Channel Density Regulation of Firing Patterns in a Cortical Neuron Model

AbstractModifying the density and distribution of ion channels in a neuron (by natural up- and downregulation or by pharmacological intervention or by spontaneous mutations) changes its activity pattern. In this investigation we analyzed how the impulse patterns are regulated by the density of voltage-gated channels in a neuron model based on voltage-clamp measurements of hippocampal interneurons. At least three distinct oscillatory patterns, associated with three distinct regions in the Na-K channel density plane, were found. A stability analysis showed that the different regions are characterized by saddle-node, double-orbit, and Hopf-bifurcation threshold dynamics, respectively. Single, strongly graded action potentials occur in an area outside the oscillatory regions, but less graded action potentials occur together with repetitive firing over a considerable range of channel densities. The relationship found here between channel densities and oscillatory behavior may partly explain the difference between the principal spiking patterns previously described for crab axons (class 1 and 2) and cortical neurons (regular firing and fast spiking)

Change in electron and spin density upon electron transfer to haem

AbstractHaems are the cofactors of cytochromes and important catalysts of biological electron transfer. They are composed of a planar porphyrin structure with iron coordinated at the centre. It is known from spectroscopy that ferric low-spin haem has one unpaired electron at the iron, and that this spin is paired as the haem receives an electron upon reduction (I. Bertini, C. Luchinat, NMR of Paramagnetic Molecules in Biological Systems, Benjamin/Cummins Publ. Co., Menlo Park, CA, 1986, pp. 165–170; H.M. Goff, in: A.B.P. Lever, H.B. Gray (Eds.), Iron Porphyrins, Part I, Addison-Wesley Publ. Co., Reading, MA, 1983, pp. 237–281; G. Palmer, in: A.B.P. Lever, H.B. Gray (Eds.), Iron Porphyrins, Part II, Addison-Wesley Publ. Co., Reading, MA, 1983, pp. 43–88). Here we show by quantum chemical calculations on a haem a model that upon reduction the spin pairing at the iron is accompanied by effective delocalisation of electrons from the iron towards the periphery of the porphyrin ring, including its substituents. The change of charge of the iron atom is only approx. 0.1 electrons, despite the unit difference in formal oxidation state. Extensive charge delocalisation on reduction is important in order for the haem to be accommodated in the low dielectric of a protein, and may have impact on the distance dependence of the rates of electron transfer. The lost individuality of the electron added to the haem on reduction is another example of the importance of quantum mechanical effects in biological systems

Dispersal capacity predicts both population genetic structure and species richness in reef fishes

Dispersal is a fundamental species characteristic that should directly affect both rates of gene flow among spatially distributed populations and opportunities for speciation. Yet no single trait associated with dispersal has been demonstrated to affect both micro- and macroevolutionary patterns of diversity across a diverse biological assemblage. Here, we examine patterns of genetic differentiation and species richness in reef fishes, an assemblage of over 7,000 species comprising approximately one-third of the extant bony fishes and over one-tenth of living vertebrates. In reef fishes, dispersal occurs primarily during a planktonic larval stage. There are two major reproductive and parental investment syndromes among reef fishes, and the differences between them have implications for dispersal: (1) benthic guarding fishes lay negatively buoyant eggs, typically guarded by the male parent, and from these eggs hatch large, strongly swimming larvae; in contrast, (2) pelagic spawning fishes release small floating eggs directly into the water column, which drift unprotected before small weakly swimming larvae hatch. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that benthic guarders have significantly greater population structure than pelagic spawners and additionally that taxonomic families of benthic guarders are more species rich than families of pelagic spawners. Our findings provide a compelling case for the continuity between micro- and macroevolutionary processes of biological diversification and underscore the importance of dispersalrelated traits in influencing the mode and tempo of evolution

