Trait determinants of impulsive behavior: a comprehensive analysis of 188 rats

Impulsivity is a naturally occurring behavior that, when accentuated, can be found in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. The expression of trait impulsivity has been shown to change with a variety of factors, such as age and sex, but the existing literature does not reflect widespread consensus regarding the influence of modulating effects. We designed the present study to investigate, in a cohort of significant size (188 rats), the impact of four specific parameters, namely sex, age, strain and phase of estrous cycle, using the variable delay-to-signal (VDS) task. This cohort included (i) control animals from previous experiments; (ii) animals specifically raised for this study; and (iii) animals previously used for breeding purposes. Aging was associated with a general decrease in action impulsivity and an increase in delay tolerance. Females generally performed more impulsive actions than males but no differences were observed regarding delay intolerance. In terms of estrous cycle, no differences in impulsive behavior were observed and regarding strain, Wistar Han animals were, in general, more impulsive than Sprague-Dawley. In addition to further confirming, in a substantial study cohort, the decrease in impulsivity with age, we have demonstrated that both the strain and sex influences modulate different aspects of impulsive behavior manifestations.FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE) and the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement as well as national funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [projects POCI-01–0145-FEDER-007038, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 and PTDC/NEU-SCC/5301/2014]. Researchers were supported by FCT [grant numbers SFRH/BD/52291/2013 to ME and PD/BD/114117/2015 to MRG via Inter-University Doctoral Programme in Ageing and Chronic Disease, PhDOC; PDE/BDE/113601/2015 to PSM via PhD Program in Health Sciences (Applied) and Phd-iHES; SFRH/BD/109111/2015 to AMC; SFRH/BD/51061/2010 to MMC; SFRH/SINTD/60126/2009 to AM; SFRH/BD/98675/2013 to BC; IF/00883/2013 to AJR; IF/00111/2013 to AJS; SFRH/BPD/80118/2011 to HLA]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Origins of Lactase Persistence in Europe

Lactase persistence (LP) is common among people of European ancestry, but with the exception of some African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian groups, is rare or absent elsewhere in the world. Lactase gene haplotype conservation around a polymorphism strongly associated with LP in Europeans (−13,910 C/T) indicates that the derived allele is recent in origin and has been subject to strong positive selection. Furthermore, ancient DNA work has shown that the −13,910*T (derived) allele was very rare or absent in early Neolithic central Europeans. It is unlikely that LP would provide a selective advantage without a supply of fresh milk, and this has lead to a gene-culture coevolutionary model where lactase persistence is only favoured in cultures practicing dairying, and dairying is more favoured in lactase persistent populations. We have developed a flexible demic computer simulation model to explore the spread of lactase persistence, dairying, other subsistence practices and unlinked genetic markers in Europe and western Asia's geographic space. Using data on −13,910*T allele frequency and farming arrival dates across Europe, and approximate Bayesian computation to estimate parameters of interest, we infer that the −13,910*T allele first underwent selection among dairying farmers around 7,500 years ago in a region between the central Balkans and central Europe, possibly in association with the dissemination of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture over Central Europe. Furthermore, our results suggest that natural selection favouring a lactase persistence allele was not higher in northern latitudes through an increased requirement for dietary vitamin D. Our results provide a coherent and spatially explicit picture of the coevolution of lactase persistence and dairying in Europe

Inherited determinants of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis phenotypes: a genetic association study

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease; treatment strategies have historically been determined by this binary categorisation. Genetic studies have identified 163 susceptibility loci for inflammatory bowel disease, mostly shared between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. We undertook the largest genotype association study, to date, in widely used clinical subphenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease with the goal of further understanding the biological relations between diseases

Phase separation and doped-hole segregation in La2CuO4+δ and La2-xSrxCuO4+δ

Herein, we review the magnetic, superconducting and structural phase diagrams of the title systems, with an emphasis on our recent results form magnetic and structural neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility and system, and indicate the occurrence of frustrated phase separation on a nanoscopic length scale in the La2-xSrxCuO4 system with O < x ≲ 0.05. 139La nuclear quadrupole resonance measurements. The results clarify the miscibility gap in the La2CuO4+δ. © 1994

Phase separation and doped-hole segregation in La2CuO4+δ and La2-xSrxCuO4+δ

Herein, we review the magnetic, superconducting and structural phase diagrams of the title systems, with an emphasis on our recent results form magnetic and structural neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility and system, and indicate the occurrence of frustrated phase separation on a nanoscopic length scale in the La Sr CuO system with O < x ≲ 0.05. La nuclear quadrupole resonance measurements. The results clarify the miscibility gap in the La CuO . © 1994. 2- x x 4 2 4+δ 13

Regulating angiogenesis at the level of PtdIns-4,5-P(2)

Angiogenesis is a coordinated sequence of cellular responses that result in the outgrowth of new blood vessels. The angiogenic program is regulated by extracellular factors, whose input is integrated at least in part at the level of signal transduction pathways driven by phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) and phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ). Using an in vitro angiogenesis model, we discovered that PI3K was essential for tube formation, whereas PLCγ promoted regression. The underlying mechanism by which PLCγ antagonized tube formation appeared to be by competing with PI3K for their common substrate, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate. These studies are the first to identify signaling enzymes involved with vessel regression, and reveal that the angiogenic program can be coordinated by the availability of a membrane lipid