344 research outputs found
The NKCC1 ion transporter modulates microglial phenotype and inflammatory response to brain injury in a cell-autonomous manner
The NKCC1 ion transporter contributes to the pathophysiology of common neurological disorders, but its function in microglia, the main inflammatory cells of the brain, has remained unclear to date. Therefore, we generated a novel transgenic mouse line in which microglial NKCC1 was deleted. We show that microglial NKCC1 shapes both baseline and reactive microglia morphology, process recruitment to the site of injury, and adaptation to changes in cellular volume in a cell-autonomous manner via regulating membrane conductance. In addition, microglial NKCC1 deficiency results in NLRP3 inflammasome priming and increased production of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), rendering microglia prone to exaggerated inflammatory responses. In line with this, central (intracortical) administration of the NKCC1 blocker, bumetanide, potentiated intracortical lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine levels. In contrast, systemic bumetanide application decreased inflammation in the brain. Microglial NKCC1 KO animals exposed to experimental stroke showed significantly increased brain injury, inflammation, cerebral edema, and, worse, neurological outcome. Thus, NKCC1 emerges as an important player in controlling microglial ion homeostasis and inflammatory responses through which microglia modulate brain injury. The contribution of microglia to central NKCC1 actions is likely to be relevant for common neurological disorders.Peer reviewe
Reproducibility of Brain Responses: High for Speech Perception, Low for Reading Difficulties
Neuroscience findings have recently received critique on the lack of replications. To examine the reproducibility of brain indices of speech sound discrimination and their role in dyslexia, a specific reading difficulty, brain event-related potentials using EEG were measured using the same cross-linguistic passive oddball paradigm in about 200 dyslexics and 200 typically reading 8-12-year-old children from four countries with different native languages. Brain responses indexing speech and non-speech sound discrimination were extremely reproducible, supporting the validity and reliability of cognitive neuroscience methods. Significant differences between typical and dyslexic readers were found when examined separately in different country and language samples. However, reading group differences occurred at different time windows and for different stimulus types between the four countries. This finding draws attention to the limited generalizability of atypical brain response findings in children with dyslexia across language environments and raises questions about a common neurobiological factor for dyslexia. Our results thus show the robustness of neuroscience methods in general while highlighting the need for multi-sample studies in the brain research of language disorders
Exploring the pattern of the Galactic HI foreground of GRBs with the ATCA
The afterglow of a gamma ray burst (GRB) can give us valuable insight into
the properties of its host galaxy. To correctly interpret the spectra of the
afterglow we need to have a good understanding of the foreground interstellar
medium (ISM) in our own Galaxy. The common practice to correct for the
foreground is to use neutral hydrogen (HI) data from the Leiden/Argentina/Bonn
(LAB) survey. However, the poor spatial resolution of the single dish data may
have a significant effect on the derived column densities. To investigate this,
we present new high-resolution HI observations with the Australia Telescope
Compact Array (ATCA) towards 4 GRBs. We combine the interferometric ATCA data
with single dish data from the Galactic All Sky Survey (GASS) and derive new
Galactic HI column densities towards the GRBs. We use these new foreground
column densities to fit the Swift XRT X-ray spectra and calculate new intrinsic
hydrogen column density values for the GRB host galaxies. We find that the new
ATCA data shows higher Galactic HI column densities compared to the previous
single dish data, which results in lower intrinsic column densities for the
hosts. We investigate the line of sight optical depth near the GRBs and find
that it may not be negligible towards one of the GRBs, which indicates that the
intrinsic hydrogen column density of its host galaxy may be even lower. In
addition, we compare our results to column densities derived from far-infrared
data and find a reasonable agreement with the HI data.Comment: 20 pages, 13 Figures, Accepted by MNRA
