The Galactic bulge is the least studied component of our Galaxy. Yet, its formation and evolution are key to understand the formation of the Galaxy itself. Studies on the Galactic bulge have increased significantly in the last years, but still there are many points of controversy. This volume contains several contributions from experts in different aspects of the bulge. Issues discussed include...

The bacterial cell wall is conserved in prokaryotes, stabilizing cells against osmotic stress. Beta-lactams inhibit cell-wall synthesis and induce lysis through a bulge-mediated mechanism; however, little is known about the formation dynamics and stability of these bulges. To capture processes of different timescales, we developed an imaging platform combining automated image analysis with live...

The hair follicle bulge in the epidermis associates with the arrector pili muscle (APM) that is responsible for piloerection ("goosebumps"). We show that stem cells in the bulge deposit nephronectin into the underlying basement membrane, thus regulating the adhesion of mesenchymal cells expressing the nephronectin receptor, α8β1 integrin, to the bulge. Nephronectin induces α8 integrin-positive ...

Considering a kinematical velocity admissible field, the upper bound method has beenused for predicting the amount of pressure in hydroforming of sheet metals. The effects of workhardening, friction and blank size have been considered in pressure prediction. Also the effect ofsheet thickness variation has been considered in the present work formulations. The relation betweenpressure and punch s...

Recent data suggest that heterogeneous compartments of the bulge display differential gene expression, and supply cells to different lineages within the pilosebaceous unit (Jaks et al, 2008; Jensen et al, 2009; Snippert et al, 2010). In particular, Lgr6 and Lrig1 are expressed above the CD34þ bulge region and Lgr6 expressing cells contribute primarily to the sebaceous gland (Figure 1). Thus, if...

Tube hydroforming (THF) is ametal-forming process that uses a pressurized fluid in place of a hard tool to plastically deform a given tube into a desired shape. In addition to the internal pressure, the tubematerial is fed axially toward the die cavity. This process has various applications in the automotive, aerospace, and bicycle industries. Accurate coordination of the fluid pressure and axi...