Differences in anatomical connections across distinct areas in the rodent prefrontal cortex

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) network structure is implicated in a number of complex higher-order functions and with a range of neurological disorders. It is therefore vital to our understanding of PFC function to gain an understanding of its underlying anatomical connectivity. Here, we injected Fluoro-Gold and Fluoro-Ruby into the same sites throughout rat PFC. Tracer injections were applied to two coronal levels within the PFC (anterior +4.7mm to bregma and posterior +3.7mm to bregma). Within each coronal level, tracers were deposited at sites separated by approximately 1mm and located parallel to the medial and orbital surface of the cortex. We found that both Fluoro-Gold and Fluoro-Ruby injections produced prominent labelling in temporal and sensory-motor cortex. Fluoro-Gold produced retrograde labelling and Fluoro-Ruby largely produced anterograde labelling. Analysis of the location of these connections within temporal and sensory-motor cortex revealed a consistent topology (as the sequence of injections was followed mediolaterally along the orbital surface of each coronal level). At the anterior coronal level, injections produced a similar topology to that seen in central PFC in earlier studies from our laboratory (i.e. comparing equivalently located injections employing the same tracer), this was particularly prominent within temporal cortex. However, at the posterior coronal level this pattern of connections differed significantly, revealing higher levels of reciprocity, in both temporal cortex and sensory-motor cortex. Our findings indicate changes in the relative organization of connections arising from posterior in comparison to anterior regions of PFC, which may provide a basis to determine how complex processes are organized

Functional Changes in the Snail Statocyst System Elicited by Microgravity

BACKGROUND: The mollusk statocyst is a mechanosensing organ detecting the animal's orientation with respect to gravity. This system has clear similarities to its vertebrate counterparts: a weight-lending mass, an epithelial layer containing small supporting cells and the large sensory hair cells, and an output eliciting compensatory body reflexes to perturbations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In terrestrial gastropod snail we studied the impact of 16- (Foton M-2) and 12-day (Foton M-3) exposure to microgravity in unmanned orbital missions on: (i) the whole animal behavior (Helix lucorum L.), (ii) the statoreceptor responses to tilt in an isolated neural preparation (Helix lucorum L.), and (iii) the differential expression of the Helix pedal peptide (HPep) and the tetrapeptide FMRFamide genes in neural structures (Helix aspersa L.). Experiments were performed 13-42 hours after return to Earth. Latency of body re-orientation to sudden 90° head-down pitch was significantly reduced in postflight snails indicating an enhanced negative gravitaxis response. Statoreceptor responses to tilt in postflight snails were independent of motion direction, in contrast to a directional preference observed in control animals. Positive relation between tilt velocity and firing rate was observed in both control and postflight snails, but the response magnitude was significantly larger in postflight snails indicating an enhanced sensitivity to acceleration. A significant increase in mRNA expression of the gene encoding HPep, a peptide linked to ciliary beating, in statoreceptors was observed in postflight snails; no differential expression of the gene encoding FMRFamide, a possible neurotransmission modulator, was observed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Upregulation of statocyst function in snails following microgravity exposure parallels that observed in vertebrates suggesting fundamental principles underlie gravi-sensing and the organism's ability to adapt to gravity changes. This simple animal model offers the possibility to describe general subcellular mechanisms of nervous system's response to conditions on Earth and in space

Inactivation of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Interferes with the Expression But Not the Acquisition of Differential Fear Conditioning in Rats

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in the processing of emotionally significant stimuli, particularly the inhibition of inappropriate responses. We examined the role of the mPFC in regulation of fear responses using a differential fear conditioning procedure in which the excitatory conditioned stimulus (CS+) was paired with an aversive footshock and intermixed with the inhibitory conditioned stimulus (CS-). In the first experiment, using rats as subjects, muscimol, a gamma-amino-butyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor agonist, or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) was infused intracranially into the mPFC across three conditioning sessions. Twenty-four hours after the last conditioning session, freezing response of the rats was tested in a drug-free state. Neither the muscimol nor the aCSF infusion had any effect on differential responding. In the second experiment, the same experimental procedure was used except that the infusion was made before the testing session rather than the conditioning sessions. The results showed that muscimol infusion impaired differential responding: the level of freezing to CS- was indiscriminable from that to CS+. Taken together, these results suggest that the mPFC is responsible for the regulation of fear response by inhibiting inappropriate fear expressions

Ubiquitous molecular substrates for associative learning and activity-dependent neuronal facilitation.