Search for Branons at LEP
We search, in the context of extra-dimension scenarios, for the possible
existence of brane fluctuations, called branons. Events with a single photon or
a single Z-boson and missing energy and momentum collected with the L3 detector
in e^+ e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies sqrt{s}=189-209$ GeV are
analysed. No excess over the Standard Model expectations is found and a lower
limit at 95% confidence level of 103 GeV is derived for the mass of branons,
for a scenario with small brane tensions. Alternatively, under the assumption
of a light branon, brane tensions below 180 GeV are excluded
Measurement of Exclusive rho^0 rho^0 Production in Two-Photon Collisions at High Q^2 at LEP
Exclusive rho rho production in two-photon collisions involving a single
highly virtual photon is studied with data collected at LEP at centre-of-mass
energies 89GeV < \sqrt{s} < 209GeV with a total integrated luminosity of
854.7pb^-1 The cross section of the process gamma gamma^* -> rho rho is
determined as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2 and the two-photon
centre-of-mass energy, Wgg, in the kinematic region: 1.2GeV^2 < Q^2 < 30GeV^2
and 1.1GeV < Wgg < 3GeV
Search for Branons at LEP
We search, in the context of extra-dimension scenarios, for the possible
existence of brane fluctuations, called branons. Events with a single photon or
a single Z-boson and missing energy and momentum collected with the L3 detector
in e^+ e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies sqrt{s}=189-209$ GeV are
analysed. No excess over the Standard Model expectations is found and a lower
limit at 95% confidence level of 103 GeV is derived for the mass of branons,
for a scenario with small brane tensions. Alternatively, under the assumption
of a light branon, brane tensions below 180 GeV are excluded
Search for an Invisibly-Decaying Higgs Boson at LEP
A search for a Higgs boson produced in e^+e^- collisions in association with
a Z boson and decaying into invisible particles is performed. Data collected at
LEP with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies from 189 GeV to 209 GeV are
used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.63/fb. Events with
hadrons, electrons or muons with visible masses compatible with a Z boson and
missing energy and momentum are selected. They are consistent with the Standard
Model expectations. A lower limit of 112.3 GeV is set at 95% confidence level
on the mass of the invisibly-decaying Higgs boson in the hypothesis that its
production cross section equals that of the Standard Model Higgs boson.
Relaxing this hypothesis, upper limits on the production cross section are
derived
Formation of the in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP
The two-photon width of the meson has been
measured with the L3 detector at LEP. The is studied in the decay
modes , KK, KK,
KK, , , and
using an integrated luminosity of 140 pb at GeV and
of 52 pb at GeV. The result is
(BR) keV. The dependence of the cross section is studied for
GeV. It is found to be better described by a Vector Meson
Dominance model form factor with a J-pole than with a -pole. In addition,
a signal of events is observed at the mass. Upper limits
for the two-photon widths of the , , and are also
given
Search for Charginos with a Small Mass Difference with the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV
A search for charginos nearly mass-degenerate with the lightest
supersymmetric particle is performed using the 176 pb^-1 of data collected at
189 GeV in 1998 with the L3 detector. Mass differences between the chargino and
the lightest supersymmetric particle below 4 GeV are considered. The presence
of a high transverse momentum photon is required to single out the signal from
the photon-photon interaction background. No evidence for charginos is found
and upper limits on the cross section for chargino pair production are set. For
the first time, in the case of heavy scalar leptons, chargino mass limits are
obtained for any \tilde{\chi}^{+-}_1 - \tilde{\chi}^0_1 mass difference
Search for Heavy Isosinglet Neutrino in e+e- Annihilation at LEP
We report on a search for the first generation heavy neutrino that is an
isosinglet under the standard SU(2)_L gauge group. The data collected with the
L3 detector at center-of-mass energies between 130 GeV and 208 GeV are used.The
decay channel N_e --> eW is investigated and no evidence is found for a heavy
neutrino, N_e, in a mass range between 80 GeV and 205 GeV. Upper limits on the
mixing parameter between the heavy and light neutrino are derived
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