Synaptic Vesicle Localization within Axons

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are the myelinating cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that extend long branchy processes to explore many different neurons 1−4. These myelinating cells provide support to the neuron which allows for messages to be sent rapidly from axon to axon. Without myelin, diseases such as multiple sclerosis effect millions of individuals. Neural impulses are potentiated by releasing synaptic vesicles at the terminal ends of neurons. An emerging area of interest within the field is that vesicle release occurs along the length of axons4 and works as a functional regulator of myelination1. OLs have heightened interactions at synaptic vesicle enrichment, a part of the neuron (unpublished data). Concurrently, OLs have heightened interactions at varicosities. The structure of these varicosities and vesicle enrichment sites are not well characterized. The aim of this study is to determine if the synaptic vesicle enrichments are localized within varicosities. Additionally, if there is an enrichment of synaptic vesicles located within the varicosities, are they motile or transient? The answers to these questions will give us a further insight as to how axons and their subdomains instruct or restrict myelination. These questions were addressed by obtaining short time lapses using in vivo, confocal microscopy of four-day old transgenic zebrafish embryos. From these time lapses, it was determined that synaptic vesicles can indeed reside in and enrich varicosities. We were also able to determine that individual vesicles can be motile while large areas of vesicle enrichments tend to remain transient in the time course observed

Beyond Critical Period Learning: Striatal FoxP2 Affects the Active Maintenance of Learned Vocalizations in Adulthood.

In humans, mutations in the transcription factor forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) result in language disorders associated with altered striatal structure. Like speech, birdsong is learned through social interactions during maturational critical periods, and it relies on auditory feedback during initial learning and on-going maintenance. Hearing loss causes learned vocalizations to deteriorate in adult humans and songbirds. In the adult songbird brain, most FoxP2-enriched regions (e.g., cortex, thalamus) show a static expression level, but in the striatal song control nucleus, area X, FoxP2 is regulated by singing and social context: when juveniles and adults sing alone, its levels drop, and songs are more variable. When males sing to females, FoxP2 levels remain high, and songs are relatively stable: this "on-line" regulation implicates FoxP2 in ongoing vocal processes, but its role in the auditory-based maintenance of learned vocalization has not been examined. To test this, we overexpressed FoxP2 in both hearing and deafened adult zebra finches and assessed effects on song sung alone versus songs directed to females. In intact birds singing alone, no changes were detected between songs of males expressing FoxP2 or a GFP construct in area X, consistent with the marked stability of mature song in this species. In contrast, songs of males overexpressing FoxP2 became more variable and were less preferable to females, unlike responses to songs of GFP-expressing control males. In deafened birds, song deteriorated more rapidly following FoxP2 overexpression relative to GFP controls. Together, these experiments suggest that behavior-driven FoxP2 expression and auditory feedback interact to precisely maintain learned vocalizations

Discovery of 28 pulsars using new techniques for sorting pulsar candidates

Modern pulsar surveys produce many millions of candidate pulsars, far more than can be individually inspected. Traditional methods for filtering these candidates, based upon the signal-to-noise ratio of the detection, cannot easily distinguish between interference signals and pulsars. We have developed a new method of scoring candidates using a series of heuristics which test for pulsar-like properties of the signal. This significantly increases the sensitivity to weak pulsars and pulsars with periods close to interference signals. By applying this and other techniques for ranking candidates from a previous processing of the Parkes Multi-beam Pulsar Survey, 28 previously unknown pulsars have been discovered. These include an eccentric binary system and a young pulsar which is spatially coincident with a known supernova remnant.Comment: To be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 11 pages, 9 figure

Three-dimensional kinematic correlates of ball velocity during maximal instep soccer kicking in males

