@article{8026, abstract = {Recent theoretical work has provided a basic understanding of signal propagation in networks of spiking neurons, but mechanisms for gating and controlling these signals have not been investigated previously. Here we introduce an idea for the gating of multiple signals in cortical networks that combines principles of signal propagation with aspects of balanced networks. Specifically, we studied networks in which incoming excitatory signals are normally cancelled by locally evoked inhibition, leaving the targeted layer unresponsive. Transmission can be gated 'on' by modulating excitatory and inhibitory gains to upset this detailed balance. We illustrate gating through detailed balance in large networks of integrate-and-fire neurons. We show successful gating of multiple signals and study failure modes that produce effects reminiscent of clinically observed pathologies. Provided that the individual signals are detectable, detailed balance has a large capacity for gating multiple signals.}, author = {Vogels, Tim P and Abbott, L F}, issn = {1097-6256}, journal = {Nature Neuroscience}, number = {4}, pages = {483--491}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Gating multiple signals through detailed balance of excitation and inhibition in spiking networks}}, doi = {10.1038/nn.2276}, volume = {12}, year = {2009}, } @article{8474, abstract = {Hydrogen bonds are ubiquitous interactions in proteins, and are important for their folding and functionality. Scalar coupling constants across hydrogen bonds in the protein backbone, some as small as 0.5 Hz, can be directly measured in the solid state by NMR spectroscopy (see figure). The nuclei on both sides of the hydrogen bond can be identified and the size of the coupling constant can be measured accurately.}, author = {Schanda, Paul and Huber, Matthias and Verel, René and Ernst, Matthias and Meier, Beat H.}, issn = {1433-7851}, journal = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition}, keywords = {General Chemistry, Catalysis}, number = {49}, pages = {9322--9325}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Direct detection of 3hJN' hydrogen-bond scalar couplings in proteins by solid-state NMR spectroscopy}}, doi = {10.1002/anie.200904411}, volume = {48}, year = {2009}, } @article{8475, author = {Schanda, Paul}, issn = {0079-6565}, journal = {Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy}, number = {3}, pages = {238--265}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Fast-pulsing longitudinal relaxation optimized techniques: Enriching the toolbox of fast biomolecular NMR spectroscopy}}, doi = {10.1016/j.pnmrs.2009.05.002}, volume = {55}, year = {2009}, } @article{8476, abstract = {Atomic-resolution information on the structure and dynamics of nucleic acids is essential for a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of many cellular processes. NMR spectroscopy is a powerful method for studying the structure and dynamics of nucleic acids; however, solution NMR studies are currently limited to relatively small nucleic acids at high concentrations. Thus, technological and methodological improvements that increase the experimental sensitivity and spectral resolution of NMR spectroscopy are required for studies of larger nucleic acids or protein−nucleic acid complexes. Here we introduce a series of imino-proton-detected NMR experiments that yield an over 2-fold increase in sensitivity compared to conventional pulse schemes. These methods can be applied to the detection of base pair interactions, RNA−ligand titration experiments, measurement of residual dipolar 15N−1H couplings, and direct measurements of conformational transitions. These NMR experiments employ longitudinal spin relaxation enhancement techniques that have proven useful in protein NMR spectroscopy. The performance of these new experiments is demonstrated for a 10 kDa TAR-TAR*GA RNA kissing complex and a 26 kDa tRNA.}, author = {Farjon, Jonathan and Boisbouvier, Jérôme and Schanda, Paul and Pardi, Arthur and Simorre, Jean-Pierre and Brutscher, Bernhard}, issn = {0002-7863}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, number = {24}, pages = {8571--8577}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Longitudinal-relaxation-enhanced NMR experiments for the study of nucleic acids in solution}}, doi = {10.1021/ja901633y}, volume = {131}, year = {2009}, } @article{8477, abstract = {An optimized NMR experiment that combines the advantages of methyl-TROSY and SOFAST-HMQC has been developed. It allows the recording of high quality methyl 1H−13C correlation spectra of protein assemblies of several hundreds of kDa in a few seconds. The SOFAST-methyl-TROSY-based experiment offers completely new opportunities for the study of structural and dynamic changes occurring in molecular nanomachines while they perform their biological function in vitro.