Ziram, a pesticide associated with increased risk for Parkinson's disease, differentially affects the presynaptic function of aminergic and glutamatergic nerve terminals at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

Multiple populations of aminergic neurons are affected in Parkinson's disease (PD), with serotonergic and noradrenergic loci responsible for some non-motor symptoms. Environmental toxins, such as the dithiocarbamate fungicide ziram, significantly increase the risk of developing PD and the attendant spectrum of both motor and non-motor symptoms. The mechanisms by which ziram and other environmental toxins increase the risk of PD, and the potential effects of these toxins on aminergic neurons, remain unclear. To determine the relative effects of ziram on the synaptic function of aminergic versus non-aminergic neurons, we used live-imaging at the Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). In contrast to nearly all other studies of this model synapse, we imaged presynaptic function at both glutamatergic Type Ib and aminergic Type II boutons, the latter responsible for storage and release of octopamine, the invertebrate equivalent of noradrenalin. To quantify the kinetics of exo- and endo- cytosis, we employed an acid-sensitive form of GFP fused to the Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter (DVMAT-pHluorin). Additional genetic probes were used to visualize intracellular calcium flux (GCaMP) and voltage changes (ArcLight). We find that at glutamatergic Type Ib terminals, exposure to ziram increases exocytosis and inhibits endocytosis. By contrast, at octopaminergic Type II terminals, ziram has no detectable effect on exocytosis and dramatically inhibits endocytosis. In contrast to other reports on the neuronal effects of ziram, these effects do not appear to result from perturbation of the UPS or calcium homeostasis. Unexpectedly, ziram also caused spontaneous and synchronized bursts of calcium influx (measured by GCaMP) and electrical activity (measured by ArcLight) at aminergic Type II, but not glutamatergic Type Ib, nerve terminals. These events are sensitive to both tetrodotoxin and cadmium chloride, and thus appear to represent spontaneous depolarizations followed by calcium influx into Type II terminals. We speculate that the differential effects of ziram on Type II versus Type Ib terminals may be relevant to the specific sensitivity of aminergic neurons in PD, and suggest that changes neuronal excitability could contribute to the increased risk for PD caused by exposure to ziram. We also suggest that the fly NMJ will be useful to explore the synaptic effects of other pesticides associated with an increased risk of PD

M5-brane geometries, T-duality and fluxes

We describe a duality relation between configurations of M5-branes in M-theory and type IIB theory on Taub-NUT geometries with NSNS and RR 3-form field strength fluxes. The flux parameters are controlled by the angles between the M5-brane and the (T)duality directions. For one M5-brane, the duality leads to a family of supersymmetric flux configurations which interpolates between imaginary self-dual fluxes and fluxes similar to the Polchinski-Strassler kind. For multiple M5-branes, the IIB configurations are related to fluxes for twisted sector fields in orbifolds. The dual M5-brane picture also provides a geometric interpretation for several properties of flux configurations (like the supersymmetry conditions, their contribution to tadpoles, etc), and for many non-trivial effects in the IIB side. Among the latter, the dielectric effect for probe D3-branes is dual to the recombination of probe M5-branes with background ones; also, a picture of a decay channel for non-supersymmetric fluxes is suggested.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figure

Prospectus, February 15, 1977

ACCORDING TO INFORMAL POLL: MOST STUDENTS PLANNING TO VOTE YES; Vote for somebody….please!: Stu-Go elections set Wed. and Thurs.; Two-hour Celebration Day set for Feb. 22; Advisor\u27s viewpoint: \u27Dive for cover as students charge to vote\u27; Letters to the editor: Federal benefits up for Parkland vets, Scholarship in trouble; Top these, Evel: Submit a death defying act; Death & Dying offers \u27New look on life\u27; Well oriented to students: ICCB team praises PC; Staff members opinion: Referendum support actions questioned; Passages, a review: There is life after youth: Passages; Romans started Valentines day in honor of love; Magnus leads team: Parkland speech team brings home 3 trophies; Parkland student Robin Kirkland will summer in Bolivia for the Lord; Prospectus urges YES vote today!; There is gonna be some changes made; Ice Capades, a review: 2 or 92, something for you; This weeks events ar Krannert listed; Classifieds; \u27Bad\u27 now \u27Good\u27 and doing just fine; I\u27ve got good news and bad news: Cobras are playing well but still losing; Three Cobras qualitfy for indoor nationals; \u27Rookies\u27 take \u27Bomb Squad\u27; Men\u27s Intramural Basketball Schedule; \u27Massacre\u27 Kankakee 80-25: Women continue unbeaten; Cobras will host qualifying tourneyhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1977/1027/thumbnail.jp

