86,824 research outputs found
Striatal dynamics as determinants of reduced gambling vulnerability in the NHE rat model of ADHD
No full textThe Naples High-Excitability (NHE) is a validated rat strain to model for a mesocortical variant of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). NHE rats' brains have a tuned-down cortical and a potentiated limbic loop (Zoratto et al., 2017). ADHD and comorbid pathological gambling (PG) involve similar deficits of prefrontal-striatal dialogue. This work aimed to understand if NHE rats (compared to normal random-bred rats, NRB) can be a useful model for gambling vulnerability in ADHD. Experiment 1 evaluated gambling proneness in NHE rats, namely attraction/avoidance in nose-poking for a “Large & Luck-Linked” (LLL) reward (versus a “Small & Sure” one, SS), when the probability of LLL delivery was progressively reduced. Experiment 2 assessed (by phMRI) differential responsivity of ventral (vStr) versus dorsal (dStr) striatum following a methylphenidate (MPH, 4 mg/kg I.P.) challenge. In NHE rats, reduced attraction by secondary cues (associated with uncertain, rarefying LLL delivery) comes along with little or no activation of dStr and enhanced activation of vStr by MPH. Together, such evidences from NHE rats indicate distinctive roles of ventral (enhanced value given to actual primary reward) and dorsal (lower encoding of repeated stimulus-reward associations into a habit) striatum. In conclusion, the dynamics of reward systems could link an attention deficit with a decreased vulnerability to pathological gambling
Executive Function
No full textExecutive function (EF) is a heterogeneous construct widely used to refer to a conspicuous number of higher-order cognitive processes devoted to the monitoring and control of thoughts and actions. EF is generally regarded as being particularly important in novel or unfamiliar situations in which thoughtful and cautious behavior, instead of automatic and impulsive response, is required (Diamond 2013). The functioning of executive processes is thought to rely on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in both humans and nonhuman animals, regardless of the anatomical variations existing across different species (Robbins 2000)
Environmental variability and allostatic load in the Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
No full textAbstract: The analysis of eco-physiological parameters in wildlife may represent a priority for their conservation and management, not only to establish causal relationships, obtaining a set of raw data, but also to monitor the effectiveness of management strategies. We studied Hair Cortisol concentration (HCC) in Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris in four selected study areas in Italy. Areas differed from one another for vegetation type, degree of urbanization and anthropic disturbance, density of red squirrel populations and presence or absence of alien squirrel species. HCC measurements showed the highest values in a high-density population, subjected to a high predation pressure (i.e. in areas characterized by deciduous vegetation). Conversely, the lowest HCC levels have been observed in areas with the lowest squirrel density, i.e. in urbanized environments, where the species is established for a rather long time, and in areas with mixed vegetation and presence of conifers. Measuring HCC provides reliable information on the long-term activity of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and associated allostatic load. Furthermore, it constitutes a non-invasive method of investigation. The use of hair tubes further supports our non-invasive approach. Because of its simplicity and low costs, hair collection might be applied to monitor the long-term physiological response of wild species even in larger areas, besides focusing in the promotion of citizen-science data collection. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
O orçamento de caixa aplicado pelo método de recebimentos e desembolsos: um estudo de caso em uma instituição de ensino privado
No full textTCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Sócio Econômico, Curso de Administração.O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em sugerir uma ferramenta de planejamento e controle para uma instituição de ensino privado de Florianópolis para o ano letivo de 2006. Para isto iniciou-se o trabalho com a verificação e organização dos procedimentos financeiros existentes. Buscaram-se as fontes de receita e despesas e agrupou-se em quadros. Com isto projetou-se uma Demonstração do Resultado do Exercício do ano de 2005 e analisou-se o ponto de equilíbrio de 06 grupos de turmas do colégio, divididos segundo o mesmo valor de mensalidade. Com os dados organizados e analisados, sugeriu-se o método de recebimentos e desembolsos, e sugestões para implementar este modelo, como ferramenta de planejamento e controle das atividades financeiras da organização. Segundo a metodologia empregada a pesquisa caracteriza-se como qualitativa quanto ao tipo de dados; o estudo foi realizado através de pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, bibliográfica documental e por fim realizou-se um estudo de caso
[Newspaper Clipping: Author Claims Evidence of Second JFK Assassin #1]
No full textNewspaper article titled "Author Claims Evidence of Second JFK Assassin." The article states that author Richard J. Whalen concluded "that there is circumstantial evidence to support the theory of a second assassin in the shooting of President John F. Kennedy.
