Nicotine enhances an auditory Event-Related Potential component which is inversely related to habituation

Nicotine is a psychoactive substance that is commonly consumed in the context of music. However, the reason why music and nicotine are coconsumed is uncertain. One possibility is that nicotine affects cognitive processes relevant to aspects of music appreciation in a beneficial way. Here we investigated this possibility using Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). Participants underwent a simple decision-making task (to maintain attentional focus), responses to which were signaled by auditory stimuli. Unlike most previous research looking at the effects of nicotine on auditory processing, we used tones of different pitch, a fundamental element of music. In addition, unlike most other studies, we tested non-smoking subjects to avoid withdrawal-related complications. We found that nicotine (4.0 mg, administered as gum) increased P2 amplitude in the frontal region. Since a decrease in P2 amplitude and latency is related to habituation processes, and an enhanced ability to disengage from irrelevant stimuli, our findings suggest that nicotine may cause a reduction in habituation, resulting in non-smokers being less able to adapt to repeated stimuli. A corollary of that decrease in adaptation may be that nicotine extends the temporal window during which a listener is able and willing to engage with a piece of music

Haloperidol differentially modulates prepulse inhibition and p50 suppression in healthy humans stratified for low and high gating levels

Schizophrenia patients exhibit deficits in sensory gating as indexed by reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) and P50 suppression, which have been linked to psychotic symptom formation and cognitive deficits. Although recent evidence suggests that atypical antipsychotics might be superior over typical antipsychotics in reversing PPI and P50 suppression deficits not only in schizophrenia patients, but also in healthy volunteers exhibiting low levels of PPI, the impact of typical antipsychotics on these gating measures is less clear. To explore the impact of the dopamine D2-like receptor system on gating and cognition, the acute effects of haloperidol on PPI, P50 suppression, and cognition were assessed in 26 healthy male volunteers split into subgroups having low vs high PPI or P50 suppression levels using a placebo-controlled within-subject design. Haloperidol failed to increase PPI in subjects exhibiting low levels of PPI, but attenuated PPI in those subjects with high sensorimotor gating levels. Furthermore, haloperidol increased P50 suppression in subjects exhibiting low P50 gating and disrupted P50 suppression in individuals expressing high P50 gating levels. Independently of drug condition, high PPI levels were associated with superior strategy formation and execution times in a subset of cognitive tests. Moreover, haloperidol impaired spatial working memory performance and planning ability. These findings suggest that dopamine D2-like receptors are critically involved in the modulation of P50 suppression in healthy volunteers, and to a lesser extent also in PPI among subjects expressing high sensorimotor gating levels. Furthermore, the results suggest a relation between sensorimotor gating and working memory performance

Establishing a marine monitoring programme to assess antibiotic resistance: a case study from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region

The World Health Organization considers antimicrobial resistance as one of the most pressing global issues which poses a fundamental threat to human health, development, and security. Due to demographic and environmental factors, the marine environment of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region may be particularly susceptible to the threat of antimicrobial resistance. However, there is currently little information on the presence of AMR in the GCC marine environment to inform the design of appropriate targeted surveillance activities. The objective of this study was to develop, implement and conduct a rapid regional baseline monitoring survey of the presence of AMR in the GCC marine environment, through the analysis of seawater collected from high-risk areas across four GCC states: (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates). 560 Escherichia coli strains were analysed as part of this monitoring programme between December 2018 and May 2019. Multi-drug resistance (resistance to three or more structural classes of antimicrobials) was observed in 32.5% of tested isolates. High levels of reduced susceptibility to ampicillin (29.6%), nalidixic acid (27.9%), tetracycline (27.5%), sulfamethoxazole (22.5%) and trimethoprim (22.5%) were observed. Reduced susceptibility to the high priority critically important antimicrobials: azithromycin (9.3%), ceftazidime (12.7%), cefotaxime (12.7%), ciprofloxacin (44.6%), gentamicin (2.7%) and tigecycline (0.5%), was also noted. A subset of 173 isolates was whole genome sequenced, and high carriage rates of qnrS1 (60/173) and bla CTX-M-15 (45/173) were observed, correlating with reduced susceptibility to the fluoroquinolones and third generation cephalosporins, respectively. This study is important because of the resistance patterns observed, the demonstrated utility in applying genomic-based approaches to routine microbiological monitoring, and the overall establishment of a transnational AMR surveillance framework focussed on coastal and marine environments

