Vasopressinergic modulation of stress responses in the central amygdala of the Roman high-avoidance and low-avoidance rat

The central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA) is selectively involved in the passive component of the behavioral (immobility) and the accompanying parasympathetic response during conditioned, stressful environmental challenges. Vasopressinergic mechanisms in the brain seem to play a role in these stress responses. The effects of the neuropeptides arginine-8-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) on modulating CEA activity during conditioned stress of inescapable footshock were studied in male Roman high-avoidance (RHA/Verh) and low-avoidance (RLA/Verh) rats, psychogenetically selected on the basis of shuttle-box acquisition behavior. In RLA/Verh rats, the cardiac and behavioral responses to the conditioned emotional stressor were bradycardia and immobility, suggesting an important role for the CEA in these rats. The RHA/Verh rats, however, failed to show any change in heart rate or immobility in response to a conditioned stress situation. The low dose of AVP (20 pg) in the CEA of conscious RLA/Verh rats caused an enhancement of the stress-induced bradycardiac and immobility response. However, the high dose of AVP (2 ng) and OXT (200 pg) attenuated the bradycardiac and immobility responses in the RLA/Verh rats. Infusion of AVP and OXT in the RHA/Verh rats failed to induce any change in heart rate nr immobility. Binding studies revealed that the AVP receptor selectively binds AVP with high affinity. In contrast, the OXT receptor recognizes both AVP and OXT with a similar (but lower) affinity. This suggests that the behavioral and autonomic responses of the high dose of AVP may be caused by OXT receptor stimulation. In conclusion, on the basis of the present results one may hypothesize that CEA differences in AVP and OXT innervation and/or receptor densities may contribute to the differences in coping strategy found in these animals.

Central amygdala, stress and adaption

In this thesis the results were presented of studies that were designed to provide more insight in the role of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA) in the adaptation to environmental demands. The experiments were performed in several situations, in which rats react either directly to aversive stimuli or to an expected (conditioned) aversive stimulus with distinct behavioral responses accompanied by diverse patterns of autonomic and neuroendocrine alterations. Zie: General discussion

Data Quality Challenges in Net-Work Automation Systems Case Study of a Multinational Financial Services Corporation

With the emerging trends of IPv6 rollout, Bring Your Own Device, virtualization, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, corporations are continuously facing challenges regarding data collection and analysis processes for multiple purposes. These challenges can also be applied to network monitoring practices: available data is used not only to assess network capacity and latency, but to identify possible security breaches and bottlenecks in network performance. This study will focus on assessing the collected network data from a multinational financial services corporation on its quality and attempts to link the concept of network data quality with process automation of network management and monitoring. Information Technology (IT) can be perceived as the lifeblood within the financial services industry, yet within the discussed case study the corporation strives to cut down operational expenditures on IT by 2,5 to 5 percent. This study combines both theoretical and practical approaches by conducting a literature review followed by a case study of abovementioned financial organization. The literature review focuses on (a) the importance of data quality, (b) IP Address Management (IPAM), and (c) network monitoring practices. The case study discusses the implementation of a network automation solution powered by Infoblox hardware and software, which should be capable of scanning all devices in the network along with DHCP lease history while having the convenience of easy IP address management mapping. Their own defined monitoring maturity levels are also taken into consideration. Twelve data quality issues have been identified using the network data management platform during the timeline of the research which potentially hinder the network management lifecycle of monitoring, configuration, and deployment. While network management systems are not designed to identify, document, and repair data quality issues, representing the network’s performance in terms of capability, latency and behavior is dependent on data quality on the dimensions of completeness, timeliness and accuracy. The conclusion of the research is that the newly implemented network automation system has potential to achieve better decision-making for relevant stakeholders, and to eliminate business silos by centralizing network data to one platform, supporting business strategy on an operational, tactical, and strategic level; however, data quality is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome to achieve process automation and ultimately to achieve a passive network appliance monitoring system.siirretty Doriast

Where Symbolism Prospers:An Analysis of the Impact on Enabling Rights of Labour Standards Provisions in Trade Agreements with South Korea

Can trade agreements be used as a tool for improving the conditions under which people work? The evidence from this study suggests this is not the case, even if the country in question—in this instance South Korea—is a well-developed and democratic country. While over the past six years South Korea has taken part in a number of Free Trade Agreements containing labour provisions, the impact of these on enabling rights has been rather low. This would suggest that without the willingness to enforce these parts of the agreements, or without the willingness to implement them on the Korean side, the inclusion of such provisions remains a fairly symbolic undertaking