}, author = {Amero, Carlos and Schanda, Paul and Durá, M. Asunción and Ayala, Isabel and Marion, Dominique and Franzetti, Bruno and Brutscher, Bernhard and Boisbouvier, Jérôme}, issn = {0002-7863}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, number = {10}, pages = {3448--3449}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Fast two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy of high molecular weight protein assemblies}}, doi = {10.1021/ja809880p}, volume = {131}, year = {2009}, } @article{8478, abstract = {Allosteric regulation is an effective mechanism of control in biological processes. In allosteric proteins a signal originating at one site in the molecule is communicated through the protein structure to trigger a specific response at a remote site. Using NMR relaxation dispersion techniques we directly observe the dynamic process through which the KIX domain of CREB binding protein communicates allosteric information between binding sites. KIX mediates cooperativity between pairs of transcription factors through binding to two distinct interaction surfaces in an allosteric manner. We show that binding the activation domain of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) transcription factor to KIX induces a redistribution of the relative populations of KIX conformations toward a high-energy state in which the allosterically activated second binding site is already preformed, consistent with the Monod−Wyman−Changeux (WMC) model of allostery. The structural rearrangement process that links the two conformers and by which allosteric information is communicated occurs with a time constant of 3 ms at 27 °C. Our dynamic NMR data reveal that an evolutionarily conserved network of hydrophobic amino acids constitutes the pathway through which information is transmitted.}, author = {Brüschweiler, Sven and Schanda, Paul and Kloiber, Karin and Brutscher, Bernhard and Kontaxis, Georg and Konrat, Robert and Tollinger, Martin}, issn = {0002-7863}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, number = {8}, pages = {3063--3068}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Direct observation of the dynamic process underlying allosteric signal transmission}}, doi = {10.1021/ja809947w}, volume = {131}, year = {2009}, } @article{8479, abstract = {Multidimensional NMR spectroscopy is a well-established technique for the characterization of structure and fast-time-scale dynamics of highly populated ground states of biological macromolecules. The investigation of short-lived excited states that are important for molecular folding, misfolding and function, however, remains a challenge for modern biomolecular NMR techniques. Off-equilibrium real-time kinetic NMR methods allow direct observation of conformational or chemical changes by following peak positions and intensities in a series of spectra recorded during a kinetic event. Because standard multidimensional NMR methods required to yield sufficient atom-resolution are intrinsically time-consuming, many interesting phenomena are excluded from real-time NMR analysis. Recently, spatially encoded ultrafast 2D NMR techniques have been proposed that allow one to acquire a 2D NMR experiment within a single transient. In addition, when combined with the SOFAST technique, such ultrafast experiments can be repeated at high rates. One of the problems detected for such ultrafast protein NMR experiments is related to the heteronuclear decoupling during detection with interferences between the pulses and the oscillatory magnetic field gradients arising in this scheme. Here we present a method for improved ultrafast data acquisition yielding higher signal to noise and sharper lines in single-scan 2D NMR spectra. In combination with a fast-mixing device, the recording of 1H–15N correlation spectra with repetition rates of up to a few Hertz becomes feasible, enabling real-time studies of protein kinetics occurring on time scales down to a few seconds.}, author = {Gal, Maayan and Kern, Thomas and Schanda, Paul and Frydman, Lucio and Brutscher, Bernhard}, issn = {0925-2738}, journal = {Journal of Biomolecular NMR}, keywords = {Spectroscopy, Biochemistry}, pages = {1--10}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{An improved ultrafast 2D NMR experiment: Towards atom-resolved real-time studies of protein kinetics at multi-Hz rates}}, doi = {10.1007/s10858-008-9284-9}, volume = {43}, year = {2009}, } @article{8508, abstract = {We study generic unfoldings of homoclinic tangencies of two-dimensional area-preserving diffeomorphisms (conservative New house phenomena) and show that they give rise to invariant hyperbolic sets of arbitrarily large Hausdorff dimension. As applications, we discuss the size of the stochastic layer of a standard map and the Hausdorff dimension of invariant hyperbolic sets for certain restricted three-body problems. We avoid involved technical details and only concentrate on the ideas of the proof of the presented results.