Generality of the functional structure of the neocortex

The fundamental similarities between various neocortical areas are elaborated by pointing out the common principles of its afferent, intrinsic, and efferent organization, with special emphasis on the generality of thalamocortical circuits. Interareal differences in morphology and function can be considered as accidental, i.e., depending on the circuit in which a given cortical area is involved. The neocortex is a link in the chain of afferent-efferent signal processing, and can be understood as a cooperative network that acts as a non-linear spatiotemporal filter with adaptive properties (memory) and that transforms afferent signal flow. It is assumed that these filter properties are identical for all neocortical areas. The functional role of a circumscribed cortical area depends exclusively on its position within a certain functional circuit and is defined by it.     

A method for facilitating the use of algae growing on tree trunks as bioindicators of air quality

The abundance of epiphytic green algae has been observed to correlate strongly with air quality in several studies. In contrast to lichens, the abundance of green algae is difficult to measure accurately by visual observation. A new method based on photography and digital image processing was developed to estimate the chlorophyll content of algae growing on the bark of pine. Calibration data for the method was collected from polluted areas by spectrophotometric analysis of chlorophyll density.     

A case study on raw material blending for the recycling of ferrous wastes in a blast furnace

The utilisation of ferrous wastes in a blast furnace is a well established recycling process to cope with the enormous amounts of ferrous residues in the iron and steel industry. The further input flows of this process, that is especially coke and fluxes, as well as its output flows, that is pig iron and by-products, are highly dependent on the blending of the ferrous wastes while they differ highly in the revenues gained for the treatment and their chemical composition. So far, no planning approach exists for the blending of the residues on the operational planning level that models the dependency of the costs and revenues on the raw material blend and the thermodynamic reactions in the recycling processes adequately. Therefore we present an approach for this operational production planning problem focusing on an integration of such a sufficiently detailed modelling of the underlying metallurgical processes into the planning model. The basis of our approach is a thermodynamic simulation of the processes. From this simulation we derive linear input-output functions for the relevant material and energy flows by using multiple linear regression. These input–output functions form the core of our blending model developed for the planning task. The model is implemented as an integrated decision support system. Exemplary application results are given. These results validate the approach and show that ecological the economic optimisation leads also to results which are advantageous in terms of resource efficiency and emission reduction. Though developed for a specific recycling process, the methodology can be transferred to other metallurgical (recycling) processes, as well as other parts of the process industries, and is therefore of high relevance.     

Babbling behavior in the sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata)

Infant babbling in humans and a few other primates plays an important role in allowing the young to practice the adult vocal repertoire during early behavioral development. Vocalizations uttered during babbling resemble, to some degree, the acoustic structure of adult vocalizations and are often produced in long bouts independent of any social context. Similar behavior, termed subsong or plastic song, is known from a variety of songbirds. Here, we show that pups of the sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata), a species with an unusually large vocal repertoire, produce renditions of all known adult vocalization types during bouts of vocalizations, which appear to be independent of a distinct social context. Babbling occurs in pups of both sexes, even though only adult males, not females, utter all different vocalization types produced in infancy. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of babbling in a nonprimate mammal and suggests that infant babbling may be necessary for the ontogeny of complex vocal repertoires.