826 research outputs found
Long-range orbitofrontal and amygdala axons show divergent patterns of maturation in the frontal cortex across adolescence.
The adolescent transition from juvenile to adult is marked by anatomical and functional remodeling of brain networks. Currently, the cellular and synaptic level changes underlying the adolescent transition are only coarsely understood. Here, we use two-photon imaging to make time-lapse observations of long-range axons that innervate the frontal cortex in the living brain. We labeled cells in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) and imaged their axonal afferents to the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). We also imaged the apical dendrites of dmPFC pyramidal neurons. Images were taken daily in separate cohorts of juvenile (P24-P28) and young adult mice (P64-P68), ages where we have previously discovered differences in dmPFC dependent decision-making. Dendritic spines were pruned across this peri-adolescent period, while BLA and OFC afferents followed alternate developmental trajectories. OFC boutons showed no decrease in density, but did show a decrease in daily bouton gain and loss with age. BLA axons showed an increase in both bouton density and daily bouton gain at the later age, suggesting a delayed window of enhanced plasticity. Our findings reveal projection specific maturation of synaptic structures within a single frontal region and suggest that stabilization is a more general characteristic of maturation than pruning
First principles investigation of the electronic structure of La2MnNiO6: A room-temperature insulating ferromagnet
Using first principles calculations within DFT based on the full potential
APW+lo method, we calculated the electronic and magnetic structures for the
ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states of La2MnNiO6 and analyzed the site
projected density of states and electronic band structures. Our calculations
show that the ground state of La2MnNiO6 is ferromagnetic insulating with the
magnetization in agreement with Hund's first rule and experimental findings.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Distribution of antibody titer against Salmonella enterica among healthy individuals in nepal
Dopamine neurons create Pavlovian conditioned stimuli with circuit-defined motivational properties.
Environmental cues, through Pavlovian learning, become conditioned stimuli that guide animals toward the acquisition of rewards (for example, food) that are necessary for survival. We tested the fundamental role of midbrain dopamine neurons in conferring predictive and motivational properties to cues, independent of external rewards. We found that brief phasic optogenetic excitation of dopamine neurons, when presented in temporal association with discrete sensory cues, was sufficient to instantiate those cues as conditioned stimuli that subsequently both evoked dopamine neuron activity on their own and elicited cue-locked conditioned behavior. Notably, we identified highly parcellated functions for dopamine neuron subpopulations projecting to different regions of striatum, revealing dissociable dopamine systems for the generation of incentive value and conditioned movement invigoration. Our results indicate that dopamine neurons orchestrate Pavlovian conditioning via functionally heterogeneous, circuit-specific motivational signals to create, gate, and shape cue-controlled behaviors
Histoplasmosis in an immunocompetent host: a rare case report
Histoplasmosis, a systemic mycosis caused by Histoplasma capsulatum manifests clinically in immunocompromised patients as acute or chronic pulmonary infection or as a progressive disseminated disease. In immunocompetent hosts, the disease is usually self-limited or presents as flu-like symptoms. It is endemic in North, Central and South America as well as parts of Europe and Africa. We report a case of a 76-year-old diabetic, HIV negative patient who presented with white nodular patches on the tongue and gingiva which were reported as histoplasmosis on histopathology. He also had idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia and thrombocytopenia
Structural and Magnetic Properties of Trigonal Iron
First principles calculations of the electronic structure of trigonal iron
were performed using density function theory. The results are used to predict
lattice spacings, magnetic moments and elastic properties; these are in good
agreement with experiment for both the bcc and fcc structures. We find however,
that in extracting these quantities great care must be taken in interpreting
numerical fits to the calculated total energies. In addition, the results for
bulk iron give insight into the properties of thin iron films. Thin films grown
on substrates with mismatched lattice constants often have non-cubic symmetry.
If they are thicker than a few monolayers their electronic structure is similar
to a bulk material with an appropriately distorted geometry, as in our trigonal
calculations. We recast our bulk results in terms of an iron film grown on the
(111) surface of an fcc substrate, and find the predicted strain energies and
moments accurately reflect the trends for iron growth on a variety of
substrates.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX,4 tar'd,compressed, uuencoded Postscript figure
Probiotics and Beneficial Microorganisms in Biopreservation of Plant-Based Foods and Beverages
Maintaining the overall quality and shelf life of plant-based food and beverages is particularly important yet challenging to the food industry. Demand for natural preservation techniques has increased with the rising concerns over food safety and consumer awareness, e.g., health consciousness and food trends such as veganism and the demand for clean, labelled foods. Thus, a technique such as biopreservation has the potential to enhance food safety while fostering the quality, originality and naturalness of food. The application of probiotic microorganisms to foods and beverages provides various health benefits in addition to improved shelf life, stability and microbial safety of the food. The provision of probiotics is known to deliver various health benefits for the host’s gut health. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the importance of biopreservation and the role of probiotics in the food industry. An attempt was made to explore the various possibilities of shelf-life enhancement through the use of probiotic microorganisms as biopreservatives. Noticeable improvements in the shelf life of plant-based foods and beverages were observed due to the antimicrobial effects exerted by probiotics and potential probiotic strains which make them useful alternatives to artificially synthesized chemical preservatives
Superconductivity Near Ferromagnetism in MgCNi3
An unusual quasi-two-dimensional heavy band mass van Hove singularity (vHs)
lies very near the Fermi energy in MgCNi3, recently reported to superconduct at
8.5 K. This compound is strongly exchange enhanced and is unstable to
ferromagnetism upon hole doping with 12% Mg --> Na or Li. The 1/4-depleted fcc
(frustrated) Ni sublattice and lack of Fermi surface nesting argues against
competing antiferromagnetic and charge density wave instabilities. We identify
an essentially infinite mass along the M-Gamma line, leading to
quasi-two-dimensionality of this vHs may promote unconventional p-wave pairing
that could coexist with superconductivity.Comment: 4 two-column pages, 4 figure
Exact-exchange density-functional theory for quasi-two-dimensional electron gases
A simple exact-exchange density-functional method for a quasi-two-dimensional
electron gas with variable density is presented. An analytical expression for
the exact-exchange potential with only one occupied subband is provided,
without approximations. When more subbands are occupied the exact-exchange
potential is obtained numerically. The theory shows that, in contradiction with
LDA, the exact-exchange potential exhibits discontinuities and the system
suffers a zero-temperature first-order transition each time a subband is
occupied. Results suggesting that the translational symmetry might be
spontaneously broken at zero temperature are presented. An extension of the
theory to finite temperatures allows to describe a drop in the intersubband
spacing in good quantitative agreement with recent experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
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