A comparative analysis of the categorization of multidimensional stimuli: II. Strategic information search in humans (Homo sapiens) but not in pigeons (Columba livia).

Pigeons and undergraduates learned conditional discriminations involving multiple spatially separated stimulus dimensions. Under some conditions, the dimensions were made available sequentially. In 3 experiments, the dimensions were all perfectly valid predictors of the response that would be reinforced and mutually redundant; in 2 others, they varied in validity. In tests with stimuli in which 1 of the 3 dimensions took an anomalous value, most but not all individuals of both species categorized them in terms of single dimensions. When information was delivered as a function of the passage of time, some students, but no pigeons, waited for the most useful information, especially when the cues differed in objective validity. When the subjects could control information delivery, both species obtained information selectively. When cue validities varied, almost all students tended to choose the most valid cues, and when all cues were valid, some chose the cues by which they classified test stimuli. Only a few pigeons chose the most useful information in either situation. Despite their tendency to unidimensional categorization, the pigeons showed no evidence of rule-governed behavior, but students followed a simple “take-the-best” rule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tobacco particulate matter is more potent than nicotine at upregulating nicotinic receptors on SH-SY5Y cells.

The effect of total particulate matter (TPM) from cigarette smoke on the expression and binding properties of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) was investigated using a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y). TPM but not nicotine on its own inhibited cell growth at nicotine concentrations above 5 microM. To examine effects on nAChR expression, intact cells were incubated with 3H-epibatidine, and a Bmax of 13 fmoles/10(5) cells (7.8 x 10(4) binding sites/cell) was measured in unexposed cells as well as in cells treated with 2 microM nicotine alone or with TPM containing 2 microM nicotine. Using Scatchard analysis, we measured a Kd of 0.3 nM for 3H-epibatidine binding to nAChRs. This Kd was increased to 1.3 nM by addition of nicotine or TPM extract, both at 2 microM nicotine. Bmax, however, was unaffected, suggesting competitive binding of nicotine to its receptor. Short-term and prolonged 3-day exposures of SH-SY5Y cells to either TPM or nicotine at nicotine concentrations ranging from 0.2 microM to 20 microM increased specific binding, suggesting upregulation of nAChR expression. Most significant, binding was consistently greater in cells pretreated with TPM than in cells pretreated with nicotine. We conclude that TPM contains compounds that are toxic to cells at high concentrations (cell growth inhibition) but that do not compete with nicotine for binding to nAChRs (Scatchard analysis). These non-nicotinic compounds are capable of increasing the expression of one or more of the nAChR subunits. Furthermore, our cell culture assay provides a useful in vitro model for assessing the relative addictiveness of different tobacco products, including that of non-nicotine components.     

具有检测电池容量功能的充电器设计

为解决市场主流充电器缺少电池容量检测功能以及电池充满电量后不能自动断电等问题,设计了一种以MSP430单片机为控制核心、DS1302为外围时钟电路芯片、具有检测电池容量功能的充电器,并给出了单元模块设计电路和配套的软件流程图。实验表明,该充电器可对锂电池、镍镉电池进行充电和放电,并提供两种电池容量检测方式,在采用传统电池容量检测方式测量时误差不超过5%;快速检测方式因节省时间,误差稍大。     

Engineered Human Induced Pluripotent Cells Enable Genetic Code Expansion in Brain Organoids

Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology has revolutionized studies on human biology. A wide range of cell types and tissue models can be derived from hiPSCs to study complex human diseases. Here, we use PiggyBac-mediated transgenesis to engineer hiPSCs with an expanded genetic code. We demonstrate that genomic integration of expression cassettes for a pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS), pyrrolysyl-tRNA (PylT) and the target protein of interest enables site-specific incorporation of a non-canonical amino acid (ncAA) in response to an amber stop codon. Neural stem cells, neurons and brain organoids derived from the engineered hiPSCs continue to express the amber suppression machinery and produce ncAA-bearing reporter. The incorporated ncAA can serve as a minimal bioorthogonal handle for further modifications by labeling with fluorescent dyes. Site-directed ncAA mutagenesis will open a wide range of applications to probe and manipulate proteins in brain organoids and other hiPSC-derived cell types and complex tissue models.     

