The membrane-embedded segment of cytochrome b5 as studied by cross-linking with photoactivatable phospholipids

Vesicles were prepared from a 9:1 (mole/mol) mixture of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine and the radioactively labeled phospholipids, 1-palmitoyl-2-ω -(m-diazirinophenoxy)undecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PC-I) or 1-palmitoyl-2-ω -(2-diazo-3,3,3-trifluropropionyloxy)lauroyl-sn- glycero-3-phosphocholine (PC-II). Rabbit liver cytochrome b5 was inserted into these vesicles spontaneously and the resulting vesicles containing the cytochrome b5 in the transferable form were photolyzed. Cytochrome b5 containing covalently cross-linked phospholipids was isolated by Sephadex LH-60 column chromatography using ethanol/formic acid as the solvent. Of the total radioactivity, 4.6% (PC-I) or 11.3% (PC-II) was linked to the protein; of the former, up to 51% was base-labile, while in the latter, 22% was base-labile. The sites of cross-linking of PC-I to the protein were investigated by fragmentation with trypsin, Staphylococcus aureas V8 protease, CNBr, and o-iodosobenzoic acid followed by Sephadex LH-60 chromatography and Edman sequencing (solid phase) of the appropriate fragments. The distribution of cross-linking was broad (Ser-104 to Met-130), showing a bell-shaped pattern with a significant peak at Ser-118. The labeling pattern is consistent with the previously proposed loop-back model for the membranous segment in the transferable form of cytochrome b5

Solutions to the ultradiscrete Toda molecule equation expressed as minimum weight flows of planar graphs

We define a function by means of the minimum weight flow on a planar graph and prove that this function solves the ultradiscrete Toda molecule equation, its B\"acklund transformation and the two dimensional Toda molecule equation. The method we employ in the proof can be considered as fundamental to the integrability of ultradiscrete soliton equations.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures Added citations in v

Resonance Patterns of an Antidot Cluster: From Classical to Quantum Ballistics

We explain the experimentally observed Aharonov-Bohm (AB) resonance patterns of an antidot cluster by means of quantum and classical simulations and Feynman path integral theory. We demonstrate that the observed behavior of the AB period signals the crossover from a low B regime which can be understood in terms of electrons following classical orbits to an inherently quantum high B regime where this classical picture and semiclassical theories based on it do not apply.Comment: 5 pages revtex + 2 postscript figure

Electron-beam propagation in a two-dimensional electron gas

A quantum mechanical model based on a Green's function approach has been used to calculate the transmission probability of electrons traversing a two-dimensional electron gas injected and detected via mode-selective quantum point contacts. Two-dimensional scattering potentials, back-scattering, and temperature effects were included in order to compare the calculated results with experimentally observed interference patterns. The results yield detailed information about the distribution, size, and the energetic height of the scattering potentials.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Magnetic Quantum Dot: A Magnetic Transmission Barrier and Resonator

We study the ballistic edge-channel transport in quantum wires with a magnetic quantum dot, which is formed by two different magnetic fields B^* and B_0 inside and outside the dot, respectively. We find that the electron states located near the dot and the scattering of edge channels by the dot strongly depend on whether B^* is parallel or antiparallel to B_0. For parallel fields, two-terminal conductance as a function of channel energy is quantized except for resonances, while, for antiparallel fields, it is not quantized and all channels can be completely reflected in some energy ranges. All these features are attributed to the characteristic magnetic confinements caused by nonuniform fields.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letter

Andreev Reflection in Strong Magnetic Fields

We have studied the interplay of Andreev reflection and cyclotron motion of quasiparticles at a superconductor-normal-metal interface with a strong magnetic field applied parallel to the interface. Bound states are formed due to the confinement introduced both by the external magnetic field and the superconducting gap. These bound states are a coherent superposition of electron and hole edge excitations similar to those realized in finite quantum-Hall samples. We find the energy spectrum for these Andreev edge states and calculate transport properties.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, RevTex, revised to include more detailed discussion of currents and transpor

Conductance of a Semiconductor-Superconductor junction in high magnetic field

Conductance $G$ of a 2DEG-Superconductor (S) device in a high magnetic field is studied: $G(\nu)$ is calculated. When the cyclotron diameter in 2DEG is larger than the width of the 2DEG-S surface then $G(\nu)$ becomes nonmonotonous function due to the Aharonov--Bohm type interference of quasiparticles at the surface. At certain parameters of the junction the conductance oscillates with $\nu$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Inter edge Tunneling in Quantum Hall Line Junctions

We propose a scenario to understand the puzzling features of the recent experiment by Kang and coworkers on tunneling between laterally coupled quantum Hall liquids by modeling the system as a pair of coupled chiral Luttinger liquid with a point contact tunneling center. We show that for filling factors $\nu\sim1$ the effects of the Coulomb interactions move the system deep into strong tunneling regime, by reducing the magnitude of the Luttinger parameter $K$, leading to the appearance of a zero-bias differential conductance peak of magnitude $G_t=Ke^2/h$ at zero temperature. The abrupt appearance of the zero bias peak as the filling factor is increased past a value $\nu^* \gtrsim 1$, and its gradual disappearance thereafter can be understood as a crossover controlled by the main energy scales of this system: the bias voltage $V$, the crossover scale $T_K$, and the temperature $T$. The low height of the zero bias peak $\sim 0.1e^2/h$ observed in the experiment, and its broad finite width, can be understood naturally within this picture. Also, the abrupt reappearance of the zero-bias peak for $\nu \gtrsim 2$ can be explained as an effect caused by spin reversed electrons, \textit{i. e.} if the 2DEG is assumed to have a small polarization near $\nu\sim2$. We also predict that as the temperature is lowered $\nu^*$ should decrease, and the width of zero-bias peak should become wider. This picture also predicts the existence of similar zero bias peak in the spin tunneling conductance near for $\nu \gtrsim 2$.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Normalization of Voltage-Sensitive Dye Signal with Functional Activity Measures

In general, signal amplitude in optical imaging is normalized using the well-established ΔF/F method, where functional activity is divided by the total fluorescent light flux. This measure is used both directly, as a measure of population activity, and indirectly, to quantify spatial and spatiotemporal activity patterns. Despite its ubiquitous use, the stability and accuracy of this measure has not been validated for voltage-sensitive dye imaging of mammalian neocortex in vivo. In this report, we find that this normalization can introduce dynamic biases. In particular, the ΔF/F is influenced by dye staining quality, and the ratio is also unstable over the course of experiments. As methods to record and analyze optical imaging signals become more precise, such biases can have an increasingly pernicious impact on the accuracy of findings, especially in the comparison of cytoarchitechtonic areas, in area-of-activation measurements, and in plasticity or developmental experiments. These dynamic biases of the ΔF/F method may, to an extent, be mitigated by a novel method of normalization, ΔF/ΔFepileptiform. This normalization uses as a reference the measured activity of epileptiform spikes elicited by global disinhibition with bicuculline methiodide. Since this normalization is based on a functional measure, i.e. the signal amplitude of “hypersynchronized” bursts of activity in the cortical network, it is less influenced by staining of non-functional elements. We demonstrate that such a functional measure can better represent the amplitude of population mass action, and discuss alternative functional normalizations based on the amplitude of synchronized spontaneous sleep-like activity. These findings demonstrate that the traditional ΔF/F normalization of voltage-sensitive dye signals can introduce pernicious inaccuracies in the quantification of neural population activity. They further suggest that normalization-independent metrics such as waveform propagation patterns, oscillations in single detectors, and phase relationships between detector pairs may better capture the biological information which is obtained by high-sensitivity imaging