Giant microwave photoresistance of two-dimensional electron gas

We measure microwave frequency (4-40 GHz) photoresistance at low magnetic field B, in high mobility 2D electron gas samples, excited by signals applied to a transmission line fabricated on the sample surface. Oscillatory photoresistance vs B is observed. For excitation at the cyclotron resonance frequency, we find an unprecedented, giant relative photoresistance (\Delta R)/R of up to 250 percent. The photoresistance is apparently proportional to the square root of applied power, and disappears as the temperature is increased.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Molecular and morphometric variation in European populations of the articulate brachiopod <i>Terebeatulina retusa</i>

Molecular and morphometric variation within and between population samples of the articulate brachiopod &lt;i&gt;Terebratulina&lt;/i&gt; spp., collected in 1985-1987 from a Norwegian fjord, sea lochs and costal sites in western Scotland, the southern English Channel (Brittany) and the western Mediterranean, were measured by the analysis of variation in the lengths of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments produced by digestion with nine restriction endonucleases and by multivariate statistical analysis of six selected morphometric parameters. Nucleotide difference within each population sample was high. Nucleotide difference between population samples from the Scottish sites, both those that are tidally contiguous and those that appear to be geographically isolated, were not significantly different from zero. Nucleotide differences between the populations samples from Norway, Brittany, Scotland and the western Mediterranean were also very low. Morphometric analysis confirmed the absence of substantial differentiation

High Magnetic Field Microwave Conductivity of 2D Electrons in an Array of Antidots

We measure the high magnetic field ($B$) microwave conductivity, Re$\sigma_{xx}$, of a high mobility 2D electron system containing an antidot array. Re$\sigma_{xx}$ vs frequency ($f$) increases strongly in the regime of the fractional quantum Hall effect series, with Landau filling $1/3<\nu<2/3$. At microwave $f$, Re$\sigma_{xx}$ vs $B$ exhibits a broad peak centered around $\nu=1/2$. On the peak, the 10 GHz Re$\sigma_{xx}$ can exceed its dc-limit value by a factor of 5. This enhanced microwave conductivity is unobservable for temperature $T \gtrsim 0.5$ K, and grows more pronounced as $T$ is decreased. The effect may be due to excitations supported by the antidot edges, but different from the well-known edge magnetoplasmons.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex

In-situ monitoring of etch by-products during reactive ion beam etching of GaAs in chlorine/argon

Mass spectrometry of the plasma effluent during Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) of GaAs using an Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) source and a Cl{sub 2}/Ar gas chemistry shows that AsCl{sub 3}, AsCl{sub 2} and AsCl are all detected as etch products for As, while GaCl{sub 2} is the main signal detected for the Ga products. The variation in selective ion currents for the various etch products has been examined as a function of chuck temperature (30--100 C), percentage Cl{sub 2} in the gas flow, beam current (60--180 mA) and beam voltage (200--800 V). The results are consistent with AsCl{sub 3} and GaCl{sub 3} being the main etch product species under their conditions, with fragmentation being responsible for the observed mass spectra

Widespread sex differences in gene expression and splicing in the adult human brain

There is strong evidence to show that men and women differ in terms of neurodevelopment, neurochemistry and susceptibility to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. The molecular basis of these differences remains unclear. Progress in this field has been hampered by the lack of genome-wide information on sex differences in gene expression and in particular splicing in the human brain. Here we address this issue by using post-mortem adult human brain and spinal cord samples originating from 137 neuropathologically confirmed control individuals to study whole-genome gene expression and splicing in 12 CNS regions. We show that sex differences in gene expression and splicing are widespread in adult human brain, being detectable in all major brain regions and involving 2.5% of all expressed genes. We give examples of genes where sex-biased expression is both disease-relevant and likely to have functional consequences, and provide evidence suggesting that sex biases in expression may reflect sex-biased gene regulatory structures

Protein Expression in the Nucleus Accumbens of Rats Exposed to Developmental Vitamin D Deficiency

Introduction: Developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is a candidate risk factor for schizophrenia. Animal models have confirmed that DVD deficiency is associated with a range of altered genomic, proteomic, structural and behavioural outcomes in the rat. Because the nucleus accumbens has been implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, in the current study we examined protein expression in this region in adult rats exposed to DVD deficienc

Predicting RNA secondary structure by the comparative approach: how to select the homologous sequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The secondary structure of an RNA must be known before the relationship between its structure and function can be determined. One way to predict the secondary structure of an RNA is to identify covarying residues that maintain the pairings (Watson-Crick, Wobble and non-canonical pairings). This "comparative approach" consists of identifying mutations from homologous sequence alignments. The sequences must covary enough for compensatory mutations to be revealed, but comparison is difficult if they are too different. Thus the choice of homologous sequences is critical. While many possible combinations of homologous sequences may be used for prediction, only a few will give good structure predictions. This can be due to poor quality alignment in stems or to the variability of certain sequences. This problem of sequence selection is currently unsolved.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This paper describes an algorithm, <it>SSCA</it>, which measures the suitability of sequences for the comparative approach. It is based on evolutionary models with structure constraints, particularly those on sequence variations and stem alignment. We propose three models, based on different constraints on sequence alignments. We show the results of the <it>SSCA </it>algorithm for predicting the secondary structure of several RNAs. <it>SSCA </it>enabled us to choose sets of homologous sequences that gave better predictions than arbitrarily chosen sets of homologous sequences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>SSCA </it>is an algorithm for selecting combinations of RNA homologous sequences suitable for secondary structure predictions with the comparative approach.</p

