MPTP-induced degeneration: interference with glutamatergic toxicity

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by the progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurons resulting in the major symptoms of akinesia and rigidity. Although the primary cause of PD is still not known some features make this disorder a model for neurodegenerative diseases in general. It has been known for some time that symptomatic PD can be attributed to insults with symptoms occurring many years later such as post-encephalitic PD or PD following manganese poisoning. More recently, MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) has been identified as a neurotoxin selective for melanin-containing dopaminergic neurons in humans and non-human primates. The specificity of this neurotoxin and the striking clinical similarities to idiopathic PD, seen in primates, make MPTP-induced parkinsonism the most useful animal model of a neurological disease. There are numerous theoretical possibilities to interfere with both MPTP-induced neurotoxicity and the symptomatology of PD. In recent years excitatory amino acids have gained considerable interest since they can cause excitotoxic lesion of neurons under a number of pathological conditions (Olney et al., 1989; Choi, 1988). Here we summarise the present data and provide new experimental evidence indicating that MPTP-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons does involve glutamate-mediated toxicity. It is concluded that glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity results in the destruction of DAergic somata in the substantia nigra. Non-competitive or competitive NMDA antagonists protect nigral neurons from MPTP-induced degeneration whereas their striatal terminals still seem to degenerate

The conduction pathway of potassium channels is water free under physiological conditions.

Ion conduction through potassium channels is a fundamental process of life. On the basis of crystallographic data, it was originally proposed that potassium ions and water molecules are transported through the selectivity filter in an alternating arrangement, suggesting a "water-mediated" knock-on mechanism. Later on, this view was challenged by results from molecular dynamics simulations that revealed a "direct" knock-on mechanism where ions are in direct contact. Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques tailored to characterize the interaction between water molecules and the ion channel, we show here that the selectivity filter of a potassium channel is free of water under physiological conditions. Our results are fully consistent with the direct knock-on mechanism of ion conduction but contradict the previously proposed water-mediated knock-on mechanism

Deterministic cavity quantum electrodynamics with trapped ions

We have employed radio-frequency trapping to localize a single 40Ca+-ion in a high-finesse optical cavity. By means of laser Doppler cooling, the position spread of the ion's wavefunction along the cavity axis was reduced to 42 nm, a fraction of the resonance wavelength of ionized calcium (λ = 397 nm). By controlling the position of the ion in the optical field, continuous and completely deterministic coupling of ion and field was realized. The precise three-dimensional location of the ion in the cavity was measured by observing the fluorescent light emitted upon excitation in the cavity field. The single-ion system is ideally suited to implement cavity quantum electrodynamics under cw conditions. To this end we operate the cavity on the D3/2–P1/2 transition of 40Ca+ (λ = 866 nm). Applications include the controlled generation of single-photon pulses with high efficiency and two-ion quantum gates

Study of the application of hydrogen fuel to long-range subsonic transport aircraft, volume 2

The feasibility, practicability, and potential advantages/disadvantages of using liquid hydrogen as fuel in long range, subsonic transport aircraft of advanced design were studied. Both passenger and cargo-type aircraft were investigated. To provide a valid basis for comparison, conventional hydrocarbon (Jet A) fueled aircraft were designed to perform identical missions using the same advanced technology and meeting the same operational constraints. The liquid hydrogen and Jet A fueled aircraft were compared on the basis of weight, size, energy utilization, cost, noise, emissions, safety, and operational characteristics. A program of technology development was formulated

Composite infrared bolometers with Si_3N_4 micromesh absorbers

We report the design and performance of 300-mK composite bolometers that use micromesh absorbers and support structures patterned from thin films of low-stress silicon nitride. The small geometrical filling factor of the micromesh absorber provides 20× reduction in heat capacity and cosmic ray cross section relative to a solid absorber with no loss in IR-absorption efficiency. The support structure is mechanically robust and has a thermal conductance, G < 2 × 10^(−11) W/K, which is four times smaller than previously achieved at 300 mK. The temperature rise of the bolometer is measured with a neutron transmutation doped germanium thermistor attached to the absorbing mesh. The dispersion in electrical and thermal parameters of a sample of 12 bolometers optimized for the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich Infrared Experiment is ±7% in R (T), ±5% in optical efficiency, and ±4% in G

