Chronic cocaine use and its epigenetic role in altering proteins involved in memory

Chronic exposure to cocaine results in long-term changes in brain structure and function. Long-term changes are also seen on a microscopic level in terms of alterations in chromatin remodeling and gene expression. These cellular changes result in behavioral changes and can be passed onto the next generation. Heritable changes in gene expression is known as epigenetics and are due to modifications that alter chromatin structure allowing for changes in accessibility of a gene (Browne, Godino, Salery & Nestler, 2020). Despite advances in epigenetic research involving addiction, the mechanisms that underlie the switch from recreational use to addiction is still under much investigation. While environmental factors that put an individual at risk for drug addiction are just as important as genetic factors, a better understanding of how epigenetics plays a role may lead to better psychopharmacological treatment options and decrease the stigma that addiction is due to an individual’s lack of morals or willpower if it is framed in the context of being a brain disorder. This review will explore the genes responsible for FosB/ΔFosB and G9a. These proteins are altered following cocaine use and play a role in augmenting drug-related memories. This augmentation in drug-related memories may increase the risk of relapse in an individual, which is a major hurdle in overcoming drug addiction. In addition, this review will explore potential treatments in drug addiction to reduce the health and social costs associated with this disease

Security Provisioning in Cloud Environments using Dynamic Expiration Enabled Role based Access Control Model

In cloud environment the role based access control (RBAC) system model has come up with certain promising facilities for security communities. This system has established itself as highly robust, powerful and generalized framework for providing access control for security management. There are numerous practical applications and circumstances where the users might be prohibited to consider respective roles only at certain defined time periods. Additionally, these roles can be invoked only on after pre-defined time intervals which depend on the permission of certain action or event. In order to incarcerate this kind of dynamic aspects of a role, numerous models like temporal RBAC (TRBAC) was proposed, then while this approach could not deliver anything else except the constraints of role enabling. Here in this paper, we have proposed robust and an optimum scheme called Dynamic expiration enabled role based access control (DEERBAC) model which is efficient for expressing a broad range of temporal constraints. Specifically, in this approach we permit the expressions periodically as well as at certain defined time constraints on roles, user-role assignments as well as assignment of role-permission. According to DEERBAC model, in certain time duration the roles can be further restricted as a consequence of numerous activation constraints and highest possible active duration constraints. The dominant contributions of DEERBAC model can the extension and optimization in the existing TRBAC framework and its event and triggering expressions. The predominant uniqueness of this model is that this system inherits the expression of role hierarchies and Separation of Duty (SoD) constraints that specifies the fine-grained temporal semantics. The results obtained illustrates that the DEERBAC system provides optimum solution for efficient user-creation, role assignment and security management framework in cloud environment with higher user count and the simultaneous rolepermission,

Avalanches in self-organized critical neural networks: A minimal model for the neural SOC universality class

The brain keeps its overall dynamics in a corridor of intermediate activity and it has been a long standing question what possible mechanism could achieve this task. Mechanisms from the field of statistical physics have long been suggesting that this homeostasis of brain activity could occur even without a central regulator, via self-organization on the level of neurons and their interactions, alone. Such physical mechanisms from the class of self-organized criticality exhibit characteristic dynamical signatures, similar to seismic activity related to earthquakes. Measurements of cortex rest activity showed first signs of dynamical signatures potentially pointing to self-organized critical dynamics in the brain. Indeed, recent more accurate measurements allowed for a detailed comparison with scaling theory of non-equilibrium critical phenomena, proving the existence of criticality in cortex dynamics. We here compare this new evaluation of cortex activity data to the predictions of the earliest physics spin model of self-organized critical neural networks. We find that the model matches with the recent experimental data and its interpretation in terms of dynamical signatures for criticality in the brain. The combination of signatures for criticality, power law distributions of avalanche sizes and durations, as well as a specific scaling relationship between anomalous exponents, defines a universality class characteristic of the particular critical phenomenon observed in the neural experiments. The spin model is a candidate for a minimal model of a self-organized critical adaptive network for the universality class of neural criticality. As a prototype model, it provides the background for models that include more biological details, yet share the same universality class characteristic of the homeostasis of activity in the brain.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Self-organization without conservation: Are neuronal avalanches generically critical?