Synapsin II Is Involved in the Molecular Pathway of Lithium Treatment in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with a prevalence of 1–2% in the general population that is characterized by severe episodic shifts in mood ranging from depressive to manic episodes. One of the most common treatments is lithium (Li), with successful response in 30–60% of patients. Synapsin II (SYN2) is a neuronal phosphoprotein that we have previously identified as a possible candidate gene for the etiology of BD and/or response to Li treatment in a genome-wide linkage study focusing on BD patients characterized for excellent response to Li prophylaxis. In the present study we investigated the role of this gene in BD, particularly as it pertains to Li treatment. We investigated the effect of lithium treatment on the expression of SYN2 in lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients characterized as excellent Li-responders, non-responders, as well as non-psychiatric controls. Finally, we sought to determine if Li has a cell-type-specific effect on gene expression in neuronal-derived cell lines. In both in vitro models, we found SYN2 to be modulated by the presence of Li. By focusing on Li-responsive BD we have identified a potential mechanism for Li response in some patients

Polysialic Acid Is Required for Dopamine D2 Receptor-Mediated Plasticity Involving Inhibitory Circuits of the Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Decreased expression of dopamine D2 receptors (D2R), dysfunction of inhibitory neurotransmission and impairments in the structure and connectivity of neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and major depression, but the relationship between these changes remains unclear. The polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), a plasticity-related molecule, may serve as a link. This molecule is expressed in cortical interneurons and dopamine, via D2R, modulates its expression in parallel to that of proteins related to synapses and inhibitory neurotransmission, suggesting that D2R-targeted antipsychotics/antidepressants may act by affecting the plasticity of mPFC inhibitory circuits. To understand the role of PSA-NCAM in this plasticity, rats were chronically treated with a D2R agonist (PPHT) after cortical PSA depletion. PPHT-induced increases in GAD67 and synaptophysin (SYN) neuropil expression were blocked when PSA was previously removed, indicating a role for PSA-NCAM in this plasticity. The number of PSA-NCAM expressing interneuron somata also increased after PPHT treatment, but the percentages of these cells belonging to different interneuronal subpopulations did not change. Cortical pyramidal neurons did not express PSA-NCAM, but puncta co-expressing this molecule and parvalbumin could be found surrounding their somata. PPHT treatment increased the number of PSA-NCAM and parvalbumin expressing perisomatic puncta, but decreased the percentage of parvalbumin puncta that co-expressed SYN. PSA depletion did not block these effects on the perisomatic region, but increased further the number of parvalbumin expressing puncta and increased the percentage of puncta co-expressing SYN and parvalbumin, suggesting that the polysialylation of NCAM may regulate perisomatic inhibition of mPFC principal neurons. Summarizing, the present results indicate that dopamine acting on D2R influences structural plasticity of mPFC interneurons and point to PSA-NCAM as a key player in this remodeling

Gene Expression Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens of Mood Disorders Subjects That Committed Suicide

Suicidal behaviors are frequent in mood disorders patients but only a subset of them ever complete suicide. Understanding predisposing factors for suicidal behaviors in high risk populations is of major importance for the prevention and treatment of suicidal behaviors. The objective of this project was to investigate gene expression changes associated with suicide in brains of mood disorder patients by microarrays (Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus2.0) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC: 6 Non-suicides, 15 suicides), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC: 6NS, 9S) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc: 8NS, 13S). ANCOVA was used to control for age, gender, pH and RNA degradation, with P≤0.01 and fold change±1.25 as criteria for significance. Pathway analysis revealed serotonergic signaling alterations in the DLPFC and glucocorticoid signaling alterations in the ACC and NAcc. The gene with the lowest p-value in the DLPFC was the 5-HT2A gene, previously associated both with suicide and mood disorders. In the ACC 6 metallothionein genes were down-regulated in suicide (MT1E, MT1F, MT1G, MT1H, MT1X, MT2A) and three were down-regulated in the NAcc (MT1F, MT1G, MT1H). Differential expression of selected genes was confirmed by qPCR, we confirmed the 5-HT2A alterations and the global down-regulation of members of the metallothionein subfamilies MT 1 and 2 in suicide completers. MTs 1 and 2 are neuro-protective following stress and glucocorticoid stimulations, suggesting that in suicide victims neuroprotective response to stress and cortisol may be diminished. Our results thus suggest that suicide-specific expression changes in mood disorders involve both glucocorticoids regulated metallothioneins and serotonergic signaling in different regions of the brain