Nature Inspires Estrus Synchronization in Murciano-Granadina Goats under Extremely Hot Climate

Despite the seasonal nature of reproduction in goats, creating a capacity that enables getting goats pregnant throughout the year is of economical importance in commercial settings. The objective was to compare natural and artificial (hormonal) methods of estrus synchronization on pregnancy rate of Murciano-Granadina goats under extremely hot climate of southern Iran. To synchronize estrus, experimental goats received one of three treatments. The first group (n = 123) was treated with CIDR (intravaginal progesterone release) on day-0 and which was later removed on day-19 plus eCG injection followed by introduction to bucks on day-21. The second group (n = 157) was treated with CIDR on day-0 and with eCG injection on day-17, then CIDR removed on day-19 followed by introduction to bucks on day-21. The third group (n = 257) did not receive any hormonal treatments and were only synchronized naturally via introduction to bucks (natural mating). Findings revealed that natural synchronization (male effect) resulted in significantly greater pregnancy rates compared to the second group (69 vs. 53%, P < 0.05). The first group tended to have greater pregnancy than did the first group (63 vs. 53%, P < 0.10). Improved reproductive performance of dairy goats under hot stressful climate signifies the economical importance and practicality of natural mating as an effective method of estrus synchronization in commercial goat production

Correlation between cortical state and locus coeruleus activity: Implications for sensory coding in rat barrel cortex

Cortical state modulates the background activity of cortical neurons, and their evoked response to sensory stimulation. Multiple mechanisms are involved in switching between cortical states including various neuromodulatory systems. Locus Coeruleus (LC) is one of the major neuromodulatory nuclei in the brainstem with widespread projections throughout the brain and modulates the activity of cells and networks. Here, we quantified the link between the LC spontaneous activity, cortical state and sensory processing in the rat vibrissal somatosensory “barrel” cortex (BC). We simultaneously recorded unit activity from LC and BC along with prefrontal electroencephalogram (EEG) while presenting brief whisker deflections under urethane anesthesia. The ratio of low to high frequency components of EEG (referred to as the L/H ratio) was employed to identify cortical state. We found that the spontaneous activity of LC units exhibited a negative correlation with the L/H ratio. Cross-correlation analysis revealed that changes in LC firing preceded changes in the cortical state: the correlation of the LC firing profile with the L/H ratio was maximal at an average lag of −1.2 s. We further quantified BC neuronal responses to whisker stimulation during the synchronized and desynchronized states. In the desynchronized state, BC neurons showed lower stimulus detection threshold, higher response fidelity, and shorter response latency. The most prominent change was observed in the late phase of BC evoked activity (100–400 ms post stimulus onset): almost every BC unit exhibited a greater late response during the desynchronized state. Categorization of the BC evoked responses based on LC activity (into high and low LC discharge rates) resulted in highly similar response profiles compared to categorization based on the cortical state (low and high L/H ratios). These findings provide evidence for the involvement of the LC neuromodulatory system in desynchronization of cortical state and the consequent enhancement of sensory coding efficiency

Dopamine and Noradrenaline in the Brain; Overlapping or Dissociate Functions?

Dopamine and noradrenaline are crucial neuromodulators controlling brain states, vigilance, action, reward, learning, and memory processes. Ventral tegmental area (VTA) and Locus Coeruleus (LC) are canonically described as the main sources of dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) with dissociate functions. A comparison of diverse studies shows that these neuromodulators largely overlap in multiple domains such as shared biosynthetic pathway and co-release from the LC terminals, convergent innervations, non-specificity of receptors and transporters, and shared intracellular signaling pathways. DA-NA interactions are mainly studied in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, yet it can be extended to the whole brain given the diversity of catecholamine innervations. LC can simultaneously broadcast both dopamine and noradrenaline across the brain. Here, we briefly review the molecular, cellular, and physiological overlaps between DA and NA systems and point to their functional implications. We suggest that DA and NA may function in parallel to facilitate learning and maintain the states required for normal cognitive processes. Various signaling modules of NA and DA have been targeted for developing of therapeutics. Understanding overlaps of the two systems is crucial for more effective interventions in a range of neuropsychiatric conditions

Homodyne-detected ferromagnetic resonance of in-plane magnetized nanocontacts: Composite spin-wave resonances and their excitation mechanism

This work provides a detailed investigation of the measured in-plane field-swept homodyne-detected ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra of an extended Co/Cu/NiFe pseudo-spin-valve stack using a nanocontact (NC) geometry. The magnetodynamics are generated by a pulse-modulated microwave current, and the resulting rectified dc mixing voltage, which appears across the NC at resonance, is detected using a lock-in amplifier. Most notably, we find that the measured spectra of the NiFe layer are composite in nature and highly asymmetric, consistent with the broadband excitation of multiple modes. Additionally, the data must be fit with two Lorentzian functions in order to extract a reasonable value for the Gilbert damping of the NiFe. Aided by micromagnetic simulations, we conclude that (i) for in-plane fields the rf Oersted field in the vicinity of the NC plays the dominant role in generating the observed spectra, (ii) in addition to the FMR mode, exchange-dominated spin waves are also generated, and (iii) the NC diameter sets the mean wave vector of the exchange-dominated spin wave, in good agreement with the dispersion relation