@phdthesis{10429, abstract = {The scalability of concurrent data structures and distributed algorithms strongly depends on reducing the contention for shared resources and the costs of synchronization and communication. We show how such cost reductions can be attained by relaxing the strict consistency conditions required by sequential implementations. In the first part of the thesis, we consider relaxation in the context of concurrent data structures. Specifically, in data structures such as priority queues, imposing strong semantics renders scalability impossible, since a correct implementation of the remove operation should return only the element with highest priority. Intuitively, attempting to invoke remove operations concurrently creates a race condition. This bottleneck can be circumvented by relaxing semantics of the affected data structure, thus allowing removal of the elements which are no longer required to have the highest priority. We prove that the randomized implementations of relaxed data structures provide provable guarantees on the priority of the removed elements even under concurrency. Additionally, we show that in some cases the relaxed data structures can be used to scale the classical algorithms which are usually implemented with the exact ones. In the second part, we study parallel variants of the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm, which distribute computation among the multiple processors, thus reducing the running time. Unfortunately, in order for standard parallel SGD to succeed, each processor has to maintain a local copy of the necessary model parameter, which is identical to the local copies of other processors; the overheads from this perfect consistency in terms of communication and synchronization can negate the speedup gained by distributing the computation. We show that the consistency conditions required by SGD can be relaxed, allowing the algorithm to be more flexible in terms of tolerating quantized communication, asynchrony, or even crash faults, while its convergence remains asymptotically the same.}, author = {Nadiradze, Giorgi}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {132}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{On achieving scalability through relaxation}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10429}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9733, abstract = {This thesis is the result of the research carried out by the author during his PhD at IST Austria between 2017 and 2021. It mainly focuses on the Fröhlich polaron model, specifically to its regime of strong coupling. This model, which is rigorously introduced and discussed in the introduction, has been of great interest in condensed matter physics and field theory for more than eighty years. It is used to describe an electron interacting with the atoms of a solid material (the strength of this interaction is modeled by the presence of a coupling constant α in the Hamiltonian of the system). The particular regime examined here, which is mathematically described by considering the limit α →∞, displays many interesting features related to the emergence of classical behavior, which allows for a simplified effective description of the system under analysis. The properties, the range of validity and a quantitative analysis of the precision of such classical approximations are the main object of the present work. We specify our investigation to the study of the ground state energy of the system, its dynamics and its effective mass. For each of these problems, we provide in the introduction an overview of the previously known results and a detailed account of the original contributions by the author.}, author = {Feliciangeli, Dario}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {180}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{The polaron at strong coupling}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9733}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9992, abstract = {Blood – this is what animals use to heal wounds fast and efficient. Plants do not have blood circulation and their cells cannot move. However, plants have evolved remarkable capacities to regenerate tissues and organs preventing further damage. In my PhD research, I studied the wound healing in the Arabidopsis root. I used a UV laser to ablate single cells in the root tip and observed the consequent wound healing. Interestingly, the inner adjacent cells induced a division plane switch and subsequently adopted the cell type of the killed cell to replace it. We termed this form of wound healing “restorative divisions”. This initial observation triggered the questions of my PhD studies: How and why do cells orient their division planes, how do they feel the wound and why does this happen only in inner adjacent cells. For answering these questions, I used a quite simple experimental setup: 5 day - old seedlings were stained with propidium iodide to visualize cell walls and dead cells; ablation was carried out using a special laser cutter and a confocal microscope. Adaptation of the novel vertical microscope system made it possible to observe wounds in real time. This revealed that restorative divisions occur at increased frequency compared to normal divisions. Additionally, the major plant hormone auxin accumulates in wound adjacent cells and drives the expression of the wound-stress responsive transcription factor ERF115. Using this as a marker gene for wound responses, we found that an important part of wound signalling is the sensing of the collapse of the ablated cell. The collapse causes a radical pressure drop, which results in strong tissue deformations. These deformations manifest in an invasion of the now free spot specifically by the inner adjacent cells within seconds, probably because of higher pressure of the inner tissues. Long-term imaging revealed that those deformed cells continuously expand towards the wound hole and that this is crucial for the restorative division. These wound-expanding cells exhibit an abnormal, biphasic polarity of microtubule arrays before the division. Experiments inhibiting cell expansion suggest that it is the biphasic stretching that induces those MT arrays. Adapting the micromanipulator aspiration system from animal scientists at our institute confirmed the hypothesis that stretching influences microtubule stability. In conclusion, this shows that microtubules react to tissue deformation and this facilitates the observed division plane switch. This puts mechanical cues