413 research outputs found
Localization and habituation of sensory evoked DC responses in cat cortex
Using calomel electrodes and chopper stabilized amplifiers, sensory evoked d-c responses at the cortical surface were recorded from the primary visual, secondary visual, auditory and somatic areas of the left hemisphere in thirty acutely prepared immobilized cats. The stimuli were light from an incandescent bulb, a hissing sound and a mild shock. Responses were quantified on line by automatic computation of area under the response and by waveform averaging. All four cortical loci could respond to all three stimuli, but by an algebraic analysis of response amplitudes the responses could be fractionated into two components, one of which was localized, the other diffuse. The local component is stimulus bound and is distributed such that the response of the classical sensory area relevant to the stimulus is negative to the response of the other sensory areas, regardless of the over-all response polarity. The diffuse component is on the average, negative in polarity and has a longer latency and duration than the local component. It occurs primarily as an aftereffect of stimulation and is more readily evoked by shock and hiss than by light. The diffure component and the local component are, therefore, distinguished from one another both by their localization and their time course. Both the diffuse component and the local component showed considerable habituation during a 1.5 to 2.0 hour long series of fifty stimulations. The responses probably reflect the joint action of both specific and diffuse cortical inputs, but it is unlikely that they influence the production of action potentials in cortical neurons.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33421/1/0000823.pd
E. coli Transport through Surface-Connected Biopores Identified from Smoke Injection Tests
Macropores are the primary mechanism by which fecal bacteria from surface-applied manure can be transported into subsurface drains or shallow groundwater bypassing the soil matrix. Limited research has been performed investigating fecal bacteria transport through specific macropores identified in the field. The objective of this research was to better understand how fecal bacteria, using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as an indicator organism, are transported through naturally occurring macropores and potential interactions between the macropore and soil matrix domains in the field under controlled experimental conditions. Direct injection/infiltration tests were conducted in two naturally occurring, surface-connected macropores (biopores) that penetrated to the subsurface drain depth, as identified by smoke tests. Data included total drain flow rate (baseflow rate and biopore flow rate), biopore inflow rate, and Rhodamine WT and E. coli concentrations in the drains. Analysis techniques included determining increases in subsurface drain flow rates due to the infiltration tests and percentage of the injected concentration reaching the subsurface drains after dilution with the drain baseflow. In the absence of data for mechanistic models, empirically based rational polynomial models were compared to the more commonly utilized lognormal distribution for modeling the load rate breakthrough curves. Load estimates were derived from integrated forms of these empirical functions, and percent reductions were calculated for Rhodamine WT and E. coli. Peak total drain flow rates increased nearly two-fold due to direct injection into the biopores. Less than 25% of the initial concentrations injected into the biopores reached the drain after dilution with the baseflow in the drain. Lognormal distributions best fit the Rhodamine WT load rate breakthrough curves (R2 = 0.99 for both biopores) and the E. coli load rate data for one of the biopores (R2 = 0.98). A rational fractional polynomial model that tailed off more slowly best fit the E. coli load rate data for the other biopore (R2 = 0.98). Approximately one log reduction was estimated for E. coli loads due to interaction with the soil profile as water flowed through the tortuous path of the biopores; in other words, the soil surrounding the biopore filtered approximately 90% of the E. coli load that entered the biopore compared to approximately 75% for Rhodamine WT. Considering that applied animal manure can contain millions of bacteria per mL, high concentrations and loads are still possible in the subsurface drain flow if macropores are present
The future of human nature: a symposium on the promises and challenges of the revolutions in genomics and computer science, April 10, 11, and 12, 2003
This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's Symposium on the Promises and Challenges of the Revolutions in Genomics and Computer Science took place during April 10, 11, and 12, 2003. Co-organized by Charles DeLisi and Kenneth Lewes; sponsored by Boston University, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.This conference focused on scientific and technological advances in genetics, computer science, and their convergence during the next 35 to 250 years. In particular, it focused on directed evolution, the futures it allows, the shape of society in those futures, and the robustness of human nature against technological change at the level of individuals, groups, and societies. It is taken as a premise that biotechnology and computer science will mature and will reinforce one another. During the period of interest, human cloning, germ-line genetic engineering, and an array of reproductive technologies will become feasible and safe. Early in this period, we can reasonably expect the processing power of a laptop computer to exceed the collective processing power of every human brain on the planet; later in the period human/machine interfaces will begin to emerge. Whether such technologies will take hold is not known. But if they do, human evolution is likely to proceed at a greatly accelerated rate; human nature as we know it may change markedly, if it does not disappear altogether, and new intelligent species may well be created
The future of human nature: a symposium on the promises and challenges of the revolutions in genomics and computer science, April 10, 11, and 12, 2003
