor is electrically coupled to the pressure sensor for receiving the electrical signal.

Scintillation light detectors with Neganov-Luke amplification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Isaila, C. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany)]. E-mail: cisaila@ph.tum.de; Boslau, O. [Ketek GmbH, Gustav Heinemann Ring 125, 81739 Munich (Germany); Coppi, C. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Feilitzsch, F. von [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Goldstrass, P. [Ketek GmbH, Gustav Heinemann Ring 125, 81739 Munich (Germany); Jagemann, T. [Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tuebingen (Germany); Jochum, J. [Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tuebingen (Germany); Kemmer, J. [Ketek GmbH, Gustav Heinemann Ring 125, 81739 Munich (Germany); Lachenmaier, T. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Lanfranchi, J.-C. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Pahlke, A. [Ketek GmbH, Gustav Heinemann Ring 125, 81739 Munich (Germany); Potzel, W. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Rau, W. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Stark, M. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); Wernicke, D. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany); VeriCold Technologies GmbH, Bahnhofstrasse 21, 85737 Ismaning (Germany); Westphal, W. [Physik Department E15, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James Franck Strasse, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2006-04-15

For an active suppression of the gamma and electron background in the Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) dark matter experiment both phonons and scintillation light generated in a CaWO{sub 4} crystal are detected simultaneously. The phonon signal is read out by a transition edge sensor (TES) on the CaWO{sub 4} crystal. For light detection a silicon absorber equipped with a TES is employed. An efficient background discrimination requires very sensitive light detectors. The threshold can be improved by applying an electric field to the silicon crystal leading to an amplification of the thermal signal due to the Neganov-Luke effect. Measurements showing the improved sensitivity of the light detectors as well as future steps for reducing the observed extra noise will be presented.

Scintillation light detectors with Neganov Luke amplification

Science.gov (United States)

Isaila, C.; Boslau, O.; Coppi, C.; Feilitzsch, F. v.; Goldstraß, P.; Jagemann, T.; Jochum, J.; Kemmer, J.; Lachenmaier, T.; Lanfranchi, J.-C.; Pahlke, A.; Potzel, W.; Rau, W.; Stark, M.; Wernicke, D.; Westphal, W.

2006-04-01

For an active suppression of the gamma and electron background in the Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) dark matter experiment both phonons and scintillation light generated in a CaWO 4 crystal are detected simultaneously. The phonon signal is read out by a transition edge sensor (TES) on the CaWO 4 crystal. For light detection a silicon absorber equipped with a TES is employed. An efficient background discrimination requires very sensitive light detectors. The threshold can be improved by applying an electric field to the silicon crystal leading to an amplification of the thermal signal due to the Neganov-Luke effect. Measurements showing the improved sensitivity of the light detectors as well as future steps for reducing the observed extra noise will be presented.

Scintillation light detectors with Neganov-Luke amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaila, C.; Boslau, O.; Coppi, C.; Feilitzsch, F. von; Goldstrass, P.; Jagemann, T.; Jochum, J.; Kemmer, J.; Lachenmaier, T.; Lanfranchi, J.-C.; Pahlke, A.; Potzel, W.; Rau, W.; Stark, M.; Wernicke, D.; Westphal, W.

2006-01-01

For an active suppression of the gamma and electron background in the Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers (CRESST) dark matter experiment both phonons and scintillation light generated in a CaWO 4 crystal are detected simultaneously. The phonon signal is read out by a transition edge sensor (TES) on the CaWO 4 crystal. For light detection a silicon absorber equipped with a TES is employed. An efficient background discrimination requires very sensitive light detectors. The threshold can be improved by applying an electric field to the silicon crystal leading to an amplification of the thermal signal due to the Neganov-Luke effect. Measurements showing the improved sensitivity of the light detectors as well as future steps for reducing the observed extra noise will be presented

33 CFR 118.70 - Lights on swing bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lights on swing bridges. 118.70 Section 118.70 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.70 Lights on swing bridges. (a) Swing span lights on through bridges. Each...

33 CFR 118.80 - Lights on bascule bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lights on bascule bridges. 118.80 Section 118.80 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.80 Lights on bascule bridges. (a) Lift span lights. Each lift span of...

Solid state lighting component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuan, Thomas; Keller, Bernd; Tarsa, Eric; Ibbetson, James; Morgan, Frederick; Dowling, Kevin; Lys, Ihor

2017-10-17

An LED component according to the present invention comprising an array of LED chips mounted on a submount with the LED chips capable of emitting light in response to an electrical signal. The array can comprise LED chips emitting at two colors of light wherein the LED component emits light comprising the combination of the two colors of light. A single lens is included over the array of LED chips. The LED chip array can emit light of greater than 800 lumens with a drive current of less than 150 milli-Amps. The LED chip component can also operate at temperatures less than 3000 degrees K. In one embodiment, the LED array is in a substantially circular pattern on the submount.

A stable blue-light-derived signal modulates ultraviolet-light-induced activation of the chalcone-synthase gene in cultured parsley cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohl, S.; Hahlbrock, K.; Schäfer, E.

1989-01-01

Run-off transcription assays were used to demonstrate that both the ultraviolet (UV)-B and blue-light receptors control transcription rates for chalcone-synthase mRNA in the course of light-induced flavonoid synthesis in parsley (Petroselinum crispum Miller (A.W. Hill)) cell-suspension cultures. Blue and red light alone, presumably acting via a blue-light receptor and active phytochrome (far-red absorbing form) respectively, can induce accumulation of chalcone-synthase mRNA. The extent of the response is however considerably smaller than that obtained when these wavebands are applied in combination with UV light. A preirradiation with blue light strongly increases the response to a subsequent UV pulse and this modulating effect of blue light is stable for at least 20 h. The modulating effect is abolished by a UV induction but can be reestablished by a second irradiation with blue light. (author)

'Beam-emission spectroscopy' diagnostics also measure edge fast-ion light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidbrink, W W; Bortolon, A; McKee, G R; Smith, D R

2011-01-01

Beam-emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostics normally detect fluctuations in the light emitted by an injected neutral beam. Under some circumstances, however, light from fast ions that charge exchange in the high neutral-density region at the edge of the plasma make appreciable contributions to the BES signals. This 'passive' fast-ion D α (FIDA) light appears in BES signals from both the DIII-D tokamak and the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). One type of passive FIDA light is associated with classical orbits that traverse the edge. Another type is caused by instabilities that expel fast ions from the core; this light can complicate measurement of the instability eigenfunction.

Discovery Mondays - "Seeing the Universe in a different light"

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

The fibre-optic cables for the ALICE experiment. This evening should shed a little more light on CERN! Come and discover the role played by light in the research performed at CERN and how physicists make use of it to gain a better understanding of particles and the history of our Universe. Scientists will be inviting you to discover light in all its guises through a series of interactive demonstrations and fun activities open to the whole family. For example, you will be able to measure the speed of light with the help of a microwave oven and a bar of chocolate! You'll also find out how a camera or a telescope works. Children (aged between 8 and 10) will be able to make Newton's disc, an astonishing rainbow-coloured disc. The ALICE experiment will demonstrate to older participants how an electric signal produced following a collision between particles is first converted into a digital signal before being transmitted as a light signal to computers via a fibre-optic cable. Finally, you will be able to bec...

Discovery Mondays - "Seeing the Universe in a different light"

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

The fibre-optic cables for the ALICE experiment. This evening should shed a little more light on CERN! Come and discover the role played by light in the research performed at CERN or how physicists make use of it to gain a better understanding of particles and the history of our Universe. Legend The fibre-optic cables for the ALICE experiment. Scientists will therefore be inviting you to discover light in all its guises through a series of interactive demonstrations and fun activities open to the whole family. For example, you will be able to measure the speed of light with the help of a microwave oven and a bar of chocolate! You'll also find out how a camera or a telescope works. Children (aged between 8 and 10) will be able to make Newton's disc, an astonishing rainbow-coloured disc. The ALICE experiment will demonstrate to older participants how an electric signal produced following a collision between particles is first converted into a digital signal before being transmitted as a light signal to compu...

Measurement of light-by-light scattering in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{\\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2018-01-01

A measurement of light-by-light scattering, $\\gamma\\gamma\\to\\gamma\\gamma$, in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is reported. The analysis is conducted using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $390~\\mu\\mathrm{b}^{-1}$ recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Light-by-light scattering processes are selected in events with two photons exclusively produced, each with transverse energy $\\mathrm{E}_{\\mathrm{T}}^{\\gamma}>2~\\mathrm{GeV}$, pseudorapidity $|\\eta^{\\gamma}|5~\\mathrm{GeV}$, diphoton transverse momentum $\\mathrm{p}_{\\mathrm{T}}^{\\gamma\\gamma}<1~\\mathrm{GeV}$, and diphoton acoplanarity below 0.01. After all selection criteria are applied, 14 events are observed, compared to expectations of $11.1 \\pm 1.1$ (th) events for the signal and $3.8 \\pm 1.3$ (stat) for the background processes. The significance of the light-by-light signal against the background-only hypothesis is 4.1 standard deviations. The measured fiducial light-by...

Early anti-correlated BOLD signal changes of physiologic origin.

Science.gov (United States)

Bright, Molly G; Bianciardi, Marta; de Zwart, Jacco A; Murphy, Kevin; Duyn, Jeff H

2014-02-15

Negative BOLD signals that are synchronous with resting state fluctuations have been observed in large vessels in the cortical sulci and surrounding the ventricles. In this study, we investigated the origin of these negative BOLD signals by applying a Cued Deep Breathing (CDB) task to create transient hypocapnia and a resultant global fMRI signal decrease. We hypothesized that a global stimulus would amplify the effect in large vessels and that using a global negative (vasoconstrictive) stimulus would test whether these voxels exhibit either inherently negative or simply anti-correlated BOLD responses. Significantly anti-correlated, but positive, BOLD signal changes during respiratory challenges were identified in voxels primarily located near edges of brain spaces containing CSF. These positive BOLD responses occurred earlier than the negative CDB response across most of gray matter voxels. These findings confirm earlier suggestions that in some brain regions, local, fractional changes in CSF volume may overwhelm BOLD-related signal changes, leading to signal anti-correlation. We show that regions with CDB anti-correlated signals coincide with most, but not all, of the regions with negative BOLD signal changes observed during a visual and motor stimulus task. Thus, the addition of a physiological challenge to fMRI experiments can help identify which negative BOLD signals are passive physiological anti-correlations and which may have a putative neuronal origin. Published by Elsevier Inc.

33 CFR 118.85 - Lights on vertical lift bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lights on vertical lift bridges... BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.85 Lights on vertical lift bridges. (a) Lift span lights. The vertical lift span of every vertical lift bridge shall be lighted so that the center of the...

Putative Lineage of Novel African Usutu Virus, Central Europe

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2015-10-15

Sarah Gregory reads an abridged version of "Putative Lineage of Novel African Usutu Virus, Central Europe.".  Created: 10/15/2015 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 10/15/2015.

Limits of colour vision in dim light.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelber, Almut; Lind, Olle

2010-09-01

Humans and most vertebrates have duplex retinae with multiple cone types for colour vision in bright light, and one single rod type for achromatic vision in dim light. Instead of comparing signals from multiple spectral types of photoreceptors, such species use one highly sensitive receptor type thus improving the signal-to-noise ratio at night. However, the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor, the nocturnal bee Xylocopa tranquebarica and the nocturnal gecko Tarentola chazaliae can discriminate colours at extremely dim light intensities. To be able to do so, they sacrifice spatial and temporal resolution in favour of colour vision. We review what is known about colour vision in dim light, and compare colour vision thresholds with the optical sensitivity of the photoreceptors in selected animal species with lens and compound eyes. © 2010 The Authors, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics © 2010 The College of Optometrists.

32 CFR 707.2 - Man overboard lights.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Man overboard lights. 707.2 Section 707.2 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY NAVIGATION SPECIAL RULES WITH RESPECT TO ADDITIONAL STATION AND SIGNAL LIGHTS § 707.2 Man overboard lights. Naval vessels may display, as a means of indicating man overboard, two...

Signal-enhancement reflective pulse oximeter with Fresnel lens

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Shuang-Chao; Sun, Ching-Cherng

2016-09-01

In this paper, a new reflective pulse oximeter is proposed and demonstrated with implanting a Fresnel lens, which enhances the reflected signal. An optical simulation model incorporated with human skin characteristics is presented to evaluate the capability of the Fresnel lens. In addition, the distance between the light emitting diode and the photodiode is optimized. Compared with the other reflective oximeters, the reflected signal light detected by the photodiode is enhanced to more than 140%.

Bmp signaling mediates endoderm pouch morphogenesis by regulating Fgf signaling in zebrafish

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, Mary E.; McCarthy, Neil; Norrie, Jacqueline L.; Eberhart, Johann K.

2016-01-01

The endodermal pouches are a series of reiterated structures that segment the pharyngeal arches and help pattern the vertebrate face. Multiple pathways regulate the complex process of endodermal development, including the Bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) pathway. However, the role of Bmp signaling in pouch morphogenesis is poorly understood. Using genetic and chemical inhibitor approaches, we show that pouch morphogenesis requires Bmp signaling from 10-18 h post-fertilization, immediately following gastrulation. Blocking Bmp signaling during this window results in morphological defects to the pouches and craniofacial skeleton. Using genetic chimeras we show that Bmp signals directly to the endoderm for proper morphogenesis. Time-lapse imaging and analysis of reporter transgenics show that Bmp signaling is necessary for pouch outpocketing via the Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) pathway. Double loss-of-function analyses demonstrate that Bmp and Fgf signaling interact synergistically in craniofacial development. Collectively, our analyses shed light on the tissue and signaling interactions that regulate development of the vertebrate face. PMID:27122171

Molecular cloning and characterization of a putative OGG_N domain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Molecular cloning and characterization of a putative OGG_N domain from the camel, Camelus dromedarius. Farid Shokry Ataya, Mohammad Saud Alanazi, Dalia Fouad, Hehsam Mahmoud Saeed, Mohammad Bazzi ...

Transcriptome analysis of Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells reveals putative apoptosis-related genes and a preliminary apoptosis mechanism induced by azadirachtin.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Benshui; Zhang, Jingjing; Sethuraman, Veeran; Cui, Gaofeng; Yi, Xin; Zhong, Guohua

2017-10-16

As an important botanical pesticide, azadirachtin demonstrates broad insecticidal activity against many agricultural pests. The results of a previous study indicated the toxicity and apoptosis induction of azadirachtin in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells. However, the lack of genomic data has hindered a deeper investigation of apoptosis in Sf9 cells at a molecular level. In the present study, the complete transcriptome data for Sf9 cell line was accomplished using Illumina sequencing technology, and 97 putative apoptosis-related genes were identified through BLAST and KEGG orthologue annotations. Fragments of potential candidate apoptosis-related genes were cloned, and the mRNA expression patterns of ten identified genes regulated by azadirachtin were examined using qRT-PCR. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that six putative apoptosis-related proteins were upregulated after being treated with azadirachtin while the protein Bcl-2 were downregulated. These data suggested that both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signal pathways comprising the identified potential apoptosis-related genes were potentially active in S. frugiperda. In addition, the preliminary results revealed that caspase-dependent or caspase-independent apoptotic pathways could function in azadirachtin-induced apoptosis in Sf9 cells.

Traffic Signal Cycle Lengths

Data.gov (United States)

Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina — Traffic signal location list for the town of Chapel Hill. This data set includes light cycle information as well as as intersection information.The Town of Chapel...

ATM signaling and 53BP1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zgheib, Omar; Huyen, Yentram; DiTullio, Richard A.; Snyder, Andrew; Venere, Monica; Stavridi, Elena S.; Halazonetis, Thanos D.

2005-01-01

The ATM (mutated in Ataxia-Telangiectasia) protein kinase is an important player in signaling the presence of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) in higher eukaryotes. Recent studies suggest that ATM monitors the presence of DNA DSBs indirectly, through DNA DSB-induced changes in chromatin structure. One of the proteins that sense these chromatin structure changes is 53BP1, a DNA damage checkpoint protein conserved in all eukaryotes and the putative ortholog of the S. cerevisiae RAD9 protein. We review here the mechanisms by which ATM is activated in response to DNA DSBs, as well as key ATM substrates that control cell cycle progression, apoptosis and DNA repair

Interference with Intraepithelial TNF-α Signaling Inhibits CD8+ T-Cell-Mediated Lung Injury in Influenza Infection

OpenAIRE

Srikiatkhachorn, Anon; Chintapalli, Jyothi; Liu, Jun; Jamaluddin, Mohammad; Harrod, Kevin S.; Whitsett, Jeffrey A.; Enelow, Richard I.; Ramana, Chilakamarti V.

2010-01-01

CD8+ T-cell-mediated pulmonary immunopathology in respiratory virus infection is mediated in large part by antigen-specific TNF-α expression by antiviral effector T cells, which results in epithelial chemokine expression and inflammatory infiltration of the lung. To further define the signaling events leading to lung epithelial chemokine production in response to CD8+ T-cell antigen recognition, we expressed the adenoviral 14.7K protein, a putative inhibitor of TNF-α signaling, in the distal ...

The Putative Chemosignal Androstadienone Makes Women More Generous.

Science.gov (United States)

Perrotta, Valentina; Graffeo, Michele; Bonini, Nicolao; Gottfried, Jay A

2016-06-01

Putative human chemosignals have been shown to influence mood states and emotional processing, but the connection between these effects and higher-order cognitive processing is not well established. This study utilized an economic game (Dictator Game) to test whether androstadienone (AND), an odorous compound derived from testosterone, impacts on altruistic behavior. We predicted that the female participants would act more generously in the AND condition, exhibiting a significant interaction effect between gender and AND on Dictator Game contributions. We also expected that the presence of AND should increase the positive mood of the female participants, compared to a control odor condition and also compared to the mood of the male participants. The results confirm our hypotheses: for women the subliminal perception of AND led to larger monetary donations, compared to a control odor, and also increased positive mood. These effects were absent or significantly weaker in men. Our findings highlight the capacity of human putative chemosignals to influence emotions and higher cognitive processes - in particular the processes used in the context of economic decisions - in a gender-specific way.

Research on photodiode detector-based spatial transient light detection and processing system

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Meiying; Wang, Hu; Liu, Yang; Zhao, Hui; Nan, Meng

2016-10-01

In order to realize real-time signal identification and processing of spatial transient light, the features and the energy of the captured target light signal are first described and quantitatively calculated. Considering that the transient light signal has random occurrence, a short duration and an evident beginning and ending, a photodiode detector based spatial transient light detection and processing system is proposed and designed in this paper. This system has a large field of view and is used to realize non-imaging energy detection of random, transient and weak point target under complex background of spatial environment. Weak signal extraction under strong background is difficult. In this paper, considering that the background signal changes slowly and the target signal changes quickly, filter is adopted for signal's background subtraction. A variable speed sampling is realized by the way of sampling data points with a gradually increased interval. The two dilemmas that real-time processing of large amount of data and power consumption required by the large amount of data needed to be stored are solved. The test results with self-made simulative signal demonstrate the effectiveness of the design scheme. The practical system could be operated reliably. The detection and processing of the target signal under the strong sunlight background was realized. The results indicate that the system can realize real-time detection of target signal's characteristic waveform and monitor the system working parameters. The prototype design could be used in a variety of engineering applications.

Characteristics of functional enrichment and gene expression level of human putative transcriptional target genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Osato, Naoki

2018-01-19

Transcriptional target genes show functional enrichment of genes. However, how many and how significantly transcriptional target genes include functional enrichments are still unclear. To address these issues, I predicted human transcriptional target genes using open chromatin regions, ChIP-seq data and DNA binding sequences of transcription factors in databases, and examined functional enrichment and gene expression level of putative transcriptional target genes. Gene Ontology annotations showed four times larger numbers of functional enrichments in putative transcriptional target genes than gene expression information alone, independent of transcriptional target genes. To compare the number of functional enrichments of putative transcriptional target genes between cells or search conditions, I normalized the number of functional enrichment by calculating its ratios in the total number of transcriptional target genes. With this analysis, native putative transcriptional target genes showed the largest normalized number of functional enrichments, compared with target genes including 5-60% of randomly selected genes. The normalized number of functional enrichments was changed according to the criteria of enhancer-promoter interactions such as distance from transcriptional start sites and orientation of CTCF-binding sites. Forward-reverse orientation of CTCF-binding sites showed significantly higher normalized number of functional enrichments than the other orientations. Journal papers showed that the top five frequent functional enrichments were related to the cellular functions in the three cell types. The median expression level of transcriptional target genes changed according to the criteria of enhancer-promoter assignments (i.e. interactions) and was correlated with the changes of the normalized number of functional enrichments of transcriptional target genes. Human putative transcriptional target genes showed significant functional enrichments. Functional

Synchronization of developmental processes and defense signaling by growth regulating transcription factors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinyi Liu

Full Text Available Growth regulating factors (GRFs are a conserved class of transcription factor in seed plants. GRFs are involved in various aspects of tissue differentiation and organ development. The implication of GRFs in biotic stress response has also been recently reported, suggesting a role of these transcription factors in coordinating the interaction between developmental processes and defense dynamics. However, the molecular mechanisms by which GRFs mediate the overlaps between defense signaling and developmental pathways are elusive. Here, we report large scale identification of putative target candidates of Arabidopsis GRF1 and GRF3 by comparing mRNA profiles of the grf1/grf2/grf3 triple mutant and those of the transgenic plants overexpressing miR396-resistant version of GRF1 or GRF3. We identified 1,098 and 600 genes as putative targets of GRF1 and GRF3, respectively. Functional classification of the potential target candidates revealed that GRF1 and GRF3 contribute to the regulation of various biological processes associated with defense response and disease resistance. GRF1 and GRF3 participate specifically in the regulation of defense-related transcription factors, cell-wall modifications, cytokinin biosynthesis and signaling, and secondary metabolites accumulation. GRF1 and GRF3 seem to fine-tune the crosstalk between miRNA signaling networks by regulating the expression of several miRNA target genes. In addition, our data suggest that GRF1 and GRF3 may function as negative regulators of gene expression through their association with other transcription factors. Collectively, our data provide new insights into how GRF1 and GRF3 might coordinate the interactions between defense signaling and plant growth and developmental pathways.

No time for candy: passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) plants down-regulate damage-induced extra floral nectar production in response to light signals of competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Izaguirre, Miriam M; Mazza, Carlos A; Astigueta, María S; Ciarla, Ana M; Ballaré, Carlos L

2013-09-01

Plant fitness is often defined by the combined effects of herbivory and competition, and plants must strike a delicate balance between their ability to capture limiting resources and defend against herbivore attack. Many plants use indirect defenses, such as volatile compounds and extra floral nectaries (EFN), to attract canopy arthropods that are natural enemies of herbivorous organisms. While recent evidence suggests that upon perception of low red to far-red (R:FR) ratios, which signal the proximity of competitors, plants down-regulate resource allocation to direct chemical defenses, it is unknown if a similar phytochrome-mediated response occurs for indirect defenses. We evaluated the interactive effects of R:FR ratio and simulated herbivory on nectar production by EFNs of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa). The activity of petiolar EFNs dramatically increased in response to simulated herbivory and hormonal treatment with methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Low R:FR ratios, which induced a classic "shade-avoidance" repertoire of increased stem elongation in P. edulis, strongly suppressed the EFN response triggered by simulated herbivory or MeJA application. Strikingly, the EFN response to wounding and light quality was localized to the branches that received the treatments. In vines like P. edulis, a local response would allow the plants to precisely adjust their light harvesting and defense phenotypes to the local conditions encountered by individual branches when foraging for resources in patchy canopies. Consistent with the emerging paradigm that phytochrome regulation of jasmonate signaling is a central modulator of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, our results demonstrate that light quality is a strong regulator of indirect defenses.

Monte Carlo and Lambertian light guide models of the light output from scintillation crystals at megavoltage energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, Philip M.; Mosleh-Shirazi, M. Amin; Harris, Emma J.; Seco, Joao

2006-01-01

A new model of the light output from single-crystal scintillators in megavoltage energy x-ray beams has been developed, based on the concept of a Lambertian light guide model (LLG). This was evaluated in comparison with a Monte Carlo (MC) model of optical photon transport, previously developed and reported in the literature, which was used as a gold standard. The LLG model was developed to enable optimization of scintillator detector design. In both models the dose deposition and light propagation were decoupled, the scintillators were cuboids, split into a series of cells as a function of depth, with Lambertian side and entrance faces, and a specular exit face. The signal in a sensor placed 1 and 1000 mm beyond the exit face was calculated. Cesium iodide (CSI) crystals of 1.5 and 3 mm square cross section and 1, 5, and 10 mm depth were modeled. Both models were also used to determine detector signal and optical gain factor as a function of CsI scintillator thickness, from 2 to 10 mm. Results showed a variation in light output with position of dose deposition of a factor of up to approximately 5, for long, thin scintillators (such as 10x1.5x1.5 mm 3 ). For short, fat scintillators (such as 1x3x3 mm 3 ) the light output was more uniform with depth. MC and LLG generally agreed to within 5%. Results for a sensor distance of 1 mm showed an increase in light output the closer the light originates to the exit face, while a distance of 1000 mm showed a decrease in light output the closer the light originates to the exit face. For a sensor distance of 1 mm, the ratio of signal for a 10 mm scintillator to that for a 2 mm scintillator was 1.98, whereas for the 1000 mm distance the ratio was 3.00. The ratio of quantum efficiency (QE) between 10 and 2 mm thicknesses was 4.62. We conclude that these models may be used for detector optimization, with the light guide model suitable for parametric study

Confidence Measurement in the Light of Signal Detection Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien eMassoni

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We compare three alternative methods for eliciting retrospective confidence in the context of a simple perceptual task: the Simple Confidence Rating (a direct report on a numerical scale, the Quadratic Scoring Rule (a post-wagering procedure and the Matching Probability (a generalization of the no-loss gambling method. We systematically compare the results obtained with these three rules to the theoretical confidence levels that can be inferred from performance in the perceptual task using Signal Detection Theory. We find that the Matching Probability provides better results in that respect. We conclude that Matching Probability is particularly well suited for studies of confidence that use Signal Detection Theory as a theoretical framework.

Electric signalling in fruit trees in response to water applications and light-darkness conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurovich, Luis A; Hermosilla, Paulo

2009-02-15

A fundamental property of all living organisms is the generation and conduction of electrochemical impulses throughout their different tissues and organs, resulting from abiotic and biotic changes in environmental conditions. In plants and animals, signal transmission can occur over long and short distances, and it can correspond to intra- and inter-cellular communication mechanisms that determine the physiological behaviour of the organism. Rapid plant and animal responses to environmental changes are associated with electrical excitability and signalling. The same molecules and pathways are used to drive physiological responses, which are characterized by movement (physical displacement) in animals and by continuous growth in plants. In the field of environmental plant electrophysiology, automatic and continuous measurements of electrical potential differences (DeltaEP) between plant tissues can be effectively used to study information transport mechanisms and physiological responses that result from external stimuli on plants. A critical mass of data on electrical behaviour in higher plants has accumulated in the last 5 years, establishing plant neurobiology as the most recent discipline of plant science. In this work, electrical potential differences were monitored continuously using Ag/AgCl microelectrodes, which were inserted 15mm deep into sapwood at various positions in the trunks of several fruit-bearing trees. Electrodes were referenced to an unpolarisable Ag/AgCl microelectrode, which was installed 5cm deep in the soil. Systematic patterns of DeltaEP during day-night cycles and at different conditions of soil water availability are discussed as alternative tools to assess early plant stress conditions. This research relates to the adaptive response of trees to soil water availability and light-darkness cycles.

Influence of putative exopolysaccharide genes on Pseudomonas putida KT2440 biofilm stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Martin; Chiang, Wen-Chi; Fazli, Mustafa

2011-01-01

We report a study of the role of putative exopolysaccharide gene clusters in the formation and stability of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 biofilm. Two novel putative exopolysaccharide gene clusters, pea and peb, were identified, and evidence is provided that they encode products that stabilize P....... putida KT2440 biofilm. The gene clusters alg and bcs, which code for proteins mediating alginate and cellulose biosynthesis, were found to play minor roles in P. putida KT2440 biofilm formation and stability under the conditions tested. A P. putida KT2440 derivative devoid of any identifiable...

Nitric Oxide: A Multitasked Signaling Gas in Plants

KAUST Repository

Domingos, Patricia

2014-12-01

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous reactive oxygen species (ROS) that has evolved as a signaling hormone in many physiological processes in animals. In plants it has been demonstrated to be a crucial regulator of development, acting as a signaling molecule present at each step of the plant life cycle. NO has also been implicated as a signal in biotic and abiotic responses of plants to the environment. Remarkably, despite this plethora of effects and functional relationships, the fundamental knowledge of NO production, sensing, and transduction in plants remains largely unknown or inadequately characterized. In this review we cover the current understanding of NO production, perception, and action in different physiological scenarios. We especially address the issues of enzymatic and chemical generation of NO in plants, NO sensing and downstream signaling, namely the putative cGMP and Ca2+ pathways, ion-channel activity modulation, gene expression regulation, and the interface with other ROS, which can have a profound effect on both NO accumulation and function. We also focus on the importance of NO in cell–cell communication during developmental processes and sexual reproduction, namely in pollen tube guidance and embryo sac fertilization, pathogen defense, and responses to abiotic stress.

