Long-range Casimir interactions between impurities in nematic liquid crystals and the collapse of polymer chains in such solvents

The elastic interactions between objects embedded in a nematic liquid crystal are usually caused by the average distorsion-rather than by the fluctuations-of the nematic orientational field. We argue that for sufficiently small particles, the nematic-mediated interaction originates purely from the fluctuations of the nematic director. This Casimir interaction decays as d^(-6), d being the distance between the particles, and it dominates van der Waals interactions close to the isotropic-to-nematic transition. Considering the nematic as a polymer solvent, we show that the onset of this Casimir interaction at the isotropic-to-nematic transition can discontinuously induce the collapse of a flexible polymer chain from the swollen state to the globular state, without crossing the Theta-point.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Relativistic effects and primordial non-Gaussianity in the galaxy bias

When dealing with observables, one needs to generalize the bias relation between the observed galaxy fluctuation field to the underlying matter distribution in a gauge-invariant way. We provide such relation at second-order in perturbation theory adopting the local Eulerian bias model and starting from the observationally motivated uniform-redshift gauge. Our computation includes the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity. We show that large scale-dependent relativistic effects in the Eulerian bias arise independently from the presence of some primordial non-Gaussianity. Furthermore, the Eulerian bias inherits from the primordial non-Gaussianity not only a scale-dependence, but also a modulation with the angle of observation when sources with different biases are correlated.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX file; version accepted for publication in JCA

Effective interactions between inclusions in complex fluids driven out of equilibrium

The concept of fluctuation-induced effective interactions is extended to systems driven out of equilibrium. We compute the forces experienced by macroscopic objects immersed in a soft material driven by external shaking sources. We show that, in contrast with equilibrium Casimir forces induced by thermal fluctuations, their sign, range and amplitude depends on specifics of the shaking and can thus be tuned. We also comment upon the dispersion of these shaking-induced forces, and discuss their potential application to phase ordering in soft-materials.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PR

Cognitive performance of healthy young rats following chronic donepezil administration.

RATIONALE: Experimental studies have investigated the effects of chronic donepezil treatment on the behavioral deficits elicited by reduced activity or the loss of cholinergic neurons that occurs in aging or in models of dementia. However, few studies have analyzed the effects of chronic donepezil treatment on the cognitive functions of intact animals. OBJECTIVES: The cognitive functions of healthy young rats treated chronically with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil were evaluated using a wide behavioral test battery. RESULTS: Chronic treatment with donepezil ameliorated memory functions and explorative strategies, speeded up the acquisition of localizing knowledge, augmented responsiveness to the context, and reduced anxiety levels. However, it did not affect spatial span, modify motivational levels, or influence associative learning. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings show the specific profile of donepezil action on cognitive functions in the presence of unaltered cholinergic neurotransmission systems

Insomnia in the Italian Population During Covid-19 Outbreak: A Snapshot on One Major Risk Factor for Depression and Anxiety

Objectives: One of the largest clusters of Covid-19 infections was observed in Italy. The population was forced to home confinement, exposing individuals to increased risk for insomnia, which is, in turn, associated with depression and anxiety. Through a cross-sectional online survey targeting all Italian adult population (≥18 yrs), insomnia prevalence and its interactions with relevant factors were investigated. Methods: The survey was distributed from 1st April to 4th May 2020. We collected information on insomnia severity, depression, anxiety, sleep hygiene behaviors, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, circadian preference, emotion regulation, cognitive flexibility, perceived stress, health habits, self-report of mental disorders, and variables related to individual difference in life changes due to the pandemic's outbreak. Results: The final sample comprised 1,989 persons (38.4 ± 12.8 yrs). Prevalence of clinical insomnia was 18.6%. Results from multivariable linear regression showed that insomnia severity was associated with poor sleep hygiene behaviors [β = 0.11, 95% CI (0.07–0.14)]; dysfunctional beliefs about sleep [β = 0.09, 95% CI (0.08–0.11)]; self-reported mental disorder [β = 2.51, 95% CI (1.8–3.1)]; anxiety [β = 0.33, 95% CI (0.25–0.42)]; and depression [β = 0.24, 95% CI (0.16–0.32)] symptoms. Conclusion: An alarming high prevalence of clinical insomnia was observed. Results suggest that clinical attention should be devoted to problems of insomnia in the Italian population with respect to both prevention and treatment

Fluctuations of Fluctuation-Induced "Casimir" Forces

The force experienced by objects embedded in a correlated medium undergoing thermal fluctuations--the so-called fluctuation--induced force--is actually itself a fluctuating quantity. We compute the corresponding probability distribution and show that it is a Gaussian centered on the well-known Casimir force, with a non-universal standard deviation that can be typically as large as the mean force itself. The relevance of these results to the experimental measurement of fluctuation-induced forces is discussed, as well as the influence of the finite temporal resolution of the measuring apparatus.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Cerebellar involvement in cognitive flexibility

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the cerebellar structures are involved in functions requiring cognitive flexibility abilities. The flexibility of the hemicerebellectomized and control animals in learning a four-choice learning task, adapting to ever-changing response rules was investigated. While in the initial phase of the task both experimental groups exhibited similar performances, only the control animals significantly improved their performance as the sessions went by. The lack of improvement in lesioned animals' performance rendered their responses particularly defective in the final phases of the task, when conversely intact animals performed best, exploiting their "learning to learn" ability. The findings demonstrate the defective influence of the cerebellar lesion on the acquisition, not the execution, of new responses. The results underline the crucial role of the cerebellum in mediating cognitive flexibility behaviors

Cerebellar control of cortico-striatal LTD

Purpose: Recent anatomical studies showed the presence of cerebellar and basal ganglia connections. It is thus conceivable that the cerebellum may influence the striatal synaptic transmission in general, and synaptic plasticity in particular. Methods: In the present neurophysiological investigation in brain slices, we studied striatal long-term depression (LTD), a crucial form of synaptic plasticity involved in motor learning after cerebellar lesions in rats. Results: Striatal LTD was fully abolished in the left striatum of rats with right hemicerebellectomy recorded 3 and 7 days following surgery, when the motor deficits were at their peak. Fifteen days after the hemicerebellectomy, rats had partially compensated their motor deficits and high-frequency stimulation of excitatory synapses in the left striatum was able to induce a stable LTD. Striatal plasticity was conversely normal ipsilaterally to cerebellar lesions, as well as in the right and left striatum of sham-operated animals. Conclusions: These data show that the cerebellum controls striatal synaptic plasticity, supporting the notion that the two structures operate in conjunction during motor learning

Dopamine neuronal loss contributes to memory and reward dysfunction in a model of Alzheimer's disease

Alterations of the dopaminergic (DAergic) system are frequently reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and are commonly linked to cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. However, the cause of DAergic system dysfunction in AD remains to be elucidated. We investigated alterations of the midbrain DAergic system in the Tg2576 mouse model of AD, overexpressing a mutated human amyloid precursor protein (APPswe). Here, we found an age-dependent DAergic neuron loss in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) at pre-plaque stages, although substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) DAergic neurons were intact. The selective VTA DAergic neuron degeneration results in lower DA outflow in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell. The progression of DAergic cell death correlates with impairments in CA1 synaptic plasticity, memory performance and food reward processing. We conclude that in this mouse model of AD, degeneration of VTA DAergic neurons at pre-plaque stages contributes to memory deficits and dysfunction of reward processing