Network anatomy and in vivo physiology of visual cortical neurons

In the cerebral cortex, local circuits consist of tens of thousands of neurons, each of which makes thousands of synaptic connections. Perhaps the biggest impediment to understanding these networks is that we have no wiring diagrams of their interconnections. Even if we had a partial or complete wiring diagram, however, understanding the network would also require information about each neuron's function. Here we show that the relationship between structure and function can be studied in the cortex with a combination of in vivo physiology and network anatomy. We used two-photon calcium imaging to characterize a functional property--the preferred stimulus orientation--of a group of neurons in the mouse primary visual cortex. Large-scale electron microscopy of serial thin sections was then used to trace a portion of these neurons' local network. Consistent with a prediction from recent physiological experiments, inhibitory interneurons received convergent anatomical input from nearby excitatory neurons with a broad range of preferred orientations, although weak biases could not be rejected.     

Mutations causing syndromic autism define an axis of synaptic pathophysiology

Tuberous sclerosis complex and fragile X syndrome are genetic diseases characterized by intellectual disability and autism. Because both syndromes are caused by mutations in genes that regulate protein synthesis in neurons, it has been hypothesized that excessive protein synthesis is one core pathophysiological mechanism of intellectual disability and autism. Using electrophysiological and biochemical assays of neuronal protein synthesis in the hippocampus of Tsc2(+/-) and Fmr1(-/y) mice, here we show that synaptic dysfunction caused by these mutations actually falls at opposite ends of a physiological spectrum. Synaptic, biochemical and cognitive defects in these mutants are corrected by treatments that modulate metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in opposite directions, and deficits in the mutants disappear when the mice are bred to carry both mutations. Thus, normal synaptic plasticity and cognition occur within an optimal range of metabotropic glutamate-receptor-mediated protein synthesis, and deviations in either direction can lead to shared behavioural impairments.     

Civil conflicts are associated with the global climate

It has been proposed that changes in global climate have been responsible for episodes of widespread violence and even the collapse of civilizations. Yet previous studies have not shown that violence can be attributed to the global climate, only that random weather events might be correlated with conflict in some cases. Here we directly associate planetary-scale climate changes with global patterns of civil conflict by examining the dominant interannual mode of the modern climate, the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Historians have argued that ENSO may have driven global patterns of civil conflict in the distant past, a hypothesis that we extend to the modern era and test quantitatively. Using data from 1950 to 2004, we show that the probability of new civil conflicts arising throughout the tropics doubles during El Ni?o years relative to La Ni?a years. This result, which indicates that ENSO may have had a role in 21% of all civil conflicts since 1950, is the first demonstration that the stability of modern societies relates strongly to the global climate.     

Fine structure and phase composition of Fe-14Mn-1.2C steel:influence of a modified mixture based on refractory metals

The effect of TiO₂, ZrO₂ and Na₃AlF₆ ultrafine powders on the fine structure and the phase composition of Fe-14Mn-1.2C steel was investigated. The introduction of the ultrafine powders into the melt influenced the grain size, the quantity, and the character of distribution of nonmetallic inclusions in the railroad frogs. The microstructure of castings was improved significantly because of the refinement of the grain structure and an increase of the grain-boundary area. After the modifying mixture was introduced into the melt, either the microtwins of one or two intersecting systems or the precipitations of ε-martensite of different types, or simultaneously the microtwins and wafers of ε-martensite, were present in each grain.     

大陆科学钻探 十年的进展与未来的挑战

科学钻探是现代地球科学研究中一个不可或缺的工具，因为它是直接获得地球深部过程信息的唯一来源，对于我们更好地认识了解我们赖以生存的星球、解决紧迫的社会经济问题具有关键性的作用。国际大陆科学钻探计划（ICDP）始于1996年，2005年在德国波茨坦召开了第二届国际大陆钻探会议。     

Combination forecasts of output growth in a seven‐country data set

This paper uses forecast combination methods to forecast output growth in a seven‐country quarterly economic data set covering 1959–1999, with up to 73 predictors per country. Although the forecasts based on individual predictors are unstable over time and across countries, and on average perform worse than an autoregressive benchmark, the combination forecasts often improve upon autoregressive forecasts. Despite the unstable performance of the constituent forecasts, the most successful combination forecasts, like the mean, are the least sensitive to the recent performance of the individual forecasts. While consistent with other evidence on the success of simple combination forecasts, this finding is difficult to explain using the theory of combination forecasting in a stationary environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

自放电磁相容性

本书是一本关于自放电磁相容性的专著，书中包含重要的自动效应等的重要应用。     

Co-operative Inquiry as a Tool for Professional Development

This article describes my involvement as an external facilitator in separate research projects, with a total of five co-operative inquiry groups. The groups all consisted of social welfare professionals, mainly social workers, who were wanting to explore the development of their practice in a context of competing demands from legislation, policy, and management at an organizational level. The article focuses on process, and how, collectively, we facilitated these as more or less successful inquiries. There is detail about how co-operative inquiry, with professionals, in their organizational context, can work successfully, and the part that an external facilitator can take in ensuring a positive result.