The Effects of a High Fat Diet and Lithium on Social and Anxiety-like Behaviors in Bipolar and Autistic Mouse Strains

Bipolar Disorder (BD), or manic-depressive illness, is a psychiatric disease in which an individual experiences sudden changes in mood, activity, and overall energy. Individuals with the disorder switch between excessive joy and excitement, and extremely sad and hopeless episodes. A common treatment of BD is lithium, a mood stabilizer that helps to relieve manic symptoms. Lithium has been known to contribute to the onset of diabetic-like symptoms, in addition to a large correlation, up to three times higher risk, of developing Type II Diabetes in individuals with BD. In general, individuals who consume a high fat diet (HF) are often seen to have an increased possibility of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. This type of diabetes affects the way one’s body is able to modulate blood glucose levels, which can lead to hyperglycemia and weight gain. Another mood disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is characterized by a lack of social behaviors and often includes symptoms of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Often treated using similar methods to that of BD, similar comparisons can be made due to the exposure of a high fat diet and lithium. This thesis tested the effects of a high fat diet and lithium consumption on anxiety, social behavior, and diabetic symptoms in both Black Swiss mice, a strain that mimics the manic episodes of BD, and Balb/cJ mice, a strain that mimics behavior associated with ASD. The Balb/cJ mice became less social when on lithium and diet had no effect. They also were resistant to diabetic symptoms as the HF did not make them gain weight nor did it alter glucose tolerance or insulin levels. The Black Swiss had no differences based on liquid or diet socially, but did exhibit decreased anxiety when on lithium. They had increased insulin and cholesterol levels however, no increase to body weight, glucose or triglyceride levels. The two strains were affected differently by alterations to diet and liquid, but since they lack a genetic connection, cannot be compared closer

Non-Markovian Dynamics of Quantum Discord

We evaluate the quantum discord dynamics of two qubits in independent and common non-Markovian environments. We compare the dynamics of entanglement with that of quantum discord. For independent reservoirs the quantum discord vanishes only at discrete instants whereas the entanglement can disappear during a finite time interval. For a common reservoir, quantum discord and entanglement can behave very differently with sudden birth of the former but not of the latter. Furthermore, in this case the quantum discord dynamics presents sudden changes in the derivative of its time evolution which is evidenced by the presence of kinks in its behavior at discrete instants of time.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Sensory stability and aromatic differentiation of tropical Brazilian wines.

Our objective was determined stability of sensory parameters and aromatic differentiation of tropical wines from Northeast of Brazil by Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA

Sensory stability and aromatic differentiation of tropical Brazilian wines.

Our objective was determined stability of sensory parameters and aromatic differentiation of tropical wines from Northeast of Brazil by Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA

Fano resonances in plasmonic core-shell particles and the Purcell effect

Despite a long history, light scattering by particles with size comparable with the light wavelength still unveils surprising optical phenomena, and many of them are related to the Fano effect. Originally described in the context of atomic physics, the Fano resonance in light scattering arises from the interference between a narrow subradiant mode and a spectrally broad radiation line. Here, we present an overview of Fano resonances in coated spherical scatterers within the framework of the Lorenz-Mie theory. We briefly introduce the concept of conventional and unconventional Fano resonances in light scattering. These resonances are associated with the interference between electromagnetic modes excited in the particle with different or the same multipole moment, respectively. In addition, we investigate the modification of the spontaneous-emission rate of an optical emitter at the presence of a plasmonic nanoshell. This modification of decay rate due to electromagnetic environment is referred to as the Purcell effect. We analytically show that the Purcell factor related to a dipole emitter oriented orthogonal or tangential to the spherical surface can exhibit Fano or Lorentzian line shapes in the near field, respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures; invited book chapter to appear in "Fano Resonances in Optics and Microwaves: Physics and Application", Springer Series in Optical Sciences (2018), edited by E. O. Kamenetskii, A. Sadreev, and A. Miroshnichenk

Prefrontal-amygdala fear networks come into focus

The ability to form associations between aversive threats and their predictors is fundamental to survival. However, fear and anxiety in excess are detrimental and are a hallmark of psychiatric diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptomatology includes persistent and intrusive thoughts of an experienced trauma, suggesting an inability to downregulate fear when a corresponding threat has subsided. Convergent evidence from human and rodent studies supports a role for the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-amygdala network in both PTSD and the regulation of fear memory expression. In particular, current models stipulate that the prelimbic and infralimbic subdivisions of the rodent mPFC bidirectionally regulate fear expression via differential recruitment of amygdala neuronal subpopulations. However, an array of recent studies that employ new technical approaches has fundamentally challenged this interpretation. Here we explore how a new emphasis on the contribution of inhibitory neuronal populations, subcortical structures and the passage of time is reshaping our understanding of mPFC-amygdala circuits and their control over fear

Sequence polymorphism from EST data in sugarcane: a fine analysis of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase genes

This paper presents preliminary results demonstrating the use of the sugarcane expressed sequence tag (EST) database (SUCEST) to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) inside 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase genes (Pgds). Sixty-four Pgd-related EST sequences were identified and partitioned into two clear-cut sets of 14 and 50 ESTs, probably corresponding to two genes, A and B, respectively. Alignment of A sequences allowed the detection of a single SNP while alignment of B sequences permitted the detection of 39 reliable SNPs, 27 of which in the coding sequence of the gene. Thirty-eight SNPs were binucleotidic and a single one was trinucleotidic. Nine insertions/deletions from one to 72 base pairs long were also detected in the noncoding 3? and 5? sequences. The soundness and the consequences of those preliminary observations on sequence polymorphism in sugarcane are discussed.O presente estudo apresenta resultados preliminares demonstrando a utilização da base de dados de ESTs de cana-de-açúcar para detectar polimorfismo de base única (SNP para Single Nucleotide Polymorphism). Sessenta e quatro ESTs relacionados aos genes da 6-phosphogluconate deshydrogenases (Pgds) foram identificados e divididos em dois conjuntos bem delimitados, de 14 e 50 ESTs, correspondendo a dois genes, A e B. O alinhamento das seqüências do grupo A permitiu a detecção de um único SNP e o alinhamento das seqüências do grupo B permitiu a detecção de 39 SNP, incluindo 27 na região codificante do gene. Trinta e oito SNP foram bi-nucleotídicos e um único tri-nucleotídico. Nove inserções/supressões de um até 72 pares de base foram detectados nas regiões não-codificantes 3? ou 5?. A robustez e as conseqüências dessas observações preliminares são discutidas.16116

Acceso abierto a la información científica y técnica en Empresa Brasileña de Investigación Agropecuária (Embrapa): relato de experiencia.

La Empresa Brasileña de Investigación Agropecuaria (Embrapa) desarrolla, desde 2009, "Acceso abierto en Embrapa: maximizar el impacto de la investigación, la visibilidad y la gestion de la información científica", que tiene como objetivo fomentar la transferencia de tecnologías producidas por la Empresa, así como el aumento de la visibilidad de la producción científica de sus investigadores y de la propia institución, al maximizar el acceso a la produción intelectual y la expansión de resultados de investigaciones realizadas. El proyecto es coordenado por Embrapa Información Tecnológica en colaboración con otros centros de investigación y ejecutado principamente por los bibliotecólogos que forman el Sistema de Bibliotecas de Embrapa. El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir a las iniciativas de evaluación de sus repositorios institucionales: Repositorio de Acceso Abierto a la Información Científica (Alice) y al Servicio de Información Tecnológica en la Agricultura (Infoteca-e)

Vegetação e estimativa da quantidade de mangabeiras no assentamento São Sebastião, Pirambu, SE.

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