Discrete Input Signaling for MISO Visible Light Communication Channels

KAUST Repository

Arfaoui, Mohamed Amine; Rezki, Zouheir; Ghrayeb, Ali; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study the achievable secrecy rate of visible light communication (VLC) links for discrete input distributions. We consider single user single eavesdropper multiple-input single-output (MISO) links. In addition, both beamforming

33 CFR 118.65 - Lights on fixed bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lights on fixed bridges. 118.65 Section 118.65 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.65 Lights on fixed bridges. (a) Each fixed bridge span over a navigable...

Signal Transduction Pathways that Regulate CAB Gene Expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chory, Joanne

2004-12-31

The process of chloroplast differentiation, involves the coordinate regulation of many nuclear and chloroplast genes. The cues for the initiation of this developmental program are both extrinsic (e.g., light) and intrinsic (cell-type and plastid signals). During this project period, we utilized a molecular genetic approach to select for Arabidopsis mutants that did not respond properly to environmental light conditions, as well as mutants that were unable to perceive plastid damage. These latter mutants, called gun mutants, define two retrograde signaling pathways that regulate nuclear gene expression in response to chloroplasts. A major finding was to identify a signal from chloroplasts that regulates nuclear gene transcription. This signal is the build-up of Mg-Protoporphyrin IX, a key intermediate of the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. The signaling pathways downstream of this signal are currently being studied. Completion of this project has provided an increased understanding of the input signals and retrograde signaling pathways that control nuclear gene expression in response to the functional state of chloroplasts. These studies should ultimately influence our abilities to manipulate plant growth and development, and will aid in the understanding of the developmental control of photosynthesis.

Signal Transduction Pathways that Regulate CAB Gene Expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chory, Joanne

2006-01-16

The process of chloroplast differentiation, involves the coordinate regulation of many nuclear and chloroplast genes. The cues for the initiation of this developmental program are both extrinsic (e.g., light) and intrinsic (cell-type and plastid signals). During this project period, we utilized a molecular genetic approach to select for Arabidopsis mutants that did not respond properly to environmental light conditions, as well as mutants that were unable to perceive plastid damage. These latter mutants, called gun mutants, define two retrograde signaling pathways that regulate nuclear gene expression in response to chloroplasts. A major finding was to identify a signal from chloroplasts that regulates nuclear gene transcription. This signal is the build-up of Mg-Protoporphyrin IX, a key intermediate of the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. The signaling pathways downstream of this signal are currently being studied. Completion of this project has provided an increased understanding of the input signals and retrograde signaling pathways that control nuclear gene expression in response to the functional state of chloroplasts. These studies should ultimately influence our abilities to manipulate plant growth and development, and will aid in the understanding of the developmental control of photosynthesis.

LGR5 is expressed by Ewing sarcoma and potentiates Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher A Scannell

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Ewing sarcoma (ES is an aggressive bone and soft tissue tumor of putative stem cell origin that predominantly occurs in children and young adults. Although most patients with localized ES can be cured with intensive therapy, the clinical course is variable and up to one third of patients relapse following initial remission. Unfortunately, little is yet known about the biologic features that distinguish low-risk from high-risk disease or the mechanisms of ES disease progression. Recent reports have suggested that putative cancer stem cells exist in ES and may contribute to an aggressive phenotype. The cell surface receptor LGR5 (leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 is a somatic stem cell marker that functions as an oncogene in several human cancers, most notably colorectal carcinoma. LGR5 is a receptor for the R-spondin (RSPO family of ligands and RSPO-mediated activation of LGR5 potentiates Wnt/β-catenin signaling, contributing to stem cell proliferation and self-renewal. Given its presumed stem cell origin, we investigated whether LGR5 contributes to ES pathogenesis. We found that LGR5 is expressed by ES and that its expression is relatively increased in cells and tumors that display a more aggressive phenotype. In particular, LGR5 expression was increased in putative cancer stem cells. We also found that neural crest-derived stem cells express LGR5, raising the possibility that expression of LGR5 may be a feature of ES cells of origin. LGR5-high ES cells showed nuclear localization of ß-catenin and robust activation of TCF-reporter activity when exposed to Wnt ligand and this was potentiated by RSPO. However, modulation of LGR5 or exposure to RSPO had no impact on proliferation confirming that Wnt/ β-catenin signaling in ES cells does not recapitulate signaling in epithelial cells. Together these studies show that the RSPO-LGR5-WNT- β-catenin axis is present and active in ES and may contribute to tumor pathogenesis.

Strigolactone-Induced Putative Secreted Protein 1 Is Required for the Establishment of Symbiosis by the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuzuki, Syusaku; Handa, Yoshihiro; Takeda, Naoya; Kawaguchi, Masayoshi

2016-04-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is the most widespread association between plants and fungi. To provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of AM symbiosis, we screened and investigated genes of the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis that contribute to the infection of host plants. R. irregularis genes involved in the infection were explored by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. One of the identified genes was then characterized by a reverse genetic approach using host-induced gene silencing (HIGS), which causes RNA interference in the fungus via the host plant. The RNA-seq analysis revealed that 19 genes are up-regulated by both treatment with strigolactone (SL) (a plant symbiotic signal) and symbiosis. Eleven of the 19 genes were predicted to encode secreted proteins and, of these, SL-induced putative secreted protein 1 (SIS1) showed the largest induction under both conditions. In hairy roots of Medicago truncatula, SIS1 expression is knocked down by HIGS, resulting in significant suppression of colonization and formation of stunted arbuscules. These results suggest that SIS1 is a putative secreted protein that is induced in a wide spatiotemporal range including both the presymbiotic and symbiotic stages and that SIS1 positively regulates colonization of host plants by R. irregularis.

EST mining identifies proteins putatively secreted by the anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum truncatum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vandenberg Albert

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Colletotrichum truncatum is a haploid, hemibiotrophic, ascomycete fungal pathogen that causes anthracnose disease on many economically important leguminous crops. This pathogen exploits sequential biotrophic- and necrotrophic- infection strategies to colonize the host. Transition from biotrophy to a destructive necrotrophic phase called the biotrophy-necrotrophy switch is critical in symptom development. C. truncatum likely secretes an arsenal of proteins that are implicated in maintaining a compatible interaction with its host. Some of them might be transition specific. Results A directional cDNA library was constructed from mRNA isolated from infected Lens culinaris leaflet tissues displaying the biotrophy-necrotrophy switch of C. truncatum and 5000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs with an average read of > 600 bp from the 5-prime end were generated. Nearly 39% of the ESTs were predicted to encode proteins of fungal origin and among these, 162 ESTs were predicted to contain N-terminal signal peptides (SPs in their deduced open reading frames (ORFs. The 162 sequences could be assembled into 122 tentative unigenes comprising 32 contigs and 90 singletons. Sequence analyses of unigenes revealed four potential groups: hydrolases, cell envelope associated proteins (CEAPs, candidate effectors and other proteins. Eleven candidate effector genes were identified based on features common to characterized fungal effectors, i.e. they encode small, soluble (lack of transmembrane domain, cysteine-rich proteins with a putative SP. For a selected subset of CEAPs and candidate effectors, semiquantitative RT-PCR showed that these transcripts were either expressed constitutively in both in vitro and in planta or induced during plant infection. Using potato virus X (PVX based transient expression assays, we showed that one of the candidate effectors, i. e. contig 8 that encodes a cerato-platanin (CP domain containing protein, unlike CP proteins

Slow Light at High Frequencies in an Amplifying Semiconductor Waveguide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Öhman, Filip; Yvind, Kresten; Mørk, Jesper

2006-01-01

We demonstrate slow-down of a modulated light signal in a semiconductor waveguide. Concatenated amplifying and absorbing sections simultaneously achieve both amplification and a controllable time delay at 15 GHz.......We demonstrate slow-down of a modulated light signal in a semiconductor waveguide. Concatenated amplifying and absorbing sections simultaneously achieve both amplification and a controllable time delay at 15 GHz....

Exploring universal partnerships and putative marriages as tools for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Following upon the Supreme Court of Appeal's judgment in Butters v Mncora 2012 4 SA 1 (SCA), which broadened the criteria and consequences of universal partnerships in cohabitation relationships, this article investigates the potential of universal partnerships and putative marriages to allocate rights to share in ...

A new putative deltapartitivirus recovered from Dianthus amurensis.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Hongliu; Tan, Guanlin; Xiong, Guihong; Li, Meirong; Fang, Shouguo; Islam, Saif Ul; Zhang, Songbai; Li, Fan

2017-09-01

Two double stranded RNAs (dsRNA), likely representing the genome of a novel deltapartitivirus, provisionally named carnation cryptic virus 3 (CCV3), were recovered from Dianthus amurensis. The two dsRNAs were 1,573 (dsRNA1) and 1,561 (dsRNA2) bp in size, each containing a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 475- and 411-aa protein, respectively. The 475-aa protein contains a conserved RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain which shows significant homology to RdRps of established or putative partitiviruses, particularly those belonging to the genus Deltapartitivirus. However, it shares an amino acid identity of 75% with its closest relative, the RdRp of the deltapartitivirus beet cryptic virus 2 (BCV2), and is <62% identical to the RdRps of other partitiviruses. In a phylogenetic tree constructed with RdRps of selected partitiviruses, CCV3 clustered with BCV2 and formed a well-supported monophyletic clade with known or putative deltapartitiviruses.

Zinc and glutamate dehydrogenase in putative glutamatergic brain structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, G; Schmidt, W

1983-01-01

A certain topographic parallelism between the distribution of histochemically (TIMM staining) identified zinc and putative glutamatergic structures in the rat brain was demonstrated. Glutamate dehydrogenase as a zinc containing protein is in consideration to be an enzyme synthesizing transmitter glutamate. In a low concentration range externally added zinc ions (10(-9) to 10(-7) M) induced an increase in the activity of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) originating from rat hippocampal formation, neocortex, and cerebellum up to 142.4%. With rising molarity of Zn(II) in the incubation medium, the enzyme of hippocampal formation and cerebellum showed a biphasic course of activation. Zinc ions of a concentration higher than 10(-6) M caused a strong inhibition of GDH. The effect of Zn(II) on GDH originating from spinal ganglia and liver led only to a decrease of enzyme activity. These results are discussed in connection with a functional correlation between zinc and putatively glutamatergic system.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Corynespora cassiicola Leaf Fall Disease Putative Effectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, David; Ribeiro, Sébastien; Label, Philippe; Fumanal, Boris; Venisse, Jean-Stéphane; Kohler, Annegret; de Oliveira, Ricardo R; Labutti, Kurt; Lipzen, Anna; Lail, Kathleen; Bauer, Diane; Ohm, Robin A; Barry, Kerrie W; Spatafora, Joseph; Grigoriev, Igor V; Martin, Francis M; Pujade-Renaud, Valérie

2018-01-01

Corynespora cassiicola is an Ascomycetes fungus with a broad host range and diverse life styles. Mostly known as a necrotrophic plant pathogen, it has also been associated with rare cases of human infection. In the rubber tree, this fungus causes the Corynespora leaf fall (CLF) disease, which increasingly affects natural rubber production in Asia and Africa. It has also been found as an endophyte in South American rubber plantations where no CLF outbreak has yet occurred. The C. cassiicola species is genetically highly diverse, but no clear relationship has been evidenced between phylogenetic lineage and pathogenicity. Cassiicolin, a small glycosylated secreted protein effector, is thought to be involved in the necrotrophic interaction with the rubber tree but some virulent C. cassiicola isolates do not have a cassiicolin gene. This study set out to identify other putative effectors involved in CLF. The genome of a highly virulent C. cassiicola isolate from the rubber tree (CCP) was sequenced and assembled. In silico prediction revealed 2870 putative effectors, comprising CAZymes, lipases, peptidases, secreted proteins and enzymes associated with secondary metabolism. Comparison with the genomes of 44 other fungal species, focusing on effector content, revealed a striking proximity with phylogenetically unrelated species ( Colletotrichum acutatum, Colletotrichum gloesporioides, Fusarium oxysporum, nectria hematococca , and Botrosphaeria dothidea ) sharing life style plasticity and broad host range. Candidate effectors involved in the compatible interaction with the rubber tree were identified by transcriptomic analysis. Differentially expressed genes included 92 putative effectors, among which cassiicolin and two other secreted singleton proteins. Finally, the genomes of 35 C. cassiicola isolates representing the genetic diversity of the species were sequenced and assembled, and putative effectors identified. At the intraspecific level, effector

Genome-Wide Analysis of Corynespora cassiicola Leaf Fall Disease Putative Effectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Lopez

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Corynespora cassiicola is an Ascomycetes fungus with a broad host range and diverse life styles. Mostly known as a necrotrophic plant pathogen, it has also been associated with rare cases of human infection. In the rubber tree, this fungus causes the Corynespora leaf fall (CLF disease, which increasingly affects natural rubber production in Asia and Africa. It has also been found as an endophyte in South American rubber plantations where no CLF outbreak has yet occurred. The C. cassiicola species is genetically highly diverse, but no clear relationship has been evidenced between phylogenetic lineage and pathogenicity. Cassiicolin, a small glycosylated secreted protein effector, is thought to be involved in the necrotrophic interaction with the rubber tree but some virulent C. cassiicola isolates do not have a cassiicolin gene. This study set out to identify other putative effectors involved in CLF. The genome of a highly virulent C. cassiicola isolate from the rubber tree (CCP was sequenced and assembled. In silico prediction revealed 2870 putative effectors, comprising CAZymes, lipases, peptidases, secreted proteins and enzymes associated with secondary metabolism. Comparison with the genomes of 44 other fungal species, focusing on effector content, revealed a striking proximity with phylogenetically unrelated species (Colletotrichum acutatum, Colletotrichum gloesporioides, Fusarium oxysporum, nectria hematococca, and Botrosphaeria dothidea sharing life style plasticity and broad host range. Candidate effectors involved in the compatible interaction with the rubber tree were identified by transcriptomic analysis. Differentially expressed genes included 92 putative effectors, among which cassiicolin and two other secreted singleton proteins. Finally, the genomes of 35 C. cassiicola isolates representing the genetic diversity of the species were sequenced and assembled, and putative effectors identified. At the intraspecific level, effector

Electrical Signaling, Photosynthesis and Systemic Acquired Acclimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Szechyńska-Hebda

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Electrical signaling in higher plants is required for the appropriate intracellular and intercellular communication, stress responses, growth and development. In this review, we have focus on recent findings regarding the electrical signaling, as a major regulator of the systemic acquired acclimation (SAA and the systemic acquired resistance (SAR. The electric signaling on its own cannot confer the required specificity of information to trigger SAA and SAR, therefore, we have also discussed a number of other mechanisms and signaling systems that can operate in combination with electric signaling. We have emphasized the interrelation between ionic mechanism of electrical activity and regulation of photosynthesis, which is intrinsic to a proper induction of SAA and SAR. In a special way, we have summarized the role of non-photochemical quenching and its regulator PsbS. Further, redox status of the cell, calcium and hydraulic waves, hormonal circuits and stomatal aperture regulation have been considered as components of the signaling. Finally, a model of light-dependent mechanisms of electrical signaling propagation has been presented together with the systemic regulation of light-responsive genes encoding both, ion channels and proteins involved in regulation of their activity. Due to space limitations, we have not addressed many other important aspects of hormonal and ROS signaling, which were presented in a number of recent excellent reviews.

Crystal structure and putative substrate identification for the Entamoeba histolytica low molecular weight tyrosine phosphatase.

Science.gov (United States)

Linford, Alicia S; Jiang, Nona M; Edwards, Thomas E; Sherman, Nicholas E; Van Voorhis, Wesley C; Stewart, Lance J; Myler, Peter J; Staker, Bart L; Petri, William A

2014-01-01

Entamoeba histolytica is a eukaryotic intestinal parasite of humans, and is endemic in developing countries. We have characterized the E. histolytica putative low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP). The structure for this amebic tyrosine phosphatase was solved, showing the ligand-induced conformational changes necessary for binding of substrate. In amebae, it was expressed at low but detectable levels as detected by immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblotting. A mutant LMW-PTP protein in which the catalytic cysteine in the active site was replaced with a serine lacked phosphatase activity, and was used to identify a number of trapped putative substrate proteins via mass spectrometry analysis. Seven of these putative substrate protein genes were cloned with an epitope tag and overexpressed in amebae. Five of these seven putative substrate proteins were demonstrated to interact specifically with the mutant LMW-PTP. This is the first biochemical study of a small tyrosine phosphatase in Entamoeba, and sets the stage for understanding its role in amebic biology and pathogenesis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cell swelling and ion redistribution assessed with intrinsic optical signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WITTE OTTO W.

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Cell volume changes are associated with alterations of intrinsic optical signals (IOS. In submerged brain slices in vitro, afferent stimulation induces an increase in light transmission. As assessed by measurement of the largely membrane impermeant ion tetramethylammonium (TMA in the extracellular space, these IOS correlate with the extent and time course of the change of the extracellular space size. They have a high signal to noise ratio and allow measurements of IOS changes in the order of a few percent. Under conditions of reduced net KCl uptake (low Cl solution a directed spatial buffer mechanism (K syphoning can be demonstrated in the neocortex with widening of the extracellular space in superficial layers associated with a reduced light transmission and an increase of extracellular K concentration. The nature of the IOS under pathophysiological conditions is less clear. Spreading depressions first cause an increase of light transmission, then a decrease. Such a decrease has also been observed following application of NMDA where it was associated with structural damage. Pharmacological analyses suggest that under physiological conditions changes of extracellular space size are mainly caused by astrocytic volume changes while with strong stimuli and under pathophysiological conditions also neuronal swelling occurs. With reflected light usually signals opposite to those observed with transmitted light are seen. Recording of IOS from interface slices gives very complex signals since under these conditions an increase of light transmission has been reported to be superimposed by a decrease of the signal due to mechanical lensing effects of the slice surface. Depending on the method of measurement and the exact conditions, several mechanisms may contribute to IOS. Under well defined conditions IOS are a useful supplementary tool to monitor changes of extracellular volume both in space and time.

Signal-to-noise limitations in white light holography

Science.gov (United States)

Ribak, Erez; Breckinridge, James B.; Roddier, Claude; Roddier, Francois

1988-01-01

A simple derivation is given for the SNR in images reconstructed from incoherent holograms. Dependence is shown to be on the hologram SNR, object complexity, and the number of pixels in the detector. Reconstruction of involved objects becomes possible with high-dynamic-range detectors such as CCDs. White-light holograms have been produced by means of a rotational shear interferometer combined with a chromatic corrector. A digital inverse transform recreated the object.

Quasi-gedanken experiment challenging the no-signalling theorem

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Keywords. Quantum information; quantum entanglement; no-signalling theorem ... the construction of empirically testable schemes wherein superluminal exchange of information can occur. In light of this thesis,we present a potentially feasible quantum-optical scheme that purports to enable superluminal signalling.

Energy Signal Tool for Decision Support in Building Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henze, G. P.; Pavlak, G. S.; Florita, A. R.; Dodier, R. H.; Hirsch, A. I.

2014-12-01

A prototype energy signal tool is demonstrated for operational whole-building and system-level energy use evaluation. The purpose of the tool is to give a summary of building energy use which allows a building operator to quickly distinguish normal and abnormal energy use. Toward that end, energy use status is displayed as a traffic light, which is a visual metaphor for energy use that is either substantially different from expected (red and yellow lights) or approximately the same as expected (green light). Which light to display for a given energy end use is determined by comparing expected to actual energy use. As expected, energy use is necessarily uncertain; we cannot choose the appropriate light with certainty. Instead, the energy signal tool chooses the light by minimizing the expected cost of displaying the wrong light. The expected energy use is represented by a probability distribution. Energy use is modeled by a low-order lumped parameter model. Uncertainty in energy use is quantified by a Monte Carlo exploration of the influence of model parameters on energy use. Distributions over model parameters are updated over time via Bayes' theorem. The simulation study was devised to assess whole-building energy signal accuracy in the presence of uncertainty and faults at the submetered level, which may lead to tradeoffs at the whole-building level that are not detectable without submetering.

Strategy to Identify and Test Putative Light-Sensitive Non-Opsin G-Protein-Coupled Receptors: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Faggionato, Davide; Serb, Jeanne M

2017-08-01

The rise of high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and de novo transcriptome assembly has had a transformative impact on how we identify and study genes in the phototransduction cascade of non-model organisms. But the advantage provided by the nearly automated annotation of RNA-seq transcriptomes may at the same time hinder the possibility for gene discovery and the discovery of new gene functions. For example, standard functional annotation based on domain homology to known protein families can only confirm group membership, not identify the emergence of new biochemical function. In this study, we show the importance of developing a strategy that circumvents the limitations of semiautomated annotation and apply this workflow to photosensitivity as a means to discover non-opsin photoreceptors. We hypothesize that non-opsin G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) proteins may have chromophore-binding lysines in locations that differ from opsin. Here, we provide the first case study describing non-opsin light-sensitive GPCRs based on tissue-specific RNA-seq data of the common bay scallop Argopecten irradians (Lamarck, 1819). Using a combination of sequence analysis and three-dimensional protein modeling, we identified two candidate proteins. We tested their photochemical properties and provide evidence showing that these two proteins incorporate 11-cis and/or all-trans retinal and react to light photochemically. Based on this case study, we demonstrate that there is potential for the discovery of new light-sensitive GPCRs, and we have developed a workflow that starts from RNA-seq assemblies to the discovery of new non-opsin, GPCR-based photopigments.

Optical signal processing using slow and fast light technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capmany, J.; Sales, Salvador; Xue, Weiqi

2009-01-01

We review the theory of slow and fat light effects due to coherent population oscillations in semiconductor waveguides, which can be potentially applied in microwave photonic systems as a RF phase shifters. In order to satisfy the application requirement of 360 degrees RF phase shift at different...

Regulation of stomatal tropism and infection by light in Cercospora zeae-maydis: evidence for coordinated host/pathogen responses to photoperiod?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hun Kim

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize, which has become one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize in the world. C. zeae-maydis infects leaves through stomata, which is predicated on the ability of the pathogen to perceive stomata and reorient growth accordingly. In this study, the discovery that light was required for C. zeae-maydis to perceive stomata and infect leaves led to the identification of CRP1, a gene encoding a putative blue-light photoreceptor homologous to White Collar-1 (WC-1 of Neurospora crassa. Disrupting CRP1 via homologous recombination revealed roles in multiple aspects of pathogenesis, including tropism of hyphae to stomata, the formation of appressoria, conidiation, and the biosynthesis of cercosporin. CRP1 was also required for photoreactivation after lethal doses of UV exposure. Intriguingly, putative orthologs of CRP1 are central regulators of circadian clocks in other filamentous fungi, raising the possibility that C. zeae-maydis uses light as a key environmental input to coordinate pathogenesis with maize photoperiodic responses. This study identified a novel molecular mechanism underlying stomatal tropism in a foliar fungal pathogen, provides specific insight into how light regulates pathogenesis in C. zeae-maydis, and establishes a genetic framework for the molecular dissection of infection via stomata and the integration of host and pathogen responses to photoperiod.

Regulation of stomatal tropism and infection by light in Cercospora zeae-maydis: evidence for coordinated host/pathogen responses to photoperiod?

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hun; Ridenour, John B; Dunkle, Larry D; Bluhm, Burton H

2011-07-01

Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize, which has become one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize in the world. C. zeae-maydis infects leaves through stomata, which is predicated on the ability of the pathogen to perceive stomata and reorient growth accordingly. In this study, the discovery that light was required for C. zeae-maydis to perceive stomata and infect leaves led to the identification of CRP1, a gene encoding a putative blue-light photoreceptor homologous to White Collar-1 (WC-1) of Neurospora crassa. Disrupting CRP1 via homologous recombination revealed roles in multiple aspects of pathogenesis, including tropism of hyphae to stomata, the formation of appressoria, conidiation, and the biosynthesis of cercosporin. CRP1 was also required for photoreactivation after lethal doses of UV exposure. Intriguingly, putative orthologs of CRP1 are central regulators of circadian clocks in other filamentous fungi, raising the possibility that C. zeae-maydis uses light as a key environmental input to coordinate pathogenesis with maize photoperiodic responses. This study identified a novel molecular mechanism underlying stomatal tropism in a foliar fungal pathogen, provides specific insight into how light regulates pathogenesis in C. zeae-maydis, and establishes a genetic framework for the molecular dissection of infection via stomata and the integration of host and pathogen responses to photoperiod.

A setup for simultaneous measurement of infrared spectra and light scattering signals: Watching amyloid fibrils grow from intact proteins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yang; Maurer, Jürgen; Roth, Andreas; Vogel, Vitali; Winter, Ernst; Mäntele, Werner, E-mail: maentele@biophysik.uni-frankfurt.de [Institut für Biophysik, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Max-von Laue-Straße 1, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2014-08-15

A setup for the simultaneous measurement of mid-infrared spectra and static light scattering is described that can be used for the analysis of the formation of nanoscale and microscopic aggregates from smaller molecules to biopolymers. It can be easily integrated into sample chambers of infrared spectrometers or combined with laser beams from tunable infrared lasers. Here, its use for the analysis of the formation of amyloid fibrils from intact proteins is demonstrated. The formation of amyloid fibrils or plaques from proteins is a widespread and pathogenetic relevant process, and a number of diseases are caused and correlated with the deposition of amyloid fibrils in cells and tissues. The molecular mechanisms of these transformations, however, are still unclear. We report here the simultaneous measurement of infrared spectra and static light scattering for the analysis of fibril formation from egg-white lysozyme. The transformation of the native form into non-native forms rich in β-sheet structure is measured by analysis of the amide I spectral region in the infrared spectra, which is sensitive for local structures. At the same time, light scattering signals at forward direction as well as the forward/backward ratio, which are sensitive for the number of scattering centers and their approximate sizes, respectively, are collected for the analysis of fibril growth. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters as well as mechanistic information are deduced from the combination of the two complementary techniques.

A setup for simultaneous measurement of infrared spectra and light scattering signals: Watching amyloid fibrils grow from intact proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yang; Maurer, Jürgen; Roth, Andreas; Vogel, Vitali; Winter, Ernst; Mäntele, Werner

2014-08-01

A setup for the simultaneous measurement of mid-infrared spectra and static light scattering is described that can be used for the analysis of the formation of nanoscale and microscopic aggregates from smaller molecules to biopolymers. It can be easily integrated into sample chambers of infrared spectrometers or combined with laser beams from tunable infrared lasers. Here, its use for the analysis of the formation of amyloid fibrils from intact proteins is demonstrated. The formation of amyloid fibrils or plaques from proteins is a widespread and pathogenetic relevant process, and a number of diseases are caused and correlated with the deposition of amyloid fibrils in cells and tissues. The molecular mechanisms of these transformations, however, are still unclear. We report here the simultaneous measurement of infrared spectra and static light scattering for the analysis of fibril formation from egg-white lysozyme. The transformation of the native form into non-native forms rich in β-sheet structure is measured by analysis of the amide I spectral region in the infrared spectra, which is sensitive for local structures. At the same time, light scattering signals at forward direction as well as the forward/backward ratio, which are sensitive for the number of scattering centers and their approximate sizes, respectively, are collected for the analysis of fibril growth. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters as well as mechanistic information are deduced from the combination of the two complementary techniques.

Classical imaging with undetected light

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, A. C.; Berruezo, L. P.; Ávila, D. F.; Lemos, G. B.; Pimenta, W. M.; Monken, C. H.; Saldanha, P. L.; Pádua, S.

2018-03-01

We obtained the phase and intensity images of an object by detecting classical light which never interacted with it. With a double passage of a pump and a signal laser beams through a nonlinear crystal, we observe interference between the two idler beams produced by stimulated parametric down conversion. The object is placed in the amplified signal beam after its first passage through the crystal and the image is observed in the interference of the generated idler beams. High contrast images can be obtained even for objects with small transmittance coefficient due to the geometry of the interferometer and to the stimulated parametric emission. Like its quantum counterpart, this three-color imaging concept can be useful when the object must be probed with light at a wavelength for which detectors are not available.

Safety impacts of red light cameras at signalized intersections based on cellular automata models.

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, C; Wong, Y D; Lum, K M

2015-01-01

This study applies a simulation technique to evaluate the hypothesis that red light cameras (RLCs) exert important effects on accident risks. Conflict occurrences are generated by simulation and compared at intersections with and without RLCs to assess the impact of RLCs on several conflict types under various traffic conditions. Conflict occurrences are generated through simulating vehicular interactions based on an improved cellular automata (CA) model. The CA model is calibrated and validated against field observations at approaches with and without RLCs. Simulation experiments are conducted for RLC and non-RLC intersections with different geometric layouts and traffic demands to generate conflict occurrences that are analyzed to evaluate the hypothesis that RLCs exert important effects on road safety. The comparison of simulated conflict occurrences show favorable safety impacts of RLCs on crossing conflicts and unfavorable impacts for rear-end conflicts during red/amber phases. Corroborative results are found from broad analysis of accident occurrence. RLCs are found to have a mixed effect on accident risk at signalized intersections: crossing collisions are reduced, whereas rear-end collisions may increase. The specially developed CA model is found to be a feasible safety assessment tool.