}, author = {Gorodetski, Anton and Kaloshin, Vadim}, issn = {0081-5438}, journal = {Proceedings of the Steklov Institute of Mathematics}, keywords = {Mathematics (miscellaneous)}, number = {1}, pages = {76--90}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Conservative homoclinic bifurcations and some applications}}, doi = {10.1134/s0081543809040063}, volume = {267}, year = {2009}, } @article{88, abstract = {We have developed a tunable source of Mie scale microdroplet aerosols that can be used for the generation of energetic ions. To demonstrate this potential, a terawatt Ti: Al2 O3 laser focused to 2×10 19 W/cm2 was used to irradiate heavy water (D2 O) aerosols composed of micron-scale droplets. Energetic deuterium ions, which were generated in the laser-droplet interaction, produced deuterium-deuterium fusion with approximately 2×10^3 fusion neutrons measured per joule of incident laser energy. }, author = {Higginbotham, Andrew P and Semonin, Octavi and Bruce, S and Chan, C and Maindi, M and Donnelly, Tom and Maurer, M and Bang, Woosuk and Churina, I.V and Osterholz, Jens and Kim, I and Bernstein, Aaron and Ditmire, Todd}, journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, title = {{Generation of Mie size microdroplet aerosols with applications in laser-driven fusion experiments}}, doi = {10.1063/1.3155302}, volume = {80}, year = {2009}, } @article{908, abstract = {Although some data link archaeal and eukaryotic translation, the overall mechanism of protein synthesis in archaea remains largely obscure. Both archaeal (aRF1) and eukaryotic (eRF1) single release factors recognize all three stop codons. The archaeal genus Methanosarcinaceae contains two aRF1 homologs, and also uses the UAG stop to encode the 22nd amino acid, pyrrolysine. Here we provide an analysis of the last stage of archaeal translation in pyrrolysine-utilizing species. We demonstrated that only one of two Methanosarcina barkeri aRF1 homologs possesses activity and recognizes all three stop codons. The second aRF1 homolog may have another unknown function. The mechanism of pyrrolysine incorporation in the Methanosarcinaceae is discussed.}, author = {Alkalaeva, Elena Z and Eliseev, Boris D and Ambrogelly, Alexandre and Vlasov, Peter K and Fyodor Kondrashov and Gundllapalli, Sarath B and Frolova, Ludmila Y and Söll, Dieter G and Kisselev, Lev L}, journal = {FEBS Letters}, number = {21}, pages = {3455 -- 3460}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Translation termination in pyrrolysine-utilizing archaea}}, doi = {10.1016/j.febslet.2009.09.044}, volume = {583}, year = {2009}, } @article{9147, abstract = {As part of an ongoing effort to develop a parameterization of wave-induced abyssal mixing, the authors derive an heuristic model for nonlinear wave breaking and energy dissipation associated with internal tides. Then the saturation and dissipation of internal tides for idealized and observed topography samples are investigated. One of the main results is that the wave-induced mixing could be more intense and more confined to the bottom than previously assumed in numerical models. Furthermore, in this model wave breaking and mixing clearly depend on the small scales of the topography below 10 km or so, which is below the current resolution of global bathymetry. This motivates the use of a statistical approach to represent the unresolved topography when addressing the role of internal tides in mixing the deep ocean.}, author = {Muller, Caroline J and Bühler, Oliver}, issn = {1520-0485}, journal = {Journal of Physical Oceanography}, keywords = {Oceanography}, number = {9}, pages = {2077--2096}, publisher = {American Meteorological Society}, title = {{Saturation of the internal tides and induced mixing in the abyssal ocean}}, doi = {10.1175/2009jpo4141.1}, volume = {39}, year = {2009}, } @article{9148, abstract = {Several observational studies have shown a tight relationship between tropical precipitation and column‐integrated water vapor. We show that the observed relationship in the tropics between column‐integrated water vapor, precipitation, and its variance can be qualitatively reproduced by a simple and physically motivated two‐layer model. It has previously been argued that features of this relationship could be explained by analogy with the theory of continuous phase transitions. Instead, our model explicitly assumes that the onset of precipitation is governed by a stability threshold involving boundary‐layer water vapor. This allows us to explain the precipitation‐humidity relationship over a broader range of water vapor values, and may explain the observed temperature dependence of the relationship.}, author = {Muller, Caroline J and Back, Larissa E. and O'Gorman, Paul A. and Emanuel, Kerry A.}, issn = {0094-8276}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters}, keywords = {General Earth and Planetary Sciences, Geophysics}, number = {16}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, title = {{A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor}}, doi = {10.1029/2009gl039667}, volume = {36}, year = {2009}, } @article{9453, abstract = {Parent-of-origin-specific (imprinted) gene expression is regulated in Arabidopsis thaliana endosperm by cytosine demethylation of the maternal genome mediated by the DNA glycosylase DEMETER, but the extent of the methylation changes is not known. Here, we show that virtually the entire endosperm genome is demethylated, coupled with extensive local non-CG hypermethylation of small interfering RNA–targeted sequences. Mutation of DEMETER partially restores endosperm CG methylation to levels found in other tissues, indicating that CG demethylation is specific to maternal sequences. Endosperm demethylation is accompanied by CHH hypermethylation of embryo transposable elements. Our findings demonstrate extensive reconfiguration of the endosperm methylation landscape that likely reinforces transposon silencing in the embryo.