X-ray facility for the ground calibration of the X-ray monitor Jem-X on board integral

We describe the X-ray facility developed for the calibration of the X-ray monitor JEM-X on board the INTEGRAL satellite. The apparatus allowed the scanning of the detector geometric area with a pencil beam of desired energy over the major part of the passband of the instrument. The monochromatic radiation is obtained with the use of a double crystal monochromator at fixed exit. We discuss the facility performanc

JEM-X : the X-ray monitor on INTEGRAL

The INTEGRAL X-ray monitor, JEM-X, (toghther with the two gamma ray instruments, SPI and IBIS) provides simultaneous imaging with arcminute angular resolution in the 3-35 KeV band. The good angular resolution and low energy response of Jem-X plays an important role in the detection and identification of gamma ray sources as well as in the analysis and scintific interpretation of the combined X-ray and gamma ray data. Jem-X is a coded aperture X-ray telescope consisting of two identical detectors. Each detector has a sensitive area of 500 cm^2, and views the sky through its own coded aperture mask. The coded mask are located 3.4 m above the detecor windows. The detector field of view is constrained by X-ray collimator

CDK-5 Regulates the Abundance of GLR-1 Glutamate Receptors in the Ventral Cord of Caenorhabditis elegans

The proline-directed kinase Cdk5 plays a role in several aspects of neuronal development. Here, we show that CDK-5 activity regulates the abundance of the glutamate receptor GLR-1 in the ventral cord of Caenorhabditis elegans and that it produces corresponding changes in GLR-1–dependent behaviors. Loss of CDK-5 activity results in decreased abundance of GLR-1 in the ventral cord, accompanied by accumulation of GLR-1 in neuronal cell bodies. Genetic analysis of cdk-5 and the clathrin adaptin unc-11 AP180 suggests that CDK-5 functions prior to endocytosis at the synapse. The scaffolding protein LIN-10/Mint-1 also regulates GLR-1 abundance in the nerve cord. CDK-5 phosphorylates LIN-10/Mint-1 in vitro and bidirectionally regulates the abundance of LIN-10/Mint-1 in the ventral cord. We propose that CDK-5 promotes the anterograde trafficking of GLR-1 and that phosphorylation of LIN-10 may play a role in this process

Brain volumetric and metabolic correlates of electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant depression: a longitudinal neuroimaging study

Recent research suggests that neuroplastic and neuroinflammatory changes may account for the mode of action of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), although extant data do not allow for a clear disambiguation between these two hypotheses. Multimodal neuroimaging approaches (for example, combining structural and metabolic information) may help in clarifying this issue. Here we aimed to assess longitudinal changes in (i) regional gray matter (GM) volumes and (ii) hippocampal metabolite concentrations throughout an acute course of bitemporal ECT, as well as (iii) to determine the association between imaging changes and clinical improvement. We assessed 12 patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) at four time points (pre-treatment, after the first ECT session, after the ninth ECT session and 15 days after ECT course completion) and 10 healthy participants at two time points, 5 weeks apart. Patients with TRD showed bilateral medial temporal lobe (MTL) and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex volume increases. Left MTL volume increase was associated with (i) a hippocampal N-acetylaspartate concentration decrease, (ii) a hippocampal Glutamate+Glutamine concentration increase and (iii) significant clinical improvement. The observed findings are, in part, compatible with both neuroplastic and neuroinflammatory changes induced by ECT. We postulate that such phenomena may be interrelated, therefore reconciling the neuroplasticity and neuroinflammatory hypotheses of ECT action