Physical exercise regulates microglia in health and disease

There is a well-established link between physical activity and brain health. As such, the effectiveness of physical exercise as a therapeutic strategy has been explored in a variety of neurological contexts. To determine the extent to which physical exercise could be most beneficial under different circumstances, studies are needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms behind the benefits of physical activity. Interest has grown in understanding how physical activity can regulate microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. Microglia are key mediators of neuroinflammatory processes and play a role in maintaining brain homeostasis in healthy and pathological settings. Here, we explore the evidence suggesting that physical activity has the potential to regulate microglia activity in various animal models. We emphasize key areas where future research could contribute to uncovering the therapeutic benefits of engaging in physical exercise

„Serce mam jakby podzielone na dwie części…” Elementy kulturowe w zbiorze ćwiczeń dla użytkowników języka polskiego jako dziedziczonego Na końcu języka

Artykuł omawia elementy kulturowe w zbiorze ćwiczeń pt. Na końcu języka, opracowanym na potrzeby doskonalenia kompetencji językowej u Polaków o nierównoważonej dwujęzyczności polsko-niemieckiej. Adresatami ćwiczeń są osoby należące do pierwszego pokolenia polonijnego, a zatem dzieci polskich emigrantów w Niemczech. Tematem naszych rozważań są treści kulturowe w dydaktyce języka dziedziczonego (heritage language) – języka, który występuje u osób wychowujących się za granicą i znających język rodzimy głównie z komunikacji w domu. Wraz z dorastaniem tzw. heritage speaker przyjmuje język kraju zamieszkania jako kod funkcjonalnie pierwszy, a język rodzimy nie ma możliwości zupełnego wykształcenia się lub jego elementy stopniowo ulegają erozji. Przytoczony w tytule cytat jest fragmentem wypowiedzi przedstawicielki drugiego pokolenia polskich emigrantów w Niemczech i wprowadza w problematykę tożsamości kulturowej osób bilingwalnych.Modern changes related to globalization and more intensive mobility of people, imply the increase of number of Poles living abroad. Bilingualism of children of Polish immigrants, who grow up in a foreign country, quite often remains unbalanced. Polish language then becomes their heritage language. However, growing up abroad not only makes someone bilingual, but also bicultural. Inheriting the culture of one’s parents and gaining knowledge about the culture from a limited number of sources (parents, Saturday School, stereotypes circulating in the country of residence) results in learning about it passively and selectively. Language exercises on the website At the tip of the tongue which develop language competence of Polish heritage speakers were designed for Poles living in Germany as a result of the project Linguistic and glottodidactic aspects of Polish-German unbalanced bilingualism. An integral part of the exercises are intra-, inter- and trans-cultural content. This article aims to discuss the role of cultural content in teaching Polish as a heritage language

The Mouse Primary Visual Cortex Is a Site of Production and Sensitivity to Estrogens

The classic female estrogen, 17β-estradiol (E2), has been repeatedly shown to affect the perceptual processing of visual cues. Although gonadal E2 has often been thought to influence these processes, the possibility that central visual processing may be modulated by brain-generated hormone has not been explored. Here we show that estrogen-associated circuits are highly prevalent in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Specifically, we cloned aromatase, a marker for estrogen-producing neurons, and the classic estrogen receptors (ERs) ERα and ERβ, as markers for estrogen-responsive neurons, and conducted a detailed expression analysis via in-situ hybridization. We found that both monocular and binocular V1 are highly enriched in aromatase- and ER-positive neurons, indicating that V1 is a site of production and sensitivity to estrogens. Using double-fluorescence in-situ hybridization, we reveal the neurochemical identity of estrogen-producing and -sensitive cells in V1, and demonstrate that they constitute a heterogeneous neuronal population. We further show that visual experience engages a large population of aromatase-positive neurons and, to a lesser extent, ER-expressing neurons, suggesting that E2 levels may be locally regulated by visual input in V1. Interestingly, acute episodes of visual experience do not affect the density or distribution of estrogen-associated circuits. Finally, we show that adult mice dark-reared from birth also exhibit normal distribution of aromatase and ERs throughout V1, suggesting that the implementation and maintenance of estrogen-associated circuits is independent of visual experience. Our findings demonstrate that the adult V1 is a site of production and sensitivity to estrogens, and suggest that locally-produced E2 may shape visual cortical processing

