A Transgenic Rat for Investigating the Anatomy and Function of Corticotrophin Releasing Factor Circuits.

Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41 amino acid neuropeptide that coordinates adaptive responses to stress. CRF projections from neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) to the brainstem are of particular interest for their role in motivated behavior. To directly examine the anatomy and function of CRF neurons, we generated a BAC transgenic Crh-Cre rat in which bacterial Cre recombinase is expressed from the Crh promoter. Using Cre-dependent reporters, we found that Cre expressing neurons in these rats are immunoreactive for CRF and are clustered in the lateral CeA (CeL) and the oval nucleus of the BNST. We detected major projections from CeA CRF neurons to parabrachial nuclei and the locus coeruleus, dorsal and ventral BNST, and more minor projections to lateral portions of the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and lateral hypothalamus. Optogenetic stimulation of CeA CRF neurons evoked GABA-ergic responses in 11% of non-CRF neurons in the medial CeA (CeM) and 44% of non-CRF neurons in the CeL. Chemogenetic stimulation of CeA CRF neurons induced Fos in a similar proportion of non-CRF CeM neurons but a smaller proportion of non-CRF CeL neurons. The CRF1 receptor antagonist R121919 reduced this Fos induction by two-thirds in these regions. These results indicate that CeL CRF neurons provide both local inhibitory GABA and excitatory CRF signals to other CeA neurons, and demonstrate the value of the Crh-Cre rat as a tool for studying circuit function and physiology of CRF neurons

Order effects of concurrent endurance and resistance training on post-exercise response of non-trained women

Physical exercise is used for the promotion and maintenance of good health and for the improvement of physical fitness. Both endurance and resistance exercises are needed to carry out a complete training program. Because time may be a barrier to physical exercise practice, the aim of this study was to verify whether the order of execution of endurance and resistance exercises, in concurrent training, has different effects on the metabolic responses during recovery. Thirteen healthy women [24.40 (1.67) years, Mean (SD)] were investigated for energy expenditure (EE), oxygen consumption (VO 2), ventilation (Ve), respiratory frequency (RF), proportion of oxygen in expired air (FeO 2) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) both before and after three concurrent endurance and resistance trainings, carried out in different orders: endurance-resistance training (ERT), resistance-endurance training (RET) and alternating enduranceresistance training (AERT). AERT elicited a significantly greater increase of EE, VO 2, and Ve and a greater decrease of FeO 2. ERT elicited a lower increase of RPE. Acute post-exercise physiological responses to concurrent endurance and resistance physical exercise seem to depend on the order of execution of the two parts: among the selected protocols, AERT seems to elicit the best responses

Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (>= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate <= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off <= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men

Why Say Sorry? Influencing Consumer Perceptions Post Organizational Crises

Organizational crises can have devastating consequences to reputation, an important, intangible asset that can threaten an organization's long term viability. Therefore, choosing post-crisis communication responses mitigating negative consumer, public and stakeholders’ perceptions are critical to managing corporate reputation. This exploratory, Australian based research tests crisis responses across the continuum of ‘defensive’ and ‘accommodative’ alternatives. Findings indicate that highly accommodating responses lead to significantly higher impressions of the organization and trust levels indicating less reputational damage. Conversely, the highly defensive strategy of denial indicated reputational damage had occurred. Surprisingly, a ‘neutral’ response strategy (no comment), a moderate ‘accommodative’ strategy (apology), and a moderate ‘defensive’ strategy (excuse) did not result in significantly different consumer impressions of, or trust in, the organization. Results indicate Australian perceptions of highly accommodative and highly defensive strategies are consistent with results found internationally. However, findings challenge existing literature and assumptions regarding affects of different crisis response strategies, suggesting it may be feasible to make no comment, rather than defend or apologize, if desired providing new insight into crisis responses strategy options available to managers. </jats:p

Dielectric profiles reconstruction via the quadratic approach in 2-D geometry from multifrequency and multifrequency/multiview data

Deals with the reconstruction of the contrast function of a dielectric cylinder with rectangular cross section starting from the knowledge of the electric scattered far field produced under the incidence of plane waves. We analyze the set of the reconstructable Fourier harmonics of the unknown permittivity contrast function with linear and quadratic approaches. This set depends on the ranges of the wavenumbers β, of the angles of incidence θi of the impinging plane waves, and of the observation angles θo. We discuss a simple way to describe such a dependence, which allows us to find out that the set of the retrievable harmonics for the quadratic approach contains that for the linear one. Moreover, our investigation points out how increasing the amount of independent data through a multifrequency/multiview measurement scheme allows us to enlarge the set of the retrievable unknown harmonics with respect to a multifrequency/single-view one. Our analysis is confirmed by numerical results. Memory storage requirements and processing time consumption for the quadratic approach are greatly reduced thanks to the massive use of the fast Fourier transform algorithm

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in the central nucleus of the amygdala induces anxiety via melanocortin receptors

RATIONALE: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders in the United States. Characterized by feelings of uncontrollable apprehension, they are accompanied by physical, affective, and behavioral symptoms. The neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its receptor PAC1 (PAC(1)R) are highly expressed in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and they have gained growing attention for their proposed role in mediating the body’s response to stress. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiogenic effects of PACAP in the CeA and its effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Furthermore, the mechanism of action of PACAP in the CeA was investigated. METHODS: PACAP was microinfused into the CeA of rats and its effects in the elevated plus maze (EPM), the defensive withdrawal tests, and plasma corticosterone levels were evaluated. The ability of the melanocortin receptor antagonist SHU9119 to block PACAP effect in the EPM was assessed. RESULTS: Intra-CeA PACAP exerted a dose-dependent anxiogenic effect and activated the HPA axis. In contrast, PACAP microinfused into the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BlA) had no effect. Finally, the anxiogenic effect of intra-CeA PACAP was prevented by SHU9119. CONCLUSIONS: These data prove an anxiogenic role for the PACAP system of the CeA, and reveal that the MC(4)R system of CeA mediates these effects. Our data provide insights into this neuropeptide system as a mechanism for modulating the behavioral and endocrine response to stress, and suggest that dysregulations of this system may contribute to the pathophysiology of anxiety-related disorders