Strain-dependent variations in stress coping behavior are mediated by a 5-HT/GABA interaction within the prefrontal corticolimbic system

Background: Serotonin and γ- Aminobutyric acid (GABA) transmission is crucial in coping strategies. Methods: Here, using mice from 2 inbred strains widely exploited in behavioral neurochemistry, we investigated whether serotonin transmission in medial prefrontal cortex and GABA in basolateral amygdala determine strain-dependent liability to stress response and differences in coping. Results: C57BL/6J mice displayed greater immobility in the forced swimming test, higher serotonin outflow in medial prefrontal cortex, higher GABA outflow in basolateral amygdala induced by stress, and higher serotonin 1A receptor levels in medial prefrontal cortex accompanied by lower GABAb receptor levels in basolateral amygdala than DBA/2J mice. In assessing whether serotonin in medial prefrontal cortex determines GABA functioning in response to stress and passive coping behavior in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice, we observed that selective prefrontal serotonin depletion in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J reduced stress-induced GABA outflow in basolateral amygdala and immobility in the forced swimming test. Conclusions: These results show that strain-dependent prefrontal corticolimbic serotonin/GABA regulation determines the strain differences in stress-coping behavior in the forced swimming test and point to a role of a specific neuronal system in genetic susceptibility to stress that opens up new prospects for innovative therapies for stress disorders

Animated GIF optimization by adaptive color local table management

After thirty years of the GIF file format, today is becoming more popular than ever: being a great way of communication for friends and communities on Instant Messengers and Social Networks. While being so popular, the original compression method to encode GIF images have not changed a bit. On the other hand popularity means that storage saving becomes an issue for hosting platforms. In this paper a parametric optimization technique for animated GIFs will be presented. The proposed technique is based on Local Color Table selection and color remapping in order to create optimized animated GIFs while preserving the original format. The technique achieves good results in terms of byte reduction with limited or no loss of perceived color quality. Tests carried out on 1000 GIF files demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization strategy

A Robust Document Identification Framework through f-BP Fingerprint

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)The identification of printed materials is a critical and challenging issue for security purposes, especially when it comes to documents such as banknotes, tickets, or rare collectable cards: eligible targets for ad hoc forgery. State-of-the-art methods require expensive and specific industrial equipment, while a low-cost, fast, and reliable solution for document identification is increasingly needed in many contexts. This paper presents a method to generate a robust fingerprint, by the extraction of translucent patterns from paper sheets, and exploiting the peculiarities of binary pattern descriptors. A final descriptor is generated by employing a block-based solution followed by principal component analysis (PCA), to reduce the overall data to be processed. To validate the robustness of the proposed method, a novel dataset was created and recognition tests were performed under both ideal and noisy conditions.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Case-based learning. A formal approach to generate health case studies from electronic healthcare records

There is an increasing social pressure to train medical students with a level of competency sufficient to face clinical practice already at the end of their curriculum. The case-based learning (CBL) is an efficient teaching method to prepare students for clinical practice through the use of real or realistic clinical cases. In this regard, the Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) could be a good source of real patient stories that can be transformed into educative cases. In this paper a formal approach to generate Health Case Studies from EHR is defined

The role of disposition to critical thinking in digital game-based learning

The relationship between the development of 21st-century skills and game-based learning is a field to explore. Among the 21-st century skills, critical thinking is one of the most analyzed skills. This study aims to deepen the relationship between learning and disposition to critical thinking (DCT) in the context of Serious Games (SGs). In particular, starting from the evidence of previous work, that highlighted a positive effect of the DCT on game performance, this study analyzes how the DCT also affects the explicit learning gained by the players. This work highlights that the DCT has a crucial role in explicit knowledge acquisition and how the improvement of game performance is a direct consequence of DCT through a path analysis methodology

miR-34b/c Regulates Wnt1 and Enhances Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neuron Differentiation

The differentiation of dopaminergic neurons requires concerted action of morphogens and transcription factors acting in a precise and well-defined time window. Very little is known about the potential role of microRNA in these events. By performing a microRNA-mRNA paired microarray screening, we identified miR-34b/c among the most upregulated microRNAs during dopaminergic differentiation. Interestingly, miR-34b/c modulates Wnt1 expression, promotes cell cycle exit, and induces dopaminergic differentiation. When combined with transcription factors ASCL1 and NURR1, miR-34b/c doubled the yield of transdifferentiated fibroblasts into dopaminergic neurons. Induced dopaminergic (iDA) cells synthesize dopamine and show spontaneous electrical activity, reversibly blocked by tetrodotoxin, consistent with the electrophysiological properties featured by brain dopaminergic neurons. Our findings point to a role for miR-34b/c in neuronal commitment and highlight the potential of exploiting its synergy with key transcription factors in enhancing in vitro generation of dopaminergic neurons.Peer reviewe

Extending the Shelf Life of White Peach Fruit with 1-Methylcyclopropene and Aloe arborescens Edible Coating

The maintenance of high-quality standards for prolonging the shelf life of fruit and preserving sensory and nutritional quality is a priority for horticultural products. The aim of this work is to test the effectiveness of a single treatment of edible coating based on Aloe arborescens (EC) and a combined treatment of 1-methylcycyclopropene (1-MCP) and edible coating to prolong the shelf life of “Settembrina” white flesh peach fruit. White flesh peach fruit were harvested at the commercial ripening stage, treated with an edible coating (EC) or 1-MCP + EC or 1-MCP, and stored for 28 days at 1 °C. After 7, 14, 21, and 28 days, fruits were removed from cold storage, transferred at 20 °C and then analyzed immediately (cold out) and after 6 days (shelf life) to evaluate the combined effect of cold storage and room temperature. The fruits were tested for carotenoids content, phenolic content, reducing activity (ABTS). The physicochemical traits were measured in terms of the titratable acidity, total soluble content, weight loss, and vitamin C content. Moreover, their sensory profile was analyzed by a semi-trained panel. Fruit treated with EC and 1-MCP + EC kept their marketing values better than control after 14 days of storage and 6 days of simulated shelf life in terms of flesh firmness, total soluble solids and titratable acidity, as well as sensory parameters. After 21 days of storage, all treatments showed a deterioration of all the quality parameters. The single and combined application of Aloe-based coating (with 1-MCP) slowed down the maturation processes of the fruit, limited the weight loss, and preserved its organoleptic characteristics

Il Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico: uno strumento per la formazione continua in medicina

Un modello di formazione continua in medicina basato sull’utilizzo di funzionalità di comunicazione e cooperazione integrate nel Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico

La lunga permanenza nella famiglia di origine: differenze di genere e di status sociale

L'articolo ricostruisce il fenomeno della permanenza in famiglia dei giovani adulti approfondendo due dimensioni, quella di genere e quella di classe, che nella letteratura italiana sull'argomento hanno trovato poco spazio. I dati di riferimento sono quelli delle Indagini Multiscopo dell'Ista