Recent work has identified brain areas that are engaged when people predict how the physical behaviour of the world will unfold—an ability termed intuitive physics. Among the many unanswered ...questions about the neural mechanisms of intuitive physics is where the key inputs come from: Which brain regions connect up with intuitive physics processes to regulate when and how they are engaged in service of our goals? In the present work, we targeted the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) for study based on characteristics that make it well‐positioned to regulate intuitive physics processes. The dACC is richly interconnected with frontoparietal regions and is implicated in mapping contexts to actions, a process that would benefit from physical predictions to indicate which action(s) would produce the desired physical outcomes. We collected resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in 17 participants and used independent task‐related runs to find the pattern of activity during a physical inference task in each individual participant. We found that the strongest resting state functional connections of the dACC not only aligned well with physical inference‐related activity at the group level, it also mirrored individual differences in the positioning of physics‐related activity across participants. Our results suggest that the dACC might be a key structure for regulating the engagement of intuitive physics processes in the brain.
We studied the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as a candidate for regulating the engagement of intuitive physics mechanisms in service of our goals. We collected resting state fMRI data and independently used a physical inference task to localize the regions active during physical prediction in each participant. We found that the pattern of dACC functional connectivity precisely tracked with individual differences in task‐related activity, with an individual's own functional connectivity map being the best predictor of where their activity would emerge during the physical prediction task.
Aged mammalian tissues show a decreased capacity to produce ATP by oxidative phosphorylation due to dysfunctional mitochondria. The mitochondrial content of rat brain and liver is not reduced in ...aging and the impairment of mitochondrial function is due to decreased rates of electron transfer by the selectively diminished activities of complexes I and IV. Inner membrane H(+) impermeability and F(1)-ATP synthase activity are only slightly affected by aging. Dysfunctional mitochondria in aged rodents are characterized, besides decreased electron transfer and O(2) uptake, by an increased content of oxidation products of phospholipids, proteins and DNA, a decreased membrane potential, and increased size and fragility. Free radical-mediated oxidations are determining factors of mitochondrial dysfunction and turnover, cell apoptosis, tissue function, and lifespan. Inner membrane enzyme activities, such as those of complexes I and IV and mitochondrial nitric oxide synthase, decrease upon aging and afford aging markers. The activities of these three enzymes in mice brain are linearly correlated with neurological performance, as determined by the tightrope and the T-maze tests. The same enzymatic activities correlated positively with mice survival and negatively with the mitochondrial content of lipid and protein oxidation products. Conditions that increase survival, as vitamin E dietary supplementation, caloric restriction, high spontaneous neurological activity, and moderate physical exercise, ameliorate mitochondrial dysfunction in aged brain and liver. The pleiotropic signaling of mitochondrial H(2)O(2) and nitric oxide diffusion to the cytosol seems modified in aged animals and to contribute to the decreased mitochondrial biogenesis in old animals.
In this article, a new stochastic approach is proposed for the analysis of structural systems with uncertainties. This novel strategy method combines the probability transformation method, expressed ...in terms of characteristic function with a probabilistic version of the Taylor expansion. Some notes about the convergence and the accuracy of the proposed method are reported. The results of these notes and several examples here reported evidence an optimum level of accuracy, coupled with great simplicity of application of this approach, even for relatively high levels of uncertainties. Hence, this method can be considered a valuable tool for the solution of stochastic analyses of engineering systems. Several examples are performed to show the capability of the results established. These applications show how the method is a useful technique for engineering analysis.
Abstract
GluN3A subunits endow N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptors (NMDARs) with unique biophysical, trafficking, and signaling properties. GluN3A-NMDARs are typically expressed during postnatal ...development, when they are thought to gate the refinement of neural circuits by inhibiting synapse maturation, and stabilization. Recent work suggests that GluN3A also operates in adult brains to control a variety of behaviors, yet a full spatiotemporal characterization of GluN3A expression is lacking. Here, we conducted a systematic analysis of Grin3a (gene encoding mouse GluN3A) mRNA expression in the mouse brain by combining high-sensitivity colorimetric and fluorescence in situ hybridization with labeling for neuronal subtypes. We find that, while Grin3a mRNA expression peaks postnatally, significant levels are retained into adulthood in specific brain regions such as the amygdala, medial habenula, association cortices, and high-order thalamic nuclei. The time-course of emergence and down-regulation of Grin3a expression varies across brain region, cortical layer of residence, and sensory modality, in a pattern that correlates with previously reported hierarchical gradients of brain maturation and functional specialization. Grin3a is expressed in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons, with strong mRNA levels being a distinguishing feature of somatostatin interneurons. Our study provides a comprehensive map of Grin3a distribution across the murine lifespan and paves the way for dissecting the diverse functions of GluN3A in health and disease.
