@article{19473,
  abstract     = {Leptin informs the brain about sufficiency of fuel stores. When insufficient, leptin levels fall, triggering compensatory increases in appetite. Falling leptin is first sensed by hypothalamic neurons, which then initiate adaptive responses. With regard to hunger, it is thought that leptin-sensing neurons work entirely via circuits within the central nervous system (CNS). Very unexpectedly, however, we now show this is not the case. Instead, stimulation of hunger requires an intervening endocrine step, namely activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Increased corticosterone then activates AgRP neurons to fully increase hunger. Importantly, this is true for 2 forms of low leptin-induced hunger, fasting and poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia, which also stimulates hunger by activating CNS neurons, albeit independently of leptin, similarly recruits and requires this pathway by which HPA axis activity stimulates AgRP neurons. Thus, HPA axis regulation of AgRP neurons is a previously underappreciated step in homeostatic regulation of hunger.},
  author       = {Perry, Rachel J. and Resch, Jon M. and Douglass, Amelia May Barnett and Madara, Joseph C. and Rabin-Court, Aviva and Kucukdereli, Hakan and Wu, Chen and Song, Joongyu D. and Lowell, Bradford B. and Shulman, Gerald I.},
  issn         = {1091-6490},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
  number       = {27},
  pages        = {13670--13679},
  publisher    = {National Academy of Sciences},
  title        = {{Leptin’s hunger-suppressing effects are mediated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis in rodents}},
  doi          = {10.1073/pnas.1901795116},
  volume       = {116},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{19493,
  abstract     = {In 2016, Balakrishnan, Ho, Kaplan, Spicer, Stein and Weigandt produced a database of elliptic curves over Q ordered by height in which they computed the rank, the size of the 2-Selmer group, and other arithmetic invariants. They observed that after a certain point, the average rank seemed to decrease as the height increased. Here we consider the family of elliptic curves over 
Q whose rational torsion subgroup is isomorphic to Z∕2Z×Z∕8Z. Conditional on GRH and BSD, we compute the rank of 92% of the 202,461 curves with parameter height less than 103. We also compute the size of the 2-Selmer group and the Tamagawa product, and prove that their averages tend to infinity for this family.},
  author       = {Chan, Yik Tung and Hanselman, Jeroen and Li, Wanlin},
  issn         = {2329-907X},
  journal      = {The Open Book Series},
  pages        = {173--189},
  publisher    = {Mathematical Sciences Publishers},
  title        = {{Ranks, 2-Selmer groups, and Tamagawa numbers of elliptic curves with ℤ∕2ℤ × ℤ∕8ℤ-torsion}},
  doi          = {10.2140/obs.2019.2.173},
  volume       = {2},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{196,
  abstract     = {The abelian sandpile serves as a model to study self-organized criticality, a phenomenon occurring in biological, physical and social processes. The identity of the abelian group is a fractal composed of self-similar patches, and its limit is subject of extensive collaborative research. Here, we analyze the evolution of the sandpile identity under harmonic fields of different orders. We show that this evolution corresponds to periodic cycles through the abelian group characterized by the smooth transformation and apparent conservation of the patches constituting the identity. The dynamics induced by second and third order harmonics resemble smooth stretchings, respectively translations, of the identity, while the ones induced by fourth order harmonics resemble magnifications and rotations. Starting with order three, the dynamics pass through extended regions of seemingly random configurations which spontaneously reassemble into accentuated patterns. We show that the space of harmonic functions projects to the extended analogue of the sandpile group, thus providing a set of universal coordinates identifying configurations between different domains. Since the original sandpile group is a subgroup of the extended one, this directly implies that it admits a natural renormalization. Furthermore, we show that the harmonic fields can be induced by simple Markov processes, and that the corresponding stochastic dynamics show remarkable robustness over hundreds of periods. Finally, we encode information into seemingly random configurations, and decode this information with an algorithm requiring minimal prior knowledge. Our results suggest that harmonic fields might split the sandpile group into sub-sets showing different critical coefficients, and that it might be possible to extend the fractal structure of the identity beyond the boundaries of its domain. },
  author       = {Lang, Moritz and Shkolnikov, Mikhail},
  issn         = {1091-6490},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  number       = {8},
  pages        = {2821--2830},
