Predictability modulates the affective and sensory-discriminative neural processing of pain

Knowing what is going to happen next, that is, the capacity to predict upcoming events, modulates the extent to which aversive stimuli induce stress and anxiety. We explored this issue by manipulating the temporal predictability of aversive events by means of a visual cue, which was either correlated or uncorrelated with pain stimuli (electric shocks). Subjects reported lower levels of anxiety, negative valence and pain intensity when shocks were predictable. In addition to attenuate focus on danger, predictability allows for correct temporal estimation of, and selective attention to, the sensory input. With functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that predictability was related to enhanced activity in relevant sensory-discriminative processing areas, such as the primary and secondary sensory cortex and posterior insula. In contrast, the unpredictable more aversive context was correlated to brain activity in the anterior insula and the orbitofrontal cortex, areas associated with affective pain processing. This context also prompted increased activity in the posterior parietal cortex and lateral prefrontal cortex that we attribute to enhanced alertness and sustained attention during unpredictability. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This study was supported by grants from The Swedish Research Council (2003-5810), The family Hedlund Foundation and Karolinska Institutet. The project was finished in the context of Stockholm Brain Institute.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Water for Two Worlds: Designing Terrestrial Applications for Exploration-class Sanitation Systems

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September of 2000, the world leaders agreed on an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving lives: the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) , a list of issues they consider highly pernicious, threatening to human welfare and, thereby, to global security and prosperity. Among the eight goals are included fundamental human needs such as the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the promotion of gender equality, the reduction of child mortality and improvement of maternal health, and ensuring the sustainability of our shared environment. In order to help focus the efforts to meet these goals, the United Nations (UN) has established a set of eighteen concrete targets, each with an associated schedule. Among these is Target 10: "By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water." A closely related target of equal dignity was agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, September 2002): "By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation"

Kirkegårdene i fremtiden

Intet resumé

De fremmede kulturers påvirkning af udviklingen - II

Intet resumé

Død og begravelse: 75 års begravelseskultur i Danmark - og hvad så ?

Intet resumé

Storage Stability of Bio-oils Derived from the Catalytic Conversion of Softwood Kraft Lignin in Subcritical Water

The stability of lignin-derived bio-oil obtained from a continuous process [base (K2CO3)-catalyzed, using phenol as a capping agent] under subcritical conditions of water (25 MPa, 290-370 degrees C) was investigated. The lignin-derived bio-oil obtained was stored at ambient temperature for 2 years. Our results show that the base concentration in the feed solution affects the stability of this lignin-derived bio-oil during its long-term storage. It was found that, at low base concentrations (i.e., 0.4%-1.0%), the yields of all lignin-derived bio-oil fractions were relatively stable. At high base concentrations (i.e., 1.6%-2.2%), however, the yield of high-molecular-weight (high-Mw) structures increased and that of low-molecular-weight (low-Mw) structures decreased after storage. This indicated that the low-Mw materials had been polymerized to form high-Mw materials. In addition, it was found that the yield of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-identified compounds (excluding phenol) in this lignin-derived bio-oil decreased from 15% to 11%. This is probably due to the presence of solids in these lignin derived bio-oils, which promotes the catalytic polymerization reactions, suggesting that it is beneficial to remove the solids from this lignin-derived bio-oil in order to enhance its stability. Compared to the results obtained from bio-oil derived from biomass pyrolysis, our results show that bio-oil derived from the conversion of lignin in subcritical water has better chemical stability during long-term storage

The Q705K Polymorphism in NLRP3 Is a Gain-of-Function Alteration Leading to Excessive Interleukin-1β and IL-18 Production

Background: The Q705K polymorphism in NLRP3 has been implicated in several chronic inflammatory diseases. In this study, we determine the functional role of this commonly occurring polymorphism using an in-vitro system. Methods / Principle findings: NLRP3-WT and NLRP3-Q705K were retrovirally transduced into the human monocytic cell line THP-1, followed by the assessment of IL-1β and IL-18 levels in the cell culture supernatant. THP-1 cells expressing the above NLRP3 variants were sorted based upon Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) expression. Cytokine response to alum (one of the most widely used adjuvants in vaccines) in the cells stably expressing NLRP3-WT and NLRP3-Q705K were determined. IL-1β and IL-18 levels were found to be elevated in THP-1 cells transduced with NLRP3-Q705K compared to the NLRP3-WT. Upon exposure to alum, THP-1 cells stably expressing NLRP3-Q705K displayed an increased production of IL-1β, IL-18 and TNF-α, in a caspase-1 and IL-1 receptor-dependent manner. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings show that the Q705K polymorphism in NLRP3 is a gain-of-function alteration leading to an overactive NLRP3 inflammasome. The option of IL-1β blockade may be considered in patients with chronic inflammatory disorders that are unresponsive to conventional treatments