How light affects the life of Botrytis.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, Julia

2017-09-01

Fungi, like other organisms, actively sense the environmental light conditions in order to drive adaptive responses, including protective mechanisms against the light-associated stresses, and to regulate development. Ecological niches are characterized by different light regimes, for instance light is absent underground, and light spectra from the sunlight are changed underwater or under the canopy of foliage due to the absorption of distinct wavelengths by bacterial, algal and plant pigments. Considering the fact that fungi have evolved to adapt to their habitats, the complexities of their 'visual' systems may vary significantly. Fungi that are pathogenic on plants experience a special light regime because the host always seeks the optimum light conditions for photosynthesis - and the pathogen has to cope with this environment. When the pathogen lives under the canopy and is indirectly exposed to sunlight, it is confronted with an altered light spectrum enriched for green and far-red light. Botrytis cinerea, the gray mold fungus, is an aggressive plant pathogen mainly infecting the above-ground parts of the plant. As outlined in this review, the Leotiomycete maintains a highly sophisticated light signaling machinery, integrating (near)-UV, blue, green, red and far-red light signals by use of at least eleven potential photoreceptors to trigger a variety of responses, i.e. protection (pigmentation, enzymatic systems), morphogenesis (conidiation, apothecial development), entrainment of a circadian clock, and positive and negative tropism of multicellular (conidiophores, apothecia) and unicellular structures (conidial germ tubes). In that sense, 'looking through the eyes' of this plant pathogen will expand our knowledge of fungal photobiology. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phototropin 1 and dim-blue light modulate the red light de-etiolation response.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yihai; M Folta, Kevin

2014-01-01

Light signals regulate seedling morphological changes during de-etiolation through the coordinated actions of multiple light-sensing pathways. Previously we have shown that red-light-induced hypocotyl growth inhibition can be reversed by addition of dim blue light through the action of phototropin 1 (phot1). Here we further examine the fluence-rate relationships of this blue light effect in short-term (hours) and long-term (days) hypocotyl growth assays. The red stem-growth inhibition and blue promotion is a low-fluence rate response, and blue light delays or attenuates both the red light and far-red light responses. These de-etiolation responses include blue light reversal of red or far-red induced apical hook opening. This response also requires phot1. Cryptochromes (cry1 and cry2) are activated by higher blue light fluence-rates and override phot1's influence on hypocotyl growth promotion. Exogenous application of auxin transport inhibitor naphthylphthalamic acid abolished the blue light stem growth promotion in both hypocotyl growth and hook opening. Results from the genetic tests of this blue light effect in auxin transporter mutants, as well as phytochrome kinase substrate mutants indicated that aux1 may play a role in blue light reversal of red light response. Together, the phot1-mediated adjustment of phytochrome-regulated photomorphogenic events is most robust in dim blue light conditions and is likely modulated by auxin transport through its transporters.

Transcriptomic signatures of transfer cells in early developing nematode feeding cells of Arabidopsis focused on auxin and ethylene signalling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier eCabrera

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Phyto-endoparasitic nematodes induce specialized feeding cells (NFCs in their hosts, termed syncytia and giant cells (GCs for cyst and root-knot nematodes, respectively. They differ in their ontogeny and global transcriptional signatures, but both develop cell wall ingrowths to facilitate high rates of apoplastic/symplastic solute exchange showing transfer cell (TC characteristics. Regulatory signals for TC differentiation are not still well known. The two-component signalling system (2CS and reactive oxygen species are proposed as inductors of TC identity, while, 2CSs-related genes are not major contributors to differential gene expression in early developing NFCs. Additionally, transcriptomic and functional studies have assigned a major role to auxin and ethylene as regulatory signals on early developing TCs. Genes encoding proteins with similar functions expressed in both early developing NFCs and typical TCs are putatively involved in upstream or downstream responses mediated by auxin and ethylene. Yet, no function directly associated to the TCs identity of NFCs, such as the formation of cell wall ingrowths is described for most of them. Thus we reviewed similarities between transcriptional changes observed during the early stages of NFCs formation and those described during differentiation of TCs to hypothesize about putative signals leading to TC-like differentiation of NFCs with particular emphasis on auxin an ethylene.

Putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in pregnant women: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Haixia; Zhu, Ce; Li, Fei; Xu, Wei; Tao, Danying; Feng, Xiping

2016-06-15

Little is known about herpesvirus and putative periodontopathic bacteria in maternal chronic periodontitis. The present case-control study aimed to explore the potential relationship between putative periodontopathic bacteria and herpesviruses in maternal chronic periodontitis.Saliva samples were collected from 36 pregnant women with chronic periodontitis (cases) and 36 pregnant women with healthy periodontal status (controls). Six putative periodontopathic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis [Pg], Aggregatibacer actinomycetemcomitans [Aa], Fusobacterium nucleatum [Fn], Prevotella intermedia [Pi], Tannerella forsythia [Tf], and Treponema denticola [Td]) and three herpesviruses (Epstein-Barr virus [EBV], human cytomegalovirus [HCMV], and herpes simplex virus [HSV]) were detected. Socio-demographic data and oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels were also collected. The results showed no significant differences in socio-demographic background, oral health related behaviors, and salivary estradiol and progesterone levels between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The detection rates of included periodontopathic microorganisms were not significantly different between the two groups (all P > 0.05), but the coinfection rate of EBV and Pg was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (P = 0.028). EBV and Pg coinfection may promote the development of chronic periodontitis among pregnant women.

Using advertisement light-panel and CMOS image sensor with frequency-shift-keying for visible light communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Chi-Wai; Shiu, Ruei-Jie; Liu, Yen-Chun; Liao, Xin-Lan; Lin, Kun-Hsien; Wang, Yi-Chang; Chen, Yi-Yuan

2018-05-14

A frequency-shift-keying (FSK) visible light communication (VLC) system is proposed and demonstrated using advertisement light-panel as transmitter and mobile-phone image sensor as receiver. The developed application program (APP) in mobile-phone can retrieve the rolling shutter effect (RSE) pattern produced by the FSK VLC signal effectively. Here, we also define noise-ratio value (NRV) to evaluate the contrast of different advertisements displayed on the light-panel. Both mobile-phones under test can achieve success rate > 96% even when the transmission distance is up to 200 cm and the NRVs are low.

Computational identification of putative cytochrome P450 genes in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this work, a computational study of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of soybean was performed by data mining methods and bio-informatics tools and as a result 78 putative P450 genes were identified, including 57 new ones. These genes were classified into five clans and 20 families by sequence similarities and among ...

Regulation of stomatal tropism and infection by light in Cercospora zeae-maydis: evidence for coordinated host/pathogen responses to photoperiod?

OpenAIRE

Hun Kim; John B Ridenour; Larry D Dunkle; Burton H Bluhm

2011-01-01

Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize, which has become one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize in the world. C. zeae-maydis infects leaves through stomata, which is predicated on the ability of the pathogen to perceive stomata and reorient growth accordingly. In this study, the discovery that light was required for C. zeae-maydis to perceive stomata and infect leaves led to the identification of CRP1, a gene encoding a putative blue-light photoreceptor ho...

Modulation of phytochrome signaling networks for improved biomass accumulation using a bioenergy crop model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mockler, Todd C. [Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, MO (United States)

2016-11-07

Plant growth and development, including stem elongation, flowering time, and shade-avoidance habits, are affected by wavelength composition (i.e., light quality) of the light environment. the molecular mechanisms underlying light perception and signaling pathways in plants have been best characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana where dozens of genes have been implicated in converging, complementary, and antagonistic pathways communicating light quality cues perceived by the phytochrome (red/far-red) cryptochrome (blue) and phototropin (blue) photorecptors. Light perception and signaling have been studied in grasses, including rice and sorghum but in much less detail than in Arabidopsis. During the course of the Mocker lab's DOE-funded wrok generating a gene expression atlas in Brachypodium distachyon we observed that Brachypodium plants grown in continuous monochromatic red light or continuous white light enriched in far-red light accumulated significantly more biomass and exhibited significantly greater seed yield than plants grown in monochromatic blue light or white light. This phenomenon was also observed in two other grasses, switchgrass and rice. We will systematically manipulate the expression of genes predicted to function in Brachypodium phytochrome signaling and assess the phenotypic consequences in transgenic Brachypodium plants in terms of morphology, stature, biomass accumulation, and cell wall composition. We will also interrogate direct interactions between candidate phytochrome signaling transcription factors and target promoters using a high-throughput yeast one-hybrid system. Brachypodium distachyon has emerged as a model grass species and is closely related to candidate feedstock crops for bioethanol production. Identification of genes capable of modifying growth characteristics of Brachypodium, when misexpressed, in particular increasing biomass accumulation, by modulating photoreceptor signaling will provide valuable candidates for

Non-contact detection of cardiac rate based on visible light imaging device

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Huishi; Zhao, Yuejin; Dong, Liquan

2012-10-01

We have developed a non-contact method to detect human cardiac rate at a distance. This detection is based on the general lighting condition. Using the video signal of human face region captured by webcam, we acquire the cardiac rate based on the PhotoPlethysmoGraphy theory. In this paper, the cardiac rate detecting method is mainly in view of the blood's different absorptivities of the lights various wavelengths. Firstly, we discompose the video signal into RGB three color signal channels and choose the face region as region of interest to take average gray value. Then, we draw three gray-mean curves on each color channel with time as variable. When the imaging device has good fidelity of color, the green channel signal shows the PhotoPlethysmoGraphy information most clearly. But the red and blue channel signals can provide more other physiological information on the account of their light absorptive characteristics of blood. We divide red channel signal by green channel signal to acquire the pulse wave. With the passband from 0.67Hz to 3Hz as a filter of the pulse wave signal and the frequency spectrum superimposed algorithm, we design frequency extracted algorithm to achieve the cardiac rate. Finally, we experiment with 30 volunteers, containing different genders and different ages. The results of the experiments are all relatively agreeable. The difference is about 2bmp. Through the experiment, we deduce that the PhotoPlethysmoGraphy theory based on visible light can also be used to detect other physiological information.

Quantum hologram of macroscopically entangled light via the mechanism of diffuse light storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerasimov, L V; Sokolov, I M; Kupriyanov, D V; Havey, M D

2012-01-01

In this paper, we consider a quantum memory scheme for light diffusely propagating through a spatially disordered atomic gas. A unique characteristic is enhanced trapping of the signal light pulse by quantum multiple scattering, which can be naturally integrated with the mechanism of stimulated Raman conversion into a long-lived spin coherence. Then, the quantum state of the light can be mapped onto the disordered atomic spin subsystem and can be stored in it for a relatively long time. The proposed memory scheme can be applicable for storage of the macroscopic analogue of the Ψ (−) Bell state and the prepared entangled atomic state performs its quantum hologram, which suggests the possibility of further quantum information processing. (paper)

Application of the Neganov-Luke effect to low-threshold light detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stark, M.; Boslau, O.; Feilitzsch, F.v.; Goldstrass, P.; Jochum, J.; Kemmer, J.; Potzel, W.; Rau, W.

2005-01-01

Simultaneous measurement of a temperature signal and scintillation light of a CaWO 4 crystal can be used for background rejection in cryogenic dark matter experiments. In our case the light is measured with a cryogenic detector that consists of a silicon absorber with a superconducting phase transition thermometer. Due to the Neganov-Luke effect the thermal signal is enhanced when a voltage is applied to the silicon absorber. First results with the application of this effect to our low-threshold light detectors will be discussed in this paper

Resolution of type 2 diabetes following gastric bypass surgery: involvement of gut-derived glucagon and glucagonotropic signalling?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knop, Filip Krag

2009-01-01

Certain types of bariatric surgical procedures have proved not only to be effective with regard to treating obesity, but they also seem to be associated with endocrine changes which independently of weight loss give rise to remission of type 2 diabetes. Currently, it is speculated that surgical re......-derived glucagonotropic signalling as putative diabetogenic signals of the foregut hypothesis. In the present paper the hypotheses describing the glucose-lowering mechanisms of bariatric surgical procedures sharing the common feature of a bypass of the duodenum and the proximal jejunum are outlined and a possible role...

Signaling domain of Sonic Hedgehog as cannibalistic calcium-regulated zinc-peptidase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocio Rebollido-Rios

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Sonic Hedgehog (Shh is a representative of the evolutionary closely related class of Hedgehog proteins that have essential signaling functions in animal development. The N-terminal domain (ShhN is also assigned to the group of LAS proteins (LAS = Lysostaphin type enzymes, D-Ala-D-Ala metalloproteases, Sonic Hedgehog, of which all members harbor a structurally well-defined Zn2+ center; however, it is remarkable that ShhN so far is the only LAS member without proven peptidase activity. Another unique feature of ShhN in the LAS group is a double-Ca2+ center close to the zinc. We have studied the effect of these calcium ions on ShhN structure, dynamics, and interactions. We find that the presence of calcium has a marked impact on ShhN properties, with the two calcium ions having different effects. The more strongly bound calcium ion significantly stabilizes the overall structure. Surprisingly, the binding of the second calcium ion switches the putative catalytic center from a state similar to LAS enzymes to a state that probably is catalytically inactive. We describe in detail the mechanics of the switch, including the effect on substrate co-ordinating residues and on the putative catalytic water molecule. The properties of the putative substrate binding site suggest that ShhN could degrade other ShhN molecules, e.g. by cleavage at highly conserved glycines in ShhN. To test experimentally the stability of ShhN against autodegradation, we compare two ShhN mutants in vitro: (1 a ShhN mutant unable to bind calcium but with putative catalytic center intact, and thus, according to our hypothesis, a constitutively active peptidase, and (2 a mutant carrying additionally mutation E177A, i.e., with the putative catalytically active residue knocked out. The in vitro results are consistent with ShhN being a cannibalistic zinc-peptidase. These experiments also reveal that the peptidase activity depends on pH.

Measurement of one-way velocity of light and light-year

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shao-Guang

For space science and astronomy the fundamentality of one-way velocity of light (OWVL) is selfevident. The measurement of OWVL (distance / interval) and the clock synchronization with light-signal transfer make a logical circulation. This means that OWVL could not be directly measured but only come indirectly from astronomical method (Romer's Io eclipse and Bradley's sidereal aberration). Furthermore, the light-year by definitional OWVL and the trigonometry distance with AU are also un-measurable. In this report two methods of clock synchronization to solve this problem were proposed: The arriving-time difference of longitudinal-transverse wave (Ts - Tp) or ordinary-extraordinary light (Te - To) is measured by single clock at one end of a dual-speed transmission-line, the signal transmission-delay (from sending-end time Tx to receiving-end time Tp or To) calculated with wave-speed ratio is: (Tp -Tx) = (Ts -Tp) / ((Vp / Vs) - 1) or: (To -Tx) = (Te - To) / ((Vo / Ve ) - 1), where (Vp / Vs) = (E / k) 1/2 is Yang's / shear elastic-modulus ratio obtained by comparing two strains at same stress, (Vo / Ve) = (ne / no) is extraordinary/ordinary light refractive-index ratio obtained by comparing two deflection-angles. Then, two clocks at transmission-line two ends can be synchronized directly to measure the one-way velocity of light and light-year, which work as one earthquakestation with single clock measures first-shake-time and the distance to epicenter. The readings Na and Nb of two counters Ca and Cb with distance L are transferred into a computer C by two leads with transmission-delay Tac and Tbc respectively. The computer progressing subtraction operation exports steady value: (Nb - Na) = f (Ta - Tb ) + f (Tac - Tbc ), where f is the frequency of light-wave always passing Ca and Cb, Ta and Tb are the count-start time of Ca and Cb respectively. From the transmission-delay possess the spatial translational and rotational invariability, the computer exports steady value

Distant Measurement of Plethysmographic Signal in Various Lighting Conditions Using Configurable Frame-Rate Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Przybyło Jaromir

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Videoplethysmography is currently recognized as a promising noninvasive heart rate measurement method advantageous for ubiquitous monitoring of humans in natural living conditions. Although the method is considered for application in several areas including telemedicine, sports and assisted living, its dependence on lighting conditions and camera performance is still not investigated enough. In this paper we report on research of various image acquisition aspects including the lighting spectrum, frame rate and compression. In the experimental part, we recorded five video sequences in various lighting conditions (fluorescent artificial light, dim daylight, infrared light, incandescent light bulb using a programmable frame rate camera and a pulse oximeter as the reference. For a video sequence-based heart rate measurement we implemented a pulse detection algorithm based on the power spectral density, estimated using Welch’s technique. The results showed that lighting conditions and selected video camera settings including compression and the sampling frequency influence the heart rate detection accuracy. The average heart rate error also varies from 0.35 beats per minute (bpm for fluorescent light to 6.6 bpm for dim daylight.

Effect of red and far-red light on inhibition of hypocotyl elongation in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Plants sense the quality, quantity, and duration of light signals and use them to optimise their growth and development. These signals are perceived by special light receptors of which the phytochrome pigment system is one of the most important for photomorphogenetic responses. Using special diodes that emit ...

Putative golden proportions as predictors of facial esthetics in adolescents.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiekens, R.M.A.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Hof, M.A. van 't; Hof, B.E. van 't; Maltha, J.C.

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION: In orthodontics, facial esthetics is assumed to be related to golden proportions apparent in the ideal human face. The aim of the study was to analyze the putative relationship between facial esthetics and golden proportions in white adolescents. METHODS: Seventy-six adult laypeople

Putative Dementia Cases Fluctuate as a Function of Mini-Mental State Examination Cut-Off Points.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosa, Ilka M; Henriques, Ana G; Wiltfang, Jens; da Cruz E Silva, Odete A B

2018-01-01

As the population ages, there is a growing need to quickly and accurately identify putative dementia cases. Many cognitive tests are available; among those commonly used are the Cognitive Dementia Rating (CDR) and the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). The aim of this work was to compare the validity and reliability of these cognitive tests in a primary care based cohort (pcb-Cohort). The MMSE and the CDR were applied to 568 volunteers in the pcb-Cohort. Distinct cut-off points for the MMSE were considered, namely MMSE 27, MMSE 24, and MMSE PT (adapted for the Portuguese population). The MMSE 27 identified the greatest number of putative dementia cases, and, as determined by the ROC curve, it was the most sensitive and specific of the MMSE cut-offs considered. Putative predictive or risk factors identified included age, literacy, depression, and diabetes mellitus (DM). DM has previously been indicated as a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Comparatively, the MMSE 27 cut-off has the greatest sensibility (94.9%) and specificity (66.3%) when compared to MMSE PT and MMSE 24. Upon comparing MMSE and CDR scores, the latter identified a further 146 putative dementia cases, thus permitting one to propose that in an ideal situation, both tests should be employed. This increases the likelihood of identifying putative dementia cases for subsequent follow up work, thus these cognitive tests represent important tools in patient care. Further, this is a significant study for Portuguese populations, where few of these studies have been carried out.

Light trespass : causes, remedies and actions. Paper presented at the CIE / MBE Symposium "Lighting and Signalling for Transport", Budapest, 22-23 September 1986.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuder, D.A.

1986-01-01

Light trespass is the result of light that does not reach its destination, or that is reflected after having reached its destination or is scattered by the media in between source and destination: by light that is "spilled". Light trespass may disturb people for whom the lighting actually is

Heterologous expression and characterization of a putative glycoside hydrolase family 43 arabinofuranosidase from Clostridium thermocellum B8

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Camargo, de Brenda R.; Claassens, Nico J.; Quirino, Betania Ferraz; Noronha, Eliane F.; Kengen, Servé W.M.

2018-01-01

An extensive list of putative cellulosomal enzymes from C. thermocellum is now available in the public databanks, however, most of these remain unvalidated with regard to their activity and expression control mechanisms. This is particularly true of those enzymes putatively involved in hemicellulose

UV light blocks EGFR signalling in human cancer cell lines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, BB; Neves-Petersen, M T; Klitgaard, S

2007-01-01

UV light excites aromatic residues, causing these to disrupt nearby disulphide bridges. The EGF receptor is rich in aromatic residues near the disulphide bridges. Herein we show that laser-pulsed UV illumination of two different skin-derived cancer cell lines i.e. Cal-39 and A431, which both...... antibodies. There was a threshold level, below which the receptor could not be blocked. In addition, illumination caused the cells to upregulate the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1, irrespective of the p53 status. Since the EGF receptor is often overexpressed in cancers and other proliferative skin...... disorders, it might be possible to significantly reduce the proliferative potential of these cells making them good targets for laser-pulsed UV light treatment....

Identification of independent association signals and putative functional variants for breast cancer risk through fine-scale mapping of the 12p11 locus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Chenjie; Guo, Xingyi; Long, Jirong

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Multiple recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs10771399, at 12p11 that is associated with breast cancer risk. METHOD: We performed a fine-scale mapping study of a 700 kb region including 441 genotyped and more than 1300...... Asians, but none of the associations were statistically significant in African descendants. Multiple candidate functional variants are located in putative enhancer sequences. Chromatin interaction data suggested that PTHLH was the likely target gene of these enhancers. Of the six variants...... with the strongest evidence of potential functionality, rs11049453 was statistically significantly associated with the expression of PTHLH and its nearby gene CCDC91 at P 

Signal intensity enhancement of laser ablated volume holograms

Science.gov (United States)

Versnel, J. M.; Williams, C.; Davidson, C. A. B.; Wilkinson, T. D.; Lowe, C. R.

2017-11-01

Conventional volume holographic gratings (VHGs) fabricated in photosensitive emulsions such as gelatin containing silver salts enable the facile visualization of the holographic image in ambient lighting. However, for the fabrication of holographic sensors, which require more defined and chemically-functionalised polymer matrices, laser ablation has been introduced to create the VHGs and thereby broaden their applications, although the replay signal can be challenging to detect in ambient lighting. When traditional photochemical bleaching solutions used to reduce light scattering and modulate refractive index within the VHG are applied to laser ablated volume holographic gratings, these procedures decrease the holographic peak intensity. This is postulated to occur because both light and dark fringes contain a proportion of metal particles, which upon solubilisation are converted immediately to silver iodide, yielding no net refractive index modulation. This research advances a hypothesis that the reduced intensity of holographic replay signals is linked to a gradient of different sized metal particles within the emulsion, which reduces the holographic signal and may explain why traditional bleaching processes result in a reduction in intensity. In this report, a novel experimental protocol is provided, along with simulations based on an effective medium periodic 1D stack, that offers a solution to increase peak signal intensity of holographic sensors by greater than 200%. Nitric acid is used to etch the silver nanoparticles within the polymer matrix and is thought to remove the smaller particles to generate more defined metal fringes containing a soluble metal salt. Once the grating efficiency has been increased, this salt can be converted to a silver halide, to modulate the refractive index and increase the intensity of the holographic signal. This new protocol has been tested in a range of polymer chemistries; those containing functional groups that help to

33 CFR 118.110 - Daymarks and lateral lighting on bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... bridges. 118.110 Section 118.110 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES BRIDGE LIGHTING AND OTHER SIGNALS § 118.110 Daymarks and lateral lighting on bridges. (a... through bridges with U.S. aids to navigation system lateral marks and lights installed on the...

Light as stress factor to plant roots - case of root halotropism.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokawa, Ken; Fasano, Rossella; Kagenishi, Tomoko; Baluška, František

2014-01-01

Despite growing underground, largely in darkness, roots emerge to be very sensitive to light. Recently, several important papers have been published which reveal that plant roots not only express all known light receptors but also that their growth, physiology and adaptive stress responses are light-sensitive. In Arabidopsis, illumination of roots speeds-up root growth via reactive oxygen species-mediated and F-actin dependent process. On the other hand, keeping Arabidopsis roots in darkness alters F-actin distribution, polar localization of PIN proteins as well as polar transport of auxin. Several signaling components activated by phytohormones are overlapping with light-related signaling cascade. We demonstrated that the sensitivity of roots to salinity is altered in the light-grown Arabidopsis roots. Particularly, light-exposed roots are less effective in their salt-avoidance behavior known as root halotropism. Here we discuss these new aspects of light-mediated root behavior from cellular, physiological and evolutionary perspectives.

In silico Analysis of 3′-End-Processing Signals in Aspergillus oryzae Using Expressed Sequence Tags and Genomic Sequencing Data

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Mizuki; Sakai, Yoshifumi; Yamada, Osamu; Shintani, Takahiro; Gomi, Katsuya

2011-01-01

To investigate 3′-end-processing signals in Aspergillus oryzae, we created a nucleotide sequence data set of the 3′-untranslated region (3′ UTR) plus 100 nucleotides (nt) sequence downstream of the poly(A) site using A. oryzae expressed sequence tags and genomic sequencing data. This data set comprised 1065 sequences derived from 1042 unique genes. The average 3′ UTR length in A. oryzae was 241 nt, which is greater than that in yeast but similar to that in plants. The 3′ UTR and 100 nt sequence downstream of the poly(A) site is notably U-rich, while the region located 15–30 nt upstream of the poly(A) site is markedly A-rich. The most frequently found hexanucleotide in this A-rich region is AAUGAA, although this sequence accounts for only 6% of all transcripts. These data suggested that A. oryzae has no highly conserved sequence element equivalent to AAUAAA, a mammalian polyadenylation signal. We identified that putative 3′-end-processing signals in A. oryzae, while less well conserved than those in mammals, comprised four sequence elements: the furthest upstream U-rich element, A-rich sequence, cleavage site, and downstream U-rich element flanking the cleavage site. Although these putative 3′-end-processing signals are similar to those in yeast and plants, some notable differences exist between them. PMID:21586533

Point spread function due to multiple scattering of light in the atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pękala, J.; Wilczyński, H.

2013-01-01

The atmospheric scattering of light has a significant influence on the results of optical observations of air showers. It causes attenuation of direct light from the shower, but also contributes a delayed signal to the observed light. The scattering of light therefore should be accounted for, both in simulations of air shower detection and reconstruction of observed events. In this work a Monte Carlo simulation of multiple scattering of light has been used to determine the contribution of the scattered light in observations of a point source of light. Results of the simulations and a parameterization of the angular distribution of the scattered light contribution to the observed signal (the point spread function) are presented. -- Author-Highlights: •Analysis of atmospheric scattering of light from an isotropic point source. •Different geometries and atmospheric conditions were investigated. •A parameterization of scattered light distribution has been developed. •The parameterization allows one to easily account for the light scattering in air. •The results will be useful in analyses of observations of extensive air shower

Noise analysis of a white-light supercontinuum light source for multiple wavelength confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McConnell, Gail [Centre for Biophotonics, Strathclyde Institute for Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 27 Taylor Street, Glasgow, G4 0NR (United Kingdom)

2005-08-07

Intensity correlations of a Ti : sapphire, Kr/Ar and a white-light supercontinuum were performed to quantify the typical signal amplitude fluctuations and hence ascertain the comparative output stability of the white-light supercontinuum source for confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Intensity correlations across a two-pixel sample (n = 1000) of up to 98%, 95% and 94% were measured for the Ti : sapphire, Kr/Ar and white-light supercontinuum source, respectively. The white-light supercontinuum noise level is therefore acceptable for CLSM, with the added advantage of wider wavelength flexibility over traditional CLSM excitation sources. The relatively low-noise white-light supercontinuum was then used to perform multiple wavelength sequential CLSM of guinea pig detrusor to confirm the reliability of the system and to demonstrate system flexibility.

Circadian integration of glutamatergic signals by little SAAS in novel suprachiasmatic circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkins, Norman; Mitchell, Jennifer W; Romanova, Elena V; Morgan, Daniel J; Cominski, Tara P; Ecker, Jennifer L; Pintar, John E; Sweedler, Jonathan V; Gillette, Martha U

2010-09-07

Neuropeptides are critical integrative elements within the central circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), where they mediate both cell-to-cell synchronization and phase adjustments that cause light entrainment. Forward peptidomics identified little SAAS, derived from the proSAAS prohormone, among novel SCN peptides, but its role in the SCN is poorly understood. Little SAAS localization and co-expression with established SCN neuropeptides were evaluated by immunohistochemistry using highly specific antisera and stereological analysis. Functional context was assessed relative to c-FOS induction in light-stimulated animals and on neuronal circadian rhythms in glutamate-stimulated brain slices. We found that little SAAS-expressing neurons comprise the third most abundant neuropeptidergic class (16.4%) with unusual functional circuit contexts. Little SAAS is localized within the densely retinorecipient central SCN of both rat and mouse, but not the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). Some little SAAS colocalizes with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) or gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), known mediators of light signals, but not arginine vasopressin (AVP). Nearly 50% of little SAAS neurons express c-FOS in response to light exposure in early night. Blockade of signals that relay light information, via NMDA receptors or VIP- and GRP-cognate receptors, has no effect on phase delays of circadian rhythms induced by little SAAS. Little SAAS relays signals downstream of light/glutamatergic signaling from eye to SCN, and independent of VIP and GRP action. These findings suggest that little SAAS forms a third SCN neuropeptidergic system, processing light information and activating phase-shifts within novel circuits of the central circadian clock.

