The Relationship between Arousal, Personality, and Perception of Control in a Gambling Task

The somatic marker hypothesis posits that physiological arousal is partially responsible for decision-making behavior. Arousal, measured by skin conductance responses (SCR), increases before deck choice in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). These markers co-vary with performance -- pathological gamblers lack these markers and perform poorly. Personality also modulates IGT behavior – high-novelty-seeking (NS) individuals tend to perform worse. In the IGT, participants decide which deck to select, creating a potential confound between personality, performance, and arousal. For example, high-NS individuals select the bad decks more often, potentially causing habituation and a muted SCR. The first goal of this research was to replicate the finding that personality modulates arousal in a task which removes these confounds. Participants selected a series of cards from two decks. Each card was either a win or loss. Real money was used. To remove the potential confound between choice and outcome, all participants experienced the same outcomes regardless of choice. SCR was measured during the task. Personality characteristics previously shown to modulate gambling behavior, such as sensation seeking (SS), were measured. Arousal may also occur during other phases of gambling, for example, before or after the outcome is revealed. To date, few studies have examined the relationship between arousal in these different phases. The second goal was to determine this relationship. The phases of gambling (pre-choice, anticipation, and outcome) were temporally separated to allow for precise SCR measurement in each phase. The final goal was to determine the relationship between perceived control and physiological arousal. An \u27illusion of control\u27, e.g., pulling the lever on a slot machine, promotes gambling, especially in pathological gamblers. Little work has addressed the relationship between personality, control, and arousal. In different sessions, participants either selected the next card or the next card was selected for them. SS decreased arousal during all three gambling phases. The perception of control decreased arousal during the pre-choice phase only. This latter effect was strongest for low-SS individuals. The ramifications of this study are clear: identifying how physiological responses vary with personality opens up avenues for potential treatment of problem gambling

Проектирование оборудования автоцистерны для применения в подразделениях добровольной пожарной охраны на базе специального автомобиля АРС-14

Актуальность данной работы заключается в том, что пожары с течением времени охватывают большую территорию и наносит значительный экономический ущерб сельским поселениям, удаленным на значительное расстояние от подразделений ФПС МЧС России. В связи с этим укомплектование добровольно пожарных команд ВДПО является решением данной проблемы. Целью данной работы является повышение эффективности ведения пожаротушения подразделениями ВДПО.The relevance of this work is that fires over time cover a large area and cause significant economic damage to rural settlements remote from a significant distance from the units of the Federal Emergency Service of Russia. In this regard, the manning of volunteer firefighters VDPO is the solution to this problem. The purpose of this work is to increase the efficiency of firefighting by VDPO units

Novel botanical drug DA-9803 prevents deficits in Alzheimer’s mouse models

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by deposition of amyloid plaques and disruption of neural circuitry, leading to cognitive decline. Animal models of AD deposit senile plaques and exhibit structural and functional deficits in neurons and neural networks. An effective treatment would prevent or restore these deficits, including calcium dyshomeostasis observed with in-vivo imaging. Methods: We examined the effects of DA-9803, a multimodal botanical drug, in 5XFAD and APP/PS1 transgenic mice which underwent daily oral treatment with 30 or 100 mg/kg DA-9803 or vehicle alone. Behavioral testing and longitudinal imaging of amyloid deposits and intracellular calcium in neurons with multiphoton microscopy was performed. Results: Chronic administration of DA-9803 restored behavioral deficits in 5XFAD mice and reduced amyloid-β levels. DA-9803 also prevented progressive amyloid plaque deposition in APP/PS1 mice. Elevated calcium, detected in a subset of neurons before the treatment, was restored and served as a functional indicator of treatment efficacy in addition to the behavioral readout. In contrast, mice treated with vehicle alone continued to progressively accumulate amyloid plaques and calcium overload. Conclusions: In summary, treatment with DA-9803 prevented structural and functional outcome measures in mouse models of AD. Thus, DA-9803 shows promise as a novel therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13195-018-0338-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A [4Fe-4S]-Fe(CO)(CN)-L-cysteine intermediate is the first organometallic precursor in [FeFe] hydrogenase H-cluster bioassembly.

