@article{7369, abstract = {Neuronal responses to complex stimuli and tasks can encompass a wide range of time scales. Understanding these responses requires measures that characterize how the information on these response patterns are represented across multiple temporal resolutions. In this paper we propose a metric – which we call multiscale relevance (MSR) – to capture the dynamical variability of the activity of single neurons across different time scales. The MSR is a non-parametric, fully featureless indicator in that it uses only the time stamps of the firing activity without resorting to any a priori covariate or invoking any specific structure in the tuning curve for neural activity. When applied to neural data from the mEC and from the ADn and PoS regions of freely-behaving rodents, we found that neurons having low MSR tend to have low mutual information and low firing sparsity across the correlates that are believed to be encoded by the region of the brain where the recordings were made. In addition, neurons with high MSR contain significant information on spatial navigation and allow to decode spatial position or head direction as efficiently as those neurons whose firing activity has high mutual information with the covariate to be decoded and significantly better than the set of neurons with high local variations in their interspike intervals. Given these results, we propose that the MSR can be used as a measure to rank and select neurons for their information content without the need to appeal to any a priori covariate.}, author = {Cubero, Ryan J and Marsili, Matteo and Roudi, Yasser}, issn = {1573-6873}, journal = {Journal of Computational Neuroscience}, keywords = {Time series analysis, Multiple time scale analysis, Spike train data, Information theory, Bayesian decoding}, pages = {85--102}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Multiscale relevance and informative encoding in neuronal spike trains}}, doi = {10.1007/s10827-020-00740-x}, volume = {48}, year = {2020}, } @misc{7383, abstract = {Organisms cope with change by employing transcriptional regulators. However, when faced with rare environments, the evolution of transcriptional regulators and their promoters may be too slow. We ask whether the intrinsic instability of gene duplication and amplification provides a generic alternative to canonical gene regulation. By real-time monitoring of gene copy number mutations in E. coli, we show that gene duplications and amplifications enable adaptation to fluctuating environments by rapidly generating copy number, and hence expression level, polymorphism. This ‘amplification-mediated gene expression tuning’ occurs on timescales similar to canonical gene regulation and can deal with rapid environmental changes. Mathematical modeling shows that amplifications also tune gene expression in stochastic environments where transcription factor-based schemes are hard to evolve or maintain. The fleeting nature of gene amplifications gives rise to a generic population-level mechanism that relies on genetic heterogeneity to rapidly tune expression of any gene, without leaving any genomic signature.}, author = {Grah, Rok}, keywords = {Matlab scripts, analysis of microfluidics, mathematical model}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Matlab scripts for the Paper: Gene Amplification as a Form of Population-Level Gene Expression regulation}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:7383}, year = {2020}, } @article{7387, abstract = {Most bacteria accomplish cell division with the help of a dynamic protein complex called the divisome, which spans the cell envelope in the plane of division. Assembly and activation of this machinery are coordinated by the tubulin-related GTPase FtsZ, which was found to form treadmilling filaments on supported bilayers in vitro1, as well as in live cells, in which filaments circle around the cell division site2,3. Treadmilling of FtsZ is thought to actively move proteins around the division septum, thereby distributing peptidoglycan synthesis and coordinating the inward growth of the septum to form the new poles of the daughter cells4. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this function are largely unknown. Here, to study how FtsZ polymerization dynamics are coupled to downstream proteins, we reconstituted part of the bacterial cell division machinery using its purified components FtsZ, FtsA and truncated transmembrane proteins essential for cell division. We found that the membrane-bound cytosolic peptides of FtsN and FtsQ co-migrated with treadmilling FtsZ–FtsA filaments, but despite their directed collective behaviour, individual peptides showed random motion and transient confinement. Our work suggests that divisome proteins follow treadmilling FtsZ filaments by a diffusion-and-capture mechanism, which can give rise to a moving zone of signalling activity at the division site.