Molecular Biology of Histamine System, volume 1

Histamine is arguably the most pleiotropic transmitted in the human body [...

Un escenario pedagógico lúdico para el desarrollo de competencias plurilingues e interculturales

I Congresso Internacional América Latina e Interculturalidade: América Latina e Caribe: cenários linguístico-culturais contemporâneos, 07, 08 e 09 de novembro de 2013 - UNILAEl plurilingüismo y la interculturalidad son temáticas de investigación actuales que se extienden cada vez más a través del mundo. En efecto, varias investigaciones se han realizado sobre estos conceptos, y muestran la importancia y el beneficio que traen las tecnologías educativas para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje del plurilingüismo y de la interculturalidad, como las de Arismendi (2011) sobre la dimensión intercultural con la plataforma Galanet, y la de Chazot (2012) sobre el juego Limbo. Con el fin de que evolucionen las investigaciones en estos campos, me interesaré en la dimensión lúdica y colaborativa, y realizaré una presentación individual de mi tema de tesis doctoral en pedagogía que consiste en la concepción, el diseño y la puesta en marcha de un escenario pedagógico lúdico para el desarrollo de competencias plurilingües e interculturales. El objetivo consiste en ver en qué el componente lúdico con la dimensión colaborativa contribuye en la adquisición de competencias plurilingües, y cuales lenguas usan los aprendices al comunicarse. Esta presentación se puede integrar al tema “Escenarios transculturales” del congreso. Para la concepción del escenario, se piensa colaborar con profesores e investigadores del proyecto Miriadi. La prueba del escenario está destinada a estudiantes de la Universidad de lenguas romances (francés, español, portugués e italiano). El método de investigación que se piensa emplear es a la vez de tipo cuantitativo con el análisis de cuestionarios y cualitativo con el análisis de las interacciones de los aprendices. En cuanto a los resultados esperados podemos pensar que los comportamientos de los aprendices serán positivos por el uso de un escenario lúdico en el cual haya confrontación entre equipos y competición con un resultado final. Y la presencia de alternancia de código puede depender de los temas de la actividad presentados en el escenario

Aerothermal Characterization of Silicon Carbide-Based TPS in High Enthalpy Airflow

Inductively-coupled plasma generators provide an ideal environment to reproduce the aerothermal heating experienced by a spacecraft re-entering a planetary atmosphere. The flight boundary layer chemistry is duplicated around a TPS model, ensuring a similarity between the flight and ground stagnation-point heat flux. Experiments conducted in an induction plasmatron on silicon carbide-based thermal protection materials will be described. Several specimens are tested under a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions and investigated by means of infrared radiometry and optical emission spectroscopy. The plasma to which the materials are exposed is characterized in details by calorimetric and Pitot pressure measurements, and numerically rebuilt by means of a nonequilibrium boundary layer model. The presentation will focus on the thermophysical properties of the material and their dependency on the testing environment. In particular, we will discuss the oxidation features of silicon carbide which are detected both via emission spectroscopy and post-test reflectivity measurements

Effects of methimepip and JNJ-5207852 in Wistar rats exposed to an open-field with and without object and in Balb/c mice exposed to a radial-arm maze

The role of the histamine H3 receptor (H3R) in anxiety is controversial, due to limitations in drug selectivity and limited validity of behavioral tests used in previous studies. In the present report, we describe two experiments. In the first one, Wistar rats were treated with an H3R agonist (methimepip), and exposed to an open-field. In the second one, Balb/c mice were treated with H3R agonist (methimepip) or antagonist (JNJ-5207852), and exposed to an open space 3D maze which is a modified version of the radial-arm maze. C57BL/6J saline treated mice were included for comparisons. When exposed to an empty open field, Wistar rats spent more time in the outer area and made very low number of brief crossings in the central area. However, when an object occupied the central area, rats crossed frequently into and spent a long time in the central area. Administration of a range of different doses of methimepip (selective H3R agonist) reduced the entries into the central area with a novel object, indicating enhanced avoidance response. In the 3D maze, both Balb/c and C57BL/6J saline-treated mice crossed frequently onto the bridges that radiate from the central platform but only C57BL/6J mice crossed onto the arms which extend the bridges. This suggests that Balb/c mice are more anxious than C57BL/6J mice. Neither methimepip nor JNJ-5207852 (selective H3R antagonist/inverse agonist) induced entry into the arms of the maze, indicative of lack of anxiolytic effects