}, author = {Hsieh, Tzung-Fu and Ibarra, Christian A. and Silva, Pedro and Zemach, Assaf and Eshed-Williams, Leor and Fischer, Robert L. and Zilberman, Daniel}, issn = {1095-9203}, journal = {Science}, keywords = {Multidisciplinary}, number = {5933}, pages = {1451--1454}, publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science}, title = {{Genome-wide demethylation of Arabidopsis endosperm}}, doi = {10.1126/science.1172417}, volume = {324}, year = {2009}, } @inproceedings{964, abstract = {A theory of the fluctuation-induced Nernst efl'ect is developed for a two-dimensional superconductor in a perpendicular magnetic field. First, we derive a simple phenomenological formula for the Nernst coefficient, which naturally explains the giant Nernst signal due to fluctuating Cooper pairs. The latter signal is shown to be large even far from the transition and may exceed by orders of magnitude the Fermi liquid terms. We also present a complete microscopic calculation of the Nernst coefficient for arbitrary magnetic fields and temperatures, which is based on the standard definition of heat current vertices. It is shown that the magnitude and the behavior of the Nernst signal observed experimentally in disordered superconducting films can be well understood on the basis of superconducting fluctuation theory.}, author = {Maksym Serbyn and Skvortsov, Mikhail A and Varlamov, Andrei A and Galitski, Victor M}, pages = {140 -- 145}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, title = {{Giant nernst effect due to fluctuating cooper Pairs in superconductors}}, doi = {10.1063/1.3149485}, volume = {1134}, year = {2009}, } @article{7080, abstract = {We show evidence that a structural martensitic transition is related to significant changes in the electronic structure, as revealed in thermodynamic measurements made in high magnetic fields. The effect of the magnetic field is considered unusual as many influential investigations of martensitic transitions have emphasized that the structural transitions are primarily lattice dynamical and are driven by the entropy due to the phonons. We provide a theoretical framework, which can be used to describe the effect of the magnetic field on the lattice dynamics in which the field dependence originates from the dielectric constant.}, author = {Yang, X.-D. and Riseborough, P.S. and Modic, Kimberly A and Fisher, R.A. and Opeil, C.P. and Finlayson, T.R. and Cooley, J.C. and Smith, J.L. and Goddard, P.A. and Silhanek, A.V. and Lashley, J.C.}, issn = {1478-6443}, journal = {Philosophical Magazine}, number = {22-24}, pages = {2083--2091}, publisher = {Taylor & Francis}, title = {{Influence of magnetic fields on structural martensitic transitions}}, doi = {10.1080/14786430902865518}, volume = {89}, year = {2009}, } @article{7319, abstract = {In the first paper of this series, an experimental technique for measuring the current-density distribution with a resolution better than the sub-millimeter scale of the channel and rib structures in the flow-field plates of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) was introduced. This method is extended to the determination of local membrane resistance with the same spatial resolution in the present paper. The combined measurement of current and resistance allows for investigating the interaction of mass- and charge-transport processes, which determine the local rate distribution across the domain of channels and ribs. Therewith, the influence of relevant operating parameters such as reactant composition, dew points, and cell compression on local current generation is investigated. The results show that the distribution of water and oxidant across the channel and rib are the main reasons for significant current gradients on a scale smaller than a millimeter. Humidity variation mainly affects the membrane resistance under the channel, while reactant concentration predominantly influences current generation under the rib-covered cell area.}, author = {Reum, Mathias and Freunberger, Stefan Alexander and Wokaun, Alexander and Büchi, Felix N.}, issn = {0013-4651}, journal = {Journal of The Electrochemical Society}, number = {3}, publisher = {The Electrochemical Society}, title = {{Measuring the current distribution with sub-millimeter resolution in PEFCs: II. Impact of operating parameters}}, doi = {10.1149/1.3043422}, volume = {156}, year = {2009}, } @inproceedings{752, abstract = {Set agreement is a fundamental problem in distributed computing in which processes collectively choose a small subset of values from a larger set of proposals. The impossibility of fault-tolerant set agreement in asynchronous networks is one of the seminal results in distributed computing. The complexity of set agreement in synchronous networks has also been a significant research challenge. Real systems, however, are neither purely synchronous nor purely asynchronous. Rather, they tend to alternate between periods of synchrony and periods of