This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's Symposium on the Promises and Challenges of the Revolutions in Genomics and Computer Science took place during April 10, 11, and 12, 2003. Co-organized by Charles DeLisi and Kenneth Lewes; sponsored by Boston University, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.This conference focused on scientific and technological advances in genetics, computer science, and their convergence during the next 35 to 250 years. In particular, it focused on directed evolution, the futures it allows, the shape of society in those futures, and the robustness of human nature against technological change at the level of individuals, groups, and societies. It is taken as a premise that biotechnology and computer science will mature and will reinforce one another. During the period of interest, human cloning, germ-line genetic engineering, and an array of reproductive technologies will become feasible and safe. Early in this period, we can reasonably expect the processing power of a laptop computer to exceed the collective processing power of every human brain on the planet; later in the period human/machine interfaces will begin to emerge. Whether such technologies will take hold is not known. But if they do, human evolution is likely to proceed at a greatly accelerated rate; human nature as we know it may change markedly, if it does not disappear altogether, and new intelligent species may well be created
Mutations in maltose-binding protein that alter affinity and solubility properties
Maltose-binding protein (MBP) from Escherichia coli has been shown to be a good substrate for protein engineering leading to altered binding (Marvin and Hellinga, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:4955–4960, 2001a) and increased affinity (Marvin and Hellinga, Nat Struct Biol 8:795–798, 2001b; Telmer and Shilton, J Biol Chem 278:34555–34567, 2003). It is also used in recombinant protein expression as both an affinity tag and a solubility tag. We isolated mutations in MBP that enhance binding to maltodextrins 1.3 to 15-fold, using random mutagenesis followed by screening for enhanced yield in a microplate-based affinity purification. We tested the mutations for their ability to enhance the yield of a fusion protein that binds poorly to immobilized amylose and their ability to enhance the solubility of one or more aggregation-prone recombinant proteins. We also measured dissociation constants of the mutant MBPs that retain the solubility-enhancing properties of MBP and combined two of the mutations to produce an MBP with a dissociation constant 10-fold tighter than wild-type MBP. Some of the mutations we obtained can be rationalized based on the previous work, while others indicate new ways in which the function of MBP can be modified
An Ethnohistorical Perspective on Cheyenne Demography
Administrative censuses of the Southern Cheyenne Indians from 1880,1891, and 1900 permit family reconstitution, identification of residence groups, and comparisons of fertility between monogamous and polygynous women, when the records are approached by ethnohistori cal methods. This approach includes an awareness of the aboriginal adoption practices, kinship system, and naming practices. It is argued that the biases and distortions of administrative records can be effectively corrected to add to our store of information on band and tribal societies.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline
Short-lived Nuclei in the Early Solar System: Possible AGB Sources
(Abridged) We review abundances of short-lived nuclides in the early solar
system (ESS) and the methods used to determine them. We compare them to the
inventory for a uniform galactic production model. Within a factor of two,
observed abundances of several isotopes are compatible with this model. I-129
is an exception, with an ESS inventory much lower than expected. The isotopes
Pd-107, Fe-60, Ca-41, Cl-36, Al-26, and Be-10 require late addition to the
solar nebula. Be-10 is the product of particle irradiation of the solar system
as probably is Cl-36. Late injection by a supernova (SN) cannot be responsible
for most short-lived nuclei without excessively producing Mn-53; it can be the
source of Mn-53 and maybe Fe-60. If a late SN is responsible for these two
nuclei, it still cannot make Pd-107 and other isotopes. We emphasize an AGB
star as a source of nuclei, including Fe-60 and explore this possibility with
new stellar models. A dilution factor of about 4e-3 gives reasonable amounts of
many nuclei. We discuss the role of irradiation for Al-26, Cl-36 and Ca-41.
Conflict between scenarios is emphasized as well as the absence of a global
interpretation for the existing data. Abundances of actinides indicate a
quiescent interval of about 1e8 years for actinide group production in order to
explain the data on Pu-244 and new bounds on Cm-247. This interval is not
compatible with Hf-182 data, so a separate type of r-process is needed for at
least the actinides, distinct from the two types previously identified. The
apparent coincidence of the I-129 and trans-actinide time scales suggests that
the last actinide contribution was from an r-process that produced actinides
without fission recycling so that the yields at Ba and below were governed by
fission.Comment: 92 pages, 14 figure files, in press at Nuclear Physics
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
The Linkage Between Neighborhood and Voluntary Association Patterns: a Comparison of Black and White Urban Populations
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68314/2/10.1177_089976407400300201.pd
Proceedings of the Third Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank: A Review of Emerging Issues and Technologies
The proceedings of the 3rd Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank summarize the most contemporary clinical, electrophysiological, imaging, and computational work on DBS for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric disease. Significant innovations of the past year are emphasized. The Think Tank\u27s contributors represent a unique multidisciplinary ensemble of expert neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, engineers, and members of industry. Presentations and discussions covered a broad range of topics, including policy and advocacy considerations for the future of DBS, connectomic approaches to DBS targeting, developments in electrophysiology and related strides toward responsive DBS systems, and recent developments in sensor and device technologies
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