6,182 research outputs found
Octopamine increases the excitability of neurons in the snail feeding system by modulation of inward sodium current but not outward potassium currents
Background: Although octopamine has long been known to have major roles as both transmitter and modulator in arthropods, it has only recently been shown to be functionally important in molluscs, playing a role as a neurotransmitter in the feeding network of the snail Lymnaea stagnalis. The synaptic potentials cannot explain all the effects of octopamine-containing neurons on the feeding network, and here we test the hypothesis that octopamine is also a neuromodulator. Results: The excitability of the B1 and B4 motoneurons in the buccal ganglia to depolarising current clamp pulses is significantly (P << 0.05) increased by (10 mu M) octopamine, whereas the B2 motoneuron becomes significantly less excitable. The ionic currents evoked by voltage steps were recorded using 2-electrode voltage clamp. The outward current of B1, B2 and B4 motoneurons had two components, a transient I-A current and a sustained I-K delayed-rectifier current, but neither was modulated by octopamine in any of these three buccal neurons. The fast inward current was eliminated in sodium - free saline and so is likely to be carried by sodium ions. 10 mu M octopamine enhanced this current by 33 and 45% in the B1 and B4 motoneurons respectively (P << 0.05), but a small reduction was seen in the B2 neuron. A Hodgkin-Huxley style simulation of the B1 motoneuron confirms that a 33% increase in the fast inward current by octopamine increases the excitability markedly. Conclusion: We conclude that octopamine is also a neuromodulator in snails, changing the excitability of the buccal neurons. This is supported by the close relationship from the voltage clamp data, through the quantitative simulation, to the action potential threshold, changing the properties of neurons in a rhythmic network. The increase in inward sodium current provides an explanation for the polycyclic modulation of the feeding system by the octopamine-containing interneurons, making feeding easier to initiate and making the feeding bursts more intense
Analysis of X-ray spectra emitted from laser-produced plasmas of uranium
In this paper, we used the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method to generate
theoretical X-ray spectra for Co-, Ni-, Cu-, Zn-, Ga-, Ge-, As-, Se-, Br-, Kr-,
and Rb-like uranium ions. Using the distribution of these ions in a
laser-produced plasma, for different plasma temperatures, we generate
theoretical spectra, which are compared to experimental data
Sasakian quiver gauge theories and instantons on cones over round and squashed seven-spheres
We study quiver gauge theories on the round and squashed seven-spheres, and
orbifolds thereof. They arise by imposing -equivariance on the homogeneous
space endowed with its Sasaki-Einstein
structure, and as a 3-Sasakian manifold. In
both cases we describe the equivariance conditions and the resulting quivers.
We further study the moduli spaces of instantons on the metric cones over these
spaces by using the known description for Hermitian Yang-Mills instantons on
Calabi-Yau cones. It is shown that the moduli space of instantons on the
hyper-Kahler cone can be described as the intersection of three Hermitian
Yang-Mills moduli spaces. We also study moduli spaces of translationally
invariant instantons on the metric cone over
.Comment: 44 pages; v2: minor changes, reference added; Final version to appear
in Nuclear Physics
Quantum complex scalar fields and noncommutativity
In this work we analyze complex scalar fields using a new framework where the
object of noncommutativity represents independent degrees of
freedom. In a first quantized formalism, and its canonical
momentum are seen as operators living in some Hilbert space.
This structure is compatible with the minimal canonical extension of the
Doplicher-Fredenhagen-Roberts (DFR) algebra and is invariant under an extended
Poincar\'e group of symmetry. In a second quantized formalism perspective, we
present an explicit form for the extended Poincar\'e generators and the same
algebra is generated via generalized Heisenberg relations. We also introduce a
source term and construct the general solution for the complex scalar fields
using the Green's function technique.Comment: 13 pages. Latex. Final version to appear in Physical Review
Electron-vibration interaction in transport through atomic gold wires
We calculate the effect of electron-vibration coupling on conduction through
atomic gold wires, which was measured in the experiments of Agra\"it et al.
[Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 216803 (2002)]. The vibrational modes, the coupling
constants, and the inelastic transport are all calculated using a tight-binding
parametrization and the non-equilibrium Green function formalism. The
electron-vibration coupling gives rise to small drops in the conductance at
voltages corresponding to energies of some of the vibrational modes. We study
systematically how the position and height of these steps vary as a linear wire
is stretched and more atoms are added to it, and find a good agreement with the
experiments. We also consider two different types of geometries, which are
found to yield qualitatively similar results. In contrast to previous
calculations, we find that typically there are several close-lying drops due to
different longitudinal modes. In the experiments, only a single drop is usually
visible, but its width is too large to be accounted for by temperature.
Therefore, to explain the experimental results, we find it necessary to
introduce a finite broadening to the vibrational modes, which makes the
separate drops merge into a single, wide one. In addition, we predict how the
signatures of vibrational modes in the conductance curves differ between linear
and zigzag-type wires.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figure
Cold atoms in real-space optical lattices
Cold atoms in optical lattices are described in {\it real space} by
multi-orbital mean-field Ans\"atze. In this work we consider four typical
systems: (i) spinless identical bosons, (ii) spinor identical bosons (iii),
Bose-Bose mixtures, and (iv) Bose-Fermi mixtures and derive in each case the
corresponding multi-orbital mean-field energy-functional and working equations.
The notions of {\it dressed} Wannier functions and Wannier spinors are
introduced and the equations defining them are presented and discussed. The
dressed Wannier functions are the set of orthogonal, translationally-equivalent
orbitals which minimizes the energy of the Hamiltonian including boson-boson
(particle-particle) interactions. Illustrative examples of dressed Wannier
functions are provided for spinless bosonic atoms and mixtures in
one-dimensional optical lattices.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures; [version minus figures published
Network formation of tissue cells via preferential attraction to elongated structures
Vascular and non-vascular cells often form an interconnected network in
vitro, similar to the early vascular bed of warm blooded embryos. Our
time-lapse recordings show that the network forms by extending sprouts, i.e.,
multicellular linear segments. To explain the emergence of such structures, we
propose a simple model of preferential attraction to stretched cells. Numerical
simulations reveal that the model evolves into a quasi-stationary pattern
containing linear segments, which interconnect above the critical volume
fraction of 0.2. In the quasi-stationary state the generation of new branches
offset the coarsening driven by surface tension. In agreement with empirical
data, the characteristic size of the resulting polygonal pattern is
density-independent within a wide range of volume fractions
A multideterminant assessment of mean field methods for the description of electron transfer in the weak coupling regime
Multideterminant calculations have been performed on model systems to
emphasize the role of many-body effects in the general description of charge
quantization experiments. We show numerically and derive analytically that a
closed-shell ansatz, the usual ingredient of mean-field methods, does not
properly describe the step-like electron transfer characteristic in weakly
coupled systems. With the multideterminant results as a benchmark, we have
evaluated the performance of common ab initio mean field techniques, such as
Hartree Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) with local and hybrid
exchange correlation functionals, with a special focus on spin-polarization
effects. For HF and hybrid DFT, a qualitatively correct open-shell solution
with distinct steps in the electron transfer behaviour can be obtained with a
spin-unrestricted (i.e., spin-polarized) ansatz though this solution differs
quantitatively from the multideterminant reference. We also discuss the
relationship between the electronic eigenvalue gap and the onset of charge
transfer for both HF and DFT and relate our findings to recently proposed
practical schemes for calculating the addition energies in the Coulomb blockade
regime for single molecule junctions from closed-shell DFT within the local
density approximation
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