2,718 research outputs found
Characterization of the behaviour of dissociated neurons exposed to dielectrophoretic forces
The behaviour of cortical rat neurons exposed to dielectrophoretic forces is investigated by varying the amplitude and frequency of the applied field. The number of neurons trapped in the center of a planar quadrupole micro-electrode structure is determined for two different amplitudes (3 V and 5 V) and six different frequencies in the range from 1 MHz to 18 MHz. A contradictory trend is found for the yield of trapped neurons for the two amplitudes as a function of the frequency
Trapping cortical rat neurons
Cortical rat neurons were trapped by dielectrophoresis (DEP). Experimental data were compared with theoretically deduced relationships. The neuron was represented by a single-shell model. A planar quadrupole electrode structure was used for the creation of a nonuniform field. The electrode structure was modeled as four point charges. The experimental data did almost completely fit the theoretical yield/time relationship. The theoretical yield/amplitude relationship, however, did only apply for a restricted amount of frequencies. The experimental frequency behaviour (i.e., the DEP-spectrum) did not apply to the theory. A difference in neuronal physiological state can produce different DEP-spectra. For two frequencies (10 kHz and 14 MHz) adhesion to the substrate and outgrowth of the neurons was investigate
Experimental analysis and computational modeling of interburst intervals in spontaneous activity of cortical neuronal culture
Rhythmic bursting is the most striking behavior of cultured cortical networks and may start in the second week after plating. In this study, we focus on the intervals between spontaneously occurring bursts, and compare experimentally recorded values with model simulations. In the models, we use standard neurons and synapses, with physiologically plausible parameters taken from literature. All networks had a random recurrent architecture with sparsely connected neurons. The number of neurons varied between 500 and 5,000. We find that network models with homogeneous synaptic strengths produce asynchronous spiking or stable regular bursts. The latter, however, are in a range not seen in recordings. By increasing the synaptic strength in a (randomly chosen) subset of neurons, our simulations show interburst intervals (IBIs) that agree better with in vitro experiments. In this regime, called weakly synchronized, the models produce irregular network bursts, which are initiated by neurons with relatively stronger synapses. In some noise-driven networks, a subthreshold, deterministic, input is applied to neurons with strong synapses, to mimic pacemaker network drive. We show that models with such “intrinsically active neurons” (pacemaker-driven models) tend to generate IBIs that are determined by the frequency of the fastest pacemaker and do not resemble experimental data. Alternatively, noise-driven models yield realistic IBIs. Generally, we found that large-scale noise-driven neuronal network models required synaptic strengths with a bimodal distribution to reproduce the experimentally observed IBI range. Our results imply that the results obtained from small network models cannot simply be extrapolated to models of more realistic size. Synaptic strengths in large-scale neuronal network simulations need readjustment to a bimodal distribution, whereas small networks do not require such change
Well-definedness of Streams by Transformation and Termination
Streams are infinite sequences over a given data type. A stream specification
is a set of equations intended to define a stream. We propose a transformation
from such a stream specification to a term rewriting system (TRS) in such a way
that termination of the resulting TRS implies that the stream specification is
well-defined, that is, admits a unique solution. As a consequence, proving
well-definedness of several interesting stream specifications can be done fully
automatically using present powerful tools for proving TRS termination. In
order to increase the power of this approach, we investigate transformations
that preserve semantics and well-definedness. We give examples for which the
above mentioned technique applies for the ransformed specification while it
fails for the original one
Radial Velocity Jitter in Stars from the California and Carnegie Planet Search at Keck Observatory
I present an empirical model for predicting a star's radial velocity jitter
from its B-V color, activity level, and absolute magnitude. This model is based
on observations of 450 well- observed stars from Keck Observatory for the
California and Carnegie Planet Search Program. The model includes noise from
both astrophysical sources and systematic errors, and describes jitter as
generally increasing with a star's activity and height above the main sequence.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, PASP in pres
Dynamics of the solar chromosphere. V. High-frequency modulation in ultraviolet image sequences from TRACE
We search for signatures of high-frequency oscillations in the upper solar
photosphere and low chromosphere in the context of acoustic heating of outer
stellar atmospheres. We use ultraviolet image sequences of a quiet center-disk
area from the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) mission which were
taken with strict cadence regularity. The latter permits more reliable
high-frequency diagnosis than in earlier work. Spatial Fourier power maps,
spatially averaged coherence and phase-difference spectra, and spatio-temporal
k-f decompositions all contain high-frequency features that at first sight seem
of considerable intrinsic interest but actually are more likely to represent
artifacts of different nature. Spatially averaged phase difference measurement
provides the most sensitive diagnostic and indicates the presence of acoustic
modulation up to f=20 mHz (periods down to 50 seconds) in internetwork areas.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Cultural Nationalism and the Rise of Dutch Studies
Part of book or chapter of bookLeiden Univ Centre for Linguistic
Phase resolved spectroscopy and Kepler photometry of the ultracompact AM CVn binary SDSS J190817.07+394036.4
{\it Kepler} satellite photometry and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the
ultracompact AM CVn type binary SDSS J190817.07+394036.4 are presented. The
average spectra reveal a variety of weak metal lines of different species,
including silicon, sulphur and magnesium as well as many lines of nitrogen,
beside the strong absorption lines of neutral helium. The phase-folded spectra
and the Doppler tomograms reveal an S-wave in emission in the core of the He I
4471 \AA\,absorption line at a period of \,sec
identifying this as the orbital period of the system. The Si II, Mg II and the
core of some He I lines show an S-wave in absorption with a phase offset of
compared to the S-wave in emission. The N II, Si III and some
helium lines do not show any phase variability at all. The spectroscopic
orbital period is in excellent agreement with a period at \,sec detected in the three year {\it Kepler} lightcurve. A
Fourier analysis of the Q6 to Q17 short cadence data obtained by {\it Kepler}
revealed a large number of frequencies above the noise level where the majority
shows a large variability in frequency and amplitude. In an O-C analysis we
measured a xs\,s for some of
the strongest variations and set a limit for the orbital period to be
s\,s. The shape of the phase folded
lightcurve on the orbital period indicates the motion of the bright spot.
Models of the system were constructed to see whether the phases of the radial
velocity curves and the lightcurve variation can be combined to a coherent
picture. However, from the measured phases neither the absorption nor the
emission can be explained to originate in the bright spot.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 15 pages, 14 figures, 5 table
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