Evidence for an additive inhibitory component of contrast adaptation

The latency of visual responses generally decreases as contrast increases. Recording in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), we find that response latency increases with increasing contrast in ON cells for some visual stimuli. We propose that this surprising latency trend can be explained if ON cells rest further from threshold at higher contrasts. Indeed, while contrast changes caused a combination of multiplicative gain change and additive shift in LGN cells, the additive shift predominated in ON cells. Modeling results supported this theory: the ON cell latency trend was found when the distance-to-threshold shifted with contrast, but not when distance-to-threshold was fixed across contrasts. In the model, latency also increases as surround-to-center ratios increase, which has been shown to occur at higher contrasts. We propose that higher-contrast full-field stimuli can evoke more surround inhibition, shifting the potential further from spiking threshold and thereby increasing response latency

Efficient pairing computation with theta functions

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comInternational audienceIn this paper, we present a new approach based on theta functions to compute Weil and Tate pairings. A benefit of our method, which does not rely on the classical Miller's algorithm, is its generality since it extends to all abelian varieties the classical Weil and Tate pairing formulas. In the case of dimension $1$ and $2$ abelian varieties our algorithms lead to implementations which are efficient and naturally deterministic. We also introduce symmetric Weil and Tate pairings on Kummer varieties and explain how to compute them efficiently. We exhibit a nice algorithmic compatibility between some algebraic groups quotiented by the action of the automorphism $-1$, where the $\Z$-action can be computed efficiently with a Montgomery ladder type algorithm

Proenkephalin A 119-159 (Penkid) Is an Early Biomarker of Septic Acute Kidney Injury: The Kidney in Sepsis and Septic Shock (Kid-SSS) Study

Introduction: Sepsis is the leading cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients. The Kidney in Sepsis and Septic Shock (Kid-SSS) study evaluated the value of proenkephalin A 119-159 (penkid)—a sensitive biomarker of glomerular function, drawn within 24 hours upon intensive care unit (ICU) admission and analyzed using a chemiluminescence immunoassay—for kidney events in sepsis and septic shock. Methods: The Kid-SSS study was a substudy of Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock (AdrenOSS) (NCT02393781), a prospective, observational, multinational study including 583 patients admitted to the intensive care unit with sepsis or septic shock and a validation cohort of 525 patients from the French and euRopean Outcome reGistry in Intensive Care Units (FROG-ICU) study. The primary endpoint was major adverse kidney events (MAKEs) at day 7, composite of death, renal replacement therapy, and persistent renal dysfunction. The secondary endpoints included AKI, transient AKI, worsening renal function (WRF), and 28-day mortality. Results: Median age was 66 years (interquartile range 55–75), and 28-day mortality was 22% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19%−25%). Of the patients, 293 (50.3%) were in shock upon ICU admission. Penkid was significantly elevated in patients with MAKEs, persistent AKI, and WRF (median = 65 [IQR = 45–106] vs. 179 [114–242]; 53 [39–70] vs. 133 [79–196] pmol/l; and 70 [47–121] vs. 174 [93–242] pmol/l, all P < 0.0001), also after adjustment for confounding factors (adjusted odds ratio = 3.3 [95% CI = 1.8–6.0], 3.9 [95% CI = 2.1–7.2], and 3.4 [95% CI = 1.9–6.2], all P < 0.0001). Penkid increase preceded elevation of serum creatinine with WRF and was low in renal recovery. Conclusion: Admission penkid concentration was associated with MAKEs, AKI, and WRF in a timely manner in septic patients

The Lone Inventor: Low Success Rates and Common Errors Associated with Pro-Se Patent Applications

A pro-se patent applicant is an inventor who chooses to represent himself while pursuing (“prosecuting”) a patent application. To the author's knowledge, this paper is the first empirical study addressing how applications filed by pro-se inventors fare compared to applications in which inventors were represented by patent attorneys or agents. The prosecution history of 500 patent applications filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office were analyzed: inventors were represented by a patent professional for 250 of the applications (“represented applications”) but not in the other 250 (“pro-se applications”). 76% of the pro-se applications became abandoned (not issuing as a patent), as compared to 35% of the represented applications. Further, among applications that issued as patents, pro-se patents' claims appear to be narrower and therefore of less value than claims in the represented patent set. Case-specific data suggests that a substantial portion of pro-se applicants unintentionally abandon their applications, terminate the examination process relatively early, and/or fail to take advantage of interview opportunities that may resolve issues stalling allowance of the application

Origin of Shifts in the Surface Plasmon Resonance Frequencies for Au and Ag Nanoparticles

Origin of shifts in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) frequency for noble metal (Au, Ag) nanoclusters are discussed in this book chapter. Spill out of electron from the Fermi surface is considered as the origin of red shift. On the other hand, both screening of electrons of the noble metal in porous media and quantum effect of screen surface electron are considered for the observed blue shift in the SPR peak position.Comment: 37 pages, 14 Figures in the submitted book chapter of The Annual Reviews in Plasmonics, edited by Professor Chris D. Geddes. Springer Scinec

