Ethanol consumption during pregnancy produces a wide range of morphological and behavioral alterations known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Among the behavioral deficits associated with ...FASD is an increased probability of developing anxiety disorders. Studies with animal models of FASD have demonstrated that ethanol exposure during the equivalent to the 1st and 2nd trimesters of human pregnancy increases anxiety-like behavior. Here, we examined the impact on this type of behavior of exposure to high doses of ethanol in vapor inhalation chambers during the rat equivalent to the human 3rd trimester of pregnancy (i.e., neonatal period in these animals). We evaluated anxiety-like behavior with the elevated plus maze. Using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques in brain slices, we also characterized glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic transmission in the basolateral amygdala, a brain region that has been implicated to play a role in emotional behavior. We found that ethanol-exposed adolescent offspring preferred the closed arms over the open arms in the elevated plus maze and displayed lower head dipping activity than controls. Electrophysiological measurements showed an increase in the frequency of spontaneous and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents in pyramidal neurons from the ethanol group. These findings suggest that high-dose ethanol exposure during the equivalent to the last trimester of human pregnancy can persistently increase excitatory synaptic inputs to principal neurons in the basolateral amygdala, leading to an increase in anxiety-like behaviors.
•Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is associated with anxiety disorders.•Impact of ethanol exposure during the 3rd trimester equivalent was studied.•Neonatal rats were exposed to high doses of ethanol in vapor chambers.•Ethanol-exposed rats exhibited anxiety-like behavior during adolescence.•Excitatory synaptic transmission was increased in the basolateral amygdala.
Although public health campaigns advise pregnant women to abstain from ethanol, drinking during pregnancy is pervasive. Here, we highlight recent studies that have clearly demonstrated long-lasting ...neurobehavioral deficits in the offspring of laboratory animals exposed to moderate levels of ethanol during development. Alterations in learning, memory, motor coordination, social behavior, and stress responses were identified in these animals. Increased vulnerability to substance abuse was also demonstrated. These behavioral alterations have been associated with impairments in neurotransmitter systems, neuromodulators, and/or synaptic plasticity in several brain regions. With this review we hope to contribute to a better appreciation of the potential effects of developmental exposure to moderate ethanol levels, leading to better interventions aimed at relieving fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
The prevalence of overweight/obesity has been increasing globally and in people with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs), this problem is exacerbated even more, which added to a low physical condition ...that contributes to the deterioration of functionality and increases the risk of developing chronic diseases in the course of life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish cut-off points for levels of isometric handgrip and low limb explosive strength in children, adolescents and adults, which identify overweight/obesity in people with IDs and their respective associations.
The sample was made up of 131 individuals with IDs, belonging to four special and community educational centres in the city of Santiago, Chile. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHR) were used as indicators of overweight/obesity. Handgrip strength was used as a measure of isometric strength, and countermovement jump was used as a measure of low limb explosive strength. For the comparison of variables by age group, the analysis of Ancova, Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests were used. The total area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of isometric handgrip and low limb explosive strength was identified as an indicator of overweight/obesity according to age groups. A logistic regression model was used to quantify the effect that strength categories below the cut-off point have on the risk of overweight and obesity.
Significant differences were observed between the age groups for body weight, height, BMI and WHR, as well as in the levels of absolute handgrip strength and vertical jump with countermovement (P ≤ 0.05). Children showed the lowest cut-off points for absolute and relative strength. The adolescent group showed the highest cut-off points for relative strength and countermovement jump and adults showed the highest value for absolute strength as indicators of overweight/obesity. Different associations between cut-off points with BMI and WHR were found.
Adolescents showed the highest cut-off point for relative strength and countermovement jump, and adults showed the highest value for absolute strength, according to overweight/obesity indicators (BMI and WHR). It is suggested to adjust resistance training programmes according to age categories for the prevention of overweight/obesity in people with IDs.
Prenatal ethanol exposure causes a variety of cognitive deficits that have a persistent impact on quality of life, some of which may be explained by ethanol-induced alterations in interneuron ...function. Studies from several laboratories, including our own, have demonstrated that a single binge-like ethanol exposure during the equivalent to the third trimester of human pregnancy leads to acute apoptosis and long-term loss of interneurons in the rodent retrosplenial cortex (RSC). The RSC is interconnected with the hippocampus, thalamus, and other neocortical regions and plays distinct roles in visuospatial processing and storage, as well as retrieval of hippocampal-dependent episodic memories. Here we used slice electrophysiology to characterize the acute effects of ethanol on GABAergic neurotransmission in the RSC of neonatal mice, as well as the long-term effects of neonatal ethanol exposure on parvalbumin-interneuron mediated neurotransmission in adolescent mice. Mice were exposed to ethanol using vapor inhalation chambers. In postnatal day (P) 7 mouse pups, ethanol unexpectedly failed to potentiate GABA
receptor-mediated synaptic transmission. Binge-like ethanol exposure of P7 mice expressing channel rhodopsin in parvalbumin-positive interneurons enhanced the peak amplitudes, asynchronous activity and total charge, while decreasing the rise-times of optically-evoked GABA
receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents in adolescent animals. These effects could partially explain the learning and memory deficits that have been documented in adolescent and young adult mice exposed to ethanol during the third trimester-equivalent developmental period.
Alcohol intoxication alters coordination and motor skills, and this is responsible for a significant number of traffic accident-related deaths around the world. Although the precise mechanism of ...action of ethanol (EtOH) is presently unknown, studies suggest that it acts, in part, by interfering with normal cerebellar functioning. An important component of cerebellar circuits is the granule cell. The excitability of these abundantly expressed neurons is controlled by the Golgi cell, a subtype of GABAergic interneuron. Granule cells receive GABAergic input in the form of phasic and tonic currents that are mediated by synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors, respectively. Using the acute cerebellar slice preparation and patch-clamp electrophysiological techniques, we found that ethanol induces a parallel increase in both the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs and the magnitude of the tonic current. EtOH (50 mm) did not produce this effect when spontaneous action potentials were blocked with tetrodotoxin. Recordings in the loose-patch cell-attached configuration demonstrated that ethanol increases the frequency of spontaneous action potentials in Golgi cells. Taken together, these findings indicate that ethanol enhances GABAergic inhibition of granule cells via a presynaptic mechanism that involves an increase in action potential-dependent GABA release from Golgi cells. This effect is likely to have an impact on the flow of information through the cerebellar cortex and may contribute to the mechanism by which acute ingestion of alcoholic beverages induces motor impairment.
The Collective Thomson scattering technique has been implemented to study the stagnation of a single liner gas-puff. The plasma parameters are determined by theoretically modelling the scattering ...form factor in combination with Bayesian inference to provide the set of the most probable parameters that describe the experimental data. Analysis of the data reveal that incoming flows are able to interpenetrate partially. Estimation of the mean free path shows a gradual transition from a weakly collisional to a collisional regime as the plasma gets to the axis. Furthermore, we find that the ion energy at Formula: see text is Formula: see text and is mostly kinetic in nature and represents Formula: see text of the total energy. This kinetic energy is far greater than the value on axis of Formula: see text which is Formula: see text of the total energy. Energy transfer to the electrons and radiation losses are found to be negligible by this time. A possible explanation for this energy imbalance is the presence of an azimuthal magnetic field larger than Formula: see text that deflect the ions vertically. The uncertainties quoted represent 68% credible intervals.
Abstract
We present the first version of the Automatic Learning for the Rapid Classification of Events (ALeRCE) broker light curve classifier. ALeRCE is currently processing the Zwicky Transient ...Facility (ZTF) alert stream, in preparation for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The ALeRCE light curve classifier uses variability features computed from the ZTF alert stream and colors obtained from AllWISE and ZTF photometry. We apply a balanced random forest algorithm with a two-level scheme where the top level classifies each source as periodic, stochastic, or transient, and the bottom level further resolves each of these hierarchical classes among 15 total classes. This classifier corresponds to the first attempt to classify multiple classes of stochastic variables (including core- and host-dominated active galactic nuclei, blazars, young stellar objects, and cataclysmic variables) in addition to different classes of periodic and transient sources, using real data. We created a labeled set using various public catalogs (such as the Catalina Surveys and Gaia DR2 variable stars catalogs, and the Million Quasars catalog), and we classify all objects with ≥6
g
-band or ≥6
r
-band detections in ZTF (868,371 sources as of 2020 June 9), providing updated classifications for sources with new alerts every day. For the top level we obtain macro-averaged precision and recall scores of 0.96 and 0.99, respectively, and for the bottom level we obtain macro-averaged precision and recall scores of 0.57 and 0.76, respectively. Updated classifications from the light curve classifier can be found at the ALeRCE Explorer website (
http://alerce.online
).
A partir de los fundamentos que caracterizan a las ciencias plenamente constituidas, el artículo cuestiona el estatuto científico de la economía y discute por qué coexisten en su interior diversos ...paradigmas, cuyos fundamentos teóricos y metodológicos se contraponen. La primera parte revisa los ciclos de las corrientes teóricas predominantes y analiza el rigor científico de los principales paradigmas; en particular, examina las inconsistencias y las ambigüedades del paradigma neoclásico, que, a pesar de asumirse actualmente como dominante, está lejos de satisfacer las exigencias básicas del quehacer científico. En la segunda parte, se debate la confluencia de los distintos cuerpos teóricos, y se contrasta el componente clasista, político e ideológico de cada uno. A fin de cubrir las exigencias que impone el avance de la economía como disciplina científica, debe asumirse que las teorías económicas no son políticamente neutrales; que, más allá de las prédicas de pseudoneutralidad que suelen enmascarar afanes apologéticos, es preciso reconocer la estrecha relación que existe entre los intereses clasistas, la objetividad y el trabajo científico.
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