Integrated Calendar

Non-centrosomal microtubule (MT) arrays are the main cytoskeleton substrate for cargo transport in many differentiated cells, including neurons, myotubes and epithelia. How MT organization-i.e. polymer length, number and spacing-is regulated, and how it impinges on transport is unclear. This question is critical in neurons, which, due to the length of their processes, are particularly vulnerable to impaired transport. We developed a light-based method for analyzing neuronal MT organization that circumvents the need for electron microscopy reconstructions and is compatible with live imaging of cargo transport and MT dynamics. I will describe how age, MT associated proteins and signaling pathways control the architecture of the neuronal MT network. I will also discuss how, in turn, MT organization and dynamics determine the progression of axonal transport, and outline future questions raised by these studies.

Abstract: After a brief review of holographic techniques derived from the AdS-CFT correspondence, we specialize to a class of spacetimes proposed as duals to non-relativistic systems. We highlight classical and quantum features of these "Lifshitz spacetimes" which limit the reconstructability of bulk spacetime information from boundary data. We additionally discuss the fate of various spacetime reconstruction procedures in Lifshitz spacetimes. We close by examining the limitations placed on entropy-based spacetime reconstruction due to holographic screens

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance suffers from low sensitivity for spectroscopy and imaging applications. For certain applications, this sensitivity issue can be solved by means of hyperpolarized xenon that is reversibly bound to host structures. Manipulation by saturation transfer then allows for further sensitivity enhancement (Hyper-CEST technique). This “xenon biosensor” approach yields new opportunities for the design of targeted MRI contrast agents and sensing of molecular environments as such host-guest complexes maintain a spectral dimension for multiplexing and controlled switchable contrast. The CEST performance strongly depends on the host structure and the solvent, thus providing further parameters to explore. This talk will give an overview of xenon biosensor MRI and NMR analysis of different host-guest systems.