Imprinting modulates processing of visual information in the visual wulst of chicks

Background  

Imprinting behavior is one form of learning and memory in precocial birds. With the aim of elucidating of the neural basis for visual imprinting, we focused on visual information processing.     

Second-harmonic generation in thermally poled chalcohalide glass

Second-harmonic generation in 60GeS(2)-20Ga(2)S(3)-20KBr chalcohalide glass was investigated by the thermal poling method. A large second-order nonlinear susceptibility, as high as 7.0 pm/V, was obtained in a poled sample by Maker fringe analysis. We believe this to be the first time that a clear second-harmonic wave was observed in chalcohalide glasses containing large amount of alkali ions (6.25 at. %). Such observation is of great potential use in all optical waveguide devices.     

Effect of the vortices on the nuclear spin relaxation rate in the unconventional pairing states of the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2PF6

This Letter theoretically discusses quasiparticle states and nuclear spin relaxation rates T1-1 in the quasi-one-dimensional superconductor (TMTSF)2PF6 under a magnetic field applied parallel to the conduction chains. We study the effects of Josephson-type vortices on T1(-1) by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation for p-, d- or f-wave pairing interactions. In the presence of line nodes in pairing functions, T1(-1) is proportional to T in sufficiently low temperatures because quasiparticles induced by vortices at the Fermi energy relax spins. We also try to identify the pairing symmetry of (TMTSF)2PF6.     

Growth of large La2−xSrxCuO4 single crystals using tilting-mirror-type infrared heating image furnace

Large single crystals of La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ (LSCO) high-T_c superconductors were grown by the infrared heating floating zone (IR-FZ) method using a tilting-mirror-type image furnace. The maximum diameter of the LSCO crystals increased to 10 mm in the tilting-mirror-type image furnace from 6 mm in the conventional image furnace. CuO rich feeds were required for the crystal growth using the tilting-mirror-type image furnace to compensate for the lack of CuO caused by the significant evaporation of CuO during the growth. The evaporation of CuO was affected by the tilting angle of the mirrors of the image furnace and by feed diameter. The optimized growth conditions were as follows: mirror tilting angle, 20°; feed diameter, 10 mm∅; and feed composition 50.7 mol% CuO.     

Spectroscopy of stripe order in La1.8Sr0.2NiO4 using resonant soft x-ray diffraction

Strong resonant enhancements of the charge-order and spin-order superstructure-diffraction intensities in La1.8Sr0.2NiO4 are observed when x-ray energies in the vicinity of the Ni L2,3 absorption edges are used. The pronounced photon-energy and polarization dependences of these diffraction intensities allow for a critical determination of the local symmetry of the ordered spin and charge carriers. We found that not only the antiferromagnetic order but also the charge-order superstructure resides within the NiO2 layers; the holes are mainly located on in-plane oxygens surrounding a Ni2+ site with the spins coupled antiparallel in close analogy to Zhang-Rice singlets in the cuprates.     

Gallium nitride electrodes for membrane-based electrochemical biosensors

We report on the deposition of planar lipid bilayers (supported membranes) on gallium nitride (GaN) electrodes for potential applications as membrane-based biosensors. The kinetics of the lipid membrane formation upon vesicle fusion were monitored by simultaneous measurements of resistance and capacitance of the membrane using AC impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range between 50mHz and 50kHz. We could identify a two-step process of membrane spreading and self-healing. Despite its relatively low resistance, the membrane can be modeled by a parallel combination of an ideal resistor and capacitor, indicating that the membrane efficiently blocks the diffusion of ions.     

AC susceptibility of magnetic markers in suspension for liquid phase immunoassay

AC susceptibility of magnetic markers in solution was studied for biosensor applications. First, frequency dependence of the susceptibility was measured, and size distribution of the markers was estimated by analyzing the experimental result with the so-called singular value decomposition (SVD) method. The size distribution estimated with the magnetic measurement agreed with that obtained from conventional optical measurement. Next, susceptibility measurement was applied to the liquid-phase immunoassay without bound/free (B/F) separation. We performed the detection of biotin-coated polymer beads in suspension using avidin-coated magnetic markers. Changes of the susceptibility and the size distribution caused by the binding reaction were shown.     

Sound modes in holographic hydrodynamics for charged AdS black hole

In the previous paper we studied the transport coefficients of quark–gluon plasma in finite temperature and finite density in vector and tensor modes. In this paper, we extend it to the scalar modes. We work out the decoupling problem and hydrodynamic analysis for the sound mode in charged AdS black hole and calculate the sound velocity, the charge susceptibility and the electrical conductivity. We find that Einstein relation among the conductivity, the diffusion constant and the susceptibility holds exactly.     

Effect of intervening structure between CuO2 sheets in heavily Fe-substituted high-Tc superconductor FeSr2YCu2O6+δ

Heavily Fe-substituted Ba₂YCu₃O_6+δ-type compound FeSr₂YCu₂O_6+δ exhibits superconductivity around 60 K, only when it is annealed in N₂ and subsequently in O₂. Cationic distribution in this compound is strongly dependent on ionic radius at the Y site, and its superconducting properties are affected by the cationic distribution. In contrast, although the compound with the substitution of fluorite-type unit for Y has cationic order, it does not exhibit superconductivity. We have analyzed the crystal structure of the compounds with the substitution of other lanthanoid elements for Y and with substitution of fluorite-type unit for Y.     

In vivo assessment of the permeability of the blood--brain barrier and blood-retinal barrier to fluorescent indoline derivatives in zebrafish

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Successful delivery of compounds to the brain and retina is a challenge in the development of therapeutic drugs and imaging agents. This challenge arises because internalization of compounds into the brain and retina is restricted by the blood--brain barrier (BBB) and blood-retinal barrier (BRB), respectively. Simple and reliable in vivo assays are necessary to identify compounds that can easily cross the BBB and BRB. METHODS: We developed six fluorescent indoline derivatives (IDs) and examined their ability to cross the BBB and BRB in zebrafish by in vivo fluorescence imaging. These fluorescent IDs were administered to live zebrafish by immersing the zebrafish larvae at 7--8 days post fertilization in medium containing the ID, or by intracardiac injection. We also examined the effect of multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs) on the permeability of the BBB and BRB to the ID using MK571, a selective inhibitor of MRPs. RESULTS: The permeability of these barriers to fluorescent IDs administered by simple immersion was comparable to when administered by intracardiac injection. Thus, this finding supports the validity of drug administration by simple immersion for the assessment of BBB and BRB permeability to fluorescent IDs. Using this zebrafish model, we demonstrated that the length of the methylene chain in these fluorescent IDs significantly affected their ability to cross the BBB and BRB via MRPs. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that in vivo assessment of the permeability of the BBB and BRB to fluorescent IDs could be simply and reliably performed using zebrafish. The structure of fluorescent IDs can be flexibly modified and, thus, the permeability of the BBB and BRB to a large number of IDs can be assessed using this zebrafish-based assay. The large amount of data acquired might be useful for in silico analysis to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying the interactions between chemical structure and the efflux transporters at the BBB and BRB. In turn, understanding these mechanisms may lead to the efficient design of compounds targeting the brain and retina.