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in European Journal of Sport Science, on 23 April 2014, available online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2014.908956.Achieving a high ball velocity is important during soccer shooting, as it gives the goalkeeper less time to react, thus improving a player's chance of scoring. This study aimed to identify important technical aspects of kicking linked to the generation of ball velocity using regression analyses. Maximal instep kicks were obtained from 22 academy-level soccer players using a 10-camera motion capture system sampling at 500 Hz. Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower extremity segments were obtained. Regression analysis was used to identify the kinematic parameters associated with the development of ball velocity. A single biomechanical parameter; knee extension velocity of the kicking limb at ball contact Adjusted R(2) = 0.39, p ≤ 0.01 was obtained as a significant predictor of ball-velocity. This study suggests that sagittal plane knee extension velocity is the strongest contributor to ball velocity and potentially overall kicking performance. It is conceivable therefore that players may benefit from exposure to coaching and strength techniques geared towards the improvement of knee extension angular velocity as highlighted in this study.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Timing measurements and proper motions of 74 pulsars using the Nanshan radio telescope

We have measured the positions of 74 pulsars from regular timing observations using the Nanshan radio telescope at Urumqi Observatory between 2000 January and 2004 August (MJD 51500 -- 53240). Proper motions were determined for these pulsars by comparing their current positions with positions given in pulsar catalogues. We compare our results to earlier measurements in the literature and show that, in general, the values agree. New or improved proper motions are obtained for 16 pulsars. The effect of period fluctuations and other timing noise on the determination of pulsar positions is investigated. For our sample, the mean and rms transverse velocities are 443 and 224 km/s respectively, agreeing with previous work even though we determine distances using the new NE2001 electron density model.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures and 3 tables. Accepted by MNRA

Effects of Olfactory Sense on Chocolate Craving

Chocolate has been referred to as one of the most socially acceptable addictions. It is one of America’s most craved foods, and women tend to crave it more frequently than men. Kemps and Tiggemann (2013) conducted an innovative experiment to reconcile the ideas of mental imagery, scent, and craving. After presenting images of sweet foods and having female undergraduate students smell a neutral scent, the researchers found that the neutral smell decreased craving for sweet foods. In the present study, researchers sought to replicate many aspects of Kemps and Tiggemann’s design. This new study went one step further, though: in addition to anticipating that a neutral or fresh scent would reduce one’s craving level, there was also an anticipation that smelling a sweet scent would increase craving levels. To test the research hypothesis, female undergraduate students received three smell conditions (no scent, fresh scent, and sweet scent) in the experiment. The order of the three conditions was counterbalanced. In all conditions, the students were shown a series of 12 images of chocolate food (cakes, muffins, ice cream, and brownies) on a large projector screen. Each image appeared for five seconds and was followed by an eight second retention period, during which participants were instructed to smell one of the essential oils. The students inhaled Slique essential oil in the fresh scent condition, inhaled vanilla essential oil in the sweet scent condition, and inhaled no essential oil in the control condition. After inhaling the scent, the students were asked to rate their craving level for the food just presented in the image on a 100 mm visual analogue scale. An analysis based on the 93 participants’ craving responses revealed a significant effect of the olfactory conditions, (F=73.813, p\u3c.001). That is, the students’ level of craving for chocolate food was higher in the sweet scent condition (M=59.31, SD=4.85), but lower in the fresh scent condition (M=34.65, SD=4.79), compared to the control condition (M=46.97, SD=6.67). These findings are important for a variety of populations including practitioners, nutritionists, and individuals seeking to curb their cravings or lose weight

TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. I: Overview

Contemporary pulsar timing experiments have reached a sensitivity level where systematic errors introduced by existing analysis procedures are limiting the achievable science. We have developed tempo2, a new pulsar timing package that contains propagation and other relevant effects implemented at the 1ns level of precision (a factor of ~100 more precise than previously obtainable). In contrast with earlier timing packages, tempo2 is compliant with the general relativistic framework of the IAU 1991 and 2000 resolutions and hence uses the International Celestial Reference System, Barycentric Coordinate Time and up-to-date precession, nutation and polar motion models. Tempo2 provides a generic and extensible set of tools to aid in the analysis and visualisation of pulsar timing data. We provide an overview of the timing model, its accuracy and differences relative to earlier work. We also present a new scheme for predictive use of the timing model that removes existing processing artifacts by properly modelling the frequency dependence of pulse phase.Comment: Accepted by MNRA

