Occasion-setting by drug states: Functional equivalence following similar training history

Three experiments examined whether a drug state serving as a positive feature for pairings between a discrete conditional stimulus (CS, 15-s light or 15-s noise) and sucrose could transfer facilitative control to a CS with which it had never been presented. To do so, a CS was paired with a sucrose reward in the nicotine (0.4 mg/kg), amphetamine (AMP, 1 mg/kg), or chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 5 mg/ kg) drug state; in separate saline sessions the CS was presented but was not followed by any reward. All three drug states facilitated responding to a discrete CS; previous studies found that this facilitation did not depend on direct associations between the drug state and sucrose. When a second discrimination was trained (e.g., CDP: light-sucrose and nicotine: noise-sucrose) the drug states facilitated responding to the CS trained in that state (nicotine: noise) as well as the CS normally presented in the other drug state (e.g., nicotine: light). A novel drug state (e.g., amphetamine) did not affect responding to either CS, indicating that the originally trained drug states had acquired functional similarity based on learning history. Also, a novel or ambiguous CS did not evoke responding in the previously trained drug state, indicating that both the features (drug states) and target conditional stimuli had to be trained in discriminations before transfer could occur

Occasion-setting by drug states: Functional equivalence following similar training history

Three experiments examined whether a drug state serving as a positive feature for pairings between a discrete conditional stimulus (CS, 15-s light or 15-s noise) and sucrose could transfer facilitative control to a CS with which it had never been presented. To do so, a CS was paired with a sucrose reward in the nicotine (0.4 mg/kg), amphetamine (AMP, 1 mg/kg), or chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 5 mg/ kg) drug state; in separate saline sessions the CS was presented but was not followed by any reward. All three drug states facilitated responding to a discrete CS; previous studies found that this facilitation did not depend on direct associations between the drug state and sucrose. When a second discrimination was trained (e.g., CDP: light-sucrose and nicotine: noise-sucrose) the drug states facilitated responding to the CS trained in that state (nicotine: noise) as well as the CS normally presented in the other drug state (e.g., nicotine: light). A novel drug state (e.g., amphetamine) did not affect responding to either CS, indicating that the originally trained drug states had acquired functional similarity based on learning history. Also, a novel or ambiguous CS did not evoke responding in the previously trained drug state, indicating that both the features (drug states) and target conditional stimuli had to be trained in discriminations before transfer could occur

Ore paragenesis of the Tajo Vein, Paramillos de Uspallata ore deposit, Mendoza Province, Argentina

La Veta Tajo forma par te del yacimiento Paramillos de Uspallata (32°28’29.6”S; 69°08’46”O), ubicado en la Precordillera Occidental de la provincia de Mendoza. Este yacimiento está formado por un conjunto de vetas con mineralización de Pb-Zn-Ag hospedadas en basaltos triásico-jurásicos y en sedimentitas triásicas. Los estudios mineraló- gicos (microscopía óptica convencional y SEM-EDX) realizados sobre muestras provenientes de la veta Tajo permitieron determinar que la paragénesis de mena está compuesta por galena argentífera, esfalerita, calcopirita, tetraedrita, freibergita, boulangerita, owyheeita, pirita, arsenopirita y marcasita así como la existencia de dos pulsos de mineralización, un primer pulso principalmente de Pb-Zn-Ag-(Cu) en ganga carbonática y un segundo pulso estéril en ganga de cuarzo. Por otra parte los análisis de química mineral permitieron determinar la composición de los minerales de mena y de esta forma establecer cuáles son aquellos portadores de Ag.The Tajo Vein is par t of the Paramillos de Uspallata ore deposit (32°28’29.6”S; 69°08’46”W) that is located in the Western Precordillera of Mendoza Province. This ore deposit consists of Pb-Zn-Ag veins hosted by Triassic-Jurassic basalts and Triassic sedimentary rocks. Mineralogical studies (optical microscopy and SEM-EDX analyses) carried out on samples from the Tajo Vein allowed the identification of an ore paragenesis consisting of Ag-galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, freibergite, boulangerite, owyheeite, pyrite, arsenopyrite and marcasite, occurring in two mineralization stages, the first consisting of Pb-Zn-Ag-(Cu) mineralization with a carbonate gangue and the barren second one with a quartz gangue. Chemical analyses allowed to determine the composition of the ore minerals and the Ag-bearing phases.Fil: Carrasquero, S. I.. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Recursos Minerales. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Recursos Minerales; ArgentinaFil: Rubinstein, Nora Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Basicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Basicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Bevins, R. E.. National Museum of Wales; Reino Unid

