Journals

Several cell transfection techniques have been developed in the last decades for specific applications and for various types of molecules. In this context, laser based approaches are of great interest due to their minimal invasiveness and spatial selectivity. In particular, laser induced plasmon based delivery of exogenous molecules into cells can have great impact on future applications. This approach allows high‐throughput laser transfection by excitation of plasmon resonances at gold nanoparticles non‐specifically attached to the cell membrane. In this study, we demonstrate specific gene‐knockdown by transfection of Morpholino oligos using this technique with optimized particle size. Furthermore, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of plasmonic laser treatment by various assays, including LDH activity and ROS formation. In summary, this study gives important insights into this new approach and clearly demonstrates its relevance for possible biological applications. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300056

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia‐1 (HHT‐1) is a vascular disease caused by mutations in the endoglin (Eng)/CD105 gene. The objective of this study was to quantify the oxidative state of a rodent model of HHT‐1 using an optical imaging technique. We used a cryofluorescence imaging instrument to quantitatively assess tissue metabolism in this model. Mitochondrial redox ratio (FAD/NADH), FAD RR, was used as a quantitative marker of the metabolic status and was examined in the kidneys, and eyes of wild‐type and Eng +/– mice. Kidneys and eyes from wild‐type P21, 6W, and 10M old mice showed, respectively, a 9% (±2), 24% (±0.4), 15% (±1), and 23% (±4), 33% (±0.6), and 30% (±2) change in the mean FAD RR compared to Eng +/– mice at the same age. Thus, endoglin haploinsufficiency is associated with less oxidative stress in various organs and mitigation of angiogenesis. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300033

We calculated the three‐dimensional optical stress distribution and the resulting deformation on a biconcave human red blood cell (RBC) in a pair of parallel optical trap. We assumed a Gaussian intensity distribution with a spherical wavefront for each trapping beam and calculated the optical stress from the momentum transfer associated with the reflection and refraction of the incident photons at each interface. The RBC was modelled as a biconcave thin elastic membrane with uniform elasticity and a uniform thickness of 0.25 μm. The resulting cell deformation was determined from the optical stress distribution by finite element software, Comsol Structure Mechanics Module, with Young's modulus (E) as a fitting parameter in order to fit the theoretical results for cell elongation to our experimental data. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300017

We calculated the three‐dimensional optical stress distribution and the resulting deformation on a biconcave human red blood cell (RBC) in a pair of parallel optical trap. We assumed a Gaussian intensity distribution with a spherical wavefront for each trapping beam and calculated the optical stress from the momentum transfer associated with the reflection and refraction of the incident photons at each interface. The RBC was modelled as a biconcave thin elastic membrane with uniform elasticity and a uniform thickness of 0.25 μm. The resulting cell deformation was determined from the optical stress distribution by finite element software, Comsol Structure Mechanics Module, with Young's modulus (E) as a fitting parameter in order to fit the theoretical results for cell elongation to our experimental data. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300017

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia‐1 (HHT‐1) is a vascular disease caused by mutations in the endoglin (Eng)/CD105 gene. The objective of this study was to quantify the oxidative state of a rodent model of HHT‐1 using an optical imaging technique. We used a cryofluorescence imaging instrument to quantitatively assess tissue metabolism in this model. Mitochondrial redox ratio (FAD/NADH), FAD RR, was used as a quantitative marker of the metabolic status and was examined in the kidneys, and eyes of wild‐type and Eng +/– mice. Kidneys and eyes from wild‐type P21, 6W, and 10M old mice showed, respectively, a 9% (±2), 24% (±0.4), 15% (±1), and 23% (±4), 33% (±0.6), and 30% (±2) change in the mean FAD RR compared to Eng +/– mice at the same age. Thus, endoglin haploinsufficiency is associated with less oxidative stress in various organs and mitigation of angiogenesis. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300033

Several cell transfection techniques have been developed in the last decades for specific applications and for various types of molecules. In this context, laser based approaches are of great interest due to their minimal invasiveness and spatial selectivity. In particular, laser induced plasmon based delivery of exogenous molecules into cells can have great impact on future applications. This approach allows high‐throughput laser transfection by excitation of plasmon resonances at gold nanoparticles non‐specifically attached to the cell membrane. In this study, we demonstrate specific gene‐knockdown by transfection of Morpholino oligos using this technique with optimized particle size. Furthermore, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of plasmonic laser treatment by various assays, including LDH activity and ROS formation. In summary, this study gives important insights into this new approach and clearly demonstrates its relevance for possible biological applications. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300056

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300508

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201300509

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201390013

Silica‐coated gold nanorods provide a multi‐fold improvement in the sensitivity of photoacoustics‐based temperature mapping compared to gold nanorods without silica coating. The results indicate that photothermal therapy can benefit from nanoparticles designed to enhance photoacoustic response and to act as sensitive photoacoustic thermal sensors for accurate temperature mapping during image‐guided photothermal therapy. Picture: Y.‐S. Chen et al., pp. 534–542 in this issue

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2Fjbio.201390012

Alexander Lorenz, Natalie Zimmermann, Satyendra Kumar, Dean R. Evans, Gary Cook, Manuel Fernández Martínez, Heinz-S. KitzerowA nematic liquid crystal (LC) mixture was doped with harvested ferroelectric BaTiO_3 nanoparticles and investigated with wide- and small-angle x-ray scattering upon heating from the nematic to the isotropic phase. At moderate temperatures, colloidal crystallites were observed. LC test cells with ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E1-E5 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E1

Arkadiusz Rudzki, Dean R. Evans, Gary Cook, Wolfgang HaaseThe influence of the size of harvested barium titanate nanoparticles on the properties of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) nanocolloids was investigated by electro-optical and dielectric methods. The spontaneous polarization and the switching time are decreased for the liquid crystalline ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E6-E14 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E6

Ghada Nabil, Wing Fat Ho, Hau Ping ChanWe applied polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) as the cladding material in a polymer-based variable optical attenuator. Three polymer inverted channel waveguides were fabricated, two with PDLC upper cladding (aligned PDLC and nonaligned PDLC) and one with aligned liquid crystal upper cladding. ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E15-E21 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E15

C. Mercado-Zúñiga, J. R. Vargas-García, F. Cervantes-Sodi, M. Trejo-Valdez, R. Torres-Martínez, C. Torres-TorresElectrical and nonlinear optical experiments were performed on multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) prepared by a chemical vapor deposition method. We report that the incorporation of platinum particles on the CNTs surface originates an enhancement in the photoconductive properties with noticeable ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E22-E27 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E22

Dimana Nazarova, Lian Nedelchev, Peter Sharlandjiev, Violeta DragostinovaHybrid materials based on combination of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles (NP) attracted considerable attention in the last decade due to their advantageous electrical, optical, or mechanical properties. Recently, we reported a significant improvement of the photoresponse by doping azopolymers ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E28-E33 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E28

Yuriy Garbovskiy, Anatoliy GlushchenkoIn this paper, we will explore how optical and ferroelectric properties of the stressed ferroelectric nanoparticles prepared through ball milling set a limit on the performance of optical and electro-optical devices based on such materials. It was found that suspensions of BaTiO_3 nanoparticles ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E34-E39 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E34

Nina Sheremet, Yuriy Kurioz, Kostyantyn Slyusarenko, Michael Trunov, Yuriy ReznikovPolarization gratings have been recorded in a combined liquid crystal (LC) cell made of a substrate covered with a photosensitive chalcogenide orientation layer and a reference substrate covered with a rubbed polyimide film. The gratings are formed due to the spatially modulated light-induced easy ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E40-E46 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E40

Marta Lavrič, George Cordoyiannis, Samo Kralj, Vassilios Tzitzios, George Nounesis, Zdravko KutnjakLiquid-crystalline blue phases are attracting significant interest due to their potential for applications related to tunable photonic crystals and fast optical displays. In this work a brief theoretical model is presented accounting for the impact of anisotropic nanoparticles on the blue phase ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E47-E52 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E47

Oleg Yaroshchuk, Sergiy Tomylko, Igor Gvozdovskyy, Rumiko YamaguchiThe photoresponsive electro-optical composites based on cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) with optically controlled chirality and a minute amount of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are studied. In cells with homeotropic anchoring, these composites exhibit a transition from fingerprint texture to homeotropic ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E53-E59 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E53

Amalya Minasyan, Tigran GalstianDual-frequency control liquid crystal (LC) and thin reactive mesogen (RM) films, cast on internal surfaces of cell substrate, are used to build surface polymer stabilized structures. Electric field of high frequency is used to orient the LC molecules by the negative dielectric torque prior to the ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E60-E67 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E60

M. Danaeifar, N. Granpayeh, A. Mohammadi, A. SetayeshThis paper presents a sheet of graphene as a simple band-pass filter in terahertz and infrared frequencies. The central frequency and quality factor of this band-pass filter can be tuned by changing the physical parameters, such as the substrate thickness, gate voltage, temperature, and ... [Appl. Opt. 52, E68-E72 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-52-22-E68

Joshua W. Shaevitz.

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00532-8

Jose M.G. Vilar, Leonor Saiz. Gene expression is a process central to any form of life. It involves multiple temporal and functional scales that extend from specific protein-DNA interactions to the coordinated regulation of mu....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00465-7

Siân R. Morgan, Erin P. Dooley, Paul M. Hocking, Chris F. Inglehearn, Manir Ali, Thomas L.-M. Sorensen, Keith M. Meek, Craig Boote. Avian vision diseases in which eye growth is compromised are helping to define what governs corneal shape and ultrastructural organization. The highly specific collagen architecture of the main co....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00523-7

Tongli Zhang, Raquel A. Oliveira, Bernhard Schmierer, Béla Novák. Chromosome bi-orientation at the metaphase spindle is essential for precise segregation of the genetic material. The process is error-prone, and error-correction mechanisms exist to switch misalig....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00529-8

Akeisha M.T. Belgrave, Charles W. Wolgemuth. In rod-shaped bacteria, cell morphology is correlated with the replication rate. For a given species, cells that replicate faster are longer and have less cross-linked cell walls. Here, we propose....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00461-X

Anmar Khadra, Melanija Tomić, Zonghe Yan, Hana Zemkova, Arthur Sherman, Stanko S. Stojilkovic. The ATP-gated P2X7 receptor channel (P2X7R) operates as a cytolytic and apoptotic receptor but also controls sustained cellular responses, including cell growth and proliferation. However, it has ....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00530-4

Mikhail G. Shapiro, Michael F. Priest, Peter H. Siegel, Francisco Bezanilla. Interactions between millimeter waves (MMWs) and biological systems have received increasing attention due to the growing use of MMW radiation in technologies ranging from experimental medical dev....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00570-5

Matthew C. Blosser, Jordan B. Starr, Cameron W. Turtle, Jake Ashcraft, Sarah L. Keller. Giant unilamellar vesicles composed of a ternary mixture of phospholipids and cholesterol exhibit coexisting liquid phases over a range of temperatures and compositions. A significant fraction of ....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00525-0

Sebastian Björklund, Tautgirdas Ruzgas, Agnieszka Nowacka, Ihab Dahi, Daniel Topgaard, Emma Sparr, Johan Engblom. The stratum corneum (SC) is an effective permeability barrier. One strategy to increase drug delivery across skin is to increase the hydration. A detailed description of how hydration affects skin....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00533-X

