Prefrontal Activity Links Nonoverlapping Events in Memory

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays an important role in memory. By maintaining a working memory buffer, neurons in prelimbic (PL) mPFC may selectively contribute to learning associations between stimuli that are separated in time, as in trace fear conditioning (TFC). Until now, evidence for this bridging role was largely descriptive. Here we used optogenetics to silence neurons in the PL mPFC of rats during learning in TFC. Memory formation was prevented when mPFC was silenced specifically during the interval separating the cue and shock. Our results provide support for a working memory function for these cells and indicate that associating two noncontiguous stimuli requires bridging activity in PL mPFC

Isolation of keratinophilic fungi from soil in Isfahanprovince, Iran

Objective. — To evaluate the epidemiology of keratophilic fungi in Isfahan province, Iran.Material and methods. — The present research has been conducted on soil samples collected from 16 townships of Isfahan province. For isolate geophilic dermatophytes and keratinophilic fungi, the keratin baiting technique has been applied. Results. — Of 800 soil samples examined, 588 (73.5%) keratinophilic fungi were isolated. The present studied recognized 727 isolates including 16 species of 11 genus, as follows: Chrysosporium keratinophilum (31.4%), C. pannicola (16.9%), C. tropicum (15.4%), Microsporum gypseum (12.4%), Chrysosporium spp. (9.9%), C. indicum (7%), Sepedonium spp. (3.3%), Malbranchia spp. (1%), Trichophyton terrestre (0.8%), T. ajelloi and Paecilomyces lilacinus (0.4%), Engyodontium album and Acremonium spp. (0.3%), Curvularia spp., Fusarium spp. and Ulocladium spp. (0.1%). In this study, E. album was isolated for the first time in this country (Iran). The frequency these keratinophilic fungi are discussed in relation to different agents such as soil pH. Conclusion. — This study contributes to the knowledge of keratophilic fungi in Iran. # 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserve

PENGARUH KUALITAS PRODUK, HARGA DAN LOKASI TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PRODUK DI MR KOKI FRIED CHICKEN PALEMBANG

Laporan Akhir ini dibuat dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana kualitas produk, harga dan lokasi dapat mempengaruhi keputusan pembelian produk di Mr Koki Freid Chicken Palembang. Penulis memperoleh data daricara wawancara dengan pemilik usaha, membagikan kuesioner kepada para pelanggan, serta studi kepustakaan. Populasi didapatkan sebanyak 6.098 konsumen.Dari perhitungan menggunakan rumus slovin, data primer diperoleh dari kuesioner yang disebarkan secara Accidental Sampling sebanyak 101 responden.Analisa data menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan interpretasi skor sebagai rumus untuk perhitungan kuesioner.Kualitas Produk memperoleh hasil sebesar 76,26%, harga memperoleh hasil sebesar 77,45%, lokasi memperoleh hasil sebesar 76,94%, keputusan Pembelian memperoleh hasil sebesar 78,27%. Kumpulan variabel tersebut mendapatkan interpretasi skor “Tinggi”. Rekapitulasi terhadap keseluruhan hasil interpretasi skor setiap kuesioner memperoleh hasil 77,23% dengan interpretasi skor tergolong “Tinggi”.Penulis menyarankan penilaian positif konsumen terhadap kualitas produk, harga dan lokasi perlu dipertahankan dengan cara tetap mempertahankan kualitas yang telah ada dan juga memperhatikan tren yang sedang berlangsung, memperhatikan perkembangan harga yang dijual oleh pesaing dengan tetap mempertahankan porsi dan kualitas yang telah baik, untuk lokasi Mr Koki Fried Chicken sudah baik. Namun mengenai lokasi parkir, penulis menyarankan agar kiranya pihak Mr Koki Fried Chicken menyediakan lahan parkir tersendiri dan tidak mengambil jalan raya

Testing for rational speculative bubbles in the Brazilian residential real-estate market

Speculative bubbles have been occurring periodically in local or global real estate markets and are considered a potential cause of economic crises. In this context, the detection of explosive behaviors in the financial market and the implementation of early warning diagnosis tests are of critical importance. The recent increase in Brazilian housing prices has risen concerns that the Brazilian economy may have a speculative housing bubble. In the present paper, we employ a recently proposed recursive unit root test in order to identify possible speculative bubbles in data from the Brazilian residential real-estate market. The empirical results show evidence for speculative price bubbles both in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the two main Brazilian cities

Antifungal susceptibility testing of <i>Candida </i>species isolated from the immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran

Abstract Background Antifungal susceptibility testing is a subject of interest in the field of medical mycology. The aim of the present study were the distributions and antifungal susceptibility patterns of various Candida species isolated from colonized and infected immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran. Methods In totally, 846 Candida species were isolated from more than 4000 clinical samples and identified by the API 20 C AUX system. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution method according to CLSI. Results The most frequent Candida species isolated from all patients was Candida albicans (510/846). The epidemiological cutoff value and percentage of wild-type species for amphotericin B and fluconazole in Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml (95%) and 4 μg/ml (96%); 1 μg/ml (95%) and 8 μg/ml (95%); 0.5 μg/ml (99%) and 19 μg/ml (98%); and 4 μg/ml (95%) and 64 μg/ml (95%), respectively. The MIC90 and epidemiological cutoff values to posaconazole in Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml. There were significant differences between infecting and colonizing isolates of Candida tropicalis in MIC 90 values of amphotericin B, and isolates of Candida glabrata in values of amphotericin B, caspofungin, and voriconazole (P < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the susceptibility patterns of Candida species (colonizing and infecting isolates) in immunocompromised patients are not the same and acquired resistance was seen in some species

Speculative bubbles or explosive fundamentals in stock prices? New evidence from SADF and GSADF tests

This paper uses recently developed sequential ADF tests to distinguish between rational speculative bubbles and explosive fundamentals in the US Stock market. The sequential ADF tests are shown to be more sensitive than the conventional ADF test. Results also suggest the more refined GSADF test may deliver more consistent results compared to the SADF test. We find strong evidence of explosive behavior in real stock prices that cannot be attributed to explosive fundamentals. We find renewed evidence of a stock market bubble during the dot com boom but no evidence of a bubble at other times

Rational speculative bubbles: an empirical investigation of the London Stock Exchange

In recent years, a sharp divergence of London Stock Exchange equity prices from dividends has been noted. In this paper, we examine whether this divergence can be explained by reference to the existence of a speculative bubble. Three different empirical methodologies are used: variance bounds tests, bubble specification tests, and cointegration tests based on both ex post and ex ante data. We find that, stock prices diverged significantly from their fundamental values during the late 1990's, and that this divergence has all the characteristics of a bubble

Crypto-currency bubbles: an application of the Phillips–Shi–Yu (2013) methodology on Mt. Gox bitcoin prices

The creation of bitcoin heralded the arrival of digital or crypto-currency and has been regarded as a phenomenon. Since its introduction, it has experienced a meteoric rise in price and rapid growth accompanied by huge volatility swings, and also attracted plenty of controversies which even involved law enforcement agencies. Hence, claims abound that bitcoin has been characterized by bubbles ready to burst any time (e.g. the recent collapse of bitcoin’s biggest exchange, Mt Gox). This has earned plenty of coverage in the media but surprisingly not in the academic literature. We therefore fill this knowledge gap. We conduct an econometric investigation of the existence of bubbles in the bitcoin market based on a recently developed technique that is robust in detecting bubbles – that of Phillips et al. (2013a). Over the period 2010–2014, we detected a number of short-lived bubbles; most importantly, we found three huge bubbles in the latter part of the period 2011–2013 lasting from 66 to 106 days, with the last and biggest one being the one that ‘broke the camel’s back’ – the demise of the Mt Gox exchange

Treatment challenges in and outside a specialist network setting: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms comprise a group of rare tumours with special biology, an often indolent behaviour and particular diagnostic and therapeutic requirements. The specialized biochemical tests and radiological investigations, the complexity of surgical options and the variety of medical treatments that require individual tailoring, mandate a multidisciplinary approach that can be optimally achieved through an organized network. The present study describes currents concepts in the management of these tumours as well as an insight into the challenges of delivering the pathway in and outside a Network

Testicular germ-cell tumours and penile squamous cell carcinoma: Appropriate management makes the difference

Germ-cell tumours (GCT) of the testis and penile squamous cell carcinoma (PeSCC) are a rare and a very rare uro-genital cancers, respectively. Both tumours are well defined entities in terms of management, where specific recommendations - in the form of continuously up-to-dated guide lines-are provided. Impact of these tumour is relevant. Testicular GCT affects young, healthy men at the beginning of their adult life. PeSCC affects older men, but a proportion of these patients are young and the personal consequences of the disease may be devastating. Deviation from recommended management may be a reason of a significant prognostic worsening, as proper treatment favourably impacts on these tumours, dramatically on GCT and significantly on PeSCC. RARECAREnet data may permit to analyse how survivals may vary according to geographical areas, histology and age, leading to assume that non-homogeneous health-care resources may impact the cure and definitive outcomes. In support of this hypothesis, some epidemiologic datasets and clinical findings would indicate that survival may improve when appropriate treatments are delivered, linked to a different accessibility to the best health institutions, as a consequence of geographical, cultural and economic barriers. Finally, strong clues based on epidemiological and clinical data support the hypothesis that treatment delivered at reference centres or under the aegis of a qualified multi-institutional network is associated with a better prognosis of patients with these malignancies. The ERN EURACAN represents the best current European effort to answer this clinical need