Integrated Calendar

Given an odd element x in a Lie superalgebra g satisfying [x, x] = 0, we have that x^2 = 0 in the universal enveloping algebra of g, and so for every g-module M, we can define the cohomology DS_x (M) := Ker (x) / Im(x).In fact, DS(M) is a module for the Lie superalgebra g_x := DS_x (g) = Ker ad(x) / Im ad(x), which is a Lie superalgebra of smaller rank than g. For example, if g = gl(m|n) and x is a root vector, then g_x = gl(m − 1|n − 1). Duflo and Serganova defined the functor DS_x from the category of g-modules to the category of g_x-modules which is now called the Duflo–Serganova functor. This minicourse will give an overview of the theory of Duflo–Serganova functors and the recen

Epicuticular waxes coat the aerial parts of land plants almost ubiquitously. These waxes consist mainly of very long chain fatty acids and their derivatives, though epicuticular wax exact composition may vary greatly between plant species. Despite their wide distribution and decades of extensive study, the role of cuticular lipids in sustaining plant fitness is far from being understood. The main goal of my PhD research has been therefore to answer this fundamental question. To this end, I identified 16 different cuticular lipid related genes based on their enriched expression in the leaf epidermis and slight drought induction and generated knock out mutations in these genes using the CRISPR Cas9 system. Of these 16 mutants, nine displayed a cuticular lipid related phenotype and five were selected for further analysis. The mutated plants had a reduced wax load, or were completely lacking certain wax components altogether. This led to drastic shifts in wax crystal structure and to elevated cuticular water loss, although under non stressed conditions plants with an altered wax composition did not have elevated transpiration. In contrabst, once exposed to drought plants lacking alkanes were not able to strongly reduce their transpiration, leading to leaf death and impaired recovery upon resuscitation. When interactions of snails and insects with this mutant populations were examined, I found that these interactions were best divided based on their type – leaf chewing, phloem feeding or non-feeding interactions. Here I found that fatty alcohols were correlated with reduction in caterpillar weight gain, while cutin but not wax composition affected phloem feeders. Non feeding interactions examined in tobacco white fly showed an effect of wax crystal structure rather than chemical composition. Finally, to examine the effects of epicuticular wax under natural conditions two field plots were planted with these mutants and monitored during several months. I found, that similar to the results of the drought trials, under non-competitive conditions epicuticular wax had little effect on plant fitness. however, when plants were under severe competition with foreign plants, all wax components contributed greatly to fitness. in these plots, similar to the caterpillar assays, caterpillars from a wider range of species preferred the fatty alcohol devoid far mutants. These were also preferred by web weavers, and especially spiders. From this diverse range of settings and interactors I concluded that under optimal conditions, epicuticular wax has little effect on plant fitness. however, once conditions are stressful epicuticular wax contributes greatly whether these conditions be drought, competing vegetation or insect herbivores eating the plants’ leaves. That being said, not all wax components contribute equally to every process. Alkanes are essential for drought recovery while fatty alcohols reduce insect herbivory.

Functional ultrasound imaging (fUS) is an emerging neuroimaging tool capable of measuring brain-wide vascular signals linked to neuronal activity with a high spatial-temporal resolution (100 µm, 10 Hz) in real-time. This technology is portable, affordable and adaptable to many species, and has already found applications in areas ranging from basic research to the clinic. Focusing on fundamental neuroscience, I will outline some of the recent technical advancements of fUS, such as the capacity to image the entire rodent brain while manipulating specific neuronal circuits with optogenetics. I will exemplify how promising this imaging technique is for shedding new light on the brain-wide circuits underlying behavior, as fUS is one of the few methods that enables imaging of activity deep in the brain of behaving mice.
Zoom link: https://weizmann.zoom.us/j/95406893197?pwd=REt5L1g3SmprMUhrK3dpUDJVeHlrZz09
Meeting ID: 954 0689 3197
Password: 750421

Given an odd element x in a Lie superalgebra g satisfying [x, x] = 0, we have that x^2 = 0 in the universal enveloping algebra of g, and so for every g-module M, we can define the cohomology DS_x (M) := Ker (x) / Im(x).In fact, DS(M) is a module for the Lie superalgebra g_x := DS_x (g) = Ker ad(x) / Im ad(x), which is a Lie superalgebra of smaller rank than g. For example, if g = gl(m|n) and x is a root vector, then g_x = gl(m − 1|n − 1). Duflo and Serganova defined the functor DS_x from the category of g-modules to the category of g_x-modules which is now called the Duflo–Serganova functor. This minicourse will give an overview of the theory of Duflo–Serganova functors and the rece

This talk has three parts. The first part is an introduction to Hamilton’s two monumental papers from 1834-1835, which introduced the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, Hamilton’s equations of motion and the principle of least action. These three formulations of classical mechanics became the three forerunners of quantum mechanics; but ironically none of them is what Hamilton was looking for -- he was looking for a “magical” function, the principal function S(q_1,q_2,t) from which the entire trajectory history can be obtained just by differentiation (no integration). In the second part of the talk I argue that Hamilton’s principal function is almost certainly more magical than even Hamilton realized. Astonishingly, all of the above formulations of classical mechanics can be derived just from assuming that S(q_1,q_2,t) is additive, with no input of physics. The third part of the talk will present a new formulation of quantum mechanics in which the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is extended to complex-valued trajectories, allowing the treatment of classically allowed processes, classically forbidden process and arbitrary time-dependent external fields within a single, coherent framework. The approach is illustrated for barrier tunneling, wavepacket revivals, nonadiabatic dynamics, optical excitation using shaped laser pulses and high harmonic generation with strong field attosecond pulses.