Altered muscarinic and nicotinic receptor densities in cortical and subcortical brain regions in Parkinson's disease

Muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors and choline acetyltransferase activity were studied in postmortem brain tissue from patients with histopathologically confirmed Parkinson's disease and matched control subjects. Using washed membrane homogenates from the frontal cortex, hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and putamen, saturation analysis of specific receptor binding was performed for the total number of muscarinic receptors with [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate, for muscarinic M1 receptors with [3H]pirenzepine, for muscarinic M2 receptors with [3H]oxotremorine-M, and for nicotinic receptors with (-)-[3H]nicotine. In comparison with control tissues, choline acetyl-transferase activity was reduced in the frontal cortex and hippocampus and unchanged in the caudate nucleus and putamen of parkinsonian patients. In Parkinson's disease the maximal binding site density for [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate was increased in the frontal cortex and unaltered in the hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and putamen. Specific [3H]pirenzepine binding was increased in the frontal cortex, unaltered in the hippocampus, and decreased in the caudate nucleus and putamen. In parkinsonian patients Bmax values for specific [3H]oxotremorine-M binding were reduced in the cortex and unchanged in the hippocampus and striatum compared with controls. Maximal (-)-[3H]nicotine binding was reduced in both the cortex and hippocampus and unaltered in both the caudate nucleus and putamen. Alterations of the equilibrium dissociation constant were not observed for any ligand in any of the brain areas examined. The present results suggest that both the innominatocortical and the septohippocampal cholinergic systems degenerate in Parkinson's disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Cumulate causes for the low contents of sulfide-loving elements in the continental crust

Despite the economic importance of chalcophile (sulfide-loving) and siderophile (metal-loving) elements (CSEs), it is unclear how they become enriched or depleted in the continental crust, compared with the oceanic crust. This is due in part to our limited understanding of the partitioning behaviour of the CSEs. Here I compile compositional data for mid-ocean ridge basalts and subduction-related volcanic rocks. I show that the mantle-derived melts that contribute to oceanic and continental crust formation rarely avoid sulfide saturation during cooling in the crust and, on average, subduction-zone magmas fractionate sulfide at the base of the continental crust prior to ascent. Differentiation of mantle-derived melts enriches lower crustal sulfide- and silicate-bearing cumulates in some CSEs compared with the upper crust. This storage predisposes the cumulate-hosted compatible CSEs (such as Cu and Au) to be recycled back into the mantle during subduction and delamination, resulting in their low contents in the bulk continental crust and potentially contributing to the scarcity of ore deposits in the upper continental crust. By contrast, differentiation causes the upper oceanic and continental crust to become enriched in incompatible CSEs (such as W) compared with the lower oceanic and continental crust. Consequently, incompatible CSEs are predisposed to become enriched in subduction-zone magmas that contribute to continental crust formation and are less susceptible to removal from the continental crust via delamination compared with the compatible CSEs

Quo Vadis Venomics? A Roadmap to Neglected Venomous Invertebrates

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0). The attached file is the published version of the article

Terguride stimulates locomotor activity at 2 months but not 10 months after 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine treatment of common marmosets

The mixed dopamine (DA) agonist/antagonist terguride acts as a DA antagonist on normosensitive receptors but shows DA agonistic properties at supersensitive DA receptors. Such a compound could offer an alternative to the treatment of Parkinson's disease with indirect or direct DA agonists. The present study compares the actions of terguride, 4-12 mg/kg i.p., in naive common marmosets with its effects in animals rendered parkinsonian by administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 2 months or 10 months previously, in order to test its antiparkinsonian efficacy. Terguride reduced locomotor activity in naive common marmosets, similar to its effects in rodents and in line with the DA antagonistic activity of the compound. In marmosets treated with MPTP 2 months previously and exhibiting pronounced behavioural motor deficits, terguride stimulated locomotor activity, showing DA agonistic properties under these conditions. In contrast, the locomotor activity of animals that had recovered from MPTP treatment 10 months previously was not altered by terguride. It is concluded that terguride has anti-akinetic efficacy in this primate model of Parkinson's disease. In addition, terguride offers a unique opportunity to differentiate, pharmacologically, the extent of dopaminergic recovery from MPTP treatment in this primate species

Thermocline management of stratified tanks for heat storage

Stratified tanks are useful for maximising the thermal energy efficiency of non-continuous and semi-continuous processes. Liquid at two or more dissimilar temperatures is stored within the same tank to provide a buffer for variations in heating and cooling loads. Control of the thermocline between the hot and cold fluid regions is needed to minimise thermocline growth and maximise operation of the storage tank. An experimental programme using a scale model of an industrial stratified tank (aspect ratio 3.5) and Perspex tank (aspect ratio 8.2) is reported. The behaviour and growth of the hot-cold thermocline under various operating conditions is presented. A siphoning method to re-establish the thermocline without interrupting the use of the tank is tested. Siphoning of the thermocline region from either 20%, 50% or 80% of the tank height is an effective strategy for uninterrupted interface re-establishment. However, the rate and position of siphoning and the load balance of the exit streams are critical variables for minimising the time for effective re-establishment of the two temperature zones

