31 research outputs found
Abnormal Action Potentials Associated with the Shaker Complex Locus of Drosophila
Intracellular recordings of action potentials were made from the cervical giant axon in Shaker (Sh) mutants and normal Drosophila. The mutants showed abnormally long delays in repolarization. The defect is not due to abnormal Ca2+ channels, because it persists in the presence of Co2+, a Ca2+-channel blocker. On the other hand, the K+-channel blocker 4-aminopyridine causes a similar effect in normal animals, suggesting that the Sh mutant may have abnormal K+ conductance. Gene-dosage analysis of Sh shows that the defect is not due to underproduction of an otherwise normal molecule; it may be due to an abnormal molecule produced by the mutated gene. Gel electrophoresis failed to detect an abnormal protein, suggesting that, if Sh codes for a nervous system protein, it is rare. Genetic analysis of the Sh locus indicates three regions. Mutations or chromosome breaks in the two flanking regions cause Sh mutant physiology; the central region shows a "haplolethal effect"--i.e., heterozygous females are lethal
Ether stress-induced Alzheimer-like tau phosphorylation in the normal mouse brain
AbstractTau is reversibly hyperphosphorylated in the mouse brain by starvation or cold water swimming. Here, we report tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus of normal mouse after ether anesthesia, known to trigger typical stress reactions. Robust phosphorylation of tau was observed immediately and 10min after ether vapor exposure at Ser202/Thr205 and Thr231/Ser235, sites typically phosphorylated in Alzheimer brains. The phosphorylation levels returned to baseline by 1h. The most conspicuous and consistent change in the protein kinases studied was the inactivating phosphorylation of Ser9 of TPKI/GSK3β in close correspondence with tau phosphorylation. These findings show that tau phosphorylation is a rapid physiological process integral to stress response system, and suggest involvement therein of TPKI/GSK3β
Monoclonal Antibodies against the Drosophila Nervous System
A panel of 148 monoclonal antibodies directed against Drosophila neural antigens has been prepared by using mice immunized with homogenates of Drosophila tissue. Antibodies were screened immunohistochemically on cryostat sections of fly heads. A large diversity of staining patterns was observed. Some antigens were broadly distributed among tissues; others were highly specific to nerve fibers, neuropil, muscle, the tracheal system, cell nuclei, photoreceptors, or other structures. The antigens for many of the antibodies have been identified on immunoblots. Monoclonal antibodies that identify specific molecules within the nervous system should prove useful in the study of the molecular genetics of neural development
The Effects of Resonant Tunneling on Magnetoresistance through a Q uantum Dot
The effect of resonant tunneling on magnetoresistance (MR) is studied
theoretically in a double junction system. We have found that the ratio of the
MR of the resonant peak current is reduced more than that of the single
junction, whereas that of the valley current is enhanced depending on the
change of the discrete energy-level under the change of magnetic field. We also
found that the peak current-valley current (PV) ratio decreases when the
junction conductance increases.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures(mail if you need), use revtex.st
A Shock-Induced Pair of Superbubbles in the High-Redshift Powerful Radio Galaxy MRC 0406-244
We present new optical spectroscopy of the high-redshift powerful radio
galaxy MRC 0406244 at redshift of 2.429. We find that the two extensions
toward NW and SE probed in the rest-frame ultraviolet image are heated mainly
by the nonthermal continuum of the active galactic nucleus. However, each
extension shows a shell-like morphology, suggesting that they are a pair of
superbubbles induced by the superwind activity rather than by the interaction
between the radio jet and the ambient gas clouds. If this is the case, the
intense starburst responsible for the formation of superbubbles could occur
yr ago. On the other hand, the age of the radio jets may
be of the order of yr, being much shorter than the starburst age.
Therefore, the two events, i.e., the starburst and the radio-jet activities,
are independent phenomena. However, their directions of the expanding motions
could be governed by the rotational motion of the gaseous component in the host
galaxy. This idea appears to explain the alignment effect of MRC 0406244.Comment: 4 pages (emulateapj.sty), Fig. 1 (jpeg) + Fig.2 (eps). Accepted for
publications in ApJ (Letters