Silicon Neurons that Inhibit to Synchronize

We present a silicon neuron that uses shunting inhibition (conductance-based) with a synaptic rise-time to achieve synchrony. Synaptic rise-time promotes synchrony by delaying the effect of inhibition, providing an opportune period for neurons to spike together. And shunting inhibition, through its voltage dependence, inhibits neurons that are late more strongly (delaying the spike further), thereby pushing them into phase (in the next cycle). We characterize the soma (cell body) and synapse circuits, fabricated in 0.25 µm CMOS. Further, we show that synchronized neurons (population of 256) spike with a period that is proportional to the synaptic rise-time

Aquatic Macrophytes of Two Small Northwest Arkansas Reservoirs

Lake Fayetteville and Lake Wedington are small reservoirs of about the same size and age that are located in northwestern Arkansas. We collected macrophytes from eleven transects around each reservoir in the autumn of 1993. Justicia (waterwillow), Typha (cat-tail), Scirpus (bulrush), Potamogeton (pondweed), and Zannichellia (horned pondweed) occur in both reservoirs. Justicia occurs most commonly in both reservoirs. The macrophytes of Lake Wedington are organized in a characteristic zonation pattern with bands from shore toward open water of emergent, floating-leaved, then submersed macrophytes. Macrophyte zonation was not as evident in Lake Fayetteville because of the low occurrence of floating leaved and submersed macrophytes in1993. Early studies of Lake Wedington found that the dominant macrophytes were Cyperus, Echinochloa, Lotus, and Sagittaria, all of which were absent during this study. Potamogeton, Scirpus, and Typha were also found to be dominant during 1952 studies, but occurred in lesser amounts in the current study. Previous studies (1956, 1967, 1977) on Lake Fayetteville stated that Sagittaria and Nelumbo were dominant macrophytes, but we found none in1993. Juncus, Potamogeton, Scirpus, and Typha were common in the early studies but occurred infrequently in our collections. Macrophyte composition in Lake Fayetteville in 1993 was attributable to an herbicide application that occurred in spring, 1992. As for the changes in Lake Wedington, we assume that the Justicia has out-competed those macrophytes that were in the reservoir in1952, or that normal lake ontogeny during the intervening 40 years has altered habitat conditions to now favor Justicia

Stratigraphy and Paleoecology of Quaternary Sediments Along Pasley River, Boothia Peninsula, Central Canadian Arctic