Safety analysis of modern heritage masonry buildings : box-buildings in Recife, Brazil

Box-buildings are structural masonry buildings named as such because of their shape. There are around 5,000 of them in Recife, Brazil. This paper presents a safety analysis of one box-building that suffered collapse on December 2007. The research aims at quantifying the safety of this type of existing buildings and at better understanding their structural behavior to try to identify the reasons for the collapse. A finite element model was prepared and a set of nonlinear numerical analyses were performed. The results of the analyses show good agreement between the observed damage in the real building and the damage achieved numerically at the current condition (LF=1). The model thus seems to represent satisfactorily the real behavior of the building but the safety factor obtained seems too conservative and does not justify the collapse observed in reality. Since results show that the building should not have failed under normal working conditions, a collapse assessment about why the building fell is therefore provided and a sensitivity analysis was performed in order to understand the importance of the material parameters and their influence on the structural response of the building

Dietary intake of professional Australian football athletes surrounding body composition assessment

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Sports Dietitians aim to assist in improving performance by developing nutrition knowledge (NK), enhancing dietary intake and optimising body composition of athletes. In a high-pressure environment, it is important to identify factors that may compromise an athlete's nutrition status. Body composition assessments are regularly undertaken in sport to provide feedback on training adaptions; however, no research has explored the impact of these assessments on the dietary intake of professional athletes. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed dietary intake (7-day food diary), nutrition knowledge (Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire) and body composition (Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) of 46 professional male Australian football (AFL) athletes during a 2017 pre-season training week (7days) where body composition assessments were undertaken. Dietary intake was assessed against International Olympic Committee recommendations for professional athletes. Results: Overall, no athlete met dietary their recommended energy intake (15±1.1 vs. 9.1±1.8MJ, respectively) or carbohydrate recommendations (6-10 vs. 2.4±0.9g.kg-1.day-1). Only 54% met protein recommendations. Secondary analyses demonstrated significant associations between education status and energy intake (P<0.04) and vegetable intake (P<0.03), with higher levels of education being associated with higher intakes. A moderately positive association was observed between NK scores and meeting estimated energy requirements (r=0.33, P=0.03). NK scores were also positively associated with protein (r=0.35, P=0.02), fibre (r=0.51, P=0.001) and calcium intakes (r=0.43, P=0.004). Conclusions: This research identified that the dietary intake of professional AFL athletes during a pre-season training week where body composition assessments were undertaken did not meet current recommendations. Several factors may influence the dietary intake of AFL athletes, including lower education levels, poor NK and dietary intake restriction surrounding body composition assessment. Athletes may require support to continue with performance-based nutrition plans in periods surrounding body composition assessment

Chalcophile element processing beneath a continental arc stratovolcano

The chalcophile elements are important both in terms of their economic value and as potential tracers of magmatic processes at convergent margins. However, because of analytical difficulties, comprehensive datasets of chalcophile element concentrations for volcanic rocks are rare. Here, we present analyses of a near complete suite of chalcophile elements (S, Cu, Ag, Se, As, Sb, Sn, W, Mo, Pb, Bi, Tl, Zn, Ga, Co) for volcanic rock samples collected from a typical continental arc stratovolcano in southern Chile (Antuco). Enrichment in Pb, Bi, W, Tl, Sb and As relative to Parental-MORB indicates that these elements have been mobilised from the subducting slab into the sub-arc mantle wedge, in contrast to Cu and Ag. Very low Se concentrations suggest that Se, like S, was lost during co-eruptive degassing of the Antuco magmas. Previous studies on oceanic arcs have demonstrated that as higher fO2 subduction-related magmas ascend through the overlying lithosphere, magnetite fractionation may trigger sulfide fractionation during crystallisation. If such a process is extensive and has a sharp onset, this would result in a plummet in the Cu, Se and Ag contents of the residual melt. At Antuco, although a decrease in the Fe2O3(T) and TiO2 concentrations at ∼55 wt.% SiO2 (∼3 wt.% MgO) indicates magnetite fractionation, this is not associated with a corresponding drop in Cu contents. Instead, we observe a general decrease in Cu and a decrease in Cu/Ag with increasing SiO2 and decreasing MgO. Furthermore, Cu/Ag in the most primitive Antuco rocks are lower than the global MORB array, indicating that the melts were sulfide saturated at an early stage in their crustal evolution. Through modelling fractional crystallisation, we show that only a minor volume (0.5–0.6 vol.%) of fractionating sulfide is needed to produce divergent trends in Cu and Ag, as observed in the Antuco samples. Our results show that sulfide fractionation occurred from an early stage during the crustal evolution of Antuco's magmas. We infer that this was promoted by stalling in the lower crust, which for oxidised magmas at depths >20 km is within the sulfide stability field. However, elevated DyN/YbN of the Antuco magmas compared to oceanic island arc magmas provides an additional, or alternate mechanism to inducing sulfide fractionation in the lower crust prior to ascent, through initial garnet fractionation. Fractional crystallisation within this depth range meant that later magnetite fractionation had only a minor impact on the partitioning behaviour of the chalcophile elements. In contrast, arc magmas transiting thinner crust may not experience sulfide saturation until a later stage in their evolution, induced by magnetite fractionation. Our results imply that convergent margin crustal thickness, and therefore the depth range of magmatic differentiation, determines the dominant control on initial magmatic sulfide saturation and therefore the primary distribution of chalcophile elements. This implies that secondary processes are required to explain the transport and concentration of sulfides and chalcophile elements at shallower crustal levels

Metodologia para diagnóstico e intervenção em edifícios correntes: habitação social no Porto e Recife

De acordo com o INE (2010), o parque de habitação social distribui-se por 246 Municípios, sendo constituído por cerca de 97 mil fogos e 22 mil edifícios. O município do Porto detém 12 682 fogos, correspondendo a 13% do total. Durante o ano de 2009 os municípios portugueses executaram obras de conservação em 2 252 edifícios (10,2% do total) e procederam à reabilitação de 6 636 fogos (6,8% do total). Este património municipal gerou, em 2009, uma receita média por fogo de 706 euros, entre rendas cobradas e fogos vendidos. Por seu lado a despesa média (incluindo os encargos fixos) ficou-se pelos 676 euros por fogo. Atendendo apenas a estas rubricas de receitas e despesas relacionadas com o parque de habitação social dos municípios, verifica-se a existência de um “défice” nas regiões do Norte de 12,7 milhões, o que demonstra o investimento em curso actualmente. O Município do Porto registou um défice superior a 1 000 euros por fogo (receita de 604 euros e despesa de 1 718 euros). A Habitação Social resulta de uma necessidade passada e presente de pensar nas pessoas, isto é, pensar numa política de valorização da qualidade de vida da população que passando muito pela habitação, não acaba nela. A política social da habitação dá início a um processo global de melhoria da qualidade de vida das pessoas, sendo necessário fazer coincidir a melhoria das condições de alojamento, com a melhoria das condições envolventes aos conjuntos habitacionais. Só com uma participação activa dos moradores é possível a sua identificação com o conjunto habitacional onde residem. A missão descrita é incompatível com habitação social em deficiente estado de conservação ou mesmo muito degradada, tal como se verifica em inúmeros países. Importa desta forma assegurar a reabilitação deste património construído e a sua posterior conservação. Nos últimos anos ocorreram desenvolvimentos muito significativos no que diz respeito à capacidade de utilizar técnicas experimentais (in situ ou em laboratório) e simulações em computador. Um aspecto relevante é que a engenharia “de conservação” deve ter uma abordagem e capacidade diferentes das usadas em construções novas. Frequentemente, os materiais e técnicas tradicionais são desconhecidos para os envolvidos. Também se verifica que a tendência das entidades reguladoras e dos projectistas para que os regulamentos actuais sejam cumpridos. Isto é muitas vezes inaceitável, visto que os regulamentos foram escritos tendo em mente outras formas de construção, pelo que a sua aplicação em materiais, tecnologias e formas tradicionais é excessivamente conservadora ou penalizadora. A necessidade de reconhecer a diferença entre o projecto moderno e a conservação também é relevante no contexto dos custos associados à contribuição da engenharia. O procedimento habitual de cálculo de honorários de engenharia, como uma percentagem do trabalho realizado, está claramente em oposição com as melhores práticas de conservação. Ser capaz de recomendar não tomar qualquer medida pode, na realidade, implicar mais estudos e mais custos reais do que uma recomendação para grandes intervenções. Os procedimentos das intervenções modernas exigem um levantamento cuidado da construção, bem como a compreensão da sua história, tendo em vista obter um diagnóstico claro, que requer muitas vezes técnicas de inspecção adequadas e experiência adquirida relevante, num processo muito semelhante à medicina Após reconstituir o historial do paciente (o edifício) e requerer exames (técnicas de inspecção e ensaios), é possível um diagnóstico. Este diagnóstico permite, se necessário, uma terapia adequada (projecto de intervenção) e o respectivo controlo de resultados (monitorização dos resultados). Tendo em vista demonstrar a abordagem metodológica necessária, no presente artigo serão apresentados casos de estudo em Portugal e Brasil, onde os autores estiveram envolvidos