Developing proactive communication strategies for a potential pandemic

Communication through the Australian media during a potential avian influenza epidemic could act to inform the public OR misinform, contributing to unnecessary public panic and undesirable responses. This project is part of ongoing research to assess Australians’ knowledge and perceptions of bird flu which will allow the development of public service advertising messages for use by the Australian government in the event of a bird flu outbreak or pandemic. Focus group and CATI survey results on bird flu perceptions were used by an Australian advertising agency to prepare two campaign concepts. The concepts (story boards and print ads) were tested using focus groups by two independent market research companies in July 2006. This paper reports on the results of the ad-testing, and provides recommendations for the development and refinement of a public communication campaign to minimise public panic during a bird flu outbreak or pandemic in Australia

Practical application of AAPM Report 270 in display quality assurance: A report of Task Group 270

Published in January 2019, AAPM Report 270 provides an update to the recommendations of the AAPM\u27s TG18 report. Report 270 provides new definitions of display types, updated testing patterns, and revised performance standards for the modern, flat-panel displays used as part of medical image acquisition and review. The focus of the AAPM report is on consistent image quality and appearance, and how to establish a quality assurance program to achieve those two goals. This work highlights some of the key takeaways of AAPM Report 270 and makes comparisons with existing recommendations from other references. It also provides guidance for establishing a display quality assurance program for different-sized institutions. Finally, it describes future challenges for display quality assurance and what work remains

Altering the Motivational Function of Nicotine through Conditioning Processes

The collection of chapters in this 55th Nebraska Symposium on Motivation Volume clearly highlights that effective strategies for reducing compulsive tobacco use will require a multifaceted approach in which genetic, neurobiological, individual, and cultural factors are considered. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict where the next important breakthrough will come from (Bevins & Bardo, 2004; Dethier, 1966; Laidler, 1998). Accordingly, further research that extends and challenges current theory and practice at each of these levels of analysis is needed. The continuing focus of our research program, and the topic of the present chapter, is on the role of Pavlovian conditioning processes involving nicotine. Theoretical and empirical approaches to nicotine dependence that include Pavlovian conditioning processes have lead to important advances in our understanding and treatment of chronic tobacco use (e.g., see Rose, Chapter 8 and Tiffany, Warthen, & Goedecker, Chapter 10 in current Volume). These approaches conceptualize the drug as an unconditioned stimulus (US) or reinforcer. That is, the pharmacological effects of the drug (e.g., reward, analgesia, psychomotor stimulation) enter into an association with stimuli that reliably co-occur with these effects (e.g., paraphernalia, situational cues). Later exposure to these conditioned stimuli (CSs) can evoke conditioned responses (CRs) that increase the chances an individual will seek drug. More recently, we have suggested that the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine might also serve as a CS for other appetitive non-drug outcomes (i.e., USs) and/or a stimulus that occasions whether other CS-US associations will or will not occur (i.e., an occasion setter or facilitator; see Bevins & Palmatier, 2004). We have further suggested that such an associative learning history could impact the tenacity of nicotine addiction—e.g., shorten the time between experimentation and dependence, increase the difficulty of quitting, make sustaining abstinence more difficult, etc. At the current time these suggestions are speculative. With this in mind, the present chapter will review the research in this area, as well as highlight some of its historical precursors and suggest some possible future directions for research. In doing so, hopefully the reader will gain an appreciation for how this approach might lead to further insight into how Pavlovian conditioning processes can alter the motivational function of nicotine in a manner that contributes to chronic tobacco use

U–Pb zircon-rutile dating of the Llangynog Inlier, Wales: constraints on an Ediacaran shallow marine fossil assemblage from East Avalonia