  publisher    = {National Academy of Sciences},
  title        = {{Harmonic dynamics of the Abelian sandpile}},
  doi          = {10.1073/pnas.1812015116},
  volume       = {116},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{441,
  author       = {Kalinin, Nikita and Shkolnikov, Mikhail},
  issn         = {2199-6768},
  journal      = {European Journal of Mathematics},
  number       = {3},
  pages        = {909–928},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Tropical formulae for summation over a part of SL(2,Z)}},
  doi          = {10.1007/s40879-018-0218-0},
  volume       = {5},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5,
  abstract     = {In this paper, we introduce a quantum version of the wonderful compactification of a group as a certain noncommutative projective scheme. Our approach stems from the fact that the wonderful compactification encodes the asymptotics of matrix coefficients, and from its realization as a GIT quotient of the Vinberg semigroup. In order to define the wonderful compactification for a quantum group, we adopt a generalized formalism of Proj categories in the spirit of Artin and Zhang. Key to our construction is a quantum version of the Vinberg semigroup, which we define as a q-deformation of a certain Rees algebra, compatible with a standard Poisson structure. Furthermore, we discuss quantum analogues of the stratification of the wonderful compactification by orbits for a certain group action, and provide explicit computations in the case of SL2.},
  author       = {Ganev, Iordan V},
  journal      = {Journal of the London Mathematical Society},
  number       = {3},
  pages        = {778--806},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{The wonderful compactification for quantum groups}},
  doi          = {10.1112/jlms.12193},
  volume       = {99},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5789,
  abstract     = {Tissue morphogenesis is driven by mechanical forces that elicit changes in cell size, shape and motion. The extent by which forces deform tissues critically depends on the rheological properties of the recipient tissue. Yet, whether and how dynamic changes in tissue rheology affect tissue morphogenesis and how they are regulated within the developing organism remain unclear. Here, we show that blastoderm spreading at the onset of zebrafish morphogenesis relies on a rapid, pronounced and spatially patterned tissue fluidization. Blastoderm fluidization is temporally controlled by mitotic cell rounding-dependent cell–cell contact disassembly during the last rounds of cell cleavages. Moreover, fluidization is spatially restricted to the central blastoderm by local activation of non-canonical Wnt signalling within the blastoderm margin, increasing cell cohesion and thereby counteracting the effect of mitotic rounding on contact disassembly. Overall, our results identify a fluidity transition mediated by loss of cell cohesion as a critical regulator of embryo morphogenesis.},
  author       = {Petridou, Nicoletta and Grigolon, Silvia and Salbreux, Guillaume and Hannezo, Edouard B and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J},
  issn         = {1465-7392},
  journal      = {Nature Cell Biology},
  pages        = {169–178},
  publisher    = {Nature Publishing Group},
  title        = {{Fluidization-mediated tissue spreading by mitotic cell rounding and non-canonical Wnt signalling}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41556-018-0247-4},
  volume       = {21},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5790,
  abstract     = {The partial representation extension problem is a recently introduced generalization of the recognition problem. A circle graph is an intersection graph of chords of a circle. We study the partial representation extension problem for circle graphs, where the input consists of a graph G and a partial representation R′ giving some predrawn chords that represent an induced subgraph of G. The question is whether one can extend R′ to a representation R of the entire graph G, that is, whether one can draw the remaining chords into a partially predrawn representation to obtain a representation of G. Our main result is an O(n3) time algorithm for partial representation extension of circle graphs, where n is the number of vertices. To show this, we describe the structure of all representations of a circle graph using split decomposition. This can be of independent interest.},
  author       = {Chaplick, Steven and Fulek, Radoslav and Klavík, Pavel},
  issn         = {0364-9024},
  journal      = {Journal of Graph Theory},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {365--394},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Extending partial representations of circle graphs}},
  doi          = {10.1002/jgt.22436},
  volume       = {91},
  year         = {2019},
}

@inbook{5793,
