2,140 research outputs found
Post-training inactivation of the anterior thalamic nuclei impairs spatial performance on the radial arm maze
The limbic thalamus, specifically the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN), contains brain signals including that of head direction cells, which fire as a function of an animal\u27s directional orientation in an environment. Recent work has suggested that this directional orientation information stemming from the ATN contributes to the generation of hippocampal and parahippocampal spatial representations, and may contribute to the establishment of unique spatial representations in radially oriented tasks such as the radial arm maze. While previous studies have shown that ATN lesions can impair spatial working memory performance in the radial maze, little work has been done to investigate spatial reference memory in a discrimination task variant. Further, while previous studies have shown that ATN lesions can impair performance in the radial maze, these studies produced the ATN lesions prior to training. It is therefore unclear whether the ATN lesions disrupted acquisition or retention of radial maze performance. Here, we tested the role of ATN signaling in a previously learned spatial discrimination task on a radial arm maze. Rats were first trained to asymptotic levels in a task in which two maze arms were consistently baited across training. After 24 h, animals received muscimol inactivation of the ATN before a 4 trial probe test. We report impairments in post-inactivation trials, suggesting that signals from the ATN modulate the use of a previously acquired spatial discrimination in the radial-arm maze. The results are discussed in relation to the thalamo-cortical limbic circuits involved in spatial information processing, with an emphasis on the head direction signal. © 2017 Harvey, Thompson, Sanchez, Yoder and Clark
Multiple sequence alignment based on set covers
We introduce a new heuristic for the multiple alignment of a set of
sequences. The heuristic is based on a set cover of the residue alphabet of the
sequences, and also on the determination of a significant set of blocks
comprising subsequences of the sequences to be aligned. These blocks are
obtained with the aid of a new data structure, called a suffix-set tree, which
is constructed from the input sequences with the guidance of the
residue-alphabet set cover and generalizes the well-known suffix tree of the
sequence set. We provide performance results on selected BAliBASE amino-acid
sequences and compare them with those yielded by some prominent approaches
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Data assurance in opaque computations
The chess endgame is increasingly being seen through the lens of, and therefore effectively defined by, a data âmodelâ of itself. It is vital that such models are clearly faithful to the reality they purport to represent. This paper examines that issue and systems engineering responses to it, using the chess endgame as the exemplar scenario. A structured survey has been carried out of the intrinsic challenges and complexity of creating endgame data by reviewing the past pattern of errors during work in progress, surfacing in publications and occurring after the data was generated. Specific measures are proposed to counter observed classes of error-risk, including a preliminary survey of techniques for using state-of-the-art verification tools to generate EGTs that are correct by construction. The approach may be applied generically beyond the game domain
Eclipsing Binaries in Open Clusters
Detached eclipsing binaries are very useful objects for calibrating
theoretical stellar models and checking their predictions. Detached eclipsing
binaries in open clusters are particularly important because of the additional
constraints on their age and chemical composition from their membership of the
cluster. I compile a list containing absolute parameters of well-studied
eclipsing binaries in open clusters, and present new observational data on the
B-type systems V1481 Cyg and V2263 Cyg which are members of the young open
cluster NGC 7128.Comment: 4 pages, 2 colour figures. Poster presentation for IAUS 240 (Binary
Stars as Critical Tools and Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics), Prague,
August 2006. The poster itself can be dowloaded in ppt and pdf versions from
http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~jkt/pubs.htm
QED can explain the non-thermal emission from SGRs and AXPs : Variability
Owing to effects arising from quantum electrodynamics (QED),
magnetohydrodynamical fast modes of sufficient strength will break down to form
electron-positron pairs while traversing the magnetospheres of strongly
magnetised neutron stars. The bulk of the energy of the fast mode fuels the
development of an electron-positron fireball. However, a small, but potentially
observable, fraction of the energy ( ergs) can generate a
non-thermal distribution of electrons and positrons far from the star. This
paper examines the cooling and radiative output of these particles. Small-scale
waves may produce only the non-thermal emission. The properties of this
non-thermal emission in the absence of a fireball match those of the quiescent,
non-thermal radiation recently observed non-thermal emission from several
anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters. Initial estimates of the
emission as a function of angle indicate that the non-thermal emission should
be beamed and therefore one would expect this emission to be pulsed as well.
According to this model the pulsation of the non-thermal emission should be
between 90 and 180 degrees out of phase from the thermal emission from the
stellar surface.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface" (April 2006,
London), eds. D. Page, R. Turolla, & S. Zane, Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Conformal Field Theories, Representations and Lattice Constructions
An account is given of the structure and representations of chiral bosonic
meromorphic conformal field theories (CFT's), and, in particular, the
conditions under which such a CFT may be extended by a representation to form a
new theory. This general approach is illustrated by considering the untwisted
and -twisted theories, and respectively,
which may be constructed from a suitable even Euclidean lattice .
