REM Sleep and the emotional brain

Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-47).Sleep and emotion have been linked since the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep sixty years ago. Sleep, in particular REM sleep and the dreams it harbors, seems to modulate mood, restoring stability to the weary mind. Scientists have struggled to understand this link through the biological study of the brain, the psychological study of dreaming, and the clinical study of how sleep is affected by psychiatric illness. This thesis examines the history of sleep research in terms of its relationship to emotional processing, both from the physiological and the psychological perspective. We are introduced to the scientists who discovered REM in 1953, to those who tracked the links between the biochemistry of mood and of sleep, and to contemporary researchers who are exploring the link between sleep and mood using brain-scanners and electrodes to study the dreaming brain, and the sleep and dreaming of patients with mood disorders. On our journey we will experience both the progress sleep research has made this century, and the enduring mystery of why humans sleep and dream.by Taylor McGowin Beck.S.M.in Science Writin

March for Science - Dayton, Earth Day

March for Science speech given by Audrey McGowin, PhD in Dayton, Ohio on Earth Day 2017

Evaluating New Herbicides for the Electric Utility Industry

To deliver reliable electricity to consumers on a dependable basis, electric utility companies must control undesirable woody vegetation growing on powerline rights-of-way (ROW). Six study sites were utilized for field experiments conducted in the summers of 2008 and 2009 in Neshoba County, Mississippi. This research focused on brush control on electric utility powerline distribution rights-of-way (ROW) using treatments with a recently formulated herbicide (aminocyclopyrachlor) compared to existing conventional treatments in a standard vegetation treatment program. Aminocyclopyrachlor treatments, regardless of rate or method of application, were ineffective as a stand-alone herbicide on most brush species in the study. Another experiment was conducted in the spring of 2008 on one site in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties, Mississippi to evaluate efficacy of DAS 2706 compared with other selected bareground herbicides. Results of the experiment indicate that DAS 2706 is not a likely candidate for successful stand-alone bareground herbicide treatment

An Analysis of Major Acquisition Reforms through Text Mining and Grounded Theory Design

Cost growth is an established phenomenon within Defense Acquisition that the US Government has attempted to abolish for decades through seemingly endless cycles of reform. Dozens of experts and senior leaders within the acquisition community have published their notions on the reasons for cost growth, nevertheless, legislation has yet to eradicate this presumed conundrum. For this reason, this research is aimed at identifying existing trends within past major Defense Acquisition Reform legislation, as well as in a compendium of views from leaders within the Defense Acquisition community on the efficacy of acquisition reform, to determine the possible disconnect. To accomplish this goal, this research takes a qualitative approach, utilizing various Text Mining methodologies (word frequency, word relationships, term frequency-inverse document frequency, sentiment analysis, and topic modeling), along with Grounded Theory Design, to analyze the major reforms and expert views. The results of this research corroborate the current literature’s claim that past Defense Acquisition reforms have not been able to sufficiently address the root causes of cost growth, and identifies six potential root causes of cost growth: Strategy, the Industrial Base, Risk Management, the Requirements and Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) Processes, the Workforce, and Cost Estimates and the Planning, Programming, Budget, and Execution (PPBE) Process

