No-scale supergravity realization of the Starobinsky model of inflation.

We present a model for cosmological inflation based on a no-scale supergravity sector with an SU(2,1)/SU(2)×U(1) Kähler potential, a single modulus T, and an inflaton superfield Φ described by a Wess-Zumino model with superpotential parameters (μ, λ). When T is fixed, this model yields a scalar spectral index n(s) and a tensor-to-scalar ratio r that are compatible with the Planck measurements for values of λ≃μ/3M(P). For the specific choice λ=μ/3M(P), the model is a no-scale supergravity realization of the R+R2 Starobinsky model.

Impedance spectroscopy of alpha-beta tubulin heterodimer suspensions.

Impedance spectroscopy is a technique that reveals information, such as macromolecular charges and related properties about protein suspensions and other materials. Here we report on impedance measurements over the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1 MHz of alpha-beta tubulin heterodimers suspended in a buffer. These and other polyelectrolyte suspensions show enormous dielectric responses at low frequencies, due both to the motion of charges suspended in the medium and to an electrical double layer that forms at each electrode-medium interface.

Tubulin dipole moment, dielectric constant and quantum behavior: computer simulations, experimental results and suggestions.

We used computer simulation to calculate the electric dipole moments of the alpha- and beta-tubulin monomers and dimer and found those to be |p(alpha)| = 552D, |p(beta)| = 1193D and |p(alphabeta)| = 1740D, respectively. Independent surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and refractometry measurements of the high-frequency dielectric constant and polarizability strongly corroborated our previous SPR-derived results, giving Deltan/Deltac approximately 1.800 x 10(-3)ml/mg.

Effect of varying electric potential on surface-plasmon resonance sensing.

The high sensitivity of surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors allows measurements of small variations in surface potentials to be made. We studied the changes of the SPR angle when an oscillating electric potential was applied to a gold film on which surface plasmons were excited. The shifts of the SPR resonance angle were observed for various aqueous solutions as an adjacent medium.

Learning and memory deficits upon TAU accumulation in Drosophila mushroom body neurons.

Mutations in the neuronal-specific microtubule-binding protein TAU are associated with several dementias and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effects of elevated TAU accumulation on behavioral plasticity are unknown. We report that directed expression of wild-type vertebrate and Drosophila TAU in adult mushroom body neurons, centers for olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila, strongly compromised associative olfactory learning and memory, but olfactory conditioning-relevant osmotactic and mechanosensory responses remained intact.