Recent evidence suggests that many of the molecular cascades and substrates that contribute to learning-related forms of neuronal plasticity may be conserved across ostensibly disparate model systems. Notably, the facilitation of neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission that contribute to associative learning in Aplysia and Hermissenda, as well as associative LTP in hippocampal CA1 cells, all require (or are enhanced by) the convergence of a transient elevation in intracellular Ca2+ with transmitter binding to metabotropic cell-surface receptors. This temporal convergence of Ca2+ and G-protein-stimulated second-messenger cascades synergistically stimulates several classes of serine/threonine protein kinases, which in turn modulate receptor function or cell excitability through the phosphorylation of ion channels. We present a summary of the biophysical and molecular constituents of neuronal and synaptic facilitation in each of these three model systems. Although specific components of the underlying molecular cascades differ across these three systems, fundamental aspects of these cascades are widely conserved, leading to the conclusion that the conceptual semblance of these superficially disparate systems is far greater than is generally acknowledged. We suggest that the elucidation of mechanistic similarities between different systems will ultimately fulfill the goal of the model systems approach, that is, the description of critical and ubiquitous features of neuronal and synaptic events that contribute to memory induction

CHOSEN EUROPEAN MODELS OF BANKS SUPERVISION

Banking activity is a kind of economic activity which is submitted to strict reglamentation and control. This supervision is exercised by subjects o f very different status and equally different possibilities of reacting in the role of a surveyor. The Author discusses types and conditions of functioning o f control organs in chosen countries: France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain. Following types of supervision are treated in the article: supervision by internal organs of a bank, owner’s supervision, supervision by boards of auditors as well as supervision made by subjects independent on banks structures - including State control institutions

CHOSEN EUROPEAN MODELS OF BANKS SUPERVISION

Banking activity is a kind of economic activity which is submitted to strict reglamentation and control. This supervision is exercised by subjects o f very different status and equally different possibilities of reacting in the role of a surveyor. The Author discusses types and conditions of functioning o f control organs in chosen countries: France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain. Following types of supervision are treated in the article: supervision by internal organs of a bank, owner’s supervision, supervision by boards of auditors as well as supervision made by subjects independent on banks structures - including State control institutions

The process of change of the emergency warning system in Poland – assumptions, stages, effects