Similarly, one may construct lattices and by
analogous constructions from a doubly-even binary code . In the case when
is self-dual, the corresponding lattices are also. Similarly,
and are self-dual if and only if is. We show that
has a natural ``triality'' structure, which induces an
isomorphism and also a triality
structure on . For the Golay code,
is the Leech lattice, and the triality on is the symmetry which extends the natural action of (an
extension of) Conway's group on this theory to the Monster, so setting triality
and Frenkel, Lepowsky and Meurman's construction of the natural Monster module
in a more general context. The results also serve to shed some light on the
classification of self-dual CFT's. We find that of the 48 theories
and with central charge 24 that there are 39 distinct ones,
and further that all 9 coincidences are accounted for by the isomorphism
detailed above, induced by the existence of a doubly-even self-dual binary
code.Comment: 65 page
Four-point Green functions in the Schwinger Model
The evaluation of the 4-point Green functions in the 1+1 Schwinger model is
presented both in momentum and coordinate space representations. The crucial
role in our calculations play two Ward identities: i) the standard one, and ii)
the chiral one. We demonstrate how the infinite set of Dyson-Schwinger
equations is simplified, and is so reduced, that a given n-point Green function
is expressed only through itself and lower ones. For the 4-point Green
function, with two bosonic and two fermionic external `legs', a compact
solution is given both in momentum and coordinate space representations. For
the 4-fermion Green function a selfconsistent equation is written down in the
momentum representation and a concrete solution is given in the coordinate
space. This exact solution is further analyzed and we show that it contains a
pole corresponding to the Schwinger boson. All detailed considerations given
for various 4-point Green functions are easily generizable to higher functions.Comment: In Revtex, 12 pages + 2 PostScript figure
Mechanical characterisation of a fibre reinforced oxide/oxide ceramic matrix composite
Monotonic tension, fatigue and creep experiments were conducted on an oxide/oxide ceramic matrix composite over the range of temperature 20â1200 °C. The role of continuous fibre reinforcement, differential thermal expansion, stress redistribution interactions between fibres and matrix and the influence of inherent processing defects are all considered when describing the deformation and ultimate mechanical failure of these systems
Unzipping Dynamics of Long DNAs
The two strands of the DNA double helix can be `unzipped' by application of
15 pN force. We analyze the dynamics of unzipping and rezipping, for the case
where the molecule ends are separated and re-approached at constant velocity.
For unzipping of 50 kilobase DNAs at less than about 1000 bases per second,
thermal equilibrium-based theory applies. However, for higher unzipping
velocities, rotational viscous drag creates a buildup of elastic torque to
levels above kBT in the dsDNA region, causing the unzipping force to be well
above or well below the equilibrium unzipping force during respectively
unzipping and rezipping, in accord with recent experimental results of Thomen
et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 248102 (2002)]. Our analysis includes the effect
of sequence on unzipping and rezipping, and the transient delay in buildup of
the unzipping force due to the approach to the steady state.Comment: 15 pages Revtex file including 9 figure
Did Galaxy Assembly and Supermassive Black-Hole Growth go hand-in-hand?
In this paper, we address whether the growth of supermassive black-holes has
kept pace with the process of galaxy assembly. For this purpose, we first
searched the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) for "tadpole galaxies", which have
a knot at one end and an extended tail. They appear dynamically unrelaxed --
presumably early-stage mergers -- and make up ~6% of the field galaxy
population. Their redshift distribution follows that of field galaxies,
indicating that -- if tadpole galaxies are indeed dynamically young -- the
process of galaxy assembly generally kept up with the reservoir of field
galaxies as a function of epoch. Next, we present a search for HUDF objects
with point-source components that are optically variable (at the >~3.0 sigma
level) on timescales of weeks--months. Among 4644 objects to i_AB=28.0 mag (10
sigma), 45 have variable point-like components, which are likely weak AGN.
About 1% of all field objects show variability for 0.1 < z < 4.5, and their
redshift distribution is similar to that of field galaxies. Hence supermassive
black-hole growth in weak AGN likely also kept up with the process of galaxy
assembly. However, the faint AGN sample has almost no overlap with the tadpole
sample, which was predicted by recent hydrodynamical numerical simulations.
This suggests that tadpole galaxies are early-stage mergers, which likely
preceded the ``turn-on'' of the AGN component and the onset of visible
point-source variability by >~1 Gyr.Comment: 9 pages, Latex2e requires 'elsart' and 'elsart3' (included), 10
postscript figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the Leiden Workshop on
"QSO Host Galaxies: Evolution and Environment", eds. P.D. Barthel & D.B.
Sanders (New Astron. Rev., 2006
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