Utilization of Interactive Internet in High Education

The present work reports on the practical cooperation between two Universities from Hungary and Portugal. Students from Portugal are remotely accessing an experimental facility, which is physically in Hungary. The cooperation among these Higher Education establishments allowed the development and testing of a Remote Laboratory at the BME. This paper reports on the characteristics and initial testing of the Thermocouples Rise Time Measurement System and provides information on development and students' feedback

Roles of Aquaporins in Setaria viridis Stem Development and Sugar Storage

Setaria viridis is a C4 grass used as a model for bioenergy feedstocks. The elongating internodes in developing S. viridis stems grow from an intercalary meristem at the base, and progress acropetally toward fully expanded cells that store sugar. During stem development and maturation, water flow is a driver of cell expansion and sugar delivery. As aquaporin proteins are implicated in regulating water flow, we analyzed elongating and mature internode transcriptomes to identify putative aquaporin encoding genes that had particularly high transcript levels during the distinct stages of internode cell expansion and maturation. We observed that SvPIP2;1 was highly expressed in internode regions undergoing cell expansion, and SvNIP2;2 was highly expressed in mature sugar accumulating regions. Gene co-expression analysis revealed SvNIP2;2 expression was highly correlated with the expression of five putative sugar transporters expressed in the S. viridis internode. To explore the function of the proteins encoded by SvPIP2;1 and SvNIP2;2, we expressed them in Xenopus laevis oocytes and tested their permeability to water. SvPIP2;1 and SvNIP2;2 functioned as water channels in X. laevis oocytes and their permeability was gated by pH. Our results indicate that SvPIP2;1 may function as a water channel in developing stems undergoing cell expansion and SvNIP2;2 is a candidate for retrieving water and possibly a yet to be determined solute from mature internodes. Future research will investigate whether changing the function of these proteins influences stem growth and sugar yield in S. viridis

Are sucrose transporter expression profiles linked with patterns of biomass partitioning in Sorghum phenotypes?

Sorghum bicolor is a genetically diverse C4 monocotyledonous species, encompassing varieties capable of producing high grain yields as well as sweet types which accumulate soluble sugars (predominantly sucrose) within their stems to high concentrations. Sucrose produced in leaves (sources) enters the phloem and is transported to regions of growth and storage (sinks). It is likely that sucrose transporter (SUT) proteins play pivotal roles in phloem loading and the delivery of sucrose to growth and storage sinks in all Sorghum ecotypes. Six SUTs are present in the published Sorghum genome, based on the BTx623 grain cultivar. Homologues of these SUTs were cloned and sequenced from the sweet cultivar Rio, and compared with the publically available genome information. SbSUT5 possessed nine amino acid sequence differences between the two varieties. Two of the remaining five SUTs exhibited single variations in their amino acid sequences (SbSUT1 and SbSUT2) whilst the rest shared identical sequences. Complementation of a mutant Saccharomyces yeast strain (SEY6210), unable to grow up on sucrose as the sole carbon source, demonstrated that the Sorghum SUTs were capable of transporting sucrose. SbSUT1, SbSUT4, and SbSUT6 were highly expressed in mature leaf tissues and hence may contribute to phloem loading. In contrast, SbSUT2 and SbSUT5 were expressed most strongly in sinks consistent with a possible role of facilitating sucrose import into stem storage pools and developing inflorescences.Ricky J. Milne, Caitlin S. Byrt, John W. Patrick and Christopher P. L. Gro

Decreased mental time travel to the past correlates with default-mode network disintegration under lysergic acid diethylamide

This paper reports on the effects of LSD on mental time travel during spontaneous mentation. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in a placebo-controlled crossover study, incorporating intravenous administration of LSD (75 μg) and placebo (saline) prior to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Six independent, blind judges analysed mentation reports acquired during structured interviews performed shortly after the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans (approximately 2.5 h post-administration). Within each report, specific linguistic references to mental spaces for the past, present and future were identified. Results revealed significantly fewer mental spaces for the past under LSD and this effect correlated with the general intensity of the drug’s subjective effects. No differences in the number of mental spaces for the present or future were observed. Consistent with the previously proposed role of the default-mode network (DMN) in autobiographical memory recollection and ruminative thought, decreased resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) within the DMN correlated with decreased mental time travel to the past. These results are discussed in relation to potential therapeutic applications of LSD and related psychedelics, e.g. in the treatment of depression, for which excessive reflection on one’s past, likely mediated by DMN functioning, is symptomatic

