Stereological estimations and neurochemical characterization of neurons expressing GABAA and GABAB receptors in the rat pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei

To better understand GABAergic transmission at two targets of basal ganglia downstream projections, the pedunculopontine (PPN) and laterodorsal (LDT) tegmental nuclei, the anatomical localization of GABAA and GABAB receptors was investigated in both nuclei. Specifically, the total number of neurons expressing the GABAA receptor γ2 subunit (GABAAR γ2) and the GABAB receptor R2 subunit (GABAB R2) in PPN and LDT was estimated using stereological methods, and the neurochemical phenotype of cells expressing each subunit was also determined. The mean number of non-cholinergic cells expressing GABAAR γ2 was 9850 ± 1856 in the PPN and 8285 ± 962 in the LDT, whereas those expressing GABAB R2 were 7310 ± 1970 and 9170 ± 1900 in the PPN and LDT, respectively. In addition, all cholinergic neurons in both nuclei co-expressed GABAAR γ2 and 95–98% of them co-expressed GABAB R2. Triple labeling using in situ hybridization revealed that 77% of GAD67 mRNA-positive cells in the PPT and 49% in the LDT expressed GABAAR γ2, while 90% (PPN) and 65% (LDT) of Vglut2 mRNA-positive cells also expressed GABAAR γ2. In contrast, a similar proportion (~2/3) of glutamatergic and GABAergic cells co-expressed GABAB R2 in both nuclei. The heterogeneous distribution of GABAAR and GABABR among non-cholinergic cells in PPN and LDT may give rise to physiological differences within each neurochemical subpopulation. In addition, the dissimilar proportion of GABAAR γ2-expressing glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the PPN and LDT may contribute to some of the functional differences found between the two nuclei

Eco-efficiency assessment and food security potential of home gardening: a case study in Padua, Italy

In the expanding urban agriculture phenomenon in Europe, home gardens are a traditional form that have kept agriculture within cities, even becoming crucial in certain historical periods (e.g., war periods). However, horticultural practices in home gardens can also have negative consequences. The goal of this paper is to assess the eco-efficiency of home gardens as a type of urban agriculture. To do so, a case study in Padua (Italy) was evaluated following life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methods. A home garden of 30.6 m(2) and 21 crop cycles were evaluated. The functional unit of the assessment was 1 kg of harvested fresh vegetable at the consumption point, and the ReCiPe method was employed for impact assessment. Environmental assessment indicated that organic fertilization, use of tap water, mineral fertilization and pesticides were the most contributing elements of the entire life cycle. Furthermore, the relevance of garden design and crop selection was a determinant in the eco-efficiency results. The assessed home garden could satisfy the food requirements of between 1 and 2 members of the household. Crop management and design recommendations are provided to improve eco-efficiency and food security potential of home gardens

Thalamic interaction between the input and the output systems of the basal ganglia

The striatal return through the thalamus is largely neglected in current studies dealing with basal ganglia function, and its role within this circuitry remains obscure. In this contribution the thalamus is regarded as an important place of interaction between the input and the output organization of the basal ganglia. In support of this idea, a brief overview is provided of some of the most recent findings concerning the thalamus in relation to the basal ganglia circuitry. In particular, we have focused on the thalamostriatal projections themselves, on the output of the basal ganglia to the thalamus and also on the overlapping territories between the thalamic projection of the output nuclei and the thalamostriatal neurons. These data support the existence of several thalamic feedback circuits within the basal ganglia neural system. Finally, some considerations are provided upon the functional significance of these thalamic feedback circuits in the overall organization of the basal ganglia

Technological competitions in the european space of high education. Offer of training of the main specialist in physical education

El presente artículo pretende identificar y analizar la disposición y actitud de los estudiantes de magisterio especialidad Educación Física de la Universidad de Alicante, para el desarrollo y/o adquisición de competencias tecnológicas de tipo transversal establecidas en los documentos marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior y su posible articulación curricular. Para ello, se ha administrado el Stages of Adoption of Technology, el Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers, y analizado los documentos de referencia, con el fin de identificar las competencias tecnológicas que todo futuro docente debe emplear durante su etapa de formación y práctica profesional.This article aims to identify and analyse the University of Alicante P.E. teachertraining students’ attitude towards and willingness to develop and/or acquire useful transversal Technology Skills defined in the European Space for Higher Education framework documents. It also looks to analyse their possibilities of applying their knowledge in the work place. In order to identify the Technology Skills that all future teachers should adopt, both during their education and in the work place, we have implemented the Stages of Adoption of Technology, the Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computers, and have analysed the reference documents.Grupo de Investigación FORCE (Formación Centrada en la Escuela) Universidad de Granad

Techniques and crops for efficient rooftop gardens in Bologna, Italy

Urban rooftop farming favours local food production. Although rooftop farming is perceived as 33 a sustainable system, there is a lack of quantitative studies on rooftop farming. There we set up 34 experiments in the community rooftop garden of a public housing building in Bologna, Italy, 35 between 2012 and 2014. We grew lettuce, a leafy vegetable, using three techniques: nutrient 36 film, floating hydroponic and soil cultivation. We also grew tomato, chilli pepper, eggplant, 37 melon, watermelon on soils. Data was analysed by life cycle assessment for environmental and 38 economic performance. Results reveal that the best techniques of lettuce cultivation to address 39 global warming were floating in the summer, with 65-85% less environmental impact per kg 40 than nutrient film; and soil production in the winter, with 85-95% less environmental impact. 41 Furthermore, floating production was 25% cheaper in summer and soil was 65% cheaper in 42 winter, compared to the nutrient film technique. For soil production, eggplants and tomatoes 43 showed the best environmental performances of about 74 g CO2 per kg. Eggplant production in 44 soil gave in the cheapest crop of 0.13 € per kg

Male pronucleus formation after ICSI: effect of oocyte cysteine or sperm Triton X-100 treatments

In pigs, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) efficiency is still poor. The inadequate decondensation of the sperm chromatin, its transformation into the male pronucleus (MPN) together with the subsequent inability to activate the oocyte, seem to be the main causes of the low ICSI efficiency. In order to improve the MPN formation we took two different approaches. On the one hand, the in vitro culture (IVC) medium postICSI was supplemented with 1.71mM cysteine (CYS). Alternatively, the sperm membrane was digested with Triton X-100 (TX) before ICSI, to improve the exposure of the sperm chromatin to the oocyte cytoplasm. After 6 h post-ICSI, the activation rate was significantly higher in TX group (70.0%) compared with CYS and control groups (42.2% and 48.9%, respectively; P < 0.05). However, no significant differences between the three groups were observed in terms of the number of pronuclei, 2PN (oocytes with 2 pronuclei and no visible sperm), and 1PN + sperm (oocytes with 1 pronucleus and one sperm head). At 22 h post-ICSI, the activation rates were similar in TX, CYS, and control groups (73.1, 78.9, and 75.7%, respectively). In addition, we did not observe significant differences between TX, CYS, and control groups for the number of pronuclei, 2PN (52.6, 56.7, and 50%, respectively) or 1PN + sperm (21.1, 33.3, and 32.1%, respectively). While no cleavage was observed in the CYS group, no significant differences in the cleavage rate were observed between control (21.3%) and TX (10.5%) groups. In summary, and under our conditions, neither CYS supplement, nor sperm TX pre-treatment were able to improve MPN formation at 6 and 22 h post-ICSI. However, the sperm TX pre-treatment improved oocyte activation at 6 h post-ICSI, although 22 h post-ICSI such a beneficial effect did not persist