The hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and perirhinal cortex are critical to incidental order memory.

Considerable research in rodents and humans indicates the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are essential for remembering temporal relationships among stimuli, and accumulating evidence suggests the perirhinal cortex may also be involved. However, experimental parameters differ substantially across studies, which limits our ability to fully understand the fundamental contributions of these structures. In fact, previous studies vary in the type of temporal memory they emphasize (e.g., order, sequence, or separation in time), the stimuli and responses they use (e.g., trial-unique or repeated sequences, and incidental or rewarded behavior), and the degree to which they control for potential confounding factors (e.g., primary and recency effects, or order memory deficits secondary to item memory impairments). To help integrate these findings, we developed a new paradigm testing incidental memory for trial-unique series of events, and concurrently assessed order and item memory in animals with damage to the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, or perirhinal cortex. We found that this new approach led to robust order and item memory, and that hippocampal, prefrontal and perirhinal damage selectively impaired order memory. These findings suggest the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and perirhinal cortex are part of a broad network of structures essential for incidentally learning the order of events in episodic memory

Agribusiness Extension: The Past, Present, and Future?

The IFAMR is publish by (IFAMA) the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association. www.ifama.orgagribusiness extension, future, Agribusiness, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q130,

Enhanced killing of antibiotic-resistant bacteria enabled by massively parallel combinatorial genetics

New therapeutic strategies are needed to treat infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, which constitute a major growing threat to human health. Here, we use a high-throughput technology to identify combinatorial genetic perturbations that can enhance the killing of drug-resistant bacteria with antibiotic treatment. This strategy, Combinatorial Genetics En Masse (CombiGEM), enables the rapid generation of high-order barcoded combinations of genetic elements for high-throughput multiplexed characterization based on next-generation sequencing. We created ~34,000 pairwise combinations of Escherichia coli transcription factor (TF) overexpression constructs. Using Illumina sequencing, we identified diverse perturbations in antibiotic-resistance phenotypes against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Specifically, we found multiple TF combinations that potentiated antibiotic killing by up to 10[superscript 6]-fold and delivered these combinations via phagemids to increase the killing of highly drug-resistant E. coli harboring New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1. Moreover, we constructed libraries of three-wise combinations of transcription factors with >4 million unique members and demonstrated that these could be tracked via next-generation sequencing. We envision that CombiGEM could be extended to other model organisms, disease models, and phenotypes, where it could accelerate massively parallel combinatorial genetics studies for a broad range of biomedical and biotechnology applications, including the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (New Innovator Award DP2 OD008435)United States. Office of Naval ResearchEllison Medical Foundation (New Scholar in Aging Award)Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundatio

Infrared-Bolometer Arrays with Reflective Backshorts

Integrated circuits that incorporate square arrays of superconducting-transition- edge bolometers with optically reflective backshorts are being developed for use in image sensors in the spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. To maximize the optical efficiency (and, thus, sensitivity) of such a sensor at a specific wavelength, resonant optical structures are created by placing the backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometer plane. The bolometer and backshort arrays are fabricated separately, then integrated to form a single unit denoted a backshort-under-grid (BUG) bolometer array. In a subsequent fabrication step, the BUG bolometer array is connected, by use of single-sided indium bump bonding, to a readout device that comprises mostly a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer circuit. The resulting sensor unit comprising the BUG bolometer array and the readout device is operated at a temperature below 1 K. The concept of increasing optical efficiency by use of backshorts at a quarter wavelength behind the bolometers is not new. Instead, the novelty of the present development lies mainly in several features of the design of the BUG bolometer array and the fabrication sequence used to implement the design. Prior to joining with the backshort array, the bolometer array comprises, more specifically, a square grid of free-standing molybdenum/gold superconducting-transition-edge bolometer elements on a 1.4- m-thick top layer of silicon that is part of a silicon support frame made from a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The backshort array is fabricated separately as a frame structure that includes support beams and contains a correspond - ing grid of optically reflective patches on a single-crystal silicon substrate. The process used to fabricate the bolometer array includes standard patterning and etching steps that result in the formation of deep notches in the silicon support frame. These notches are designed to interlock with the support beams on the backshort-array structure to provide structural support and precise relative positioning. The backshort-array structure is inserted in the silicon support frame behind the bolometer array, and the notches in the frame serve to receive the support beams of the backshort-array structure and thus determine the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes. The depth of the notches and, thus, the distance between the backshort and bolometer planes, can be tailored to a value between 25 to 300 m adjusting only a few process steps. The backshort array is designed so as not to interfere with the placement of indium bumps for subsequent indium bump-bonding to the multiplexing readout circuitr

Physeal Bystander Effects in Rhabdomyosarcoma Radiotherapy: Experiments in a New Xenograft Model

Radiotherapy used in the treatment of pediatric musculoskeletal sarcomas may result in crippling defects of skeletal growth. Several radioprotective strategies have shown potential for preserving function of the irradiated epiphysis but have not been evaluated in a tumor-bearing animal model. We developed two bioluminescent human rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines that were used to establish xenograft tumors in skeletally immature mice. Bioluminescence imaging and radiography allowed serial evaluation of tumor growth and tibial elongation following localized radiotherapy. High-dose (10 Gy) radiotherapy significantly reduced tumor growth velocity and prolonged the median survival of tumor-bearing mice but also resulted in a significant 3.3% shortening of the irradiated limb. Exposure to a lower, 2 Gy dose resulted in 4.1% decrease in limb length but did not extend survival. This new model provides a clinically relevant means to test the efficacy and safety of novel radioprotectant and radiorecovery strategies for use in this context

