Exposure to an enriched environment promotes dendritic remodelling in hippocampal neurons affected by endogenous depression

Neuronal plasticity is enhanced in an enriched environment (EE) with more sensory and social interaction. In an animal model of endogenous depression, we have previously shown that EE has positive effects on spatial memory and hippocampus synaptic plasticity. However, nothing is known about how EE influences dendritic remodelling in hippocampal neurons affected by endogenous depression. In depressed rats, the impact of EE on hippocampus neuronal morphology was examined. Neonatal clomipramine exposure from postnatal days (PND) 8-21 days induced endogenous depression. The depressed-like rats were exposed to an enriched environment for two weeks in adulthood. Brains were then collected, stained with a modified Golgi-cox technique and, the hippocampal CA1 dendritic arborisation was evaluated using the Neurolucida software. Depression resulted in the atrophy of CA1 hippocampal neurons. The number of branching points and the overall number of dendritic intersections were reduced in depressed rats,. Exposure to an enriched environment significantly increased dendritic branching and the total number of dendritic intersections in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. The hippocampal pyramidal neuronal morphology of depressed rats improved after exposure to environmental enrichment. Neuronal plasticity and the development of novel therapeutic strategy will be improved by a greater understanding of how the environment affects neuronal morphology in depressed states

Combination of searches for heavy spin-1 resonances using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into different pairings of W, Z, or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at = 13 TeV collected during 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (qq, bb, , and tb) or third-generation leptons (τν and ττ) are included in this kind of combination for the first time. A simplified model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confidence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion

Combined measurement of the Higgs boson mass from the H → γγ and H → ZZ∗ → 4ℓ decay channels with the ATLAS detector using √s = 7, 8, and 13 TeV pp collision data

A measurement of the mass of the Higgs boson combining the H → Z Z ∗ → 4 ℓ and H → γ γ decay channels is presented. The result is based on 140     fb − 1 of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector during LHC run 2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV combined with the run 1 ATLAS mass measurement, performed at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, yielding a Higgs boson mass of 125.11 ± 0.09 ( stat ) ± 0.06 ( syst ) = 125.11 ± 0.11     GeV . This corresponds to a 0.09% precision achieved on this fundamental parameter of the Standard Model of particle physics

Exposure to an enriched environment promotes dendritic remodelling in hippocampal neurons affected by endogenous depression

998-1005Neuronal plasticity is enhanced in an enriched environment (EE) with more sensory and social interaction. In an animal model of endogenous depression, we have previously shown that EE has positive effects on spatial memory and hippocampus synaptic plasticity. However, nothing is known about how EE influences dendritic remodelling in hippocampal neurons affected by endogenous depression. In depressed rats, the impact of EE on hippocampus neuronal morphology was examined. Neonatal clomipramine exposure from postnatal days (PND) 8-21 days induced endogenous depression. The depressed-like rats were exposed to an enriched environment for two weeks in adulthood. Brains were then collected, stained with a modified Golgi-cox technique and, the hippocampal CA1 dendritic arborisation was evaluated using the Neurolucida software. Depression resulted in the atrophy of CA1 hippocampal neurons. The number of branching points and the overall number of dendritic intersections were reduced in depressed rats,. Exposure to an enriched environment significantly increased dendritic branching and the total number of dendritic intersections in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. The hippocampal pyramidal neuronal morphology of depressed rats improved after exposure to environmental enrichment. Neuronal plasticity and the development of novel therapeutic strategy will be improved by a greater understanding of how the environment affects neuronal morphology in depressed states

Sustainable water use through multiple cropping systems and precision irrigation

Water resource management is pivotal for sustainable operations, particularly in agriculture, as, for example, the sector accounts for about 70% of the global freshwater exploitation. Specifically, in countries like India, the prevalence of water-intensive cropping systems such as ‘rice – wheat’ in tandem with traditional irrigation methods such as flood irrigation has resulted in alarming water scarcity levels and marginal economic returns. Multiple cropping systems, i.e., cultivating several crops in a growing season over the same land, can offer additional revenue opportunities but would lead to further decline in the water table, currently falling by 0.54 m per year in Punjab, the ‘Breadbasket of India’. Furthermore, smallholder farmers' return-on-investment remains challenged with consequent significant financial and social stress reported. Therefore, it is necessary to generate robust evidence to inform farmers' decision-making process to adopt multiple cropping systems. Multiple cropping systems can help ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of agricultural operations, which, possibly facilitated by precision irrigation, can ultimately improve the livelihood of farmers. In this regard, this research aims to propel the sustainable transition in Indian agriculture via generating real-world evidence that evaluates the environmental and financial viability of multiple cropping systems in Punjab, enabled by subsurface drip irrigation and fertigation techniques. Specifically, yield attributes, water balance, nutrient leaching, water productivity, net returns and benefit-cost ratio are assessed for the ‘summer mungbean – maize – wheat’ system, based on primary data from two growing seasons. The study findings demonstrate that subsurface drip irrigation and fertigation techniques could lead to circa 30% savings in irrigation water due to low drainage losses. In addition, a corresponding increase in farmers' net returns can be achieved compared to the conventionally used flood irrigation method in the ‘summer mungbean – maize – wheat’ cropping system