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S Brudno

Publications and source records attributed to S Brudno.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

Temporal patterns, their distribution and redundancy in trains of spontaneous neuronal spike intervals of the feline hippocampus studied with a non-parametric technique.

A modification of the non-parametric technique for the analysis of temporal patterns in long trains of single neuronal spike intervals has been described and tested empiracally. The technique is based on inequality testing of sequential pairs of intervals. If the second interval in a pair is longer or shorter than or equal to the first interval, a(+), a(-), and a (0) is recorded respectively in sequential bins of the computer memory. Subsequently, the long sequences of signs are arranged into transition frequency matrices which are then converted into transition probability matrices of various complexity. In this manner, the sign permutations composed of 4, 5, 6, etc. signs were studied. First of all, the theoretical distribution of various sign permutations was derived, assuming that the arrangement of intervals that generate the signs is totally independent. The theoretical distribution of signs permutations in tetragrams, pentagrams and hexagrams constitute the 'controls' with which the empirical data can be compared. In this manner, using the chi-square test, the total deviation of a studied neuronal output from an independent state can be quantified. The empirical data showed a consistent deviation from the theoretical distribution of sign permutations during REM sleep, as compared to slow wave sleep which was characterized by an almost perfect theoretical distribution of sign permutations. This indicates that slow wave sleep is associated with relaxation of constraints that are responsible for the emergence of specific patterns. In addition, redundancies in the occurrence of sign permutations, and the linear relationships between them, have been defined and tested empirically. The apparent discrepancies between the redundancies, based on theoretical symmetry in sign distribution and the linear redundancy that fits the empirical data, have been defined and discussed.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1975

Structural transitions of deoxyribonucleic acid in aqueous electrolyte solutions. I. Reference spectra of conformational limits.

The circular dichroism properties of calf thymus DNA have been examined at 27 degrees over the wavelength range of 215-300 nm in aqueous solutions of NaCl, KCl, LiCl, CsCl, and NH4Cl at pH 7. The concentrations of these electrolytes were varied from 0.01 to ca. 5-10 m. The spectral changes induced by changes in concentration of NaCl and KCl and all but the highest concentrations of NH4Cl as well as lower concentrations of Cstcl and LiCl could be represented by a common two-state transition involving the conversion of the typical conservative spectrum commonly seen in dilute solutions of these salts to a nonconservative spectrum similar to that obtained by Tunis-Schneider and Maestre ((1970), J. Mol. Biol. 52, 521) for the C form of DNA. At higher concentrations of CsCl, LiCl, and NH4Cl, an additional component, resembling an A type spectrum, was required to account for the observed CD changes with changing concentration of electrolyte. Relying on the published spectra of the B, the C, and the A forms of DNA by Tunis-Schneider and Maestre for identification and approximate values of the molecular ellipticities of these forms, we have analyzed these spectral transitions by two least mean squares methods in order to obtain accurate reference spectra of aqueous "B", C, and "A" conformations of calf thymus DNA. The results obtained suggest that although the C form in solution is identical with that obtained in film, the aqueous B conformational limit is not identical with the crystallographic Watson-Crick structure. In addition, the A form generated in solution under our experimental conditions appears to be more similar to that assumed by low molecular weight Escherichia coli DNA at 75% relative humidity rather than calf thymus DNA at the same relative humidity.

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