The Mediating Role of Commitment and Relationship Satisfaction on Socioeconomic-Status and Stability

Abstract Predicting relationship stability has been studied in a multitude of ways; however, few articles examined the extent to which socioeconomic status, relationship satisfaction, and commitment associate with relationship stability guided by the investment model. Thus, using secondary data (N=331), Andrew Hayes’s PROCESS was used to assess whether relationship satisfaction and commitment mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and stability while controlling for relevant relational and demographic characteristics. Results suggest that socioeconomic status was negatively related to commitment but not relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction and commitment were both positively related to stability, but only commitment mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and stability. Implications are discussed. Keywords: Stability, Mediation, Commitment, Socioeconomic Statues, Relationship Satisfactio

Impacts of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Voucher Program on Food Lifestyle Behaviors: Evidence from an Employer-Sponsored Pilot Program

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs have recently received attention for their potential to influence food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes. We build on and expand inquiries into the relationship between CSA participation and behavior change by presenting the results from a controlled pilot study of first-time CSA shareholders. We offered 95 first-time shareholders a $200 voucher to participate in a CSA. Prior to and immediately following CSA participation, these shareholders completed a survey on food lifestyle behaviors. Using econometric analyses, we measured shareholder behavior changes against an 82 person control group. All participants were drawn from a pool of individuals involved in a university wellness program. From these analyses, we identified potential benefits and changes to shareholders in four unique categories: (1) fresh versus processed food consumption; (2) food prepared at home versus away from home; (3) food purchasing behavior and interest in nutrition; and (4) self-reported health outcomes. Changes within these categories and differences between test and control were more strongly realized in shareholders who reported lower than average health prior to the CSA. We conclude with a discussion about the potential of incentivized CSAs to serve as a novel preventative health intervention

Rathat: A self-targeting printable brain implant system

There has not been a major change in how neuroscientists approach stereotaxic methods in decades. Here, we present a new stereotaxic method that provides an alternative approach to a traditional u-frame stereotaxic device and reduces costs, surgical time, and aids repeatability. The RatHat brain implantation system is a 3Dprintable stereotaxic device for rats that is fabricated prior to surgery and fits to the shape of the skull. RatHat builds are directly implanted into the brain without the need for head-leveling or coordinate-mapping during surgery. The RatHat can be used in conjunction with the traditional u-frame stereotaxic device, but does not require the use of a micromanipulator for successful implantations. Each RatHat contains several primary components including the implant for mounting intracranial components, the surgical stencil for targeting drill sites, and the protective cap for preventing damage from impacts and debris. Each component serves a unique function and can be used together or separately. We demonstrate the feasibility of the RatHat in four different proof-of-principle experiments: (1) a three-pole cannula apparatus, (2) an optrode-electrode assembly, (3) a fixed-electrode array, and (4) a tetrode hyperdrive. Implants were successful, durable, and long-lasting (up to nine months). RatHat print files are easily created, can be modified in computer aided design (CAD) software for a variety of applications, and are easily shared, contributing to open science goals and replications. The RatHat has been adapted to multiple experimental paradigms in our lab and should be a useful new way to conduct stereotaxic implant surgeries in rodents

Nonspatial sequence coding in CA1 neurons

The hippocampus is critical to the memory for sequences of events, a defining feature of episodic memory. However, the fundamental neuronal mechanisms underlying this capacity remain elusive. While considerable research indicates hippocampal neurons can represent sequences of locations, direct evidence of coding for the memory of sequential relationships among nonspatial events remains lacking. To address this important issue, we recorded neural activity in CA1 as rats performed a hippocampus-dependent sequencememory task. Briefly, the task involves the presentation of repeated sequences of odors at a single port and requires rats to identify each item as “in sequence” or “out of sequence”. We report that, while the animals’ location and behavior remained constant, hippocampal activity differed depending on the temporal context of items—in this case, whether they were presented in or out of sequence. Some neurons showed this effect across items or sequence positions (general sequence cells), while others exhibited selectivity for specific conjunctions of item and sequence position information (conjunctive sequence cells) or for specific probe types (probe-specific sequence cells). We also found that the temporal context of individual trials could be accurately decoded from the activity of neuronal ensembles, that sequence coding at the single-cell and ensemble level was linked to sequence memory performance, and that slow-gamma oscillations (20–40 Hz) were more strongly modulated by temporal context and performance than theta oscillations (4–12 Hz). These findings provide compelling evidence that sequence coding extends beyond the domain of spatial trajectories and is thus a fundamental function of the hippocampus

Medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampal activity differentially contribute to ordinal and temporal context retrieval during sequence memory

Remembering sequences of events defines episodic memory, but retrieval can be driven by both ordinality and temporal contexts. Whether these modes of retrieval operate at the same time or not remains unclear. Theoretically, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) confers ordinality, while the hippocampus (HC) associates events in gradually changing temporal contexts. Here, we looked for evidence of each with BOLD fMRI in a sequence task that taxes both retrieval modes. To test ordinal modes, items were transferred between sequences but retained their position (e.g., AB3). Ordinal modes activated mPFC, but not HC. To test temporal contexts, we examined items that skipped ahead across lag distances (e.g., ABD). HC, but not mPFC, tracked temporal contexts. There was a mPFC and HC by retrieval mode interaction. These current results suggest that the mPFC and HC are concurrently engaged in different retrieval modes in support of remembering when an event occurred