Interstitial branch formation within the red nucleus by deep cerebellar nuclei-derived commissural axons during target recognition.

Target recognition by developing axons is one of the fundamental steps for establishing the proper pattern of neuronal connectivity during development. However, knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie this critical event is still limited. In this study, to examine how commissural axons in vertebrates recognize their targets after crossing the midline, we analyzed in detail the behavior of postcrossing commissural axons derived from the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) in the developing mouse cerebellum. For this, we employed a cell-type-specific genetic labeling approach to selectively visualize DCN axons during the time when these axons project to the red nucleus (RN), one of the well-characterized targets of DCN axons. We found that, when DCN axons initially entered the RN at its caudal end, these axons continued to grow rostrally through the RN without showing noticeable morphological signs of axon branching. Interestingly, after a delay, DCN axons started forming interstitial branches from the portion of the axon shaft selectively within the RN. Because commissural axons acquire responsiveness to several guidance cues when they cross the midline, we further addressed whether midline crossing is a prerequisite for subsequent targeting by using a Robo3 knockdown strategy. We found that DCN axons were still capable of forming interstitial branches within the RN even in the absence of midline crossing. These results therefore suggest that the mechanism of RN recognition by DCN axons involves a delayed interstitial branching, and that these axons possess an intrinsic ability to respond to the target-derived cues irrespective of midline crossing.

Kinetics of ultrasonic disinfection of Escherichia coli in the presence of titanium dioxide particles.

The ultrasonic disinfection of Escherichia coli was carried out in the presence of anatase-type TiO2 particles, and the effectiveness of the combination of ultrasonic irradiation with TiO2 addition was verified. The rate constant was determined from the plot of the common logarithm of the survival cell ratio versus the ultrasonic irradiation time using first-order kinetics. In the absence of particles, the rate constant was proportional to the ultrasonic power. When ultrasonic disinfection was carried out in the presence of TiO2 particles, which have a radical generation ability, the rate of disinfection was remarkably faster than that in the absence of TiO2. In the presence of silica particles, which have no radical generation ability, the rate of disinfection was the same as that in the absence of TiO2. These results suggest that the radical generation ability of TiO2 appeared as a result of the ultrasonic irradiation. The effect of the amount of TiO2 on the rate of disinfection was also examined. The rate constant for disinfection in the presence of TiO2 was saturated to a certain value and was represented using the Langmuir-type equation. The proposed model well describes the effects of the ultrasonic power and the amount of TiO2 on the rate constant for disinfection.