An analysis of psychophysical tuning curves in normal and pathological ears

Simultaneous psychophysical tuning curves were obtained from normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners, using probe tones that were either at similar sound pressure levels or at similar sensation levels for the two types of listeners. Tuning curves from the hearing-impaired listeners were flat, erratic, broad, and/or inverted, depending upon the frequency region of the probe tone and the frequency characteristics of the hearing loss. Tuning curves from the normal-hearing listeners at low-SPL's were sharp as expected; tuning curves at high-SPL's were discontinuous. An analysis of high-SPL tuning curves suggests that tuning curves from normal-hearing listeners reflect low-pass filter characteristics instead of the sharp bandpass filter characteristics seen with low-SPL probe tones. Tuning curves from hearing-impaired listeners at high-SPL probe levels appear to reflect similar low-pass filter characteristics, but with much more gradual high-frequency slopes than in the normal ear. This appeared as abnormal downward spread of masking. Relatively good temporal resolution and broader tuning mechanisms were proposed to explain inverted tuning curves in the hearing-impaired listeners.     

The Kapakahines, Cyclic Peptides from the Marine Sponge Cribrochalina olemda

Four cyclic peptides, kapakahines A-D, were isolated from the marine sponge Cribrochalina olemda. Their structures including complete stereochemistry were elucidated by spectral analysis and chemical degradation. The unique structural feature of these peptides is the lack of an amide linkage between two tryptophan residues. Instead the ring is closed by a bond from the indole nitrogen of Trp-1 to the beta-carbon of Trp-2.     

Hot cell based time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been designed and is presently being installed within a radiological controlled hot cell at Argonne National Laboratory-West. Direct solid sampling is performed by laser ablation or glow discharge sputtering followed by supersonic expansion into the TOFMS source chamber. Once the atom/ion beam enters the source chamber, enhanced ionization can be accomplished by laser ionization or electron impact. An assortment of samples may be analyzed ranging from irradiated nuclear fuel elements and cladding materials to eutectic salts, radioactive waste materials and environmental samples.     

Clinical count rate performance of an LSO PET/CT scanner utilizing a new front-end electronics architecture with sub-nanosecond intrinsic timing resolution

A new front-end electronics architecture with sub-nanosecond intrinsic timing resolution has recently been incorporated into a 16 slice LSO PET/CT scanner for imaging applications in oncology. The new electronics are designed to work optimally with the lutetium orthosilicate (LSO) scintillator. Clinical performance of the LSO PET/CT is examined before and after upgrading to the new PICO 3D electronics, and compared with results using the NEMA NU 2 standard for evaluating scanner performance. Improved noise-equivalent count rates are seen in clinical studies, and reduced scatter fractions are observed, consistent with the increased lower-level energy threshold used to reject scatter events in the upgraded configuration.     

A partial wave analysis of thef′ region in the reactionK^ - p \to K\bar K\Lambda ^0 at 8.25 GeV/c

A partial wave analysis of theK \(\bar K\) system produced by 8.25 GeV/cK ^? mesons in the reaction \(K^ - p \to K\bar K\Lambda ^{ 0} \) has been performed, taking into account the information provided by the Λ⁰ decay. Thef′ region is dominated byD ₀ ^(?) andD ₁ ⁽⁺⁾ waves. We see no evidence for the production of new 0⁺⁺ states in the mass region 1.05 to 1.75 GeV.     

Chromium(II) and chromium(III) complexes supported by tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine: synthesis, structures, and reactivity