The Llangynog Inlier of south Wales contains an assemblage of Ediacaran macrofossils from a shallow-marine environment, including discoidal morphs of Aspidella and rare examples of Hiemalora, Palaeopascichnus and Yelovichnus. These are taxa found in other sites in the Avalonian microcontinent (e.g. Charnwood Forest and eastern Newfoundland) and in the younger White Sea Ediacaran assemblages. As the Charnwood fossils reflect a deep-water environment, and no macrofossils have been found in the Ediacaran rocks of the Long Mynd, the fossils of the Llangynog Inlier represent a unique glimpse of shallow marine life in southern Britain (East Avalonia). However, the lack of absolute age constraints has hampered direct comparison with other assemblages. Here, we report in-situ zircon and rutile U–Pb dates from a rhyolitic ash-flow layer of the Coed Cochion Volcaniclastic Member, Llangynog Inlier, which constrains the age of the fossiliferous strata. A weighted mean single grain zircon ID-TIMS U–Pb age of 564.09 ± 0.70 Ma is interpreted as the rhyolite's crystallisation age. This age is consistent with in-situ LA-ICPMS zircon and rutile U–Pb dating. The Llangynog age temporally correlates these fossils to dated horizons within East Avalonia at the Beacon Hill Formation, Charnwood (565.22 ± 0.89 Ma), and the Stretton Shale Formation, Long Mynd (566.6 ± 2.9 Ma). Correlations to West Avalonia include the time-equivalent Fermeuse Formation, St John’s Group, eastern Newfoundland (564.13 ± 0.65 Ma). The data presented here establish the biota of the Llangynog Inlier as a lateral equivalent to the similarly shallow marine, tidally influenced ecosystem of the upper Fermeuse Formation. Intra-terrane depositional environmental variability also affects what is preserved in Avalonian fossil sites. Further, time-constrained geochemical data reinforce the Llangynog Inlier's classification within the Wrekin Terrane

Individuality and stability of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) faecal microbiota through time

Gut microbiota studies often rely on a single sample taken per individual, representing a snapshot in time. However, we know that gut microbiota composition in many animals exhibits intra-individual variation over the course of days to months. Such temporal variations can be a confounding factor in studies seeking to compare the gut microbiota of different wild populations, or to assess the impact of medical/veterinary interventions. To date, little is known about the variability of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) gut microbiota through time. Here, we characterise the gut microbiota from faecal samples collected at eight timepoints over a month for a captive population of South Australian koalas (n individuals = 7), and monthly over 7 months for a wild population of New South Wales koalas (n individuals = 5). Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that microbial diversity was stable over the course of days to months. Each koala had a distinct faecal microbiota composition which in the captive koalas was stable across days. The wild koalas showed more variation across months, although each individual still maintained a distinct microbial composition. Per koala, an average of 57 (±16) amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were detected across all time points; these ASVs accounted for an average of 97% (±1.9%) of the faecal microbial community per koala. The koala faecal microbiota exhibits stability over the course of days to months. Such knowledge will be useful for future studies comparing koala populations and developing microbiota interventions for this regionally endangered marsupial.Raphael Eisenhofer, Kylie L. Brice, Michaela DJ Blyton, Scott E. Bevins, Kellie Leigh, Brajesh K. Singh, Kristofer M. Helgen, Ian Hough, Christopher B. Daniels, Natasha Speight and Ben D. Moor

Human Alpha Defensin 5 Expression in the Human Kidney and Urinary Tract

The mechanisms that maintain sterility in the urinary tract are incompletely understood. Recent studies have implicated the importance of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) in protecting the urinary tract from infection. Here, we characterize the expression and relevance of the AMP human alpha-defensin 5 (HD5) in the human kidney and urinary tract in normal and infected subjects.Using RNA isolated from human kidney, ureter, and bladder tissue, we performed quantitative real-time PCR to show that DEFA5, the gene encoding HD5, is constitutively expressed throughout the urinary tract. With pyelonephritis, DEFA5 expression significantly increased in the kidney. Using immunoblot analysis, HD5 production also increased with pyelonephritis. Immunostaining localized HD5 to the urothelium of the bladder and ureter. In the kidney, HD5 was primarily produced in the distal nephron and collecting tubules. Using immunoblot and ELISA assays, HD5 was not routinely detected in non-infected human urine samples while mean urinary HD5 production increased with E.coli urinary tract infection.DEFA5 is expressed throughout the urinary tract in non-infected subjects. Specifically, HD5 is expressed throughout the urothelium of the lower urinary tract and in the collecting tubules of the kidney. With infection, HD5 expression increases in the kidney and levels become detectable in the urine. To our knowledge, our findings represent the first to quantitate HD5 expression and production in the human kidney. Moreover, this is the first report to detect the presence of HD5 in infected urine samples. Our results suggest that HD5 may have an important role in maintaining urinary tract sterility