Andrew R. Thompson, Gregory J. Hoeprich, Christopher L. Berger. In vitro, single-molecule motility assays allow for the direct characterization of molecular motor properties including stepping velocity and characteristic run length. Although application of the....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00578-X

Cuiping Zhao, Douglas M. Swank. The mechanism behind stretch activation (SA), a mechanical property that increases muscle force and oscillatory power generation, is not known. We used Drosophila transgenic techniques and ....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00582-1

Nathan E. Hudson, Feng Ding, Igal Bucay, E. Timothy O’Brien, Oleg V. Gorkun, Richard Superfine, Susan T. Lord, Nikolay V. Dokholyan, Michael R. Falvo. Fibrin fibers form the structural scaffold of blood clots. Thus, their mechanical properties are of central importance to understanding hemostasis and thrombotic disease. Recent studies have revea....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00520-1

J.-C. Eloi, M. Okuda, S.E. Ward Jones, W. Schwarzacher. For applications from food science to the freeze-thawing of proteins it is important to understand the often complex freezing behavior of solutions of biomolecules. Here we use a magnetic method t....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00471-2

Rosa M. Espinosa-Marzal, Giacomo Fontani, Frieder B. Reusch, Marcella Roba, Nicholas D. Spencer, Rowena Crockett. Cells are coated with a glycocalyx—a layer of carbohydrate-containing biomolecules, such as glycoproteins. Although the structure and orientation of the cell-surface glycans are frequently regarde....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00573-0

Xunhai Zheng, Geoffrey A. Mueller, Eugene F. DeRose, Robert E. London. Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) play a central role in the treatment of AIDS, but their mechanisms of action are incompletely understood. The interaction of the NNRTI nevir....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00444-X

Hangyu Zhang, Amy Griggs, Jean-Christophe Rochet, Lia A. Stanciu. The aggregation of α-synuclein is thought to play a role in the death of dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alpha-synuclein transitions itself through an aggregation pathway cons....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00518-3

K. Aurelia Ball, Aaron H. Phillips, David E. Wemmer, Teresa Head-Gordon. Using homonuclear 1H NOESY spectra, with chemical shifts, 3JHNHα scalar couplings, residual dipolar couplings, and 1

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00526-2

Sigurður Ægir Jónsson, Simon Mitternacht, Anders Irbäck. Single-molecule pulling experiments on unstructured proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases have measured rupture forces comparable to those for stable folded proteins. To investigate the st....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00527-4

Teuta Pilizota, Joshua W. Shaevitz. The concentration of chemicals inside the bacterial cytoplasm generates an osmotic pressure, termed turgor, which inflates the cell and is necessary for cell growth and survival. In Escherichia....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00561-4

Purushottam D. Dixit. We present a maximum entropy framework to separate intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to noisy gene expression solely from the profile of expression. We express the experimentally accessible pr....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00560-2

Markus Dittrich, John M. Pattillo, J. Darwin King, Soyoun Cho, Joel R. Stiles, Stephen D. Meriney. Despite decades of intense experimental studies, we still lack a detailed understanding of synaptic function. Fortunately, using computational approaches, we can obtain important new insights into....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00579-1

Kathleen S. McDowell, Fijoy Vadakkumpadan, Robert Blake, Joshua Blauer, Gernot Plank, Rob S. MacLeod, Natalia A. Trayanova. Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia in humans, is initiated when triggered activity from the pulmonary veins propagates into atrial tissue and degrades into reentrant activity. Al....

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(13)00581-X

Stefan Münster, Ben Fabry.

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00572-9

Matteo Molteni, Davide Magatti, Barbara Cardinali, Mattia Rocco, Fabio Ferri.

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00571-7

Antoine Jégou, Thomas Niedermayer, Reinhard Lipowsky, Marie-France Carlier, Guillaume Romet-Lemonne.

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00575-4

M.M. Burnett, A.E. Carlsson.

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00576-6

http://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(13)00625-5

Noah Bedard and Tomasz S. Tkaczyk Fiber optic endomicroscopy is a valuable tool for clinical diagnostics and animal studies because it can capture images of tissue in vivo with subcellular resolution. Current configurations for endomicroscopes have either limited spatial resolution or require a scanning mechanism at the distal end o ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 080508 (2012)] published Sat Aug 18, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/080508/1&agg=rss

Martin Biallas, Ivo Trajkovic, Cornelia Hagmann et al. In this study 14 healthy term newborns (postnatal mean age 2.1 days) underwent photic stimulation during sleep on two different days. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) was acquired simultaneously. The aims of the study were: to determine (i) the sensitivity and (ii) ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 086011 (2012)] published Sat Aug 18, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/086011/1&agg=rss

Martin Biallas, Ivo Trajkovic, Cornelia Hagmann et al. In this study 14 healthy term newborns (postnatal mean age 2.1 days) underwent photic stimulation during sleep on two different days. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) was acquired simultaneously. The aims of the study were: to determine (i) the sensitivity and (ii) ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 086011 (2012)] published Sat Aug 18, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/086011/1&agg=rss

Noah Bedard and Tomasz S. Tkaczyk Fiber optic endomicroscopy is a valuable tool for clinical diagnostics and animal studies because it can capture images of tissue in vivo with subcellular resolution. Current configurations for endomicroscopes have either limited spatial resolution or require a scanning mechanism at the distal end o ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 080508 (2012)] published Sat Aug 18, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/080508/1&agg=rss

Sanaz Alali, Karen J. Aitken, Annette Shroder et al. Microstructural remodelling in epithelial layers of various hollow organs, including changes in tissue anisotropy, are known to occur under mechanical distension and during disease processes. In this paper, we analyze how bladder distension alters wall anisotropy using polarized light imaging (follo ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 086010 (2012)] published Fri Aug 17, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/086010/1&agg=rss

Sunkuk Kwon, Germaine D. Agollah, Wenyaw Chan et al. The lymphatic system plays an important role in maintaining the fluid homeostasis between the blood vascular and interstitial tissue compartment and there is recent evidence that its transport capabilities may regulate blood pressure in salt-induced hypertension. Yet, there is little known how the l ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 080504 (2012)] published Thu Aug 16, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/080504/1&agg=rss

Paul C. Pearlman, Arthur Adams, Sjoerd G. Elias et al. Optical breast imaging offers the possibility of noninvasive, low cost, and high sensitivity imaging of breast cancers. Poor spatial resolution and a lack of anatomical landmarks in optical images of the breast make interpretation difficult and motivate registration and fusion of these data with sub ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 080901 (2012)] published Wed Aug 15, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/080901/1&agg=rss

Chen-Wei Wei, Jinjun Xia, Ivan Pelivanov et al. Results on magnetically trapping and manipulating micro-scale beads circulating in a flow field mimicking metastatic cancer cells in human peripheral vessels are presented. Composite contrast agents combining magneto-sensitive nanospheres and highly optical absorptive gold nanorods were conjugated t ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 101517 (2012)] published Tue Aug 14, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/101517/1&agg=rss

A. J. Louise Meier, Wouter H. J. Rensen, Pieter K. de Bokx et al. Frequent monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients enables timely treatment adjustments and improved outcomes. Currently this is not feasible due to a shortage of rheumatologists. An optical spectral transmission device is presented for objective assessment of joint inflammation in RA patient ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 081420 (2012)] published Tue Aug 14, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/081420/1&agg=rss

Yang Pu, Wubao Wang, Min Xu et al. Characterization and three-dimensional (3-D) localization of human cancerous prostate tissue embedded in normal prostate tissue were demonstrated using backscattering scanning polarization imaging and an inverse imaging reconstruction algorithm, optical tomography using independent component analysi ... [J. Biomed. Opt. 17, 081419 (2012)] published Tue Aug 14, 2012.

http://link.aip.org/link/?JBO/17/081419/1&agg=rss

To promote transparency and honesty, it is important for corresponding authors to divulge any financial interests that may affect how their articles are perceived.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/aJ_5H7ye8v4/nphoton.2013.149

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/klBhNOe2Blc/nphoton.2013.138

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/si6fYsrIcxU/nphoton.2013.139

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/YDkBCMWGyyQ/nphoton.2013.140

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/iK9X-gjniEY/nphoton.2013.141

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/GOHQHUltgSA/nphoton.2013.142

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/oBA6Aug3qIk/nphoton.2013.143

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/pg-byJWO9ZM/nphoton.2013.144

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/xoByMoDgMqo/nphoton.2013.145

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/Z7cNLL9S9gI/nphoton.2013.146

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/h97B4NTHAMs/nphoton.2013.147

Organic photovoltaics offer the tantalizing promise of low-cost plastic coatings that can be applied to building surfaces and roofing to generate electricity sustainably. Now, the demonstration that the addition of organic dyes can improve device performance by energy-transfer processes offers an exciting new opportunity.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/Yw15aXxwT_4/nphoton.2013.130

Using a pump–probe technique, scientists have experimentally demonstrated a nonlinear imaging scheme that permits the super-resolution imaging of nonfluorescent samples, making it promising for use with unstained specimens.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/d5CpWuHgK8Q/nphoton.2013.117

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/UdLhBcoO3Mc/nphoton.2013.132

Enhancing magneto-optic effects may help to reduce the size of photonic devices. Recent research by several groups shows that the features of metal optical components can be exploited to enhance typically weak magneto-optic effects.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/Z601FdVx5lY/nphoton.2013.134

Deformed optical resonators that support chaotically propagating modes have been shown to store more light energy than conventional cavities.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/EoBayMp7Ma0/nphoton.2013.135

Nanophotonics is of both fundamental and applied importance. This field has a wide range of applications, including light-emitting devices and optical integrated circuits.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/C9CaZa5r6Qc/nphoton.2013.148

Magnets are often electrically activated, but recent research has demonstrated various schemes that can control magnetization using light and photocarriers. Nature Photonics spoke to Petr Němec and Tomas Jungwirth about their recent work on a polarization-independent optical-torque approach.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nphoton/rss/current/~3/xWPZgQWk6t4/nphoton.2013.133

Efficient carbon utilization is critical to the survival of microorganisms in competitive environments. To optimize energy usage, bacteria have developed an integrated control system to preferentially uptake carbohydrates that support rapid growth. The availability of a preferred carbon source, such as glucose, represses the synthesis and activities of proteins necessary for the transport and metabolism of secondary carbon sources. This regulatory phenomenon is defined as carbon catabolite repression. In enteric bacteria, the key player of carbon catabolite repression is a component of the glucose-specific phosphotransferase system, enzyme IIA (EIIAGlc). It is known that unphosphorylated EIIAGlc binds to and inhibits a variety of transporters when glucose is available. However, understanding the underlying molecular mechanism has been hindered by the complete absence of structures for any EIIAGlc–transporter complexes. Here we present the 3.9 Å crystal structure of Escherichia coli EIIAGlc in complex with the maltose transporter, an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter. The structure shows that two EIIAGlc molecules bind to the cytoplasmic ATPase subunits, stabilizing the transporter in an inward-facing conformation and preventing the structural rearrangements necessary for ATP hydrolysis. We also show that the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of the full-length EIIAGlc and an amino-terminal truncation mutant differ by 60-fold, consistent with the hypothesis that the amino-terminal region, disordered in the crystal structure, functions as a membrane anchor to increase the effective EIIAGlc concentration at the membrane. Together these data suggest a model of how the central regulatory protein EIIAGlc allosterically inhibits maltose uptake in E. coli.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/-lMW4ceBGZ8/nature12232