The presence of a potential competitor modulates risk preferences in rats
No full textAlthough both human and non-human animals, in everyday life, deal with risky decisions in a social environment,
few studies investigated how social dimension influences risk preferences (i.e., if consequences on others
feeds back over own choice). Here, we assessed whether the presence of a conspecific, acting as a potential
competitor for the same food resource, influenced risky decision-making in male rats. Subjects received a series
of choices between a safe option (always yielding a small yet optimal reward, solely to itself) and a risky option
(yielding a larger but suboptimal reward, one third of times to itself and two third of times delivered to the other
half cage); rats were tested twice, both alone and paired with a conspecific, recipient of own-lost food and hence
acting as potential competitor. Results showed that focal subjects were more risk-prone when paired with a
conspecific than when tested alone. However, rats exhibited also a higher motivational conflict with a competing
bystander present than alone: data suggest that the primary drive was to increase "own" food rather than either a
competitive or prosocial tendency. Overall, for rats tested in a risky-choice task, a competitive social context
increased the salience and attractiveness of larger food outcomes, as observed in humans and great apes. This led
to the economically irrational response of selecting the “binge-but-risky” option, notwithstanding uncertainty
about the actual recipient of such food
Also By The Same Author: AKTiveAuthor, a Citation Graph Approach to Name Disambiguation
No full textThe desire for definitive data and the semantic web drive for inference over heterogeneous data sources requires co-reference resolution to be performed on those data. In particular, name disambiguation is required to allow accurate publication lists, citation counts and impact measures to be determined. This paper describes a graph-based approach to author disambiguation on large-scale citation networks. Using self-citation, co-authorship and document source analyses, AKTiveAuthor clusters papers, achieving precision of 0.997 and recall of 0.818 over a test group of eight surname clusters
John F. Kennedy telegram to Roosevelt
No full textJersey Homesteads (later the Borough of Roosevelt) was established in the 1930s as an agro-industrial cooperative community. It was established specifically for urban Jewish garment workers, many of whom had emigrated from Europe. President John F. Kennedy sent a telegram to the citizens of Roosevelt, New Jersey, apologizing for not being able to attend the memorial dedication in honor of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Jersey Homesteads became Roosevelt in 1945 in honor of the president.) President Kennedy expressed his gratitude to the people of Roosevelt for constructing the memorial, and commented that it will serve as a constant reminder of Roosevelt's good works
Logarithmic variance profiles and the corresponding f-1 spectra of temperature fluctuations in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection
No full textWe report experimental results for the temperature variance 2(z) and the corresponding frequency spectra P(f) in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) in a cylindrical sample of aspect ratioT= D/L = 1:00 (D = 1:12 m is the diameter and L = 1:12 m the height). The measurements were conducted in the Rayleigh-number range 1011 < Ra < 1:35 1014 and Pr ' 0:8. For Ra = 1:35x1014, 2(z) could be described well by a logarithmic dependence on the vertical position z in a range of z 1 < z < z 2 with z 1 ' 70 and z 2 = 0:1L. Here L=(2Nu) is the thickness of a thin thermal sublayer adjacent to the horizontal plate where the heat flux (denoted by the Nusselt number Nu) is carried mostly by thermal diffusion. In the log layer, we found that the temperature spectra had a significant frequency range over which P(f) f with close to 1. As Ra decreased, increased so that the log layer became thinner. At Ra = 2:05 1011, z 2 < z 1 and therefore there was no range for a log layer. Correspondingly, the temperature spectrum near the horizontal plate did not have the f1 scaling form either
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