and tensions at the most prominent position for explaining the growth and wound healing properties of plants. Hence, it shines light onto the importance of understanding mechanical signal transduction. }, author = {Hörmayer, Lukas}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {168}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Wound healing in the Arabidopsis root meristem}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9992}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9623, abstract = {Cytoplasmic reorganizations are essential for morphogenesis. In large cells like oocytes, these reorganizations become crucial in patterning the oocyte for later stages of embryonic development. Ascidians oocytes reorganize their cytoplasm (ooplasm) in a spectacular manner. Ooplasmic reorganization is initiated at fertilization with the contraction of the actomyosin cortex along the animal-vegetal axis of the oocyte, driving the accumulation of cortical endoplasmic reticulum (cER), maternal mRNAs associated to it and a mitochondria-rich subcortical layer – the myoplasm – in a region of the vegetal pole termed contraction pole (CP). Here we have used the species Phallusia mammillata to investigate the changes in cell shape that accompany these reorganizations and the mechanochemical mechanisms underlining CP formation. We report that the length of the animal-vegetal (AV) axis oscillates upon fertilization: it first undergoes a cycle of fast elongation-lengthening followed by a slow expansion of mainly the vegetal pole (VP) of the cell. We show that the fast oscillation corresponds to a dynamic polarization of the actin cortex as a result of a fertilization-induced increase in cortical tension in the oocyte that triggers a rupture of the cortex at the animal pole and the establishment of vegetal-directed cortical flows. These flows are responsible for the vegetal accumulation of actin causing the VP to flatten. We find that the slow expansion of the VP, leading to CP formation, correlates with a relaxation of the vegetal cortex and that the myoplasm plays a role in the expansion. We show that the myoplasm is a solid-like layer that buckles under compression forces arising from the contracting actin cortex at the VP. Straightening of the myoplasm when actin flows stops, facilitates the expansion of the VP and the CP. Altogether, our results present a previously unrecognized role for the myoplasm in ascidian ooplasmic segregation. }, author = {Caballero Mancebo, Silvia}, isbn = {978-3-99078-012-1}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {111}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Fertilization-induced deformations are controlled by the actin cortex and a mitochondria-rich subcortical layer in ascidian oocytes}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9623}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{10058, abstract = {Quantum information and computation has become a vast field paved with opportunities for researchers and investors. As large multinational companies and international funds are heavily investing in quantum technologies it is still a question which platform is best suited for the task of realizing a scalable quantum processor. In this work we investigate hole spins in Ge quantum wells. These hold great promise as they possess several favorable properties: a small effective mass, a strong spin-orbit coupling, long relaxation time and an inherent immunity to hyperfine noise. All these characteristics helped Ge hole spin qubits to evolve from a single qubit to a fully entangled four qubit processor in only 3 years. Here, we investigated a qubit approach leveraging the large out-of-plane g-factors of heavy hole states in Ge quantum dots. We found this qubit to be reproducibly operable at extremely low magnetic field and at large speeds while maintaining coherence. This was possible because large differences of g-factors in adjacent dots can be achieved in the out-of-plane direction. In the in-plane direction the small g-factors, on the other hand, can be altered very effectively by the confinement potentials. Here, we found that this can even lead to a sign change of the g-factors. The resulting g-factor difference alters the dynamics of the system drastically and produces effects typically attributed to a spin-orbit induced spin-flip term. The investigations carried out in this thesis give further insights into the possibilities of holes in Ge and reveal new physical properties that need to be considered when designing future spin qubit experiments.}, author = {Jirovec, Daniel}, issn = {2663-337X}, keywords = {qubits, quantum computing, holes}, pages = {151}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Singlet-Triplet qubits and spin-orbit interaction in 2-dimensional Ge hole gases}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10058}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9397, abstract = {Accumulation of interstitial fluid (IF) between embryonic cells is a common phenomenon in vertebrate embryogenesis. Unlike other model systems, where these accumulations coalesce into a large central cavity – the blastocoel, in zebrafish, IF is more uniformly distributed between the deep cells (DC) before the onset of gastrulation. This is likely due to the presence of a large extraembryonic structure – the yolk cell (YC) at the position where the blastocoel typically forms in other model organisms. IF has long been speculated to play a role in tissue morphogenesis during embryogenesis, but direct evidence supporting such function is still sparse. Here we show that the relocalization of IF to the interface between the YC and DC/epiblast is critical for axial mesendoderm (ME) cell protrusion formation and migration along this interface, a key process in embryonic axis formation. We further demonstrate that axial ME cell migration and IF relocalization engage in a positive feedback loop, where axial ME migration triggers IF accumulation ahead of the advancing axial ME tissue by mechanically compressing the overlying epiblast cell layer. Upon compression, locally induced flow relocalizes the IF through the porous epiblast tissue resulting in an IF accumulation ahead of the leading axial ME. This IF accumulation, in turn, promotes cell protrusion formation and migration of the leading axial ME cells, thereby facilitating axial ME extension. Our findings reveal a central role of dynamic IF relocalization in orchestrating germ layer morphogenesis during gastrulation.