Circuit dynamics of the olfactory pathway during olfactory learning.

The olfactory system plays crucial roles in perceiving and interacting with their surroundings. Previous studies have deciphered basic odor perceptions, but how information processing in the olfactory system is associated with learning and memory is poorly understood. In this review, we summarize recent studies on the anatomy and functional dynamics of the mouse olfactory learning pathway, focusing on how neuronal circuits in the olfactory bulb (OB) and olfactory cortical areas integrate odor information in learning. We also highlight in vivo evidence for the role of the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) in olfactory learning. Altogether, these studies demonstrate that brain regions throughout the olfactory system are critically involved in forming and representing learned knowledge. The role of olfactory areas in learning and memory, and their susceptibility to dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, necessitate further research

Understanding the Impact of Service Reputation on the Online Group-buying Behaviors

It has been well recognized that vendors’ reputation plays an important role in e-commerce. As a popular platform for promoting the services or products online, groupon websites have developed various reputation systems to assist the customers in making their purchase decisions. This paper performs an empirical study to investigate the impact of service reputation on the groupon buying behaviors using data from a major groupon website in China. A set of service reputation metrics is developed to measure the service reputation for different service providers, and the groupon buying behavior is measured by the amount of users participating in the corresponding collective buying activity. Correlation analysis is carried out to find out the relationship between the service reputation and the groupon purchase behaviors. Our research indicates the necessity for an improvement for the current service reputation systems of the groupon web sites

Magnetic Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals embedded in crystalline Ge: a magnet/semiconductor hybrid synthesized by ion implantation

The integration of ferromagnetic Mn5Ge3 with the Ge matrix is promising for spin injection in a silicon-compatible geometry. In this paper, we report the preparation of magnetic Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals embedded inside the Ge matrix by Mn ions implantation at elevated temperature. By X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, we observe crystalline Mn5Ge3 with variable size depending on the Mn ion fluence. The electronic structure of Mn in Mn5Ge3 nanocrystals is 3d6 configuration, the same as in bulk Mn5Ge3. A large positive magnetoresistance has been observed at low temperatures. It can be explained by the conductivity inhomogeneity in the magnetic/semiconductor hybrid system.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Reconstructing solar wind inhomogeneous structures from stereoscopic observations in white-light: Small transients along the Sun-Earth line

The Heliospheric Imagers (HI) on board the two spacecraft of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) provided white-light images of transients in the solar wind from dual perspectives from 2007 to 2014. In this paper, we develop a new method to identify and locate the transients automatically from simultaneous images from the two inner telescopes, known as HI-1, based on a correlation analysis. Correlation coefficient (cc) maps along the Sun-Earth line are constructed for the period from 1 Jan 2010 to 28 Feb 2011. From the maps, transients propagating along the Sun-Earth line are identified, and a 27-day periodic pattern is revealed, especially for small-scale transients. Such a periodicity in the transient pattern is consistent with the rotation of the Sun's global magnetic structure and the periodic crossing of the streamer structures and slow solar wind across the Sun-Earth line, and this substantiates the reliability of our method and the high degree of association between the small-scale transients of the slow solar wind and the coronal streamers. Besides, it is suggested by the cc map that small-scale transients along the Sun-Earth line are more frequent than large-scale transients by a factor of at least 2, and that they quickly diffused into background solar wind within about 40 Rs in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio of white-light emissions. The method provides a new tool to reconstruct inhomogeneous structures in the heliosphere from multiple perspectives.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, to be published on Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physic

Triaqua­chlorido(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)cobalt(II) chloride monohydrate

In the title compound, [CoCl(C12H8N2)(H2O)3]Cl·H2O, the CoII ion is coordinated by two N atoms from the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand [Co—N = 2.125 (6) and 2.146 (6) Å], one chloride ligand [Co—Cl = 2.459 (2)Å] and three water mol­ecules [Co—O = 2.070 (5)–2.105 (5)Å] in a distorted octa­hedral geometry. Inter­molecular O—H⋯Cl and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form an extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network, which consolidates the crystal packing

Current application of metabolomics in the elucidation of processing mechanisms used in Chinese materia medica: A review

Processing, a key characteristic of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), enhances the efficacy and safety of Chinese materia medica (CMM) in clinics. It plays an important role in TCM. Studies on processing mechanisms involved in CMM promote the development of TCM. However, most studies on the mechanisms used for processing CMM do not reflect the holistic theory of TCM because they are based only on analysis of some specific  chemical components and biochemical indices which do not support the TCM characteristics of network target and multicomponent therapeutics. Fortunately, the perspective of systems biology is consistent with the holistic theory of TCM. Metabolomics, a key tool in systems biology, has been widely used to investigate the processing mechanism of CMM for many years. In this work, current applications of metabolomics in elucidating  mechanisms used for processing of CMM were systematically reviewed and discussed in terms of changes in chemical components, toxicity and efficacy of CMM before and after processing. This work provides researchers a clear and concise reference on the current application of  metabolomics in investigation of mechanisms used in processing of CMM. Moreover, this work provides a guide on how to investigate the  mechanisms used in processing of CMM, based on metabolomics. Keywords: Chinese materia medica, Processing mechanism, Metabolomics, Holistic theor

Smart Roads: Roadside Perception, Vehicle-Road Cooperation and Business Model

Smart roads have become an essential component of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The roadside perception technology, a critical aspect of smart roads, utilizes various sensors, roadside units (RSUs), and edge computing devices to gather real-time traffic data for vehicle-road cooperation. However, the full potential of smart roads in improving the safety and efficiency of autonomous vehicles only can be realized through the mass deployment of roadside perception and communication devices. On the one hand, roadside devices require significant investment but can only achieve monitoring function currently, resulting in no profitability for investors. On the other hand, drivers lack trust in the safety of autonomous driving technology, making it difficult to promote large-scale commercial applications. To deal with the dilemma of mass deployment, we propose a novel smart-road vehicle-guiding architecture for vehicle-road cooperative autonomous driving, based on which we then propose the corresponding business model and analyze its benefits from both operator and driver perspectives. The numerical simulations validate that our proposed smart road solution can enhance driving safety and traffic efficiency. Moreover, we utilize the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model to assess the economic advantages of the proposed business model which indicates that the smart highway that can provide vehicle-guided-driving services for autonomous vehicles yields more profit than the regular highway