From paradox to pattern shift: Conceptualising liminal hotspots and their affective dynamics

This article introduces the concept of liminal hotspots as a specifically psychosocial and sociopsychological type of wicked problem, best addressed in a process-theoretical framework. A liminal hotspot is defined as an occasion characterised by the experience of being trapped in the interstitial dimension between different forms-of-process. The paper has two main aims. First, to articulate a nexus of concepts associated with liminal hotspots that together provide general analytic purchase on a wide range of problems concerning “troubled” becoming. Second, to provide concrete illustrations through examples drawn from the health domain. In the conclusion, we briefly indicate the sense in which liminal hotspots are part of broader and deeper historical processes associated with changing modes for the management and navigation of liminality

Exemplar scoring identifies genetically separable phenotypes of lithium responsive bipolar disorder

Predicting lithium response (LiR) in bipolar disorder (BD) may inform treatment planning, but phenotypic heterogeneity complicates discovery of genomic markers. We hypothesized that patients with "exemplary phenotypes"-those whose clinical features are reliably associated with LiR and non-response (LiNR)-are more genetically separable than those with less exemplary phenotypes. Using clinical data collected from people with BD (n = 1266 across 7 centers; 34.7% responders), we computed a "clinical exemplar score," which measures the degree to which a subject's clinical phenotype is reliably predictive of LiR/LiNR. For patients whose genotypes were available (n = 321), we evaluated whether a subgroup of responders/non-responders with the top 25% of clinical exemplar scores (the "best clinical exemplars") were more accurately classified based on genetic data, compared to a subgroup with the lowest 25% of clinical exemplar scores (the "poor clinical exemplars"). On average, the best clinical exemplars of LiR had a later illness onset, completely episodic clinical course, absence of rapid cycling and psychosis, and few psychiatric comorbidities. The best clinical exemplars of LiR and LiNR were genetically separable with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 (IQR [0.83, 0.98]), compared to 0.66 [0.61, 0.80] (p = 0.0032) among poor clinical exemplars. Variants in the Alzheimer's amyloid-secretase pathway, along with G-protein-coupled receptor, muscarinic acetylcholine, and histamine H1R signaling pathways were informative predictors. This study must be replicated on larger samples and extended to predict response to other mood stabilizers

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and Psilocybin for the Management of Patients with Persistent Pain: A Potential Role?

Recently, there has been interest in lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin for depression, anxiety and fear of death in terminal illness. The aim of this review is to discuss the potential use of LSD and psilocybin for patients with persistent pain. LSD and psilocybin are 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor agonists and may interact with nociceptive and antinociceptive processing. Tentative evidence from a systematic review suggests that LSD (7 studies, 323 participants) and psilocybin (3 studies, 92 participants) may be beneficial for depression and anxiety associated with distress in life-threatening diseases. LSD and psilocybin are generally safe if administered by a healthcare professional, although further investigations are needed to assess their utility for patients with persistent pain, especially associated with terminal illnes

Enlightened or Delusional?: Differentiating Religious, Spiritual, and Transpersonal Experiences from Psychopathology

Psychological diagnosis faces unique challenges when used to differentiate nonpsychopathological religious/spiritual/transpersonal (R/S/T) experiences from those that might evidence psychopathology, particularly considering the diversity of such experiences and the value-laden assumptions inherent in most diagnostic practices. Theoretical and pragmatic problems related to the diagnostic category, Religious and Spiritual Problem, as contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are discussed. Attention is paid to identifying potential biases and errors in using, or failing to use, this diagnostic category, particularly as related to developing culturally sensitive diagnoses. Specific methods, including psychometric approaches, for evaluating R/S/T experiences that may range from healthy to psychopathological are reviewed and recommendations are presented for improving current diagnostic practices and furthering needed research.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline