An Ultra-Low Dose of ∆9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Alleviates Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Cognitive Impairments and Modulates TrkB Receptor Expression in a 5XFAD Mouse Model

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, but there is still no available treatment. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is emerging as a promising therapeutic agent. Using THC in conventional high doses may have deleterious effects. Therefore, we propose to use an ultra-low dose of THC (ULD-THC). We previously published that a single injection of ULD-THC ameliorated cognitive functioning in several models of brain injuries as well as in naturally aging mice. Here, 5xFAD AD model mice received a single treatment of ULD-THC (0.002 mg/kg) after disease onset and were examined in two separate experiments for cognitive functions, neurotropic, and inflammatory factors in the hippocampus. We show that a single injection of ULD-THC alleviated cognitive impairments in 6- and 12-month-old 5xFAD mice. On the biochemical level, our results indicate an imbalance between the truncated TrkB receptor isoform and the full receptor, with AD mice showing a greater tendency to express the truncated receptor, and ULD-THC improved this imbalance. We also investigated the expression of three AD-related inflammatory markers and found an ameliorating effect of ULD-THC. The current research demonstrates for the first time the beneficial effects of a single ultra-low dose of THC in a mouse model of AD after disease onset.     

On power line carrier communication (PLC)

Power line carrier communication (PLC) provides significant services for the electric utilities in particular and to the industrial and consumer sectors in general. Since its inception in the early 1920's, PLC has been used for voice communication, protective relaying telemetry and supervisory control. Lately PLC has proved to render the most efficient means for distribution automation and load management. This paper is a review of literature related to PLC and its applications.     

Haptically perceiving the distances reachable with hand-held objects.

Nine experiments are reported on the ability of people to perceive the distances reachable with hand-held rods that they could wield by movements about the wrist but not see. An observed linear relation between perceived and actual reaching distances with the rods held at one end was found to be unaffected by the density of the rods, the direction relative to the body in which they were wielded, and the frequency at which they were wielded. Manipulating (a) the position of an attached weight on an otherwise uniformly dense rod and (b) where a rod was grasped revealed that perceived reaching distance was governed by the principle movement(s) of inertia (I) of the hand-rod system about the axis of rotation. This dependency on moment of inertia (I) was found to hold even when the reaching distance was limited to the length of rod extending beyond an intermediate grasp. An account is given of the haptic subsystem (hand–muscles–joints–nerves) as a smart perceptual instrument in the Runeson (1977) sense, characterizable by an operator equation in which one operator functionally diagonalizes the inertia and strain tensors. Attunement to the invariants of the inertia tensor over major physical transformations may be the defining property of the haptic subsystem. This property is discussed from the Gibsonian (ecological) perspectives of information as invariants over transformations and of intentions as extraordinary constraints on natural law. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer networks and distributed systems

Computer Networks and Distributed Systems, along with Multiprocessor Systems, comprise the class of computer systems known as Multiple Instruction Multiple Data (MIMD). We distinguish Multi-processor Systems, which are not covered in this review, from the other members of MIMD, by the degree of autonomy of the computing elements and the means of communication between them. A system where the processors communicate by using shared memory or where there is a master-slave relationship among the processors is neither a network nor a Distributed System. This paper identifies, analyzes and classifies various aspects of distributed systems.     

An efficient analysis of FitzHugh-Nagumo circuit model

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - FitzHugh-Nagumo, FHN, is a most critically significant Neural Cell method which is effectively capable of modeling the synaptic behavior by...     

Exploration costs as a means for improving performance in multiagent systems

We consider settings were agents are faced with several possible opportunities and need to choose one. Each opportunity may offer a different utility to the agent, and determining this utility may consume resources. The underlying costly exploration problem is termed “economic search”, though its essence is different from the traditional search notion in artificial intelligence (e.g. BFS, IDDFA, and A*), as there is no underlying combinatorial structure to the opportunities. We study the effects that search costs can have on individual and aggregate utility in distributed multi-agent economic-search settings. Traditionally, in such setting, search costs are regarded as a market inefficiency, and, as such, as something to be avoided or reduced to a minimum. We show, in contrast, that in many search settings, the introduction of search costs can actually improve the aggregate social welfare, or even the expected utility of each and every individual agent.We note that the proceeds from the search costs are assumed to be wasted, with no one directly benefiting from them. We demonstrate the benefits of search costs in both one-sided and two-sided search settings, using standard, classical models from economic-search theory. For the designers of multiagent systems, the results imply that deliberate (and potentially artificial) increase of search costs should be considered as possible means to improving the system’s overall performance.     