Effect of structure on the glass transition temperatures of linear and crosslinked poly(isobornylacrylate-co-isobutylacrylate)

A series of linear acrylic copolymers based on Isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and isobutyl acrylate (IsoBA) were elaborated by radical photopolymerization. In addition, several photochemically crosslinked poly(IBOA-co-IsoBA) were prepared by introducing small amounts of 1,6-hexanedioldiacrylate as crosslinking agent. The evolution of the glass transition temperature was determined experimentally by differential scanning calorimetry as a function of composition for both linear and crosslinked poly(IBOA-co-IsoBA), yielding T_g values ranging from (~249) to (~315 K). Theoretical modeling was performed applying Fox, Gordon-Taylor and Couchman-Karasz models by simple calculations using experimental data, leading to only fair agreement between theoretical and experimental values, or by applying fitting procedures involving one or two adjustable parameters. Likewise, the Kwei model, known to take into account hydrogen bonding interactions between monomers, could not describe well the evolution of T_g, indicating the existence of other factors influencing T_g. Finally, a thermodynamic approach based on entropy considerations allowed to attribute an explanation of the evolution of T_g.     

Hohlfaser-Membrankontaktoren zur Stickstoffrückgewinnung aus Prozesswasser einer kommunalen Kläranlage

Process water deriving from digested sludge dewatering at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) represents an additional load for the plant in terms of nitrogen. Münster WWTP is the first German plant to operate an innovative full-scale membrane contactor facility for nitrogen removal and recovery from process water. Within the scope of this study, aspects influencing the membrane performance and operation as well as utilization of the produced fertilizer are investigated. First results reveal nitrogen removal efficiencies around 85 % and a regional usability of the produced fertilizer.     

A multiplicity of roles for genetic nursing: building toward holistic practice

Nursing's unique contribution to human genetics is holism. There are many roles for basic and advanced practice nurses involved in genetics. Describing these roles makes it easy for nurses to learn more about genetic nursing and helps promote collaboration among professionals. Education for nurses about genetics helps foster greater nursing participation in human genetics. The goal is for nurses to be informed about genetics so that they can better understand people as whole persons whose growth and development, human response patterns, and biopsychosocial processes are affected by and have an effect on human DNA.     

Female and male personality styles: A typological and developmental analysis.

The personality styles of 137 women and 138 men aged 27 yrs were examined in an ongoing Finnish longitudinal study in which the participants were first assessed at age 8. Data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire, personality inventories, and a semistructured interview. Variables covered personality characteristics, life orientation, and behavioral activities. Both women and men fell into two major clusters, the adjusted (3/4) and the conflicted (1/4). Both clusters divided into subclusters; altogether, 7 were extracted for women and men replicating the personality types obtained by J. Block (1971) despite the use of a different methodology in a different culture. The clusters had roots in individuals' emotional and behavioral regulation from the early school years onward, and they also predicted personality characteristics over a period of 6 years when the Big Five personality factors were used as criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of a steroidogenic neurohormone in female mosquitoes

In the female mosquito, Aedes aegypti, neurohormones are released from the brain in response to a blood meal and stimulate the ovaries to secrete ecdysteroid hormones, which modulate yolk protein synthesis in the fat body. Neuropeptides with this bioactivity were isolated from head extracts, and partial sequences from these peptides when aligned gave a 31-residue sequence at the amino terminus. Oligonucleotide primers for this sequence were used to amplify with the polymerase chain reaction a genomic DNA product that hybridized to a clone from a head cDNA library. The cDNA encodes a 149-residue preprohormone that is processed into an 86-residue peptide, as indicated by the mass value obtained from the native peptide, with the expected amino-terminal sequence. After modification, the cDNA for the putative neurohormone was expressed in a bacterial system, and the purified peptide had high specific activity in bioassays, thus confirming that it is a steroidogenic gonadotropin, the first to be identified for invertebrates.     

Personal control over development, identity formation, and future orientation as components of life orientation: A developmental approach.

Two components of life orientation (LO) emerged in a study of 145 men and 142 women at age 26: (1) Positive Orientation (PO), which included self-percepts of personal control over development, positive evaluation of the future, and identity achievement; and (2) Motivated Questioning (MQ), which consisted of identity exploration, motivated future orientation, and dissatisfaction with present achievements. Methods used were an identity status interview, a personal control inventory, and a semistructured interview. In comparison with MQ, PO was more strongly associated with variables involved in adaptive psychological functioning: personal well-being, broad range of goals, social acceptance, and socially constructive ends (A. S. Waterman, 1992). School success studied at ages 8 and 14 and SES contributed to both PO and MQ more strongly in women than in men. LO in men was more dependent on current variables involved in adaptive psychological functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)