BUDDHIST PHENOMENOLOGY AND THE PROBLEM OF ESSENCE

In this paper, I intend to make a case for Buddhist phenomenology. By Buddhist phenomenology, I mean a phenomenological interpretation of Yogācāra’s doctrine of consciousness. Yet, this interpretation will be vulnerable if I do not justify the way in which the anti-essentialistic Buddhist philosophy can countenance the Husserlian essence. I dub this problem of compatibility between Buddhist and phenomenology the ‘problem of essence’. Nevertheless, I argue that this problem will not jeopardize Buddhist phenomenology because: 1) Yogācārins, especially late Yogācārins represented by Xuanzang do not articulate emptiness as a negation but as an affirmation of the existent; 2) Husserl’s phenomenological essence is not a substance that Yogācārins reject but the ideal sense (Sinn) that Yogācārins also stress. After resolving the problem of essence, I formulate Buddhist phenomenology as follows: on the epistemological level, it describes intentional acts of consciousness; on the meta-epistemological level, it entails transcendental idealism

The FRB 121102 Host Is Atypical among Nearby Fast Radio Bursts

We search for host galaxy candidates of nearby fast radio bursts (FRBs), FRB 180729.J1316+55, FRB 171020, FRB 171213, FRB 180810.J1159+83, and FRB 180814.J0422+73 (the second repeating FRB). We compare the absolute magnitudes and the expected host dispersion measure DMhost of these candidates with that of the first repeating FRB, FRB 121102, as well as those of long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) and superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), the proposed progenitor systems of FRB 121102. We find that while the FRB 121102 host is consistent with those of LGRBs and SLSNe, the nearby FRB host candidates, at least for FRB 180729.J1316+55, FRB 171020, and FRB 180814.J0422+73, either have a smaller DMhost or are fainter than FRB 121102 host, as well as the hosts of LGRBs and SLSNe. In order to avoid the uncertainty in estimating DMhost due to the line-of-sight effect, we propose a galaxy-group-based method to estimate the electron density in the intergalactic regions, and hence, DMIGM. The result strengthens our conclusion. We conclude that the host galaxy of FRB 121102 is atypical, and LGRBs and SLSNe are likely not the progenitor systems of at least most nearby FRB sources. The recently reported two FRB hosts differ from the host of FRB 121102 and also the host candidates suggested in this paper. This is consistent with the conclusion of our paper and suggests that the FRB hosts are very diverse

P03. Role of Prefrontal Cortical Dopamine Transmission in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opiate Addiction Vulnerability

Background PTSD and opiate addiction share strong co-morbidity and the inability to suppress obtrusive memory recall related to either stressful or rewarding experiences may be an underlying neuropsychological feature triggering PTSD and/or addiction. Our previous research has shown that dopamine (DA) transmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) strongly modulates emotional memory formation: activation of the DA D4 receptor (D4R) strongly potentiates the emotional salience of normally non-salient fear memories whereas DA D1 receptor (D1R) activation blocks the behavioural recall of fear memory. Thus, while intra-PFC D4 transmission strongly controls the acquisition of emotional memory, D1 transmission is selectively involved in the recall phase of emotional memory processing. Therefore, we are aiming to test the role of PFC dopamine transmission in emotional memory regulation and opiate sensitivity. Methods Using a pre-clinical model of PTSD in rats, we examined if recall of associative fear memory would increase subjects’ sensitivity and vulnerability to morphine addiction. We also examined if blocking traumatic memory recall with PFC D1R stimulation may block this effect and if artificially creating a fear memory with PFC D4R stimulation would increase morphine reward sensitivity. Using an olfactory fear conditioning paradigm, we conditioned salient or non-salient associative fear memories by delivering supra-threshold (0.8 mA) vs. sub-threshold (0.4 mA) foot shock conditioning cues, and tested if recalling these memories increased sensitivity to morphine’s rewarding properties, measured in a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. We then examined the effects of intra-PFC DA D1R/D4R activation on expression and acquisition phases of associative fear memories and the subsequent influence on morphine reward sensitivity. Results Rats receiving supra-threshold fear conditioning showed strong associative fear memories and strongly potentiated morphine reward sensitivity. PFC activation of D1 receptor transmission with SKF 81297 (10-100 ng), dose-dependently blocked the recall of fear memory and similarly blocked the potentiation of morphine reward CPP through a cyclic AMP-dependent molecular pathway. In contrast, PFC D4 activation with PD-168077 (50 ng) during memory acquisition, created false fear memories in rats receiving sub-threshold foot shock. Remarkably, D4-mediated potentiation of normally non-salient fear memories also caused a dramatic potentiation in morphine reward sensitivity. Conclusion & Interdisciplinary Reflection Our findings have important implications for the role of the PFC DA receptor transmission in PTSD-related traumatic memory acquisition and recall and suggest that dysregulation of PFC DA transmission may underlie co-morbidity between PTSD and opiate addiction