W artykule przedstawiono zmiany przeprowadzone na przełomie ostatnich lat w sposobie przyjmowania przez służby ratownicze w Polsce zgłoszeń alarmowych o zaistniałych zdarzeniach, stanowiących zagrożenie dla zdrowia i życia ludzkiego oraz mienia. Wskazano podstawowe czynniki, jakie miały wpływ na konieczność przeprowadzenia tych zmian. Opisano poszczególne etapy wdrażania nowych rozwiązań organizacyjnych i teletechnicznych. Omówiono funkcjonujący w naszym kraju model systemu powiadamiania ratunkowego, oparty na bazie utworzonych centrów powiadamiania ratunkowego, obsługujących europejski numer alarmowy 112, a docelowo mających obsługiwać także inne numery alarmowe, w tym w szczególności numery 997, 998, 999. Poddano analizie i porównano w sposób syntetyczny skuteczność dotychczasowego sposobu alarmowania służb ratowniczych z obecnie funkcjonującym systemem, w szczególności w zakresie zapewnienia osobom poszkodowanym i osobom postronnym (świadkom zdarzenia) możliwości jak najszybszego powiadomienia o zaistniałym zagrożeniu odpowiednich podmiotów (w tym w szczególności służb ratowniczych). Wskazane w opracowaniu wstępne wnioski po pierwszych lata funkcjonowania opisywanego systemu w aktualnym kształcie oparte zostały przede wszystkim na dostępnych danych statystycznych Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji oraz opiniach i doświadczeniach (zdobytych w nowych uwarunkowaniach) głównych służb ratowniczych w Polsce, czyli Policji, Państwowej Straży Pożarnej oraz systemu Państwowe Ratownictwo Medyczne. Przy precyzowaniu wniosków, nie bez znaczenia były również zdobyte doświadczenia pracowników nowo powstałych centrów powiadamiania ratunkowego oraz powszechnie panujące w kraju oczekiwania i odczucia społeczne w przedmiotowym zakresie.The article presents the concept of the security and its threats, which can occur in local communities. The author has described the rules and stages of the preventive programmes formation as well as two chosen preventive programmes, designed to support security in local communities. The main aim of the essay was to elaborate chosen, programmes tackling social problems, which take part in the process of the security assurance at the local community level. The main matter is delivered answering the following question: In what way the security at the local community level is shaped through the social programmes? The paper was written on the grounds of the literature analysis and examination of the chosen programmes. Based on the author’s considerations the positive and negative aspects of these preventative programmes are drawn. The findings presented, are based on the analysis of the outcomes of the selected, implemented programmes. The main conclusion of the author is the fact that in many cases preventative programmes are not established correctly, which creates some difficulties at accessing their outcome. While evaluating the results of a chosen programme, it is important to confirm, if during the creation process, all necessary stages were completed, abiding all constituted rules

The image of colonial and postcolonial India in literature in English in "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling, "A Passage to India" by Edward Morgan Forster and "Midnight’s Children" by Salman Rushdie

Tematem niniejszej pracy jest fenomen anglojęzycznej literatury Indii. Przeprowadzona w niej analiza wybranych powieści Rudyarda Kiplinga, Edwarda Morgana Forstera i Salmana Rushdiego ukazuje, że Indie na mapie politycznej nie pokrywają się z Indiami rzeczywistymi. Do literatury tej zaliczamy bowiem twórczość zarówno Indusów obserwujących z perspektywy emigrantów zmiany zachodzące w kraju po 1947 roku, jak i Brytyjczyków związanych z subkontynentem kolonialną przeszłością. Burzy ona ogólnikowe, sprowadzające się do binarnych opozycji kategorie, którymi posługują się teoretycy postkolonializmu. Problematyczna okazuje się w tym przypadku kwestia tożsamości autorów „oddychających dwoma płucami” (należących jednocześnie do dwóch kultur) oraz języka angielskiego – narzuconego, ale ostatecznie chętnie przez Indusów przyjętego, stanowiącego – paradoksalnie – element integrujący społeczeństwo. Zderzenie wielu punktów widzenia pozwala w pewnym stopniu zrekonstruować obraz Indii wyłaniający się z narracji powstających w różnym momencie historycznym – przed i po uzyskaniu niepodległości.The aim of this thesis is to analyse the literary phenomenon of the Indian literature in English. The Interpretation of selected novels by Rudyard Kipling, Edward Morgan Forster and Salman Rushdie indicates that India as we see it on the map does not fully correspond to "the real India". This particular literature includes, among others: the artistic output of the Indian authors as they observe the changes after 1947 from the perspective of emigrants, as well as the literary oeuvre of the British intertwined with the subcontinent’s history by colonial experience. It questions the general categories, coming down to binary opposition used by theoreticians of Postcolonialism. Such an approach indicates the problematic issues, which are: identity of an author "breathing with two lungs" (belonging to two cultures at the same time) and the language itself – imposed but finally internalized by Indians. What is more, English became a factor unifying the nation. Looking at India from many such angles allows to reconstruct – to some extent – its image based on the narrations coming into existence in different periods of time – before and after gaining the independence