Genetic analysis of gravity signal transduction in roots

Science.gov (United States)

Masson, Patrick; Strohm, Allison; Baldwin, Katherine

gravitropism, we sought genetic enhancers of arg1 as a way to identify new gravity signal transducers. Two of these modifiers, named mar1 and mar2, were found to affect genes that encode two subunits of the plastidic outer-membrane protein import complex, TOC75 and TOC132, respectively. mar2 did not affect the ultrastructure of amyloplasts in the statocytes nor did it alter their ability to sediment in response to gravistimulation, suggesting a role for the outer membrane of the amyloplasts in gravity signal transduction (reviewed in Stanga et al., 2009, Plant Signal Behavior 4(10): 1-9). The contribution of TOC132 in gravity signal transduction is being investigated by analyzing the regions of this protein that are needed for the pathway, and investigating the contribution of a putative TOC132-interacting protein in gravity signal transduction. We have also isolated additional putative enhancers of arg1-2 in the hope of identifying new plastid-associated gravity signal transducers, and have initiated a screen for genetic enhancers of mar2 to seek new transducers in the ARG1 branch of the pathway.

Alternative Splicing Substantially Diversifies the Transcriptome during Early Photomorphogenesis and Correlates with the Energy Availability in Arabidopsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartmann, Lisa; Drewe-Boß, Philipp; Wießner, Theresa; Wagner, Gabriele; Geue, Sascha; Lee, Hsin-Chieh; Obermüller, Dominik M; Kahles, André; Behr, Jonas; Sinz, Fabian H; Rätsch, Gunnar; Wachter, Andreas

2016-11-01

Plants use light as source of energy and information to detect diurnal rhythms and seasonal changes. Sensing changing light conditions is critical to adjust plant metabolism and to initiate developmental transitions. Here, we analyzed transcriptome-wide alterations in gene expression and alternative splicing (AS) of etiolated seedlings undergoing photomorphogenesis upon exposure to blue, red, or white light. Our analysis revealed massive transcriptome reprogramming as reflected by differential expression of ∼20% of all genes and changes in several hundred AS events. For more than 60% of all regulated AS events, light promoted the production of a presumably protein-coding variant at the expense of an mRNA with nonsense-mediated decay-triggering features. Accordingly, AS of the putative splicing factor REDUCED RED-LIGHT RESPONSES IN CRY1CRY2 BACKGROUND1, previously identified as a red light signaling component, was shifted to the functional variant under light. Downstream analyses of candidate AS events pointed at a role of photoreceptor signaling only in monochromatic but not in white light. Furthermore, we demonstrated similar AS changes upon light exposure and exogenous sugar supply, with a critical involvement of kinase signaling. We propose that AS is an integration point of signaling pathways that sense and transmit information regarding the energy availability in plants. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

Supplementary data: Variation in the PTEN-induced putative kinase ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Variation in the PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 gene associated with the increase risk of type 2 diabetes in northern Chinese. Yanchun Qu, Liang Sun, Ze Yang and Ruifa Han. J. Genet. 90, 125–128. Table 1. Clinical characteristics of cases and controls. Phenotype. T2DM. Controls. P value. Age (years). 49.5 ± 11.1. 50.4 ± ...

Light-dependent governance of cell shape dimensions in cyanobacteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beronda L Montgomery

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The regulation of cellular dimension is important for the function and survival of cells. Cellular dimensions, such as size and shape, are regulated throughout the life cycle of bacteria and can be adapted in response to environmental changes to fine-tune cellular fitness. Cell size and shape are generally coordinated with cell growth and division. Cytoskeletal regulation of cell shape and cell wall biosynthesis and/or deposition occurs in a range of organisms. Photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, particularly exhibit light-dependent regulation of morphogenes and generation of reactive oxygen species and other signals that can impact cellular dimensions. Environmental signals initiate adjustments of cellular dimensions, which may be vitally important for optimizing resource acquisition and utilization or for coupling the cellular dimensions with the regulation of subcellular organization to maintain optimal metabolism. Although the involvement of cytoskeletal components in the regulation of cell shape is widely accepted, the signaling factors that regulate cytoskeletal and other distinct components involved in cell shape control, particularly in response to changes in external light cues, remain to be fully elucidated. In this review, factors impacting the inter-coordination of growth and division, the relationship between the regulation of cellular dimensions and central carbon metabolism, and consideration of the effects of specific environment signals, primarily light, on cell dimensions in cyanobacteria will be discussed. Current knowledge about the molecular bases of the light-dependent regulation of cellular dimensions and cell shape in cyanobacteria will be highlighted.

Integrative Multi-Spectral Sensor Device for Far-Infrared and Visible Light Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Tiezhu; Chen, Lulu; Pang, Yusong; Yan, Gaowei

2018-06-01

Infrared and visible light image fusion technology is a hot spot in the research of multi-sensor fusion technology in recent years. Existing infrared and visible light fusion technologies need to register before fusion because of using two cameras. However, the application effect of the registration technology has yet to be improved. Hence, a novel integrative multi-spectral sensor device is proposed for infrared and visible light fusion, and by using the beam splitter prism, the coaxial light incident from the same lens is projected to the infrared charge coupled device (CCD) and visible light CCD, respectively. In this paper, the imaging mechanism of the proposed sensor device is studied with the process of the signals acquisition and fusion. The simulation experiment, which involves the entire process of the optic system, signal acquisition, and signal fusion, is constructed based on imaging effect model. Additionally, the quality evaluation index is adopted to analyze the simulation result. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor device is effective and feasible.

Study of improving signal-noise ratio for fluorescence channel

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Guoqing; Li, Xin; Lou, Yue; Chen, Dong; Zhao, Xin; Wang, Ran; Yan, Debao; Zhao, Qi

2017-10-01

Laser-induced fluorescence(LIFS), which is one of most effective discrimination methods to identify the material at the molecular level by inducing fluorescence spectrum, has been popularized for its fast and accurate probe's results. According to the research, violet laser or ultraviolet laser is always used as excitation light source. While, There is no atmospheric window for violet laser and ultraviolet laser, causing laser attenuation along its propagation path. What's worse, as the laser reaching sample, part of the light is reflected. That is, excitation laser really react on sample to produce fluorescence is very poor, leading to weak fluorescence mingled with the background light collected by LIFS' processing unit, when it used outdoor. In order to spread LIFS to remote probing under the complex background, study of improving signal-noise ratio for fluorescence channel is a meaningful work. Enhancing the fluorescence intensity and inhibiting background light both can improve fluorescence' signal-noise ratio. In this article, three different approaches of inhibiting background light are discussed to improve the signal-noise ratio of LIFS. The first method is increasing fluorescence excitation area in the proportion of LIFS' collecting field by expanding laser beam, if the collecting filed is fixed. The second one is changing field angle base to accommodate laser divergence angle. The third one is setting a very narrow gating circuit to control acquisition circuit, which is shortly open only when fluorescence arriving. At some level, these methods all can reduce the background light. But after discussion, the third one is best with adding gating acquisition circuit to acquisition circuit instead of changing light path, which is effective and economic.

Alkenenitrile Transmissive Olefination: Synthesis of the Putative Lignan "Morinol I"

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Fraser F.; Liu, Wang; Yao, Lihua; Pitta, Bhaskar; Purzycki, Matthew; Ravikumar, P. C.

2012-01-01

Grignard reagents trigger an addition-elimination with α'-hydroxy acrylonitriles to selectively generate Z-alkenenitriles. The modular assembly of Z-alkenenitriles from a Grignard reagent, acrylonitrile, and an aldehyde is ideal for stereoselectively synthesizing alkenes as illustrated in the synthesis of the putative lignan "morinol I." PMID:22545004

A low noise photoelectric signal acquisition system applying in nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscope

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qilin; Zhang, Xian; Zhao, Xinghua; Yang, Dan; Zhou, Binquan; Hu, Zhaohui

2017-10-01

The nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscope serves as a new generation of strong support for the development of high-tech weapons, it solves the core problem that limits the development of the long-playing seamless navigation and positioning. In the NMR gyroscope, the output signal with atomic precession frequency is detected by the probe light, the final crucial photoelectric signal of the probe light directly decides the quality of the gyro signal. But the output signal has high sensitivity, resolution and measurement accuracy for the photoelectric detection system. In order to detect the measured signal better, this paper proposed a weak photoelectric signal rapid acquisition system, which has high SNR and the frequency of responded signal is up to 100 KHz to let the weak output signal with high frequency of the NMR gyroscope can be detected better.

Efficient resource allocation scheme for visible-light communication system

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Woo-Chan; Bae, Chi-Sung; Cho, Dong-Ho; Shin, Hong-Seok; Jung, D. K.; Oh, Y. J.

2009-01-01

A visible-light communication utilizing LED has many advantagies such as visibility of information, high SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), low installation cost, usage of existing illuminators, and high security. Furthermore, exponentially increasing needs and quality of LED have helped the development of visible-light communication. The visibility is the most attractive property in visible-light communication system, but it is difficult to ensure visibility and transmission efficiency simultaneously during initial access because of the small amount of initial access process signals. In this paper, we propose an efficient resource allocation scheme at initial access for ensuring visibility with high resource utilization rate and low data transmission failure rate. The performance has been evaluated through the numerical analysis and simulation results.

A missense mutation in the agouti signaling protein gene (ASIP) is associated with the no light points coat phenotype in donkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Abitbol, Marie; Legrand, Romain; Tiret, Laurent

2015-04-08

Seven donkey breeds are recognized by the French studbook and are characterized by a black, bay or grey coat colour including light cream-to-white points (LP). Occasionally, Normand bay donkeys give birth to dark foals that lack LP and display the no light points (NLP) pattern. This pattern is more frequent and officially recognized in American miniature donkeys. The LP (or pangare) phenotype resembles that of the light bellied agouti pattern in mouse, while the NLP pattern resembles that of the mammalian recessive black phenotype; both phenotypes are associated with the agouti signaling protein gene (ASIP). We used a panel of 127 donkeys to identify a recessive missense c.349 T > C variant in ASIP that was shown to be in complete association with the NLP phenotype. This variant results in a cysteine to arginine substitution at position 117 in the ASIP protein. This cysteine is highly-conserved among vertebrate ASIP proteins and was previously shown by mutagenesis experiments to lie within a functional site. Altogether, our results strongly support that the identified mutation is causative of the NLP phenotype. Thus, we propose to name the c.[349 T > C] allele in donkeys, the a(nlp) allele, which enlarges the panel of coat colour alleles in donkeys and ASIP recessive loss-of-function alleles in animals.

Influence of non-line of sight luminescent emitters in visible light communication systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ghorai, Anaranya; Walvekar, Pratik; Nayak, Shreyas; Narayan, K. S.

2018-01-01

We introduce and demonstrate concepts which utilize the non-line of sight fraction of light incident on a detector assembly in a visible-light communication (VLC) system. In addition to ambient light, realistic enclosures where VLC is implemented consist of a sizable fraction of scattered and reflected light. We present results of VLC systems with detectors responding to contributions from the light source scattered off a surface embedded with fluorescent and phosphorescent emitters besides the direct line of sight signal. Contribution from the emitters takes a form of discernible fluctuations in the detector signal. The implication of our results from noise analysis of these fluctuations indicates the possibility of utilizing smart coatings to further tailor VLC capabilities.

Light-Regulated Electrochemical Sensor Array for Efficiently Discriminating Hazardous Gases.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Hongqiu; Zhang, Xin; Sun, Huihui; Jin, Han; Zhang, Xiaowei; Jin, Qinghui; Zou, Jie; Haick, Hossam; Jian, Jiawen

2017-10-27

Inadequate detection limit and unsatisfactory discrimination features remain the challenging issues for the widely applied electrochemical gas sensors. Quite recently, we confirmed that light-regulated electrochemical reaction significantly enhanced the electrocatalytic activity, and thereby can potentially extend the detection limit to the parts per billion (ppb) level. Nevertheless, impact of the light-regulated electrochemical reaction on response selectivity has been discussed less. Herein, we systematically report on the effect of illumination on discrimination features via design and fabrication of a light-regulated electrochemical sensor array. Upon illumination (light on), response signal to the examined gases (C 3 H 6 , NO, and CO) is selectively enhanced, resulting in the sensor array demonstrating disparate response patterns when compared with that of the sensor array operated at light off. Through processing all the response patterns derived from both light on and light off with a pattern recognition algorithm, a satisfactory discrimination feature is observed. In contrast, apparent mutual interference between NO and CO is found when the sensor array is solely operated without illumination. The impact mechanism of the illumination is studied and it is deduced that the effect of the illumination on the discriminating features can be mainly attributed to the competition of electrocatalytic activity and gas-phase reactivity. If the enhanced electrocatalytic activity (to specific gas) dominates the whole sensing progress, enhancements in the corresponding response signal would be observed upon illumination. Otherwise, illumination gives a negligible impact. Hence, the response signal to part of the examined gases is selectively enhanced by illumination. Conclusively, light-regulated electrochemical reaction would provide an efficient approach to designing future smart sensing devices.

Efficient trigger signal generation from wasted backward amplified stimulated emission at optical amplifiers for optical coherence tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Seung Taek

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper propose an optical structure to generate trigger signals for optical coherence tomography (OCT using backward light which is usually disposed. The backward light is called backward amplified stimulated emission generated from semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA when using swept wavelength tunable laser (SWTL. A circulator is applied to block undesirable lights in the SWTL instead of an isolator in common SWTL. The circulator also diverts backward amplified spontaneous lights, which finally bring out trigger signals for a high speed digitizer. The spectra of the forward lights at SOA and the waveform of the backward lights were measured to check the procedure of the trigger formation in the experiment. The results showed that the trigger signals from the proposed SWTL with the circulator was quite usable in OCT.

Light-induced modification of plant plasma membrane ion transport.

Science.gov (United States)

Marten, I; Deeken, R; Hedrich, R; Roelfsema, M R G

2010-09-01

Light is not only the driving force for electron and ion transport in the thylakoid membrane, but also regulates ion transport in various other membranes of plant cells. Light-dependent changes in ion transport at the plasma membrane and associated membrane potential changes have been studied intensively over the last century. These studies, with various species and cell types, revealed that apart from regulation by chloroplasts, plasma membrane transport can be controlled by phytochromes, phototropins or channel rhodopsins. In this review, we compare light-dependent plasma membrane responses of unicellular algae (Eremosphaera and Chlamydomonas), with those of a multicellular alga (Chara), liverworts (Conocephalum), mosses (Physcomitrella) and several angiosperm cell types. Light-dependent plasma membrane responses of Eremosphaera and Chara are characterised by the dominant role of K(+) channels during membrane potential changes. In most other species, the Ca(2+)-dependent activation of plasma membrane anion channels represents a general light-triggered event. Cell type-specific responses are likely to have evolved by modification of this general response or through the development of additional light-dependent signalling pathways. Future research to elucidate these light-activated signalling chains is likely to benefit from the recent identification of S-type anion channel genes and proteins capable of regulating these channels.

Light-cone averaging in cosmology: formalism and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasperini, M.; Marozzi, G.; Veneziano, G.; Nugier, F.

2011-01-01

We present a general gauge invariant formalism for defining cosmological averages that are relevant for observations based on light-like signals. Such averages involve either null hypersurfaces corresponding to a family of past light-cones or compact surfaces given by their intersection with timelike hypersurfaces. Generalized Buchert-Ehlers commutation rules for derivatives of these light-cone averages are given. After introducing some adapted ''geodesic light-cone'' coordinates, we give explicit expressions for averaging the redshift to luminosity-distance relation and the so-called ''redshift drift'' in a generic inhomogeneous Universe

High-Rate Strong-Signal Quantum Cryptography

Science.gov (United States)

Yuen, Horace P.

1996-01-01

Several quantum cryptosystems utilizing different kinds of nonclassical lights, which can accommodate high intensity fields and high data rate, are described. However, they are all sensitive to loss and both the high rate and the strong-signal character rapidly disappear. A squeezed light homodyne detection scheme is proposed which, with present-day technology, leads to more than two orders of magnitude data rate improvement over other current experimental systems for moderate loss.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) circular traffic signal lifetime management system.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-01

The objective of this research is to build lifetime curves for red, yellow, and green LED circular traffic signals through 20,000-hr. accelerated stress testing of samples operating under Louisianas environmental conditions.

Light as stress factor to plant roots – case of root halotropism

Science.gov (United States)

Yokawa, Ken; Fasano, Rossella; Kagenishi, Tomoko; Baluška, František

2014-01-01

Despite growing underground, largely in darkness, roots emerge to be very sensitive to light. Recently, several important papers have been published which reveal that plant roots not only express all known light receptors but also that their growth, physiology and adaptive stress responses are light-sensitive. In Arabidopsis, illumination of roots speeds-up root growth via reactive oxygen species-mediated and F-actin dependent process. On the other hand, keeping Arabidopsis roots in darkness alters F-actin distribution, polar localization of PIN proteins as well as polar transport of auxin. Several signaling components activated by phytohormones are overlapping with light-related signaling cascade. We demonstrated that the sensitivity of roots to salinity is altered in the light-grown Arabidopsis roots. Particularly, light-exposed roots are less effective in their salt-avoidance behavior known as root halotropism. Here we discuss these new aspects of light-mediated root behavior from cellular, physiological and evolutionary perspectives. PMID:25566292

FIN5 positively regulates far-red light responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, D.S.; Hong, S.H.; Nam, H.G.; Soh, M.S.

2003-01-01

We report the characterization of a semi-dominant mutation fin5-1 (far-red insensitive 5-1) of Arabidopsis, which was isolated from genetic screening of phytochrome A (phyA) signaling components. Plants with the fin5-1 mutation exhibited a long hypocotyl phenotype when grown under far-red (FR) light, but not under red light. Physiological analyses implied that FIN5 might be differentially involved in diverse responses that are regulated by phyA under continuous FR light. Anthocyanin accumulation, gravitropic response of hypocotyl growth, and FR light-preconditioned blocking of greening were also impaired in the fin5-1 mutant, whereas photoperiodic floral induction was not, if at all, significantly affected. Moreover, light-regulated expression of the CHS, PORA and PsbS genes was attenuated in fin5-1 mutant plants, while the light-induced expression of CAB was normal. The mutation exhibited semi-dominance regarding control of hypocotyl growth in FR light. We suggest that FIN5 defines a novel branch in the network of phyA signaling in Arabidopsis. (author)

Efficiency of Roundabouts as Compared to Traffic Light Controlled ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Comparison is made between roundabouts with traffic light and without traffic light and signalized intersections on the basis of their performance to simplify traffic congestion. Computer simulations are used to propose critical arrival rates to separate between the three mentioned modes to decrease congestion at intersection ...

Standardization of light signals for road traffic control. Contribution in: Speed enforcement, visibility, and effects of traffic control measures on drivers, Transportation Research Record No. 811, p. 14-15, Transportation Research Board, National Academies of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1981.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuder, D.A.

1981-01-01

A recent technical report on road-traffic-control signals prepared by the International Commission on Illumination is briefly discussed. The report represents a first step toward international standardisation of traffic signal lights in order to benefit trade and transportation. The principal

Signaling Role of Fructose Mediated by FINS1/FBP in Arabidopsis thaliana

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Young-Hee; Yoo, Sang-Dong

2011-01-01

Sugars are evolutionarily conserved signaling molecules that regulate the growth and development of both unicellular and multicellular organisms. As sugar-producing photosynthetic organisms, plants utilize glucose as one of their major signaling molecules. However, the details of other sugar signaling molecules and their regulatory factors have remained elusive, due to the complexity of the metabolite and hormone interactions that control physiological and developmental programs in plants. We combined information from a gain-of-function cell-based screen and a loss-of-function reverse-genetic analysis to demonstrate that fructose acts as a signaling molecule in Arabidopsis thaliana. Fructose signaling induced seedling developmental arrest and interacted with plant stress hormone signaling in a manner similar to that of glucose. For fructose signaling responses, the plant glucose sensor HEXOKINASE1 (HXK1) was dispensable, while FRUCTOSE INSENSITIVE1 (FINS1), a putative FRUCTOSE-1,6-BISPHOSPHATASE, played a crucial role. Interestingly, FINS1 function in fructose signaling appeared to be independent of its catalytic activity in sugar metabolism. Genetic analysis further indicated that FINS1–dependent fructose signaling may act downstream of the abscisic acid pathway, in spite of the fact that HXK1–dependent glucose signaling works upstream of hormone synthesis. Our findings revealed that multiple layers of controls by fructose, glucose, and abscisic acid finely tune the plant autotrophic transition and modulate early seedling establishment after seed germination. PMID:21253566

Search strings for the study of putative occupational determinants of disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattioli, Stefano; Zanardi, Francesca; Baldasseroni, Alberto; Schaafsma, Frederieke; Cooke, Robin M. T.; Mancini, Gianpiero; Fierro, Mauro; Santangelo, Chiara; Farioli, Andrea; Fucksia, Serenella; Curti, Stefania; Violante, Francesco S.; Verbeek, Jos

2010-01-01

To identify efficient PubMed search strategies to retrieve articles regarding putative occupational determinants of conditions not generally considered to be work related. Based on MeSH definitions and expert knowledge, we selected as candidate search terms the four MeSH terms describing

Phylogenetic diversity of stress signalling pathways in fungi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stansfield Ian

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Microbes must sense environmental stresses, transduce these signals and mount protective responses to survive in hostile environments. In this study we have tested the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling pathways have evolved rapidly in a niche-specific fashion that is independent of phylogeny. To test this hypothesis we have compared the conservation of stress signalling molecules in diverse fungal species with their stress resistance. These fungi, which include ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and microsporidia, occupy highly divergent niches from saline environments to plant or mammalian hosts. Results The fungi displayed significant variation in their resistance to osmotic (NaCl and sorbitol, oxidative (H2O2 and menadione and cell wall stresses (Calcofluor White and Congo Red. There was no strict correlation between fungal phylogeny and stress resistance. Rather, the human pathogens tended to be more resistant to all three types of stress, an exception being the sensitivity of Candida albicans to the cell wall stress, Calcofluor White. In contrast, the plant pathogens were relatively sensitive to oxidative stress. The degree of conservation of osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways amongst the eighteen fungal species was examined. Putative orthologues of functionally defined signalling components in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by performing reciprocal BLASTP searches, and the percent amino acid identities of these orthologues recorded. This revealed that in general, central components of the osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways are relatively well conserved, whereas the sensors lying upstream and transcriptional regulators lying downstream of these modules have diverged significantly. There was no obvious correlation between the degree of conservation of stress signalling pathways and the resistance of a particular fungus to the corresponding stress. Conclusion Our

Forward and correctional OFDM-based visible light positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wei; Huang, Zhitong; Zhao, Runmei; He, Peixuan; Ji, Yuefeng

2017-09-01

Visible light positioning (VLP) has attracted much attention in both academic and industrial areas due to the extensive deployment of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as next-generation green lighting. Generally, the coverage of a single LED lamp is limited, so LED arrays are always utilized to achieve uniform illumination within the large-scale indoor environment. However, in such dense LED deployment scenario, the superposition of the light signals becomes an important challenge for accurate VLP. To solve this problem, we propose a forward and correctional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based VLP (FCO-VLP) scheme with low complexity in generating and processing of signals. In the first forward procedure of FCO-VLP, an initial position is obtained by the trilateration method based on OFDM-subcarriers. The positioning accuracy will be further improved in the second correctional procedure based on the database of reference points. As demonstrated in our experiments, our approach yields an improved average positioning error of 4.65 cm and an enhanced positioning accuracy by 24.2% compared with trilateration method.

Chiral magnetic effect of light

Science.gov (United States)

Hayata, Tomoya

2018-05-01

We study a photonic analog of the chiral magnetic (vortical) effect. We discuss that the vector component of magnetoelectric tensors plays a role of "vector potential," and its rotation is understood as "magnetic field" of a light. Using the geometrical optics approximation, we show that "magnetic fields" cause an anomalous shift of a wave packet of a light through an interplay with the Berry curvature of photons. The mechanism is the same as that of the chiral magnetic (vortical) effect of a chiral fermion, so that we term the anomalous shift "chiral magnetic effect of a light." We further study the chiral magnetic effect of a light beyond geometric optics by directly solving the transmission problem of a wave packet at a surface of a magnetoelectric material. We show that the experimental signal of the chiral magnetic effect of a light is the nonvanishing of transverse displacements for the beam normally incident to a magnetoelectric material.

Putative Biomarkers and Targets of Estrogen Receptor Negative Human Breast Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen W. Byers

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Breast cancer is a progressive and potentially fatal disease that affects women of all ages. Like all progressive diseases, early and reliable diagnosis is the key for successful treatment and annihilation. Biomarkers serve as indicators of pathological, physiological, or pharmacological processes. Her2/neu, CA15.3, estrogen receptor (ER, progesterone receptor (PR, and cytokeratins are biomarkers that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy selection. The structural and functional complexity of protein biomarkers and the heterogeneity of the breast cancer pathology present challenges to the scientific community. Here we review estrogen receptor-related putative breast cancer biomarkers, including those of putative breast cancer stem cells, a minor population of estrogen receptor negative tumor cells that retain the stem cell property of self renewal. We also review a few promising cytoskeleton targets for ER alpha negative breast cancer.

Gene ercA, encoding a putative iron-containing alcohol dehydrogenase, is involved in regulation of ethanol utilization in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Hempel, Niels; Görisch, Helmut; Mern, Demissew S

2013-09-01

Several two-component regulatory systems are known to be involved in the signal transduction pathway of the ethanol oxidation system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 17933. These sensor kinases and response regulators are organized in a hierarchical manner. In addition, a cytoplasmic putative iron-containing alcohol dehydrogenase (Fe-ADH) encoded by ercA (PA1991) has been identified to play an essential role in this regulatory network. The gene ercA (PA1991) is located next to ercS, which encodes a sensor kinase. Inactivation of ercA (PA1991) by insertion of a kanamycin resistance cassette created mutant NH1. NH1 showed poor growth on various alcohols. On ethanol, NH1 grew only with an extremely extended lag phase. During the induction period on ethanol, transcription of structural genes exa and pqqABCDEH, encoding components of initial ethanol oxidation in P. aeruginosa, was drastically reduced in NH1, which indicates the regulatory function of ercA (PA1991). However, transcription in the extremely delayed logarithmic growth phase was comparable to that in the wild type. To date, the involvement of an Fe-ADH in signal transduction processes has not been reported.

Weak correlations between hemodynamic signals and ongoing neural activity during the resting state

Science.gov (United States)

Winder, Aaron T.; Echagarruga, Christina; Zhang, Qingguang; Drew, Patrick J.

2017-01-01

Spontaneous fluctuations in hemodynamic signals in the absence of a task or overt stimulation are used to infer neural activity. We tested this coupling by simultaneously measuring neural activity and changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV) in the somatosensory cortex of awake, head-fixed mice during periods of true rest, and during whisker stimulation and volitional whisking. Here we show that neurovascular coupling was similar across states, and large spontaneous CBV changes in the absence of sensory input were driven by volitional whisker and body movements. Hemodynamic signals during periods of rest were weakly correlated with neural activity. Spontaneous fluctuations in CBV and vessel diameter persisted when local neural spiking and glutamatergic input was blocked, and during blockade of noradrenergic receptors, suggesting a non-neuronal origin for spontaneous CBV fluctuations. Spontaneous hemodynamic signals reflect a combination of behavior, local neural activity, and putatively non-neural processes. PMID:29184204

Recordings of mucociliary activity in vivo: benefit of fast Fourier transformation of the photoelectric signal.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindberg, S; Cervin, A; Runer, T; Thomasson, L

1996-09-01

Investigations of mucociliary activity in vivo are based on photoelectric recordings of light reflections from the mucosa. The alterations in light intensity produced by the beating cilia are picked up by a photodetector and converted to photoelectric signals. The optimal processing of these signals is not known, but in vitro recordings have been reported to benefit from fast Fourier transformation (FFT) of the signal. The aim of the investigation was to study the effect of FFT for frequency analysis of photoelectric signals originating from an artificial light source simulating mucociliary activity or from sinus or nasal mucosa in vivo, as compared to a conventional method of calculating mucociliary wave frequency, in which each peak in the signal is interpreted as a beat (old method). In the experiments with the artificial light source, the FFT system was superior to the conventional method by a factor of 50 in detecting weak signals. By using FFT signal processing, frequency could be correctly calculated in experiments with a compound signal. In experiments in the rabbit maxillary sinus, the spontaneous variations were greater when signals were processed by FFT. The correlation between the two methods was excellent: r = .92. The increase in mucociliary activity in response to the ciliary stimulant methacholine at a dosage of 0.5 microgram/kg was greater measured with the FFT than with the old method (55.3% +/- 8.3% versus 43.0% +/- 8.2%, p detected. In the human nose, recordings from aluminum foil placed on the nasal dorsum and from the nasal septa mucosa displayed some similarities in the lower frequency spectrum (light, the mean frequency in seven healthy volunteers being 7.8 +/- 1.6 Hz for the human nasal mucosa. It is concluded that the FFT system has greater sensitivity in detecting photoelectric signals derived from the mucociliary system, and that it is also a useful tool for analyzing the contributions of artifacts to the signal.

The Fresnel Zone Light Field Spectral Imager

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-23

detection efficiency for weak signals . Additionally, further study should be done on spectral calibration methods for a FZLFSI. When dealing with weak ... detection assembly. The different image formation planes for each wavelength are constructed synthetically through processing the collected light ...a single micro-lens image. This character- istic also holds for wavelengths other than the design wavelength. 36 modified light field PSF is detected

Sequence analysis of putative swrW gene required for surfactant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

owner

2012-07-17

Jul 17, 2012 ... These nucleotide and protein sequence analysis of the putative swrW gene provides vital information on the versatility .... chain reaction (PCR) products were stored at 4°C. Presence of ... identical to the same gene with an E-value of 0.0. .... The Prokaryotes-A Handbook on the Biol. of Bacteria:Ecophysiol.

Route-Based Signal Preemption Control of Emergency Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haibo Mu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the signal preemption control of emergency vehicles (EV. A signal preemption control method based on route is proposed to reduce time delay of EV at intersections. According to the time at which EV is detected and the current phase of each intersection on the travelling route of EV, the calculation methods of the earliest start time and the latest start time of green light at each intersection are given. Consequently, the effective time range of green light at each intersection is determined in theory. A multiobjective programming model, whose objectives are the minimal residence time of EV at all intersections and the maximal passing numbers of general society vehicles, is presented. Finally, a simulation calculation is carried out. Calculation results indicate that, by adopting the signal preemption method based on route, the delay of EV is reduced and the number of society vehicles passing through the whole system is increased. The signal preemption control method of EV based on route can reduce the time delay of EV and improve the evacuation efficiency of the system.

Dragon enhances BMP signaling and increases transepithelial resistance in kidney epithelial cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Yin; Babitt, Jodie L; Bouley, Richard; Zhang, Ying; Da Silva, Nicolas; Chen, Shanzhuo; Zhuang, Zhenjie; Samad, Tarek A; Brenner, Gary J; Anderson, Jennifer L; Hong, Charles C; Schneyer, Alan L; Brown, Dennis; Lin, Herbert Y

2010-04-01

The neuronal adhesion protein Dragon acts as a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) coreceptor that enhances BMP signaling. Given the importance of BMP signaling in nephrogenesis and its putative role in the response to injury in the adult kidney, we studied the localization and function of Dragon in the kidney. We observed that Dragon localized predominantly to the apical surfaces of tubular epithelial cells in the thick ascending limbs, distal convoluted tubules, and collecting ducts of mice. Dragon expression was weak in the proximal tubules and glomeruli. In mouse inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD3) cells, Dragon generated BMP signals in a ligand-dependent manner, and BMP4 is the predominant endogenous ligand for the Dragon coreceptor. In mIMCD3 cells, BMP4 normally signaled through BMPRII, but Dragon enhanced its signaling through the BMP type II receptor ActRIIA. Dragon and BMP4 increased transepithelial resistance (TER) through the Smad1/5/8 pathway. In epithelial cells isolated from the proximal tubule and intercalated cells of collecting ducts, we observed coexpression of ActRIIA, Dragon, and BMP4 but not BMPRII. Taken together, these results suggest that Dragon may enhance BMP signaling in renal tubular epithelial cells and maintain normal renal physiology.

Comparison of 454-ESTs from Huperzia serrata and Phlegmariurus carinatus reveals putative genes involved in lycopodium alkaloid biosynthesis and developmental regulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steinmetz André

2010-09-01

. serrata and P. carinatus 454-ESTs and real-time PCR analysis. Four unique putative CYP450 transcripts (Hs01891, Hs04010, Hs13557 and Hs00093 which are the most likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of lycopodium alkaloids were selected based on a phylogenetic analysis. Approximately 115 H. serrata and 98 P. carinatus unique putative transcripts associated with the biosynthesis of triterpenoids, alkaloids and flavones/flavonoids were located in the 454-EST datasets. Transcripts related to phytohormone biosynthesis and signal transduction as well as transcription factors were also obtained. In addition, we discovered 2,729 and 1,573 potential SSR-motif microsatellite loci in the H. serrata and P. carinatus 454-ESTs, respectively. Conclusions The 454-EST resource allowed for the first large-scale acquisition of ESTs from H. serrata and P. carinatus, which are representative members of the Huperziaceae family. We discovered many genes likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds and transcriptional regulation as well as a large number of potential microsatellite markers. These results constitute an essential resource for understanding the molecular basis of developmental regulation and secondary metabolite biosynthesis (especially that of lycopodium alkaloids in the Huperziaceae, and they provide an overview of the genetic diversity of this family.

Scintillation light from cosmic-ray muons in liquid argon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whittington, Denver Wade [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Physics Dept.; Mufson, S. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Astronomy Dept.; Howard, B. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Physics Dept.

2016-05-01

This paper reports the results of an experiment to directly measure the time-resolved scintillation signal from the passage of cosmic-ray muons through liquid argon. Scintillation light from these muons is of value to studies of weakly-interacting particles in neutrino experiments and dark matter searches. The experiment was carried out at the TallBo dewar facility at Fermilab using prototype light guide detectors and electronics developed for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Two models are presented for the time structure of the scintillation light, a phenomenological model and a physically-motivated model. Both models find tT = 1:52 ms for the decay time constant of the Ar 2 triplet state. These models also show that the identification of the “early” light fraction in the phenomenological model, FE 25% of the signal, with the total light from singlet decays is an underestimate. The total fraction of singlet light is FS 36%, where the increase over FE is from singlet light emitted by the wavelength shifter through processes with long decay constants. The models were further used to compute the experimental particle identification parameter Fprompt, the fraction of light coming in a short time window after the trigger compared with the light in the total recorded waveform. The models reproduce quite well the typical experimental value 0.3 found by dark matter and double b-decay experiments, which suggests this parameter provides a robust metric for discriminating electrons and muons from more heavily ionizing particles.

Enhancement of Chiroptical Signals by Circular Differential Mie Scattering of Nanoparticles

OpenAIRE

SeokJae Yoo; Q-Han Park

2015-01-01

We enhance the weak optical signals of small chiral molecules via circular differential Mie scattering (CDMS) of nanoparticles immersed in them. CDMS is the preferential Mie scattering of left- and right-handed circularly polarized light by nanoparticles whose sizes are about the same as the wavelength of light. Solving the Mie scattering theory for chiral media, we find that the CDMS signal of the particle is linearly proportional to the chirality parameter κ of the molecules. This linear am...

An extraordinary tabletop speed of light apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Pegna, Guido

2017-09-01

A compact, low-cost, pre-aligned apparatus of the modulation type is described. The apparatus allows accurate determination of the speed of light in free propagation with an accuracy on the order of one part in 104. Due to the 433.92 MHz radio frequency (rf) modulation of its laser diode, determination of the speed of light is possible within a sub-meter measuring base and in small volumes (some cm3) of transparent solids or liquids. No oscilloscope is necessary, while the required function generators, power supplies, and optical components are incorporated into the design of the apparatus and its receiver can slide along the optical bench while maintaining alignment with the laser beam. Measurement of the velocity factor of coaxial cables is also easily performed. The apparatus detects the phase difference between the rf modulation of the laser diode by further modulating the rf signal with an audio frequency signal; the phase difference between these signals is then observed as the loudness of the audio signal. In this way, the positions at which the minima of the audio signal are found determine where the rf signals are completely out of phase. This phase detection method yields a much increased sensitivity with respect to the display of coincidence of two signals of questionable arrival time and somewhat distorted shape on an oscilloscope. The displaying technique is also particularly suitable for large audiences as well as in unattended exhibits in museums and science centers. In addition, the apparatus can be set up in less than one minute.

Development of non-contract fiber jumper cord and evaluation of light transmission performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Heon Young; Kang, Dong Hoon

2016-01-01

Recently, fiber optic sensors, which have many advantages are being applied in various fields by replacing conventional electric sensors. To transmit the light signals between an interrogator and a sensor head, optical components such as an optical adapt or and optical jumper cords are generally used. When signals are transmitted using an adapt or, the end surface of each jumper cord is faced together. If alien substances exist on the core surface of an optical fiber, those can cause light transmission loss and signal disappearance. For this reason, non-contact fiber jumper cords are developed to overcome the problems that require continual attention. The light transmission performance of non-contact fiber jumper cords are also evaluated. From the test results, conventional fiber jumper cords are unable to transmit the signals over 2 mm cavity between the ends of both cords. Otherwise, non-contact fiber jumper cords can transmit the signals with stability up to the cavity of 7 mm though they have more transmission loss than the conventional ones. Consequently, non-contact fiber jumper cords that have better signal stability than conventional ones in environments are highly recommended in field applications, especially if they play a role as a cable for signal transmission between fiber optic sensors

Development of non-contract fiber jumper cord and evaluation of light transmission performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Heon Young; Kang, Dong Hoon [Advanced Materials Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Recently, fiber optic sensors, which have many advantages are being applied in various fields by replacing conventional electric sensors. To transmit the light signals between an interrogator and a sensor head, optical components such as an optical adapt or and optical jumper cords are generally used. When signals are transmitted using an adapt or, the end surface of each jumper cord is faced together. If alien substances exist on the core surface of an optical fiber, those can cause light transmission loss and signal disappearance. For this reason, non-contact fiber jumper cords are developed to overcome the problems that require continual attention. The light transmission performance of non-contact fiber jumper cords are also evaluated. From the test results, conventional fiber jumper cords are unable to transmit the signals over 2 mm cavity between the ends of both cords. Otherwise, non-contact fiber jumper cords can transmit the signals with stability up to the cavity of 7 mm though they have more transmission loss than the conventional ones. Consequently, non-contact fiber jumper cords that have better signal stability than conventional ones in environments are highly recommended in field applications, especially if they play a role as a cable for signal transmission between fiber optic sensors.

Modeling the Frequency of Cyclists’ Red-Light Running Behavior Using Bayesian PG Model and PLN Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yao Wu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Red-light running behaviors of bicycles at signalized intersection lead to a large number of traffic conflicts and high collision potentials. The primary objective of this study is to model the cyclists’ red-light running frequency within the framework of Bayesian statistics. Data was collected at twenty-five approaches at seventeen signalized intersections. The Poisson-gamma (PG and Poisson-lognormal (PLN model were developed and compared. The models were validated using Bayesian p values based on posterior predictive checking indicators. It was found that the two models have a good fit of the observed cyclists’ red-light running frequency. Furthermore, the PLN model outperformed the PG model. The model estimated results showed that the amount of cyclists’ red-light running is significantly influenced by bicycle flow, conflict traffic flow, pedestrian signal type, vehicle speed, and e-bike rate. The validation result demonstrated the reliability of the PLN model. The research results can help transportation professionals to predict the expected amount of the cyclists’ red-light running and develop effective guidelines or policies to reduce red-light running frequency of bicycles at signalized intersections.

Identification of putative regulatory motifs in the upstream regions of co-expressed functional groups of genes in Plasmodium falciparum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshi NV

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Regulation of gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum (Pf remains poorly understood. While over half the genes are estimated to be regulated at the transcriptional level, few regulatory motifs and transcription regulators have been found. Results The study seeks to identify putative regulatory motifs in the upstream regions of 13 functional groups of genes expressed in the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle of Pf. Three motif-discovery programs were used for the purpose, and motifs were searched for only on the gene coding strand. Four motifs – the 'G-rich', the 'C-rich', the 'TGTG' and the 'CACA' motifs – were identified, and zero to all four of these occur in the 13 sets of upstream regions. The 'CACA motif' was absent in functional groups expressed during the ring to early trophozoite transition. For functional groups expressed in each transition, the motifs tended to be similar. Upstream motifs in some functional groups showed 'positional conservation' by occurring at similar positions relative to the translational start site (TLS; this increases their significance as regulatory motifs. In the ribonucleotide synthesis, mitochondrial, proteasome and organellar translation machinery genes, G-rich, C-rich, CACA and TGTG motifs, respectively, occur with striking positional conservation. In the organellar translation machinery group, G-rich motifs occur close to the TLS. The same motifs were sometimes identified for multiple functional groups; differences in location and abundance of the motifs appear to ensure different modes of action. Conclusion The identification of positionally conserved over-represented upstream motifs throws light on putative regulatory elements for transcription in Pf.

454 Transcriptome sequencing suggests a role for two-component signalling in cellularization and differentiation of barley endosperm transfer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiel, Johannes; Hollmann, Julien; Rutten, Twan; Weber, Hans; Scholz, Uwe; Weschke, Winfriede

2012-01-01

Cell specification and differentiation in the endosperm of cereals starts at the maternal-filial boundary and generates the endosperm transfer cells (ETCs). Besides the importance in assimilate transfer, ETCs are proposed to play an essential role in the regulation of endosperm differentiation by affecting development of proximate endosperm tissues. We attempted to identify signalling elements involved in early endosperm differentiation by using a combination of laser-assisted microdissection and 454 transcriptome sequencing. 454 sequencing of the differentiating ETC region from the syncytial state until functionality in transfer processes captured a high proportion of novel transcripts which are not available in existing barley EST databases. Intriguingly, the ETC-transcriptome showed a high abundance of elements of the two-component signalling (TCS) system suggesting an outstanding role in ETC differentiation. All components and subfamilies of the TCS, including distinct kinds of membrane-bound receptors, have been identified to be expressed in ETCs. The TCS system represents an ancient signal transduction system firstly discovered in bacteria and has previously been shown to be co-opted by eukaryotes, like fungi and plants, whereas in animals and humans this signalling route does not exist. Transcript profiling of TCS elements by qRT-PCR suggested pivotal roles for specific phosphorelays activated in a coordinated time flow during ETC cellularization and differentiation. ETC-specificity of transcriptionally activated TCS phosphorelays was assessed for early differentiation and cellularization contrasting to an extension of expression to other grain tissues at the beginning of ETC maturation. Features of candidate genes of distinct phosphorelays and transcriptional activation of genes putatively implicated in hormone signalling pathways hint at a crosstalk of hormonal influences, putatively ABA and ethylene, and TCS signalling. Our findings suggest an integral

Exploring unobserved heterogeneity in bicyclists' red-light running behaviors at different crossing facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yanyong; Li, Zhibin; Wu, Yao; Xu, Chengcheng

2018-06-01

Bicyclists running the red light at crossing facilities increase the potential of colliding with motor vehicles. Exploring the contributing factors could improve the prediction of running red-light probability and develop countermeasures to reduce such behaviors. However, individuals could have unobserved heterogeneities in running a red light, which make the accurate prediction more challenging. Traditional models assume that factor parameters are fixed and cannot capture the varying impacts on red-light running behaviors. In this study, we employed the full Bayesian random parameters logistic regression approach to account for the unobserved heterogeneous effects. Two types of crossing facilities were considered which were the signalized intersection crosswalks and the road segment crosswalks. Electric and conventional bikes were distinguished in the modeling. Data were collected from 16 crosswalks in urban area of Nanjing, China. Factors such as individual characteristics, road geometric design, environmental features, and traffic variables were examined. Model comparison indicates that the full Bayesian random parameters logistic regression approach is statistically superior to the standard logistic regression model. More red-light runners are predicted at signalized intersection crosswalks than at road segment crosswalks. Factors affecting red-light running behaviors are gender, age, bike type, road width, presence of raised median, separation width, signal type, green ratio, bike and vehicle volume, and average vehicle speed. Factors associated with the unobserved heterogeneity are gender, bike type, signal type, separation width, and bike volume. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Putative and unique gene sequence utilization for the design of species specific probes as modeled by Lactobacillus plantarum

Science.gov (United States)

The concept of utilizing putative and unique gene sequences for the design of species specific probes was tested. The abundance profile of assigned functions within the Lactobacillus plantarum genome was used for the identification of the putative and unique gene sequence, csh. The targeted gene (cs...

Search strings for the study of putative occupational determinants of disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattioli, S.; Zanardi, F.; Baldasseroni, A.; Schaafsma, F.; Cooke, R.M.T.; Mancini, G.; Fierro, M.; Santangelo, C.; Farioli, A.; Fucksia, S.; Curti, S.; Violante, F.S.; Verbeek, J.

2010-01-01

Objective To identify efficient PubMed search strategies to retrieve articles regarding putative occupational determinants of conditions not generally considered to be work related. Methods Based on MeSH definitions and expert knowledge, we selected as candidate search terms the four MeSH terms

Multiple roles of the prostaglandin D2 signaling pathway in reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossitto, Moïra; Ujjan, Safdar; Poulat, Francis; Boizet-Bonhoure, Brigitte

2015-01-01

Prostaglandins signaling molecules are involved in numerous physiological processes. They are produced by several enzyme-limited reactions upon fatty acids, which are catalyzed by two cyclooxygenases and prostaglandin synthases. In particular, the prostaglandins E2 (PGE2), D2 (PGD2), and F2 (PGF2 α) have been shown to be involved in female reproductive mechanisms. Furthermore, widespread expression of lipocalin- and hematopoietic-PGD2 synthases in the male reproductive tract supports the purported roles of PGD2 in the development of both embryonic and adult testes, sperm maturation, and spermatogenesis. In this review, we summarize the putative roles of PGD2 signaling and the roles of both PGD2 synthases in testicular formation and function. We review the data reporting the involvement of PGD2 signaling in the differentiation of Sertoli and germ cells of the embryonic testis. Furthermore, we discuss the roles of lipocalin-PGD2 synthase in steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis, in terms of lipid molecule transport and PGD2 production. Finally, we discuss the hypothesis that PGD2 signaling may be affected in certain reproductive diseases, such as infertility, cryptorchidism, and testicular cancer. © 2015 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.

The acclimation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum to blue and red light does not influence the photosynthetic light reaction but strongly disturbs the carbon allocation pattern.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Jungandreas

Full Text Available Diatoms are major contributors to the aquatic primary productivity and show an efficient acclimation ability to changing light intensities. Here, we investigated the acclimation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum to different light quality with respect to growth rate, photosynthesis rate, macromolecular composition and the metabolic profile by shifting the light quality from red light (RL to blue light (BL and vice versa. Our results show that cultures pre-acclimated to BL and RL exhibited similar growth performance, photosynthesis rates and metabolite profiles. However, light shift experiments revealed rapid and severe changes in the metabolite profile within 15 min as the initial reaction of light acclimation. Thus, during the shift from RL to BL, increased concentrations of amino acids and TCA cycle intermediates were observed whereas during the BL to RL shift the levels of amino acids were decreased and intermediates of glycolysis accumulated. Accordingly, on the time scale of hours the RL to BL shift led to a redirection of carbon into the synthesis of proteins, whereas during the BL to RL shift an accumulation of carbohydrates occurred. Thus, a vast metabolic reorganization of the cells was observed as the initial reaction to changes in light quality. The results are discussed with respect to a putative direct regulation of cellular enzymes by light quality and by transcriptional regulation. Interestingly, the short-term changes in the metabolome were accompanied by changes in the degree of reduction of the plastoquinone pool. Surprisingly, the RL to BL shift led to a severe inhibition of growth within the first 48 h which was not observed during the BL to RL shift. Furthermore, during the phase of growth arrest the photosynthetic performance did not change. We propose arguments that the growth arrest could have been caused by the reorganization of intracellular carbon partitioning.

Putative contact ketoconazole shampoo-triggered pemphigus foliaceus in a dog.

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Hyun-Jeong; Yoon, In-Hwa; Kim, Jung-Hyun

2017-09-01

A 10-year-old spayed female cocker spaniel dog was referred for an evaluation of acute-onset generalized pustular cutaneous lesions following application of ketoconazole shampoo. Cytologic and histopathologic examinations of the lesions revealed intra-epidermal pustules with predominantly neutrophils and acantholytic cells. This is the first description of putative contact ketoconazole shampoo-triggered pemphigus foliaceus in a dog.

Differential expressions of putative genes in various floral organs of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2009-06-03

Jun 3, 2009 ... Full Length Research Paper. Differential expressions of putative genes in various floral organs of the Pigeon orchid (Dendrobium crumenatum) using GeneFishing. Faridah, Q. Z.1, 2, Ng, B. Z.3, Raha, A. R.4, Umi, K. A. B.5 and Khosravi, A. R.2*. 1Department of Biology, Faculty Science, University Putra ...

Melanopsin mediates light-dependent relaxation in blood vessels.

Science.gov (United States)

Sikka, Gautam; Hussmann, G Patrick; Pandey, Deepesh; Cao, Suyi; Hori, Daijiro; Park, Jong Taek; Steppan, Jochen; Kim, Jae Hyung; Barodka, Viachaslau; Myers, Allen C; Santhanam, Lakshmi; Nyhan, Daniel; Halushka, Marc K; Koehler, Raymond C; Snyder, Solomon H; Shimoda, Larissa A; Berkowitz, Dan E

2014-12-16

Melanopsin (opsin4; Opn4), a non-image-forming opsin, has been linked to a number of behavioral responses to light, including circadian photo-entrainment, light suppression of activity in nocturnal animals, and alertness in diurnal animals. We report a physiological role for Opn4 in regulating blood vessel function, particularly in the context of photorelaxation. Using PCR, we demonstrate that Opn4 (a classic G protein-coupled receptor) is expressed in blood vessels. Force-tension myography demonstrates that vessels from Opn4(-/-) mice fail to display photorelaxation, which is also inhibited by an Opn4-specific small-molecule inhibitor. The vasorelaxation is wavelength-specific, with a maximal response at ∼430-460 nm. Photorelaxation does not involve endothelial-, nitric oxide-, carbon monoxide-, or cytochrome p450-derived vasoactive prostanoid signaling but is associated with vascular hyperpolarization, as shown by intracellular membrane potential measurements. Signaling is both soluble guanylyl cyclase- and phosphodiesterase 6-dependent but protein kinase G-independent. β-Adrenergic receptor kinase 1 (βARK 1 or GRK2) mediates desensitization of photorelaxation, which is greatly reduced by GRK2 inhibitors. Blue light (455 nM) regulates tail artery vasoreactivity ex vivo and tail blood blood flow in vivo, supporting a potential physiological role for this signaling system. This endogenous opsin-mediated, light-activated molecular switch for vasorelaxation might be harnessed for therapy in diseases in which altered vasoreactivity is a significant pathophysiologic contributor.

Engineering and economics of lighting for closed circuit television (CCTV) security alarm assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faucett, R.E.; Schow, F.L.

1979-01-01

The study examines the economics and applicability of low and high pressure sodium sources in both streetlight and floodlight luminaires for CCTV illumination of high-security areas. In addition the signal outputs of several popular CCTV camera tube types operated in the presence of common lighting sources are calculated. These calculations take into consideration the spectral response of the camera tubes and the spectral output of the light sources. The results are presented in terms of dollars per unit camera signal strength and also camera signal strength per connected watt of electrical load

Saturating light and not increased carbon dioxide under ocean acidification drives photosynthesis and growth in Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta)

Science.gov (United States)

Rautenberger, Ralf; Fernández, Pamela A; Strittmatter, Martina; Heesch, Svenja; Cornwall, Christopher E; Hurd, Catriona L; Roleda, Michael Y

2015-01-01

Carbon physiology of a genetically identified Ulva rigida was investigated under different CO2(aq) and light levels. The study was designed to answer whether (1) light or exogenous inorganic carbon (Ci) pool is driving growth; and (2) elevated CO2(aq) concentration under ocean acidification (OA) will downregulate CAext-mediated dehydration and alter the stable carbon isotope (δ13C) signatures toward more CO2 use to support higher growth rate. At pHT 9.0 where CO2(aq) is Ulva found putative light-dependent transporters to which the remaining NPS can be attributed. The shift in δ13C signatures from –22‰ toward –10‰ under saturating light but not under elevated CO2(aq) suggest preference and substantial use to support photosynthesis and growth. U. rigida is Ci saturated, and growth was primarily controlled by light. Therefore, increased levels of CO2(aq) predicted for the future will not, in isolation, stimulate Ulva blooms. PMID:25750714

Calibration and Process of Signal of Photomultiplier Tube in Rayleigh Scattering of Supersonic Jet Clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Jianfeng; Liu Meng; Han Jifeng; Li Jia; Luo Xiaobing; Miao Jingwei; Yang Chaowen

2009-01-01

In the experiments of Rayleigh scattering of gas-jet clusters, the signal amplitude of PMT is not only affected by duster itself, but also by the intensity of light source and work voltage of PMT. When the back pressure of cluster source varies from 10 atm to about 100atm, the signal amplitude of PMT may be from linear to nonlinear. In order to solve the problem, signal calibration of PMT under different intensifies of light and voltage of PMT has been done. The relationship between the amplitude of signal and intensities of light as well as voltage of PMT has been obtained. The function of scatter factor of Ar clusters with the back pressure of cluster source is gotten experimentally, and agrees with related experimental and theoretical results. (authors)

An adaptive scaling and biasing scheme for OFDM-based visible light communication systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhaocheng; Wang, Qi; Chen, Sheng; Hanzo, Lajos

2014-05-19

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) has been widely used in visible light communication systems to achieve high-rate data transmission. Due to the nonlinear transfer characteristics of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and owing the high peak-to-average-power ratio of OFDM signals, the transmitted signal has to be scaled and biased before modulating the LEDs. In this contribution, an adaptive scaling and biasing scheme is proposed for OFDM-based visible light communication systems, which fully exploits the dynamic range of the LEDs and improves the achievable system performance. Specifically, the proposed scheme calculates near-optimal scaling and biasing factors for each specific OFDM symbol according to the distribution of the signals, which strikes an attractive trade-off between the effective signal power and the clipping-distortion power. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves the performance without changing the LED's emitted power, while maintaining the same receiver structure.

Light weakly interacting massive particles

Science.gov (United States)

Gelmini, Graciela B.

2017-08-01

Light weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are dark matter particle candidates with weak scale interaction with the known particles, and mass in the GeV to tens of GeV range. Hints of light WIMPs have appeared in several dark matter searches in the last decade. The unprecedented possible coincidence into tantalizingly close regions of mass and cross section of four separate direct detection experimental hints and a potential indirect detection signal in gamma rays from the galactic center, aroused considerable interest in our field. Even if these hints did not so far result in a discovery, they have had a significant impact in our field. Here we review the evidence for and against light WIMPs as dark matter candidates and discuss future relevant experiments and observations.

ARA-PEPs: a repository of putative sORF-encoded peptides in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Hazarika, Rashmi R; De Coninck, Barbara; Yamamoto, Lidia R; Martin, Laura R; Cammue, Bruno P A; van Noort, Vera

2017-01-17

Many eukaryotic RNAs have been considered non-coding as they only contain short open reading frames (sORFs). However, there is increasing evidence for the translation of these sORFs into bioactive peptides with potent signaling, antimicrobial, developmental, antioxidant roles etc. Yet only a few peptides encoded by sORFs are annotated in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. To aid the functional annotation of these peptides, we have developed ARA-PEPs (available at http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/CSB/ARA-PEPs ), a repository of putative peptides encoded by sORFs in the A. thaliana genome starting from in-house Tiling arrays, RNA-seq data and other publicly available datasets. ARA-PEPs currently lists 13,748 sORF-encoded peptides with transcriptional evidence. In addition to existing data, we have identified 100 novel transcriptionally active regions (TARs) that might encode 341 novel stress-induced peptides (SIPs). To aid in identification of bioactivity, we add functional annotation and sequence conservation to predicted peptides. To our knowledge, this is the largest repository of plant peptides encoded by sORFs with transcript evidence, publicly available and this resource will help scientists to effortlessly navigate the list of experimentally studied peptides, the experimental and computational evidence supporting the activity of these peptides and gain new perspectives for peptide discovery.

Thresholds and noise limitations of colour vision in dim light.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelber, Almut; Yovanovich, Carola; Olsson, Peter

2017-04-05

Colour discrimination is based on opponent photoreceptor interactions, and limited by receptor noise. In dim light, photon shot noise impairs colour vision, and in vertebrates, the absolute threshold of colour vision is set by dark noise in cones. Nocturnal insects (e.g. moths and nocturnal bees) and vertebrates lacking rods (geckos) have adaptations to reduce receptor noise and use chromatic vision even in very dim light. In contrast, vertebrates with duplex retinae use colour-blind rod vision when noisy cone signals become unreliable, and their transition from cone- to rod-based vision is marked by the Purkinje shift. Rod-cone interactions have not been shown to improve colour vision in dim light, but may contribute to colour vision in mesopic light intensities. Frogs and toads that have two types of rods use opponent signals from these rods to control phototaxis even at their visual threshold. However, for tasks such as prey or mate choice, their colour discrimination abilities fail at brighter light intensities, similar to other vertebrates, probably limited by the dark noise in cones.This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in dim light'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Enhancement of sensitivity and bandwidth of gravitational wave detectors using fast-light-based white light cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salit, M; Shahriar, M S

2010-01-01

The effect of gravitational waves (GWs) has been observed indirectly, by monitoring the change in the orbital frequency of neutron stars in a binary system as they lose energy via gravitational radiation. However, GWs have not yet been observed directly. The initial LIGO apparatus has not yet observed GWs. The advanced LIGO (AdLIGO) will use a combination of improved techniques in order to increase the sensitivity. Along with power recycling and a higher power laser source, the AdLIGO will employ signal recycling (SR). While SR would increase sensitivity, it would also reduce the bandwidth significantly. Previously, we and others have investigated, theoretically and experimentally, the feasibility of using a fast-light-based white light cavity (WLC) to circumvent this constraint. However, in the previous work, it was not clear how one would incorporate the white light cavity effect. Here, we first develop a general model for Michelson-interferometer-based GW detectors that can be easily adapted to include the effects of incorporating a WLC into the design. We then describe a concrete design of a WLC constructed as a compound mirror, to replace the signal recycling mirror. This design is simple, robust, completely non-invasive, and can be added to the AdLIGO system without changing any other optical elements. We show a choice of parameters for which the signal sensitivity as well as the bandwidth are enhanced significantly over what is planned for the AdLIGO, covering the entire spectrum of interest for gravitational waves

External light activates hair follicle stem cells through eyes via an ipRGC-SCN-sympathetic neural pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Sabrina Mai-Yi; Chang, Yi-Ting; Chen, Chih-Lung; Wang, Wei-Hung; Pan, Ming-Kai; Chen, Wen-Pin; Huang, Wen-Yen; Xu, Zijian; Huang, Hai-En; Chen, Ting; Plikus, Maksim V; Chen, Shih-Kuo; Lin, Sung-Jan

2018-06-29

Changes in external light patterns can alter cell activities in peripheral tissues through slow entrainment of the central clock in suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). It remains unclear whether cells in otherwise photo-insensitive tissues can achieve rapid responses to changes in external light. Here we show that light stimulation of animals' eyes results in rapid activation of hair follicle stem cells with prominent hair regeneration. Mechanistically, light signals are interpreted by M1-type intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which signal to the SCN via melanopsin. Subsequently, efferent sympathetic nerves are immediately activated. Increased norepinephrine release in skin promotes hedgehog signaling to activate hair follicle stem cells. Thus, external light can directly regulate tissue stem cells via an ipRGC-SCN autonomic nervous system circuit. Since activation of sympathetic nerves is not limited to skin, this circuit can also facilitate rapid adaptive responses to external light in other homeostatic tissues.

