It has been suggested that the activation of cannabinoid receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell facilitates feeding behavior. However, it remains unclear whether cannabinoid ligands enhance the ...palatability of food to facilitate feeding. In this study, we examined whether microinjecting an endogenous cannabinoid agonist, anandamide into the nucleus accumbens shell would affect the intake of water, sweet or bitter solutions. Microinjections of anandamide into the nucleus accumbens shell selectively increased the intake of saccharin (sweet) solution, but had no effect on the intake of water nor quinine (bitter) solution. These results suggest that activation of the cannabinoid receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell selectively facilitates the intake of palatable foods and solutions.
The columnar organization is most apparent in the whisker barrel cortex but seems less apparent in the gustatory insular cortex. We addressed here whether there are any differences between the two ...cortices in columnar information processing by comparing the spatiotemporal patterns of excitation spread in the two cortices using voltage-sensitive dye imaging. In contrast to the well known excitation spread in the horizontal direction in layer II/III induced in the barrel cortex by layer IV stimulation, the excitation caused in the insular cortex by stimulation of layer IV spread bidirectionally in the vertical direction into layers II/III and V/VI, displaying a columnar image pattern. Bicuculline or picrotoxin markedly extended the horizontal excitation spread in layer II/III in the barrel cortex, leading to a generation of excitation in the underlying layer V/VI, whereas those markedly increased the amplitude of optical responses throughout the whole column in the insular cortex, subsequently widening the columnar image pattern. Such synchronous activities as revealed by the horizontal and vertical excitation spreads were consistently induced in the barrel and insular cortices, respectively, even by stimulation of different layers with varying intensities. Thus, a unique functional column existed in the insular cortex, in which intracolumnar communication between the superficial and deep layers was prominent, and GABA(A) action is involved in the inhibition of the intracolumnar communication in contrast to its involvement in intercolumnar lateral inhibition in the barrel cortex. These results suggest that the columnar information processing may not be universal across the different cortical areas.
A large number of chemicals are routinely detected in aquatic environments, and these chemicals may adversely affect aquatic organisms. Accurate risk assessment requires understanding ...drug-metabolizing systems in aquatic organisms because metabolism of these chemicals is a critical determinant of chemical bioaccumulation and related toxicity. In this study, we evaluated mRNA expression levels of nuclear receptors and drug-metabolizing enzymes as well as cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities in pro-metamorphic tadpoles, froglets, and adult frogs to determine how drug-metabolizing systems are altered at different life stages. We found that drug-metabolizing systems in tadpoles were entirely immature, and therefore, tadpoles appeared to be more susceptible to chemicals compared with metamorphosed frogs. On the other hand, cyp1a mRNA expression and CYP1A-like activity were higher in tadpoles. We found that thyroid hormone (TH), which increases during metamorphosis, induced CYP1A-like activity. Because endogenous TH concentration is significantly increased during metamorphosis, endogenous TH would induce CYP1A-like activity in tadpoles.
Background
The surgical depths of approaches for total hip arthroplasty (THA) have not been reported previously. In this study, we investigate the relationships between the distances to the centre of ...the femoral head in different approaches and body mass index (BMI).
Methods
The study included patients with normal hip joints who presented to our hospital. We used the pelvic coordinate system relative to the anterior pelvic plane and the femur coordinate system relative to the posterior condylar plane. We assessed the anterior, anterolateral, lateral and posterior approaches, and defined each approach line. We evaluated each distance in terms of BMI and gender.
Results
164 hips were assessed. The distance to the centre of the femoral head was the longest in the posterior approach, followed by the lateral, anterolateral, and anterior approaches (p<0.05). Additionally, the distance in each approach increased as patients’ BMI increased. The approximated line tilts were almost the same. The correlation coefficients between BMI and the distance to the centre of the femoral head were high in all approaches. In the anterior and anterolateral approaches, men with low BMI had a short distance to the femoral head. The distance for each approach was measured according to the pelvic coordinate system and the femur coordinate system. The results showed no significant differences between them.