Quaternary sediments exposed along Pasley River consist of a lower marine deltaic sand overlain in succession by complexly interbedded tills and glaciomarine sediments (the lower glacigenic assemblage), by a mid-section fluvial gravel, by an upper marine deltaic sand, and by glaciomarine sediment and till (the upper glacigenic assemblage). The midsection fluvial gravels contain plant and insect fossils indicating a climate as warm as and perhaps warmer than present. The top of the gravel is more than 55 000 years old ; the unit is probably of Sangamonian age (>75 000 ka) and separates Wisconsinan from lllinoian glacial deposits. The deltaic sands that underlie both glacigenic assemblages indicate substantial crustal depression during glacial buildup episodes prior to arrival of ice at the site. This implies that the process of buildup was slow and involved glacier expansion into major marine basins. Glaciomarine beds of the lower glacigenic assemblage locally contain abundant detrital terrestrial organic material as well as marine molluscs. The terrestrial organic detritus, an unusual constituent of glaciomarine sediment, is thought to have been released into the sea from glacier ice. These terrestrial fossil asemblages exhibit compositional differences which vary with the sediment faciès and probably reflect taphonomic factors such as differential buoyancy of the fossils. The upper marine deltaic sands contain some "old " rebedded plant detritus and amber indicating a nearby source of Tertiary sediment, possibly equivalent in age to the Beaufort Formation. Other rebedded fossils from the upper deltaic unit may be the same age as the mid-section fluvial gravels.Les berges de la rivière Pasley montrent des séquences de sédiments quaternaires qui comprennent de la base vers le sommet : un sable marin d'origine deltaïque, un ensemble complexe de couches de till interstratifiées avec des sédiments glaciomarins (assemblage inférieure de sédiments glacigéniques), un gravier fluviatile vers le milieu, un sable deltaïque marin supérieur et, au sommet, des sédiments glaciomarins et du till (assemblage supérieur de sédiments glacigéniques). Le gravier fluviatile dont la partie supérieure a été datée à plus de 55 000 ans contient des fossiles de plantes et d'insectes indicateurs d'un climat aussi chaud ou plus chaud que celui d'aujourd'hui. Cette unité date probablement du Sangamonien (> 75 000 BP) et sépare les dépôts glaciaires du Wisconsinien de ceux de !'Illinois. Les sables deltaïques à la base des deux assemblages glacigéniques signalent qu'un affaissement important de la croûte terrestres, lié à un épisode de croissance glaciaire, s'est produit avant l'arrivée du glacier. Les couches des dépôts glaciomarins de l'assemblage glacigénique inférieur renferment parfois d'abondants débris organiques d'origine terrestre et des mollusques marins. Le matériel d'origine terrestre, une composante inhabituelle des sédiments glaciomarins, représente probablement un apport direct du glacier à la mer. Les différentes compositions de ces assemblages de fossiles terrestres sont liées au changement de faciès des sédiments et sont le reflet de facteurs taphonomiques comme la différence d'apesanteur entre les fossiles. Le sable marin deltaïque supérieur contient d'anciens débris de plantes et de l'ambre restratifiés, un indice d'une source proche de sédiments tertiaires, probablement d'un âge comparable à celui de la Formation de Beaufort.Die entlang dem PasIey-FluB freiliegenden Quartàr-Sedimente bestehen aus einer unteren marinen Delta-Sandschicht, ùberlagert von einer Folge von komplex geschichteten Tills und glaziomarinen Sedimenten (die untere glazigenen Ablagerung), aus einer mittleren FluBKies-Schicht, einer hôheren marinen Delta-Sandschicht und einem glaziomarinen Sediment und Till (die obère glazigene Ablagerung). Der FluBkies der mittleren Schicht enthâlt Pflanzen- und Insektenfossile, welche auf ein ebenso warmes oder vielleicht sogar wârmeres Klima als gegenwârtig hinweisen. Der obère Teil der Kiesschicht ist mehr als 55000 Jahre ait, dièse Schicht stammt môglicherweise aus dem Sangamon (alter als 75 000 ka) und trennt Ablagerungen aus dem Wisconsin von den glazialen Ablagerungen des Illinois. Der Delta-Sand, der unter beiden glazigenen Schichtungen liegt, IaBt auf bedeutende Krustensenkungen wàhrend der glazialen Aufbauphase schlieBen, vor dem Auftreten von Eis an dieser Stelle. Das bedeutet, daB der ProzeB des Aufbaus langsam war und mit Gletscher-Ausdehnung in grôBere marine Becken verbunden war. Die glaziomarinen Betten der unteren glazigenen Schichtung enthalten ôrtlich umfangreiches organisches Erdgerôllmaterial sowie marine Weichtiere. Das organische Erdgerôll, ein ungewôhnlicher Bestandteil glaziomariner Sedimente, soil vom Gletscher-Eis in das Meer geschoben worden sein. Dièse Erdfossilschichtungen zeigen Unterschiede in der Zusammensetzung, von einer zur anderen Sediment-Fazies und spiegeln môglicherweise taphonomische Faktoren, wie unterschiede in der Tragfàhigkeit der Fossile. Der obère marine Delta-Sand enthâlt einige "alte" neugeschichtete Pflanzenpartikel und Bernstein, was auf eine nahegelegene Quelle tertiâren Sediments hinweist, die vermutlich ebenso alt ist wie die Beaufort-Formation

Recurrently Connected Silicon Neurons with Active Dendrites for One-Shot Learning

We describe a neuromorphic chip designed to model active dendrites, recurrent connectivity, and plastic synapses to support one-shot learning. Specifically, it is designed to capture neural firing patterns (short-term memory), memorize individual patterns (long-term memory), and retrive them when primed (associative recall). It consists of a recurrently connected population of excitatory pyramidal cells and a recurrently connected population of inhibitory basket cells. In addition to their recurrent connections, the excitatory and inhibitory populations are reciprocally connected. The model is novel in that it utilizes recurrent connections and active dendrites to maintain short-term memories as well as to store long-term memories

Donor IFNL4 Genotype Is Associated with Early Post-Transplant Fibrosis in Recipients with Hepatitis C