}, author = {Baranova, Natalia S. and Radler, Philipp and Hernández-Rocamora, Víctor M. and Alfonso, Carlos and Lopez Pelegrin, Maria D and Rivas, Germán and Vollmer, Waldemar and Loose, Martin}, issn = {2058-5276}, journal = {Nature Microbiology}, pages = {407--417}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Diffusion and capture permits dynamic coupling between treadmilling FtsZ filaments and cell division proteins}}, doi = {10.1038/s41564-019-0657-5}, volume = {5}, year = {2020}, } @article{7388, abstract = {We give a Wong-Zakai type characterisation of the solutions of quasilinear heat equations driven by space-time white noise in 1 + 1 dimensions. In order to show that the renormalisation counterterms are local in the solution, a careful arrangement of a few hundred terms is required. The main tool in this computation is a general ‘integration by parts’ formula that provides a number of linear identities for the renormalisation constants.}, author = {Gerencser, Mate}, issn = {0294-1449}, journal = {Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincaré C, Analyse non linéaire}, number = {3}, pages = {663--682}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Nondivergence form quasilinear heat equations driven by space-time white noise}}, doi = {10.1016/j.anihpc.2020.01.003}, volume = {37}, year = {2020}, } @article{7389, abstract = {Recently Kloeckner described the structure of the isometry group of the quadratic Wasserstein space W_2(R^n). It turned out that the case of the real line is exceptional in the sense that there exists an exotic isometry flow. Following this line of investigation, we compute Isom(W_p(R)), the isometry group of the Wasserstein space W_p(R) for all p \in [1,\infty) \setminus {2}. We show that W_2(R) is also exceptional regarding the parameter p: W_p(R) is isometrically rigid if and only if p is not equal to 2. Regarding the underlying space, we prove that the exceptionality of p = 2 disappears if we replace R by the compact interval [0,1]. Surprisingly, in that case, W_p([0,1]) is isometrically rigid if and only if p is not equal to 1. Moreover, W_1([0,1]) admits isometries that split mass, and Isom(W_1([0,1])) cannot be embedded into Isom(W_1(R)).}, author = {Geher, Gyorgy Pal and Titkos, Tamas and Virosztek, Daniel}, issn = {10886850}, journal = {Transactions of the American Mathematical Society}, keywords = {Wasserstein space, isometric embeddings, isometric rigidity, exotic isometry flow}, number = {8}, pages = {5855--5883}, publisher = {American Mathematical Society}, title = {{Isometric study of Wasserstein spaces - the real line}}, doi = {10.1090/tran/8113}, volume = {373}, year = {2020}, } @inbook{74, abstract = {We study the Gromov waist in the sense of t-neighborhoods for measures in the Euclidean space, motivated by the famous theorem of Gromov about the waist of radially symmetric Gaussian measures. In particular, it turns our possible to extend Gromov’s original result to the case of not necessarily radially symmetric Gaussian measure. We also provide examples of measures having no t-neighborhood waist property, including a rather wide class of compactly supported radially symmetric measures and their maps into the Euclidean space of dimension at least 2. We use a simpler form of Gromov’s pancake argument to produce some estimates of t-neighborhoods of (weighted) volume-critical submanifolds in the spirit of the waist theorems, including neighborhoods of algebraic manifolds in the complex projective space. In the appendix of this paper we provide for reader’s convenience a more detailed explanation of the Caffarelli theorem that we use to handle not necessarily radially symmetric Gaussian measures.}, author = {Akopyan, Arseniy and Karasev, Roman}, booktitle = {Geometric Aspects of Functional Analysis}, editor = {Klartag, Bo'az and Milman, Emanuel}, isbn = {9783030360191}, issn = {16179692}, pages = {1--27}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Gromov's waist of non-radial Gaussian measures and radial non-Gaussian measures}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-36020-7_1}, volume = {2256}, year = {2020}, } @inbook{7410, abstract = {Epiboly is a conserved gastrulation movement describing the thinning and spreading of a sheet or multi-layer of cells. The zebrafish embryo has emerged as a vital model system to address the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive epiboly. In the zebrafish embryo, the blastoderm, consisting of a simple squamous epithelium (the enveloping layer) and an underlying mass of deep cells, as well as a yolk nuclear syncytium (the yolk syncytial layer) undergo epiboly to internalize the yolk cell during gastrulation. The major events during zebrafish epiboly are: expansion of the enveloping layer and the internal yolk syncytial layer, reduction and removal of the yolk membrane ahead of the advancing blastoderm margin and deep cell rearrangements between the enveloping layer and yolk syncytial layer to thin the blastoderm. Here, work addressing the cellular and molecular mechanisms as well as the sources of the mechanical forces that underlie these events is reviewed. The contribution of recent findings to the current model of epiboly as well as open questions and future prospects are also discussed.