Transient ferromagnetic-like state mediating ultrafast reversal of antiferromagnetically coupled spins

Ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic spin ordering is governed by the exchange interaction, the strongest force in magnetism. Understanding spin dynamics in magnetic materials is an issue of crucial importance for progress in information processing and recording technology. Usually the dynamics are studied by observing the collective response of exchange-coupled spins, that is, spin resonances, after an external perturbation by a pulse of magnetic field, current or light. The periods of the corresponding resonances range from one nanosecond for ferromagnets down to one picosecond for antiferromagnets. However, virtually nothing is known about the behaviour of spins in a magnetic material after being excited on a timescale faster than that corresponding to the exchange interaction (10-100?fs), that is, in a non-adiabatic way. Here we use the element-specific technique X-ray magnetic circular dichroism to study spin reversal in GdFeCo that is optically excited on a timescale pertinent to the characteristic time of the exchange interaction between Gd and Fe spins. We unexpectedly find that the ultrafast spin reversal in this material, where spins are coupled antiferromagnetically, occurs by way of a transient ferromagnetic-like state. Following the optical excitation, the net magnetizations of the Gd and Fe sublattices rapidly collapse, switch their direction and rebuild their net magnetic moments at substantially different timescales; the net magnetic moment of the Gd sublattice is found to reverse within 1.5 picoseconds, which is substantially slower than the Fe reversal time of 300 femtoseconds. Consequently, a transient state characterized by a temporary parallel alignment of the net Gd and Fe moments emerges, despite their ground-state antiferromagnetic coupling. These surprising observations, supported by atomistic simulations, provide a concept for the possibility of manipulating magnetic order on the timescale of the exchange interaction.     

Inhibition of IgM antibody-mediated aggregation ofTrypanosoma gambiense in the presence of complement

This paper deals with the immune reaction betweenTrypanosoma gambiense and monoclonal IgM mouse antibody at equivalence with or without rabbit complement. Antibody-mediated trypanosome clumps formed in the absence of complement, and were readily dissociated by complement to become free. In the presence of complement, on the other hand,T. gambiense were not aggregated by the antibody. Free parasites adhered readily to cultured peritoneal macrophages. Complement-mediated dissociation of the clumped trypanosomes in the equivalence area released a large number of previously bound surface antigens. These antigens were capable of binding again to fresh IgM antibody. Experimental results further indicated that the complement system caused a functional alteration, changing the multivalent nature of the IgM antibody in the immune complex into a univalent one. This phenomenon is of great advantage to the infected host in clearing pathogens in vivo, as it allows more antibodies to attach to trypanosomes and subsequently initiate complement activity.     

Generation of ultraviolet entangled photons in a semiconductor

Entanglement is one of the key features of quantum information and communications technology. The method that has been used most frequently to generate highly entangled pairs of photons is parametric down-conversion. Short-wavelength entangled photons are desirable for generating further entanglement between three or four photons, but it is difficult to use parametric down-conversion to generate suitably energetic entangled photon pairs. One method that is expected to be applicable for the generation of such photons is resonant hyper-parametric scattering (RHPS): a pair of entangled photons is generated in a semiconductor via an electronically resonant third-order nonlinear optical process. Semiconductor-based sources of entangled photons would also be advantageous for practical quantum technologies, but attempts to generate entangled photons in semiconductors have not yet been successful. Here we report experimental evidence for the generation of ultraviolet entangled photon pairs by means of biexciton resonant RHPS in a single crystal of the semiconductor CuCl. We anticipate that our results will open the way to the generation of entangled photons by current injection, analogous to current-driven single photon sources.     

Mechanically driven ATP synthesis by F1-ATPase

ATP, the main biological energy currency, is synthesized from ADP and inorganic phosphate by ATP synthase in an energy-requiring reaction. The F1 portion of ATP synthase, also known as F1-ATPase, functions as a rotary molecular motor: in vitro its gamma-subunit rotates against the surrounding alpha3beta3 subunits, hydrolysing ATP in three separate catalytic sites on the beta-subunits. It is widely believed that reverse rotation of the gamma-subunit, driven by proton flow through the associated F(o) portion of ATP synthase, leads to ATP synthesis in biological systems. Here we present direct evidence for the chemical synthesis of ATP driven by mechanical energy. We attached a magnetic bead to the gamma-subunit of isolated F1 on a glass surface, and rotated the bead using electrical magnets. Rotation in the appropriate direction resulted in the appearance of ATP in the medium as detected by the luciferase-luciferin reaction. This shows that a vectorial force (torque) working at one particular point on a protein machine can influence a chemical reaction occurring in physically remote catalytic sites, driving the reaction far from equilibrium.     