Conclusions
The distance to the centre of the femoral head is the shortest in the anterior approach, regardless of BMI and gender. The distance in each approach might increase with an increase in BMI. BMI has similar effects in all approaches.
Recent developments of coherent terahertz (THz) oscillators based on the intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) in mesas of the high temperature superconductor Bi
2
Sr
2
CaCu
2
O
8+
δ
are reviewed. ...Experimental and theoretical studies of the emission from equilateral, right-angled isosceles, and acute isosceles triangular mesas are compared with those obtained from rectangular, square, and disk mesas, in order to determine the role of the mesa geometry. The superconducting properties and emission frequency
f
spectra are presented for a variety of triangular mesa geometries. Analytic and finite difference time domain numerical calculations of the emissions from the internal electromagnetic (EM) cavity modes of triangular mesas are compared with experiment. The experimental
f
always satisfies the ac Josephson relation, and its narrow linewidth arises from the synchronized emissions from many IJJs. For some mesa geometries,
f
also strongly locks onto an EM cavity mode frequency, enhancing the emission’s stability and output power. For other geometries, such cavity mode locking is weak, and
f
is highly tunable.
Technical verification has been progressing for high efficiency data replication between ITER and the Remote Experimentation Centre (REC) in Japan. Transferring a huge amount of data simultaneously ...to multiple destinations might cause excessive loads and network bandwidth on the sender so that daisy-chained relay transfer would be a considerable solution. This study demonstrates how efficiently the replication relay could be realized for the next-generation fusion experiments, such as ITER and JT-60SA. All the LHD data were consecutively sent to the REC through the global loop path (GLP: Toki - Gifu - Tokyo - Amsterdam - New York - Los Angeles - Tokyo - Aomori - Rokkasho) on SINET5 L2VPN, whose round-trip time is almost 400 ms. MMCFTP was used for the data transferring application. In both the Japan domestic path and the GLP cases, every transfer shows a very stable flattop speed as the preset 8 Gbps. However, longer gap times were needed in MMCFTP initial negotiation to establish numerous sessions. The performance optimized NVMe and iSCSI striped storages have shown higher throughputs than the ITER estimated initial data rate of 2 GB/s. Those knowledge enable the design optimization of not only the sender/receiver servers with their storages but also the intermediate relay server system.
In order to improve the spatial uniformity of the negative ion beam and to produce high current negative ion beams in a large negative ion source, a magnetic field configuration is modified from an ...original transverse filter to a tent-shaped filter, in combination with reducing the magnetic field strength in the JT-60 negative ion source. As a result, the beam uniformity is improved from 68% to 83% over an area of the whole extraction area of 450 x 1100 mm super(2). The improvement of the beam uniformity leads to the production of 32 A H- ion beams with the whole extraction area. The obtained beam current fulfills the requirement for JT-60SA.
Serious complications following arthroscopic knee surgery are unusual. In the present case, the patient had no predictive factors for complications of compartment syndrome other than age. ...Compartment syndrome might have developed due to the invasiveness of the varicose vein surgery. Delayed diagnosis of compartment syndrome is associated with irreversible neurological dysfunction. Careful observation of the lower leg is necessary during the perioperative period.
A left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis due to extrinsic compression by mediastinal tumor is a rare finding. In this case reports, we present a 63-year-old woman, who was transferred to the ...emergency department with chief complains of persistent chest and back pain. An electrocardiogram revealed diffuse ST-segment depression (elevation in lead aVR). Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a huge cystic mass above the left atrium. After the CT examination, she was temporarily in shock. Compression of the LMCA was evident on the CT angiography and a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction due to compression of the LMCA by a tumor was made. An emergent resection of the tumor was performed. Histopathological assessment of the resected cyst revealed that it was a schwannoma. She made an uneventful postoperative recovery. A follow-up 3-dimensional CT scan performed after the operation confirmed no evidence of LMCA compression.
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