Tilted frames of reference have similar effects on perception of the gravitational vertical and the planning of vertical saccadic eye movements

We investigated the effects of a tilted reference frame (i.e., allocentric visual context) on perception of the gravitational vertical and saccadic eye movements along a planned egocentric vertical path. Participants (n=5) in a darkened room fixated a point in the center of a circle on an LCD display, and decided which of two sequentially presented dots was closer to the unmarked ‘6 o’clock’ position on that circle (i.e., straight down towards their feet). The slope of their perceptual psychometric functions showed that participants were able to locate which dot was nearer the vertical with a precision of 1-2°. For three of the participants, a square frame centered at fixation and tilted (in the roll direction) 5.6° from the vertical caused a strong perceptual bias, manifest as a shift in the psychometric function, in the direction of the traditional ‘rod and frame’ effect, without affecting precision. The other two participants showed negligible or no equivalent biases. The same subjects participated in the saccade version of the task, in which they were instructed to shift their gaze to the 6 o’clock position as soon as the central fixation point disappeared. The participants who showed perceptual biases showed biases of similar magnitude in their saccadic end points, with a strong correlation between perceptual and saccadic biases across all subjects. Tilting of the head 5.6° reduced both perceptual and saccadic biases in all but one observer, who developed a strong saccadic bias. Otherwise, the overall pattern and significant correlations between results remained the same. We conclude that our observers' saccades-to-the-vertical were dominated by perceptual input, which outweighed any gravitational or head-centered input

Low-Cycle Fatigue of Ultra-Fine-Grained Cryomilled 5083 Aluminum Alloy

The cyclic deformation behavior of cryomilled (CM) AA5083 alloys was compared to that of conventional AA5083-H131. The materials studied were a 100 pct CM alloy with a Gaussian grain size average of 315 nm and an alloy created by mixing 85 pct CM powder with 15 pct unmilled powder before consolidation to fabricate a plate with a bimodal grain size distribution with peak averages at 240 nm and 1.8 μm. Although the ultra-fine-grain (UFG) alloys exhibited considerably higher tensile strengths than those of the conventional material, the results from plastic-strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue tests demonstrate that all three materials exhibit identical fatigue lives across a range of plastic strain amplitudes. The CM materials exhibited softening during the first cycle, similar to other alloys produced by conventional powder metallurgy, followed by continual hardening to saturation before failure. The results reported in this study show that fatigue deformation in the CM material is accompanied by slight grain growth, pinning of dislocations at the grain boundaries, and grain rotation to produce macroscopic slip bands that localize strain, creating a single dominant fatigue crack. In contrast, the conventional alloy exhibits a cell structure and more diffuse fatigue damage accumulation

Ultraviolet mutagenesis and inducible DNA repair in Caulobacter crescentus

The ability to reactivate ultraviolet (UV) damaged phage ΦCbK (W-reactivation) is induced by UV irradiation of Caulobacter crescentus cells. Induction of W-reactivation potential is specific for phage ΦCbK, requires protein synthesis, and is greatly reduced in the presence of the rec-526 mutation. The induction signal generated by UV irradiation is transient, lasting about 1 1/2–2 h at 30°C; if chloramphenicol is present during early times after UV irradiation, induction of W-reactivation does not occur. Induction is maximal when cells are exposed to 5–10 J/m 2 of UV, a dose that also results in considerable mutagenesis of the cells. Taken together, these observations demonstrate the existence of a UV inducible, protein synthesis requiring, transiently signalled, rec -requiring DNA repair system analogous to W-reactivation in Escherichia coli . In addition, C. crescentus also has an efficient photoreactivation system that reverses UV damage in the presence of strong visible light.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47557/1/438_2004_Article_BF00329935.pd

Effects of the fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor URB597 on coping behavior under challenging conditions in mice

