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Sample records for short-lasting long-term potentiation

  1. Retrospective attention in short-term memory has a lasting effect on long-term memory across age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strunk, Jonathan; Morgan, Lauren; Reaves, Sarah; Verhaeghen, Paul; Duarte, Audrey

    2018-04-13

    Declines in both short- and long-term memory are typical of healthy aging. Recent findings suggest that retrodictive attentional cues ("retro-cues") that indicate the location of to-be-probed items in short-term memory (STM) have a lasting impact on long-term memory (LTM) performance in young adults. Whether older adults can also use retro-cues to facilitate both STM and LTM is unknown. Young and older adults performed a visual STM task in which spatially informative retro-cues or non-informative neutral-cues were presented during STM maintenance of real-world objects. We tested participants' memory at both STM and LTM delays for objects that were previously cued with retrodictive or neutral cues during STM order to measure the lasting impact of retrospective attention on LTM. Older adults showed reduced STM and LTM capacity compared to young adults. However, they showed similar magnitude retro-cue memory benefits as young adults at both STM and LTM delays. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate whether retro-cues in STM facilitate the encoding of objects into LTM such that they are more likely to be subsequently retrieved by older adults. Our results support the idea that retrospective attention can be an effective means by which older adults can improve their short and long-term memory performance, even in the context of reduced memory capacity.

  2. How long do the short-term violent video game effects last?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlett, Christopher; Branch, Omar; Rodeheffer, Christopher; Harris, Richard

    2009-01-01

    How long do the effects of the initial short-term increase in aggression and physiological arousal last after violent video game play? Study 1 (N=91) had participants complete pre- and postvideo game measures of aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, and heart rate. Then, participants completed Time 3 measures after 4 min or 9 min of delay. Study 2 employed a similar procedure, but had participants (N=91) complete the hot sauce paradigm to assess aggressive behavior after a 0, 5, or 10 min delay. First, results indicated that aggressive feelings, aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior, and heart rate initially increased after violent video game play. Second, results of the delay condition revealed that the increase in aggressive feelings and aggressive thoughts lasted less than 4 min, whereas heart rate and aggressive behavior lasted 4-9 min. Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  3. Short-Term, Intermittent Fasting Induces Long-Lasting Gut Health and TOR-Independent Lifespan Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catterson, James H; Khericha, Mobina; Dyson, Miranda C; Vincent, Alec J; Callard, Rebecca; Haveron, Steven M; Rajasingam, Arjunan; Ahmad, Mumtaz; Partridge, Linda

    2018-06-04

    Intermittent fasting (IF) can improve function and health during aging in laboratory model organisms, but the mechanisms at work await elucidation. We subjected fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to varying degrees of IF and found that just one month of a 2-day fed:5-day fasted IF regime at the beginning of adulthood was sufficient to extend lifespan. This long-lasting, beneficial effect of early IF was not due to reduced fecundity. Starvation resistance and resistance to oxidative and xenobiotic stress were increased after IF. Early-life IF also led to higher lipid content in 60-day-old flies, a potential explanation for increased longevity. Guts of flies 40 days post-IF showed a significant reduction in age-related pathologies and improved gut barrier function. Improved gut health was also associated with reduced relative bacterial abundance. Early IF thus induced profound long-term changes. Pharmacological and genetic epistasis analysis showed that IF acted independently of the TOR pathway because rapamycin and IF acted additively to extend lifespan, and global expression of a constitutively active S6K did not attenuate the IF-induced lifespan extension. We conclude that short-term IF during early life can induce long-lasting beneficial effects, with robust increase in lifespan in a TOR-independent manner, probably at least in part by preserving gut health. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. Short-Term Dosage Regimen for Stimulation-Induced Long-Lasting Desynchronization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thanos Manos

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we computationally generate hypotheses for dose-finding studies in the context of desynchronizing neuromodulation techniques. Abnormally strong neuronal synchronization is a hallmark of several brain disorders. Coordinated Reset (CR stimulation is a spatio-temporally patterned stimulation technique that specifically aims at disrupting abnormal neuronal synchrony. In networks with spike-timing-dependent plasticity CR stimulation may ultimately cause an anti-kindling, i.e., an unlearning of abnormal synaptic connectivity and neuronal synchrony. This long-lasting desynchronization was theoretically predicted and verified in several pre-clinical and clinical studies. We have shown that CR stimulation with rapidly varying sequences (RVS robustly induces an anti-kindling at low intensities e.g., if the CR stimulation frequency (i.e., stimulus pattern repetition rate is in the range of the frequency of the neuronal oscillation. In contrast, CR stimulation with slowly varying sequences (SVS turned out to induce an anti-kindling more strongly, but less robustly with respect to variations of the CR stimulation frequency. Motivated by clinical constraints and inspired by the spacing principle of learning theory, in this computational study we propose a short-term dosage regimen that enables a robust anti-kindling effect of both RVS and SVS CR stimulation, also for those parameter values where RVS and SVS CR stimulation previously turned out to be ineffective. Intriguingly, for the vast majority of parameter values tested, spaced multishot CR stimulation with demand-controlled variation of stimulation frequency and intensity caused a robust and pronounced anti-kindling. In contrast, spaced CR stimulation with fixed stimulation parameters as well as singleshot CR stimulation of equal integral duration failed to improve the stimulation outcome. In the model network under consideration, our short-term dosage regimen enables to robustly induce

  5. Short-Term Dosage Regimen for Stimulation-Induced Long-Lasting Desynchronization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manos, Thanos; Zeitler, Magteld; Tass, Peter A

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we computationally generate hypotheses for dose-finding studies in the context of desynchronizing neuromodulation techniques. Abnormally strong neuronal synchronization is a hallmark of several brain disorders. Coordinated Reset (CR) stimulation is a spatio-temporally patterned stimulation technique that specifically aims at disrupting abnormal neuronal synchrony. In networks with spike-timing-dependent plasticity CR stimulation may ultimately cause an anti-kindling, i.e., an unlearning of abnormal synaptic connectivity and neuronal synchrony. This long-lasting desynchronization was theoretically predicted and verified in several pre-clinical and clinical studies. We have shown that CR stimulation with rapidly varying sequences (RVS) robustly induces an anti-kindling at low intensities e.g., if the CR stimulation frequency (i.e., stimulus pattern repetition rate) is in the range of the frequency of the neuronal oscillation. In contrast, CR stimulation with slowly varying sequences (SVS) turned out to induce an anti-kindling more strongly, but less robustly with respect to variations of the CR stimulation frequency. Motivated by clinical constraints and inspired by the spacing principle of learning theory, in this computational study we propose a short-term dosage regimen that enables a robust anti-kindling effect of both RVS and SVS CR stimulation, also for those parameter values where RVS and SVS CR stimulation previously turned out to be ineffective. Intriguingly, for the vast majority of parameter values tested, spaced multishot CR stimulation with demand-controlled variation of stimulation frequency and intensity caused a robust and pronounced anti-kindling. In contrast, spaced CR stimulation with fixed stimulation parameters as well as singleshot CR stimulation of equal integral duration failed to improve the stimulation outcome. In the model network under consideration, our short-term dosage regimen enables to robustly induce long-term

  6. Short-term and long-term plasticity interaction in human primary motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iezzi, Ennio; Suppa, Antonio; Conte, Antonella; Li Voti, Pietro; Bologna, Matteo; Berardelli, Alfredo

    2011-05-01

    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over primary motor cortex (M1) elicits changes in motor evoked potential (MEP) size thought to reflect short- and long-term forms of synaptic plasticity, resembling short-term potentiation (STP) and long-term potentiation/depression (LTP/LTD) observed in animal experiments. We designed this study in healthy humans to investigate whether STP as elicited by 5-Hz rTMS interferes with LTP/LTD-like plasticity induced by intermittent and continuous theta-burst stimulation (iTBS and cTBS). The effects induced by 5-Hz rTMS and iTBS/cTBS were indexed as changes in MEP size. We separately evaluated changes induced by 5-Hz rTMS, iTBS and cTBS applied alone and those induced by iTBS and cTBS delivered after priming 5-Hz rTMS. Interactions between 5-Hz rTMS and iTBS/cTBS were investigated under several experimental conditions by delivering 5-Hz rTMS at suprathreshold and subthreshold intensity, allowing 1 and 5 min intervals to elapse between 5-Hz rTMS and TBS, and delivering one and ten 5-Hz rTMS trains. We also investigated whether 5-Hz rTMS induces changes in intracortical excitability tested with paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. When given alone, 5-Hz rTMS induced short-lasting and iTBS/cTBS induced long-lasting changes in MEP amplitudes. When M1 was primed with 10 suprathreshold 5-Hz rTMS trains at 1 min before iTBS or cTBS, the iTBS/cTBS-induced after-effects disappeared. The 5-Hz rTMS left intracortical excitability unchanged. We suggest that STP elicited by suprathreshold 5-Hz rTMS abolishes iTBS/cTBS-induced LTP/LTD-like plasticity through non-homeostatic metaplasticity mechanisms. Our study provides new information on interactions between short-term and long-term rTMS-induced plasticity in human M1. © 2011 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2011 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Short-term treatment with flumazenil restores long-term object memory in a mouse model of Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colas, Damien; Chuluun, Bayarsaikhan; Garner, Craig C; Heller, H Craig

    2017-04-01

    Down syndrome (DS) is a common genetic cause of intellectual disability yet no pro-cognitive drug therapies are approved for human use. Mechanistic studies in a mouse model of DS (Ts65Dn mice) demonstrate that impaired cognitive function is due to excessive neuronal inhibitory tone. These deficits are normalized by chronic, short-term low doses of GABA A receptor (GABA A R) antagonists in adult animals, but none of the compounds investigated are approved for human use. We explored the therapeutic potential of flumazenil (FLUM), a GABA A R antagonist working at the benzodiazepine binding site that has FDA approval. Long-term memory was assessed by the Novel Object Recognition (NOR) testing in Ts65Dn mice after acute or short-term chronic treatment with FLUM. Short-term, low, chronic dose regimens of FLUM elicit long-lasting (>1week) normalization of cognitive function in both young and aged mice. FLUM at low dosages produces long lasting cognitive improvements and has the potential of fulfilling an unmet therapeutic need in DS. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Potential breeding distributions of U.S. birds predicted with both short-term variability and long-term average climate data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bateman, Brooke L; Pidgeon, Anna M; Radeloff, Volker C; Flather, Curtis H; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Akçakaya, H Resit; Thogmartin, Wayne E; Albright, Thomas P; Vavrus, Stephen J; Heglund, Patricia J

    2016-12-01

    Climate conditions, such as temperature or precipitation, averaged over several decades strongly affect species distributions, as evidenced by experimental results and a plethora of models demonstrating statistical relations between species occurrences and long-term climate averages. However, long-term averages can conceal climate changes that have occurred in recent decades and may not capture actual species occurrence well because the distributions of species, especially at the edges of their range, are typically dynamic and may respond strongly to short-term climate variability. Our goal here was to test whether bird occurrence models can be predicted by either covariates based on short-term climate variability or on long-term climate averages. We parameterized species distribution models (SDMs) based on either short-term variability or long-term average climate covariates for 320 bird species in the conterminous USA and tested whether any life-history trait-based guilds were particularly sensitive to short-term conditions. Models including short-term climate variability performed well based on their cross-validated area-under-the-curve AUC score (0.85), as did models based on long-term climate averages (0.84). Similarly, both models performed well compared to independent presence/absence data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (independent AUC of 0.89 and 0.90, respectively). However, models based on short-term variability covariates more accurately classified true absences for most species (73% of true absences classified within the lowest quarter of environmental suitability vs. 68%). In addition, they have the advantage that they can reveal the dynamic relationship between species and their environment because they capture the spatial fluctuations of species potential breeding distributions. With this information, we can identify which species and guilds are sensitive to climate variability, identify sites of high conservation value where climate

  9. Audit of long-term and short-term liabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korinko M.D.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article determines the importance of long-term and short-term liabilities for the management of financial and material resources of an enterprise. It reviews the aim, objects and information generators for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations. The organizing and methodical providing of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities of an enterprise are generalized. The authors distinguish the stages of realization of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities, the aim of audit on each of the presented stages, and recommend methodical techniques. It is fixed that it is necessary to conduct the estimation of the systems of internal control and record-keeping of an enterprise by implementation of public accountant procedures for determination of volume and maintenance of selection realization. After estimating the indicated systems, a public accountant determines the methodology for realization of public accountant verification of long-term and short-term liabilities. The analytical procedures that public accountants are expedient to use for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations are determined. The authors suggest the classification of the educed defects on the results of the conducted public accountant verification of short-term and long-term obligations.

  10. Short- and long-term cognitive effects of chronic cannabinoids administration in late-adolescence rats.

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    Hila Abush

    Full Text Available The use of cannabis can impair cognitive function, especially short-term memory. A controversial question is whether long-term cannabis use during the late-adolescence period can cause irreversible deficits in higher brain function that persist after drug use stops. In order to examine the short- and long-term effects of chronic exposure to cannabinoids, rats were administered chronic i.p. treatment with the CB1/CB2 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 (WIN; 1.2 mg/kg for two weeks during the late adolescence period (post-natal days 45-60 and tested for behavioral and electrophysiological measures of cognitive performance 24 hrs, 10 and 30 days after the last drug injection. The impairing effects of chronic WIN on short-term memory in the water maze and the object recognition tasks as well as long-term potentiation (LTP in the ventral subiculum (vSub-nucleus accumbens (NAc pathway were temporary as they lasted only 24 h or 10 d after withdrawal. However, chronic WIN significantly impaired hippocampal dependent short-term memory measured in the object location task 24 hrs, 10, 30, and 75 days after the last drug injection. Our findings suggest that some forms of hippocampal-dependent short-term memory are sensitive to chronic cannabinoid administration but other cognitive impairments are temporary and probably result from a residue of cannabinoids in the brain or acute withdrawal effects from cannabinoids. Understanding the effects of cannabinoids on cognitive function may provide us with tools to overcome these impairments and for cannabinoids to be more favorably considered for clinical use.

  11. Potentials of short term and long term cryopreserved sperm of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    To service the growing demand for male African giant catfish (Clarias gariepinus) broodstock for aquaculture in Nigeria, and to conserve valuable genetic resources, we improved both short-term (in deep freezer at -35°C) and long-term cryopreservation (in liquid nitrogen at -296°C) of catfish sperm. Catfish sperm ...

  12. Long-term potentiation and olfactory memory formation in the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) olfactory bulb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satou, M; Anzai, S; Huruno, M

    2005-05-01

    Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission is considered to be an elementary process underlying the cellular mechanism of memory formation. In the present study we aimed to examine whether or not the dendrodendritic mitral-to-granule cell synapses in the carp olfactory bulb show plastic changes after their repeated activation. It was found that: (1) the dendrodendritic mitral-to-granule cell synapses showed three types of plasticity after tetanic electrical stimulation applied to the olfactory tract-long-term potentiation (potentiation lasting >1 h), short-term potentiation (potentiation lasting 1 h) of the odor-evoked bulbar response accompanied the electrically-induced LTP, and; (4) repeated olfactory stimulation enhanced dendrodendritic mitral-to-granule cell transmission. Based on these results, it was proposed that long-term potentiation (as well as olfactory memory) occurs at the dendrodendritic mitral-to-granule cell synapses after strong and long-lasting depolarization of granule cells, which follows repeated and simultaneous synaptic activation of both the peripheral and deep dendrites (or somata).

  13. Pediatric polytrauma : Short-term and long-term outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    vanderSluis, CK; Kingma, J; Eisma, WH; tenDuis, HJ

    Objective: To assess the short-term and long-term outcomes of pediatric polytrauma patients and to analyze the extent to which short-term outcomes can predict long-term outcomes. Materials and Methods: Ail pediatric polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score of greater than or equal to 16, less than

  14. Quantification of long term emission potential from landfills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heimovaara, T.J.

    2011-01-01

    Novel approaches for the after-care of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills are based on technological measures to reduce the long term emission potential in a short time period. Biological degradation in landfills is a means to significantly reduce the long term emission potential. Leachate

  15. Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2018-02-01

    Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term memory system separate from long-term knowledge. Using natural language corpora, we show experimentally and computationally that performance on three widely used measures of short-term memory (digit span, nonword repetition, and sentence recall) can be predicted from simple associative learning operating on the linguistic environment to which a typical child may have been exposed. The findings support the broad view that short-term verbal memory performance reflects the application of long-term language knowledge to the experimental setting.

  16. Long-term use of short- and long-acting nitrates in stable angina pectoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosmicki, Marek Antoni

    2009-05-01

    Long-acting nitrates are effective antianginal drugs during initial treatment. However, their therapeutic value is compromised by the rapid development of tolerance during sustained therapy, which means that their clinical efficacy is decreased during long-term use. Sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG), a short-acting nitrate, is suitable for the immediate relief of angina. In patients with stable angina treated with oral long-acting nitrates, NTG maintains its full anti-ischemic effect both after initial oral ingestion and after intermittent long-term oral administration. However, NTG attenuates this effect during continuous treatment, when tolerance to oral nitrates occurs, and this is called cross-tolerance. In stable angina long-acting nitrates are considered third-line therapy because a nitrate-free interval is required to avoid the development of tolerance. Nitrates vary in their potential to induce the development of tolerance. During long-lasting nitrate therapy, except pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), one can observe the development of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside the muscular cell of a vessel wall, and these bind with nitric oxide (NO). This leads to decreased NO activity, thus, nitrate tolerance. PETN has no tendency to form ROS, and therefore during long-term PETN therapy, there is probably no tolerance or cross-tolerance, as during treatment with other nitrates.

  17. A least squares approach for efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Capolei, Andrea; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    2017-01-01

    The uncertainties related to long-term forecasts of oil prices impose significant financial risk on ventures of oil production. To minimize risk, oil companies are inclined to maximize profit over short-term horizons ranging from months to a few years. In contrast, conventional production...... optimization maximizes long-term profits over horizons that span more than a decade. To address this challenge, the oil literature has introduced short-term versus long-term optimization. Ideally, this problem is solved by a posteriori multi-objective optimization methods that generate an approximation...... the balance between the objectives, leaving an unfulfilled potential to increase profits. To promote efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization, this paper introduces a natural way to characterize desirable Pareto points and proposes a novel least squares (LS) method. Unlike hierarchical...

  18. Long-term potentiation and long-term depression: a clinical perspective

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    Timothy V.P. Bliss

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Long-term potentiation and long-term depression are enduring changes in synaptic strength, induced by specific patterns of synaptic activity, that have received much attention as cellular models of information storage in the central nervous system. Work in a number of brain regions, from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex, and in many animal species, ranging from invertebrates to humans, has demonstrated a reliable capacity for chemical synapses to undergo lasting changes in efficacy in response to a variety of induction protocols. In addition to their physiological relevance, long-term potentiation and depression may have important clinical applications. A growing insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, and technological advances in non-invasive manipulation of brain activity, now puts us at the threshold of harnessing long-term potentiation and depression and other forms of synaptic, cellular and circuit plasticity to manipulate synaptic strength in the human nervous system. Drugs may be used to erase or treat pathological synaptic states and non-invasive stimulation devices may be used to artificially induce synaptic plasticity to ameliorate conditions arising from disrupted synaptic drive. These approaches hold promise for the treatment of a variety of neurological conditions, including neuropathic pain, epilepsy, depression, amblyopia, tinnitus and stroke.

  19. Exogenous glutamate induces short and long-term potentiation in the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, S; Frondaroli, A; Pessia, M; Pettorossi, V E

    2001-08-08

    In rat brain stem slices, high concentrations of exogenous glutamate induce long-term potentiation (LTP) of the field potentials evoked in the medial vestibular nuclei (MVN) by vestibular afferent stimulation. At low concentrations, glutamate can also induce short-term potentiation (STP), indicating that LTP and STP are separate events depending on the level of glutamatergic synapse activation. LTP and STP are prevented by blocking NMDA receptors and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis. Conversely, blocking platelet-activating factor (PAF) and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors only prevents the full development of LTP. Moreover, in the presence of blocking agents, glutamate causes transient inhibition, suggesting that when potentiation is impeded, exogenous glutamate can activate presynaptic mechanisms that reduce glutamate release.

  20. Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2017-01-01

    Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term...

  1. CLIMATE CHANGE: LONG-TERM TRENDS AND SHORT-TERM OSCILLATIONS

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    GAO Xin-quan; ZHANG Xin; QIAN Wei-hong

    2006-01-01

    Identifying the Northern Hemisphere (NH) temperature reconstruction and instrumental data for the past 1000 years shows that climate change in the last millennium includes long-term trends and various oscillations. Two long-term trends and the quasi-70-year oscillation were detected in the global temperature series for the last 140 years and the NH millennium series. One important feature was emphasized that temperature decreases slowly but it increases rapidly based on the analysis of different series. Benefits can be obtained of climate change from understanding various long-term trends and oscillations. Millennial temperature proxies from the natural climate system and time series of nonlinear model system are used in understanding the natural climate change and recognizing potential benefits by using the method of wavelet transform analysis. The results from numerical modeling show that major oscillations contained in numerical solutions on the interdecadal timescale are consistent with that of natural proxies. It seems that these oscillations in the climate change are not directly linked with the solar radiation as an external forcing. This investigation may conclude that the climate variability at the interdecadal timescale strongly depends on the internal nonlinear effects in the climate system.

  2. Short and long-lasting behavioral consequences of agonistic encounters between male Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trannoy, Séverine; Penn, Jill; Lucey, Kenia; Popovic, David; Kravitz, Edward A

    2016-04-26

    In many animal species, learning and memory have been found to play important roles in regulating intra- and interspecific behavioral interactions in varying environments. In such contexts, aggression is commonly used to obtain desired resources. Previous defeats or victories during aggressive interactions have been shown to influence the outcome of later contests, revealing loser and winner effects. In this study, we asked whether short- and/or long-term behavioral consequences accompany victories and defeats in dyadic pairings between male Drosophila melanogaster and how long those effects remain. The results demonstrated that single fights induced important behavioral changes in both combatants and resulted in the formation of short-term loser and winner effects. These decayed over several hours, with the duration depending on the level of familiarity of the opponents. Repeated defeats induced a long-lasting loser effect that was dependent on de novo protein synthesis, whereas repeated victories had no long-term behavioral consequences. This suggests that separate mechanisms govern the formation of loser and winner effects. These studies aim to lay a foundation for future investigations exploring the molecular mechanisms and circuitry underlying the nervous system changes induced by winning and losing bouts during agonistic encounters.

  3. Mechanisms of translation control underlying long-lasting synaptic plasticity and the consolidation of long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santini, Emanuela; Huynh, Thu N; Klann, Eric

    2014-01-01

    The complexity of memory formation and its persistence is a phenomenon that has been studied intensely for centuries. Memory exists in many forms and is stored in various brain regions. Generally speaking, memories are reorganized into broadly distributed cortical networks over time through systems level consolidation. At the cellular level, storage of information is believed to initially occur via altered synaptic strength by processes such as long-term potentiation. New protein synthesis is required for long-lasting synaptic plasticity as well as for the formation of long-term memory. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a critical regulator of cap-dependent protein synthesis and is required for numerous forms of long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory. As such, the study of mTORC1 and protein factors that control translation initiation and elongation has enhanced our understanding of how the process of protein synthesis is regulated during memory formation. Herein we discuss the molecular mechanisms that regulate protein synthesis as well as pharmacological and genetic manipulations that demonstrate the requirement for proper translational control in long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Short-term plasticity and long-term potentiation mimicked in single inorganic synapses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohno, Takeo; Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi; Tsuruoka, Tohru; Terabe, Kazuya; Gimzewski, James K.; Aono, Masakazu

    2011-08-01

    Memory is believed to occur in the human brain as a result of two types of synaptic plasticity: short-term plasticity (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP; refs , , , ). In neuromorphic engineering, emulation of known neural behaviour has proven to be difficult to implement in software because of the highly complex interconnected nature of thought processes. Here we report the discovery of a Ag2S inorganic synapse, which emulates the synaptic functions of both STP and LTP characteristics through the use of input pulse repetition time. The structure known as an atomic switch, operating at critical voltages, stores information as STP with a spontaneous decay of conductance level in response to intermittent input stimuli, whereas frequent stimulation results in a transition to LTP. The Ag2S inorganic synapse has interesting characteristics with analogies to an individual biological synapse, and achieves dynamic memorization in a single device without the need of external preprogramming. A psychological model related to the process of memorizing and forgetting is also demonstrated using the inorganic synapses. Our Ag2S element indicates a breakthrough in mimicking synaptic behaviour essential for the further creation of artificial neural systems that emulate characteristics of human memory.

  5. Attention Problems, Phonological Short-Term Memory, and Visuospatial Short-Term Memory: Differential Effects on Near- and Long-Term Scholastic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarver, Dustin E.; Rapport, Mark D.; Kofler, Michael J.; Scanlan, Sean W.; Raiker, Joseph S.; Altro, Thomas A.; Bolden, Jennifer

    2012-01-01

    The current study examined individual differences in children's phonological and visuospatial short-term memory as potential mediators of the relationship among attention problems and near- and long-term scholastic achievement. Nested structural equation models revealed that teacher-reported attention problems were associated negatively with…

  6. Impact of long-term and short-term therapies on seminal parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jlenia Elia

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this work was: i to evaluate the prevalence of male partners of subfertile couples being treated with long/short term therapies for non andrological diseases; ii to study their seminal profile for the possible effects of their treatments on spermatogenesis and/or epididymal maturation. Methods: The study group was made up of 723 subjects, aged between 25 and 47 years. Semen analysis was performed according to World Health Organization (WHO guidelines (1999. The Superimposed Image Analysis System (SIAS, which is based on the computerized superimposition of spermatozoa images, was used to assess sperm motility parameters. Results: The prevalence of subjects taking pharmacological treatments was 22.7% (164/723. The prevalence was 3.7% (27/723 for the Short-Term Group and 18.9% (137/723 for the Long-Term Group. The subjects of each group were also subdivided into subgroups according to the treatments being received. Regarding the seminal profile, we did not observe a significant difference between the Long-Term, Short-Term or the Control Group. However, regarding the subgroups, we found a significant decrease in sperm number and progressive motility percentage in the subjects receiving treatment with antihypertensive drugs compared with the other subgroups and the Control Group. Conclusions: In the management of infertile couples, the potential negative impact on seminal parameters of any drugs being taken as Long-Term Therapy should be considered. The pathogenic mechanism needs to be clarified.

  7. Distinct cerebellar engrams in short-term and long-term motor learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wen; Nakadate, Kazuhiko; Masugi-Tokita, Miwako; Shutoh, Fumihiro; Aziz, Wajeeha; Tarusawa, Etsuko; Lorincz, Andrea; Molnár, Elek; Kesaf, Sebnem; Li, Yun-Qing; Fukazawa, Yugo; Nagao, Soichi; Shigemoto, Ryuichi

    2014-01-07

    Cerebellar motor learning is suggested to be caused by long-term plasticity of excitatory parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (PF-PC) synapses associated with changes in the number of synaptic AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). However, whether the AMPARs decrease or increase in individual PF-PC synapses occurs in physiological motor learning and accounts for memory that lasts over days remains elusive. We combined quantitative SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labeling for AMPAR and physical dissector electron microscopy with a simple model of cerebellar motor learning, adaptation of horizontal optokinetic response (HOKR) in mouse. After 1-h training of HOKR, short-term adaptation (STA) was accompanied with transient decrease in AMPARs by 28% in target PF-PC synapses. STA was well correlated with AMPAR decrease in individual animals and both STA and AMPAR decrease recovered to basal levels within 24 h. Surprisingly, long-term adaptation (LTA) after five consecutive daily trainings of 1-h HOKR did not alter the number of AMPARs in PF-PC synapses but caused gradual and persistent synapse elimination by 45%, with corresponding PC spine loss by the fifth training day. Furthermore, recovery of LTA after 2 wk was well correlated with increase of PF-PC synapses to the control level. Our findings indicate that the AMPARs decrease in PF-PC synapses and the elimination of these synapses are in vivo engrams in short- and long-term motor learning, respectively, showing a unique type of synaptic plasticity that may contribute to memory consolidation.

  8. Assessing the associative deficit of older adults in long-term and short-term/working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tina; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

    2012-09-01

    Older adults exhibit a deficit in associative long-term memory relative to younger adults. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding whether this deficit is attenuated in short-term/working memory. To elucidate the issue, three experiments assessed younger and older adults' item and interitem associative memory and the effects of several variables that might potentially contribute to the inconsistent pattern of results in previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on item and associative recognition memory with both long-term and short-term retention intervals in a single, continuous recognition paradigm. There was an associative deficit for older adults in the short-term and long-term intervals. Using only short-term intervals, Experiment 2 utilized mixed and blocked test designs to examine the effect of test event salience. Blocking the test did not attenuate the age-related associative deficit seen in the mixed test blocks. Finally, an age-related associative deficit was found in Experiment 3, under both sequential and simultaneous presentation conditions. Even while accounting for some methodological issues, the associative deficit of older adults is evident in short-term/working memory.

  9. Impact of short-term severe accident management actions in a long-term perspective. Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-03-01

    The present systems for severe accident management are focused on mitigating the consequences of special severe accident phenomena and to reach a safe plant state. However, in the development of strategies and procedures for severe accident management, it is also important to consider the long-term perspective of accident management and especially to secure the safe state of the plant. The main reason for this is that certain short-term actions have an impact on the long-term scenario. Both positive and negative effects from short-term actions on the accident management in the long-term perspective have been included in this paper. Short-term actions are accident management measures taken within about 24 hours after the initiating event. The purpose of short-term actions is to reach a stable status of the plant. The main goal in the long-term perspective is to maintain the reactor in a stable state and prevent uncontrolled releases of activity. The purpose of this short Technical Note, deliberately limited in scope, is to draw attention to potential long-term problems, important to utilities and regulatory authorities, arising from the way a severe accident would be managed during the first hours. Its objective is to encourage discussions on the safest - and maybe also most economical - way to manage a severe accident in the long term by not making the situation worse through inappropriate short-term actions, and on the identification of short-term actions likely to make long-term management easier and safer. The Note is intended as a contribution to the knowledge base put at the disposal of Member countries through international collaboration. The scope of the work has been limited to a literature search. Useful further activities have been identified. However, there is no proposal, at this stage, for more detailed work to be undertaken under the auspices of the CSNI. Plant-specific applications would need to be developed by utilities

  10. GluA2-dependent AMPA receptor endocytosis and the decay of early and late long-term potentiation: possible mechanisms for forgetting of short- and long-term memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardt, Oliver; Nader, Karim; Wang, Yu-Tian

    2014-01-05

    The molecular processes involved in establishing long-term potentiation (LTP) have been characterized well, but the decay of early and late LTP (E-LTP and L-LTP) is poorly understood. We review recent advances in describing the mechanisms involved in maintaining LTP and homeostatic plasticity. We discuss how these phenomena could relate to processes that might underpin the loss of synaptic potentiation over time, and how they might contribute to the forgetting of short-term and long-term memories. We propose that homeostatic downscaling mediates the loss of E-LTP, and that metaplastic parameters determine the decay rate of L-LTP, while both processes require the activity-dependent removal of postsynaptic GluA2-containing AMPA receptors.

  11. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?

    OpenAIRE

    Cowan, Nelson

    2008-01-01

    In the recent literature there has been considerable confusion about the three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and working memory. This chapter strives to reduce that confusion and makes up-to-date assessments of these types of memory. Long- and short-term memory could differ in two fundamental ways, with only short-term memory demonstrating (1) temporal decay and (2) chunk capacity limits. Both properties of short-term memory are still controversial but the current literature is rath...

  12. On the relationship between short- and long-term memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

    James (1890) divided memory into separate stores; primary and secondary – or short-term and long-term memory. The interaction between the two stores often assumes that information initially is represented in volatile short-term store before entering and consolidating in the more durable long-term......, accepted). Counter to popular beliefs this suggest that long-term memory precedes short-term memory and not vice versa....... memory system (e.g. Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). Short-term memory seems to provide a surprising processing bottleneck where only a very limited amount of information can be represented at any given moment (Miller, 1956; Cowan, 2001). A number of studies have investigated the nature of this processing...

  13. Competitive short-term and long-term memory processes in spatial habituation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, David J; Bannerman, David M

    2011-04-01

    Exposure to a spatial location leads to habituation of exploration such that, in a novelty preference test, rodents subsequently prefer exploring a novel location to the familiar location. According to Wagner's (1981) theory of memory, short-term and long-term habituation are caused by separate and sometimes opponent processes. In the present study, this dual-process account of memory was tested. Mice received a series of exposure training trials to a location before receiving a novelty preference test. The novelty preference was greater when tested after a short, rather than a long, interval. In contrast, the novelty preference was weaker when exposure training trials were separated by a short, rather than a long interval. Furthermore, it was found that long-term habituation was determined by the independent effects of the amount of exposure training and the number of exposure training trials when factors such as the intertrial interval and the cumulative intertrial interval were controlled. A final experiment demonstrated that a long-term reduction of exploration could be caused by a negative priming effect due to associations formed during exploration. These results provide evidence against a single-process account of habituation and suggest that spatial habituation is determined by both short-term, recency-based memory and long-term, incrementally strengthened memory.

  14. The epidemiology of long- and short-term cancer survivors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jarlbæk, Lene; Christensen, Linda; Bruera, Eduardo

    2014-01-01

    Introduction. In this study, we present data from a population-based cohort of incident cancer patients separated in long- and short-term survivors. Our aim was to procure denominators for use in the planning of rehabilitation and palliative care programs. Material and methods. A registry......-linkage cohort study. All cancer patients, diagnosed from 1993 to 2003 from a 470 000 large population, were followed individually from diagnosis to death or until 31 December 2008. Long-term survivors lived five years or more after the time of the cancer diagnosis (TOCD). Short-term survivors died less than...... and sex. Two-year crude cancer survival seems as a clinically relevant cut point for characterizing potential "denominators" for rehabilitation or palliative care programs. From this cohort of incident cancer patients, and using two-year survival as a cut point, it could be estimated that 54% would...

  15. Short-term variations of radiocarbon during the last century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burchuladze, A.A.; Pagava, S.V.; Jurina, V.; Povinec, P.; Usacev, S.

    1982-01-01

    Radiocarbon variations related to the 11-year solar cycle during the last century are discussed. Previous investigations on short term 14 C variations in tree rings are compared with 14 C measurements in Georgian wine samples. The amplitude of 14 C variations as obtained by various authors ranges from 0.2 to about 1%. (author)

  16. Enhanced long-term and impaired short-term spatial memory in GluA1 AMPA receptor subunit knockout mice: evidence for a dual-process memory model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, David J; Good, Mark A; Skelton, Kathryn; Sprengel, Rolf; Seeburg, Peter H; Rawlins, J Nicholas P; Bannerman, David M

    2009-06-01

    The GluA1 AMPA receptor subunit is a key mediator of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and is especially important for a rapidly-induced, short-lasting form of potentiation. GluA1 gene deletion impairs hippocampus-dependent, spatial working memory, but spares hippocampus-dependent spatial reference memory. These findings may reflect the necessity of GluA1-dependent synaptic plasticity for short-term memory of recently visited places, but not for the ability to form long-term associations between a particular spatial location and an outcome. This hypothesis is in concordance with the theory that short-term and long-term memory depend on dissociable psychological processes. In this study we tested GluA1-/- mice on both short-term and long-term spatial memory using a simple novelty preference task. Mice were given a series of repeated exposures to a particular spatial location (the arm of a Y-maze) before their preference for a novel spatial location (the unvisited arm of the maze) over the familiar spatial location was assessed. GluA1-/- mice were impaired if the interval between the trials was short (1 min), but showed enhanced spatial memory if the interval between the trials was long (24 h). This enhancement was caused by the interval between the exposure trials rather than the interval prior to the test, thus demonstrating enhanced learning and not simply enhanced performance or expression of memory. This seemingly paradoxical enhancement of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning may be caused by GluA1 gene deletion reducing the detrimental effects of short-term memory on subsequent long-term learning. Thus, these results support a dual-process model of memory in which short-term and long-term memory are separate and sometimes competitive processes.

  17. Short-term memory and long-term memory are still different.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Dennis

    2017-09-01

    A commonly expressed view is that short-term memory (STM) is nothing more than activated long-term memory. If true, this would overturn a central tenet of cognitive psychology-the idea that there are functionally and neurobiologically distinct short- and long-term stores. Here I present an updated case for a separation between short- and long-term stores, focusing on the computational demands placed on any STM system. STM must support memory for previously unencountered information, the storage of multiple tokens of the same type, and variable binding. None of these can be achieved simply by activating long-term memory. For example, even a simple sequence of digits such as "1, 3, 1" where there are 2 tokens of the digit "1" cannot be stored in the correct order simply by activating the representations of the digits "1" and "3" in LTM. I also review recent neuroimaging data that has been presented as evidence that STM is activated LTM and show that these data are exactly what one would expect to see based on a conventional 2-store view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowan, Nelson

    2008-01-01

    In the recent literature there has been considerable confusion about the three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and working memory. This chapter strives to reduce that confusion and makes up-to-date assessments of these types of memory. Long- and short-term memory could differ in two fundamental ways, with only short-term memory demonstrating (1) temporal decay and (2) chunk capacity limits. Both properties of short-term memory are still controversial but the current literature is rather encouraging regarding the existence of both decay and capacity limits. Working memory has been conceived and defined in three different, slightly discrepant ways: as short-term memory applied to cognitive tasks, as a multi-component system that holds and manipulates information in short-term memory, and as the use of attention to manage short-term memory. Regardless of the definition, there are some measures of memory in the short term that seem routine and do not correlate well with cognitive aptitudes and other measures (those usually identified with the term "working memory") that seem more attention demanding and do correlate well with these aptitudes. The evidence is evaluated and placed within a theoretical framework depicted in Fig. 1.

  19. Fast Weight Long Short-Term Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Keller, T. Anderson; Sridhar, Sharath Nittur; Wang, Xin

    2018-01-01

    Associative memory using fast weights is a short-term memory mechanism that substantially improves the memory capacity and time scale of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). As recent studies introduced fast weights only to regular RNNs, it is unknown whether fast weight memory is beneficial to gated RNNs. In this work, we report a significant synergy between long short-term memory (LSTM) networks and fast weight associative memories. We show that this combination, in learning associative retrie...

  20. Very-long-term and short-term chromatic adaptation: are their influences cumulative?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belmore, Suzanne C; Shevell, Steven K

    2011-02-09

    Very-long-term (VLT) chromatic adaptation results from exposure to an altered chromatic environment for days or weeks. Color shifts from VLT adaptation are observed hours or days after leaving the altered environment. Short-term chromatic adaptation, on the other hand, results from exposure for a few minutes or less, with color shifts measured within seconds or a few minutes after the adapting light is extinguished; recovery to the pre-adapted state is complete in less than an hour. Here, both types of adaptation were combined. All adaptation was to reddish-appearing long-wavelength light. Shifts in unique yellow were measured following adaptation. Previous studies demonstrate shifts in unique yellow due to VLT chromatic adaptation, but shifts from short-term chromatic adaptation to comparable adapting light can be far greater than from VLT adaptation. The question considered here is whether the color shifts from VLT adaptation are cumulative with large shifts from short-term adaptation or, alternatively, does simultaneous short-term adaptation eliminate color shifts caused by VLT adaptation. The results show the color shifts from VLT and short-term adaptation together are cumulative, which indicates that both short-term and very-long-term chromatic adaptation affect color perception during natural viewing. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Botulinum toxin type A in simple motor tics: short-term and long-term treatment-effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rath, Judith J G; Tavy, Dénes L J; Wertenbroek, Agnes A A C M; van Woerkom, Theodoor C A M; de Bruijn, Sebastiaan F T M

    2010-08-01

    To determine the short-term and long-term treatment-effects of botulinum toxin type A in simple motor tics, we analyzed 15 consecutive patients (18 tics) with simple motor tics that were treated every 3 months with injections of BTX-A. Efficacy (rated on a 4-level scale) and duration of effect of the first 2 and last 2 (if treated 5 times or more) treatments were recorded, as well as latency of response, changes of premonitory urges (PMUs) and possible side effects. Total number of treatments for each tic varied from 2 to 50 (mean 11, median 6). In 16 of 18 tics (89%) short-term efficacy was reported successful (good or moderate). Long-term efficacy was reported in 12 tics of which 11 showed similar or even increased beneficial effects. Premonitory urge (PMU) was reported in 8 patients (53%). PMU, if present, lessened or disappeared after treatment with BTX-A. A permanent remission of the treated tic was seen in 3 patients with a maximum follow-up of 10 years. BTX-A appears a safe and effective treatment for simple motor tics and retains its efficacy after long-term treatment. BTX may also induce permanent remission of the treated tics and effects of BTX are not restricted to merely motor behaviour.

  2. C. elegans positive butanone learning, short-term, and long-term associative memory assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauffman, Amanda; Parsons, Lance; Stein, Geneva; Wills, Airon; Kaletsky, Rachel; Murphy, Coleen

    2011-03-11

    The memory of experiences and learned information is critical for organisms to make choices that aid their survival. C. elegans navigates its environment through neuron-specific detection of food and chemical odors, and can associate nutritive states with chemical odors, temperature, and the pathogenicity of a food source. Here, we describe assays of C. elegans associative learning and short- and long-term associative memory. We modified an aversive olfactory learning paradigm to instead produce a positive response; the assay involves starving ~400 worms, then feeding the worms in the presence of the AWC neuron-sensed volatile chemoattractant butanone at a concentration that elicits a low chemotactic index (similar to Toroyama et al.). A standard population chemotaxis assay1 tests the worms' attraction to the odorant immediately or minutes to hours after conditioning. After conditioning, wild-type animals' chemotaxis to butanone increases ~0.6 Chemotaxis Index units, its "Learning Index". Associative learning is dependent on the presence of both food and butanone during training. Pairing food and butanone for a single conditioning period ("massed training") produces short-term associative memory that lasts ~2 hours. Multiple conditioning periods with rest periods between ("spaced training") yields long-term associative memory (long-term memory across species. Our protocol also includes image analysis methods for quick and accurate determination of chemotaxis indices. High-contrast images of animals on chemotaxis assay plates are captured and analyzed by worm counting software in MatLab. The software corrects for uneven background using a morphological tophat transformation. Otsu's method is then used to determine a threshold to separate worms from the background. Very small particles are removed automatically and larger non-worm regions (plate edges or agar punches) are removed by manual selection. The software then estimates the size of single worm by ignoring

  3. Synaptic scaling enables dynamically distinct short- and long-term memory formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Tetzlaff

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Memory storage in the brain relies on mechanisms acting on time scales from minutes, for long-term synaptic potentiation, to days, for memory consolidation. During such processes, neural circuits distinguish synapses relevant for forming a long-term storage, which are consolidated, from synapses of short-term storage, which fade. How time scale integration and synaptic differentiation is simultaneously achieved remains unclear. Here we show that synaptic scaling - a slow process usually associated with the maintenance of activity homeostasis - combined with synaptic plasticity may simultaneously achieve both, thereby providing a natural separation of short- from long-term storage. The interaction between plasticity and scaling provides also an explanation for an established paradox where memory consolidation critically depends on the exact order of learning and recall. These results indicate that scaling may be fundamental for stabilizing memories, providing a dynamic link between early and late memory formation processes.

  4. Synaptic scaling enables dynamically distinct short- and long-term memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tetzlaff, Christian; Kolodziejski, Christoph; Timme, Marc; Tsodyks, Misha; Wörgötter, Florentin

    2013-10-01

    Memory storage in the brain relies on mechanisms acting on time scales from minutes, for long-term synaptic potentiation, to days, for memory consolidation. During such processes, neural circuits distinguish synapses relevant for forming a long-term storage, which are consolidated, from synapses of short-term storage, which fade. How time scale integration and synaptic differentiation is simultaneously achieved remains unclear. Here we show that synaptic scaling - a slow process usually associated with the maintenance of activity homeostasis - combined with synaptic plasticity may simultaneously achieve both, thereby providing a natural separation of short- from long-term storage. The interaction between plasticity and scaling provides also an explanation for an established paradox where memory consolidation critically depends on the exact order of learning and recall. These results indicate that scaling may be fundamental for stabilizing memories, providing a dynamic link between early and late memory formation processes.

  5. Clinical trials with rasagiline: evidence for short-term and long-term effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siderowf, Andrew; Stern, Matthew

    2006-05-23

    Rasagiline (N-propargyl-1 (R)-aminoindan) is a selective, potent irreversible inhibitor of MAO-B that possesses neuroprotective and anti-apoptotic properties in a variety of in vitro and in vivo animal models relevant to Parkinson's disease (PD). Several randomized controlled clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of rasagiline as monotherapy in PD and as adjunctive therapy for patients receiving levodopa. In addition, the 1-year randomized, delayed-start analysis of the TEMPO study suggests that rasagiline may slow the rate of progression of PD. The randomized delayed-start paradigm has potential to differentiate short-term symptomatic effects from long-term effects of anti-parkinsonian agents. In the future, long-term trials to examine the potential disease-modifying effects of rasagiline, which incorporate biological markers as well as clinical endpoints, may further elucidate the role of rasagiline in the treatment of both early and advanced PD.

  6. The Structure and Content of Long-Term and Short-Term Mate Preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter K. Jonason

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study addresses two limitations in the mate preferences literature. First, research all-too-often relies on single-item assessments of mate preferences precluding more advanced statistical techniques like factor analysis. Second, when factor analysis could be done, it exclusively has done for long-term mate preferences, at the exclusion of short-term mate preferences. In this study (N = 401, we subjected 20 items designed to measure short- and long-term mate preferences to both principle components (n = 200 and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 201. In the long-term context, we replicated previous findings that there are three different categories of preferences: physical attractiveness, interpersonal warmth, and social status. In the short-term context, physical attractiveness occupied two parts of the structure, social status dropped out, and interpersonal warmth remained. Across short- and long-term contexts, there were slight changes in what defined the shared dimensions (i.e., physical attractiveness and interpersonal warmth, suggesting prior work that applies the same inventory to each context might be flawed. We also replicated sex differences and similarities in mate preferences and correlates with sociosexuality and mate value. We adopt an evolutionary paradigm to understand our results.

  7. Patterns of Change in Interpersonal Problems During and After Short-term and Long-term Psychodynamic Group Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fjeldstad, Anette; Høglend, Per; Lorentzen, Steinar

    2017-05-01

    In this study, we compared the patterns of change in interpersonal problems between short-term and long-term psychodynamic group therapy. A total of 167 outpatients with mixed diagnoses were randomized to 20 or 80 weekly sessions of group therapy. Interpersonal problems were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems at six time points during the 3-year study period. Using linear mixed models, change was linearly modelled in two steps. Earlier (within the first 6 months) and later (during the last 2.5 years) changes in five subscales were estimated. Contrary to what we expected, short-term therapy induced a significantly larger early change than long-term therapy on the cold subscale and there was a trend on the socially avoidant subscale, using a Bonferroni-adjusted alpha. There was no significant difference between short-term and long-term group therapy for improving problems in the areas cold, socially avoidant, nonassertive, exploitable, and overly nurturant over the 3 years.

  8. Short-term versus long-term approaches to the development of tourism-related policies

    OpenAIRE

    Dredge, Dianne

    2015-01-01

    Tourism policy development is an increasingly complex activity involving multiple public sector agencies, industry and community stakeholders and non-government organisations at different scales. This discussion paper examines the implications for tourism of governments adopting short- term versus long-term approaches to the development of tourism related policies and identifies policy considerations to maximize the growth potential of tourism. The key issue is to understand how governments c...

  9. Differences in health status between long-term and short-term benzodiazepine users.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zandstra, S.M.; Furer, J.W.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Bor, J.H.J.; Zitman, F.G.; Weel, C. van

    2002-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Despite generally accepted advice to keep treatment short, benzodiazepines are often prescibed for more than six months. Prevention of long-term benzodiazepine use could be facilitated by the utilisation of risk indicators for long-term use. However, the characteristics of long-term

  10. Short-Term Success versus Long-Term Failure: A Simulation-Based Approach for Understanding the Potential of Zambia’s Fertilizer Subsidy Program in Enhancing Maize Availability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Gerber

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In Sub-Saharan Africa, food-related policies such as fertilizer subsidy programs (FSPs have undergone a revival and triggered a controversy about their impact. In this article I applied a simulation-based approach to examine the FSPs’ short- and long-term potential for increasing maize availability in Zambia. The study revealed that FSPs are an effective policy measure to enhance maize availability in the short-term. However, in the long-term, the food system becomes dependent on the government’s annual expenses. The dependency occurs because FSPs fail to build up adequate stock levels of soil organic matter (SOM, which is an important source of resilience and productivity, and thus represents a long-term leverage point in Zambia’s maize production system. For this reason, alternative policies that combine increasing productivity and building up SOM stock levels were analyzed. They were found to be a viable means for enhancing long-term maize availability. The study concludes that gradually reducing investments in FSPs while simultaneously promoting farming practices that build up SOM stock levels is a promising strategy to enhance maize availability sustainably.

  11. Preeclampsia; short and long-term consequences for mother and neonate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokslag, Anouk; van Weissenbruch, Mirjam; Mol, Ben Willem; de Groot, Christianne J M

    2016-11-01

    Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy specific disease, that presents with hypertension and a variety of organ failures, including malfunction of kidneys, liver and lungs. At present, the only definitive treatment of preeclampsia is end the pregnancy and deliver the neonate and placenta. For women with mild preeclampsia in the preterm phase of pregnancy, expectant management is generally indicated to improve fetal maturity, often requiring maternal medical treatment. Last decades, more evidence is available that the underlying mechanism of preeclampsia, endothelial disease, is not limited to pregnancy but increases cardiovascular risk in later life. In this review, we present the most recent insight in preeclampsia with focus on impact on the fetus, short and long-term outcome of offspring's, and long-term outcome of women with a history of preeclampsia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Relationship between short and long term radon measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, T.; Ramirez, D.; Navarrete, M.; Cabrera, L.; Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, P.

    2000-01-01

    In this work the radon group of the Faculty of Chemistry at the National University of Mexico presents the results obtained in the establishment of a relation between the short and long term radon measures made with passive electret detectors E-PERM type LLT and HST. The measures were carried out inside single family dwellings (open house condition) located in the southeast of Mexico City (in Xochimilco) during the four seasons of the year 1997. A correlation was established between the short term measures (five days) and those of a long term for every season as well as an annual average, with an equation that relates them. The objective and advantage of this correlation are that with a short term measure it is possible to predict the annual mean radon concentration, that represents a saving of human and economic resources. (author)

  13. The interaction of short-term and long-term memory in phonetic category formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harnsberger, James D.

    2002-05-01

    This study examined the role that short-term memory capacity plays in the relationship between novel stimuli (e.g., non-native speech sounds, native nonsense words) and phonetic categories in long-term memory. Thirty native speakers of American English were administered five tests: categorial AXB discrimination using nasal consonants from Malayalam; categorial identification, also using Malayalam nasals, which measured the influence of phonetic categories in long-term memory; digit span; nonword span, a short-term memory measure mediated by phonetic categories in long-term memory; and paired-associate word learning (word-word and word-nonword pairs). The results showed that almost all measures were significantly correlated with one another. The strongest predictor for the discrimination and word-nonword learning results was nonword (r=+0.62) and digit span (r=+0.51), respectively. When the identification test results were partialed out, only nonword span significantly correlated with discrimination. The results show a strong influence of short-term memory capacity on the encoding of phonetic detail within phonetic categories and suggest that long-term memory representations regulate the capacity of short-term memory to preserve information for subsequent encoding. The results of this study will also be discussed with regards to resolving the tension between episodic and abstract models of phonetic category structure.

  14. Long- and Short-Term Cryptocurrency Volatility Components: A GARCH-MIDAS Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Conrad

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available We use the GARCH-MIDAS model to extract the long- and short-term volatility components of cryptocurrencies. As potential drivers of Bitcoin volatility, we consider measures of volatility and risk in the US stock market as well as a measure of global economic activity. We find that S&P 500 realized volatility has a negative and highly significant effect on long-term Bitcoin volatility. The finding is atypical for volatility co-movements across financial markets. Moreover, we find that the S&P 500 volatility risk premium has a significantly positive effect on long-term Bitcoin volatility. Finally, we find a strong positive association between the Baltic dry index and long-term Bitcoin volatility. This result shows that Bitcoin volatility is closely linked to global economic activity. Overall, our findings can be used to construct improved forecasts of long-term Bitcoin volatility.

  15. Do Short-Term Managerial Objectives Lead to Under- or Over-Investment in Long-Term Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Lucian Arye Bebchuk; Lars A. Stole

    1994-01-01

    This paper studies managerial decisions about investment in long-run projects in the presence of imperfect information (the market knows less about such investments than the firm's managers) and short-term managerial objectives (the managers are concerned about the short-term stock price as well as the long-term stock price). Prior work has suggested that imperfect information and short-term managerial objectives induce managers to underinvest in long-run projects. We show that either underin...

  16. Short-horizon regulation for long-term investors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shi, Z.; Werker, B.J.M.

    2012-01-01

    We study the effects of imposing repeated short-horizon regulatory constraints on long-term investors. We show that Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall constraints, when imposed dynamically, lead to similar optimal portfolios and wealth distributions. We also show that, in utility terms, the costs

  17. The uranium industry: long-term planning for short-term competition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vottero, X.; Georges Capus, G.

    2001-01-01

    Long term planning for short term competition Today, uranium producers face new challenges in terms of both production (new regulatory, environmental and social constraints) and market conditions (new sources of uranium supply, very low prices and tough competition). In such a context, long-term planning is not just a prerequisite to survive in the nuclear fuel cycle industry. In fact, it also contributes to sustaining nuclear electricity generation facing fierce competition from other energy sources in increasingly deregulated markets. Firstly, the risk of investing in new mining projects in western countries is growing because, on the one hand, of very erratic market conditions and, on the other hand, of increasingly lengthy, complex and unpredictable regulatory conditions. Secondly, the supply of other sources of uranium (uranium derived from nuclear weapons, uranium produced in CIS countries, ...) involve other risks, mainly related to politics and commercial restrictions. Consequently, competitive uranium supply requires not only technical competence but also financial strength and good marketing capabilities in order to anticipate long-term market trends, in terms of both demand and supply. It also requires taking into account new parameters such as politics, environment, regulations, etc. Today, a supplier dedicated to the sustainable production of nuclear electricity must manage a broad range of long-term risks inherent to the procurement of uranium. Taking into account all these parameters in a context of short-term, fast-changing market is a great challenge for the future generation. World Uranium Civilian Supply and Demand. (authors)

  18. Self-reported immature defense style as a predictor of outcome in short-term and long-term psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laaksonen, Maarit A; Sirkiä, Carlos; Knekt, Paul; Lindfors, Olavi

    2014-07-01

    Identification of pretreatment patient characteristics predictive of psychotherapy outcome could help to guide treatment choices. This study evaluates patients' initial level of immature defense style as a predictor of the outcome of short-term versus long-term psychotherapy. In the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study, 326 adult outpatients with mood or anxiety disorder were randomized to individual short-term (psychodynamic or solution-focused) or long-term (psychodynamic) psychotherapy. Their defense style was assessed at baseline using the 88-item Defense Style Questionnaire and classified as low or high around the median value of the respective score. Both specific (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS], Symptom Check List Anxiety Scale [SCL-90-Anx], Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale [HARS]) and global (Symptom Check List Global Severity Index [SCL-90-GSI], Global Assessment of Functioning Scale [GAF]) psychiatric symptoms were measured at baseline and 3-7 times during a 3-year follow-up. Patients with high use of immature defense style experienced greater symptom reduction in long-term than in short-term psychotherapy by the end of the 3-year follow-up (50% vs. 34%). Patients with low use of immature defense style experienced faster symptom reduction in short-term than in long-term psychotherapy during the first year of follow-up (34% vs. 19%). Knowledge of patients' initial level of immature defense style may potentially be utilized in tailoring treatments. Further research on defense styles as outcome predictors in psychotherapies of different types is needed.

  19. Short-term and long-term sick-leave in Sweden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blank, N; Diderichsen, Finn

    1995-01-01

    The primary aim of the study was to analyse similarities and differences between repeated spells of short-term sick-leave (more than 3 spells of less than 7 days' duration in a 12-month period) and long-term absence through sickness (at least 1 spell of more than 59 days' duration in a 12-month p...

  20. TACTILE STIMULATION EVOKES LONG-LASTING POTENTIATION OF PURKINJE CELL DISCHARGE IN VIVO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramakrishnan eKanchipuram

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In the cerebellar network, a precise relationship between plasticity and neuronal discharge has been predicted. However, the potential generation of persistent changes in PC spike discharge as a consequence of plasticity following natural stimulation patterns has not been clearly determined. Here we show that facial tactile stimuli organized in theta-patterns can induce stereotyped NMDA and GABA-A receptor-dependent changes in Purkinje cell (PCs and molecular layer interneuron (MLIs firing: invariably, all PCs showed a long-lasting increase (spike-related potentiation or SR-P and MLIs a long-lasting decrease (spike-related suppression or SR-S in baseline activity and spike response probability. These observations suggests that natural sensory stimulation engages multiple long-term plastic changes that are distributed along the mossy fiber – parallel fiber pathway and operate synergistically to potentiate spike generation in PCs. In contrast, theta-pattern electrical stimulation of PFs indistinctly induced SR-P and SR-S both in PCs and MLIs, suggesting that natural sensory stimulation preordinates plasticity upstream of the PF-PC synapse. All these effects occurred in the absence of complex spike changes, supporting the theoretical prediction that Purkinje cell activity is potentiated when the mossy fiber - parallel fiber system is activated in the absence of conjunctive climbing fiber activity.

  1. Implicit short- and long-term memory direct our gaze in visual search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruijne, Wouter; Meeter, Martijn

    2016-04-01

    Visual attention is strongly affected by the past: both by recent experience and by long-term regularities in the environment that are encoded in and retrieved from memory. In visual search, intertrial repetition of targets causes speeded response times (short-term priming). Similarly, targets that are presented more often than others may facilitate search, even long after it is no longer present (long-term priming). In this study, we investigate whether such short-term priming and long-term priming depend on dissociable mechanisms. By recording eye movements while participants searched for one of two conjunction targets, we explored at what stages of visual search different forms of priming manifest. We found both long- and short- term priming effects. Long-term priming persisted long after the bias was present, and was again found even in participants who were unaware of a color bias. Short- and long-term priming affected the same stage of the task; both biased eye movements towards targets with the primed color, already starting with the first eye movement. Neither form of priming affected the response phase of a trial, but response repetition did. The results strongly suggest that both long- and short-term memory can implicitly modulate feedforward visual processing.

  2. Sleep Quality, Short-Term and Long-Term CPAP Adherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somiah, Manya; Taxin, Zachary; Keating, Joseph; Mooney, Anne M.; Norman, Robert G.; Rapoport, David M.; Ayappa, Indu

    2012-01-01

    Study Objectives: Adherence to CPAP therapy is low in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the utility of measures of sleep architecture and sleep continuity on the CPAP titration study as predictors of both short- and long-term CPAP adherence. Methods: 93 patients with OSAHS (RDI 42.8 ± 34.3/h) underwent in-laboratory diagnostic polysomnography, CPAP titration, and follow-up polysomnography (NPSG) on CPAP. Adherence to CPAP was objectively monitored. Short-term (ST) CPAP adherence was averaged over 14 days immediately following the titration study. Long-term (LT) CPAP adherence was obtained in 56/93 patients after approximately 2 months of CPAP use. Patients were grouped into CPAP adherence groups for ST ( 4 h) and LT adherence ( 4 h). Sleep architecture, sleep disordered breathing (SDB) indices, and daytime outcome variables from the diagnostic and titration NPSGs were compared between CPAP adherence groups. Results: There was a significant relationship between ST and LT CPAP adherence (r = 0.81, p CPAP adherence groups had significantly lower %N2 and greater %REM on the titration NPSG. A model combining change in sleep efficiency and change in sleep continuity between the diagnostic and titration NPSGs predicted 17% of the variance in LT adherence (p = 0.006). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that characteristics of sleep architecture, even on the titration NPSG, may predict some of the variance in CPAP adherence. Better sleep quality on the titration night was related to better CPAP adherence, suggesting that interventions to improve sleep on/prior to the CPAP titration study might be used as a therapeutic intervention to improve CPAP adherence. Citation: Somiah M; Taxin Z; Keating J; Mooney AM; Norman RG; Rapoport DM; Ayappa I. Sleep quality, short-term and long-term CPAP adherence. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(5):489-500. PMID:23066359

  3. Reconciling long-term cultural diversity and short-term collective social behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valori, Luca; Picciolo, Francesco; Allansdottir, Agnes; Garlaschelli, Diego

    2012-01-24

    An outstanding open problem is whether collective social phenomena occurring over short timescales can systematically reduce cultural heterogeneity in the long run, and whether offline and online human interactions contribute differently to the process. Theoretical models suggest that short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity are mutually excluding, since they require very different levels of social influence. The latter jointly depends on two factors: the topology of the underlying social network and the overlap between individuals in multidimensional cultural space. However, while the empirical properties of social networks are intensively studied, little is known about the large-scale organization of real societies in cultural space, so that random input specifications are necessarily used in models. Here we use a large dataset to perform a high-dimensional analysis of the scientific beliefs of thousands of Europeans. We find that interopinion correlations determine a nontrivial ultrametric hierarchy of individuals in cultural space. When empirical data are used as inputs in models, ultrametricity has strong and counterintuitive effects. On short timescales, it facilitates a symmetry-breaking phase transition triggering coordinated social behavior. On long timescales, it suppresses cultural convergence by restricting it within disjoint groups. Moreover, ultrametricity implies that these results are surprisingly robust to modifications of the dynamical rules considered. Thus the empirical distribution of individuals in cultural space appears to systematically optimize the coexistence of short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity, which can be realized simultaneously for the same moderate level of mutual influence in a diverse range of online and offline settings.

  4. Semantic and phonological contributions to short-term repetition and long-term cued sentence recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meltzer, Jed A; Rose, Nathan S; Deschamps, Tiffany; Leigh, Rosie C; Panamsky, Lilia; Silberberg, Alexandra; Madani, Noushin; Links, Kira A

    2016-02-01

    The function of verbal short-term memory is supported not only by the phonological loop, but also by semantic resources that may operate on both short and long time scales. Elucidation of the neural underpinnings of these mechanisms requires effective behavioral manipulations that can selectively engage them. We developed a novel cued sentence recall paradigm to assess the effects of two factors on sentence recall accuracy at short-term and long-term stages. Participants initially repeated auditory sentences immediately following a 14-s retention period. After this task was complete, long-term memory for each sentence was probed by a two-word recall cue. The sentences were either concrete (high imageability) or abstract (low imageability), and the initial 14-s retention period was filled with either an undemanding finger-tapping task or a more engaging articulatory suppression task (Exp. 1, counting backward by threes; Exp. 2, repeating a four-syllable nonword). Recall was always better for the concrete sentences. Articulatory suppression reduced accuracy in short-term recall, especially for abstract sentences, but the sentences initially recalled following articulatory suppression were retained better at the subsequent cued-recall test, suggesting that the engagement of semantic mechanisms for short-term retention promoted encoding of the sentence meaning into long-term memory. These results provide a basis for using sentence imageability and subsequent memory performance as probes of semantic engagement in short-term memory for sentences.

  5. Musical and Verbal Memory in Alzheimer's Disease: A Study of Long-Term and Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menard, Marie-Claude; Belleville, Sylvie

    2009-01-01

    Musical memory was tested in Alzheimer patients and in healthy older adults using long-term and short-term memory tasks. Long-term memory (LTM) was tested with a recognition procedure using unfamiliar melodies. Short-term memory (STM) was evaluated with same/different judgment tasks on short series of notes. Musical memory was compared to verbal…

  6. Short- and long-term reproducibility of radioisotopic examination of gastric emptying

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jonderko, K. (Silesian School of Medicine, Katowice (Poland). Dept. of Gastroenterology)

    1990-01-01

    Reproducibility of gastric emptying (GE) of a radiolabelled solid meal was assessed. The short-term reproducibility was evaluated on the basis of 12 paired GE examinations performed 1-3 days apart. Twelve paired GE examinations taken 3-8 months apart enabled long-term reproducibility assessment. Reproducibility of GE parameters was expressed in terms of the coefficient of variation, CV. No significant between-day variation of solid GE was found either regarding the short-term or the long-term reproducibility. Although slightly higher CV values characterized the long-term reproducibility of the GE parameters considered, the variations of the differences between repeated GE examinations did not differ significantly between short- and long-term GE reproducibility. The results obtained justify the use of radioisotopic GE measurement for the assessment of early and late results of pharmacologic or surgical management. (author).

  7. Short-term and long-term deflection of reinforced hollow core ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents a study on different methods of analysis that are currently used by design codes to predict the short-term and long-term deflection of reinforced concrete slab systems and compares the predicted deflections with measured deflections. The experimental work to measure deflections involved the testing of ...

  8. Upregulation of CREB-mediated transcription enhances both short- and long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Akinobu; Fukushima, Hotaka; Mukawa, Takuya; Toyoda, Hiroki; Wu, Long-Jun; Zhao, Ming-Gao; Xu, Hui; Shang, Yuze; Endoh, Kengo; Iwamoto, Taku; Mamiya, Nori; Okano, Emiko; Hasegawa, Shunsuke; Mercaldo, Valentina; Zhang, Yue; Maeda, Ryouta; Ohta, Miho; Josselyn, Sheena A; Zhuo, Min; Kida, Satoshi

    2011-06-15

    Unraveling the mechanisms by which the molecular manipulation of genes of interest enhances cognitive function is important to establish genetic therapies for cognitive disorders. Although CREB is thought to positively regulate formation of long-term memory (LTM), gain-of-function effects of CREB remain poorly understood, especially at the behavioral level. To address this, we generated four lines of transgenic mice expressing dominant active CREB mutants (CREB-Y134F or CREB-DIEDML) in the forebrain that exhibited moderate upregulation of CREB activity. These transgenic lines improved not only LTM but also long-lasting long-term potentiation in the CA1 area in the hippocampus. However, we also observed enhanced short-term memory (STM) in contextual fear-conditioning and social recognition tasks. Enhanced LTM and STM could be dissociated behaviorally in these four lines of transgenic mice, suggesting that the underlying mechanism for enhanced STM and LTM are distinct. LTM enhancement seems to be attributable to the improvement of memory consolidation by the upregulation of CREB transcriptional activity, whereas higher basal levels of BDNF, a CREB target gene, predicted enhanced shorter-term memory. The importance of BDNF in STM was verified by microinfusing BDNF or BDNF inhibitors into the hippocampus of wild-type or transgenic mice. Additionally, increasing BDNF further enhanced LTM in one of the lines of transgenic mice that displayed a normal BDNF level but enhanced LTM, suggesting that upregulation of BDNF and CREB activity cooperatively enhances LTM formation. Our findings suggest that CREB positively regulates memory consolidation and affects memory performance by regulating BDNF expression.

  9. Short-term power plant operation scheduling in thermal systems with long-term boundary conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolter, H.

    1990-01-01

    For the first time, the modeling of long-term quantitative conditions within the short-term planning of the application of power stations is made via their shadow prices. It corresponds to a decomposition of the quantitative conditions by means of the method of the Langrange relaxation. The shadow prices determined by the planning for energy application regarding long- term quantitative conditions pass into the short-term planning for power station application and subsidize or rather punish the application of limited amounts as for as they are not claimed for sufficiently or excessively. The clear advantage of this modeling is that the short-term planning of power station application can deviate from the envisioned energy application regarding the total optimum, because the shadow prices contain all information about the cost effect of the energy shifts in the residual total period, which become necessary due to the deviations in the short-term period to be planned in the current short-term period. (orig./DG) [de

  10. Differential functions of NR2A and NR2B in short-term and long-term memory in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Ye-Ha; Suh, Yoo-Hun

    2010-08-23

    N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate receptors implicated in synaptic plasticity and memory function. The specific functions of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B have not yet been fully determined in the different types of memory. Nine Wistar rats (8-weeks-old) were subjected to the Morris water maze task to evaluate the memory behaviorally. Quantitative analysis of NR1, NR2A, and NR2B levels in the right and left forebrain of rats was performed and subunit associations with different types of memory were investigated using the Morris water maze task. Right forebrain NR2A expression was significantly increased and correlated with faster escape time onto a hidden platform, indicating involvement of short-term memory, because of the training time interval. Right forebrain NR2B expression was positively associated with long-term memory lasting 24-h (h). In the left forebrain, NR2B expression was positively related to 72-h long-term memory. In conclusion, the functions of NR2A and NR2B receptors were differentially specialized in short-term and long-term memory, depending on the right or left forebrain.

