BACKGROUND There exist several computational tools which allow for the optimisation and inference of biological networks using a Boolean formalism. Nevertheless, the results from such tools yield only limited quantitative insights into the complexity of biological systems because of the inherited qualitative nature of Boolean networks. RESULTS We introduce optPBN, a Matlab-based toolbox for t...

Jingdan Zhang: Object Detection and Segmentation using Discriminative Learning. (Under the direction of Leonard McMillan.) Object detection and segmentation algorithms need to use prior knowledge of objects’ shape and appearance to guide solutions to correct ones. A promising way of obtaining prior knowledge is to learn it directly from expert annotations by using machine learning techniques. P...

The expression of Fos, the protein product of the primary response gene c-fos, was used metabolically to map the short-term (1 hr) effects of urethane and sodium pentobarbital anesthesia in rat. Subsequently, urethane-anesthetized rats were used to study the integrated response to electrical stimulation (1-1.5 hr) of the pontine parabrachial nucleus (PBN), an important center for relay of auton...

MOTIVATION A key goal of studying biological systems is to design therapeutic intervention strategies. Probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs) constitute a mathematical model which enables modeling, predicting and intervening in their long-run behavior using Markov chain theory. The long-run dynamics of a PBN, as represented by its steady-state distribution (SSD), can guide the design of effectiv...

Nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and another polymer with an excellent self-lubricating property are blended to develop a new kind of polymer used for water-lubricated stern bearings. The tribological performance of the new Polymer Blend of NBR (PBN), with the comparison of a rubber common used for most stern bearings, was studied using a stern bearing test rig of SSB-100. The results showed that...

Intestinal fat differentially suppresses sham feeding of liquid diets and preferred gustatory stimuli. Although the behavioral effect is robust, no electrophysiological evidence exists to account for its neural basis. Therefore, we investigated the effect of intestinal fat on gustatory coding in the pontine parabrachial nuclei (PBN) by recording from single neurons in awake rats before, during,...

Using advanced electron paramagnetic resonance techniques (EPR), oxidation of crude vegetable oils and their components (fatty acids and triglycerides) by radicals generated from hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The correlation rotational times were determined allowing us to characterize radicals formed during edible oils oxidation. Additionally 1H- and 14N-hyperfine coupling constants diffe...

Wilson, John D., Danielle M. Nicklous, Vincent J. Aloyo, and Kenny J. Simansky. An orexigenic role for -opioid receptors in the lateral parabrachial nucleus. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 285: R1055–R1065, 2003; 10.1152/ajpregu.00108.2003. The pontine parabrachial nucleus (PBN) has been implicated in regulating ingestion and contains opioids that promote feeding elsewhere in the brain....

xxx: Rxxx-Rxxx, 2008. For humans and rodents, ingesting sucrose is rewarding. This experiment tested the prediction that the neural activity produced by sapid sucrose reaches reward systems via projections from the pons through the limbic system. Gastric cannulas drained ingested fluid before absorption. For 10 days, the rats alternated an hour of this sham ingestion between sucrose and water. ...

This communication provides an update of our understanding of the neurological bases for the close association between balance control and anxiety. New data suggest that a vestibulo-recipient region of the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) contains cells that respond to body rotation and position relative to gravity. The PBN, with its reciprocal relationships with the extended central amygdaloid nucle...