An electrically pumped phonon-polariton laser.

We report a device that provides coherent emission of phonon polaritons, a mixed state between photons and optical phonons in an ionic crystal. An electrically pumped GaInAs/AlInAs quantum cascade structure provides intersubband gain into the polariton mode at λ = 26.3 μm, allowing self-oscillations close to the longitudinal optical phonon energy of AlAs.

VAMP-2, SNAP-25A/B and syntaxin-1 in glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses of the rat cerebellar cortex.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of key SNARE proteins in glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses of the adult rat cerebellar cortex using light microscopy immunohistochemical techniques. Analysis was made of co-localizations of vGluT-1 and vGluT-2, vesicular transporters of glutamate and markers of glutamatergic synapses, or GAD, the GABA synthetic enzyme and marker of GABAergic synapses, with VAMP-2, SNAP-25A/B and syntaxin-1.

Results: The examined SNARE proteins were found to be diffusely expressed in glutamatergic synapses, whereas they were rarely observed in GABAergic synapses.

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide immunoreactivity in the human cerebellum: qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Although autoradiographic, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical studies have demonstrated receptors for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the cerebellum of various species, immunohistochemistry has never shown immunoreactivity for VIP within cerebellar neuronal bodies and processes. The present study aimed to ascertain whether VIP immunoreactivity really does exist in the human cerebellum by making a systematic analysis of samples removed post-mortem from all of the cerebellar lobes. The study was carried out using light microscopy immunohistochemical techniques based on a set of four different antibodies (three polyclonal and one monoclonal) against VIP, carefully selected on the basis of control tests performed on human colon.