  abstract     = {The transcription coactivator, Yes-associated protein (YAP), which is a nuclear effector of the Hippo signaling pathway, has been shown to be a mechano-transducer. By using mutant fish and human 3D spheroids, we have recently demonstrated that YAP is also a mechano-effector. YAP functions in three-dimensional (3D) morphogenesis of organ and global body shape by controlling actomyosin-mediated tissue tension. In this chapter, we present a platform that links the findings in fish embryos with human cells. The protocols for analyzing tissue tension-mediated global body shape/organ morphogenesis in vivo and ex vivo using medaka fish embryos and in vitro using human cell spheroids represent useful tools for unraveling the molecular mechanisms by which YAP functions in regulating global body/organ morphogenesis.},
  author       = {Asaoka, Yoichi and Morita, Hitoshi and Furumoto, Hiroko and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J and Furutani-Seiki, Makoto},
  booktitle    = {The hippo pathway},
  editor       = {Hergovich, Alexander},
  isbn         = {978-1-4939-8909-6},
  pages        = {167--181},
  publisher    = {Springer},
  title        = {{Studying YAP-mediated 3D morphogenesis using fish embryos and human spheroids}},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-1-4939-8910-2_14},
  volume       = {1893},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5817,
  abstract     = {We theoretically study the shapes of lipid vesicles confined to a spherical cavity, elaborating a framework based on the so-called limiting shapes constructed from geometrically simple structural elements such as double-membrane walls and edges. Partly inspired by numerical results, the proposed non-compartmentalized and compartmentalized limiting shapes are arranged in the bilayer-couple phase diagram which is then compared to its free-vesicle counterpart. We also compute the area-difference-elasticity phase diagram of the limiting shapes and we use it to interpret shape transitions experimentally observed in vesicles confined within another vesicle. The limiting-shape framework may be generalized to theoretically investigate the structure of certain cell organelles such as the mitochondrion.},
  author       = {Kavcic, Bor and Sakashita, A. and Noguchi, H. and Ziherl, P.},
  issn         = {1744-6848},
  journal      = {Soft Matter},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {602--614},
  publisher    = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  title        = {{Limiting shapes of confined lipid vesicles}},
  doi          = {10.1039/c8sm01956h},
  volume       = {15},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5828,
  abstract     = {Hippocampus is needed for both spatial working and reference memories. Here, using a radial eight-arm maze, we examined how the combined demand on these memories influenced CA1 place cell assemblies while reference memories were partially updated. This was contrasted with control tasks requiring only working memory or the update of reference memory. Reference memory update led to the reward-directed place field shifts at newly rewarded arms and to the gradual strengthening of firing in passes between newly rewarded arms but not between those passes that included a familiar-rewarded arm. At the maze center, transient network synchronization periods preferentially replayed trajectories of the next chosen arm in reference memory tasks but the previously visited arm in the working memory task. Hence, reference memory demand was uniquely associated with a gradual, goal novelty-related reorganization of place cell assemblies and with trajectory replay that reflected the animal's decision of which arm to visit next.},
  author       = {Xu, Haibing and Baracskay, Peter and O'Neill, Joseph and Csicsvari, Jozsef L},
  issn         = {1097-4199},
  journal      = {Neuron},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {119--132.e4},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Assembly responses of hippocampal CA1 place cells predict learned behavior in goal-directed spatial tasks on the radial eight-arm maze}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.neuron.2018.11.015},
  volume       = {101},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5830,
  abstract     = {CLE peptides have been implicated in various developmental processes of plants and mediate their responses to environmental stimuli. However, the biological relevance of most CLE genes remains to be functionally characterized. Here, we report that CLE9, which is expressed in stomata, acts as an essential regulator in the induction of stomatal closure. Exogenous application of CLE9 peptides or overexpression of CLE9 effectively led to stomatal closure and enhanced drought tolerance, whereas CLE9 loss-of-function mutants were sensitivity to drought stress. CLE9-induced stomatal closure was impaired in abscisic acid (ABA)-deficient mutants, indicating that ABA is required for CLE9-medaited guard cell signalling. We further deciphered that two guard cell ABA-signalling components, OST1 and SLAC1, were responsible for CLE9-induced stomatal closure. MPK3 and MPK6 were activated by the CLE9 peptide, and CLE9 peptides failed to close stomata in mpk3 and mpk6 mutants. In addition, CLE9 peptides stimulated the induction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis associated with stomatal closure, which was abolished in the NADPH oxidase-deficient mutants or nitric reductase mutants, respectively. Collectively, our results reveal a novel ABA-dependent function of CLE9 in the regulation of stomatal apertures, thereby suggesting a potential role of CLE9 in the stress acclimatization of plants.},
