During wakefulness, neural circuits in the brain undergo plastic changes, mainly in terms of modifications in the strength (or number) of synapses, which underlie learning and memory. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis suggests that learning-related plastic changes result in a net increase in synaptic strength by the end of a waking day. However, stronger synapses need more energy, space, and ...

BlastAlloy 160 (BA160) is a low-carbon martensitic steel strengthened by copper and M2C precipitates. Heat-affected zone (HAZ) microstructure evaluation of BA160 exhibited softening in samples subjected to the coarse-grained HAZ thermal simulations of this steel. This softening is partially attributed to dissolution of copper precipitates and metal carbides. After subjecting these coarse-graine...

A 54-year-old man with poliomyelitis had been using a conventional, passive knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) with a drop ring lock knee joint for about 40 years. A stance control KAFO (SCKAFO) with an electromagnetically controlled (E-MAG) knee joint system was prescribed. To correct his gait pattern, he also underwent rehabilitation therapy, which included muscle re-education, neuromuscular ele...

Oct 2005 earthquake was a great tragedy, which resulted in hundreds of paraplegics. This was the largest number of Spinal cord injuries (SCI) reported in a natural disaster. The health care system of Pakistan was not well equipped to handle such a large number of major neurological disabilities. Despite these limitations, the initial response was adequate, aided by involvement and guidance from...

Many attempts are currently underway to restore age-related degraded perception, however, the link between restored perception and remodeled brain function remains elusive. To understand remodeling of age-related cortical reorganization we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with assessments of tactile acuity, perceptual learning, and computational modeling. We show that aging...

We humans spend almost a third of our lives asleep, and there is mounting evidence that sleep not only maintains, but actually improves many of our cognitive functions. Memory consolidation–the process of crystallizing and integrating memories into knowledge and skills–is particularly benefitted by sleep. We survey the evidence that sleep aids memory consolidation in various declarative and imp...

Deregulation, re-regulation and continuing globalisation embody an imperative that banks increase efficiency in order to survive. We employ the Simar-Wilson (2007) two-step double bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis method to measure whether cost efficiency among Jamaican banks has improved between 1999 and 2009 following a number of post-crisis responses aimed at strengthening and improving th...

This paper describes the adoption processes of business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) by Noble Jewelry Limited (Hong Kong), a jewelry manufacturer. By using a website of Noble Jewelry Limited (Noble), iJewelry.com, a B2B e-commerce platform that links Noble with its customers and suppliers, the driving force for B2B e-commerce adoption changed significantly and rapidly. Sta...