Background and Aims Early post-transplant hepatic fibrosis is associated with poor outcomes and may be influenced by donor/recipient genetic factors. The rs368234815 IFNL4 polymorphism is related to the previously described IL28B polymorphism, which predicts etiology-independent hepatic fibrosis. The aim of this study was to identify the impact of donor and/or recipient IFNL4 genotype on early fibrosis among patients transplanted for hepatitis C (HCV). Methods Clinical data were collected for 302 consecutive patients transplanted for HCV. 116 patients who had available liver biopsies and donor/recipient DNA were included. 28% of these patients with stage 2 fibrosis or greater were compared to patients without significant post-transplant fibrosis with respect to clinical features as well as donor/recipient IFNL4 genotype. Results The IFNL4 TT/TT genotype was found in 26.0% of recipients and 38.6% of donors. Patients who developed early post-transplant fibrosis had a 3.45 adjusted odds of having donor IFNL4 TT/TT genotype (p = 0.012). Donor IFNL4 TT/TT genotype also predicted decreased overall survival compared to non-TT/TT genotypes (p = 0.016). Conclusions Donor IFNL4 TT/TT genotype, a favorable predictor of spontaneous HCV clearance pre-transplant, is associated with increased early post-transplant fibrosis and decreased survival

Prehabilitation Before Total Knee Arthroplasty Increases Strength and Function in Older Adults With Severe Osteoarthritis

Preparing for the stress of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery by exercise training (prehabilitation) may improve strength and function before surgery and, if effective, has the potential to contribute to postoperative recovery. Subjects with severe osteoarthritis (OA), pain intractable to medicine and scheduled for TKA were randomized into a usual care (UC) group (n = 36) or usual care and exercise (UC + EX) group (n = 35). The UC group maintained normal daily activities before their TKA. The UC + EX group performed a comprehensive prehabilitation program that included resistance training using bands, flexibility, and step training at least 3 times per week for 4-8 weeks before their TKA in addition to UC. Leg strength (isokinetic peak torque for knee extension and flexion) and ability to perform functional tasks (6-minute walk, 30 second sit-to-stand repetitions, and the time to ascend and descend 2 flights of stairs) were assessed before randomization at baseline (T1) and 1 week before the subject\u27s TKA (T2). Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated a significant group by time interaction (p \u3c 0.05) for the 30-second sit-to-stand repetitions, time to ascend the first flight of stairs, and peak torque for knee extension in the surgical knee. Prehabilitation increased leg strength and the ability to perform functional tasks for UC + EX when compared to UC before TKA. Short term (4-8 weeks) of prehabilitation was effective for increasing strength and function for individuals with severe OA. The program studied is easily transferred to a home environment, and clinicians working with this population should consider prehabilitation before TKA. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT

Comparison of terbium (III) luminescence enhancement in mutants of EF hand calcium binding proteins.

The luminescent isomorphous Ca2+ analogue, Tb3+, can be bound in the 12-amino acid metal binding sites of proteins of the EF hand family, and its luminescence can be enhanced by energy transfer from a nearby aromatic amino acid. Tb3+ can be used as a sensitive luminescent probe of the structure and function of these proteins. The effect of changing the molecular environment around Tb3+ on its luminescence was studied using native Cod III parvalbumin and site-directed mutants of both oncomodulin and calmodulin. Titrations of these proteins showed stoichiometries of fill corresponding to the number of Ca2+ binding loops present. Tryptophan in binding loop position 7 best enhanced Tb3+ luminescence in the oncomodulin mutant Y57W, as well as VU-9 (F99W) and VU-32 (T26W) calmodulin. Excitation spectra of Y57F, F102W, Y65W oncomodulin, and Cod III parvalbumin revealed that the principal Tb3+ luminescence donor residues were phenylalanine or tyrosine located in position 7 of a loop, despite the presence of other nearby donors, including tryptophan. Spectra also revealed conformational differences between the Ca2+- and Tb(3+)-bound forms. An alternate binding loop, based on Tb3+ binding to model peptides, was inserted into the CD loop of oncomodulin by cassette mutagenesis. The order of fill of Tb3+ in this protein reversed, with the mutated loop binding Tb3+ first. This indicates a much higher affinity for the consensus-based mutant loop. The mutant loop inserted into oncomodulin had 32 times more Tb3+ luminescence than the identical synthetic peptide, despite having the same donor tryptophan and metal binding ligands. In this paper, a ranking of sensitivity of luminescence of bound Tb3+ is made among this subset of calcium binding proteins. This ranking is interpreted in light of the structural differences affecting Tb3+ luminescence enhancement intensity. The mechanism of energy transfer from an aromatic amino acid to Tb3+ is consistent with a short-range process involving the donor triplet state as described by Dexter (Dexter, D. L. (1953) J. Chem. Phys. 21, 836). This cautions against the use of the Forster equation in approximating distances in these systems