Ligand autoradiographical quantification of histamine H3 receptor in human dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a serious age-dependent human neurodegenerative disease, with multiple debilitating symptoms, including dementia, psychosis and significant motor deficits, but with little or no effective treatments. This comparative ligand autoradiographical study has quantified histamine H3 receptors (H3R) in a series of major cortical and basal ganglia structures in human DLB and Alzheimer’s (AD) post-mortem cases using the highly selective radioligand, [3H] GSK189254. In the main, the levels of H3 receptor were largely preserved in DLB cases when compared with aged-matched controls. However, we provide new evidence showing variable levels in the globus pallidus, and, moreover, raised levels of Pallidum H3 correlated with positive psychotic symptoms, in particular delusions and visual hallucinations, but not symptoms associated with depression. Furthermore, no correlation was detected for H3 receptor levels to MMSE or IUPRS symptom severity. This study suggests that H3R antagonists have scope for treating the psychotic symptomologies in DLB and other human brain disorders

Hypersonic Aerothermochemistry Duplication in Ground Plasma Facilities: A Flight-to-Ground Approach

peer reviewedHigh conservative safety margins, applied to the design of spacecraft thermal protection systems for planetary entry, need to be reduced for higher efficiency of future space missions. Ground testing of such protection systems is of great importance during the design phase. This study covers a methodology for simulating the complex hypersonic entry aerothermochemistry in a plasma wind tunnel for a given spacecraft geometry without any assumption on axisymmetry or bluntness. A demonstration of this proposed methodology is made on the Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN, QARMAN mission, which is a rectangular reentry CubeSat with a cork-based ablative thermal protection system in the front unit. The reacting boundary-layer profiles of the hypersonic entry probe compare well with the ones developing at the stagnation region of the plasma test model, defined with the proposed flight-to-ground duplication method

Desperately seeking stress: A pilot study of cortisol in archaeological tooth structures

Objectives: Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced through activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. It is known as the “stress hormone” for its primary role in the body's stress response and has been the focus of much modern clinical research. Within archaeology, only a few studies have analyzed cortisol in human remains and these have been restricted to hair (Webb et al., 2010; Webb, White, van Uum, & Longstaffe, 2015a; Webb, White, van Uum, & Longstaffe, 2015b). This study examines the utility of dentine and enamel, which survive well archaeologically, as possible reservoirs for detectable levels of cortisol. Materials and methods: Then, 69 teeth from 65 individuals from five Roman and Post-Roman sites in France were tested via competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess and quantify the cortisol concentrations present within tooth dentine and enamel. Results: In both tooth dentine and enamel, detectable concentrations of cortisol were identified in multiple teeth. However, concentrations were low and not all teeth yielded results that were measurable through cortisol ELISA. Differences in cortisol values between dentine and enamel could suggest different uptake mechanisms or timing. Discussion: These results suggest that cortisol is incorporated within tooth structures and merits further investigation in both modern and archaeological contexts. Analysis of the results through liquid chromatographic–mass spectrometry would verify current results and might yield values that could be better integrated with published cortisol studies. Future studies of cortisol in tooth structures would greatly expand the research potential of cortisol in the past and could have implications for studies of human stress across deep time

Étude des variations en éléments traces dans un carbonate archéologique de la ville antique d'Ostie : conséquences environnementales et archéologiques