The zinc cluster protein Sut1 contributes to filamentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Copyright © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights ReservedSut1 is a transcriptional regulator of the Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) family in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The only function that has been attributed to Sut1 is sterol uptake under anaerobic conditions. Here, we show that Sut1 is also expressed in the presence of oxygen, and we identify a novel function for Sut1. SUT1 overexpression blocks filamentous growth, a response to nutrient limitation, in both haploid and diploid cells. This inhibition by Sut1 is independent of its function in sterol uptake. Sut1 downregulates the expression of GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, MSN4, NCE102, PRR2, RHO3, and RHO5. Several of these Sut1 targets (GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, RHO3, and RHO5) are essential for filamentation in haploids and/or diploids. Furthermore, the expression of the Sut1 target genes, with the exception of MGA1, is induced during filamentous growth. We also show that SUT1 expression is autoregulated and inhibited by Ste12, a key transcriptional regulator of filamentation. We propose that Sut1 partially represses the expression of GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, MSN4, NCE102, PRR2, RHO3, and RHO5 when nutrients are plentiful. Filamentation-inducing conditions relieve this repression by Sut1, and the increased expression of Sut1 targets triggers filamentous growth.The project was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant HO 2098/

Prospectus, February 8, 1977

MIX-UPS\u27 THE CAUSE: ELECTION VOID, NEW DATES FEB. 16, 17; Last day for absentee balloting is Feb. 10; Drop thermostat to 63 degrees: Night cycle to save gas; Most qualified Health Career students selected by Admissions; Fraternity discusses goals for semester; Stranded for seven hours: Denny aids children; Daytona Beach vacation offered; Extra! Global News; \u27Pins\u27 have 90-day trial period; \u27Official blizzard\u27 is verdict on weather; Calculator aids blind; The Midwest Racer: PC students publish racing newspaper; Three very interested: Counselors want students to use services; While geese hold still: Winter coats get down; Marshall Tucker makes crowd go; State honors Parkland instructor; editorial: Vote YES Feb. 15 for quality education; opinion: Back to school at 30, Lex says continuing education gets his referendum YES vote; Riggs-o-boards are student made; William Warfield: A voice as rich as the river itself; Mediaseen: Critics: TV the toy that never grew up; fifth column: Greek tragedy at Krannert.....; .....complicated plot shows Greek rabbits; Classifieds; 2-2 conference mark: Cobras drop three-meet Danville tonight; \u27Top-notch competition\u27 in Kalamazoo meet; Women\u27s Basketball Statistics; Men\u27s Intramural Basketball Schedule; \u27A tough one!\u27 Undefeated women\u27s team face Danville; Too big to play guard, Bumbry plays forward; Cobra cagers draw Olney February 21https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1977/1028/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, October 12, 1976

STUDENTS WANT \u27PINS\u27; \u27You can help your child to read\u27: Oct. 19; PC news in brief: Bridge Club, Tickets on sale till noon, Blazing saddles, Vet Tech bake sale, Fly away, Hunting symposium, Baha\u27i Club, Scott Shearer speaks; Stu-Go: Get to know us: Free food, drink, good conversation; AMVA visits Vet Tech; FCC Oks PC radio; Letters to the Editor: Sad lot of the parker, Different frequencies?; Editorial: Tickets deny \u27due process\u27; Editorial: Education can be different; Staff editorial: Death penalty more murder; Library assistants take it with smiles; Readers Theatre: Rehearsals start for series; English teachers confer; Audubon film set for October 25th; Gibson nursing session today; SIU Home Ec will host guest day; First in line: Sally will finally see Elvis Presley; Pam Fritz: Music frees the soul; Charlie K. moving on down; Thursday college forums set; Facts for Transferring PC students; A \u27mystic feeling\u27; Nadia: Belly dancing; Mrs. Warren\u27s Profession: Shaw\u27s message is strong; Uncle Bob: Armory plays free; PC faculty concert Sunday; Parkland women outnumber men; Mediaseen: Community Broadcasters to meet; Classifieds; Know your athletes: Ike: \u27I like to do everything\u27; IM Football Schedules; Faculty bowling: Watch out for \u27Excess\u27; Duffers place 14th at Joliet: Harriers take 5th in PC Invit.; \u27Terrible outing\u27; Green grabs Fast Freddy again; Fast Freddy\u27s Football Forecast; This Week\u27s Scores; Spikers lose to EIU first loss of the season; Games of October 16https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1976/1008/thumbnail.jp

