Improved Memoryless RNS Forward Converter Based on the Periodicity of Residues

The residue number system (RNS) is suitable for DSP architectures because of its ability to perform fast carry-free arithmetic. However, this advantage is over-shadowed by the complexity involved in the conversion of numbers between binary and RNS representations. Although the reverse conversion (RNS to binary) is more complex, the forward transformation is not simple either. Most forward converters make use of look-up tables (memory). Recently, a memoryless forward converter architecture for arbitrary moduli sets was proposed by Premkumar in 2002. In this paper, we present an extension to that architecture which results in 44% less hardware for parallel conversion and achieves 43% improvement in speed for serial conversions. It makes use of the periodicity properties of residues obtained using modular exponentiation

The path from schizotypy to depression and aggression and the role of family stress

Background. Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct that is linked to the vulnerability for psychosis. Positive schizotypy includes having paranormal beliefs. Negative schizotypy includes social anhedonia. Disorganized schizotypy includes social anxiety and communication disorder. Schizotypy relates to depression and aggression. Family stress from high expressed emotion (EE; a rating of criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement in a close relative toward a person showing signs of mental disorder) may mediate the link between schizotypy, depression and aggression. This study tested, using path analyses, the hypotheses that schizotypy predicts depression and aggression through high perceived EE as criticism and irritability (hypothesis 1) and praise and intrusiveness in a close relative (hypothesis 2). Methods. One hundred and four healthy participants listened to and rated the self-relevance of standard criticism and standard praise that denote EE. Participants rated their level of schizotypy, depression, aggression, and perceived EE in self-report questionnaires. Two path models tested the hypotheses. Results. Disorganized schizotypy, more than positive schizotypy, predicted the path to depression and aggression when perceived criticism and perceived EE-irritability were mediators. Disorganised schizotypy, more than negative schizotypy, predicted the path to depression and aggression when perceived praise and perceived EE-intrusiveness were mediators. Conclusions. Greater perceived criticism and less perceived praise in family communication explain the path from disorganized schizotypy (more so than positive or negative schizotypy) to depression and aggression. These findings indicate a need to consider the thought disorder-EE link as a potential contributor to depression and aggression in people with schizophrenia

Shape-tailoring and catalytic function of anisotropic gold nanostructures

We report a facile, one-pot, shape-selective synthesis of gold nanoparticles in high yield by the reaction of an aqueous potassium tetrachloroaurate(III) solution with a commercially available detergent. We prove that a commercial detergent can act as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent for the synthesis of differently shaped gold nanoparticles in an aqueous solution at an ambient condition. It is noteworthy that the gold nanoparticles with different shapes can be prepared by simply changing the reaction conditions. It is considered that a slow reduction of the gold ions along with shape-directed effects of the components of the detergent plays a vital function in the formation of the gold nanostructures. Further, the as-prepared gold nanoparticles showed the catalytic activity for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride at room temperature

Sensitization and translocation of TRPV1 by insulin and IGF-I

Insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) maintain vital neuronal functions. Absolute or functional deficiencies of insulin or IGF-I may contribute to neuronal and vascular complications associated with diabetes. Vanilloid receptor 1 (also called TRPV1) is an ion channel that mediates inflammatory thermal nociception and is present on sensory neurons. Here we demonstrate that both insulin and IGF-I enhance TRPV1-mediated membrane currents in heterologous expression systems and cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons. Enhancement of membrane current results from both increased sensitivity of the receptor and translocation of TRPV1 from cytosol to plasma membrane. Receptor tyrosine kinases trigger a signaling cascade leading to activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI(3)K) and protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of TRPV1, which is found to be essential for the potentiation. These findings establish a link between the insulin family of trophic factors and vanilloid receptors

Pituitary volume reduction in schizophrenia following cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for psychosis (CBTp) aims to lower the stress of psychotic symptoms. Given that the pituitary is involved in stress regulation, CBT-led stress reduction may be accompanied by a change in pituitary volume. This study aimed to determine whether CBTp reduces pituitary volume in schizophrenia. The relation between pre-therapy memory and CBTp-led pituitary volume change was also examined given that poor memory relates to a blunted cortisol awakening response, denoting impaired stress response, in schizophrenia. Pituitary volume was measured at baseline in 40 schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients and 30 healthy participants before therapy. Pituitary volume was measured again 6–9 months after patients had either received CBTp in addition to standard care (CBTp + SC, n = 24), or continued with standard care alone (SC, n = 16). CBTp + SC and SC groups were compared on pituitary volume change from baseline to follow-up. Pre-therapy memory performance (Hopkins Verbal Learning and Wechsler Memory Scale – Logical memory) was correlated with baseline-to-follow-up pituitary volume change. Pituitary volume reduced over time in CBTp + SC patients. Additionally, pre-therapy verbal learning correlated more strongly with longitudinal pituitary volume reduction in the CBTp + SC group than the SC group. To conclude, CBTp reduces pituitary volume in schizophrenia most likely by enhancing stress regulation and lowering the distress due to psychotic symptoms