asynchrony. In this paper, we analyze the complexity of set agreement in a "partially synchronous" setting, presenting the first (asymptotically) tight bound on the complexity of set agreement in such systems. We introduce a novel technique for simulating, in fault-prone asynchronous shared memory, executions of an asynchronous and failure-prone messagepassing system in which some fragments appear synchronous to some processes. We use this technique to derive a lower bound on the round complexity of set agreement in a partially synchronous system by a reduction from asynchronous wait-free set agreement. We also present an asymptotically matching algorithm that relies on a distributed asynchrony detection mechanism to decide as soon as possible during periods of synchrony. By relating environments with differing degrees of synchrony, our simulation technique is of independent interest. In particular, it allows us to obtain a new lower bound on the complexity of early deciding k-set agreement complementary to that of [12], and to re-derive the combinatorial topology lower bound of [13] in an algorithmic way.}, author = {Alistarh, Dan-Adrian and Gilbert, Seth and Guerraoui, Rachid and Travers, Corentin}, pages = {943 -- 953}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{Of choices, failures and asynchrony: the many faces of set agreement}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-10631-6_95}, volume = {5878 LNCS}, year = {2009}, } @article{11109, abstract = {The nuclear envelope (NE) provides a selective barrier between the nuclear interior and the cytoplasm and constitutes a central component of intracellular architecture. During mitosis in metazoa, the NE breaks down leading to the complete mixing of the nuclear content with the cytosol. Interestingly, many NE components actively participate in mitotic progression. After chromosome segregation, the NE is reassembled around decondensing chromatin and the nuclear compartment is reestablished in the daughter cells. Here, we summarize recent progress in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying NE dynamics during cell division.}, author = {Kutay, Ulrike and HETZER, Martin W}, issn = {0955-0674}, journal = {Current Opinion in Cell Biology}, keywords = {Cell Biology}, number = {6}, pages = {669--677}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Reorganization of the nuclear envelope during open mitosis}}, doi = {10.1016/j.ceb.2008.09.010}, volume = {20}, year = {2008}, } @article{11110, abstract = {Nuclear pore complexes are large aqueous channels that penetrate the nuclear envelope, thereby connecting the nuclear interior with the cytoplasm. Until recently, these macromolecular complexes were viewed as static structures, the only function of which was to control the molecular trafficking between the two compartments. It has now become evident that this simplistic scenario is inaccurate and that nuclear pore complexes are highly dynamic multiprotein assemblies involved in diverse cellular processes ranging from the organization of the cytoskeleton to gene expression. In this review, we discuss the most recent developments in the nuclear-pore-complex field, focusing on the assembly, disassembly, maintenance and function of this macromolecular structure.}, author = {D’Angelo, Maximiliano A. and HETZER, Martin W}, issn = {0962-8924}, journal = {Trends in Cell Biology}, keywords = {Cell Biology}, number = {10}, pages = {456--466}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Structure, dynamics and function of nuclear pore complexes}}, doi = {10.1016/j.tcb.2008.07.009}, volume = {18}, year = {2008}, } @article{11111, abstract = {During mitosis in metazoans, segregated chromosomes become enclosed by the nuclear envelope (NE), a double membrane that is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Recent in vitro data suggest that NE formation occurs by chromatin-mediated reorganization of the tubular ER; however, the basic principles of such a membrane-reshaping process remain uncharacterized. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of nuclear membrane assembly in mammalian cells using time-lapse microscopy. From the initial recruitment of ER tubules to chromatin, the formation of a membrane-enclosed, transport-competent nucleus occurs within ∼12 min. Overexpression of the ER tubule-forming proteins reticulon 3, reticulon 4, and DP1 inhibits NE formation and nuclear expansion, whereas their knockdown accelerates nuclear assembly. This suggests that the transition from membrane tubules to sheets is rate-limiting for nuclear assembly. Our results provide evidence that ER-shaping proteins are directly involved in the reconstruction of the nuclear compartment and that morphological restructuring of the ER is the principal mechanism of NE formation in vivo.}, author = {Anderson, Daniel J. and HETZER, Martin W}, issn = {1540-8140}, journal = {Journal of Cell Biology}, keywords = {Cell Biology}, number = {5}, pages = {911--924}, publisher = {Rockefeller University Press}, title = {{Reshaping of the endoplasmic reticulum limits the rate for nuclear envelope formation}}, doi = {10.1083/jcb.200805140}, volume = {182}, year = {2008}, }