Major international projects are underway that are aimed at creating a comprehensive catalogue of all the genes responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer. These studies involve the sequencing of matched tumour–normal samples followed by mathematical analysis to identify those genes in which mutations occur more frequently than expected by random chance. Here we describe a fundamental problem with cancer genome studies: as the sample size increases, the list of putatively significant genes produced by current analytical methods burgeons into the hundreds. The list includes many implausible genes (such as those encoding olfactory receptors and the muscle protein titin), suggesting extensive false-positive findings that overshadow true driver events. We show that this problem stems largely from mutational heterogeneity and provide a novel analytical methodology, MutSigCV, for resolving the problem. We apply MutSigCV to exome sequences from 3,083 tumour–normal pairs and discover extraordinary variation in mutation frequency and spectrum within cancer types, which sheds light on mutational processes and disease aetiology, and in mutation frequency across the genome, which is strongly correlated with DNA replication timing and also with transcriptional activity. By incorporating mutational heterogeneity into the analyses, MutSigCV is able to eliminate most of the apparent artefactual findings and enable the identification of genes truly associated with cancer.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/2W9ZCutBeJA/nature12213

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/bPXgUc_XZ9A/455609a

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/HlrA2aOop0w/nature10156

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/EuBdwt8GMxk/nature10133

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/TxrdFuAGaoc/nature10186

Major international projects are underway that are aimed at creating a comprehensive catalogue of all the genes responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer. These studies involve the sequencing of matched tumour–normal samples followed by mathematical analysis to identify those genes in which mutations occur more frequently than expected by random chance. Here we describe a fundamental problem with cancer genome studies: as the sample size increases, the list of putatively significant genes produced by current analytical methods burgeons into the hundreds. The list includes many implausible genes (such as those encoding olfactory receptors and the muscle protein titin), suggesting extensive false-positive findings that overshadow true driver events. We show that this problem stems largely from mutational heterogeneity and provide a novel analytical methodology, MutSigCV, for resolving the problem. We apply MutSigCV to exome sequences from 3,083 tumour–normal pairs and discover extraordinary variation in mutation frequency and spectrum within cancer types, which sheds light on mutational processes and disease aetiology, and in mutation frequency across the genome, which is strongly correlated with DNA replication timing and also with transcriptional activity. By incorporating mutational heterogeneity into the analyses, MutSigCV is able to eliminate most of the apparent artefactual findings and enable the identification of genes truly associated with cancer.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/2W9ZCutBeJA/nature12213

Efficient carbon utilization is critical to the survival of microorganisms in competitive environments. To optimize energy usage, bacteria have developed an integrated control system to preferentially uptake carbohydrates that support rapid growth. The availability of a preferred carbon source, such as glucose, represses the synthesis and activities of proteins necessary for the transport and metabolism of secondary carbon sources. This regulatory phenomenon is defined as carbon catabolite repression. In enteric bacteria, the key player of carbon catabolite repression is a component of the glucose-specific phosphotransferase system, enzyme IIA (EIIAGlc). It is known that unphosphorylated EIIAGlc binds to and inhibits a variety of transporters when glucose is available. However, understanding the underlying molecular mechanism has been hindered by the complete absence of structures for any EIIAGlc–transporter complexes. Here we present the 3.9 Å crystal structure of Escherichia coli EIIAGlc in complex with the maltose transporter, an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter. The structure shows that two EIIAGlc molecules bind to the cytoplasmic ATPase subunits, stabilizing the transporter in an inward-facing conformation and preventing the structural rearrangements necessary for ATP hydrolysis. We also show that the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of the full-length EIIAGlc and an amino-terminal truncation mutant differ by 60-fold, consistent with the hypothesis that the amino-terminal region, disordered in the crystal structure, functions as a membrane anchor to increase the effective EIIAGlc concentration at the membrane. Together these data suggest a model of how the central regulatory protein EIIAGlc allosterically inhibits maltose uptake in E. coli.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/-lMW4ceBGZ8/nature12232

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/lrL5UQlUqpA/nature12324

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/aop/~3/LrmyEUm1VSI/nature12317

The stigma associated with mental illness discourages investment in finding cures — even though the burden of the disorders on society is immense.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/AhWY7F3ssvA/498137a

Oversight and public debate about access to personal data are crucial to preserving privacy.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/OYnowkJjHAQ/498137b

Lucrative prizes emulating the Nobels bring welcome money and publicity for science.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/7bdybKqroWE/498138a

It is only a matter of time until idealism sees the release of confidential genetic data on study participants, says Steven E. Brenner.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/EgelMIFquuQ/498139a

Reindeer herding practices and their effect on vegetation in northern Scandinavia may influence when snow melts in spring.Tall, dense shrubs can hasten snow melt in the tundra. As more branches protrude over packed snow, less sunlight is reflected off the bright surface and more

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/brjTbq2FoMA/498140a

The development of chicken penises is cut short by signals that prompt cell death, a finding that could help to explain why 97% of bird species have little or no phallus despite reproducing by internal fertilization.Researchers led by Martin Cohn at the University of

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/_iYesVR4ehI/498140b

Sea stars may use their arms to keep their central cores cool when high temperatures threaten their survival.Sylvain Pincebourde at the University of Tours, France, and his colleagues kept ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus, pictured) under conditions that mimicked the sweltering

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/Q5Km0PnOBtU/498140c

Experimental therapies that unleash the immune system to fight cancer, by blocking 'checkpoint inhibitors', continue to show promise in early clinical trials.Immune checkpoint inhibitors prevent autoimmunity, and can rein in the immune response against tumours. Antoni Ribas at the University of California, Los Angeles,

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/m-M6RyX2Do0/498140d

Dust particles spotted around a young star support an idea about how planets are born.Planet formation is a paradox: according to standard theory, dust grains orbiting newborn stars should spiral into those stars rather than accrete to form planets. Astronomers have suggested that there

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/y9Jl9cjUKVY/498141a

Accelerated evolution of an artificial enzyme improved its activity several-thousand fold, owing to unexpectedly extreme remodelling of its active site.A team led by Donald Hilvert and Nenad Ban at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich optimized a computationally designed enzyme with several

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/LaRlcXmwooM/498141b

The discovery of a gene that regulates the effects of the plant hormone jasmonic acid might lead to ways to increase pest resistance in crops, without hindering their growth.Jasmonic acid helps plants to fend off insects and pathogens; it also regulates aspects of plant

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/V13Upgcav5A/498141c

A giant, plant-eating lizard successfully competed with mammals about 40 million to 36 million years ago.Researchers led by Jason Head at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln identified the lizard in a diverse assemblage of fossils collected in Myanmar. The teeth and jaws of the creature

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/y7XW9P18fvk/498141d

Boosting levels of a hormone in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) causes them to make tubers, like their sibling species the potato (Solanum tuberosum).Yuval Eshed at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, Eliezer Lifschitz at the Israel Institute of

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/psCiF4fv0VE/498141e

Highly read on pubs.acs.org in MayAn unusual material can switch between polymers from two different classes with the addition of light.Da-Hui Qu, He Tian and their colleagues at the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai combined two types of

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/ibP48ErjL2g/498141f

The week in science: US sets agenda for gun research; China makes another space launch; and rethinking restrictions on controversial diabetes drug Avandia.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/b4y8C1wdJBE/498142a

Cap-and-trade pilot schemes set stage for nationwide roll-out.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/RdU-HLFc1nw/498145a

Pilot project will bring drug companies together to test targeted lung-cancer therapies.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/2pVrcrD8ddI/498146a

Regulator triggers efforts to standardize faecal transplants.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/rGL7ILv7qa0/498147a

Photons emerge as competitors to electrons in computer circuits.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/KvbXyvvvSV0/498149a

The launch of several science mega-prizes is making some researchers millionaires — but others question whether such awards are the best way to promote their field.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/h4SYUfS4mDg/498152a

Unmanned aerial vehicles are poised to take off as popular tools for scientific research.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/xcpt5gMj2OE/498156a

Recent developments have rekindled the ethical debate over human cloning. This is no time for complacency, caution Martin Pera and Alan Trounson.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/xi2YD_bQmag/498159a

Arab Muslim countries need a new generation of observatories to rejoin the forefront of the field, says Nidhal Guessoum.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/zkJ31Gl0RYI/498161a

Robert Macfarlane reflects on the recent resurgence in nature writing.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/asdoQDj8dzA/498166a

Andrew Robinson mulls over a study of India's adaptation of low-tech inventions.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/y3t2c680Mow/498168a

Kelly Stewart revels in a graphic biography that follows the human and scientific stories of three iconic primate researchers.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/w4F6PEflFmY/498169a

Brazil's semi-arid Caatinga scrub forest is experiencing its worst drought in 30 years, with more than 300 settlements in the northeast at the point of collapse (see go.nature.com/pngjfq). The federal government must urgently address the drought's disastrous effects on livelihoods and on the survival

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/b53vg-98gUA/498170a

On behalf of the Data-Enabled Life Sciences Alliance (DELSA Global), we applaud the significant, timely steps Nature is taking to ensure reproducibility and transparency in life-sciences articles (Nature496, 398; 201310.1038/496398a and go.nature.com/oloeip).We discussed Nature's Reporting

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/mVWc1OIKZGc/498170b

China is currently managing to feed its people (F.Zhanget al. Nature497, 33–35; 201310.1038/497033a), but food loss and waste throughout the supply chain must be taken into account if food security is to be maintained

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/FB_X9CiJS4I/498170c

Colin Macilwain argues that the United States would not need to spend US$3 billion annually on a programme to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) if market forces were right (Nature497, 289; 201310.1038/497289a

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/w9Ca2LW3Np0/498170d

Colin Macilwain wields too wide a brush in painting US federal funding of STEM education (for promoting 'science, technology, engineering and mathematics') as having the sole purpose of bolstering the workforce (Nature497, 289; 201310.1038/497289a). This funding also achieves general

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/z6scawnEWvo/498171a

The possibility that climate change could be responsible for violent conflict (A.SolowNature497, 179–180; 2013) is starting to influence how governments frame and react to climate change. However, a real problem in this area is a paucity

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/P81jbDjuFIo/498171b

We are sceptical about the effectiveness of Andrew Solow's proposals for cooling the debate over a possible link between wars and climate change (Nature497, 179–180; 2013). We think that the division between the two sides ('quants' versus 'quals')

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/EjiwS1JztMQ/498171c

Women are not under-represented across all learned academies in Australia (see Nature497, 710.1038/497007a and Nature497, 439; 201310.1038/497439c). For example, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE; of which I am president) has taken steps

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/ANiXCqyLVrw/498171d

As investigators for the European Food Safety Authority into the environmental risks posed by genetically modified (GM) fish, we are concerned about the US Food and Drug Administration's imminent approval of GM salmon (Nature497, 17–18; 201310.1038/497017a).This

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/KbB5XCbA_Qo/498171e

Zoos provide an opportunity to work on crucial issues of biodiversity while reaching out to the public.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/J1mm_V-bSO8/nj7453-261a

Graduate-degree holders have higher pay and lower unemployment than bachelor's-degree holders.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/z85HT7R78GE/nj7453-263a

Survey finds high levels of burnout among oncologists.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/uLcQFCaC-jE/nj7453-263b

US awards programme aims to encourage innovation among early-career researchers.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/kroeAyLewbo/nj7453-263c

The art of remembering.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/FHKDizxqD7o/498266a

Arising from T. Bartels, J. G. Choi & D. J. Selkoe. Nature477, 107–110 (2011).α-Synuclein is an abundant presynaptic protein that binds to negatively charged phospholipids, functions as a SNARE-complex chaperone and contributes to Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. Recombinant α-synuclein in solution is largely unfolded and devoid of tertiary structure, but Bartels et al. have proposed that native α-synuclein purified from human erythrocytes forms a stably folded, soluble tetramer that resists aggregation. By contrast, we show here that native α-synuclein purified from mouse brain consists of a largely unstructured monomer, exhibits no stable tetramer formation, and is prone to aggregation. The native state of α-synuclein is important for understanding its pathological effects as a stably folded protein would be much less prone to aggregation than a conformationally labile protein. There is a Reply to this Brief Communication Arising by Bartels, T. & Selkoe, D. J. Nature498, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12126 (2013).

