47,123 research outputs found
Critical role of canonical transient receptor potential channel 7 in initiation of seizures
Status epilepticus (SE) is a life-threatening disease that has been recognized since antiquity but still causes over 50,000 deaths annually in the United States. The prevailing view on the pathophysiology of SE is that it is sustained by a loss of normal inhibitory mechanisms of neuronal activity. However, the early process leading to the initiation of SE is not well understood. Here, we show that, as seen in electroencephalograms, SE induced by the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine in mice is preceded by a specific increase in the gamma wave, and genetic ablation of canonical transient receptor potential channel (TRPC) 7 significantly reduces this pilocarpine-induced increase of gamma wave activity, preventing the occurrence of SE. At the cellular level, TRPC7 plays a critical role in the generation of spontaneous epileptiform burst firing in cornu ammonis (CA) 3 pyramidal neurons in brain slices. At the synaptic level, TRPC7 plays a significant role in the long-term potentiation at the CA3 recurrent collateral synapses and Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses, but not at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapses. Taken together, our data suggest that epileptiform burst firing generated in the CA3 region by activity-dependent enhancement of recurrent collateral synapses may be an early event in the initiation process of SE and that TRPC7 plays a critical role in this cellular event. Our findings reveal that TRPC7 is intimately involved in the initiation of seizures both in vitro and in vivo. To our knowledge, this contribution to initiation of seizures is the first identified functional role for the TRPC7 ion channel.Fil: Phelan, K. D.. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Shwe, U. T.. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Abramowitz, J.. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Zheng, F.. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Estados Unido
Interaction between graphene and SiO2 surface
With first-principles DFT calculations, the interaction between graphene and
SiO2 surface has been analyzed by constructing the different configurations
based on {\alpha}-quartz and cristobalite structures. The single layer graphene
can stay stably on SiO2 surface is explained based on the general consideration
of configuration structures of SiO2 surface. It is also found that the oxygen
defect in SiO2 surface can shift the Fermi level of graphene down which opens
out the mechanism of hole-doping effect of graphene absorbed on SiO2 surface
observed in experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Permutable entire functions satisfying algebraic differential equations
It is shown that if two transcendental entire functions permute, and if one
of them satisfies an algebraic differential equation, then so does the other
one.Comment: 5 page
Sub-TeV proton beam generation by ultra-intense laser irradiation of foil-and-gas target
A two-phase proton acceleration scheme using an ultra-intense laser pulse irradiating a proton foil with a tenuous heavier-ion plasma behind it is presented. The foil electrons are compressed and pushed out as a thin dense layer by the radiation pressure and propagate in the plasma behind at near the light speed. The protons are in turn accelerated by the resulting space-charge field and also enter the backside plasma, but without the formation of a quasistationary double layer. The electron layer is rapidly weakened by the space-charge field. However, the laser pulse originally behind it now snowplows the backside-plasma electrons and creates an intense electrostatic wakefield. The latter can stably trap and accelerate the pre-accelerated proton layer there for a very long distance and thus to very high energies. The two-phase scheme is verified by particle-in-cell simulations and analytical modeling, which also suggests that a 0.54 TeV proton beam can be obtained with a 10(23) W/cm(2) laser pulse. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3684658]Physics, Fluids & PlasmasSCI(E)EI0ARTICLE2null1
Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuation above the Superconducting Dome and the Full-Gaps Superconducting State in LaFeAsO1-xFx Revealed by 75As-Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance
We report a systematic study by 75As nuclear-quadrupole resonance in
LaFeAsO1-xFx. The antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation (AFSF) found above the
magnetic ordering temperature TN = 58 K for x = 0.03 persists in the regime
0.04 < x < 0.08 where superconductivity sets in. A dome-shaped x-dependence of
the superconducting transition temperature Tc is found, with the highest Tc =
27 K at x = 0.06 which is realized under significant AFSF. With increasing x
further, the AFSF decreases, and so does Tc. These features resemble closely
the cuprates La2-xSrxCuO4. In x = 0.06, the spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T1)
below Tc decreases exponentially down to 0.13 Tc, which unambiguously indicates
that the energy gaps are fully-opened. The temperature variation of 1/T1 below
Tc is rendered nonexponential for other x by impurity scattering.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, more references adde
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