Wireless Stimulation of Antennal Muscles in Freely Flying Hawkmoths Leads to Flight Path Changes

Insect antennae are sensory organs involved in a variety of behaviors, sensing many different stimulus modalities. As mechanosensors, they are crucial for flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. One of their roles is to mediate compensatory reflexes of the abdomen in response to rotations of the body in the pitch axis. Abdominal motions, in turn, are a component of the steering mechanism for flying insects. Using a radio controlled, programmable, miniature stimulator, we show that ultra-low-current electrical stimulation of antennal muscles in freely-flying hawkmoths leads to repeatable, transient changes in the animals' pitch angle, as well as less predictable changes in flight speed and flight altitude. We postulate that by deflecting the antennae we indirectly stimulate mechanoreceptors at the base, which drive compensatory reflexes leading to changes in pitch attitude.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agenc

The Signaller's Dilemma: A Cost–Benefit Analysis of Public and Private Communication

Understanding the diversity of animal signals requires knowledge of factors which may influence the different stages of communication, from the production of a signal by the sender up to the detection, identification and final decision-making in the receiver. Yet, many studies on signalling systems focus exclusively on the sender, and often ignore the receiver side and the ecological conditions under which signals evolve.We study a neotropical katydid which uses airborne sound for long distance communication, but also an alternative form of private signalling through substrate vibration. We quantified the strength of predation by bats which eavesdrop on the airborne sound signal, by analysing insect remains at roosts of a bat family. Males do not arbitrarily use one or the other channel for communication, but spend more time with private signalling under full moon conditions, when the nocturnal rainforest favours predation by visually hunting predators. Measurements of metabolic CO(2)-production rate indicate that the energy necessary for signalling increases 3-fold in full moon nights when private signalling is favoured. The background noise level for the airborne sound channel can amount to 70 dB SPL, whereas it is low in the vibration channel in the low frequency range of the vibration signal. The active space of the airborne sound signal varies between 22 and 35 meters, contrasting with about 4 meters with the vibration signal transmitted on the insect's favourite roost plant. Signal perception was studied using neurophysiological methods under outdoor conditions, which is more reliable for the private mode of communication.Our results demonstrate the complex effects of ecological conditions, such as predation, nocturnal ambient light levels, and masking noise levels on the performance of receivers in detecting mating signals, and that the net advantage or disadvantage of a mode of communication strongly depends on these conditions

Roles for Treg expansion and HMGB1 signaling through the TLR1-2-6 axis in determining the magnitude of the antigen-specific immune response to MVA85A

© 2013 Matsumiya et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedA better understanding of the relationships between vaccine, immunogenicity and protection from disease would greatly facilitate vaccine development. Modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing antigen 85A (MVA85A) is a novel tuberculosis vaccine candidate designed to enhance responses induced by BCG. Antigen-specific interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production is greatly enhanced by MVA85A, however the variability between healthy individuals is extensive. In this study we have sought to characterize the early changes in gene expression in humans following vaccination with MVA85A and relate these to long-term immunogenicity. Two days post-vaccination, MVA85A induces a strong interferon and inflammatory response. Separating volunteers into high and low responders on the basis of T cell responses to 85A peptides measured during the trial, an expansion of circulating CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ cells is seen in low but not high responders. Additionally, high levels of Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 1 on day of vaccination are associated with an increased response to antigen 85A. In a classification model, combined expression levels of TLR1, TICAM2 and CD14 on day of vaccination and CTLA4 and IL2Rα two days post-vaccination can classify high and low responders with over 80% accuracy. Furthermore, administering MVA85A in mice with anti-TLR2 antibodies may abrogate high responses, and neutralising antibodies to TLRs 1, 2 or 6 or HMGB1 decrease CXCL2 production during in vitro stimulation with MVA85A. HMGB1 is released into the supernatant following atimulation with MVA85A and we propose this signal may be the trigger activating the TLR pathway. This study suggests an important role for an endogenous ligand in innate sensing of MVA and demonstrates the importance of pattern recognition receptors and regulatory T cell responses in determining the magnitude of the antigen specific immune response to vaccination with MVA85A in humans.This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust. MM has a Wellcome Trust PhD studentship and HM is a Wellcome Trust Senior Fello

Do Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Display an Inefficient Cognitive Processing Style?

Objective: This study aimed to examine neuropsychological processing in children and adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The relationship of clinical and demographic variables to neuropsychological functioning within the AN group was also explored.  Method: The performance of 41 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of AN were compared to 43 healthy control (HC) participants on a number of neuropsychological measures.  Results: There were no differences in IQ between AN and HC groups. However, children and adolescents with AN displayed significantly more perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and lower Style and Central Coherence scores on the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test relative to HCs.  Conclusion: Inefficient cognitive processing in the AN group was independent of clinical and demographic variables, suggesting it might represent an underlying trait for AN. The implications of these findings are discussed

Modeling “psychosis” in vitro by inducing disordered neuronal network activity in cortical brain slices

# The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Introduction Dysregulation of neuronal networks has been suggested to underlie the cognitive and perceptual abnor-malities observed schizophrenia. Discussions An in vitro model of psychosis is proposed based on the two different approaches to cause aberrant networ

