Stripe-line coil for magnetic-field generation in bubble memory devices

Coil etched from conductive film has better field uniformity than wire-wound coils and less coil loss at high-frequency operation

Open coil structure for bubble-memory-device packaging

Concept has several important advantages over close-wound system: memory and coil chips are separate and interchangeable; interconnections in coil level are eliminated by packing memory chip and electronics in single structure; and coil size can be adjusted to optimum value in terms of power dissipation and field uniformity

Statistical Analysis of Tract-Tracing Experiments Demonstrates a Dense, Complex Cortical Network in the Mouse.

Anatomical tract tracing methods are the gold standard for estimating the weight of axonal connectivity between a pair of pre-defined brain regions. Large studies, comprising hundreds of experiments, have become feasible by automated methods. However, this comes at the cost of positive-mean noise making it difficult to detect weak connections, which are of particular interest as recent high resolution tract-tracing studies of the macaque have identified many more weak connections, adding up to greater connection density of cortical networks, than previously recognized. We propose a statistical framework that estimates connectivity weights and credibility intervals from multiple tract-tracing experiments. We model the observed signal as a log-normal distribution generated by a combination of tracer fluorescence and positive-mean noise, also accounting for injections into multiple regions. Using anterograde viral tract-tracing data provided by the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences, we estimate the connection density of the mouse intra-hemispheric cortical network to be 73% (95% credibility interval (CI): 71%, 75%); higher than previous estimates (40%). Inter-hemispheric density was estimated to be 59% (95% CI: 54%, 62%). The weakest estimable connections (about 6 orders of magnitude weaker than the strongest connections) are likely to represent only one or a few axons. These extremely weak connections are topologically more random and longer distance than the strongest connections, which are topologically more clustered and shorter distance (spatially clustered). Weak links do not substantially contribute to the global topology of a weighted brain graph, but incrementally increased topological integration of a binary graph. The topology of weak anatomical connections in the mouse brain, rigorously estimable down to the biological limit of a single axon between cortical areas in these data, suggests that they might confer functional advantages for integrative information processing and/or they might represent a stochastic factor in the development of the mouse connectome.Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (Rubicon Fellowship), National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research CentreThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Public Library of Science via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.100510

Wiring cost and topological participation of the mouse brain connectome.

Brain connectomes are topologically complex systems, anatomically embedded in 3D space. Anatomical conservation of "wiring cost" explains many but not all aspects of these networks. Here, we examined the relationship between topology and wiring cost in the mouse connectome by using data from 461 systematically acquired anterograde-tracer injections into the right cortical and subcortical regions of the mouse brain. We estimated brain-wide weights, distances, and wiring costs of axonal projections and performed a multiscale topological and spatial analysis of the resulting weighted and directed mouse brain connectome. Our analysis showed that the mouse connectome has small-world properties, a hierarchical modular structure, and greater-than-minimal wiring costs. High-participation hubs of this connectome mediated communication between functionally specialized and anatomically localized modules, had especially high wiring costs, and closely corresponded to regions of the default mode network. Analyses of independently acquired histological and gene-expression data showed that nodal participation colocalized with low neuronal density and high expression of genes enriched for cognition, learning and memory, and behavior. The mouse connectome contains high-participation hubs, which are not explained by wiring-cost minimization but instead reflect competitive selection pressures for integrated network topology as a basis for higher cognitive and behavioral functions.Funding was provided by a NARSAD Young Investigator award and Isaac Newton Trust (to M.R.); a Rubicon Fellowship (to R.J.F.Y.); the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Behavioural & Clinical Neuroscience Institute); and the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (high-performance computing facilities).This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Rubinov M, Ypma RJF, Watson C, Bullmore ET, PNAS, 2015, 112, 10032-10037, doi:10.1073/pnas.1420315112). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.142031511

Uniform rotating field network structure to efficiently package a magnetic bubble domain memory

A unique and compact open coil rotating magnetic field network structure to efficiently package an array of bubble domain devices is disclosed. The field network has a configuration which effectively enables selected bubble domain devices from the array to be driven in a vertical magnetic field and in an independent and uniform horizontal rotating magnetic field. The field network is suitably adapted to minimize undesirable inductance effects, improve capabilities of heat dissipation, and facilitate repair or replacement of a bubble device

Endo-prosthesis, a femoral head prosthesis and an acetabulum prosthesis

A prosthesis for insertion into a long bone includes a stem which has been shaped so as to evenly distribute low stress to the bone. A synthetic resinous sheath surrounds the stem which effects a contact surface between the stem and the bone. The prosthesis includes an extension which extends outwardly of the bone and has a ball and socket thereon.</p

Method of shaping an endo-prosthesis, a femoral head prosthesis, an acetabulum prosthesis and a method of fixing a femoral head prosthesis in a bone

A prosthesis having stresses acting on the interface between prosthesis and bone is designed by a computerized method in which the shape of the prosthesis is iteratively changed. A femoral head prosthesis is positioned in a bone by means of positioning elements, after which acrylic cement is inserted into the bone

Monitoring the spread of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in The Netherlands from a reference laboratory perspective

SummaryBackgroundIn The Netherlands, efforts to control meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals have been largely successful due to stringent screening of patients on admission and isolation of those that fall into defined risk categories. However, Dutch hospitals are not free of MRSA, and a considerable number of cases are found that do not belong to any of the risk categories. Some of these may be due to undetected nosocomial transmission, whereas others may be introduced from unknown reservoirs.AimIdentifying multi-institutional clusters of MRSA isolates to estimate the contribution of potential unobserved reservoirs in The Netherlands.MethodsWe applied a clustering algorithm that combines time, place, and genetics to routine data available for all MRSA isolates submitted to the Dutch Staphylococcal Reference Laboratory between 2008 and 2011 in order to map the geo-temporal distribution of MRSA clonal lineages in The Netherlands.FindingsOf the 2966 isolates lacking obvious risk factors, 579 were part of geo-temporal clusters, whereas 2387 were classified as MRSA of unknown origin (MUOs). We also observed marked differences in the proportion of isolates that belonged to geo-temporal clusters between specific multi-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) clonal complexes, indicating lineage-specific transmissibility. The majority of clustered isolates (74%) were present in multi-institutional clusters.ConclusionThe frequency of MRSA of unknown origin among patients lacking obvious risk factors is an indication of a largely undefined extra-institutional but genetically highly diverse reservoir. Efforts to understand the emergence and spread of high-risk clones require the pooling of routine epidemiological information and typing data into central databases