Detection of weak optical signals with a laser amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlovskii, A. V.

2006-01-01

Detection of weak and extremely weak light signals amplified by linear and four-wave mixing laser amplifiers is analyzed. Photoelectron distributions are found for different input photon statistics over a wide range of gain. Signal-to-noise ratios are calculated and analyzed for preamplification schemes using linear and four-wave mixing amplifiers. Calculations show that the high signal-to-noise ratio (much higher than unity), ensuring reliable detection of weak input signals, can be attained only with a four-wave mixing preamplification scheme. Qualitative dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio on the quantum statistical properties of both signal and idler waves is demonstrated

Measuring light-by-light scattering at the LHC and FCC

CERN Document Server

d'Enterria, David

2016-01-01

Elastic light-by-light scattering, $\\gamma\\gamma\\to\\gamma\\gamma$, can be measured in electromagnetic interactions of lead (Pb) ions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and Future Circular Collider (FCC), using the large (quasi)real photon fluxes available in ultraperipheral collisions. The $\\gamma\\gamma\\to\\gamma\\gamma$ cross sections for diphoton masses m$_{\\gamma\\gamma}>$ 5 GeV in pp, pPb, and PbPb collisions at LHC ($\\sqrt{\\rm s_{_{NN}}}$ = 5.5, 8.8, 14 TeV) and FCC ($\\sqrt{\\rm s_{_{NN}}}$ = 39, 63, 100 TeV) center-of-mass energies are presented. The measurement has controllable backgrounds in PbPb collisions, and one expects about 70 and 2500 signal events per year at the LHC and FCC respectively, after typical detector acceptance and reconstruction efficiency selections.

Vibration compensated high-resolution scanning white-light Linnik-interferometer

Science.gov (United States)

Tereschenko, Stanislav; Lehmann, Peter; Gollor, Pascal; Kuehnhold, Peter

2017-06-01

We present a high-resolution Linnik scanning white-light interferometer (SWLI) with integrated distance measuring interferometer (DMI) for close-to-machine applications in the presence of environmental vibrations. The distance, measured by DMI during the depth-scan, is used for vibration compensation of SWLI signals. The reconstruction of the white-light interference signals takes place after measurement by reordering the captured images in accordance with their real positions obtained by the DMI and subsequent trigonometrical approximation. This system is the further development of our previously presented Michelson-interferometer. We are able to compensate for arbitrary vibrations with frequencies up to several kilohertz and amplitudes in the lower micrometer range. Completely distorted SWLI signals can be reconstructed and the surface topography can be obtained with high accuracy. We demonstrate the feasibility of the method by examples of practical measurements with and without vibrational disturbances.

Inhibitory Synaptic Plasticity - Spike timing dependence and putative network function.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim P Vogels

2013-07-01

Full Text Available While the plasticity of excitatory synaptic connections in the brain has been widely studied, the plasticity of inhibitory connections is much less understood. Here, we present recent experimental and theoretical □ndings concerning the rules of spike timing-dependent inhibitory plasticity and their putative network function. This is a summary of a workshop at the COSYNE conference 2012.

A hybrid CATV/16-QAM-OFDM visible laser light communication system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Chun-Yu; Li, Chung-Yi; Lu, Hai-Han; Chen, Chia-Yi; Jhang, Tai-Wei; Ruan, Sheng-Siang; Wu, Kuan-Hung

2014-01-01

A visible laser light communication (VLLC) system employing a vertical cavity surface emitting laser and spatial light modulator with hybrid CATV/16-QAM-OFDM modulating signals over a 5 m free-space link is proposed and demonstrated. With the assistance of a push-pull scheme, low-noise amplifier, and equalizer, good performances of composite second-order and composite triple beat are obtained, accompanied by an acceptable carrier-to-noise ratio performance for a CATV signal, and a low bit error rate value and clear constellation map are achieved for a 16-QAM-OFDM signal. Such a hybrid CATV/16-QAM-OFDM VLLC system would be attractive for providing services including CATV, Internet and telecommunication services. (paper)

Attractive Mobile Corridors - The Power of Light Rail Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Mette; Lassen, Claus

2013-01-01

Light rail is a popular tool in urban development strategies in many European cities. One argument for choosing a rail-based solution is that it signals stability to investors and will attract development and investments in the corridor. The choice of corridor in the various light rail cities...... and redistributes urban space. Furthermore light rail is not only a physical infrastructure but also an infrastructure of power that is carefully planned and designed creating both mental and physical patterns of mobilities and immobilities. Hence it is important to underline that mobility systems, such as light...

Evaluation of light scattering properties and chromophore concentrations in skin tissue based on diffuse reflectance signals at isosbestic wavelengths of hemoglobin

Science.gov (United States)

Yokokawa, Takumi; Nishidate, Izumi

2016-04-01

We investigate a method to evaluate light-scattering properties and chromophore concentrations in human skin tissue through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy using the reflectance signals acquired at isosbestic wavelengths of hemoglobin (420, 450, 500, and 585 nm). In the proposed method, Monte Carlo simulation-based empirical formulas are used to specify the scattering parameters of skin tissue, such as the scattering amplitude a and the scattering power b, as well as the concentration of melanin C m and the total blood concentration C tb. The use of isosbestic wavelengths of hemoglobin enables the values of C m, C tb, a, and b to be estimated independently of the oxygenation of hemoglobin. The spectrum of the reduced scattering coefficient is reconstructed from the scattering parameters. Experiments using in vivo human skin tissues were performed to confirm the feasibility of the proposed method for evaluating the changes in scattering properties and chromophore concentrations in skin tissue. The experimental results revealed that light scattering is significantly reduced by the application of a glycerol solution, which indicates an optical clearing effect due to osmotic dehydration and the matching of the refractive indices of scatterers in the epidermis.

Simulating the operation of photosensor-based lighting controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrlich, Charles; Papamichael, Konstantinos; Lai, Judy; Revzan, Kenneth

2001-01-01

Energy savings from the use of daylighting in commercial buildings are realized through implementation of photoelectric lighting controls that dim electric lights when sufficient daylight is available to provide adequate workplane illumination. The dimming level of electric lighting is based on the signal of a photosensor. Current simulation approaches for such systems are based on the questionable assumption that the signal of the photosensor is proportional to the task illuminance. This paper presents a method that simulates the performance of photosensor controls considering the acceptance angle, angular sensitivity, placement of the photosensor within a space, and color correction filter. The method is based on the multiplication of two fisheye images: one generated from the angular sensitivity of the photosensor and the other from a 180- or 360-degree fisheye image of the space as ''seen'' by the photosensor. The paper includes a detailed description of the method and its implementation, example applications, and validation results based on comparison with measurements in an actual office space

Ubiquitous Structural Signaling in Bacterial Phytochromes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Björling, Alexander; Berntsson, Oskar; Takala, Heikki; Gallagher, Kevin D.; Patel, Hardik; Gustavsson, Emil; St. Peter, Rachael; Duong, Phu; Nugent, Angela; Zhang, Fan; Berntsen, Peter; Appio, Roberto; Rajkovic, Ivan; Lehtivuori, Heli; Panman, Matthijs R.; Hoernke, Maria; Niebling, Stephan; Harimoorthy, Rajiv; Lamparter, Tilman; Stojković, Emina A.; Ihalainen, Janne A.; Westenhoff, Sebastian

2015-01-01

The phytochrome family of light-switchable proteins has long been studied by biochemical, spectroscopic and crystallographic means, while a direct probe for global conformational signal propagation has been lacking. Using solution X-ray scattering, we find that the photosensory cores of several

Search for correlatable, isotopically light carbon and nitrogen components in Lunar soils and breccias

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, S.J.; Swart, P.K.; Wright, I.P.; Grady, M.M.; Pillinger, C.T.

1983-01-01

Using stepped heating extraction techniques, determinations of carbon and nitrogen content and delta 13 C and delta 15 N values have been obtained for selected lunar soils and breccias. Only nitrogen data have been gathered for representative splits separated by size, density and magnetic properties from 12023. A plot of the total delta 13 C (after terrestrial contamination is removed) versus delta 15 N values for the bulk samples reveals little evidence for a correlation between isotopically light carbon and isotopically light nitrogen of putative ancient solar wind origin. Soil 12023 is used to examine the current interpretation for the stepped release profile of nitrogen from bulk lunar samples. Mature agglutinates, postulated by previous workers to be the host of the light nitrogen, are shown to have a very constant delta 15 N value which is heavy rather than light. The actual host of the light nitrogen in 12023 has not been identified. The lowest values encountered during the study were found associated with the finest soil, but none of these was as low as for some temperature steps of the bulk soil. Interpretations regarding the origin of light nitrogen, if it is not present in agglutinates, await the results of more definitive efforts to identify the host phase

Cloning and sequence analysis of putative type II fatty acid synthase ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prakash

Cloning and sequence analysis of putative type II fatty acid synthase genes from Arachis hypogaea L. ... acyl carrier protein (ACP), malonyl-CoA:ACP transacylase, β-ketoacyl-ACP .... Helix II plays a dominant role in the interaction ... main distinguishing features of plant ACPs in plastids and ..... synthase component; J. Biol.

Sensitivity of a fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations in an optical fibre

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alekseev, A E; Potapov, V T [V.A.Kotel' nikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fryazino Branch, Fryazino, Moscow region (Russian Federation); Gorshkov, B G [OOO ' Petrofaiber' , Russia, Tula region, Novomoskovsk (Russian Federation)

2015-10-31

Sensitivity of a fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations is studied for the first time. An expression is derived for an average power of a useful signal at the interferometer output under external harmonic perturbations in a signal fibre of the interferometer. It is shown that the maximum sensitivity of the scattered-light interferometer depends on the dispersion of the interferogram intensity. An average signal-to-noise ratio is determined theoretically and experimentally at the output of the interferometer at different amplitudes of external perturbations. Using the measured dependences of the signal-to-noise ratio, the threshold sensitivity of the fibre scattered-light interferometer to external phase perturbations is found. The results obtained can be used to optimise characteristics of optical time-domain reflectometers and to design individual phase-sensitive fibre-optic sensors. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

Optochemokine Tandem for Light-Control of Intracellular Ca2.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrin Feldbauer

Full Text Available An optochemokine tandem was developed to control the release of calcium from endosomes into the cytosol by light and to analyze the internalization kinetics of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs by electrophysiology. A previously constructed rhodopsin tandem was re-engineered to combine the light-gated Ca2+-permeable cation channel Channelrhodopsin-2(L132C, CatCh, with the chemokine receptor CXCR4 in a functional tandem protein tCXCR4/CatCh. The GPCR was used as a shuttle protein to displace CatCh from the plasma membrane into intracellular areas. As shown by patch-clamp measurements and confocal laser scanning microscopy, heterologously expressed tCXCR4/CatCh was internalized via the endocytic SDF1/CXCR4 signaling pathway. The kinetics of internalization could be followed electrophysiologically via the amplitude of the CatCh signal. The light-induced release of Ca2+ by tandem endosomes into the cytosol via CatCh was visualized using the Ca2+-sensitive dyes rhod2 and rhod2-AM showing an increase of intracellular Ca2+ in response to light.

Putative golden proportions as predictors of facial esthetics in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiekens, Rosemie M A; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie; van 't Hof, Martin A; van 't Hof, Bep E; Maltha, Jaap C

2008-10-01

In orthodontics, facial esthetics is assumed to be related to golden proportions apparent in the ideal human face. The aim of the study was to analyze the putative relationship between facial esthetics and golden proportions in white adolescents. Seventy-six adult laypeople evaluated sets of photographs of 64 adolescents on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 100. The facial esthetic value of each subject was calculated as a mean VAS score. Three observers recorded the position of 13 facial landmarks included in 19 putative golden proportions, based on the golden proportions as defined by Ricketts. The proportions and each proportion's deviation from the golden target (1.618) were calculated. This deviation was then related to the VAS scores. Only 4 of the 19 proportions had a significant negative correlation with the VAS scores, indicating that beautiful faces showed less deviation from the golden standard than less beautiful faces. Together, these variables explained only 16% of the variance. Few golden proportions have a significant relationship with facial esthetics in adolescents. The explained variance of these variables is too small to be of clinical importance.

Data on the putative role of p53 in breast cancer cell adhesion: Technical information for adhesion assay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kallirroi Voudouri

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this data article, the potential role of p53 tumor suppressor gene (p53 on the attachment ability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells was investigated. In our main article, “IGF-I/ EGF and E2 signaling crosstalk through IGF-IR conduit point affect breast cancer cell adhesion” (K. Voudouri, D. Nikitovic, A. Berdiaki, D. Kletsas, N.K. Karamanos, G.N. Tzanakakis, 2016 [1], we describe the key role of IGF-IR in breast cancer cell adhesion onto fibronectin (FN. p53 tumor suppressor gene is a principal regulator of cancer cell proliferation. Various data have demonstrated an association between p53 and IGF-IR actions on cell growth through its’ putative regulation of IGF-IR expression. According to our performed experiments, p53 does not modify IGF-IR expression and does not affect basal MCF-7 cells adhesion onto FN. Moreover, technical details about the performance of adhesion assay onto the FN substrate were provided.

Glutamatergic neurotransmission from melanopsin retinal ganglion cells is required for neonatal photoaversion but not adult pupillary light reflex.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Delwig

Full Text Available Melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs in the eye play an important role in many light-activated non-image-forming functions including neonatal photoaversion and the adult pupillary light reflex (PLR. MRGCs rely on glutamate and possibly PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide to relay visual signals to the brain. However, the role of these neurotransmitters for individual non-image-forming responses remains poorly understood. To clarify the role of glutamatergic signaling from mRGCs in neonatal aversion to light and in adult PLR, we conditionally deleted vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT2 selectively from mRGCs in mice. We found that deletion of VGLUT2 in mRGCs abolished negative phototaxis and light-induced distress vocalizations in neonatal mice, underscoring a necessary role for glutamatergic signaling. In adult mice, loss of VGLUT2 in mRGCs resulted in a slow and an incomplete PLR. We conclude that glutamatergic neurotransmission from mRGCs is required for neonatal photoaversion but is complemented by another non-glutamatergic signaling mechanism for the pupillary light reflex in adult mice. We speculate that this complementary signaling might be due to PACAP neurotransmission from mRGCs.

Nuclear import of influenza B virus nucleoprotein: Involvement of an N-terminal nuclear localization signal and a cleavage-protection motif

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wanitchang, Asawin; Narkpuk, Jaraspim; Jongkaewwattana, Anan

2013-01-01

The nucleoprotein of influenza B virus (BNP) shares several characteristics with its influenza A virus counterpart (ANP), including localization in the host's nucleus. However, while the nuclear localization signal(s) (NLS) of ANP are well characterized, little is known about those of BNP. In this study, we showed that the fusion protein bearing the BNP N-terminus fused with GFP (N70–GFP) is exclusively nuclear, and identified a highly conserved KRXR motif spanning residues 44–47 as a putative NLS. In addition, we demonstrated that residues 3–15 of BNP, though not an NLS, are also crucial for nuclear import. Results from mutational analyses of N70–GFP and the full-length BNP suggest that this region may be required for protection of the N-terminus from proteolytic cleavage. Altogether, we propose that the N-terminal region of BNP contains the NLS and cleavage-protection motif, which together drive its nuclear localization. - Highlights: • The N-terminal region of BNP is required for nuclear accumulation. • The conserved motif at position 44–47 is a putative nuclear localization signal. • The first 15 amino acids of BNP may function as a cleavage-protection motif. • BNP may get access to the nucleus via a mechanism distinct from ANP

Nuclear import of influenza B virus nucleoprotein: Involvement of an N-terminal nuclear localization signal and a cleavage-protection motif

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wanitchang, Asawin; Narkpuk, Jaraspim; Jongkaewwattana, Anan, E-mail: anan.jon@biotec.or.th

2013-08-15

The nucleoprotein of influenza B virus (BNP) shares several characteristics with its influenza A virus counterpart (ANP), including localization in the host's nucleus. However, while the nuclear localization signal(s) (NLS) of ANP are well characterized, little is known about those of BNP. In this study, we showed that the fusion protein bearing the BNP N-terminus fused with GFP (N70–GFP) is exclusively nuclear, and identified a highly conserved KRXR motif spanning residues 44–47 as a putative NLS. In addition, we demonstrated that residues 3–15 of BNP, though not an NLS, are also crucial for nuclear import. Results from mutational analyses of N70–GFP and the full-length BNP suggest that this region may be required for protection of the N-terminus from proteolytic cleavage. Altogether, we propose that the N-terminal region of BNP contains the NLS and cleavage-protection motif, which together drive its nuclear localization. - Highlights: • The N-terminal region of BNP is required for nuclear accumulation. • The conserved motif at position 44–47 is a putative nuclear localization signal. • The first 15 amino acids of BNP may function as a cleavage-protection motif. • BNP may get access to the nucleus via a mechanism distinct from ANP.

Exogenous γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) affects pollen tube growth via modulating putative Ca2+-permeable membrane channels and is coupled to negative regulation on glutamate decarboxylase

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Guang-Hui; Zou, Jie; Feng, Jing; Peng, Xiong-Bo; Wu, Ju-You; Wu, Ying-Liang; Palanivelu, Ravishankar; Sun, Meng-Xiang

2014-01-01

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is implicated in pollen tube growth, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms that it mediates are largely unknown. Here, it is shown that exogenous GABA modulates putative Ca2+-permeable channels on the plasma membranes of tobacco pollen grains and pollen tubes. Whole-cell voltage-clamp experiments and non-invasive micromeasurement technology (NMT) revealed that the influx of Ca2+ increases in pollen tubes in response to exogenous GABA. It is also demonstrated that glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), the rate-limiting enzyme of GABA biosynthesis, is involved in feedback controls of Ca2+-permeable channels to fluctuate intracellular GABA levels and thus modulate pollen tube growth. The findings suggest that GAD activity linked with Ca2+-permeable channels relays an extracellular GABA signal and integrates multiple signal pathways to modulate tobacco pollen tube growth. Thus, the data explain how GABA mediates the communication between the style and the growing pollen tubes. PMID:24799560

Chemically induced and light-independent cryptochrome photoreceptor activation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeldt, Gesa; Viana, Rafael Muñoz; Mootz, Henning D; von Arnim, Albrecht G; Batschauer, Alfred

2008-01-01

The cryptochrome photoreceptors of higher plants are dimeric proteins. Their N-terminal photosensory domain mediates dimerization, and the unique C-terminal extension (CCT) mediates signaling. We made use of the human FK506-binding protein (FKBP) that binds with high affinity to rapamycin or rapamycin analogs (rapalogs). The FKBP-rapamycin complex is recognized by another protein, FRB, thus allowing rapamycin-induced dimerization of two target proteins. Here we demonstrate by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assays the applicability of this regulated dimerization system to plants. Furthermore, we show that fusion proteins consisting of the C-terminal domain of Arabidopsis cryptochrome 2 fused to FKBP and FRB and coexpressed in Arabidopsis cells specifically induce the expression of cryptochrome-controlled reporter and endogenous genes in darkness upon incubation with the rapalog. These results demonstrate that the activation of cryptochrome signal transduction can be chemically induced in a dose-dependent fashion and uncoupled from the light signal, and provide the groundwork for gain-of-function experiments to study specifically the role of photoreceptors in darkness or in signaling cross-talk even under light conditions that activate members of all photoreceptor families.

Light-switching-light optical transistor based on metallic nanoparticle cross-chains geometry incorporating Kerr nonlinearity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AbdelMalek, Fathi; Aroua, Walid [National Institute of Applied Science and Technology, University of Carthage, Tunis (Tunisia); Haxha, Shyqyri [Computer Science and Technology Department, Bedfordshire University, Luton (United Kingdom); Flint, Ian [Selex ES Ltd, Luton, Bedfordshire (United Kingdom)

2016-08-15

In this research work, we propose all-optical transistor based on metallic nanoparticle cross-chains geometry. The geometry of the proposed device consists of two silver nanoparticle chains arranged along the x- and z-axis. The x-chain contains a Kerr nonlinearity, the source beam is set at the left side of the later, while the control beam is located at the top side of the z-chain. The control beam can turn ON and OFF the light transmission of an incoming light. We report a theoretical model of a very small all-optical transistor proof-of-concept made of optical 'light switching light' concept. We show that the transmission efficiency strongly depends on the control beam and polarization of the incoming light. We investigate the influence of a perfect reflector and reflecting substrate on the transmission of the optical signal when the control beam is turned ON and OFF. These new findings make our unique design a potential candidate for future highly-integrated optical information processing chips. (copyright 2016 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Expansion of Signal Transduction Pathways in Fungi by Extensive Genome Duplication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Corrochano, Luis M; Kuo, Alan; Marcet-Houben, Marina; Polaino, Silvia; Salamov, Asaf; Villalobos-Escobedo, José M; Grimwood, Jane; Álvarez, M Isabel; Avalos, Javier; Bauer, Diane; Benito, Ernesto P; Benoit, Isabelle|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/314410023; Burger, Gertraud; Camino, Lola P; Cánovas, David; Cerdá-Olmedo, Enrique; Cheng, Jan-Fang; Domínguez, Angel; Eliáš, Marek; Eslava, Arturo P; Glaser, Fabian; Gutiérrez, Gabriel; Heitman, Joseph; Henrissat, Bernard; Iturriaga, Enrique A; Lang, B Franz; Lavín, José L; Lee, Soo Chan; Li, Wenjun; Lindquist, Erika; López-García, Sergio; Luque, Eva M; Marcos, Ana T; Martin, Joel; McCluskey, Kevin; Medina, Humberto R; Miralles-Durán, Alejandro; Miyazaki, Atsushi; Muñoz-Torres, Elisa; Oguiza, José A; Ohm, Robin A|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304837628; Olmedo, María; Orejas, Margarita; Ortiz-Castellanos, Lucila; Pisabarro, Antonio G; Rodríguez-Romero, Julio; Ruiz-Herrera, José; Ruiz-Vázquez, Rosa; Sanz, Catalina; Schackwitz, Wendy; Shahriari, Mahdi; Shelest, Ekaterina; Silva-Franco, Fátima; Soanes, Darren; Syed, Khajamohiddin; Tagua, Víctor G; Talbot, Nicholas J; Thon, Michael R; Tice, Hope; de Vries, Ronald P|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/186324960; Wiebenga, Ad|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/314110763; Yadav, Jagjit S; Braun, Edward L; Baker, Scott E; Garre, Victoriano; Schmutz, Jeremy; Horwitz, Benjamin A; Torres-Martínez, Santiago; Idnurm, Alexander; Herrera-Estrella, Alfredo; Gabaldón, Toni; Grigoriev, Igor V

2016-01-01

Plants and fungi use light and other signals to regulate development, growth, and metabolism. The fruiting bodies of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus are single cells that react to environmental cues, including light, but the mechanisms are largely unknown [1]. The related fungus Mucor

IL-12-mediated STAT4 signaling and TCR signal strength cooperate in the induction of CD40L in human and mouse CD8+ T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Stark, Regina; Hartung, Anett; Zehn, Dietmar; Frentsch, Marco; Thiel, Andreas

2013-06-01

CD40L is one of the key molecules bridging the activation of specific T cells and the maturation of professional and nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells including B cells. CD4(+) T cells have been regarded as the major T-cell subset that expresses CD40L upon cognate activation; however, we demonstrate here that a putative CD8(+) helper T-cell subset expressing CD40L is induced in human and murine CD8(+) T cells in vitro and in mice immunized with antigen-pulsed dendritic cells. IL-12 and STAT4-mediated signaling was the major instructive cytokine signal boosting the ability of CD8(+) T cells to express CD40L both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, TCR signaling strength modulated CD40L expression in CD8(+) T cells after primary differentiation in vitro as well as in vivo. The induction of CD40L in CD8(+) T cells regulated by IL-12 and TCR signaling may enable CD8(+) T cells to respond autonomously of CD4(+) T cells. Thus, we propose that under proinflammatory conditions, a self-sustaining positive feedback loop could facilitate the efficient priming of T cells stimulated by high affinity peptide displaying APCs. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Memory-guided sensory comparisons in the prefrontal cortex: contribution of putative pyramidal cells and interneurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussar, Cory R; Pasternak, Tatiana

2012-02-22

Comparing two stimuli that occur at different times demands the coordination of bottom-up and top-down processes. It has been hypothesized that the dorsolateral prefrontal (PFC) cortex, the likely source of top-down cortical influences, plays a key role in such tasks, contributing to both maintenance and sensory comparisons. We examined this hypothesis by recording from the PFC of monkeys comparing directions of two moving stimuli, S1 and S2, separated by a memory delay. We determined the contribution of the two principal cell types to these processes by classifying neurons into broad-spiking (BS) putative pyramidal cells and narrow-spiking (NS) putative local interneurons. During the delay, BS cells were more likely to exhibit anticipatory modulation and represent the remembered direction. While this representation was transient, appearing at different times in different neurons, it weakened when direction was not task relevant, suggesting its utility. During S2, both putative cell types showed comparison-related activity modulations. These modulations were of two types, each carried by different neurons, which either preferred trials with stimuli moving in the same direction or trials with stimuli of different directions. These comparison effects were strongly correlated with choice, suggesting their role in circuitry underlying decision making. These results provide the first demonstration of distinct contributions made by principal cell types to memory-guided perceptual decisions. During sensory stimulation both cell types represent behaviorally relevant stimulus features contributing to comparison and decision-related activity. However in the absence of sensory stimulation, putative pyramidal cells dominated, carrying information about the elapsed time and the preceding direction.

Method and apparatus for the electro-optic convolution of a one-dimensional signal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

Procedure for the electro-optic convolution of a signal and a filter function, whereby the one dimensional electro-optical signal would be portrayed as a line along which the clarity varies and whereby filter function is determined by one or more masks, whilst after each mask is placed a light detector, with which the light passing through the masks may be detected, whilst a one-dimensional portrayal of the signal along the masks will be developed, characterised in that a one dimensional portrayal of the signal, with the aid of an optical system in a direction across the line, will be enlarged, and that this enlarged signal in the direction of the line along the masks will be affected which the masks closing fields will contain, which are either fully transparent or are fully non-transparent. (Auth.)

The adnAB Locus, Encoding a Putative Helicase-Nuclease Activity, Is Essential in Streptomyces

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lingli; Nguyen, Hoang Chuong; Chipot, Ludovic; Piotrowski, Emilie; Bertrand, Claire

2014-01-01

Homologous recombination is a crucial mechanism that repairs a wide range of DNA lesions, including the most deleterious ones, double-strand breaks (DSBs). This multistep process is initiated by the resection of the broken DNA ends by a multisubunit helicase-nuclease complex exemplified by Escherichia coli RecBCD, Bacillus subtilis AddAB, and newly discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis AdnAB. Here we show that in Streptomyces, neither recBCD nor addAB homologues could be detected. The only putative helicase-nuclease-encoding genes identified were homologous to M. tuberculosis adnAB genes. These genes are conserved as a single copy in all sequenced genomes of Streptomyces. The disruption of adnAB in Streptomyces ambofaciens and Streptomyces coelicolor could not be achieved unless an ectopic copy was provided, indicating that adnAB is essential for growth. Both adnA and adnB genes were shown to be inducible in response to DNA damage (mitomycin C) and to be independently transcribed. Introduction of S. ambofaciens adnAB genes in an E. coli recB mutant restored viability and resistance to UV light, suggesting that Streptomyces AdnAB could be a functional homologue of RecBCD and be involved in DNA damage resistance. PMID:24837284

Dissecting long-term adjustments of photoprotective and photo-oxidative stress acclimation occurring in dynamic light environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shizue Matsubara

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Changes in light intensity directly affect the performance of the photosynthetic apparatus. Light energy absorbed in excess of cells’ needs leads to production of reactive oxygen species and photo-oxidative damage. Excess light in both constant and dynamic environments induces photoprotective acclimation in plants. Distinct sets of signals and regulatory mechanisms are involved in acclimatory adjustment of photoprotection and photosynthesis under constant and dynamic (fluctuating light conditions. We are still far away from drawing a comprehensive picture of acclimatory signal transduction pathways, particularly in dynamic environments. In this perspective article, we propose the use of Arabidopsis plants that produce H2O2 in chloroplasts (GO plants under atmospheric CO2 levels as a tool to study the mechanisms of long-term acclimation to photo-oxidative stress. In our opinion there are new avenues to future investigations on acclimatory adjustments and signal transduction occurring in plants under dynamic light environments.

