Developmental and activity-dependent regulation of kainate receptors at thalamocortical synapses.

Most of the fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the mammalian brain is mediated by ionotrophic glutamate receptors, of which there are three subtypes: AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate), NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and kainate. Although kainate-receptor subunits (GluR5-7, KA1 and 2) are widely expressed in the mammalian central nervous system, little is known about their function. The development of pharmacological agents that distinguish between AMPA and kainate receptors has now allowed the functions of kainate receptors to be investigated. The modulation of synaptic transmission by kainate receptors and their synaptic activation in a variety of brain regions have been reported. The expression of kainate receptor subunits is developmentally regulated but their role in plasticity and development is unknown. Here we show that developing thalamocortical synapses express postsynaptic kainate receptors as well as AMPA receptors; however, the two receptor subtypes do not colocalize. During the critical period for experience-dependent plasticity, the kainate-receptor contribution to transmission decreases; a similar decrease occurs when long-term potentiation is induced in vitro. This indicates that during development there is activity-dependent regulation of the expression of kainate receptors at thalamocortical synapses.     

尼日利亚的石油开发

石油输出国组织在世界石油生产与销售中起着重要作用，出乎工程师们意外的这些国家中，有一些被公认为“富国”，有些却位于第三世界之末尾但是都没有一个被视作发达国家。本文对尼早亚的石油开发作一综述，指出它的发展势，经验与教训，对潜在的石油国所作的一些建议想必是适合于中国石油开发现状的。     

Rendering Grass Blowing in the Wind with Global Illumination

We have simulated a time varying wind field using the lattice Boltzmann model, and its effect on blades of grass with a simple mass-spring model. We present a global illumination model for multiple scattering of incident sun and sky illumination within the field of grass. We model the grass as a continuous distribution of infinitesimal colored scattering flakes and solve a system of differential equations for the radiance transport. We repeat this for a collection of grass bending directions and amounts, an...     

Emission-Based Scatter Correction in SPECT Imaging

Scatter correction in single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) has been focused on either using multiple-window acquisition technique or the scatter modeling technique in iterative image reconstruction.We propose a technique that uses only the emission data for scatter correction in SPECT.We assume that the scatter data can be approximated by convolving the primary data with a scatter kernel followed by the normalization using the scatter-to-primary ratio(SPR).Since the emission data is the superpo...     

Recent Advance in Non-Krylov Subspace Model Order Reduction of Interconnect Circuits

Model order reduction of interconnect circuits is an important technique to reduce the circuit complexity and improve the efficiency of post-layout verification process in the nanometer VLSI design. Existing works using the Krylov subspace method are very efficient, but the resulting models are less compact and lack global accuracy. Also, existing methods cannot handle interconnect circuits with large input and output ports. Recent advances in reduction techniques using non-Krylov subspace techniques such a...     

CAD到ArcGIS数据转换问题

为将以AutoCAD格式存在的测量基础数据转换成GIS数据,从理论和实践两方面进行了研究。通过AO+VB进行开发设计数据转换程序。最终实现了AutoCAD环境下的大比例尺地形图数据向ArcGIS数据格式的无信息损失转换,降低了地理信息系统开发过程中数据采集的费用。     

金属有机化学气相沉积薄膜制备中传热传质的数值模拟

建立水平式GaAs的金属有机化学气相沉积(metal-organic chemical vapor deposition,MOCVD)数学模型, 采用求解压力耦合方程的半隐式(SIMPLE)算法对反应气体流动进行二维数值模拟, 并基于边界层动量、热量与扩散传质的相关理论分析了薄膜制备过程中化学组分的输运, 以及反应前驱物与气相之间的传热过程. 计算所得的GaAs生长速率与实验结果吻合较好. 同时, 数值讨论了反应器进气流量、操作压力以及基底温度对GaAs生长速率的影响. 薄膜生长的速率峰值随入口气体速度的升高而有所增大, 但薄膜生长逐渐趋于不均匀性. 因此, 选取气流速度为0.104 m/s. 薄膜生长速率随着操作压力的增大而增大, 当压力为6 kPa时, GaAs生长速率较压力为2 kPa时提高了223%, 薄膜具有较好的生长速率和均匀性.基底温度对薄膜生长速率影响显著, 在1 050 K时薄膜有良好的生长速率和均匀性, GaAs生长速率比温度为950 K时提高了123%. 研究结果为优化MOCVD反应条件及其反应器的结构设计提供了理论依据.     

Blindness and auditory impairment caused by loss of the sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBC3

Normal sensory transduction requires the efficient disposal of acid (H+) generated by neuronal and sensory receptor activity. Multiple highly sensitive transport mechanisms have evolved in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms to maintain acidity within strict limits. It is currently assumed that the multiplicity of these processes provides a biological robustness. Here we report that the visual and auditory systems have a specific requirement for H+ disposal mediated by the sodium bicarbonate cotransporter NBC3 (refs. 7,8). Mice lacking NBC3 develop blindness and auditory impairment because of degeneration of sensory receptors in the eye and inner ear as in Usher syndrome. Our results indicate that in certain sensory organs, in which the requirement to transduce specific environmental signals with speed, sensitivity and reliability is paramount, the choice of the H+ disposal mechanism used is limited.     

When the American sea sturgeon swam east

The two species of Atlantic sea sturgeon on either shore of the North Atlantic, Acipenser sturio in Europe and A. oxyrinchus in North America, probably diverged with the closure of the Tethys Sea and the onset of the North Atlantic Gyre 15-20 million years ago, and contact between them was then presumably precluded by geographic distance. Here we present genetic, morphological and archaeological evidence indicating that the North American sturgeon colonized the Baltic during the Middle Ages and replaced the native sturgeon there, before recently becoming extinct itself in Europe as a result of human activities. In addition to representing a unique transatlantic colonization event by a fish that swims upriver to spawn, our findings have important implications for projects aimed at restocking Baltic waters with the European sturgeon.