International audienceHigh resolution laser ablation ICP-MS analyses are performed along the growth axis of an archaeological carbonate deposit from a water tower in the antique city of Ostia (Italy). Results show a composite structure with high frequency cycles, thought to be seasonal, and longer-term variations in Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, Pb/Ca and U/Ca ratios. Changes in the broad trace element composition at the beginning of the deposit are interpreted as the hallmark of important modifications in the sources supplying the water to the city. Our study suggests that trace elements analysis in archaeological carbonates have the potential to provide high-resolution seasonal records, which could give insights into historic environment variability and past policy of natural resource administration.Les étapes de croissance d'un dépôt de carbonate provenant d'un château d'eau de la ville antique d'Ostie sont étudiées à l'aide d'un ICP-MS à ablation laser. Les résultats montrent une structure composite, avec des cycles hautes fréquences, probablement saisonniers, se superposant à un signal à plus long terme pour les rapports élémentaires suivants : Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, Pb/Ca et U/Ca. Un changement de composition au début du dépôt est interprété comme la mémoire de modifications importantes dans la localisation de la source d'eau qui approvisionnait la ville. À l'issue de cette étude, on peut entrevoir les potentialités de l'analyse des éléments traces dans les carbonates archéologiques, afin d'aborder avec une haute résolution la question environnementale durant la période historique et, ainsi de mieux cerner les politiques passées de gestion des ressources naturelles

Pre-training in a radial arm maze abolished anxiety and impaired habituation in C57BL6/J mice treated with dizocilpine

Familiarity can imply a reduction of fear and anxiety, which may render learning and memory performance insensitive to NMDA receptor antagonism. Our previous study indicates that MK-801 (dizocilpine), NMDA antagonist, increased anxiety and prevented the acquisition of a spatial memory task. Here, we examined whether MK-801 will produce anxiety in mice that were familiar with the test environment. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed, one session a day for 7 days, to a 3D maze, which consisted of nine arms attached to upward inclined bridges radiating from a nonagonal platform. In this maze, high anxiety mice avoid the arms in the first sessions. One group of mice received saline (SAL) while a second group received MK-801 (MKD1), both on day one. A third group received saline in the first 3 sessions, and MK 801 in subsequent sessions (MKD4). Saline and MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally 30 min before the test. MKD4 mice demonstrated an increase in bridge and arm visits, and reached arm/bridge entries ratio close to 1 in session 5. SAL mice also crossed frequently onto the arms, and reached a comparable ratio, but this was achieved with a lower number of arm visits. MKD1 mice demonstrated a reduced number of arm visits in each session compared to SAL and MKD4 mice. Dizocilpine produced anxiety in mice treated from day 1 of the test, but not in those treated from day 4. It also impaired habituation in animals familiar with the test environment; it produced sustained non-habituating hyperactivity

Pre-training in a radial arm maze abolished anxiety and impaired habituation in C57BL6/J mice treated with dizocilpine

Familiarity can imply a reduction of fear and anxiety, which may render learning and memory performance insensitive to NMDA receptor antagonism. Our previous study indicates that MK-801 (dizocilpine), NMDA antagonist, increased anxiety and prevented the acquisition of a spatial memory task. Here, we examined whether MK-801 will produce anxiety in mice that were familiar with the test environment. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed, one session a day for 7 days, to a 3D maze, which consisted of nine arms attached to upward inclined bridges radiating from a nonagonal platform. In this maze, high anxiety mice avoid the arms in the first sessions. One group of mice received saline (SAL) while a second group received MK-801 (MKD1), both on day one. A third group received saline in the first 3 sessions, and MK 801 in subsequent sessions (MKD4). Saline and MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally 30 min before the test. MKD4 mice demonstrated an increase in bridge and arm visits, and reached arm/bridge entries ratio close to 1 in session 5. SAL mice also crossed frequently onto the arms, and reached a comparable ratio, but this was achieved with a lower number of arm visits. MKD1 mice demonstrated a reduced number of arm visits in each session compared to SAL and MKD4 mice. Dizocilpine produced anxiety in mice treated from day 1 of the test, but not in those treated from day 4. It also impaired habituation in animals familiar with the test environment; it produced sustained non-habituating hyperactivity