Temporal separation of the density fluctuation signal measured by light scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antar, G.; Devynk, P.; Laviron, C.; Garbet, X.; Sabot, R.; Fenzi, C.; Hennequin, P.; Truc, A.; Quemeneur, A.; Honore, C.; Gervais, F.

1999-02-01

On Tore Supra, the frequency spectra of the turbulent fluctuations often have two peaks centered on some positive and negative values. These two peaks correspond to a poloidal motion of electron turbulence in opposite directions. In this paper, a criterion is elaborated allowing us to distinguish, in time, density fluctuations convected in the parallel from those in the anti-parallel direction with respect to the analysing wavevector. Two signals are thus extracted out of one. The validity of our model is experimentally checked up by comparing the auto-correlation coefficients and the frequency spectra computed for the whole and the separated signals. Consequently, the frequency spectrum is studied in detail as a function of the analysing wavenumber leading to an accurate determination of some plasma properties. (authors)

Smart lighting using a liquid crystal modulator

Science.gov (United States)

Baril, Alexandre; Thibault, Simon; Galstian, Tigran

2017-08-01

Now that LEDs have massively invaded the illumination market, a clear trend has emerged for more efficient and targeted lighting. The project described here is at the leading edge of the trend and aims at developing an evaluation board to test smart lighting applications. This is made possible thanks to a new liquid crystal light modulator recently developed for broadening LED light beams. The modulator is controlled by electrical signals and is characterized by a linear working zone. This feature allows the implementation of a closed loop control with a sensor feedback. This project shows that the use of computer vision is a promising opportunity for cheap closed loop control. The developed evaluation board integrates the liquid crystal modulator, a webcam, a LED light source and all the required electronics to implement a closed loop control with a computer vision algorithm.

Speed of light demonstration using Doppler beat

Science.gov (United States)

Bernal, Luis; Bilbao, Luis

2018-05-01

From an apparatus previously designed for measuring the Doppler shift using a rotating mirror, an improved, versatile version was developed for speed of light demonstrations in a classroom or a teaching laboratory. By adding a second detector and adequate beam-splitter and mirrors, three different configurations are easily assembled. One configuration is used for time-of-flight measurements between a near and a far detector, allowing one to measure the speed of light provided that the path length between detectors is known. Another variation is the interferometric method obtained by superposing the far and near signals in such a way that a minimum of the combined signal is obtained when the time delay makes the signals arrive out of phase by π radians. Finally, the standard Doppler configuration allows the measurement of the frequency beat as a function of the rotation frequency. The main advantages of the apparatus are (a) the experimental setup is simple and completely accessible to undergraduate students, (b) the light is visible, students can see the rays, which, with the use of appropriate screens, can be blocked at any point along their paths, (c) the experiment can take place entirely within the teaching laboratory or demonstration room (using the interferometric method, the shortest distance to the far mirror was as small as 0.5 m), and (d) different configurations can be built, including some economical setups within the budget of teaching laboratories.

Putative pacemakers in the eyestalk and brain of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii show circadian oscillations in levels of mRNA for crustacean hyperglycemic hormone.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janikua Nelson-Mora

Full Text Available Crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH synthesizing cells in the optic lobe, one of the pacemakers of the circadian system, have been shown to be present in crayfish. However, the presence of CHH in the central brain, another putative pacemaker of the multi-oscillatory circadian system, of this decapod and its circadian transcription in the optic lobe and brain have yet to be explored. Therefore, using qualitative and quantitative PCR, we isolated and cloned a CHH mRNA fragment from two putative pacemakers of the multi-oscillatory circadian system of Procambarus clarkii, the optic lobe and the central brain. This CHH transcript synchronized to daily light-dark cycles and oscillated under dark, constant conditions demonstrating statistically significant daily and circadian rhythms in both structures. Furthermore, to investigate the presence of the peptide in the central brain of this decapod, we used immunohistochemical methods. Confocal microscopy revealed the presence of CHH-IR in fibers and cells of the protocerebral and tritocerebal clusters and neuropiles, particularly in some neurons located in clusters 6, 14, 15 and 17. The presence of CHH positive neurons in structures of P. clarkii where clock proteins have been reported suggests a relationship between the circadian clockwork and CHH. This work provides new insights into the circadian regulation of CHH, a pleiotropic hormone that regulates many physiological processes such as glucose metabolism and osmoregulatory responses to stress.

Scintillation light from cosmic-ray muons in liquid argon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whittington, D.; Howard, B.; Mufson, S.

2016-01-01

This paper reports the results of an experiment to directly measure the time-resolved scintillation signal from the passage of cosmic-ray muons through liquid argon. Scintillation light from these muons is of value to studies of weakly-interacting particles in neutrino experiments and dark matter searches. The experiment was carried out at the TallBo dewar facility at Fermilab using prototype light guide detectors and electronics developed for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Two models are presented for the time structure of the scintillation light, a phenomenological model and a composite model. Both models find τ T  = 1.52 μs for the decay time constant of the Ar 2 * triplet state. These models also show that the identification of the ''early'' light fraction in the phenomenological model, F E  ≈ 25% of the signal, with the total light from singlet decays is an underestimate. The total fraction of singlet light is F S  ≈ 36%, where the increase over F E is from singlet light emitted by the wavelength shifter through processes with long decay constants. The models were further used to compute the experimental particle identification parameter F prompt , the fraction of light coming in a short time window after the trigger compared with the light in the total recorded waveform. The models reproduce quite well the typical experimental value ∼0.3 found by dark matter and double β-decay experiments, which suggests this parameter provides a robust metric for discriminating electrons and muons from more heavily ionizing particles.

Putative recombination events and evolutionary history of five economically important viruses of fruit trees based on coat protein-encoding gene sequence analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulila, Moncef

2010-06-01

To enhance the knowledge of recombination as an evolutionary process, 267 accessions retrieved from GenBank were investigated, all belonging to five economically important viruses infecting fruit crops (Plum pox, Apple chlorotic leaf spot, Apple mosaic, Prune dwarf, and Prunus necrotic ringspot viruses). Putative recombinational events were detected in the coat protein (CP)-encoding gene using RECCO and RDP version 3.31beta algorithms. Based on RECCO results, all five viruses were shown to contain potential recombination signals in the CP gene. Reconstructed trees with modified topologies were proposed. Furthermore, RECCO performed better than the RDP package in detecting recombination events and exhibiting their evolution rate along the sequences of the five viruses. RDP, however, provided the possible major and minor parents of the recombinants. Thus, the two methods should be considered complementary.

Possible involvement of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in N-acetylcysteine-mediated antidepressant-like effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Samhari, Marwa M; Al-Rasheed, Nouf M; Al-Rejaie, Salim; Al-Rasheed, Nawal M; Hasan, Iman H; Mahmoud, Ayman M; Dzimiri, Nduna

2016-03-01

Advances in depression research have targeted inflammation and oxidative stress to develop novel types of treatment. The JAK/STAT signaling pathway plays pivotal roles in immune and inflammatory responses. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of N-acetylcysteine, a putative precursor of the antioxidant glutathione, in an animal model of depression, with an emphasis on the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Fluoxetine, a classical antidepressant drug was also under investigation. Male Wistar rats were subjected to forced swimming test and given N-acetylcysteine and fluoxetine immediately after the pre-test session, 5 h later and 1 h before the test session of the forced swimming test. N-acetylcysteine decreased immobility time (P acetylcysteine produced significant (P acetylcysteine significantly (P acetylcysteine. Therefore, depression research may target the JAK/STAT signaling pathway to provide a novel effective therapy. © 2015 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a putative glucokinase/hexokinase from Thermus thermophilus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Tsutomu; Kashima, Yasuhiro; Mine, Shouhei; Oku, Takashi; Uegaki, Koichi

2011-01-01

In this study, a putative glucokinase/hexokinase from T. thermophilus was purified and crystallized. Diffraction data were collected and processed to 2.02 Å resolution. Glucokinase/hexokinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of glucose to glucose 6-phosphate, which is the first step of glycolysis. The open reading frame TTHA0299 of the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus encodes a putative glucokinase/hexokinase which contains the consensus sequence for proteins from the repressors, open reading frames and sugar kinases family. In this study, the glucokinase/hexokinase from T. thermophilus was purified and crystallized using polyethylene glycol 8000 as a precipitant. Diffraction data were collected and processed to 2.02 Å resolution. The crystal belonged to space group P2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 70.93, b = 138.14, c = 75.16 Å, β = 95.41°

signal of NMSSM at the LHC

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Jacky Kumar

2017-10-05

Oct 5, 2017 ... γγ + l + /ET signal of NMSSM at the LHC ... mechanism of diphoton mode of A1 and its detection possibility in the final-state. (γγ + l + ... example, it is known for quite sometime that light .... (A) and singlet (S) weak eigenstates.

Evaluation of surveillance of dengue fever cases in the public health centre of Putat Jaya based on attribute surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zumaroh Zumaroh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF is a public health problem in the village of Putat Jaya which is an endemic area. Surveilans activity in DHF control program is the most important activity in controlling and monitoring disease progression. The program is expected to achieve incidence rate 55/100.000 population. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of case surveilans in health centre of putat jaya based on attribute surveillance. Attribute surveillance is an indicator that describes the characteristics of the surveillance system. This research was an evaluation research with descriptive study design. As informants were clinic staff who deal specifically with cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and laboratory workers. The techniques of data collection by interviews and document study. The variables of this study were simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, sensitivity, positive predictive value, representativeness, timeliness, data quality and data stability. It could be seen from Incidence Rate in 2013 has reached 133/100.00 population. The activity of surveilance in the village of Putat Jaya reviewed from disease contol program management was not succeed into decrease incidence rate of DHF. Therefore, dengue control programs in health centers Putat Jaya need to do cross-sector cooperation and cross-program cooperation, strengthening the case reporting system by way increasing in the utilization of information and communication technology electromedia. Keywords: case surveillance, dengue hemorrhagic fever, evaluation, attribute surveillance, Putat Jaya

Light and the human circadian clock

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roenneberg, Till; Kantermann, Thomas; Juda, Myriam; Vetter, Céline; Allebrandt, Karla V

2013-01-01

The circadian clock can only reliably fulfil its function if it is stably entrained. Most clocks use the light-dark cycle as environmental signal (zeitgeber) for this active synchronisation. How we think about clock function and entrainment has been strongly influenced by the early concepts of the

Signaling emotion and reason in cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Emma E; Barasch, Alixandra; Rand, David; Berman, Jonathan Z; Small, Deborah A

2018-05-01

We explore the signal value of emotion and reason in human cooperation. Across four experiments utilizing dyadic prisoner dilemma games, we establish three central results. First, individuals infer prosocial feelings and motivations from signals of emotion. As a result, individuals believe that a reliance on emotion signals that one will cooperate more so than a reliance on reason. Second, these beliefs are generally accurate-those who act based on emotion are more likely to cooperate than those who act based on reason. Third, individuals' behavioral responses towards signals of emotion and reason depend on their own decision mode: those who rely on emotion tend to conditionally cooperate (that is, cooperate only when they believe that their partner has cooperated), whereas those who rely on reason tend to defect regardless of their partner's signal. These findings shed light on how different decision processes, and lay theories about decision processes, facilitate and impede cooperation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

IL-6 signaling in diabetic nephropathy: From pathophysiology to therapeutic perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Feigerlová, Eva; Battaglia-Hsu, Shyue-Fang

2017-10-01

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling participates in inflammation responses central to the progression of DN. Current evidence suggests that these IL-6 responses are mediated via gp130-STAT3 dependent mechanisms which, on one hand, trigger globally the transition from innate to adaptive immune response, and on the other hand act locally for tissue remodeling and immune cell infiltration. In diabetic conditions the role of IL-6 is not well elucidated. Both IL-6 classical signaling pathway via receptor IL-6R (IL-6R) and IL-6 trans-signaling pathway via soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R) were shown to participate in the pathogenesis and progression of DN, and IL-6 appears to influence renal cells also in an autocrine manner. To date, evidence is limited. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of our current understanding on the role of IL-6 signaling in DN and to delineate challenges for future research. Putative sequential events related to IL-6 secretion by different cell populations in diabetic conditions are outlined. Further, we discuss potential applications of anti-IL-6 therapy in the context of DN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermoluminescent Signals Caused by Disturbing Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

German, U.; Weinstein, M.; Ben-Shachar, B.

1999-01-01

One of the major sources of uncertainty in the measurement of low radiation doses by means of thermoluminescence dosemeters is the presence of disturbing thermoluminescence signals, especially luminescence caused by visible light, and by materials attached to the heated areas. Glow curves of thermoluminescence dosemeters contain useful information that can improve the accuracy and the reliability of the thermoluminescent measurements. The influence of the various disturbing effects can be recognised in the shape of the glow curves and can sometimes be separated from the exposure. Some examples are presented of signals arising from the two disturbing effects mentioned above, the signal contributed by Teflon used in the TLD-100 cards of Bicron/Harshaw and some abnormal glow curves due to dirt attached to the cards. Subtraction of the contributions due to these effects is suggested to obtain the net exposure signal. (author)

Demonstration of a squeezed-light-enhanced power- and signal-recycled Michelson interferometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Vahlbruch, Henning; Chelkowski, Simon; Hage, Boris; Franzen, Alexander; Danzmann, Karsten; Schnabel, Roman

2005-11-18

We report on the experimental combination of three advanced interferometer techniques for gravitational wave detection, namely, power recycling, detuned signal recycling, and squeezed field injection. For the first time, we experimentally prove the compatibility of especially the latter two. To achieve a broadband nonclassical sensitivity improvement, we applied a filter cavity for compensation of quadrature rotation. The signal-to-noise ratio was improved by up to 2.8 dB beyond the coherent state's shot noise. The complete setup was stably locked for arbitrary times and characterized by injected single-sideband modulation fields.

Engineering Designed Proteins for Light Capture, Energy Transfer, and Emissive Sensing In Vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Mancini, Joshua A.

Proteins that are used for photosynthetic light harvesting and biological signaling are critical to life. These types of proteins act as scaffolds that hold small, sometimes metal-containing organic molecules in precise locations for light absorption and successive use. For signaling proteins, this energy can be used to induce a photoisomerization of the small molecule that can turn on or off a signaling cascade that controls the physiology of an organism. Alternatively, photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins funnel this energy in a directional manner towards a charge separating catalytic component that can change this light energy into chemical energy. The protein environment also serves to tune the photophysical properties of the small molecules. This is seen extensively with the linear tetrapyrroles that are used in both photosynthetic and signaling proteins. Many efforts have been made to harness these natural proteins for societal use, including improving photophysical properties and interfacing capabilities with manmade catalytic components. Several methods of achieving improvement have entailed structurally guided mutation and directed evolution. However, these methods all have their limitations due to the inherent complexity and fragility of the natural proteins. This work presents an alternative more robust method to natural proteins. My thesis states: that man-made proteins, known as maquettes, employing basic rules of protein folding, can be designed to become light harvesting and signaling proteins that can be assembled fully in vivo providing an alternative, robust, and versatile platform for meeting the diverse array of societal "green chemistry" and biomedical needs. This in vivo assembly is carried out by interacting with cyanobacterial protein and pigment machinery, both as stand-alone units and as protein fusions with natural antenna complexes. Additionally, this work offers insight for fast and tight binding of circular and linear tetrapyrroles

Performance enhancement technique of visible light communications using passive photovoltaic cell

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jhao-Ting; Chow, Chi-Wai; Liu, Yang; Hsu, Chin-Wei; Yeh, Chien-Hung

2017-06-01

The light emitting diode (LED) based visible light communication (VLC) system can provide lighting and communication simultaneously. It has attracted much attenuation recently. As the photovoltaic cell (also known as solar cell) is physically flexible, low cost, and easily available, it could be a good choice for the VLC receiver (Rx). Furthermore, besides acting as the VLC Rx, the solar cell can convert VLC signal into electricity for charging up the Rx devices. Hence, it could be a promising candidate for the future internet-of-thing (IoT) networks. However, using solar cell as VLC Rx is challenging, since the response of the solar cell is highly limited and it will limit the VLC data rate. In this work, we propose and demonstrate for the first time using pre-distortion Manchester coding (MC) signal to enhance the signal performance of solar cell Rx based VLC. The proposed scheme can significantly mitigate the slow response, as well as the direct-current (DC) wandering effect of the solar cell; hence 50 times increase in data rate can be experimentally achieved.

Expression of putative expansin genes in phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) induced root galls of Vitis spp.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawo, N C; Griesser, M; Forneck, A

Grape phylloxera ( Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) is a serious global pest in viticulture. The insects are sedentary feeders and require a gall to feed and reproduce. The insects induce their feeding site within the meristematic zone of the root tip, where they stay attached, feeding both intra- and intercellularly, and causing damage by reducing plant vigour. Several changes in cell structure and composition, including increased cell division and tissue swelling close to the feeding site, cause an organoid gall called a nodosity to develop. Because alpha expansin genes are involved in cell enlargement and cell wall loosening in many plant tissues it may be anticipated that they are also involved in nodosity formation. To identify expansin genes in Vitis vinifera cv. Pinot noir , we mined for orthologues genes in a comparative analysis. Eleven putative expansin genes were identified and shown to be present in the rootstock Teleki 5C ( V. berlandieri Planch. x V. riparia Michx.) using specific PCR followed by DNA sequencing. Expression analysis of young and mature nodosities and uninfested root tips were conducted via quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). Up-regulation was measured for three putative expansin genes (VvEXPA15, -A17 and partly -A20) or down-regulation for three other putative genes (VvEXPA7, -A12, -A20) in nodosities. The present study clearly shows the involvement of putative expansin genes in the phylloxera-root interaction.

Exploring transcriptional signalling mediated by OsWRKY13, a potential regulator of multiple physiological processes in rice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Xianghua

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rice transcription regulator OsWRKY13 influences the functioning of more than 500 genes in multiple signalling pathways, with roles in disease resistance, redox homeostasis, abiotic stress responses, and development. Results To determine the putative transcriptional regulation mechanism of OsWRKY13, the putative cis-acting elements of OsWRKY13-influenced genes were analyzed using the whole genome expression profiling of OsWRKY13-activated plants generated with the Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Array. At least 39 transcription factor genes were influenced by OsWRKY13, and 30 of them were downregulated. The promoters of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes were overrepresented with W-boxes for WRKY protein binding, whereas the promoters of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes were enriched with cis-elements putatively for binding of MYB and AP2/EREBP types of transcription factors. Consistent with the distinctive distribution of these cis-elements in up- and downregulated genes, nine WRKY genes were influenced by OsWRKY13 and the promoters of five of them were bound by OsWRKY13 in vitro; all seven differentially expressed AP2/EREBP genes and six of the seven differentially expressed MYB genes were suppressed by in OsWRKY13-activated plants. A subset of OsWRKY13-influenced WRKY genes were involved in host-pathogen interactions. Conclusion These results suggest that OsWRKY13-mediated signalling pathways are partitioned by different transcription factors. WRKY proteins may play important roles in the monitoring of OsWRKY13-upregulated genes and genes involved in pathogen-induced defence responses, whereas MYB and AP2/EREBP proteins may contribute most to the control of OsWRKY13-downregulated genes.

Sensory integration of a light touch reference in human standing balance

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Craig P.; Reynolds, Raymond F.

2018-01-01

In upright stance, light touch of a space-stationary touch reference reduces spontaneous sway. Moving the reference evokes sway responses which exhibit non-linear behavior that has been attributed to sensory reweighting. Reweighting refers to a change in the relative contribution of sensory cues signaling body sway in space and light touch cues signaling finger position with respect to the body. Here we test the hypothesis that the sensory fusion process involves a transformation of light touch signals into the same reference frame as other sensory inputs encoding body sway in space, or vice versa. Eight subjects lightly gripped a robotic manipulandum which moved in a circular arc around the ankle joint. A pseudo-randomized motion sequence with broad spectral characteristics was applied at three amplitudes. The stimulus was presented at two different heights and therefore different radial distances, which were matched in terms of angular motion. However, the higher stimulus evoked a significantly larger sway response, indicating that the response was not matched to stimulus angular motion. Instead, the body sway response was strongly related to the horizontal translation of the manipulandum. The results suggest that light touch is integrated as the horizontal distance between body COM and the finger. The data were well explained by a model with one feedback loop minimizing changes in horizontal COM-finger distance. The model further includes a second feedback loop estimating the horizontal finger motion and correcting the first loop when the touch reference is moving. The second loop includes the predicted transformation of sensory signals into the same reference frame and a non-linear threshold element that reproduces the non-linear sway responses, thus providing a mechanism that can explain reweighting. PMID:29874252

Apo-bacteriophytochromes modulate bacterial photosynthesis in response to low light.

Science.gov (United States)

Fixen, Kathryn R; Baker, Anna W; Stojkovic, Emina A; Beatty, J Thomas; Harwood, Caroline S

2014-01-14

Bacteriophytochromes (BphPs) are light-sensing regulatory proteins encoded by photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic bacteria. This protein class has been characterized structurally, but its biological activities remain relatively unexplored. Two BphPs in the anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris, designated regulatory proteins RpBphP2 and RpBphP3, are configured as light-regulated histidine kinases, which initiate a signal transduction system that controls expression of genes for the low light harvesting 4 (LH4) antenna complex. In vitro, RpBphP2 and RpBphP3 respond to light quality by reversible photoconversion, a property that requires the light-absorbing chromophore biliverdin. In vivo, RpBphP2 and RpBphP3 are both required for the expression of the LH4 antenna complex under anaerobic conditions, but biliverdin requires oxygen for its synthesis by heme oxygenase. On further investigation, we found that the apo-bacteriophytochrome forms of RpBphP2 and RpBphP3 are necessary and sufficient to control LH4 expression in response to light intensity in conjunction with other signal transduction proteins. One possibility is that the system senses a reduced quinone pool generated when light energy is absorbed by bacteriochlorophyll. The biliverdin-bound forms of the BphPs have the additional property of being able to fine-tune LH4 expression in response to light quality. These observations support the concept that some bacteriophytochromes can function with or without a chromophore and may be involved in regulating physiological processes not directly related to light sensing.

Distribution of putative virulence genes and antimicrobial drug resistance in Vibrio harveyi

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Parvathi, A.; Mendez, D.; Anto, C.

zonula occludens toxin (Zot) and a hemolysin-coregulated protein gene (hcp) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the four putative reversible toxin genes, vhh-1 was detected in 31% of the isolates, vhh-2 in 46%, vhh-3 in 23% and vhh-4 was detected in 27...

Cloning and characterization of prunus serotina AGAMOUS, a putative flower homeotic gene

Science.gov (United States)

Xiaomei Liu; Joseph Anderson; Paula Pijut

2010-01-01

Members of the AGAMOUS subfamily of MADS-box transcription factors play an important role in regulating the development of reproductive organs in flowering plants. To help understand the mechanism of floral development in black cherry (Prunus serotina), PsAG (a putative flower homeotic identity gene) was isolated...

Competing neighbors: light perception and root function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gundel, Pedro; Pierik, Ronald; Mommer, L.; Ballaré, C.L.

Plant responses to competition have often been described as passive consequences of reduced resource availability. However, plants have mechanisms to forage for favorable conditions and anticipate competition scenarios. Despite the progresses made in understanding the role of light signaling in

Competing neighbors: light perception and root function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gundel, P.E.; Pierik, R.; Mommer, L.; Ballare, L.

2014-01-01

Plant responses to competition have often been described as passive consequences of reduced resource availability. However, plants have mechanisms to forage for favorable conditions and anticipate competition scenarios. Despite the progresses made in understanding the role of light signaling in

Analysis of luminosity distributions of strong lensing galaxies: subtraction of diffuse lensed signal

Science.gov (United States)

Biernaux, J.; Magain, P.; Hauret, C.

2017-08-01

Context. Strong gravitational lensing gives access to the total mass distribution of galaxies. It can unveil a great deal of information about the lenses' dark matter content when combined with the study of the lenses' light profile. However, gravitational lensing galaxies, by definition, appear surrounded by lensed signal, both point-like and diffuse, that is irrelevant to the lens flux. Therefore, the observer is most often restricted to studying the innermost portions of the galaxy, where classical fitting methods show some instabilities. Aims: We aim at subtracting that lensed signal and at characterising some lenses' light profile by computing their shape parameters (half-light radius, ellipticity, and position angle). Our objective is to evaluate the total integrated flux in an aperture the size of the Einstein ring in order to obtain a robust estimate of the quantity of ordinary (luminous) matter in each system. Methods: We are expanding the work we started in a previous paper that consisted in subtracting point-like lensed images and in independently measuring each shape parameter. We improve it by designing a subtraction of the diffuse lensed signal, based only on one simple hypothesis of symmetry. We apply it to the cases where it proves to be necessary. This extra step improves our study of the shape parameters and we refine it even more by upgrading our half-light radius measurement method. We also calculate the impact of our specific image processing on the error bars. Results: The diffuse lensed signal subtraction makes it possible to study a larger portion of relevant galactic flux, as the radius of the fitting region increases by on average 17%. We retrieve new half-light radii values that are on average 11% smaller than in our previous work, although the uncertainties overlap in most cases. This shows that not taking the diffuse lensed signal into account may lead to a significant overestimate of the half-light radius. We are also able to measure

Regulation of signaling genes by TGFβ during entry into dauer diapause in C. elegans

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Patterson Garth I

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background When resources are scant, C. elegans larvae arrest as long-lived dauers under the control of insulin/IGF- and TGFβ-related signaling pathways. However, critical questions remain regarding the regulation of this developmental event. How do three dozen insulin-like proteins regulate one tyrosine kinase receptor to control complex events in dauer, metabolism and aging? How are signals from the TGFβ and insulin/IGF pathways integrated? What gene expression programs do these pathways regulate, and how do they control complex downstream events? Results We have identified genes that show different levels of expression in a comparison of wild-type L2 or L3 larvae (non-dauer to TGFβ mutants at similar developmental stages undergoing dauer formation. Many insulin/IGF pathway and other known dauer regulatory genes have changes in expression that suggest strong positive feedback by the TGFβ pathway. In addition, many insulin-like ligand and novel genes with similarity to the extracellular domain of insulin/IGF receptors have altered expression. We have identified a large group of regulated genes with putative binding sites for the FOXO transcription factor, DAF-16. Genes with DAF-16 sites upstream of the transcription start site tend to be upregulated, whereas genes with DAF-16 sites downstream of the coding region tend to be downregulated. Finally, we also see strong regulation of many novel hedgehog- and patched-related genes, hormone biosynthetic genes, cell cycle genes, and other regulatory genes. Conclusions The feedback regulation of insulin/IGF pathway and other dauer genes that we observe would be predicted to amplify signals from the TGFβ pathway; this amplification may serve to ensure a decisive choice between "dauer" and "non-dauer", even if environmental cues are ambiguous. Up and down regulation of insulin-like ligands and novel genes with similarity to the extracellular domain of insulin/IGF receptors suggests opposing

System and Method for Multi-Wavelength Optical Signal Detection

Science.gov (United States)

McGlone, Thomas D. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

The system and method for multi-wavelength optical signal detection enables the detection of optical signal levels significantly below those processed at the discrete circuit level by the use of mixed-signal processing methods implemented with integrated circuit technologies. The present invention is configured to detect and process small signals, which enables the reduction of the optical power required to stimulate detection networks, and lowers the required laser power to make specific measurements. The present invention provides an adaptation of active pixel networks combined with mixed-signal processing methods to provide an integer representation of the received signal as an output. The present invention also provides multi-wavelength laser detection circuits for use in various systems, such as a differential absorption light detection and ranging system.

Data acquisition for the HILI [Heavy Ion Light Ion] detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teh, K.M.; Shapira, D.; McConnell, J.W.; Kim, H.; Novotny, R.

1987-01-01

A large acceptance, multi-segmented detector system capable of the simultaneous detection of heavy and light ions has been constructed. The heavy ions are detected with a segmented gas ionization chamber and a multiwire proportional counter while the light ions are detected with a 192 element plastic phoswich hodoscope. Processing the large number of signals is accomplished through a combination of CAMAC and FASTBUS modules and preprocessors, and a Host minicomputer. Details of the data acquisition system and the reasons for adopting a dual standards system are discussed. In addition, a technique for processing signals from an individual hodoscope detector is presented. 4 refs., 3 figs

Molecular signals into the insular cortex and amygdala during aversive gustatory memory formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bermúdez-Rattoni, Federico; Ramírez-Lugo, Leticia; Gutiérrez, Ranier; Miranda, María Isabel

2004-02-01

In this paper, we will provide evidence of the putative molecular signals and biochemical events that mediate the formation of long-lasting gustatory memory trace. When an animal drinks a novel taste (the conditioned stimulus; CS) and it is later associated with malaise (unconditioned stimulus; US), the animal will reject it in the next presentation, developing a long-lasting taste aversion, i.e., the taste cue becomes an aversive signal, and this is referred to as conditioning taste aversion. Different evidence indicates that the novel stimulus (taste) induces a rapid and strong cortical acetylcholine activity that decreases when the stimulus becomes familiar after several presentations. Cholinergic activation via muscarinic receptors initiates a series of intracellular events leading to plastic changes that could be related to short- and/or long-term memory gustatory trace. Such plastic changes facilitate the incoming US signals carried out by, in part, the glutamate release induced by the US. Altogether, these events could produce the cellular changes related to the switch from safe to aversive taste memory trace. A proposed working model to explain the biochemical sequence of signals during taste memory formation will be discussed.