  11. Short-term versus long-term market opportunities and financial constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrari, Angelo

    1999-01-01

    This presentation discusses gas developments in Europe, the European Gas Directive, short term vs. long term, and Snam's new challenges. The European gas market is characterized by (1) The role of gas in meeting the demand for energy, which varies greatly from one country to another, (2) A growing market, (3) Decreasing role of domestic production, and (4) Increasing imports. Within the European Union, the Gas Directive aims to transform single national markets into one integrated European market by introducing third party access to the network for eligible clients as a means of increasing the competition between operators. The Gas Directive would appear to modify the form of the market rather than its size, and in particular the sharing of responsibility and risk among operators. The market in the future will offer operators the possibility to exploit opportunities deriving mainly from demands for increased flexibility. Opportunities linked to entrepreneurial initiatives require long-term investments characteristic of the gas business. Risks and opportunities must be balanced evenly between different operators. If everyone takes on their own risks and responsibilities, this means a wider distribution of the risks of long-term vs. short-term, currently borne by the gas companies that are integrated, into a market that tends to favour the short-term. A gradual liberalization process should allow incumbent operators to gradually diversify their activities in new gas market areas or enter new business activities. They could move beyond their local and European boundaries in pursuit of an international dimension. The market will have to make the transition from the national to the European dimension: as an example, Snam covers 90% of the Italian market, but its share of an integrated European market will be about 15%

  12. The effect of short-term treatment with lithium carbonate on the outcome of radioiodine therapy in patients with long-lasting Graves' hyperthyroidism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekulić, Vladan; Rajić, Milena; Vlajković, Marina; Ilić, Slobodan; Stević, Miloš; Kojić, Marko

    2017-12-01

    The outcome of radioiodine therapy (RIT) in Graves' hyperthyroidism (GH) mainly depends on radioiodine ( 131 I) uptake and the effective half-life of 131 I in the gland. Studies have shown that lithium carbonate (LiCO 3 ) enhances the 131 I half-life and increases the applied thyroid radiation dose without affecting the thyroid 131 I uptake. We investigated the effect of short-term treatment with LiCO 3 on the outcome of RIT in patients with long-lasting GH, its influence on the thyroid hormones levels 7 days after RIT, and possible side effects. Study prospectively included 30 patients treated with LiCO 3 and 131 I (RI-Li group) and 30 patients only with 131 I (RI group). Treatment with LiCO 3 (900 mg/day) started 1 day before RIT and continued 6 days after. Anti-thyroid drugs withdrawal was 7 days before RIT. Patients were followed up for 12 months. We defined a success of RIT as euthyroidism or hypothyroidism, and a failure as persistent hyperthyroidism. In RI-Li group, a serum level of Li was 0.571 ± 0.156 mmol/l before RIT. Serum levels of TT 4 and FT 4 increased while TSH decreased only in RI group 7 days after RIT. No toxic effects were noticed during LiCO 3 treatment. After 12 months, a success of RIT was 73.3% in RI and 90.0% in RI-Li group (P treatment with LiCO 3 as an adjunct to 131 I improves efficacy of RIT in patients with long-lasting GH. A success of RIT achieves faster in lithium-treated than in RI group. Treatment with LiCO 3 for 7 days prevents transient worsening of hyperthyroidism after RIT. Short-term use of LiCO 3 shows no toxic side effects.

  13. Short-term versus long-term contracting for uranium enrichment services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudy, G.P.

    1990-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (US DOE) is the world's largest and most experienced supplier of uranium enrichment services. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, emerging market forces transformed what was once a monopoly into a highly competitive industry. In the early 1980's the DOE lost market share. But as we enter the 1990s, new market forces have emerged. The US DOE believes a responsible balance between long-term and short-term contracting will be the key to success and the key to assuring the long-term health and reliability of the nuclear fuel industry. The US DOE intends to be in this nuclear business for a long time and will continue to offer reliable and responsive services second to none

  14. Neural Consequences of Chronic Short Sleep: Reversible or Lasting?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhengqing Zhao

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Approximately one-third of adolescents and adults in developed countries regularly experience insufficient sleep across the school and/or work week interspersed with weekend catch up sleep. This common practice of weekend recovery sleep reduces subjective sleepiness, yet recent studies demonstrate that one weekend of recovery sleep may not be sufficient in all persons to fully reverse all neurobehavioral impairments observed with chronic sleep loss, particularly vigilance. Moreover, recent studies in animal models demonstrate persistent injury to and loss of specific neuron types in response to chronic short sleep (CSS with lasting effects on sleep/wake patterns. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the effects of chronic sleep disruption on neurobehavioral performance and injury to neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes and discuss what is known and what is not yet established for reversibility of neural injury. Recent neurobehavioral findings in humans are integrated with animal model research examining long-term consequences of sleep loss on neurobehavioral performance, brain development, neurogenesis, neurodegeneration, and connectivity. While it is now clear that recovery of vigilance following short sleep requires longer than one weekend, less is known of the impact of CSS on cognitive function, mood, and brain health long term. From work performed in animal models, CSS in the young adult and short-term sleep loss in critical developmental windows can have lasting detrimental effects on neurobehavioral performance.

  15. Dispositional optimism as predictor of outcome in short- and long-term psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinonen, Erkki; Heiskanen, Tiia; Lindfors, Olavi; Härkäpää, Kristiina; Knekt, Paul

    2017-09-01

    Dispositional optimism predicts various beneficial outcomes in somatic health and treatment, but has been little studied in psychotherapy. This study investigated whether an optimistic disposition differentially predicts patients' ability to benefit from short-term versus long-term psychotherapy. A total of 326 adult outpatients with mood and/or anxiety disorder were randomized into short-term (solution-focused or short-term psychodynamic) or long-term psychodynamic therapy and followed up for 3 years. Dispositional optimism was assessed by patients at baseline with the self-rated Life Orientation Test (LOT) questionnaire. Outcome was assessed at baseline and seven times during the follow-up, in terms of depressive (BDI, HDRS), anxiety (SCL-90-ANX, HARS), and general psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90-GSI), all seven follow-up points including patients' self-reports and three including interview-based measures. Lower dispositional optimism predicted faster symptom reduction in short-term than in long-term psychotherapy. Higher optimism predicted equally rapid and eventually greater benefits in long-term, as compared to short-term, psychotherapy. Weaker optimism appeared to predict sustenance of problems early in long-term therapy. Stronger optimism seems to best facilitate engaging in and benefiting from a long-term therapy process. Closer research might clarify the psychological processes responsible for these effects and help fine-tune both briefer and longer interventions to optimize treatment effectiveness for particular patients and their psychological qualities. Weaker dispositional optimism does not appear to inhibit brief therapy from effecting symptomatic recovery. Patients with weaker optimism do not seem to gain added benefits from long-term therapy, but instead may be susceptible to prolonged psychiatric symptoms in the early stages of long-term therapy. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  16. Short-term versus long-term heart rate variability in ischemic cardiomyopathy risk stratification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas eVoss

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In industrialized countries with aging populations, heart failure affects 0.3%-2% of the general population. The investigation of 24h-ECG recordings revealed the potential of nonlinear indices of heart rate variability (HRV for enhanced risk stratification in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF. However, long-term analyses are time-consuming, expensive and delay the initial diagnosis. The objective of this study was to investigate whether 30min short-term HRV analysis is sufficient for comparable risk stratification in IHF in comparison to 24h-HRV analysis. From 256 IHF patients (221 at low risk (IHFLR and 35 at high risk (IHFHR a 24h beat-to-beat time series b the first 30min segment c the 30min most stationary day segment and d the 30min most stationary night segment were investigated. We calculated linear (time and frequency domain and nonlinear HRV analysis indices. Optimal parameter sets for risk stratification in IHF were determined for 24 hours and for each 30min segment by applying discriminant analysis on significant clinical and non-clinical indices. Long- and short-term HRV indices from frequency domain and particularly from nonlinear dynamics revealed high univariate significances (p

  17. The roles of long-term phonotactic and lexical prosodic knowledge in phonological short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanida, Yuki; Ueno, Taiji; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A; Saito, Satoru

    2015-04-01

    Many previous studies have explored and confirmed the influence of long-term phonological representations on phonological short-term memory. In most investigations, phonological effects have been explored with respect to phonotactic constraints or frequency. If interaction between long-term memory and phonological short-term memory is a generalized principle, then other phonological characteristics-that is, suprasegmental aspects of phonology-should also exert similar effects on phonological short-term memory. We explored this hypothesis through three immediate serial-recall experiments that manipulated Japanese nonwords with respect to lexical prosody (pitch-accent type, reflecting suprasegmental characteristics) as well as phonotactic frequency (reflecting segmental characteristics). The results showed that phonotactic frequency affected the retention not only of the phonemic sequences, but also of pitch-accent patterns, when participants were instructed to recall both the phoneme sequence and accent pattern of nonwords. In addition, accent pattern typicality influenced the retention of the accent pattern: Typical accent patterns were recalled more accurately than atypical ones. These results indicate that both long-term phonotactic and lexical prosodic knowledge contribute to phonological short-term memory performance.

  18. Aging of Dissolved Copper and Copper-based Nanoparticles in Five Different Soils: Short-term Kinetics vs. Long-term Fate

    Science.gov (United States)

    With the growing availability and use of copper-based nanomaterials (Cu-NMs), there is increasing concern regarding their release and potential impact on the environment. In this study, the short term (≤5 d) aging profile and the long-term (135 d) speciation of dissolved Cu, cop...

  19. Forecasting stock return volatility: A comparison between the roles of short-term and long-term leverage effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Zhiyuan; Liu, Li

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we extend the GARCH-MIDAS model proposed by Engle et al. (2013) to account for the leverage effect in short-term and long-term volatility components. Our in-sample evidence suggests that both short-term and long-term negative returns can cause higher future volatility than positive returns. Out-of-sample results show that the predictive ability of GARCH-MIDAS is significantly improved after taking the leverage effect into account. The leverage effect for short-term volatility component plays more important role than the leverage effect for long-term volatility component in affecting out-of-sample forecasting performance.

  20. Comparative study of short- and long-term indoor radon measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Jarallah, M.I. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)], E-mail: mibrahim@kfupm.edu.sa; Fazal-ur-Rehman,; Abdalla, Khalid [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

    2008-08-15

    Short-term indoor radon measurements are used widely. Therefore, it is interesting to find out a correlation between these measurements and long-term measurements which reflect a better average radon concentration of individual measurement. To find the correlation between the two measurements of indoor radon concentrations at low radon levels, a study was carried out at 34 locations of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia using active and passive methods. In the short-term active method, a radon gas analyzer (AlphaGUARD) was used for a duration of 24 h in each measurement. In the long-term passive method, CR-39 based radon dosimeters were utilized for a period of 6 months, from January 2006 to June 2006. The short-term active measurements showed that the average, minimum and maximum radon concentrations were 19, 8 and 58Bqm{sup -3}, respectively, with a standard deviation of 8.6Bqm{sup -3}. The long-term passive measurements showed that the average, minimum and maximum radon concentrations were 25, 10 and 67Bqm{sup -3}, respectively, with a standard deviation of 12Bqm{sup -3}. The two measurements showed a poor correlation (R{sup 2}=0.38). The long-term measurements showed on the average higher concentrations by a factor of 1.3.

  1. Persistent long-term facilitation at an identified synapse becomes labile with activation of short-term heterosynaptic plasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jiang-Yuan; Schacher, Samuel

    2014-04-02

    Short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity are cellular correlates of learning and memory of different durations. Little is known, however, how these two forms of plasticity interact at the same synaptic connection. We examined the reciprocal impact of short-term heterosynaptic or homosynaptic plasticity at sensorimotor synapses of Aplysia in cell culture when expressing persistent long-term facilitation (P-LTF) evoked by serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)]. Short-term heterosynaptic plasticity induced by 5-HT (facilitation) or the neuropeptide FMRFa (depression) and short-term homosynaptic plasticity induced by tetanus [post-tetanic potentiation (PTP)] or low-frequency stimulation [homosynaptic depression (HSD)] of the sensory neuron were expressed in both control synapses and synapses expressing P-LTF in the absence or presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. All forms of short-term plasticity failed to significantly affect ongoing P-LTF in the absence of protein synthesis inhibitors. However, P-LTF reversed to control levels when either 5-HT or FMRFa was applied in the presence of rapamycin. In contrast, P-LTF was unaffected when either PTP or HSD was evoked in the presence of either rapamycin or anisomycin. These results indicate that synapses expressing persistent plasticity acquire a "new" baseline and functionally express short-term changes as naive synapses, but the new baseline becomes labile following selective activations-heterosynaptic stimuli that evoke opposite forms of plasticity-such that when presented in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors produce a rapid reversal of the persistent plasticity. Activity-selective induction of a labile state at synapses expressing persistent plasticity may facilitate the development of therapies for reversing inappropriate memories.

  2. Short- and long-term memory: differential involvement of neurotransmitter systems and signal transduction cascades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MÔNICA R.M. VIANNA

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available Since William James (1890 first distinguished primary from secondary memory, equivalent to short- and long-term memory, respectively, it has been assumed that short-term memory processes are in charge of cognition while long-term memory is being consolidated. From those days a major question has been whether short-term memory is merely a initial phase of long-term memory, or a separate phenomena. Recent experiments have shown that many treatments with specific molecular actions given into the hippocampus and related brain areas after one-trial avoidance learning can effectively cancel short-term memory without affecting long-term memory formation. This shows that short-term memory and long-term memory involve separate mechanisms and are independently processed. Other treatments, however, influence both memory types similarly, suggesting links between both at the receptor and at the post-receptor level, which should not be surprising as they both deal with nearly the same sensorimotor representations. This review examines recent advances in short- and long-term memory mechanisms based on the effect of intra-hippocampal infusion of drugs acting upon neurotransmitter and signal transduction systems on both memory types.

  3. Applicability of short-term accelerated biofouling studies to predict long-term biofouling accumulation in reverse osmosis membrane systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sanawar, Huma

    2018-02-02

    Biofouling studies addressing biofouling control are mostly executed in short-term studies. It is unclear whether data collected from these experiments are representative for long-term biofouling as occurring in full-scale membrane systems. This study investigated whether short-term biofouling studies accelerated by biodegradable nutrient dosage to feed water were predictive for long-term biofouling development without nutrient dosage. Since the presence of a feed spacer has an strong effect on the degree of biofouling, this study employed six geometrically different feed spacers. Membrane fouling simulators (MFSs) were operated with the same (i) membrane, (ii) feed flow and (iii) feed water, but with feed spacers varying in geometry. For the short-term experiment, biofilm formation was enhanced by nutrient dosage to the MFS feed water, whereas no nutrient dosage was applied in the long-term experiment. Pressure drop development was monitored to characterize the extent of biofouling, while the accumulated viable biomass content at the end of the experimental run was quantified by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements. Impact of feed spacer geometry on biofouling was compared for the short-term and long-term biofouling study. The results of the study revealed that the feed spacers exhibited the same biofouling behavior for (i) the short-term (9-d) study with nutrient dosage and (ii) the long-term (96-d) study without nutrient dosage. For the six different feed spacers, the accumulated viable biomass content (pg ATP.cm) was roughly the same, but the biofouling impact in terms of pressure drop increase in time was significantly different. The biofouling impact ranking of the six feed spacers was the same for the short-term and long-term biofouling studies. Therefore, it can be concluded that short-term accelerated biofouling studies in MFSs are a representative and suitable approach for the prediction of biofouling in membrane filtration systems after long-term

  4. Oil price shocks and their short- and long-term effects on the Chinese economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Weiqi; Wu, Libo; Zhang, ZhongXiang

    2010-01-01

    A considerable body of economic literature shows the adverse economic impacts of oil-price shocks for the developed economies. However, there has been a lack of similar empirical study on China and other developing countries. This paper attempts to fill this gap by answering how and to what extent oil-price shocks impact China's economy, emphasizing on the price transmission mechanisms. To that end, we develop a structural vector auto-regressive model. Our results show that an oil-price increase negatively affects output and investment, but positively affects inflation rate and interest rate. However, with price control policies in China, the impact on real economy, represented by real output and real investment, lasts much longer than that to price/monetary variables. Our decomposition results also show that the short-term impact, namely output decrease induced by the cut in capacity-utilization rate, is greater in the first 6 periods (namely half a year), but the portion of the long-term impact, defined as the impact realized through an investment change, increases steadily and exceeds that of short-term impact in the 7th period. Afterwards, the long-term impact dominates, and maintains for quite some time. (author)

  5. The stability of the international oil trade network from short-term and long-term perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Qingru; Gao, Xiangyun; Zhong, Weiqiong; Liu, Nairong

    2017-09-01

    To examine the stability of the international oil trade network and explore the influence of countries and trade relationships on the trade stability, we construct weighted and unweighted international oil trade networks based on complex network theory using oil trading data between countries from 1996 to 2014. We analyze the stability of international oil trade network (IOTN) from short-term and long-term aspects. From the short-term perspective, we find that the trade volumes play an important role on the stability. Moreover, the weighted IOTN is stable; however, the unweighted networks can better reflect the actual evolution of IOTN. From the long-term perspective, we identify trade relationships that are maintained during the whole sample period to reveal the situation of the whole international oil trade. We provide a way to quantitatively measure the stability of complex network from short-term and long-term perspectives, which can be applied to measure and analyze trade stability of other goods or services.

  6. Conversion of short-term to long-term memory in the novel object recognition paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Shannon J; Deshpande, Kaivalya; Stinnett, Gwen S; Seasholtz, Audrey F; Murphy, Geoffrey G

    2013-10-01

    It is well-known that stress can significantly impact learning; however, whether this effect facilitates or impairs the resultant memory depends on the characteristics of the stressor. Investigation of these dynamics can be confounded by the role of the stressor in motivating performance in a task. Positing a cohesive model of the effect of stress on learning and memory necessitates elucidating the consequences of stressful stimuli independently from task-specific functions. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of manipulating a task-independent stressor (elevated light level) on short-term and long-term memory in the novel object recognition paradigm. Short-term memory was elicited in both low light and high light conditions, but long-term memory specifically required high light conditions during the acquisition phase (familiarization trial) and was independent of the light level during retrieval (test trial). Additionally, long-term memory appeared to be independent of stress-mediated glucocorticoid release, as both low and high light produced similar levels of plasma corticosterone, which further did not correlate with subsequent memory performance. Finally, both short-term and long-term memory showed no savings between repeated experiments suggesting that this novel object recognition paradigm may be useful for longitudinal studies, particularly when investigating treatments to stabilize or enhance weak memories in neurodegenerative diseases or during age-related cognitive decline. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Transfer of Information from Short- to Long-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modigliani, Vito; Seamon, John G.

    1974-01-01

    The present study examined current hypotheses concerning information transfer from short-term memory (STM) to long-term memory (LTM) using a Peterson STM task with word triplets presented over retention intervals of 0, 3, 6, 9, and 18 sec. (Editor)

  8. Circulating sclerostin is elevated in short-term and reduced in long-term SCI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battaglino, Ricardo A; Sudhakar, Supreetha; Lazzari, Antonio A; Garshick, Eric; Zafonte, Ross; Morse, Leslie R

    2012-09-01

    Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes profound bone loss due to muscle paralysis resulting in the inability to walk. Sclerostin, a Wnt signaling pathway antagonist produced by osteocytes, is a potent inhibitor of bone formation. Short-term studies in rodent models have demonstrated increased sclerostin in response to mechanical unloading that is reversed with reloading. Although sclerostin inhibition has been proposed as a potential therapy for bone loss, it is not known if sclerostin levels vary with duration of SCI in humans. We analyzed circulating sclerostin in 155 men with varying degrees of SCI who were 1 year or more post-injury. We report that sclerostin levels are greatest in subjects with short-term SCI (≤5 years post-injury) and decrease significantly over the first 5 years post-injury. There was no association between sclerostin and injury duration in subjects with long-term SCI (>5 years post-injury). In subjects with long-term SCI, sclerostin levels were positively associated with lower extremity bone density and bone mineral content. These data suggest that sclerostin levels are initially increased after SCI in response to mechanical unloading. This response is time-limited and as bone loss progresses, circulating sclerostin is lowest in subjects with severe osteoporosis. These findings support a dual role for sclerostin after SCI: a therapeutic target in acute SCI, and a biomarker of osteoporosis severity in chronic SCI. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: Evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlagbauer, Bernhard; Mink, Maurice; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

    2017-02-01

    Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several trials, that is, the memory supporting "contextual cueing." In three experiments, we investigated the relationship between short-term perceptual hypotheses and long-term contextual memory. The results indicated that long-term, contextual memory of repeated displays neither affected the generation nor the confirmation of short-term perceptual hypotheses for these displays. Furthermore, the analysis of eye movements suggests that long-term memory provides an initial benefit in guiding attention to the target, whereas in subsequent looks guidance is entirely based on short-term perceptual hypotheses. Overall, the results reveal a picture of both long- and short-term memory contributing to reliable performance gains in interrupted search, while exerting their effects in an independent manner.

  10. Short-term and long-term memory in early temporal lobe dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershey, T; Craft, S; Glauser, T A; Hale, S

    1998-01-01

    Following medial temporal damage, mature humans are impaired in retaining new information over long delays but not short delays. The question of whether a similar dissociation occurs in children was addressed by testing children (ages 7-16) with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and controls on short- and long-term memory tasks, including a spatial delayed response task (SDR). Early-onset TLE did not affect performance on short delays on SDR, but it did impair performance at the longest delay (60 s), similar to adults with unilateral medial temporal damage. In addition, early-onset TLE affected performance on pattern recall, spatial span, and verbal span with rehearsal interference. No differences were found on story recall or on a response inhibition task.

  11. Short-term and long-term effects of violent media on aggression in children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bushman, Brad J; Huesmann, L Rowell

    2006-04-01

    To test whether the results of the accumulated studies on media violence and aggressive behavior are consistent with the theories that have evolved to explain the effects. We tested for the existence of both short-term and long-term effects for aggressive behavior. We also tested the theory-driven hypothesis that short-term effects should be greater for adults and long-term effects should be greater for children. Meta-analysis. Children younger than 18 years and adults. Violent media, including TV, movies, video games, music, and comic books. Measures of aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal (eg, heart rate, blood pressure), and helping behavior. Effect size estimates were combined using meta-analytic procedures. As expected, the short-term effects of violent media were greater for adults than for children whereas the long-term effects were greater for children than for adults. The results also showed that there were overall modest but significant effect sizes for exposure to media violence on aggressive behaviors, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, arousal levels, and helping behavior. The results are consistent with the theory that short-term effects are mostly due to the priming of existing well-encoded scripts, schemas, or beliefs, which adults have had more time to encode. In contrast, long-term effects require the learning (encoding) of scripts, schemas, or beliefs. Children can encode new scripts, schemas, and beliefs via observational learning with less interference and effort than adults.

  12. Short- and Long-Term Feedbacks on Vegetation Water Use: Unifying Evidence from Observations and Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackay, D. S.

    2001-05-01

    Recent efforts to measure and model the interacting influences of climate, soil, and vegetation on soil water and nutrient dynamics have identified numerous important feedbacks that produce nonlinear responses. In particular, plant physiological factors that control rates of transpiration respond to soil water deficits and vapor pressure deficits (VPD) in the short-term, and to climate, nutrient cycling and disturbance in the long-term. The starting point of this presentation is the observation that in many systems, in particular forest ecosystems, conservative water use emerges as a result of short-term closure of stomata in response to high evaporative demand, and long-term vegetative canopy development under nutrient limiting conditions. Evidence for important short-term controls is presented from sap flux measurements of stand transpiration, remote sensing, and modeling of transpiration through a combination of physically-based modeling and Monte Carlo analysis. A common result is a strong association between stomatal conductance (gs) and the negative evaporative gain (∂ gs/∂ VPD) associated with the sensitivity of stomatal closure to rates of water loss. The importance of this association from the standpoint of modeling transpiration depends on the degree of canopy-atmosphere coupling. This suggests possible simplifications to future canopy component models for use in watershed and larger-scale hydrologic models for short-term processes. However, further results are presented from theoretical modeling, which suggest that feedbacks between hydrology and vegetation in current long-term (inter-annual to century) models may be too simple, as they do not capture the spatially variable nature of slow nutrient cycling in response to soil water dynamics and site history. Memory effects in the soil nutrient pools can leave lasting effects on more rapid processes associated with soil, vegetation, atmosphere coupling.

  13. Long-term contracts vs. short-term trade of natural gas - a European perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neuhoff, Karsten; Hirschhausen, Christian von

    2005-01-01

    This paper analyses the economics of long-term gas contracts under changing institutional conditions, mainly gas sector liberalisation. The paper is motivated by the increasingly tense debate in continental Europe, UK and the US on the security of long-term gas supply. We discuss the main issues regarding long-term contracts, i.e. the changing role of the flexibility clause, the effect of abandoning the destination clause, and the strategic behaviour of producers between long-term sales and spot-sales. The literature suggests consumers and producers benefit from risk hedging through long-term contracts. Furthermore long-term contracts may reduce exercise of market power. Our analysis adds an additional benefit if the long-run demand elasticity is significantly lower than the short-run elasticity, both strategic producers and consumers benefit from lower prices and larger market volume. Some policy implications of the findings are also discussed. (Author)

  14. Distributional learning has immediate and long-lasting effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escudero, Paola; Williams, Daniel

    2014-11-01

    Evidence of distributional learning, a statistical learning mechanism centered on relative frequency of exposure to different tokens, has mainly come from short-term learning and therefore does not ostensibly address the development of important learning processes. The present longitudinal study examines both short- and long-term effects of distributional learning of phonetic categories on non-native sound discrimination over a 12-month period. Two groups of listeners were exposed to a two-minute distribution of auditory stimuli in which the most frequently presented tokens either approximated or exaggerated the natural production of the speech sounds, whereas a control group listened to a piece of classical music for the same length of time. Discrimination by listeners in the two distribution groups improved immediately after the short exposure, replicating previous results. Crucially, this improvement was maintained after six and 12 months, demonstrating that distributional learning has long-lasting effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Comparison of Short Term with Long Term Catheterization after Anterior Colporrhaphy Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Movahed

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: This belief that overfilling the bladder after anterior colporrhaphy might have a negative influence on surgical outcome, causes routine catheterization after operation. This study was done to compare short term (24h with long term (72h catheterization after anterior colporrhaphy.Materials & Methods: This randomized clinical trial was carried out at Kosar Hospital , Qazvin (Iran in 2005-2006. One hundred cases candidating for anterior colporrhaphy , were divided in two equal groups . In the first group foley catheter was removed 24 hours and in the second group 72 hours after the operation. Before removing catheter, urine sample was obtained for culture . After removal and urination, residual volume was determinded. If the volume exceeded 200 ml or retention occured, the catheter would be fixed for more 72 hours. Need for recatheterization, urinary retention, positive urine culture,and hospital stay were surveyed. The data was analyzed using T and Fisher tests.Results: Residual volume exceeding 200 ml and the need for recatheterization occurred in one case (2% in the short term group but in the long term group none of the subjects needed recatheterization (P=1. Retention was not seen. In the both groups, one case (2% had positive urine culture with no statistically significant difference (P=1. Mean hospital stay was short in the first group (P=0.00.Conclusion: Short term catheterization after anterior colporrhaphy does not cause urinary retention and decreases hospital stay.

  16. Restraint training for awake functional brain scanning of rodents can cause long-lasting changes in pain and stress responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, Lucie A; Bauer, Lucy C; Pitcher, Mark H; Bushnell, M Catherine

    2016-08-01

    With the increased interest in longitudinal brain imaging of awake rodents, it is important to understand both the short-term and long-term effects of restraint on sensory and emotional processing in the brain. To understand the effects of repeated restraint on pain behaviors and stress responses, we modeled a restraint protocol similar to those used to habituate rodents for magnetic resonance imaging scanning, and studied sensory sensitivity and stress hormone responses over 5 days. To uncover lasting effects of training, we also looked at responses to the formalin pain test 2 weeks later. We found that while restraint causes acute increases in the stress hormone corticosterone, it can also cause lasting reductions in nociceptive behavior in the formalin test, coupled with heightened corticosterone levels and increased activation of the "nociceptive" central nucleus of the amygdala, as seen by Fos protein expression. These results suggest that short-term repeated restraint, similar to that used to habituate rats for awake functional brain scanning, could potentially cause long-lasting changes in physiological and brain responses to pain stimuli that are stress-related, and therefore could potentially confound the functional activation patterns seen in awake rodents in response to pain stimuli.

  17. The discovery of long-term potentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lømo, Terje

    2003-04-29

    This paper describes circumstances around the discovery of long-term potentiation (LTP). In 1966, I had just begun independent work for the degree of Dr medicinae (PhD) in Per Andersen's laboratory in Oslo after an eighteen-month apprenticeship with him. Studying the effects of activating the perforant path to dentate granule cells in the hippocampus of anaesthetized rabbits, I observed that brief trains of stimuli resulted in increased efficiency of transmission at the perforant path-granule cell synapses that could last for hours. In 1968, Tim Bliss came to Per Andersen's laboratory to learn about the hippocampus and field potential recording for studies of possible memory mechanisms. The two of us then followed up my preliminary results from 1966 and did the experiments that resulted in a paper that is now properly considered to be the basic reference for the discovery of LTP.

  18. Long-term Potentiation Decay and Poor Long-lasting Memory Process in the Wild Rodents Proechimys from Brazil's Amazon Rainforest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guimarães Marques, Marcia J; Reyes-Garcia, Selvin Z; Marques-Carneiro, José E; Lopes-Silva, Leonardo B; Andersen, Monica L; Cavalheiro, Esper A; Scorza, Fulvio A; Scorza, Carla A

    2018-01-01

    Proechimys are small terrestrial rodents from Amazon rainforest. Each animal species is adapted to a specific environment in which the animal evolved therefore without comparative approaches unique characteristics of distinct species cannot be fully recognized. Laboratory rodents are exceedingly inbred strains dissociated from their native habitats and their fundamental ecological aspects are abstracted. Thus, the employment of exotic non-model species can be informative and complement conventional animal models. With the aim of promoting comparative studies between the exotic wildlife populations in the laboratory and traditional rodent model, we surveyed a type of synaptic plasticity intimately related to memory encoding in animals. Using theta-burst paradigm, in vitro long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 subfield of hippocampal slices was assessed in the Amazon rodents Proechimys and Wistar rats. Memory, learning and anxiety were investigated through the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PM-DAT) and object recognition test. In PM-DAT, both animal species were submitted to two test sessions (3-h and 24-h) after the conditioning training. Proechimys exhibited higher anxiety-like behavior in the training session but during test sessions both species exhibited similar patterns of anxiety-related behavior. After 3-h of the training, Proechimys and Wistar spent significantly less time in the aversive enclosed arm than in the non-aversive arm. But, at 24-h after training, Wistar rats remained less time in the aversive closed arm in comparison with the non-aversive one, while Proechimys rodents spent the same amount of time in both enclosed arms. In the object recognition test, both species were evaluated at 24-h after the acquisition session and similar findings than those of the PM-DAT (24-h) were obtained, suggesting that long-term memory duration did not persist for 24-h in the Amazon rodent. Field excitatory post-synaptic potentials recordings revealed

  19. Long-term failure of alveologenesis after an early short-term exposure to a PDGF-receptor antagonist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Mandy; Masood, Azhar; Yi, Man; Belcastro, Rosetta; Li, Jun; Tanswell, A Keith

    2011-04-01

    Survivors of moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia have impaired alveologenesis lasting at least into early adult life. The mechanisms underlying this long-term effect are unknown. We hypothesized that short-term inhibition of growth factor-mediated early alveolar formation would result in a long-term impairment of subsequent alveologenesis. Neonatal rats were injected daily with the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor antagonist, imatinib mesylate, from day 1-7 of life, to inhibit the early alveolar formation occurring by in-growth of secondary crests into precursor saccules. The pups were then allowed to recover for 7, 14, 21, or 58 days. In imatinib-treated pups, DNA synthesis in total lung cells, and specifically in cells of secondary crests, was reduced at day 8 of life, had rebounded on day 14 of life but was then again reduced by day 28 of life. At day 8 of life, imatinib-treated pups had impaired alveologenesis as reflected by a decrease in secondary crests, an increase in alveolar size, and an overall decrease in both estimated alveolar number and generations compared with age-matched controls. No meaningful recovery was observed, even after a 21- or 58-day recovery period. The lungs of imatinib-treated pups had increased fibulin-5 content and an abnormal deposition of elastin. We conclude that reduced signaling through the PDGF pathways, at an early stage of alveologenesis, can result in long-lasting changes in lung architecture. A likely mechanism is through impaired formation of the elastin scaffold required for alveolarization.

  20. Short-term and long-term earthquake occurrence models for Italy: ETES, ERS and LTST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maura Murru

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This study describes three earthquake occurrence models as applied to the whole Italian territory, to assess the occurrence probabilities of future (M ≥5.0 earthquakes: two as short-term (24 hour models, and one as long-term (5 and 10 years. The first model for short-term forecasts is a purely stochastic epidemic type earthquake sequence (ETES model. The second short-term model is an epidemic rate-state (ERS forecast based on a model that is physically constrained by the application to the earthquake clustering of the Dieterich rate-state constitutive law. The third forecast is based on a long-term stress transfer (LTST model that considers the perturbations of earthquake probability for interacting faults by static Coulomb stress changes. These models have been submitted to the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP for forecast testing for Italy (ETH-Zurich, and they were locked down to test their validity on real data in a future setting starting from August 1, 2009.

  1. Long- and short-term complications of episiotomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İsmet Gün

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Although extensively applied in obstetrics practice to facilitate delivery by increasing the vaginal birth conduit, most episiotomy studies are in the context of short- or medium-term outcomes, and the number of studies investigating the long-term effects is insufficient. Episiotomy is often considered associated with urinary and/or anal incontinence and dyspareunia; however, there is no concrete evidence for this issue. Current meta-analyses and reviews that assessed the studies available in the literature revealed that episiotomy does not decrease the rates of urinary incontinence, perineal pain, and sexual dysfunction and that routine episiotomy does not prevent pelvic floor damage; thus, the recommended use of mediolateral episiotomy is restricted, rather than routine. According to the limited number of studies on sexual function, there seems to be a linear relationship between the degree of perineal laceration and postpartum dyspareunia. It is still not clear whether episiotomy has any impact on pelvic floor relaxation, pelvic organ prolapse, and sexual dysfunction in the long term. PRECIS: The long-term influences of episiotomy on urinary and/or fecal incontinence, pelvic floor dysfunction, sexual function, and dyspareunea are still not clear and studies on these issues are necessary.

  2. Short-term and long-term effects of GDP on traffic deaths in 18 OECD countries, 1960-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dadgar, Iman; Norström, Thor

    2017-02-01

    Research suggests that increases in gross domestic product (GDP) lead to increases in traffic deaths plausibly due to the increased road traffic induced by an expanding economy. However, there also seems to exist a long-term effect of economic growth that is manifested in improved traffic safety and reduced rates of traffic deaths. Previous studies focus on either the short-term, procyclical effect, or the long-term, protective effect. The aim of the present study is to estimate the short-term and long-term effects jointly in order to assess the net impact of GDP on traffic mortality. We extracted traffic death rates for the period 1960-2011 from the WHO Mortality Database for 18 OECD countries. Data on GDP/capita were obtained from the Maddison Project. We performed error correction modelling to estimate the short-term and long-term effects of GDP on the traffic death rates. The estimates from the error correction modelling for the entire study period suggested that a one-unit increase (US$1000) in GDP/capita yields an instantaneous short-term increase in the traffic death rate by 0.58 (pGDP leads to an immediate increase in traffic deaths. However, after the mid-1970s this short-term effect is more than outweighed by a markedly stronger protective long-term effect, whereas the reverse is true for the period before the mid-1970s. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  3. Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinmetz, Zacharias; Wollmann, Claudia; Schaefer, Miriam; Buchmann, Christian; David, Jan [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Tröger, Josephine [Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Interdisciplinary Research Group on Environmental Issues, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Muñoz, Katherine [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Interdisciplinary Research Group on Environmental Issues, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Frör, Oliver [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental Economics, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen, E-mail: schaumann@uni-landau.de [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany)

    2016-04-15

    Plastic mulching has become a globally applied agricultural practice for its instant economic benefits such as higher yields, earlier harvests, improved fruit quality and increased water-use efficiency. However, knowledge of the sustainability of plastic mulching remains vague in terms of both an environmental and agronomic perspective. This review critically discusses the current understanding of the environmental impact of plastic mulch use by linking knowledge of agricultural benefits and research on the life cycle of plastic mulches with direct and indirect implications for long-term soil quality and ecosystem services. Adverse effects may arise from plastic additives, enhanced pesticide runoff and plastic residues likely to fragment into microplastics but remaining chemically intact and accumulating in soil where they can successively sorb agrochemicals. The quantification of microplastics in soil remains challenging due to the lack of appropriate analytical techniques. The cost and effort of recovering and recycling used mulching films may offset the aforementioned benefits in the long term. However, comparative and long-term agronomic assessments have not yet been conducted. Furthermore, plastic mulches have the potential to alter soil quality by shifting the edaphic biocoenosis (e.g. towards mycotoxigenic fungi), accelerate C/N metabolism eventually depleting soil organic matter stocks, increase soil water repellency and favour the release of greenhouse gases. A substantial process understanding of the interactions between the soil microclimate, water supply and biological activity under plastic mulches is still lacking but required to estimate potential risks for long-term soil quality. Currently, farmers mostly base their decision to apply plastic mulches rather on expected short-term benefits than on the consideration of long-term consequences. Future interdisciplinary research should therefore gain a deeper understanding of the incentives for farmers

  4. Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinmetz, Zacharias; Wollmann, Claudia; Schaefer, Miriam; Buchmann, Christian; David, Jan; Tröger, Josephine; Muñoz, Katherine; Frör, Oliver; Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen

    2016-01-01

    Plastic mulching has become a globally applied agricultural practice for its instant economic benefits such as higher yields, earlier harvests, improved fruit quality and increased water-use efficiency. However, knowledge of the sustainability of plastic mulching remains vague in terms of both an environmental and agronomic perspective. This review critically discusses the current understanding of the environmental impact of plastic mulch use by linking knowledge of agricultural benefits and research on the life cycle of plastic mulches with direct and indirect implications for long-term soil quality and ecosystem services. Adverse effects may arise from plastic additives, enhanced pesticide runoff and plastic residues likely to fragment into microplastics but remaining chemically intact and accumulating in soil where they can successively sorb agrochemicals. The quantification of microplastics in soil remains challenging due to the lack of appropriate analytical techniques. The cost and effort of recovering and recycling used mulching films may offset the aforementioned benefits in the long term. However, comparative and long-term agronomic assessments have not yet been conducted. Furthermore, plastic mulches have the potential to alter soil quality by shifting the edaphic biocoenosis (e.g. towards mycotoxigenic fungi), accelerate C/N metabolism eventually depleting soil organic matter stocks, increase soil water repellency and favour the release of greenhouse gases. A substantial process understanding of the interactions between the soil microclimate, water supply and biological activity under plastic mulches is still lacking but required to estimate potential risks for long-term soil quality. Currently, farmers mostly base their decision to apply plastic mulches rather on expected short-term benefits than on the consideration of long-term consequences. Future interdisciplinary research should therefore gain a deeper understanding of the incentives for farmers

  5. Short-term versus long-term approaches to the development of tourism-related policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dredge, Dianne

    Tourism policy development is an increasingly complex activity involving multiple public sector agencies, industry and community stakeholders and non-government organisations at different scales. This discussion paper examines the implications for tourism of governments adopting short- term versus...... long-term approaches to the development of tourism related policies and identifies policy considerations to maximize the growth potential of tourism. The key issue is to understand how governments can strengthen their support for tourism growth and development by taking an integrated cross......-sector policy approach. The discussion paper commences by examining the unique character of tourism policyscape and recognises that it involves a wide variety of inter-linked policy sectors that often operate and develop policies in separate policy processes. Little attention is placed on cross-sector policy...

  6. Long-term effects of interference on short-term memory performance in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Missaire, Mégane; Fraize, Nicolas; Joseph, Mickaël Antoine; Hamieh, Al Mahdy; Parmentier, Régis; Marighetto, Aline; Salin, Paul Antoine; Malleret, Gaël

    2017-01-01

    A distinction has always been made between long-term and short-term memory (also now called working memory, WM). The obvious difference between these two kinds of memory concerns the duration of information storage: information is supposedly transiently stored in WM while it is considered durably consolidated into long-term memory. It is well acknowledged that the content of WM is erased and reset after a short time, to prevent irrelevant information from proactively interfering with newly stored information. In the present study, we used typical WM radial maze tasks to question the brief lifespan of spatial WM content in rodents. Groups of rats were submitted to one of two different WM tasks in a radial maze: a WM task involving the repetitive presentation of a same pair of arms expected to induce a high level of proactive interference (PI) (HIWM task), or a task using a different pair in each trial expected to induce a low level of PI (LIWM task). Performance was effectively lower in the HIWM group than in LIWM in the final trial of each training session, indicative of a "within-session/short-term" PI effect. However, we also observed a different "between-session/long-term" PI effect between the two groups: while performance of LIWM trained rats remained stable over days, the performance of HIWM rats dropped after 10 days of training, and this impairment was visible from the very first trial of the day, hence not attributable to within-session PI. We also showed that a 24 hour-gap across training sessions known to allow consolidation processes to unfold, was a necessary and sufficient condition for the long-term PI effect to occur. These findings suggest that in the HIWM task, WM content was not entirely reset between training sessions and that, in specific conditions, WM content can outlast its purpose by being stored more permanently, generating a long-term deleterious effect of PI. The alternative explanation is that WM content could be transferred and stored

  7. Long-term effects of interference on short-term memory performance in the rat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mégane Missaire

    Full Text Available A distinction has always been made between long-term and short-term memory (also now called working memory, WM. The obvious difference between these two kinds of memory concerns the duration of information storage: information is supposedly transiently stored in WM while it is considered durably consolidated into long-term memory. It is well acknowledged that the content of WM is erased and reset after a short time, to prevent irrelevant information from proactively interfering with newly stored information. In the present study, we used typical WM radial maze tasks to question the brief lifespan of spatial WM content in rodents. Groups of rats were submitted to one of two different WM tasks in a radial maze: a WM task involving the repetitive presentation of a same pair of arms expected to induce a high level of proactive interference (PI (HIWM task, or a task using a different pair in each trial expected to induce a low level of PI (LIWM task. Performance was effectively lower in the HIWM group than in LIWM in the final trial of each training session, indicative of a "within-session/short-term" PI effect. However, we also observed a different "between-session/long-term" PI effect between the two groups: while performance of LIWM trained rats remained stable over days, the performance of HIWM rats dropped after 10 days of training, and this impairment was visible from the very first trial of the day, hence not attributable to within-session PI. We also showed that a 24 hour-gap across training sessions known to allow consolidation processes to unfold, was a necessary and sufficient condition for the long-term PI effect to occur. These findings suggest that in the HIWM task, WM content was not entirely reset between training sessions and that, in specific conditions, WM content can outlast its purpose by being stored more permanently, generating a long-term deleterious effect of PI. The alternative explanation is that WM content could be

  8. Music Learning with Long Short Term Memory Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Colombo, Florian François

    2015-01-01

    Humans are able to learn and compose complex, yet beautiful, pieces of music as seen in e.g. the highly complicated works of J.S. Bach. However, how our brain is able to store and produce these very long temporal sequences is still an open question. Long short-term memory (LSTM) artificial neural networks have been shown to be efficient in sequence learning tasks thanks to their inherent ability to bridge long time lags between input events and their target signals. Here, I investigate the po...

  9. Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Student Field Research Experiences in Special Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soliman, Amr S; Chamberlain, Robert M

    2016-06-01

    Global health education and training of biomedical students in international and minority health research is expending through U.S. academic institutions. This study addresses the short- and long-term outcomes of an NCI-funded R25 short-term summer field research training program. This program is designed for MPH and Ph.D. students in cancer epidemiology and related disciplines, in international and minority settings (special populations) in a recent 7-year period. Positive short-term outcome of 73 students was measured as publishing a manuscript from the field research data and having a job in special populations. Positive long-term outcome was measured as having a post-doc position, being in a doctoral program, and/or employment in special populations at least 3 years from finishing the program. Significant factors associated with both short- and long-term success included resourcefulness of the student and compatibility of personalities and interests between the student and the on-campus and off-campus mentors. Short-term-success of students who conducted international filed research was associated with visits of the on-campus mentor to the field site. Short-term success was also associated with extent of mentorship in the field site and with long-term success. Future studies should investigate how field research sites could enhance careers of students, appropriateness of the sites for specific training competencies, and how to maximize the learning experience of students in international and minority research sites.

  10. Platelet-activating factor and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors interact for full development and maintenance of long-term potentiation in the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, S; Francescangeli, E; Goracci, G; Pettorossi, V E

    1999-01-01

    In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the interaction between platelet-activating factor and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in mediating long-term potentiation within the medial vestibular nuclei. We analysed the N1 field potential wave evoked in the ventral portion of the medial vestibular nuclei by primary vestibular afferent stimulation. The group I metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonist, (R,S)-1-aminoindan-1,5-dicarboxylic acid, prevented long-term potentiation induced by a platelet-activating factor analogue [1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-(methylcarbamyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine], as well as the full development of potentiation, induced by high-frequency stimulation under the blocking agent for synaptosomal platelet-activating factor receptors (ginkolide B), at drug washout. However, potentiation directly induced by the group I glutamate metabotropic receptor agonist, (R,S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine, was reduced by ginkolide B. These findings suggest that platelet-activating factor, whether exogenous or released following potentiation induction, exerts its effect through presynaptic group I metabotropic glutamate receptors, mediating the increase of glutamate release. In addition, we found that this mechanism, which led to full potentiation through presynaptic group I metabotropic glutamate receptor activation, was inactivated soon after application of potentiation-inducing stimulus. In fact, the long-lasting block of the platelet-activating factor and metabotropic glutamate receptors prevented the full potentiation development and the induced potentiation progressively declined to null. Moreover, ginkolide B, given when high-frequency-dependent potentiation was established, only reduced it within 5 min after potentiation induction. We conclude that to fully develop vestibular long-term potentiation requires presynaptic events. Platelet-activating factor, released after the activation of postsynaptic mechanisms which induce potentiation, is necessary

  11. Long-term Potentiation Decay and Poor Long-lasting Memory Process in the Wild Rodents Proechimys from Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia J. Guimarães Marques

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Proechimys are small terrestrial rodents from Amazon rainforest. Each animal species is adapted to a specific environment in which the animal evolved therefore without comparative approaches unique characteristics of distinct species cannot be fully recognized. Laboratory rodents are exceedingly inbred strains dissociated from their native habitats and their fundamental ecological aspects are abstracted. Thus, the employment of exotic non-model species can be informative and complement conventional animal models. With the aim of promoting comparative studies between the exotic wildlife populations in the laboratory and traditional rodent model, we surveyed a type of synaptic plasticity intimately related to memory encoding in animals. Using theta-burst paradigm, in vitro long-term potentiation (LTP in the CA1 subfield of hippocampal slices was assessed in the Amazon rodents Proechimys and Wistar rats. Memory, learning and anxiety were investigated through the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PM-DAT and object recognition test. In PM-DAT, both animal species were submitted to two test sessions (3-h and 24-h after the conditioning training. Proechimys exhibited higher anxiety-like behavior in the training session but during test sessions both species exhibited similar patterns of anxiety-related behavior. After 3-h of the training, Proechimys and Wistar spent significantly less time in the aversive enclosed arm than in the non-aversive arm. But, at 24-h after training, Wistar rats remained less time in the aversive closed arm in comparison with the non-aversive one, while Proechimys rodents spent the same amount of time in both enclosed arms. In the object recognition test, both species were evaluated at 24-h after the acquisition session and similar findings than those of the PM-DAT (24-h were obtained, suggesting that long-term memory duration did not persist for 24-h in the Amazon rodent. Field excitatory post-synaptic potentials

  12. Long-term Potentiation Decay and Poor Long-lasting Memory Process in the Wild Rodents Proechimys from Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guimarães Marques, Marcia J.; Reyes-Garcia, Selvin Z.; Marques-Carneiro, José E.; Lopes-Silva, Leonardo B.; Andersen, Monica L.; Cavalheiro, Esper A.; Scorza, Fulvio A.; Scorza, Carla A.

    2018-01-01

    Proechimys are small terrestrial rodents from Amazon rainforest. Each animal species is adapted to a specific environment in which the animal evolved therefore without comparative approaches unique characteristics of distinct species cannot be fully recognized. Laboratory rodents are exceedingly inbred strains dissociated from their native habitats and their fundamental ecological aspects are abstracted. Thus, the employment of exotic non-model species can be informative and complement conventional animal models. With the aim of promoting comparative studies between the exotic wildlife populations in the laboratory and traditional rodent model, we surveyed a type of synaptic plasticity intimately related to memory encoding in animals. Using theta-burst paradigm, in vitro long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 subfield of hippocampal slices was assessed in the Amazon rodents Proechimys and Wistar rats. Memory, learning and anxiety were investigated through the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PM-DAT) and object recognition test. In PM-DAT, both animal species were submitted to two test sessions (3-h and 24-h) after the conditioning training. Proechimys exhibited higher anxiety-like behavior in the training session but during test sessions both species exhibited similar patterns of anxiety-related behavior. After 3-h of the training, Proechimys and Wistar spent significantly less time in the aversive enclosed arm than in the non-aversive arm. But, at 24-h after training, Wistar rats remained less time in the aversive closed arm in comparison with the non-aversive one, while Proechimys rodents spent the same amount of time in both enclosed arms. In the object recognition test, both species were evaluated at 24-h after the acquisition session and similar findings than those of the PM-DAT (24-h) were obtained, suggesting that long-term memory duration did not persist for 24-h in the Amazon rodent. Field excitatory post-synaptic potentials recordings revealed

  13. Short- and Long-Term Effects of Concurrent Strength and HIIT Training in Octogenarians with COPD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guadalupe-Grau, Amelia; Aznar-Laín, Susana; Mañas, Asier; Castellanos, Juan; Alcázar, Julián; Ara, Ignacio; Mata, Esmeralda; Daimiel, Rosa; García-García, Francisco José

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the short- and long-term effects of concurrent strength and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on octogenarian COPD patients, nine males (age = 84.2 ± 2.8 years, BMI = 29.3 ± 2.3) with low to severe COPD levels (2.1 ± 1.5 BODE index) underwent a supervised 9-week strength and HIIT exercise program. Training had a significant (p HIIT training increases physical fitness in the oldest-old COPD patients, and has potential long-term benefits.

  14. What do short-term and long-term relationships look like? Building the relationship coordination and strategic timing (ReCAST) model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eastwick, Paul W; Keneski, Elizabeth; Morgan, Taylor A; McDonald, Meagan A; Huang, Sabrina A

    2018-05-01

    Close relationships research has examined committed couples (e.g., dating relationships, marriages) using intensive methods that plot relationship development over time. But a substantial proportion of people's real-life sexual experiences take place (a) before committed relationships become "official" and (b) in short-term relationships; methods that document the time course of relationships have rarely been applied to these contexts. We adapted a classic relationship trajectory-plotting technique to generate the first empirical comparisons between the features of people's real-life short-term and long-term relationships across their entire timespan. Five studies compared long-term and short-term relationships in terms of the timing of relationship milestones (e.g., flirting, first sexual intercourse) and the occurrence/intensity of important relationship experiences (e.g., romantic interest, strong sexual desire, attachment). As romantic interest was rising and partners were becoming acquainted, long-term and short-term relationships were indistinguishable. Eventually, romantic interest in short-term relationships plateaued and declined while romantic interest in long-term relationships continued to rise, ultimately reaching a higher peak. As relationships progressed, participants evidenced more features characteristic of the attachment-behavioral system (e.g., attachment, caregiving) in long-term than short-term relationships but similar levels of other features (e.g., sexual desire, self-promotion, intrasexual competition). These data inform a new synthesis of close relationships and evolutionary psychological perspectives called the Relationship Coordination and Strategic Timing (ReCAST) model. ReCAST depicts short-term and long-term relationships as partially overlapping trajectories (rather than relationships initiated with distinct strategies) that differ in their progression along a normative relationship development sequence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c

  15. Augmented Reality in Informal Learning Environments: Investigating Short-term and Long-term Effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sommerauer, Peter; Müller, Oliver

    2018-01-01

    field experiment with 24 participants at a mathematics exhibition to measure the effect of AR on acquiring and retaining mathematical knowledge in an informal learning environment, both short-term (i.e., directly after visiting the exhibition) and long-term (i.e., two months after the museum visit). Our...

  16. Short-Term Expectation Formation Versus Long-Term Equilibrium Conditions: The Danish Housing Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Hetland

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The primary contribution of this paper is to establish that the long-swings behavior observed in the market price of Danish housing since the 1970s can be understood by studying the interplay between short-term expectation formation and long-run equilibrium conditions. We introduce an asset market model for housing based on uncertainty rather than risk, which under mild assumptions allows for other forms of forecasting behavior than rational expectations. We test the theory via an I(2 cointegrated VAR model and find that the long-run equilibrium for the housing price corresponds closely to the predictions from the theoretical framework. Additionally, we corroborate previous findings that housing markets are well characterized by short-term momentum forecasting behavior. Our conclusions have wider relevance, since housing prices play a role in the wider Danish economy, and other developed economies, through wealth effects.

  17. Resuming growth in Latin America: short and long term policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julio Lopez G.

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The authors of this paper assert that the paralysis of the state generated by the crises of the 1970s and 1980s deprived the economies of the region of an important lever to resume and sustain growth. They thus maintain that to overcome stagnation it will be necessary to reconstruct the state's capacity to implement pro-growth policies. Following Keynes and Kalecki's ideas, but also classical development economists, the authors argue, first, that short-term macroeconomic policies, to reduce unemployment and to increase the degree of capacity utilization, should be used to promote the generation of profits to firms and to wake up entrepreneurs' animal spirits. Short-term expansionary policies should be coupled with measures to improve competitiveness and avoid balance of payments problems. They also claim that alternatives to the liberal programme will fail unless a pro-growth strategy is adopted which includes both short- and long-term policies. They thus propose that long-term policies must complete the package, signaling: a sustained increases of effective demand in the future; and b investment priorities to ensure that capacities will be created in strategic sectors and branches of the economy.

  18. Acute Sleep Deprivation Blocks Short- and Long-Term Operant Memory in Aplysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnan, Harini C; Gandour, Catherine E; Ramos, Joshua L; Wrinkle, Mariah C; Sanchez-Pacheco, Joseph J; Lyons, Lisa C

    2016-12-01

    Insufficient sleep in individuals appears increasingly common due to the demands of modern work schedules and technology use. Consequently, there is a growing need to understand the interactions between sleep deprivation and memory. The current study determined the effects of acute sleep deprivation on short and long-term associative memory using the marine mollusk Aplysia californica , a relatively simple model system well known for studies of learning and memory. Aplysia were sleep deprived for 9 hours using context changes and tactile stimulation either prior to or after training for the operant learning paradigm, learning that food is inedible (LFI). The effects of sleep deprivation on short-term (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) were assessed. Acute sleep deprivation prior to LFI training impaired the induction of STM and LTM with persistent effects lasting at least 24 h. Sleep deprivation immediately after training blocked the consolidation of LTM. However, sleep deprivation following the period of molecular consolidation did not affect memory recall. Memory impairments were independent of handling-induced stress, as daytime handled control animals demonstrated no memory deficits. Additional training immediately after sleep deprivation failed to rescue the induction of memory, but additional training alleviated the persistent impairment in memory induction when training occurred 24 h following sleep deprivation. Acute sleep deprivation inhibited the induction and consolidation, but not the recall of memory. These behavioral studies establish Aplysia as an effective model system for studying the interactions between sleep and memory formation. © 2016 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

  19. Acute ethanol has biphasic effects on short- and long-term memory in both foreground and background contextual fear conditioning in C57BL/6 mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulick, Danielle; Gould, Thomas J

    2007-09-01

    Ethanol is a frequently abused, addictive drug that impairs cognitive function. Ethanol may disrupt cognitive processes by altering attention, short-term memory, and/or long-term memory. Interestingly, some research suggests that ethanol may enhance cognitive processes at lower doses. The current research examined the dose-dependent effects of ethanol on contextual and cued fear conditioning. In addition, the present studies assessed the importance of stimulus salience in the effects of ethanol and directly compared the effects of ethanol on short-term and long-term memory. This study employed both foreground and background fear conditioning, which differ in the salience of contextual stimuli, and tested conditioning at 4 hours, 24 hours, and 1 week in order to assess the effects of ethanol on short-term and long-term memory. Foreground conditioning consisted of 2 presentations of a foot shock unconditioned stimulus (US) (2 seconds, 0.57 mA). Background conditioning consisted of 2 auditory conditioned stimulus (30 seconds, 85 dB white noise)-foot shock (US; 2 seconds, 0.57 mA) pairings. For both foreground and background conditioning, ethanol enhanced short-term and long-term memory for contextual and cued conditioning at a low dose (0.25 g/kg) and impaired short-term and long-term memory for contextual and cued conditioning at a high dose (1.0 g/kg). These results suggest that ethanol has long-lasting, biphasic effects on short-term and long-term memory for contextual and cued conditioning. Furthermore, the effects of ethanol on contextual fear conditioning are independent of the salience of the context.

  20. Social evolution and genetic interactions in the short and long term.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Cleve, Jeremy

    2015-08-01

    The evolution of social traits remains one of the most fascinating and feisty topics in evolutionary biology even after half a century of theoretical research. W.D. Hamilton shaped much of the field initially with his 1964 papers that laid out the foundation for understanding the effect of genetic relatedness on the evolution of social behavior. Early theoretical investigations revealed two critical assumptions required for Hamilton's rule to hold in dynamical models: weak selection and additive genetic interactions. However, only recently have analytical approaches from population genetics and evolutionary game theory developed sufficiently so that social evolution can be studied under the joint action of selection, mutation, and genetic drift. We review how these approaches suggest two timescales for evolution under weak mutation: (i) a short-term timescale where evolution occurs between a finite set of alleles, and (ii) a long-term timescale where a continuum of alleles are possible and populations evolve continuously from one monomorphic trait to another. We show how Hamilton's rule emerges from the short-term analysis under additivity and how non-additive genetic interactions can be accounted for more generally. This short-term approach reproduces, synthesizes, and generalizes many previous results including the one-third law from evolutionary game theory and risk dominance from economic game theory. Using the long-term approach, we illustrate how trait evolution can be described with a diffusion equation that is a stochastic analogue of the canonical equation of adaptive dynamics. Peaks in the stationary distribution of the diffusion capture classic notions of convergence stability from evolutionary game theory and generally depend on the additive genetic interactions inherent in Hamilton's rule. Surprisingly, the peaks of the long-term stationary distribution can predict the effects of simple kinds of non-additive interactions. Additionally, the peaks

  1. Dopamine Modulation of Reunion Behavior in Short and Long Term Marmoset Pairs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah B. Carp

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available One major neurobiological substrate regulating social processes is dopamine (DA. DA is implicated in social behavior in species as diverse as fish and birds, and has an established role in regulating relationships between mates in socially monogamous rodents. Marmoset monkeys display traits associated with social monogamy including high rates of affiliation, biparental care, distress upon separation, and aggression toward strangers; several of these behavioral patterns change throughout the development of relationships. This temporal change may represent changing demands, as pairs are likely to jointly face new experiences (e.g., parenthood throughout pairing. We investigated the role of DA and pairing length on social behavior during reunion after separation from the mate. Marmosets were removed from their home environment and treated with agonists and antagonists for the D1 and D2 receptor subtypes. They were exposed to a novel environment containing an opposite-sex stranger and their pair mate, and then reunited with their mate in the home enclosure. Marmosets in long term pairs exhibited higher levels of food sharing during reunion than marmosets in short term pairs, with females in long term pairs sharing food more than males; no sex difference was observed in short term pairs. Subjects in short term pairs spent more time grooming their mate than receiving grooming during reunion, while marmosets in long term pairs displayed similar amounts of both initiated and received grooming. DA treatment altered pair-level behavior. When females received either a D2 agonist or antagonist, short term pairs spent less time in proximity, compared to when males received the same treatments. In long term pairs, treatment of females with either a D1 agonist or antagonist resulted in pairs spending less time in social proximity than when males were treated. These findings suggest that the function of the DA system in mate behavior may be similar between

  2. CREB binding protein is required for both short-term and long-term memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guiquan; Zou, Xiaoyan; Watanabe, Hirotaka; van Deursen, Jan M; Shen, Jie

    2010-09-29

    CREB binding protein (CBP) is a transcriptional coactivator with histone acetyltransferase activity. Our prior study suggested that CBP might be a key target of presenilins in the regulation of memory formation and neuronal survival. To elucidate the role of CBP in the adult brain, we generated conditional knock-out (cKO) mice in which CBP is completely inactivated in excitatory neurons of the postnatal forebrain. Histological analysis revealed normal neuronal morphology and absence of age-dependent neuronal degeneration in the CBP cKO cerebral cortex. CBP cKO mice exhibited robust impairment in the formation of spatial, associative, and object-recognition memory. In addition to impaired long-term memory, CBP cKO mice also displayed deficits in short-term associative and object-recognition memory. Administration of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, rescued the reduction of acetylated histones in the CBP cKO cortex but failed to rescue either short- or long-term memory deficits, suggesting that the memory impairment may not be caused by general reduction of histone acetyltransferase activity in CBP cKO mice. Further microarray and Western analysis showed decreased expression of calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinase isoforms and NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits in the cerebral cortex of CBP cKO mice. Collectively, these findings suggest a crucial role for CBP in the formation of both short- and long-term memory.

  3. Short- and Long-Term Effects of Adolescent Alcohol Access: Evidence from Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gupta, Nabanita Datta; Nilsson, Anton

    We exploit changes in minimum legal alcohol purchasing ages in Denmark in order to estimate effects on short- and long-term health outcomes, as well as on human capital formation. Employing a difference-in-differences approach for immediate outcomes and a “regression kink design” for long......-term outcomes, we bring comprehensive evidence on the health and education effects of three reforms, which affected alcohol availability along different dimensions and margins – 1) establishing an off-premise alcohol purchase age of 15 (1998), 2) raising the off-premise alcohol purchase age to 16 (2004), and 3......) increasing the purchase age of beverages exceeding 16.5% in alcohol content from 16 to 18 (2011). Our findings show significant short-term effects of the first and third reforms in terms of reducing injuries and alcohol-related conditions, and some long-term effects of the first reform in terms of reducing...

  4. Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medic, Goran; Wille, Micheline; Hemels, Michiel Eh

    2017-01-01

    Sleep plays a vital role in brain function and systemic physiology across many body systems. Problems with sleep are widely prevalent and include deficits in quantity and quality of sleep; sleep problems that impact the continuity of sleep are collectively referred to as sleep disruptions. Numerous factors contribute to sleep disruption, ranging from lifestyle and environmental factors to sleep disorders and other medical conditions. Sleep disruptions have substantial adverse short- and long-term health consequences. A literature search was conducted to provide a nonsystematic review of these health consequences (this review was designed to be nonsystematic to better focus on the topics of interest due to the myriad parameters affected by sleep). Sleep disruption is associated with increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, metabolic effects, changes in circadian rhythms, and proinflammatory responses. In otherwise healthy adults, short-term consequences of sleep disruption include increased stress responsivity, somatic pain, reduced quality of life, emotional distress and mood disorders, and cognitive, memory, and performance deficits. For adolescents, psychosocial health, school performance, and risk-taking behaviors are impacted by sleep disruption. Behavioral problems and cognitive functioning are associated with sleep disruption in children. Long-term consequences of sleep disruption in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, weight-related issues, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. All-cause mortality is also increased in men with sleep disturbances. For those with underlying medical conditions, sleep disruption may diminish the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents and may worsen the severity of common gastrointestinal disorders. As a result of the potential consequences of sleep disruption, health care

  5. SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM WATER LEVEL PREDICTION AT ONE RIVER MEASUREMENT LOCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolf Scitovski

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Global hydrological cycles mainly depend on climate changes whose occurrence is predominantly triggered by solar and terrestrial influence, and the knowledge of the high water regime is widely applied in hydrology. Regular monitoring and studying of river water level behavior is important from several perspectives. On the basis of the given data, by using modifications of general approaches known from literature, especially from investigation in hydrology, the problem of long- and short-term water level forecast at one river measurement location is considered in the paper. Long-term forecasting is considered as the problem of investigating the periodicity of water level behavior by using linear-trigonometric regression and short-term forecasting is based on the modification of the nearest neighbor method. The proposed methods are tested on data referring to the Drava River level by Donji Miholjac, Croatia, in the period between the beginning of 1900 and the end of 2012.

  6. Forest Growth Responses to Drought at Short- and Long-Term Scales in Spain: Squeezing the Stress Memory from Tree Rings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Julio Camarero

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Drought-triggered declines in forest productivity and associated die-off events have increased considerably due to climate warming in the last decades. There is an increasing interest in quantifying the resilience capacity of forests against climate warming and drought to uncover how different stands and tree species will resist and recover after more frequent and intense droughts. Trees form annual growth rings that represent an accurate record of how forest growth responded to past droughts. Here we use dendrochronology to quantify the radial growth of different forests subjected to contrasting climatic conditions in Spain during the last half century. Particularly, we considered four climatically contrasting areas where dominant forests showed clear signs of drought-induced dieback. Studied forests included wet sites dominated by silver fir (Abies alba in the Pyrenees and beech (Fagus sylvatica stands in northern Spain, and drought-prone sites dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris in eastern Spain and black pine (Pinus nigra in the semi-arid south-eastern Spain. We quantified the growth reduction caused by different droughts and assessed the short-and long-term resilience capacity of declining vs. non-declining trees in each forest. In all cases, drought induced a marked growth reduction regardless tree vigor. However, the capacity to recover after drought (resilience at short- and long-term scales varied greatly between declining and non-declining individuals. In the case of beech and silver fir, non-declining individuals presented greater growth rates and capacity to recover after drought than declining individuals. For Scots pine, the resilience to drought was found to be lower in recent years regardless the tree vigor, but the growth reduction caused by successive droughts was more pronounced in declining than in non-declining individuals. In the black pine forest an extreme drought induced a marked growth reduction in declining

  7. Short-Term and Long-Term Educational Mobility of Families: A Two-Sex Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xi; Mare, Robert D

    2017-02-01

    We use a multigenerational perspective to investigate how families reproduce and pass their educational advantages to succeeding generations. Unlike traditional mobility studies that have typically focused on one-sex influences from fathers to sons, we rely on a two-sex approach that accounts for interactions between males and females-the process in which males and females mate and have children with those of similar educational statuses and jointly determine the educational status attainment of their offspring. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we approach this issue from both a short-term and a long-term perspective. For the short term, grandparents' educational attainments have a direct association with grandchildren's education as well as an indirect association that is mediated by parents' education and demographic behaviors. For the long term, initial educational advantages of families may benefit as many as three subsequent generations, but such advantages are later offset by the lower fertility of highly educated persons. Yet, all families eventually achieve the same educational distribution of descendants because of intermarriages between families of high- and low-education origin.

  8. Using electrophysiology to demonstrate that cueing affects long-term memory storage over the short term.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxcey, Ashleigh M; Fukuda, Keisuke; Song, Won S; Woodman, Geoffrey F

    2015-10-01

    As researchers who study working memory, we often assume that participants keep a representation of an object in working memory when we present a cue that indicates that the object will be tested in a couple of seconds. This intuitively accounts for how well people can remember a cued object, relative to their memory for that same object presented without a cue. However, it is possible that this superior memory does not purely reflect storage of the cued object in working memory. We tested the hypothesis that cues presented during a stream of objects, followed by a short retention interval and immediate memory test, can change how information is handled by long-term memory. We tested this hypothesis by using a family of frontal event-related potentials believed to reflect long-term memory storage. We found that these frontal indices of long-term memory were sensitive to the task relevance of objects signaled by auditory cues, even when the objects repeated frequently, such that proactive interference was high. Our findings indicate the problematic nature of assuming process purity in the study of working memory, and demonstrate that frequent stimulus repetitions fail to isolate the role of working memory mechanisms.