  author       = {Zhang, Luosha and Shi, Xiong and Zhang, Yutao and Wang, Jiajing and Yang, Jingwei and Ishida, Takashi and Jiang, Wenqian and Han, Xiangyu and Kang, Jingke and Wang, Xuening and Pan, Lixia and Lv, Shuo and Cao, Bing and Zhang, Yonghong and Wu, Jinbin and Han, Huibin and Hu, Zhubing and Cui, Langjun and Sawa, Shinichiro and He, Junmin and Wang, Guodong},
  issn         = {0140-7791},
  journal      = {Plant Cell and Environment},
  number       = {3},
  pages        = {1033--1044},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{CLE9 peptide-induced stomatal closure is mediated by abscisic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide in arabidopsis thaliana}},
  doi          = {10.1111/pce.13475},
  volume       = {42},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5856,
  abstract     = {We give a bound on the ground-state energy of a system of N non-interacting fermions in a three-dimensional cubic box interacting with an impurity particle via point interactions. We show that the change in energy compared to the system in the absence of the impurity is bounded in terms of the gas density and the scattering length of the interaction, independently of N. Our bound holds as long as the ratio of the mass of the impurity to the one of the gas particles is larger than a critical value m∗ ∗≈ 0.36 , which is the same regime for which we recently showed stability of the system.},
  author       = {Moser, Thomas and Seiringer, Robert},
  issn         = {1424-0637},
  journal      = {Annales Henri Poincare},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {1325–1365},
  publisher    = {Springer},
  title        = {{Energy contribution of a point-interacting impurity in a Fermi gas}},
  doi          = {10.1007/s00023-018-00757-0},
  volume       = {20},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5857,
  abstract     = {A thrackle is a graph drawn in the plane so that every pair of its edges meet exactly once: either at a common end vertex or in a proper crossing. We prove that any thrackle of n vertices has at most 1.3984n edges. Quasi-thrackles are defined similarly, except that every pair of edges that do not share a vertex are allowed to cross an odd number of times. It is also shown that the maximum number of edges of a quasi-thrackle on n vertices is [Formula presented](n−1), and that this bound is best possible for infinitely many values of n.},
  author       = {Fulek, Radoslav and Pach, János},
  issn         = {0166-218X},
  journal      = {Discrete Applied Mathematics},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {266--231},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Thrackles: An improved upper bound}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.dam.2018.12.025},
  volume       = {259},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5878,
  abstract     = {We consider the motion of a droplet bouncing on a vibrating bath of the same fluid in the presence of a central potential. We formulate a rotation symmetry-reduced description of this system, which allows for the straightforward application of dynamical systems theory tools. As an illustration of the utility of the symmetry reduction, we apply it to a model of the pilot-wave system with a central harmonic force. We begin our analysis by identifying local bifurcations and the onset of chaos. We then describe the emergence of chaotic regions and their merging bifurcations, which lead to the formation of a global attractor. In this final regime, the droplet’s angular momentum spontaneously changes its sign as observed in the experiments of Perrard et al.},
  author       = {Budanur, Nazmi B and Fleury, Marc},
  issn         = {1089-7682},
  journal      = {Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {AIP Publishing},
  title        = {{State space geometry of the chaotic pilot-wave hydrodynamics}},
  doi          = {10.1063/1.5058279},
  volume       = {29},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5887,