}, author = {Huljev, Karla}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {101}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Coordinated spatiotemporal reorganization of interstitial fluid is required for axial mesendoderm migration in zebrafish gastrulation}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9397}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9562, abstract = {Left-right asymmetries can be considered a fundamental organizational principle of the vertebrate central nervous system. The hippocampal CA3-CA1 pyramidal cell synaptic connection shows an input-side dependent asymmetry where the hemispheric location of the presynaptic CA3 neuron determines the synaptic properties. Left-input synapses terminating on apical dendrites in stratum radiatum have a higher density of NMDA receptor subunit GluN2B, a lower density of AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 and smaller areas with less often perforated PSDs. On the other hand, left-input synapses terminating on basal dendrites in stratum oriens have lower GluN2B densities than right-input ones. Apical and basal synapses further employ different signaling pathways involved in LTP. SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labeling can visualize synaptic membrane proteins with high sensitivity and resolution, and has been used to reveal the asymmetry at the electron microscopic level. However, it requires time-consuming manual demarcation of the synaptic surface for quantitative measurements. To facilitate the analysis of replica labeling, I first developed a software named Darea, which utilizes deep-learning to automatize this demarcation. With Darea I characterized the synaptic distribution of NMDA and AMPA receptors as well as the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in CA1 stratum radiatum and oriens. Second, I explored the role of GluN2B and its carboxy-terminus in the establishment of input-side dependent hippocampal asymmetry. In conditional knock-out mice lacking GluN2B expression in CA1 and GluN2B-2A swap mice, where GluN2B carboxy-terminus was exchanged to that of GluN2A, no significant asymmetries of GluN2B, GluA1 and PSD area were detected. We further discovered a previously unknown functional asymmetry of GluN2A, which was also lost in the swap mouse. These results demonstrate that GluN2B carboxy-terminus plays a critical role in normal formation of input-side dependent asymmetry.}, author = {Kleindienst, David}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {124}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{2B or not 2B: Hippocampal asymmetries mediated by NMDA receptor subunit GluN2B C-terminus and high-throughput image analysis by Deep-Learning}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9562}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{8934, abstract = {In this thesis, we consider several of the most classical and fundamental problems in static analysis and formal verification, including invariant generation, reachability analysis, termination analysis of probabilistic programs, data-flow analysis, quantitative analysis of Markov chains and Markov decision processes, and the problem of data packing in cache management. We use techniques from parameterized complexity theory, polyhedral geometry, and real algebraic geometry to significantly improve the state-of-the-art, in terms of both scalability and completeness guarantees, for the mentioned problems. In some cases, our results are the first theoretical improvements for the respective problems in two or three decades.}, author = {Goharshady, Amir Kafshdar}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {278}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Parameterized and algebro-geometric advances in static program analysis}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:8934}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{10307, abstract = {Bacteria-host interactions represent a continuous trade-off between benefit and risk. Thus, the host immune response is faced with a non-trivial problem – accommodate beneficial commensals and remove harmful pathogens. This is especially difficult as molecular patterns, such as lipopolysaccharide or specific surface organelles such as pili, are conserved in both, commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Type 1 pili, tightly regulated by phase variation, are considered an important virulence factor of pathogenic bacteria as they facilitate invasion into host cells. While invasion represents a de facto passive mechanism for pathogens to escape the host immune response, we demonstrate a fundamental role of type 1 pili as active modulators of the innate and adaptive immune response.}, author = {Tomasek, Kathrin}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {73}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Pathogenic Escherichia coli hijack the host immune response}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10307}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{10303, abstract = {Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient determining plant growth, development and affecting agricultural productivity. Root, as a hub that perceives and integrates local and systemic signals on the plant’s external and endogenous nitrogen resources, communicates with other plant organs to consolidate their physiology and development in accordance with actual nitrogen balance. Over the last years, numerous studies demonstrated that these comprehensive developmental adaptations rely on the interaction between pathways controlling nitrogen homeostasis and hormonal networks acting globally in the plant body. However, molecular insights into how the information about the nitrogen status is translated through hormonal pathways into specific developmental output are lacking. In my work, I addressed so far poorly understood mechanisms underlying root-to-shoot communication that lead to a rapid re-adjustment of shoot growth and development after nitrate provision. Applying a combination of molecular, cell, and developmental biology approaches, genetics and grafting experiments as well as hormonal analytics, I identified and characterized an unknown molecular framework orchestrating shoot development with a root nitrate sensory system. }, author = {Abualia, Rashed}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {139}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Role of hormones in nitrate regulated growth}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10303}, year = {2021}, }