Global attractor for a nonlinear oscillator coupled to the Klein-Gordon field

The long-time asymptotics is analyzed for all finite energy solutions to a model U(1)-invariant nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation in one dimension, with the nonlinearity concentrated at a single point: each finite energy solution converges as time goes to plus or minus infinity to the set of all ``nonlinear eigenfunctions'' of the form \psi(x)e\sp{-i\omega t}. The global attraction is caused by the nonlinear energy transfer from lower harmonics to the continuous spectrum and subsequent dispersive radiation. We justify this mechanism by the following novel strategy based on inflation of spectrum by the nonlinearity. We show that any omega-limit trajectory has the time-spectrum in the spectral gap [-m,m] and satisfies the original equation. This equation implies the key spectral inclusion for spectrum of the nonlinear term. Then the application of the Titchmarsh Convolution Theorem reduces the spectrum of each omega-limit trajectory to a single harmonic in [-m,m]. The research is inspired by Bohr's postulate on quantum transitions and Schroedinger's identification of the quantum stationary states to the nonlinear eigenfunctions of the coupled U(1)-invariant Maxwell-Schroedinger and Maxwell-Dirac equations.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figur

Intrinsic gain modulation and adaptive neural coding

In many cases, the computation of a neural system can be reduced to a receptive field, or a set of linear filters, and a thresholding function, or gain curve, which determines the firing probability; this is known as a linear/nonlinear model. In some forms of sensory adaptation, these linear filters and gain curve adjust very rapidly to changes in the variance of a randomly varying driving input. An apparently similar but previously unrelated issue is the observation of gain control by background noise in cortical neurons: the slope of the firing rate vs current (f-I) curve changes with the variance of background random input. Here, we show a direct correspondence between these two observations by relating variance-dependent changes in the gain of f-I curves to characteristics of the changing empirical linear/nonlinear model obtained by sampling. In the case that the underlying system is fixed, we derive relationships relating the change of the gain with respect to both mean and variance with the receptive fields derived from reverse correlation on a white noise stimulus. Using two conductance-based model neurons that display distinct gain modulation properties through a simple change in parameters, we show that coding properties of both these models quantitatively satisfy the predicted relationships. Our results describe how both variance-dependent gain modulation and adaptive neural computation result from intrinsic nonlinearity.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 1 supporting informatio

The proangiogenic capacity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils delineated by microarray technique and by measurement of neovascularization in wounded skin of CD18-deficient mice

Growing evidence supports the concept that polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are critically involved in inflammation-mediated angiogenesis which is important for wound healing and repair. We employed an oligonucleotide microarray technique to gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the proangiogenic potential of human PMN. In addition to 18 known angiogenesis-relevant genes, we detected the expression of 10 novel genes, namely midkine, erb-B2, ets-1, transforming growth factor receptor-beta(2) and -beta(3), thrombospondin, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2, ephrin A2, ephrin B2 and restin in human PMN freshly isolated from the circulation. Gene expression was confi rmed by the RT-PCR technique. In vivo evidence for the role of PMN in neovascularization was provided by studying neovascularization in a skin model of wound healing using CD18-deficient mice which lack PMN infi ltration to sites of lesion. In CD18-deficient animals, neo- vascularization was found to be signifi cantly compromised when compared with wild- type control animals which showed profound neovascularization within the granulation tissue during the wound healing process. Thus, PMN infiltration seems to facilitate inflammation mediated angiogenesis which may be a consequence of the broad spectrum of proangiogenic factors expressed by these cells. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

The surface science of quasicrystals

The surfaces of quasicrystals have been extensively studied since about 1990. In this paper we review work on the structure and morphology of clean surfaces, and their electronic and phonon structure. We also describe progress in adsorption and epitaxy studies. The paper is illustrated throughout with examples from the literature. We offer some reflections on the wider impact of this body of work and anticipate areas for future development. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version

Efficient arithmetic on elliptic curves in characteristic 2

International audienceWe present normal forms for elliptic curves over a field of characteristic 2 analogous to Edwards normal form, and determine bases of addition laws, which provide strikingly simple expressions for the group law. We deduce efficient algorithms for point addition and scalar multiplication on these forms. The resulting algorithms apply to any elliptic curve over a field of characteristic 2 with a 4-torsion point, via an isomorphism with one of the normal forms. We deduce algorithms for duplication in time $2M + 5S + 2m_c$ and for addition of points in time $7M + 2S$, where $M$ is the cost of multiplication, $S$ the cost of squaring , and $m_c$ the cost of multiplication by a constant. By a study of the Kummer curves $\mathcal{K} = E/\{\pm1]\}$, we develop an algorithm for scalar multiplication with point recovery which computes the multiple of a point P with $4M + 4S + 2m_c + m_t$ per bit where $m_t$ is multiplication by a constant that depends on $P$