Magnetic field induced mixing of light hole excitonic states in (Cd, Mn)Te/(Cd, Mg)Te core/shell nanowires.

A detailed magneto-photoluminescence study of individual (Cd, Mn)Te/(Cd, Mg)Te core/shell nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy is performed. First of all, an enhancement of the Zeeman splitting due to sp-d exchange interaction between band carriers and Mn-spins is evidenced in these nanostructures. Then, it is found that the value of this splitting depends strongly on the magnetic field direction with respect to the nanowire axis. The largest splitting is observed when the magnetic field is applied perpendicular and the smallest when it is applied parallel to the nanowire axis. This effect is explained in terms of magnetic field induced valence band mixing and evidences the light hole character of the excitonic emission. The values of the light and heavy hole splitting are determined for several individual nanowires based on the comparison of experimental results to theoretical calculations.

Exercise increases mRNA levels for adhesion molecules N-CAM and L1 correlating with BDNF response.

In situ hybridization was used to evaluate whether long-term moderate locomotor exercise, which up-regulates BDNF and TrkB levels in the spinal gray matter of the adult rat, similarly influences the expression of the cell adhesion molecules N-CAM and L1. Exercise doubled the level of N-CAM mRNA hybridization signal in the lumbar spinal gray. The increase in L1 mRNA was less consistent. N-CAM mRNA levels slightly increased in the white matter. BDNF mRNA levels also increased in cells of the ventral horn and the white matter due to the exercise. These results suggest that exercise-induced rearrangements of the spinal network involve N-CAM, L1 and BDNF, crucial in different aspects of synaptic plasticity and synapse formation.

Long-term locomotor training up-regulates TrkB(FL) receptor-like proteins, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and neurotrophin 4 with different topographies of expression in oligodendroglia and neurons in the spinal cord.

Neurotrophins are potent regulators of neuronal survival, maintenance, and synaptic strength. In particular, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), acting through full-length TrkB receptor (TrkB(FL)), is implicated in the stimulation of neurotransmission. Physical activity has been reported to increase BDNF expression in the brain and spinal cord. In this study we have evaluated the hypothesis that activation of a spinal neuronal network, due to exercise, affects the entire spinal neurotrophin system acting via TrkB receptors by modulation of BDNF, neurotrophin 4 (NT-4), and their TrkB receptor proteins. We investigated the effect of treadmill walking (4 weeks, 1 km daily) on distribution patterns and response intensity of these proteins in the lumbar spinal cord of adult rats. Training enhanced immunoreactivity (IR) of both neurotrophins. BDNF IR increased in cell processes of spinal gray matter, mainly in dendrites. NT-4 IR was augmented in the white matter fibers, which were, in part, of astrocytic identity. Training strongly increased both staining intensity and number of TrkB(FL)-like IR small cells of the spinal gray matter. The majority of these small cells were oligodendrocytes, representing both their precursor and their mature forms. In contrast, training did not exert an effect on expression of the truncated form of TrkB receptor in the spinal cord. These results show that both neuronal and nonneuronal cells may be actively recruited to BDNF/NT-4/TrkB(FL) neurotrophin signaling which can be up-regulated by training. Oligodendrocytes of the spinal gray matter were particularly responsive to exercise, pointing to their involvement in activity-driven cross talk between neurons and glia.