α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: Role in Early Odor Learning Preference in Mice

Recently, we have shown that mice with decreased expression of α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7) in the olfactory bulb were associated with a deficit in odor discrimination compared to wild-type mice. However, it is unknown if mice with decreased α7-receptor expression also show a deficit in early odor learning preference (ELP), an enhanced behavioral response to odors with attractive value observed in rats. In this study, we modified ELP methods performed in rats and implemented similar conditions in mice. From post-natal days 5–18, wild-type mice were stroked simultaneously with an odor presentation (conditioned odor) for 90 s daily. Control mice were only stroked, exposed to odor, or neither. On the day of testing (P21), mice that were stroked in concert with a conditioned odor significantly investigated the conditioned odor compared to a novel odor, as observed similarly in rats. However, mice with a decrease in α7-receptor expression that were stroked during a conditioned odor did not show a behavioral response to that odorant. These results suggest that decreased α7-receptor expression has a role in associative learning, olfactory preference, and/or sensory processing deficits

Application of Bumpers in Different Types of Railway Vehicles: A Short Review

In order to avoid traffic problems in developed countries, railway vehicles play an important role. Passengers, railway workers, goods, cargo utilization, and dangerous materials are being transferred using various railway vehicles, and each vehicle is designed for a specific manner. Such vehicles include different locomotives that work on either electric or diesel power, in addition to different wagons and carriages attached to these locomotives (passenger wagons, sleeping wagons, freight wagons, and several other types, etc.). Railway vehicles run on railroad tracks, these tracks are designed and maintained by specific machines (diagnostic machines, road renewal machines, ballast screening, tamping and regulating machines, etc.). Several methods are applied when coupling wagons or carriages to each other (automatic coupling, semi-automatic traction, and hook clutch drawbar) depending on vehicle type and function. Railroad vehicles are considered a safe transportation system compared to other systems because they use buffers and bumpers to ensure safety. This paper mounts a minor review of railway vehicles, machines used to make railroads, coupling systems, bumpers and, buffers used to ensure railway vehicle’s safety, and also focuses on the previous studies conducted to enhance such bumpers and lessen collision effects

Biochemical and behavioral effects of carbofuran in goldfish (Carassius auratus)

International audienceThe effects of concentration (5,50, and 500 μg/L) and duration (24, 48 h) of exposure to carbofuran, a carbamate insecticide, were assessed on brain catecholamine (norepinephrine [NE] and dopamine), plasma glucose, and hepatic glycogen contents and behavioral activities of goldfish (Carassius auratus). After 24 h of exposure to 50 and 500 μg/L, the level of NE was increased in the olfactory bulbs. The same effect was observed after a 48-h exposure to 500 and 50 μg/L in the telencephalic hemispheres and in the hypothalamus, respectively. An increase in the level of dopamine was also found in hypothalamus after 48 h of exposure to 500 μg/L carbofuran. Plasma glucose increased in concentration after both periods of exposure to carbofuran at 50 and 500 μg/L. Hepatic glycogen concentration decreased after a 48-h exposure to the highest concentration. Behavioral endpoints related to swimming pattern and social interactions were affected after a 24-h exposure to the lowest concentration tested (5 μg/L). The relative sensitivities of these different types of responses to exposure to carbofuran are discussed in light of data on the neurotoxic effects of carbamate and organophosphate insecticides in fish

Auranofin and its Analogues Show Potent Antimicrobial Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens: Structure–Activity Relationships

Due to the so-called “antibiotic resistance crisis” new antibacterial agents are urgently sought to treat multidrug-resistant pathogens. A group of gold- or silver-based complexes, of general formula [M(PEt3)X] (with M=Au or Ag, and X=Cl, Br or I), alongside with three complexes bearing a positive or negative charge—[Au(PEt3)2]Cl, K[Au(CN)2] and [Ag(PEt3)2]NO3—were prepared and comparatively tested with auranofin on a representative panel of pathogens including Gram-positive, Gram-negative and Candida strains. Interestingly, all the gold and silver complexes tested were active on Gram-positive strains, with the gold complexes having greater efficacy. The effects of the gold compounds were potentiated to a larger extent than silver compounds when tested in combination with a permeabilizing agent. A number of relevant structure–activity relationships emerged from the comparative analysis of the observed antibacterial profiles, shedding new light on the underlying molecular mechanisms of the action of these compounds