Branes on Generalized Calibrated Submanifolds

We extend previous results on generalized calibrations to describe supersymmetric branes in supergravity backgrounds with diverse fields turned on, and provide several new classes of examples. As an important application, we show that supersymmetric D-branes in compactifications with field strength fluxes, and on SU(3)-structure spaces, wrap generalized calibrated submanifolds, defined by simple conditions in terms of the underlying globally defined, but non-closed, 2- and 3-forms. We provide examples where the geometric moduli of D-branes (for instance D7-branes in 3-form flux configurations) are lifted by the generalized calibration condition. In addition, we describe supersymmetric D6-branes on generalized calibrated 3-submanifolds of half-flat manifolds, which provide the mirror of B-type D-branes in IIB CY compactifications with 3-form fluxes. Supersymmetric sets of such D-branes carrying no homology charges are mirror to supersymmetric sets of D-branes which are homologically non-trivial, but trivial in K-theory. As an additional application, we describe models with chiral gauge sectors, realized in terms of generalized calibrated brane box configurations of NS- and D5-branes, which are supersymmetric but carry no charges, so that no orientifold planes are required in the compactification.Comment: 40 pages, 3 figures, references adde

High--frequency predictions for number counts and spectral properties of extragalactic radio sources. New evidences of a break at mm wavelengths in spectra of bright blazar sources

We present models to predict high frequency counts of extragalactic radio sources using physically grounded recipes to describe the complex spectral behaviour of blazars, that dominate the mm-wave counts at bright flux densities. We show that simple power-law spectra are ruled out by high-frequency (nu>100 GHz) data. These data also strongly constrain models featuring the spectral breaks predicted by classical physical models for the synchrotron emission produced in jets of blazars (Blandford & Konigl 1979; Konigl 1981). A model dealing with blazars as a single population is, at best, only marginally consistent with data coming from current surveys at high radio frequencies. Our most successful model assumes different distributions of break frequencies, nu_M, for BL Lacs and Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). The former objects have substantially higher values of nu_M, implying that the synchrotron emission comes from more compact regions; therefore, a substantial increase of the BL Lac fraction at high radio frequencies and at bright flux densities is predicted. Remarkably, our best model is able to give a very good fit to all the observed data on number counts and on distributions of spectral indices of extragalactic radio sources at frequencies above 5 and up to 220 GHz. Predictions for the forthcoming sub-mm blazar counts from Planck, at the highest HFI frequencies, and from Herschel surveys are also presented.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures; Eq.B.2 and labels in few Figures correcte

Analysis of human meiotic recombination events with a parent-sibling tracing approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Meiotic recombination ensures that each child inherits distinct genetic materials from each parent, but the distribution of crossovers along meiotic chromosomes remains difficult to identify. In this study, we developed a parent-sibling tracing (PST) approach from previously reported methods to identify meiotic crossover sites of GEO GSE6754 data set. This approach requires only the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data of the pedigrees of both parents and at least two of children.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to other SNP-based algorithms (identity by descent or pediSNP), fewer uninformative SNPs were derived with the use of PST. Analysis of a GEO GSE6754 data set containing 2,145 maternal and paternal meiotic events revealed that the pattern and distribution of paternal and maternal recombination sites vary along the chromosomes. Lower crossover rates near the centromeres were more prominent in males than in females. Based on analysis of repetitive sequences, we also showed that recombination hotspots are positively correlated with SINE/MIR repetitive elements and negatively correlated with LINE/L1 elements. The number of meiotic recombination events was positively correlated with the number of shorter tandem repeat sequences.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The advantages of the PST approach include the ability to use only two-generation pedigrees with two siblings and the ability to perform gender-specific analyses of repetitive elements and tandem repeat sequences while including fewer uninformative SNP regions in the results.</p