The Rat Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in the Neural Circuitries of Depression and Sleep

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating disorder affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The etiology of the disease is unknown, and how antidepressant medications reverse depression is unclear. However, imaging and postmortem studies of MDD patients show abnormalities in several limbic areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex. The involvement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in depression has been particularly intriguing, for this region demonstrates reduced metabolic activity in remission, and this reduction is unique to treatment responders. In addition, deep brain stimulation targeting the subgenual cingulate cortex in the vmPFC has been shown to be effective in treating 'treatment-resistant' patients. Furthermore, neuroanatomical studies have shown that this region projects to many downstream limbic areas implicated to play roles in MDD. I therefore hypothesized that 1) the vmPFC may be an important target of antidepressant drugs, and that 2) this region may play a role in the generation of depression-associated behaviors. To test the first hypothesis, I administered desipramine (DMI), a tricyclic antidepressant, to rats. I found that the rat vmPFC was significantly activated by DMI, whereas the dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) was not. I also found that the drug increases neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens, but this activation was dependent on the integrity of the vmPFC. To test the second hypothesis, I induced neuronal lesions in the rat dmPFC or vmPFC and subjected the animals to behavioral tests. I found that while lesions in both areas led to increased REM sleep, only vmPFC-lesioned animals had reduced REM latency, increased sleep fragmentation and increased forced swim test immobility. Together, these results demonstrate that the vmPFC may be an important region for both antidepressant action and the generation of depression-like behaviors

Evaluating a theory-based intervention for improving eHealth literacy in older adults: a single group, pretest–posttest design

All authors wish to express their gratitude to our participants for their enthusiastic participation in the intervention over a long five-week period. Also, all authors are deeply grateful to The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning for their support (Grant No. NRF-2017R1C1B5017768).Background The Internet is considered an important channel for providing health information to older adults. We developed an intervention to improve eHealth literacy in older adults according to the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) theory and Intervention Mapping. This study aimed to analyze the effect of a developed intervention on information, motivation, behavioral skills, and behaviors related to eHealth information in older adults. Methods Forty-six older adults over the age of 65 were recruited from two senior welfare centers in a city in South Korea. We divided the participants into four groups and conducted one intervention per group from March to December 2019. One intervention consisted of 5 sessions and was performed once a week (2 h/1 time) for 5 weeks, culminating in a total lecture time of 10 h. One lecture instructor and two assistant instructors supported the participants in the computer practices. Results Participants’ computer/web knowledge, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and attitude toward eHealth information showed statistically significant increases. The eHealth literacy efficacy score, searching performance score, and understanding score were also significantly increased. However, there was no significant difference in perceived usefulness. Conclusion The application of the current theory-based methodology can improve the quality of research in eHealth literacy. Additionally, various interventions should be developed and continuously applied to improve eHealth literacy among older adults.This work was supported by The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning for their support (Grant No. NRF-2017R1C1B5017768)

Air-stable n-type operation of Gd-contacted carbon nanotube field effect transistors

We report air-stable n -type operations of the single-walled carbon nanotube field effect transistors (SWNT-FETs) fabricated with Gd electrodes. Unlike previously reported n -type SWNT-FETs, our devices maintained their n -type operation characteristics in ambient atmosphere for more than two months. The shallow Gd films with a thickness below 20 nm are corroded by environmental oxygen, whereas the well-contacted Gd-SWNT interfaces underneath the thick Gd layers are protected from contaminations by air molecules. Theoretical studies based on the first-principles electronic structure calculations confirm that Gd layers have an excellent binding affinity to the SWNTs.open8

Carbon nanotube diode fabricated by contact engineering with self-assembled molecules

The authors report the construction of carbon nanotube Schottky diodes by covering a selectively exposed area of the electrode with self-assembling molecules. Two self-assembling molecules with different polarities, 2-aminoethanethiol and 3-mercaptopropionic acid, were used to modify the Fermi level lineup at the selected contact. The devices showed p -type behavior with symmetric I-V showing clear rectifying behavior after treatment of one contact with 2-aminoethanethiol. Their experiment, in conjunction with the results of ab initio electronic structure calculations, suggests that the diode action stems from the asymmetric Fermi level lineup between the bare and engineered contacts.open131

In situ electrochemically synthesized Pt-MoO3-x nanostructure catalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction

Designing and preparing highly active and stable nanostructured Pt-based catalysts with ultralow Pt loading are still challenging for electrochemical applications such as water electrolysis and fuel cells. Here we report for the first time an in situ electrochemical process to synthesize Pt-MoO3-x nanoflakes (NFs) overgrown on commercial bulk MoS2 by employing a facile and simple electrochemical method without using any expensive precious metal salts. The overgrowth of Pt-MoO3-x NFs on the bulk MoS2 surface is conducted by applying electrical energy to the bulkMoS(2) and using Pt counter electrode dissolution in an acidic solution. In spite of their 10 times lower Pt loadings compared to commercial Pt black (Alfa Aesar), the synthesized Pt-MoO3-x NFs demonstrate excellent catalytic performance with a Ptmass activity of 2.83 A/mg(Pt) at the overpotential of 100 mV for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), an approximately 4 times higher value than the value of 0.76 A/mg(Pt) at the overpotential of 100 mVfor commercial Pt black. We hypothesize that the outstanding HER characteristics of Pt-MoO3-x NFs are related to the existence and increase of Pt-MoO3 interfacial sites and oxygen vacancy sites such as Mo5+ in the Pt-MoO3-x NF structures. In addition, our density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that Pt and O sites at Pt and MoO3 interfaces and O sites at defective MoO3-x in the Pt-MoO3-x NFs contribute to accelerate the HER. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot and mouth diseases with neurologic symptoms, a university hospital experience in Korea, 2009

PurposeHand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness in children, which is usually mild and self-limiting. However, in recent epidemics of HFMD in Asia, enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been recognized as a causative agent with severe neurological symptoms with or without cardiopulmonary involvement. HFMD was epidemic in Korea in the spring of 2009. Severe cases with complications including death have been reported. The clinical characteristics in children with neurologic manifestations of EV71 were studied in Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital.MethodsExaminations for EV71 were performed from the stools, respiratory secretion or CSF of children who presented neurologic symptoms associated with HFMD by realtime PCR. Clinical and radiologic data of the patients were collected and analyzed.ResultsEV71 was isolated from the stool of 16 patients but not from respiratory secretion or CSF. Among the 16 patients, meningitis (n=10) was the most common manifestation, followed by Guillain-Barré syndrome (n=3), meningoencephalitis (n=2), poliomyelitis-like paralytic disease (n=1), and myoclonus (n=1). Gene analysis showed that most of them were caused by EV71 subgenotype C4a, which was prevalent in China in 2008.ConclusionBecause EV71 causes severe complications and death in children, a surveillance system to predict upcoming outbreaks should be established and maintained and adequate public health measures are needed to control disease

PIASy-dependent SUMOylation regulates DNA topoisomerase IIα activity

SUMOylation of TopoIIα inhibits its decatenation activity, preventing resolution of tangled DNA at centromeres before anaphase onset

Cross-National Differences in Victimization : Disentangling the Impact of Composition and Context

Varying rates of criminal victimization across countries are assumed to be the outcome of countrylevel structural constraints that determine the supply ofmotivated o¡enders, as well as the differential composition within countries of suitable targets and capable guardianship. However, previous empirical tests of these ‘compositional’ and ‘contextual’ explanations of cross-national di¡erences have been performed upon macro-level crime data due to the unavailability of comparable individual-level data across countries. This limitation has had two important consequences for cross-national crime research. First, micro-/meso-level mechanisms underlying cross-national differences cannot be truly inferred from macro-level data. Secondly, the e¡ects of contextual measures (e.g. income inequality) on crime are uncontrolled for compositional heterogeneity. In this paper, these limitations are overcome by analysing individual-level victimization data across 18 countries from the International CrimeVictims Survey. Results from multi-level analyses on theft and violent victimization indicate that the national level of income inequality is positively related to risk, independent of compositional (i.e. micro- and meso-level) di¡erences. Furthermore, crossnational variation in victimization rates is not only shaped by di¡erences in national context, but also by varying composition. More speci¢cally, countries had higher crime rates the more they consisted of urban residents and regions with lowaverage social cohesion.

The Causative Organisms of Bacterial Meningitis in Korean Children in 1996-2005

Bacterial meningitis remains a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood, despite the availability of effective vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) or Streptococcus pneumoniae. The purpose of this study was to analyze data on bacterial meningitis cases in Korea from 1996 through 2005. The information of all hospitalized bacteria-proven meningitis cases was obtained from 17 university hospitals nationwide. A total of 402 cases were identified. Of these, 125 (29.9%) cases were neonates. Streptococcus agalactiae was the most common bacteria responsible for 99 (24.6%) of all cases regardless of age, followed by S. pneumoniae for 91 (22.6%) and H. influenzae for 67 (16.7%) patients. The common etiology beyond the neonatal period was S. pneumoniae for 91 (33.0%) followed by H. influenzae for 63 (22.8%) patients. The overall case fatality rate was 9.4%, which was similar with that in 1986-1995. In conclusion, S. agalactiae, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were important etiologic agents of bacterial meningitis in children in the last 10 yrs. It is required to establish the preventive strategy of the three bacteria. The nationwide epidemiologic study should be continued to evaluate immunization strategy and efficacy

Aptamers as molecular recognition elements for electrical nanobiosensors

Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled the development of nanoscale sensors that outperform conventional biosensors. This review summarizes the nanoscale biosensors that use aptamers as molecular recognition elements. The advantages of aptamers over antibodies as sensors are highlighted. These advantages are especially apparent with electrical sensors such as electrochemical sensors or those using field-effect transistors