Uniaxial strain detwinning of CaFe2As2 and BaFe2As2: optical and transport study

TThe parent compounds of iron-arsenide superconductors, $A$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ ($A$=Ca, Sr, Ba), undergo a tetragonal to orthorhombic structural transition at a temperature $T_{\mathrm{TO}}$ in the range 135 to 205K depending on the alkaline earth element. Below $T_{\mathrm{TO}}$ the free standing crystals split into equally populated structural domains, which mask intrinsic, in-plane, anisotropic properties of the materials. Here we demonstrate a way of mechanically detwinning CaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$. The detwinning is nearly complete, as demonstrated by polarized light imaging and synchrotron $X$-ray measurements, and reversible, with twin pattern restored after strain release. Electrical resistivity measurements in the twinned and detwinned states show that resistivity, $\rho$, decreases along the orthorhombic $a_{o}$-axis but increases along the orthorhombic $b_{o}$-axis in both compounds. Immediately below $T_{\mathrm{TO}}$ the ratio $\rho_{bo}/ \rho_{ao}$ = 1.2 and 1.5 for Ca and Ba compounds, respectively. Contrary to CaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$, BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ reveals an anisotropy in the nominally tetragonal phase, suggesting that either fluctuations play a larger role above $T_{\mathrm{TO}}$ in BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ than in CaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$, or that there is a higher temperature crossover or phase transition.Comment: extended versio

The biology of an isolated population of the American Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber in the Galapagos Islands

A genetically and morphologically divergent population of c. 500 American Flamingos, isolated from the parental Caribbean stock of Phoenicopterus ruber, occurs in the Galapagos archipelago. Based primarily on data from a 3-year study, we provide the first description of the feeding and breeding biology of this population. Galapagos provides a suitable habitat comprising lagoons on a number of islands, among which the flamingos travel in response to food and nest site availability. We identify putative food items. The occurrence and quantity of some food species was associated with the chlorosity of lagoon water, as was the distribution of flamingos. The flamingos bred opportunistically at five lagoons on four islands, sometimes simultaneously on more than one island. Group display usually involved = 20 birds, and colonies contained as few as three nests. Laying occurred during nine months of the year, mainly August–January, coinciding with the coastal drier season and low lagoon water levels. On average c.30% of all adults incubated clutches each year, producing 0.37 fledglings per clutch. Recruitment is probably sufficient to sustain the population, which has been stable over at least c. 45 years, and is probably limited by suitable habitat. Moult to flightlessness was recorded among adults. We review potential dangers to this unique population and suggest conservation measures

Effect of tensile stress on the in-plane resistivity anisotropy in BaFe2As2

The effect of uniaxial tensile stress and the resultant strain on the structural/magnetic transition in the parent compound of the iron arsenide superconductor, BaFe$_2$As$_2$, is characterized by temperature-dependent electrical resistivity, x-ray diffraction and quantitative polarized light imaging. We show that strain induces a measurable uniaxial structural distortion above the first-order magnetic transition and significantly smears the structural transition. This response is different from that found in another parent compound, SrFe$_2$As$_2$, where the coupled structural and magnetic transitions are strongly first order. This difference in the structural responses explains the in-plain resistivity anisotropy above the transition in BaFe$_2$As$_2$. This conclusion is supported by the Ginzburg-Landau - type phenomenological model for the effect of the uniaxial strain on the resistivity anisotropy

Poloidal ULF oscillations in the dayside magnetosphere: a Cluster study

Three ULF wave events, all occurring in the dayside magnetopshere during magnetically quiet times, are studied using the Cluster satellites. The multi-point measurements obtained from Cluster are used to determine the azimuthal wave number for the events by means of the phase shift and the azimuthal separation between the satellites. Also, the polarisation of the electric and magnetic fields is examined in a field-aligned coordinate system, which, in turn, gives the mode of the oscillations. The large-inclination orbits of Cluster allow us to examine the phase relationship between the electric and magnetic fields along the field lines. The events studied have large azimuthal wave numbers (<i>m</i>~100), two of them have eastward propagation and all are in the poloidal mode, consistent with the large wave numbers. We also use particle data from geosynchronous satellites to look for signatures of proton injections, but none of the events show any sign of enhanced proton flux. Thus, the drift-bounce resonance instability seems unlikely to have played any part in the excitation of these pulsations. As for the drift-mirror instability we conclude that it would require an unreasonably high plasma pressure for the instability criterion to be satisfied.<br><br><b>Keywords.</b> Ionosphere (Wave propagation) – Magnetospheric physics (Plasma waves and instabilities; Instruments and techniques