  abstract     = {Cryptographic security is usually defined as a guarantee that holds except when a bad event with negligible probability occurs, and nothing is guaranteed in that bad case. However, in settings where such failure can happen with substantial probability, one needs to provide guarantees even for the bad case. A typical example is where a (possibly weak) password is used instead of a secure cryptographic key to protect a session, the bad event being that the adversary correctly guesses the password. In a situation with multiple such sessions, a per-session guarantee is desired: any session for which the password has not been guessed remains secure, independently of whether other sessions have been compromised. A new formalism for stating such gracefully degrading security guarantees is introduced and applied to analyze the examples of password-based message authentication and password-based encryption. While a natural per-message guarantee is achieved for authentication, the situation of password-based encryption is more delicate: a per-session confidentiality guarantee only holds against attackers for which the distribution of password-guessing effort over the sessions is known in advance. In contrast, for more general attackers without such a restriction, a strong, composable notion of security cannot be achieved.},
  author       = {Demay, Gregory and Gazi, Peter and Maurer, Ueli and Tackmann, Bjorn},
  issn         = {0926-227X},
  journal      = {Journal of Computer Security},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {75--111},
  publisher    = {IOS Press},
  title        = {{Per-session security: Password-based cryptography revisited}},
  doi          = {10.3233/JCS-181131},
  volume       = {27},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5907,
  abstract     = {Microalgae of the genus Chlorella vulgaris are candidates for the production of lipids for biofuel production. Besides that, Chlorella vulgaris is marketed as protein and vitamin rich food additive. Its potential as a novel expression system for recombinant proteins inspired us to study its asparagine-linked oligosaccharides (N-glycans) by mass spectrometry, chromatography and gas chromatography. Oligomannosidic N-glycans with up to nine mannoses were the structures found in culture collection strains as well as several commercial products. These glycans co-eluted with plant N-glycans in the highly shape selective porous graphitic carbon chromatography. Thus, Chlorella vulgaris generates oligomannosidic N-glycans of the structural type known from land plants and animals. In fact, Man5 (Man5GlcNAc2) served as substrate for GlcNAc-transferase I and a trace of an endogenous structure with terminal GlcNAc was seen. The unusual more linear Man5 structure recently found on glycoproteins of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii occurred - if at all - in traces only. Notably, a majority of the oligomannosidic glycans was multiply O-methylated with 3-O-methyl and 3,6-di-O-methyl mannoses at the non-reducing termini. This modification has so far been neither found on plant nor vertebrate N-glycans. It’s possible immunogenicity raises concerns as to the use of C. vulgaris for production of pharmaceutical glycoproteins.},
  author       = {Mócsai, Réka and Figl, Rudolf and Troschl, Clemens and Strasser, Richard and Svehla, Elisabeth and Windwarder, Markus and Thader, Andreas and Altmann, Friedrich},
  journal      = {Scientific Reports},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {Nature Publishing Group},
  title        = {{N-glycans of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris are of the oligomannosidic type but highly methylated}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41598-018-36884-1},
  volume       = {9},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5908,
  abstract     = {The interorganelle communication mediated by membrane contact sites (MCSs) is an evolutionary hallmark of eukaryotic cells. MCS connections enable the nonvesicular exchange of information between organelles and allow them to coordinate responses to changing cellular environments. In plants, the importance of MCS components in the responses to environmental stress has been widely established, but the molecular mechanisms regulating interorganelle connectivity during stress still remain opaque. In this report, we use the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to show that ionic stress increases endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–plasma membrane (PM) connectivity by promoting the cortical expansion of synaptotagmin 1 (SYT1)-enriched ER–PM contact sites (S-EPCSs). We define differential roles for the cortical cytoskeleton in the regulation of S-EPCS dynamics and ER–PM connectivity, and we identify the accumulation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] at the PM as a molecular signal associated with the ER–PM connectivity changes. Our study highlights the functional conservation of EPCS components and PM phosphoinositides as modulators of ER–PM connectivity in eukaryotes, and uncovers unique aspects of the spatiotemporal regulation of ER–PM connectivity in plants.},
  author       = {Lee, Eunkyoung and Vanneste, Steffen and Pérez-Sancho, Jessica and Benitez-Fuente, Francisco and Strelau, Matthew and Macho, Alberto P. and Botella, Miguel A. and Friml, Jiří and Rosado, Abel},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {1420--1429},
  publisher    = {National Academy of Sciences},
  title        = {{Ionic stress enhances ER–PM connectivity via phosphoinositide-associated SYT1 contact site expansion in Arabidopsis}},