Molecular Mechanisms of PD-1 and PD-L1 Activity on a Pan-Cancer Basis: A Bioinformatic Exploratory Study

Immune checkpoint blockade targeting PD-1 (PDCD1)/PD-L1 (CD274) is increasingly used for multiple cancers. However, efficacy and adverse-related events vary significantly. This bioinformatic study interrogated molecular differences pertaining to PDCD1/CD274 and their correlated genes on a pan-cancer basis to identify differences between cancer types. Patient RNA-seq data from fifteen cancer types were accessed on cBioPortal to determine the role of PDCD1/CD274 in patient survival and to identify positively and negatively correlated genes, which were also assessed for clinical relevance. Genes correlating with PDCD1/CD274 across multiple cancers were taken forward for drug repurposing via DRUGSURV and microRNA analysis using miRDB and miRabel. MicroRNAs were also screened for clinical relevance using OncomiR. Forty genes were consistently correlated with PDCD1/CD274 across multiple cancers, with the cancers themselves exhibiting a differential role for the correlated genes in terms of patient survival. Esophageal and renal cancers in particular stood out in this regard as having a unique survival profile. Forty-nine putative microRNAs were identified as being linked to the PDCD1/CD274 network, which were taken forward and further assessed for clinical relevance using OncomiR and previously published literature. One hundred and thirty significant survival associations for 46 microRNAs across fourteen groups of cancers were identified. Finally, a total of 23 putative repurposed drugs targeting multiple components of the PDCD1/CD274 network were identified, which may represent immunotherapeutic adjuvants. Taken together, these results shed light on the varying PDCD1/CD274 networks between individual cancers and signpost a need for more cancer-specific investigations and treatments.     

Field performance and nutritive value of a new forage sorghum variety ‘Pnina’ recently developed in Israel

A new forage sorghum entitled Pnina was developed in Israel. Pnina, harvested at early milk (EM) and hard dough (HD) stages of maturity, was compared with commercial sorghum variety FS‐5 and a sorghum BMR/Sudan hybrid Nutriplus. Plants grew during summer and were irrigated with 190 mm water. Pnina was semi‐dwarf (1.35 m height) and absolutely resistant to lodging. The tall varieties FS‐5 and Nutriplus suffered at HD from high lodging. Pnina was more leafy than Nutriplus and FS‐5. The dry matter (DM) content of FS‐5 and Nutriplus were at EM below the level recommended for ensilage and elevated slightly at HD, whereas DM content of Pnina was higher. Crop yields of all varieties at HD were similar and ranged between 13.3 and 14.7 t ha^?1 DM. Dry matter losses during ensilage and silage pH were similar in the three varieties at HD. In vitro DM digestibility of HD silages ranged between 62.5 and 67.1%. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content was higher in Pnina silages. Yields of digestible silage per hectare, were similar in the three varieties harvested at HD (8.4 to 8.8 t ha^?1 DM); however, yield of digestible NDF per hectare was higher in Pnina. Data suggest that the new variety Pnina may have field advantage over the other varieties of this study. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

用软件实现对称密钥算法"加速"

本文主要在Blackfin处理器上讨论对称密钥密码的软件实现,同时介绍几种算法级优化和底层指令选择方法.     

Managing parallel inquiries in agents' two-sided search

In this paper we address the problem of agents engaged in a distributed costly two-sided search for pairwise partnerships in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). While traditional two-sided search mechanisms are based on a purely sequential search of all searchers, our mechanism integrates an ability of some of the agents to maintain several search efforts in parallel at each search stage. We show that in many environments the transition to the new mechanism is inevitable since the adoption of the parallel-interactions based search suggests a greater utility for the searching agents. By exploring the appropriate model equations, we present the new dynamics that drive the equilibrium when using such a mechanism in MAS environments. Complementary algorithms are offered, based on the unique equilibria characteristics found, for facilitating the extraction of the agents' strategies. The analysis methodology used supplies a comprehensive solution to a self contained model, and also offers a great value for future work concerning distributed two-sided mechanisms for MAS. Towards the end of the paper we review two of these important models that can benefit from the proposed analysis.