The chemistry of Mu transposition is executed within a tetrameric form of the Mu transposase (MuA protein). A triad of DDE (Asp, Asp35Glu motif) residues in the central domain of MuA (DDE domain) is essential for both the strand cleavage and strand transfer steps of transposition. Previous studies had suggested that complete Mu transposition requires all four subunits in the MuA tetramer to car...

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy of metallic nanoparticles is a powerful tool for chemical and biological sensing experiments. In this study, we observed LSPR shifts of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid modified gold nanorods (GNR-MUA) for the pH range of 6.41 to 8.88. We proposed a mechanism involving changes of the dipole moment after protonation/deprotonation carboxylic group...

A monolayer of poly(L-lysine) (PL) is attached covalently via amide bonds to an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on a gold surface. The amide bond is formed in two steps: the terminal carboxylic acid groups of an 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) SAM are first activated to the N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (NHSS) ester, followed by reaction of this MUA-NHSS ester monolayer with the amino g...

Multiunit activity (MUA) of arcuate nucleus and cortical EEG were recorded in the regularly cycling female rats on the day of proestrous under urethane anaesthesia. The MUA was compared before and after injection of beta-endorphin in third ventricle. In some animals MUA increased after 30-40 min and persisted for 3-4 hr, in others MUA got inhibited within 5-10 min of injection of beta-Endorphin...

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in the basal forebrain are the final common pathway through which the brain regulates reproduction. GnRH secretion occurs in a pulsatile manner, and indirect evidence suggests the kisspeptin neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) serve as the central pacemaker that drives pulsatile GnRH secretion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possi...

The lumbar spinal cord circuitry can autonomously generate locomotion, but it remains to be determined which types of neurons constitute the locomotor generator and how their population activity is organized spatially in the mammalian spinal cord. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of the spinal interneuronal population activity in the intermediate zone of the adult mamm...

A novel and convenient one-pot but two-step synthesis of fluorescent gold nanoclusters, incorporating glutathione (GSH) and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) as the functionalized ligands (i.e. AuNCs@GSH/MUA), is demonstrated. Herein, the mixing of HAuCl4 and GSH in aqueous solution results in the immediate formation of non-fluorescent GSH-Au(+) complexes, and then a class of ∼2.6 nm GSH-coated ...

Multiple Unit Activity (MUA) of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus as indicated by discriminated spikes with window setting between 18-30 uV, the integrated MUA and the cortical EEG of the urethane anaesthetized rats on the proestrous day was recorded with the help of a polygraph. Infusion of LH-RH in the 3rd ventricle markedly increased the arcuate nucleus MUA. The effect started within minutes ...