Intracellular Mycoplasma genitalium infection of human vaginal and cervical epithelial cells elicits distinct patterns of inflammatory cytokine secretion and provides a possible survival niche against macrophage-mediated killing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycoplasma genitalium </it>is an emerging sexually transmitted pathogen that has been associated with significant reproductive tract inflammatory syndromes in women. In addition, the strong association between severity of <it>M. genitalium </it>infection and Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) shedding from the cervix suggests that innate responses to <it>M. genitalium </it>may influence pathogenesis of other sexually transmitted infections. Epithelial cells (ECs) of the reproductive mucosa are the first cells contacted by sexually transmitted pathogens. Therefore, we first characterized the dynamics of intracellular and extracellular localization and resultant innate immune responses from human vaginal, ecto- and endocervical ECs to <it>M. genitalium </it>type strain G37 and a low-pass contemporary isolate, M2300.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both <it>M. genitalium </it>strains rapidly attached to vaginal and cervical ECs by 2 h post-infection (PI). By 3 h PI, <it>M. genitalium </it>organisms also were found in intracellular membrane-bound vacuoles of which approximately 60% were adjacent to the nucleus. Egress of <it>M. genitalium </it>from infected ECs into the culture supernatant was observed but, after invasion, viable intracellular titers were significantly higher than extracellular titers at 24 and 48 h PI. All of the tested cell types responded by secreting significant levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in a pattern consistent with recruitment and stimulation of monocytes and macrophages. Based on the elaborated cytokines, we next investigated the cellular interaction of <it>M. genitalium </it>with human monocyte-derived macrophages and characterized the resultant cytokine responses. Macrophages rapidly phagocytosed <it>M. genitalium </it>resulting in a loss of bacterial viability and a potent pro-inflammatory response that included significant secretion of IL-6 and other cytokines associated with enhanced HIV-1 replication. The macrophage-stimulating capacity of <it>M. genitalium </it>was independent of bacterial viability but was sensitive to heat denaturation and proteinase-K digestion suggesting that <it>M. genitalium </it>protein components are the predominant mediators of inflammation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Collectively, the data indicated that human genital ECs were susceptible and immunologically responsive to <it>M. genitalium </it>infection that likely induced cellular immune responses. Although macrophage phagocytosis was an effective method for <it>M. genitalium </it>killing, intracellular localization within vaginal and cervical ECs may provide <it>M. genitalium </it>a survival niche and protection from cellular immune responses thereby facilitating the establishment and maintenance of reproductive tract infection.</p

FSL-1, a bacterial-derived toll-like receptor 2/6 agonist, enhances resistance to experimental HSV-2 infection

© 2009 Rose et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Examining the reversibility of long-term behavioral disruptions in progeny of maternal SSRI exposure

Serotonergic dysregulation is implicated in numerous psychiatric disorders. Serotonin plays widespread trophic roles during neurodevelopment; thus perturbations to this system during development may increase risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Epidemiological studies have examined association between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment during pregnancy and increased autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in offspring. It is unclear from these studies whether ASD susceptibility is purely related to maternal psychiatric diagnosis, or if treatment poses additional risk. We sought to determine whether maternal SSRI treatment alone or in combination with genetically vulnerable background was sufficient to induce offspring behavior disruptions relevant to ASD. We exposed C57BL/6J or Celf6(+/-) mouse dams to fluoxetine (FLX) during different periods of gestation and lactation and characterized offspring on tasks assessing social communicative interaction and repetitive behavior patterns including sensory sensitivities. We demonstrate robust reductions in pup ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and alterations in social hierarchy behaviors, as well as perseverative behaviors and tactile hypersensitivity. Celf6 mutant mice demonstrate social communicative deficits and perseverative behaviors, without further interaction with FLX. FLX re-exposure in adulthood ameliorates the tactile hypersensitivity yet exacerbates the dominance phenotype. This suggests acute deficiencies in serotonin levels likely underlie the abnormal responses to sensory stimuli, while the social alterations are instead due to altered development of social circuits. These findings indicate maternal FLX treatment, independent of maternal stress, can induce behavioral disruptions in mammalian offspring, thus contributing to our understanding of the developmental role of the serotonin system and the possible risks to offspring of SSRI treatment during pregnancy

Text Mining Analysis of Acquisition Reforms and Expert Views

Legislation, in the form of acquisition reforms, is historically enacted to address perceived cost, schedule, and performance problems in the defense acquisition system. Text mining is utilized to examine five major reforms and a compendium of views from 32 acquisition experts to identify commonalities and disconnects

New Primers Reveal the Presence of a Duplicate Histone H3 in the Marine Turtle Leech Ozobranchus branchiatus

Marine leeches, specific to sea turtles, have been implicated as potential vector organisms in the spread of fibropapillomatosis (FP), a pandemic neoplastic disease with green turtles (Chelonia mydas) having the highest affliction rate. Polymerase chain reaction identified two independent, seemingly functional histone H3 loci for marine turtle leeches Ozobranchus branchiatus collected from C. mydas in Florida and Hawaii. Primers were developed to amplify each product separately. These novel markers will be useful in identifying ectoparasites in FP research, evaluating other histone variants, and chromatin dynamics regulation studies. This poster was created and presented by Triet M. Truong at the Wright State University Chemistry Department posters in the hall event on June 1, 2012 and the results were published in Conservation Genetics Resources (2012), 4, 487-490