Gastrointestinal-projecting neurones in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus exhibit direct and viscerotopically organized sensitivity to orexin

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65136/1/jphysiol.2002.029546.pd

Landscape Changes Influence the Occurrence of the Melioidosis Bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil in Northern Australia

Melioidosis is a severe disease affecting humans and animals in the tropics. It is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which lives in tropical soil and especially occurs in southeast Asia and northern Australia. Despite the recognition that melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease, little is known about the habitat of B. pseudomallei in the environment. We performed a survey in the Darwin area in tropical Australia, screening 809 soil samples for the presence of these bacteria using molecular methods. We found that environmental factors describing the habitat of these bacteria differed between environmentally undisturbed and disturbed sites. At undisturbed sites, B. pseudomallei was primarily found in close proximity to streams and in grass- and roots-rich areas. In disturbed soil, B. pseudomallei was associated with the presence of animals, farming or irrigation. Highest B. pseudomallei counts were retrieved from paddocks, pens and kennels holding livestock and dogs. This study contributes to the elucidation of the habitat of B. pseudomallei in northern Australia. It also raises concerns that B. pseudomallei may spread due to changes in land management

Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV)

BACKGROUND: The OAV questionnaire has been developed to integrate research on altered states of consciousness (ASC). It measures three primary and one secondary dimensions of ASC that are hypothesized to be invariant across ASC induction methods. The OAV rating scale has been in use for more than 20 years and applied internationally in a broad range of research fields, yet its factorial structure has never been tested by structural equation modeling techniques and its psychometric properties have never been examined in large samples of experimentally induced ASC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study conducted a psychometric evaluation of the OAV in a sample of psilocybin (n = 327), ketamine (n = 162), and MDMA (n = 102) induced ASC that was obtained by pooling data from 43 experimental studies. The factorial structure was examined by confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory structural equation modeling, hierarchical item clustering (ICLUST), and multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) modeling. The originally proposed model did not fit the data well even if zero-constraints on non-target factor loadings and residual correlations were relaxed. Furthermore, ICLUST suggested that the "oceanic boundlessness" and "visionary restructuralization" factors could be combined on a high level of the construct hierarchy. However, because these factors were multidimensional, we extracted and examined 11 new lower order factors. MIMIC modeling indicated that these factors were highly measurement invariant across drugs, settings, questionnaire versions, and sexes. The new factors were also demonstrated to have improved homogeneities, satisfactory reliabilities, discriminant and convergent validities, and to differentiate well among the three drug groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The original scales of the OAV were shown to be multidimensional constructs. Eleven new lower order scales were constructed and demonstrated to have desirable psychometric properties. The new lower order scales are most likely better suited to assess drug induced ASC

High Temperature Triggers Latent Variation among Individuals: Oviposition Rate and Probability for Outbreaks

It is anticipated that extreme population events, such as extinctions and outbreaks, will become more frequent as a consequence of climate change. To evaluate the increased probability of such events, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms involved. Variation between individuals in their response to climatic factors is an important consideration, especially if microevolution is expected to change the composition of populations.Here we present data of a willow leaf beetle species, showing high variation among individuals in oviposition rate at a high temperature (20 °C). It is particularly noteworthy that not all individuals responded to changes in temperature; individuals laying few eggs at 20 °C continued to do so when transferred to 12 °C, whereas individuals that laid many eggs at 20 °C reduced their oviposition and laid the same number of eggs as the others when transferred to 12 °C. When transferred back to 20 °C most individuals reverted to their original oviposition rate. Thus, high variation among individuals was only observed at the higher temperature. Using a simple population model and based on regional climate change scenarios we show that the probability of outbreaks increases if there is a realistic increase in the number of warm summers. The probability of outbreaks also increased with increasing heritability of the ability to respond to increased temperature.If climate becomes warmer and there is latent variation among individuals in their temperature response, the probability for outbreaks may increase. However, the likelihood for microevolution to play a role may be low. This conclusion is based on the fact that it has been difficult to show that microevolution affect the probability for extinctions. Our results highlight the urge for cautiousness when predicting the future concerning probabilities for extreme population events

Simulations of Events for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter search aims to achieve a sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section down to (1-2) $\times$ $10^{-12}$ pb at a WIMP mass of 40 GeV/$c^2$. This paper describes the simulations framework that, along with radioactivity measurements, was used to support this projection, and also to provide mock data for validating reconstruction and analysis software. Of particular note are the event generators, which allow us to model the background radiation, and the detector response physics used in the production of raw signals, which can be converted into digitized waveforms similar to data from the operational detector. Inclusion of the detector response allows us to process simulated data using the same analysis routines as developed to process the experimental data

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

We describe the design and assembly of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, a direct detection search for cosmic WIMP dark matter particles. The centerpiece of the experiment is a large liquid xenon time projection chamber sensitive to low energy nuclear recoils. Rejection of backgrounds is enhanced by a Xe skin veto detector and by a liquid scintillator Outer Detector loaded with gadolinium for efficient neutron capture and tagging. LZ is located in the Davis Cavern at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. We describe the major subsystems of the experiment and its key design features and requirements

Projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment to the 0νββ decay of 136Xe

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will enable a neutrinoless double beta decay search in parallel to the main science goal of discovering dark matter particle interactions. We report the expected LZ sensitivity to ^136Xe neutrinoless double beta decay, taking advantage of the significant (>600 kg) ^136Xe mass contained within the active volume of LZ without isotopic enrichment. After 1000 live-days, the median exclusion sensitivity to the half-life of ^136Xe is projected to be 1.06×10^26 years (90% confidence level), similar to existing constraints. We also report the expected sensitivity of a possible subsequent dedicated exposure using 90% enrichment with ^136Xe at 1.06×10^27 years