  9. The Interdependence of Long- and Short-Term Components in Unmasked Repetition Priming: An Indication of Shared Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merema, Matt R; Speelman, Craig P

    2015-01-01

    It has been suggested that unmasked repetition priming is composed of distinct long-and short-term priming components. The current study sought to clarify the relationship between these components by examining the relationship between them. A total of 60 people (45 females, 15 males) participated in a computer-based lexical decision task designed to measure levels of short-term priming across different levels of long-term priming. The results revealed an interdependent relationship between the two components, whereby an increase in long-term priming prompted a decrease in short-term priming. Both long-term and short-term priming were accurately captured by a single power function over seven minutes post repetition, suggesting the two components may draw on the same resources. This interdependence between long- and short-term priming may serve to improve fluency in reading.

  10. The Interdependence of Long- and Short-Term Components in Unmasked Repetition Priming: An Indication of Shared Resources.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matt R Merema

    Full Text Available It has been suggested that unmasked repetition priming is composed of distinct long-and short-term priming components. The current study sought to clarify the relationship between these components by examining the relationship between them. A total of 60 people (45 females, 15 males participated in a computer-based lexical decision task designed to measure levels of short-term priming across different levels of long-term priming. The results revealed an interdependent relationship between the two components, whereby an increase in long-term priming prompted a decrease in short-term priming. Both long-term and short-term priming were accurately captured by a single power function over seven minutes post repetition, suggesting the two components may draw on the same resources. This interdependence between long- and short-term priming may serve to improve fluency in reading.

  11. Effect of zinc supplementation of pregnant rats on short-term and long-term memory of their offspring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, M.A.; Ghotbeddin, Z.; Parham, G.H.

    2007-01-01

    To see the dose dependent effects of zinc chloride on the short-term and long-term memory in a shuttle box (rats). Six pair adult wistar rats were taken for this experiment. One group of pregnant rats received a daily oral dose of 20 mg/kg Zn as zinc chloride and the remaining groups received a daily oral dose of (30, 50, 70,100 mg/kg) zinc chloride for two weeks by gavage. One month after birth, a shuttle box was used to test short-term and long-term memory. Two criteria were considered to behavioral test, including latency in entering dark chamber and time spent in the dark chamber. This experiment showed that oral administration of ZnCl/sub 2/ with (20, 30, 50 mg/kg/day) doses after 2 weeks at the stage of pregnancy, can improve the working memory of their offspring (p<0.05). Where as ZnCl/sub 2/ with 30 mg/kg/day dose has been more effective than other doses (p<0.001). But rat which received ZnCl/sub 2/ with 100 mg/kg/day at the stage of pregnancy, has shown significant impairment in working (short-term) memory of their offspring (p<0.05) and there was no significant difference in reference (long-term) memory 3 for any of groups. This study has demonstrated that zinc chloride consumption with 30 mg/kg/day dose for two weeks at the stage of pregnancy in rats, has positive effect on short-term memory on their offspring. But consumption of enhanced zinc 100 mg/kg/day in pregnant rats can cause short-term memory impairment. On the other hand, zinc supplementation such as zinc chloride has no effect on long-term memory. (author)

  12. Evaluation of short-term and long-term stability of emulsions by centrifugation and NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tcholakova, S.; Denkov, N.; Ivanov, I.; Marinov, R.

    2004-01-01

    The effect of storage time on the coalescence stability and drop size distribution of egg yolk and whey protein concentrate stabilized emulsions is studied. The emulsion stability is evaluated by centrifugation, whereas the drop size distribution is measured by means of NMR and optical microscopy. The experimental results show that there is no general relation between the emulsion stability and the changes in the mean drop diameter upon shelf-storage of protein emulsions. On the other hand, it is shown that the higher short-term stability, measured by centrifugation immediately after emulsion preparation, corresponds to higher long-term stability (after their self-storage up to 60 days) for emulsions stabilized by the same type of emulsifier. In this way, we are able to obtain information for the long-term stability of emulsions in a relatively short period of time.(authors)

  13. Effect of BRCA1/2 mutation on short-term and long-term breast cancer survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eun-Ha; Park, Sue K; Park, Boyoung; Kim, Sung-Won; Lee, Min Hyuk; Ahn, Sei Hyun; Son, Byung Ho; Yoo, Keun-Young; Kang, Daehee

    2010-07-01

    Reports of BRCA genetic mutations and risk of death or recurrence are inconsistent. This study aimed to compare overall and disease-free breast cancer survival rates between BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and non-carriers for short-term and long-term outcomes separately. We searched the PUBMED and EMBASE databases and retrieved 452 articles using keywords that included breast cancer, BRCA mutation, and survival. Seventeen articles were selected for systematic review and among them 11 were included in our meta-analysis. We used the random-effects model to calculate the summary hazard ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval. BRCA1 mutation carriers had significantly lower short-term and long-term overall survival rates (OSR) relative to non-carriers (HR = 1.92 [95% CI = 1.45-2.53]; 1.33 [1.12-1.58], respectively), while both short-term and long-term OSR of BRCA2 carriers did not differ from non-carriers (HR = 1.30 [95% CI = 0.95-1.76]; 1.12 [95% CI = 0.86-1.45], respectively). For short-term progression-free survival rate (PFSR), BRCA1 mutation carriers had a significantly lower rate than non-carriers (HR = 1.54 [95% CI = 1.12-2.12]), while BRCA2 mutation carriers had a similar PFSR (HR = 1.23 [95% CI = 0.96-1.58]). For long-term PFSRs, we found no significant results. Our results suggest that BRCA1 mutation decreases short-term and long-term OSRs and short-term PFSR, however, BRCA2 mutation does not affect either short-term or long-term survival rate, which is attributed to the different carcinogenic pathways for BRCA1 and BRCA2.

  14. Learning, memory and long-term potentiation are altered in Nedd4 heterozygous mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camera, Daria; Coleman, Harold A; Parkington, Helena C; Jenkins, Trisha A; Pow, David V; Boase, Natasha; Kumar, Sharad; Poronnik, Philip

    2016-04-15

    The consolidation of short-term memory into long-term memory involves changing protein level and activity for the synaptic plasticity required for long-term potentiation (LTP). AMPA receptor trafficking is a key determinant of LTP and recently ubiquitination by Nedd4 has been shown to play an important role via direct action on the GluA1 subunit, although the physiological relevance of these findings are yet to be determined. We therefore investigated learning and memory in Nedd4(+/-) mice that have a 50% reduction in levels of Nedd4. These mice showed decreased long-term spatial memory as evidenced by significant increases in the time taken to learn the location of and subsequently find a platform in the Morris water maze. In contrast, there were no significant differences between Nedd4(+/+) and Nedd4(+/-) mice in terms of short-term spatial memory in a Y-maze test. Nedd4(+/-) mice also displayed a significant reduction in post-synaptic LTP measured in hippocampal brain slices. Immunofluorescence of Nedd4 in the hippocampus confirmed its expression in hippocampal neurons of the CA1 region. These findings indicate that reducing Nedd4 protein by 50% significantly impairs LTP and long-term memory thereby demonstrating an important role for Nedd4 in these processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of a Short-Term and Long-Term Melatonin Administration on Mammary Carcinogenesis in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats Influenced by Repeated Psychoemotional Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Kassayová

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin (MEL on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU-induced mammary carcinogenesis in female Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to repeated psychoemotional stress - immobilization in boxes. NMU was applied intraperitoneally in two doses each of 50 mg/kg b.w. between 40 - 50 postnatal days. Melatonin was administered in drinking water at a concentration of 4 μg/ml daily from 15:00 h to 8:00 h. The application was initiated 5 days prior to the fi rst NMU dose and lasted 15 days, i.e. during the promotion phase of tumour development, or long-term until the end of the experiment (week 20. Immobilization (2 h per day began on the third day after the second carcinogen application and lasted for 7 consecutive days. Short-term MEL administration to immobilized animals increased incidence by 22%, decreased tumour frequency per animal by 26% and reduced tumour volume gain (by 21% when compared to the immobilized group without MEL application. Decreased frequency per animal by 28% and more than a 40% decrease in tumour volume gain and cumulative volume were the most pronounced changes in the animals drinking MEL until the end of the experiment. Long-term MEL administration reduced the number and size of mammary tumours more markedly than its short-term administration. Melatonin decreased certain attributes of mammary carcinogenesis in female rats influenced by psychoemotional stress.

  16. Short- and long-term memory contributions to immediate serial recognition: evidence from serial position effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purser, Harry; Jarrold, Christopher

    2010-04-01

    A long-standing body of research supports the existence of separable short- and long-term memory systems, relying on phonological and semantic codes, respectively. The aim of the current study was to measure the contribution of long-term knowledge to short-term memory performance by looking for evidence of phonologically and semantically coded storage within a short-term recognition task, among developmental samples. Each experimental trial presented 4-item lists. In Experiment 1 typically developing children aged 5 to 6 years old showed evidence of phonologically coded storage across all 4 serial positions, but evidence of semantically coded storage at Serial Positions 1 and 2. In a further experiment, a group of individuals with Down syndrome was investigated as a test case that might be expected to use semantic coding to support short-term storage, but these participants showed no evidence of semantically coded storage and evidenced phonologically coded storage only at Serial Position 4, suggesting that individuals with Down syndrome have a verbal short-term memory capacity of 1 item. Our results suggest that previous evidence of semantic effects on "short-term memory performance" does not reflect semantic coding in short-term memory itself, and provide an experimental method for researchers wishing to take a relatively pure measure of verbal short-term memory capacity, in cases where rehearsal is unlikely.

  17. Errors in nonword repetition: bridging short- and long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, F H; Bueno, O F A; Gathercole, S E

    2006-03-01

    According to the working memory model, the phonological loop is the component of working memory specialized in processing and manipulating limited amounts of speech-based information. The Children's Test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) is a suitable measure of phonological short-term memory for English-speaking children, which was validated by the Brazilian Children's Test of Pseudoword Repetition (BCPR) as a Portuguese-language version. The objectives of the present study were: i) to investigate developmental aspects of the phonological memory processing by error analysis in the nonword repetition task, and ii) to examine phoneme (substitution, omission and addition) and order (migration) errors made in the BCPR by 180 normal Brazilian children of both sexes aged 4-10, from preschool to 4th grade. The dominant error was substitution [F(3,525) = 180.47; P long than in short items, was observed [F(3,519) = 108.36; P long-term memory contributes to holding memory trace. The findings were discussed in terms of distinctiveness, clustering and redintegration hypotheses.

  18. Laparoscopic colectomy for transverse colon cancer: comparative analysis of short- and long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Weizheng; Zhang, Bo; Chen, Weifeng; Gu, Dayong; Gao, Weidong

    2015-01-01

    This study evaluated the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy compared with open colectomy for patients with transverse colon cancer by matched-pair analysis. This study enrolled 59 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy and compared them with 59 matched patients who underwent open colectomy for transverse colon cancer. The following parameters were matched: clinical stage and type of resection. Both short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy were compared with those of open colectomy. No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of age, gender, ASA score, comorbidity, clinical stage and operative procedures. Regarding short-term outcomes, blood loss, time to first flatus, time to liquid diet and postoperative stay were significantly shorter in the laparoscopy group than in the open group, while operation time was significantly longer in the laparoscopy group than in the open group. Postoperative complication was similar between the two groups. With respect to long-term outcomes, the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of 5-year overall and disease-free survival. In summary, laparoscopic colectomy is a safe and feasible option for selected patients with transverse colon cancer. The short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy are considered to be acceptable.

  19. Effects of Cortisol on Short and Long Term Diet and Morphology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peiman, Kathryn S.; Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Larsen, Martin Hage

    2017-01-01

    Glucocorticoids such as cortisol are released during stressful events. However, many of the effects of cortisol on animals in the wild are still poorly documented. We evaluated the effects of artificially elevated cortisol on diet and morphology over the short term (2 weeks) and long term (4 months......) using a wild population of juvenile semi-anadromous brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Denmark. We caught, tagged and manipulated juvenile fish while in their natal freshwater streams in the fall. Manipulations consisted of an exogenous intracoelomic injection of cortisol suspended in vegetable shortening...... using geometric morphometrics. Cortisol affected carbon stable isotope signatures but had minimal effects on nitrogen isotopes and morphology. Irrespective of treatment, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values increased over time. This study shows that cortisol can have both short and long term...

  20. Complex modulation by stress of the effect of seizures on long term potentiation in mouse hippocampal slices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maggio, Nicola; Shavit Stein, Efrat; Segal, Menahem

    2017-08-01

    Stress has a profound effect on ability to express neuronal plasticity, learning, and memory. Likewise, epileptic seizures lead to massive changes in brain connectivity, and in ability to undergo long term changes in reactivity to afferent stimulation. In this study, we analyzed possible long lasting interactions between a stressful experience and reactivity to pilocarpine, on the ability to produce long term potentiation (LTP) in a mouse hippocampus. Pilocarpine lowers paired pulse potentiation as well as LTP in CA1 region of the mouse hippocampal slice. When stress experience precedes exposure to pilocarpine, it protects the brain from the lasting effect of pilocarpine. When stress follows pilocarpine, it exacerbates the effect of the drug, to produce a long lasting reduction in LTP. These changes are accompanied by a parallel change in blood corticosterone level. A single exposure to selective mineralo- or gluco-corticosterone (MR and GR, respectively) agonists and antagonists can mimic the stress effects, indicating that GR's underlie the lasting detrimental effects of stress whereas MRs are instrumental in counteracting the effects of stress. These studies open a new avenue of understanding of the interactive effects of stress and epileptic seizures on brain plasticity. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease. Comparison between short and long-term donepezil therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ushijima, Yo; Okuyama, Chio; Kubota, Takao; Nakai, Takako; Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Mori, Satoru

    2006-01-01

    Treatment with donepezil improves cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) when compared to a placebo-controlled group. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of AD patients in short-term and long-term treatment with donepezil. rCBF was measured by N-isopropyl-p- 123 I-iodoamphetamine (IMP) autoradiography method. CBF measurements were performed in 17 AD patients before treatment and after 3 months (short-term therapy) and 1 year (long-term therapy). Regions of interest were set at cerebral cortex and cerebellar hemisphere. We used absolute CBF and relative CBF expressed as ratio to cerebellar CBF. Significant increases in relative rCBF were noted in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes at the end of short-term therapy. rCBF was decreased after the long-term therapy, whereas rCBF was still increased to a slight extent, as compared with the pre-treatment levels. Absolute rCBF showed minimal change and a tendency to decline. Relative rCBF significantly increased in the short-term donepezil therapy, while following the long-term therapy, rCBF decreased to the pre-treatment level. (author)

  2. Long- and short-term exposure to PM2.5 and mortality: using novel exposure models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kloog, Itai; Ridgway, Bill; Koutrakis, Petros; Coull, Brent A; Schwartz, Joel D

    2013-07-01

    Many studies have reported associations between ambient particulate matter (PM) and adverse health effects, focused on either short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic) PM exposures. For chronic effects, the studied cohorts have rarely been representative of the population. We present a novel exposure model combining satellite aerosol optical depth and land-use data to investigate both the long- and short-term effects of PM2.5 exposures on population mortality in Massachusetts, United States, for the years 2000-2008. All deaths were geocoded. We performed two separate analyses: a time-series analysis (for short-term exposure) where counts in each geographic grid cell were regressed against cell-specific short-term PM2.5 exposure, temperature, socioeconomic data, lung cancer rates (as a surrogate for smoking), and a spline of time (to control for season and trends). In addition, for long-term exposure, we performed a relative incidence analysis using two long-term exposure metrics: regional 10 × 10 km PM2.5 predictions and local deviations from the cell average based on land use within 50 m of the residence. We tested whether these predicted the proportion of deaths from PM-related causes (cardiovascular and respiratory diseases). For short-term exposure, we found that for every 10-µg/m increase in PM 2.5 exposure there was a 2.8% increase in PM-related mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.0-3.5). For the long-term exposure at the grid cell level, we found an odds ratio (OR) for every 10-µg/m increase in long-term PM2.5 exposure of 1.6 (CI = 1.5-1.8) for particle-related diseases. Local PM2.5 had an OR of 1.4 (CI = 1.3-1.5), which was independent of and additive to the grid cell effect. We have developed a novel PM2.5 exposure model based on remote sensing data to assess both short- and long-term human exposures. Our approach allows us to gain spatial resolution in acute effects and an assessment of long-term effects in the entire population rather than a

  3. Depletion of serotonin selectively impairs short-term memory without affecting long-term memory in odor learning in the terrestrial slug Limax valentianus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirahata, Takaaki; Tsunoda, Makoto; Santa, Tomofumi; Kirino, Yutaka; Watanabe, Satoshi

    2006-01-01

    The terrestrial slug Limax is able to acquire short-term and long-term memories during aversive odor-taste associative learning. We investigated the effect of the selective serotonergic neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) on memory. Behavioral studies indicated that 5,7-DHT impaired short-term memory but not long-term memory. HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) analysis revealed that 5,7-DHT significantly reduced serotonin content in the central nervous system. The present study suggests that acquisition, retention, and/or retrieval of short-term memory involves serotonin, and neither acquisition nor retrieval of long-term memory requires serotonin at a level as high as that required for short-term memory.

  4. The effect of retraining of nurses on cardiopulmonary resuscitationsuccess rate and short-term and long-term survival in patients revived

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dahi M

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR is performed in order to restore the functioning of two most important body organs the heart and brain. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of retraining of nurses on CPR success rate and short-term and long-term CPR survival. Materials and Method: The study population of the present quasi-experimental study consisted of all nurses of Taleghani Hospital affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, in 2011. The study subjects (n = 400 were selected using convenience and purposive sampling method. The patient survival rate during the first 24 hours (short-term survival and discharge from the hospital (long-term survival after CPR were reported. Then, the study subjects, in groups of 20, participated in CPR training courses. Short-term (24 hours and long-term (discharge from hospital in good mental status survival subsequent to CPR were reevaluated and compared with pre-training results. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20, and t-test and chi-square test. Results: Retraining promoted CPR success rates. This increase in the short-term success rate was not significant, but the increase in long-term success rate was statistically significant (P = 0.007. Conclusion: Periodic retraining of nurses may improve CPR success rate particularly long-term survival or discharge from hospital. Therefore, further studies on long-term success of CPR considering confounding factors are recommended

  5. Mechanisms of isoform-specific Na/K pump regulation by short- and long-term adrenergic activation in rat ventricular myocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Jian; Guo, Hui-Cai; Yu, Ding; Wang, Hui-Ci; Li, Jun-Xia; Wang, Yong-Li

    2014-01-01

    Many stressful conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, induce long-term elevations in circulating catecholamines, thereby leading to changes of the Na/K pump and thus affecting myocardial functions. However, only short-term adrenergic regulation of the Na/K pump has been reported. The present study is the first investigation of long-term adrenergic regulation of the Na/K pump and the potential mechanism. After acutely isolated Sprague-Dawley rat myocytes were incubated with noradrenaline or isoprenaline for 24 h, Na/K pump high- (IPH) and low-affinity current (IPL), α-isoform mRNA, and α-isoform protein were examined using patch-clamp, RT-PCR, and Western blotting techniques, respectively. After the short-term incubation, isoprenaline reduced the IPL through a PKA-dependent pathway that involves α1-isoform translocation from the membrane to early endosomes, and noradrenaline increased the IPH through a PKC-dependent pathway that involves α2-isoform translocation from late endosomes to the membrane. After long-term incubation, isoprenaline increased the IPL, α1-isoform mRNA, and α1-isoform protein, and noradrenaline reduced the IPH, α2-isoform mRNA, and α1-isoform protein through a PKA-or PKC-dependent pathway, respectively. These results suggest that long-term adrenergic Na/K pump regulation is isoform-specific and negatively feeds back on the short-term response. Furthermore, long-term regulation involves transcription and translation of the respective α-isoform, whereas short-term regulation involves the translocation of the available α-isoform to the plasma membrane. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  6. Mechanisms of Isoform-Specific Na/K Pump Regulation by Short- and Long-Term Adrenergic Activation in Rat Ventricular Myocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Yin

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Many stressful conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, induce long-term elevations in circulating catecholamines, thereby leading to changes of the Na/K pump and thus affecting myocardial functions. However, only short-term adrenergic regulation of the Na/K pump has been reported. The present study is the first investigation of long-term adrenergic regulation of the Na/K pump and the potential mechanism. Methods: After acutely isolated Sprague-Dawley rat myocytes were incubated with noradrenaline or isoprenaline for 24 h, Na/K pump high- (IPH and low-affinity current (IPL, α-isoform mRNA, and α-isoform protein were examined using patch-clamp, RT-PCR, and Western blotting techniques, respectively. Results: After the short-term incubation, isoprenaline reduced the IPL through a PKA-dependent pathway that involves α1-isoform translocation from the membrane to early endosomes, and noradrenaline increased the IPH through a PKC-dependent pathway that involves α2-isoform translocation from late endosomes to the membrane. After long-term incubation, isoprenaline increased the IPL, α1-isoform mRNA, and α1-isoform protein, and noradrenaline reduced the IPH, α2-isoform mRNA, and α1-isoform protein through a PKA-or PKC-dependent pathway, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that long-term adrenergic Na/K pump regulation is isoform-specific and negatively feeds back on the short-term response. Furthermore, long-term regulation involves transcription and translation of the respective α-isoform, whereas short-term regulation involves the translocation of the available α-isoform to the plasma membrane.

  7. Decoupling the short- and long-term behavior of stochastic volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bennedsen, Mikkel; Lunde, Asger; Pakkanen, Mikko

    behavior) from long memory and persistence (long-term behavior) in a simple and parsimonious way, which allows us to successfully model volatility at all intraday time scales. Our prime model is based on the so-called Brownian semistationary process and we derive a number of theoretical properties...... measures of close to two thousand individual US equities, we find that both roughness and persistence appear to be universal properties of volatility. Inspired by the empirical findings, we introduce a new class of continuous-time stochastic volatility models, capable of decoupling roughness (short-term...

  8. Toxicological Effects of Caco-2 Cells Following Short-Term and Long-Term Exposure to Ag Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ni Chen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Extensive utilization increases the exposure of humans to Ag nanoparticles (NPs via the oral pathway. To comprehensively address the action of Ag NPs to the gastrointestinal systems in real situations, i.e., the long-term low-dose exposure, we evaluated and compared the toxicity of three Ag NPs (20–30 nm with different surface coatings to the human intestine cell Caco-2 after 1-day and 21-day exposures, using various biological assays. In both the short- and long-term exposures, the variety of surface coating predominated the toxicity of Ag NPs in a descending order of citrate-coated Ag NP (Ag-CIT, bare Ag NP (Ag-B, and poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone-coated Ag NP (Ag-PVP. The short-term exposure induced cell growth inhibition and death. The cell viability loss appeared after cells were exposed to 0.7 μg/mL Ag-CIT, 0.9 μg/mL Ag-B or >1.0 μg/mL Ag-PVP for 24 h. The short-term and higher-dose exposure also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS generation, mitochondrial damage, cell membrane leakage, apoptosis, and inflammation (IL-8 level. The long-term exposure only inhibited the cell proliferation. After 21-day exposure to 0.4 μg/mL Ag-CIT, the cell viability dropped to less than 50%, while cells exposed to 0.5 μg/mL Ag-PVP remained normal as the control. Generally, 0.3 μg/mL is the non-toxic dose for the long-term exposure of Caco-2 cells to Ag NPs in this study. However, cells presented inflammation after exposure to Ag NPs with the non-toxic dose in the long-term exposure.

  9. Short- and long-term inhibition of cardiac inward-rectifier potassium channel current by an antiarrhythmic drug bepridil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Fangfang; Takanari, Hiroki; Masuda, Kimiko; Morishima, Masaki; Ono, Katsushige

    2016-07-01

    Bepridil is an effective antiarrhythmic drug on supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, and inhibitor of calmodulin. Recent investigations have been elucidating that bepridil exerts antiarrhythmic effects through its acute and chronic application for patients. The aim of this study was to identify the efficacy and the potential mechanism of bepridil on the inward-rectifier potassium channel in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in acute- and long-term conditions. Bepridil inhibited inward-rectifier potassium current (I K1) as a short-term effect with IC50 of 17 μM. Bepridil also reduced I K1 of neonatal cardiomyocytes when applied for 24 h in the culture medium with IC50 of 2.7 μM. Both a calmodulin inhibitor (W-7) and an inhibitor of calmodulin-kinase II (KN93) reduced I K1 when applied for 24 h as a long-term effect in the same fashion, suggesting that the long-term application of bepridil inhibits I K1 more potently than that of the short-term application through the inhibition of calmodulin kinase II pathway in cardiomyocytes.

  10. Ministers of Health: short-term tenure for long-term goals?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraz, Marcos Bosi; Azevedo, Rafael Teixeira

    2011-03-01

    Healthcare investments should consider short and long-term demands. The objectives here were to compare the average tenures of ministers of health in Brazil and in another 22 countries and to evaluate the relationship between ministers' tenures and a number of indicators. Descriptive study conducted at Centro Paulista de Economia da Saúde (CPES). Twenty-two countries with the highest Human Development Indices (HDIs) and Brazil were included. The number of ministers over the past 20 years was investigated through each country's Ministry of Health website. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to compare the number of ministers in each country with that country's indicators. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare ministers' tenures in Brazil and other countries. The mean tenure (standard deviation, SD) of Brazilian ministers of health was 15 (12) months, a period that is statistically significantly shorter than the mean tenure of 33 (18) months in the other 22 countries (P < 0.05). There was a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation between the number of ministers and mortality rates for several conditions. The number of ministers also presented moderate and statistically significant negative correlations with per capita total healthcare expenditure (r = -0.567) and with per capita government healthcare expenditure (r = -0.530). On average, ministers of health have extremely short tenures. There is an urgent need to think and plan healthcare systems from a long-term perspective.

  11. Predicting short-term mortality and long-term survival for hospitalized US patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuthbert, Jennifer A; Arslanlar, Sami; Yepuri, Jay; Montrose, Marc; Ahn, Chul W; Shah, Jessica P

    2014-07-01

    No study has evaluated current scoring systems for their accuracy in predicting short and long-term outcome of alcoholic hepatitis in a US population. We reviewed electronic records for patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital between January 2002 and August 2005. Data and outcomes for 148 of 1,761 admissions meeting pre-defined criteria were collected. The discriminant function (DF) was revised (INRdf) to account for changes in prothrombin time reagents that could potentially affect identification of risk using the previous DF threshold of >32. Admission and theoretical peak scores were calculated by use of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD). Analysis models compared five different scoring systems. INRdf was closely correlated with the old DF (r (2) = 0.95). Multivariate analysis of the data showed that survival for 28 days was significantly associated with a scoring system using a combination of age, bilirubin, coagulation status, and creatinine (p short-term mortality (p 50 % mortality at four weeks and >80 % mortality at six months without specific treatment.

  12. The effects of short- and long-term air pollutants on plant phenology and leaf characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jochner, Susanne; Markevych, Iana; Beck, Isabelle; Traidl-Hoffmann, Claudia

    2015-01-01

    Pollution adversely affects vegetation; however, its impact on phenology and leaf morphology is not satisfactorily understood yet. We analyzed associations between pollutants and phenological data of birch, hazel and horse chestnut in Munich (2010) along with the suitability of leaf morphological parameters of birch for monitoring air pollution using two datasets: cumulated atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and ozone derived from passive sampling (short-term exposure) and pollutant information derived from Land Use Regression models (long-term exposure). Partial correlations and stepwise regressions revealed that increased ozone (birch, horse chestnut), NO_2, NO_x and PM levels (hazel) were significantly related to delays in phenology. Correlations were especially high when rural sites were excluded suggesting a better estimation of long-term within-city pollution. In situ measurements of foliar characteristics of birch were not suitable for bio-monitoring pollution. Inconsistencies between long- and short-term exposure effects suggest some caution when interpreting short-term data collected within field studies. - Highlights: • We present results of a field survey examining pollution effects on vegetation. • Particularly ozone was significantly associated with delays in spring phenology. • Leaf morphology of birch was found to be inadequate for bio-monitoring pollution. • Inconsistencies between long-/short-term exposure effects suggest caution. - Pollutants were significantly associated with delays in spring phenology. However, inconsistencies between long- and short-term exposure effects suggest some caution when interpreting results.

  13. Stability analysis of roadway embankments supported by stone columns with the presence of water table under short-term and long-term conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kadhim Shaymaa Tareq

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Use of stone column technique to improve soft foundation soils under roadway embankments has proven to increase the bearing capacity and reduce the potential settlement. The potential contribution of stone columns to the stability of roadway embankments against general (i.e. deep-seated failure needs to be thoroughly investigated. Therefore, a two-dimensional finite difference model implemented by FLAC/SLOPE 7.0 software, was employed in this study to assess the stability of a roadway embankment fill built on a soft soil deposit improved by stone column technique. The stability factor of safety was obtained numerically under both short-term and long-term conditions with the presence of water table. Two methods were adopted to convert the three-dimensional model into plane strain condition: column wall and equivalent improved ground methods. The effect of various parameters was studied to evaluate their influence on the factor of safety against embankment instability. For instance, the column diameter, columns’ spacing, soft soil properties for short-term and long-term conditions, and the height and friction angle of the embankment fill. The results of this study are developed in several design charts.

  14. Structuring spot, short and long term gas contracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gretener, N.M.

    1996-01-01

    A review of the core clauses of the modern natural gas purchase and sales contracts, was presented. There exists a wide variety of terms which can be used by a seller and a buyer to customize such a contract to suit particular circumstances. On the basis of length of term, gas contracts may classified as spot contracts having a term of 30 days or less, short term contracts having a term of 30 days to one to two years, and long term contracts having terms greater than two years. The three key elements which are applicable to all gas sales contracts are the contract price, the seller's obligation to deliver, and the buyer's obligation to accept. Other provisions that may be included in any gas sales contract in addition to the basic three were reviewed, including market pricing, load factor incentive pricing, seasonal pricing, pipeline demand charges, market shares, and the seller's right to decontract

  15. Cyclosporine therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: short-term and long-term results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurudu, S R; Griffel, L H; Gialanella, R J; Das, K M

    1999-09-01

    Intravenous cyclosporine therapy followed by oral cyclosporine therapy reduce the need for urgent surgery in steroid-refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our objective is to report short- and long-term results of cyclosporine therapy in IBD patients. Thirteen patients with steroid-refractory IBD, seven patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and six patients with Crohn's disease (CD) were treated with intravenous cyclosporine (4 mg/kg/day) for a mean period of 11.4+/-2.8 days (range, 4-15 days). Subsequently the patients were started on oral cyclosporine (8 mg/kg/day) and followed for a mean of 10.3+/-10 months (range, 1-30 months). Twelve patients responded to intravenous cyclosporine therapy. One patient with UC developed sepsis on the fourth day of intravenous cyclosporine therapy and needed urgent colectomy. Nine of 12 initial responders (6 patients with UC and 3 patients with CD) relapsed during follow-up despite oral cyclosporine and underwent elective surgery. One patient with CD relapsed 3 months after discontinuation of oral cyclosporine. Only two patients with CD are in long-term remission. There were no long-term side effects in any of the 13 treated patients. In conclusion, intravenous cyclosporine was effective in inducing remission or significant improvement in 12 of 13 patients with steroid-refractory IBD. However, with subsequent oral cyclosporine the remission could be maintained only for a short while. Each of the six patients with UC needed colectomy and three of the five patients with CD had intestinal resection within 12 months despite oral cyclosporine therapy.

  16. Observation of long term potentiation in papain-based memory devices

    KAUST Repository

    Bag, A.; Hota, Mrinal Kanti; Mallik, Sandipan B.; Maì ti, Chinmay Kumar

    2014-01-01

    Biological synaptic behavior in terms of long term potentiation has been observed in papain-based (plant protein) memory devices (memristors) for the first time. Improvement in long term potentiation depends on pulse amplitude and width (duration). Continuous/repetitive dc voltage sweep leads to an increase in memristor conductivity leading to a long term memory in the 'learning' processes.

  17. Observation of long term potentiation in papain-based memory devices

    KAUST Repository

    Bag, A.

    2014-06-01

    Biological synaptic behavior in terms of long term potentiation has been observed in papain-based (plant protein) memory devices (memristors) for the first time. Improvement in long term potentiation depends on pulse amplitude and width (duration). Continuous/repetitive dc voltage sweep leads to an increase in memristor conductivity leading to a long term memory in the \\'learning\\' processes.

  18. Short-term and long-term effects of violent media on aggression in children and adults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bushman, B.J.; Huesmann, L.R.

    2006-01-01

    Objectives: To test whether the results of the accumulated studies on media violence and aggressive behavior are consistent with the theories that have evolved to explain the effects. We tested for the existence of both short-term and long-term effects for aggressive behavior. We also tested the

  19. Functional diversity of Collembola is reduced in soils subjected to short-term, but not long-term, geothermal warming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holmstrup, Martin; Ehlers, Bodil K.; Slotsbo, Stine

    2018-01-01

    the extent of such effects in long-term field-based experiments. In this study we make use of both recent (short-term) and long-term geothermal warming of Icelandic soils to examine the responses of Collembola, an ecologically important group of soil invertebrates, to warming. 2. On the basis of metabolic...

  20. Fluoroscopically guided caudal epidural steroid injection for management of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis: short-term and long-term results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Joon Woo; Myung, Jae Sung; Kang, Heung Sik [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seong Nam, Gyeongi-do (Korea); Park, Kun Woo; Yeom, Jin S. [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Seong Nam, Gyeongi-do (Korea); Kim, Ki-Jeong; Kim, Hyun-Jib [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Seong Nam, Gyeongi-do (Korea)

    2010-07-15

    To evaluate the short-term and long-term effects of fluoroscopically guided caudal epidural steroid injection (ESI) for the management of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) and to analyze outcome predictors. All patients who underwent caudal ESI in 2006 for DLSS were included in the study. Response was based on chart documentation (aggravated, no change, slightly improved, much improved, no pain). In June 2009 telephone interviews were conducted, using formatted questions including the North American Spine Society (NASS) patient satisfaction scale. For short-term and long-term effects, age difference was evaluated by the Mann-Whitney U test, and gender, duration of symptoms, level of DLSS, spondylolisthesis, and previous operations were evaluated by Fisher's exact test. Two hundred and sixteen patients (male: female = 75:141; mean age 69.2 years; range 48{proportional_to}91 years) were included in the study. Improvements (slightly improved, much improved, no pain) were seen in 185 patients (85.6%) after an initial caudal ESI and in 189 patients (87.5%) after a series of caudal ESIs. Half of the patients (89/179, 49.8%) replied positively to the NASS patient satisfaction scale (1 or 2). There were no significant outcome predictors for either the short-term or the long-term responses. Fluoroscopically guided caudal ESI was effective for the management of DLSS (especially central canal stenosis) with excellent short-term and good long-term results, without significant outcome predictors. (orig.)

  1. Long story short: an introduction to the short-term and long-term Six Sigma quality and its importance in the laboratory medicine for the management of extra-analytical processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ialongo, Cristiano; Bernardini, Sergio

    2018-06-18

    There is a compelling need for quality tools that enable effective control of the extra-analytical phase. In this regard, Six Sigma seems to offer a valid methodological and conceptual opportunity, and in recent times, the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine has adopted it for indicating the performance requirements for non-analytical laboratory processes. However, the Six Sigma implies a distinction between short-term and long-term quality that is based on the dynamics of the processes. These concepts are still not widespread and applied in the field of laboratory medicine although they are of fundamental importance to exploit the full potential of this methodology. This paper reviews the Six Sigma quality concepts and shows how they originated from Shewhart's control charts, in respect of which they are not an alternative but a completion. It also discusses the dynamic nature of process and how it arises, concerning particularly the long-term dynamic mean variation, and explains why this leads to the fundamental distinction of quality we previously mentioned.

  2. Verification of“Trend-Volatility Model”in Short-Term Forecast of Grain Production Potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MI Chang-hong

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The "trend-volatility model" in short-term forecasting of grain production potential was verified and discussed systematically by using the grain production data from 1949 to 2014, in 16 typical counties and 6 typical districts, and 31 provinces, of China. The results showed as follows:(1 Size of forecast error reflected the precision of short-term production potential, the main reason of large prediction error was a great amount of high yield farmlands were occupied in developed areas and a great increase of vegetable and fruit planted that made grain yield decreased in a short time;(2 The micro-trend amendment method was a necessary part of "trend-volatility model", which could involve the short-term factors such as meteorological factors, science and technology input, social factors and other effects, while macro-trend prediction could not. Therefore, The micro-trend amendment method could improve the forecast precision.(3 In terms of actual situation in recent years in China, the more developed the areas was, the bigger the volatility of short-term production potential was; For the short-term production potential, the stage of increasing-decreasing-recovering also existed in developed areas;(4 In the terms of forecast precision of short-terms production potential, the scale of national was higher than the scale of province, the scale of province was higher than the scale of district, the scale of district was higher than the scale of county. And it was large differences in precision between different provinces, different districts and different counties respectively, which was concerned to the complementarity of domestic climate and the ability of the farmland resistance to natural disasters.

  3. The Effect of Zinc Supplementation of Lactating Rats on Short-Term and Long-Term Memory of Their Male Offspring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Karami

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: In this study the effect of zinc chloride (ZnCl2 administration on the short-term and long-term memory of rats were assessed. Methods: We enrolled six groups of adult female and control group of eight Wistar rats in each group. One group was control group with free access to food and water, and five groups drunk zinc chloride in different doses (20, 30, 50, 70 and 100 mg/kg/day in drinking water for two weeks during lactation .One month after birth, a shuttle box used to short- term and long-term memory and the latency in entering the dark chamber as well. Results: This experiment showed that maternal 70 mg/kg dietary zinc during lactation influenced the working memory of rats’ offspring in all groups. Rats received 100 mg/kg/day zinc during lactation so they had significant impairment in working memory (short-term of their offspring (P<0.05. There was no significant difference in reference (long-term memory of all groups. Conclusion: Drug consumption below70 mg/kg/day zinc chloride during lactation had no effect. While enhanced 100 mg/ kg/ day zinc in lactating rats could cause short-term memory impairment.

  4. Synaptic characteristics with strong analog potentiation, depression, and short-term to long-term memory transition in a Pt/CeO2/Pt crossbar array structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyung Jun; Park, Daehoon; Yang, Paul; Beom, Keonwon; Kim, Min Ju; Shin, Chansun; Kang, Chi Jung; Yoon, Tae-Sik

    2018-06-01

    A crossbar array of Pt/CeO2/Pt memristors exhibited the synaptic characteristics such as analog, reversible, and strong resistance change with a ratio of ∼103, corresponding to wide dynamic range of synaptic weight modulation as potentiation and depression with respect to the voltage polarity. In addition, it presented timing-dependent responses such as paired-pulse facilitation and the short-term to long-term memory transition by increasing amplitude, width, and repetition number of voltage pulse and reducing the interval time between pulses. The memory loss with a time was fitted with a stretched exponential relaxation model, revealing the relation of memory stability with the input stimuli strength. The resistance change was further enhanced but its stability got worse as increasing measurement temperature, indicating that the resistance was changed as a result of voltage- and temperature-dependent electrical charging and discharging to alter the energy barrier for charge transport. These detailed synaptic characteristics demonstrated the potential of crossbar array of Pt/CeO2/Pt memristors as artificial synapses in highly connected neuron-synapse network.

  5. Fractional carbon dioxide laser for the treatment of facial atrophic acne scars: prospective clinical trial with short and long-term evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elcin, Gonca; Yalici-Armagan, Basak

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fractional carbon dioxide laser for the treatment of acne scars. Thirty-one participants, 15 female and 16 male, whose mean age was 34.84 ± 10.94 years, were included in this prospective study. The study took place between 2012 and 2016. Participants were evaluated with the "ECCA Grading Scale" before the first session, 3 months (short-term evaluation) and 3 years after the last session (long-term evaluation). Participants received two or three treatment sessions at 4-week intervals, with a 10,600 nm fractional carbon dioxide laser with pulse energies ranging between 100 and 160 mJ, 120 spot type, 75-100 spot/cm 2 density, and 30 W power. Self-assessments by the participants were done 3 months and 3 years after the last session. The mean ECCA score was 107.90 ± 39.38 before the first session, and 82.17 ± 36.23 at the time of short-term evaluation (p = 0.000). The grade of improvement at the short-term evaluation was as follows: no improvement, mild, moderate, and significant improvement for 7 (22.6%), 11 (35.5%), 9 (29%), and 4 (12.9%) of the participants, respectively. Regarding self-assessments, 80.6 and 61.3% of the participants rated themselves as having at least mild improvement at the short-term and the long-term follow-up periods, respectively. The results of this study suggest that fractional carbon dioxide laser is an efficient treatment option for acne scars. Furthermore, self-assessment results show that more than half of the participants still experience at least mild improvement at the end of 3 years.

  6. Short- versus long-term radon detectors: a comparative study in Galicia, NW Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruano-Ravina, A.; Castro-Bernardez, M.; Sande-Meijide, M.; Vargas, A.; Barros-Dios, J.M.

    2008-01-01

    As reported in previous studies, Galicia (NW Spain) is an area of high radon concentrations. This study was sought to analyze the correlation between short-term (activated carbon) and long-term (alpha particle track) detectors in this geographic area, and ascertain whether there were differences in their readings that might be influenced by other variables. A comparison study, as part of a case-control study was designed in which two detectors, one of each type, were placed in the selected homes. A total of 391 homes yielded readings with both detectors. The results indicated that there was a relatively good correlation between both types of monitors (correlation coefficient 0.608; p < 0.001). The highest correlations between both detectors were observed for unventilated homes, coastal sites, and the oldest buildings. Short-term and long-term detectors do not show a similar performance in all settings or situations. It is advisable to use long-term detectors whenever possible

  7. Short- versus long-term radon detectors: a comparative study in Galicia, NW Spain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruano-Ravina, A. [Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, C/San Francisco s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Galician Agency for Health Technology Assessment, Galician Health Service, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica, CIBERESP (Spain)], E-mail: mralbert@usc.es; Castro-Bernardez, M. [Epidemiology Department, Directorate-General for Public Health, Galician Regional Authority (Spain); Sande-Meijide, M. [Preventive Medicine Unit, Ourense Hospital Complex, Galician Health Service (Spain); Vargas, A. [Energy Techniques Institute, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona (Spain); Barros-Dios, J.M. [Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, C/San Francisco s/n, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica, CIBERESP (Spain); Preventive Medicine Unit, Santiago de Compostela University Hospital, Galician Health Service (Spain)

    2008-07-15

    As reported in previous studies, Galicia (NW Spain) is an area of high radon concentrations. This study was sought to analyze the correlation between short-term (activated carbon) and long-term (alpha particle track) detectors in this geographic area, and ascertain whether there were differences in their readings that might be influenced by other variables. A comparison study, as part of a case-control study was designed in which two detectors, one of each type, were placed in the selected homes. A total of 391 homes yielded readings with both detectors. The results indicated that there was a relatively good correlation between both types of monitors (correlation coefficient 0.608; p < 0.001). The highest correlations between both detectors were observed for unventilated homes, coastal sites, and the oldest buildings. Short-term and long-term detectors do not show a similar performance in all settings or situations. It is advisable to use long-term detectors whenever possible.

  8. An accident diagnosis algorithm using long short-term memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaemin Yang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Accident diagnosis is one of the complex tasks for nuclear power plant (NPP operators. In abnormal or emergency situations, the diagnostic activity of the NPP states is burdensome though necessary. Numerous computer-based methods and operator support systems have been suggested to address this problem. Among them, the recurrent neural network (RNN has performed well at analyzing time series data. This study proposes an algorithm for accident diagnosis using long short-term memory (LSTM, which is a kind of RNN, which improves the limitation for time reflection. The algorithm consists of preprocessing, the LSTM network, and postprocessing. In the LSTM-based algorithm, preprocessed input variables are calculated to output the accident diagnosis results. The outputs are also postprocessed using softmax to determine the ranking of accident diagnosis results with probabilities. This algorithm was trained using a compact nuclear simulator for several accidents: a loss of coolant accident, a steam generator tube rupture, and a main steam line break. The trained algorithm was also tested to demonstrate the feasibility of diagnosing NPP accidents. Keywords: Accident Diagnosis, Long Short-term Memory, Recurrent Neural Network, Softmax

  9. Depletion of Serotonin Selectively Impairs Short-Term Memory without Affecting Long-Term Memory in Odor Learning in the Terrestrial Slug "Limax Valentianus"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santa, Tomofumi; Kirino, Yutaka; Watanabe, Satoshi; Shirahata, Takaaki; Tsunoda, Makoto

    2006-01-01

    The terrestrial slug "Limax" is able to acquire short-term and long-term memories during aversive odor-taste associative learning. We investigated the effect of the selective serotonergic neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) on memory. Behavioral studies indicated that 5,7-DHT impaired short-term memory but not long-term memory. HPLC…

  10. Short-term and long-term ethanol administration inhibits the placental uptake and transport of valine in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patwardhan, R.V.; Schenker, S.; Henderson, G.I.; Abou-Mourad, N.N.; Hoyumpa, A.M. Jr.

    1981-01-01

    Ethanol ingestion during pregnancy causes a pattern of fetal/neonatal dysfunction called the FAS. The effects of short- and long-term ethanol ingestion on the placental uptake and maternal-fetal transfer of valine were studied in rats. The in vivo placental uptake and fetal uptake were estimated after injection of 0.04 micromol of /sub 14/C-valine intravenously on day 20 of gestation in Sprague-Dawley rats. Short-term ethanol ingestion (4 gm/kg) caused a significant reduction in the placental uptake of /sub 14/C-valine by 33%, 60%, and 30%, and 31% at 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 min after valine administration, respectively (p less than 0.01), and a similar significant reduction occurred in the fetal uptake of /sub 14/C-valine (p less than 0.01). Long-term ethanol ingestion prior to and throughout gestation resulted in a 47% reduction in placental valine uptake (p less than 0.01) and a 46% reduction in fetal valine uptake (p less than 0.01). Long-term ethanol feeding from day 4 to day 20 of gestation caused a 32% reduction in placental valine uptake (p less than 0.01) and a 26% reduction in fetal valine uptake (p less than 0.01). We conclude that both short- and long-term ingestion of ethanol inhibit the placental uptake and maternal-fetal transfer of an essential amino acid--valine. An alteration of placental function may contribute to the pathogenesis of the FAS

  11. The Effects of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Miyazaki, Ken; Ikeda, Tomoaki; Murabayashi, Nao; Hayashi, Kazutoshi; Kai, Akihiko; Ishikawa, Kaoru; Miyamoto, Yoshihiro; Nishimura, Kunihiro; Kono, Yumi; Kusuda, Satoshi; Fujimura, Masanori

    2015-01-01

    Aim: To evaluate the effect of antenatal corticosteroids (ANS) on short- and long-term outcomes in small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants. Methods: A retrospective database analysis was performed. A total of 1,931 single infants (birth weight <1,500 g) born at a gestational age between 22 weeks and 33 weeks 6 days who were determined to be SGA registered in the Neonatal Research Network Database in Japan between 2003 and 2007 were evaluated for short-term outcome and long-term outcome. Results: ANS was administered to a total of 719 infants (37%) in the short-term outcome evaluation group and 344 infants (36%) in the long-term outcome evaluation group. There were no significant differences between the ANS group and the no-ANS group for primary short-term outcome (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-1.20; P-value 0.22) or primary long-term outcome (adjusted OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.40-1.17; P-value 0.17). Conclusions: Our results show that ANS does not affect short- or long-term outcome in SGA infants when the birth weight is less than 1500 g. This study strongly suggests that administration of ANS resulted in few benefits for preterm FGR fetuses. PMID:25897289

  12. Saving and Re-building Lives: Determinants of Short-term and Long-term Disaster Relief

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geethanjali SELVARETNAM

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available We analyse both theoretically and empirically, the factors that influence the amount of humanitarian aid received by countries which are struck by natural disasters, particularly distinguishing between immediate disaster relief and long term humanitarian aid. The theoretical model is able to make predictions as well as explain some of the peculiarities in the empirical results. We show that both short and long term humanitarian aid increases with number of people killed, financial loss and level of corruption, while GDP per capita had no effect. More populated countries receive more humanitarian aid. Earthquake, tsunami and drought attract more aid.

  13. Short and long term maintenance strategy for reactor vessel head penetrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teissier, A.; Heuze, A.

    1995-01-01

    This paper presents elements based on : surveys, operating inspection, theoretical studies, safety analysis, laboratory results, that enabled to determine maintenance options and short and long term strategies for processing on reactor vessel head leaks. (TEC). 1 tab

  14. Handling geological and economic uncertainties in balancing short-term and long-term objectives in waterflooding optimization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siraj, M.M.; Van Den Hof, P.M.J.; Jansen, J.D.

    2017-01-01

    Model-based economic optimization of oil production has a significant scope to increase financial life-cycle performance. The net-present-value (NPV) objective in this optimization, because of its nature, focuses on long-term gains, whereas short-term production is not explicitly addressed. At the

  15. Association of metabolic syndrome with atypical antipsychotic drug (olanzapine) short term versus long term use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikram, H.; Ahmed, T.M.; Hayat, A.; Ullah, Q.I.; Nawaz, A.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To determine the association of metabolic syndrome with atypical antipsychotic drug (olanzapine) short term versus long term use. Study Design: Case control study. Place and Duration of Study: Chemical pathology department Army Medical College Rawalpindi, from Nov 2014 to Oct 2015. Material and Methods: The study was carried out on 240 subjects, 120 cases and 120 controls. For the purpose of the study cases were divided into four groups A, B, C and D according to the duration of drug use. Group A patients included those who the last the drug olanzapine for the last three months. Group B patients included those who were using the drug olanzapine for the last six months. Group C and D included those who were using the drug for last 1 year and more than one year (2-5 years) respectively. By employing non probability convenience sampling technique the data was collected from patients having the diagnosis of psychosis as per DSM IV modified criteria through a proforma and fasting blood samples were drawn. These samples were tested for fasting serum lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 21. For quantitative data Mean and SD were calculated. For qualitative data frequency and percentages were calculated. Qualitative data was compared using chi square test whereas quantitative data was compared using independent sample t-test. Results: There was statistically no significant difference in fasting plasma glucose between group A and B and their controls whereas in group C and D these levels were significantly high as compared to controls. Triglyceride levels were significantly higher and HDL cholesterol levels were significantly lower in all four groups as compared to controls. Comparison of qualitative data which included waist circumference and blood pressure showed statistically no significant rise for group A whereas waist circumference showed insignificant rise and blood pressure showed statistically

  16. Temporal information processing in short- and long-term memory of patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landgraf, Steffen; Steingen, Joerg; Eppert, Yvonne; Niedermeyer, Ulrich; van der Meer, Elke; Krueger, Frank

    2011-01-01

    Cognitive deficits of patients with schizophrenia have been largely recognized as core symptoms of the disorder. One neglected factor that contributes to these deficits is the comprehension of time. In the present study, we assessed temporal information processing and manipulation from short- and long-term memory in 34 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 34 matched healthy controls. On the short-term memory temporal-order reconstruction task, an incidental or intentional learning strategy was deployed. Patients showed worse overall performance than healthy controls. The intentional learning strategy led to dissociable performance improvement in both groups. Whereas healthy controls improved on a performance measure (serial organization), patients improved on an error measure (inappropriate semantic clustering) when using the intentional instead of the incidental learning strategy. On the long-term memory script-generation task, routine and non-routine events of everyday activities (e.g., buying groceries) had to be generated in either chronological or inverted temporal order. Patients were slower than controls at generating events in the chronological routine condition only. They also committed more sequencing and boundary errors in the inverted conditions. The number of irrelevant events was higher in patients in the chronological, non-routine condition. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia imprecisely access temporal information from short- and long-term memory. In short-term memory, processing of temporal information led to a reduction in errors rather than, as was the case in healthy controls, to an improvement in temporal-order recall. When accessing temporal information from long-term memory, patients were slower and committed more sequencing, boundary, and intrusion errors. Together, these results suggest that time information can be accessed and processed only imprecisely by patients who provide evidence for impaired time comprehension

  17. Implicit short- and long-term memory direct our gaze in visual search

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruijne, Wouter; Meeter, Martijn

    2016-01-01

    Visual attention is strongly affected by the past: both by recent experience and by long-term regularities in the environment that are encoded in and retrieved from memory. In visual search, intertrial repetition of targets causes speeded response times (short-term priming). Similarly, targets that

  18. Critical neural networks with short- and long-term plasticity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michiels van Kessenich, L.; Luković, M.; de Arcangelis, L.; Herrmann, H. J.

    2018-03-01

    In recent years self organized critical neuronal models have provided insights regarding the origin of the experimentally observed avalanching behavior of neuronal systems. It has been shown that dynamical synapses, as a form of short-term plasticity, can cause critical neuronal dynamics. Whereas long-term plasticity, such as Hebbian or activity dependent plasticity, have a crucial role in shaping the network structure and endowing neural systems with learning abilities. In this work we provide a model which combines both plasticity mechanisms, acting on two different time scales. The measured avalanche statistics are compatible with experimental results for both the avalanche size and duration distribution with biologically observed percentages of inhibitory neurons. The time series of neuronal activity exhibits temporal bursts leading to 1 /f decay in the power spectrum. The presence of long-term plasticity gives the system the ability to learn binary rules such as xor, providing the foundation of future research on more complicated tasks such as pattern recognition.

  19. Gender differences in success at quitting smoking: Short- and long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marqueta, Adriana; Nerín, Isabel; Gargallo, Pilar; Beamonte, Asunción

    2016-06-14

    Smoking cessation treatments are effective in men and women. However, possible sex-related differences in the outcome of these treatments remain a controversial topic. This study evaluated whether there were differences between men and women in the success of smoking cessation treatment, including gender-tailored components, in the short and long term (> 1 year). A telephone survey was carried out between September 2008 and June 2009 in smokers attended in a Smoking Cessation Clinic. All patients who have successfully completed treatment (3 months) were surveyed by telephone to determine their long-term abstinence. Those who remained abstinent were requested to attend the Smoking Cessation Clinic for biochemical validation (expired CO ≤10 ppm). The probability of remaining abstinent in the long-term was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The treatment success rate at 3-months was 41.3% (538/1302) with no differences by sex 89% (479/538) among those located in the telephonic follow-up study and 47.6% (256/479) were abstinent without differences by sex (p = .519); abstinence was validated with CO less than 10 ppm in 191 of the 256 (53.9% men and 46.1% women). In the survival analysis, the probability of men and women remaining abstinent in the long-term was not significant. There are no differences by sex in the outcome of smoking cessation treatment that included gender-tailored components in the short and long term (> 1 year).

  20. Self-concept and quality of object relations as predictors of outcome in short- and long-term psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindfors, Olavi; Knekt, Paul; Heinonen, Erkki; Virtala, Esa

    2014-01-01

    Quality of object relations and self-concept reflect clinically relevant aspects of personality functioning, but their prediction as suitability factors for psychotherapies of different lengths has not been compared. This study compared their prediction on psychiatric symptoms and work ability in short- and long-term psychotherapy. Altogether 326 patients, 20-46 years of age, with mood and/or anxiety disorder, were randomized to short-term (solution-focused or short-term psychodynamic) psychotherapy and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. The Quality of Object Relations Scale (QORS) and the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) self-concept questionnaire were measured at baseline, and their prediction on outcome during the 3-year follow-up was assessed by the Symptom Check List Global Severity Index and the Anxiety Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and by the Work Ability Index, Social Adjustment Scale work subscale and the Perceived Psychological Functioning scale. Negative self-concept strongly and self-controlling characteristics modestly predicted better 3-year outcomes in long-term therapy, after faster early gains in short-term therapy. Patients with a more positive or self-emancipating self-concept, or more mature object relations, experienced more extensive benefits after long-term psychotherapy. The importance of length vs. long-term therapy technique on the differences found is not known. Patients with mild to moderate personality pathology, indicated by poor self-concept, seem to benefit more from long-term than short-term psychotherapy, in reducing risk of depression. Long-term therapy may also be indicated for patients with relatively good psychological functioning. More research is needed on the relative importance of these characteristics in comparison with other patient-related factors. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Model and economic uncertainties in balancing short-term and long-term objectives in water-flooding optimization.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siraj, M.M.; Hof, Van den P.M.J.; Jansen, J.D.

    2015-01-01

    Model-based optimization of oil production has a significant scope to increase ultimate recovery or financial life-cycle performance. The Net Present Value (NPV) objective in such an optimization framework, because of its nature, focuses on the long-term gains while the short-term production is not

  2. The effects of short-term and long-term learning on the responses of lateral intraparietal neurons to visually presented objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigurdardottir, Heida M; Sheinberg, David L

    2015-07-01

    The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) is thought to play an important role in the guidance of where to look and pay attention. LIP can also respond selectively to differently shaped objects. We sought to understand to what extent short-term and long-term experience with visual orienting determines the responses of LIP to objects of different shapes. We taught monkeys to arbitrarily associate centrally presented objects of various shapes with orienting either toward or away from a preferred spatial location of a neuron. The training could last for less than a single day or for several months. We found that neural responses to objects are affected by such experience, but that the length of the learning period determines how this neural plasticity manifests. Short-term learning affects neural responses to objects, but these effects are only seen relatively late after visual onset; at this time, the responses to newly learned objects resemble those of familiar objects that share their meaning or arbitrary association. Long-term learning affects the earliest bottom-up responses to visual objects. These responses tend to be greater for objects that have been associated with looking toward, rather than away from, LIP neurons' preferred spatial locations. Responses to objects can nonetheless be distinct, although they have been similarly acted on in the past and will lead to the same orienting behavior in the future. Our results therefore indicate that a complete experience-driven override of LIP object responses may be difficult or impossible. We relate these results to behavioral work on visual attention.

  3. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roberts, J.G. [CANTECH Associates Limited, Burlington, Ontario (Canada); Nashiem, R.; McQueen, M.; Ma, G. [Bruce Power, Tiverton, Ontario (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences. (author)

  4. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, J.G.; Nashiem, R.; McQueen, M.; Ma, G.

    2011-01-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences. (author)

  5. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, J.G.; McQueen, M.; Nashiem, R.; Ma, G.

    2011-01-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences.

  6. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roberts, J.G. [CANTECH Associates Ltd., Burlington, ON (Canada); McQueen, M.; Nashiem, R.; Ma, G. [Bruce Power, Tiverton, ON (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences.

  7. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roberts, J.G., E-mail: alchemy@tnt21.com [CANTECH Associates Ltd., Burlington, Ontario (Canada); Nashiem, R.; McQueen, M.; Ma, G., E-mail: Rod.nashiem@brucepower.com, E-mail: Maureen.mcqueen@brucepower.com, E-mail: guoping.ma@brucepower.com [Bruce Power, Tiverton (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences. (author)

  8. Short, medium and long term consequences of inadequate defect fuel management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, J.G.; Nashiem, R.; McQueen, M.; Ma, G.

    2010-01-01

    Defect fuel pencils result in short, medium and long term consequences to the environment within and external to the nuclear power station. The paper will describe these consequences and specify the Defect Fuel Management Practices required to avoid these consequences. (author)

  9. Long-term effect of set potential on biocathodes in microbial fuel cells: electrochemical and phylogenetic characterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Xue; Sun, Yanmei; Liang, Peng; Huang, Xia

    2012-09-01

    The long-term effect of set potential on oxygen reducing biocathodes was investigated in terms of electrochemical and biological characteristics. Three biocathodes were poised at 200, 60 and -100 mV vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for 110 days, including the first 17 days for startup. Electrochemical analyses showed that 60 mV was the optimum potential during long-term operation. The performance of all the biocathodes kept increasing after startup, suggesting a period longer than startup time needed to make potential regulation more effective. The inherent characteristics without oxygen transfer limitation were studied. Different from short-term regulation, the amounts of biomass were similar while the specific electrochemical activity was significantly influenced by potential. Moreover, potential showed a strong selection for cathode bacteria. Clones 98% similar with an uncultured Bacteroidetes bacterium clone CG84 accounted for 75% to 80% of the sequences on the biocathodes that showed higher electrochemical activity (60 and -100 mV). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Long-term and short-term action-effect links and their impact on effect monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirth, Robert; Steinhauser, Robert; Janczyk, Markus; Steinhauser, Marco; Kunde, Wilfried

    2018-04-23

    People aim to produce effects in the environment, and according to ideomotor theory, actions are selected and executed via anticipations of their effects. Further, to ensure that an action has been successful and an effect has been realized, we must be able to monitor the consequences of our actions. However, action-effect links might vary between situations, some might apply for a majority of situations, while others might only apply to special occasions. With a combination of behavioral and electrophysiological markers, we show that monitoring of self-produced action effects interferes with other tasks, and that the length of effect monitoring is determined by both, long-term action-effect links that hold for most situations, and short-term action-effect links that emerge from a current setting. Effect monitoring is fast and frugal when these action-effect links allow for valid anticipation of action effects, but otherwise effect monitoring takes longer and delays a subsequent task. Specific influences of long-term and short-term links on the P1/N1 and P3a further allow to dissect the temporal dynamics of when these links interact for the purpose of effect monitoring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Medic G

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Goran Medic,1,2 Micheline Wille,1 Michiel EH Hemels1 1Market Access, Horizon Pharma B.V., Utrecht, 2Unit of Pharmacoepidemiology & Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Abstract: Sleep plays a vital role in brain function and systemic physiology across many body systems. Problems with sleep are widely prevalent and include deficits in quantity and quality of sleep; sleep problems that impact the continuity of sleep are collectively referred to as sleep disruptions. Numerous factors contribute to sleep disruption, ranging from lifestyle and environmental factors to sleep disorders and other medical conditions. Sleep disruptions have substantial adverse short- and long-term health consequences. A literature search was conducted to provide a nonsystematic review of these health consequences (this review was designed to be nonsystematic to better focus on the topics of interest due to the myriad parameters affected by sleep. Sleep disruption is associated with increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, metabolic effects, changes in circadian rhythms, and proinflammatory responses. In otherwise healthy adults, short-term consequences of sleep disruption include increased stress responsivity, somatic pain, reduced quality of life, emotional distress and mood disorders, and cognitive, memory, and performance deficits. For adolescents, psychosocial health, school performance, and risk-taking behaviors are impacted by sleep disruption. Behavioral problems and cognitive functioning are associated with sleep disruption in children. Long-term consequences of sleep disruption in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, weight-related issues, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. All-cause mortality is also increased in men with sleep disturbances. For those with

  12. Calcium- and Phosphorus-Supplemented Diet Increases Bone Mass after Short-Term Exercise and Increases Bone Mass and Structural Strength after Long-Term Exercise in Adult Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Michael A.; Bailey, Alyssa M.; Rondon, Matthew J.; McNerny, Erin M.; Sahar, Nadder D.; Kohn, David H.

    2016-01-01

    Exercise has long-lasting benefits to bone health that may help prevent fractures by increasing bone mass, bone strength, and tissue quality. Long-term exercise of 6–12 weeks in rodents increases bone mass and bone strength. However, in growing mice, a short-term exercise program of 3 weeks can limit increases in bone mass and structural strength, compared to non-exercised controls. Short-term exercise can, however, increase tissue strength, suggesting that exercise may create competition for minerals that favors initially improving tissue-level properties over structural-level properties. It was therefore hypothesized that adding calcium and phosphorus supplements to the diet may prevent decreases in bone mass and structural strength during a short-term exercise program, while leading to greater bone mass and structural strength than exercise alone after a long-term exercise program. A short-term exercise experiment was done for 3 weeks, and a long-term exercise experiment was done for 8 weeks. For each experiment, male 16-week old C57BL/6 mice were assigned to 4 weight-matched groups–exercise and non-exercise groups fed a control or mineral-supplemented diet. Exercise consisted of treadmill running at 12 m/min, 30 min/day for 7 days/week. After 3 weeks, exercised mice fed the supplemented diet had significantly increased tibial tissue mineral content (TMC) and cross-sectional area over exercised mice fed the control diet. After 8 weeks, tibial TMC, cross-sectional area, yield force, and ultimate force were greater from the combined treatments than from either exercise or supplemented diet alone. Serum markers of bone formation (PINP) and resorption (CTX) were both decreased by exercise on day 2. In exercised mice, day 2 PINP was significantly positively correlated with day 2 serum Ca, a correlation that was weaker and negative in non-exercised mice. Increasing dietary mineral consumption during an exercise program increases bone mass after 3 weeks and

  13. Calcium- and Phosphorus-Supplemented Diet Increases Bone Mass after Short-Term Exercise and Increases Bone Mass and Structural Strength after Long-Term Exercise in Adult Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Michael A; Bailey, Alyssa M; Rondon, Matthew J; McNerny, Erin M; Sahar, Nadder D; Kohn, David H

    2016-01-01

    Exercise has long-lasting benefits to bone health that may help prevent fractures by increasing bone mass, bone strength, and tissue quality. Long-term exercise of 6-12 weeks in rodents increases bone mass and bone strength. However, in growing mice, a short-term exercise program of 3 weeks can limit increases in bone mass and structural strength, compared to non-exercised controls. Short-term exercise can, however, increase tissue strength, suggesting that exercise may create competition for minerals that favors initially improving tissue-level properties over structural-level properties. It was therefore hypothesized that adding calcium and phosphorus supplements to the diet may prevent decreases in bone mass and structural strength during a short-term exercise program, while leading to greater bone mass and structural strength than exercise alone after a long-term exercise program. A short-term exercise experiment was done for 3 weeks, and a long-term exercise experiment was done for 8 weeks. For each experiment, male 16-week old C57BL/6 mice were assigned to 4 weight-matched groups-exercise and non-exercise groups fed a control or mineral-supplemented diet. Exercise consisted of treadmill running at 12 m/min, 30 min/day for 7 days/week. After 3 weeks, exercised mice fed the supplemented diet had significantly increased tibial tissue mineral content (TMC) and cross-sectional area over exercised mice fed the control diet. After 8 weeks, tibial TMC, cross-sectional area, yield force, and ultimate force were greater from the combined treatments than from either exercise or supplemented diet alone. Serum markers of bone formation (PINP) and resorption (CTX) were both decreased by exercise on day 2. In exercised mice, day 2 PINP was significantly positively correlated with day 2 serum Ca, a correlation that was weaker and negative in non-exercised mice. Increasing dietary mineral consumption during an exercise program increases bone mass after 3 weeks and increases

  14. The effect of zinc supplementation of lactating rats on short-term and long-term memory of their male offspring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karami, Mohammad; Ehsanivostacolaee, Simin; Moazedi, Ali Ahmad; Nosrati, Anahita

    2013-01-01

    In this study the effect of zinc chloride (ZnCl2) administration on the short-term and long-term memory of rats were assessed. We enrolled six groups of adult female and control group of eight Wistar rats in each group. One group was control group with free access to food and water, and five groups drunk zinc chloride in different doses (20, 30, 50, 70 and 100 mg/kg/day) in drinking water for two weeks during lactation .One month after birth, a shuttle box used to short- term and long-term memory and the latency in entering the dark chamber as well. This experiment showed that maternal 70 mg/kg dietary zinc during lactation influenced the working memory of rats' offspring in all groups. Rats received 100 mg/kg/day zinc during lactation so they had significant impairment in working memory (short-term) of their offspring (Plong-term) memory of all groups. Drug consumption below70 mg/kg/day zinc chloride during lactation had no effect. While enhanced 100 mg/ kg/ day zinc in lactating rats could cause short-term memory impairment.

  15. Effect of Short- and Long-Term Play Therapy Services on Teacher-Child Relationship Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Dee C.; Henson, Robin K.; Schottelkorb, April A.; Brown, April Garofano; Muro, Joel

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to explore the effect of both short- and long term Child-Centered Play Therapy on teacher-student relationship stress. Teachers identified 58 students exhibiting emotional and behavioral difficulties who were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Students in the short-term intensive play therapy…

  16. Short- and long-term black tea consumption reverses endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, S J; Keaney , J F; Holbrook, M; Gokce, N; Swerdloff, P L; Frei, B; Vita, J A

    2001-07-10

    Epidemiological studies suggest that tea consumption decreases cardiovascular risk, but the mechanisms of benefit remain undefined. Endothelial dysfunction has been associated with coronary artery disease and increased oxidative stress. Some antioxidants have been shown to reverse endothelial dysfunction, and tea contains antioxidant flavonoids. Methods and Results-- To test the hypothesis that tea consumption will reverse endothelial dysfunction, we randomized 66 patients with proven coronary artery disease to consume black tea and water in a crossover design. Short-term effects were examined 2 hours after consumption of 450 mL tea or water. Long-term effects were examined after consumption of 900 mL tea or water daily for 4 weeks. Vasomotor function of the brachial artery was examined at baseline and after each intervention with vascular ultrasound. Fifty patients completed the protocol and had technically suitable ultrasound measurements. Both short- and long-term tea consumption improved endothelium- dependent flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery, whereas consumption of water had no effect (Peffect on endothelium-independent nitroglycerin-induced dilation. An equivalent oral dose of caffeine (200 mg) had no short-term effect on flow-mediated dilation. Plasma flavonoids increased after short- and long-term tea consumption. Short- and long-term black tea consumption reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. This finding may partly explain the association between tea intake and decreased cardiovascular disease events.