This report describes the synthesis, structural characterization, and polymerization behavior of a series of chromium(II) and chromium(III) complexes ligated by tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPA), including chromium(III) organometallic derivatives. For instance, the combination of TPA with CrCl(2) yields monomeric (TPA)CrCl(2) (1). A similar reaction of CrCl(2) with TPA, followed by chloride abstraction with NaBPh(4) or NaBAr(F)(4) (Ar(F) = 3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3)), provides the weakly associated cationic dimers [(TPA)CrCl](2)[BPh(4)](2) (2A) and [(TPA)CrCl](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2) (2B), respectively. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that each chromium(II) center in 1, 2A, and 2B is a tetragonally elongated octahedron; such Jahn-Teller distortions are consistent with the observed high spin (S = 2) electronic configurations for these chromium(II) complexes. Likewise, reaction of CrCl(3)(THF)(3) with TPA, followed by anion metathesis with NaBPh(4) or NaBAr(F)(4), yields the monomeric, cationic chromium(III) complexes [(TPA)CrCl(2)][BPh(4)] (4A) and [(TPA)CrCl(2)][BAr(F)(4)] (4B), respectively. Treatment of 4A with methyl and phenyl Grignard reagents produces the cationic chromium(III) organometallic derivatives [(TPA)Cr(CH(3))(2)][BPh(4)] (5) and [(TPA)CrPh(2)][BPh(4)] (6), respectively. Similar reactions of 4A with organolithium reagents leads to intractable solids, presumably due to overreduction of the chromium(III) center. X-ray crystallographic analysis of 4A, 5, and 6 confirms that each possesses a largely undistorted octahedral chromium center, consistent with the observed S = (3)/(2) electronic ground states. Compounds 1, 2A, 2B, 4A, 4B, 5, and 6 are all active polymerization catalysts in the presence of methylalumoxane, producing low to moderate molecular weight high-density polyethylene.     

Elucidating the mechanism of cis double bond formation in epothilone biosynthesis

The epothilones, originally isolated from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum, are macrocyclic compounds that are synthesized by a modular polyketide synthase, an enzyme complex composed of six large, multifunctional proteins. The penultimate intermediates in epothilone production, and the products of the PKS-catalyzed reactions, are epothilones D and C, which contain a 12,13-cis-double bond. The 12 and 13 positions of epothilones are generated during the fourth elongation step that is governed by module 4. Module 4 does not contain a dehydratase (DH) domain, which is required for dehydration to create the double bond. A DH domain, present in module 5 and presumed to act in the fifth elongation step at the 10 and 11 positions, was proposed to act as well to generate the 12,13-cis-double bond. Inactivation of the DH domain in module 5 resulted in the production of 10,11-dehydro-13-hydroxyepothilone D as the major product, confirming that DH5 is required for 12,13 dehydration. A mechanistic model based on domain skipping and modular stuttering is presented to explain the basis for the iterative DH5 activity observed.     

TDDFT Studies of Electronic Structure and First Hyperpolarizability of Tetra-nuclear Cubane-like Transition Metal Clusters

A series of tri-nuclear transition metal clusters with incomplete cubane-like configurations have been studied by TDDFT method. The calculations show that they have enormously large second-order polarizabilities () and are potential nonlinear optical materials for infrared double frequency conversion1. In this paper some tetra-nuclear transition metal clusters with cubane-like configurations, MCu3X4 (PPh3)3 (M=W, Mo; X= S, O, Cl, Se, Br), were studied by TDDFT method for a reference…     

Baryon antibaryon production in the central region at 85 GeV/c

In a search for glueballs and exotic states decaying into baryons and antibaryons we have investigated the production of baryon antibaryon pairs produced centrally in the reactions π⁺/pp → π⁺/p(X ⁰)p at 85 GeV/c. In particular, channels whereX ⁰ goes to \(p\bar p,p\bar p\pi ^ + \pi ^ - ,p\bar p2\pi ^ + 2\pi ^ - \) and \(\Lambda \bar \Lambda \) have been observed. No significant new structure is observed in the mass spectra.     

双圈图的零度与其匹配数之间的关系

Let G be a graph with n(G) vertices and m(G) be its matching number.The nullity of G,denoted by η(G),is the multiplicity of the eigenvalue zero of adjacency matrix of G.It is well known that if G is a tree,then η(G) = n(G)-2m(G).Guo et al.[Jiming GUO,Weigen YAN,Yeongnan YEH.On the nullity and the matching number of unicyclic graphs.Linear Alg.Appl.,2009,431:1293 1301]proved that if G is a unicyclic graph,then η(G)equals n(G)-2m(G)-1,n(G)-2m(G),or n(G)-2m(G) +2.In this paper,we prove that if G is a bicyclic graph,then η(G) equals n(G)-2m(G),n(G)-2m(G)±1,n(G)-2m(G)±2or n(G)-2m(G) + 4.We also give a characterization of these six types of bicyclic graphs corresponding to each nullity.