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

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

Lymanα\alpha Emitters beyond Redshift 5:The Dawn of Galaxy Formation

The 8m class telescopes in the ground-based optical astronomy together with help from the ultra-sharp eye of the Hubble Space Telescope have enabled us to observe forming galaxies beyond redshift $z=5$. In particular, more than twenty Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies have already been found at $z > 5$. These findings provide us with useful hints to investigate how galaxies formed and then evolved in the early universe. Further, detailed analysis of Ly$\alpha$ emission line profiles are useful in exploring the nature of the intergalactic medium because the trailing edge of cosmic reionization could be close to $z \sim 6$ -- 7, at which forming galaxies have been found recently. We also discuss the importance of superwinds from forming galaxies at high redshift, which has an intimate relationship between galaxies and the intergalactic medium. We then give a review of early cosmic star formation history based on recent progress in searching for Ly$\alpha$-emitting young galaxies beyond redshift 5.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures, jkas35.sty. To appear in the proceedings of the APCTP WoFormation and Interaction of Galaxies, edited by Hyung Mok Leerkshop o

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

Producing cluster states in charge qubits and flux qubits

We propose a method to efficiently generate cluster states in charge qubits, both semiconducting and superconducting, as well as flux qubits. We show that highly-entangled cluster states can be realized by a `one-touch' entanglement operation by tuning gate bias voltages for charge qubits. We also investigate the robustness of these cluster states for non-uniform qubits, which are unavoidable in solid-state systems. We find that quantum computation based on cluster states is a promising approach for solid-state qubits.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

The Effect of Side Traps on Ballistic Transistor in Kondo Regime

The effect of side-traps on conductance is calculated in the range of slave-boson mean field theory, especially when there are electrodes on both sides of the conductor. This corresponds to an investigation of transport properties in future ballistic transistors. An intrinsic dip as a result of the interference effect (Fano-Kondo effect) is expected to be observed as one of interesting interplays between physics and engineering devices.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures. 2006 International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials (SSDM2006), Sept. 12-15, 2006, Yokohama, Japa