Summary The abundant synaptic protein, CaMKII, is necessary for long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory. However, whether CaMKII is required only during initial processes or whether it also mediates memory storage remains unclear. The most direct test of a storage role is the erasure test. In this test, a putative memory molecule is transiently inhibited after learning. The key prediction is that this should produce persistent memory erasure. We conducted this test using transient viral (HSV) expression of dominant-negative CaMKII-alpha (K42M) in the hippocampus. This produced persistent erasure of conditioned place avoidance. As an additional test, we found that expression of activated CaMKII (T286D/T305A/T306A) impaired place avoidance, a result not expected if a process other than CaMKII stores memory. Our behavioral results, taken together with prior experiments on LTP, strongly support a critical role of CaMKII in LTP maintenance and memory storage.

Department of Pharmacology, Efforts to discover and develop new antimalarial drugs have increased dramatically in recent Maulana Azad Medical College, years mainly because of resistance to existing antimalarial drugs. Selection of candidate drugs Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, for clinical trials in man and the design of clinical protocols are based upon consideration of Delhi-110002. data from a battery of preclinical test systems. All compounds are assessed initially in one or *Malaria Research Center, more primary screening models. A compound which is considered 'active' by well estab-No. 22, Sham Nath Marg lished criteria in primary screening test is considered for further evaluation in successively Delhi-110054. more clinical tests. At the end of each stage of testing, a decision is taken to advance the compound to the next stage or discontinue it. Primary screening tests should have optimal

We present the first study of mixed alkanethiolate SAMs on ultrasmooth gold surfaces. By eliminating surface roughness, it became possible, for the first time, to investigate wetting properties as a function of surface chemical composition. In three different surface compositions, it was found that contact-angle hysteresis apparently vanished. This suggests that surface chemical heterogeneity does not contribute to contact-angle hysteresis in mixed SAMs on ultrasmooth gold surfaces.

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