24 research outputs found
Imagined gait modulates neuronal network dynamics in the human pedunculopontine nucleus
The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) is a part of the mesencephalic locomotor region and is thought to be important for the initiation and maintenance of gait. Lesions of the PPN induce gait deficits, and the PPN has therefore emerged as a target for deep brain stimulation for the control of gait and postural disability. However, the role of the PPN in gait control is not understood. Using extracellular single-unit recordings in awake patients, we found that neurons in the PPN discharged as synchronous functional networks whose activity was phase locked to alpha oscillations. Neurons in the PPN responded to limb movement and imagined gait by dynamically changing network activity and decreasing alpha phase locking. Our results indicate that different synchronous networks are activated during initial motor planning and actual motion, and suggest that changes in gait initiation in Parkinson's disease may result from disrupted network activity in the PPN
Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery
International audienceThe relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest trees. Four major findings emerged. First, seed production is not constrained by a strict trade-off between seed size and numbers. Instead, seed numbers vary over ten orders of magnitude, with species that invest in large seeds producing more seeds than expected from the 1:1 trade-off. Second, gymnosperms have lower seed production than angiosperms, potentially due to their extra investments in protective woody cones. Third, nutrient-demanding species, indicated by high foliar phosphorus concentrations, have low seed production. Finally, sensitivity of individual species to soil fertility varies widely, limiting the response of community seed production to fertility gradients. In combination, these findings can inform models of forest response that need to incorporate reproductive potential
Limits to reproduction and seed size-number tradeoffs that shape forest dominance and future recovery
The relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest trees. Four major findings emerged. First, seed production is not constrained by a strict trade-off between seed size and numbers. Instead, seed numbers vary over ten orders of magnitude, with species that invest in large seeds producing more seeds than expected from the 1:1 trade-off. Second, gymnosperms have lower seed production than angiosperms, potentially due to their extra investments in protective woody cones. Third, nutrient-demanding species, indicated by high foliar phosphorus concentrations, have low seed production. Finally, sensitivity of individual species to soil fertility varies widely, limiting the response of community seed production to fertility gradients. In combination, these findings can inform models of forest response that need to incorporate reproductive potential
A Patrol Car Allocation Model: Background
Before designing a computer program for allocating police patrol cars by time and geography, a review was undertaken of previously existing programs of this type. Nearly all of the programs calculated queuing statistics for the collection of patrol cars by assuming a steady-state system with calls for service arriving within priority levels according to Poisson processes and having independent, identical, exponentially distributed service times. Unavailabilities of patrol cars for reasons other than calls for service were handled in the models either by artificially increasing the arrival rate of calls or by assuming that the number of servers is smaller than the number of patrol cars. Some programs calculated additional performance measures such as travel times and preventive patrol frequencies. All the programs had the capabilities to describe performance statistics for an allocation proposed by the user, but they differed in their capabilities to prescribe desirable allocations. None of the programs had achieved general acceptance because each had virtues and inadequacies not present in the others.government: services, police, programming: multiple criteria, queues: applications
Positive effect of the yellow morph on female reproductive success in the flower colour polymorphic Iris lutescens
La mondialisation de la recherche
« Nous vivons encore aujourdâhui en France avec cette idĂ©e, de moins en moins justifiĂ©e et de plus en plus arrogante, que notre capacitĂ© dâinnovation, en raison de lâexcellence de nos enseignants, de nos chercheurs et de nos ingĂ©nieurs, et de la qualitĂ© de nos infrastructures, serait bien supĂ©rieure Ă celle des pays du Sud et de lâEst. Souvenez-vous de la suffisance avec laquelle, au moment de la premiĂšre crise pĂ©troliĂšre, nous dĂ©clarions : âNous nâavons pas de pĂ©trole mais nous avons des idĂ©es.â Il faut se rendre Ă lâĂ©vidence : nous nâavons toujours pas de pĂ©trole, mais nous ne sommes plus seuls Ă avoir des idĂ©es et des capacitĂ©s Ă les exploiter sous la forme dâapplications concrĂštes au bĂ©nĂ©fice du dĂ©veloppement Ă©conomique et social. VoilĂ la nouveautĂ©. Il sâagit dâun changement radical et irrĂ©versible auquel nous devrons nous adapter. » (Marc Fontecave) La mondialisation soulĂšve pour lâavenir de la recherche fondamentale tout un ensemble de questions organisationnelles, Ă©conomiques, politiques, culturelles, Ă©thiques qui sont dĂ©terminantes. Ce sont ces questions que le colloque de rentrĂ©e 2010 du CollĂšge de France, La mondialisation de la recherche. CompĂ©tition, coopĂ©rations, restructurations (14 & 15 octobre 2010), a eu pour ambition dâaffronter