Biosynthesis of the [FeFe] hydrogenase active site (the 'H-cluster') requires the interplay of multiple proteins and small molecules. Among them, the radical S-adenosylmethionine enzyme HydG, a tyrosine lyase, has been proposed to generate a complex that contains an Fe(CO)2(CN) moiety that is eventually incorporated into the H-cluster. Here we describe the characterization of an intermediate in the HydG reaction: a [4Fe-4S][(Cys)Fe(CO)(CN)] species, 'Complex A', in which a CO, a CN- and a cysteine (Cys) molecule bind to the unique 'dangler' Fe site of the auxiliary [5Fe-4S] cluster of HydG. The identification of this intermediate-the first organometallic precursor to the H-cluster-validates the previously hypothesized HydG reaction cycle and provides a basis for elucidating the biosynthetic origin of other moieties of the H-cluster

DEVELOPMENT OF A FIELD EXPERIMENT OF CO 2 STORAGE IN COAL SEAMS IN THE UPPER SILESIAN BASIN OF POLAND (RECOPOL)

ABSTRACT In 2001 the RECOPOL project, which aims at the development of the first European field demonstration of CO 2 sequestration in subsurface coal seams, started. The required research, design and operation of the pilot field test is executed by an international consortium of research institutes, universities and industrial partners. A site was selected in the Silesian Basin in Poland where two CBM-wells are present at short distance from each other. One injection well will be drilled in between; drilling is scheduled in spring 2003. Injection is planned to start in the summer of 2003 and will continue until the end of 2004. Reservoir modelling shows that the distance between the injection well and the updip production well should be less than 200 m to increase the chance of breakthrough of CO 2 within the test period. Breakthrough is important for a thorough understanding of the process. After and during the injection period monitoring will be performed by direct measurements of CO 2 -concentration and by time lapse seismic monitoring

β-globin haplotypes in normal and hemoglobinopathic individuals from Reconcavo Baiano, State of Bahia, Brazil

Five restriction site polymorphisms in the β-globin gene cluster (HincII-5‘ ε, HindIII-G γ, HindIII-A γ, HincII- ψβ1 and HincII-3‘ ψβ1) were analyzed in three populations (n = 114) from Reconcavo Baiano, State of Bahia, Brazil. The groups included two urban populations from the towns of Cachoeira and Maragojipe and one rural Afro-descendant population, known as the “quilombo community”, from Cachoeira municipality. The number of haplotypes found in the populations ranged from 10 to 13, which indicated higher diversity than in the parental populations. The haplotypes 2 (+ - - - -), 3 (- - - - +), 4 (- + - - +) and 6 (- + + - +) on the βA chromosomes were the most common, and two haplotypes, 9 (- + + + +) and 14 (+ + - - +), were found exclusively in the Maragojipe population. The other haplotypes (1, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16) had lower frequencies. Restriction site analysis and the derived haplotypes indicated homogeneity among the populations. Thirty-two individuals with hemoglobinopathies (17 sickle cell disease, 12 HbSC disease and 3 HbCC disease) were also analyzed. The haplotype frequencies of these patients differed significantly from those of the general population. In the sickle cell disease subgroup, the predominant haplotypes were BEN (Benin) and CAR (Central African Republic), with frequencies of 52.9% and 32.4%, respectively. The high frequency of the BEN haplotype agreed with the historical origin of the afro-descendant population in the state of Bahia. However, this frequency differed from that of Salvador, the state capital, where the CAR and BEN haplotypes have similar frequencies, probably as a consequence of domestic slave trade and subsequent internal migrations to other regions of Brazil

JDM treatment with rituximab Personal non-commercial use only

ABSTRACT. Objective. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) in off-trial patients. Methods. We conducted a multicenter prospective study of patients with JDM included in the French Autoimmunity and Rituximab (AIR) registry. Results. Nine patients with severe JDM were studied. The main indication for RTX treatment was severe and/or refractory muscle involvement (7 patients), severe calcinosis (1 patient), or severe chronic abdominal pain associated with abdominal lipomatosis (1 patient). RTX was associated with corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs, and plasma exchange therapy in 9/9, 5/9, and 2/9 patients, respectively. Mild infections of the calcinosis sites occurred in 2 patients and an infusion-related event in 1. Complete clinical response was achieved in 3/6 patients treated with RTX for muscle involvement. In these responders steroid therapy was stopped or tapered to < 15% of the baseline dosage, with no relapse, with a followup ranging from 1.3 to 3 years. Calcinosis did not improve in the 6 affected patients. Conclusion. This small series suggests that rituximab may be effective for treating muscle and skin involvement in a small subset of children with severe JDM, and that its safety profile was satisfactory. Further studies are needed to identify predictive factors of response to RTX in patients with sever