SWAP-70 is a guanine-nucleotide-exchange factor that mediates signalling of membrane ruffling

Phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K), activated through growth factor stimulation, generates a lipid second messenger, phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3). PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 is instrumental in signalling pathways that trigger cell activation, cytoskeletal rearrangement, survival and other reactions. However, some targets of PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 are yet to be discovered. We demonstrate that SWAP-70, a unique signalling protein, specifically binds PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. On stimulation by growth factors, cytoplasmic SWAP-70, which is dependent on PI(3)K but independent of Ras, moved to cell membrane rearrangements known as ruffles. However, mutant SWAP-70 lacking the ability to bind PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 blocked membrane ruffling induced by epidermal growth factor or platelet-derived growth factor. SWAP-70 shows low homology with Rac-guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), and catalyses PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-dependent guanine nucleotide exchange to Rac. SWAP-70-deficient fibroblasts showed impaired membrane ruffling after stimulation with epidermal growth factor, and failed to activate Rac fully. We conclude that SWAP-70 is a new type of Rac-GEF which, independently of Ras, transduces signals from tyrosine kinase receptors to Rac.     

Functional annotation of a full-length mouse cDNA collection

The RIKEN Mouse Gene Encyclopaedia Project, a systematic approach to determining the full coding potential of the mouse genome, involves collection and sequencing of full-length complementary DNAs and physical mapping of the corresponding genes to the mouse genome. We organized an international functional annotation meeting (FANTOM) to annotate the first 21,076 cDNAs to be analysed in this project. Here we describe the first RIKEN clone collection, which is one of the largest described for any organism. Analysis of these cDNAs extends known gene families and identifies new ones.     

Free fatty acids regulate insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells through GPR40

Diabetes, a disease in which carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are regulated improperly by insulin, is a serious worldwide health issue. Insulin is secreted from pancreatic beta cells in response to elevated plasma glucose, with various factors modifying its secretion. Free fatty acids (FFAs) provide an important energy source as nutrients, and they also act as signalling molecules in various cellular processes, including insulin secretion. Although FFAs are thought to promote insulin secretion in an acute phase, this mechanism is not clearly understood. Here we show that a G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR40, which is abundantly expressed in the pancreas, functions as a receptor for long-chain FFAs. Furthermore, we show that long-chain FFAs amplify glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells by activating GPR40. Our results indicate that GPR40 agonists and/or antagonists show potential for the development of new anti-diabetic drugs.     

Flk1-positive cells derived from embryonic stem cells serve as vascular progenitors

Interaction between endothelial cells and mural cells (pericytes and vascular smooth muscle) is essential for vascular development and maintenance. Endothelial cells arise from Flk1-expressing (Flk1+) mesoderm cells, whereas mural cells are believed to derive from mesoderm, neural crest or epicardial cells and migrate to form the vessel wall. Difficulty in preparing pure populations of these lineages has hampered dissection of the mechanisms underlying vascular formation. Here we show that Flk1+ cells derived from embryonic stem cells can differentiate into both endothelial and mural cells and can reproduce the vascular organization process. Vascular endothelial growth factor promotes endothelial cell differentiation, whereas mural cells are induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB. Vascular cells derived from Flk1+ cells can organize into vessel-like structures consisting of endothelial tubes supported by mural cells in three-dimensional culture. Injection of Flk1+ cells into chick embryos showed that they can incorporate as endothelial and mural cells and contribute to the developing vasculature in vivo. Our findings indicate that Flk1+ cells can act as 'vascular progenitor cells' to form mature vessels and thus offer potential for tissue engineering of the vascular system.     

Effects of thyroidectomy on monoamine oxidase activities toward tyramine and serotonin in the circumventricular nuclei of the rat.

Following thyroidectomy, monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities toward tyramine decreased significantly by 20% in the nucleus periventricularis and the nucleus arcuatus among the 3 hypothalamic nuclei of the rat, while MAO activity toward serotonin decreased significantly by 10% only in the nucleus periventricularis. It is suggested that thyroidectomy induced selective changes on the multiple forms of MAO in the discrete circumventricular nuclei.