  17. Mothers with HIP - the short term and long-term impact, what is new?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mecacci, Federico; Ottanelli, Serena; Petraglia, Felice

    2018-05-03

    Hyperglycemia is one of the most common medical conditions that women encounter during pregnancy and it is due to gestational diabetes (GDM) in the majority of cases [1]. GDM is associated with a higher incidence of maternal morbidity in pregnancy in term of hypertensive disorders/preclampsia and higher rate of cesarean delivery but also with long-term risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Pregnancy can therefore be considered a stress test; diagnosis of HIP can unmask a preexisting susceptibility and consequently a future risk for type 2 diabetes and can be a useful marker of future cardiovascular risk. Postpartum follow up provides an excellent opportunity to implement healthy lifestyle behaviors to prevent or delay the development of diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The aim of the current review is to focus on short and long term maternal morbidity of HIP. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Verbal Short-Term Memory Span in Children: Long-Term Modality Dependent Effects of Intrauterine Growth Restriction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geva, R.; Eshel, R.; Leitner, Y.; Fattal-Valevski, A.; Harel, S.

    2008-01-01

    Background: Recent reports showed that children born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are at greater risk of experiencing verbal short-term memory span (STM) deficits that may impede their learning capacities at school. It is still unknown whether these deficits are modality dependent. Methods: This long-term, prospective design study…

  19. Role of nitric oxide in long-term potentiation of the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, S; Pettorossi, V E

    2000-01-01

    In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the role of nitric oxide in long-term potentiation induced in the ventral portion of the medial vestibular nuclei by high-frequency stimulation of the primary vestibular afferents. The nitric oxide scavenger [2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide ] and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester were administered before and after induction of potentiation. Both drugs completely prevented long-term potentiation, whereas they did not impede the potentiation build-up, or affect the already established potentiation. These results demonstrate that the induction, but not the maintenance of vestibular long-term potentiation, depends on the synthesis and release into the extracellular medium of nitric oxide. In addition, we analysed the effect of the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside on vestibular responses. Sodium nitroprusside induced long-term potentiation, as evidenced through the field potential enhancement and unit peak latency decrease. This potentiation was impeded by D, L-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid, and was reduced under blockade of synaptosomal platelet-activating factor receptors by ginkgolide B and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors by (R,S)-1-aminoindan-1, 5-dicarboxylic acid. When reduced, potentiation fully developed following the washout of antagonist, demonstrating an involvement of platelet-activating factor and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in its full development. Potentiation induced by sodium nitroprusside was also associated with a decrease in the paired-pulse facilitation ratio, which persisted under ginkgolide B, indicating that nitric oxide increases glutamate release independently of platelet-activating factor-mediated presynaptic events. We suggest that nitric oxide, released after the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, acts as a retrograde messenger leading to an enhancement of glutamate release to a

  20. Memory for relations in the short term and the long term after medial temporal lobe damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squire, Larry R

    2017-05-01

    A central idea about the organization of declarative memory and the function of the hippocampus is that the hippocampus provides for the coding of relationships between items. A question arises whether this idea refers to the process of forming long-term memory or whether, as some studies have suggested, memory for relations might depend on the hippocampus even at short retention intervals and even when the task falls within the province of short-term (working) memory. The latter formulation appears to place the operation of relational memory into conflict with the idea that working memory is independent of medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. In this report, the concepts of relational memory and working memory are discussed in the light of a simple demonstration experiment. Patients with MTL lesions successfully learned and recalled two word pairs when tested directly after learning but failed altogether when tested after a delay. The results do not contradict the idea that the hippocampus has a fundamental role in relational memory. However, there is a need for further elaboration and specification of the idea in order to explain why patients with MTL lesions can establish relational memory in the short term but not in long-term memory. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Strong and long: effects of word length on phonological binding in verbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jefferies, Elizabeth; Frankish, Clive; Noble, Katie

    2011-02-01

    This study examined the effects of item length on the contribution of linguistic knowledge to immediate serial recall (ISR). Long words are typically recalled more poorly than short words, reflecting the greater demands that they place on phonological encoding, rehearsal, and production. However, reverse word length effects--that is, better recall of long than short words--can also occur in situations in which phonological maintenance is difficult, suggesting that long words derive greater support from long-term lexical knowledge. In this study, long and short words and nonwords (containing one vs. three syllables) were presented for immediate serial recall in (a) pure lists and (b) unpredictable mixed lists of words and nonwords. The mixed-list paradigm is known to disrupt the phonological stability of words, encouraging their phonemes to recombine with the elements of other list items. In this situation, standard length effects were seen for nonwords, while length effects for words were absent or reversed. A detailed error analysis revealed that long words were more robust to the mixed-list manipulation than short words: Their phonemes were less likely to be omitted and to recombine with phonemes from other list items. These findings support an interactive view of short-term memory, in which long words derive greater benefits from lexical knowledge than short words-especially when their phonological integrity is challenged by the inclusion of nonwords in mixed lists.

  2. The short- and long-term consequences of directed forgetting in a working memory task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Festini, Sara B; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A

    2013-01-01

    Directed forgetting requires the voluntary control of memory. Whereas many studies have examined directed forgetting in long-term memory (LTM), the mechanisms and effects of directed forgetting within working memory (WM) are less well understood. The current study tests how directed forgetting instructions delivered in a WM task influence veridical memory, as well as false memory, over the short and long term. In a modified item recognition task Experiment 1 tested WM only and demonstrated that directed forgetting reduces false recognition errors and semantic interference. Experiment 2 replicated these WM effects and used a surprise LTM recognition test to assess the long-term effects of directed forgetting in WM. Long-term veridical memory for to-be-remembered lists was better than memory for to-be-forgotten lists-the directed forgetting effect. Moreover, fewer false memories emerged for to-be-forgotten information than for to-be-remembered information in LTM as well. These results indicate that directed forgetting during WM reduces semantic processing of to-be-forgotten lists over the short and long term. Implications for theories of false memory and the mechanisms of directed forgetting within working memory are discussed.

  3. The Value of Median Nerve Sonography as a Predictor for Short- and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Prospective Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Marschall

    Full Text Available To investigate the prognostic value of B-mode and Power Doppler (PD ultrasound of the median nerve for the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS.Prospective study of 135 patients with suspected CTS seen 3 times: at baseline, then at short-term (3 months and long-term (15-36 months follow-up. At baseline, the cross-sectional area (CSA of the median nerve was measured with ultrasound at 4 levels on the forearm and wrist. PD signals were graded semi-quantitatively (0-3. Clinical outcomes were evaluated at each visit with the Boston Questionnaire (BQ and the DASH Questionnaire, as well as visual analogue scales for the patient's assessment of pain (painVAS and physician's global assessment (physVAS. The predictive values of baseline CSA and PD for clinical outcomes were determined with multivariate logistic regression models.Short-term and long-term follow-up data were available for 111 (82.2% and 105 (77.8% patients, respectively. There was a final diagnosis of CTS in 84 patients (125 wrists. Regression analysis revealed that the CSA, measured at the carpal tunnel inlet, predicted short-term clinical improvement according to BQ in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel surgery (OR 1.8, p = 0.05, but not in patients treated conservatively. Neither CSA nor PD assessments predicted short-term improvement of painVAS, physVAS or DASH, nor was any of the ultrasound parameters useful for the prediction of long-term clinical outcomes.Ultrasound assessment of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet may predict short-term clinical improvement in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel release, but long-term outcomes are unrelated to ultrasound findings.

  4. Anisomycin Injection in Area CA3 of the Hippocampus Impairs Both Short-Term and Long-Term Memories of Contextual Fear

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remaud, Jessica; Ceccom, Johnatan; Carponcy, Julien; Dugué, Laura; Menchon, Gregory; Pech, Stéphane; Halley, Helene; Francés, Bernard; Dahan, Lionel

    2014-01-01

    Protein synthesis is involved in the consolidation of short-term memory into long-term memory. Previous electrophysiological data concerning LTP in CA3 suggest that protein synthesis in that region might also be necessary for short-term memory. We tested this hypothesis by locally injecting the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin in hippocampal…

  5. Short- and long-term reliability of language fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettekoven, Charlotte; Reck, Nicola; Goldbrunner, Roland; Grefkes, Christian; Weiß Lucas, Carolin

    2018-08-01

    When using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for mapping important language functions, a high test-retest reliability is mandatory, both in basic scientific research and for clinical applications. We, therefore, systematically tested the short- and long-term reliability of fMRI in a group of healthy subjects using a picture naming task and a sparse-sampling fMRI protocol. We hypothesized that test-retest reliability might be higher for (i) speech-related motor areas than for other language areas and for (ii) the short as compared to the long intersession interval. 16 right-handed subjects (mean age: 29 years) participated in three sessions separated by 2-6 (session 1 and 2, short-term) and 21-34 days (session 1 and 3, long-term). Subjects were asked to perform the same overt picture naming task in each fMRI session (50 black-white images per session). Reliability was tested using the following measures: (i) Euclidean distances (ED) between local activation maxima and Centers of Gravity (CoGs), (ii) overlap volumes and (iii) voxel-wise intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Analyses were performed for three regions of interest which were chosen based on whole-brain group data: primary motor cortex (M1), superior temporal gyrus (STG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Our results revealed that the activation centers were highly reliable, independent of the time interval, ROI or hemisphere with significantly smaller ED for the local activation maxima (6.45 ± 1.36 mm) as compared to the CoGs (8.03 ± 2.01 mm). In contrast, the extent of activation revealed rather low reliability values with overlaps ranging from 24% (IFG) to 56% (STG). Here, the left hemisphere showed significantly higher overlap volumes than the right hemisphere. Although mean ICCs ranged between poor (ICC0.75) were found for all ROIs. Voxel-wise reliability of the different ROIs was influenced by the intersession interval. Taken together, we could show that, despite of

  6. Short- and long-term antidepressant effects of ketamine in a rat chronic unpredictable stress model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yinghong; Wang, Yiqiang; Sun, Xiaoran; Lian, Bo; Sun, Hongwei; Wang, Gang; Du, Zhongde; Li, Qi; Sun, Lin

    2017-08-01

    This research was aimed to evaluate the behaviors of short- or long-term antidepressant effects of ketamine in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS). Ketamine, a glutamate noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, regulates excitatory amino acid functions, such as anxiety disorders and major depression, and plays an important role in synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. After 42 days of CUS model, male rats received either a single injection of ketamine (10 mg/kg; day 43) or 15 daily injections (days 43-75). The influence of ketamine on behavioral reactivity was assessed 24 hr (short-term) or 7 weeks after ketamine treatment (long-term). Behavioral tests used to assess the effects of these treatments included the sucrose preference (SP), open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM), forced swimming (FS), and water maze (WM) to detect anxiety-like behavior (OF and EPM), forced swimming (FS), and water maze (WM). Results: Short-term ketamine administration resulted in increases of body weight gain, higher sensitivity to sucrose, augmented locomotor activity in the OF, more entries into the open arms of the EPM, along increased activity in the FS test; all responses indicative of reductions in depression/despair in anxiety-eliciting situations. No significant differences in these behaviors were obtained under conditions of long-term ketamine administration ( p  > .05). The CUS + Ketamine group showed significantly increased activity as compared with the CUS + Vehicle group for analysis of the long-term effects of ketamine (* p   .05). Taken together these findings demonstrate that a short-term administration of ketamine induced rapid antidepressant-like effects in adult male rats exposed to CUS conditions, effects that were not observed in response to the long-term treatment regime.

  7. miR-191 and miR-135 are required for long-lasting spine remodelling associated with synaptic long-term depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Zhonghua; Yu, Danni; Gu, Qin-Hua; Yang, Yanqin; Tu, Kang; Zhu, Jun; Li, Zheng

    2014-02-01

    Activity-dependent modification of dendritic spines, subcellular compartments accommodating postsynaptic specializations in the brain, is an important cellular mechanism for brain development, cognition and synaptic pathology of brain disorders. NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression (NMDAR-LTD), a prototypic form of synaptic plasticity, is accompanied by prolonged remodelling of spines. The mechanisms underlying long-lasting spine remodelling in NMDAR-LTD, however, are largely unclear. Here we show that LTD induction causes global changes in miRNA transcriptomes affecting many cellular activities. Specifically, we show that expression changes of miR-191 and miR-135 are required for maintenance but not induction of spine restructuring. Moreover, we find that actin depolymerization and AMPA receptor exocytosis are regulated for extended periods of time by miRNAs to support long-lasting spine plasticity. These findings reveal a miRNA-mediated mechanism and a role for AMPA receptor exocytosis in long-lasting spine plasticity, and identify a number of candidate miRNAs involved in LTD.

  8. Verbal short-term memory span in children: long-term modality dependent effects of intrauterine growth restriction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geva, R; Eshel, R; Leitner, Y; Fattal-Valevski, A; Harel, S

    2008-12-01

    Recent reports showed that children born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are at greater risk of experiencing verbal short-term memory span (STM) deficits that may impede their learning capacities at school. It is still unknown whether these deficits are modality dependent. This long-term, prospective design study examined modality-dependent verbal STM functions in children who were diagnosed at birth with IUGR (n = 138) and a control group (n = 64). Their STM skills were evaluated individually at 9 years of age with four conditions of the Visual-Aural Digit Span Test (VADS; Koppitz, 1981): auditory-oral, auditory-written, visuospatial-oral and visuospatial-written. Cognitive competence was evaluated with the short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children--revised (WISC-R95; Wechsler, 1998). We found IUGR-related specific auditory-oral STM deficits (p long-term relationship between prenatal aberrant head growth and auditory verbal STM deficits by the end of the first decade of life. Empirical, clinical and educational implications are presented.

  9. Differences in the verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in alcoholics: Short-term vs. long-term abstainers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowakowska-Domagała, Katarzyna; Jabłkowska-Górecka, Karolina; Mokros, Łukasz; Koprowicz, Jacek; Pietras, Tadeusz

    2017-03-01

    The aim of the study was to assess differences in verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in two subgroups of alcohol-dependent patients, those undergoing short-term abstinence (STA) and those undergoing long-term abstinence (LTA), and to compare the level of cognitive functions in patients after long-term abstinence with healthy subjects. The study group consisted of 106 alcohol-dependent patients (53 immediately after drinking at least 3 days and 53 after at least one-year abstinence). The control group comprised 53 subjects, whose age, sex and education levels matched those of the patients in the experimental group. The dependence intensity was assessed using SADD and MAST scales. The neuropsychological assessment was based on the FAS Test, Stroop Test and TMT A&B Test. The results obtained for alcohol-dependent patients revealed significant disturbances of cognitive functions. Such results indicate the presence of severe frontal cerebral cortex dysfunctions. Frontal cortex dysfunctions affecting the verbal fluency and working memory subsystems and the executive functions also persisted during long-term abstinence periods. No significant correlations between the duration of dependence, quantity of alcohol consumed and efficiency of the working memory and executive functions were observed in alcohol-dependent subjects after short-term or long-term abstinence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Questioning short-term memory and its measurement: Why digit span measures long-term associative learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2015-11-01

    Traditional accounts of verbal short-term memory explain differences in performance for different types of verbal material by reference to inherent characteristics of the verbal items making up memory sequences. The role of previous experience with sequences of different types is ostensibly controlled for either by deliberate exclusion or by presenting multiple trials constructed from different random permutations. We cast doubt on this general approach in a detailed analysis of the basis for the robust finding that short-term memory for digit sequences is superior to that for other sequences of verbal material. Specifically, we show across four experiments that this advantage is not due to inherent characteristics of digits as verbal items, nor are individual digits within sequences better remembered than other types of individual verbal items. Rather, the advantage for digit sequences stems from the increased frequency, compared to other verbal material, with which digits appear in random sequences in natural language, and furthermore, relatively frequent digit sequences support better short-term serial recall than less frequent ones. We also provide corpus-based computational support for the argument that performance in a short-term memory setting is a function of basic associative learning processes operating on the linguistic experience of the rememberer. The experimental and computational results raise questions not only about the role played by measurement of digit span in cognition generally, but also about the way in which long-term memory processes impact on short-term memory functioning. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A retrieval account of the long-term modality effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenberg, A M

    1984-01-01

    When to-be-remembered (TBR) word pairs are separated by distractor activity, recall of the last few audibly presented pairs is greater than recall of the last few visually presented pairs. The effect is found even after a considerably long distractor-filled retention interval. Five experiments disconfirm echoic storage, short-term storage and long-term storage accounts of these effects, as well as demonstrating that the effect is not an artifact of differential use of a recency-first output strategy. The data are generally consistent with the proposition that retrieval is disrupted by modality-specific similarity between to-be-remembered items and distractor information.

  12. Prediction of short-term and long-term VOC emissions from SBR bitumen-backed carpet under different temperatures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yang, X.; Chen, Q.; Bluyssen, P.M.

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents two models for volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from carpet. One is a numerical model using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tech-nique for short-term predictions, the other an analytical model for long-term predictions. The numerical model can (1) deal with

  13. Neurotrophins play differential roles in short and long-term recognition memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callaghan, Charlotte K; Kelly, Aine M

    2013-09-01

    The neurotrophin family of proteins are believed to mediate various forms of synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. Here we have assessed the roles of these proteins in object recognition memory in the rat, using icv infusions of function-blocking antibodies or the tyrosine kinase antagonist, tyrphostin AG879, to block Trk receptors. We report that tyrphostin AG879 impairs both short-term and long-term recognition memory, indicating a requirement for Trk receptor activation in both processes. The effect of inhibition of each of the neurotrophins with activity-blocking neutralising antibodies was also tested. Treatment with anti-BDNF, anti-NGF or anti-NT4 had no effect on short-term memory, but blocked long-term recognition memory. Treatment with anti-NT3 had no effect on either process. We also assessed changes in expression of neurotrophins and their respective receptors in the hippocampus, dentate gyrus and perirhinal cortex over a 24 h period following training in the object recognition task. We observed time-dependent changes in expression of the Trk receptors and their ligands in the dentate gyrus and perirhinal cortex. The data are consistent with a pivotal role for neurotrophic factors in the expression of recognition memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Randomized controlled trial evaluating the temporal effects of high-intensity exercise on learning, short-term and long-term memory, and prospective memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frith, Emily; Sng, Eveleen; Loprinzi, Paul D

    2017-11-01

    The broader purpose of this study was to examine the temporal effects of high-intensity exercise on learning, short-term and long-term retrospective memory and prospective memory. Among a sample of 88 young adult participants, 22 were randomized into one of four different groups: exercise before learning, control group, exercise during learning, and exercise after learning. The retrospective assessments (learning, short-term and long-term memory) were assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Long-term memory including a 20-min and 24-hr follow-up assessment. Prospective memory was assessed using a time-based procedure by having participants contact (via phone) the researchers at a follow-up time period. The exercise stimulus included a 15-min bout of progressive maximal exertion treadmill exercise. High-intensity exercise prior to memory encoding (vs. exercise during memory encoding or consolidation) was effective in enhancing long-term memory (for both 20-min and 24-h follow-up assessments). We did not observe a differential temporal effect of high-intensity exercise on short-term memory (immediate post-memory encoding), learning or prospective memory. The timing of high-intensity exercise may play an important role in facilitating long-term memory. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Qualitative and, as far as possible, quantitative assessment of the short-term and long-term effect of a nuclear phase-out

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaenicke, M.; Mez, L.; Spelthahn, S.; Springmann, F.; Theissen, A.; Ullrich, O.; Leuchtner, J.; Seifried, D.

    1986-08-01

    This survey starts from a series of scenarios or comments on the question of West Germany, leaving the field of nuclear power. These were submitted after the accident at Chernobyl and have gained particular importance in this context. The possibilities of leaving in the short, medium and long term were examined. In a further section, the connection between operation of powerstations and the resulting environmental effects is treated. Economic aspects of leaving the field of nuclear power are examined and the possibilities and potentials of rational energy use (potential saving of electricity, potential of combined heat and power plants and potential from regenerative sources of energy) are estimated. (orig./UA) [de

  16. Norepinephrine induces pathway-specific long-lasting potentiation and depression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, D; Sarvey, J M

    1989-01-01

    The study presented here indicates that norepinephrine (NE) selectively induces long-lasting modifications of synaptically mediated responses in the dentate gyrus of the rat hippocampal slice. A low concentration of NE (1.0 microM; in the presence of 50 microM phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic antagonist) or a 1.0 microM concentration of the specific beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol induced long-lasting pathway-specific alterations of granule cell electrophysiological responses. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials and population spikes evoked by stimulation of the medial perforant pathway (PP) were potentiated for more than 45 min. In contrast, responses to lateral PP stimulation were depressed for the same period. Both potentiation and depression were blocked by the beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol (1.0 microM). These results indicate that NE can act differentially on projections to the dentate gyrus arising in the entorhinal cortex. Such selective persistent modifications of cortical circuits may be involved in processes in the mammalian brain underlying attention, learning, and memory. PMID:2734319

  17. Direct current induced short-term modulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while learning auditory presented nouns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Martin

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the contribution of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS to the exploration of memory functions. The aim of the present study was to examine the behavioural effects of right or left-hemisphere frontal direct current delivery while committing to memory auditory presented nouns on short-term learning and subsequent long-term retrieval. Methods Twenty subjects, divided into two groups, performed an episodic verbal memory task during anodal, cathodal and sham current application on the right or left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC. Results Our results imply that only cathodal tDCS elicits behavioural effects on verbal memory performance. In particular, left-sided application of cathodal tDCS impaired short-term verbal learning when compared to the baseline. We did not observe tDCS effects on long-term retrieval. Conclusion Our results imply that the left DLPFC is a crucial area involved in short-term verbal learning mechanisms. However, we found further support that direct current delivery with an intensity of 1.5 mA to the DLPFC during short-term learning does not disrupt longer lasting consolidation processes that are mainly known to be related to mesial temporal lobe areas. In the present study, we have shown that the tDCS technique has the potential to modulate short-term verbal learning mechanism.

  18. Get the gist? The effects of processing depth on false recognition in short-term and long-term memory

    OpenAIRE

    Flegal, Kristin E.; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A.

    2014-01-01

    Gist-based processing has been proposed to account for robust false memories in the converging-associates task. The deep-encoding processes known to enhance verbatim memory also strengthen gist memory and increase distortions of long-term memory (LTM). Recent research has demonstrated that compelling false memory illusions are relatively delay-invariant, also occurring under canonical short-term memory (STM) conditions. To investigate the contributions of gist to false memory at short and lon...

  19. The effect of permafrost thaw on short- and long-term carbon accumulation in permafrost mires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olid, Carolina; Klaminder, Jonatan; Monteux, Sylvain; Johansson, Margareta; Dorrepaal, Ellen

    2017-04-01

    Permafrost stores twice as much carbon (C) as is currently present in the atmosphere. During recent years, warmer temperatures in the Arctic has caused rapid thawing of permafrost, which have dramatically altered permafrost C storage by increasing both microbial decomposition and plant productivity. Although current research focuses on the effects of climate change on these two processes, there are still no scientific consensus about the magnitude or even the direction of future C feedbacks from permafrost ecosystems. Field manipulation experiments have been widely used during the last decade to improve our knowledge about the net effects of permafrost thaw in the permafrost C storage. However, due to the slow response (decades) of permafrost ecosystems to environmental changes and the short-time nature of these experiments (usually shorter than 5-9 years), there are still concerns when attempting to extrapolate the results to predict long term effects. In addition, measurements are mostly taken exclusively during the summer season, without taking into account inter-annual variability in C fluxes and underestimating microbial activity throughout the cold season. The need to develop a comprehensive understanding of C fluxes over the entire year and at long temporal scales sets the basis of this study. This study aims to quantify the effects of permafrost thawing in permafrost C fluxes using a 12 years permafrost thaw experiment in northern Sweden. Our aims were to quantify the effect of permafrost thaw in both decomposition and primary production in active layer and newly thawed permafrost, and its implications for the C balance. Based on previous observations, we hypothesized that 1) soil decomposition rates were higher in manipulated thaw plots. However, 2) the observed increase in nutrients availability and the higher presence of vascular plants after thawing stimulate primary production, which compensates to some extent the increased C losses by respiration. To

  20. Short-term memory in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Jason; Fernandes, Yohaan; Gerlai, Robert

    2014-08-15

    Learning and memory represent perhaps the most complex behavioral phenomena. Although their underlying mechanisms have been extensively analyzed, only a fraction of the potential molecular components have been identified. The zebrafish has been proposed as a screening tool with which mechanisms of complex brain functions may be systematically uncovered. However, as a relative newcomer in behavioral neuroscience, the zebrafish has not been well characterized for its cognitive and mnemonic features, thus learning and/or memory screens with adults have not been feasible. Here we study short-term memory of adult zebrafish. We show animated images of conspecifics (the stimulus) to the experimental subject during 1 min intervals on ten occasions separated by different (2, 4, 8 or 16 min long) inter-stimulus intervals (ISI), a between subject experimental design. We quantify the distance of the subject from the image presentation screen during each stimulus presentation interval, during each of the 1-min post-stimulus intervals immediately following the stimulus presentations and during each of the 1-min intervals furthest away from the last stimulus presentation interval and just before the next interval (pre-stimulus interval), respectively. Our results demonstrate significant retention of short-term memory even in the longest ISI group but suggest no acquisition of reference memory. Because in the employed paradigm both stimulus presentation and behavioral response quantification is computer automated, we argue that high-throughput screening for drugs or mutations that alter short-term memory performance of adult zebrafish is now becoming feasible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Long vs. short-term energy storage:sensitivity analysis.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schoenung, Susan M. (Longitude 122 West, Inc., Menlo Park, CA); Hassenzahl, William V. (,Advanced Energy Analysis, Piedmont, CA)

    2007-07-01

    This report extends earlier work to characterize long-duration and short-duration energy storage technologies, primarily on the basis of life-cycle cost, and to investigate sensitivities to various input assumptions. Another technology--asymmetric lead-carbon capacitors--has also been added. Energy storage technologies are examined for three application categories--bulk energy storage, distributed generation, and power quality--with significant variations in discharge time and storage capacity. Sensitivity analyses include cost of electricity and natural gas, and system life, which impacts replacement costs and capital carrying charges. Results are presented in terms of annual cost, $/kW-yr. A major variable affecting system cost is hours of storage available for discharge.

  2. Deficits in verbal long-term memory and learning in children with poor phonological short-term memory skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gathercole, Susan E; Briscoe, Josie; Thorn, Annabel; Tiffany, Claire

    2008-03-01

    Possible links between phonological short-term memory and both longer term memory and learning in 8-year-old children were investigated in this study. Performance on a range of tests of long-term memory and learning was compared for a group of 16 children with poor phonological short-term memory skills and a comparison group of children of the same age with matched nonverbal reasoning abilities but memory scores in the average range. The low-phonological-memory group were impaired on longer term memory and learning tasks that taxed memory for arbitrary verbal material such as names and nonwords. However, the two groups performed at comparable levels on tasks requiring the retention of visuo-spatial information and of meaningful material and at carrying out prospective memory tasks in which the children were asked to carry out actions at a future point in time. The results are consistent with the view that poor short-term memory function impairs the longer-term retention and ease of learning of novel verbal material.

  3. Short-Term Effects of Drying-Rewetting and Long-Term Effects of Nutrient Loading on Periphyton N:P Stoichiometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andres D. Sola

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Nitrogen (N and phosphorus (P concentrations and N:P ratios critically influence periphyton productivity and nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. In coastal wetlands, variations in hydrology and water source (fresh or marine influence nutrient availability, but short-term effects of drying and rewetting and long-term effects of nutrient exposure on periphyton nutrient retention are uncertain. An outdoor microcosm experiment simulated short-term exposure to variation in drying-rewetting frequency on periphyton mat nutrient retention. A 13-year dataset from freshwater marshes of the Florida Everglades was examined for the effect of long-term proximity to different N and P sources on mat-forming periphyton nutrient standing stocks and stoichiometry. Field sites were selected from one drainage with shorter hydroperiod and higher connectivity to freshwater anthropogenic nutrient supplies (Taylor Slough/Panhandle, TS/Ph and another drainage with longer hydroperiod and higher connectivity to marine nutrient supplies (Shark River Slough, SRS. Total P, but not total N, increased in periphyton mats exposed to both low and high drying-rewetting frequency with respect to the control mats in our experimental microcosm. In SRS, N:P ratios slightly decreased downstream due to marine nutrient supplies, while TS/Ph increased. Mats exposed to short-term drying-rewetting had higher nutrient retention, similar to nutrient standing stocks from long-term field data. Periphyton mat microbial communities may undergo community shifts upon drying-rewetting and chronic exposure to nutrient loads. Additional work on microbial species composition may further explain how periphyton communities interact with drying-rewetting dynamics to influence nutrient cycling and retention in wetlands.

  4. Fluorescent multiple staining and CASA system to assess boar sperm viability and membranes integrity in short and long-term extenders

    OpenAIRE

    F. Cremonesi; A. Meucci; A. Lange-Consiglio

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effect on boar spermatozoa quality of in vitro storage in short and long-term extenders by fluorescent multiple staining (FMS) and computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA). Fresh ejaculates from three healthy, sexually mature boars were diluted with equal volumes of six short-term or three long-term commercial extenders and stored at 19?C for 6 days (short-term) or 12 days (long-term). The integrity of spermatozoa membranes was analyzed by FMS using prop...

  5. Get the gist? The effects of processing depth on false recognition in short-term and long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flegal, Kristin E; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A

    2014-07-01

    Gist-based processing has been proposed to account for robust false memories in the converging-associates task. The deep-encoding processes known to enhance verbatim memory also strengthen gist memory and increase distortions of long-term memory (LTM). Recent research has demonstrated that compelling false memory illusions are relatively delay-invariant, also occurring under canonical short-term memory (STM) conditions. To investigate the contributions of gist to false memory at short and long delays, processing depth was manipulated as participants encoded lists of four semantically related words and were probed immediately, following a filled 3- to 4-s retention interval, or approximately 20 min later, in a surprise recognition test. In two experiments, the encoding manipulation dissociated STM and LTM on the frequency, but not the phenomenology, of false memory. Deep encoding at STM increases false recognition rates at LTM, but confidence ratings and remember/know judgments are similar across delays and do not differ as a function of processing depth. These results suggest that some shared and some unique processes underlie false memory illusions at short and long delays.

  6. Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Pains: How Cues about State Aid Learning in Dynamic Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gureckis, Todd M.; Love, Bradley C.

    2009-01-01

    Successful investors seeking returns, animals foraging for food, and pilots controlling aircraft all must take into account how their current decisions will impact their future standing. One challenge facing decision makers is that options that appear attractive in the short-term may not turn out best in the long run. In this paper, we explore…

  7. Long-term no-till and stover retention each decrease the global warming potential of irrigated continuous corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Over the last 50 years, the most increase in cultivated land area globally has been due to a doubling of irrigated land. Long-term agronomic management impacts on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions, and global warming potential (GWP) in irrigated systems, however,...

  8. Long lasting protein synthesis- and activity-dependent spine shrinkage and elimination after synaptic depression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yazmín Ramiro-Cortés

    Full Text Available Neuronal circuits modify their response to synaptic inputs in an experience-dependent fashion. Increases in synaptic weights are accompanied by structural modifications, and activity dependent, long lasting growth of dendritic spines requires new protein synthesis. When multiple spines are potentiated within a dendritic domain, they show dynamic structural plasticity changes, indicating that spines can undergo bidirectional physical modifications. However, it is unclear whether protein synthesis dependent synaptic depression leads to long lasting structural changes. Here, we investigate the structural correlates of protein synthesis dependent long-term depression (LTD mediated by metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs through two-photon imaging of dendritic spines on hippocampal pyramidal neurons. We find that induction of mGluR-LTD leads to robust and long lasting spine shrinkage and elimination that lasts for up to 24 hours. These effects depend on signaling through group I mGluRs, require protein synthesis, and activity. These data reveal a mechanism for long lasting remodeling of synaptic inputs, and offer potential insights into mental retardation.

  9. Expert consensus document: Mind the gaps—advancing research into short-term and long-term neuropsychological outcomes of youth sports-related concussions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carman, Aaron J; Ferguson, Rennie; Cantu, Robert; Comstock, R Dawn; Dacks, Penny A; DeKosky, Steven T; Gandy, Sam; Gilbert, James; Gilliland, Chad; Gioia, Gerard; Giza, Christopher; Greicius, Michael; Hainline, Brian; Hayes, Ronald L; Hendrix, James; Jordan, Barry; Kovach, James; Lane, Rachel F; Mannix, Rebekah; Murray, Thomas; Seifert, Tad; Shineman, Diana W; Warren, Eric; Wilde, Elisabeth; Willard, Huntington; Fillit, Howard M

    2015-04-01

    Sports-related concussions and repetitive subconcussive exposure are increasingly recognized as potential dangers to paediatric populations, but much remains unknown about the short-term and long-term consequences of these events, including potential cognitive impairment and risk of later-life dementia. This Expert Consensus Document is the result of a 1-day meeting convened by Safe Kids Worldwide, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, and the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. The goal is to highlight knowledge gaps and areas of critically needed research in the areas of concussion science, dementia, genetics, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, neuroimaging, sports injury surveillance, and information sharing. For each of these areas, we propose clear and achievable paths to improve the understanding, treatment and prevention of youth sports-related concussions.

  10. Short-term and long-term effects of transient exogenous cortisol manipulation on oxidative stress in juvenile brown trout

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Peiman, Kathryn S.; Larsen, Martin Hage

    2017-01-01

    available for physiological functions like defence against oxidative stress. Using brown trout (Salmo trutta), we evaluated the short-term (2 weeks) and long-term (4 months over winter) effects of exogenous cortisol manipulations (versus relevant shams and controls) on the oxidative status of wild juveniles...

  11. Bimodal Long-lasting Components in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts: Promising Electromagnetic Counterparts to Neutron Star Binary Mergers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kisaka, Shota; Sakamoto, Takanori [Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5258 (Japan); Ioka, Kunihito, E-mail: kisaka@phys.aoyama.ac.jp, E-mail: tsakamoto@phys.aoyama.ac.jp, E-mail: kunihito.ioka@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Center for Gravitational Physics, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)

    2017-09-10

    Long-lasting emission of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is crucial to reveal the physical origin of the central engine as well as to detect electromagnetic (EM) counterparts to gravitational waves (GWs) from neutron star binary mergers. We investigate 65 X-ray light curves of short GRBs, which is six times more than previous studies, by combining both Swift /BAT and XRT data. The light curves are found to consist of two distinct components at >5 σ with bimodal distributions of luminosity and duration, i.e., extended (with a timescale of ≲10{sup 3} s) and plateau emission (with a timescale of ≳10{sup 3} s), which are likely the central engine activities, but not afterglows. The extended emission has an isotropic energy comparable to the prompt emission, while the plateau emission has ∼0.01–1 times this energy. Half (50%) of our sample has both components, while the other half is consistent with having both components. This leads us to conjecture that almost all short GRBs have both the extended and plateau emission. The long-lasting emission can be explained by the jets from black holes with fallback ejecta, and could power macronovae (or kilonovae) like GRB 130603B and GRB 160821B. Based on the observed properties, we quantify the detectability of EM counterparts to GWs, including the plateau emission scattered to the off-axis angle, with CALET /HXM, INTEGRAL /SPI-ACS, Fermi /GBM, MAXI /GSC, Swift /BAT, XRT, the future ISS-Lobster /WFI, Einstein Probe /WXT, and eROSITA .

  12. Short and long term efficiencies of debris risk reduction measures: Application to a European LEO mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, T.; Kervarc, R.; Bertrand, S.; Carle, P.; Donath, T.; Destefanis, R.; Grassi, L.; Tiboldo, F.; Schäfer, F.; Kempf, S.; Gelhaus, J.

    2015-01-01

    Recent numerical studies indicate that the low Earth orbit (LEO) debris environment has reached a point such that even if no further space launches were conducted, the Earth satellite population would remain relatively constant for only the next 50 years or so. Beyond that, the debris population would begin to increase noticeably, due to the production of collisional debris (Liou and Johnson, 2008). Measures to be enforced play thus a major role to preserve an acceptable space mission risk and ensure sustainable space activities. The identification of such measures and the quantification of their efficiency over time for LEO missions is of prime concern in the decision-making process, as it has been investigated for the last few decades by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). This paper addresses the final results of a generic methodology and the characteristics of a tool developed to assess the efficiency of the risk reduction measures identified for the Sentinel-1 (S1) mission. This work is performed as part of the 34-month P2-ROTECT project (Prediction, Protection & Reduction of OrbiTal Exposure to Collision Threats), funded by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme. Three ways of risk reduction have been investigated, both in short and long-term, namely: better satellite protection, better conjunction prediction, and cleaner environment. According to our assumptions, the S1 mission vulnerability evaluations in the long term (from 2093 to 2100) show that full compliance to the mitigation measures leads to a situation twice safer than that induced by an active debris removal of 5 objects per year in a MASTER2009 Business-As-Usual context. Because these measures have visible risk reduction effects in the long term, complementary measures with short response time are also studied. In the short term (from 2013 to 2020), a better prediction of the conjunctions is more efficient than protecting the satellite S1 itself. By

  13. Genetic deletion of melanin-concentrating hormone neurons impairs hippocampal short-term synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent forms of short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Barillier, Léa; Léger, Lucienne; Luppi, Pierre-Hervé; Fort, Patrice; Malleret, Gaël; Salin, Paul-Antoine

    2015-11-01

    The cognitive role of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons, a neuronal population located in the mammalian postero-lateral hypothalamus sending projections to all cortical areas, remains poorly understood. Mainly activated during paradoxical sleep (PS), MCH neurons have been implicated in sleep regulation. The genetic deletion of the only known MCH receptor in rodent leads to an impairment of hippocampal dependent forms of memory and to an alteration of hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity. By using MCH/ataxin3 mice, a genetic model characterized by a selective deletion of MCH neurons in the adult, we investigated the role of MCH neurons in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent forms of memory. MCH/ataxin3 mice exhibited a deficit in the early part of both long-term potentiation and depression in the CA1 area of the hippocampus. Post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) was diminished while synaptic depression induced by repetitive stimulation was enhanced suggesting an alteration of pre-synaptic forms of short-term plasticity in these mice. Behaviorally, MCH/ataxin3 mice spent more time and showed a higher level of hesitation as compared to their controls in performing a short-term memory T-maze task, displayed retardation in acquiring a reference memory task in a Morris water maze, and showed a habituation deficit in an open field task. Deletion of MCH neurons could thus alter spatial short-term memory by impairing short-term plasticity in the hippocampus. Altogether, these findings could provide a cellular mechanism by which PS may facilitate memory encoding. Via MCH neuron activation, PS could prepare the day's learning by increasing and modulating short-term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Surface coal mine land reclamation using a dry flue gas desulfurization product: Short-term and long-term water responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liming; Stehouwer, Richard; Tong, Xiaogang; Kost, Dave; Bigham, Jerry M; Dick, Warren A

    2015-09-01

    Abandoned coal-mined lands are a worldwide concern due to their potential negative environmental impacts, including erosion and development of acid mine drainage. A field study investigated the use of a dry flue gas desulfurization product for reclamation of abandoned coal mined land in USA. Treatments included flue gas desulfurization product at a rate of 280 Mg ha(-1) (FGD), FGD at the same rate plus 112 Mg ha(-1) yard waste compost (FGD/C), and conventional reclamation that included 20 cm of re-soil material plus 157 Mg ha(-1) of agricultural limestone (SOIL). A grass-legume sward was planted after treatment applications. Chemical properties of surface runoff and tile water (collected from a depth of 1.2m below the ground surface) were measured over both short-term (1-4 yr) and long-term (14-20 yr) periods following reclamation. The pH of surface runoff water was increased from approximately 3, and then sustained at 7 or higher by all treatments for up to 20 yr, and the pH of tile flow water was also increased and sustained above 5 for 20 yr. Compared with SOIL, concentrations of Ca, S and B in surface runoff and tile flow water were generally increased by the treatments with FGD product in both short- and long-term measurements and concentrations of the trace elements were generally not statistically increased in surface runoff and tile flow water over the 20-yr period. However, concentrations of As, Ba, Cr and Hg were occasionally elevated. These results suggest the use of FGD product for remediating acidic surface coal mined sites can provide effective, long-term reclamation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Lasting effects of short-term training on preschoolers' street-crossing behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Rachel R; Dolgin, Kim G

    2010-03-01

    Can short-term training improve preschoolers' knowledge of road-crossing concepts as well as behavior in a real traffic situation? Forty children, aged four to five years, were assigned to one of four conditions (game, story, song, and control). Each condition participated in four 15-min classroom-based lessons over four weeks. Two assessments measuring knowledge of street-crossing concepts and one assessment measuring behavior on a real street were used to evaluate performance at baseline and one week and six months post-training. Children in all three experimental conditions showed a significant improvement over the control on the two conceptual assessments. Only children in the game condition significantly improved their behavior on the street-crossing assessment. Furthermore, children in all three experimental conditions retained the same levels of improvement at the six-month follow-up. These results demonstrate that one hour of training can create lasting improvements on preschool children's conceptual knowledge of traffic safety and road-crossing behavior on a real street. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Misremembering what you see or hear: Dissociable effects of modality on short- and long-term false recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olszewska, Justyna M; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A; Munier, Emily; Bendler, Sara A

    2015-09-01

    False working memories readily emerge using a visual item-recognition variant of the converging associates task. Two experiments, manipulating study and test modality, extended prior working memory results by demonstrating a reliable false recognition effect (more false alarms to associatively related lures than to unrelated lures) within seconds of encoding in either the visual or auditory modality. However, false memories were nearly twice as frequent when study lists were seen than when they were heard, regardless of test modality, although study-test modality mismatch was generally disadvantageous (consistent with encoding specificity). A final experiment that varied study-test modality using a hybrid short- and long-term memory test (Flegal, Atkins & Reuter-Lorenz, 2010) replicated the auditory advantage in the short term but revealed a reversal in the long term: The false memory effect was greater in the auditory study-test condition than in the visual study-test condition. Thus, the same encoding conditions gave rise to an opposite modality advantage depending on whether recognition was tested under short-term or long-term memory conditions. Although demonstrating continuity in associative processing across delay, the results indicate that delay condition affects the availability of modality-dependent features of the memory trace and, thus, distinctiveness, leading to dissociable patterns of short- and long-term memory performance. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Near-Term Actions to Address Long-Term Climate Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lempert, R. J.

    2014-12-01

    Addressing climate change requires effective long-term policy making, which occurs when reflecting on potential events decades or more in the future causes policy makers to choose near-term actions different than those they would otherwise pursue. Contrary to some expectations, policy makers do sometimes make such long-term decisions, but not as commonly and successfully as climate change may require. In recent years however, the new capabilities of analytic decision support tools, combined with improved understanding of cognitive and organizational behaviors, has significantly improved the methods available for organizations to manage longer-term climate risks. In particular, these tools allow decision makers to understand what near-term actions consistently contribute to achieving both short- and long-term societal goals, even in the face of deep uncertainty regarding the long-term future. This talk will describe applications of these approaches for infrastructure, water, and flood risk management planning, as well as studies of how near-term choices about policy architectures can affect long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction pathways.

  18. Retrieval of long and short lists from long term memory: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zysset, S; Müller, K; Lehmann, C; Thöne-Otto, A I; von Cramon, D Y

    2001-11-13

    Previous studies have shown that reaction time in an item-recognition task with both short and long lists is a quadratic function of list length. This suggests that either different memory retrieval processes are implied for short and long lists or an adaptive process is involved. An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study with nine subjects and list lengths varying between 3 and 18 words was conducted to identify the underlying neuronal structures of retrieval from long and short lists. For the retrieval and processing of word-lists a single fronto-parietal network, including premotor, left prefrontal, left precuneal and left parietal regions, was activated. With increasing list length, no additional regions became involved in retrieving information from long-term memory, suggesting that not necessarily different, but highly adaptive retrieval processes are involved.

  19. Marginal Propensity to Consume in Hungary: The long-term versus Short-term Challenges to Policy Makers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keith Write

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study uses Hungarian quarterly data from the International Monetary Fund to estimate a distributed lag model whose coefficients allow derivation of the short-run and long-run marginal propensities to consume.  MPCs are main factors determining the consumption, investment, government spending, and export and import multipliers of the economy.  Hungary's economy has stagnated and its policy makers are exploring new ways to manage its economy.  Our model reveals that the numerical value of Hungarian short-run marginal propensity to consume (MPC is 0.4081181655 and the long-run MPC is 0.9458619.  These results are consistent with the corresponding figures in emerging and advanced economies.  These derived MPCs suggest that Hungarian economic policy makers should use fiscal instruments to bring these macroeconomic variables back to their long-term trend effectively

  20. Acute and long-term ocular effects of acrolein vapor on the eyes and potential therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dachir, Shlomit; Cohen, Maayan; Gutman, Hila; Cohen, Liat; Buch, Hillel; Kadar, Tamar

    2015-01-01

    Acrolein is a potent irritant and a vesicant that was used by the French during WWI as the warfare agent named: "papite". Nowadays, it is produced in large amounts all over the world in the industry for the production of acrylic acid and for agriculture use as herbicide. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of acute eye exposure to acrolein vapor and to evaluate the efficacy of a topical post-exposure combination treatment with a local anesthetic and a steroid. Rabbit eyes were exposed to three doses of acrolein vapor (low, intermediate and high) and treated topically with either 0.4% benoxinate hydrochloride (localin, for 2 h) or dexamethasone (dexamycin, for 6 days) or a combination of both drugs. Clinical follow-up using slit lamp examinations and histological evaluation was performed 4 weeks post-exposure. Acrolein vapor caused immediate eye closure with excess tearing, corneal erosions and severe inflammation of the anterior chamber. This was followed by corneal neovascularization (NV) starting as early as 1 week post-exposure. The damage to the eyes was long lasting, and at 4 weeks following exposure, significant pathological changes were observed. Immediate post-exposure application of the local anesthetic, localin, prevented the eye closure, and the dexamycin treatment reduced significantly the initial inflammation as well as the extent and incidence of corneal NV. Short-term eye exposure to the irritant acrolein may result in immediate eye closure and long lasting pathologies that could lead to blindness. An anti-inflammatory treatment combined with short-term application of a local anesthetic prevents incapacitation and might minimize significantly the extent of eye injuries.

  1. Compromise between Short- and Long-Term Financial Sustainability: A Hybrid Model for Supporting R&D Decisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kao-Yi Shen

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The debate of “short-termism” has gained increasing interests from various fields, ranging from management to economics; it mainly concerns the decisions or actions taken by businesses that might yield short-term returns at the cost of long-term value or sustainability. Previous studies have highlighted this dilemma faced by managers, mainly from the pressure of capital markets or short-sighted shareholders who crave for immediate financial outcomes; intelligent decision aids that can compromise between the short- and long-term financial sustainability, based on a company’s policy, are highly needed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a multiple-rule-based hybrid decision model to support management teams on prioritizing new R&D projects, considering the financial prospects in dual timeframes (i.e., short- and long-term for sustainability. Furthermore, in the presence of business uncertainty and the limited knowledge of managers on new projects, the intuitionistic fuzzy technique is incorporated. A case of selecting new R&D projects for an IC design company is illustrated using the proposed approach, and the financial data from a group of public-listed IC stocks from Taiwan are inducted to form the decision model. The findings not only support the IC design company to select new projects but also provide business insights to facilitate the understandings of this controversial issue in managerial practice.

  2. The value of short-term pain relief in predicting the long-term outcome of 'indirect' cervical epidural steroid injections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joswig, Holger; Neff, Armin; Ruppert, Christina; Hildebrandt, Gerhard; Stienen, Martin Nikolaus

    2018-05-01

    The predictive value of short-term arm pain relief after 'indirect' cervical epidural steroid injection (ESI) for the 1-month treatment response has been previously demonstrated. It remained to be answered whether the long-term response could be estimated by the early post-interventional pain course as well. Prospective observational study, following a cohort of n = 45 patients for a period of 24 months after 'indirect' ESI for radiculopathy secondary to a single-level cervical disk herniation (CDH). Arm and neck pain on the visual analog scale (VAS), health-related quality of life with the Short Form-12 (SF-12), and functional outcome with the Neck Pain and Disability (NPAD) Scale were assessed. Any additional invasive treatment after a single injection (second injection or surgery) defined treatment outcome as 'non-response'. At 24 months, n = 30 (66.7%) patients were responders and n = 15 (33.3%) were non-responders. Non-responders exited the follow-up at 1 month (n = 10), at 3 months (n = 4), and at 6 months (n = 1). No patients were injected again or operated on between the 6- and 24-month follow-up. Patients with favorable treatment response at 24 months had significantly lower VAS arm pain (p  50% short term pain reduction was not a reliable predictor of the 24-month responder status. SF-12 and NPAD scores were better among treatment responders in the long term. Patients who require a second injection or surgery after 'indirect' cervical ESI for a symptomatic CDH do so within the first 6 months. Short-term pain relief cannot reliably predict the long-term outcome.

  3. Short-Term and Working Memory Impairments in Early-Implanted, Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users Are Independent of Audibility and Speech Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AuBuchon, Angela M; Pisoni, David B; Kronenberger, William G

    2015-01-01

    To determine whether early-implanted, long-term cochlear implant (CI) users display delays in verbal short-term and working memory capacity when processes related to audibility and speech production are eliminated. Twenty-three long-term CI users and 23 normal-hearing controls each completed forward and backward digit span tasks under testing conditions that differed in presentation modality (auditory or visual) and response output (spoken recall or manual pointing). Normal-hearing controls reproduced more lists of digits than the CI users, even when the test items were presented visually and the responses were made manually via touchscreen response. Short-term and working memory delays observed in CI users are not due to greater demands from peripheral sensory processes such as audibility or from overt speech-motor planning and response output organization. Instead, CI users are less efficient at encoding and maintaining phonological representations in verbal short-term memory using phonological and linguistic strategies during memory tasks.

  4. Short dental implants in patients with oral lichen planus: a long-term follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anitua, E; Piñas, L; Escuer-Artero, V; Fernández, R S; Alkhraisat, M H

    2018-04-01

    Oral lichen planus is associated with the Koebner phenomenon, and trauma may exacerbate oral lesions. Short dental implants, as alternatives to bony augmentation, would reduce the number of interventions and their morbidity. However, we know of no studies that have analysed the long-term outcomes of short implants in patients with oral lichen planus. We have therefore designed a retrospective study of such patients treated with short implants (≤8.5mm long), with survival of implants as the main outcome. The secondary outcomes were marginal bone loss and the development of complications. We calculated the implants' survival and compared the outcomes statistically between erosive and reticular oral lichen planus. Sixty-six short implants were placed in 23 patients with a mean (SD) age of 58 (7) years. The mean (SD) peri-implant bone loss was 0.96 (0.89) mm mesially and 0.99 (1.1) mm distally. Sixty-five of the 66 implants survived with a mean (SD) follow-up of 68 (32) months, and there were no significant differences between erosive and reticular disease. Stable long-term outcomes can be expected for short implants placed in patients with oral lichen planus, and graftless rehabilitation of missing teeth could be possible in these patients if short implants were used. Copyright © 2018 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Clustering of short and long-term co-movements in international financial and commodity markets in wavelet domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahmiri, Salim; Uddin, Gazi Salah; Bekiros, Stelios

    2017-11-01

    We propose a general framework for measuring short and long term dynamics in asset classes based on the wavelet presentation of clustering analysis. The empirical results show strong evidence of instability of the financial system aftermath of the global financial crisis. Indeed, both short and long-term dynamics have significantly changed after the global financial crisis. This study provides an interesting insights complex structure of global financial and economic system.

  6. The short- and long-term effects of development projects:evidence from Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    Petrikova, Ivica

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the short-term and long-term impact of development projects on recipients’ wellbeing in Ethiopia. Specifically, it compares the effects of five types of development projects – unconditional and conditional direct transfers, agricultural and social-infrastructure knowledge transfers, and credit projects – on children’s nutrition and on household consumption and income levels. The main finding is that knowledge transfers have the largest positive impact on children’s nutriti...

  7. An Exemplar-Familiarity Model Predicts Short-Term and Long-Term Probe Recognition across Diverse Forms of Memory Search

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nosofsky, Robert M.; Cox, Gregory E.; Cao, Rui; Shiffrin, Richard M.

    2014-01-01

    Experiments were conducted to test a modern exemplar-familiarity model on its ability to account for both short-term and long-term probe recognition within the same memory-search paradigm. Also, making connections to the literature on attention and visual search, the model was used to interpret differences in probe-recognition performance across…

  8. How long-term dynamics of sediment subduction controls short-term dynamics of seismicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brizzi, S.; van Zelst, I.; van Dinther, Y.; Funiciello, F.; Corbi, F.

    2017-12-01

    Most of the world's greatest earthquakes occur along the subduction megathrust. Weak and porous sediments have been suggested to homogenize the plate interface and thereby promote lateral rupture propagation and great earthquakes. However, the importance of sediment thickness, let alone their physical role, is not yet unequivocally established. Based on a multivariate statistical analysis of a global database of 62 subduction segments, we confirm that sediment thickness is one of the key parameters controlling the maximum magnitude a megathrust can generate. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations highlighted that the occurrence of great earthquakes on sediment-rich subduction segments is very unlikely (p-value≪0.05) related to pure chance. To understand how sediments in the subduction channel regulate earthquake size, this study extends and demystifies multivariate, spatiotemporally limited data through numerical modeling. We use the 2D Seismo-Thermo-Mechanical modeling approach to simulate both the long- and short-term dynamics of subduction and related seismogenesis (van Dinther et al., JGR, 2013). These models solve for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy using a visco-elasto-plastic rheology with rate-dependent friction. Results show that subducted sediments have a strong influence on the long-term evolution of the convergent margin. Increasing the sediment thickness on the incoming plate from 0 to 6 km causes a decrease of slab dip from 23° to 10°. This, in addition to increased radiogenic heating, extends isotherms, thereby widening the seismogenic portion of the megathrust from 80 to 150 km. Consequently, over tens of thousands of years, we observe that the maximum moment magnitude of megathrust earthquakes increases from 8.2 to 9.2 for these shallower and warmer interfaces. In addition, we observe more and larger splay faults, which could enhance vertical seafloor displacements. These results highlight the primary role of subducted sediments in

  9. A single episode of high intensity sound inhibits long-term potentiation in the hippocampus of rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Deus, J L; Cunha, A O S; Terzian, A L; Resstel, L B; Elias, L L K; Antunes-Rodrigues, J; Almeida, S S; Leão, R M

    2017-10-26

    Exposure to loud sounds has become increasingly common. The most common consequences of loud sound exposure are deafness and tinnitus, but emotional and cognitive problems are also associated with loud sound exposure. Loud sounds can activate the hipothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis resulting in the secretion of corticosterone, which affects hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Previously we have shown that long-term exposure to short episodes of high intensity sound inhibited hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) without affecting spatial learning and memory. Here we aimed to study the impact of short term loud sound exposure on hippocampal synaptic plasticity and function. We found that a single minute of 110 dB sound inhibits hippocampal Schaffer-CA1 LTP for 24 hours. This effect did not occur with an 80-dB sound exposure, was not correlated with corticosterone secretion and was also observed in the perforant-dentate gyrus synapse. We found that despite the deficit in the LTP these animals presented normal spatial learning and memory and fear conditioning. We conclude that a single episode of high-intensity sound impairs hippocampal LTP, without impairing memory and learning. Our results show that the hippocampus is very responsive to loud sounds which can have a potential, but not yet identified, impact on its function.

  10. Short- and long-term plasma phenomena in a HiPIMS discharge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poolcharuansin, P; Bradley, J W

    2010-01-01

    Using a time-resolved Langmuir probe the temporal evolution of the bulk plasma parameters in a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge was investigated for a number of different discharge conditions. The magnetron was operated in argon between 0.5 and 1.6 Pa with a titanium target and with peak target power densities up to 1000 W cm -2 . The pulse width and repetition rate were held constant at 100 μs and 100 Hz, respectively. Using an OML analysis as well as a Druyvesteyn formulation, the electron densities, effective temperatures and energy distribution functions were obtained throughout the pulse period (0-9 ms), including a detailed study of the first 10 μs, which was achieved with a temporal resolution better than 0.5 μs. In the initial phase of the voltage pulse (t ∼ 1-4 μs), three distinct groups of electrons (indistinguishable from Maxwellian electrons) were observed, namely 'super-thermal', 'hot' and 'cold' populations with effective temperatures of 70-100 eV, 5-7 eV and 0.8-1 eV, respectively. After 4 μs these groups become energetically indistinguishable from each other to form a single distribution with an electron temperature that decays from about 5 to 3 eV during the rest of the pulse on-time. The presence of the 'super-thermal' electron group pushes the probe floating potential to a very negative value (significantly deeper than -95 V) during the initial period of the pulse. In the off-time, the electron density decays with two-fold characteristic times, revealing initially short-term (30-40 μs) and ultimately long-term (3-4 ms) decay rates. These long decay times lead to a relative high density remnant plasma (2 x 10 9 cm -3 ) at the end of the off-time, which serves to seed the next voltage pulse. The electron temperature and plasma potential also exhibit two-fold decay in the off-time, but with typically somewhat faster decays, particularly for the long-term decay (100-500 μs) up to the end of the off-time. The time

  11. Exercise during Short-Term and Long-Term Continuous Exposure to Hypoxia Exacerbates Sleep-Related Periodic Breathing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tellez, Helio Fernandez; Morrison, Shawnda A.; Neyt, Xavier; Mairesse, Olivier; Piacentini, Maria Francesca; Macdonald-Nethercott, Eoin; Pangerc, Andrej; Dolenc-Groselj, Leja; Eiken, Ola; Pattyn, Nathalie; Mekjavic, Igor B.; Meeusen, Romain

    2016-01-01

    Study Objectives: Exposure to hypoxia elevates chemosensitivity, which can lead to periodic breathing. Exercise impacts gas exchange, altering chemosensitivity; however, interactions between sleep, exercise and chronic hypoxic exposure have not been examined. This study investigated whether exercise exacerbates sleep-related periodic breathing in hypoxia. Methods: Two experimental phases. Short-Term Phase: a laboratory controlled, group-design study in which 16 active, healthy men (age: 25 ± 3 y, height: 1.79 ± 0.06 m, mass: 74 ± 8 kg) were confined to a normobaric hypoxic environment (FIO2 = 0.139 ± 0.003, 4,000 m) for 10 days, after random assignment to a sedentary (control, CON) or cycle-exercise group (EX). Long-Term Phase: conducted at the Concordia Antarctic Research Station (3,800 m equivalent at the Equator) where 14 men (age: 36 ± 9 y, height: 1.77 ± 0.09 m, mass: 75 ± 10 kg) lived for 12–14 months, continuously confined. Participants were stratified post hoc based on self-reported physical activity levels. We quantified apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and physical activity variables. Results: Short-Term Phase: mean AHI scores were significantly elevated in the EX group compared to CON (Night1 = CON: 39 ± 51, EX: 91 ± 59; Night10 = CON: 32 ± 32, EX: 92 ± 48; P = 0.046). Long-Term Phase: AHI was correlated to mean exercise time (R2 = 0.4857; P = 0.008) and the coefficient of variation in night oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2; R2 = 0.3062; P = 0.049). Conclusions: Data indicate that exercise (physical activity) per se affects night SpO2 concentrations and AHI after a minimum of two bouts of moderate-intensity hypoxic exercise, while habitual physical activity in hypobaric hypoxic confinement affects breathing during sleep, up to 13+ months' duration Citation: Tellez HF, Morrison SA, Neyt X, Mairesse O, Piacentini MF, Macdonald-Nethercott E, Pangerc A, Dolenc-Groselj L, Eiken O, Pattyn N, Mekjavic IB, Meeusen R. Exercise during short-term and long-term

  12. Strangers in the Night or Love Forever: Characteristics and Preferences of Short vs. Long-Term Relationship Seekers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meri Tadinac

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Sex differences in mate preferences as well as the tendency to pursue long- vs. short-term relationships have often been explored and confirmed. On the other hand, within-sex analyses of who is more likely to engage in a short-termrelationship have been somewhat neglected. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare proportions of individuals interested in short-term relationships (if single or extra-pair relationships (if pair-bonded in groups of different ages, incomes and education levels. While the proportion of single women interested in short-term relationships differed among those groups, men of all ages, incomes and education levels were equally interested in short-term relationships. The proportion of pairbonded individuals interested in extra-pair relationship also differed among age groups (both men and women and income levels (men only, but not across education levels. Furthermore, we tried to determine the structure of sex differences in mate preferences within the temporal context of a relationship. The discriminant analyses showed that mate preferences which mostly differentiated men and women seeking a short-term relationship were good looks and good financial prospects. In a long-term relationship context, three more preferences differentiating men from women have emerged: emotional stability and maturity, favorable social status and dependable character.

  13. Modelling of long-term and short-term mechanisms of arterial pressure control in the cardiovascular system: an object-oriented approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez de Canete, J; Luque, J; Barbancho, J; Munoz, V

    2014-04-01

    A mathematical model that provides an overall description of both the short- and long-term mechanisms of arterial pressure regulation is presented. Short-term control is exerted through the baroreceptor reflex while renal elimination plays a role in long-term control. Both mechanisms operate in an integrated way over the compartmental model of the cardiovascular system. The whole system was modelled in MODELICA, which uses a hierarchical object-oriented modelling strategy, under the DYMOLA simulation environment. The performance of the controlled system was analysed by simulation in light of the existing hypothesis and validation tests previously performed with physiological data, demonstrating the effectiveness of both regulation mechanisms under physiological and pathological conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Short-term and long-term Interconnectedness of stock returns in Western Europe and the global market

    OpenAIRE

    Panda, Ajaya Kumar; Nanda, Swagatika

    2017-01-01

    Background: The present study examines the short term dynamics and long term equilibrium relationship among the stock markets of 17 countries in Western Europe as well as the world market, using time series techniques. Methods: Weekly returns of market benchmark indices of the respective countries are used from the second week of 1995 to the fourth week of December 2013. Results: The study finds that the market returns of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France are relatively less dynam...

  15. Different contributions of platelet-activating factor and nitric oxide in long-term potentiation of the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettorossi, V E; Grassi, S

    2001-01-01

    In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the differential role of nitric oxide (NO) and platelet-activating factor (PAF) in long-term potentiation (LTP) induced in the ventral portion of the medial vestibular nuclei (MVN) by high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the primary vestibular afferents. The NO scavenger 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (carboxy-PTIO) and the PAF receptor antagonist ginkgolide B (BN-52021) were administered before and after induction of potentiation. The effect of carboxy-PTIO was to completely prevent LTP. By contrast, BN-52021 only reduced the amplitude of HFS potentiation, which could develop fully at the drug washout or decline to zero, becoming a short-term phenomenon, in the case of long-lasting PAF receptor block. Both drugs, when given after HFS, had no effect on the already established potentiation, but whilst BN-52021 showed an influence within 5 min of the LTP induction, carboxy-PTIO did not affect the response once HFS was delivered. Moreover, we showed that the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside, and methylcarbamyl PAF (mc-PAF) induced LTP which was associated with an increase in glutamate release as shown by reduction in the paired-pulse facilitation ratio. The mc-PAF LTP was prevented by the NO scavenger, while NO LTP was only reduced by BN-52021. We suggest that NO and PAF are implicated as retrograde messengers in two different phases of vestibular LTP: NO in the induction phase; and PAF in the full expression phase.

  16. A phenomenological memristor model for short-term/long-term memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Ling; Li, Chuandong; Huang, Tingwen; Ahmad, Hafiz Gulfam; Chen, Yiran

    2014-01-01

    Memristor is considered to be a natural electrical synapse because of its distinct memory property and nanoscale. In recent years, more and more similar behaviors are observed between memristors and biological synapse, e.g., short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). The traditional mathematical models are unable to capture the new emerging behaviors. In this article, an updated phenomenological model based on the model of the Hewlett–Packard (HP) Labs has been proposed to capture such new behaviors. The new dynamical memristor model with an improved ion diffusion term can emulate the synapse behavior with forgetting effect, and exhibit the transformation between the STM and the LTM. Further, this model can be used in building new type of neural networks with forgetting ability like biological systems, and it is verified by our experiment with Hopfield neural network. - Highlights: • We take the Fick diffusion and the Soret diffusion into account in the ion drift theory. • We develop a new model based on the old HP model. • The new model can describe the forgetting effect and the spike-rate-dependent property of memristor. • The new model can solve the boundary effect of all window functions discussed in [13]. • A new Hopfield neural network with the forgetting ability is built by the new memristor model

  17. Short- and long-term memory in Drosophila require cAMP signaling in distinct neuron types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, Allison L; Li, Wanhe; Cressy, Mike; Dubnau, Josh

    2009-08-25

    A common feature of memory and its underlying synaptic plasticity is that each can be dissected into short-lived forms involving modification or trafficking of existing proteins and long-term forms that require new gene expression. An underlying assumption of this cellular view of memory consolidation is that these different mechanisms occur within a single neuron. At the neuroanatomical level, however, different temporal stages of memory can engage distinct neural circuits, a notion that has not been conceptually integrated with the cellular view. Here, we investigated this issue in the context of aversive Pavlovian olfactory memory in Drosophila. Previous studies have demonstrated a central role for cAMP signaling in the mushroom body (MB). The Ca(2+)-responsive adenylyl cyclase RUTABAGA is believed to be a coincidence detector in gamma neurons, one of the three principle classes of MB Kenyon cells. We were able to separately restore short-term or long-term memory to a rutabaga mutant with expression of rutabaga in different subsets of MB neurons. Our findings suggest a model in which the learning experience initiates two parallel associations: a short-lived trace in MB gamma neurons, and a long-lived trace in alpha/beta neurons.

  18. Doping and musculoskeletal system: short-term and long-lasting effects of doping agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolopoulos, Dimitrios D; Spiliopoulou, Chara; Theocharis, Stamatios E

    2011-10-01

    Doping is a problem that has plagued the world of competition and sports for ages. Even before the dawn of Olympic history in ancient Greece, competitors have looked for artificial means to improve athletic performance. Since ancient times, athletes have attempted to gain an unfair competitive advantage through the use of doping substances. A Prohibited List of doping substances and methods banned in sports is published yearly by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Among the substances included are steroidal and peptide hormones and their modulators, stimulants, glucocorticosteroids, β₂-agonists, diuretics and masking agents, narcotics, and cannabinoids. Blood doping, tampering, infusions, and gene doping are examples of prohibited methods indicated on the List. Apart from the unethical aspect of doping, as it abrogates fair-play's principle, it is extremely important to consider the hazards it presents to the health and well-being of athletes. The referred negative effects for the athlete's health have to do, on the one hand, by the high doses of the performance-enhancing agents and on the other hand, by the relentless, superhuman strict training that the elite or amateur athletes put their muscles, bones, and joints. The purpose of this article is to highlight the early and the long-lasting consequences of the doping abuse on bone and muscle metabolism. © 2010 The Authors Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology © 2010 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

  19. Perceived stress and anhedonia predict short-and long-term weight change, respectively, in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Mostafa; Thearle, Marie S; Krakoff, Jonathan; Gluck, Marci E

    2016-04-01

    Perceived stress; emotional eating; anhedonia; depression and dietary restraint, hunger, and disinhibition have been studied as risk factors for obesity. However, the majority of studies have been cross-sectional and the directionality of these relationships remains unclear. In this longitudinal study, we assess their impact on future weight change. Psychological predictors of weight change in short- (6month) and long-term (>1year) periods were studied in 65 lean and obese individuals in two cohorts. Subjects participated in studies of food intake and metabolism that did not include any type of medication or weight loss interventions. They completed psychological questionnaires at baseline and weight change was monitored at follow-up visits. At six months, perceived stress predicted weight gain (r(2)=0.23, P=0.02). There was a significant interaction (r(2)=.38, P=0.009) between perceived stress and positive emotional eating, such that higher scores in both predicted greater weight gain, while those with low stress but high emotional eating scores lost weight. For long-term, higher anhedonia scores predicted weight gain (r(2)=0.24, P=0.04). Depression moderated these effects such that higher scores in both predicted weight gain but higher depression and lower anhedonia scores predicted weight loss. There are different behavioral determinants for short- and long-term weight change. Targeting perceived stress may help with short-term weight loss while depression and anhedonia may be better targets for long-term weight regulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Short- and long-term effectiveness of a three-month individualized need-supportive physical activity counseling intervention at the workplace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anass Arrogi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The objective of the present study was to evaluate the short- and long-term intervention and mediation effects of a 3-month individualized need-supportive physical activity (PA counseling intervention on employees’ PA and sedentary behavior. Methods Insufficiently active employees (n = 300; mean age 42 ± 9 years; 78% female were recruited from a large pharmaceutical company in Flanders, Belgium. A quasi-experimental design was used in which the intervention group (N = 246 was recruited separately from the reference group (N = 54. Intervention group participants received a 3-month behavioral support intervention, which consisted of two one-hour face-to-face counseling sessions and three follow-up counseling contacts by e-mail or telephone at weeks three, six and nine. PA counseling, delivered by qualified PA counselors, aimed to satisfy participants’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Reference group participants did not receive individualized PA counseling. Outcome measures included objectively assessed and self-reported PA and sedentary time and psychological need satisfaction. Assessments were held at baseline, immediately after the intervention (short-term and 6 months post-intervention (long-term. Mixed model analyses and bootstrapping analyses were used to determine intervention and mediation effects, respectively. Results The intervention group increased weekday daily steps both in the short- and long-term, while the reference group showed reductions in daily step count (ES = .65 and ES = .48 in the short- and long-term, respectively. In the short-term, weekday moderate-to-vigorous PA increased more pronouncedly in the intervention group compared to the reference group (ES = .34. Moreover, the intervention group demonstrated reductions in self-reported sitting time during weekends both in the short- and long-term, whereas the reference group reported

  1. Predictors of Short- and Long-Term Attrition From the Parents as Agents of Change Randomized Controlled Trial for Managing Pediatric Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spence, Nicholas D; Newton, Amanda S; Keaschuk, Rachel A; Ambler, Kathryn A; Jetha, Mary M; Holt, Nicholas L; Rosychuk, Rhonda J; Spence, John C; Sharma, Arya M; Ball, Geoff D C

    Attrition in pediatric weight management is a substantial problem. This study examined factors associated with short- and long-term attrition from a lifestyle and behavioral intervention for parents of children with overweight or obesity. Fifty-two families with children ages 6 to 12 years old and body mass index at or above the 85th percentile participated in a randomized controlled trial focused on parents, comparing parent-based cognitive behavioral therapy with parent-based psychoeducation for pediatric weight management. We examined program attrition using two clinical phases of the intervention: short-term and long-term attrition, modeled using the general linear model. Predictors included intervention type, child/parent weight status, sociodemographic factors, and health of the family system. Higher self-assessed health of the family system was associated with lower short-term attrition; higher percentage of intervention sessions attended by parents was associated with lower long-term attrition. Different variables were significant in our short- and long-term models. Attrition might best be conceptualized based on short- and long-term phases of clinical, parent-based interventions for pediatric weight management. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Short and long term outcome of bilateral pallidal stimulation in chorea-acanthocytosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Miquel

    Full Text Available Chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc is a neuroacanthocytosis syndrome presenting with severe movement disorders poorly responsive to drug therapy. Case reports suggest that bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS of the ventro-postero-lateral internal globus pallidus (GPi may benefit these patients. To explore this issue, the present multicentre (n=12 retrospective study collected the short and long term outcome of 15 patients who underwent DBS.Data were collected in a standardized way 2-6 months preoperatively, 1-5 months (early and 6 months or more (late after surgery at the last follow-up visit (mean follow-up: 29.5 months.Motor severity, assessed by the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale-Motor Score, UHDRS-MS, was significantly reduced at both early and late post-surgery time points (mean improvement 54.3% and 44.1%, respectively. Functional capacity (UHDRS-Functional Capacity Score was also significantly improved at both post-surgery time points (mean 75.5% and 73.3%, respectively, whereas incapacity (UHDRS-Independence Score improvement reached significance at early post-surgery only (mean 37.3%. Long term significant improvement of motor symptom severity (≥ 20 % from baseline was observed in 61.5 % of the patients. Chorea and dystonia improved, whereas effects on dysarthria and swallowing were variable. Parkinsonism did not improve. Linear regression analysis showed that preoperative motor severity predicted motor improvement at both post-surgery time points. The most serious adverse event was device infection and cerebral abscess, and one patient died suddenly of unclear cause, 4 years after surgery.This study shows that bilateral DBS of the GPi effectively reduces the severity of drug-resistant hyperkinetic movement disorders such as present in ChAc.

  3. The effects of long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatment approaches in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saral, Ilknur; Sindel, Dilsad; Esmaeilzadeh, Sina; Sertel-Berk, Hanife Ozlem; Oral, Aydan

    2016-10-01

    We investigated the effects of long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatment approaches for reducing symptoms and improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical functions of patients with fibromyalgia and compared the effects of two different interdisciplinary treatment approaches. We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled trial involving 66 women with fibromyalgia eligible for the study at a university hospital setting. The patients were randomized into three groups (allocation ratio 1:1:1) using a computer-generated random numbers: a long-term interdisciplinary treatment group (LG, n = 22) that participated in 10 sessions (3-h once-weekly session for 10 weeks) of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) together with exercise training and other fibromyalgia related educational programs (two full days); a short-term interdisciplinary treatment group (SG, n = 22) that received two full days of educational, exercise, and CBT programs; and a control group (CG, n = 22). The patients were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after treatment using the visual analog scale (pain, fatigue, and sleep), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Short Form-36, tender point numbers, and pressure algometry as primary outcomes. The statistical analysis was confined to the 'per-protocol' set. No blinding was performed. The number of patients analyzed was 21 in the LG, 19 in the SG, and 19 in the CG. The intensity of pain (p treatment approaches when compared with controls; the long-term treatment was found more effective in reducing pain than the short-term. Both, long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatments were effective in reducing the severity of some symptoms and disease activity in patients with fibromyalgia. The short-term program well meets the needs of women with fibromyalgia particularly in relation to pain and health status as measured using FIQ; however, a long-term program may be beneficial in reducing fatigue and

  4. An Ensemble Approach for Improved Short-to-Intermediate-Term Seismic Potential Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Huaizhong; Zhu, Qingyong; Zhou, Faren; Tian, Lei; Zhang, Yongxian

    2017-06-01

    Pattern informatics (PI), load/unload response ratio (LURR), state vector (SV), and accelerating moment release (AMR) are four previously unrelated subjects, which are sensitive, in varying ways, to the earthquake's source. Previous studies have indicated that the spatial extent of the stress perturbation caused by an earthquake scales with the moment of the event, allowing us to combine these methods for seismic hazard evaluation. The long-range earthquake forecasting method PI is applied to search for the seismic hotspots and identify the areas where large earthquake could be expected. And the LURR and SV methods are adopted to assess short-to-intermediate-term seismic potential in each of the critical regions derived from the PI hotspots, while the AMR method is used to provide us with asymptotic estimates of time and magnitude of the potential earthquakes. This new approach, by combining the LURR, SV and AMR methods with the choice of identified area of PI hotspots, is devised to augment current techniques for seismic hazard estimation. Using the approach, we tested the strong earthquakes occurred in Yunnan-Sichuan region, China between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014. We found that most of the large earthquakes, especially the earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.0 occurred in the seismic hazard regions predicted. Similar results have been obtained in the prediction of annual earthquake tendency in Chinese mainland in 2014 and 2015. The studies evidenced that the ensemble approach could be a useful tool to detect short-to-intermediate-term precursory information of future large earthquakes.

  5. Statistical Models for Tornado Climatology: Long and Short-Term Views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsner, James B; Jagger, Thomas H; Fricker, Tyler

    2016-01-01

    This paper estimates regional tornado risk from records of past events using statistical models. First, a spatial model is fit to the tornado counts aggregated in counties with terms that control for changes in observational practices over time. Results provide a long-term view of risk that delineates the main tornado corridors in the United States where the expected annual rate exceeds two tornadoes per 10,000 square km. A few counties in the Texas Panhandle and central Kansas have annual rates that exceed four tornadoes per 10,000 square km. Refitting the model after removing the least damaging tornadoes from the data (EF0) produces a similar map but with the greatest tornado risk shifted south and eastward. Second, a space-time model is fit to the counts aggregated in raster cells with terms that control for changes in climate factors. Results provide a short-term view of risk. The short-term view identifies a shift of tornado activity away from the Ohio Valley under El Niño conditions and away from the Southeast under positive North Atlantic oscillation conditions. The combined predictor effects on the local rates is quantified by fitting the model after leaving out the year to be predicted from the data. The models provide state-of-the-art views of tornado risk that can be used by government agencies, the insurance industry, and the general public.

  6. Errors in nonword repetition: bridging short- and long-term memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.H. Santos

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available According to the working memory model, the phonological loop is the component of working memory specialized in processing and manipulating limited amounts of speech-based information. The Children's Test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep is a suitable measure of phonological short-term memory for English-speaking children, which was validated by the Brazilian Children's Test of Pseudoword Repetition (BCPR as a Portuguese-language version. The objectives of the present study were: i to investigate developmental aspects of the phonological memory processing by error analysis in the nonword repetition task, and ii to examine phoneme (substitution, omission and addition and order (migration errors made in the BCPR by 180 normal Brazilian children of both sexes aged 4-10, from preschool to 4th grade. The dominant error was substitution [F(3,525 = 180.47; P < 0.0001]. The performance was age-related [F(4,175 = 14.53; P < 0.0001]. The length effect, i.e., more errors in long than in short items, was observed [F(3,519 = 108.36; P < 0.0001]. In 5-syllable pseudowords, errors occurred mainly in the middle of the stimuli, before the syllabic stress [F(4,16 = 6.03; P = 0.003]; substitutions appeared more at the end of the stimuli, after the stress [F(12,48 = 2.27; P = 0.02]. In conclusion, the BCPR error analysis supports the idea that phonological loop capacity is relatively constant during development, although school learning increases the efficiency of this system. Moreover, there are indications that long-term memory contributes to holding memory trace. The findings were discussed in terms of distinctiveness, clustering and redintegration hypotheses.

  7. Short- and long-term behavioural, physiological and stoichiometric responses to predation risk indicate chronic stress and compensatory mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dievel, Marie; Janssens, Lizanne; Stoks, Robby

    2016-06-01

    Prey organisms are expected to use different short- and long-term responses to predation risk to avoid excessive costs. Contrasting both types of responses is important to identify chronic stress responses and possible compensatory mechanisms in order to better understand the full impact of predators on prey life history and population dynamics. Using larvae of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum, we contrasted the effects of short- and long-term predation risk, with special focus on consequences for body stoichiometry. Under short-term predation risk, larvae reduced growth rate, which was associated with a reduced food intake, increased metabolic rate and reduced glucose content. Under long-term predation risk, larvae showed chronic predator stress as indicated by persistent increases in metabolic rate and reduced food intake. Despite this, larvae were able to compensate for the short-term growth reduction under long-term predation risk by relying on physiological compensatory mechanisms, including reduced energy storage. Only under long-term predation risk did we observe an increase in body C:N ratio, as predicted under the general stress paradigm (GSP). Although this was caused by a predator-induced decrease in N content, there was no associated increase in C content. These stoichiometric changes could not be explained by GSP responses because, under chronic predation risk, there was no decrease in N-rich proteins or increase in C-rich fat and sugars; instead glycogen decreased. Our results highlight the importance of compensatory mechanisms and the value of explicitly integrating physiological mechanisms to obtain insights into the temporal dynamics of non-consumptive effects, including effects on body stoichiometry.

  8. Modelling short and long-term risks in power markets: Empirical evidence from Nord Pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomikos, Nikos K.; Soldatos, Orestes A.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we propose a three-factor spike model that accounts for different speeds of mean reversion between normal and spiky shocks in the Scandinavian power market. In this model both short and long-run factors are unobservable and are hence estimated as latent variables using the Kalman filter. The proposed model has several advantages. First, it seems to capture in a parsimonious way the most important risks that practitioners face in the market, such as spike risk, short-term risk and long-term risk. Second, it explains the seasonal risk premium observed in the market and improves the fit between theoretical and observed forward prices, particularly for long-dated forward contracts. Finally, closed-form solutions for forward contracts, derived from the model, are consistent with the fact that the correlation between contracts of different maturities is imperfect. The resulting model is very promising, providing a very useful policy analysis and financial engineering tool to market participants for risk management and derivative pricing particularly for long-dated contracts.

  9. Effects of long- and short-term management on the functional structure of meadows through species turnover and intraspecific trait variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volf, Martin; Redmond, Conor; Albert, Ágnes J; Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Yoann; Biella, Paolo; Götzenberger, Lars; Hrázský, Záboj; Janeček, Štěpán; Klimešová, Jitka; Lepš, Jan; Šebelíková, Lenka; Vlasatá, Tereza; de Bello, Francesco

    2016-04-01

    The functional structures of communities respond to environmental changes by both species replacement (turnover) and within-species variation (intraspecific trait variability; ITV). Evidence is lacking on the relative importance of these two components, particularly in response to both short- and long-term environmental disturbance. We hypothesized that such short- and long-term perturbations would induce changes in community functional structure primarily via ITV and turnover, respectively. To test this we applied an experimental design across long-term mown and abandoned meadows, with each plot containing a further level of short-term management treatments: mowing, grazing and abandonment. Within each plot, species composition and trait values [height, shoot biomass, and specific leaf area (SLA)] were recorded on up to five individuals per species. Positive covariations between the contribution of species turnover and ITV occurred for height and shoot biomass in response to both short- and long-term management, indicating that species turnover and intraspecific adjustments selected for similar trait values. Positive covariations also occurred for SLA, but only in response to long-term management. The contributions of turnover and ITV changed depending on both the trait and management trajectory. As expected, communities responded to short-term disturbances mostly through changes in intraspecific trait variability, particularly for height and biomass. Interestingly, for SLA they responded to long-term disturbances by both species turnover and intraspecific adjustments. These findings highlight the importance of both ITV and species turnover in adjusting grassland functional trait response to environmental perturbation, and show that the response is trait specific and affected by disturbance regime history.

  10. The Long and the Short of It

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-01-01

    Gamma-Ray bursts, the extreme explosions that mark the birth of black holes, come in two flavors, long bursts lasting a few seconds or more, and short bursts lasting for less than a second. The mechanisms giving rise to these two types of bursts were, for a long time, unknown to astronomers. But a series of breakthroughs starting with BeppoSAX, HETE, and Swift gave astronomers some clues and confidence about the nature of long and short bursts. Long bursts mark the collapse of a young, extremely massive star into a black hole; short bursts mark the formation of a black hole by a merger of neutron stars (or perhaps a neutron star with a black hole to form a larger black hole). But a new observation has clouded this clear dichotomy. The picture above is an X-ray image of a gamma-ray burst, GRB 060614, taken by Swift's X-ray Telescope. This burst lasted more than 100 seconds, clearly showing that it's a long burst. But follow-up observations of the burst did not show the tell-tale signatures of a supernova explosion which should be produced by the collapse of a large star. Furthermore this burst occurred in a galaxy which has very few extremely massive stars. Does this hybrid burst represent an entirely new mechanism behind these titanic explosions? The hunt is on.

  11. Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Very Low Birth Weight Infants with Admission Hypothermia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hung-Yang Chang

    Full Text Available Neonatal hypothermia remains a common problem and is related to elevated morbidities and mortality. However, the long-term neurodevelopmental effects of admission hypothermia are still unknown. This study attempted to determine the short-term and long-term consequences of admission hypothermia in VLBW preterm infants.This retrospective study measured the incidence and compared the outcomes of admission hypothermia in very low birth weight (VLBW preterm infants in a tertiary-level neonatal intensive care unit. Infants were divided into the following groups: normothermia (36.5-37.5°C, mild hypothermia (36.0-36.4°C, moderate hypothermia (32.0-35.9°C, and severe hypothermia (< 32°C. We compared the distribution, demographic variables, short-term outcomes, and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 24 months of corrected age among groups.We studied 341 infants: 79 with normothermia, 100 with mild hypothermia, 162 with moderate hypothermia, and 0 with severe hypothermia. Patients in the moderate hypothermia group had significantly lower gestational ages (28.1 wk vs. 29.7 wk, P < .02 and smaller birth weight (1004 g vs. 1187 g, P < .001 compared to patients in the normothermia group. Compared to normothermic infants, moderately hypothermic infants had significantly higher incidences of 1-min Apgar score < 7 (63.6% vs. 31.6%, P < .001, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS (58.0% vs. 39.2%, P = .006, and mortality (18.5% vs. 5.1%, P = .005. Moderate hypothermia did not affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years' corrected age. Mild hypothermia had no effect on short-term or long-term outcomes.Admission hypothermia was common in VLBW infants and correlated inversely with birth weight and gestational age. Although moderate hypothermia was associated with higher RDS and mortality rates, it may play a limited role among multifactorial causes of neurodevelopmental impairment.

  12. Investigation of short and long term trends in chemical composition of Eastern Mediterranean aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    A collaborative study was started with the Middle East Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department in 2004 in order to determine the transport of air pollutants and their deposition rates to Eastern Mediterranean with the ultimate aim of filling the gaps in knowledge on the current status of Eastern Mediterranean air quality profile. Collection sufficient amount of representative samples, analyzes of the collected samples with high accuracy and precision and interpretation of generated data are crucial efforts. To attain this goal, EDXRF spectrometer, which is a rapid, reliable and sensitive analytical instrument, located at our center was employed in analysis of the collected samples after calibration with 'NIST 2783 Air Particles on Filter'. The effectiveness of the control strategies taken on the emissions was discussed by investigating the short and long term variations in the chemical composition of samples collected between 1993 and 2001 at Antalya station. In this context, generated data set was studied for short (daily) term, seasonal and long term variations. It has been found that short term variations in the concentrations of pollutants in short time scale are highly episodic. The concentration of measured pollutants was changed 10-20 folds in the subsequent two days. The most important factors affecting the chemical composition of pollutants in short time interval are meteorological factors such as precipitation and variations observed at the emission strength of pollutants. The declined in Pb concentrations at the Antalya station was attributed to observed decrease in Pb emissions in Europe after the introduction of leaded gasoline. Highest summer averages were reported for anthropogenic pollutants in summer months. Aegean Sea (Izmir-Aliaga) studies of the project will be completed this year

  13. Influence of halogen irradiance on short- and long-term wear resistance of resin-based composite materials.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Bhamra, Gurcharn S

    2009-02-01

    The Oregon Health Science University (OHSU) four-chamber oral wear simulator was used to examine the impact of halogen irradiance on the short- and long-term wear behavior of four-methacrylate resin-based composites (RBCs). The hypothesis proposed was that exacerbated wear would occur following the long-term wear of RBCs irradiated under non-optimized irradiance conditions.

  14. Cheap oil benefits coal on the short term, not the long

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soras, C.G.; Stodden, J.R.

    1986-03-01

    This is a brief article describing the effects of the declining price of oil on the coal industry. The oil price explosion from 1973-1979 is described along with the present day situation. Oil consumption in the US and the general drop in production worldwide is represented. It is concluded that the coal industry will benefit in the short term from the present crisis but stands to make some losses in the long run.

  15. Differential Gene Expression Profiling of Enriched Human Spermatogonia after Short- and Long-Term Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabine Conrad

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to provide a molecular signature for enriched adult human stem/progenitor spermatogonia during short-term (<2 weeks and long-term culture (up to more than 14 months in comparison to human testicular fibroblasts and human embryonic stem cells. Human spermatogonia were isolated by CD49f magnetic activated cell sorting and collagen−/laminin+ matrix binding from primary testis cultures obtained from ten adult men. For transcriptomic analysis, single spermatogonia-like cells were collected based on their morphology and dimensions using a micromanipulation system from the enriched germ cell cultures. Immunocytochemical, RT-PCR and microarray analyses revealed that the analyzed populations of cells were distinct at the molecular level. The germ- and pluripotency-associated genes and genes of differentiation/spermatogenesis pathway were highly expressed in enriched short-term cultured spermatogonia. After long-term culture, a proportion of cells retained and aggravated the “spermatogonial” gene expression profile with the expression of germ and pluripotency-associated genes, while in the majority of long-term cultured cells this molecular profile, typical for the differentiation pathway, was reduced and more genes related to the extracellular matrix production and attachment were expressed. The approach we provide here to study the molecular status of in vitro cultured spermatogonia may be important to optimize the culture conditions and to evaluate the germ cell plasticity in the future.

  16. Examining the Contemporaneous, Short-Term, and Long-Term Effects of Secondary Exposure to Violence on Adolescent Substance Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Gregory M; Kushner, Mackenzie

    2017-09-01

    The relationship between secondary exposure to violence-defined as witnessing violence in the home, community, or school-and adolescent substance use is well-documented. Yet, multi-wave empirical studies examining this relationship are sparse. In addition, studies have only begun to examine whether this relationship varies by the situational components of the violent event. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), this study examines the contemporaneous, short-term, and long-term effects of secondary exposure to violence on substance use, and whether witnessing violence in which a weapon is present has a different impact on adolescent substance use than does witnessing violence without a weapon. Hierarchical logistic regression models on a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 1670 youth (51.5% female) residing in 79 neighborhoods indicated that: (1) the effects of secondary exposure to violence on alcohol and marijuana use were enduring, albeit attenuated, over time; (2) the effect of secondary exposure to violence on illicit drug use was suppressed in the short-term but significant in the long-term; (3) witnessing violence without a weapon was salient for alcohol and marijuana use at all time points; and (4) witnessing violence with a weapon impacted illicit drug use in the long-term. The results suggest that addressing the consequences of secondary exposure to violence requires prolonged intervention efforts and that the study of secondary exposure to violence requires a more nuanced approach that accounts for situational aspects of the violent event.

  17. Erythropoietin enhances hippocampal long-term potentiation and memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    El-Kordi Ahmed

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Erythropoietin (EPO improves cognition of human subjects in the clinical setting by as yet unknown mechanisms. We developed a mouse model of robust cognitive improvement by EPO to obtain the first clues of how EPO influences cognition, and how it may act on hippocampal neurons to modulate plasticity. Results We show here that a 3-week treatment of young mice with EPO enhances long-term potentiation (LTP, a cellular correlate of learning processes in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. This treatment concomitantly alters short-term synaptic plasticity and synaptic transmission, shifting the balance of excitatory and inhibitory activity. These effects are accompanied by an improvement of hippocampus dependent memory, persisting for 3 weeks after termination of EPO injections, and are independent of changes in hematocrit. Networks of EPO-treated primary hippocampal neurons develop lower overall spiking activity but enhanced bursting in discrete neuronal assemblies. At the level of developing single neurons, EPO treatment reduces the typical increase in excitatory synaptic transmission without changing the number of synaptic boutons, consistent with prolonged functional silencing of synapses. Conclusion We conclude that EPO improves hippocampus dependent memory by modulating plasticity, synaptic connectivity and activity of memory-related neuronal networks. These mechanisms of action of EPO have to be further exploited for treating neuropsychiatric diseases.

  18. Short-term Memory as a Processing Shift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis-Smith, Marion Quinn

    1975-01-01

    The series of experiments described here examined the predictions for free recall from sequential models and the shift formulation, focusing on the roles of short- and long-term memory in the primacy/recency shift and on the effects of expectancies on short- and long-term memory. (Author/RK)

  19. Supervised guiding long-short term memory for image caption generation based on object classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jian; Cao, Zhiguo; Xiao, Yang; Qi, Xinyuan

    2018-03-01

    The present models of image caption generation have the problems of image visual semantic information attenuation and errors in guidance information. In order to solve these problems, we propose a supervised guiding Long Short Term Memory model based on object classes, named S-gLSTM for short. It uses the object detection results from R-FCN as supervisory information with high confidence, and updates the guidance word set by judging whether the last output matches the supervisory information. S-gLSTM learns how to extract the current interested information from the image visual se-mantic information based on guidance word set. The interested information is fed into the S-gLSTM at each iteration as guidance information, to guide the caption generation. To acquire the text-related visual semantic information, the S-gLSTM fine-tunes the weights of the network through the back-propagation of the guiding loss. Complementing guidance information at each iteration solves the problem of visual semantic information attenuation in the traditional LSTM model. Besides, the supervised guidance information in our model can reduce the impact of the mismatched words on the caption generation. We test our model on MSCOCO2014 dataset, and obtain better performance than the state-of-the- art models.

  20. Hippocampal size is related to short-term true and false memory, and right fusiform size is related to long-term true and false memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Bi; Chen, Chuansheng; Loftus, Elizabeth F; He, Qinghua; Lei, Xuemei; Dong, Qi; Lin, Chongde

    2016-11-01

    There is a keen interest in identifying specific brain regions that are related to individual differences in true and false memories. Previous functional neuroimaging studies showed that activities in the hippocampus, right fusiform gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus were associated with true and false memories, but no study thus far has examined whether the structures of these brain regions are associated with short-term and long-term true and false memories. To address that question, the current study analyzed data from 205 healthy young adults, who had valid data from both structural brain imaging and a misinformation task. In the misinformation task, subjects saw the crime scenarios, received misinformation, and took memory tests about the crimes an hour later and again after 1.5 years. Results showed that bilateral hippocampal volume was associated with short-term true and false memories, whereas right fusiform gyrus volume and surface area were associated with long-term true and false memories. This study provides the first evidence for the structural neural bases of individual differences in short-term and long-term true and false memories.

  1. Wind Power Forecasting Based on Echo State Networks and Long Short-Term Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    López, Erick; Allende, Héctor; Gil, Esteban

    2018-01-01

    involved. In particular, two types of RNN, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Echo State Network (ESN), have shown good results in time series forecasting. In this work, we present an LSTM+ESN architecture that combines the characteristics of both networks. An architecture similar to an ESN is proposed...

  2. Prediction of Sea Surface Temperature Using Long Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qin; Wang, Hui; Dong, Junyu; Zhong, Guoqiang; Sun, Xin

    2017-10-01

    This letter adopts long short-term memory(LSTM) to predict sea surface temperature(SST), which is the first attempt, to our knowledge, to use recurrent neural network to solve the problem of SST prediction, and to make one week and one month daily prediction. We formulate the SST prediction problem as a time series regression problem. LSTM is a special kind of recurrent neural network, which introduces gate mechanism into vanilla RNN to prevent the vanished or exploding gradient problem. It has strong ability to model the temporal relationship of time series data and can handle the long-term dependency problem well. The proposed network architecture is composed of two kinds of layers: LSTM layer and full-connected dense layer. LSTM layer is utilized to model the time series relationship. Full-connected layer is utilized to map the output of LSTM layer to a final prediction. We explore the optimal setting of this architecture by experiments and report the accuracy of coastal seas of China to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. In addition, we also show its online updated characteristics.

  3. Modeling Long-Term Fluvial Incision : Shall we Care for the Details of Short-Term Fluvial Dynamics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lague, D.; Davy, P.

    2008-12-01

    Fluvial incision laws used in numerical models of coupled climate, erosion and tectonics systems are mainly based on the family of stream power laws for which the rate of local erosion E is a power function of the topographic slope S and the local mean discharge Q : E = K Qm Sn. The exponents m and n are generally taken as (0.35, 0.7) or (0.5, 1), and K is chosen such that the predicted topographic elevation given the prevailing rates of precipitation and tectonics stay within realistic values. The resulting topographies are reasonably realistic, and the coupled system dynamics behaves somehow as expected : more precipitation induces increased erosion and localization of the deformation. Yet, if we now focus on smaller scale fluvial dynamics (the reach scale), recent advances have suggested that discharge variability, channel width dynamics or sediment flux effects may play a significant role in controlling incision rates. These are not factored in the simple stream power law model. In this work, we study how these short- term details propagate into long-term incision dynamics within the framework of surface/tectonics coupled numerical models. To upscale the short term dynamics to geological timescales, we use a numerical model of a trapezoidal river in which vertical and lateral incision processes are computed from fluid shear stress at a daily timescale, sediment transport and protection effects are factored in, as well as a variable discharge. We show that the stream power law model might still be a valid model but that as soon as realistic effects are included such as a threshold for sediment transport, variable discharge and dynamic width the resulting exponents m and n can be as high as 2 and 4. This high non-linearity has a profound consequence on the sensitivity of fluvial relief to incision rate. We also show that additional complexity does not systematically translates into more non-linear behaviour. For instance, considering only a dynamical width

  4. Structuring spot, short and long term gas contracts; CD-ROM ed.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gretener, N.M.

    1996-05-01

    A review of the core clauses of the modern natural gas purchase and sales contracts, was presented. There exists a wide variety of terms which can be used by a seller and a buyer to customize such a contract to suit particular circumstances. On the basis of length of term, gas contracts may classified as spot contracts having a term of 30 days or less, short term contracts having a term of 30 days to one to two years, and long term contracts having terms greater than two years. The three key elements which are applicable to all gas sales contracts are the contract price, the seller`s obligation to deliver, and the buyer`s obligation to accept. Other provisions that may be included in any gas sales contract in addition to the basic three were reviewed, including market pricing, load factor incentive pricing, seasonal pricing, pipeline demand charges, market shares, and the seller`s right to decontract.

  5. The effect of extensive reading and paired-associate learning on long-term vocabulary retention: an event-related potential study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Eunjin; Choi, Sungmook; Kim, Junsoo

    2012-07-19

    We investigated the relative efficacy of extensive reading (ER) and paired-associate learning (PAL) in the ability of second language (L2) learners to retain new vocabulary words. To that end, we combined behavioral measures (i.e., vocabulary tests) and an event-related potential (ERP) investigation with a focus on the N400 ERP component to track short- and long-term vocabulary retention as a consequence of the two different approaches. Behavioral results indicated that both ER and PAL led to substantial short-term retention of the target words. In contrast, on a long-term basis, ER was more effective than PAL to a considerable degree as indicated by a large-size effect (d=1.35). Evidence from the N400 effects (d=1.70) observed in the parietal electrode group (P3, Pz, P4) provided further support for the superior effects of ER over PAL on long-term vocabulary retention. The converging evidence challenges the assumptions of some L2 researchers and makes a significant contribution to the literature of vocabulary acquisition, because it provides the first ERP evidence that ER is more conducive to long-term vocabulary retention than PAL. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Development and application of a short- /long-term composited drought index in the upper Huaihe River basin, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Yu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Accurate and reliable drought monitoring is of primary importance for drought mitigation and reduction of social-ecological vulnerability. The aim of the paper was to propose a short-term/long-term composited drought index (CDI which could be widely used for drought monitoring and early warning in China. In the study, the upper Huaihe River basin above the Xixian gauge station, which has been hit by severe droughts frequently in recent decades, was selected as the case study site. The short-term CDI was developed by the Principle Component Analysis of the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (sc-PDSI, the 1- and 3-month Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, Z Index (ZIND, the Soil Moisture Index (SMI with the long-term CDI being formulated by use of the self-calibrating Palmer Hydrology Drought Index (sc-PHDI, the 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month SPEI, the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI, the SMI. The sc-PDSI, the PHDI, the ZIND, the SPEI on a monthly time scale were calculated based on the monthly air temperature and precipitation, and the monthly SMI and SSI were computed based on the simulated soil moisture and runoff by the distributed Xinanjiang model. The thresholds of the short-term/long-term CDI were determined according to frequency statistics of different drought indices. Finally, the feasibility of the two CDIs was investigated against the scPDSI, the SPEI and the historical drought records. The results revealed that the short-term/long-term CDI could capture the onset, severity, persistence of drought events very well with the former being better at identifying the dynamic evolution of drought condition while the latter better at judging the changing trend of drought over a long time period.

  7. Free recall in Williams syndrome: is there a dissociation between short- and long-term memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, Jon; Brown, Gordon D A; Boucher, Jill

    2006-04-01

    Two experiments used the free recall paradigm to investigate verbal memory abilities in Williams syndrome (WS)--a rare genetic disorder. In an earlier free recall study, Vicari et al. (1996a) reported that, unlike TD controls, children with WS showed a recency effect but failed to show a primacy effect. These authors interpreted their findings as evidence for a dissociation between relatively strong verbal short-term memory and relatively impaired verbal long-term memory. In Experiment 1 of the current study, children with WS and TD controls showed comparable improvements in performance with repeated testing of the same material, indicating similar long-term learning of the test items. Neither group showed evidence of primacy effects. However, the extent of primacy effects in free recall is known to depend on the rehearsal strategy that participants adopt. In Experiment 2, therefore, participants were encouraged to engage in overt cumulative rehearsal. This manipulation resulted in significant and comparable primacy effects in both groups, although neither group demonstrated a significant change in overall performance. There was therefore no evidence from either experiment for a dissociation between short- and long-term verbal memory in WS.

  8. Characterization of short- and long-term mechanical sensitisation following surgical tail amputation in pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Giminiani, Pierpaolo; Edwards, Sandra A.; Malcolm, Emma M.

    2017-01-01

    -term (either eight or sixteen weeks post-surgery) phase of recovery. The influence of the degree of amputation on MNTs was also evaluated by comparing three different tail-resection treatments (intact, ‘short tail’, ‘long tail’). A significant reduction in MNTs one week following surgery suggests...... the occurrence of acute sensitisation. Long-term hypersensitivity was also observed in tail-resected pigs at either two or four months following surgery. Tail amputation in pigs appears to evoke acute and sustained changes in peripheral mechanical sensitivity, which resemble features of neuropathic pain reported...

  9. Statistical downscaling of precipitation using long short-term memory recurrent neural networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Saptarshi; Sarkar, Sudeshna; Mitra, Pabitra

    2017-11-01

    Hydrological impacts of global climate change on regional scale are generally assessed by downscaling large-scale climatic variables, simulated by General Circulation Models (GCMs), to regional, small-scale hydrometeorological variables like precipitation, temperature, etc. In this study, we propose a new statistical downscaling model based on Recurrent Neural Network with Long Short-Term Memory which captures the spatio-temporal dependencies in local rainfall. The previous studies have used several other methods such as linear regression, quantile regression, kernel regression, beta regression, and artificial neural networks. Deep neural networks and recurrent neural networks have been shown to be highly promising in modeling complex and highly non-linear relationships between input and output variables in different domains and hence we investigated their performance in the task of statistical downscaling. We have tested this model on two datasets—one on precipitation in Mahanadi basin in India and the second on precipitation in Campbell River basin in Canada. Our autoencoder coupled long short-term memory recurrent neural network model performs the best compared to other existing methods on both the datasets with respect to temporal cross-correlation, mean squared error, and capturing the extremes.

  10. A Critical Role for the Nucleus Reuniens in Long-Term, But Not Short-Term Associative Recognition Memory Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Gareth R I; Warburton, Elizabeth Clea

    2018-03-28

    Recognition memory for single items requires the perirhinal cortex (PRH), whereas recognition of an item and its associated location requires a functional interaction among the PRH, hippocampus (HPC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Although the precise mechanisms through which these interactions are effected are unknown, the nucleus reuniens (NRe) has bidirectional connections with each regions and thus may play a role in recognition memory. Here we investigated, in male rats, whether specific manipulations of NRe function affected performance of recognition memory for single items, object location, or object-in-place associations. Permanent lesions in the NRe significantly impaired long-term, but not short-term, object-in-place associative recognition memory, whereas single item recognition memory and object location memory were unaffected. Temporary inactivation of the NRe during distinct phases of the object-in-place task revealed its importance in both the encoding and retrieval stages of long-term associative recognition memory. Infusions of specific receptor antagonists showed that encoding was dependent on muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic neurotransmission, whereas NMDA receptor neurotransmission was not required. Finally, we found that long-term object-in-place memory required protein synthesis within the NRe. These data reveal a specific role for the NRe in long-term associative recognition memory through its interactions with the HPC and mPFC, but not the PRH. The delay-dependent involvement of the NRe suggests that it is not a simple relay station between brain regions, but, rather, during high mnemonic demand, facilitates interactions between the mPFC and HPC, a process that requires both cholinergic neurotransmission and protein synthesis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recognizing an object and its associated location, which is fundamental to our everyday memory, requires specific hippocampal-cortical interactions, potentially facilitated by the

  11. Thin-plate spline analysis of the short- and long-term effects of rapid maxillary expansion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franchi, Lorenzo; Baccetti, Tiziano; Cameron, Christopher G; Kutcipal, Elizabeth A; McNamara, James A

    2002-04-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term effects induced by rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on the shape of the maxillary and circummaxillary structures by means of thin-plate spline (TPS) analysis. The sample consisted of 42 patients who were compared with a control sample of 20 subjects. The treated subjects underwent Haas-type RME, followed by fixed appliance therapy. Postero-anterior (PA) cephalograms were analysed for each treated subject at T1 (pre-treatment), T2 (immediate post-expansion), and T3 (long-term observation), and were available at T1 and T3 for the control group (CG). The mean age at T1 was 11 years and 10 months for both groups. The mean chronological ages at T3 were 20 years, 6 months for the treated group (TG) and 17 years, 8 months for the control group. The study focused on shape changes in the maxillary, nasal, zygomatic, and orbital regions. TPS analysis revealed significant shape changes in the TG. They consisted of an upward and lateral displacement of the two halves of the naso-maxillary complex as a result of active expansion in the short-term, and normalization of maxillary shape in the transverse dimension in the long-term (the initial transverse deficiency of the maxilla in the treated group was eliminated by RME therapy both in the short- and long-term). At the end of the observation period, the nasal cavities were larger when compared with both their pre-expansion configuration and the final configuration in the controls. RME with the Haas appliance appears to be an efficient therapeutic means to induce permanent favourable changes in the shape of the naso-maxillary complex.

  12. Short-term influences and long-term fundamentals: stabilizing and destabilizing effects in the energy industries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robinson, Silvan [Royal Inst. of International Affairs, London (United Kingdom)

    1992-10-01

    The ideology of the market economy has become dominant in all walks of economic life and the energy industries are no exception. In the oil business, the stabilizing structures of the international majors and of long-term prices have been replaced by industrial fragmentation and market price mechanisms. Monopolies in other energy industries are being progressively dismantled. This live experiment is being conducted on an industry which historically has suffered from feast and famine economics and has tried to protect itself through various forms of cartelization. The short-term effects of this open market have so far tended to improve flexibility and consumer choice. The price instability has proved manageable. The danger is that cash flow compression will reduced investments in the future and an ability to make very long lead time shifts in the energy mix. For this some government intervention in markets is necessary. (author).

  13. Designing indicators of long-term energy supply security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jansen, J.C.; Van Arkel, W.G.; Boots, M.G.

    2004-01-01

    To our knowledge, so far amazingly little research work has been undertaken to construct meaningful indicators of long-run energy supply security for a particular nation or region. Currently, in addressing energy supply security, policy makers tend to emphasise short-term supply disruptions. In contrast, this pre-study accords with the broader Sustainability Outlook in considering the long-term perspective. This report starts with taking stock, in a concise way, of the official EU energy outlook and issues related to the opportunities to administer changes in the energy mix at the level of major energy use categories. Then a brief survey of relevant literature is made on long-term strategies to ensure survival of systems - be it biological, social, etc. - in an environment largely characterised by high uncertainty and a lot of unchartered territory. We found the work of Andrew Stirling very inspiring in this context. Based on his work and considering the limitations of the present research activity, we retained the Shannon index as the best 'simple' indicator of diversity. In the core of the report, the Shannon index is elaborated into four indicators of long-term energy supply security. Stepwise, additional aspects of long-term energy supply security are introduced. These aspects are: Diversification of energy sources in energy supply; Diversification of imports with respect to imported energy sources; Long-term political stability in regions of origin; The resource base in regions of origin, including the home region/country itself. After small adjustments to allow for data availability, these indicators were applied to the reference year 2030 of four long-term scenarios with data of base year 1995 and projections for underlying variables provided by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP). Preliminary interpretation of the results suggests the usefulness of the indicators presented in this report. A second activity undertaken in this report was

  14. Hippocampal Focal Knockout of CBP Affects Specific Histone Modifications, Long-Term Potentiation, and Long-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Ruth M; Malvaez, Melissa; Kramar, Eniko; Matheos, Dina P; Arrizon, Abraham; Cabrera, Sara M; Lynch, Gary; Greene, Robert W; Wood, Marcelo A

    2011-01-01

    To identify the role of the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) CREB-binding protein (CBP) in neurons of the CA1 region of the hippocampus during memory formation, we examine the effects of a focal homozygous knockout of CBP on histone modifications, gene expression, synaptic plasticity, and long-term memory. We show that CBP is critical for the in vivo acetylation of lysines on histones H2B, H3, and H4. CBP's homolog p300 was unable to compensate for the loss of CBP. Neurons lacking CBP maintained phosphorylation of the transcription factor CREB, yet failed to activate CREB:CBP-mediated gene expression. Loss of CBP in dorsal CA1 of the hippocampus resulted in selective impairments to long-term potentiation and long-term memory for contextual fear and object recognition. Together, these results suggest a necessary role for specific chromatin modifications, selectively mediated by CBP in the consolidation of memories. PMID:21508930

  15. Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes of a Vocational Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Acquired Brain Injury in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Dongen, Caroline H.; Goossens, Paulien H.; van Zee, Inge E.; Verpoort, Kirsten N.; Vliet Vlieland, Thea P. M.; van Velzen, Judith M.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To describe short-term and long-term work status after a vocational rehabilitation (VR) program in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) in the Netherlands. Methods Patients with ABI who participated in a VR program between 2007 and 2010 were included in this study. The 4-month VR

  16. Association of vascular access flow with short-term and long-term mortality in chronic haemodialysis patients: a retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chung-Kuan; Wu, Chia-Lin; Lin, Chia-Hsun; Leu, Jyh-Gang; Kor, Chew-Teng; Tarng, Der-Cherng

    2017-09-24

    To investigate the impact of vascular access flow (Qa) on vascular and all-cause mortality in chronic haemodialysis (HD) patients. Observational cohort study. Single centre. Adult chronic HD patients at the HD unit of Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003 were recruited. Patients were excluded if they had arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft failure within 3 months before the date of Qa measurement, were aged Short-term and long-term vascular (cardiovascular or cerebrovascular) and all-cause mortality. Qa was positively correlated with CI ( r =0.48, plong-term all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.62; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.37; p=0.013); however, the risk of vascular mortality did not significantly increase after adjustment for confounders. Qa is moderately correlated with cardiac function, and a Qa level of short-term and long-term all-cause mortality in chronic HD patients. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  17. Fluorescent multiple staining and CASA system to assess boar sperm viability and membranes integrity in short and long-term extenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange-Consiglio, A; Meucci, A; Cremonesi, F

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effect on boar spermatozoa quality of in vitro storage in short and long-term extenders by fluorescent multiple staining (FMS) and computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA). Fresh ejaculates from three healthy, sexually mature boars were diluted with equal volumes of six short-term or three long-term commercial extenders and stored at 19°C for 6 days (short-term) or 12 days (long-term). The integrity of spermatozoa membranes was analyzed by FMS using propidium iodide, 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3' tetraethylbenzimidazolyl-carbocyanine iodide (JC-1) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated peanut agglutinin (PNA). The results obtained from this staining were compared with spermatozoa motility assessed by CASA. Our study showed that the number of viable spermatozoa with non-reacted acrosomes and intact mitochondria was positively correlated with the rate of motile spermatozoa (r(2)>0.9) irrespective of the extender used. In all extenders the number of motile spermatozoa significantly decreased as preservation period increased (P<0.05). FMS test is a potent indicator of sperm motility because it analyses mitochondrial integrity independently from observable alterations in motility. The best performing extenders were BTS for short-term storage and TRI-x-Cell for long-term storage.

  18. Labeling of hepatic glycogen after short- and long-term stimulation of glycogen synthesis in rats injected with 3H-galactose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michaels, J.E.; Garfield, S.A.; Hung, J.T.; Cardell, R.R. Jr.

    1990-01-01

    The effects of short- and long-term stimulation of glycogen synthesis elicited by dexamethasone were studied by light (LM) and electron (EM) microscopic radioautography (RAG) and biochemical analysis. Adrenalectomized rats were fasted overnight and pretreated for short- (3 hr) or long-term (14 hr) periods with dexamethasone prior to intravenous injection of tracer doses of 3H-galactose. Analysis of LM-RAGs from short-term rats revealed that about equal percentages (44%) of hepatocytes became heavily or lightly labeled 1 hr after labeling. The percentage of heavily labeled cells increased slightly 6 hr after labeling, and unlabeled glycogen became apparent in some hepatocytes. The percentage of heavily labeled cells had decreased somewhat 12 hr after labeling, and more unlabeled glycogen was evident. In the long-term rats 1 hr after labeling, a higher percentage of heavily labeled cells (76%) was observed compared to short-term rats, and most glycogen was labeled. In spite of the high amount of labeling seen initially, the percentage of heavily labeled hepatocytes had decreased considerably to 55% by 12 hr after injection; and sparsely labeled and unlabeled glycogen was prevalent. The EM-RAGs of both short- and long-term rats were similar. Silver grains were associated with glycogen patches 1 hr after labeling; 12 hr after labeling, the glycogen patches had enlarged; and label, where present, was dispersed over the enlarged glycogen clumps. Analysis of DPM/mg tissue corroborated the observed decrease in label 12 hr after administration in the long-term animals. The loss of label observed 12 hr after injection in the long-term pretreated rats suggests that turnover of glycogen occurred during this interval despite the net accumulation of glycogen that was visible morphologically and evident from biochemical measurement

  19. When satisfied customers do not return : Variety seeking’s effect on short-and long-term intentions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sánchez-García, I.; Pieters, R.; Zeelenberg, M.; Bigné, E.

    2012-01-01

    Even satisfied consumers frequently do not come back, which challenges loyalty theory and marketing practice. It is reasoned that variety-seeking tendencies will significantly affect short-term revisit intentions, whereas satisfaction and regret will mostly determine long-term revisit intentions.

  20. Anomaly Detection for Temporal Data using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)

    OpenAIRE

    Singh, Akash

    2017-01-01

    We explore the use of Long short-term memory (LSTM) for anomaly detection in temporal data. Due to the challenges in obtaining labeled anomaly datasets, an unsupervised approach is employed. We train recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with LSTM units to learn the normal time series patterns and predict future values. The resulting prediction errors are modeled to give anomaly scores. We investigate different ways of maintaining LSTM state, and the effect of using a fixed number of time steps on...

  1. Inhibition of protein kinase A activity interferes with long-term, but not short-term, memory of conditioned taste aversions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koh, Ming Teng; Thiele, Todd E; Bernstein, Ilene L

    2002-12-01

    The present experiments examined whether inhibition of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) activity interferes with conditioned taste aversion (CTA) memories. Rats were centrally infused with the selective PKA inhibitor Rp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphothioate triethylamine (Rp-cAMPS) before conditioning. Direct infusions of Rp-cAMPS into the amygdala showed no interference with short-term memory but did show significant attenuation of long-term memory and more rapid extinction. Results suggest that PKA activity is involved in the consolidation of long-term memory of CTAs, and that the amygdala may be 1 site that is important for this activity.

  2. Synaptic long-term potentiation realized in Pavlov's dog model based on a NiOx-based memristor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, S. G.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Z.; Chen, T. P.; Yu, Q.; Deng, L. J.; Yin, Y.; Hosaka, Sumio

    2014-12-01

    Synaptic Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), which is a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between neurons, is widely considered as the major cellular mechanism during learning and memorization. In this work, a NiOx-based memristor is found to be able to emulate the synaptic LTP. Electrical conductance of the memristor is increased by electrical pulse stimulation and then spontaneously decays towards its initial state, which resembles the synaptic LTP. The lasting time of the LTP in the memristor can be estimated with the relaxation equation, which well describes the conductance decay behavior. The LTP effect of the memristor has a dependence on the stimulation parameters, including pulse height, width, interval, and number of pulses. An artificial network consisting of three neurons and two synapses is constructed to demonstrate the associative learning and LTP behavior in extinction of association in Pavlov's dog experiment.

  3. The importance of short-term off-target effects in estimating the long-term renal and cardiovascular protection of angiotensin receptor blockers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smink, P A; Miao, Y; Eijkemans, M J C

    2014-01-01

    Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have multiple effects that may contribute to their efficacy on renal/cardiovascular outcomes. We developed and validated a risk score that incorporated short-term changes in multiple risk markers to predict the ARB effect on renal/cardiovascular outcomes.......98), in addition to being markedly more accurate than predicted RRRs based on changes in single markers. The score was validated in an independent ARB trial. Predictions of long-term renal/cardiovascular ARB effects are more accurate when considering short-term changes in multiple risk markers, challenging the use...

  4. Coordination of short-term and long-term mitigation measures of hydro-meteorological risks: the importance of establishing a link between emergency management and spatial planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prenger-Berninghoff, Kathrin; Cortes, V. Juliette; Aye, Zar Chi; Sprague, Teresa

    2013-04-01

    The management of natural hazards involves, as generally known, the four stages of the risk management cycle: Prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Accordingly, the mitigation of disasters can be performed in terms of short-term and long-term purposes. Whereas emergency management or civil protection helps to strengthen a community's capacity to be better prepared for natural hazards and to better respond in case a disaster strikes, thus addressing the short-term perspective, spatial planning serves long-term planning goals and can therefore implement long-term prevention measures. A purposefully applied risk mitigation strategy requires coordination of short-term and long-term mitigation measures and thus an effective coordination of emergency management and spatial planning. Several actors are involved in risk management and should consequently be linked throughout the whole risk management cycle. However, these actors, partly because of a historically fragmented administrative system, are hardly connected to each other, with spatial planning only having a negligible role compared to other actors1, a problem to which Young (2002) referred to as the "problem of interplay". In contrast, information transfer and decision-taking happen at the same time and are not coordinated among different actors. This applies to the prevention and preparedness phase as well as to the recovery phase, which basically constitutes the prevention phase for the next disaster2. Since investments in both risk prevention and emergency preparedness and response are considered necessary, a better coordination of the two approaches is required. In this regard, Decision Support Systems (DSS) can be useful in order to provide support in the decision-making aspect of risk management. The research work currently undertaken examines the problem of interplay in the four case study areas of the Marie Curie ITN, CHANGES3. The link between different risk management actors will be explored

  5. Tc1 mouse model of trisomy-21 dissociates properties of short- and long-term recognition memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Jessica H; Wiseman, Frances K; Fisher, Elizabeth M C; Tybulewicz, Victor L J; Harwood, John L; Good, Mark A

    2016-04-01

    The present study examined memory function in Tc1 mice, a transchromosomic model of Down syndrome (DS). Tc1 mice demonstrated an unusual delay-dependent deficit in recognition memory. More specifically, Tc1 mice showed intact immediate (30sec), impaired short-term (10-min) and intact long-term (24-h) memory for objects. A similar pattern was observed for olfactory stimuli, confirming the generality of the pattern across sensory modalities. The specificity of the behavioural deficits in Tc1 mice was confirmed using APP overexpressing mice that showed the opposite pattern of object memory deficits. In contrast to object memory, Tc1 mice showed no deficit in either immediate or long-term memory for object-in-place information. Similarly, Tc1 mice showed no deficit in short-term memory for object-location information. The latter result indicates that Tc1 mice were able to detect and react to spatial novelty at the same delay interval that was sensitive to an object novelty recognition impairment. These results demonstrate (1) that novelty detection per se and (2) the encoding of visuo-spatial information was not disrupted in adult Tc1 mice. The authors conclude that the task specific nature of the short-term recognition memory deficit suggests that the trisomy of genes on human chromosome 21 in Tc1 mice impacts on (perirhinal) cortical systems supporting short-term object and olfactory recognition memory. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Evaluation of short- and long-term fission product sources at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchida, Shunsuke; Naitoh, Masanori; Suzuki, Hiroaki; Okada, Hidetoshi; Pellegrini, Marco; Achilli, Andrea; Hanamoto, Yukio; Sasaki, Hiroaki

    2014-01-01

    Research on fission product (FP) behaviors used to be one of the most important subjects in water chemistry but it is not done nowadays as a consequence of the increased integrity of nuclear fuels and the minimization of FP release into the environment. Evaluation of FP release into the environment is still one of the key issues for severe accident analysis, though. Although there have been a long quiet period in nuclear safety research, how to detect initiation of severe accidents, how to prevent them and how to mitigate them are still important subjects for nuclear engineering, and how to control the severe accidents after their occurrence, especially how to control FP release into the environment, has seldom been discussed in the water chemistry group recently. The paper is intended to address the issue of fewer activities for FP studies. FP sources are divided into two categories, short- and long-term FP sources. Short-term FP source can be evaluated based on the measured data obtained from monitoring posts (MPs), which give us clear evidence on the importance of radioactive iodine and cesium releases into the environment. It used to be considered that during primary containment vessel (PCV) venting, release of each element, e.g., iodine and cesium, was determined by the suppression pool scrubbing efficiency and most of the cesium would likely be removed in the pool due to its large scrubbing efficiency. But as a result of analyzing the MP data at early stage of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, it was confirmed that the releases of both elements were in proportion to their inventories in the reactors and their scrubbing efficiencies were almost the same. The scrubbing efficiency which increased with the pool water temperature became almost the same for iodine and cesium around the pool water boiling temperature. As a result of the mass balance analysis for FPs in the contaminated water accumulated in the Fukushima Daiichi plant site, it

  7. Changes in heart rate variability are associated with expression of short-term and long-term contextual and cued fear memories.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Liu

    Full Text Available Heart physiology is a highly useful indicator for measuring not only physical states, but also emotional changes in animals. Yet changes of heart rate variability during fear conditioning have not been systematically studied in mice. Here, we investigated changes in heart rate and heart rate variability in both short-term and long-term contextual and cued fear conditioning. We found that while fear conditioning could increase heart rate, the most significant change was the reduction in heart rate variability which could be further divided into two distinct stages: a highly rhythmic phase (stage-I and a more variable phase (stage-II. We showed that the time duration of the stage-I rhythmic phase were sensitive enough to reflect the transition from short-term to long-term fear memories. Moreover, it could also detect fear extinction effect during the repeated tone recall. These results suggest that heart rate variability is a valuable physiological indicator for sensitively measuring the consolidation and expression of fear memories in mice.

  8. Short- and long-term evolutionary dynamics of bacterial insertion sequences: insights from Wolbachia endosymbionts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerveau, Nicolas; Leclercq, Sébastien; Leroy, Elodie; Bouchon, Didier; Cordaux, Richard

    2011-01-01

    Transposable elements (TE) are one of the major driving forces of genome evolution, raising the question of the long-term dynamics underlying their evolutionary success. Long-term TE evolution can readily be reconstructed in eukaryotes, thanks to many degraded copies constituting genomic fossil records of past TE proliferations. By contrast, bacterial genomes usually experience high sequence turnover and short TE retention times, thereby obscuring ancient TE evolutionary patterns. We found that Wolbachia bacterial genomes contain 52-171 insertion sequence (IS) TEs. IS account for 11% of Wolbachia wRi, which is one of the highest IS genomic coverage reported in prokaryotes to date. We show that many IS groups are currently expanding in various Wolbachia genomes and that IS horizontal transfers are frequent among strains, which can explain the apparent synchronicity of these IS proliferations. Remarkably, >70% of Wolbachia IS are nonfunctional. They constitute an unusual bacterial IS genomic fossil record providing direct empirical evidence for a long-term IS evolutionary dynamics following successive periods of intense transpositional activity. Our results show that comprehensive IS annotations have the potential to provide new insights into prokaryote TE evolution and, more generally, prokaryote genome evolution. Indeed, the identification of an important IS genomic fossil record in Wolbachia demonstrates that IS elements are not always of recent origin, contrary to the conventional view of TE evolution in prokaryote genomes. Our results also raise the question whether the abundance of IS fossils is specific to Wolbachia or it may be a general, albeit overlooked, feature of prokaryote genomes.

  9. Modeling long-term dynamics of electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olsina, Fernando; Garces, Francisco; Haubrich, H.-J.

    2006-01-01

    In the last decade, many countries have restructured their electricity industries by introducing competition in their power generation sectors. Although some restructuring has been regarded as successful, the short experience accumulated with liberalized power markets does not allow making any founded assertion about their long-term behavior. Long-term prices and long-term supply reliability are now center of interest. This concerns firms considering investments in generation capacity and regulatory authorities interested in assuring the long-term supply adequacy and the stability of power markets. In order to gain significant insight into the long-term behavior of liberalized power markets, in this paper, a simulation model based on system dynamics is proposed and the underlying mathematical formulations extensively discussed. Unlike classical market models based on the assumption that market outcomes replicate the results of a centrally made optimization, the approach presented here focuses on replicating the system structure of power markets and the logic of relationships among system components in order to derive its dynamical response. The simulations suggest that there might be serious problems to adjust early enough the generation capacity necessary to maintain stable reserve margins, and consequently, stable long-term price levels. Because of feedback loops embedded in the structure of power markets and the existence of some time lags, the long-term market development might exhibit a quite volatile behavior. By varying some exogenous inputs, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to assess the influence of these factors on the long-run market dynamics

  10. Fluorescent multiple staining and CASA system to assess boar sperm viability and membranes integrity in short and long-term extenders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Cremonesi

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the effect on boar spermatozoa quality of in vitro storage in short and long-term extenders by fluorescent multiple staining (FMS and computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA. Fresh ejaculates from three healthy, sexually mature boars were diluted with equal volumes of six short-term or three long-term commercial extenders and stored at 19°C for 6 days (short-term or 12 days (long-term. The integrity of spermatozoa membranes was analyzed by FMS using propidium iodide, 5,5’,6,6’-tetrachloro-1,1’,3,3’ tetraethylbenzimidazolyl-carbocyanine iodide (JC-1 and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated peanut agglutinin (PNA. The results obtained from this staining were compared with spermatozoa motility assessed by CASA. Our study showed that the number of viable spermatozoa with non-reacted acrosomes and intact mitochondria was positively correlated with the rate of motile spermatozoa (r2>0.9 irrespective of the extender used. In all extenders the number of motile spermatozoa significantly decreased as preservation period increased (P<0.05. FMS test is a potent indicator of sperm motility because it analyses mitochondrial integrity independently from observable alterations in motility. The best performing extenders were BTS for short-term storage and TRI-x-Cell for long-term storage.

  11. Growth hormone therapy for children born small for gestational age: height gain is less dose dependent over the long term than over the short term.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Zegher, Francis; Hokken-Koelega, Anita

    2005-04-01

    Approximately 3% of children are born small for gestational age (SGA), and approximately 10% of SGA children maintain a small body size throughout childhood and often into adult life. Among short SGA children, growth hormone (GH) therapy increases short-term growth in a dose-dependent manner; experience with long-term therapy is limited. To delineate the dose dependency of long-term height gain among short SGA children receiving GH therapy. We performed an epianalysis of the first adult height data for SGA children (n = 28) enrolled in 3 randomized trials comparing the growth-promoting efficacy of 2 continuous GH regimens (33 or 67 microg/kg per day for approximately 10 years, starting at approximately 5 years of age); in addition, we performed a meta-analysis of the adult height results published previously and those presented here. Epianalysis outcomes (n = 28) suggested that adult height increased more with a higher-dose regimen than with a lower-dose regimen. In the meta-analysis (n = 82), the higher-dose regimen was found to elicit a long-term height gain superior to that achieved with the lower-dose regimen by a mean of 0.4 SD (approximately 1 inch). Children who were shorter at the start of therapy experienced more long-term height gain. These findings confirm GH therapy as an effective and safe approach to reduce the adult height deficit that short SGA children otherwise face. In addition, the first meta-analysis indicated that height gain is less dose dependent over the long term than over the short term, at least within the dose range explored to date. For SGA children whose stature is not extremely short, current data support the use of a GH dose of approximately 33 microg/kg per day from start to adult height, particularly if treatment starts at a young age; shorter children (for example, height below -3 SD) might benefit from an approach in which short-term catch-up growth is achieved with a higher dose (> or =50 microg/kg per day) and long-term growth

  12. Short- and long-term impact of critical illness on relatives: literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Fiona; Rattray, Janice

    2008-05-01

    This paper is a report of a literature review undertaken to identify the short- and long-term impact of critical illness on relatives. Patients in intensive care can experience physical and psychological consequences, and their relatives may also experience such effects. Although it is recognized that relatives have specific needs, it is not clear whether these needs are always met and whether further support is required, particularly after intensive care. The following databases were searched for the period 1950-2007: Medline, British Nursing Index and Archive, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and EMB Reviews--Cochrane Central Register of Clinical Trials. Search terms focused on adult relatives of critically ill adult patients during and after intensive care. Recurrent topics were categorized to structure the review, i.e. 'relatives needs', 'meeting relatives' needs', 'interventions', 'satisfaction', 'psychological outcomes' and 'coping'. Studies have mainly identified relatives' immediate needs using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. There are few studies of interventions to meet relatives' needs and the short- and long-term effects of critical illness on relatives. Despite widespread use of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory, factors such as local or cultural differences may influence relatives' needs. Relatives may also have unidentified needs, and these needs should be explored. Limited research has been carried out into interventions to meet relatives' needs and the effects of critical illness on their well-being, yet some relatives may experience negative psychological consequences far beyond the acute phase of the illness.

  13. Short-Term and Long-Term Forecasting for the 3D Point Position Changing by Using Artificial Neural Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleni-Georgia Alevizakou

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Forecasting is one of the most growing areas in most sciences attracting the attention of many researchers for more extensive study. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop an integrated forecasting methodology based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN, which is a modern and attractive intelligent technique. The final result is to provide short-term and long-term forecasts for point position changing, i.e., the displacement or deformation of the surface they belong to. The motivation was the combination of two thoughts, the insertion of the forecasting concept in Geodesy as in the most scientific disciplines (e.g., Economics, Medicine and the desire to know the future position of any point on a construction or on the earth’s crustal. This methodology was designed to be accurate, stable and general for different kind of geodetic data. The basic procedure consists of the definition of the forecasting problem, the preliminary data analysis (data pre-processing, the definition of the most suitable ANN, its evaluation using the proper criteria and finally the production of forecasts. The methodology gives particular emphasis on the stages of the pre-processing and the evaluation. Additionally, the importance of the prediction intervals (PI is emphasized. A case study, which includes geodetic data from the year 2003 to the year 2016—namely X, Y, Z coordinates—is implemented. The data were acquired by 1000 permanent Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS stations. During this case study, 2016 ANNs—with different hyper-parameters—are trained and tested for short-term forecasting and 2016 for long-term forecasting, for each of the GNSS stations. In addition, other conventional statistical forecasting methods are used for the same purpose using the same data set. Finally the most appropriate Non-linear Autoregressive Recurrent network (NAR or Non-linear Autoregressive with eXogenous inputs (NARX for the forecasting of 3D point

  14. Physical exercise prevents short and long-term deficits on aversive and recognition memory and attenuates brain oxidative damage induced by maternal deprivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neves, Ben-Hur; Menezes, Jefferson; Souza, Mauren Assis; Mello-Carpes, Pâmela B

    2015-12-01

    It is known from previous research that physical exercise prevents long-term memory deficits induced by maternal deprivation in rats. But we could not assume similar effects of physical exercise on short-term memory, as short- and long-term memories are known to result from some different memory consolidation processes. Here we demonstrated that, in addition to long-term memory deficit, the short-term memory deficit resultant from maternal deprivation in object recognition and aversive memory tasks is also prevented by physical exercise. Additionally, one of the mechanisms by which the physical exercise influences the memory processes involves its effects attenuating the oxidative damage in the maternal deprived rats' hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

  15. Cdk7 Is Required for Activity-Dependent Neuronal Gene Expression, Long-Lasting Synaptic Plasticity and Long-Term Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiqin He

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In the brain, de novo gene expression driven by learning-associated neuronal activities is critical for the formation of long-term memories. However, the signaling machinery mediating neuronal activity-induced gene expression, especially the rapid transcription of immediate-early genes (IEGs remains unclear. Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks are a family of serine/threonine kinases that have been firmly established as key regulators of transcription processes underling coordinated cell cycle entry and sequential progression in nearly all types of proliferative cells. Cdk7 is a subunit of transcriptional initiation factor II-H (TFIIH and the only known Cdk-activating kinase (CAK in metazoans. Recent studies using a novel Cdk7 specific covalent inhibitor, THZ1, revealed important roles of Cdk7 in transcription regulation in cancer cells. However, whether Cdk7 plays a role in the regulation of transcription in neurons remains unknown. In this study, we present evidence demonstrating that, in post-mitotic neurons, Cdk7 activity is positively correlated with neuronal activities in cultured primary neurons, acute hippocampal slices and in the brain. Cdk7 inhibition by THZ1 significantly suppressed mRNA levels of IEGs, selectively impaired long-lasting synaptic plasticity induced by 4 trains of high frequency stimulation (HFS and prevented the formation of long-term memories.

  16. Long-Lasting Sound-Evoked Afterdischarge in the Auditory Midbrain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ono, Munenori; Bishop, Deborah C; Oliver, Douglas L

    2016-02-12

    Different forms of plasticity are known to play a critical role in the processing of information about sound. Here, we report a novel neural plastic response in the inferior colliculus, an auditory center in the midbrain of the auditory pathway. A vigorous, long-lasting sound-evoked afterdischarge (LSA) is seen in a subpopulation of both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus of normal hearing mice. These neurons were identified with single unit recordings and optogenetics in vivo. The LSA can continue for up to several minutes after the offset of the sound. LSA is induced by long-lasting, or repetitive short-duration, innocuous sounds. Neurons with LSA showed less adaptation than the neurons without LSA. The mechanisms that cause this neural behavior are unknown but may be a function of intrinsic mechanisms or the microcircuitry of the inferior colliculus. Since LSA produces long-lasting firing in the absence of sound, it may be relevant to temporary or chronic tinnitus or to some other aftereffect of long-duration sound.

  17. Long-term effects of short-term retinal bleb detachments in rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivert, Lena; Kjeldbye, Hild; Gouras, Peter

    2002-03-01

    To examine the effects of saline-induced bleb detachments in rabbit retina. Retinal bleb detachments were produced by the injection of 50 microl of balanced salt solution (BSS) into the subretinal space of one eye of each of six rabbits using a glass pipette with a flat tip, 50 microm in diameter. The retina was examined by biomicroscopy, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO), auto-fluorescence and simultaneous fluorescein and indocyanine green (ICG) angiography. Histological examination was carried out at 1, 2, 3 and 4 months after surgery. All rabbits showed leakage of fluorescein for at least a day after detachment, but within 1 month the leakage ceased. ICG staining developed gradually at the level of the RPE or Bruch's membrane near sites of previous staining. Lipofuscin fluorescence also developed gradually around areas of staining. Histology revealed the source of the excessive lipofuscin to be in the RPE layer, especially in cells migrating away from Bruch's membrane. Short-term bleb detachments cause a transient breakdown in the blood-retinal barrier, long-term ICG staining at or deep to the RPE layer, hyperlipofuscinosis and migration of the RPE. The abnormal lipofuscin accumulation is apparent on fluorescence ophthalmoscopy and can be confused with markers such as green fluorescent protein.

  18. Short-term memory of motor network performance via activity-dependent potentiation of Na+/K+ pump function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong-Yan; Sillar, Keith T

    2012-03-20

    Brain networks memorize previous performance to adjust their output in light of past experience. These activity-dependent modifications generally result from changes in synaptic strengths or ionic conductances, and ion pumps have only rarely been demonstrated to play a dynamic role. Locomotor behavior is produced by central pattern generator (CPG) networks and modified by sensory and descending signals to allow for changes in movement frequency, intensity, and duration, but whether or how the CPG networks recall recent activity is largely unknown. In Xenopus frog tadpoles, swim bout duration correlates linearly with interswim interval, suggesting that the locomotor network retains a short-term memory of previous output. We discovered an ultraslow, minute-long afterhyperpolarization (usAHP) in network neurons following locomotor episodes. The usAHP is mediated by an activity- and sodium spike-dependent enhancement of electrogenic Na(+)/K(+) pump function. By integrating spike frequency over time and linking the membrane potential of spinal neurons to network performance, the usAHP plays a dynamic role in short-term motor memory. Because Na(+)/K(+) pumps are ubiquitously expressed in neurons of all animals and because sodium spikes inevitably accompany network activity, the usAHP may represent a phylogenetically conserved but largely overlooked mechanism for short-term memory of neural network function. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Short- and long-term effects of nutrient enrichment on microbial exoenzyme activity in mangrove peat

    KAUST Repository

    Keuskamp, Joost A.; Feller, Ilka C.; Laanbroek, Hendrikus J.; Verhoeven, Jos T.A.; Hefting, Mariet M.