}, author = {Bruce, Ashley E.E. and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J}, booktitle = {Gastrulation: From Embryonic Pattern to Form}, editor = {Solnica-Krezel, Lilianna }, isbn = {9780128127988}, issn = {0070-2153}, pages = {319--341}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Mechanisms of zebrafish epiboly: A current view}}, doi = {10.1016/bs.ctdb.2019.07.001}, volume = {136}, year = {2020}, } @article{7416, abstract = {Earlier, we demonstrated that transcript levels of METAL TOLERANCE PROTEIN2 (MTP2) and of HEAVY METAL ATPase2 (HMA2) increase strongly in roots of Arabidopsis upon prolonged zinc (Zn) deficiency and respond to shoot physiological Zn status, and not to the local Zn status in roots. This provided evidence for shoot-to-root communication in the acclimation of plants to Zn deficiency. Zn-deficient soils limit both the yield and quality of agricultural crops and can result in clinically relevant nutritional Zn deficiency in human populations. Implementing Zn deficiency during cultivation of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana on agar-solidified media is difficult because trace element contaminations are present in almost all commercially available agars. Here, we demonstrate root morphological acclimations to Zn deficiency on agar-solidified medium following the effective removal of contaminants. These advancements allow reproducible phenotyping toward understanding fundamental plant responses to deficiencies of Zn and other essential trace elements.}, author = {Sinclair, Scott A and Krämer, U.}, issn = {1559-2324}, journal = {Plant Signaling & Behavior}, number = {1}, publisher = {Taylor & Francis}, title = {{Generation of effective zinc-deficient agar-solidified media allows identification of root morphology changes in response to zinc limitation}}, doi = {10.1080/15592324.2019.1687175}, volume = {15}, year = {2020}, } @article{7417, abstract = {Previously, we reported that the allelic de-etiolated by zinc (dez) and trichome birefringence (tbr) mutants exhibit photomorphogenic development in the dark, which is enhanced by high Zn. TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE-LIKE proteins had been implicated in transferring acetyl groups to various hemicelluloses. Pectin O-acetylation levels were lower in dark-grown dez seedlings than in the wild type. We observed Zn-enhanced photomorphogenesis in the dark also in the reduced wall acetylation 2 (rwa2-3) mutant, which exhibits lowered O-acetylation levels of cell wall macromolecules including pectins and xyloglucans, supporting a role for cell wall macromolecule O-acetylation in the photomorphogenic phenotypes of rwa2-3 and dez. Application of very short oligogalacturonides (vsOGs) restored skotomorphogenesis in dark-grown dez and rwa2-3. Here we demonstrate that in dez, O-acetylation of non-pectin cell wall components, notably of xyloglucan, is enhanced. Our results highlight the complexity of cell wall homeostasis and indicate against an influence of xyloglucan O-acetylation on light-dependent seedling development.}, author = {Sinclair, Scott A and Gille, S. and Pauly, M. and Krämer, U.}, issn = {1559-2324}, journal = {Plant Signaling & Behavior}, number = {1}, publisher = {Informa UK Limited}, title = {{Regulation of acetylation of plant cell wall components is complex and responds to external stimuli}}, doi = {10.1080/15592324.2019.1687185}, volume = {15}, year = {2020}, } @article{7426, abstract = {This paper presents a novel abstraction technique for analyzing Lyapunov and asymptotic stability of polyhedral switched systems. A polyhedral switched system is a hybrid system in which the continuous dynamics is specified by polyhedral differential inclusions, the invariants and guards are specified by polyhedral sets and the switching between the modes do not involve reset of variables. A finite state weighted graph abstracting the polyhedral switched system is constructed from a finite partition of the state–space, such that the satisfaction of certain graph conditions, such as the absence of cycles with product of weights on the edges greater than (or equal) to 1, implies the stability of the system. However, the graph is in general conservative and hence, the violation of the graph conditions does not imply instability. If the analysis fails to establish stability due to the conservativeness in the approximation, a counterexample (cycle with product of edge weights greater than or equal to 1) indicating a potential reason for the failure is returned. Further, a more precise approximation of the switched system can be constructed by considering a finer partition of the state–space in the construction of the finite weighted graph. We present experimental results on analyzing stability of switched systems using the above method.