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Tremendous Increase (tremendous + increase)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

N-methyl-D-aspartate-stimulated ERK1/2 signaling and the transcriptional up-regulation of plasticity-related genes are developmentally regulated following in vitro neuronal maturation

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 12 2009
Xianju Zhou
Abstract The general features of neuroplasticity are developmentally regulated. Although it has been hypothesized that the loss of plasticity in mature neurons may be due to synaptic saturation and functional reduction of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), the molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. We examined the effects of NMDAR activation and KCl-mediated membrane depolarization on ERK1/2 signaling following in vitro maturation of cultured cortical neurons. Although NMDA stimulated a robust increase in intracellular calcium at both DIV (day in vitro) 3 and 14, the activation of ERK1/2 and cAMP responsive element-binding protein (CREB) was impaired at DIV 14. Specifically, the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was stimulated by both NMDA and KCl at DIV 3. However, at DIV 14, NMDA- but not KCl-stimulated ERK1/2 and CREB phosphorylation was significantly diminished. Consistently, the NMDA-induced transcription of ERK/CREB-regulated genes Bdnf exon 4, Arc, and zif268 was significantly attenuated at DIV 14. Moreover, in comparison with 3 DIV neurons, the phosphorylated-ERK1/2 in 14 DIV neurons displayed a tremendous increase following maturation and was more susceptible to dephosphorylation. Blocking calcium channels by nifedipine or NMDAR by APV caused a more dramatic ERK dephosphorylation in 14 DIV neurons. We further demonstrate that the loss of plasticity-related signaling is unrelated to NMDA-induced cell death of the 14 DIV neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that the attenuation of certain aspects of neuroplasticity following maturation may be due to the reduction of NMDAR-mediated gene transcription and a saturation of ERK1/2 activity. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Tutorial on Computational Linguistic Phylogeny

LINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2008
Johanna Nichols
Over the last 10 or more years, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of computational techniques (many of which come directly from biology) for estimating evolutionary histories (i.e., phylogenies) of languages. This tutorial surveys the different methods and different types of linguistic data that have been used to estimate phylogenies, explains the scientific and mathematical foundations of phylogenetic estimation, and presents methodologies for evaluating a phylogeny estimation method. [source]

Price development in important anesthesia and critical care medicine journals in comparison to journals of other disciplines

ACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2001
J. Boldt
Background: In today's climate of financial restrictions, libraries and individual subscribers complain about the price increase of scientific journals. The development in prices of anesthesia/critical care journals was analysed over the past 6 years and compared to prices of some journals of other disciplines. Methods: Important journals in the categories Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine & Critical Care, Surgery, Medicine (General), and Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems listed in the 1999 Science Citation Index of Journal Citation Report were included and prices for the years 1995 to 2000 were analysed. Results: Increase in prices ranged from +13% to +199%. The mean increase in journal prices was lowest in the category Anesthesiology (+61%), higher in the category Critical Care (+73%), and highest in the category Medicine, General (+101%). Changes in the impact factor (IF) varied widely, ranging from a decrease (Lancet: ,43%; J Neurosurg Anesth: ,44%) to a tremendous increase (e.g. Reg Anesth +165%; Ann Emerg Med +149%). The journals' size (number of articles or pages) did not increase proportionally with the increase in prices. Conclusion: A disproportionate rise in journal prices was seen over the past 6 years. The large increase in cost may have multiple reasons. The rapidly increasing cost of research journals may affect research quality because economic pressure may result in reduction in availibility of information due to cancellation of subscriptions to journals. [source]

An Assessment of British Science over the Twentieth Century,

THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 538 2009
Bruce A. Weinberg
The twentieth century saw dramatic international shifts in scientific leadership. Despite these dramatic shifts Britain's position has been remarkably stable and strong. I study these changes using data on Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics. Raw data show a slight decline in British science, mainly in physics but once one accounts for the tremendous increase in the US, British science actually shows strong growth. I show that raw data and data that adjust for population and gross domestic product (per capita or total), consistently rank Britain as one of the top scientific performers. [source]

WHEN SPEED TRULY MATTERS, OPENNESS IS THE ANSWER

BIOETHICS, Issue 7 2009
ANTONIO MARTURANO
ABSTRACT In this paper I analyse the ethical implications of the two main competing methodologies in genomic research. I do not aim to provide another contribution from the mainstream legal and public policy perspective; rather I offer a novel approach in which I analyse and describe the patent-and-publish regime (the proprietary regime) led by biologist J. Craig Venter and the ,open-source' methodologies led by biotechnology Nobel laureate John Sulston. The ,open-source methodologies' arose in biotechnology as an alternative to the patent-and-publish regime in the wake of the explosion in computer technology. Indeed, the tremendous increase in computer technology has generated a corresponding increase in the pace of genomics research. I conclude this paper by arguing that while the patent-and-publish method is a transactional method based on the exchange of extrinsic goods (patents in exchange for research funds), the free and open-source methodology (FLOSS)1 is a transformational method based on a visionary ideal of science, which leads to prioritizing intrinsic goods in scientific research over extrinsic goods. [source]