    2015-01-01

    -limited mangroves. To examine this, we quantified the short- and long-term effects of N and P enrichment on microbial biomass and decomposition-related enzyme activities in a Rhizophora mangle-dominated mangrove, which had been subjected to fertilisation treatments

  20. A portable chemotaxis platform for short and long term analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenjie Xu

    Full Text Available Flow-based microfluidic systems have been widely utilized for cell migration studies given their ability to generate versatile and precisely defined chemical gradients and to permit direct visualization of migrating cells. Nonetheless, the general need for bulky peripherals such as mechanical pumps and tubing and the complicated setup procedures significantly limit the widespread use of these microfluidic systems for cell migration studies. Here we present a simple method to power microfluidic devices for chemotaxis assays using the commercially available ALZET® osmotic pumps. Specifically, we developed a standalone chemotaxis platform that has the same footprint as a multiwell plate and can generate well-defined, stable chemical gradients continuously for up to 7 days. Using this platform, we validated the short-term (24 hours and long-term (72 hours concentration dependent PDGF-BB chemotaxis response of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells.

  1. Low-frequency stimulation cancels the high-frequency-induced long-lasting effects in the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, S; Pettorossi, V E; Zampolini, M

    1996-05-15

    In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the effects of low-frequency stimulation (LFS) of the primary vestibular afferents on the amplitude of the field potentials evoked in the medial vestibular nuclei (MVN). LFS induced long-term effects, the sign of which depended on whether the vestibular neurons were previously conditioned by HFS. In unconditioned slices, LFS evoked modifications of the responses that were similar to those observed after HFS but had a smaller extension. In fact, LFS caused long-lasting potentiation of the N1 wave in the MVN ventral portion (Vp) and long-lasting depression of the N2 wave in the MVN dorsal portion (Dp), whereas it provoked small and variable effects on the N1 wave. By contrast, when the synaptic transmission was already conditioned, LFS influenced the synaptic responses oppositely, reducing or annulling the HFS long-term effects. This phenomenon was specifically induced by LFS, because HFS was not able to cause it. The involvement of NMDA receptors in mediating the LFS long-term effects was supported by the fact that AP-5 prevented their induction. In addition, the annulment of HFS long-term effects by LFS was also demonstrated by the shift in the latency of the evoked unitary potentials after LFS. In conclusion, we suggest that the reduction of the previously induced conditioning could represent a cancellation mechanism, useful to quickly adapt the vestibular system to continuous different needs and to avoid saturation.

  2. Folk music style modelling by recurrent neural networks with long short term memory units

    OpenAIRE

    Sturm, Bob; Santos, João Felipe; Korshunova, Iryna

    2015-01-01

    We demonstrate two generative models created by training a recurrent neural network (RNN) with three hidden layers of long short-term memory (LSTM) units. This extends past work in numerous directions, including training deeper models with nearly 24,000 high-level transcriptions of folk tunes. We discuss our on-going work.

  3. [Short-term and long-term fetal heart rate variability after amnioinfusion treatment of oligohydramnios complicated pregnancy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machalski, T; Sikora, J; Bakon, I; Magnucki, J; Grzesiak-Kubica, E; Szkodny, E

    2001-12-01

    Results of computerised analysis of cardiotocograms obtained in the group of 21 pregnancies complicated by idiopathic oligohydramnios are presented in the study. Amnioinfusion procedures were administered serially in local anesthesia with ultrasound and colour Doppler control on the base of oligohydramnios criteria by Phelan. The analysis was based on KOMPOR software created by ITAM Zabrze based on PC computer connected to Hewlett-Packard Series 50A cardiotocograph. Significant short-term variability increase just after amnioinfusion procedure from 5.55 ms to 8.24 ms and after 24 hours up to 7.25 ms was found, while significant long-term variability values changes were not observed.

  4. Chronic methamphetamine exposure produces a delayed, long-lasting memory deficit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    North, Ashley; Swant, Jarod; Salvatore, Michael F; Gamble-George, Joyonna; Prins, Petra; Butler, Brittany; Mittal, Mukul K; Heltsley, Rebecca; Clark, John T; Khoshbouei, Habibeh

    2013-05-01

    Methamphetamine (METH) is a highly addictive and neurotoxic psychostimulant. Its use in humans is often associated with neurocognitive impairment. Whether this is due to long-term deficits in short-term memory and/or hippocampal plasticity remains unclear. Recently, we reported that METH increases baseline synaptic transmission and reduces LTP in an ex vivo preparation of the hippocampal CA1 region from young mice. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that a repeated neurotoxic regimen of METH exposure in adolescent mice decreases hippocampal synaptic plasticity and produces a deficit in short-term memory. Contrary to our prediction, there was no change in the hippocampal plasticity or short-term memory when measured after 14 days of METH exposure. However, we found that at 7, 14, and 21 days of drug abstinence, METH-exposed mice exhibited a deficit in spatial memory, which was accompanied by a decrease in hippocampal plasticity. Our results support the interpretation that the deleterious cognitive consequences of neurotoxic levels of METH exposure may manifest and persist after drug abstinence. Therefore, therapeutic strategies should consider short-term as well as long-term consequences of methamphetamine exposure. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. An Opportunistic Routing Mechanism Combined with Long-Term and Short-Term Metrics for WMN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weifeng Sun

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available WMN (wireless mesh network is a useful wireless multihop network with tremendous research value. The routing strategy decides the performance of network and the quality of transmission. A good routing algorithm will use the whole bandwidth of network and assure the quality of service of traffic. Since the routing metric ETX (expected transmission count does not assure good quality of wireless links, to improve the routing performance, an opportunistic routing mechanism combined with long-term and short-term metrics for WMN based on OLSR (optimized link state routing and ETX is proposed in this paper. This mechanism always chooses the highest throughput links to improve the performance of routing over WMN and then reduces the energy consumption of mesh routers. The simulations and analyses show that the opportunistic routing mechanism is better than the mechanism with the metric of ETX.

  6. An opportunistic routing mechanism combined with long-term and short-term metrics for WMN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Weifeng; Wang, Haotian; Piao, Xianglan; Qiu, Tie

    2014-01-01

    WMN (wireless mesh network) is a useful wireless multihop network with tremendous research value. The routing strategy decides the performance of network and the quality of transmission. A good routing algorithm will use the whole bandwidth of network and assure the quality of service of traffic. Since the routing metric ETX (expected transmission count) does not assure good quality of wireless links, to improve the routing performance, an opportunistic routing mechanism combined with long-term and short-term metrics for WMN based on OLSR (optimized link state routing) and ETX is proposed in this paper. This mechanism always chooses the highest throughput links to improve the performance of routing over WMN and then reduces the energy consumption of mesh routers. The simulations and analyses show that the opportunistic routing mechanism is better than the mechanism with the metric of ETX.

  7. Short-term antibiotic treatment has differing long-term impacts on the human throat and gut microbiome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jakobsson, H.; Jernberg, C.; Andersson, A.F.; Sjolund-Karlsson, M.; Jansson, J.K.; Engstrand, L.

    2010-01-15

    Antibiotic administration is the standard treatment for the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, the main causative agent of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. However, the long-term consequences of this treatment on the human indigenous microbiota are relatively unexplored. Here we studied short- and long-term effects of clarithromycin and metronidazole treatment, a commonly used therapy regimen against H. pylori, on the indigenous microbiota in the throat and in the lower intestine. The bacterial compositions in samples collected over a four year period were monitored by analyzing the 16S rRNA gene using 454-based pyrosequencing and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). While the microbial communities of untreated control subjects were relatively stable over time, dramatic shifts were observed one week after antibiotic treatment with reduced bacterial diversity in all treated subjects in both locations. While the microbiota of the different subjects responded uniquely to the antibiotic treatment some general trends could be observed; such as a dramatic decline in Actinobacteria in both throat and feces immediately after treatment. Although the diversity of the microbiota subsequently recovered to resemble the pre treatment states, the microbiota remained perturbed in some cases for up to four years post treatment. In addition, four years after treatment high levels of the macrolide resistance gene erm(B) were found, indicating that antibiotic resistance, once selected for, can persist for longer periods of time than previously recognized. This highlights the importance of a restrictive antibiotic usage in order to prevent subsequent treatment failure and potential spread of antibiotic resistance.

  8. Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search

    OpenAIRE

    Schlagbauer, B.; Mink, M.; Muller, Hermann J.; Geyer, T.

    2017-01-01

    Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several tri...

  9. Prefrontocortical dopamine loss in rats delays long-term extinction of contextual conditioned fear, and reduces social interaction without affecting short-term social interaction memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez Espejo, Emilio

    2003-03-01

    Prefrontal dopamine loss delays extinction of cued fear conditioning responses, but its role in contextual fear conditioning has not been explored. Medial prefrontal lesions also enhance social interaction in rats, but the role of prefrontal dopamine loss on social interaction memory is not known. Besides, a role for subcortical accumbal dopamine on mnesic changes after prefrontal dopamine manipulation has been proposed but not explored. The objective was to study the involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens in two mnesic tasks: contextual fear conditioning and social interaction memory. For contextual fear conditioning, short- and long-term freezing responses after an electric shock were studied, as well as extinction retention. Regarding social interaction memory, the recognition of a juvenile, a very sensitive short-term memory test, was used. Dopamine loss was carried out by injection of 6-hydroxydopamine, and postmortem catecholamine levels were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Prefrontocortical dopamine loss (>76%) led to a reactive enhancement of accumbal dopamine content (ploss. In lesioned rats, long-term extinction of contextual fear conditioning was significantly delayed and extinction retention was impaired without changes in acquisition and short-term contextual fear conditioning and, on the other hand, acquisition and short-term social interaction memory were not affected, although time spent on social interaction was significantly reduced. Added dopamine loss in the nucleus accumbens (>76%) did not alter these behavioral changes. In summary, the results of the present study indicate that the dopaminergic network in the mPFC (but not in the nucleus accumbens) coordinates the normal long-term extinction of contextual fear conditioning responses without affecting their acquisition, and it is involved in time spent on social interaction, but not acquisition and short-term

  10. Long Term Memory for Noise: Evidence of Robust Encoding of Very Short Temporal Acoustic Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Jayalakshmi; Rémy, Florence; Bacon-Macé, Nadège; Thorpe, Simon J

    2016-01-01

    Recent research has demonstrated that humans are able to implicitly encode and retain repeating patterns in meaningless auditory noise. Our study aimed at testing the robustness of long-term implicit recognition memory for these learned patterns. Participants performed a cyclic/non-cyclic discrimination task, during which they were presented with either 1-s cyclic noises (CNs) (the two halves of the noise were identical) or 1-s plain random noises (Ns). Among CNs and Ns presented once, target CNs were implicitly presented multiple times within a block, and implicit recognition of these target CNs was tested 4 weeks later using a similar cyclic/non-cyclic discrimination task. Furthermore, robustness of implicit recognition memory was tested by presenting participants with looped (shifting the origin) and scrambled (chopping sounds into 10- and 20-ms bits before shuffling) versions of the target CNs. We found that participants had robust implicit recognition memory for learned noise patterns after 4 weeks, right from the first presentation. Additionally, this memory was remarkably resistant to acoustic transformations, such as looping and scrambling of the sounds. Finally, implicit recognition of sounds was dependent on participant's discrimination performance during learning. Our findings suggest that meaningless temporal features as short as 10 ms can be implicitly stored in long-term auditory memory. Moreover, successful encoding and storage of such fine features may vary between participants, possibly depending on individual attention and auditory discrimination abilities. Significance Statement Meaningless auditory patterns could be implicitly encoded and stored in long-term memory.Acoustic transformations of learned meaningless patterns could be implicitly recognized after 4 weeks.Implicit long-term memories can be formed for meaningless auditory features as short as 10 ms.Successful encoding and long-term implicit recognition of meaningless patterns may

  11. Short-term and long-term risk factors in gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verlato, Giuseppe; Marrelli, Daniele; Accordini, Simone; Bencivenga, Maria; Di Leo, Alberto; Marchet, Alberto; Petrioli, Roberto; Zoppini, Giacomo; Muggeo, Michele; Roviello, Franco; de Manzoni, Giovanni

    2015-06-07

    curative gastrectomy with D2/D3 lymphadenectomy. Survival curves in the two different histotypes (intestinal and mixed/diffuse) were superimposed in the first three years of follow-up and diverged thereafter. Likewise, survival curves as a function of site (fundus vs body/antrum) started to diverge after the first year. On the contrary, survival curves differed among age classes from the very beginning, due to different post-operative mortality, which increased from 0.5% in patients aged 65-74 years to 9.9% in patients aged 75-91 years; this discrepancy later disappeared. Accordingly, the proportional hazards assumption of the Cox model was violated, as regards age, site and histology. To cope with this problem, multivariable survival analysis was performed by separately considering either the first two years of follow-up or subsequent years. Histology and site were significant predictors only after two years, while T and N, although significant both in the short-term and in the long-term, became less important in the second part of follow-up. Increasing age was associated with higher mortality in the first two years, but not thereafter. Splitting survival time when performing survival analysis allows to distinguish between short-term and long-term risk factors. Alternative statistical solutions could be to exclude post-operative mortality, to introduce in the model time-dependent covariates or to stratify on variables violating proportionality assumption.

  12. Effect of whey protein supplementation on long and short term appetite: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollahosseini, Mehdi; Shab-Bidar, Sakineh; Rahimi, Mohammad Hossein; Djafarian, Kurosh

    2017-08-01

    Specific components of dairy, such as whey proteins may have beneficial effects on body composition by suppressing appetite, although the findings of existing studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to investigate effect of whey protein supplementation on long and short term appetite. A systematic search was conducted to identify eligible publications. Means and SDs for hunger, fullness, satiety, desire to eat and prospective consumption of food, before and after intervention, were extracted and then composite appetite score (CAS) calculated. To pool data, either a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model and for assessing heterogeneity, Cochran's Q and I 2 tests were used. Eight publications met inclusion criteria that 5 records were on short term and 3 records on long term appetite. The meta-analysis showed a significant reduction in long term appetite by 4.13 mm in combined appetite score (CAS) (95% Confidence interval (CI): -6.57, -1.96; p = 0.001). No significant reduction in short term appetite was also seen (Mean difference (MD) = -0.39 95% CI = -2.07, 1.30; p = 0.653). Subgroup analyses by time showed that compared with carbohydrate, the reduction in appetite following consumption of whey consumption was not significant (MD = -0.39, 95% CI = -2.07, 1.3, p = 0.65, I 2  = 0.0%.)A significant reduction in prospective food consumption was seen (MD = -2.17, 95% CI = -3.86, -0.48). The results of our meta-analysis showed that whey protein may reduce the long and short term appetite, but our finding did not show any significant difference in appetite reduction between whey protein and carbohydrate in short duration. Copyright © 2017 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Therapist-Assisted, Self-Administered Bibliotherapy to Enhance Parental Competence: Short- and Long-Term Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahlweg, Kurt; Heinrichs, Nina; Kuschel, Annett; Feldmann, Marit

    2008-01-01

    The efficacy of bibliotherapy has primarily been investigated in anxiety disorders, depression, or substance dependence. The efficacy of self-help books to increase parenting competence was only investigated in a few studies despite their broad dissemination in public. The aims of the study were to investigate the short- and long-term efficacy of…

  14. ND/FE magnets: Industrial and economical problems in the short and long term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falconnet, P.

    1985-01-01

    The Rare Earths (RE) world is a small and closed world that needs better communication with the outside and specially with new potential users. The availability of neodymium today is very linked to the existing applications like glass and capacitors. Though no short or long term scarcity can be foreseen, the Rare Earths Industry has to produce increasing amounts of various neodymium compounds and may have to invest in some finishing capacity before knowing which Nd compounds will be used by metal or magnet makers in some years. Despite the high energy product of Nd/Fe magnets some properties like Curie temperature need to be improved to find a large use. Similarly the production cost of these magnets is today rather high, and it will take some years to take advantage of large production scale. The industrial and economical problems of Nd/Fe magnets are discussed in this paper

  15. Short- and Long-Term Cause of Death in Patients Treated With Primary PCI for STEMI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Frants; Butrymovich, Vitalij; Kelbæk, Henning

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Short-term mortality has been studied thoroughly in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), whereas long-term cause of death in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to des......BACKGROUND: Short-term mortality has been studied thoroughly in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), whereas long-term cause of death in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study...... was to describe the association between time and cause of death in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI. METHODS: A centralized civil registration system, patient files, and public disease and death cause registries with an accurate record linkage were used to trace time and cause of death in 2......,804 consecutive patients with STEMI (age 63 ± 13 years, 72% males) treated with primary PCI. RESULTS: Patients were followed up for a median of 4.7 years. During a total of 13,447 patient-years, 717 patients died. Main causes of death within the first 30 days were cardiogenic shock and anoxic brain injury after...

  16. Incidence of climate on common frog breeding: Long-term and short-term changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neveu, André

    2009-09-01

    In Brittany (northwest France), the climate is showing a trend toward warming. This change is increasingly suspected to have a role in driving amphibian decline, but it is very difficult to determine at what level the climate affects the future of species. Recently, some studies have detected some direct effects on breeding phenology and indirect effects on energy allocation. The present study explores some of these effects on the common frog ( Rana temporaria) from 1984 to 2007. The results show two trends: a long-term change in breeding activities and a short-term influence due to the 2003 climatic anomaly. For the period of study, the start of egg-laying shows a precocity that was correlated with thermal conditions during the preceding 40 days as well as milder springs during the previous year. This degree of precocity is currently the highest found in Europe (+26.6 days). As a result of the 2003 heat wave, the clutch mean fecundity in 2004 was smaller than for other years, the fecundity rates were reduced and abortions were numerous (unlike other years). Moreover, young females were the smallest observed in recent years and some females seemed to exhibit a trade-off between fecundity and growth. Before or after egg-laying, female body condition and mean weight of mature ovules were both lower. The year 2005 appears as a transition period before the recovery in 2006-2007. The results show that climate warming endangers the vital rates of the common frog, while the 2003 climatic events seem more detrimental than the long-term warming trend.

  17. Effects of short term and long term Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field on depressive disorder in mice: Involvement of nitric oxide pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madjid Ansari, Alireza; Farzampour, Shahrokh; Sadr, Ali; Shekarchi, Babak; Majidzadeh-A, Keivan

    2016-02-01

    Previous reports on the possible effects of Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields (ELF MF) on mood have been paradoxical in different settings while no study has yet been conducted on animal behavior. In addition, it was shown that ELF MF exposure makes an increase in brain nitric oxide level. Therefore, in the current study, we aimed to assess the possible effect(s) of ELF MF exposure on mice Forced Swimming Test (FST) and evaluate the probable role of the increased level of nitric oxide in the observed behavior. Male adult mice NMRI were recruited to investigate the short term and long term ELF MF exposure (0.5 mT and 50 Hz, single 2h and 2 weeks 2h a day). Locomotor behavior was assessed by using open-field test (OFT) followed by FST to evaluate the immobility time. Accordingly, NΩ-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester 30 mg/kg was used to exert anti-depressant like effect. According to the results, short term exposure did not alter the immobility time, whereas long term exposure significantly reduces immobility time (pmice, whereas short term exposure has no significant effect. Also, reversing the anti-depressant activity of L-NAME indicates a probable increase in the brain nitric oxide. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Rape-related symptoms in adolescents: short- and long-term outcome after cognitive behavior group therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bicanic, Iva; de Roos, Carlijn; van Wesel, Floryt; Sinnema, Gerben; van de Putte, Elise

    2014-01-01

    Efficacy studies on treatment in adolescent victims of single rape are lacking, even though sexual victimization is most likely to occur during adolescence and despite the fact that adolescents are at risk to develop subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder. The aim of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of a nine-session cognitive behavior group therapy (STEPS), including a parallel six-session parents' group on rape-related symptomatology in female adolescents (13-18 years). STEPS includes psychoeducation, exposure in sensu as well as in vivo, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention. Fifty-five female adolescents with mental health problems due to single rape, but without prior sexual trauma, received STEPS while their parents participated in a support group. Subjects were assessed on posttraumatic stress (PTS) and comorbid symptoms using self-report questionnaires prior to and directly after treatment, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Repeated measures analysis showed a significant and large decrease in symptoms of PTS, anxiety, depression, anger, dissociation, sexual concerns, and behavior problems directly after treatment, which maintained at 12 months follow-up. Time since trauma did not influence the results. Dropout during STEPS was 1.8%. The results potentially suggest that the positive treatment outcomes at short- and long-term may be caused by STEPS. The encouraging findings need confirmation in future controlled studies on the effectiveness of STEPS because it may be possible that the treatment works especially well for more chronic symptoms, while the less chronic part of the sample showed considerable improvement on its own.

  19. Continuous Timescale Long-Short Term Memory Neural Network for Human Intent Understanding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhibin Yu

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Understanding of human intention by observing a series of human actions has been a challenging task. In order to do so, we need to analyze longer sequences of human actions related with intentions and extract the context from the dynamic features. The multiple timescales recurrent neural network (MTRNN model, which is believed to be a kind of solution, is a useful tool for recording and regenerating a continuous signal for dynamic tasks. However, the conventional MTRNN suffers from the vanishing gradient problem which renders it impossible to be used for longer sequence understanding. To address this problem, we propose a new model named Continuous Timescale Long-Short Term Memory (CTLSTM in which we inherit the multiple timescales concept into the Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM recurrent neural network (RNN that addresses the vanishing gradient problem. We design an additional recurrent connection in the LSTM cell outputs to produce a time-delay in order to capture the slow context. Our experiments show that the proposed model exhibits better context modeling ability and captures the dynamic features on multiple large dataset classification tasks. The results illustrate that the multiple timescales concept enhances the ability of our model to handle longer sequences related with human intentions and hence proving to be more suitable for complex tasks, such as intention recognition.

  20. Mouse short- and long-term locomotor activity analyzed by video tracking software.

    Science.gov (United States)

    York, Jason M; Blevins, Neil A; McNeil, Leslie K; Freund, Gregory G

    2013-06-20

    Locomotor activity (LMA) is a simple and easily performed measurement of behavior in mice and other rodents. Improvements in video tracking software (VTS) have allowed it to be coupled to LMA testing, dramatically improving specificity and sensitivity when compared to the line crossings method with manual scoring. In addition, VTS enables high-throughput experimentation. While similar to automated video tracking used for the open field test (OFT), LMA testing is unique in that it allows mice to remain in their home cage and does not utilize the anxiogenic stimulus of bright lighting during the active phase of the light-dark cycle. Traditionally, LMA has been used for short periods of time (mins), while longer movement studies (hrs-days) have often used implanted transmitters and biotelemetry. With the option of real-time tracking, long-, like short-term LMA testing, can now be conducted using videography. Long-term LMA testing requires a specialized, but easily constructed, cage so that food and water (which is usually positioned on the cage top) does not obstruct videography. Importantly, videography and VTS allows for the quantification of parameters, such as path of mouse movement, that are difficult or unfeasible to measure with line crossing and/or biotelemetry. In sum, LMA testing coupled to VTS affords a more complete description of mouse movement and the ability to examine locomotion over an extended period of time.

  1. Short term and medium term power distribution load forecasting by neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yalcinoz, T.; Eminoglu, U.

    2005-01-01

    Load forecasting is an important subject for power distribution systems and has been studied from different points of view. In general, load forecasts should be performed over a broad spectrum of time intervals, which could be classified into short term, medium term and long term forecasts. Several research groups have proposed various techniques for either short term load forecasting or medium term load forecasting or long term load forecasting. This paper presents a neural network (NN) model for short term peak load forecasting, short term total load forecasting and medium term monthly load forecasting in power distribution systems. The NN is used to learn the relationships among past, current and future temperatures and loads. The neural network was trained to recognize the peak load of the day, total load of the day and monthly electricity consumption. The suitability of the proposed approach is illustrated through an application to real load shapes from the Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEDAS) in Nigde. The data represents the daily and monthly electricity consumption in Nigde, Turkey

  2. Endoscopic submucosal dissection of early colorectal neoplasms with a monopolar scissor-type knife: short- to long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuwai, Toshio; Yamaguchi, Toshiki; Imagawa, Hiroki; Sumida, Yuki; Takasago, Takeshi; Miyasako, Yuki; Nishimura, Tomoyuki; Iio, Sumio; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Kouno, Hirotaka; Kohno, Hiroshi; Ishaq, Sauid

    2017-09-01

    Background and study aims  Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for colorectal neoplasms remains challenging because of technical issues imposed by the complex anatomical features of the large intestine. We evaluated the feasibility, and the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of ESD for early colorectal neoplasms performed using the Stag-beetle Knife Jr. (SB Knife Jr.) Patients and methods  We retrospectively assessed 228 patients who underwent ESD for 247 colorectal lesions with the SB Knife Jr. Clinicopathological characteristics of the neoplasms, complications, and various short- and long-term outcomes were evaluated. Results  Mean tumor size was 34.3 mm and median procedure time was 76 minutes. The SB Knife Jr. achieved 98.4 % en bloc resection, 93.9 % complete resection, and 85.4 % curative resection. No perforations occurred during the procedure, and a delayed bleeding rate of 2.4 % was observed. Long-term outcomes were favorable with no distant recurrence, 1.1 % local recurrence, a 5-year overall survival rate of 94.1 % and 5-year tumor-specific survival rate of 98.6 % in patients with cancer. Conclusions  ESD using the SB Knife Jr. is technically efficient and safe in treating early colorectal neoplasms and is associated with favorable short- and long-term outcomes. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  3. Long-Term Impairment of Sound Processing in the Auditory Midbrain by Daily Short-Term Exposure to Moderate Noise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Cheng

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Most citizen people are exposed daily to environmental noise at moderate levels with a short duration. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of daily short-term exposure to moderate noise on sound level processing in the auditory midbrain. Sound processing properties of auditory midbrain neurons were recorded in anesthetized mice exposed to moderate noise (80 dB SPL, 2 h/d for 6 weeks and were compared with those from age-matched controls. Neurons in exposed mice had a higher minimum threshold and maximum response intensity, a longer first spike latency, and a higher slope and narrower dynamic range for rate level function. However, these observed changes were greater in neurons with the best frequency within the noise exposure frequency range compared with those outside the frequency range. These sound processing properties also remained abnormal after a 12-week period of recovery in a quiet laboratory environment after completion of noise exposure. In conclusion, even daily short-term exposure to moderate noise can cause long-term impairment of sound level processing in a frequency-specific manner in auditory midbrain neurons.

  4. A Field Experimental Design of a Strengths-Based Training to Overcome Academic Procrastination: Short- and Long-Term Effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lennart Visser

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study reports on the effect of a newly developed 4-week strengths-based training approach to overcome academic procrastination, given to first-year elementary teacher education students (N = 54. The training was based on a strengths-based approach, in which elements of the cognitive behavioral approach were also used. The purpose of the training was to promote awareness of the personal strengths of students who experience academic procrastination regularly and to teach them how to use their personal strengths in situations in which they usually tend to procrastinate. With a pretest-posttest control group design (two experimental groups: n = 31, control group: n = 23, the effect of the training on academic procrastination was studied after 1, 11, and 24 weeks. Results of a one-way analysis of covariance revealed a significant short-term effect of the training. In the long term (after 11 and 24 weeks, the scores for academic procrastination for the intervention groups remained stable, whereas the scores for academic procrastination for the control group decreased to the same level as those of the intervention groups. The findings of this study suggest that a strengths-based approach can be helpful to students at an early stage of their academic studies to initiate their individual process of dealing with academic procrastination. The findings for the long term show the importance of measuring the outcomes of an intervention not only shortly after the intervention but also in the long term. Further research is needed to find out how the short-term effect can be maintained in the long-term.

  5. A Field Experimental Design of a Strengths-Based Training to Overcome Academic Procrastination: Short- and Long-Term Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visser, Lennart; Schoonenboom, Judith; Korthagen, Fred A J

    2017-01-01

    This study reports on the effect of a newly developed 4-week strengths-based training approach to overcome academic procrastination, given to first-year elementary teacher education students ( N = 54). The training was based on a strengths-based approach, in which elements of the cognitive behavioral approach were also used. The purpose of the training was to promote awareness of the personal strengths of students who experience academic procrastination regularly and to teach them how to use their personal strengths in situations in which they usually tend to procrastinate. With a pretest-posttest control group design (two experimental groups: n = 31, control group: n = 23), the effect of the training on academic procrastination was studied after 1, 11, and 24 weeks. Results of a one-way analysis of covariance revealed a significant short-term effect of the training. In the long term (after 11 and 24 weeks), the scores for academic procrastination for the intervention groups remained stable, whereas the scores for academic procrastination for the control group decreased to the same level as those of the intervention groups. The findings of this study suggest that a strengths-based approach can be helpful to students at an early stage of their academic studies to initiate their individual process of dealing with academic procrastination. The findings for the long term show the importance of measuring the outcomes of an intervention not only shortly after the intervention but also in the long term. Further research is needed to find out how the short-term effect can be maintained in the long-term.

  6. The complexity of self-regulating food intake in weight loss maintenance. A qualitative study among short- and long-term weight loss maintainers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Susanne; Sniethotta, Falko F.; Sainsbury, Kirby

    2018-01-01

    Rationale Whether self-regulation of food intake in weight loss maintenance (WLM) differs between being a short-term maintainer (having maintained without regaining less than 12 months) and a long-term maintainer (having maintained without regaining at least 12 months) is under-researched. Object......Rationale Whether self-regulation of food intake in weight loss maintenance (WLM) differs between being a short-term maintainer (having maintained without regaining less than 12 months) and a long-term maintainer (having maintained without regaining at least 12 months) is under......-researched. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the self-regulatory strategies and self-efficacy beliefs applied by short- and long-term maintainers to the complex set of behaviours comprising food intake in WLM, and to obtain a better understanding of their challenges in the various food-intake processes...... in WLM. Method Individual interviews (14 female/4 male) were conducted with nine Danish short- and nine long-term weight loss maintainers. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) was applied post-hoc to organise data and support analyses, since the approach focuses on both the cognitions (e.g., self...

  7. Short and Long-Term Disability and Workers' Compensation Health Care Programs: Management Project at Georgetown University Hospital

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Whippen, Thomas

    2000-01-01

    .... Recent acquisition discussions between Georgetown University medical Center and MedStar provide an opportunity to reengineer the Workers' Compensation and Short and Long-Term Disability Programs...

  8. Potentially inappropriate prescriptions for older patients in long-term care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurin Danielle

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Inappropriate medication use is a major healthcare issue for the elderly population. This study explored the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs in long-term care in metropolitan Quebec. Methods A cross sectional chart review of 2,633 long-term care older patients of the Quebec City area was performed. An explicit criteria list for PIPs was developed based on the literature and validated by a modified Delphi method. Medication orders were reviewed to describe prescribing patterns and to determine the prevalence of PIPs. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify predictors of PIPs. Results Almost all residents (94.0% were receiving one or more prescribed medication; on average patients had 4.8 prescribed medications. A majority (54.7% of treated patients had a potentially inappropriate prescription (PIP. Most common PIPs were drug interactions (33.9% of treated patients, followed by potentially inappropriate duration (23.6%, potentially inappropriate medication (14.7% and potentially inappropriate dosage (9.6%. PIPs were most frequent for medications of the central nervous system (10.8% of prescribed medication. The likelihood of PIP increased significantly as the number of drugs prescribed increased (odds ratio [OR]: 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33 – 1.43 and with the length of stay (OR: 1.78, CI: 1.43 – 2.20. On the other hand, the risk of receiving a PIP decreased with age. Conclusion Potentially inappropriate prescribing is a serious problem in the highly medicated long-term care population in metropolitan Quebec. Use of explicit criteria lists may help identify the most critical issues and prioritize interventions to improve quality of care and patient safety.

  9. Short-term trends in the gas industry - Panorama 2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    In a context of high investment costs and rising energy prices, and recurring unseasonably warm temperatures in recent years, the growth of natural gas demand is slowing. On the supply side, and on the demand side too, new trends are emerging, with potentially powerful impact on the short-and long-term development of the industry

  10. Occlusal stabilization splint for patients with temporomandibular disorders: Meta-analysis of short and long term effects.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovana Kuzmanovic Pficer

    Full Text Available Psychological discomfort, physical disability and functional limitations of the orofacial system have a major impact on everyday life of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs. In this study we sought to determine short and long term effects of stabilization splint (SS in treatment of TMDs, and to identify factors influencing its efficacy.MEDLINE, Web of Science and EMBASE were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs comparing SS to: non-occluding splint, occlusal oral appliances, physiotherapy, behavioral therapy, counseling and no treatment. Random effects method was used to summarize outcomes. The effect estimates were expressed as odds ratio (OR or standardized mean difference (SMD with 95% confidence interval. Subgroup analyses were carried out according to the use of Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC/TMD and TMDs origin. Strength of evidence was assessed by GRADE. Meta-regression was applied.Thirty three eligible RCTs were included in meta-analysis. In short term, SS presented positive overall effect on pain reduction (OR 2.08; p = 0.01 and pain intensity (SMD -0.33; p = 0.02. Subgroup analyses confirmed SS effect in studies used RDC/TMD and revealed its effect in patients with TMDs of muscular origin. Important decrease of muscle tenderness (OR 1.97; p = 0.03 and improvement of mouth opening (SMD -0.30; p = 0.04 were found. SS in comparison to oral appliances showed no difference (OR 0.74; p = 0.24. Meta-regression identified continuous use of SS during the day as a factor influencing efficacy (p = 0.01. Long term results showed no difference in observed outcomes between groups. Low quality of evidence was found for primary outcomes.SS presented short term benefit for patients with TMDs. In long term follow up, the effect is equalized with other therapeutic modalities. Further studies based on appropriate use of standardized criteria for patient recruitment and outcomes under assessment are needed to better define SS

  11. Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Thomas E; Green, C Shawn

    2016-04-18

    Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. 'media multitasking') is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today's society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

  12. Persistent inhibition of hippocampal long-term potentiation in vivo by learned helplessness stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Benedict K; Vollmayr, Barbara; Klyubin, Igor; Gass, Peter; Rowan, Michael J

    2010-06-01

    The persistent cognitive disruptive effects of stress have been strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Here we examined factors influencing the time course of recovery from the inhibitory effect of acute inescapable stressors on the ability to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) in the dorsal hippocampus in vivo. We tested different forms of LTP, different stressors and different inbred strains of rats. Acute elevated platform stress completely, but transiently (learned helplessness, inhibited LTP for at least 4 weeks. Contrary to expectations, there was no clear relationship between the ability of the footshock to trigger helpless behavior, a model of stress-induced depression, and the magnitude of LTP inhibition. Moreover, LTP did not appear to be affected by genetic susceptibility to learned helplessness, a model of genetic vulnerability to depression. This long-lasting synaptic plasticity disruption may underlie persistent impairment of hippocampus-dependent cognition by excessive acute inescapable stress.

  13. INTERPRETATION OF INTELLIGENCE ASSETS AND LIABILITIES REPORT FROM THE SHORT AND LONG TERM

    OpenAIRE

    Garcia, Victor

    2014-01-01

    In this study the intellectual function expressed in Aristotle 's Tratado delalma is related to modern conceptualization on the nmemic system. Thedifferences between the Agent and the Patient are described, and adiscussion on cognitive theory considering long and short-term memoryensues. The discussion ends when pointing at similarities and differencesbetween both paradigms. El presente estudio relaciona el funcionamiento intelectual expuesto el Tratadodel Alma de Aristóteles y la concepci...

  14. Long-term physical ageing in As-Se glasses with short chalcogen chains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golovchak, R; Shpotyuk, O; Kozdras, A; Vlcek, M; Bureau, B; Kovalskiy, A; Jain, H

    2008-01-01

    Long-term physical ageing of chalcogenide glasses, which occurs over tens of years, is much less understood than the short-term ageing. With Se-rich underconstrained As 30 Se 70 glass as a model composition (consisting of Se n chains with n≤3 on average), a microscopic model is developed for this phenomenon by combining information from differential scanning calorimetry, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, Raman, and 77 Se solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. The accompanying changes in the electronic structure of these glasses are investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The data suggest ageing from cooperative relaxation, presumably involving bond switching or reconfiguration of As-Se-Se-As fragments

  15. Long-term physical ageing in As-Se glasses with short chalcogen chains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golovchak, R; Shpotyuk, O [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' , 202, Stryjska street, Lviv, UA-79031 (Ukraine); Kozdras, A [Faculty of Physics of Opole University of Technology, 75, Ozimska street, Opole, 45370 (Poland); Vlcek, M [Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Pardubice, 532 10 Pardubice (Czech Republic); Bureau, B [Verres et Ceramiques, UMR CNRS 6226 Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, University of Rennes, 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, 35042 (France); Kovalskiy, A; Jain, H [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, 5, East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015-3195 (United States)

    2008-06-18

    Long-term physical ageing of chalcogenide glasses, which occurs over tens of years, is much less understood than the short-term ageing. With Se-rich underconstrained As{sub 30}Se{sub 70} glass as a model composition (consisting of Se{sub n} chains with n{<=}3 on average), a microscopic model is developed for this phenomenon by combining information from differential scanning calorimetry, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, Raman, and {sup 77}Se solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. The accompanying changes in the electronic structure of these glasses are investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The data suggest ageing from cooperative relaxation, presumably involving bond switching or reconfiguration of As-Se-Se-As fragments.

  16. Interactions between short- and long-term health of children: A case from rural Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    Bereket Kebede

    2008-01-01

    In contrast to other studies, this paper examines the determinants of short-term child health by controlling for the long-term health status of children. Using data from rural Ethiopia and linear mixed models that control for individual heterogeneity, the empirical analysis indicate that the effect of per capita household expenditures on the weight-for-age z-scores of children in rural Ethiopia is influenced by the children's height-for-age z-scores implying that the efficiency with which sho...

  17. Neighbourhood Characteristics and Long-Term Air Pollution Levels Modify the Association between the Short-Term Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations and All-Cause Mortality in Paris.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Séverine Deguen

    Full Text Available While a great number of papers have been published on the short-term effects of air pollution on mortality, few have tried to assess whether this association varies according to the neighbourhood socioeconomic level and long-term ambient air concentrations measured at the place of residence. We explored the effect modification of 1 socioeconomic status, 2 long-term NO2 ambient air concentrations, and 3 both combined, on the association between short-term exposure to NO2 and all-cause mortality in Paris (France.A time-stratified case-crossover analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of short-term NO2 variations on mortality, based on 79,107 deaths having occurred among subjects aged over 35 years, from 2004 to 2009, in the city of Paris. Simple and double interactions were statistically tested in order to analyse effect modification by neighbourhood characteristics on the association between mortality and short-term NO2 exposure. The data was estimated at the census block scale (n=866.The mean of the NO2 concentrations during the five days prior to deaths were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality: overall Excess Risk (ER was 0.94% (95%CI=[0.08;1.80]. A higher risk was revealed for subjects living in the most deprived census blocks in comparison with higher socioeconomic level areas (ER=3.14% (95%CI=[1.41-4.90], p<0.001. Among these deprived census blocks, excess risk was even higher where long-term average NO2 concentrations were above 55.8 μg/m3 (the top tercile of distribution: ER=4.84% (95%CI=[1.56;8.24], p for interaction=0.02.Our results show that people living in census blocks characterized by low socioeconomic status are more vulnerable to air pollution episodes. There is also an indication that people living in these disadvantaged census blocks might experience even higher risk following short-term air pollution episodes, when they are also chronically exposed to higher NO2 levels.

  18. On the interplay between short and long term memory in the power-law cross-correlations setting

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krištoufek, Ladislav

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 421, č. 1 (2015), s. 218-222 ISSN 0378-4371 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GP14-11402P Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Power-law cross-correlations * Long term memory * Short term memory Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 1.785, year: 2015 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/E/kristoufek-0452316.pdf

  19. Long term effects on potential repository sites: occurrence and diagenesis of anhydrite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bath, A.H.; George, I.A.; Milodowski, A.E.; Darling, W.G.

    1985-10-01

    The report deals with the long-term behaviour of anhydrite as a potential host rock for deep disposal of intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The principal long-term effect on the integrity of such a repository is the possibility of penetration of groundwater and consequent transformation to gypsum. Therefore, in order to assess the chydrological and geochemical processes of hydration in detail, mineralogical and geochemical analyses have been carried out on anhydrite samples in a drillcore taken near Darlington, United Kingdom. The results are discussed in terms of the long-term integrity of anhydrite as a repository site. (U.K.)

  20. Divergent short- and long-term effects of acute stress in object recognition memory are mediated by endogenous opioid system activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nava-Mesa, Mauricio O; Lamprea, Marisol R; Múnera, Alejandro

    2013-11-01

    Acute stress induces short-term object recognition memory impairment and elicits endogenous opioid system activation. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate whether opiate system activation mediates the acute stress-induced object recognition memory changes. Adult male Wistar rats were trained in an object recognition task designed to test both short- and long-term memory. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive an intraperitoneal injection of saline, 1 mg/kg naltrexone or 3 mg/kg naltrexone, four and a half hours before the sample trial. Five minutes after the injection, half the subjects were submitted to movement restraint during four hours while the other half remained in their home cages. Non-stressed subjects receiving saline (control) performed adequately during the short-term memory test, while stressed subjects receiving saline displayed impaired performance. Naltrexone prevented such deleterious effect, in spite of the fact that it had no intrinsic effect on short-term object recognition memory. Stressed subjects receiving saline and non-stressed subjects receiving naltrexone performed adequately during the long-term memory test; however, control subjects as well as stressed subjects receiving a high dose of naltrexone performed poorly. Control subjects' dissociated performance during both memory tests suggests that the short-term memory test induced a retroactive interference effect mediated through light opioid system activation; such effect was prevented either by low dose naltrexone administration or by strongly activating the opioid system through acute stress. Both short-term memory retrieval impairment and long-term memory improvement observed in stressed subjects may have been mediated through strong opioid system activation, since they were prevented by high dose naltrexone administration. Therefore, the activation of the opioid system plays a dual modulating role in object recognition memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights

  1. The relative kicking frequency of infants born full-term and preterm during learning and short-term and long-term memory periods of the mobile paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heathcock, Jill C; Bhat, Anjana N; Lobo, Michele A; Galloway, James C

    2005-01-01

    Infants born preterm differ in their spontaneous kicking, as well as their learning and memory abilities in the mobile paradigm, compared with infants born full-term. In the mobile paradigm, a supine infant's ankle is tethered to a mobile so that leg kicks cause a proportional amount of mobile movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative kicking frequency of the tethered (right) and nontethered (left) legs in these 2 groups of infants. Ten infants born full-term and 10 infants born preterm (infants participated in the study. The relative kicking frequencies of the tethered and nontethered legs were analyzed during learning and short-term and long-term memory periods of the mobile paradigm. Infants born full-term showed an increase in the relative kicking frequency of the tethered leg during the learning period and the short-term memory period but not for the long-term memory period. Infants born preterm did not show a change in kicking pattern for learning or memory periods, and consistently kicked both legs in relatively equal amounts. Infants born full-term adapted their baseline kicking frequencies in a task-specific manner to move the mobile and then retained this adaptation for the short-term memory period. In contrast, infants born preterm showed no adaptation, suggesting a lack of purposeful leg control. This lack of control may reflect a general decrease in the ability of infants born preterm to use their limb movements to interact with their environment. As such, the mobile paradigm may be clinically useful in the early assessment and intervention of infants born preterm and at risk for future impairment.

  2. Short- and long-term forecast for chaotic and random systems (50 years after Lorenz's paper)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bunimovich, Leonid A

    2014-01-01

    We briefly review a history of the impact of the famous 1963 paper by E Lorenz on hydrodynamics, physics and mathematics communities on both sides of the iron curtain. This paper was an attempt to apply the ideas and methods of dynamical systems theory to the problem of weather forecast. Its major discovery was the phenomenon of chaos in dissipative dynamical systems which makes such forecasts rather problematic, if at all possible. In this connection we present some recent results which demonstrate that both a short-term and a long-term forecast are actually possible for the most chaotic dynamical (as well as for the most random, like IID and Markov chain) systems. Moreover, there is a sharp transition between the time interval where one may use a short-term forecast and the times where a long-term forecast is applicable. Finally we discuss how these findings could be incorporated into the forecast strategy outlined in the Lorenz's paper. (invited article)

  3. Short- and long-term reliability of adult recall of vegetarian dietary patterns in the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira Martins, Marcia C; Jaceldo-Siegl, Karen; Fan, Jing; Singh, Pramil; Fraser, Gary E

    2015-01-01

    Past dietary patterns may be more important than recent dietary patterns in the aetiology of chronic diseases because of the long latency in their development. We developed an instrument to recall vegetarian dietary patterns during the lifetime and examined its reliability of recall over 5·3 and 32·6 years on average. The short-term/5-year recall ability study (5-RAS) was done using 24 690 participants from the cohort of the Adventist Health Study-2 (mean age 62·2 years). The long-term/33-year recall ability study (33-RAS) included an overlap population of 1721 individuals who joined the Adventist Health Study-1 and Adventist Health Study-2 (mean age 72·5 years). Spearman correlation coefficients for recall of vegetarian status were 0·78 and 0·72 for the 5-RAS and 33-RAS, respectively, when compared with 'reference' data. For both time periods sensitivity and positive predictive values were highest for the lacto-ovo-vegetarian and non-vegetarian patterns (vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians and non-vegetarians). In the 5-RAS analyses, male, non-black, younger, and more educated participants, lifetime Adventists, and those with more stability of consumption of animal products generally showed higher recall ability. Somewhat similar tendencies were shown for the 33-RAS analyses. Our findings show that the instrument has higher reliability for recalled lacto-ovo-vegetarian and non-vegetarian than for vegan, semi- and pesco-vegetarian dietary patterns in both short- and long-term recalls. This is in part because these last dietary patterns were greatly contaminated by recalls that correctly would have belonged in the adjoining category that consumed more animal products.

  4. A Spiking Working Memory Model Based on Hebbian Short-Term Potentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiebig, Florian

    2017-01-01

    A dominant theory of working memory (WM), referred to as the persistent activity hypothesis, holds that recurrently connected neural networks, presumably located in the prefrontal cortex, encode and maintain WM memory items through sustained elevated activity. Reexamination of experimental data has shown that prefrontal cortex activity in single units during delay periods is much more variable than predicted by such a theory and associated computational models. Alternative models of WM maintenance based on synaptic plasticity, such as short-term nonassociative (non-Hebbian) synaptic facilitation, have been suggested but cannot account for encoding of novel associations. Here we test the hypothesis that a recently identified fast-expressing form of Hebbian synaptic plasticity (associative short-term potentiation) is a possible mechanism for WM encoding and maintenance. Our simulations using a spiking neural network model of cortex reproduce a range of cognitive memory effects in the classical multi-item WM task of encoding and immediate free recall of word lists. Memory reactivation in the model occurs in discrete oscillatory bursts rather than as sustained activity. We relate dynamic network activity as well as key synaptic characteristics to electrophysiological measurements. Our findings support the hypothesis that fast Hebbian short-term potentiation is a key WM mechanism. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Working memory (WM) is a key component of cognition. Hypotheses about the neural mechanism behind WM are currently under revision. Reflecting recent findings of fast Hebbian synaptic plasticity in cortex, we test whether a cortical spiking neural network model with such a mechanism can learn a multi-item WM task (word list learning). We show that our model can reproduce human cognitive phenomena and achieve comparable memory performance in both free and cued recall while being simultaneously compatible with experimental data on structure, connectivity, and

  5. Short-term changes in arterial inflammation predict long-term changes in atherosclerosis progression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joseph, Philip [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cardiology Division and Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Boston, MA (United States); McMaster University, Population Health Research Institute, Department of Medicine, and Department of Radiology, Hamilton, ON (Canada); Ishai, Amorina; Tawakol, Ahmed [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cardiology Division and Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Boston, MA (United States); Mani, Venkatesh [Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute and Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Kallend, David [The Medicines Company, Parsippany, NJ (United States); Rudd, James H.F. [University of Cambridge, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Fayad, Zahi A. [Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute and Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Hess CSM Building Floor TMII, Rm S1-104, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute and Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States)

    2017-01-15

    It remains unclear whether changes in arterial wall inflammation are associated with subsequent changes in the rate of structural progression of atherosclerosis. In this sub-study of the dal-PLAQUE clinical trial, multi-modal imaging was performed using 18-fludeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET, at 0 and 6 months) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, at 0 and 24 months). The primary objective was to determine whether increasing FDG uptake at 6 months predicted atherosclerosis progression on MRI at 2 years. Arterial inflammation was measured by the carotid FDG target-to-background ratio (TBR), and atherosclerotic plaque progression was defined as the percentage change in carotid mean wall area (MWA) and mean wall thickness (MWT) on MRI between baseline and 24 months. A total of 42 participants were included in this sub-study. The mean age of the population was 62.5 years, and 12 (28.6 %) were women. In participants with (vs. without) any increase in arterial inflammation over 6 months, the long-term changes in both MWT (% change MWT: 17.49 % vs. 1.74 %, p = 0.038) and MWA (% change MWA: 25.50 % vs. 3.59 %, p = 0.027) were significantly greater. Results remained significant after adjusting for clinical and biochemical covariates. Individuals with no increase in arterial inflammation over 6 months had no significant structural progression of atherosclerosis over 24 months as measured by MWT (p = 0.616) or MWA (p = 0.373). Short-term changes in arterial inflammation are associated with long-term structural atherosclerosis progression. These data support the concept that therapies that reduce arterial inflammation may attenuate or halt progression of atherosclerosis. (orig.)

  6. Short-term changes in arterial inflammation predict long-term changes in atherosclerosis progression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, Philip; Ishai, Amorina; Tawakol, Ahmed; Mani, Venkatesh; Kallend, David; Rudd, James H.F.; Fayad, Zahi A.

    2017-01-01

    It remains unclear whether changes in arterial wall inflammation are associated with subsequent changes in the rate of structural progression of atherosclerosis. In this sub-study of the dal-PLAQUE clinical trial, multi-modal imaging was performed using 18-fludeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET, at 0 and 6 months) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, at 0 and 24 months). The primary objective was to determine whether increasing FDG uptake at 6 months predicted atherosclerosis progression on MRI at 2 years. Arterial inflammation was measured by the carotid FDG target-to-background ratio (TBR), and atherosclerotic plaque progression was defined as the percentage change in carotid mean wall area (MWA) and mean wall thickness (MWT) on MRI between baseline and 24 months. A total of 42 participants were included in this sub-study. The mean age of the population was 62.5 years, and 12 (28.6 %) were women. In participants with (vs. without) any increase in arterial inflammation over 6 months, the long-term changes in both MWT (% change MWT: 17.49 % vs. 1.74 %, p = 0.038) and MWA (% change MWA: 25.50 % vs. 3.59 %, p = 0.027) were significantly greater. Results remained significant after adjusting for clinical and biochemical covariates. Individuals with no increase in arterial inflammation over 6 months had no significant structural progression of atherosclerosis over 24 months as measured by MWT (p = 0.616) or MWA (p = 0.373). Short-term changes in arterial inflammation are associated with long-term structural atherosclerosis progression. These data support the concept that therapies that reduce arterial inflammation may attenuate or halt progression of atherosclerosis. (orig.)

  7. Opening remarks for a panel discussion on short-term vs long-term procurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Courtenay, R.H.

    1990-01-01

    Long-term contracting in the late 1970's and early 1980's is blamed for some of the inequities that plague the uranium industry today. Utilities are obliged to pay prices far above prevailing levels and relatively low cost producers are forced to shut down while watching less efficient suppliers stay in business thanks to their long term supply agreements. Furthermore, it is argued that long-term contracts have contributed to supply instability by forcing the buildup of surplus inventories and by supporting excess incremental production by suppliers who have a baseload of long-term contracts. The depressed prices resulting from this oversupply are in turn jeopardizing future resource development and damaging supply reliability. In summary, the author's argument is that supply reliability will be greatly enhanced by the assurance of adequate primary supply from traditional sources such as Canada. This will not happen without long-term contracts. This conclusion may not be expected coming from a representative of Canada's largest uranium producer. But the final comment is less self serving. Many of the critics of long term contracts apparently expect a continuing and plentiful supply of East Bloc uranium to the spot market. A further question is to what extent East Bloc suppliers will eventually require long-term contracts in order to maintain production facilitates in economies that are no longer centrally planned, and where there is open competition for capital. Ultimately, reliability of supply from the non-traditional suppliers may also depend on long-term contracts

  8. Explicit and exact solutions for a generalized long-short wave resonance equations with strong nonlinear term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shang Yadong

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, the evolution equations with strong nonlinear term describing the resonance interaction between the long wave and the short wave are studied. Firstly, based on the qualitative theory and bifurcation theory of planar dynamical systems, all of the explicit and exact solutions of solitary waves are obtained by qualitative seeking the homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits for a class of Lienard equations. Then the singular travelling wave solutions, periodic travelling wave solutions of triangle functions type are also obtained on the basis of the relationships between the hyperbolic functions and that between the hyperbolic functions with the triangle functions. The varieties of structure of exact solutions of the generalized long-short wave equation with strong nonlinear term are illustrated. The methods presented here also suitable for obtaining exact solutions of nonlinear wave equations in multidimensions

  9. Short and long-term labour market consequences of coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruse, Marie; Sørensen, Jan; Davidsen, Michael

    2009-01-01

    National Cohort study and were followed from the year of their first hospital admission for CHD and onwards for up to 23 years. Individuals with CHD were individually matched with individuals without CHD. We analysed their short-term labour market participation and compared the long-term withdrawal risk...... for the two groups through Cox regression. RESULTS: In the year after the first CHD-related admission, 79% of individuals with CHD maintained their labour force participation compared with 93% of individuals without CHD. Individuals with CHD had a hazard ratio of 1.32 for withdrawal compared...... cardiac rehabilitation, which aims to maintain labour market participation. CONCLUSION: Individuals with CHD have a significantly increased risk of withdrawing from the labour market. Especially younger individuals and those employed as manual labour seem to have greater problems in maintaining labour...

  10. Short and long term variation in ultraviolet radiation and multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menni, Cristina; Lowell, Walter E; Bentzen, Joan

    2012-01-01

    We examined the role of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in persons diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in four different populations, Italians, Danish, White and African Americans. We tested whether variation in UVR as determined by seasons (short term variation) and solar cycles (long term...... to study the pattern of month of birth distribution in patients with MS comparing with general population data. T-tests were employed to study solar cycles association with lifespan. A surplus of births was observed in June for White Americans. A decrease of births in October and November, though...... not significant after multiple testing correction, was observed in the three populations. In White American with MS overall, males and females, we found that solar cycle is associated with lifespan. We found that season and solar cycles have some role in MS susceptibility and life duration. However...

  11. Short-term to Long-term Results of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Implantation for Uveitic Glaucoma Secondary to Behçet Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakin, Mehmet; Eksioglu, Umit; Sungur, Gulten; Satana, Banu; Demirok, Gulizar; Ornek, Firdevs

    2017-01-01

    To evaluate short-term to long-term outcomes of Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation in the management of uveitic glaucoma (UG) secondary to Behçet disease (BD). A retrospective chart review of 47 eyes of 35 patients with UG secondary to BD who underwent AGV implantation was conducted. Success was defined as having an intraocular pressure (IOP) between 6 and 21 mm Hg with (qualified success) or without (complete success) antiglaucomatous medications and without need for further glaucoma surgery. Mean postoperative follow-up was 57.72±26.13 months. Mean preoperative IOP was 35.40±8.33 mm Hg versus 12.28±2.90 mm Hg at the last follow-up visit (P<0.001). Mean number of preoperative topical antiglaucomatous medications was 2.96±0.29 versus 0.68±1.12 at the last follow-up visit (P<0.001). In all eyes, IOP could be maintained between 6 and 21 mm Hg with or without antiglaucomatous medications during follow-up. The cumulative probability of complete success was 46.8% at 6 months, 40.4% at 12 months, and 35.9% at 36 months, and the cumulative probability of eyes without complication was 53.2% at 6 months, 46.5% at 12 months, and 39.6% at 24 months postoperatively based on Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. No persistent or irreparable complications were observed. This study includes one of the largest series of AGV implantation in the management of UG with the longest follow-up reported. AGV implantation can be considered as a primary surgical option in the management of UG secondary to BD with 100% total success rate (with or without medications).

  12. Impact of Short- and Long-term Tai Chi Mind-Body Exercise Training on Cognitive Function in Healthy Adults: Results From a Hybrid Observational Study and Randomized Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Jacquelyn N; Manor, Brad; Hausdorff, Jeffrey; Novak, Vera; Lipsitz, Lewis; Gow, Brian; Macklin, Eric A; Peng, Chung-Kang; Wayne, Peter M

    2015-07-01

    Cognitive decline amongst older adults is a significant public health concern. There is growing interest in behavioral interventions, including exercise, for improving cognition. Studies to date suggest tai chi (TC) may be a safe and potentially effective exercise for preserving cognitive function with aging; however, its short-term and potential long-term impact on physically active, healthy adults is unclear. To compare differences in cognitive function among long-term TC expert practitioners and age-matched and gender-matched TC-naïve adults and to determine the effects of short-term TC training on measures of cognitive function in healthy, nonsedentary adults. A hybrid design including an observational comparison and a 2-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT). Healthy, nonsedentary, TC-naive adults (50 y-79 y) and age-matched and gender-matched long-term TC experts. A cross-sectional comparison of cognitive function in healthy TC-naïve (n=60) and TC expert (24.5 y ÷ 12 y experience; n=27) adults: TC-naïve adults then completed a 6-month, 2-arm, wait-list randomized clinical trial of TC training. Six measures of cognitive function were assessed for both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons. TC experts exhibited trends towards better scores on all cognitive measures, significantly so for category fluency (P=.01), as well as a composite z score summarizing all 6 cognitive assessments (P=.03). In contrast, random assignment to 6 months of TC training in TC-naïve adults did not significantly improve any measures of cognitive function. In healthy nonsedentary adults, long-term TC training may help preserve cognitive function; however, the effect of short-term TC training in healthy adults remains unclear. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01340365.

  13. A strategic approach to short- and long-term irradiated WWER fuel management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilcox, P.; Conboy, T.M.

    1994-01-01

    A methodology is presented for comparison of alternative options for short-term and long-term irradiated fuel management. The value of this methodology is that all interested parties can take part in the analysis and derive the basis for decision-making. The methodology can answer questions as: When can uranium and plutonium recovered by reprocessing be recycled cost effectively in WWER? If reprocessing is not the short-term option chosen, is storage of irradiated fuel at the original licensed nuclear reactor site preferable to a separate storage-only-site? Are modular vault dry stores and cooling ponds which necessitate significant capital investment prior to deployment, more costly overall than their options? Should the most suitable form of irradiated fuel management be determined only by cost constraints? The key stages of the methodology are: 1) Assessing the current situation; 2) Assessing priorities; 3) Option/possible solutions; 4) Generic storage systems; 5) Cost/funding analysis; 6) Selection criteria; 7) Optioneering/evaluation. The conclusions that can be reached from this methodological approach lead to firm recommendations based on objective assessments. The methodology builds on existing expertise. It is not an imposed solution allowing an excellent exchange of knowledge and skills between the people involved

  14. A strategic approach to short- and long-term irradiated WWER fuel management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilcox, P [BNFL International Ltd., Warrington (United Kingdom); Conboy, T M [BNFL Engineering Ltd., Manchester (United Kingdom)

    1994-12-31

    A methodology is presented for comparison of alternative options for short-term and long-term irradiated fuel management. The value of this methodology is that all interested parties can take part in the analysis and derive the basis for decision-making. The methodology can answer questions as: When can uranium and plutonium recovered by reprocessing be recycled cost effectively in WWER? If reprocessing is not the short-term option chosen, is storage of irradiated fuel at the original licensed nuclear reactor site preferable to a separate storage-only-site? Are modular vault dry stores and cooling ponds which necessitate significant capital investment prior to deployment, more costly overall than their options? Should the most suitable form of irradiated fuel management be determined only by cost constraints? The key stages of the methodology are: (1) Assessing the current situation; (2) Assessing priorities; (3) Option/possible solutions; (4) Generic storage systems; (5) Cost/funding analysis; (6) Selection criteria; (7) Optioneering/evaluation. The conclusions that can be reached from this methodological approach lead to firm recommendations based on objective assessments. The methodology builds on existing expertise. It is not an imposed solution allowing an excellent exchange of knowledge and skills between the people involved.

  15. Short and long term modulation of tissue minerals concentrations following oral administration of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seed oil to laboratory rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basheer, Irum; Qureshi, Irfan Zia

    2018-01-15

    Nigella sativa, or commonly called black cumin is a small herb of family Ranunculaceae is a well-known medicinal plant but its effects on tissue mineral concentrations of animal bodies is unknown. To study the effect of oral administration of fixed oil of black cumin seeds on tissues mineral content using laboratory rats as experimental model. Experimental animals were exposed to two oral doses of seed oil (60 and 120 ml kg -1 body weight). Short- and long term experiments lasted 24 h and 60 days respectively, with three replicates each. Oil extracted from black cumin seeds was subjected to GC-MS to identify chemical components. Following the wet digestion in nitric acid, samples of whole blood and organs of rats were subjected to atomic absorption spectrophotometry for determination of elements concentrations. Data were compared statistically at p < .05. Compared to control, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn showed decrease, whereas Co, Na, Mg and K demonstrated increase, but Ca showed both increase and decrease in most of the tissues upon short term exposure to low and high doses of black cumin oil. During long term exposure, Cr, Fe, Mn, Cu exhibited decrease; Co, Na, Mg and Ca concentrations demonstrated an upregulation, whereas Ni and Zn showed increase and decrease in most of the tissues. Comparison of short term with long term experiments at low dose revealed increases in Fe, Zn, Cu, Mg, K and Ca, a decrease in Cr, Mn, Ni and Cu in most tissues, but both increase and decrease in Na. At high dose, an increase occurred in Fe, Ni, Zn, K, Ca, Mg, a decrease in Cr, while both increase and decrease in Cu, Co and Na concentrations. Our study demonstrates that oral administration of black cumin seeds oil to laboratory rats significantly alters tissue trace elements and electrolytes concentrations. The study appears beneficial but indicates modulatory role of black cumin oil as regards mineral metabolism with far reaching implications in health and disease. Copyright © 2017

  16. Hyperspectral Estimation of the Chlorophyll Content in Short-Term and Long-Term Restorations of Mangrove in Quanzhou Bay Estuary, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiguo Dou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The chlorophyll content can indicate the general health of vegetation, and can be estimated from hyperspectral data. The aim of this study is to estimate the chlorophyll content of mangroves at different stages of restoration in a coastal wetland in Quanzhou, China, using proximal hyperspectral remote sensing techniques. We determine the hyperspectral reflectance of leaves from two mangrove species, Kandelia candel and Aegiceras corniculatum, from short-term and long-term restoration areas with a portable spectroradiometer. We also measure the leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD value. We use partial-least-squares stepwise regression to determine the relationships between the spectral reflectance and the chlorophyll content of the leaves, and establish two models, a full-wave-band spectrum model and a red-edge position regression model, to estimate the chlorophyll content of the mangroves. The coefficients of determination for the red-edge position model and the full-wave-band model exceed 0.72 and 0.82, respectively. The inverted chlorophyll contents are estimated more accurately for the long-term restoration mangroves than for the short-term restoration mangroves. Our results indicate that hyperspectral data can be used to estimate the chlorophyll content of mangroves at different stages of restoration, and could possibly be adapted to estimate biochemical constituents in leaves.

  17. Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of an Exercise-Based Patient Education Programme in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Lutz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Although people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS benefit from physical exercise, they still show reduced physical activity and exercise behaviour. This study aimed to investigate short- and long-term effects of an exercise-based patient education programme (ePEP that focuses on empowering pwMS to a sustainable and self-regulated exercise training management. Methods. Fourteen pwMS were randomly assigned to immediate experimental group (EG-I: n=8 and waitlist-control group (EG-W: n=6 and attended biweekly in a six-week ePEP. All participants were measured for walking ability, quality of life, fatigue, and self-efficacy towards physical exercise before and after the ePEP, after 12 weeks, and one year after baseline. Short-term effects were analysed in a randomised control trial and long-term effects of all ePEP participants (EG-I + EG-W = EG-all in a quasi-experimental design. Results. Only functional gait significantly improved in EG-I compared to EG-W (p=0.008, r=-0.67. Moderate to large effects were found in EG-all for walking ability. Not significant, however, relevant changes were detected for quality of life and fatigue. Self-efficacy showed no changes. Conclusion. The ePEP seems to be a feasible option to empower pwMS to a self-regulated and sustainable exercise training management shown in long-term walking improvements.

  18. A neuroligin-1-derived peptide stimulates phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit and rescues MK-801-induced decrease in long-term potentiation and memory impairment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korshunova, Irina; Gjørlund, Michelle D; Jacobsen, Sylwia Owczarek

    2015-01-01

    neurolide-1 effects on short- and long-term social and spatial memory in social recognition, Morris water-maze, and Y-maze tests. We found that subcutaneous neurolide-1 administration, restored hippocampal LTP compromised by NMDA receptor inhibitor MK-801. It counteracted MK-801-induced memory deficit...... in the water-maze and Y-maze tests after long-term treatment (24 h and 1-2 h before the test), but not after short-term exposure (1-2 h). Long-term exposure to neurolide-1 also facilitated social recognition memory. In addition, neurolide-1-induced phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit on a site...... receptor phosphorylation after treatment with NL1 or a mimetic peptide, neurolide-1, was quantified by immunoblotting. Subsequently, we investigated effects of neurolide-1 on long-term potentiation (LTP) induction in hippocampal slices compromised by NMDA receptor inhibitor MK-801. Finally, we investigated...

  19. Short- and long-term outcomes of metformin compared with insulin alone in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butalia, S; Gutierrez, L; Lodha, A; Aitken, E; Zakariasen, A; Donovan, L

    2017-01-01

    To assess the short- and long-term maternal and fetal impact of metformin in pregnancy compared with insulin. We performed a comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and ClinicalTrials.gov. Eligible studies were randomized control trials (RCTs) or follow-up of an RCT that: (1) compared metformin with insulin in pregnancy in women with gestational diabetes mellitus or Type 2 diabetes; and (2) reported maternal or fetal outcomes of interest. Two reviewers extracted the data, evaluated study quality and calculated pooled estimates. Sixteen studies (n = 2165 in quantitative analysis) were included. Metformin lowered the risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia [risk ratio (RR) = 0.63; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.45 to 0.87], large for gestational age babies (RR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.99), pregnancy-induced hypertension (RR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.85) and total maternal pregnancy weight gain [mean difference (MD) -2.07; 95% CI -2.88 to -1.27]. Metformin did not increase preterm delivery (RR = 1.18; 95% CI 0.67 to 2.07), small for gestational age babies (RR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.67 to 2.14), perinatal mortality (RR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.17 to 3.92) or Caesarean section (RR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.19). Long-term outcome information is limited. Our review found that metformin had no short-term adverse effects on pregnancy, potential benefits in the neonatal period, but limited long-term follow-up information. Prior to routine use, we recommend further follow-up studies of offspring exposed to metformin in utero. © 2016 Diabetes UK.

  20. Rape-related symptoms in adolescents: short- and long-term outcome after cognitive behavior group therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iva Bicanic

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Efficacy studies on treatment in adolescent victims of single rape are lacking, even though sexual victimization is most likely to occur during adolescence and despite the fact that adolescents are at risk to develop subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder. Aim: The aim of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of a nine-session cognitive behavior group therapy (STEPS, including a parallel six-session parents’ group on rape-related symptomatology in female adolescents (13–18 years. STEPS includes psychoeducation, exposure in sensu as well as in vivo, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention. Methods: Fifty-five female adolescents with mental health problems due to single rape, but without prior sexual trauma, received STEPS while their parents participated in a support group. Subjects were assessed on posttraumatic stress (PTS and comorbid symptoms using self-report questionnaires prior to and directly after treatment, and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Results: Repeated measures analysis showed a significant and large decrease in symptoms of PTS, anxiety, depression, anger, dissociation, sexual concerns, and behavior problems directly after treatment, which maintained at 12 months follow-up. Time since trauma did not influence the results. Dropout during STEPS was 1.8%. Conclusions: The results potentially suggest that the positive treatment outcomes at short- and long-term may be caused by STEPS. The encouraging findings need confirmation in future controlled studies on the effectiveness of STEPS because it may be possible that the treatment works especially well for more chronic symptoms, while the less chronic part of the sample showed considerable improvement on its own.

