Comment on Counting Black Hole Microstates Using String Dualities

We discuss a previous attempt at a microscopic counting of the entropy of asymptotically flat non-extremal black-holes. This method used string dualities to relate 4 and 5 dimensional black holes to the BTZ black hole. We show how the dualities can be justified in a certain limit, equivalent to a near horizon limit, but the resulting spacetime is no longer asymptotically flat.Comment: 10 pages, harvmac. v(2) typo correcte

On Witten's Instability and Winding Tachyons

We investigate, from a spacetime perspective, some aspects of Horowitz's recent conjecture that black strings may catalyze the decay of Kaluza-Klein spacetimes into a bubble of nothing. We identify classical configurations that interpolate between flat space and the bubble, and discuss the energetics of the transition. We investigate the effects of winding tachyons on the size and shape of the barrier and find no evidence at large compactification radius that tachyons enhance the tunneling rate. For the interesting radii, of order the string scale, the question is difficult to answer due to the failure of the $\alpha^\prime$ expansion.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, Late

In vivo correlation between axon diameter and conduction velocity in the human brain

The understanding of the relationship between structure and function has always characterized biology in general and neurobiology in particular. One such fundamental relationship is that between axon diameter and the axon's conduction velocity (ACV). Measurement of these neuronal properties, however, requires invasive procedures that preclude direct elucidation of this relationship in vivo. Here we demonstrate that diffusion-based MRI is sensitive to the fine microstructural elements of brain wiring and can be used to quantify axon diameter in vivo. Moreover, we demonstrate the in vivo correlation between the diameter of an axon and its conduction velocity in the human brain. Using AxCaliber, a novel magnetic resonance imaging technique that enables us to estimate in vivo axon diameter distribution (ADD) and by measuring the interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT) by electroencephalography, we found significant linear correlation, across a cohort of subjects, between brain microstructure morphology (ADD) and its physiology (ACV) in the tactile and visual sensory domains. The ability to make a quantitative assessment of a fundamental physiological property in the human brain from in vivo measurements of ADD may shed new light on neurological processes occurring in neuroplasticity as well as in neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases

Axonal Spectrum Imaging (AxSI): In-Vivo mapping of axonal diameter distributions in the human brain

Abstract In this paper we demonstrate a generalized and simplified pipeline called axonal spectrum imaging (AxSI) for in-vivo estimation of axonal characteristics in the human brain. Whole-brain estimation of the axon diameter, in-vivo and non-invasively, across all fiber systems will allow exploring uncharted aspect of brain structure and function relations. While axon diameter mapping is important in and of itself, its correlation with conduction velocity will allow, for the first time, the explorations of information transfer mechanisms within the brain. We demonstrate various well-known aspects of axonal morphometry (e.g., the corpus callosum axon diameter variation) as well as other aspects that are less explored (e.g., axon diameter-based separation of the superior longitudinal fascicules into segments). Moreover, we have created an MNI based mean axon diameter maps over the entire brain for a large cohort of subjects providing the reference basis for future studies exploring relation between axon properties, brain function, physiology and behavior.</jats:p

In vivo 3D axonal diameter estimation in the human brain with 300 mT/m gradient MRI

Synopsis The estimation of neural micro-structure in general and axon diameter in particular became feasible using advanced diffusion imaging frameworks such as CHARMED and AxCaliber. Recently, the AxCaliber model was extended to 3D enabling to capture the axonal properties of any fiber system in the brain. In this work we challenged the utility of using the CONNECTOM MRI, that provides a gradient strength of up to 300 mT/m, for axon diameter estimation. We found that the sensitivity of the model towards small diameter axons increases dramatically with the use of the strong gradient system increasing the validity and accuracy of AxCaliber3D

In vivo 3D axonal diameter estimation in the human brain with 300 mT/m gradient MRI

Synopsis The estimation of neural micro-structure in general and axon diameter in particular became feasible using advanced diffusion imaging frameworks such as CHARMED and AxCaliber. Recently, the AxCaliber model was extended to 3D enabling to capture the axonal properties of any fiber system in the brain. In this work we challenged the utility of using the CONNECTOM MRI, that provides a gradient strength of up to 300 mT/m, for axon diameter estimation. We found that the sensitivity of the model towards small diameter axons increases dramatically with the use of the strong gradient system increasing the validity and accuracy of AxCaliber3D

A Secreted Disulfide Catalyst Controls Extracellular Matrix Composition and Function

Form and Function The contribution of disulfide bonding to oxidative protein folding and assembly, quality control, and stress responses in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are widely recognized. In contrast, catalysis of disulfide bond formation downstream of the ER is uncharted territory. QSOX, a Golgi-localized or secreted disulfide catalyst, was identified in the 1970s and was more recently shown to be upregulated in many cancers. However, the physiological importance of QSOX catalytic activity has been unclear. Ilani et al. (p. 74 , published online 23 May) found that human QSOX1 is essential for incorporation of laminin into the extracellular matrix, with profound effects on the capability of the matrix to support integrin-mediated cell adhesion and migration. </jats:p