RATIONALE: Recent evidence suggests that in addition to controlling emotional behavior in general, endocannabinoid signaling is engaged in shaping behavioral responses to challenges. This important function of endocannabinoids is still poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: Here we investigated the impact of blockade of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the degrading enzyme of anandamide on behavioral responses induced by challenges of different intensity. METHODS: Mice treated with FAAH inhibitor URB597 were either manually restrained on their backs (back test) or received foot-shocks. RESULTS: The behavior of mice showed bimodal distribution in the back test: they either predominantly showed escape attempts or equally distributed time between passivity and escape. URB597 increased escapes in animals with low escape scores. No effects were noticed in mice showing high escape scores, which is likely due to a ceiling effect. We hypothesized that stronger stressors would wash out individual differences in coping; therefore, we exposed mice to foot-shocks that decreased locomotion and increased freezing in all mice. URB597 ameliorated both responses. The re-exposure of mice to the shock cage 14 days later without delivering shocks or treatment was followed by reduced and fragmented sleep as shown by electrophysiological recordings. Surprisingly, sleep was more disturbed after the reminder than after shocks in rats receiving vehicle before foot-shocks. These reminder-induced disturbances were abolished by URB597 administered before shocks. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that FAAH blockade has an important role in the selection of behavioral responses under challenging conditions and-judging from its long-term effects-that it influences the cognitive appraisal of the challenge

Haptic Edge Detection Through Shear

Most tactile sensors are based on the assumption that touch depends on measuring pressure. However, the pressure distribution at the surface of a tactile sensor cannot be acquired directly and must be inferred from the deformation field induced by the touched object in the sensor medium. Currently, there is no consensus as to which components of strain are most informative for tactile sensing. Here, we propose that shape-related tactile information is more suitably recovered from shear strain than normal strain. Based on a contact mechanics analysis, we demonstrate that the elastic behavior of a haptic probe provides a robust edge detection mechanism when shear strain is sensed. We used a jamming-based robot gripper as a tactile sensor to empirically validate that shear strain processing gives accurate edge information that is invariant to changes in pressure, as predicted by the contact mechanics study. This result has implications for the design of effective tactile sensors as well as for the understanding of the early somatosensory processing in mammals

Genetic Deletion of the Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ Receptor in the Rat Confers Resilience to the Development of Drug Addiction

The nociceptin (NOP) receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor whose natural ligand is the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide. Evidence from pharmacological studies suggests that the N/OFQ system is implicated in the regulation of several addiction-related phenomena, such as drug intake, withdrawal and relapse. Here, to further explore the role of NOP system in addiction, we used NOP (-/-) rats to study the motivation for cocaine, heroin and alcohol self-administration in the absence of N/OFQ function. Conditioned place preference (CPP) and saccharin (0.2% w/v) self-administration were also investigated. Results showed that NOP (-/-) rats self-administer less cocaine (0.25, 0.125 or 0.5 mg/infusion) both under a Fixed Ratio 1 and a Progressive Ratio schedule of reinforcement compared to wild type (Wt) controls. Consistently, cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was able to induce CPP in Wt but not in NOP (-/-). When NOP (-/-) rats were tested for heroin (20 μg/infusion) and ethanol (10% v/v) self-administration, they showeda significantly lower drug intake compared to Wt. Conversely, saccharin self-administration was not affected by NOP deletion, excluding the possibility of nonspecific learning deficits or generalized disruption of reward mechanisms in NOP (-/-) rats. These findings were confirmed with pharmacological experiments using two selective NOP antagonists, SB-612111 and LY2817412. Both drugs attenuated alcohol self-administration in Wt rats but not in NOP (-/-) rats. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that genetic deletion of NOP receptors confers resilience to drug abuse and support a role for NOP receptor antagonism as a potential treatment option for drug addiction.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 26 August 2016. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.171

Association study of functional genetic variants of innate immunity related genes in celiac disease

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggest that the innate immune system is implicated in the early events of celiac disease (CD) pathogenesis. In this work for the first time we have assessed the relevance of different proinflammatory mediators typically related to innate immunity in CD predisposition. METHODS: We performed a familial study in which 105 celiac families characterized by the presence of an affected child with CD were genotyped for functional polymorphisms located at regulatory regions of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1RN, IL-18, RANTES and MCP-1 genes. Familial data was analysed with a transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) that revealed no statistically significant differences in the transmission pattern of the different genetic markers considered. RESULTS: The TDT analysis for IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1RN, IL-18, and MCP-1 genes genetic variants did not reveal biased transmission to the affected offspring. Only a borderline association of RANTES promoter genetic variants with CD predisposition was observed. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the analysed polymorphisms of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1RN, IL-18, RANTES and MCP-1 genes do not seem to play a major role in CD genetic predisposition in our population