Do cephalopods communicate using polarized light reflections from their skin?

Science.gov (United States)

Mäthger, Lydia M; Shashar, Nadav; Hanlon, Roger T

2009-07-01

Cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish and octopus) are probably best known for their ability to change color and pattern for camouflage and communication. This is made possible by their complex skin, which contains pigmented chromatophore organs and structural light reflectors (iridophores and leucophores). Iridophores create colorful and linearly polarized reflective patterns. Equally interesting, the photoreceptors of cephalopod eyes are arranged in a way to give these animals the ability to detect the linear polarization of incoming light. The capacity to detect polarized light may have a variety of functions, such as prey detection, navigation, orientation and contrast enhancement. Because the skin of cephalopods can produce polarized reflective patterns, it has been postulated that cephalopods could communicate intraspecifically through this visual system. The term 'hidden' or 'private' communication channel has been given to this concept because many cephalopod predators may not be able to see their polarized reflective patterns. We review the evidence for polarization vision as well as polarization signaling in some cephalopod species and provide examples that tend to support the notion--currently unproven--that some cephalopods communicate using polarized light signals.

Living in the dark does not mean a blind life: bird and mammal visual communication in dim light.

Science.gov (United States)

Penteriani, Vincenzo; Delgado, María Del Mar

2017-04-05

For many years, it was believed that bird and mammal communication 'in the dark of the night' relied exclusively on vocal and chemical signalling. However, in recent decades, several case studies have conveyed the idea that the nocturnal world is rich in visual information. Clearly, a visual signal needs a source of light to work, but diurnal light (twilight included, i.e. any light directly dependent on the sun) is not the only source of luminosity on this planet. Actually, moonlight represents a powerful source of illumination that cannot be neglected from the perspective of visual communication. White patches of feathers and fur on a dark background have the potential to be used to communicate with conspecifics and heterospecifics in dim light across different contexts and for a variety of reasons. Here: (i) we review current knowledge on visual signalling in crepuscular and nocturnal birds and mammals; and (ii) we also present some possible cases of birds and mammals that, due to the characteristics of their feather and fur coloration pattern, might use visual signals in dim light. Visual signalling in nocturnal animals is still an emerging field and, to date, it has received less attention than many other means of communication, including visual communication under daylight. For this reason, many questions remain unanswered and, sometimes, even unasked.This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in dim light'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Influence of stray light for divertor spectroscopy in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajita, Shin; Veshchev, Evgeny; Lisgo, Steve; Barnsley, Robin; Morgan, Philip; Walsh, Michael; Ogawa, Hiroaki; Sugie, Tatsuo; Itami, Kiyoshi

2015-01-01

The influence of stray light in the divertor spectroscopy system in ITER is quantitatively investigated using a ray tracing simulation. Simulation results show that the stray light is negligible at positions in the divertor where the plasma emission is strong. However, it is also shown that the stray light can be significantly greater than the real signal if the plasma intensity is low. Deuterium and beryllium emissions are used for the assessment; for beryllium cases in particular, since the emission profile may be non-uniform in the divertor region, the influence of stray light can be non-negligible at some positions, e.g., above the divertor dome

Acoustic signal analysis in the creeping discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamiya, T; Sonoda, Y; Tsuda, R; Ebihara, K; Ikegami, T

2008-01-01

We have previously succeeded in measuring the acoustic signal due to the dielectric barrier discharge and discriminating the dominant frequency components of the acoustic signal. The dominant frequency components appear over 20kHz of acoustic signal by the dielectric barrier discharge. Recently surface discharge control technology has been focused from practical applications such as ozonizer, NO X reactors, light source or display. The fundamental experiments are carried to examine the creeping discharge using the acoustic signal. When the high voltage (6kV, f = 10kHz) is applied to the electrode, the discharge current flows and the acoustic sound is generated. The current, voltage waveforms of creeping discharge and the sound signal detected by the condenser microphone are stored in the digital memory scope. In this scheme, Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) is applied to discriminate the acoustic sound of the micro discharge and the dominant frequency components are studied. CWT results of sound signal show the frequency spectrum of wideband up to 100kHz. In addition, the energy distributions of acoustic signal are examined by CWT

Light-induced oxidative stress, N-formylkynurenine, and oxygenic photosynthesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina M Dreaden Kasson

Full Text Available Light stress in plants results in damage to the water oxidizing reaction center, photosystem II (PSII. Redox signaling, through oxidative modification of amino acid side chains, has been proposed to participate in this process, but the oxidative signals have not yet been identified. Previously, we described an oxidative modification, N-formylkynurenine (NFK, of W365 in the CP43 subunit. The yield of this modification increases under light stress conditions, in parallel with the decrease in oxygen evolving activity. In this work, we show that this modification, NFK365-CP43, is present in thylakoid membranes and may be formed by reactive oxygen species produced at the Mn(4CaO(5 cluster in the oxygen-evolving complex. NFK accumulation correlates with the extent of photoinhibition in PSII and thylakoid membranes. A modest increase in ionic strength inhibits NFK365-CP43 formation, and leads to accumulation of a new, light-induced NFK modification (NFK317 in the D1 polypeptide. Western analysis shows that D1 degradation and oligomerization occur under both sets of conditions. The NFK modifications in CP43 and D1 are found 17 and 14 Angstrom from the Mn(4CaO(5 cluster, respectively. Based on these results, we propose that NFK is an oxidative modification that signals for damage and repair in PSII. The data suggest a two pathway model for light stress responses. These pathways involve differential, specific, oxidative modification of the CP43 or D1 polypeptides.

Amplification of the Signal Intensity of Fluorescence-Based Fiber-Optic Biosensors Using a Fabry-Perot Resonator Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng-Chang Hsieh

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Fluorescent biosensors have been widely used in biomedical applications. To amplify the intensity of fluorescence signals, this study developed a novel structure for an evanescent wave fiber-optic biosensor by using a Fabry-Perot resonator structure. An excitation light was coupled into the optical fiber through a laser-drilled hole on the proximal end of the resonator. After entering the resonator, the excitation light was reflected back and forth inside the resonator, thereby amplifying the intensity of the light in the fiber. Subsequently, the light was used to excite the fluorescent molecules in the reactive region of the sensor. The experimental results showed that the biosensor signal was amplified eight-fold when the resonator reflector was formed using a 92% reflective coating. Furthermore, in a simulation, the biosensor signal could be amplified 20-fold by using a 99% reflector.

Non-radiation induced signals in TL dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

German, U.; Weinstein, M.

2002-01-01

One source of background signals, which are non-radiation related, is the reader system and it includes dark current, external contaminants and electronic spikes. These factors can induce signals equivalent to several hundredths of mSv. Mostly, the effects are minimised by proper design of the TLD reader, but some effects are dependent on proper operation of the system. The other main group of background signals originate in the TL crystal and is due to tribothermoluminescence, dirt, chemical reactions and stimulation by visible or UV light. These factors can have a significant contribution, equivalent to over several mSv, depending on whether the crystal is bare or protected by PTFE. Working in clean environments, monitoring continuously the glow curve and performing glow curve deconvolution are suggested to minimise non-radiation induced spurious signals. (author)

Induction of the unfolded protein response by constitutive G-protein signaling in rod photoreceptor cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tian; Chen, Jeannie

2014-10-17

Phototransduction is a G-protein signal transduction cascade that converts photon absorption to a change in current at the plasma membrane. Certain genetic mutations affecting the proteins in the phototransduction cascade cause blinding disorders in humans. Some of these mutations serve as a genetic source of "equivalent light" that activates the cascade, whereas other mutations lead to amplification of the light response. How constitutive phototransduction causes photoreceptor cell death is poorly understood. We showed that persistent G-protein signaling, which occurs in rod arrestin and rhodopsin kinase knock-out mice, caused a rapid and specific induction of the PERK pathway of the unfolded protein response. These changes were not observed in the cGMP-gated channel knock-out rods, an equivalent light condition that mimics light-stimulated channel closure. Thus transducin signaling, but not channel closure, triggers rapid cell death in light damage caused by constitutive phototransduction. Additionally, we show that in the albino light damage model cell death was not associated with increase in global protein ubiquitination or unfolded protein response induction. Taken together, these observations provide novel mechanistic insights into the cell death pathway caused by constitutive phototransduction and identify the unfolded protein response as a potential target for therapeutic intervention. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Putative neuroprotective agents in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodd, Seetal; Maes, Michael; Anderson, George; Dean, Olivia M; Moylan, Steven; Berk, Michael

2013-04-05

In many individuals with major neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, their disease characteristics are consistent with a neuroprogressive illness. This includes progressive structural brain changes, cognitive and functional decline, poorer treatment response and an increasing vulnerability to relapse with chronicity. The underlying molecular mechanisms of neuroprogression are thought to include neurotrophins and regulation of neurogenesis and apoptosis, neurotransmitters, inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, cortisol and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and epigenetic influences. Knowledge of the involvement of each of these pathways implies that specific agents that act on some or multiple of these pathways may thus block this cascade and have neuroprotective properties. This paper reviews the potential of the most promising of these agents, including lithium and other known psychotropics, aspirin, minocycline, statins, N-acetylcysteine, leptin and melatonin. These agents are putative neuroprotective agents for schizophrenia and mood disorders. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GreenLight Model 960.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Richard; Carey, Conn; Hynes, James; Papkovsky, Dmitri

2013-01-01

The importance of food safety has resulted in a demand for a more rapid, high-throughput method for total viable count (TVC). The industry standard for TVC determination (ISO 4833:2003) is widely used but presents users with some drawbacks. The method is materials- and labor-intensive, requiring multiple agar plates per sample. More importantly, the method is slow, with 72 h typically required for a definitive result. Luxcel Biosciences has developed the GreenLight Model 960, a microtiter plate-based assay providing a rapid high-throughput method of aerobic bacterial load assessment through analysis of microbial oxygen consumption. Results are generated in 1-12 h, depending on microbial load. The mix and measure procedure allows rapid detection of microbial oxygen consumption and equates oxygen consumption to microbial load (CFU/g), providing a simple, sensitive means of assessing the microbial contamination levels in foods (1). As bacteria in the test sample grow and respire, they deplete O2, which is detected as an increase in the GreenLight probe signal above the baseline level (2). The time required to reach this increase in signal can be used to calculate the CFU/g of the original sample, based on a predetermined calibration. The higher the initial microbial load, the earlier this threshold is reached (1).

Measurement of the Stokes parameters of light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, H.G.; Gabrielse, G.; Livingston, A.E.

1977-01-01

We describe a measuring system for determing the state of polarization of a beam of light in terms of its Stokes parameters. The technique which can be fully automated incorporates a monochromator and single photon counting detection and can thus be applied over a large wavelength range for very weak optical signals. Fourier transformation of the data by an on-line minicomputer allows immediate calculation of the Stokes parameters. We discuss special applications to light emitted from excited atomic systems with and without cylindrical symmetry

Distribution and innervation of putative peripheral arterial chemoreceptors in the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Catalina; Fong, Angelina Y; Milsom, William K

2015-06-15

Peripheral arterial chemoreceptors have been isolated to the common carotid artery, aorta, and pulmonary artery of turtles. However, the putative neurotransmitters associated with these chemoreceptors have not yet been described. The goal of the present study was to determine the neurochemical content, innervations, and distribution of putative oxygen-sensing cells in the central vasculature of turtles and to derive homologies with peripheral arterial chemoreceptors of other vertebrates. We used tract tracing together with immunohistochemical markers for cholinergic cells (vesicular acetylcholine transporter [VAChT]), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH; the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis), and serotonin (5HT) to identify putative oxygen-sensing cells and to determine their anatomical relation to branches of the vagus nerve (Xth cranial nerve). We found potential oxygen-sensing cells in all three chemosensory areas innervated by branches of the Xth cranial nerve. Cells containing either 5HT or VAChT were found in all three sites. The morphology and size of these cells resemble glomus cells found in amphibians, mammals, tortoises, and lizards. Furthermore, we found populations of cholinergic cells located at the base of the aorta and pulmonary artery that are likely involved in efferent regulation of vessel resistance. Catecholamine-containing cells were not found in any of the putative chemosensitive areas. The presence of 5HT- and VAChT-immunoreactive cells in segments of the common carotid artery, aorta, and pulmonary artery appears to reflect a transition between cells containing the major neurotransmitters seen in fish (5HT) and mammals (ACh and adenosine). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Decoding a combined amplitude modulated and frequency modulated signal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2015-01-01

The present disclosure relates to a method for decoding a combined AM/FM encoded signal, comprising the steps of: combining said encoded optical signal with light from a local oscillator configured with a local oscillator frequency; converting the combined local oscillator and encoded optical...... signal into one or more electrical signals by means of at least one opto-electrical converter having a predefined frequency bandwidth, thereby providing an amplified and encoded electrical signal having one or more encoded signal current(s), where one type of states have a higher oscillation frequency...... than other type of states; rectifying the encoded signal current(s), thereby obtaining an encoded power spectrum, wherein said power spectrum has different states, such as "0"-states and "1"-states, with different power levels such that they can be discriminated, said local oscillator frequency...

Draft genome sequence of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656 reveals the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of acarviostatin family α-amylase inhibitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, X; Geng, P; Bai, F; Bai, G; Sun, T; Li, X; Shi, L; Zhong, Q

2012-08-01

The aims of this study are to obtain the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces coelicoflavus ZG0656, which produces novel acarviostatin family α-amylase inhibitors, and then to reveal the putative acarviostatin-related gene cluster and the biosynthetic pathway. The draft genome sequence of S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 was generated using a shotgun approach employing a combination of 454 and Solexa sequencing technologies. Genome analysis revealed a putative gene cluster for acarviostatin biosynthesis, termed sct-cluster. The cluster contains 13 acarviostatin synthetic genes, six transporter genes, four starch degrading or transglycosylation enzyme genes and two regulator genes. On the basis of bioinformatic analysis, we proposed a putative biosynthetic pathway of acarviostatins. The intracellular steps produce a structural core, acarviostatin I00-7-P, and the extracellular assemblies lead to diverse acarviostatin end products. The draft genome sequence of S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 revealed the putative biosynthetic gene cluster of acarviostatins and a putative pathway of acarviostatin production. To our knowledge, S. coelicoflavus ZG0656 is the first strain in this species for which a genome sequence has been reported. The analysis of sct-cluster provided important insights into the biosynthesis of acarviostatins. This work will be a platform for producing novel variants and yield improvement. © 2012 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Structure of FGFR3 transmembrane domain dimer: implications for signaling and human pathologies.

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Bocharov, Eduard V; Lesovoy, Dmitry M; Goncharuk, Sergey A; Goncharuk, Marina V; Hristova, Kalina; Arseniev, Alexander S

2013-11-05

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) transduces biochemical signals via lateral dimerization in the plasma membrane, and plays an important role in human development and disease. Eight different pathogenic mutations, implicated in cancers and growth disorders, have been identified in the FGFR3 transmembrane segment. Here, we describe the dimerization of the FGFR3 transmembrane domain in membrane-mimicking DPC/SDS (9/1) micelles. In the solved NMR structure, the two transmembrane helices pack into a symmetric left-handed dimer, with intermolecular stacking interactions occurring in the dimer central region. Some pathogenic mutations fall within the helix-helix interface, whereas others are located within a putative alternative interface. This implies that although the observed dimer structure is important for FGFR3 signaling, the mechanism of FGFR3-mediated transduction across the membrane is complex. We propose an FGFR3 signaling mechanism that is based on the solved structure, available structures of isolated soluble FGFR domains, and published biochemical and biophysical data. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semi-automated literature mining to identify putative biomarkers of disease from multiple biofluids

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Computational methods for mining of biomedical literature can be useful in augmenting manual searches of the literature using keywords for disease-specific biomarker discovery from biofluids. In this work, we develop and apply a semi-automated literature mining method to mine abstracts obtained from PubMed to discover putative biomarkers of breast and lung cancers in specific biofluids. Methodology A positive set of abstracts was defined by the terms ‘breast cancer’ and ‘lung cancer’ in conjunction with 14 separate ‘biofluids’ (bile, blood, breastmilk, cerebrospinal fluid, mucus, plasma, saliva, semen, serum, synovial fluid, stool, sweat, tears, and urine), while a negative set of abstracts was defined by the terms ‘(biofluid) NOT breast cancer’ or ‘(biofluid) NOT lung cancer.’ More than 5.3 million total abstracts were obtained from PubMed and examined for biomarker-disease-biofluid associations (34,296 positive and 2,653,396 negative for breast cancer; 28,355 positive and 2,595,034 negative for lung cancer). Biological entities such as genes and proteins were tagged using ABNER, and processed using Python scripts to produce a list of putative biomarkers. Z-scores were calculated, ranked, and used to determine significance of putative biomarkers found. Manual verification of relevant abstracts was performed to assess our method’s performance. Results Biofluid-specific markers were identified from the literature, assigned relevance scores based on frequency of occurrence, and validated using known biomarker lists and/or databases for lung and breast cancer [NCBI’s On-line Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), Cancer Gene annotation server for cancer genomics (CAGE), NCBI’s Genes & Disease, NCI’s Early Detection Research Network (EDRN), and others]. The specificity of each marker for a given biofluid was calculated, and the performance of our semi-automated literature mining method assessed for breast and lung cancer

Molecular identification of aiiA homologous gene from endophytic Enterobacter species and in silico analysis of putative tertiary structure of AHL-lactonase.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajesh, P S; Rai, V Ravishankar

2014-01-03

The aiiA homologous gene known to encode AHL- lactonase enzyme which hydrolyze the N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) quorum sensing signaling molecules produced by Gram negative bacteria. In this study, the degradation of AHL molecules was determined by cell-free lysate of endophytic Enterobacter species. The percentage of quorum quenching was confirmed and quantified by HPLC method (pEnterobacter asburiae VT65, Enterobacter aerogenes VT66 and Enterobacter ludwigii VT70 strains. Sequence alignment analysis revealed the presence of two zinc binding sites, "HXHXDH" motif as well as tyrosine residue at the position 194. Based on known template available at Swiss-Model, putative tertiary structure of AHL-lactonase was constructed. The result showed that novel endophytic strains of Enterobacter genera encode the novel aiiA homologous gene and its structural importance for future study. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Waiting Endurance Time Estimation of Electric Two-Wheelers at Signalized Intersections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei Huan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper proposed a model for estimating waiting endurance times of electric two-wheelers at signalized intersections using survival analysis method. Waiting duration times were collected by video cameras and they were assigned as censored and uncensored data to distinguish between normal crossing and red-light running behavior. A Cox proportional hazard model was introduced, and variables revealing personal characteristics and traffic conditions were defined as covariates to describe the effects of internal and external factors. Empirical results show that riders do not want to wait too long to cross intersections. As signal waiting time increases, electric two-wheelers get impatient and violate the traffic signal. There are 12.8% of electric two-wheelers with negligible wait time. 25.0% of electric two-wheelers are generally nonrisk takers who can obey the traffic rules after waiting for 100 seconds. Half of electric two-wheelers cannot endure 49.0 seconds or longer at red-light phase. Red phase time, motor vehicle volume, and conformity behavior have important effects on riders’ waiting times. Waiting endurance times would decrease with the longer red-phase time, the lower traffic volume, or the bigger number of other riders who run against the red light. The proposed model may be applicable in the design, management and control of signalized intersections in other developing cities.

Waiting endurance time estimation of electric two-wheelers at signalized intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Huan, Mei; Yang, Xiao-bao

2014-01-01

The paper proposed a model for estimating waiting endurance times of electric two-wheelers at signalized intersections using survival analysis method. Waiting duration times were collected by video cameras and they were assigned as censored and uncensored data to distinguish between normal crossing and red-light running behavior. A Cox proportional hazard model was introduced, and variables revealing personal characteristics and traffic conditions were defined as covariates to describe the effects of internal and external factors. Empirical results show that riders do not want to wait too long to cross intersections. As signal waiting time increases, electric two-wheelers get impatient and violate the traffic signal. There are 12.8% of electric two-wheelers with negligible wait time. 25.0% of electric two-wheelers are generally nonrisk takers who can obey the traffic rules after waiting for 100 seconds. Half of electric two-wheelers cannot endure 49.0 seconds or longer at red-light phase. Red phase time, motor vehicle volume, and conformity behavior have important effects on riders' waiting times. Waiting endurance times would decrease with the longer red-phase time, the lower traffic volume, or the bigger number of other riders who run against the red light. The proposed model may be applicable in the design, management and control of signalized intersections in other developing cities.

Signal transduction and HIV transcriptional activation after exposure to ultraviolet light and other DNA-damaging agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valerie, K.; Laster, W.S.; Luhua Cheng; Kirkham, J.C.; Reavey, Peter; Kuemmerle, N.B.

1996-01-01

Short wavelength (254 nm) ultraviolet light (UVC) radiation was much more potent in activating transcription of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV) reporter genes stably integrated into the genomes of human and monkey cells than ionizing radiation (IR) from a 137 Cs source at similarly cytotoxic doses. A similar differential was also observed when c-jun transcription levels were examined. However, these transcription levels do not correlate with activation of nuclear factor (NF)-kB and AP-1 measured by band-shift assays, i.e. both types of radiation produce similar increases in NF-kB and AP-1 activity, suggesting existence of additional levels of regulation during these responses. Because of the well-established involvement of cytoplasmic signaling pathways in the cellular response to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), UVC, and IR using other types of assays, the role of TNF-α in the UVC response of HIV and c-jun was investigated in our cell system. We demonstrate that UVC and TNF-α activate HIV gene expression in a synergistic fashion, suggesting that it is unlikely that TNF-α is involved in UVC activation of HIV transcription in stably transfected HeLa cells. Moreover, maximum TNF-α stimulation resulted in one order of magnitude lower levels of HIV expression than that observed after UVC exposure. We also observed an additive effect of UVC and TNF-α on c-jun steady-state mRNA levels, suggestive of a partial overlap in activation mechanism of c-jun by UVC and TNF-α; yet these responses are distinct to some extent. Our results indicate that the HIV, and to some extent also the c-jun, transcriptional responses to UVC are not the result of TNF-α stimulation and subsequent downstream cytoplasmic signaling events in HeLa cells. In addition to the new data, this report also summarizes our current views regarding UVC-induced activations of HIV gene expression in stably transfected cells. (Author)

Signal for a light singlet scalar at the LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, We-Fu; Modak, Tanmoy; Ng, John N.

2018-03-01

In the general Higgs portal-like models, the extra neutral scalar, S , can mix with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson, H . We perform an exploratory study focusing on the direct search for such a light singlet S at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). After careful study of the SM background, we find the process p p →t t ¯ S followed by S →b b ¯ can be used to investigate S with mass in the 20 Higgs factories. With similar luminosity, the current Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) limits on the mixing between S and H can be improved by at least one or two order of magnitudes.

DETERMINATION OF ROCURONIUM AND ITS PUTATIVE METABOLITES IN BODY-FLUIDS AND TISSUE-HOMOGENATES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

KLEEF, UW; PROOST, JH; ROGGEVELD, J

1993-01-01

A sensitive and selective HPLC method was developed for the quantification of the neuromuscular blocking agent rocuronium and its putative metabolites (the 17-desacetyl derivative and the N-desallyl derivative of rocuronium) in plasma, urine, bile, tissue homogenates and stoma fluid. Samples were

Arm-in-Arm Response Regulator Dimers Promote Intermolecular Signal Transduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Anna W.; Satyshur, Kenneth A.; Morales, Neydis Moreno; Forest, Katrina T. (UW)

2016-02-01

Bacteriophytochrome photoreceptors (BphPs) and their cognate response regulators make up two-component signal transduction systems which direct bacteria to mount phenotypic responses to changes in environmental light quality. Most of these systems utilize single-domain response regulators to transduce signals through unknown pathways and mechanisms. Here we describe the photocycle and autophosphorylation kinetics of RtBphP1, a red light-regulated histidine kinase from the desert bacteriumRamlibacter tataouinensis. RtBphP1 undergoes red to far-red photoconversion with rapid thermal reversion to the dark state. RtBphP1 is autophosphorylated in the dark; this activity is inhibited under red light. The RtBphP1 cognate response regulator, theR. tataouinensisbacteriophytochrome response regulator (RtBRR), and a homolog, AtBRR fromAgrobacterium tumefaciens, crystallize unexpectedly as arm-in-arm dimers, reliant on a conserved hydrophobic motif, hFWAhL (where h is a hydrophobic M, V, L, or I residue). RtBRR and AtBRR dimerize distinctly from four structurally characterized phytochrome response regulators found in photosynthetic organisms and from all other receiver domain homodimers in the Protein Data Bank. A unique cacodylate-zinc-histidine tag metal organic framework yielded single-wavelength anomalous diffraction phases and may be of general interest. Examination of the effect of the BRR stoichiometry on signal transduction showed that phosphorylated RtBRR is accumulated more efficiently than the engineered monomeric RtBRR (RtBRR_mon) in phosphotransfer reactions. Thus, we conclude that arm-in-arm dimers are a relevant signaling intermediate in this class of two-component regulatory systems.

Influential factors of red-light running at signalized intersection and prediction using a rare events logistic regression model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Yilong; Wang, Yunpeng; Wu, Xinkai; Yu, Guizhen; Ding, Chuan

2016-10-01

Red light running (RLR) has become a major safety concern at signalized intersection. To prevent RLR related crashes, it is critical to identify the factors that significantly impact the drivers' behaviors of RLR, and to predict potential RLR in real time. In this research, 9-month's RLR events extracted from high-resolution traffic data collected by loop detectors from three signalized intersections were applied to identify the factors that significantly affect RLR behaviors. The data analysis indicated that occupancy time, time gap, used yellow time, time left to yellow start, whether the preceding vehicle runs through the intersection during yellow, and whether there is a vehicle passing through the intersection on the adjacent lane were significantly factors for RLR behaviors. Furthermore, due to the rare events nature of RLR, a modified rare events logistic regression model was developed for RLR prediction. The rare events logistic regression method has been applied in many fields for rare events studies and shows impressive performance, but so far none of previous research has applied this method to study RLR. The results showed that the rare events logistic regression model performed significantly better than the standard logistic regression model. More importantly, the proposed RLR prediction method is purely based on loop detector data collected from a single advance loop detector located 400 feet away from stop-bar. This brings great potential for future field applications of the proposed method since loops have been widely implemented in many intersections and can collect data in real time. This research is expected to contribute to the improvement of intersection safety significantly. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface mu heavy chain signals down-regulation of the V(D)J-recombinase machinery in the absence of surrogate light chain components.

Science.gov (United States)

Galler, Gunther R; Mundt, Cornelia; Parker, Mathew; Pelanda, Roberta; Mårtensson, Inga-Lill; Winkler, Thomas H

2004-06-07

Early B cell development is characterized by stepwise, ordered rearrangement of the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy (HC) and light (LC) chain genes. Only one of the two alleles of these genes is used to produce a receptor, a phenomenon referred to as allelic exclusion. It has been suggested that pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) signals are responsible for down-regulation of the VDJH-recombinase machinery (Rag1, Rag2, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT]), thereby preventing further rearrangement on the second HC allele. Using a mouse model, we show that expression of an inducible muHC transgene in Rag2-/- pro-B cells induces down-regulation of the following: (a) TdT protein, (b) a transgenic green fluorescent protein reporter reflecting endogenous Rag2 expression, and (c) Rag1 primary transcripts. Similar effects were also observed in the absence of surrogate LC (SLC) components, but not in the absence of the signaling subunit Ig-alpha. Furthermore, in wild-type mice and in mice lacking either lambda5, VpreB1/2, or the entire SLC, the TdT protein is down-regulated in muHC+LC- pre-B cells. Surprisingly, muHC without LC is expressed on the surface of pro-/pre-B cells from lambda5-/-, VpreB1-/-VpreB2-/-, and SLC-/- mice. Thus, SLC or LC is not required for muHC cell surface expression and signaling in these cells. Therefore, these findings offer an explanation for the occurrence of HC allelic exclusion in mice lacking SLC components.

Binding of the Ras activator son of sevenless to insulin receptor substrate-1 signaling complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Baltensperger, K; Kozma, L M; Cherniack, A D; Klarlund, J K; Chawla, A; Banerjee, U; Czech, M P

1993-06-25

Signal transmission by insulin involves tyrosine phosphorylation of a major insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1) and exchange of Ras-bound guanosine diphosphate for guanosine triphosphate. Proteins containing Src homology 2 and 3 (SH2 and SH3) domains, such as the p85 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2), bind tyrosine phosphate sites on IRS-1 through their SH2 regions. Such complexes in COS cells were found to contain the heterologously expressed putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor encoded by the Drosophila son of sevenless gene (dSos). Thus, GRB2, p85, or other proteins with SH2-SH3 adapter sequences may link Sos proteins to IRS-1 signaling complexes as part of the mechanism by which insulin activates Ras.

Isolation and characterization of two mitoviruses and a putative alphapartitivirus from Fusarium spp.