}, author = {Garcia Soto, Miriam and Prabhakar, Pavithra}, issn = {1751-570X}, journal = {Nonlinear Analysis: Hybrid Systems}, number = {5}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Abstraction based verification of stability of polyhedral switched systems}}, doi = {10.1016/j.nahs.2020.100856}, volume = {36}, year = {2020}, } @article{7427, abstract = {Plants, like other multicellular organisms, survive through a delicate balance between growth and defense against pathogens. Salicylic acid (SA) is a major defense signal in plants, and the perception mechanism as well as downstream signaling activating the immune response are known. Here, we identify a parallel SA signaling that mediates growth attenuation. SA directly binds to A subunits of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), inhibiting activity of this complex. Among PP2A targets, the PIN2 auxin transporter is hyperphosphorylated in response to SA, leading to changed activity of this important growth regulator. Accordingly, auxin transport and auxin-mediated root development, including growth, gravitropic response, and lateral root organogenesis, are inhibited. This study reveals how SA, besides activating immunity, concomitantly attenuates growth through crosstalk with the auxin distribution network. Further analysis of this dual role of SA and characterization of additional SA-regulated PP2A targets will provide further insights into mechanisms maintaining a balance between growth and defense.}, author = {Tan, Shutang and Abas, Melinda F and Verstraeten, Inge and Glanc, Matous and Molnar, Gergely and Hajny, Jakub and Lasák, Pavel and Petřík, Ivan and Russinova, Eugenia and Petrášek, Jan and Novák, Ondřej and Pospíšil, Jiří and Friml, Jiří}, issn = {09609822}, journal = {Current Biology}, number = {3}, pages = {381--395.e8}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Salicylic acid targets protein phosphatase 2A to attenuate growth in plants}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.058}, volume = {30}, year = {2020}, } @article{7428, abstract = {In the superconducting regime of FeTe(1−x)Sex, there exist two types of vortices which are distinguished by the presence or absence of zero-energy states in their core. To understand their origin, we examine the interplay of Zeeman coupling and superconducting pairings in three-dimensional metals with band inversion. Weak Zeeman fields are found to suppress intraorbital spin-singlet pairing, known to localize the states at the ends of the vortices on the surface. On the other hand, an orbital-triplet pairing is shown to be stable against Zeeman interactions, but leads to delocalized zero-energy Majorana modes which extend through the vortex. In contrast, the finite-energy vortex modes remain localized at the vortex ends even when the pairing is of orbital-triplet form. Phenomenologically, this manifests as an observed disappearance of zero-bias peaks within the cores of topological vortices upon an increase of the applied magnetic field. The presence of magnetic impurities in FeTe(1−x)Sex, which are attracted to the vortices, would lead to such Zeeman-induced delocalization of Majorana modes in a fraction of vortices that capture a large enough number of magnetic impurities. Our results provide an explanation for the dichotomy between topological and nontopological vortices recently observed in FeTe(1−x)Sex.}, author = {Ghazaryan, Areg and Lopes, P. L.S. and Hosur, Pavan and Gilbert, Matthew J. and Ghaemi, Pouyan}, issn = {24699969}, journal = {Physical Review B}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Effect of Zeeman coupling on the Majorana vortex modes in iron-based topological superconductors}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.101.020504}, volume = {101}, year = {2020}, } @article{7431, abstract = {In many real-world systems, information can be transmitted in two qualitatively different ways: by copying or by transformation. Copying occurs when messages are transmitted without modification, e.g. when an offspring receives an unaltered copy of a gene from its parent. Transformation occurs when messages are