Rapid Changes in the Light/Dark Cycle Disrupt Memory of Conditioned Fear in Mice

Background: Circadian rhythms govern many aspects of physiology and behavior including cognitive processes. Components of neural circuits involved in learning and memory, e.g., the amygdala and the hippocampus, exhibit circadian rhythms in gene expression and signaling pathways. The functional significance of these rhythms is still not understood. In the present study, we sought to determine the impact of transiently disrupting the circadian system by shifting the light/ dark (LD) cycle. Such ‘‘jet lag’ ’ treatments alter daily rhythms of gene expression that underlie circadian oscillations as well as disrupt the synchrony between the multiple oscillators found within the body. Methodology/Principal Findings: We subjected adult male C57Bl/6 mice to a contextual fear conditioning protocol either before or after acute phase shifts of the LD cycle. As part of this study, we examined the impact of phase advances and phase delays, and the effects of different magnitudes of phase shifts. Under all conditions tested, we found that recall of fear conditioned behavior was specifically affected by the jet lag. We found that phase shifts potentiated the stress-evoked corticosterone response without altering baseline levels of this hormone. The jet lag treatment did not result in overall sleep deprivation, but altered the temporal distribution of sleep. Finally, we found that prior experience of jet lag helps to compensate for the reduced recall due to acute phase shifts. Conclusions/Significance: Acute changes to the LD cycle affect the recall of fear-conditioned behavior. This suggests that

Disrupting Circadian Homeostasis of Sympathetic Signaling Promotes Tumor Development in Mice

and why disruption of circadian rhythm may lead to tumorigenesis. oncogenic potential, leading to tumor development in the same organ systems in wild-type and circadian gene-mutant mice. is a clock-controlled physiological function. The central circadian clock paces extracellular mitogenic signals that drive peripheral clock-controlled expression of key cell cycle and tumor suppressor genes to generate a circadian rhythm in cell proliferation. Frequent disruption of circadian rhythm is an important tumor promoting factor

Identifying the Role of Manufacturing Execution Systems in the IS Landscape:A Convergence of Multiple Types of Application Functionalities

Part 10: ICT for Collaborative ManufacturingInternational audienceManufacturing execution systems (MES) enable the detailed control of manufacturing operations, i.e. they facilitate digital and integrated shop-floor systems as envisioned by Industry 4.0. Yet, many manufacturing organizations struggle to integrate MES and demarcate it from other information systems (IS) in manufacturing. Therefore, this paper explores how MES can be functionally and technologically distinguished from other IS to determine its (future) role in the IS landscape. To provide an answer, this research applies the conceptualization of IS into five application functionalities and underlying enabling technologies. They are referred to as transaction processing, interactive planning, analytics, document management and process monitoring and control systems. We found that MES merges different types of application functionality into one system through its diverse functional requirements, and therefore can be characterized as technologically heterogeneous, in contrast to other ‘classical’ systems. MES then also takes on a central integrating role in the IS landscape. The findings offer an explanation for the challenges associated with the adoption of MES functionality, and highlight the importance of addressing integration questions in light of Industry 4.0

Electroweak parameters of the z0 resonance and the standard model

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