A terahertz vibrational molecular clock with systematic uncertainty at the 10−1410^{-14} level

Neutral quantum absorbers in optical lattices have emerged as a leading platform for achieving clocks with exquisite spectroscopic resolution. However, the studies of these clocks and their systematic shifts have so far been limited to atoms. Here, we extend this architecture to an ensemble of diatomic molecules and experimentally realize an accurate lattice clock based on pure molecular vibration. We evaluate the leading systematics, including the characterization of nonlinear trap-induced light shifts, achieving a total systematic uncertainty of $4.6\times10^{-14}$. The absolute frequency of the vibrational splitting is measured to be 31 825 183 207 592.8(5.1) Hz, enabling the dissociation energy of our molecule to be determined with record accuracy. Our results represent an important milestone in molecular spectroscopy and THz-frequency standards, and may be generalized to other neutral molecular species with applications for fundamental physics, including tests of molecular quantum electrodynamics and the search for new interactions.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

Obtención de shortenings cero-trans con alta estabilidad termo-oxidativa por transesterificación enzimática

Novel zero-trans frying shortenings were formed by enzymatic transesterification by exploring a palm stearin and canola oil mixture and stearic acid as substrates. Both immobilized (Novozym 435, Lipase PS “Amano” IM) and non-immobilized (Lipomod TM 34P) enzymes were applied as biocatalysts. Palmitic acid, the fatty acid which defines the proper type of crystal formation, was present at the 15% level in the reaction mixtures. The novel structured lipids had comparable physical properties and offered similar frying performance to those of commercial shortening. Needle-shaped crystals were predominant both in the transesterification products and the commercial frying shortening. Furthermore, solid fat content profiles of the zero-trans structured lipids produced by Novozym 435 and Lipase PS “Amano” IM were close to those of the commercial shortening.Los innovadores shortenings cero-trans para frituras se obtenían por transesterificación enzimática utilizando como sustratos una mezcla de estearina de palma con aceite de cánola y ácido esteárico. Tanto las enzimas inmovilizadas (Novozym 435, Lipase PS “Amano” IM) como las no inmovilizadas (Lipomod TM 34P) fueron aplicadas como biocatalizadores. El contenido de ácido palmítico, el ácido graso que define el tipo adecuado de formación cristalina, fue del 15% en las mezclas de reacción. Los lípidos estructurados innovadores tenían propiedades físicas comparables a los shortenings comerciales y estabilidad de oxidación térmica similar en proceso de fritura. Los cristales en forma de aguja predominaban tanto en los productos de transesterificación como en los shortenings para frituras disponible en el mercado. Además, los perfiles de contenido de grasa sólida de los lípidos estructurados cero trans producidos por Novozym 435 y Lipase PS “Amano” IM eran similares a los perfiles de los shortenings comerciales

Effect of three common SNPs in 5′-flanking region of LEP and ADIPOQ genes on their expression in Polish obese children and adolescents

Genes encoding adipokines are considered as candidates for human obesity. In this study we analyzed the expression of leptin (LEP) and adiponectin (ADIPOQ) genes in relation to common 5′-flanking or 5′UTR variants: -2548G>A (LEP), 19A>G (LEP) and -11377C>G (ADIPOQ) in Polish obese children and adolescents. Relative transcription levels in the subcutaneous adipose tissue (real time RT–PCR) and serum protein concentrations (RIA) were measured in 48 obese subjects with known genotypes at three polymorphic sites and in five non-obese controls. None of the studied polymorphisms altered significantly the expression. Significantly elevated relative transcription levels of the LEP gene (P < 0.05) and serum leptin concentrations (P < 0.01) were recorded in obese patients, when compared with the non-obese controls, but such differences were not found for the ADIPOQ gene. Interestingly, the leptin to adiponectin protein concentration ratio (L/A) was approximately sevenfold higher in obese children and adolescents when compared with the non-obese controls (P < 0.001). Taking into consideration the observed relationship between the genotypes and the gene expression level we suggest that these SNPs are not conclusive markers for predisposition to obesity in Polish children and adolescents. On the other hand, we confirmed that the leptin to adiponectin gene expression ratio (L/A) is an informative index characterizing obesity

Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules : Twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers

Funding Information: National Science Centre (Poland) under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319. Special acknowledgement and thanks to professor Dong Ki Yoon's group for providing the AAO membranes.Peer reviewedPublisher PD