Combining Algorithms and User Experience: A Hybrid Personalized Movie Recommender Based on Perceived Similarity

Recommender systems, which filter information based on individual interests, represent a possible remedy for information overload. There are two major types of recommendation techniques—collaborative filtering and content-based. Although the content-based approach alleviates the “cold-start” problem faced by collaborative filtering, this approach generally produces lower accuracy. Thus, a hybrid strategy is often adopted. However, we identified that existing approaches are hampered by insufficient analysis of the unstructured content features of recommended products and a problematic assumption that ignores individual differences in the perception of similarity. Therefore, we propose a new recommendation framework that applies Latent Semantic Analysis to extract semantic features from unstructured text and uses Multiple Regression to identify a unique similarity weighting strategy for each user. By using a combined dataset from MovieLens and Microsoft Xbox, we developed a movie recommender as a proof-of-concept. The initial results represented a promising opportunity to combine behavioral studies and computer algorithms

Effect of Nedd4 Haploinsufficiency on Insulin Sensitivity, Adiposity and Neuronal Behaviors

The neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated gene 4 (NEDD4) is a HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligase that has received broad attention in recent years. Many of its reported substrates are active players in metabolism, implying a potential role of NEDD4 itself in metabolic regulation. Since homozygous Nedd4 deletion leads to embryonic or perinatal lethality, we investigated the function of NEDD4 in metabolic regulation in vivo, using Nedd4- haploinsufficient mice in a high fat diet-induced obesity (HFDIO) model. Our studies show that Nedd4-haploinsufficient mice fed a normal diet (ND) exhibited decreased body weight in both genders and proportionally reduced tissue mass compared to their age-matched wild-type littermates. The heterozygotic Nedd4-deficient mice displayed moderate insulin resistance and mild hyperinsulinemia. These findings are consistent with others’ studies in which depletion of Nedd4 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) led to a decline in insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-1) and insulin signaling. Surprisingly, Nedd4-haploinsufficient mice were partially protected against high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity. Total weight gain was decreased by 30% in Nedd4-haploinsufficient mice on HFD, which was associated with reduced adiposity, improved insulin sensitivity in white adipose tissue (WAT), alleviated hepatic steatosis and attenuated lipid-induced inflammation. NEDD4 reduction did not affect serum glucose or lipid profile. The energy intake and physical activity were almost indistinguishable between the two groups. We present data indicating that these beneficial effects of Nedd4 haploinsufficiency under conditions promoting obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D) derive from at least two mechanisms: 1) elevated levels of β- agonist induced lipolysis through stimulation of β-adrenergic signaling as evidenced by enhanced β2 adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) cell surface levels; 2) repressed expression of a key adipogenic regulator, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) in Nedd4- haploinsufficient mice in the WAT. Downregulation of NEDD4 in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes impaired the adipogenic response, resulting in decreased PPARγ expression. Thus, the reduced adiposity in Nedd4-haploinsufficient mice fed a HFD compared to littermate wild-type mice may be explained at least in part by their increased lipolysis and suppressed adipogenesis. Our data also imply that NEDD4 may have differential functions in modulating insulin signaling under physiological and pathological conditions. In this study, we tested the possible impact of NEDD4 reduction on cognitive function and anxiety behaviors. Preliminary results showed that Nedd4-haploinsufficient mice had impaired learning and memory performance but increased anxiety compared to wild-type littermates. NEDD4 may modulate different behavioral functions by targeting specific substrates for protein degradation in a brain-region-specific manner. Precise substrates that cause the alteration in such behaviors are yet to be determined by future studies