Aims
Finding out whether there are differences in the levels of stress and burnout between workers providing care to dependent adults and those caring for independent older adults would provide ...comparative information about two different models of care. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, workers caring for older adults were subjected to maladaptive situations that produced stress and burnout.
Design
A cross‐sectional survey design using the STROBE checklist.
Methods
A total of 900 nursing home and égidas workers were assessed for stress and burnout. Data were collected online from October 2020 to February 2021, when Puerto Rico was experiencing the peak of the third wave of COVID‐19. MANOVAs were performed to study the interactions between the workplace and having had COVID, the workplace and the size of institution and the workplace and position held.
Data Sources
October 2020 to February 2021.
Results
All interactions were significant. Nursing homes showed higher levels of stress and burnout when workers had undergone COVID, when the size of the institution was larger and for technical staff other services; in égidas, having undergone COVID did not influence stress or burnout, which increased when the institution was smaller and for executive staff.
Conclusions
This study showed that the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic affected nursing home workers more significantly than those working in other types of residential models with independent older adults.
Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care
Applying preventive interventions aimed at reducing stress and burnout would facilitate the adaptation of workers caring for older adults and help to improve the quality of care.
Impact
This study analysed the impact of COVID‐19 on the stress and burnout of workers providing services to older adults. Nursing home workers who have had COVID‐19 have higher stress and burnout. The size of the institution has a different effect depending on whether older adults are dependent or independent. Workers in institutions dedicated to the care of the older adults.
Reporting Method
This study has adhered to the relevant EQUATOR guidelines: STROBE.
Patient or Public Contribution
During the different waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic, it was difficult to establish direct contact with workers providing care to older adults; this reason made it necessary to apply online systems to obtain information. The workers appreciated the fact that the implications for stress and burnout of the situation experienced during this difficult process were investigated.
Leishmaniasis is endemic and a mandatory reporting disease in Spain since 1982. However, between 1996 and 2014, surveillance on public health was decentralized and only some autonomous regions ...monitored the disease. The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of leishmaniasis and to evaluate the extent of underreporting in Spain. A capture-recapture (CRC) study was conducted to calculate the incidence of human leishmaniasis using reports from the National Surveillance Network (RENAVE) and the Hospital Discharge Records of the National Health System (CMBD) for 2016 and 2017. During the study period, 802 cases were reported to RENAVE and there were 1,149 incident hospitalizations related to leishmaniasis. The estimated incidence rates through the CRC study were 0.79 per 100,000 inhabitants for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), 0.88 (cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL)) and 0.12 (mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL)) in 2016 and 0.86 (VL), 1.04 (CL) and 0.12 (MCL) in 2017. An underreporting of 14.7-20.2% for VL and 50.4-55.1% for CL was found. The CRC method has helped us to assess the sensitivity and representativeness of leishmaniasis surveillance in Spain, being a useful tool to assess whether the generalization of leishmaniasis surveillance throughout the Spanish territory achieves a reduction in underreporting.
O objetivo principal deste texto é dar um primeiro passo na análise das práticas e dos discursos do grupo catalão de produção de cinema militante, Cooperativa de Cinema Alternatiu (CCA), sempre ...dentro do seu contexto histórico e cinematográfico – a transição para a democracia no Estado espanhol dos anos 70 e 80, e o cinema militante –, colocando especial ênfase na conceção da produção cinematográfica como arma de intervenção política. A análise baseia-se em diversas fontes para reconstruir a história da cooperativa e os seus discursos, começando com as experiências coletivas anteriores que condicionaram o aparecimento da CCA, passando pela sua reestruturação produtiva, e finalizando com a sua gradual desintegração e desaparecimento após a chegada da democracia.
Pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis: a systematic review Kessels, Jocelyn A; Recuenco, Sergio; Navarro-Vela, Ana Maria ...
Bulletin of the World Health Organization,
03/2017, Letnik:
95, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
To review the safety and immunogenicity of pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis (including accelerated schedules, co-administration with other vaccines and booster doses), its cost-effectiveness and ...recommendations for use, particularly in high-risk settings.
