Post-training depletions of basolateral amygdala serotonin fail to disrupt discrimination, retention, or reversal learning.

In goal-directed pursuits, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is critical in learning about changes in the value of rewards. BLA-lesioned rats show enhanced reversal learning, a task employed to measure the flexibility of response to changes in reward. Similarly, there is a trend for enhanced discrimination learning, suggesting that BLA may modulate formation of stimulus-reward associations. There is a parallel literature on the importance of serotonin (5HT) in new stimulus-reward and reversal learning. Recent postulations implicate 5HT in learning from punishment. Whereas, dopaminergic involvement is critical in behavioral activation and reinforcement, 5HT may be most critical for aversive processing and behavioral inhibition, complementary cognitive processes. Given these findings, a 5HT-mediated mechanism in BLA may mediate the facilitated learning observed previously. The present study investigated the effects of selective 5HT lesions in BLA using 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) vs. infusions of saline (Sham) on discrimination, retention, and deterministic reversal learning. Rats were required to reach an 85% correct pairwise discrimination and single reversal criterion prior to surgery. Postoperatively, rats were then tested on the (1) retention of the pretreatment discrimination pair, (2) discrimination of a novel pair, and (3) reversal learning performance. We found statistically comparable preoperative learning rates between groups, intact postoperative retention, and unaltered novel discrimination and reversal learning in 5,7-DHT rats. These findings suggest that 5HT in BLA is not required for formation and flexible adjustment of new stimulus-reward associations when the strategy to efficiently solve the task has already been learned. Given the complementary role of orbitofrontal cortex in reward learning and its interconnectivity with BLA, these findings add to the list of dissociable mechanisms for BLA and orbitofrontal cortex in reward learning

Graphene Oxidation: Thickness Dependent Etching and Strong Chemical Doping

Patterned graphene shows substantial potential for applications in future molecular-scale integrated electronics. Environmental effects are a critical issue in a single layer material where every atom is on the surface. Especially intriguing is the variety of rich chemical interactions shown by molecular oxygen with aromatic molecules. We find that O2 etching kinetics vary strongly with the number of graphene layers in the sample. Three-layer-thick samples show etching similar to bulk natural graphite. Single-layer graphene reacts faster and shows random etch pits in contrast to natural graphite where nucleation occurs at point defects. In addition, basal plane oxygen species strongly hole dope graphene, with a Fermi level shift of ~0.5 eV. These oxygen species partially desorb in an Ar gas flow, or under irradiation by far UV light, and readsorb again in an O2 atmosphere at room temperature. This strongly doped graphene is very different than graphene oxide made by mineral acid attack.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Sirota vs the State: on procedural aspects of the protection of particularly vulnerable persons from discrimination

Статья является продолжением ранее опубликованной авторами статьи о некоторых материально-правовых аспектах обеспечения прав детей-сирот (кадетов); содержит анализ процессуальных проблем защиты от дискриминации в сфере соцобеспечения этих особо уязвимых лиц.The article is a sequal of an article previously published by the authors on some material and legal aspects of quarantee the rights of orphans (cadets); contains an analysis of the procedural problems of protection against discrimination in the sphere of social maintenance of these especially vulnerable persons

The influenza epidemic in Russia during the 2014–2015 season

The goal of this study was to compare the data on the intensity of the influenza A(H3N2) and B epidemic (especially the death toll) in the 2014–2015 season with the previous epidemic of the 2013-2014 season. The data on weekly morbidity, hospitalization, deaths from influenza, and acute respiratory diseases in different age groups of inhabitants of 59 cities located in 7 Federal districts of the Russian Federation were collected using the database of the Research Institute of Influenza.Analysis of this data showed that the influenza epidemic in 2014-2015 began earlier (in December) compared to the epidemic of 2013-2014, and spread mainly from Europe through Russia to the East. The intensity of the epidemic of 2014-2015 was higher compared to the previous one. The epidemic was more prevalent by regions and cities and a wider engagement of different age groups (except children up to 2 years of age) was observed. At the peak of the epidemic, the morbidity level was higher, the average duration of the epidemic was longer, and the number of patients among cities’ inhabitants (especially among children 7-14 years of age and adults) was higher than in the previous season. The rates of hospitalization with influenza and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) among patients older than 65 years were also higher (1.4 times) as well as the frequency of hospitalization with a diagnosis of “influenza” (2.7 times) and the number of deaths from laboratory confirmed influenza (1.8 times).Although the influenza pandemic virus strain A(H1N1)pdm09 was not the main causative agent of the 2015 epidemic and was distributed sporadically it still remained the leading cause of deaths from influenza in the course of this epidemic (45.5% of all cases). The deaths associated with this strain were recorded only in the European part of Russian Federation.The goal of this study was to compare the data on the intensity of the influenza A(H3N2) and B epidemic (especially the death toll) in the 2014–2015 season with the previous epidemic of the 2013-2014 season. The data on weekly morbidity, hospitalization, deaths from influenza, and acute respiratory diseases in different age groups of inhabitants of 59 cities located in 7 Federal districts of the Russian Federation were collected using the database of the Research Institute of Influenza. Analysis of this data showed that the influenza epidemic in 2014-2015 began earlier (in December) compared to the epidemic of 2013-2014, and spread mainly from Europe through Russia to the East. The intensity of the epidemic of 2014-2015 was higher compared to the previous one. The epidemic was more prevalent by regions and cities and a wider engagement of different age groups (except children up to 2 years of age) was observed. At the peak of the epidemic, the morbidity level was higher, the average duration of the epidemic was longer, and the number of patients among cities’ inhabitants (especially among children 7-14 years of age and adults) was higher than in the previous season. The rates of hospitalization with influenza and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) among patients older than 65 years were also higher (1.4 times) as well as the frequency of hospitalization with a diagnosis of “influenza” (2.7 times) and the number of deaths from laboratory confirmed influenza (1.8 times). Although the influenza pandemic virus strain A(H1N1)pdm09 was not the main causative agent of the 2015 epidemic and was distributed sporadically it still remained the leading cause of deaths from influenza in the course of this epidemic (45.5% of all cases). The deaths associated with this strain were recorded only in the European part of Russian Federation