Investigation of a direction sensitive sapphire detector stack at the 5 GeV electron beam at DESY-II

Extremely radiation hard sensors are needed in particle physics experiments to instrument the region near the beam pipe. Examples are beam halo and beam loss monitors at the Large Hadron Collider, FLASH or XFEL. Currently artificial diamond sensors are widely used. In this paper single crystal sapphire sensors are considered as a promising alternative. Industrially grown sapphire wafers are available in large sizes, are of low cost and, like diamond sensors, can be operated without cooling. Here we present results of an irradiation study done with sapphire sensors in a high intensity low energy electron beam. Then, a multichannel direction-sensitive sapphire detector stack is described. It comprises 8 sapphire plates of 1 cm^2 size and 525 micro m thickness, metallized on both sides, and apposed to form a stack. Each second metal layer is supplied with a bias voltage, and the layers in between are connected to charge-sensitive preamplifiers. The performance of the detector was studied in a 5 GeV electron beam. The charge collection efficiency measured as a function of the bias voltage rises with the voltage, reaching about 10 % at 950 V. The signal size obtained from electrons crossing the stack at this voltage is about 22000 e, where e is the unit charge. The signal size is measured as a function of the hit position, showing variations of up to 20 % in the direction perpendicular to the beam and to the electric field. The measurement of the signal size as a function of the coordinate parallel to the electric field confirms the prediction that mainly electrons contribute to the signal. Also evidence for the presence of a polarisation field was observed.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

The adjoint problem in the presence of a deformed surface: the example of the Rosensweig instability on magnetic fluids

The Rosensweig instability is the phenomenon that above a certain threshold of a vertical magnetic field peaks appear on the free surface of a horizontal layer of magnetic fluid. In contrast to almost all classical hydrodynamical systems, the nonlinearities of the Rosensweig instability are entirely triggered by the properties of a deformed and a priori unknown surface. The resulting problems in defining an adjoint operator for such nonlinearities are illustrated. The implications concerning amplitude equations for pattern forming systems with a deformed surface are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

How to run a brain bank. A report from the Austro-German brain bank

The sophisticated analysis of and growing information on the human brain requires that acquisition, dissection, storage and distribution of rare material are managed in a professional way. In this publication we present the concept and practice of our brain bank. Both brain tissue and information are handled by standardized procedures and flow in parallel from pathology to neuropathology and neurochemistry. Data concerning brain material are updated with clinical information gained by standardized procedures

Intense-field renormalization of cavity-induced spontaneous emission

We examine theoretically the recent experiments of Lange and Walther on the dynamical interaction of Rydberg atoms in a microwave cavity in the presence of a strong driving field. In particular, we study how the intense field renormalizes the cavity-induced spontaneous emission. For this purpose we derive the master equation for the atomic dynamics by adiabatically eliminating the cavity-field variables, while treating the intense driving field nonperturbatively. We present analytical and numerical solutions of the master equation, taking into account the turn on and turn off of the atom-field coupling in the rest frame of the atoms, as well as the velocity distribution of the atomic beam. We obtain good agreement between theoretical results and experiments

Cavity-induced decay of Floquet states in a bichromatic driving field

A theoretical study of the dynamics of Rydberg atoms in a microwave cavity driven by a strong bichromatic field is presented. The resonator is assumed to operate in the low-Q regime. As a consequence, photons emitted by the atoms are dissipated in the cavity walls during the interaction time of the atoms inside the resonator. In this situation the cavity field follows the atomic dynamics adiabatically. The transient behavior of the system is analyzed in terms of Floquet states, and cavity-induced transition rates between these states are calculated for a large range of parameters of the bichromatic field. Narrow resonances are found in the transition rates, in agreement with recent experimental investigations of cavity Rydberg atoms subjected to strong bichromatic driving. We explain in detail the structure of the resonances, which is determined by the frequency-dependent cavity-mode density as well as the Rabi frequencies of the applied fields. The intensity-dependent shifts of the resonance frequencies are also calculated and found to be largely insensitive to inhomogeneous broadening. Finally, the numerical results are compared with experimental observations