Serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a multifunctional neurotransmitter innervating cortical and limbic areas involved in cognition and emotional regulation. Dysregulation of serotonergic ...transmission is associated with emotional and cognitive deficits in psychiatric patients and animal models. Drugs targeting the 5-HT system are widely used to treat mood disorders and anxiety-like behaviors. Among the fourteen 5-HT receptor (5-HTR) subtypes, the 5-HT1AR and 5-HT7R are associated with the development of anxiety, depression and cognitive function linked to mechanisms of emotional learning and memory. In rodents fear conditioning and passive avoidance (PA) are associative learning paradigms to study emotional memory. This review assesses the role of 5-HT1AR and 5-HT7R as well as their interplay at the molecular, neurochemical and behavioral level. Activation of postsynaptic 5-HT1ARs impairs emotional memory through attenuation of neuronal activity, whereas presynaptic 5-HT1AR activation reduces 5-HT release and exerts pro-cognitive effects on PA retention. Antagonism of the 5-HT1AR facilitates memory retention possibly via 5-HT7R activation and evidence is provided that 5HT7R can facilitate emotional memory upon reduced 5-HT1AR transmission. These findings highlight the differential role of these 5-HTRs in cognitive/emotional domains of behavior. Moreover, the results indicate that tonic and phasic 5-HT release can exert different and potentially opposing effects on emotional memory, depending on the states of 5-HT1ARs and 5-HT7Rs and their interaction. Consequently, individual differences due to genetic and/or epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role for the responsiveness to drug treatment, e.g., by SSRIs which increase intrasynaptic 5-HT levels thereby activating multiple pre- and postsynaptic 5-HTR subtypes.
The main objective of this study was to validate the Greek SF-36 Health Survey and to provide general population normative data. The survey was administered to a stratified representative sample (n = ...1426) of the general population residing in the broader Athens area and the response rate was 70.6%. Statistical analysis, according to documented procedures developed within the IQOLA Project, was performed. The missing value rate was very low, ranging from 0.1 to 1.3% at the item level. Multitrait scaling analysis confirmed the hypothesized scale structure of the SF-36. Cronbach's α coefficient met the criterion (>0.70) for group analysis in all eight scales. Known group comparisons yielded consistent support of construct validity of the SF-36. Significant statistical differences in mean scores were observed in relation to demographic and social characteristics such as gender, age, education and marital status.
Teleme cheese was made from ovine, caprine and bovine milk with thermophilic, mesophilic, and mixed thermophilic–mesophilic cultures. Nine lots of cheese each time were made in order to study the ...physico-chemical and sensory changes of cheeses throughout ripening and storage up to 6 months. The rate of pH decrease was the fastest in cheeses made with the mesophilic culture and the slowest in cheeses made with the thermophilic culture, regardless of the kind of milk used. Moisture was higher in cheeses made from cows’ milk than in cheeses made from the other two kinds of milk. The highest fat content and yield were in cheeses made from ewes’ milk not being affected by starter culture used, the highest protein content was in cheeses made from goats’ milk whereas salt content was not affected by either the kind of milk or starter culture used. The use of mesophilic or mixed cultures resulted in cheeses of higher flavour scores than those of cheeses made with thermophilic culture. It is concluded that all three kinds of milk may be used in making Teleme cheese preferably by using a mesophilic or a mixed thermophilic and mesophilic starter culture.
The proteolytic, lipolytic changes and the volatile profile of Xinotyri goat's cheese (an artisanal variety produced in the mountains of Naxos, a Greek island of the Aegean Sea) were studied during ...ripening. The cheese underwent very limited proteolysis; generally the WSN %TN and TCA-SN %TN contents remained stable, while the PTA-SN %TN content increased a little. Both β- and αs1-caseins were slightly degraded until the age of 22days and then remained stable. Free fatty acids (FFAs) content increased considerably during ripening and the most abundant FFAs were oleic, palmitic, myristic, stearic and capric acid. A total of 114 volatile compounds were detected. The most abundant group isolated at day 90 were alcohols followed by acids, ketones and esters, comprised 31.91%; 25.22%; 16.38%; and 15.54% of total compounds, respectively. Ethanol, acetic acid and hexanoic acid ethyl ester were at the highest level at all stages of ripening.
A two-country model with monopolistic competition and price stickiness is employed to investigate the implications for macroeconomic stability and the welfare properties of three international policy ...arrangements: (a) cooperative, (b) non-cooperative and (c) monetary union. I characterize the conditions under which there is scope for policy cooperation and quantify the costs of non-cooperation and monetary union. The non-cooperative equilibrium may be suboptimal because of terms of trade spillover effects, while monetary union may be suboptimal because of the sluggishness of relative prices. Both the costs of policy competition and of a monetary union are sensitive to the values assumed for the intertemporal and international demand elasticity and the degree of openness of the economy. Independently of the calibration scenario adopted, the ECB has little to gain by coordinating with the Fed.
Neuroblastoma (NB), the most frequent solid extracranial tumor in children, is not always cured by current aggressive therapies that have notable adverse effects; therefore, novel treatments are ...necessary. Phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K) and fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors exhibit synergistic effect in NB cell lines. In the present study, mono‑ and combination therapy of the United States Food and Drug Administration‑approved PI3K, cyclin‑dependent kinase‑4/6 (CDK4/6), poly‑ADP‑ribose‑polymerase (PARP) and WEE1 G2 checkpoint kinase (WEE1) inhibitors (BYL719, PD‑0332991, BMN673 and MK‑1775, respectively), were used to treat NB cell lines SK‑N‑AS, SK‑N‑BE(2)‑C, SK‑N‑DZ, SK‑N‑FI and SK‑N‑SH and viability (assessed by WST‑1 assay), proliferation (incucyte analysis) and cell cycle (FACS) changes were assessed. Treatments with all single drugs presented dose‑-dependent responses with decreased viability and proliferation and combining BYL719 with PD‑0332991 or BMN673 with MK‑1775 resulted in additive or synergistic effects in most cell lines., except for SK‑N‑SH for the former and for SK‑N‑AS for the latter. Moreover, combining MK‑1775 and BMN673 decreased the numbers of cells in S phase to a greater extent than either drug alone, while when combining PD‑0332991 and BYL719 the observed effect was close to that of PD‑0332991 alone. To summarize, PI3K and CDK4/6 or PARP and WEE1 exhibited synergistic anti‑NB effects and lower doses of the inhibitors could be utilized, thereby potentially reducing adverse side effects.
As artisanal cheeses are gaining recognition during the last years by consumers, efforts
should be made to standardize their manufacture in order to produce safe products of high
and constant ...quality, supporting the local economy and spreading them outside the region
of origin. In this work, the biochemical and microbiological characteristics of Kefalotyri
cheese produced during summer in the mountains of Pindos using an artisanal cheesemaking procedure were studied. Sheep raw cheese milk was used without starter culture
addition for Kefalotyri cheese manufacture. At 90 days of ripening and storage (the date
that hard cheese can be sold in the market), its moisture was 40.4%, fat 28.8%, salt 4.1%
and proteins 23.3%. Butyric acid and 3methyl butanoic acid were the most abundant
volatile compounds found in this cheese. Mesophilic lactic acid bacteria and cocci were
dominated; high numbers of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria and cocci, enterococci and
Enterobacteriaceae were also present and the microbiological data revealed a rather
satisfactory hygienic sanitary condition of the cheeses.
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