On Some Legal Aspects of Ensuring Rights of Orphans

The collisions of federal and regional educational law that negatively influenced to the social maintenance for orphans are analyzed in the article.Статья содержит анализ образовательно-правовых коллизий федерального и областного законодательства, негативно сказывающихся на обеспечении социальных прав детей-сирот (кадетов)

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЮ МОТИВАЦИИ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫХ СЛУЖАЩИХ

The relevance of the topic chosen due to the presence of performance motivation development problems of civil servants, including their motivation for continuous professional development, as one of the main directions of development of the civil service in general, approved by the relevant Presidential Decree on 2016–2018 years. In the first part of this article provides a brief analytical overview and an assessment of content and process of theoretical and methodological approaches to solving the problems of motivation of the personnel of socio-economic systems. In the second part of the article on the basis of the research proposed motivating factors in the development of the approaches set out in the first part of the article.The purpose / goal. The aim of the article is to provide methodological assistance to academic institutions involved in the solution of scientific and practical problems of motivation of civil servants to the continuous professional development in accordance with the Presidential Decree of 11 August 2016 № 408.Methodology. The methodological basis of this article are: a comprehensive analysis of normative legal provision of state of the Russian Federation; systematic approach and historical analysis of the theory and methodology of solving problems of staff motivation; method of expert evaluations; the scientific method of analogies.Conclusions / relevance. The practical significance of the article is in the operational delivery of the scientific and methodological assistance to the implementation of the Russian Federation "On the main directions of the state civil service of the Russian Federation in the years 2016–2018" Presidential Decree of 11 August number 403 regarding the establishment of mechanisms to motivate civil servants to continuous professional development.Актуальность выбранной темы обусловлена наличием проблем развития мотивации служебной деятельности государственных служащих, включая их мотивацию к непрерывному профессиональному развитию, как одного из основных направлений раз- вития государственной гражданской службы в целом, утвержденных соответствующим Указом Президента Российской Федерации на 2016–2018 годы 1. В первой части статьи представлен краткий аналитический обзор и дана оценка содержательного и процессного теоретико-методологических подходов к решению проблем мотивации труда персонала социально-экономических систем. Во второй части статьи на основе проведенного исследования предложены факторы мотивации в развитии подходов, изложенных в первой части статьи.Цель / задачи. Целью статьи является оказание научно-методической помощи научным учреждениям, занимающихся решением научно-практических проблем мотивации государственных служащих к непрерывному профессиональному развитию в соответствии с Указом Президента Российской Федерации от 11 августа 2016 г. № 408.Методология. Методической основой данной статьи являются: комплексный анализ нормативного правового обеспечения развития государственной службы Российской Федерации; системный подход и исторический анализ исследования теории и методологии решения проблем мотивации персонала; метод экспертных оценок; научный метод аналогий.Выводы / значимость. Практическая значимость статьи заключается в оперативном оказании научно-методической помощи реализации Указ Президента Российской Федерации «Об основных направлениях развития государственной гражданской службы Российской Федерации на 2016–2018 годы» от 11 августа № 403 в части создания механизмов мотивации госслужащих к непрерывному профессиональному развитию

Features of the natural course of subclinical hypothyroidism in young athletes

Objective: to assess the natural course of subclinical hypothyroidism in young athletes.Methods: In the prospective single-center uncontrolled study, data from 3,062 outpatient records of young athletes (members of the Russian national team) of both sexes (middle age — 15 [14; 16] years) and underwent medical examination in the period from January 2021 to September 2022 were studied. All athletes were divided into 2 groups according to the presence of subclinical hypothyroidism (an increase in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone from 5 to 10 mUn/l with a normal level of T4 free). During a dynamic follow-up (1 year), athletes with subclinical hypothyroidism underwent a repeated study of the concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine and antibodies to thyroperoxidase.Results: Signs of subclinical hyperthyroidism were found in 58 young athletes (30 boys (51.7 %) and 28 (48.3 %) girls). During dynamic observation with continued habitual physical activity, spontaneous normalization of the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone was observed in 74 % of young athletes. At the same time, normalization of thyroid-stimulating hormone in girls was observed less often compared to boys (p = 0,272). In no case did clinically pronounced hypothyroidism develop.Conclusion: The majority of young male and female athletes with subclinical hypothyroidism have spontaneous normalization of hormonal profile against the background of persistent physical and psycho-emotional stress. The data obtained make it possible, subject to the possibility of dynamic observation, to recommend doctors working with young elite athletes not to prescribe hormonal replacement therapy and not to modify the usual lifestyle

