1,859 research outputs found
Synchronized dynamics of cortical neurons with time-delay feedback
The dynamics of three mutually coupled cortical neurons with time delays in
the coupling are explored numerically and analytically. The neurons are coupled
in a line, with the middle neuron sending a somewhat stronger projection to the
outer neurons than the feedback it receives, to model for instance the relay of
a signal from primary to higher cortical areas. For a given coupling
architecture, the delays introduce correlations in the time series at the
time-scale of the delay. It was found that the middle neuron leads the outer
ones by the delay time, while the outer neurons are synchronized with zero lag
times. Synchronization is found to be highly dependent on the synaptic time
constant, with faster synapses increasing both the degree of synchronization
and the firing rate. Analysis shows that presynaptic input during the
interspike interval stabilizes the synchronous state, even for arbitrarily weak
coupling, and independent of the initial phase. The finding may be of
significance to synchronization of large groups of cells in the cortex that are
spatially distanced from each other.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure
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Distribution of halon-1211 in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and the 1994 total bromine budget
Direct electronic measurement of the spin Hall effect
The generation, manipulation and detection of spin-polarized electrons in
nanostructures define the main challenges of spin-based electronics[1]. Amongst
the different approaches for spin generation and manipulation, spin-orbit
coupling, which couples the spin of an electron to its momentum, is attracting
considerable interest. In a spin-orbit-coupled system, a nonzero spin-current
is predicted in a direction perpendicular to the applied electric field, giving
rise to a "spin Hall effect"[2-4]. Consistent with this effect,
electrically-induced spin polarization was recently detected by optical
techniques at the edges of a semiconductor channel[5] and in two-dimensional
electron gases in semiconductor heterostructures[6,7]. Here we report
electrical measurements of the spin-Hall effect in a diffusive metallic
conductor, using a ferromagnetic electrode in combination with a tunnel barrier
to inject a spin-polarized current. In our devices, we observe an induced
voltage that results exclusively from the conversion of the injected spin
current into charge imbalance through the spin Hall effect. Such a voltage is
proportional to the component of the injected spins that is perpendicular to
the plane defined by the spin current direction and the voltage probes. These
experiments reveal opportunities for efficient spin detection without the need
for magnetic materials, which could lead to useful spintronics devices that
integrate information processing and data storage.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Nature (pending
format approval
Identification of the factors associated with outcomes in a condition management programme
<p>Background: A requirement of the Government’s Pathways to Work (PtW) agenda was to introduce a Condition Management Programme (CMP). The aim of the present study was to identify the differences between those who engaged and made progress in this telephone-based biopsychosocial intervention, in terms of their health, and those who did not and to determine the client and practitioner characteristics and programme elements associated with success in a programme aimed at improving health.</p>
<p>Methods: Data were obtained from the CMP electronic spreadsheets and clients paper-based case records. CMP
standard practice was that questionnaires were administered during the pre- and post-assessment phases over the
telephone. Each client’s record contains their socio-demographic data, their primary health condition, as well as the pre- and post-intervention scores of the health assessment tool administered. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the database variables. Clients were included in the study if their records were available for analysis from July 2006 to December 2007.</p>
<p> Results: On average there were 112 referrals per month, totalling 2016 referrals during the evaluation period. The
majority (62.8%) of clients had a mental-health condition. Successful completion of the programme was 28.5% (575
“completers”; 144 “discharges”). Several factors, such as age, health condition, mode of contact, and practitioner
characteristics, were significant determinants of participation and completion of the programme. The results
showed that completion of the CMP was associated with a better mental-health status, by reducing the number of
clients that were either anxious, depressed or both, before undertaking the programme, from 74% to 32.5%.</p>
<p>Conclusions: Our findings showed that an individual's characteristics are associated with success in the
programme, defined as completing the intervention and demonstrating an improved health status. This study
provides some evidence that the systematic evaluation of such programmes and interventions could identify ways
in which they could be improved.</p>
Responses of marine benthic microalgae to elevated CO<inf>2</inf>
Increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions to the atmosphere are causing a rise in pCO2 concentrations in the ocean surface and lowering pH. To predict the effects of these changes, we need to improve our understanding of the responses of marine primary producers since these drive biogeochemical cycles and profoundly affect the structure and function of benthic habitats. The effects of increasing CO2 levels on the colonisation of artificial substrata by microalgal assemblages (periphyton) were examined across a CO2 gradient off the volcanic island of Vulcano (NE Sicily). We show that periphyton communities altered significantly as CO2 concentrations increased. CO2 enrichment caused significant increases in chlorophyll a concentrations and in diatom abundance although we did not detect any changes in cyanobacteria. SEM analysis revealed major shifts in diatom assemblage composition as CO2 levels increased. The responses of benthic microalgae to rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions are likely to have significant ecological ramifications for coastal systems. © 2011 Springer-Verlag
Growth and structure analysis of tungsten oxide nanorods using environmental TEM
WO3 nanorods targeted for applications in electric devices were grown from a tungsten wire heated in an oxygen atmosphere inside an environmental transmission electron microscope, which allowed the growth process to be observed to reveal the growth mechanism of the WO3 nanorods. The initial growth of the nanorods did not consist of tungsten oxide but rather crystal tungsten. The formed crystal tungsten nanorods were then oxidized, resulting in the formation of the tungsten oxide nanorods. Furthermore, it is expected that the nanorods grew through cracks in the natural surface oxide layer on the tungsten wire
Understanding online purchase intentions: contributions from technology and trust perspectives
Bioturbation in a Declining Oxygen Environment, in situ Observations from Wormcam
Bioturbation, the displacement and mixing of sediment particles by fauna or flora, facilitates life supporting processes by increasing the quality of marine sediments. In the marine environment bioturbation is primarily mediated by infaunal organisms, which are susceptible to perturbations in their surrounding environment due to their sedentary life history traits. Of particular concern is hypoxia, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations ≤2.8 mg l−1, a prevalent and persistent problem that affects both pelagic and benthic fauna. A benthic observing system (Wormcam) consisting of a buoy, telemetering electronics, sediment profile camera, and water quality datasonde was developed and deployed in the Rappahannock River, VA, USA, in an area known to experience seasonal hypoxia from early spring to late fall. Wormcam transmitted a time series of in situ images and water quality data, to a website via wireless internet modem, for 5 months spanning normoxic and hypoxic periods. Hypoxia was found to significantly reduce bioturbation through reductions in burrow lengths, burrow production, and burrowing depth. Although infaunal activity was greatly reduced during hypoxic and near anoxic conditions, some individuals remained active. Low concentrations of DO in the water column limited bioturbation by infaunal burrowers and likely reduced redox cycling between aerobic and anaerobic states. This study emphasizes the importance of in situ observations for understanding how components of an ecosystem respond to hypoxia
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Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.
Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors
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