Association Analysis of 94 Candidate Genes and Schizophrenia-Related Endophenotypes

While it is clear that schizophrenia is highly heritable, the genetic basis of this heritability is complex. Human genetic, brain imaging, and model organism studies have met with only modest gains. A complementary research tactic is to evaluate the genetic substrates of quantitative endophenotypes with demonstrated deficits in schizophrenia patients. We used an Illumina custom 1,536-SNP array to interrogate 94 functionally relevant candidate genes for schizophrenia and evaluate association with both the qualitative diagnosis of schizophrenia and quantitative endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Subjects included 219 schizophrenia patients and normal comparison subjects of European ancestry and 76 schizophrenia patients and normal comparison subjects of African ancestry, all ascertained by the UCSD Schizophrenia Research Program. Six neurophysiological and neurocognitive endophenotype test paradigms were assessed: prepulse inhibition (PPI), P50 suppression, the antisaccade oculomotor task, the Letter-Number Span Test, the California Verbal Learning Test-II, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-64 Card Version. These endophenotype test paradigms yielded six primary endophenotypes with prior evidence of heritability and demonstrated schizophrenia-related impairments, as well as eight secondary measures investigated as candidate endophenotypes. Schizophrenia patients showed significant deficits on ten of the endophenotypic measures, replicating prior studies and facilitating genetic analyses of these phenotypes. A total of 38 genes were found to be associated with at least one endophenotypic measure or schizophrenia with an empirical p-value<0.01. Many of these genes have been shown to interact on a molecular level, and eleven genes displayed evidence for pleiotropy, revealing associations with three or more endophenotypic measures. Among these genes were ERBB4 and NRG1, providing further support for a role of these genes in schizophrenia susceptibility. The observation of extensive pleiotropy for some genes and singular associations for others in our data may suggest both converging and independent genetic (and neural) pathways mediating schizophrenia risk and pathogenesis

Snowball Earth climate dynamics and Cryogenian geology–geobiology

Geological evidence indicates that grounded ice sheets reached sea level at all latitudes during the long‐lived Sturtian (717–659 Ma) and Marinoan (ca 645–635 Ma) glaciations. Combined U-­‐Pb and Re-­‐Os geochronology suggests that the Sturtian glacial onset and both terminations were globally synchronous. Geochemical data imply that atmospheric pCO2 was 102x modern at the Marinoan termination, consistent with Snowball Earth hysteresis. Sturtian glaciation followed the breakup of a tropical supercontinent, and its onset coincided with the equatorial emplacement of a large igneous province. Modeling shows that the small thermal inertia of a globally frozen surface reverses the annual-mean Hadley circulation, resulting in equatorial net sublimation and net deposition elsewhere. Oceanic ice thickens, forming a sea glacier that flows gravitationally toward the equator, sustained by the hydrologic cycle and by basal freeze-on and melting. Tropical ice sheets flow faster as CO2 rises, but lose mass and become sensitive to orbital forcing. Dust accumulation in the equatorial zone engenders supraglacial oligotrophic meltwater ecosystems, favorable for cyanobacteria and many eukaryotes. Meltwater flushing through moulins enables organic burial and submarine deposition of subaerially-­‐erupted volcanic ash. The subglacial ocean is turbulent and well­‐mixed, in response to geothermal heating and conductive heat loss through the ice cover, increasing with latitude. Cap carbonates, unique to Snowball Earth terminations, are products of intense weathering and ocean stratification. Whole-­ocean warming and ice-sheet forebulge collapse allow marine coastal inundations to progress long after ice-sheet disappearance. The evolutionary legacy of Snowball Earth is perceptible in fossils and living organisms

Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn

Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region

Ethnic Concentration, Cultural Identity and Immigrant Self-Employment in Switzerland

Immigrant self-employment rates vary considerably across regions in Switzerland. Business ownership provides an alternative to wage labour, where immigrants have to face structural barriers such as the limited knowledge of the local language, or difficulties in fruitfully making use of their own human capital. Despite their historically high unemployment rates with respect to natives, immigrants in Switzerland are less entrepreneurial. It is therefore important to uncover factors that may facilitate the transition from the status of immigrant to the one of economic agent. Among others factors, concentration in ethnic enclaves, as well as accumulated labour market experience and time elapsed since immigration, have been associated to higher business ownership rates. In this paper, we use a cross-section of 2,490 Swiss municipalities in order to investigate the role played by the ethnic concentration of immigrants, as well as cultural factors, in determining self-employment rates