STM Spectroscopy of ultra-flat graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

Graphene has demonstrated great promise for future electronics technology as well as fundamental physics applications because of its linear energy-momentum dispersion relations which cross at the Dirac point. However, accessing the physics of the low density region at the Dirac point has been difficult because of the presence of disorder which leaves the graphene with local microscopic electron and hole puddles, resulting in a finite density of carriers even at the charge neutrality point. Efforts have been made to reduce the disorder by suspending graphene, leading to fabrication challenges and delicate devices which make local spectroscopic measurements difficult. Recently, it has been shown that placing graphene on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) yields improved device performance. In this letter, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to show that graphene conforms to hBN, as evidenced by the presence of Moire patterns in the topographic images. However, contrary to recent predictions, this conformation does not lead to a sizable band gap due to the misalignment of the lattices. Moreover, local spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that the electron-hole charge fluctuations are reduced by two orders of magnitude as compared to those on silicon oxide. This leads to charge fluctuations which are as small as in suspended graphene, opening up Dirac point physics to more diverse experiments than are possible on freestanding devices.Comment: Nature Materials advance online publication 13/02/201

Aharonov-Bohm interferences from local deformations in graphene

One of the most interesting aspects of graphene is the tied relation between structural and electronic properties. The observation of ripples in the graphene samples both free standing and on a substrate has given rise to a very active investigation around the membrane-like properties of graphene and the origin of the ripples remains as one of the most interesting open problems in the system. The interplay of structural and electronic properties is successfully described by the modelling of curvature and elastic deformations by fictitious gauge fields that have become an ex- perimental reality after the suggestion that Landau levels can form associated to strain in graphene and the subsequent experimental confirmation. Here we propose a device to detect microstresses in graphene based on a scanning-tunneling-microscopy setup able to measure Aharonov-Bohm inter- ferences at the nanometer scale. The interferences to be observed in the local density of states are created by the fictitious magnetic field associated to elastic deformations of the sample.Comment: Some bugs fixe

Analysis of Protein Markers in Plasma of Patients with Drug Dependence Syndrome: Observational Clinical Study

Background. In drug addiction treatment, the diagnostic process is based on the chemical toxicological determination of the intoxication substrate or its metabolite. Laboratory monitoring and prediction issues that could form the basis of secondary prevention remain unresolved. Specific nervous tissue proteins are considered to be the most promising laboratory markers of drug pathology.Objective — to determine some potential biomarkers of protein-chemical nature in the plasma of patients with drug dependence syndrome.Methods. The study was conducted according to the design of an observational clinical trial at the Narcological Dispensary of Krasnodar Krai in the period from 07.2021 to 07.2022. The main group (group 2) included 31 patients diagnosed with substance dependence syndrome. The control group (group 1, n = 15) consisted of healthy subjects submitted to occupational medical examinations. During the detoxification-stabilization therapy and rehabilitation, 5 proteins were determined in the plasma: brainand glial-derived neurotrophic factors, neuron-specific enolase, alpha-synuclein and calcium-binding protein S100B. Statistical analysis of the data involved the Mann-Whitney test for comparing the values of the control and experimental groups and the Wilcoxon test for comparing the values of one group obtained at different stages of observation. The calculations were carried out using StatPlus version 7 (AnalystSoft Inc., USA).Results. A total of 31 patients were included in the main group, 18 of them were followed up with a diagnosis of opioid dependence syndrome (n = 11) or psychostimulant dependence syndrome (n = 7). Patients dropped out of the study due to their refusal to participate in the study or undergo rehabilitation, or due to relapse of the disease. When admitted to the hospital, patients indicated a 45% decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the plasma ( p < 0.001), and a 3.9-fold decrease after rehabilitation course ( p < 0.001). Glial-derived neurotrophic factor in the plasma exceeded the controls 1.9 times ( p < 0.001) upon admission to hospital, but rapidly returned to normal values thereafter. Level of neuron-specific enolase in the plasma was also poor, 36% lower than the controls ( p <0.001), but approached the control values by the end of rehabilitation.Conclusion. The study obtained data indicating the changes in neurotrophic factors in the blood plasma of patients with opioid or psychostimulant dependence. The rehabilitation period was marked by a relatively rapid improving level of neurotrophins; however, brain-derived neurotrophic factor remained reduced despite the successful treatment, which may indicate the irreversible changes