  1. Language Identification in Short Utterances Using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Recurrent Neural Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zazo, Ruben; Lozano-Diez, Alicia; Gonzalez-Dominguez, Javier; Toledano, Doroteo T; Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Joaquin

    2016-01-01

    Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have recently outperformed other state-of-the-art approaches, such as i-vector and Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), in automatic Language Identification (LID), particularly when dealing with very short utterances (∼3s). In this contribution we present an open-source, end-to-end, LSTM RNN system running on limited computational resources (a single GPU) that outperforms a reference i-vector system on a subset of the NIST Language Recognition Evaluation (8 target languages, 3s task) by up to a 26%. This result is in line with previously published research using proprietary LSTM implementations and huge computational resources, which made these former results hardly reproducible. Further, we extend those previous experiments modeling unseen languages (out of set, OOS, modeling), which is crucial in real applications. Results show that a LSTM RNN with OOS modeling is able to detect these languages and generalizes robustly to unseen OOS languages. Finally, we also analyze the effect of even more limited test data (from 2.25s to 0.1s) proving that with as little as 0.5s an accuracy of over 50% can be achieved.

  2. 长时程增强与长时程抑制的研究%Advances in long - term potentiation and long - term depression

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张敬军; 夏作理

    2000-01-01

    The impairment of learning and memory function in the central nervous system(CNS)is one of the main features of aging and Alzheimer' s disease (AD). Many experimental results have showed that long- term memory(LTM) is related to long- term potentiation(LTP) and long- term depression (LTD). They intluenee each other. The relationship between LTP and LTD is complex. Therefore, it is important to study the learning and memory mechanism from LTP、LTD and gene expression in the CNS.

  3. Short-term memory to long-term memory transition in a nanoscale memristor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ting; Jo, Sung-Hyun; Lu, Wei

    2011-09-27

    "Memory" is an essential building block in learning and decision-making in biological systems. Unlike modern semiconductor memory devices, needless to say, human memory is by no means eternal. Yet, forgetfulness is not always a disadvantage since it releases memory storage for more important or more frequently accessed pieces of information and is thought to be necessary for individuals to adapt to new environments. Eventually, only memories that are of significance are transformed from short-term memory into long-term memory through repeated stimulation. In this study, we show experimentally that the retention loss in a nanoscale memristor device bears striking resemblance to memory loss in biological systems. By stimulating the memristor with repeated voltage pulses, we observe an effect analogous to memory transition in biological systems with much improved retention time accompanied by additional structural changes in the memristor. We verify that not only the shape or the total number of stimuli is influential, but also the time interval between stimulation pulses (i.e., the stimulation rate) plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of the transition. The memory enhancement and transition of the memristor device was explained from the microscopic picture of impurity redistribution and can be qualitatively described by the same equations governing biological memories. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  4. The Sources of Life Chances: Does Education, Class Category, Occupation, or Short-Term Earnings Predict 20-Year Long-Term Earnings?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ChangHwan Kim

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In sociological studies of economic stratification and intergenerational mobility, occupation has long been presumed to reflect lifetime earnings better than do short-term earnings. However, few studies have actually tested this critical assumption. In this study, we investigate the cross-sectional determinants of 20-year accumulated earnings using data that match respondents in the Survey of Income and Program Participation to their longitudinal earnings records based on administrative tax information from 1990 to 2009. Fit statistics of regression models are estimated to assess the predictive power of various proxy variables, including occupation, education, and short-term earnings, on cumulative earnings over the 20-year time period. Contrary to the popular assumption in sociology, our results find that cross-sectional earnings have greater predictive power on long-term earnings than occupation-based class classifications, including three-digit detailed occupations for both men and women. The model based on educational attainment, including field of study, has slightly better fit than models based on one-digit occupation or the Erikson, Goldthorpe, and Portocarero class scheme. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for the sociology of stratification and intergenerational mobility.

  5. Chronic sleep deprivation differentially affects short and long-term operant memory in Aplysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnan, Harini C; Noakes, Eric J; Lyons, Lisa C

    2016-10-01

    The induction, formation and maintenance of memory represent dynamic processes modulated by multiple factors including the circadian clock and sleep. Chronic sleep restriction has become common in modern society due to occupational and social demands. Given the impact of cognitive impairments associated with sleep deprivation, there is a vital need for a simple animal model in which to study the interactions between chronic sleep deprivation and memory. We used the marine mollusk Aplysia californica, with its simple nervous system, nocturnal sleep pattern and well-characterized learning paradigms, to assess the effects of two chronic sleep restriction paradigms on short-term (STM) and long-term (LTM) associative memory. The effects of sleep deprivation on memory were evaluated using the operant learning paradigm, learning that food is inedible, in which the animal associates a specific netted seaweed with failed swallowing attempts. We found that two nights of 6h sleep deprivation occurring during the first or last half of the night inhibited both STM and LTM. Moreover, the impairment in STM persisted for more than 24h. A milder, prolonged sleep deprivation paradigm consisting of 3 consecutive nights of 4h sleep deprivation also blocked STM, but had no effect on LTM. These experiments highlight differences in the sensitivity of STM and LTM to chronic sleep deprivation. Moreover, these results establish Aplysia as a valid model for studying the interactions between chronic sleep deprivation and associative memory paving the way for future studies delineating the mechanisms through which sleep restriction affects memory formation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Neighbourhood Characteristics and Long-Term Air Pollution Levels Modify the Association between the Short-Term Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations and All-Cause Mortality in Paris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deguen, Séverine; Petit, Claire; Delbarre, Angélique; Kihal, Wahida; Padilla, Cindy; Benmarhnia, Tarik; Lapostolle, Annabelle; Chauvin, Pierre; Zmirou-Navier, Denis

    2015-01-01

    While a great number of papers have been published on the short-term effects of air pollution on mortality, few have tried to assess whether this association varies according to the neighbourhood socioeconomic level and long-term ambient air concentrations measured at the place of residence. We explored the effect modification of 1) socioeconomic status, 2) long-term NO2 ambient air concentrations, and 3) both combined, on the association between short-term exposure to NO2 and all-cause mortality in Paris (France). A time-stratified case-crossover analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of short-term NO2 variations on mortality, based on 79,107 deaths having occurred among subjects aged over 35 years, from 2004 to 2009, in the city of Paris. Simple and double interactions were statistically tested in order to analyse effect modification by neighbourhood characteristics on the association between mortality and short-term NO2 exposure. The data was estimated at the census block scale (n=866). The mean of the NO2 concentrations during the five days prior to deaths were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality: overall Excess Risk (ER) was 0.94% (95%CI=[0.08;1.80]. A higher risk was revealed for subjects living in the most deprived census blocks in comparison with higher socioeconomic level areas (ER=3.14% (95%CI=[1.41-4.90], ppollution episodes. There is also an indication that people living in these disadvantaged census blocks might experience even higher risk following short-term air pollution episodes, when they are also chronically exposed to higher NO2 levels.

  7. Long term potentiation, but not depression, in interlamellar hippocampus CA1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Duk-Gyu; Kang, Hyeri; Tetteh, Hannah; Su, Junfeng; Lee, Jihwan; Park, Sung-Won; He, Jufang; Jo, Jihoon; Yang, Sungchil; Yang, Sunggu

    2018-03-26

    Synaptic plasticity in the lamellar CA3 to CA1 circuitry has been extensively studied while interlamellar CA1 to CA1 connections have not yet received much attention. One of our earlier studies demonstrated that axons of CA1 pyramidal neurons project to neighboring CA1 neurons, implicating information transfer along a longitudinal interlamellar network. Still, it remains unclear whether long-term synaptic plasticity is present within this longitudinal CA1 network. Here, we investigate long-term synaptic plasticity between CA1 pyramidal cells, using in vitro and in vivo extracellular recordings and 3D holography glutamate uncaging. We found that the CA1-CA1 network exhibits NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) without direction or layer selectivity. By contrast, we find no significant long-term depression (LTD) under various LTD induction protocols. These results implicate unique synaptic properties in the longitudinal projection suggesting that the interlamellar CA1 network could be a promising structure for hippocampus-related information processing and brain diseases.

  8. Short-term LNG-markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eldegard, Tom; Lund, Arne-Christian; Miltersen, Kristian; Rud, Linda

    2005-01-01

    The global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry has experienced substantial growth in the past decades. In the traditional trade patterns of LNG the product has typically been handled within a dedicated chain of plants and vessels fully committed by long term contracts or common ownership, providing risk sharing of large investments in a non-liquid market. Increasing gas prices and substantial cost reductions in all parts of the LNG chain have made LNG projects viable even if only part of the capacity is secured by long-term contracts, opening for more flexible trade of the remainder. Increasing gas demand, especially in power generation, combined with cost reductions in the cost of LNG terminals, open new markets for LNG. For the LNG supplier, the flexibility of shifting volumes between regions represents an additional value. International trade in LNG has been increasing, now accounting for more than one fifth of the world's cross-border gas trade. Despite traditional vertical chain bonds, increased flexibility has contributed in fact to an increasing LNG spot trade, representing 8% of global trade in 2002. The focus of this paper is on the development of global short-term LNG markets, and their role with respect to efficiency and security of supply in European gas markets. Arbitrage opportunities arising from price differences between regional markets (such as North America versus Europe) are important impetuses for flexible short-term trade. However, the short-term LNG trade may suffer from problems related to market access, e.g. limited access to terminals and regulatory issues, as well as rigidities connected to vertical binding within the LNG chain. Important issues related to the role of short-term LNG-trade in the European gas market are: Competition, flexibility in meeting peak demand, security of supply and consequences of differences in pricing policies (oil-linked prices in Europe and spot market prices in North America). (Author)

  9. An exemplar-familiarity model predicts short-term and long-term probe recognition across diverse forms of memory search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nosofsky, Robert M; Cox, Gregory E; Cao, Rui; Shiffrin, Richard M

    2014-11-01

    Experiments were conducted to test a modern exemplar-familiarity model on its ability to account for both short-term and long-term probe recognition within the same memory-search paradigm. Also, making connections to the literature on attention and visual search, the model was used to interpret differences in probe-recognition performance across diverse conditions that manipulated relations between targets and foils across trials. Subjects saw lists of from 1 to 16 items followed by a single item recognition probe. In a varied-mapping condition, targets and foils could switch roles across trials; in a consistent-mapping condition, targets and foils never switched roles; and in an all-new condition, on each trial a completely new set of items formed the memory set. In the varied-mapping and all-new conditions, mean correct response times (RTs) and error proportions were curvilinear increasing functions of memory set size, with the RT results closely resembling ones from hybrid visual-memory search experiments reported by Wolfe (2012). In the consistent-mapping condition, new-probe RTs were invariant with set size, whereas old-probe RTs increased slightly with increasing study-test lag. With appropriate choice of psychologically interpretable free parameters, the model accounted well for the complete set of results. The work provides support for the hypothesis that a common set of processes involving exemplar-based familiarity may govern long-term and short-term probe recognition across wide varieties of memory- search conditions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation of animal auditory cortex impairs short-term but not long-term memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hong; Wang, Xu; Wetzel, Wolfram; Scheich, Henning

    2006-04-01

    Bilateral rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of gerbil auditory cortex with a miniature coil device was used to study short-term and long-term effects on discrimination learning of frequency-modulated tones. We found previously that directional discrimination of frequency modulation (rising vs. falling) relies on auditory cortex processing and that formation of its memory depends on local protein synthesis. Here we show that, during training over 5 days, certain rTMS regimes contingent on training had differential effects on the time course of learning. When rTMS was applied several times per day, i.e. four blocks of 5 min rTMS each followed 5 min later by a 3-min training block and 15-min intervals between these blocks (experiment A), animals reached a high discrimination performance more slowly over 5 days than did controls. When rTMS preceded only the first two of four training blocks (experiment B), or when prolonged rTMS (20 min) preceded only the first block, or when blocks of experiment A had longer intervals (experiments C and D), no significant day-to-day effects were found. However, in experiment A, and to some extent in experiment B, rTMS reduced the within-session discrimination performance. Nevertheless the animals learned, as demonstrated by a higher performance the next day. Thus, our results indicate that rTMS treatments accumulate over a day but not strongly over successive days. We suggest that rTMS of sensory cortex, as used in our study, affects short-term memory but not long-term memory formation.

  11. CHANGES IN QUALITY OF LIFE AFTER SHORT AND LONG TERM FOLLOW-UP OF ROUX-EN-Y GASTRIC BYPASS FOR MORBID OBESITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael M. LAURINO NETO

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Context It is unclear whether health-related quality of life (HRQL is sustained in a long-term follow-up of morbidly obese patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB. Objective This study aims to analyze the HRQL changes following RYGB in short and long-term follow-up. Methods We compared the health-related quality of life among three separate patient groups, using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36. Group A - 50 preoperative morbidly obese patients; Group B - 50 RYGB patients 1-2 years post-surgery; Group C - 50 RYGB patients more than 7 years post-surgery. Results The groups were similar for gender, age and body mass index before surgery. We observed that physical functioning, social function, emotional role functioning and mental health scales did not vary between the three groups. The physical role functioning scale was unchanged in the short-term and decreased compared to the preoperative scale in the long-term follow-up. Bodily pain improved after the operation but returned to the initial level after 7 years. The vitality and general health perceptions improved after the operation and maintained these results after 7 years compared with the preoperative perceptions. Conclusions RYGB improved health-related quality of life in three SF-36 domains (bodily pain, general health perceptions and vitality in the short-term and two SF-36 domains (general health perceptions and vitality in the long-term.

  12. Short and long-term effects of sham-controlled prefrontal EEG-neurofeedback training in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelbregt, H J; Keeser, D; van Eijk, L; Suiker, E M; Eichhorn, D; Karch, S; Deijen, J B; Pogarell, O

    2016-04-01

    In this study we evaluated long-term effects of frontal beta EEG-neurofeedback training (E-NFT) on healthy subjects. We hypothesized that E-NFT can change frontal beta activity in the long-term and that changes in frontal beta EEG activity are accompanied by altered cognitive performance. 25 healthy subjects were included and randomly assigned to active or sham E-NFT. On average the subjects underwent 15 E-NFT training sessions with a training duration of 45 min. Resting-state EEG was recorded prior to E-NFT training (t1) and in a 3-year follow-up (t3). Compared to sham E-NFT, which was used for the control group, real E-NFT increased beta activity in a predictable way. This increase was maintained over a period of three years post training. However, E-NFT did not result in significantly improved cognitive performance. Based on our results, we conclude that EEG-NFT can selectively modify EEG beta activity both in short and long-term. This is a sham controlled EEG neurofeedback study demonstrating long-term effects in resting state EEG. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Short- and long-term effectiveness of intracavitary urokinase in loculated thoracic empyema

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Tae Gon; Han, Young Min; Chang, Suk Kyeong; Chung, Gyung Ho; Sohn, Myung Hee; Kim, Chong Soo; Choi, Ki Chul

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-and long-term effectiveness of intracavitary urokinase with percutaneous catheter drainage in loculated thoracic empyemas. 15 patients were identified as second stage of loculated thoracic empyema by estimating nature of pleural fluid, chest PA, lateral decubitus view and CT scan. Under the guidance of fluoroscopy or ultrasound, catheter was inserted percutaneously. Instillation of urokinase was started when amount of drained fluid became less than 30 ml per day with 100,000U of urokinase mixed with 100 ml of normal saline. Trial of urokinase was repeated until complete drainage of empyema was demonstrated on plain chest film obtained after 48 hours. Successful complete drainage was achieved in 14 of 15 patients. In long-term study, complete resorption was demonstrated in 11 of 12 patients. Average dosage of used urokinase was 330,000U and mean duration of catheter insertion was 35 days. Intracavitary urokinase with percutaneous catheter drainage is a safe and effective method to facilitate drainage of loculated empyema and to prevent recurrence

  14. Retroactive effects of irrelevant speech on serial recall from short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Dennis; Baddeley, Alan D; Page, Michael P A

    2004-09-01

    The authors report 5 serial-recall experiments. In 4 of the 5 experiments, they show that irrelevant sound (IS) has a retroactive effect on material already in memory. In Experiment 1, IS presented during a filled retention interval had a reliable effect on list recall. Four further experiments, 3 of which used retroactive IS, showed that IS continued to-have an effect on recall following a long, filled retention interval. Articulatory suppression during visual input was found to abolish the long-lasting, retroactive effect of IS, supporting the idea that IS affects the phonological-loop component of short-term memory. IS also, therefore, seems to affect a longer term memory system with which the loop interacts. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

  15. Data-driven forecasting of high-dimensional chaotic systems with long short-term memory networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlachas, Pantelis R; Byeon, Wonmin; Wan, Zhong Y; Sapsis, Themistoklis P; Koumoutsakos, Petros

    2018-05-01

    We introduce a data-driven forecasting method for high-dimensional chaotic systems using long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks. The proposed LSTM neural networks perform inference of high-dimensional dynamical systems in their reduced order space and are shown to be an effective set of nonlinear approximators of their attractor. We demonstrate the forecasting performance of the LSTM and compare it with Gaussian processes (GPs) in time series obtained from the Lorenz 96 system, the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation and a prototype climate model. The LSTM networks outperform the GPs in short-term forecasting accuracy in all applications considered. A hybrid architecture, extending the LSTM with a mean stochastic model (MSM-LSTM), is proposed to ensure convergence to the invariant measure. This novel hybrid method is fully data-driven and extends the forecasting capabilities of LSTM networks.

  16. Flavonoid fisetin promotes ERK-dependent long-term potentiation and enhances memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maher, Pamela; Akaishi, Tatsuhiro; Abe, Kazuho

    2006-01-01

    Small molecules that activate signaling pathways used by neurotrophic factors could be useful for treating CNS disorders. Here we show that the flavonoid fisetin activates ERK and induces cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation in rat hippocampal slices, facilitates long-term potentiation in rat hippocampal slices, and enhances object recognition in mice. Together, these data demonstrate that the natural product fisetin can facilitate long-term memory, and therefore it may be useful for treating patients with memory disorders. PMID:17050681

  17. PKA increases in the olfactory bulb act as unconditioned stimuli and provide evidence for parallel memory systems: pairing odor with increased PKA creates intermediate- and long-term, but not short-term, memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimes, Matthew T; Harley, Carolyn W; Darby-King, Andrea; McLean, John H

    2012-02-21

    Neonatal odor-preference memory in rat pups is a well-defined associative mammalian memory model dependent on cAMP. Previous work from this laboratory demonstrates three phases of neonatal odor-preference memory: short-term (translation-independent), intermediate-term (translation-dependent), and long-term (transcription- and translation-dependent). Here, we use neonatal odor-preference learning to explore the role of olfactory bulb PKA in these three phases of mammalian memory. PKA activity increased normally in learning animals 10 min after a single training trial. Inhibition of PKA by Rp-cAMPs blocked intermediate-term and long-term memory, with no effect on short-term memory. PKA inhibition also prevented learning-associated CREB phosphorylation, a transcription factor implicated in long-term memory. When long-term memory was rescued through increased β-adrenoceptor activation, CREB phosphorylation was restored. Intermediate-term and long-term, but not short-term odor-preference memories were generated by pairing odor with direct PKA activation using intrabulbar Sp-cAMPs, which bypasses β-adrenoceptor activation. Higher levels of Sp-cAMPs enhanced memory by extending normal 24-h retention to 48-72 h. These results suggest that increased bulbar PKA is necessary and sufficient for the induction of intermediate-term and long-term odor-preference memory, and suggest that PKA activation levels also modulate memory duration. However, short-term memory appears to use molecular mechanisms other than the PKA/CREB pathway. These mechanisms, which are also recruited by β-adrenoceptor activation, must operate in parallel with PKA activation.

  18. Provision or Good Genes? Menstrual Cycle Shifts in Women's Preferences for Short-Term and Long-Term Mates' Altruistic Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryo Oda

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Men's altruism may have evolved, via female choice, as a signal of either their genetic quality or their willingness to allocate resources to offspring. The possibility that men display altruism to signal their genetic quality may be tested by examining women's preference for men's altruism across the stages of the menstrual cycle. Because women can maximize reproductive benefits by mating with men who have “good genes” on high-fertility versus low-fertility days, women should show a heightened preference for male altruism on high-fertility days compared to low-fertility days, and this heightened preference should be more apparent when women evaluate men for short-term sexual relationships than for long-term committed relationships. The possibility that men display altruism to signal their willingness to provision, as opposed to their genetic quality, may be tested by examining women's preference for men's altruism toward different recipients. More specifically, altruistic behavior toward family members may reflect a willingness to provide resources for kin and, hence, willingness to provision, whereas altruistic behavior toward strangers may function as an honest signal of genetic quality. In two samples of young women (TVs = 131 and 481, we found no differences between high- and low-fertility participants in preference for men's altruism, and women preferred men's altruism more in long-term than short-term relationships. The findings suggest that men's altruistic behavior functions as a signal of willingness to provide resources rather than genetic quality.

  19. [Short-and long-term effects of cannabinoids on memory, cognition and mental illness].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagie, Shira; Eliasi, Yehuda; Livneh, Ido; Bart, Yosi; Monovich, Einat

    2013-12-01

    Marijuana is considered the most commonly used drug in the world, with estimated millions of users. There is dissent in the medical world about the positive and negative effects of marijuana, and recently, a large research effort has been directed to that domain. The main influencing drug ingredient is THC, which acts on the cannabinoid system and binds to the CB1 receptor. The discovery of the receptor led to the finding of an endogenous ligand, anandamide, and another receptor-CB2. The researchers also discovered that cannabinoids have extensive biological activity, and its short and long-term effects may cause cognitive and emotional deficiencies. Findings show that the short-term effects, such as shortterm memory and verbal Learning, are reversible. However, despite the accumulation of evidence about long-term cognitive damage due to cannabis use, it is difficult to find unequivocal results, arising from the existence of many variables such as large differences between cannabis users, frequency of use, dosage and endogenous brain compensation. Apart from cognitive damage, current studies investigate how marijuana affects mental illness: a high correlation between cannabis use and schizophrenia was found and a high risk to undergo a psychotic attack. Furthermore, patients with schizophrenia who used cannabis showed a selective neuro-psychological disruption, and similar cognitive deficiencies and brain morphological changes were found among healthy cannabis users and schizophrenia patients. In contrast to the negative effects of marijuana including addiction, there are the medical uses: reducing pain, anxiety and nausea, increasing appetite and an anti-inflammatory activity. Medicalization of marijuana encourages frequent use, which may elevate depression.

  20. Short- and long-term transfer of urethral catheterization skills from simulation training to performance on patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Todsen, Tobias; Henriksen, Mikael V.; Kromann, Charles B.

    2013-01-01

    Inexperienced interns are responsible for most iatrogenic complications after urethral catheterization (UC). Although training on simulators is common, little is known about the transfer of learned skills to real clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of UC...

  1. Context of the long-term management of low-level short-lived waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hooft, E.

    2004-01-01

    Until the international moratorium of 1983, Belgium relied on sea disposal for its low-level waste. Since then, ONDRAF/NIRAS, the Belgian radioactive waste management agency, has launched studies to look for land-based solutions. These studies, which are still going on, have gone through various phases. The sometimes harsh reactions in public opinion and the recommendations of independent experts, however, progressively led ONDRAF/NIRAS to question its work methodology. On 16 January 1998 was a milestone in Belgian's nuclear waste management. On that day, the Belgian federal government opted for a final, or potentially final, solution for the long-term management of short-lived, low-level radioactive waste, a solution that also had to be progressive, flexible, and reversible. At the same time, the government entrusted new missions to ONDRAF/NIRAS in particular that of developing methods to enable the integration of final repository project proposals at a local level and restricted the number of potential sites for final disposal to the four existing nuclear sites in Belgium and to possibly interested local districts. The government's decision of 16 January 1998 forced ONDRAF/NIRAS to change its strategy. The agency set up a new work programme and worked out an innovative methodology. This new methodology aims to generate, at the level of the interested towns and villages, draft projects for a final repository supported by a wide public consensus. (author)

  2. Short-Term and Long-Term Survival and Virulence of Legionella pneumophila in the Defined Freshwater Medium Fraquil.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilmini Mendis

    Full Text Available Legionella pneumophila (Lp is the etiological agent responsible for Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal pulmonary infection. Lp lives and multiplies inside protozoa in a variety of natural and man-made water systems prior to human infection. Fraquil, a defined freshwater medium, was used as a highly reproducible medium to study the behaviour of Lp in water. Adopting a reductionist approach, Fraquil was used to study the impact of temperature, pH and trace metal levels on the survival and subsequent intracellular multiplication of Lp in Acanthamoeba castellanii, a freshwater protozoan and a natural host of Legionella. We show that temperature has a significant impact on the short- and long-term survival of Lp, but that the bacterium retains intracellular multiplication potential for over six months in Fraquil. Moreover, incubation in Fraquil at pH 4.0 resulted in a rapid decline in colony forming units, but was not detrimental to intracellular multiplication. In contrast, variations in trace metal concentrations had no impact on either survival or intracellular multiplication in amoeba. Our data show that Lp is a resilient bacterium in the water environment, remaining infectious to host cells after six months under the nutrient-deprived conditions of Fraquil.

  3. Alteration in certain enzymological parameters of an Indian major carp, Cirrhinus mrigala exposed to short- and long-term exposure of clofibric acid and diclofenac.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravanan, Manoharan; Ramesh, Mathan; Petkam, Rakpong

    2013-12-01

    The extensive use of pharmaceuticals in human and veterinary medicine may enter the aquatic environment and pose a serious threat to non-target aquatic organisms like fish. In this study, Indian major carp Cirrhinus mrigala was exposed to different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 μg L⁻¹) of most commonly used pharmaceutical drugs clofibric acid (CA) and diclofenac (DCF) to evaluate its impacts on certain enzymological parameters during short- and long-term exposures. During short-term (96 h) exposure period, plasma glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and gill Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity were significantly altered at all concentrations of both the CA- and DCF-treated fish. In long-term exposure (35 days), gill Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity was found to be significantly increased at all concentration of CA and DCF exposures throughout the study period (except at the end of 7th day in 10 and 100 µg L⁻¹) . However, a biphasic trend was observed in plasma GOT and GPT activity when compared to the control groups. In both short- and long-term exposure, a significant (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05) changes were observed in all enzymological parameters of fish C. mrigala exposed to different concentrations of CA and DCF. The alterations of these enzymological parameters can be effectively used as potential biomarkers in monitoring of pharmaceutical toxicity in aquatic environment and organisms.

  4. Effects of ethanolic extract and naphthoquinones obtained from the bulbs of Cipura paludosa on short-term and long-term memory: involvement of adenosine A₁ and A₂A receptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucena, Greice M R S; Matheus, Filipe C; Ferreira, Vania M; Tessele, Priscila B; Azevedo, Mariangela S; Cechinel-Filho, Valdir; Prediger, Rui D

    2013-04-01

    Previous studies from our group have indicated important biological properties of the ethanolic extract and isolated compounds from the bulbs of Cipura paludosa (Iridaceae), a native plant widely distributed in northern Brazil, including antioxidant, neuroprotective and anti-nociceptive activities. In the present study, the effects of the ethanolic extract and its two naphthoquinones (eleutherine and isoeleutherine) on the short- and long-term memory of adult rodents were assessed in social recognition and inhibitory avoidance tasks. Acute pre-training oral administration of the ethanolic extract improved the short-term social memory in rats as well as facilitated the step-down inhibitory avoidance short- and long-term memory in mice. Moreover, the co-administration of 'non-effective' doses of the extract of Cipura paludosa and the adenosine receptor antagonists caffeine (non-selective), DPCPX (adenosine A1 receptor antagonist) and ZM241385 (adenosine A2A receptor antagonist) improved the social recognition memory of rats. In the inhibitory avoidance task, the co-administration of sub-effective doses of the extract with caffeine or ZM241385, but not with DPCPX, improved the short- and long-term memory of mice. Finally, the acute oral administration of eleutherine and isoeleutherine facilitated the inhibitory avoidance short- and long-term memory in mice. These results demonstrate for the first time the cognitive-enhancing properties of the extract and isolated compounds from the bulbs of Cipura paludosa in rodents and suggest a possible involvement of adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in these effects. © 2012 The Authors Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology © 2012 Nordic Pharmacological Society.

  5. Assessment of short- and long-term memory in trends of major climatic variables over Iran: 1966-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mianabadi, Ameneh; Shirazi, Pooya; Ghahraman, Bijan; Coenders-Gerrits, A. M. J.; Alizadeh, Amin; Davary, Kamran

    2018-02-01

    In arid and semi-arid regions, water scarcity is the crucial issue for crop production. Identifying the spatial and temporal trends in aridity, especially during the crop-growing season, is important for farmers to manage their agricultural practices. This will become especially relevant when considering climate change projections. To reliably determine the actual trends, the influence of short- and long-term memory should be removed from the trend analysis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of short- and long-term memory on estimates of trends in two aridity indicators—the inverted De Martonne (ϕ IDM ) and Budyko (ϕ B ) indices. The analysis is done using precipitation and temperature data over Iran for a 50-year period (1966-2015) at three temporal scales: annual, wheat-growing season (October-June), and maize-growing season (May-November). For this purpose, the original and the modified Mann-Kendall tests (i.e., modified by three methods of trend free pre-whitening (TFPT), effective sample size (ESS), and long-term persistence (LTP)) are used to investigate the temporal trends in aridity indices, precipitation, and temperature by taking into account the effect of short- and long-term memory. Precipitation and temperature data were provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO). The temporal trend analysis showed that aridity increased from 1966 to 2015 at the annual and wheat-growing season scales, which is due to a decreasing trend in precipitation and an increasing trend in mean temperature at these two timescales. The trend in aridity indices was decreasing in the maize-growing season, since precipitation has an increasing trend for most parts of Iran in that season. The increasing trend in aridity indices is significant in Western Iran, which can be related to the significantly more negative trend in precipitation in the West. This increasing trend in aridity could result in an increasing crop water

  6. Evaluation of Short Term Memory Span Function In Children

    OpenAIRE

    Barış ERGÜL; Arzu ALTIN YAVUZ; Ebru GÜNDOĞAN AŞIK

    2016-01-01

    Although details of the information encoded in the short-term memory where it is stored temporarily be recorded in the working memory in the next stage. Repeating the information mentally makes it remain in memory for a long time. Studies investigating the relationship between short-term memory and reading skills that are carried out to examine the relationship between short-term memory processes and reading comprehension. In this study information coming to short-term memory and the factors ...

  7. Long-term plasticity determines the postsynaptic response to correlated afferents with multivesicular short-term synaptic depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander David Bird

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Synchrony in a presynaptic population leads to correlations in vesicle occupancy at the active sites for neurotransmitter release. The number of independent release sites per presynaptic neuron, a synaptic parameter recently shown to be modifed during long-term plasticity, will modulate these correlations and therefore have a significant effect on the firing rate of the postsynaptic neuron. To understand how correlations from synaptic dynamics and from presynaptic synchrony shape the postsynaptic response, we study a model of multiple release site short-term plasticity and derive exact results for the crosscorrelation function of vesicle occupancy and neurotransmitter release, as well as the postsynaptic voltage variance. Using approximate forms for the postsynaptic firing rate in the limits of low and high correlations, we demonstrate that short-term depression leads to a maximum response for an intermediate number of presynaptic release sites, and that this leads to a tuning-curve response peaked at an optimal presynaptic synchrony setby the number of neurotransmitter release sites per presynaptic neuron. These effects arise because, above a certain level of correlation, activity in the presynaptic population is overly strong resulting in wastage of the pool of releasable neurotransmitter. As the nervous system operates under constraints of efficient metabolism it is likely that this phenomenon provides an activity-dependent constraint on network architecture.

  8. Short-term mechanisms influencing volumetric brain dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikki Dieleman

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and brain analysis tools, it has become possible to measure brain volume changes up to around 0.5%. Besides long-term brain changes caused by atrophy in aging or neurodegenerative disease, short-term mechanisms that influence brain volume may exist. When we focus on short-term changes of the brain, changes may be either physiological or pathological. As such determining the cause of volumetric dynamics of the brain is essential. Additionally for an accurate interpretation of longitudinal brain volume measures by means of neurodegeneration, knowledge about the short-term changes is needed. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the possible mechanisms influencing brain volumes on a short-term basis and set-out a framework of MRI techniques to be used for volumetric changes as well as the used analysis tools. 3D T1-weighted images are the images of choice when it comes to MRI of brain volume. These images are excellent to determine brain volume and can be used together with an analysis tool to determine the degree of volume change. Mechanisms that decrease global brain volume are: fluid restriction, evening MRI measurements, corticosteroids, antipsychotics and short-term effects of pathological processes like Alzheimer's disease, hypertension and Diabetes mellitus type II. Mechanisms increasing the brain volume include fluid intake, morning MRI measurements, surgical revascularization and probably medications like anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-hypertensive medication. Exercise was found to have no effect on brain volume on a short-term basis, which may imply that dehydration caused by exercise differs from dehydration by fluid restriction. In the upcoming years, attention should be directed towards studies investigating physiological short-term changes within the light of long-term pathological changes. Ultimately this may lead to a better understanding of the physiological short-term effects of

  9. Short-Term Reciprocity in Late Parent-Child Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leopold, Thomas; Raab, Marcel

    2011-01-01

    Long-term concepts of parent-child reciprocity assume that the amount of support given and received is only balanced in a generalized fashion over the life course. We argue that reciprocity in parent-child relationships also operates in the short term. Our analysis of short-term reciprocity focuses on concurrent exchange in its main upward and…

  10. Dissociating Long and Short-term Memory in Three-Month-Old Infants Using the Mismatch Response to Voice Stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinke, Katharina; Thöne, Leonie; Bolinger, Elaina M; Born, Jan

    2018-01-01

    Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) have been successfully used in adults as well as in newborns to discriminate recall of longer-term and shorter-term memories. Specifically the Mismatch Response (MMR) to deviant stimuli of an oddball paradigm is larger if the deviant stimuli are highly familiar (i.e., retrieved from long-term memory) than if they are unfamiliar, representing an immediate change to the standard stimuli kept in short-term memory. Here, we aimed to extend previous findings indicating a differential MMR to familiar and unfamiliar deviants in newborns (Beauchemin et al., 2011), to 3-month-old infants who are starting to interact more with their social surroundings supposedly based on forming more (social) long-term representations. Using a voice discrimination paradigm, each infant was repeatedly presented with the word "baby" (400 ms, interstimulus interval: 600 ms, 10 min overall duration) pronounced by three different female speakers. One voice that was unfamiliar to the infants served as the frequently presented "standard" stimulus, whereas another unfamiliar voice served as the "unfamiliar deviant" stimulus, and the voice of the infant's mother served as the "familiar deviant." Data collection was successful for 31 infants (mean age = 100 days). The MMR was determined by the difference between the ERP to standard stimuli and the ERP to the unfamiliar and familiar deviant, respectively. The MMR to the familiar deviant (mother's voice) was larger, i.e., more positive, than that to the unfamiliar deviant between 100 and 400 ms post-stimulus over the frontal and central cortex. However, a genuine MMR differentiating, as a positive deflection, between ERPs to familiar deviants and standard stimuli was only found in the 300-400 ms interval. On the other hand, a genuine MMR differentiating, as a negative deflection, between ERPs to unfamiliar deviants from ERPs to standard stimuli was revealed for the 200-300 ms post-stimulus interval. Overall

  11. Long- and short-term outcomes in renal allografts with deceased donors: A large recipient and donor genome-wide association study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez-Fuentes, Maria P; Franklin, Christopher; Rebollo-Mesa, Irene; Mollon, Jennifer; Delaney, Florence; Perucha, Esperanza; Stapleton, Caragh; Borrows, Richard; Byrne, Catherine; Cavalleri, Gianpiero; Clarke, Brendan; Clatworthy, Menna; Feehally, John; Fuggle, Susan; Gagliano, Sarah A; Griffin, Sian; Hammad, Abdul; Higgins, Robert; Jardine, Alan; Keogan, Mary; Leach, Timothy; MacPhee, Iain; Mark, Patrick B; Marsh, James; Maxwell, Peter; McKane, William; McLean, Adam; Newstead, Charles; Augustine, Titus; Phelan, Paul; Powis, Steve; Rowe, Peter; Sheerin, Neil; Solomon, Ellen; Stephens, Henry; Thuraisingham, Raj; Trembath, Richard; Topham, Peter; Vaughan, Robert; Sacks, Steven H; Conlon, Peter; Opelz, Gerhard; Soranzo, Nicole; Weale, Michael E; Lord, Graham M

    2018-02-01

    Improvements in immunosuppression have modified short-term survival of deceased-donor allografts, but not their rate of long-term failure. Mismatches between donor and recipient HLA play an important role in the acute and chronic allogeneic immune response against the graft. Perfect matching at clinically relevant HLA loci does not obviate the need for immunosuppression, suggesting that additional genetic variation plays a critical role in both short- and long-term graft outcomes. By combining patient data and samples from supranational cohorts across the United Kingdom and European Union, we performed the first large-scale genome-wide association study analyzing both donor and recipient DNA in 2094 complete renal transplant-pairs with replication in 5866 complete pairs. We studied deceased-donor grafts allocated on the basis of preferential HLA matching, which provided some control for HLA genetic effects. No strong donor or recipient genetic effects contributing to long- or short-term allograft survival were found outside the HLA region. We discuss the implications for future research and clinical application. © 2018 The Authors. American Journal of Transplantation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  12. Transmitter-controlled properties of α-motoneurones causing long-lasting motor discharge to brief excitatory inputs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hounsgaard, J.; Hultborn, H.; Kiehn, O.

    1986-01-01

    Brief sensory inputs to intact conscious subjects commonly trigger complex long-lasting motor responses, in which higher cerebral mechanisms, or even voluntary action, may be integrative parts. However, long-lasting motor discharge following brief afferent stimulation is also observed in reduced ...... flipflops, which are set at one of two levels by short excitatory or inhibitory inputs. However, when the whole motoneuronal pool is considered, many different levels can be maintained by recruitment of new units.......Brief sensory inputs to intact conscious subjects commonly trigger complex long-lasting motor responses, in which higher cerebral mechanisms, or even voluntary action, may be integrative parts. However, long-lasting motor discharge following brief afferent stimulation is also observed in reduced...

  13. Long term effects on potential repository sites: the alteration of the Lower Oxford Clay during weathering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milowdowski, A.E.; Bloodworth, A.J.; Wilmot, R.D.

    1985-09-01

    The report is one of a short series describing work carried out to investigate the long-term effects of various geological processes on the performance of both shallow and deep repositories for low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. This paper deals with the alteration as a result of weathering of the Lower Oxford Clay, a potential host rock for shallow disposal of wastes. A description of the Lower Oxford Clay is given, along with the weathering of argillaceous rocks. Investigations of the weathering at the Elstow Storage Depot are described, as well as the implications for radioactive waste disposal. (U.K.)

  14. Short- and long-term effects of synchronized metronome training in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: a two case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansson, Anna-Maria; Domellöf, Erik; Rönnqvist, Louise

    2012-01-01

    Children with cerebral palsy (CP) require individualized long-term management to maintain and improve motor functions. The objective of this study was to explore potential effects of synchronized metronome training (SMT) on movement kinematics in two children diagnosed with spastic hemiplegic CP (HCP). Both children underwent 4-weeks/12 sessions of SMT by means of the Interactive Metronome (IM). Optoelectronic registrations of goal-directed uni- and bimanual upper-limb movements were made at three occasions; pre-training, post completed training and at 6-months post completed training. Significant changes in kinematic outcomes following IM training were found for both cases. Findings included smoother and shorter movement trajectories in the bimanual condition, especially for the affected side. In the unimanual condition, Case I also showed increased smoothness of the non-affected side. The observed short- and long-term effects on the spatio-temporal organization of upper-limb movements need to be corroborated and extended by further case-control studies.

  15. A Spiking Working Memory Model Based on Hebbian Short-Term Potentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiebig, Florian; Lansner, Anders

    2017-01-04

    A dominant theory of working memory (WM), referred to as the persistent activity hypothesis, holds that recurrently connected neural networks, presumably located in the prefrontal cortex, encode and maintain WM memory items through sustained elevated activity. Reexamination of experimental data has shown that prefrontal cortex activity in single units during delay periods is much more variable than predicted by such a theory and associated computational models. Alternative models of WM maintenance based on synaptic plasticity, such as short-term nonassociative (non-Hebbian) synaptic facilitation, have been suggested but cannot account for encoding of novel associations. Here we test the hypothesis that a recently identified fast-expressing form of Hebbian synaptic plasticity (associative short-term potentiation) is a possible mechanism for WM encoding and maintenance. Our simulations using a spiking neural network model of cortex reproduce a range of cognitive memory effects in the classical multi-item WM task of encoding and immediate free recall of word lists. Memory reactivation in the model occurs in discrete oscillatory bursts rather than as sustained activity. We relate dynamic network activity as well as key synaptic characteristics to electrophysiological measurements. Our findings support the hypothesis that fast Hebbian short-term potentiation is a key WM mechanism. Working memory (WM) is a key component of cognition. Hypotheses about the neural mechanism behind WM are currently under revision. Reflecting recent findings of fast Hebbian synaptic plasticity in cortex, we test whether a cortical spiking neural network model with such a mechanism can learn a multi-item WM task (word list learning). We show that our model can reproduce human cognitive phenomena and achieve comparable memory performance in both free and cued recall while being simultaneously compatible with experimental data on structure, connectivity, and neurophysiology of the underlying

  16. Development of a checklist of short-term and long-term psychological symptoms associated with ketamine use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Ni; Xu, Ke; Ning, Yuping; Wang, Daping; Ke, Xiaoyin; Ding, Yi; Sun, Bin; Zhou, Chao; Deng, Xuefeng; Rosenheck, Robert; He, Hongbo

    2015-06-25

    Ketamine is an increasingly popular drug of abuse in China but there is currently no method for classifying the psychological effects of ketamine in individuals with ketamine dependence. Develop a scale that characterizes the acute and long-term psychological effects of ketamine use among persons with ketamine dependence. We developed a preliminary symptom checklist with 35 dichotomous ('yes' or 'no') items about subjective feelings immediately after ketamine use and about perceived long-term effects of ketamine use that was administered to 187 inpatients with ketamine dependence recruited from two large hospitals in Guangzhou, China. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on a randomly selected half of thesample to reduce the items and to identify underlying constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the second half of the sample to assess the robustness of the identified factor structure. Among the 35 symptoms, the most-reported acute effects were 'floating or circling' (94%), 'euphoric when listening to rousing music' (86%), and 'feeling excited, talkative, and full of energy' (67%). The mostreported long-term symptoms were 'memory impairment' (93%), 'personality changes' (86%), and 'slowed reactions' (81%). EFA resulted in a final 22-item scale best modelled by a four-factor model: two factors representing chronic symptoms (social withdrawal and sleep disturbances), one about acute psychoticlike symptoms, and one that combined acute drug-related euphoria and longer-term decreased libido. CFA showed that these 4 factors accounted for 50% of the total variance of the final 22-item scale and that the model fit was fair (Goodness of Fit Index, GIF=83.3%; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, RMSEA=0.072). A four-factor model including social withdrawal, sleep disturbance, psychotic-like symptoms, and euphoria at the time of drug use provides a fair description of the short-term and long-term psychological symptoms associated with

  17. The uranium industry: long term planning for short term competition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vottero, X.

    2000-01-01

    Today, uranium producers face new challenges in terms of both production (new regulatory, environmental and social constraints) and market conditions (new sources of uranium supply, very low prices and tough competition). In such a context, long-term planning is not just a prerequisite to survive in the nuclear fuel cycle industry. In fact, it also contributes to sustaining nuclear electricity generation facing fierce competition from other energy sources in increasingly deregulated markets. (authors)

  18. Insight into the short- and long-term effects of Cu(II) on denitrifying biogranules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Hui; Chen, Qian-Qian; Jiang, Xiao-Yan; Hu, Hai-Yan; Shi, Man-Ling; Jin, Ren-Cun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • It is the first time to evaluate the effect of Cu"2"+ on denitrifying biogranules. • A high level of Cu(II) was investigated during batch assays and continuous tests. • Mechanisms of the effects of Cu"2"+ on denitrifying biogranules were discussed. • Effects of pre-exposure to Cu"2"+ and starvation treatments were investigated. - Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the short- and long-term effects of Cu"2"+ on the activity and performance of denitrifying bacteria. The short-term effects of various concentrations of Cu"2"+ on the denitrifying bacteria were evaluated using batch assays. The specific denitrifying activity (SDA) decreased from 14.3 ± 2.2 (without Cu"2"+) to 6.1 ± 0.1 mg N h"−"1 g"−"1 VSS (100 mgCu"2"+ L"−"1) when Cu"2"+ increased from 0 to 100 mg L"−"1 with an increment of 10 mgCu"2"+ L"−"1. A non-competitive inhibition model was used to calculate the 50% inhibition concentration (IC_5_0) of Cu"2"+ on denitrifying sludge (30.6 ± 2.5 mg L"−"1). Monod and Luong models were applied to investigate the influence of the initial substrate concentration, and the results suggested that the maximum substrate removal rate would be reduced with Cu"2"+ supplementation. Pre-exposure to Cu"2"+ could lead to an 18.2–46.2% decrease in the SDA and decreasing percentage of the SDA increased with both exposure time and concentration. In the continuous-flow test, Cu"2"+ concentration varied from 1 to 75 mg L"−"1; however, no clear deterioration was observed in the reactor, and the reactor was kept stable, with the total nitrogen removal efficiency and total organic carbon efficiency greater than 89.0 and 85.0%, respectively. The results demonstrated the short-term inhibition of Cu"2"+ upon denitrification, and no notable adversity was observed during the continuous-flow test after long-term acclimation.

  19. Long-term outcome in patients with short bowel syndrome after longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinshagen, K; Kabs, C; Wirth, H; Hable, N; Brade, J; Zahn, K; Hagl, C; Jester, I; Waag, K L

    2008-11-01

    Longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring (LILT) is a well-established surgical treatment for short bowel syndrome. It has been shown to enhance peristalsis, decrease bacterial overgrowth, and extend mucosal contact time for nutrients. We present the results of a long-term follow-up of patients who underwent LILT and define prognostic parameters for the survival of these patients. Between 1987 and 2006, 53 patients underwent LILT in our institution. The main diagnoses were gastroschisis, intestinal volvulus, intestinal atresias, and necrotizing enterocolitis. LILT was performed at a mean age of 24 months (range 4144 months). The follow-up time was 79.76 months (range 6234 months). After LILT, 41 of 53 patients survived, and 36 of 41 surviving patients were successfully weaned from parenteral nutrition (PN). In long-term follow-up 79% stayed free of PN. The overall survival rate was 77.36%. Weight gain occurred in 58% of the patients after LILT. The quality of life after LILT is on a high level, with most patients having normal physical strength and participating in normal social life and education. Prognostic factors for survival after LILT in short bowel syndrome are length of small intestine (0.06582 + 0.0131 x bowel cm), length of large bowel (P = 0.039), preoperative liver function, and successful weaning from PN within 18 months postoperatively (P = 0.0032). Patients undergoing LILT in short bowel syndrome have a high survival rate, weight gain, and a high quality of life. Autologous gastrointestinal reconstruction remains therefore the first choice in the treatment of patients with short bowel syndrome.

  20. Short- and long-term effects of unemployment on fertility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Currie, Janet; Schwandt, Hannes

    2014-01-01

    Scholars have been examining the relationship between fertility and unemployment for more than a century. Most studies find that fertility falls with unemployment in the short run, but it is not known whether these negative effects persist, because women simply may postpone childbearing to better economic times. Using more than 140 million US birth records for the period 1975–2010, we analyze both the short- and long-run effects of unemployment on fertility. We follow fixed cohorts of US-born women defined by their own state and year of birth, and relate their fertility to the unemployment rate experienced by each cohort at different ages. We focus on conceptions that result in a live birth. We find that women in their early 20s are most affected by high unemployment rates in the short run and that the negative effects on fertility grow over time. A one percentage point increase in the average unemployment rate experienced between the ages of 20 and 24 reduces the short-run fertility of women in this age range by six conceptions per 1,000 women. When we follow these women to age 40, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate experienced at ages 20–24 leads to an overall loss of 14.2 conceptions. This long-run effect is driven largely by women who remain childless and thus do not have either first births or higher-order births. PMID:25267622

  1. Melatonin administration impairs visuo-spatial performance and inhibits neocortical long-term potentiation in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soto-Moyano, Rubén; Burgos, Héctor; Flores, Francisco; Valladares, Luis; Sierralta, Walter; Fernández, Victor; Pérez, Hernán; Hernández, Paula; Hernández, Alejandro

    2006-10-01

    Melatonin has been shown to inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal slices of rats. Since LTP may be one of the main mechanisms by which memory traces are encoded and stored in the central nervous system, it is possible that melatonin could modulate cognitive performance by interfering with the cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved in LTP. We investigated in rats the effects of intraperitoneally-administered melatonin (0.1, 1 and 10 mg/kg), its saline-ethanol solvent, or saline alone, on the acquisition of visuo-spatial memory as well as on the ability of the cerebral cortex to develop LTP in vivo. Visuo-spatial performance was assessed daily in rats, for 10 days, in an 8-arm radial maze, 30 min after they received a single daily dose of melatonin. Visual cortex LTP was determined in sodium pentobarbital anesthetized rats (65 mg/kg i.p.), by potentiating transcallosal evoked responses with a tetanizing train (312 Hz, 500 ms duration) 30 min after administration of a single dose of melatonin. Results showed that melatonin impaired visuo-spatial performance in rats, as revealed by the greater number of errors committed and time spent to solve the task in the radial maze. Melatonin also prevented the induction of neocortical LTP. It is concluded that melatonin, at the doses utilized in this study, could alter some forms of neocortical plasticity involved in short- and long-term visuo-spatial memories in rats.

  2. An Untargeted Metabolomics Approach to Characterize Short-Term and Long-Term Metabolic Changes after Bariatric Surgery.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie H Narath

    Full Text Available Bariatric surgery is currently one of the most effective treatments for obesity and leads to significant weight reduction, improved cardiovascular risk factors and overall survival in treated patients. To date, most studies focused on short-term effects of bariatric surgery on the metabolic profile and found high variation in the individual responses to surgery. The aim of this study was to identify relevant metabolic changes not only shortly after bariatric surgery (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass but also up to one year after the intervention by using untargeted metabolomics. 132 serum samples taken from 44 patients before surgery, after hospital discharge (1-3 weeks after surgery and at a 1-year follow-up during a prospective study (NCT01271062 performed at two study centers (Austria and Switzerland. The samples included 24 patients with type 2 diabetes at baseline, thereof 9 with diabetes remission after one year. The samples were analyzed by using liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS, HILIC-QExactive. Raw data was processed with XCMS and drift-corrected through quantile regression based on quality controls. 177 relevant metabolic features were selected through Random Forests and univariate testing and 36 metabolites were identified. Identified metabolites included trimethylamine-N-oxide, alanine, phenylalanine and indoxyl-sulfate which are known markers for cardiovascular risk. In addition we found a significant decrease in alanine after one year in the group of patients with diabetes remission relative to non-remission. Our analysis highlights the importance of assessing multiple points in time in subjects undergoing bariatric surgery to enable the identification of biomarkers for treatment response, cardiovascular benefit and diabetes remission. Key-findings include different trend pattern over time for various metabolites and demonstrated that short term changes should not necessarily be used to identify

  3. Transcriptional regulation of long-term memory in the marine snail Aplysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Yong-Seok

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Whereas the induction of short-term memory involves only covalent modifications of constitutively expressed preexisting proteins, the formation of long-term memory requires gene expression, new RNA, and new protein synthesis. On the cellular level, transcriptional regulation is thought to be the starting point for a series of molecular steps necessary for both the initiation and maintenance of long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF. The core molecular features of transcriptional regulation involved in the long-term process are evolutionally conserved in Aplysia, Drosophila, and mouse, and indicate that gene regulation by the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB acting in conjunction with different combinations of transcriptional factors is critical for the expression of many forms of long-term memory. In the marine snail Aplysia, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the storage of long-term memory have been extensively studied in the monosynaptic connections between identified sensory neuron and motor neurons of the gill-withdrawal reflex. One tail shock or one pulse of serotonin (5-HT, a modulatory transmitter released by tail shocks, produces a transient facilitation mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase leading to covalent modifications in the sensory neurons that results in an enhancement of transmitter release and a strengthening of synaptic connections lasting minutes. By contrast, repeated pulses of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT induce a transcription- and translation-dependent long-term facilitation (LTF lasting more than 24 h and trigger the activation of a family of transcription factors in the presynaptic sensory neurons including ApCREB1, ApCREB2 and ApC/EBP. In addition, we have recently identified novel transcription factors that modulate the expression of ApC/EBP and also are critically involved in LTF. In this review, we examine the roles of these transcription factors during consolidation of LTF induced

  4. Transcriptional regulation of long-term memory in the marine snail Aplysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yong-Seok; Bailey, Craig H; Kandel, Eric R; Kaang, Bong-Kiun

    2008-06-17

    Whereas the induction of short-term memory involves only covalent modifications of constitutively expressed preexisting proteins, the formation of long-term memory requires gene expression, new RNA, and new protein synthesis. On the cellular level, transcriptional regulation is thought to be the starting point for a series of molecular steps necessary for both the initiation and maintenance of long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF). The core molecular features of transcriptional regulation involved in the long-term process are evolutionally conserved in Aplysia, Drosophila, and mouse, and indicate that gene regulation by the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) acting in conjunction with different combinations of transcriptional factors is critical for the expression of many forms of long-term memory. In the marine snail Aplysia, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the storage of long-term memory have been extensively studied in the monosynaptic connections between identified sensory neuron and motor neurons of the gill-withdrawal reflex. One tail shock or one pulse of serotonin (5-HT), a modulatory transmitter released by tail shocks, produces a transient facilitation mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase leading to covalent modifications in the sensory neurons that results in an enhancement of transmitter release and a strengthening of synaptic connections lasting minutes. By contrast, repeated pulses of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) induce a transcription- and translation-dependent long-term facilitation (LTF) lasting more than 24 h and trigger the activation of a family of transcription factors in the presynaptic sensory neurons including ApCREB1, ApCREB2 and ApC/EBP. In addition, we have recently identified novel transcription factors that modulate the expression of ApC/EBP and also are critically involved in LTF. In this review, we examine the roles of these transcription factors during consolidation of LTF induced by different

  5. Cardiovascular Autonomic Responses in the VCD Rat Model of Menopause: Effects of Short- and Long-Term Ovarian Failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Domitila A; Bazilio, Darlan; Lorenzon, Flaviano; Sehnem, Sibele; Pacheco, Lucas; Anselmo-Franci, Janete A; Lima, Fernanda B

    2017-01-01

    After menopause, hypertension elevates the risk of cardiac diseases, one of the major causes of women's morbidity. The gradual depletion of ovarian follicles in rats, induced by 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD), is a model for studying the physiology of menopause. 4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide treatment leads to early ovarian failure (OF) and a hormonal profile comparable to menopause in humans. We have hypothesized that OF can compromise the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tones of the cardiovascular system, shifting toward dominance of the former. We aimed to study the autonomic modulation of heart and blood vessels and the cardiovascular reflexes in rats presenting short-term (80 days) or long-term (180 days) OF induced by VCD. Twenty-eight-day-old Wistar rats were submitted to VCD treatment (160 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) or vehicle (control) for 15 consecutive days and experiments were conducted at 80 or 180 days after the onset of treatment. Long-term OF led to an increase in the sympathetic activity to blood vessels and an impairment in the baroreflex control of the heart, evoked by physiological changes in arterial pressure. Despite that, long-term OF did not cause hypertension during the 180 days of exposure. Short-term OF did not cause any deleterious effect on the cardiovascular parameters analyzed. These data indicate that long-term OF does not disrupt the maintenance of arterial pressure homeostasis in rats but worsens the autonomic cardiovascular control. In turn, this can lead to cardiovascular complications, especially when associated with the aging process seen during human menopause.

  6. Involvement of TrkB- and p75NTR-signaling pathways in two contrasting forms of long-lasting synaptic plasticity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakuragi, Shigeo; Tominaga-Yoshino, Keiko; Ogura, Akihiko

    2013-11-01

    The repetition of experience is often necessary to establish long-lasting memory. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying this repetition-dependent consolidation of memory remain unclear. We previously observed in organotypic slice cultures of the rodent hippocampus that repeated inductions of long-term potentiation (LTP) led to a slowly developing long-lasting synaptic enhancement coupled with synaptogenesis. We also reported that repeated inductions of long-term depression (LTD) produced a long-lasting synaptic suppression coupled with synapse elimination. We proposed these phenomena as useful in vitro models for analyzing repetition-dependent consolidation. Here, we hypothesized that the enhancement and suppression are mediated by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-TrkB signaling pathway and the proBDNF-p75NTR pathway, respectively. When we masked the respective pathways, reversals of the enhancement and suppression resulted. These results suggest the alternative activation of the p75NTR pathway by BDNF under TrkB-masking conditions and of the TrkB pathway by proBDNF under p75NTR-masking conditions, thus supporting the aforementioned hypothesis.

  7. Short term depression unmasks the ghost frequency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tjeerd V Olde Scheper

    Full Text Available Short Term Plasticity (STP has been shown to exist extensively in synapses throughout the brain. Its function is more or less clear in the sense that it alters the probability of synaptic transmission at short time scales. However, it is still unclear what effect STP has on the dynamics of neural networks. We show, using a novel dynamic STP model, that Short Term Depression (STD can affect the phase of frequency coded input such that small networks can perform temporal signal summation and determination with high accuracy. We show that this property of STD can readily solve the problem of the ghost frequency, the perceived pitch of a harmonic complex in absence of the base frequency. Additionally, we demonstrate that this property can explain dynamics in larger networks. By means of two models, one of chopper neurons in the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus and one of a cortical microcircuit with inhibitory Martinotti neurons, it is shown that the dynamics in these microcircuits can reliably be reproduced using STP. Our model of STP gives important insights into the potential roles of STP in self-regulation of cortical activity and long-range afferent input in neuronal microcircuits.

  8. Improving protein disorder prediction by deep bidirectional long short-term memory recurrent neural networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Jack; Yang, Yuedong; Paliwal, Kuldip; Zhou, Yaoqi

    2017-03-01

    Capturing long-range interactions between structural but not sequence neighbors of proteins is a long-standing challenging problem in bioinformatics. Recently, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks have significantly improved the accuracy of speech and image classification problems by remembering useful past information in long sequential events. Here, we have implemented deep bidirectional LSTM recurrent neural networks in the problem of protein intrinsic disorder prediction. The new method, named SPOT-Disorder, has steadily improved over a similar method using a traditional, window-based neural network (SPINE-D) in all datasets tested without separate training on short and long disordered regions. Independent tests on four other datasets including the datasets from critical assessment of structure prediction (CASP) techniques and >10 000 annotated proteins from MobiDB, confirmed SPOT-Disorder as one of the best methods in disorder prediction. Moreover, initial studies indicate that the method is more accurate in predicting functional sites in disordered regions. These results highlight the usefulness combining LSTM with deep bidirectional recurrent neural networks in capturing non-local, long-range interactions for bioinformatics applications. SPOT-disorder is available as a web server and as a standalone program at: http://sparks-lab.org/server/SPOT-disorder/index.php . j.hanson@griffith.edu.au or yuedong.yang@griffith.edu.au or yaoqi.zhou@griffith.edu.au. Supplementary data is available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  9. Cross-cultural comparison of long-term care in the United States and Finland: Research done through a short-term study-abroad experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruger, Tina M; Gilland, Sarah; Frank, Jacquelyn B; Murphy, Bridget C; English, Courtney; Meade, Jana; Morrow, Kaylee; Rush, Evan

    2017-01-01

    In May 2014, a short-term study-abroad experience was conducted in Finland through a course offered at Indiana State University (ISU). Students and faculty from ISU and Eastern Illinois University participated in the experience, which was created to facilitate a cross-cultural comparison of long-term-care settings in the United States and Finland. With its outstanding system of caring for the health and social needs of its aging populace, Finland is a logical model to examine when considering ways to improve the quality of life for older adults who require care in the United States . Those participating in the course visited a series of long-term-care facilities in the region surrounding Terre Haute, Indiana, then travelled to Lappeenranta, Finland to visit parallel sites. Through limited-participation observation and semistructured interviews, similarities and differences in experiences, educations, and policies affecting long-term care workers in the United States and Finland were identified and are described here.

  10. Effects of short term and long term soil warming on ecosystem phenology of a sub-arctic grassland: an NDVI-based approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leblans, Niki; Sigurdsson, Bjarni D.; Janssens, Ivan A.

    2014-05-01

    Phenology has been defined as the study of the timing of recurring biological events and the causes of their timing with regard to abiotic and biotic factors. Ecosystem phenology, including the onset of the growing season and its senescence in autumn, plays an important role in the carbon, water and energy exchange between biosphere and atmosphere at higher latitudes. Factors that influence ecosystem phenology can therefore induce important climate-controlling feedback mechanisms. Global surface temperatures have been predicted to increase in the coming decades. Hence, a better understanding of the effect of temperature on ecosystem phenology is essential. Natural geothermal soil temperature gradients in Iceland offer a unique opportunity to study the soil temperature (Ts) dependence of ecosystem phenology and distinguish short-term (transient) warming effects (in recently established Ts gradients) from long-term (permanent) effects (in centuries-old Ts gradients). This research was performed in the framework of an international research project (ForHot; www.forhot.is). ForHot includes two natural grassland areas with gradients in Ts, dominated by Festuca sp., Agrostis sp.. The first warmed area was created in 2008, when an earthquake in S-Iceland caused geothermal systems to be shifted to previously cold soils. The second area is located about 3 km away from this newly warmed grassland. For this area, there are proofs that the natural soil warming has been continuous for at least 300 year. In the present study we focus on Ts elevation gradients of +0 to +10°C. The experiment consists of five transects with five temperature levels (+0,+1,+3,+5 and +10°C) in the two aforementioned grassland ecosystems (n=25 in each grassland). From April until November 2013, weekly measurements of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were taken. In the short-term warmed grassland, the greening of the vegetation was 36 days advanced at +10°C Ts and the date of 50

  11. Short- and long-term variations in non-linear dynamics of heart rate variability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kanters, J K; Højgaard, M V; Agner, E

    1996-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to investigate the short- and long-term variations in the non-linear dynamics of heart rate variability, and to determine the relationships between conventional time and frequency domain methods and the newer non-linear methods of characterizing heart rate...... rate and describes mainly linear correlations. Non-linear predictability is correlated with heart rate variability measured as the standard deviation of the R-R intervals and the respiratory activity expressed as power of the high-frequency band. The dynamics of heart rate variability changes suddenly...

  12. Multidetector CT radiation dose optimisation in adults: short- and long-term effects of a clinical audit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tack, Denis; Jahnen, Andreas; Kohler, Sarah; Harpes, Nico; Back, Carlo; Maertelaer, Viviane de; Gevenois, Pierre Alain

    2014-01-01

    To report short- and long-term effects of an audit process intended to optimise the radiation dose from multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT). A survey of radiation dose from all eight MDCT departments in the state of Luxembourg performed in 2007 served as baseline, and involved the most frequently imaged regions (head, sinus, cervical spine, thorax, abdomen, and lumbar spine). CT dose index volume (CTDIvol), dose-length product per acquisition (DLP/acq), and DLP per examination (DLP/exa) were recorded, and their mean, median, 25th and 75th percentiles compared. In 2008, an audit conducted in each department helped to optimise doses. In 2009 and 2010, two further surveys evaluated the audit's impact on the dose delivered. Between 2007 and 2009, DLP/exa significantly decreased by 32-69 % for all regions (P < 0.001) except the lumbar spine (5 %, P = 0.455). Between 2009 and 2010, DLP/exa significantly decreased by 13-18 % for sinus, cervical and lumbar spine (P ranging from 0.016 to less than 0.001). Between 2007 and 2010, DLP/exa significantly decreased for all regions (18-75 %, P < 0.001). Collective dose decreased by 30 % and the 75th percentile (diagnostic reference level, DRL) by 20-78 %. The audit process resulted in long-lasting dose reduction, with DRLs reduced by 20-78 %, mean DLP/examination by 18-75 %, and collective dose by 30 %. (orig.)

  13. Short and long-term career plans of final year dental students in the United Arab Emirates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Hazim H; Ghotane, Swapnil G; Abufanas, Salem H; Gallagher, Jennifer E

    2013-08-13

    New dental schools have been established to train dentists in many parts of the world. This study examines the future dental workforce from the first dental school in the United Arab Emirates [UAE]; the aim of this study was to explore the short and long-term career aspirations of the final year dental students in the UAE in relation to their demography. Final year dental students of the Ajman University's College of Dentistry (n=87) were invited to participate in a self-completion questionnaire survey. Descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression analysis were carried out on career aspirations using SPSS v20. Eighty-two percent of students (n=71) responded, the majority of whom were female (65%; n=46). Ethnicity was reported as: 'other Arab' (61%; n=43), 'Emirati' (17%, n=12), and 'Other' (21%, n=15). In the short-term, 41% (n=29) expressed a desire to work in government training centres, with Emirati students significantly more likely to do so (p=0.002). 'Financial stability' (80%; n=57) and 'gaining professional experience' (76%; n=54) emerged as the most important influences on their short-term career plans. The vast majority of students wished to specialise in dentistry (92%; n=65) in the longer term; logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of specialising in the most popular specialties of Orthodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery were less for the 'Other' ethnic group when compared with 'Emirati' students (0.26; 95% CI 0.068-0.989; p=0.04). Almost three-quarters of the students overall (72%; n=51) intended to work full-time. 'High income/financial security' (97%; n=69), 'standard of living' (97%; n=69), 'work/life balance' (94%; n=67), and 'professional fulfilment' (87%; n=62) were reported by the students as the most influential items affecting their long-term professional career choices. The findings suggest that students aspire to make a long-term contribution to the profession and there is a high level of

  14. Bias effects of short- and long-term color memory for unique objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloj, Marina; Weiß, David; Gegenfurtner, Karl R

    2016-04-01

    Are objects remembered with a more saturated color? Some of the evidence supporting this statement comes from research using "memory colors"-the typical colors of particular objects, for example, the green of grass. The problematic aspect of these findings is that many different exemplars exist, some of which might exhibit a higher saturation than the one measured by the experimenter. Here we avoid this problem by using unique personal items and comparing long- and short-term color memory matches (in hue, value, and chroma) with those obtained with the object present. Our results, on average, confirm that objects are remembered as more saturated than they are.

  15. Oxygenator in short-term LVAD circuit: a rescue in post-LVAD pulmonary complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohite, Prashant N; Patil, Nikhil P; Popov, Aron-Frederik; Bahrami, Toufan; Simon, Andre R

    2016-10-01

    Pulmonary complications after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, though infrequent, can be potentially catastrophic. A 62-year-old female with cardiogenic shock, supported on short-term LVAD, developed pulmonary oedema. An oxygenator was introduced into the LVAD circuit, which improved the gas exchange and, eventually, after weaning off the oxygenator, the patient received long-term LVAD. The introduction of an oxygenator into the short-term LAVD circuit is a lifesaving manoeuvre in such a situation. It offers freedom of introducing and removing the oxygenator into the LVAD circuit without opening the chest and competing for LVAD flow. © The Author(s) 2016.

  16. Simulation of long-term influence from technical systems on permafrost with various short-scale and hourly operation modes in Arctic region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaganova, N. A.

    2017-12-01

    Technogenic and climatic influences have a significant impact on the degradation of permafrost. Long-term forecasts of such changes during long-time periods have to be taken into account in the oil and gas and construction industries in view to development the Arctic and Subarctic regions. There are considered constantly operating technical systems (for example, oil and gas wells) that affect changes in permafrost, as well as the technical systems that have a short-term impact on permafrost (for example, flare systems for emergency flaring of associated gas). The second type of technical systems is rather complex for simulation, since it is required to reserve both short and long-scales in computations with variable time steps describing the complex technological processes. The main attention is paid to the simulation of long-term influence on the permafrost from the second type of the technical systems.

  17. Long-Term Potentiation in the Motor Cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iriki, Atsushi; Pavlides, Constantine; Keller, Asaf; Asanuma, Hiroshi

    1989-09-01

    Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a model for learning and memory processes. Tetanic stimulation of the sensory cortex produces LTP in motor cortical neurons, whereas tetanization of the ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus, which also projects to the motor cortex, does not. However, after simultaneous high-frequency stimulation of both the sensory cortex and the ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus, LTP of thalamic input to motor cortical neurons is induced. This associative LTP occurs only in neurons in the superficial layers of the motor cortex that receive monosynaptic input from both the sensory cortex and the ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus. Associative LTP in the motor cortex may constitute a basis for the retention of motor skills.

  18. Short and long-term mortality of patients presenting with bleeding events to the Emergency Department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conti, Alberto; Renzi, Noemi; Molesti, Daniele; Bianchi, Simone; Bogazzi, Irene; Bongini, Giada; Pepe, Giuseppe; Frosini, Fabiana; Bertini, Alessio; Santini, Massimo

    2017-12-01

    Death of patients presenting with bleeding events to the Emergency Department still represent a major problem. We sought to analyze clinical characteristics associated with worse outcomes including short- and long-term death, beyond antithombotic treatment strategy. Patients presenting with any bleeding events during 2016-2017years were enrolled. Clinical parameters, site of bleeding, major bleeding, ongoing anti-thrombotic treatment strategy and death were collected. Hard 5:1 propensity score matching was performed to adjust dead patients in baseline characteristics. Endpoints were one-month and one-year death. Out of 166,000 visits to the Emergency Department, 3.050 patients (1.8%) were enrolled and eventually 429 were analyzed after propensity. Overall, anticoagulants or antiplatelets were given to 234(54%). Major bleeding account for 111(26%) patients, without differences between those taking anticoagulants or antiplatelets versus others. Death at one-month and one-year was 26(6%) and 72(17%), respectively. Independent predictors of one-month death were major bleeding (Odds Ratio, OR 26, pbleeding (OR 7, pbleeding where higher than others (pbleeding and age (0.75 and 0.72, respectively) over others; pbleeding events, death rate was driven by major bleeding on short-term and older age on long-term. Among dead patients mortality was approximately 40% on one-month; 60% in older patients, and 80% in female gender. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. A Meta-Analysis of the Short- and Long-Term Results of Randomized Controlled Trials That Compared Laparoscopy-Assisted and Conventional Open Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Ohtani, Yutaka Tamamori, Yuichi Arimoto, Yukio Nishiguchi, Kiyoshi Maeda, Kosei Hirakawa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate and compare the short- and long-term results of laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCRS and conventional open surgery (OCRS for colorectal cancer (CRC.Methods: We searched relevant papers published between January 1990 and May 2011. We analyzed the outcomes of each type of surgery over the short- and long-term periods.Results: In the short-term period, we found no significant differences in overall perioperative complications and anastomotic leakage between LCRS and OCRS groups. We found no significant differences in overall, distant, local and wound-site recurrence, overall mortality, 3 and 5 year disease-free survival rate, and cancer-related mortality between the 2 groups.Conclusions: LCRS has the benefits of reducing intraoperative blood loss, earlier resumption of oral intake, and shorter duration of hospital stay in the short-term. The long-term outcomes of LCRS seem to be similar to those of OCRS.

  20. Introduction of Thorium in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Short- to long-term considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allibert, M.; Merle-Lucotte, E.; Ghetta, V.; Ault, T.; Krahn, S.; Wymer, R.; Croff, A.; Baron, P.; Chauvin, N.; Eschbach, R.; Rimpault, G.; Serp, J.; Bergeron, A.; Bromley, B.; Floyd, M.; Hamilton, H.; Hyland, B.; Wojtaszek, D.; McDonald, M.; Collins, E.; Cornet, S.; Michel-Sendis, F.; ); Feinberg, O.; Ignatiev, V.; Hesketh, K.; Kelly, J.F.; Porsch, D.; Vidal, J.; Taiwo, T.; Uhlir, J.; Van Den Durpel, L.; Van Den Eynde, G.; Vitanza, C.; Butler, Gregg; Cornet, Stephanie; Dujardin, Thierry; Greneche, Dominique; Nordborg, Claes; Rimpault, Gerald; Van Den Durpel, Luc; Michel-Sendis, Franco

    2015-01-01

    Since the beginning of the nuclear era, significant scientific attention has been given to thorium's potential as a nuclear fuel. Although the thorium fuel cycle has never been fully developed, the opportunities and challenges that might arise from the use of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle are still being studied in many countries and in the context of diverse international programmes around the world. This report provides a scientific assessment of thorium's potential role in nuclear energy both in the short to longer term, addressing diverse options, potential drivers and current impediments to be considered if thorium fuel cycles are to be pursued. (authors)

  1. Preeclampsia and Long-term Renal Function in Women Who Underwent Kidney Transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vannevel, Valerie; Claes, Kathleen; Baud, David; Vial, Yvan; Golshayan, Delaviz; Yoon, Eugene W; Hodges, Ryan; Le Nepveu, Anne; Kerr, Peter G; Kennedy, Claire; Higgins, Mary; Resch, Elisabeth; Klaritsch, Philipp; Van Mieghem, Tim

    2018-01-01

    Preeclampsia often complicates pregnancies after maternal kidney transplantation. We aimed to assess whether preeclampsia is associated with kidney function decline either during the pregnancy or in the long term. We performed an international multicenter retrospective cohort study. Renal function at conception, pregnancy outcomes, and short- and long-term graft outcomes were collected for women who were pregnant after renal transplantation and had transplant and obstetric care at the participating centers. In women who had multiple pregnancies during the study period, only the last pregnancy was included. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. We retrieved pregnancy outcomes and long-term renal outcomes for 52 women. Chronic hypertension was present at baseline in 27%. Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at start of pregnancy was 52.4±17.5 mL/min/1.73 m. Mean estimated GFR at delivery was 47.6±21.6 mL/min/1.73 m, which was significantly lower than at conception (P=.03). Twenty women (38%) developed preeclampsia. In multivariable analysis, women who developed preeclampsia had a 10.7-mL/min/1.73 m higher drop in estimated GFR between conception and delivery than women who did not develop preeclampsia (P=.02). Long-term estimated GFR follow-up was obtained at a median of 5.8 years (range 1.3-27.5 years). Mean estimated GFR at last follow-up was 38±23 mL/kg/1.73 m. Seventeen women (33%) experienced graft loss over the follow-up period. Incidence of graft loss was similar in women with and without preeclampsia in their last pregnancy (30% and 34%, respectively; P=.99). In multivariable analysis, the decrease in estimated GFR between conception and last follow-up was similar in women who experienced preeclampsia during pregnancy and those who did not (difference -2.69 mL/min/1.73 m, P=.65). Preeclampsia commonly complicates pregnancies after renal transplantation but is not associated with long-term renal dysfunction or graft loss.

  2. Different importance of the volatile and non-volatile fractions of an olfactory signature for individual social recognition in rats versus mice and short-term versus long-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noack, Julia; Richter, Karin; Laube, Gregor; Haghgoo, Hojjat Allah; Veh, Rüdiger W; Engelmann, Mario

    2010-11-01

    When tested in the olfactory cued social recognition/discrimination test, rats and mice differ in their retention of a recognition memory for a previously encountered conspecific juvenile: Rats are able to recognize a given juvenile for approximately 45 min only whereas mice show not only short-term, but also long-term recognition memory (≥ 24 h). Here we modified the social recognition/social discrimination procedure to investigate the neurobiological mechanism(s) underlying the species differences. We presented a conspecific juvenile repeatedly to the experimental subjects and monitored the investigation duration as a measure for recognition. Presentation of only the volatile fraction of the juvenile olfactory signature was sufficient for both short- and long-term recognition in mice but not rats. Applying additional volatile, mono-molecular odours to the "to be recognized" juveniles failed to affect short-term memory in both species, but interfered with long-term recognition in mice. Finally immunocytochemical analysis of c-Fos as a marker for cellular activation, revealed that juvenile exposure stimulated areas involved in the processing of olfactory signals in both the main and the accessory olfactory bulb in mice. In rats, we measured an increased c-Fos synthesis almost exclusively in cells of the accessory olfactory bulb. Our data suggest that the species difference in the retention of social recognition memory is based on differences in the processing of the volatile versus non-volatile fraction of the individuals' olfactory signature. The non-volatile fraction is sufficient for retaining a short-term social memory only. Long-term social memory - as observed in mice - requires a processing of both the volatile and non-volatile fractions of the olfactory signature. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Benign tracheobronchial stenoses: changes in short-term and long-term pulmonary function testing after expandable metallic stent placement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gotway, Michael B; Golden, Jeffrey A; LaBerge, Jeanne M; Webb, W Richard; Reddy, Gautham P; Wilson, Mark W; Kerlan, Robert K; Gordon, Roy L

    2002-01-01

    To determine the short- and long-term improvement in airflow dynamics in patients undergoing tracheobronchial stent placement for benign airway stenoses. Twenty-two patients underwent 34 tracheal and/or bronchial stent placement procedures for benign airway stenoses and had the results of pulmonary function tests available. Stent placement indications included bronchomalacia after lung transplantation (n = 11), postintubation stenoses (n = 6), relapsing polychondritis (n = 2), and 1 each of tracheomalacia, tracheal compression, and histoplasmosis. Six patients underwent more than one stent placement procedure (range: 2-7 procedures). The mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1) ), forced expiratory flow rate in the midportion of the forced vital capacity curve (FEF(25-75) ), forced vital capacity, and peak flow (PF) rate obtained before stent placement were compared with those immediately after stent placement and with those measurements most remote from stent placement using the paired two-tailed test. All patients reported improved respiratory function immediately after stent placement. The mean FEV(1), FEF(25-75), and PF rate improved significantly (p stent placement. On long-term follow-up averaging 15 months after stent placement, these parameters declined despite patients' subjective sense of improvement. Segregating the population into transplant and nontransplant airway stenosis etiologies, however, FEF(25-75) and PF rate remained significantly improved (p = 0.045, p = 0.027, respectively), over the long term for the latter. FEV increased after subsequent stent placements for patients receiving multiple stents. Stent placement for benign tracheobronchial stenoses provides significant immediate improvement in airflow dynamics. Long-term improvement in airflow obstruction may be expected, and additional stent placements may further improve pulmonary function.

  4. The Neural Substrates of Recognition Memory for Verbal Information: Spanning the Divide between Short- and Long-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchsbaum, Bradley R.; Padmanabhan, Aarthi; Berman, Karen Faith

    2011-01-01

    One of the classic categorical divisions in the history of memory research is that between short-term and long-term memory. Indeed, because memory for the immediate past (a few seconds) and memory for the relatively more remote past (several seconds and beyond) are assumed to rely on distinct neural systems, more often than not, memory research…

  5. Long-term impact of prevention programs to promote effective parenting: lasting effects but uncertain processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandler, Irwin N; Schoenfelder, Erin N; Wolchik, Sharlene A; MacKinnon, David P

    2011-01-01

    This article reviews findings from 46 randomized experimental trials of preventive parenting interventions. The findings of these trials provide evidence of effects to prevent a wide range of problem outcomes and to promote competencies from one to 20 years later. However, there is a paucity of evidence concerning the processes that account for program effects. Three alternative pathways are proposed as a framework for future research on the long-term effects of preventive parenting programs: (a) through program effects on parenting skills, perceptions of parental efficacy, and reduction in barriers to effective parenting; (b) through program-induced reductions in short-term problems of youth that persist over time, improvements in youth adaptation to stress, and improvements in youth belief systems concerning the self and their relationships with others; and (c) through effects on contexts in which youth become involved and on youth-environment transactions.

  6. Pro short-term procurement - U.S. utility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, R.D.

    1990-01-01

    The author expresses the opinion that rather than focusing market discussions around short-term versus long-term procurement strategies, the parties need to be focusing on how long it is going to take to get to a predominantly market-based price both in uranium and enrichment. Long-term contracts are going to be around and will always be an important part of buyers' and sellers' strategies. It is evident that the annual term contract price renegotiations around the world are resulting in continually lower prices. When these price negotiations finally arrive in the range of the market price, a commodity market that resembles other energy commodity markets can be obtained

  7. Construction of long-term isochronous stress-strain curves by a modeling of short-term creep curves for a Grade 9Cr-1Mo steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Woo-Gon; Yin, Song-Nan; Koo, Gyeong-Hoi

    2009-01-01

    This study dealt with the construction of long-term isochronous stress-strain curves (ISSC) by a modeling of short-term creep curves for a Grade 9Cr-1Mo steel (G91) which is a candidate material for structural applications in the next generation nuclear reactors as well as in fusion reactors. To do this, tensile material data used in the inelastic constitutive equations was obtained by tensile tests at 550degC. Creep curves were obtained by a series of creep tests with different stress levels of 300MPa to 220MPa at an identical controlled temperature of 550degC. On the basis of these experimental data, the creep curves were characterized by Garofalo's creep model. Three parameters of P 1 , P 2 and P 3 in Garofalo's model were properly optimized by a nonlinear least square fitting (NLSF) analysis. The stress dependency of the three parameters was found to be a linear relationship. But, the P 3 parameter representing the steady state creep rate exhibited a two slope behavior with different stress exponents at a transient stress of about 250 MPa. The long-term creep curves of the G91 steel was modeled by Garofalo's model with only a few short-term creep data. Using the modeled creep curves, the long-term isochronous curves up to 10 5 hours were successfully constructed. (author)

  8. Short-Term and Long-Term Biological Effects of Chronic Chemical Contamination on Natural Populations of a Marine Bivalve.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marine Breitwieser

    Full Text Available Understanding the effects of chronic chemical contamination on natural populations of marine organisms is complex due to the combined effects of different types of pollutants and environmental parameters that can modulate the physiological responses to stress. Here, we present the effects of a chronic contamination in a marine bivalve by combining multiple approaches that provide information on individual and population health. We sampled variegated scallops (Mimachlamys varia at sites characterized by different contaminants and contamination levels to study the short and long-term (intergenerational responses of this species to physiological stress. We used biomarkers (SOD, MDA, GST, laccase, citrate synthase and phosphatases as indicators of oxidative stress, immune system alteration, mitochondrial respiration and general metabolism, and measured population genetic diversity at each site. In parallel, concentration of 14 trace metals and 45 organic contaminants (PAHs, PCBs, pesticides in tissues were measured. Scallops were collected outside and during their reproductive season to investigate temporal variability in contaminant and biomarker levels. Our analyses revealed that the levels of two biomarkers (Laccase-type phenoloxidase and malondialdehyde were significantly correlated with Cd concentration. Additionally, we observed significant seasonal differences for four of the five biomarkers, which is likely due to the scallop reproductive status at time of sampling. As a source of concern, a location that was identified as a reference site on the basis of inorganic contaminant levels presented the same level of some persistent organic pollutants (DDT and its metabolites than more impacted sites. Finally, potential long-term effects of heavy metal contamination were observed for variegated scallops as genetic diversity was depressed in the most polluted sites.

  9. Short-Term and Long-Term Biological Effects of Chronic Chemical Contamination on Natural Populations of a Marine Bivalve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breitwieser, Marine; Viricel, Amélia; Graber, Marianne; Murillo, Laurence; Becquet, Vanessa; Churlaud, Carine; Fruitier-Arnaudin, Ingrid; Huet, Valérie; Lacroix, Camille; Pante, Eric; Le Floch, Stéphane; Thomas-Guyon, Hélène

    2016-01-01

    Understanding the effects of chronic chemical contamination on natural populations of marine organisms is complex due to the combined effects of different types of pollutants and environmental parameters that can modulate the physiological responses to stress. Here, we present the effects of a chronic contamination in a marine bivalve by combining multiple approaches that provide information on individual and population health. We sampled variegated scallops (Mimachlamys varia) at sites characterized by different contaminants and contamination levels to study the short and long-term (intergenerational) responses of this species to physiological stress. We used biomarkers (SOD, MDA, GST, laccase, citrate synthase and phosphatases) as indicators of oxidative stress, immune system alteration, mitochondrial respiration and general metabolism, and measured population genetic diversity at each site. In parallel, concentration of 14 trace metals and 45 organic contaminants (PAHs, PCBs, pesticides) in tissues were measured. Scallops were collected outside and during their reproductive season to investigate temporal variability in contaminant and biomarker levels. Our analyses revealed that the levels of two biomarkers (Laccase-type phenoloxidase and malondialdehyde) were significantly correlated with Cd concentration. Additionally, we observed significant seasonal differences for four of the five biomarkers, which is likely due to the scallop reproductive status at time of sampling. As a source of concern, a location that was identified as a reference site on the basis of inorganic contaminant levels presented the same level of some persistent organic pollutants (DDT and its metabolites) than more impacted sites. Finally, potential long-term effects of heavy metal contamination were observed for variegated scallops as genetic diversity was depressed in the most polluted sites.

  10. Multi-Temporal Land Cover Classification with Long Short-Term Memory Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rußwurm, M.; Körner, M.

    2017-05-01

    Land cover classification (LCC) is a central and wide field of research in earth observation and has already put forth a variety of classification techniques. Many approaches are based on classification techniques considering observation at certain points in time. However, some land cover classes, such as crops, change their spectral characteristics due to environmental influences and can thus not be monitored effectively with classical mono-temporal approaches. Nevertheless, these temporal observations should be utilized to benefit the classification process. After extensive research has been conducted on modeling temporal dynamics by spectro-temporal profiles using vegetation indices, we propose a deep learning approach to utilize these temporal characteristics for classification tasks. In this work, we show how long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks can be employed for crop identification purposes with SENTINEL 2A observations from large study areas and label information provided by local authorities. We compare these temporal neural network models, i.e., LSTM and recurrent neural network (RNN), with a classical non-temporal convolutional neural network (CNN) model and an additional support vector machine (SVM) baseline. With our rather straightforward LSTM variant, we exceeded state-of-the-art classification performance, thus opening promising potential for further research.

  11. MULTI-TEMPORAL LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION WITH LONG SHORT-TERM MEMORY NEURAL NETWORKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Rußwurm

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Land cover classification (LCC is a central and wide field of research in earth observation and has already put forth a variety of classification techniques. Many approaches are based on classification techniques considering observation at certain points in time. However, some land cover classes, such as crops, change their spectral characteristics due to environmental influences and can thus not be monitored effectively with classical mono-temporal approaches. Nevertheless, these temporal observations should be utilized to benefit the classification process. After extensive research has been conducted on modeling temporal dynamics by spectro-temporal profiles using vegetation indices, we propose a deep learning approach to utilize these temporal characteristics for classification tasks. In this work, we show how long short-term memory (LSTM neural networks can be employed for crop identification purposes with SENTINEL 2A observations from large study areas and label information provided by local authorities. We compare these temporal neural network models, i.e., LSTM and recurrent neural network (RNN, with a classical non-temporal convolutional neural network (CNN model and an additional support vector machine (SVM baseline. With our rather straightforward LSTM variant, we exceeded state-of-the-art classification performance, thus opening promising potential for further research.

  12. Short- and Long-Term Effects of Over-Reporting of Grades on Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sticca, Fabio; Goetz, Thomas; Nett, Ulrike E.; Hubbard, Kyle; Haag, Ludwig

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the short- and long-term effects of self-enhancement (i.e., overreporting of academic grades) on academic self-concept and academic achievement. A total of 916, 719, and 647 students participated in the first, second, and third waves of assessment, respectively (mean age at T1 = 15.6 years). At each assessment, students…

  13. Long-term efficacy of recombinant human growth hormone therapy in short-statured patients with Noonan syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Insook Jeong

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available PurposeNoonan syndrome (NS is characterized by short stature, heart anomalies, developmental delays, dysmorphic features, cryptorchidism, and coagulation defects. Several studies reported the short-term effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH treatment on the improvement of height. This study was performed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of rhGH in children with NS in Korea.MethodsThis study included 15 prepubertal NS children who received rhGH subcutaneously at a dose of 50–75 µg/kg/day for 6 days a week for at least >3 years. Preand posttreatment data, such as height, weight, bone age, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1, and IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3 levels, were collected every 6 months.ResultsChronologic age and bone age at the start of treatment were 7.97±1.81 and 5.09±2.12 years, respectively. Height standard deviation score (SDS was increased from –2.64±0.64 to –1.54±1.24 years after 3 years (P<0.001. Serum IGF-1 SDS levels were elevated from –1.28±1.03 to –0.10±0.94 (P<0.001. Height SDS was more increased in subjects without PTPN11 mutations compared to those with mutations after 3 years (P=0.012. However, the other parameters, including bone age, IGF-1 SDS, and IGFBP-3 SDS, were not significantly different between patients with and without PTPN11 mutations.ConclusionAlthough this study included a relatively small number of patients, long-term rhGH therapy in NS patients was safe and effective at improving height, growth velocity, and serum IGF-1 levels, in accordance with previous studies. However, the meticulous monitoring of potential adverse events is still needed because of high dose of rhGH and preexisting hyperactivity of RAS-MAPK pathway. Patients with PTPN11 mutations demonstrated a decreased response to rhGH therapy compared to those without mutations.

  14. Estimating short and long-term residential demand for electricity. New evidence from Sri Lanka

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Athukorala, P.P.A Wasantha; Wilson, Clevo

    2010-01-01

    This study investigates the short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium relationship between residential electricity demand and factors influencing demand - per capita income, price of electricity, price of kerosene oil and price of liquefied petroleum gas - using annual data for Sri Lanka for the period, 1960-2007. The study uses unit root, cointegration and error-correction models. The long-run demand elasticities of income, own price and price of kerosene oil (substitute) were estimated to be 0.78, - 0.62, and 0.14 respectively. The short-run elasticities for the same variables were estimated to be 0.32, - 0.16 and 0.10 respectively. Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas is a substitute for electricity only in the short-run with an elasticity of 0.09. The main findings of the paper support the following (1) increasing the price of electricity is not the most effective tool to reduce electricity consumption (2) existing subsidies on electricity consumption can be removed without reducing government revenue (3) the long-run income elasticity of demand shows that any future increase in household incomes is likely to significantly increase the demand for electricity and (4) any power generation plans which consider only current per capita consumption and population growth should be revised taking into account the potential future income increases in order to avoid power shortages in the country. (author)

  15. Estimating short and long-term residential demand for electricity. New evidence from Sri Lanka

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Athukorala, P.P.A Wasantha; Wilson, Clevo [School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (Australia)

    2010-09-15

    This study investigates the short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium relationship between residential electricity demand and factors influencing demand - per capita income, price of electricity, price of kerosene oil and price of liquefied petroleum gas - using annual data for Sri Lanka for the period, 1960-2007. The study uses unit root, cointegration and error-correction models. The long-run demand elasticities of income, own price and price of kerosene oil (substitute) were estimated to be 0.78, - 0.62, and 0.14 respectively. The short-run elasticities for the same variables were estimated to be 0.32, - 0.16 and 0.10 respectively. Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas is a substitute for electricity only in the short-run with an elasticity of 0.09. The main findings of the paper support the following (1) increasing the price of electricity is not the most effective tool to reduce electricity consumption (2) existing subsidies on electricity consumption can be removed without reducing government revenue (3) the long-run income elasticity of demand shows that any future increase in household incomes is likely to significantly increase the demand for electricity and (4) any power generation plans which consider only current per capita consumption and population growth should be revised taking into account the potential future income increases in order to avoid power shortages in the country. (author)

  16. Laparoscopic vs open approach for transverse colon cancer. A systematic review and meta-analysis of short and long term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athanasiou, Christos D; Robinson, Jonathan; Yiasemidou, Marina; Lockwood, Sonia; Markides, Georgios A

    2017-05-01

    Transverse colon malignancies have been excluded from all randomized controlled trials comparing laparoscopic against open colectomies, potentially due to the advanced laparoscopic skills required for dissecting around the middle colic vessels and the associated morbidity. Concerns have been expressed that the laparoscopic approach may compromise the oncological clearance in transverse colon cancer. This study aimed to comprehensively compare the laparoscopic (LPA) to the open (OPA) approach by performing a meta-analysis of long and short term outcomes. Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, Scopus and Web of Knowledge databases were interrogated. Selected studies were critically appraised and the short-term morbidity and long term oncological outcomes were meta-analyzed. Sensitivity analysis according to the quality of the study, type of procedure (laparoscopic vs laparoscopically assisted) and level of lymphadenectomy was performed. Statistical heterogeneity and publication bias were also investigated. Eleven case control trials (1415 patients) were included in the study. There was no difference between the LPA and the OPA in overall survival [Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.83 (0.56, 1.22); P = 0.34], disease free survival (p = 0.20), local recurrence (p = 0.81) or distant metastases (p = 0.24). LPA was found to have longer operative time [Weighted mean difference (WMD) = 45.00 (29.48, 60.52); P transverse colon cancer. Copyright © 2017 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Tc1 mouse model of trisomy-21 dissociates properties of short- and long-term recognition memory

    OpenAIRE

    Hall, Jessica H.; Wiseman, Frances K.; Fisher, Elizabeth M.C.; Tybulewicz, Victor L.J.; Harwood, John L.; Good, Mark A.

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined memory function in Tc1 mice, a transchromosomic model of Down syndrome (DS). Tc1 mice demonstrated an unusual delay-dependent deficit in recognition memory. More specifically, Tc1 mice showed intact immediate (30sec), impaired short-term (10-min) and intact long-term (24-h) memory for objects. A similar pattern was observed for olfactory stimuli, confirming the generality of the pattern across sensory modalities. The specificity of the behavioural deficits in Tc1 mi...

  18. Fuel consumption: short term and long term price impacts per population type

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    This report presents assessments of the price sensitivity of household fuel consumption. After a literature review on price-elasticity assessments and the use of pseudo-panels, the investigation analyses the deciding factors of the household fuel expense and its evolution between 1985 and 2006. It proposes a short term price-elasticity assessment based on the most recent survey, and also proposes price-elasticity assessments for sub-populations, notably in terms of income level or location (rural or urban areas)

  19. Short- and long-term effects of mud-bath treatment on hand osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fioravanti, Antonella; Tenti, Sara; Giannitti, Chiara; Fortunati, Nicola Angelo; Galeazzi, Mauro

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate both the short-term and the long-term effectiveness of spa therapy in patients with primary hand osteoarthritis (OA). This was a prospective randomized, single blind controlled trial. Sixty outpatients with primary bilateral hand OA were included in the study and randomized to one of two groups. One group ( n = 30) was treated with 12 daily local mud packs and generalized thermal baths with a sulfate-calcium-magnesium-fluorides mineral water added to usual treatment. The control group ( n = 30) continued regular outpatient care routine (exercise, NSAIDs and/or analgesics). Each patient was examined at baseline, after 2 weeks, and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Primary outcome measures were global spontaneous hand pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the functional index for hand osteoarthritis (FIHOA) score; secondary outcomes were health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), duration of morning stiffness, medical outcomes study 36-item short form (SF-36) and symptomatic drugs consumption. Our results demonstrated that the efficacy of spa therapy was significant in all the assessed parameters, both at the end of therapy and after 3 months; the values of FIHOA, HAQ and drugs consumption continued to be significantly better after 6 months in comparison with baseline. There were no significant modifications of the parameters throughout the follow-up in the control group. Differences between the two groups were significant for all parameters at the 15th day and at 3 months follow-up; regarding FIHOA, HAQ, and symptomatic drugs consumption, the difference between the two groups persisted and was significant at 6month follow-up. Tolerability of spa therapy seemed to be good. In conclusion, our results confirm that the beneficial effects of spa therapy in patients with hand OA last over time.

  20. Dissociating Long and Short-term Memory in Three-Month-Old Infants Using the Mismatch Response to Voice Stimuli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katharina Zinke

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs have been successfully used in adults as well as in newborns to discriminate recall of longer-term and shorter-term memories. Specifically the Mismatch Response (MMR to deviant stimuli of an oddball paradigm is larger if the deviant stimuli are highly familiar (i.e., retrieved from long-term memory than if they are unfamiliar, representing an immediate change to the standard stimuli kept in short-term memory. Here, we aimed to extend previous findings indicating a differential MMR to familiar and unfamiliar deviants in newborns (Beauchemin et al., 2011, to 3-month-old infants who are starting to interact more with their social surroundings supposedly based on forming more (social long-term representations. Using a voice discrimination paradigm, each infant was repeatedly presented with the word “baby” (400 ms, interstimulus interval: 600 ms, 10 min overall duration pronounced by three different female speakers. One voice that was unfamiliar to the infants served as the frequently presented “standard” stimulus, whereas another unfamiliar voice served as the “unfamiliar deviant” stimulus, and the voice of the infant’s mother served as the “familiar deviant.” Data collection was successful for 31 infants (mean age = 100 days. The MMR was determined by the difference between the ERP to standard stimuli and the ERP to the unfamiliar and familiar deviant, respectively. The MMR to the familiar deviant (mother’s voice was larger, i.e., more positive, than that to the unfamiliar deviant between 100 and 400 ms post-stimulus over the frontal and central cortex. However, a genuine MMR differentiating, as a positive deflection, between ERPs to familiar deviants and standard stimuli was only found in the 300–400 ms interval. On the other hand, a genuine MMR differentiating, as a negative deflection, between ERPs to unfamiliar deviants from ERPs to standard stimuli was revealed for the 200–300 ms

  1. Compensation for PKMζ in long-term potentiation and spatial long-term memory in mutant mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsokas, Panayiotis; Hsieh, Changchi; Yao, Yudong; Lesburguères, Edith; Wallace, Emma Jane Claire; Tcherepanov, Andrew; Jothianandan, Desingarao; Hartley, Benjamin Rush; Pan, Ling; Rivard, Bruno; Farese, Robert V; Sajan, Mini P; Bergold, Peter John; Hernández, Alejandro Iván; Cottrell, James E; Shouval, Harel Z; Fenton, André Antonio; Sacktor, Todd Charlton

    2016-05-17

    PKMζ is a persistently active PKC isoform proposed to maintain late-LTP and long-term memory. But late-LTP and memory are maintained without PKMζ in PKMζ-null mice. Two hypotheses can account for these findings. First, PKMζ is unimportant for LTP or memory. Second, PKMζ is essential for late-LTP and long-term memory in wild-type mice, and PKMζ-null mice recruit compensatory mechanisms. We find that whereas PKMζ persistently increases in LTP maintenance in wild-type mice, PKCι/λ, a gene-product closely related to PKMζ, persistently increases in LTP maintenance in PKMζ-null mice. Using a pharmacogenetic approach, we find PKMζ-antisense in hippocampus blocks late-LTP and spatial long-term memory in wild-type mice, but not in PKMζ-null mice without the target mRNA. Conversely, a PKCι/λ-antagonist disrupts late-LTP and spatial memory in PKMζ-null mice but not in wild-type mice. Thus, whereas PKMζ is essential for wild-type LTP and long-term memory, persistent PKCι/λ activation compensates for PKMζ loss in PKMζ-null mice.

  2. Long short-term memory neural network for air pollutant concentration predictions: Method development and evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiang; Peng, Ling; Yao, Xiaojing; Cui, Shaolong; Hu, Yuan; You, Chengzeng; Chi, Tianhe

    2017-12-01

    Air pollutant concentration forecasting is an effective method of protecting public health by providing an early warning against harmful air pollutants. However, existing methods of air pollutant concentration prediction fail to effectively model long-term dependencies, and most neglect spatial correlations. In this paper, a novel long short-term memory neural network extended (LSTME) model that inherently considers spatiotemporal correlations is proposed for air pollutant concentration prediction. Long short-term memory (LSTM) layers were used to automatically extract inherent useful features from historical air pollutant data, and auxiliary data, including meteorological data and time stamp data, were merged into the proposed model to enhance the performance. Hourly PM 2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) concentration data collected at 12 air quality monitoring stations in Beijing City from Jan/01/2014 to May/28/2016 were used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed LSTME model. Experiments were performed using the spatiotemporal deep learning (STDL) model, the time delay neural network (TDNN) model, the autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model, the support vector regression (SVR) model, and the traditional LSTM NN model, and a comparison of the results demonstrated that the LSTME model is superior to the other statistics-based models. Additionally, the use of auxiliary data improved model performance. For the one-hour prediction tasks, the proposed model performed well and exhibited a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 11.93%. In addition, we conducted multiscale predictions over different time spans and achieved satisfactory performance, even for 13-24 h prediction tasks (MAPE = 31.47%). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Biomass for biogas plants in Denmark - in the short and long term; Biomasse til biogasanlaeg i Danmark - pae kort og langt sigt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birkmose, T.; Hjort-Gregersen, K.; Stefanek, K.

    2013-04-15

    In the short term, it is one of the major challenges for the developments of the biogas sector that resources of organic waste of the type (organic industrial wastes) that have heretofore been used, generally are estimated to be nearly exhausted. This has led to a number of new biogas projects based on the use of corn (energy crops) as additional biomass to livestock manure. However, Danish policy now has implemented a restriction on the use of corn and other energy crops for biogas production. It is with the restriction clarified that there is a need to use other additional biomass for biogas production. There is a need in the short term to clarify how alternative biomasses such as straw, nature preservation biomass, household waste, etc. in a technically and economically reliable and satisfactory way can be used for biogas production, so that the dependence of energy crops can be reduced. Additionally, it will be essential if the yield of using manure can be increased to reduce economic dependence on energy crops. In the longer term it is essential to strengthen the assessment of the resource potential of biomass available for the production of biogas, and thus what the contribution of biogas in the long term is estimated to be in the future energy supply based on renewable energy. The present report presents the current and future biomass resources potential and biogas production potential. The biomass resources are primarily agricultural and municipal wastes. (LN)

  4. Increased short- and long-term mortality in 8146 hospitalised peptic ulcer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmi, H; Kautiainen, H; Virta, L J; Färkkilä, M A

    2016-08-01

    Incidence and complications of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) have declined, but mortality from peptic ulcer bleeding has remained unchanged. The few recent studies on mortality associated with both uncomplicated and complicated patients with peptic ulcer disease provide contradictory results. To evaluate short- and long-term mortality, and the main causes of death in peptic ulcer disease. In this retrospective epidemiologic cohort study, register data on 8146 adult patients hospitalised with peptic ulcer disease during 2000-2008 were collected in the capital region of Finland. All were followed in the National Cause of Death Register until the end of 2009. The data were linked with the nationwide Drug Purchase Register of the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. Mean follow-up time was 4.9 years. Overall mortality was substantially increased, standardised mortality ratio 2.53 (95% CI: 2.44-2.63); 3.7% died within 30 days, and 11.8% within 1 year. At 6 months, the survival of patients with perforated or bleeding ulcer was lower compared to those with uncomplicated ulcer; hazard ratios were 2.06 (1.68-2.04) and 1.32 (1.11-1.58), respectively. For perforated duodenal ulcers, both the short- and long-term survival was significantly impaired in women. The main causes of mortality at 1 year were malignancies and cardiovascular diseases. Previous use of statins was associated with significant reduction in all-cause mortality. One-year mortality in patients hospitalised with peptic ulcer disease remained high with no change. This peptic ulcer disease cohort had a clearly decreased survival rate up to 10 years, especially among women with a perforated duodenal ulcer, most likely explained by poorer survival due to underlying comorbidity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Decay uncovered in nonverbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Tom; McKeown, Denis

    2014-02-01

    Decay theory posits that memory traces gradually fade away over the passage of time unless they are actively rehearsed. Much recent work exploring verbal short-term memory has challenged this theory, but there does appear to be evidence for trace decay in nonverbal auditory short-term memory. Numerous discrimination studies have reported a performance decline as the interval separating two tones is increased, consistent with a decay process. However, most of this tone comparison research can be explained in other ways, without reference to decay, and these alternative accounts were tested in the present study. In Experiment 1, signals were employed toward the end of extended retention intervals to ensure that listeners were alert to the presence and frequency content of the memoranda. In Experiment 2, a mask stimulus was employed in an attempt to distinguish between a highly detailed sensory trace and a longer-lasting short-term memory, and the distinctiveness of the stimuli was varied. Despite these precautions, slow-acting trace decay was observed. It therefore appears that the mere passage of time can lead to forgetting in some forms of short-term memory.

  6. Whipple's operation for carcinoma of the pancreatic head and the ampullary region. Short-and long-term results

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, M B; Banner, Jytte; Rokkjaer, M

    1998-01-01

    In this retrospective review short- and long-term perspectives have been evaluated for 108 patients who, during 1982 through 1992, had Whipple's operation performed for carcinoma of the pancreatic head (PC, n=63) or the ampullary region (AC, n=45). In 24 patients the operation was not radical (21...

  7. Short term memory may be the depletion of the readily releasable pool of presynaptic neurotransmitter vesicles of a metastable long term memory trace pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarnow, Eugen

    2009-09-01

    The Tagging/Retagging model of short term memory was introduced earlier (Tarnow in Cogn Neurodyn 2(4):347-353, 2008) to explain the linear relationship between response time and correct response probability for word recall and recognition: At the initial stimulus presentation the words displayed tag the corresponding long term memory locations. The tagging process is linear in time and takes about one second to reach a tagging level of 100%. After stimulus presentation the tagging level decays logarithmically with time to 50% after 14 s and to 20% after 220 s. If a probe word is reintroduced the tagging level has to return to 100% for the word to be properly identified, which leads to a delay in response time. This delay is proportional to the tagging loss. The tagging level is directly related to the probability of correct word recall and recognition. Evidence presented suggests that the tagging level is the level of depletion of the Readily Releasable Pool (RRP) of neurotransmitter vesicles at presynaptic terminals. The evidence includes the initial linear relationship between tagging level and time as well as the subsequent logarithmic decay of the tagging level. The activation of a short term memory may thus be the depletion of RRP (exocytosis) and short term memory decay may be the ensuing recycling of the neurotransmitter vesicles (endocytosis). The pattern of depleted presynaptic terminals corresponds to the long term memory trace.

  8. Short- and long-term follow-up of intensive care unit patients after sedation with isoflurane and midazolam--a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sackey, Peter V; Martling, Claes-Roland; Carlswärd, Christine; Sundin, Orjan; Radell, Peter J

    2008-03-01

    To compare memories from the intensive care unit (ICU) and short- and long-term psychological morbidity in patients after sedation with intravenous midazolam or inhaled isoflurane. Prospective long-term follow-up after randomized controlled trial. General ICU at Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm. Forty patients in need of sedation during ventilator treatment. Patients were randomized to receive isoflurane or midazolam for goal-directed sedation until extubation or for a maximum of 96 hrs. For short-term follow-up, doctors', nurses', and physiotherapists' notes from the 4 days following exposure to the study drugs were reviewed for words indicating adequate or pathologic cognitive and psychological recovery. For long-term follow-up, all 6-month survivors received questionnaires including the ICU Memory Tool (ICU-MT), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), and Well-Being Index. Additionally, several screening questions for previous posttraumatic stress symptoms were included. In the short term follow-up, no significant differences were found between groups. In the long-term follow-up, a trend toward fewer hallucinations/delusions after isoflurane sedation than after midazolam (two of ten isoflurane patients vs. five of seven midazolam patients) was found (p = .06). None of the five solely isoflurane-sedated patients reported hallucinations/delusions from the ICU. There was no difference in groups in long-term psychological morbidity as measured with HADS and IES. Memories of negative feelings in the ICU (ICU-MT) were associated with high HADS and IES scores (Fisher's exact test, p = .02 and p = .01, respectively). Sedation of ICU patients with isoflurane may result in fewer delusional memories or hallucinations from the ICU compared with more commonly used intravenous sedation. Memories of negative feelings from the ICU were associated with symptoms of depression or anxiety or symptoms indicating posttraumatic stress

  9. Relationship between short-term sexual strategies and sexual jealousy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathes, Eugene W

    2005-02-01

    In a classic study, Buss, Larson, Westen, and Semmelroth reported that men were more distressed by the thought of a partner's sexual infidelity (sexual jealousy) and women were more distressed by the thought of a partner's emotional infidelity (emotional jealousy). Initially, Buss and his associates explained these results by suggesting that men are concerned about uncertainty of paternity, that is, the possibility of raising another man's child while believing the child is their own. However, later they explained the results in terms of men's preference for short-term sexual strategies. The purpose of this research was to test the explanation of short-term sexual strategies. Men and women subjects were instructed to imagine themselves in a relationship which was either short-term (primarily sexual) or long-term (involving commitment) and then respond to Buss's jealousy items. It was hypothesized that, when both men and women imagined a short-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's sexual infidelity, and, when they imagined a long-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's emotional infidelity. Support was found for this hypothesis.

  10. Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story ‘The Last Word’ by Dr. A. R. Tabassum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Bari Khan

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this article stylistic analysis of short story ‘The Last Word’ by Dr. A. R. Tabassum is performed.  The formative elements of the story, such as point of view, characters and allegorical element, are discussed in detail so as to give a better insight of the story. The story is analyzed stylistically in terms of figures of speech where grammatical, lexical and phonological schemes are considered, following the checklist of linguistic and stylistic categories proposed by Leech and Short. Features of repetition, parallelism, alliteration, consonance, assonance and rhyme are focused on. Finally, the findings and conclusion is given to sum up the discussion. Keywords: stylistics, analysis, short story, last word, allegory, Tabassum

  11. Long Short-Term Memory Neural Networks for Online Disturbance Detection in Satellite Image Time Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun-Long Kong

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A satellite image time series (SITS contains a significant amount of temporal information. By analysing this type of data, the pattern of the changes in the object of concern can be explored. The natural change in the Earth’s surface is relatively slow and exhibits a pronounced pattern. Some natural events (for example, fires, floods, plant diseases, and insect pests and human activities (for example, deforestation and urbanisation will disturb this pattern and cause a relatively profound change on the Earth’s surface. These events are usually referred to as disturbances. However, disturbances in ecosystems are not easy to detect from SITS data, because SITS contain combined information on disturbances, phenological variations and noise in remote sensing data. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed for online disturbance detection from SITS. The framework is based on long short-term memory (LSTM networks. First, LSTM networks are trained by historical SITS. The trained LSTM networks are then used to predict new time series data. Last, the predicted data are compared with real data, and the noticeable deviations reveal disturbances. Experimental results using 16-day compositions of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MOD13Q1 illustrate the effectiveness and stability of the proposed approach for online disturbance detection.

  12. Short-term and long-term effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ruifei; Wang, Rui; Li, Haixia; Sun, Sihao; Zou, Meijuan; Cheng, Gang

    2016-09-01

    To assess the short-term and long-term effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment, a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of DPP-4 inhibitor interventions in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment was performed. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched through the end of March 2015. Randomized clinical trials were selected if (1) DPP-4 inhibitors were compared with a placebo or other active-comparators, (2) the treatment duration was ≥12 weeks and (3) data regarding changes in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ), changes in fasting plasma glucose or hypoglycaemia and other adverse events were reported. Of 790 studies, ten studies on eight randomized clinical trials were included. Compared with the control group, DPP-4 inhibitors were associated with a greater HbA1c reduction in both the short-term [mean differences (MD) = -0.45, 95% confidence intervals (-0.57, -0.33), p 1] and long-term [MD = -0.33, 95% confidence intervals (-0.63, -0.03), p = 0.03] treatments. However, the long-term greater reduction in HbA1c with DPP-4 inhibitor treatment was only significant when the control treatment comprised placebo plus stable background treatment, but not glipizide plus stable background treatment. DPP-4 inhibitors were associated with a greater fasting plasma glucose reduction [MD = -12.59, 95% confidence intervals (-22.01, -3.17), p = 0.009] over the short-term; however, this effect was not present over the long-term. Regarding the hypoglycaemia adverse events assessment, the long-term treatment data indicated there was no increased risk of hypoglycaemia compared with placebo or active-controlled anti-diabetic drugs. The present meta-analysis confirms that DPP-4 inhibitors are effective and equivalent to other agents in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015

  13. A survey of short-term and long-term stability of tube parameters in a mammography unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Praskalo Jovica Ž.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to set up a successful mammography screening program in the Republic of Srpska, a Siemens Mammomat 1000 X-ray machine was selected for analysis as the said mammography system is widely used in clinical practice. The variations in tube parameters (specific air kerma, high-voltage accuracy and reproducibility, linearity between exposure and dose exposure time were monitored over a five-year period, from 2008 to 2012. In addition, due to observed daily fluctuations for chosen parameters, a series of measurements were performed three times a day within a single-month period (mainly October 2012. The goal of such an experimental set up is to assess short-term and long-term stability of tube parameters in the given mammography unit and to make a comparison between them. The present paper shows how an early detection of significant parameter fluctuations can help eliminate irregularities and optimize the performance of mammography systems. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 171007

  14. Language familiarity effects in short-term memory: the role of output delay and long-term knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorn, Annabel S C; Gathercole, Susan E; Frankish, Clive R

    2002-10-01

    Four experiments examined the origins of language familiarity effects in bilingual short-term recall. In Experiments 1A and 1B, bilingual adults were tested on serial recall and probed serial recall of words and nonwords in their first and second languages. A first-language advantage was obtained on both measures, indicating that the beneficial effects of language familiarity are not exclusively attributable to lesser output delay during overt recall. In Experiments 2A and 2B, the same group of bilinguals was tested on serial recall and serial recognition of word lists in both languages. Although a sizeable first-language advantage was obtained on the serial recall measure, recognition performance was comparable in the two languages. On the basis of these results it is suggested that language differences in bilingual immediate memory arise in large part as a consequence of the differential availability of language-specific long-term knowledge with which to support retrieval processes in serial recall.

  15. Long Short-Term Memory Projection Recurrent Neural Network Architectures for Piano’s Continuous Note Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YuKang Jia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM is a kind of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN relating to time series, which has achieved good performance in speech recogniton and image recognition. Long Short-Term Memory Projection (LSTMP is a variant of LSTM to further optimize speed and performance of LSTM by adding a projection layer. As LSTM and LSTMP have performed well in pattern recognition, in this paper, we combine them with Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC to study piano’s continuous note recognition for robotics. Based on the Beijing Forestry University music library, we conduct experiments to show recognition rates and numbers of iterations of LSTM with a single layer, LSTMP with a single layer, and Deep LSTM (DLSTM, LSTM with multilayers. As a result, the single layer LSTMP proves performing much better than the single layer LSTM in both time and the recognition rate; that is, LSTMP has fewer parameters and therefore reduces the training time, and, moreover, benefiting from the projection layer, LSTMP has better performance, too. The best recognition rate of LSTMP is 99.8%. As for DLSTM, the recognition rate can reach 100% because of the effectiveness of the deep structure, but compared with the single layer LSTMP, DLSTM needs more training time.

  16. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of human sensory-evoked potentials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirk, Ian J; McNair, Nicolas A; Hamm, Jeffrey P; Clapp, Wesley C; Mathalon, Daniel H; Cavus, Idil; Teyler, Timothy J

    2010-09-01

    Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the principal candidate synaptic mechanism underlying learning and memory, and has been studied extensively at the cellular and molecular level in laboratory animals. Inquiry into the functional significance of LTP has been hindered by the absence of a human model as, until recently, LTP has only been directly demonstrated in humans in isolated cortical tissue obtained from patients undergoing surgery, where it displays properties identical to those seen in non-human preparations. In this brief review, we describe the results of paradigms recently developed in our laboratory for inducing LTP-like changes in visual-, and auditory-evoked potentials. We describe how rapid, repetitive presentation of sensory stimuli leads to a persistent enhancement of components of sensory-evoked potential in normal humans. Experiments to date, investigating the locus, stimulus specificity, and NMDA receptor dependence of these LTP-like changes suggest that they have the essential characteristics of LTP seen in experimental animals. The ability to elicit LTP from non-surgical patients will provide a human model system allowing the detailed examination of synaptic plasticity in normal subjects and may have future clinical applications in the assessment of cognitive disorders. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Local establishment of repetitive long-term potentiation-induced synaptic enhancement in cultured hippocampal slices with divided input pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oe, Yuki; Tominaga-Yoshino, Keiko; Ogura, Akihiko

    2011-09-01

    Long-term potentiation (LTP) in the rodent hippocampus is a popular model for synaptic plasticity, which is considered the cellular basis for brain memory. Because most LTP analysis involves acutely prepared brain slices, however, the longevity of single LTP has not been well documented. Using stable hippocampal slice cultures for long-term examination, we previously found that single LTP disappeared within 1 day. In contrast, repeated induction of LTP led to the development of a distinct type of plasticity that lasted for more than 3 weeks and was accompanied by the formation of new synapses. Naming this novel plastic phenomenon repetitive LTP-induced synaptic enhancement (RISE), we proposed it as a model for the cellular processes involved in long-term memory formation. However, because in those experiments LTP was induced pharmacologically in the whole slice, it is not known whether RISE has input-pathway specificity, an essential property for memory. In this study, we divided the input pathway of CA1 pyramidal neurons by a knife cut and induced LTP three times, the third by tetanic stimulation in one of the divided pathways to express RISE specifically. Voltage-sensitive dye imaging and Golgi-staining performed 2 weeks after the three LTP inductions revealed both enhanced synaptic strength and increased dendritic spine density confined to the tetanized region. These results demonstrate that RISE is a feasible cellular model for long-term memory. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Effects of social instability stress in adolescence on long-term, not short-term, spatial memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Matthew R; McCormick, Cheryl M

    2013-11-01

    There is evidence that exposure to stressors in adolescence leads to lasting deficits on hippocampal-dependent tasks, but whether medial prefrontal cortical function is also impaired is unknown. We previously found that rats exposed to social instability stress in adolescence (SS; daily 1h isolation and subsequent change of cage partner between postnatal days 30 and 45) had impaired memory performance on a Spatial Object Location test and in memory for fear conditioning context, tasks that depend on the integrity of the hippocampus. Here we investigated whether impaired performance would be evident after adolescent SS in male rats on a different test of hippocampal function, spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) and on a working memory task for which performance depends on the integrity of the medial prefrontal cortex, the Delayed Alternation task (DAT). During MWM testing, SS rats showed greater improvements in performance across trials within days compared to control (CTL) rats, but showed less retention of learning between days (48 h) compared to CTL rats. Similarly, SS rats had impaired long-term memory in the Spatial Object Location test after a long delay (240 min), but not after shorter delays (15 or 60 min) compared to CTL rats. No group differences were observed on the DAT, which assessed working memory across brief delays (5-90 s). Thus, deficits in memory performance after chronic social stress in adolescence may be limited to long-term memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of short- and long-term heat stress on the conception risk of dairy cows under natural service and artificial insemination breeding programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüller, L-K; Burfeind, O; Heuwieser, W

    2016-04-01

    The objectives of this retrospective study were to examine the effect of heat stress on natural service and artificial insemination (AI) breeding methods. We investigated the influence of short- and long-term heat stress on the conception risk (CR) of dairy cows bred by natural service or by AI with frozen-thawed or fresh semen. In addition, the relationship between breeding method and parity was determined. Cows bred by AI with frozen-thawed semen exposed to long-term heat stress (mean temperature-humidity index ≥73 in the period 21d before breeding) were 63% less likely to get pregnant compared with cows not exposed to heat stress. Cows bred by AI with fresh semen were 80% less likely to get pregnant during periods of short-term heat stress than during periods without heat stress. Furthermore, multiparous cows bred by AI with frozen-thawed or fresh semen were 22 and 67% less likely to get pregnant, respectively, than primiparous cows. No influence of heat stress or parity was noted on the CR of cows bred by natural service. The present study indicates that the likelihood of dairy cows becoming pregnant is reduced by short- and long-term heat stress depending on the type of semen employed. In particular, CR of cows inseminated with fresh semen is negatively affected by short-term heat stress and CR of cows inseminated with frozen-thawed semen is negatively affected by long-term heat stress. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The right hippocampus participates in short-term memory maintenance of object-location associations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piekema, C.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Mars, R.B.; Petersson, K.M.; Fernandez, G.S.E.

    2006-01-01

    Doubts have been cast on the strict dissociation between short- and long-term memory systems. Specifically, several neuroimaging studies have shown that the medial temporal lobe, a region almost invariably associated with long-term memory, is involved in active short-term memory maintenance.

  1. The right hippocampus participates in short-term memory maintenance of object-location associations.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piekema, C.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Mars, R.B.; Petersson, K.M.; Fernandez, G.S.E.

    2006-01-01

    Doubts have been cast on the strict dissociation between short- and long-term memory systems. Specifically, several neuroimaging studies have shown that the medial temporal lobe, a region almost invariably associated with long-term memory, is involved in active short-term memory maintenance.

  2. Constructing Long Short-Term Memory based Deep Recurrent Neural Networks for Large Vocabulary Speech Recognition

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Xiangang; Wu, Xihong

    2014-01-01

    Long short-term memory (LSTM) based acoustic modeling methods have recently been shown to give state-of-the-art performance on some speech recognition tasks. To achieve a further performance improvement, in this research, deep extensions on LSTM are investigated considering that deep hierarchical model has turned out to be more efficient than a shallow one. Motivated by previous research on constructing deep recurrent neural networks (RNNs), alternative deep LSTM architectures are proposed an...

  3. Short-lasting headache syndromes and treatment options.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozen, Todd D

    2004-08-01

    A number of primary headache syndromes are marked by their short duration of pain. Many of these syndromes have their own unique treatment, so they must be recognized by practicing physicians. In this article, a number of the short-lasting headache disorders are reviewed, including chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, SUNCT syndrome, hypnic headache, exploding head syndrome, primary stabbing headache, and cough headache.

  4. Long-term outcomes of children undergoing video-assisted gastrostomy

    OpenAIRE

    Sal?, Martin; Santimano, Ana; Helmroth, Sofia; Stenstr?m, Pernilla; Arnbjornsson, Einar ?lafur

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The aims of this study were to assess the short- and long-term complication rates after video-assisted gastrostomy (VAG), the effects of age and gender on long-term complications and the effect of duration of gastrostomy tube retention on the need for gastroraphy when the gastrostomy device was removed. Methods This was a retrospective study of children undergoing VAG at a single institution. Children who died or moved from the area were excluded. The rates of short- and long-term com...

  5. cAMP response element-binding protein in the amygdala is required for long- but not short-term conditioned taste aversion memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamprecht, R; Hazvi, S; Dudai, Y

    1997-11-01

    In conditioned taste aversion (CTA) organisms learn to avoid a taste if the first encounter with that taste is followed by transient poisoning. The neural mechanisms that subserve this robust and long-lasting association of taste and malaise have not yet been elucidated, but several brain areas have been implicated in the process, including the amygdala. In this study we investigated the role of amygdala in general, and the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the amygdala in particular, in CTA learning and memory. Toward that end, we combined antisense technology in vivo with behavioral, molecular, and histochemical analysis. Local microinjection of phosphorothioate-modified oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) antisense to CREB into the rat amygdala several hours before CTA training transiently reduced the level of CREB protein during training and impaired CTA memory when tested 3-5 d later. In comparison, sense ODNs had no effect on memory. The effect of antisense was not attributable to differential tissue damage and was site-specific. CREB antisense in the amygdala had no effect on retrieval of CTA memory once it had been formed, and did not affect short-term CTA memory. We propose that the amygdala, specifically the central nucleus, is required for the establishment of long-term CTA memory in the behaving rat; that the process involves long-term changes, subserved by CRE-regulated gene expression, in amygdala neurons; and that the amygdala may retain some CTA-relevant information over time rather than merely modulating the gustatory trace during acquisition of CTA.

  6. Evaluation of short- and long-term complications after endoscopically assisted gastropexy in dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dujowich, Mauricio; Keller, Mattew E; Reimer, S Brent

    2010-01-15

    To determine short- and long-term complications in clinically normal dogs after endoscopically assisted gastropexy. Prospective case series. 24 dogs. Endoscopically assisted gastropexy was performed on each dog. Dogs were evaluated laparoscopically at 1 or 6 months after surgery to assess integrity of the gastropexy. Long-term outcome was determined via telephone conversations conducted with owners > or = 1 year after surgery. Mean +/- SD gastropexy length was 4.5 +/- 0.9 cm, and mean duration of surgery was 22 +/- 5 minutes. One dog had a partially rotated stomach at the time of insufflation, which was corrected by untwisting the stomach with Babcock forceps. Two dogs vomited within 4 weeks after surgery, but the vomiting resolved in both dogs. Four dogs had diarrhea within 4 weeks after surgery, which resolved without medical intervention. In all dogs, the gastropexy site was firmly adhered to the abdominal wall at the level of the pyloric antrum. Long-term follow-up information was available for 23 dogs, none of which had any episodes of gastric dilatation-volvulus a mean of 1.4 years after gastropexy. Endoscopically assisted gastropexy can be a simple, fast, safe, and reliable method for performing prophylactic gastropexy in dogs. At 1 and 6 months after gastropexy, adequate placement and adhesion of the gastropexy site to the body wall was confirmed. Such a procedure could maximize the benefits of minimally invasive surgery, such as decreases in morbidity rate and anesthetic time. This technique appeared to be suitable as an alternative to laparoscopic-assisted gastropexy.

  7. Multidetector CT radiation dose optimisation in adults: short- and long-term effects of a clinical audit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tack, Denis [EpiCURA Hospital, Clinique Louis Caty, Department of Radiology, Baudour (Belgium); Jahnen, Andreas; Kohler, Sarah [CRP Henri Tudor, Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Harpes, Nico; Back, Carlo [Ministry of Health, Department of Radiation Protection, Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Maertelaer, Viviane de [Universite libre de Bruxelles, Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Moleculaire and SBIM, Statistical Unit, Brussels (Belgium); Gevenois, Pierre Alain [Hopital Erasme, Department of Radiology, Brussels (Belgium)

    2014-01-15

    To report short- and long-term effects of an audit process intended to optimise the radiation dose from multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT). A survey of radiation dose from all eight MDCT departments in the state of Luxembourg performed in 2007 served as baseline, and involved the most frequently imaged regions (head, sinus, cervical spine, thorax, abdomen, and lumbar spine). CT dose index volume (CTDIvol), dose-length product per acquisition (DLP/acq), and DLP per examination (DLP/exa) were recorded, and their mean, median, 25th and 75th percentiles compared. In 2008, an audit conducted in each department helped to optimise doses. In 2009 and 2010, two further surveys evaluated the audit's impact on the dose delivered. Between 2007 and 2009, DLP/exa significantly decreased by 32-69 % for all regions (P < 0.001) except the lumbar spine (5 %, P = 0.455). Between 2009 and 2010, DLP/exa significantly decreased by 13-18 % for sinus, cervical and lumbar spine (P ranging from 0.016 to less than 0.001). Between 2007 and 2010, DLP/exa significantly decreased for all regions (18-75 %, P < 0.001). Collective dose decreased by 30 % and the 75th percentile (diagnostic reference level, DRL) by 20-78 %. The audit process resulted in long-lasting dose reduction, with DRLs reduced by 20-78 %, mean DLP/examination by 18-75 %, and collective dose by 30 %. (orig.)

  8. Long-Term Orientation in Trade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofstede, G.J.; Jonker, C.M.; Verwaart, D.

    2008-01-01

    Trust does not work in the same way across cultures. This paper presents an agent model of behavior in trade across Hofstedes cultural dimension of long-term vs. short-term orientation. The situation is based on a gaming simulation, the Trust and Tracing game. The paper investigates the

  9. Pre-operative stroke and neurological disability do not independently affect short- and long-term mortality in infective endocarditis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diab, Mahmoud; Guenther, Albrecht; Sponholz, Christoph; Lehmann, Thomas; Faerber, Gloria; Matz, Anna; Franz, Marcus; Witte, Otto W; Pletz, Mathias W; Doenst, Torsten

    2016-10-01

    Infective endocarditis (IE) is still associated with high morbidity and mortality. The impact of pre-operative stroke on mortality and long-term survival is controversial. In addition, data on the severity of neurological disability due to pre-operative stroke are scarce. We analysed the impact of pre-operative stroke and the severity of its related neurological disability on short- and long-term outcome. We retrospectively reviewed our data from patients operated for left-sided IE between 01/2007 and 04/2013. We performed univariate (Chi-Square and independent samples t test) and multivariate analyses. Among 308 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery for left-sided IE, pre-operative stroke was present in 87 (28.2 %) patients. Patients with pre-operative stroke had a higher pre-operative risk profile than patient without it: higher Charlson comorbidity index (8.1 ± 2.6 vs. 6.6 ± 3.3) and higher incidence of Staphylococcus aureus infection (43 vs. 17 %) and septic shock (37 vs. 19 %). In-hospital mortality was equal but 5-year survival was significantly worse with pre-operative stroke (33.1 % vs. 45 %, p = 0.006). 5-year survival was worst in patients with severe neurological disability compared to mild disability (19.0 vs. 0.58 %, p = 0.002). However, neither pre-operative stroke nor the degree of neurological disability appeared as an independent risk factor for short or long-term mortality by multivariate analysis. Pre-operative stroke and the severity of neurological disability do not independently affect short- and long-term mortality in patients with infective endocarditis. It appears that patients with pre-operative stroke present with a generally higher risk profile. This information may substantially affect decision-making.

  10. Percutaneous-endoscopic rendezvous procedure for the management of bile duct injuries after cholecystectomy: short- and long-term outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schreuder, Anne Marthe; Booij, Klaske A. C.; de Reuver, Philip R.; van Delden, Otto M.; van Lienden, Krijn P.; Besselink, Marc G.; Busch, Olivier R.; Gouma, Dirk J.; Rauws, Erik A. J.; van Gulik, Thomas M.

    2018-01-01

    Bile duct injury (BDI) remains a daunting complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In patients with complex BDI, a percutaneous-endoscopic rendezvous procedure may be required to establish bile duct continuity. The aim of this study was to assess short- and long-term outcomes of the rendezvous

  11. Long-term variability of precipitation in Republic of Macedonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slavov, Nikola; Marinova, Tania; Ristevski, Pece

    2004-01-01

    During the last century a great attention has been spared to the water resources of the territories of different countries in the world. In the last decades investigations were directed towards the long-term variability of precipitation in the basic regions of agricultural production. Among these investigations the results that indicate decreasing of precipitation amounts during the potential crop-growing season are of especially great interest because precipitation decreasing affects harmfully crop production and population feeding. The purpose of the present work is to study the long-term variability of monthly precipitation sums for 5 representative meteorological stations in Republic of Macedonia: Skopje, Bitola, Prilep, Stip and Demir Kapija for the period 1925-2000. The duration and periodicity of precipitation variations are analyzed on the base of 5-years smooth values for different seasons, warm and cold half-year and for year. The tendencies of trend for the period 1925-2000 are found out.(Author)

  12. Short-term mechanisms influencing volumetric brain dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dieleman, Nikki; Koek, Huiberdina L.; Hendrikse, Jeroen

    2017-01-01

    With the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and brain analysis tools, it has become possible to measure brain volume changes up to around 0.5%. Besides long-term brain changes caused by atrophy in aging or neurodegenerative disease, short-term mechanisms that influence brain volume may exist.

  13. Short-term robustness of production management systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Gaury, E.G.A.

    1998-01-01

    Short-term performance of a production management system for make-to-stock factories may be quantified through the service rate per shift; long-term performance through the average monthly work in process (WIP). This may yield, for example, that WIP is minimized, while the probability of the service

  14. Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease

    OpenAIRE

    Parra, Mario; Abrahams, S.; Fabi, K.; Logie, R.; Luzzi, S.; Della Sala, Sergio

    2009-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or ‘binding’ deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1 : 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants...

  15. Sleep facilitates long-term face adaptation

    OpenAIRE

    Ditye, Thomas; Javadi, Amir Homayoun; Carbon, Claus-Christian; Walsh, Vincent

    2013-01-01

    Adaptation is an automatic neural mechanism supporting the optimization of visual processing on the basis of previous experiences. While the short-term effects of adaptation on behaviour and physiology have been studied extensively, perceptual long-term changes associated with adaptation are still poorly understood. Here, we show that the integration of adaptation-dependent long-term shifts in neural function is facilitated by sleep. Perceptual shifts induced by adaptation to a distorted imag...

  16. Some risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed El Hachemi Mazighi

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally guided by long-term contracts, the international natural gas trade is experiencing new methods of operating, based on the short term and more flexibility. Today, indeed, the existence of uncommitted quantities of natural gas, combined with gas price discrepancies among different regions of the world, gives room for the expansion of the spot-trading of gas. The main objective of this paper is to discuss three fundamental risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas: volume risk, price risk and infrastructure risk. The defenders Of globalisation argue that the transition from the long-term to the short-term trading of natural gas is mainly a question of access to gas reserves, decreasing costs of gas liquefaction, the building of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleets and regasification facilities and third-party access to the infrastructure. This process needs to be as short as possible, so that the risks related to the transition process will disappear rapidly. On the other hand, the detractors of globalisation put the emphasis on the complexity of the gas value chain and on the fact that eliminating long- term contracts increases the risks inherent to the international natural gas business. In this paper, we try to untangle and assess the risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas. Our main conclusions are: the short-term trading of gas is far from riskless; volume risk requires stock-building in both consuming and producing countries. (author)

  17. Methodology to predict long-term cancer survival from short-term data using Tobacco Cancer Risk and Absolute Cancer Cure models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mould, R F; Lederman, M; Tai, P; Wong, J K M

    2002-01-01

    Three parametric statistical models have been fully validated for cancer of the larynx for the prediction of long-term 15, 20 and 25 year cancer-specific survival fractions when short-term follow-up data was available for just 1-2 years after the end of treatment of the last patient. In all groups of cases the treatment period was only 5 years. Three disease stage groups were studied, T1N0, T2N0 and T3N0. The models are the Standard Lognormal (SLN) first proposed by Boag (1949 J. R. Stat. Soc. Series B 11 15-53) but only ever fully validated for cancer of the cervix, Mould and Boag (1975 Br. J. Cancer 32 529-50), and two new models which have been termed Tobacco Cancer Risk (TCR) and Absolute Cancer Cure (ACC). In each, the frequency distribution of survival times of defined groups of cancer deaths is lognormally distributed: larynx only (SLN), larynx and lung (TCR) and all cancers (ACC). All models each have three unknown parameters but it was possible to estimate a value for the lognormal parameter S a priori. By reduction to two unknown parameters the model stability has been improved. The material used to validate the methodology consisted of case histories of 965 patients, all treated during the period 1944-1968 by Dr Manuel Lederman of the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, with follow-up to 1988. This provided a follow-up range of 20- 44 years and enabled predicted long-term survival fractions to be compared with the actual survival fractions, calculated by the Kaplan and Meier (1958 J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 53 457-82) method. The TCR and ACC models are better than the SLN model and for a maximum short-term follow-up of 6 years, the 20 and 25 year survival fractions could be predicted. Therefore the numbers of follow-up years saved are respectively 14 years and 19 years. Clinical trial results using the TCR and ACC models can thus be analysed much earlier than currently possible. Absolute cure from cancer was also studied, using not only the prediction models which

  18. Long- and short-term trends in vessel conditioning of TFTR [Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaMarche, P.H.; Dylla, H.F.; Bell, M.G.

    1986-10-01

    We have investigated trends in the conditioning of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) vacuum vessel during the May 1984 to April 1985 run period. The initial conditioning of the vessel, consisting of glow discharge cleaning (GDC) and pulse discharge cleaning (PDC) in concert with a 150 0 C vessel bakeout, is necessary to assure plasma operation after atmospheric venting. A long-term conditioning process, ascribed to limiter conditioning, effectively improves operational conditions during the course of the run. Over several thousand high power plasma discharges, the improvement was documented by using standard parameter (fiducial) plasma discharges. Several techniques demonstrated short-term improvements in vessel conditioning during this time period, including: Cr gettering and programming the plasma position relative to the limiter contact area

  19. Metabotropic action of postsynaptic kainate receptors triggers hippocampal long-term potentiation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Petrovič, Miloš; da Silva, S. V.; Clement, J. P.; Vyklický ml., Ladislav; Mulle, C.; González-González, I. M.; Henley, J. M.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 4 (2017), s. 529-539 ISSN 1097-6256 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-02300S Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : hippocampus * long-term potentiation * membrane proteins Subject RIV: FH - Neurology OBOR OECD: Neuroscience s (including psychophysiology Impact factor: 17.839, year: 2016

  20. Informing the Long-Term Learner Model: Motivating the Adult Learner (Phase 1)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-28

    memory systems: 1) short - term memory , 2) working memory , and 3) long - term memory . The short - term memory stores the information for brief periods of...and the episodic buffer, which is linked to long - term memory . The visual working memory shares parts and interacts with attention (Gazzaley and...Nobre 2012; Zanto et al. 2011). Short - term memory is limited in its importance to