We searched the PubMed, Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases for papers on pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis published between 2007 and 29 January 2016. We reviewed field data from pre-exposure prophylaxis campaigns in Peru and the Philippines.
Pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis was safe and immunogenic in children and adults, also when co-administered with routine childhood vaccinations and the Japanese encephalitis vaccine. The evidence available indicates that shorter regimens and regimens involving fewer doses are safe and immunogenic and that booster intervals could be extended up to 10 years. The few studies on cost suggest that, at current vaccine and delivery costs, pre-exposure prophylaxis campaigns would not be cost-effective in most situations. Although pre-exposure prophylaxis has been advocated for high-risk populations, only Peru and the Philippines have implemented appropriate national programmes. In the future, accelerated regimens and novel vaccines could simplify delivery and increase affordability.
Pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis is safe and immunogenic and should be considered: (i) where access to postexposure prophylaxis is limited or delayed; (ii) where the risk of exposure is high and may go unrecognized; and (iii) where controlling rabies in the animal reservoir is difficult. Pre-exposure prophylaxis should not distract from canine vaccination efforts, provision of postexposure prophylaxis or education to increase rabies awareness in local communities.
Canavan’s disease (CD) is a fatal pediatric leukodystrophy caused by mutations in aspartoacylase (AspA) gene. Currently, there is no effective treatment for CD; however, gene therapy is an attractive ...approach to ameliorate the disease. Here, we studied progressive neuropathology and gene therapy in short-lived (≤1 month) AspA−/− mice, a bona-fide animal model for the severest form of CD. Single intravenous (IV) injections of several primate-derived recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) as late as postnatal day 20 (P20) completely rescued their early lethality and alleviated the major disease symptoms, extending survival in P0-injected rAAV9 and rAAVrh8 groups to as long as 2 years thus far. We successfully used microRNA (miRNA)-mediated post-transcriptional detargeting for the first time to restrict therapeutic rAAV expression in the central nervous system (CNS) and minimize potentially deleterious effects of transgene overexpression in peripheral tissues. rAAV treatment globally improved CNS myelination, although some abnormalities persisted in the content and distribution of myelin-specific and -enriched lipids. We demonstrate that systemically delivered and CNS-restricted rAAVs can serve as efficacious and sustained gene therapeutics in a model of a severe neurodegenerative disorder even when administered as late as P20.
Trophic consequences of introduced species Britton, J. Robert; Ruiz-Navarro, Ana; Verreycken, Hugo ...
Functional ecology,
February 2018, Letnik:
32, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Invasive species can cause substantial ecological impacts on native biodiversity. While ecological theory attempts to explain the processes involved in the trophic integration of invaders into native ...food webs and their competitive impacts on resident species, results are equivocal. In addition, quantifying the relative strength of impacts from non‐native species (interspecific competition) versus the release of native conspecifics (intraspecific competition) is important but rarely completed.
Two model non‐native fishes, the globally invasive Cyprinus carpio and Carassius auratus, and the model native fish Tinca tinca, were used in a pond experiment to test how increased intra‐ and interspecific competition influenced trophic niches and somatic growth rates. This was complemented by samples collected from three natural fish communities where the model fishes were present. The isotopic niche, calculated using stable isotope data, represented the trophic niche.
The pond experiment used additive and substitutive treatments to quantify the trophic niche variation that resulted from intra‐ and interspecific competitive interactions. Although the trophic niche sizes of the model species were not significantly altered by any competitive treatment, they all resulted in patterns of interspecific niche divergence. Increased interspecific competition caused the trophic niche of T. tinca to shift to a significantly higher trophic position, whereas intraspecific competition caused its position to shift towards elevated δ13C. These patterns were independent of impacts on fish growth rates, which were only significantly altered when interspecific competition was elevated.
In the natural fish communities, patterns of trophic niche partitioning between the model fishes was evident, with no niche sharing. Comparison of these results with those of the experiment revealed the most similar results between the two approaches were for the niche partitioning between sympatric T. tinca and C. carpio.
These results indicate that trophic niche divergence facilitates the integration of introduced species into food webs, but there are differences in how this manifests between introductions that increase inter‐ and intraspecific competition. In entirety, these results suggest that the initial ecological response to an introduction appears to be a trophic re‐organisation of the food web that minimises the trophic interactions between competing species.
A plain language summary is available for this article.
Plain Language Summary
PDF