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/mNVGD54i704/nature12125

replying to J. Burré et al. Nature498,http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12125 (2013)In disagreeing with our report that native α-synuclein occurs physiologically as an α-helically folded tetramer in neural and erythroid cells, Burré et al. conclude instead that ‘native brain α-synuclein’ consists of a largely unstructured monomer. They make two implications about our paper that are inaccurate: (1) that our findings pertained only to erythrocyte α-synuclein (we reported multiple experiments on neural cells); and (2) that we concluded that cellular α-synuclein is a stable tetramer under all conditions (we did not use the term ‘stable’, and we observed monomers and some other oligomers in normal cells (e.g., Fig. 1d of ref. 1)). Indeed, we emphasized the need to discover “compounds that … could kinetically stabilize native tetramers and prevent pathogenic α-synuclein aggregation”. Although the data in our report suggest that tetramers are the predominant native species, tetramers and other oligomers arise from monomers, so there must be an equilibrium between monomeric and oligomeric forms in cells. Pathogenic events (e.g., mutations) could alter this equilibrium, and some therapeutic compounds could potentially re-establish it, as we explicitly suggested.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/VTtY_YWT828/nature12126

arising from B. Xiao et al.Nature472, 230–233 (2011)The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an αβγ heterotrimeric enzyme, has a central role in regulating cellular metabolism and energy homeostasis. The α-subunit of AMPK possesses the catalytic kinase domain, followed by a regulatory region comprising the autoinhibitory domain (AID) and α-linker. Structural and biochemical studies suggested that AID is central to mammalian AMPK regulation; however, this notion has been challenged recently by Xiao et al. on the basis of their active AMPK structure (Protein Data Bank accession 2Y94). On close inspection, however, we found that the α-subunit regulatory region was incorrectly built in their model, and our rebuilt model suggests a universal occurrence of the AID domain in AMPKs; we have also identified a novel regulatory motif that is essential for AMPK regulation.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/ywTipVdjRzc/nature12189

The News Feature ‘The gun fighter’ (Nature496, 412–415; 2013) wrongly implied that blogger David Codrea had ‘outed’ gun researcher Garen Wintemute. Wintemute had in fact publicized his own work before Codrea’s 2007 blog post.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/w9rNlQoOlZo/498151b

Human embryonic stem cells have at last been generated by a technique called somatic-cell nuclear transfer. Further research on such cells should provide insight into ways of improving the generation of stem cells by reprogramming.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/JQhNyOUpVUE/498174a

Ultracold atomic gases are excellent platforms for exploring phenomena in condensed-matter physics. They have now been used to engineer the spin Hall effect and to make the atomic counterpart of the spin transistor. See Letter p.201

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/gqiTu3xdRbM/498175a

Traces of hydrogen gas, detected over vast regions of space, have for the first time been used as a standard ruler to measure dark energy — the unknown cosmic energy that is causing the Universe's expansion to speed up.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/mLnptfi1Tvs/498179a

The conversion of poor-quality arable lands to grassland has prevented soil erosion and sequestered carbon. A study finds that greenhouse gases will be emitted if these lands return to cultivation, especially if they are ploughed.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/p5pmWCZrTLY/498180a

50 Years Ago'The scientific revolution and leisure'—Many of our obligations eat into our spare time and, in a large city, the amount of spare time which is actually free may be very small. First of all there is the journey to and from work.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/64KezZly4es/498181b

Experiments on silicon diffusion in the mineral olivine cast doubt on the widely held belief that water has a significant effect on the rheological properties of Earth's upper mantle. See Letter p.213

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/9jABY7OMggw/498181a

Although the cheetah is recognised as the fastest land animal, little is known about other aspects of its notable athleticism, particularly when hunting in the wild. Here we describe and use a new tracking collar of our own design, containing a combination of Global Positioning

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/3i45sM1ekBA/nature12295

Atomic and single-molecule junctions represent the ultimate limit to the miniaturization of electrical circuits. They are also ideal platforms for testing quantum transport theories that are required to describe charge and energy transfer in novel functional nanometre-scale devices. Recent work has successfully probed electric and thermoelectric phenomena in atomic-scale junctions. However, heat dissipation and transport in atomic-scale devices remain poorly characterized owing to experimental challenges. Here we use custom-fabricated scanning probes with integrated nanoscale thermocouples to investigate heat dissipation in the electrodes of single-molecule (‘molecular’) junctions. We find that if the junctions have transmission characteristics that are strongly energy dependent, this heat dissipation is asymmetric—that is, unequal between the electrodes—and also dependent on both the bias polarity and the identity of the majority charge carriers (electrons versus holes). In contrast, junctions consisting of only a few gold atoms (‘atomic junctions’) whose transmission characteristics show weak energy dependence do not exhibit appreciable asymmetry. Our results unambiguously relate the electronic transmission characteristics of atomic-scale junctions to their heat dissipation properties, establishing a framework for understanding heat dissipation in a range of mesoscopic systems where transport is elastic—that is, without exchange of energy in the contact region. We anticipate that the techniques established here will enable the study of Peltier effects at the atomic scale, a field that has been barely explored experimentally despite interesting theoretical predictions. Furthermore, the experimental advances described here are also expected to enable the study of heat transport in atomic and molecular junctions—an important and challenging scientific and technological goal that has remained elusive.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/Qfq8ePR317A/nature12183

Water has been thought to affect the dynamical processes in the Earth’s interior to a great extent. In particular, experimental deformation results suggest that even only a few tens of parts per million of water by weight enhances the creep rates in olivine by orders of magnitude. However, those deformation studies have limitations, such as considering only a limited range of water concentrations and very high stresses, which might affect the results. Rock deformation can also be understood as an effect of silicon self-diffusion, because the creep rates of minerals at temperatures as high as those in the Earth’s interior are limited by self-diffusion of the slowest species. Here we experimentally determine the silicon self-diffusion coefficient DSi in forsterite at 8 GPa and 1,600 K to 1,800 K as a function of water content CH2O from less than 1 to about 800 parts per million of water by weight, yielding the relationship, DSi ≈ (CH2O)1/3. This exponent is strikingly lower than that obtained by deformation experiments (1.2; ref. 7). The high nominal creep rates in the deformation studies under wet conditions may be caused by excess grain boundary water. We conclude that the effect of water on upper-mantle rheology is very small. Hence, the smooth motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates cannot be caused by mineral hydration in the asthenosphere. Also, water cannot cause the viscosity minimum zone in the upper mantle. And finally, the dominant mechanism responsible for hotspot immobility cannot be water content differences between their source and surrounding regions.

http://feeds.nature.com/~r/nature/rss/current/~3/rdyBhg746OI/nature12193

H. Guillet de Chatellus, O. Jacquin, O. Hugon, W. Glastre, E. Lacot, J. MarklofWe show both theoretically and experimentally that frequency-shifted feedback (FSF) lasers seeded with a single frequency laser can generate Fourier transform-limited pulses with a repetition rate tunable and limited by the spectral bandwidth of the laser. We demonstrate experimentally in a FSF ... [Opt. Express 21, 15065-15074 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15065

Zhonghao Luo, Fangli Liu, Yuhui Xu, Haoyu Liu, Tianhao Zhang, Jingjun Xu, Jianguo TianDark surface waves with photorefractive diffusion and photovoltaic nonlinearities are predicted for the first time. We find it is extraordinary that this type of dark surface waves should be in self-focusing media, which is very different from the surface dark solitons or other nonlinear dark ... [Opt. Express 21, 15075-15080 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15075

Sangsik Kim, Yi Xuan, Vladimir P. Drachev, Leo T. Varghese, Li Fan, Minghao Qi, Kevin J. WebbWe demonstrate high resonant absorption of visible light with a plasmonic nanocavity chain structure fabricated through resistless nanoimprinting in metal (RNIM). The RNIM approach provides a simple, reproducible, and accurate means to fabricate metallic nanopatterns with high fidelity. The ... [Opt. Express 21, 15081-15089 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15081

Tao Liu, Jiubin Tan, Jian Liu, Hongting WangA design and optimization method based on vectorial angular spectrum theory is proposed in this paper for the vectorial design of a super-oscillatory lens (SOL), so that the radially polarized vector beam can be tightly focused. The structure of a SOL is optimized using genetic algorithm and the ... [Opt. Express 21, 15090-15101 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15090

A.V. Martin, A.J. Morgan, T. Ekeberg, N.D. Loh, F.R.N.C. Maia, F. Wang, J.C.H. Spence, H.N. ChapmanThe structures of biological molecules may soon be determined with X-ray free-electron lasers without crystallization by recording the coherent diffraction patterns of many identical copies of a molecule. Most analysis methods require a measurement of each molecule individually. However, current ... [Opt. Express 21, 15102-15112 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15102

William Rock, Mischa Bonn, Sapun H. ParekhWe demonstrate near shot-noise limited hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) spectroscopy using oscillator-only excitation conditions. Using a fast CMOS camera synchronized to an acousto-optic modulator and subtracting subsequent frames acquired at up to 1 MHz frame rates, we demonstrate ... [Opt. Express 21, 15113-15120 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15113

I. Fescenko, P. Knowles, A. Weis, E. BreschiWe report on a study of polarization-modulation experiments on the 4 → 3 hyperfine component of the D_1 transition in Cs vapor contained in a paraffin-coated cell. The laser beam’s polarization was switched between left- and right-circular polarization at a rate of 200 Hz. ... [Opt. Express 21, 15121-15130 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15121

Guoan Zheng, Xiaoze Ou, Roarke Horstmeyer, Changhuei YangWe describe a simple and robust approach for characterizing the spatially varying pupil aberrations of microscopy systems. In our demonstration with a standard microscope, we derive the location-dependent pupil transfer functions by first capturing multiple intensity images at different defocus ... [Opt. Express 21, 15131-15143 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15131

P. Hamel, P. Grinberg, C. Sauvan, P. Lalanne, A. Baron, A.M. Yacomotti, I. Sagnes, F. Raineri, K. Bencheikh, J.A. LevensonWe present a coupler design allowing normally-incident light coupling from free-space into a monomode photonic crystal waveguide operating in the slow-light regime. Numerical three-dimensional calculations show that extraction efficiencies as high as 80% can be achieved for very large group indices ... [Opt. Express 21, 15144-15154 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15144

Chung W. See, Feng Hu, Chin-Jung Chuang, Michael G. SomekhThis paper addresses optical super-resolution in the far field. We will describe the use of a novel optical component, which we call the proximity projection grating (PPG), that can provide different intensity patterns for sample illumination. These different illumination patterns allow the optical ... [Opt. Express 21, 15155-15167 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15155

Arlee V. Smith, Jesse J. SmithWe show by numerical modeling that saturation of the population inversion reduces the stimulated thermal Rayleigh gain relative to the laser gain in large mode area fiber amplifiers. We show how to exploit this effect to raise mode instability thresholds by a substantial factor. We also demonstrate ... [Opt. Express 21, 15168-15182 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15168

A. A. Pervishko, T. C. H. Liew, V. M. Kovalev, I. G. Savenko, I. A. ShelykhWe consider theoretically nonlinear effects in a semiconductor quantum well embedded inside a photonic microcavity. Two-photon absorption by a 2p exciton state is considered and investigated; the matrix element of two-photon absorption is calculated. We compute the emission spectrum of the sample ... [Opt. Express 21, 15183-15194 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15183

Tian Zhou, Jianping Huang, Zhongwei Huang, Jingjing Liu, Wencai Wang, Lei LinThis study identified the relationship between the layer-integrated attenuated backscatter coefficient and layer-integrated depolarization ratio of dust plumes and compared it with that of cloud, using CALIPSO LIDAR measurements. The histogram distribution of the integrated color ratio for dust and ... [Opt. Express 21, 15195-15204 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15195

Jun-Bum Park, Il-Min Lee, Seung-Yeol Lee, Kyuho Kim, Dawoon Choi, Eui Young Song, Byoungho LeeWe propose a novel approach to generate and tune a hot spot in a dipole nanostructure of vanadium dioxide (VO_2) laid on a gold (Au) substrate. By inducing a phase transition of the VO_2, the spatial and spectral distributions of the hot spot generated in the feed gap of the dipole can be tuned. ... [Opt. Express 21, 15205-15212 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15205

Peng Deng, Mohsen Kavehrad, Zhiwen Liu, Zhou Zhou, XiuHua YuanWe study the average capacity performance for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) free-space optical (FSO) communication systems using multiple partially coherent beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov strong turbulence, assuming equal gain combining diversity configuration and the sum of ... [Opt. Express 21, 15213-15229 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15213

Gustavo Funes, Ángel Fernández, Darío G. Pérez, Luciano Zunino, Eduardo SerranoSampling rate and frequency content determination for optical quantities related to light propagation through turbulence are paramount experimental topics. Some papers about estimating properties of the optical turbulence seem to use ad hoc assumptions to set the sampling frequency used; this ... [Opt. Express 21, 15230-15236 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15230

S. Alireza Nezamalhosseini, Lawrence R. Chen, Qunbi Zhuge, Mahdi Malekiha, Farokh Marvasti, David V. PlantWe theoretically and experimentally evaluate a beat interference cancellation receiver (BICR) for direct detection optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (DD-OFDM) systems that improves the spectral efficiency (SE) by reducing the guard band between the optical carrier and the optical ... [Opt. Express 21, 15237-15246 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15237

Priyamvada Venugopalan, Qiming Zhang, Xiangping Li, Min GuIn this paper, we report on the experimental investigation of the polarization properties of the plasmonic modes along a silver nanowire waveguide on a glass substrate. Two orthogonal polarization light components at the distal end of the nanowire are observed in the far-field. The near-field ... [Opt. Express 21, 15247-15252 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15247

V. Fromzel, N. Ter-Gabrielyan, M. DubinskiiWe report on the performance of an acousto-optically Q-switched Er:YVO_4 laser resonantly pumped in the 4I15/2 → 4I13/2 transition. The laser output was π-polarized at 1603 nm. It operated with a 1-40 kHz pulse repetition rate (PRR) and delivered up to 1.15 W of average output power. ... [Opt. Express 21, 15253-15258 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15253

Fadhil A. Umran, Yang Liao, Mazin M. Elias, Koji Sugioka, Razvan Stoian, Guanghua Cheng, Ya ChengIrradiation inside some transparent materials such as fused silica can induce nanograting structures at the focal area. Here, we investigate experimentally how the nanograting formation can be influenced by tuning the ionization property of the transparent material, which is achieved by irradiation ... [Opt. Express 21, 15259-15267 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-21-13-15259

Kun Zhao, Haizhe Zhong, Peng Yuan, Guoqiang Xie, Jing Wang, Jingui Ma, Liejia QianWe demonstrate a noncollinear optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification scheme for generating high-peak-power tunable mid-infrared (IR) pulses. The high-gain LiNbO_3-based noncollinear parametric amplifier, seeded by a tunable femtosecond optical parametric amplifier, provides a wide ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2159-2161 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2159

F. Di Teodoro, J. Morais, T. S. McComb, M. K. Hemmat, E. C. Cheung, M. Weber, R. MoyerWe report on a compactly packaged Yb-doped fiber-based laser architecture featuring an actively pulse controlled, single-longitudinal-mode seeder and multistage amplifier chain terminated by a “folded” rod-type photonic crystal fiber. In this laser source, stimulated Brillouin ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2162-2164 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2162

Jessica Barrientos Barria, Sophie Roux, Jean-Baptiste Dherbecourt, Myriam Raybaut, Jean-Michel Melkonian, Antoine Godard, Michel LefebvreWe report on the first microsecond doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO). It is based on a nested cavity OPO architecture allowing single longitudinal mode operation and low oscillation threshold (few microjoule). The combination with a master oscillator-power amplifier fiber pump ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2165-2167 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2165

Shiyuan Liu, Xinjiang Zhou, Wen Lv, Shuang Xu, Haiqing WeiWe propose a general method called convolution-variation separation (CVS) to enable efficient optical imaging calculations without sacrificing accuracy when simulating images for a wide range of process variations. The CVS method is derived from first principles using a series expansion, which ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2168-2170 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2168

Yanhua Zhai, Francisco E. Becerra, Boris L. Glebov, Jianming Wen, Adriana E. Lita, Brice Calkins, Thomas Gerrits, Jingyun Fan, Sae Woo Nam, Alan MigdallWe examine the photon statistics of photon-subtracted thermal light using photon-number-resolved detection. We demonstrate experimentally that the photon number distribution transforms from a Bose–Einstein distribution to a Poisson distribution as the number of subtracted photons increases. ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2171-2173 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2171

B. Black, A. Mondal, Y. Kim, S. K. MohantyThe controlled navigation of the axonal growth cone of a neuron toward the dendrite of its synaptic partner neuron is the fundamental process in forming neuronal circuitry. While a number of technologies have been pursued for axonal guidance over the past decades, they are either invasive or not ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2174-2176 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2174

Changming Huang, Fangwei Ye, Boris A. Malomed, Yaroslav V. Kartashov, Xianfeng ChenWe demonstrate the existence and stability of bright vortex solitons sustained by a ring-shaped parametric gain, for both focusing and defocusing Kerr nonlinearities in lossy optical media. With the defocusing nonlinearity, the vortices are stable at all values of the detuning parameter, while ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2177-2180 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2177

Denis Gagnon, Joey Dumont, Louis J. DubéWe propose the use of the parallel tabu search algorithm (PTS) to solve combinatorial inverse design problems in integrated photonics. To assess the potential of this algorithm, we consider the problem of beam shaping using a two-dimensional arrangement of dielectric scatterers. The performance of ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2181-2184 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2181

Gero Nootz, Weilin Hou, Fraser R. Dalgleish, William T. RhodesThe cross-flow orientation of an optically active turbulent field was determined by Fourier transforming the wander of a laser beam propagating in the ocean. A simple physical model for the measured effect is offered, and numerical simulations are performed. The simulations are in good agreement ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2185-2187 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2185

Yanfei Xing, Qiang Wang, Li Huo, Caiyun LouWe propose to insert group velocity dispersion between cascaded phase and amplitude modulation for ultraflat optical frequency comb (OFC) generation. With the dispersion, the sinusoidally varied chirp of the continuous wave light induced by phase modulation becomes linear within a relatively wide ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2188-2190 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2188

Yingnan Guo, Haining Wang, Jennifer M. Reed, Shi Pan, Shengli ZouA novel chamber-channel system is proposed to achieve the bending of light at a 90 deg angle with relatively high transmission efficiencies. An ultrathin film is introduced into the chamber to couple more light into the system, which makes the chamber as a light absorber, while the channel ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2209-2211 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2209

Fangteng Zhang, Yongze Yu, Chen Cheng, Ye Dai, Jianrong QiuIn this Letter, we have demonstrated the direct writing of polarization-dependent light attenuator inside fused silica by tailoring 1 kHz femtosecond (fs) laser induced self-organized nanogratings. Optical birefringence was observed to vary with the polarization plane azimuth of the fs laser ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2212-2214 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2212

Yi Qin, Hong Hua, Mike NguyenA key limitation of the state-of-the-art laparoscopes for minimally invasive surgery is the tradeoff between the field of view and spatial resolution in a single-view camera system. As such, surgical procedures are usually performed at a zoomed-in view, which limits the surgeon’s ability to ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2191-2193 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2191

John R. Macdonald, Stephen J. Beecher, Patrick A. Berry, Graeme Brown, Kenneth L. Schepler, Ajoy K. KarWe report a Cr:ZnSe channel waveguide laser operating at 2486 nm. A maximum power output of 285 mW is achieved and slope efficiencies as high as 45% are demonstrated. Ultrafast laser inscription is used to fabricate the depressed cladding waveguide in a polycrystalline Cr:ZnSe ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2194-2196 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2194

Hyunhwan Choi, Yonghyub WonThis study presents a liquid lens using electrowetting that employs an oil phase floating in between the conducting fluids. The lens shape has double-sided surfaces and operates with a bias of 0–60 V. The focal length of the lens, with an aperture size of 2 mm, is ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2197-2199 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2197

Guofeng Yan, Andrey Markov, Yasser Chinifooroshan, Saurabh M. Tripathi, Wojtek J. Bock, Maksim SkorobogatiyWe report fabrication of THz fiber Bragg gratings (TFBG) using CO_2 laser inscription on subwavelength step-index polymer fibers. A fiber Bragg grating with 48 periods features a ∼4  GHz-wide stop band and ∼15  dB transmission loss in the middle of a stop ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2200-2202 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2200

Mostafa Agour, Claas Falldorf, Ralf B. BergmannWe present a robust method to inspect a typical composite material constructed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). It is based on optical surface contouring using the spatial light modulator (SLM)-based phase retrieval technique. The method utilizes multiple intensity observations of the ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2203-2205 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2203

