5,722 research outputs found
Kids' Share 2008: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget
Provides an annual analysis of trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children's programs -- such as food stamps, tax credits, and Head Start -- and assesses the impact of future budget planning on children
Interaction of GABA and Excitatory Amino Acids in the Basolateral Amygdala: Role in Cardiovascular Regulation
Activation of the amygdala in rats produces cardiovascular changes that include increases in heart rate and arterial pressure as well as behavioral changes characteristic of emotional arousal. The objective of the present study was to examine the interaction of GABA and excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in regulating cardiovascular function. Microinjection of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline methiodide (BMI) or the E A A receptor agonists NMDA or AMPA into the same region of the BLA of conscious rats produced dose-related increases in heart rate and arterial pressure. Injection of the nonselective EAA receptor antagonist kynurenic acid into the BLA prevented or reversed the cardiovascular changes caused by local injection of BMI or the noncompetitive GABA antagonist picrotoxin. Conversely, local pretreatment with the glutamate reuptake inhibitorl-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid enhanced the effects of intra-amygdalar injection of BMI. The cardiovascular effects of BMI were also attenuated by injection of either the NMDA antagonist 3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP) or the AMPA receptor antagonist 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo-benzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide (NBQX). When these two EAA receptor antagonists were combined, their ability to suppress BMI-induced tachycardic and pressor responses was additive. These findings indicate that the cardiovascular effects caused by blockade of GABAergic inhibition in the BLA of the rat are dependent on activation of local NMDA and AMPA receptors
Genome-Wide Transposon Screen of a Pseudomonas syringae mexB Mutant Reveals the Substrates of Efflux Transporters.
Bacteria express numerous efflux transporters that confer resistance to diverse toxicants present in their environment. Due to a high level of functional redundancy of these transporters, it is difficult to identify those that are of most importance in conferring resistance to specific compounds. The resistance-nodulation-division (RND) protein family is one such example of redundant transporters that are widespread among Gram-negative bacteria. Within this family, the MexAB-OprM protein complex is highly expressed and conserved among Pseudomonas species. We exposed barcoded transposon mutant libraries in isogenic wild-type and ΔmexB backgrounds in P. syringae B728a to diverse toxic compounds in vitro to identify mutants with increased susceptibility to these compounds. Mutants with mutations in genes encoding both known and novel redundant transporters but with partially overlapping substrate specificities were observed in a ΔmexB background. Psyr_0228, an uncharacterized member of the major facilitator superfamily of transporters, preferentially contributes to tolerance of acridine orange and acriflavine. Another transporter located in the inner membrane, Psyr_0541, contributes to tolerance of acriflavine and berberine. The presence of multiple redundant, genomically encoded efflux transporters appears to enable bacterial strains to tolerate a diversity of environmental toxins. This genome-wide screen performed in a hypersusceptible mutant strain revealed numerous transporters that would otherwise be dispensable under these conditions. Bacterial strains such as P. syringae that likely encounter diverse toxins in their environment, such as in association with many different plant species, probably benefit from possessing multiple redundant transporters that enable versatility with respect to toleration of novel toxicants.IMPORTANCE Bacteria use protein pumps to remove toxic compounds from the cell interior, enabling survival in diverse environments. These protein pumps can be highly redundant, making their targeted examination difficult. In this study, we exposed mutant populations of Pseudomonas syringae to diverse toxicants to identify pumps that contributed to survival in those conditions. In parallel, we examined pump redundancy by testing mutants of a population lacking the primary efflux transporter responsible for toxin tolerance. We identified partial substrate overlap for redundant transporters, as well as several pumps that appeared more substrate specific. For bacteria that are found in diverse environments, having multiple, partially redundant efflux pumps likely allows flexibility in habitat colonization
The human fear-circuitry and fear-induced fainting in healthy individuals The paleolithic-threat hypothesis
The Paleolithic-Threat
hypothesis reviewed here posits
that habitual efferent fainting can
be traced back to fear-induced
allelic polymorphisms that were
selected into some genomes of
anatomically, mitochondrially, and
neurally modern humans (Homo
sapiens sapiens) in the Mid-Paleolithic because of the survival
advantage they conferred during
periods of inescapable threat. We
posit that during Mid-Paleolithic
warfare an encounter with “a
stranger holding a sharp object”
was consistently associated with
threat to life. A heritable hard-
wired or firm-wired (prepotentiated) predisposition to abruptly
increase vagal tone and collapse
flaccidly rather than freeze or
attempt to flee or fight in response
to an approaching sharp object, a
minor injury, or the sight of blood,
polymorphism for the hemodynamically “paradoxical” flaccid-
immobility in response to these
stimuli may have increased some
non-combatants’ chances of survival. This is consistent with the
unusual age and sex pattern of
fear-induced fainting. The Paleolithic-Threat hypothesis also predicts a link to various hypo-androgenic states (e.g. low dehydroxyepiandrosterone-sulfate. We offer
five predictions testable via epidemiological, clinical, and ethological/primatological methods. The
Paleolithic-Threat hypothesis has
implications for research in the
aftermath of man-made disasters,
such as terrorism against civilians,
a traumatic event in which this
hypothesis predicts epidemics of
fear-induced faintin
Public Investment in Children's Early and Elementary Years (Birth to Age 11)
Compares federal and state/local per-capita spending; funding areas such as health, education, and income support; and degree of targeting and means testing for different age groups. Discusses policy implications and the need to invest in early childhood
Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children Through 2008
Examines 2008 data and historic trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children -- such as food stamps, tax credits, and Head Start -- compared with other priorities and within the children's share. Assesses projections through 2019
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