Rapid Changes in the Light/Dark Cycle Disrupt Memory of Conditioned Fear in Mice

Background: Circadian rhythms govern many aspects of physiology and behavior including cognitive processes. Components of neural circuits involved in learning and memory, e.g., the amygdala and the hippocampus, exhibit circadian rhythms in gene expression and signaling pathways. The functional significance of these rhythms is still not understood. In the present study, we sought to determine the impact of transiently disrupting the circadian system by shifting the light/ dark (LD) cycle. Such ‘‘jet lag’ ’ treatments alter daily rhythms of gene expression that underlie circadian oscillations as well as disrupt the synchrony between the multiple oscillators found within the body. Methodology/Principal Findings: We subjected adult male C57Bl/6 mice to a contextual fear conditioning protocol either before or after acute phase shifts of the LD cycle. As part of this study, we examined the impact of phase advances and phase delays, and the effects of different magnitudes of phase shifts. Under all conditions tested, we found that recall of fear conditioned behavior was specifically affected by the jet lag. We found that phase shifts potentiated the stress-evoked corticosterone response without altering baseline levels of this hormone. The jet lag treatment did not result in overall sleep deprivation, but altered the temporal distribution of sleep. Finally, we found that prior experience of jet lag helps to compensate for the reduced recall due to acute phase shifts. Conclusions/Significance: Acute changes to the LD cycle affect the recall of fear-conditioned behavior. This suggests that

Effect of β-estradiol on traumatic memory after post-traumatic stress disorder induced by modified single-prolonged stress model in male Rats

Background and Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety, which is induced by exposure to life-threatening trauma and produces memory dysfunctions. This study was done to evaluate the effect of β-estradiol on traumatic memory after post-traumatic stress disorder induced by modified single-prolonged stress model in male rats. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was done on 70 male Wistar rats, weighted 200-250 grams. Initially 30 rats randomly allocated into control, shock and single prolonged stress accompanied shock (SPS&S). In SPS&S group immobilized for 2h, followed immediately with a 20 min forced swim conducted in a cylindrical filled with water. After recuperating for 15 min, animals anesthetized with ether. After 30 min recovery, stressed rats placed in the conditioned fear system (CFS). They received one 1mA, 4 second electric foot shock and remained in the chamber for another 60 second before being returned to their home cages. Shock group: Animals placed in CFS and only received the same shock as previous experiment. Naive group: Animals were removed from their home cages and exposed to chamber without receiving any foot shock. 1, 2 and 3 week later, animals in all groups were re-exposed to the shock chamber for 3 min, in order to examine conditioned fear response. In the second experiment rats were injected with β-estradiol (90 µg/kg), one and two week after training. Date were analyzed using SPSS-16, ANOVA and LSD tests. Results: SPS&S significantly induced freezing response (traumatic memory) compared with controls and shock groups (P<0.05) following three weeks. This response significantly reduced due to repetitive injection of β-estradiol in rats (P<0.05). After three weeks causes of enhanced freezing response (traumatic memory) compare with both, shock and sham groups (P<0.001). β-estradiol significantly reduced this response in rats (P<0.001). Conclusion: β-estradiol's administration following PTSD induction by modified single-prolonged stress, significantly decreased the freezing response. Therefore, β-estradiol can prevent the formation of traumatic memory

Influences of forest gaps on soil physico-chemical and biological properties in an oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) stand of Hyrcanian forest, north of Iran

Understanding the effects of silvicultural practices including single-tree selection on soil properties is essential for forest management in temperate broadleaved beech forests. Changes in physico-chemical and biological soil properties in 15 harvest-created gaps under single-tree selection and the adjacent closed canopies, with five replications for each, were studied 6 years after gap creation in an oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) stand of the Hyrcanian forest. Gaps were classified into three size classes: small (85-130 m2), medium (131-175 m2) and large (176-300 m2). Soil cores were collected at the center and at the edge of gaps, and under the adjacent closed canopy. Results indicated that gap size significantly affected soil texture and bulk density, whereas soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen and pH showed a significant gradient from the center to the edge of gap independently form their size. SOC and total nitrogen at the center of gaps were also significantly lower than closed-canopy, in particular for the medium-gap; contrastingly, the bulk density with the highest mean value was found at the center of the large-gap. Gap size had no significant influence on soil microbial biomass. These results highlighted that similar conditions in terms of many soil properties were still present among gaps and adjacent closed-canopy stands six years after logging, though canopy openness triggered a reduction in carbon and nitrogen availability along with the related microbial activity at the center of gaps, independently from their size. Therefore, if aimed at preserving an uneven aged structure along with soil quality in temperate broadleaved deciduous forest as the oriental beech stands in the Hyrcanian region, single-tree selection practice for harvesting trees can be recommended as sustainable forest management type

Improved dynamic cutting force model in ball-end milling. Part 1: theoretical modelling and experimental calibration

An accurate cutting force model of ball-end milling is essential for precision prediction and compensation of tool deflection that dominantly determines the dimensional accuracy of the machined surface. This paper presents an improved theoretical dynamic cutting force model for ball-end milling. The three-dimensional instantaneous cutting forces acting on a single flute of a helical ball-end mill are integrated from the differential cutting force components on sliced elements of the flute along the cutter-axis direction. The size effect of undeformed chip thickness and the influence of the effective rake angle are considered in the formulation of the differential cutting forces based on the theory of oblique cutting. A set of half immersion slot milling tests is performed with a one-tooth solid carbide helical ball-end mill for the calibration of the cutting force coefficients. The recorded dynamic cutting forces are averaged to fit the theoretical model and yield the cutting force coefficients. The measured and simulated dynamic cutting forces are compared using the experimental calibrated cutting force coefficients, and there is a reasonable agreement. A further experimental verification of the dynamic cutting force model will be presented in a follow-up paper