Towards integration of general practitioner posts and accident and emergency departments: a case study of two integrated emergency posts in the Netherlands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Accident and emergency (A&E) departments and general practitioner (GP) posts are often used inappropriately, leading to overcrowding. In the Netherlands, increasingly more integrated emergency posts (IEPs) are being created, integrating the care provided by GP posts and A&E departments, in order to improve the provision of the emergency care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This explorative study compares the efficiency and patient and employee satisfaction in IEPs with those in two GP posts and two A&E departments. To this end, information was retrieved from hospital and GP patient records for the first quarter of the year before and of the year after the creation of IEPs. Patients and employees were sent a questionnaire to measure their satisfaction. Lastly, groups of hospital doctors, GPs, GP assistants, and nurses were interviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After the creation of IEPs, there was a shift of more than fifteen percent from secondary care to primary care for emergency consultations and waiting/consultation times were shortened by more than ten percent. Compared with the control settings, patients were more satisfied about telephone contact with an IEP, but professionals working at the IEP were less satisfied with several aspects of their work.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IEPs could be a promising innovation to organize emergency care more efficiently; however, it might take time to convince professionals of the possible advantages. Studies involving more IEPs and longer follow-up times are needed to determine whether such integration should be stimulated.</p

3,3′Diindolylmethane Suppresses Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Modulation and Inhibits Neointima Formation after Carotid Injury

3,3'Diindolylmethane (DIM), a natural phytochemical, has shown inhibitory effects on the growth and migration of a variety of cancer cells; however, whether DIM has similar effects on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of DIM on the proliferation and migration of cultured VSMCs and neointima formation in a carotid injury model, as well as the related cell signaling mechanisms.DIM dose-dependently inhibited the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced proliferation of VSMCs without cell cytotoxicity. This inhibition was caused by a G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest demonstrated by fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis. We also showed that DIM-induced growth inhibition was associated with the inhibition of the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 as well as an increase in p27(Kip1) levels in PDGF-stimulated VSMCs. Moreover, DIM was also found to modulate migration of VSMCs and smooth muscle-specific contractile marker expression. Mechanistically, DIM negatively modulated PDGF-BB-induced phosphorylation of PDGF-recptorβ (PDGF-Rβ) and the activities of downstream signaling molecules including Akt/glycogen synthase kinase(GSK)3β, extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2), and signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3). Our in vivo studies using a mouse carotid arterial injury model revealed that treatment with 150 mg/kg DIM resulted in significant reduction of the neointima/media ratio and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells, without affecting apoptosis of vascular cells and reendothelialization. Infiltration of inflammatory cells was also inhibited by DIM administration.These results demonstrate that DIM can suppress the phenotypic modulation of VSMCs and neointima hyperplasia after vascular injury. These beneficial effects on VSMCs were at least partly mediated by the inhibition of PDGF-Rβ and the activities of downstream signaling pathways. The results suggest that DIM has the potential to be a candidate for the prevention of restenosis

Galanin Transgenic Mice with Elevated Circulating Galanin Levels Alleviate Demyelination in a Cuprizone-Induced MS Mouse Model

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with a presumed autoimmune etiology. Approved treatments for MS are immunoregulatory and are able to reduce the inflammatory components of the disease. However, these treatments do not suppress progressive clinical disability. Approaches that directly protect myelin-producing oligodendrocytes and enhance remyelination are likely to improve long-term outcomes and reduce the rate of axonal damage. Galanin (GAL) is a bioactive neuropeptide that is widely distributed throughout the nervous system and has diverse neuromodulatory effects. In this study, using the cuprizone (CPZ) demyelination model of MS, we demonstrate that GAL has pronounced neuroprotective effects with respect to demyelination and remyelination. Using our GAL transgenic mouse (GAL-Tg), we identified a novel attenuation of OLs against CPZ induced demyelination, which was exerted independently of progenitor cells. Alleviation of myelin breakdown in the GAL-Tg mice was observed to be significant. Furthermore, we observed changes in the expression of the GAL receptor GalR1 during the demyelination and remyelination processes. Our data strongly indicate that GAL has the capacity to influence the outcome of primary insults that directly target OLs, as opposed to cases where immune activation is the primary pathogenic event. Taken together, these results suggest that GAL is a promising next-generation target for the treatment of MS

Is trade liberalization a solution to the unemployment problem?

This paper examines how trade liberalization affects the growth rate of sectoral employment in developed and developing countries. The estimation results imply that trade openness in the form of higher trade volumes has not been successful in generating jobs in developing countries. The overall weak, negative employment response to trade volumes may be explained by the negative output response to trade openness in these countries. Our estimates also indicate that higher trade volumes have adverse effect on industrial employment in developed countries. Moreover, while they have positive effect on employment in industry and services in developing countries, trade barriers have adverse effect on employment growth in services for developed countries. Our overall results imply that while trade barriers have relatively little adverse effects and/or in some case a positive effect on employment both in developing and developed countries, higher trade volumes have an adverse effect on industrial employment in developed economies. Thus, trade openness is not in itself a solution to the unemployment problems of developing countries and yet it has not been the prime factor to blame for the lower employment levels in developed countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio