Local sleep in awake rats

In an awake state, neurons in the cerebral cortex fire irregularly and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings display low-amplitude, high-frequency fluctuations. During sleep, neurons oscillate between 'on' periods, when they fire as in an awake brain, and 'off' periods, when they stop firing altogether and the EEG displays high-amplitude slow waves. However, what happens to neuronal firing after a long period of being awake is not known. Here we show that in freely behaving rats after a long period in an awake state, cortical neurons can go briefly 'offline' as in sleep, accompanied by slow waves in the local EEG. Neurons often go offline in one cortical area but not in another, and during these periods of 'local sleep', the incidence of which increases with the duration of the awake state, rats are active and display an 'awake' EEG. However, they are progressively impaired in a sugar pellet reaching task. Thus, although both the EEG and behaviour indicate wakefulness, local populations of neurons in the cortex may be falling asleep, with negative consequences for performance.     

Inhibition of cadmium teratogenesis by a mercaptoacrylic acid (MFA)

The teratogenic effect of cadmium can be diminished by a number of mechanisms including zinc and pretreatment with cadmium and mercury. In this study, the oral administration of alpha-mercapto-beta-(2-furyl)-acrylic acid (MFA) protects against cadmium-induced malformations and embryonic death. This protection is probably mediated by the chelation of the cadmium ion rather than metallothionein (MT) synthesis.     

Behavioural ecology: transient sexual mimicry leads to fertilization

Sexual mimicry among animals is widespread, but does it impart a fertilization advantage in the widely accepted 'sneak-guard' model of sperm competition? Here we describe field results in which a dramatic facultative switch in sexual phenotype by sneaker-male cuttlefish leads to immediate fertilization success, even in the presence of the consort male. These results are surprising, given the high rate at which females reject copulation attempts by males, the strong mate-guarding behaviour of consort males, and the high level of sperm competition in this complex mating system.     

热轧带钢层流冷却设定模型的开发与实现

分析了热轧带钢层流冷却的传热过程,基于传热过程给出了冷却控制的空冷和水冷温降计算模型,该模型为线性回归模型,不同于理论的指数温降模型,回归数据取自于现场,更具有实用性,具有模型结构简单、精度高的特点·对层流冷却的设定计算(预设定和修正设定计算)的程序实现方法进行了详细描述,讨论了层流冷却系统中的组别划分,并给出了冷却控制系统的数据流程·本系统的冷却能力强,具有较宽的冷却速率调整范围,运行情况以及使用控制效果良好,能满足现场生产以及新品种开发的要求·     

Flares from a candidate Galactic magnetar suggest a missing link to dim isolated neutron stars

Magnetars are young neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields of the order of 10(14)-10(15) G. They are detected in our Galaxy either as soft gamma-ray repeaters or anomalous X-ray pulsars. Soft gamma-ray repeaters are a rare type of gamma-ray transient sources that are occasionally detected as bursters in the high-energy sky. No optical counterpart to the gamma-ray flares or the quiescent source has yet been identified. Here we report multi-wavelength observations of a puzzling source, SWIFT J195509+261406. We detected more than 40 flaring episodes in the optical band over a time span of three days, and a faint infrared flare 11 days later, after which the source returned to quiescence. Our radio observations confirm a Galactic nature and establish a lower distance limit of approximately 3.7 kpc. We suggest that SWIFT J195509+261406 could be an isolated magnetar whose bursting activity has been detected at optical wavelengths, and for which the long-term X-ray emission is short-lived. In this case, a new manifestation of magnetar activity has been recorded and we can consider SWIFT J195509+261406 to be a link between the 'persistent' soft gamma-ray repeaters/anomalous X-ray pulsars and dim isolated neutron stars.     

Placental permeability of arsenate ion during early embryogenesis in the hamster

Summary Sodium arsenate crosses the placental barrier in pregnant Syrian hamsters following injection in teratogenic or tracer doses on the 8th day of gestation.This work was supported by USPHS grant ES-00697.