Rate-intensity functions and their modification by broadband noise for neurons in the guinea pig inferior colliculus

Rate-intensity functions (RIFs) were generated in response to characteristic frequency (CF) tones presented alone and in the presence of broadband noise for neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (IC) of the anesthetized guinea pig. Seventy-six percent of the RIFs to CF tones were monotonic (some showing incomplete saturation), and 24% were nonmonotonic. The RIFs to continuous noise were more nonmonotonic than those to CF tones. In continuous or gated noise, the dynamic portion of the RIF to a tone was shifted to a higher tone level, with little change in the dynamic range. Above a threshold noise level, the shift was a linear function of noise level with slope 0.97. Little shift occurred when the noise was inversely gated with respect to the tone burst, suggesting that the underlying mechanism is suppression rather than adaptation. For 63% of units, the maximum discharge rate to a tone in low levels (less than 0-dB spectrum level) of noise (including inversely gated) was greater than to the tone alone. Although many of the effects of noise in the IC reflect peripheral mechanisms, they are supplemented by centrally based processes which enhance the detectability of tone intensity increments in the presence of noise.     

Neuronal responses to amplitude-modulated and pure-tone stimuli in the guinea pig inferior colliculus, and their modification by broadband noise

Neuronal responses were recorded to pure and to sinusoidally amplitude-modulated (AM) tones at the characteristic frequency (CF) in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus of anesthetized guinea pigs. Temporal (synchronized) and mean-rate measures were derived from period histograms locked to the stimulus modulation waveform to characterize the modulation response. For stimuli presented in quiet, the modulation gain at low frequencies of modulation (approx less than 50 Hz) was inversely proportional to the neuron's mean firing rate in response to both the modulated stimulus and to a pure tone at an equivalent level. In 43% of units the mean discharge rates in response to the AM stimuli were greatest for those modulation frequencies that generated the largest temporal responses. These discharge-rate maxima occurred at signal intensities corresponding to the steeply sloping part of the neuron's pure-tone rate-intensity function (RIF). The change in mean-rate response to modulated stimuli, as a function of intensity, was qualitatively similar to the pure-tone RIF. Adding broadband noise to the modulated stimulus increased the neuron's temporal response to low modulation frequencies. This increase in modulation gain was correlated with mean firing rate in response to the modulation but did not bear a simple relationship to the noise-induced shift in the RIF measured for a pure tone.     

Fast proton production inπ ± Ne at 30 GeV/c

An isospin subtraction technique is used to derive distributions for π^± Ne→pX with an incident π momentum of 30 GeV/c, using precision bubble chamber measurements. Although final-state protons can only be identified by conventional techniques, i.e. ionization, forp _p ≦1 GeV/c, this technique allows us to statistically derive inclusive distributions for protons above 1 GeV/c. Combining these distributions with the identified proton distributions, the total inclusive proton distributions are compared with previously reported results at 10 GeV/c. The 10 and 30 GeV/c distributions are essentially identical, despite a factor of 1.7 increase inE ^CM between the two systems.     

Electrophysiologic monitoring of the recurrent laryngeal nerves may not predict bilateral vocal fold immobility after thyroid surgery

Two cases of bilateral vocal fold immobility (VFI) after identification and preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLNs) required tracheotomy until vocal fold recovery. The first patient underwent thyroid surgery without preoperative or postoperative evaluation of the vocal folds, administration of postoperative intravenous steroids, or electrophysiologic monitoring of the RLNs, whereas the second patient underwent a thyroid procedure in which all of the aforementioned were executed. Preoperative and postoperative clinical evaluation of the RLNs is strongly suggested in patients undergoing thyroid surgery, especially revision surgery. Patients potentially undergoing total thyroidectomy should be counseled about the remote chance of airway obstruction and should be properly selected for this operation. Subclinical stretching of the RLNs or ischemia from the endotracheal tube cuff can result in unilateral VFI, and rarely bilateral VFI, requiring reintubation, tracheotomy, or vocal fold lateralization. Electrophysiologic monitoring may not always predict bilateral VFI.     

Aromaticity of organic heterocyclothiazenes and analogues

Members of a series of carbon-poor sulfur-nitrogen heterocycles and polycycles are shown by direct ab initio ipsocentric calculation to support diatropic ring currents and hence to be aromatic on the basis of magnetic criteria. They include 7-cycles S(3)N(2)(CH)(2), S(3)N(3)(CH), and S(3)N(4) and 8-cycles S(2)N(4)(CH)(2) and S(2)N(2)(CH)(4), all with 10 pi electrons. The unknown trithiatetrazepine S(3)N(4) is predicted to be at least as aromatic as its known diaza and triaza homologues. Angular-momentum arguments show that the pi-electron-rich nature of (4n + 2) SN heterocycles is the key to their diatropic current. The Woodward dithiatetrazocine parent framework S(2)N(4)(CH)(2) supports a diatropic ring current, as does its analogue in which N and CH groups are formally exchanged. Formal expansion of (4n + 2)-pi carbocyclic systems by insertion of NSN motifs in every CC bond is predicted to lead to structures that support diatropic ring currents: explicit ab initio calculation of magnetic response predicts the 24-center, 30-pi-electron heterocycle S(6)N(12)(CH)(6), formally derived from benzene, to be aromatic on the basis of this criterion.     

Synthesis of thienothiopyranthiones by a new molecular rearrangement

On heating with alkynes, the readily prepared 1,3-dithioles 3 undergo a new cycloaddition reaction and an unprecedented molecular rearrangement with loss of chlorine to give the first 7H-thieno[2,3-c]thiopyran-7-thiones 4 and 4H-thieno[3,2-c]thiopyran-4-thiones 5 whose structures were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Unexpectedly, the different alkynes used to form 3 and to convert it into 4 and 5 were incorporated regiospecifically into the thiophene and thiopyran rings, respectively. [reaction: see text]     

On complementary decompositions of the complete graph

We consider decompositionsK _n H, whereH is eitherP ₃ (the path with 3 edges) or the complete bipartite graphK _{1, 3}, with the property that upon taking the complement of each graph in the decomposition one obtains a new decompositionK _n H ^c .Research supported in part by an NSERC postgraduate Scholarship.     

Reaction of 3-azido-5-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole with dimethylformamide,a new deoxygenative coupling reaction

When 3-bromo-5-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole (1b) is heated with sodium azide in anhydrous dimethylformamide at 130°, 3-dimethylamino-($\text{1c}$) and 3-dimethylaminomethyleneamino-5-phenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole ($\text{1d}$) are formed, the latter by a new deoxygenative coupling of the azide ($\text{1a}$), or the nitrene derived from it, with the solvent.