Single neurons in the kitten visual cortex can be induced to increase their responsiveness to a repeated stimulus applied while the neurons are under observation. These short-term changes are in the same direction as the permanent modifications produced in whole populations of neurons following environmental manipulations during the "critical period" of cortical development, but are less pronou...

The SPEAR 2 radio frequency (RF) system uses cavities with minimal external damping, no circulators, and long uncovered waveguide runs. Because of these factors, the strengths and frequencies of the RF system impedances are dependent on such environmental factors as temperature and pressure. These effects are quantified; system modifications to control these effects and therefore improve beam s...

Dengue virus spreader Aedes mosquitoes are now present globally in tropical and sub-tropical regions, and spread to more temperate areas during the summer. Mosquitoes Aedes albopictus Skuse and Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) have adapted to breed around human dwellings and prefer to lay eggs in clean water, and since the virus can be passed from adult to egg, the dengue virus is guaranteed to survive...

The community of Hana, Hawai'i began a program of home modifications to help their elderly prevent falls. We estimated the cost benefit of these modifications from construction costs and published reports of effectiveness and cost of treating falls. We interviewed clients to determine risk of falling. The average cost of home modifications was $800. The average annual averted medical cost of fa...

Proteomics is the study of proteomes, which are the collections of proteins expressed in cells. Whereas genomes are essentially invariant in different cells in an organism, proteomes vary from cell to cell, with time and as a function of environmental stimuli and stress. The integration of new mass spectrometry (MS) methods, data analysis algorithms, and information from databases of protein an...

Temperature is one of the most important environmental factors affecting the physiology of animals. Seasonal fluctuations in temperature are of particular importance in aquatic ectotherms since their body temperature is in equilibrium with their environment. When an organism faces adverse environmental conditions, it can either remain active or enter into metabolic depression, adopting the stra...

Sumoylation regulates numerous cellular functions in plants as well as in other eukaryotic systems. However, the regulatory mechanisms controlling E3 small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) ligase are not well understood. Here, post-translational modification of the Arabidopsis E3 SUMO ligase AtSIZ1 was shown to be specifically controlled by abiotic stresses. AtSIZ1 ubiquitination was induced b...