1,499 research outputs found
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Recovery, whereas Omega-6 Fatty Acids Worsen Outcome, after Spinal Cord Injury in the Adult Rat
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a cause of major neurological disability, and no satisfactory treatment is currently available. Evidence suggests that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) could target some of the pathological mechanisms that underlie damage after SCI. We examined the effects of treatment with PUFAs after lateral spinal cord hemisection in the rat. The ω-3 PUFAs α-linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) injected 30 min after injury induced significantly improved locomotor performance and neuroprotection, including decreased lesion size and apoptosis and increased neuronal and oligodendrocyte survival. Evidence showing a decrease in RNA/DNA oxidation suggests that the neuroprotective effect of ω-3 PUFAs involved a significant antioxidant function. In contrast, animals treated with arachidonic acid, an ω-6 PUFA, had a significantly worse outcome than controls. We confirmed the neuroprotective effect of ω-3 PUFAs by examining the effects of DHA treatment after spinal cord compression injury. Results indicated that DHA administered 30 min after spinal cord compression not only greatly increased survival of neurons but also resulted in significantly better locomotor performance for up to 6 weeks after injury.
This report shows a striking difference in efficacy between the effects of treatment with ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs on the outcome of SCI, with ω-3 PUFAs being neuroprotective and ω-6 PUFAs having a damaging effect. Given the proven clinical safety of ω-3 PUFAs, our observations show that these PUFAs have significant therapeutic potential in SCI. In contrast, the use of preparations enriched in ω-6 PUFAs after injury could worsen outcome after SCI
An Estimate of the Yield Displacement of Coupled Walls for Seismic Design
A formula to estimate the yield displacement observed in the pushover analysis of coupled wall lateral force-resisting systems is presented. The estimate is based on the results of an analytical study of coupled walls ranging from 8 to 20 stories in height, with varied amounts of reinforcement in the reinforced concrete coupling beams and walls, subjected to first-mode pushover analysis. An example illustrates the application of these estimates to the performance-based seismic design of coupled walls
A Cautionary Tale: examples of the mis-location of small earthquakes beneath the Tibetan plateau by routine approaches
Ruffling the calm of the ocean floor: merging practice, policy and researching assessment in Scotland
The formative Assessment for Learning proposals outlined by Black and Wiliam (e.g. Black et al, 2002) have been well publicised. Since 2002, in its Assessment is for Learning programme, the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) has been exploring ways of bringing research, policy and practice in assessment into closer alignment using research on both assessment and transformational change. This paper focuses on one project within Assessment is for Learning, in which pilot primary and secondary schools across Scotland were encouraged to develop formative assessment approaches in classrooms. They were supported in this by researchers, curriculum developers and local and national policy makers. The paper examines the rationale and methods behind the enactment of formative assessment in these schools. It draws upon evidence provided by the interim and final reports of participating schools to draw conclusions about areas of success within the project and potential barriers to the project’s future in its evolution from pilot to national programme
Dynamic Critical Behavior of the Swendsen-Wang Algorithm: The Two-Dimensional 3-State Potts Model Revisited
We have performed a high-precision Monte Carlo study of the dynamic critical
behavior of the Swendsen-Wang algorithm for the two-dimensional 3-state Potts
model. We find that the Li-Sokal bound ()
is almost but not quite sharp. The ratio seems to diverge
either as a small power () or as a logarithm.Comment: 35 pages including 3 figures. Self-unpacking file containing the
LaTeX file, the needed macros (epsf.sty, indent.sty, subeqnarray.sty, and
eqsection.sty) and the 3 Postscript figures. Revised version fixes a
normalization error in \xi (with many thanks to Wolfhard Janke for finding
the error!). To be published in J. Stat. Phys. 87, no. 1/2 (April 1997
Swimming against the tide: A case study of an integrated social studies department
A recent trend in developed countries’ school curricula has been the transition from disciplinary to generic forms of knowledge, resulting in an emphasis on interdisciplinary organisation and more active forms of learning. Subject specialists are increasingly expected to demonstrate how their subject interconnects and equips pupils with key life skills. Such a change requires a major cultural shift and has been controversial, particularly in Scotland where Curriculum for Excellence, the latest curriculum reform, has seen this debate re-emerge. A detailed empirical case study of one secondary school Social Studies department that has already negotiated these shifts is presented. The case study provides insights into how school and department structures and cultures conducive to a more integrated approach have been developed. Leadership, increased opportunities for teachers to exercise greater autonomy in their work, sources of impetus and support for innovation, and the co-construction of meaning through dialogue are important themes in this process. This case study connects with current policy and provides an insight into strategies that other schools might employ when seeking to embed integrative practices. The department is identified as a significant locus for innovation and one which appears to challenge the norm
A near-IR variability study of the Galactic black hole: a red noise source with no detected periodicity
We present the results of near-infrared (2 and 3 microns) monitoring of Sgr
A*-IR with 1 min time sampling using the natural and laser guide star adaptive
optics (LGS AO) system at the Keck II telescope. Sgr A*-IR was observed
continuously for up to three hours on each of seven nights, between 2005 July
and 2007 August. Sgr A*-IR is detected at all times and is continuously
variable, with a median observed 2 micron flux density of 0.192 mJy,
corresponding to 16.3 magnitude at K'. These observations allow us to
investigate Nyquist sampled periods ranging from about 2 minutes to an hour.
Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the variability of Sgr A* in this
data set is consistent with models based on correlated noise with power spectra
having frequency dependent power law slopes between 2.0 to 3.0, consistent with
those reported for AGN light curves. Of particular interest are periods of ~20
min, corresponding to a quasi-periodic signal claimed based upon previous
near-infrared observations and interpreted as the orbit of a 'hot spot' at or
near the last stable orbit of a spinning black hole. We find no significant
periodicity at any time scale probed in these new observations for periodic
signals. This study is sensitive to periodic signals with amplitudes greater
than 20% of the maximum amplitude of the underlying red noise component for
light curves with duration greater than ~2 hours at a 98% confidence limit.Comment: 37 pages, 2 tables, 17 figures, accepted by Ap
Markov analysis of stochastic resonance in a periodically driven integrate-fire neuron
We model the dynamics of the leaky integrate-fire neuron under periodic
stimulation as a Markov process with respect to the stimulus phase. This avoids
the unrealistic assumption of a stimulus reset after each spike made in earlier
work and thus solves the long-standing reset problem. The neuron exhibits
stochastic resonance, both with respect to input noise intensity and stimulus
frequency. The latter resonance arises by matching the stimulus frequency to
the refractory time of the neuron. The Markov approach can be generalized to
other periodically driven stochastic processes containing a reset mechanism.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
Changing a semantics: opportunism or courage?
The generalized models for higher-order logics introduced by Leon Henkin, and
their multiple offspring over the years, have become a standard tool in many
areas of logic. Even so, discussion has persisted about their technical status,
and perhaps even their conceptual legitimacy. This paper gives a systematic
view of generalized model techniques, discusses what they mean in mathematical
and philosophical terms, and presents a few technical themes and results about
their role in algebraic representation, calibrating provability, lowering
complexity, understanding fixed-point logics, and achieving set-theoretic
absoluteness. We also show how thinking about Henkin's approach to semantics of
logical systems in this generality can yield new results, dispelling the
impression of adhocness. This paper is dedicated to Leon Henkin, a deep
logician who has changed the way we all work, while also being an always open,
modest, and encouraging colleague and friend.Comment: 27 pages. To appear in: The life and work of Leon Henkin: Essays on
his contributions (Studies in Universal Logic) eds: Manzano, M., Sain, I. and
Alonso, E., 201
- …