Effects of Acute and Sustained Pain Manipulations on Performance in a Visual‐Signal Detection Task of Attention in Rats

Preclinical ResearchPatients with pain often display cognitive impairment including deficits in attention. The visual‐signal detection task (VSDT) is a behavioral procedure for assessment of attention in rodents. Male Sprague Dawley rats were trained in a VSDT and tested with three different noxious stimuli: (i) intraperitoneal injection of lactic acid; (ii) intraplantar injection of formalin; and (iii) intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, scopolamine was also tested as a positive control. Scopolamine (0.01–1.0 mg/kg) dose dependently reduced accuracy and increased response latencies during completed trials with higher scopolamine doses increasing omissions. Lactic acid (0.56–5.6% ip) also increased response latencies and omissions, although it failed to alter measures of response accuracy. Formalin produced a transient decrease in accuracy while also increasing both response latency and omissions. CFA failed to alter VSDT performance. Although VSDT effects were transient for formalin and absent for CFA, both treatments produced mechanical allodynia and paw edema for up to 7 days. These results support the potential for noxious stimuli to produce a pain‐related disruption of attention in rats. However, relatively strong noxious stimulation appears necessary to disrupt performance in this version of the VSDT. Drug Dev Res 76 : 194–203, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111955/1/ddr21255.pd

Sustained pain-related depression of behavior: effects of intraplantar formalin and complete freund’s adjuvant on intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) and endogenous kappa opioid biomarkers in rats

Background: Intraplantar administration of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and formalin are two noxious stimuli commonly used to produce sustained pain-related behaviors in rodents for research on neurobiology and treatment of pain. One clinically relevant manifestation of pain is depression of behavior and mood. This study compared effects of intraplantar CFA and formalin on depression of positively reinforced operant behavior in an assay of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) in rats. Effects of CFA and formalin on other physiological and behavioral measures, and opioid effects on formalin-induced depression of ICSS, were also examined. Results: There were four main findings. First, consistent with previous studies, both CFA and formalin produced similar paw swelling and mechanical hypersensitivity. Second, CFA produced weak and transient depression of ICSS, whereas formalin produced a more robust and sustained depression of ICSS that lasted at least 14 days. Third, formalin-induced depression of ICSS was reversed by morphine doses that did not significantly alter ICSS in saline-treated rats, suggesting that formalin effects on ICSS can be interpreted as an example of pain-related and analgesic-reversible depression of behavior. Finally, formalin-induced depression of ICSS was not associated with changes in central biomarkers for activation of endogenous kappa opioid systems, which have been implicated in depressive-like states in rodents, nor was it blocked by the kappa antagonist norbinaltorphimine. Conclusions: These results suggest differential efficacy of sustained pain stimuli to depress brain reward function in rats as assessed with ICSS. Formalin-induced depression of ICSS does not appear to engage brain kappa opioid systems. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1744-8069-10-62) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Development and validation of tools for the implementation of european air quality policy in Germany (Project VALIUM)

International audienceIn the framework of the German Atmospheric Research Program AFO-2000 a system of consistent coupled numerical models has been developed. The purpose of the model system is to serve as a tool for the execution of European urban air quality regulations. A consortium with the acronym VALIUM was formed, which consisted of German research institutes, environmental consultancies and an environmental agency. A substantial part of the VALIUM program was devoted to the generation of a set of high quality data for the validation of the numerical model system. The validation data are based on a combination of field studies, tracer experiments and corresponding wind tunnel experiments. The field experiments were carried out inside and around a street canyon in a city district of Hanover/Germany. After a brief introduction to the VALIUM project a summary of the main results will be given

05/18/1993 - Eastern\u27s 1993 All Student Show Winner Laura Brahos.pdf

This paper reports on the stages forming a model evaluation protocol for urban flow and dispersion models proposed within the COST Action 732 on "Quality Assurance and Improvement of Micro-Scale Meteorological Models". It discusses the different components forming model evaluation with emphasis on validation and implementation of the protocol for the test case Mock Urban Setting Test (MUST). The protocol was proposed with building-resolving models in mind, but integral models have also been included. The suggested approach can be used for further micro-scale model evaluation and for the standardisation of their applications

Highly photoluminescent copper carbene complexes based on prompt rather than delayed fluorescence

Linear two-coordinate copper complexes of cyclic (alkyl)(amino)-carbenes (CAAC)CuX (X = halide) show photoluminescence with solid-state quantum yields of up to 96%; in contrast to previously reported Cu photoemitters the emission is independent of temperature over the range T = 4 – 300 K and occurs very efficiently by prompt rather than delayed fluorescence, with lifetimes in the sub-nanosecond range

Protocol for an observational study to identify potential predictors of an acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (the PACE Study).