modified systematically during transmission, e.g. when mutational biases occur during genetic replication. Standard information-theoretic measures do not distinguish these two modes of information transfer, although they may reflect different mechanisms and have different functional consequences. Starting from a few simple axioms, we derive a decomposition of mutual information into the information transmitted by copying versus the information transmitted by transformation. We begin with a decomposition that applies when the source and destination of the channel have the same set of messages and a notion of message identity exists. We then generalize our decomposition to other kinds of channels, which can involve different source and destination sets and broader notions of similarity. In addition, we show that copy information can be interpreted as the minimal work needed by a physical copying process, which is relevant for understanding the physics of replication. We use the proposed decomposition to explore a model of amino acid substitution rates. Our results apply to any system in which the fidelity of copying, rather than simple predictability, is of critical relevance.}, author = {Kolchinsky, Artemy and Corominas-Murtra, Bernat}, issn = {17425662}, journal = {Journal of the Royal Society Interface}, number = {162}, publisher = {The Royal Society}, title = {{Decomposing information into copying versus transformation}}, doi = {10.1098/rsif.2019.0623}, volume = {17}, year = {2020}, } @phdthesis{7460, abstract = {Many methods for the reconstruction of shapes from sets of points produce ordered simplicial complexes, which are collections of vertices, edges, triangles, and their higher-dimensional analogues, called simplices, in which every simplex gets assigned a real value measuring its size. This thesis studies ordered simplicial complexes, with a focus on their topology, which reflects the connectedness of the represented shapes and the presence of holes. We are interested both in understanding better the structure of these complexes, as well as in developing algorithms for applications. For the Delaunay triangulation, the most popular measure for a simplex is the radius of the smallest empty circumsphere. Based on it, we revisit Alpha and Wrap complexes and experimentally determine their probabilistic properties for random data. Also, we prove the existence of tri-partitions, propose algorithms to open and close holes, and extend the concepts from Euclidean to Bregman geometries.}, author = {Ölsböck, Katharina}, issn = {2663-337X}, keywords = {shape reconstruction, hole manipulation, ordered complexes, Alpha complex, Wrap complex, computational topology, Bregman geometry}, pages = {155}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{The hole system of triangulated shapes}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:7460}, year = {2020}, } @article{7464, abstract = {Retrovirus assembly is driven by the multidomain structural protein Gag. Interactions between the capsid domains (CA) of Gag result in Gag multimerization, leading to an immature virus particle that is formed by a protein lattice based on dimeric, trimeric, and hexameric protein contacts. Among retroviruses the inter- and intra-hexamer contacts differ, especially in the N-terminal sub-domain of CA (CANTD). For HIV-1 the cellular molecule inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) interacts with and stabilizes the immature hexamer, and is required for production of infectious virus particles. We have used in vitro assembly, cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and mutational analyses to study the HIV-related lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). In particular, we sought to understand the structural conservation of the immature lentivirus lattice and the role of IP6 in EIAV assembly. Similar to HIV-1, IP6 strongly promoted in vitro assembly of EIAV Gag proteins into virus-like particles (VLPs), which took three morphologically highly distinct forms: narrow tubes, wide tubes, and spheres. Structural characterization of these VLPs to sub-4Å resolution unexpectedly showed that all three morphologies are based on an immature lattice with preserved key structural components, highlighting the structural versatility of CA to form immature assemblies. A direct comparison between EIAV and HIV revealed that both lentiviruses maintain similar immature interfaces, which are established by both conserved and non-conserved residues. In both EIAV and HIV-1, IP6 regulates immature assembly via conserved lysine residues within the CACTD and SP. Lastly, we demonstrate that IP6 stimulates in vitro assembly of immature particles of several other retroviruses in the lentivirus genus, suggesting a conserved role for IP6 in lentiviral assembly.}, author = {Dick, Robert A. and Xu, Chaoyi and Morado, Dustin R. and Kravchuk, Vladyslav and Ricana, Clifton L. and Lyddon, Terri D. and Broad, Arianna M. and Feathers, J. Ryan and Johnson, Marc C. and Vogt, Volker M. and Perilla, Juan R. and Briggs, John A. G. and Schur, Florian KM}, issn = {1553-7374}, journal = {PLOS Pathogens}, number = {1}, publisher = {Public Library of Science}, title = {{Structures of immature EIAV Gag lattices reveal a conserved role for IP6 in lentivirus assembly}}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1008277}, volume = {16}, year = {2020}, } @article{7465, abstract = {The flexible development of plants is characterized by a high capacity for post-embryonic organ formation and tissue regeneration, processes, which require tightly regulated intercellular communication and coordinated tissue (re-)polarization. The phytohormone auxin, the main driver for these processes, is able to establish polarized auxin transport channels, which are characterized by the expression and polar, subcellular localization of the PIN1 auxin transport proteins. These channels are demarcating the position of future vascular strands necessary for organ formation and tissue regeneration. Major progress has been made in the last years to understand how PINs can change their polarity in different contexts and thus guide auxin flow through the plant. However, it still remains elusive how auxin mediates the establishment of auxin conducting channels and the formation of vascular tissue and which cellular processes are involved. By the means of sophisticated regeneration experiments combined with local auxin applications in Arabidopsis thaliana inflorescence stems we show that (i) PIN subcellular dynamics, (ii) PIN internalization by clathrin-mediated trafficking and (iii) an intact actin cytoskeleton required for post-endocytic trafficking are indispensable for auxin channel formation, de novo vascular formation and vascular regeneration after wounding. These observations provide novel insights into cellular mechanism of coordinated tissue polarization during auxin canalization.}, author = {Mazur, Ewa and Gallei, Michelle C and Adamowski, Maciek and Han, Huibin and Robert, Hélène S. and Friml, Jiří}, issn = {18732259}, journal = {Plant Science}, number = {4}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Clathrin-mediated trafficking and PIN trafficking are required for auxin canalization and vascular tissue formation in Arabidopsis}}, doi = {10.1016/j.plantsci.2020.110414}, volume = {293}, year = {2020}, } @article{7466, abstract = {Unpaired ligands are secreted signals that act via a GP130-like receptor, domeless, to activate JAK/STAT signalling in Drosophila. Like many mammalian cytokines, unpaireds can be activated by infection and other stresses and can promote insulin resistance in target tissues. However, the importance of this effect in non-inflammatory physiology is unknown. Here, we identify a requirement for unpaired-JAK signalling as a metabolic regulator in healthy adult Drosophila muscle. Adult muscles show basal JAK-STAT signalling activity in the absence of any immune challenge. Plasmatocytes (Drosophila macrophages) are an important source of this tonic signal. Loss of the dome receptor on adult muscles significantly reduces lifespan and causes local and systemic metabolic pathology. These pathologies result from hyperactivation of AKT and consequent deregulation of metabolism. Thus, we identify a cytokine signal that must be received in muscle to control AKT activity and metabolic homeostasis.}, author = {Kierdorf, Katrin and Hersperger, Fabian and Sharrock, Jessica and Vincent, Crystal M. and Ustaoglu, Pinar and Dou, Jiawen and György, Attila and Groß, Olaf and Siekhaus, Daria E and Dionne, Marc S.}, issn = {2050084X}, journal = {eLife}, publisher = {eLife Sciences Publications}, title = {{Muscle function and homeostasis require cytokine inhibition of AKT activity in Drosophila}}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.51595}, volume = {9}, year = {2020}, } @article{7467, abstract = {Nanomaterials produced from the bottom-up assembly of nanocrystals may incorporate ∼1020–1021 cm–3 not fully coordinated surface atoms, i.e., ∼1020–1021 cm–3 potential donor or acceptor states that can strongly affect transport properties. Therefore, to exploit the full potential of nanocrystal building blocks to produce functional nanomaterials and thin films, a proper control of their surface chemistry is required. Here, we analyze how the ligand stripping procedure influences the charge and heat transport properties of sintered PbSe nanomaterials produced from the bottom-up assembly of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals. First, we show that the removal of