A ketogenic diet increases succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity and recovers age-related decrease in numeric density of SDH-positive mitochondria in cerebellar Purkinje cells of late-adult rats

Ketogenic diets (KDs) have been applied in the therapy of paediatric epilepsy for nearly a century. Recently, beneficial results have also been reported on metabolic disorders and neurodegeneration, designating aged individuals as possible recipients. However, KDs efficacy decrease after the suckling period, and very little is known about their impact on the aging brain. In the present study, the effect on the neuronal energetic supply of a KD containing 20% of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) was investigated in Purkinje cells of the cerebellar vermis of late-adult (19-month-old) rats. The animals were fed with the KD for 8 weeks, and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity was cytochemically determined. The following parameters of SDH-positive mitochondria were evaluated by the use of a computer-assisted image analysis system connected to a transmission electron microscope: numeric density (Nv), average volume (V), volume density (Vv), and cytochemical precipitate area/mitochondrial area (R). Young, age-matched, and old animals fed with a standard chow were used as controls. We found significantly higher Nv in MCT-KD-fed rats vs. all the control groups, in young vs. late-adult and old controls, and in late-adult vs. old controls. V and Vv showed no significant differences among the groups. R was significantly higher in MCT-KD-fed rats vs. all the control animals, and in old vs. young and late-adult controls. Present data indicate that the ketogenic treatment counteracted age-related decrease in numeric density of SDH-positive mitochondria, and enhanced their metabolic efficiency. Given the central role of mitochondrial impairment in age-related physio-pathological changes of the brain, these findings may represent a starting point to examine novel potentialities for KDs.     

Linear-quadratic optimal control under non-Markovian switching

We study a finite-dimensional continuous-time optimal control problem on finite horizon for a controlled diffusion driven by Brownian motion, in the linear-quadratic case. We admit stochastic coefficients, possibly depending on an underlying independent marked point process, so that our model is general enough to include controlled switching systems where the switching mechanism is not required to be Markovian. The problem is solved by means of a Riccati equation, which turned out to be a backward stochastic differential equation driven by the Brownian motion and by the random measure associated with the marked point process.     

On the Optimal Control of a Random Walk with Jumps and Barriers

The modeling and optimal control of a class of random walks (RWs) is investigated in the framework of the Chapman-Kolmogorov (CK) and Fokker-Planck (FP) equations. This class of RWs includes jumps driven by a compound Poisson process and are subject to different barriers. A control mechanism is investigated that is included in the CK stochastic transition matrix and the purpose of the control is to track a desired discrete probability density function and attain a desired terminal density configuration. Existence and characterization of optimal controls are discussed. The proposed approach allows the derivation of a new FP model that accommodates the presence of the jumps and guarantees conservation of total probability in the case of reflecting barriers, which are modelled by appropriate operators. Results of numerical experiments are presented that successfully validate the proposed control framework.     

On the modeling of nonlinear interactions in large complex systems

This work deals with the modeling of large systems of interacting entities in the framework of the mathematical kinetic theory for active particles. The contents are specifically focused on the modeling of nonlinear interactions which is one of the most important issues in the mathematical approach to modeling and simulating complex systems, and which includes a learning–hiding dynamics. Applications are focused on the modeling of complex biological systems and on immune competition.     

Fast Solvers of Fredholm Optimal Control Problems

<正>The formulation of optimal control problems governed by Fredholm integral equations of second kind and an efficient computational framework for solving these control problems is presented.Existence and uniqueness of optimal solutions is proved. A collective Gauss-Seidel scheme and a multigrid scheme are discussed.Optimal computational performance of these iterative schemes is proved by local Fourier analysis and demonstrated by results of numerical experiments.     

Wave propagation in anisotropic turbulent superfluids

In this work, a hydrodynamical model of Superfluid Turbulence previously formulated is applied to study how the presence of a non-isotropic turbulent vortex tangle modifies the propagation of waves. Two cases are considered: wave front parallel and orthogonal to the heat flux. Using a perturbation method, the first-order corrections due to the presence of the vortex tangle to the speeds and to the amplitudes of the first and second sound are determined. It is seen that the presence of the quantized vortices couples first and second sound, and the attenuation of second sound is proportional to the line density L if the wave propagates orthogonal to the heat flux, while it is proportional to the square root of L if the wave propagates parallel with the heat flux.     

Excited-State Dynamics of Thienoguanosine,an Isomorphic Highly Fluorescent Analogue of Guanosine

Thienoguanosine (^thG) is an isomorphic analogue of guanosine with promising potentialities as fluorescent DNA label. As a free probe in protic solvents, ^thG exists in two tautomeric forms, identified as the H1, being the only one observed in nonprotic solvents, and H3 keto–amino tautomers. We herein investigate the photophysics of ^thG in solvents of different polarity, from water to dioxane, by combining time-resolved fluorescence with PCM/TD-DFT and CASSCF calculations. Fluorescence lifetimes of 14.5–20.5 and 7–13 ns were observed for the H1 and H3 tautomers, respectively, in the tested solvents. In methanol and ethanol, an additional fluorescent decay lifetime (≈3 ns) at the blue emission side (λ≈430 nm) as well as a 0.5 ns component with negative amplitude at the red edge of the spectrum, typical of an excited-state reaction, were observed. Our computational analysis explains the solvent effects observed on the tautomeric equilibrium. The main radiative and nonradiative deactivation routes have been mapped by PCM/TD-DFT calculations in solution and CASSCF in the gas phase. The most easily accessible conical intersection, involving an out-of plane motion of the sulfur atom in the five-membered ring of ^thG, is separated by a sizeable energy barrier (≥0.4 eV) from the minimum of the spectroscopic state, which explains the large experimental fluorescence quantum yield.     

Stability conditions in families

Publications mathématiques de l'IHÉS - We develop a theory of Bridgeland stability conditions and moduli spaces of semistable objects for a family of varieties. Our approach is based...     

Spectroscopic,thermal, and X-ray diffraction studies of tetrakis(thiourea) palladium chloride bis (5,7-dimethyl[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine dihydrate

The crystal and molecular structure of the title compound, ·[Pd(S=C(NH₂)₂)₄]Cl₂·2dmtp·2H₂O. has been determined and refined to a finalR=0.034. The cation is centrosymmetric with the Pd atom existing in a square planar geometry with two disparate Pd–S bond distances of 2.3129(9) and 2.292(1)Å. Interatomic parameters are reported for the first non-coordinated dmtp molecule; these suggest the predominance of a particular canonical form in the solid state. The lattice is stabilized via a series H-bonding contacts involving the thiourea. Cl^– and dmtp species. Crystals of [Pd(S=C(NH₂)₂)₄]Cl₂ · 2dmtp · 2H₂O are monoclinic with space groupP2₁/c, and unit cell dimensionsa=15.129(1),b=8.512(1),c=12.663(1) Å, =104.05(1)°.     

Existence results for semilinear elliptical hemivariational inequalities

We are interested in studying the existence of solutions to an elliptical hemivariational inequality, depending on a real parameter λ$\lambda$. The main tool in the proof of our results is a critical point theorem recently established. We obtain the existence of solution through a direct method, both with a changing sign nonlinearity of the kind p(x)f(ξ)$p\left(x\right)f\left(\xi \right)$ and in the classical one P(x,ξ)$P(x,\xi )$ too.