INTRODUCTION: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are the most critical events for patients with COPD that have a negative impact on patients' quality of life, accelerate disease progression, and can result in hospital admissions and death. Although there is no distinct definition or detailed knowledge about AECOPD, it is commonly used as primary outcome in clinical studies. Furthermore, it may be difficult in clinical practice to differentiate the worsening of symptoms due to an AECOPD or to the development of heart failure. Therefore, it is of major clinical importance to investigate the underlying pathophysiology, and if possible, predictors of an AECOPD and thus to identify patients who are at high risk for developing an acute exacerbation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In total, 355 patients with COPD will be included prospectively to this study during a 3-week inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme at the Schoen Klinik Berchtesgadener Land, Schoenau am Koenigssee (Germany). All patients will be closely monitored from admission to discharge. Lung function, exercise tests, clinical parameters, quality of life, physical activity and symptoms will be recorded, and blood samples and exhaled air will be collected. If a patient develops an AECOPD, there will be additional comprehensive diagnostic assessments to differentiate between cardiac, pulmonary or cardiopulmonary causes of worsening. Follow-up measures will be performed at 6, 12 and 24 months.Exploratory data analyses methods will be used for the primary research question (screening and identification of possible factors to predict an AECOPD). Regression analyses and a generalised linear model with a binomial outcome (AECOPD) will be applied to test if predictors are significant. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Ethical Committee of the Philipps University Marburg, Germany (No. 61/19). The results will be presented in conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04140097

Investigation of structure-directing interactions within copper(i)thiocyanate complexes through X-ray analyses and non-covalent interaction (NCI) theoretical approach

Herein, we reported the synthesis of copperIJI) thiocyanate complexes with ortho-pyridinyl carbohydrazones containing a thiophene (L1) or a furyl ring (L2) as a mixture of two different crystals for each compound, linkage isomers of C1N, [CuIJNCS)IJL1)PPh3] and C1S, [Cu(SCN)(L1)PPh3], for L1, whereas monomeric and polymeric structures C2N, [Cu(NCS)(L2)PPh3], and C2P, [–(NCS)Cu(L2)–]n, for L2. Crystallographic information and theoretical calculations, mainly noncovalent interaction reduced density gradient (NCI-RDG) analyses, were pursued to generate a profound understanding of the structure-directing interactions in these complexes. The supramolecular assemblies are first driven by cooperative π⋯π interactions and hydrogen bonds followed by CH⋯π, S⋯S and S⋯π linkages. In the case of the linkage isomers, intermolecular interactions may have a significant role in the formation of the less stable S-bound isomer C1S

THE MUST MODEL EVALUATION EXERCISE: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF MODELLING RESULTS

The first validation exercise of the COST action 732 lead to a substantial number of simulation results for comparison with the MUST wind tunnel experiments. Validation metrics for selected simulation results of the flow field and the concentrations are presented and compared to the state of the art. In addition mean metrics and corresponding scatter limits are computed from the individual results

THE MUST MODEL EVALUATION EXERCISE: PATTERNS IN MODEL PERFORMANCE

As part of the COST 732 action more than a dozen different research groups have modelled the MUST experiment, as simulated in a wind tunnel. The model evaluation guidance developed within COST 732 recommends \u27exploratory data analysis\u27 as one of the elements in model validation. Experience has shown that such exploratory analysis is crucial to reveal shortcomings of models that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Conditions are best for detecting common patterns and anomalies if you have a situation where several models are put into a common framework – like the case at hand. The available material provides a unique opportunity to identify and explore patterns within model performance