TY - JOUR AB - Electrodepositing insulating lithium peroxide (Li2O2) is the key process during discharge of aprotic Li–O2 batteries and determines rate, capacity, and reversibility. Current understanding states that the partition between surface adsorbed and dissolved lithium superoxide governs whether Li2O2 grows as a conformal surface film or larger particles, leading to low or high capacities, respectively. However, better understanding governing factors for Li2O2 packing density and capacity requires structural sensitive in situ metrologies. Here, we establish in situ small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) as a suitable method to record the Li2O2 phase evolution with atomic to submicrometer resolution during cycling a custom-built in situ Li–O2 cell. Combined with sophisticated data analysis, SAXS allows retrieving rich quantitative structural information from complex multiphase systems. Surprisingly, we find that features are absent that would point at a Li2O2 surface film formed via two consecutive electron transfers, even in poorly solvating electrolytes thought to be prototypical for surface growth. All scattering data can be modeled by stacks of thin Li2O2 platelets potentially forming large toroidal particles. Li2O2 solution growth is further justified by rotating ring-disk electrode measurements and electron microscopy. Higher discharge overpotentials lead to smaller Li2O2 particles, but there is no transition to an electronically passivating, conformal Li2O2 coating. Hence, mass transport of reactive species rather than electronic transport through a Li2O2 film limits the discharge capacity. Provided that species mobilities and carbon surface areas are high, this allows for high discharge capacities even in weakly solvating electrolytes. The currently accepted Li–O2 reaction mechanism ought to be reconsidered. AU - Prehal, Christian AU - Samojlov, Aleksej AU - Nachtnebel, Manfred AU - Lovicar, Ludek AU - Kriechbaum, Manfred AU - Amenitsch, Heinz AU - Freunberger, Stefan Alexander ID - 9301 IS - 14 JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences KW - small-angle X-ray scattering KW - oxygen reduction KW - disproportionation KW - Li-air battery SN - 0027-8424 TI - In situ small-angle X-ray scattering reveals solution phase discharge of Li–O2 batteries with weakly solvating electrolytes VL - 118 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for the priming of naive T cells and the initiation of adaptive immunity. Priming is initiated at a heterologous cell–cell contact, the immunological synapse (IS). While it is established that F-actin dynamics regulates signaling at the T cell side of the contact, little is known about the cytoskeletal contribution on the DC side. Here, we show that the DC actin cytoskeleton is decisive for the formation of a multifocal synaptic structure, which correlates with T cell priming efficiency. DC actin at the IS appears in transient foci that are dynamized by the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC). The absence of the WRC in DCs leads to stabilized contacts with T cells, caused by an increase in ICAM1-integrin–mediated cell–cell adhesion. This results in lower numbers of activated and proliferating T cells, demonstrating an important role for DC actin in the regulation of immune synapse functionality. AU - Leithner, Alexander F AU - Altenburger, LM AU - Hauschild, R AU - Assen, Frank P AU - Rottner, K AU - TEB, Stradal AU - Diz-Muñoz, A AU - Stein, JV AU - Sixt, Michael K ID - 9094 IS - 4 JF - Journal of Cell Biology SN - 0021-9525 TI - Dendritic cell actin dynamics control contact duration and priming efficiency at the immunological synapse VL - 220 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The sensory and cognitive abilities of the mammalian neocortex are underpinned by intricate columnar and laminar circuits formed from an array of diverse neuronal populations. One approach to determining how interactions between these circuit components give rise to complex behavior is to investigate the rules by which cortical circuits are formed and acquire functionality during development. This review summarizes recent research on the development of the neocortex, from genetic determination in neural stem cells through to the dynamic role that specific neuronal populations play in the earliest circuits of neocortex, and how they contribute to emergent function and cognition. While many of these endeavors take advantage of model systems, consideration will also be given to advances in our understanding of activity in nascent human circuits. Such cross-species perspective is imperative when investigating the mechanisms underlying the dysfunction of early neocortical circuits in neurodevelopmental disorders, so that one can identify targets amenable to therapeutic intervention. AU - Hanganu-Opatz, Ileana L. AU - Butt, Simon J. B. AU - Hippenmeyer, Simon AU - De Marco García, Natalia V. AU - Cardin, Jessica A. AU - Voytek, Bradley AU - Muotri, Alysson R. ID - 9073 IS - 5 JF - The Journal of Neuroscience KW - General Neuroscience SN - 0270-6474 TI - The logic of developing neocortical circuits in health and disease VL - 41 ER - TY - JOUR AB - We study the problem of recovering an unknown signal 𝑥𝑥 given measurements obtained from a generalized linear model with a Gaussian sensing matrix. Two popular solutions are based on a linear estimator 𝑥𝑥^L and a spectral estimator 𝑥𝑥^s. The former is a data-dependent linear combination of the columns of the measurement matrix, and its analysis is quite simple. The latter is the principal eigenvector of a data-dependent matrix, and a recent line of work has studied its performance. In this paper, we show how to optimally combine 𝑥𝑥^L and 𝑥𝑥^s. At the heart of our analysis is the exact characterization of the empirical joint distribution of (𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥^L,𝑥𝑥^s) in the high-dimensional limit. This allows us to compute the Bayes-optimal combination of 𝑥𝑥^L and 𝑥𝑥^s, given the limiting distribution of the signal 𝑥𝑥. When the distribution of the signal is Gaussian, then the Bayes-optimal combination has the form 𝜃𝑥𝑥^L+𝑥𝑥^s and we derive the optimal combination coefficient. In order to establish the limiting distribution of (𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥^L,𝑥𝑥^s), we design and analyze an approximate message passing algorithm whose iterates give 𝑥𝑥^L and approach 𝑥𝑥^s. Numerical simulations demonstrate the improvement of the proposed combination with respect to the two methods considered separately. AU - Mondelli, Marco AU - Thrampoulidis, Christos AU - Venkataramanan, Ramji ID - 10211 JF - Foundations of Computational Mathematics KW - Applied Mathematics KW - Computational Theory and Mathematics KW - Computational Mathematics KW - Analysis SN - 1615-3375 TI - Optimal combination of linear and spectral estimators for generalized linear models ER - TY - JOUR AB - We quantise Whitney’s construction to prove the existence of a triangulation for any C^2 manifold, so that we get an algorithm with explicit bounds. We also give a new elementary proof, which is completely geometric. AU - Boissonnat, Jean-Daniel AU - Kachanovich, Siargey AU - Wintraecken, Mathijs ID - 8940 IS - 1 JF - Discrete & Computational Geometry KW - Theoretical Computer Science KW - Computational Theory and Mathematics KW - Geometry and Topology KW - Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics SN - 0179-5376 TI - Triangulating submanifolds: An elementary and quantified version of Whitney’s method VL - 66 ER -