TRPV1 and TRPA1 Mediate Peripheral Nitric Oxide-Induced Nociception in Mice

Nitric oxide (NO) can induce acute pain in humans and plays an important role in pain sensitization caused by inflammation and injury in animal models. There is evidence that NO acts both in the central nervous system via a cyclic GMP pathway and in the periphery on sensory neurons through unknown mechanisms. It has recently been suggested that TRPV1 and TRPA1, two polymodal ion channels that sense noxious stimuli impinging on peripheral nociceptors, are activated by NO in heterologous systems. Here, we investigate the relevance of this activation. We demonstrate that NO donors directly activate TRPV1 and TRPA1 in isolated inside-out patch recordings. Cultured primary sensory neurons display both TRPV1- and TRPA1-dependent responses to NO donors. BH4, an essential co-factor for NO production, causes activation of a subset of DRG neurons as assayed by calcium imaging, and this activation is at least partly dependent on nitric oxide synthase activity. We show that BH4-induced calcium influx is ablated in DRG neurons from TRPA1/TRPV1 double knockout mice, suggesting that production of endogenous levels of NO can activate these ion channels. In behavioral assays, peripheral NO-induced nociception is compromised when TRPV1 and TRPA1 are both ablated. These results provide genetic evidence that the peripheral nociceptive action of NO is mediated by both TRPV1 and TRPA1

The path from schizotypy to depression and aggression and the role of family stress

Background: Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct that consists of several personality traits linked to the vulnerability for psychosis. Positive schizotypy includes having paranormal beliefs. Negative schizotypy includes social anhedonia. Disorganised schizotypy includes social anxiety and communication disorder. Schizotypy may be related to depression and aggression through high expressed emotion (EE; a rating of criticism, hostility and emotional over-involvement in a close relative towards a person showing signs of mental disorder) in the context of family stress. This study tested, using path analyses, the hypotheses that schizotypy predicts depression and aggression through high perceived EE as criticism and irritability (hypothesis 1), and praise and intrusiveness in a close relative (hypothesis 2). Methods: One hundred and four healthy participants listened to and rated the self-relevance of standard criticism and standard praise that denote EE. Participants rated their level of schizotypy, depression, aggression and perceived EE in self-report questionnaires. Two path models tested the hypotheses. Results: Disorganised schizotypy, more than positive schizotypy, predicted the path to depression and aggression when perceived criticism and perceived EE-irritability were mediators. Disorganised schizotypy, more than negative schizotypy, predicted the path to depression and aggression when perceived praise and perceived EE-intrusiveness were mediators. Conclusion: Greater perceived criticism, and less perceived praise in family communication, explain the path from disorganised schizotypy (more so than positive or negative schizotypy) to depression and aggression. These findings indicate a need to consider the thought disorder-EE link as a potential contributor to depression and aggression in people with schizophrenia

Sensitivity to criticism and praise predicts schizotypy in the non-clinical population: the role of affect and perceived expressed emotion

Background: Schizotypy represents a cluster of personality traits consisting of magical beliefs, perceptual aberrations, disorganisation, and anhedonia. Schizotypy denotes a vulnerability for psychosis, one reason being psychosocial stress. High expressed emotion (EE), a rating of high criticism, hostility, and emotional over-involvement from a close relative, denotes psychosocial stress and vulnerability to psychosis, and is associated with schizotypy. This study aimed to decipher the relationship of schizotypy to perceived criticism and perceived praise in terms of affect and perceived EE. Methods: Ninety-eight healthy participants listened to short audio-clips containing criticism, praise, and neutral comments from a stranger, and evaluated them in terms of the comments' arousal and personal relevance. Participants also answered self-report questionnaires of schizotypy, depression, mood, and perceived EE. Correlational analyses tested the relationship between schizotypy and the evaluations of criticism and praise. Mediation analyses then tested whether depression, positive mood, and perceived EE explained these relationships. Results: Greater relevance of standard criticism correlated with higher positive schizotypy. This association was fully mediated by high depression and perceived irritability from a close relative. Lower personal relevance of standard praise correlated with higher cognitive disorganisation (another schizotypal trait). This relationship was partially mediated by low positive mood and high perceived intrusiveness from a close relative. Conclusion: Greater perceived criticism and lower perceived praise predict schizotypy in the healthy population. Affect and interpersonal sensitivity towards a close relative explain these relationships, such that depression increases perceived criticism, while positive mood increases perceived praise. Perceived EE defines the interpersonal nature of schizotypy

Influence of TRPV1 on diabetes-induced alterations in thermal pain sensitivity

A common complication associated with diabetes is painful or painless diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). The mechanisms and determinants responsible for these peripheral neuropathies are poorly understood. Using both streptozotocin (STZ)-induced and transgene-mediated murine models of type 1 diabetes (T1D), we demonstrate that Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) expression varies with the neuropathic phenotype. We have found that both STZ- and transgene-mediated T1D are associated with two distinct phases of thermal pain sensitivity that parallel changes in TRPV1 as determined by paw withdrawal latency (PWL). An early phase of hyperalgesia and a late phase of hypoalgesia are evident. TRPV1-mediated whole cell currents are larger and smaller in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons collected from hyperalgesic and hypoalgesic mice. Resiniferatoxin (RTX) binding, a measure of TRPV1 expression is increased and decreased in DRG and paw skin of hyperalgesic and hypoalgesic mice, respectively. Immunohistochemical labeling of spinal cord lamina I and II, dorsal root ganglion (DRG), and paw skin from hyperalgesic and hypoalgesic mice reveal increased and decreased TRPV1 expression, respectively. A role for TRPV1 in thermal DPN is further suggested by the failure of STZ treatment to influence thermal nociception in TRPV1 deficient mice. These findings demonstrate that altered TRPV1 expression and function contribute to diabetes-induced changes in thermal perception

Investigations on Hepatoprotective Activity of Leaf Extracts of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. (Rutaceae)

The present study was carried out to screen and evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of leaf extracts of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. Hepatoprotective activities of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of A. marmelos were examined against carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage in mice using silymarin as control. Enzyme activities of Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT), Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (SGPT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) were analyzed. Results indicate that ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of A. marmelos had moderate activity over carbon tetrachloride treatment as compared to control. Results of the present investigation confirm the traditional uses of this plant as a potential hepatoprotective agent