the native organic ligands by thermal decomposition in an inert atmosphere leaves relatively large amounts of carbon at the crystal interfaces. This carbon blocks crystal growth during consolidation and at the same time hampers charge and heat transport through the final nanomaterial. Second, we demonstrate that, by stripping ligands from the nanocrystal surface before consolidation, nanomaterials with larger crystal domains, lower porosity, and higher charge carrier concentrations are obtained, thus resulting in nanomaterials with higher electrical and thermal conductivities. In addition, the ligand displacement leaves the nanocrystal surface unprotected, facilitating oxidation and chalcogen evaporation. The influence of the ligand displacement on the nanomaterial charge transport properties is rationalized here using a two-band model based on the standard Boltzmann transport equation with the relaxation time approximation. Finally, we present an application of the produced functional nanomaterials by modeling, fabricating, and testing a simple PbSe-based thermoelectric device with a ring geometry.}, author = {Cadavid, Doris and Ortega, Silvia and Illera, Sergio and Liu, Yu and Ibáñez, Maria and Shavel, Alexey and Zhang, Yu and Li, Mengyao and López, Antonio M. and Noriega, Germán and Durá, Oscar Juan and López De La Torre, M. A. and Prades, Joan Daniel and Cabot, Andreu}, issn = {2574-0962}, journal = {ACS Applied Energy Materials}, number = {3}, pages = {2120--2129}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Influence of the ligand stripping on the transport properties of nanoparticle-based PbSe nanomaterials}}, doi = {10.1021/acsaem.9b02137}, volume = {3}, year = {2020}, } @article{7472, abstract = {Temporally organized reactivation of experiences during awake immobility periods is thought to underlie cognitive processes like planning and evaluation. While replay of trajectories is well established for the hippocampus, it is unclear whether the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) can reactivate sequential behavioral experiences in the awake state to support task execution. We simultaneously recorded from hippocampal and mPFC principal neurons in rats performing a mPFC-dependent rule-switching task on a plus maze. We found that mPFC neuronal activity encoded relative positions between the start and goal. During awake immobility periods, the mPFC replayed temporally organized sequences of these generalized positions, resembling entire spatial trajectories. The occurrence of mPFC trajectory replay positively correlated with rule-switching performance. However, hippocampal and mPFC trajectory replay occurred independently, indicating different functions. These results demonstrate that the mPFC can replay ordered activity patterns representing generalized locations and suggest that mPFC replay might have a role in flexible behavior.}, author = {Käfer, Karola and Nardin, Michele and Blahna, Karel and Csicsvari, Jozsef L}, issn = {0896-6273}, journal = {Neuron}, number = {1}, pages = {P154--165.e6}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Replay of behavioral sequences in the medial prefrontal cortex during rule switching}}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2020.01.015}, volume = {106}, year = {2020}, } @article{7473, abstract = {How structural and functional properties of synapses relate to each other is a fundamental question in neuroscience. Electrophysiology has elucidated mechanisms of synaptic transmission, and electron microscopy (EM) has provided insight into morphological properties of synapses. Here we describe an enhanced method for functional EM (“flash and freeze”), combining optogenetic stimulation with high-pressure freezing. We demonstrate that the improved method can be applied to intact networks in acute brain slices and organotypic slice cultures from mice. As a proof of concept, we probed vesicle pool changes during synaptic transmission at the hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal neuron synapse. Our findings show overlap of the docked vesicle pool and the functionally defined readily releasable pool and provide evidence of fast endocytosis at this synapse. Functional EM with acute slices and slice cultures has the potential to reveal the structural and functional mechanisms of transmission in intact, genetically perturbed, and disease-affected synapses.}, author = {Borges Merjane, Carolina and Kim, Olena and Jonas, Peter M}, issn = {0896-6273}, journal = {Neuron}, pages = {992--1006}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Functional electron microscopy (“Flash and Freeze”) of identified cortical synapses in acute brain slices}}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2019.12.022}, volume = {105}, year = {2020}, }