Georges Boudebs, Valentin Besse, Christophe Cassagne, Hervé Leblond, Cid B. de AraújoWe show that direct measurement of the beam radius in Z-scan experiments using a CCD camera at the output of a 4f-imaging system allows higher sensitivity and better accuracy than Baryscan. One of the advantages is to be insensitive to pointing instability of pulsed lasers because no hard ... [Opt. Lett. 38, 2206-2208 (2013)]

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-38-13-2206

Author(s): Wim van Dam and Hieu D. NguyenWe address the question of what physical resources are required and sufficient to store classical information. While there is no lower bound on the required energy or space to store information, we find that there is a nonzero lower bound for the product P=⟨E⟩⟨r2⟩ of these two resources. Specificall...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 250502] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.250502

Author(s): Brian Julsgaard, Cécile Grezes, Patrice Bertet, and Klaus MølmerWe propose a multimode quantum memory protocol able to store the quantum state of the field in a microwave resonator into an ensemble of electronic spins. The stored information is protected against inhomogeneous broadening of the spin ensemble by spin-echo techniques resulting in memory times order...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 250503] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.250503

Author(s): B. D. Clader, B. C. Jacobs, and C. R. SprouseWe describe a quantum algorithm that generalizes the quantum linear system algorithm [Harrow et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 150502 (2009)] to arbitrary problem specifications. We develop a state preparation routine that can initialize generic states, show how simple ancilla measurements can be used ...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 250504] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.250504

Author(s): Tobias Brett and Tobias GallaWe develop a systematic approach to the linear-noise approximation for stochastic reaction systems with distributed delays. Unlike most existing work our formalism does not rely on a master equation; instead it is based upon a dynamical generating functional describing the probability measure over a...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 250601] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.250601

Author(s): L. Carbone, C. Bogan, P. Fulda, A. Freise, and B. WillkeWe have investigated the generation of highly pure higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) beams at high laser power of order 100 W, the same regime that will be used by second-generation gravitational wave interferometers such as Advanced LIGO. We report on the generation of a helical-type LG33 mode with ...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 251101] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.251101

Author(s): Roberto Emparan, Daniel Grumiller, and Kentaro TanabeWe show that in the limit of a large number of dimensions a wide class of nonextremal neutral black holes has a universal near-horizon limit. The limiting geometry is the two-dimensional black hole of string theory with a two-dimensional target space. Its conformal symmetry explains the properties o...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 251102] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.251102

Author(s): Johannes M. HennScattering amplitudes at loop level can be expressed in terms of Feynman integrals. The latter satisfy partial differential equations in the kinematical variables. We argue that a good choice of basis for (multi)loop integrals can lead to significant simplifications of the differential equations, an...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 251601] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.251601

Author(s): Claudio Bonati, Massimo D’Elia, Haralambos Panagopoulos, and Ettore VicariWe study the dependence of 4D SU(N) gauge theories on the topological θ term at finite temperature T. We exploit the lattice formulation of the theory, presenting numerical results for the expansion of the free energy up to O(θ6), for N=3 and N=6. Our analysis shows that the θ dependence drastically...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 252003] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.252003

Author(s): Michał Czakon, Paul Fiedler, and Alexander MitovWe compute the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) quantum chromodynamics (QCD) correction to the total cross section for the reaction gg→tt̅ +X. Together with the partonic channels we computed previously, the result derived in this Letter completes the set of NNLO QCD corrections to the tot...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 252004] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.252004

Author(s): P. Balanarayan and Nimrod MoiseyevCurrent trends in laser technology have reached the regime of studying atoms stabilized against ionization, going beyond the perturbation theory. In this work, properties of a laser-dressed sulfur atom are examined in this stabilization regime. The electronic structure of a sulfur atom changes drama...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 253001] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.253001

Author(s): A. Kamor, F. Mauger, C. Chandre, and T. UzerWe show that a family of key periodic orbits drives the recollision process in a strong circularly polarized laser field. These orbits, coined recolliding periodic orbits, exist for a wide range of parameters, and their relative influence changes as the laser and atomic parameters are varied. We fin...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 253002] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.253002

Author(s): G. Bannasch, T. C. Killian, and T. PohlWe propose and analyze a new scheme to produce ultracold neutral plasmas deep in the strongly coupled regime. The method exploits the interaction blockade between cold atoms excited to high-lying Rydberg states and therefore does not require substantial extensions of current ultracold plasma experim...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 253003] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.253003

Author(s): Ying-Dan Wang and Aashish A. ClerkWe show how strong steady-state entanglement can be achieved in a three-mode optomechanical system (or other parametrically coupled bosonic system) by effectively laser cooling a delocalized Bogoliubov mode. This approach allows one to surpass the bound on the maximum stationary intracavity entangle...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 253601] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.253601

Author(s): Jean-Nicolas Longchamp, Tatiana Latychevskaia, Conrad Escher, and Hans-Werner FinkWe have imaged a freestanding graphene sheet of 210 nm in diameter with 2 Å resolution by combining coherent diffraction and holography with low-energy electrons. The entire sheet is reconstructed from a single diffraction pattern displaying the arrangement of 660.000 individual graphene unit cells ... [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 255501] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.255501

Author(s): T. Frolov, S. V. Divinski, M. Asta, and Y. MishinRecent experimental measurements of Ag impurity diffusion in the Σ5(310) grain boundary (GB) in Cu revealed an unusual non-Arrhenius behavior suggestive of a possible structural transformation Divinski et al. Phys. Rev. B 85 144104 (2012)]. On the other hand, atomistic computer simulations have re...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 255502] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.255502

Author(s): Jack Y. Zhang, Jinwoo Hwang, Santosh Raghavan, and Susanne StemmerWe report on structural distortions in extreme-electron density (∼6×1014  cm-2) confined quantum wells of SrTiO3 embedded in GdTiO3. Sr-column displacements are measured using high-angle annular dark-field imaging in scanning transmission electron microscopy. Using thick SrTiO3 layers as a reference...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 256401] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.256401

Author(s): S. Lausberg, A. Hannaske, A. Steppke, L. Steinke, T. Gruner, L. Pedrero, C. Krellner, C. Klingner, M. Brando, C. Geibel, and F. SteglichYbRh2Si2 is a prototypical system for studying unconventional antiferromagnetic quantum criticality. However, ferromagnetic correlations are present which can be enhanced via isoelectronic cobalt substitution for rhodium in Yb(Rh1-xCox)2Si2. So far, the magnetic order with increasing x was believed ...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 256402] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.256402

Author(s): Xingye Lu, H. Gretarsson, Rui Zhang, Xuerong Liu, Huiqian Luo, Wei Tian, Mark Laver, Z. Yamani, Young-June Kim, A. H. Nevidomskyy, Qimiao Si, and Pengcheng DaiWe study the structural and magnetic orders in electron-doped BaFe2-xNixAs2 by high-resolution synchrotron x-ray and neutron scatterings. Upon Ni doping x, the nearly simultaneous tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural (Ts) and antiferromagnetic (TN) phase transitions in BaFe2As2 are gradually suppre...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257001] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257001

Author(s): Randy K. Dumas, E. Iacocca, S. Bonetti, S. R. Sani, S. M. Mohseni, A. Eklund, J. Persson, O. Heinonen, and Johan ÅkermanIt has been argued that if multiple spin wave modes are competing for the same centrally located energy source, as in a nanocontact spin torque oscillator, that only one mode should survive in the steady state. Here, the experimental conditions necessary for mode coexistence are explored. Mode coexi...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257202] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257202

Author(s): Jean-Sébastien Caux and Fabian H. L. EsslerWe consider quantum quenches in integrable models. We argue that the behavior of local observables at late times after the quench is given by their expectation values with respect to a single representative Hamiltonian eigenstate. This can be viewed as a generalization of the eigenstate thermalizati...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257203] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257203

Author(s): Seiji Uryu, Hiroshi Ajiki, and Hajime IshiharaOptical spectra of finite-momentum excitons in carbon nanotubes with gold nanostructures are theoretically studied. A Green function method is developed for self-consistently solving Maxwell equations including the quantum-mechanical nonlocal response of the nanotubes and the local response of the n...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257401] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257401

Author(s): Els Heinsalu, Emilio Hernández-Garcia, and Cristóbal LópezThe competition between two ecologically similar species that use the same resources and differ from each other only in the type of spatial motion they undergo is studied. The latter is assumed to be described either by Brownian motion or Lévy flights. Competition is taken into account by assuming t...[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 258101] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.258101

Author(s): C. H. K. Chen, S. Boldyrev, Q. Xia, and J. C. Perez[Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 259901] Published Tue Jun 18, 2013

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.259901

Origin of winemaking in France Canaanite Jar from Sarepta (Lebanon) that might have held wine. Image courtesy of Michel Py, copyright l’Unité de Fouilles et de Recherches Archéologiques de Lattes. French winemaking and the country’s association with fine wine have long held global fascination, but little is known about how...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10047.short?rss=1

Although a number of factors may influence its production, the physiological role of brevetoxin in the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis is still open to debate. Not to be left out of the discussion, Sunda et al. (1) challenge our suggestion that salinity stress may be a possible trigger for brevetoxin production....

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2255.short?rss=1

Our paper (1) was undertaken to challenge earlier reports that low salinity stress increases brevetoxin production in Karenia brevis (2). Despite independent negative findings by three laboratories (1), Errera and Campbell still assert that low salinity shock increases cellular brevetoxins (3). Their initial report of >14-fold increases (2) lacks experimental...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2256.short?rss=1

Although the title of the paper by Peng et al. (1) gave the impression that the authors were working with a purified growth differentiation factor 9:bone morphogenetic protein 15 (GDF9:BMP15) heterodimer preparation, at best, what was being tested was a mixture of BMP15 homodimers (75%) and GDF9:BMP15 heterodimers (25%), a...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2257.short?rss=1

The Letter by Mottershead et al. (1) contains criticisms that are not based on experimental evidence. As stated (2), our preparations contained a mixture of heterodimer [growth differentiation factor 9:bone morphogenetic protein 15 (GDF9:BMP15)] and homodimer (BMP15:BMP15), and we used appropriate controls in all experiments. High activities of our GDF9:BMP15...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2258.short?rss=1

Recently in PNAS, Hoshi et al. (1) report the results of elegant studies defining the molecular basis for the blood pressure-lowering effect of omega-3 fatty acids, in particular docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They found that DHA, when infused intravenously, activated the large-conductance Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels in vascular smooth...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2259.short?rss=1

In our paper (1), we present the results of a carefully controlled study demonstrating that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) activated large-conductance Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels and lowered blood pressure when applied acutely. We showed that various omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and their derivatives had remarkably different effects...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2260.short?rss=1

Dr. Francois Jacob is one of a handful of the 20th century's most distinguished life scientists. His research with Dr. Jacques Monod, like that of Watson and Crick, provided the foundations for understanding mechanisms of genetic regulation of life processes such as cell differentiation and defects in diseases. Jacob joined...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10053.short?rss=1

In utero, fetal lung epithelial cells actively secrete chloride (Cl−) ions into the lung airspaces. Cl− ions enter the basolateral membranes through Na+/K+/2Cl− (NKCC) transporters (1), down an electrochemical gradient generated by the basolateral Na+/K+/ATPase, and exit through apical anion channels, including the cAMP- activated cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR)...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10055.short?rss=1