Recent experiments on cortical neural networks have revealed the existence of well-defined avalanches of electrical activity. Such avalanches have been claimed to be generically scale-invariant -- i.e. power-law distributed -- with many exciting implications in Neuroscience. Recently, a self-organized model has been proposed by Levina, Herrmann and Geisel to justify such an empirical finding. Given that (i) neural dynamics is dissipative and (ii) there is a loading mechanism "charging" progressively the background synaptic strength, this model/dynamics is very similar in spirit to forest-fire and earthquake models, archetypical examples of non-conserving self-organization, which have been recently shown to lack true criticality. Here we show that cortical neural networks obeying (i) and (ii) are not generically critical; unless parameters are fine tuned, their dynamics is either sub- or super-critical, even if the pseudo-critical region is relatively broad. This conclusion seems to be in agreement with the most recent experimental observations. The main implication of our work is that, if future experimental research on cortical networks were to support that truly critical avalanches are the norm and not the exception, then one should look for more elaborate (adaptive/evolutionary) explanations, beyond simple self-organization, to account for this.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, regular pape

Sceptical Employees as CSR Ambassadors in Times of Financial Uncertainty

This chapter offers new insights into the understanding of internal (employee) perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and strategies. This study explores the significance of employees’ involvement and scepticism upon CSR initiatives and focuses on the effects it may have upon word of mouth (WOM) and the development of employee–organisation relationships. Desk research introduces the research questions. Data for the research questions were gathered through a self-completion questionnaire distributed in a hardcopy form to the sample. An individual’s level of scepticism and involvement appears to affect the development of a positive effect on employees’ WOM. Involvement with the domain of the investment may be a central factor affecting relationship building within the organization, and upon generation of positive WOM. The chapter offers a conceptual framework to public relations (PR) and corporate communications practitioners, which may enrich their views and understanding of the use and value of CSR for communication strategies and practices. For-profit organisations are major institutions in today’s society. CSR is proffered as presenting advantages for (at macro level) society and (micro level) the organization and its employees. Concepts, such as involvement and scepticism, which have not been rigorously examined in PR and corporate communication literature, are addressed. By examining employee perceptions, managers and academic researchers gain insights into the acceptance, appreciation and effectiveness of CSR policies and activities upon the employee stakeholder group. This will affect current and future CSR communication strategies. The knowledge acquired from this chapter may be transferable outside the for-profit sector

ФОРМУВАННЯ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ УПРАВЛІННЯ В СИСТЕМІ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИХ РАХУНКІВ

The article describes modern models of national accounts systems. The technology of the global accounting process for measuring aggregate production in the national economy has been improved. In order to determine the proportions of the final use of GDP in the system of national accounts, economic indicators are summarized. The study suggests a mechanism for comparing macroeconomic indicators of assets, liabilities and net wealth with mega-accounts of the results of the national economy, which characterize its structure and interconnection of sectors.В статье охарактеризованы современные модели систем национальных счетов. Усовершенствована технология глобального учетного процесса по измерению совокупного производства в национальной экономике. В целью определения пропорций конечного использования ВВП в системе национальных счетов обобщены экономические показатели. В исследовании предложен механизм сопоставления макроэкономических показателей активов, обязательств и чистого богатства с мега-счетами учета результатов национальной экономики, которые характеризуют ее структуру и взаимосвязь секторов.Досліджено сучасні моделі систем національних рахунків; удосконалено технологію глобального облікового процесу в частині вимірювання обсягів сукупного виробництва в національній економіці; узагальнено економічні показники для визначення пропорцій кінцевого використання ВВП в системі національних рахунків; запропоновано механізм співставлення змін у активах, зобов’язаннях і чистому багатстві з мега-рахунками обліку макроекономічних показників, які характеризують результати діяльності національної економіки, її структуру та взаємозв’язки її секторів

Трудности дифференциальной диагностики абсцедирующей пневмонии и ограниченного варианта гранулематоза Вегенера

The article presents a clinical case that confirms the importance of careful collection and analysis of medical history and active identification of pathology of the upper respiratory tract, middle ear and eyes typical of the debut of Wegener's granulomatosis. It demonstrates the need for early testing of level of antibodies to the neutrophil cytoplasm in the blood serum (ANCA) and biopsy in the target organs giving the preference to less invasive transnasal biopsy. The positive results of early comprehensive immunosuppressive ex juvantibus therapy confirm the diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis.Приведен клинический пример, подтверждающий значение тщательного сбора и анализа данных анамнеза и активного выявления патологии верхних дыхательных путей, среднего уха и глаз, характерных для дебюта гранулематоза Вегенера. Показана необходимость исследования на раннем этапе заболевания уровня антител к цитоплазме нейтрофилов в сыворотке крови (ANCA) и выполнения биопсии в органах-мишенях с предпочтением менее инвазивной трансназальной биопсии. Положительные результаты ранней комплексной иммуносупрессивной терапии ex juvantibus подтверждают диагноз гранулематоза Вегенера