Long term changes in health-related quality of life for people with heart failure:the ECHOES study

Aims: Heart failure (HF) impairs all aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but little is known about the effect of developing HF on HRQoL over time. We aimed to report changes in HRQoL over a 13-year period. Methods and results: HRQoL was measured in the Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening (ECHOES) study and the ECHOES-X follow-up study (N = 1618) using the SF-36 questionnaire (Version 1). Mixed modelling compared changes in HRQoL across diagnostic groups, adjusting for potential predictors and design variables. Patients who had developed HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) or HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) at rescreening had significantly greater reduction in physical functioning (PF) and role physical (RP) scores compared with those without HF; adjusted mean difference in PF: HFrEF −16.1, [95% confidence interval (CI) −22.2 to −10.1]; HFpEF −14.6, (95% CI −21.2 to −8.1); in RP: HFrEF −20.7, (95% CI −31.8 to −9.7); HFpEF −19.3, (95% CI −31.0 to −7.6). Changes in HRQoL of those with a HF diagnosis at baseline and rescreen, with exception of role emotion, were similar to those without HF but started from a much lower baseline score. Conclusions: People with a new diagnosis of HF at rescreening had a significant reduction in HRQoL. Conversely, for those with HF detected on initial screening, little change was observed in HRQoL scores on rescreening. Further research is required to understand the development of HF over time and to test interventions designed to prevent decline in HRQoL, potentially through earlier diagnosis and treatment optimization.</p

Body mass index and survival in people with heart failure

Aims: In people with heart failure (HF), a high body mass index (BMI) has been linked with better outcomes (‘obesity paradox’), but there is limited evidence in community populations across long-term follow-up. We aimed to examine the association between BMI and long-term survival in patients with HF in a large primary care cohort. Methods: We included patients with incident HF aged ≥45 years from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (2000-2017). We used Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression, and penalised splines methods to assess the association of pre-diagnostic BMI, based on WHO classification, with all-cause mortality. Results: There were 47,531 participants with HF (median age 78.0 years (IQR 70-84), 45.8% female, 79.0% white ethnicity, median BMI 27.1 (IQR 23.9-31.0)) and 25,013 (52.6%) died during follow-up. Compared to healthy weight, people with overweight (HR 0.78, 95%CI 0.75-0.81, risk difference (RD) -4.1%), obesity class I (HR 0.76, 95%CI 0.73-0.80, RD -4.5%) and class II (HR 0.76, 95%CI 0.71-0.81, RD -4.5%) were at decreased risk of death, whereas people with underweight were at increased risk (HR 1.59, 95%CI 1.45-1.75, RD 11.2%). In those underweight, this risk was greater among men than women (p-value for interaction = 0.02). Class III obesity was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality compared to overweight (HR 1.23, 95%CI 1.17-1.29). Conclusion: The U-shaped relationship between BMI and long-term all-cause mortality suggests a personalised approach to identifying optimal weight may be needed for patients with HF in primary care. Underweight people have the poorest prognosis and should be recognised as high-risk

Effects of Olfactory Sense on Chocolate Craving

In the present study, we assessed the effect of the olfactory sense on chocolate craving in college females. Building on previous research by Kemps and Tiggemann (2013), we hypothesized that a fresh scent would decrease one’s craving level for chocolate food. While the precursor study only addressed the decrease of chocolate craving, we also hypothesized that a sweet scent would increase one’s craving level for chocolate foods. In the present experiment, participants rated their craving levels after viewing images of chocolate foods and inhaling essential oils: one fresh (Slique™ essence), and one sweet (vanilla). Results supported both of the hypotheses: inhaling a fresh scent reduced females’ craving levels; similarly, when a sweet scent was inhaled, the participants’ craving levels for chocolate food increased. These findings are particularly beneficial for women seeking weight loss and the findings can be applied in contexts such as weight loss programs, therapy, and maintenance programs, even beyond college settings. The results are particularly useful for helping women regarding stimuli that might serve as triggers for chocolate cravings