  doi          = {10.1073/pnas.1818099116},
  volume       = {116},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5911,
  abstract     = {Empirical data suggest that inversions in many species contain genes important for intraspecific divergence and speciation, yet mechanisms of evolution remain unclear. While genes inside an inversion are tightly linked, inversions are not static but evolve separately from the rest of the genome by new mutations, recombination within arrangements, and gene flux between arrangements. Inversion polymorphisms are maintained by different processes, for example, divergent or balancing selection, or a mix of multiple processes. Moreover, the relative roles of selection, drift, mutation, and recombination will change over the lifetime of an inversion and within its area of distribution. We believe inversions are central to the evolution of many species, but we need many more data and new models to understand the complex mechanisms involved.},
  author       = {Faria, Rui and Johannesson, Kerstin and Butlin, Roger K. and Westram, Anja M},
  issn         = {0169-5347},
  journal      = {Trends in Ecology and Evolution},
  number       = {3},
  pages        = {239--248},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Evolving inversions}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.tree.2018.12.005},
  volume       = {34},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5943,
  abstract     = {The hairpin instability of a jet in a crossflow (JICF) for a low jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio is investigated experimentally for a velocity ratio range of R ∈ (0.14, 0.75) and crossflow Reynolds numbers ReD ∈ (260, 640). From spectral analysis we characterize the Strouhal number and amplitude of the hairpin instability as a function of R and ReD. We demonstrate that the dynamics of the hairpins is well described by the Landau model, and, hence, that the instability occurs through Hopf bifurcation, similarly to other hydrodynamical oscillators such as wake behind different bluff bodies. Using the Landau model, we determine the precise threshold values of hairpin shedding. We also study the spatial dependence of this hydrodynamical instability, which shows a global behaviour.},
  author       = {Klotz, Lukasz and Gumowski, Konrad and Wesfreid, José Eduardo},
  journal      = {Journal of Fluid Mechanics},
  pages        = {386--406},
  publisher    = {Cambridge University Press},
  title        = {{Experiments on a jet in a crossflow in the low-velocity-ratio regime}},
  doi          = {10.1017/jfm.2018.974},
  volume       = {863},
  year         = {2019},
}

@article{5944,
  abstract     = {Understanding the thermodynamics of the duplication process is a fundamental step towards a comprehensive physical theory of biological systems. However, the immense complexity of real cells obscures the fundamental tensions between energy gradients and entropic contributions that underlie duplication. The study of synthetic, feasible systems reproducing part of the key ingredients of living entities but overcoming major sources of biological complexity is of great relevance to deepen the comprehension of the fundamental thermodynamic processes underlying life and its prevalence. In this paper an abstract—yet realistic—synthetic system made of small synthetic protocell aggregates is studied in detail. A fundamental relation between free energy and entropic gradients is derived for a general, non-equilibrium scenario, setting the thermodynamic conditions for the occurrence and prevalence of duplication phenomena. This relation sets explicitly how the energy gradients invested in creating and maintaining structural—and eventually, functional—elements of the system must always compensate the entropic gradients, whose contributions come from changes in the translational, configurational, and macrostate entropies, as well as from dissipation due to irreversible transitions. Work/energy relations are also derived, defining lower bounds on the energy required for the duplication event to take place. A specific example including real ternary emulsions is provided in order to grasp the orders of magnitude involved in the problem. It is found that the minimal work invested over the system to trigger a duplication event is around ~ 10−13J , which results, in the case of duplication of all the vesicles contained in a liter of emulsion, in an amount of energy around ~ 1kJ . Without aiming to describe a truly biological process of duplication, this theoretical contribution seeks to explicitly define and identify the key actors that participate in it.},
  author       = {Corominas-Murtra, Bernat},
  issn         = {2075-1729},
  journal      = {Life},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {MDPI},
  title        = {{Thermodynamics of duplication thresholds in synthetic protocell systems}},
  doi          = {10.3390/life9010009},
  volume       = {9},
  year         = {2019},
}