The age pattern of death is what biologists and demographers think about when they consider mortality (or immortality). As everyone knows, human lives on average have nearly doubled in length over the past century (1), yet human mortality still increases exponentially fast (Fig. 1) as people age past 40. Not...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10057.short?rss=1

Autoimmune destruction of self tissue is the consequential result of a convergence of several factors, both genetic and environmental, that effectively dislocates the immune system’s ability to tolerate self-antigens but simultaneously retains its focus on those perceived as foreign. Although many of these autoimmune targeted self-antigens are known, immune system...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10059.short?rss=1

Cockayne syndrome type B ATPase (CSB) belongs to the SwItch/Sucrose nonfermentable family. Its mutations are linked to Cockayne syndrome phenotypes and classically are thought to be caused by defects in transcription-coupled repair, a subtype of DNA repair. Here we show that after UV-C irradiation, immediate early genes such as activating...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2261.short?rss=1

Finding regions of the genome that are significantly recurrent in noisy data are a common but difficult problem in present day computational biology. Cores of recurrent events (CORE) is a computational approach to solving this problem that is based on a formalized notion by which “core” intervals explain the observed...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2271.short?rss=1

The transposon piggyBac is being used increasingly for genetic studies. Here, we describe modified versions of piggyBac transposase that have potentially wide-ranging applications, such as reversible transgenesis and modified targeting of insertions. piggyBac is distinguished by its ability to excise precisely, restoring the donor site to its pretransposon state. This...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2279.short?rss=1

Endoscopic imaging is an invaluable diagnostic tool allowing minimally invasive access to tissues deep within the body. It has played a key role in screening colon cancer and is credited with preventing deaths through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps. However, conventional white-light endoscopy offers physicians structural information without...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2288.short?rss=1

Chronic myeloid leukemia responds well to therapy targeting the oncogenic fusion protein BCR-ABL1 in chronic phase, but is resistant to treatment after it progresses to blast crisis (BC). BC is characterized by elevated β-catenin signaling in granulocyte macrophage progenitors (GMPs), which enables this population to function as leukemia stem cells...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2298.short?rss=1

Alveolar fluid clearance driven by active epithelial Na+ and secondary Cl− absorption counteracts edema formation in the intact lung. Recently, we showed that impairment of alveolar fluid clearance because of inhibition of epithelial Na+ channels (ENaCs) promotes cardiogenic lung edema. Concomitantly, we observed a reversal of alveolar fluid clearance, suggesting...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2308.short?rss=1

A major challenge of the postgenomic era is to understand how human genes function together in normal and disease states. In microorganisms, high-density genetic interaction (GI) maps are a powerful tool to elucidate gene functions and pathways. We have developed an integrated methodology based on pooled shRNA screening in mammalian...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/E2317.short?rss=1

Chemical analyses of ancient organic compounds absorbed into the pottery fabrics of imported Etruscan amphoras (ca. 500–475 B.C.) and into a limestone pressing platform (ca. 425–400 B.C.) at the ancient coastal port site of Lattara in southern France provide the earliest biomolecular archaeological evidence for grape wine and viniculture from...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10147.short?rss=1

A variant of the classical optimal transportation problem is the following: among all joint measures with fixed marginals and that are dominated by a given density, find the optimal one. Existence and uniqueness of solutions to this variant were established by Korman and McCann. In the present article, we expose...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10064.short?rss=1

When a material is heated, generally, it dilates. Here, we find a general trend that the average distance between a center atom and atoms in the first nearest-neighbor shell contracts for several metallic melts upon heating. Using synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique and molecular dynamics simulations, we elucidate that this anomaly...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10068.short?rss=1

With the rapidly growing wealth of genomic data, experimental inquiries on the functional significance of important divergence sites in protein evolution are becoming more accessible. Here we trace the evolution of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and identify multiple key divergence sites among 233 species between humans and bacteria. We connect these...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10159.short?rss=1

Precise nucleosome-positioning patterns at promoters are thought to be crucial for faithful transcriptional regulation. However, the mechanisms by which these patterns are established, are dynamically maintained, and subsequently contribute to transcriptional control are poorly understood. The switch/sucrose non-fermentable chromatin remodeling complex, also known as the Brg1 associated factors complex, is...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10165.short?rss=1

Glucokinase (GK) is a monomeric allosteric enzyme and plays a pivotal role in blood glucose homeostasis. GK is regulated by GK regulatory protein (GKRP), and indirectly by allosteric effectors of GKRP. Despite the critical roles of GK and GKRP, the molecular basis for the allosteric regulation mechanism of GK by...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10171.short?rss=1

Insect carboxylesterases from the αEsterase gene cluster, such as αE7 (also known as E3) from the Australian sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina (LcαE7), play an important physiological role in lipid metabolism and are implicated in the detoxification of organophosphate (OP) insecticides. Despite the importance of OPs to agriculture and the spread...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10177.short?rss=1

IgM is the first antibody produced during the humoral immune response. Despite its fundamental role in the immune system, IgM is structurally only poorly described. In this work we used X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy to determine the atomic structures of the constant IgM Fc domains (Cµ2, Cµ3, and Cµ4)...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10183.short?rss=1

Nature uses a diversity of glycoside hydrolase (GH) enzymes to convert polysaccharides to sugars. As lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction for biofuel production remains costly, natural GH diversity offers a starting point for developing industrial enzymes, and fungal GH family 7 (GH7) cellobiohydrolases, in particular, provide significant hydrolytic potential in industrial mixtures....

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10189.short?rss=1

Undulatory locomotion, a gait in which thrust is produced in the opposite direction of a traveling wave of body bending, is a common mode of propulsion used by animals in fluids, on land, and even within sand. As such, it has been an excellent system for discovery of neuromechanical principles...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10123.short?rss=1

The nature of the coupling between the stalling of the elongated nascent peptide chain in the ribosome and its insertion through the translocon is analyzed, focusing on the recently discovered biphasic force that overcomes the stalling barrier. The origin of this long-range coupling is explored by coarse-grained simulations that combine...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10195.short?rss=1

Aberrant signaling by oncogenic mutant rat sarcoma (Ras) proteins occurs in ∼15% of all human tumors, yet direct inhibition of Ras by small molecules has remained elusive. Recently, several small-molecule ligands have been discovered that directly bind Ras and inhibit its function by interfering with exchange factor binding. However, it...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10201.short?rss=1

Although the field of microfluidics has made significant progress in bringing new tools to address biological questions, the accessibility and adoption of microfluidics within the life sciences are still limited. Open microfluidic systems have the potential to lower the barriers to adoption, but the absence of robust design rules has...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10111.short?rss=1

Tumor suppressors known to date impede cancer growth by arresting the cell cycle or promoting apoptosis. Here we show that unphosphorylated human STAT5A functions as a tumor suppressor capable of repressing multiple oncogenes via heterochromatin formation. Unphosphorylated STAT5A binds to heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α) and stabilizes heterochromatin. Expressing unphosphorylated STAT5A...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10213.short?rss=1

Photochemical reactions of minerals are underappreciated processes that can make or break chemical bonds. We report the photooxidation of siderite (FeCO3) by UV radiation to produce hydrogen gas and iron oxides via a two-photon reaction. The calculated quantum yield for the reaction suggests photooxidation of siderite would have been a...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10073.short?rss=1

The engineering of structures across different length scales is central to the design of novel materials with controlled macroscopic properties. Herein, we introduce a unique class of self-assembling materials, which are built upon shape- and volume-persistent molecular nanoparticles and other structural motifs, such as polymers, and can be viewed as...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10078.short?rss=1

Understanding the effect of redox-inactive metals on the properties of biological and heterogeneous water oxidation catalysts is important both fundamentally and for improvement of future catalyst designs. In this work, heterometallic manganese–oxido cubane clusters [MMn3O4] (M = Sr2+, Zn2+, Sc3+, Y3+) structurally relevant to the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10084.short?rss=1

Characterization of the mature protein complement in cells is crucial for a better understanding of cellular processes on a systems-wide scale. Toward this end, we used single-dimension ultra–high-pressure liquid chromatography mass spectrometry to investigate the comprehensive “intact” proteome of the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium. Top-down proteomics analysis revealed 563...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10153.short?rss=1

Niemann–Pick type C (NPC) disease is characterized by impaired cholesterol efflux from late endosomes and lysosomes and secondary accumulation of lipids. Although impaired trafficking of individual glycoproteins and glycolipids has been noted in NPC cells and other storage disorders, there is currently no effective way to monitor their localization and...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10207.short?rss=1

We experimentally demonstrate the direct coupling of silicate mineral dissolution with saline water electrolysis and H2 production to effect significant air CO2 absorption, chemical conversion, and storage in solution. In particular, we observed as much as a 105-fold increase in OH− concentration (pH increase of up to 5.3 units) relative...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10095.short?rss=1

Reactive iron and organic carbon are intimately associated in soils and sediments. However, to date, the organic compounds involved are uncharacterized on the molecular level. At redox interfaces in peatlands, where the biogeochemical cycles of iron and dissolved organic matter (DOM) are coupled, this issue can readily be studied. We...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10101.short?rss=1

Potential impacts of lightning-induced plasma on cloud ice formation and precipitation have been a subject of debate for decades. Here, we report on the interaction of laser-generated plasma channels with water and ice clouds observed in a large cloud simulation chamber. Under the conditions of a typical storm cloud, in...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10106.short?rss=1

Society values landscapes that reliably provide many ecosystem functions. As the study of ecosystem functioning expands to include more locations, time spans, and functions, the functional importance of individual species is becoming more apparent. However, the functional importance of individual species does not necessarily translate to the functional importance of...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10219.short?rss=1

It has been hypothesized that before the emergence of modern DNA–RNA–protein life, biology evolved from an “RNA world.” However, synthesizing RNA and other organophosphates under plausible early Earth conditions has proved difficult, with the incorporation of phosphorus (P) causing a particular problem because phosphate, where most environmental P resides, is...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10089.short?rss=1

With the global proliferation of toxic harmful algal bloom species, there is a need to identify the environmental and biological factors that regulate toxin production. One such species, Karenia brevis, forms nearly annual blooms that threaten coastal regions throughout the Gulf of Mexico. This dinoflagellate produces brevetoxins, which are potent...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10223.short?rss=1

W. D. Hamilton’s celebrated formula for the age-specific force of natural selection furnishes predictions for senescent mortality due to mutation accumulation, at the price of reliance on a linear approximation. Applying to Hamilton’s setting the full nonlinear demographic model for mutation accumulation recently developed by Evans, Steinsaltz, and Wachter, we...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10141.short?rss=1

Clinical and epidemiological synergy exists between the globally important sexually transmitted infections, gonorrhea and HIV. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which causes gonorrhea, is particularly adept at driving HIV-1 expression, but the molecular determinants of this relationship remain undefined. N. gonorrhoeae liberates a soluble factor that potently induces expression from the HIV-1 LTR...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10234.short?rss=1

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s; also called nuocytes, innate helper cells, or natural helper cells) provide protective immunity during helminth infection and play an important role in influenza-induced and allergic airway hyperreactivity. Whereas the transcription factor GATA binding protein 3 (Gata3) is important for the production of IL-5 and...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10240.short?rss=1

Methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels provide a backbone polymer with which mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can interact through several cell surface receptors that are expressed by MSCs, including CD44 and CD168. Previous studies showed that this 3D hydrogel environment supports the chondrogenesis of MSCs, and here we demonstrate through functional...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10117.short?rss=1

UDP-GlcNAc:lysosomal enzyme N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase (GlcNAc-1-phosphotransferase) is an α2β2γ2 heterohexamer that mediates the initial step in the formation of the mannose 6-phosphate recognition signal on lysosomal acid hydrolases. We previously reported that the specificity of the reaction is determined by the ability of the α/β subunits to recognize a conformation-dependent protein determinant...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10246.short?rss=1

A unique anti-inflammatory property of IgG, independent of antigen specificity, is described. IgG with modification of the heavy-chain glycan on asparagine 297 by the streptococcal enzyme endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EndoS) induced a dominant suppression of immune complex (IC)-mediated inflammation, such as arthritis, through destabilization of local ICs by fragment crystallizable–fragment crystallizable (Fc-Fc)...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10252.short?rss=1

The MYC genes are the most frequently activated oncogenes in human tumors and are hence attractive therapeutic targets. MYCN amplification leads to poor clinical outcome in childhood neuroblastoma, yet strategies to modulate the function of MYCN do not exist. Here we show that 10058-F4, a characterized c-MYC/Max inhibitor, also targets...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10258.short?rss=1

Seronegative hepatitis—non-A, non-B, non-C, non-D, non-E hepatitis—is poorly characterized but strongly associated with serious complications. We collected 92 sera specimens from patients with non-A–E hepatitis in Chongqing, China between 1999 and 2007. Ten sera pools were screened by Solexa deep sequencing. We discovered a 3,780-bp contig present in all 10...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10264.short?rss=1

Rotavirus (RV) is the major cause of childhood gastroenteritis worldwide. This study presents a functional genome-scale analysis of cellular proteins and pathways relevant for RV infection using RNAi. Among the 522 proteins selected in the screen for their ability to affect viral infectivity, an enriched group that participates in endocytic...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10270.short?rss=1

The endosymbiont Wolbachia is common among insects and known for the reproductive manipulations it exerts on hosts as well as inhibition of virus replication in their hosts. Recently, we showed that Wolbachia uses host microRNAs to manipulate host gene expression for its efficient maintenance in the dengue mosquito vector, Aedes...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10276.short?rss=1

The trans-translation pathway for protein tagging and ribosome release plays a critical role for viability and virulence in a wide range of pathogens but is not found in animals. To explore the use of trans-translation as a target for antibiotic development, a high-throughput screen and secondary screening assays were used...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10282.short?rss=1

Sleep is regulated by homeostatic mechanisms, and the low-frequency power in the electroencephalogram (delta power) during non-rapid eye movement sleep reflects homeostatic sleep need. Additionally, sleep is limited by circadian and environmentally influenced arousal. Little is known, however, about the underlying neural substrates for sleep homeostasis and arousal and about...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10288.short?rss=1

Glutamatergic neurons are abundant in the Drosophila central nervous system, but their physiological effects are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of glutamate in the Drosophila antennal lobe, the first relay in the olfactory system and a model circuit for understanding olfactory processing. In the antennal lobe,...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10294.short?rss=1

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep constitutes a distinct “third state” of consciousness, during which levels of brain activity are commensurate with wakefulness, but conscious awareness is radically transformed. To characterize the temporal and spatial features of this paradoxical state, we examined functional interactions between brain regions using fMRI resting-state connectivity...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10300.short?rss=1

Sensory abnormalities such as numbness and paresthesias are often the earliest symptoms in neuroinflammatory diseases including multiple sclerosis. The increased production of various cytokines occurs in the early stages of neuroinflammation and could have detrimental effects on the central nervous system, thereby contributing to sensory and cognitive deficits. However, it...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10306.short?rss=1

Glass formation in the CaO–Al2O3 system represents an important phenomenon because it does not contain typical network-forming cations. We have produced structural models of CaO–Al2O3 glasses using combined density functional theory–reverse Monte Carlo simulations and obtained structures that reproduce experiments (X-ray and neutron diffraction, extended X-ray absorption fine structure) and...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10129.short?rss=1

Dysregulated intracellular Ca2+ signaling is implicated in a variety of cardiac arrhythmias, including catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Spontaneous diastolic Ca2+ release (DCR) can induce arrhythmogenic plasma membrane depolarizations, although the mechanism responsible for DCR synchronization among adjacent myocytes required for ectopic activity remains unclear. We investigated the synchronization mechanism(s) of...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10312.short?rss=1

Adaptor protein (AP) complexes are the predominant coat proteins of membrane vesicles in post-Golgi trafficking of mammalian cells. Each AP complex contains a specific medium subunit, μ-adaptin, that selects cargo proteins bearing sequence-specific sorting motifs. Much less is known about the AP complexes and their μ subunits in plants. Because...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10318.short?rss=1

Marital discord is costly to children, families, and communities. The advent of the Internet, social networking, and on-line dating has affected how people meet future spouses, but little is known about the prevalence or outcomes of these marriages or the demographics of those involved. We addressed these questions in a...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10135.short?rss=1

Although cooperation and trust are essential features for the development of prosperous populations, they also put cooperating individuals at risk for exploitation and abuse. Empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that the solution to the problem resides in the practice of mimicry and imitation, the expectation of opponent’s mimicry and the...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10229.short?rss=1

Global increases in population, consumption, and gross domestic product raise concerns about the sustainability of the current and future use of natural resources. The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) provides a useful measure of human intervention into the biosphere. The productive capacity of land is appropriated by harvesting...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10324.short?rss=1

ERK controls gene expression in development, but mechanisms that link ERK activation to changes in transcription are not well understood. We used high-resolution analysis of signaling dynamics to study transcriptional interpretation of ERK signaling during Drosophila embryogenesis, at a stage when ERK induces transcription of intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind), a...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10330.short?rss=1

BIOPHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY Correction for “Effect of charge, hydrophobicity, and sequence of nucleoporins on the translocation of model particles through the nuclear pore complex,” by Mario Tagliazucchi, Orit Peleg, Martin Kröger, Yitzhak Rabin, and Igal Szleifer, which appeared in issue 9, February 26, 2013, of Proc Natl Acad Sci...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10336.short?rss=1

Needleless vaccines may immunize patients more efficiently and effectively than injections. But are these new technologies ready for prime time? At a makeshift clinic in southern Cambodia, with cows lazing on the dirt outside, children take turns sitting in a blue plastic chair, bracing themselves for the sharp pain of...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10049.short?rss=1

Childhood field trips to natural history museums were, for many of us, our first brush with the field of paleobiology. Paleobiologists still use many of the tools and methods we associate with the study of ancient animals: exploration, digging, fossil collecting, and microscope work. In recent years, however, the field...

http://www.pnas.org/content/110/25/10052.short?rss=1

The projected start of the ITER fusion reactor in France looks set to slip by another 10 months. The new completion date is now November 2019.Author: Daniel Clery

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5972/1434?rss=1

Listen to stories on an ancient strain of leprosy, detecting the planet’s water from space, results from EarthScope, and more.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1353.2.full?rss=1

A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1353.1.full?rss=1

Author: Alan Dove

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1350.full?rss=1

Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar samples imply a common origin for Earth’s and the Moon’s water.Authors: Alberto E. Saal, Erik H. Hauri, James A. Van Orman, Malcolm J. Rutherford

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1317.full?rss=1

Subducted carbon from ancient oceanic crust results in a more reduced mantle.Authors: Elizabeth Cottrell, Katherine A. Kelley

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1314.full?rss=1

The evolution of proficient oxygen delivery is associated with the rise of lifestyles that require enhanced performance. [Also see Research Article by Mirceta et al. and Reports by Natarajan et al. and Rummer et al.]Author: Enrico L. Rezende

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1293.full?rss=1

The scientific community must inform UN efforts to promote universal access to the scientific enterprise and to benefits that ensue.Authors: Audrey Chapman, Jessica Wyndham

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1291.full?rss=1

From their examination of the historical record, the authors argue that the extant lion and cheetah populations of India are not native but the results of animals imported by royalty for sport.Author: Craig Packer

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1289.full?rss=1

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6138/1288.3.full?rss=1

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 0, Issue 0, Ahead of Print.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500168?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 0, Issue 0, Ahead of Print.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500168?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 02, April 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500119?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 02, April 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813020021?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 0, Issue 0, Ahead of Print.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500156?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 0, Issue 0, Ahead of Print.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813920016?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 01, January 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500065?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 01, January 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500053?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 01, January 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1793545813500041?af=R

Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume 06, Issue 01, January 2013.

http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S179354581350003X?af=R

Eine laserbasierte OP-Methode zeigte erste Erfolge bei der Behandlung eines bisher inoperablen Hirntumors, bei dem sich auch Strahlungsbehandlungen als ineffektiv erwiesen.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=357&tp=na

Im Rahmen eines EU-gefördertem Projekts werden neue Techniken zur Verbesserung der Positronen-Emissions-Tomographie (PET) für die biomedizinische Bildgebung entwickelt. Erste Ergebnisse liegen nun vor.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=358&tp=na

PET-Scan, CT und MRT sind in der Diagnostik fast schon Standardmethoden: hoch entwickelt, aber sehr aufwendig. Laseroptische Diagnoseverfahren sind zwar leistungsfähig und kostengünstig, bislang aber weit weniger verbreitet. Ein neues EU-Projekt soll dies ändern.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=359&tp=na

Eine neue Maschinenrichtlinie definiert Anforderungen zur Konformitätsbewertung von Analysen- und Laborgeräten und gibt Umsetzungs-Empfehlungen.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=6&artid=360&tp=na

Die Erforschung neuer Materialien, mechanischer Prinzipien und Herstellungsprozesse führte zur Konstruktion einer hemisphärischen Kamera in Form eines Insektenauges.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=361&tp=na

Ein neu synthetisiertes Fluorophor durchdringt die Haut und ermöglicht sehr hoch aufgelöste 3D-Aufnahmen der Blutgefäße im Hirn.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=362&tp=na

Bislang stießen 3D-Technologien häufig auf skeptische Mediziner. Laut einer aktuellen Studie können aber selbst erfahrene Chirurgen von der dritten Dimension profitieren.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=363&tp=na

Schwillt nach einem Schlaganfall das Gehirn an, kann zur Entlastung ein Öffnen der Schädeldecke des Patienten angezeigt sein. Bei einer solchen OP sollen die bisher verwendeten Bohrer künftig durch Laserskalpelle ersetzt werden, um das Infektionsrisiko zu senken.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=364&tp=na

Dank Digitalkameras und Bildverarbeitungs-Software können gelähmte Menschen mit ihrer Umwelt kommunizieren und Steuerungsfunktionen auslösen.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=365&tp=na

Intensive Terahertz-Strahlung kann Zellgewebe zerstören, die Wirkung lässt sich aber auch zu Förderung Tumor-bekämpfender Proteine nutzen.

http://www.photonik.de/index.php?id=98&npna=2&artid=366&tp=na