Processes of memory loss, recovery, and distortion

The author proposes that many forms of memory distortion, including the progressive changes in recollection of a learning experience often observed over successive tests, are due to the same processes that yield veridical recollection in some circumstances and memory loss and recovery in others. In a framework for interpreting all of these aspects of memory, the author assumes that the objects and events of a learning experience are encoded in parallel in traces of their perceptual attributes, which are basic to recognition, and in traces of reactions made to the events during or following learning, which are basic to recall. Random perturbation of remembered attribute values in both types of traces over retention intervals is a pervasive cause of both loss and distortions of memory.     

Transthyretin amyloidosis: a new mutation associated with dementia

NaCl-tolerant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains LC-10 (Lactobacillus casei) and LP-15 (Lact. plantarum) and NaCl were used as additives to sorghun (Sorghum bicolor). Numbers of LAB were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in all the additive-treated silages than in the control silage at an early stage of ensiling. During the fermentation process, addition of NaCl or LAB effectively inhibited the growth of aerobic bacteria and clostridia, but not yeasts. All the additive-treated silages had significantly (P < 0.05) lower pH, ammonia nitrogen content, dry matter loss and gas production but significantly (P < 0.05) higher lactic acid content and residual water soluble carbohydrates compared with the control silage. The improvement in silage quality was in the order: LAB > NaCl > control. Yeast counts were high in all additive-based silages and they increased during the exposure of the silages to air. As a result, these silages suffered aerobic deterioration, whereas the control silage was stable. The results confirmed that the NaCl or LAB improved fermentation quality but did not prevent aerobic deterioration of the silage.     

Interactions of stimulus attributes, base rates, and feedback in recognition.

Continuous old-new recognition was studied in relation to 3 factors that have been relatively neglected in previous research-stimulus attributes, old-new base rates, and informative feedback following responses. Under all conditions, both hits and false alarms increased over trials and all measures of recognition depended strongly on stimulus properties, notably interitem similarity. In contrast to expectations based on earlier results, both hit and false-alarm levels proved independent of old-new base rate when tests were given without feedback; with feedback added, false-alarm rates tended to approach true old-stimulus base rates with some types of stimuli, though not with words. The findings are compatible, in general, with current composite-memory models and were predicted in detail by an array-similarity model deriving from categorization theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traffic of dynamin within individual Drosophila synaptic boutons relative to compartment-specific markers

Presynaptic terminals contain several specialized compartments, which have been described by electron microscopy. We show in an identified Drosophila neuromuscular synapse that several of these compartments-synaptic vesicle clusters, presynaptic plasma membrane, presynaptic cytosol, and axonal cytoskeleton-labeled by specific reagents may be resolved from one another by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Using a panel of compartment-specific markers and Drosophila shibire(ts1) mutants to trap an intermediate stage in synaptic vesicle recycling, we have examined the localization and redistribution of dynamin within single synaptic varicosities at the larval neuromuscular junction. Our results suggest that dynamin is not a freely diffusible molecule in resting nerve terminals; rather, it appears localized to synaptic sites by association with yet uncharacterized presynaptic components. In shi(ts1) nerve terminals depleted of synaptic vesicles, dynamin is quantitatively redistributed to the plasma membrane. It is not, however, distributed uniformly over presynaptic plasmalemma; instead, fluorescence images show "hot spots" of dynamin on the plasma membrane of vesicle-depleted nerve terminals. We suggest that these dynamin-rich domains may mark the active zones for synaptic vesicle endocytosis first described at the frog neuromuscular junction.     

Remote sensing of structural complexity indices for habitat and species distribution modeling

Spatial distribution models are increasingly used in ecological studies, but are limited by the poor accuracy of remote sensing (RS) for mapping microhabitat (< 0.1 ha) features. Mapping accuracy can be improved by combining advanced RS image-processing techniques with microhabitat data expressed as a structural complexity index (SCI). To test this idea, we used principal components analysis (PCA) and an additive SCI method developed for forest ecology (calculated by re-scaling and summing representative structural variables) to summarize 13 microhabitat-scale (0.04 ha) vegetation structure attributes describing the rare mountain bongo antelope's (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) habitat in Kenya's Aberdare mountains. Microhabitat data were collected in 127 plots: 37 related to bongo habitat use, 90 from 1 km-spaced grid points representing overall habitat availability and bongo non-presence. We then assessed each SCI's effectiveness for discerning microhabitat variability and bongo habitat selection, using Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests for differences in mean SCI scores among plots divided into 4 vegetation classes, and the Area Under the Curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics from logistic regressions. We also examined the accuracy of predicted SCI scores resulting from regression models based on variables derived from a) ASTER imagery processed with spectral mixture and texture analysis, b) an SRTM DEM and c) rainfall data, using the 90 grid plots for model training and the bongo plots as an independent test dataset. Of the five SCIs derived, two performed best: the PCA-derived Canopy Structure Index (CSI) and an additive index summarizing 8 structural variables (AI₈). CSI and AI₈ showed significant differences between 5 of 6 vegetation class pairs, strong abilities to distinguish bongo-selected from available habitat (AUCs = 0.71 (CSI); 0.70 (AI₈)), and predicted scores 60-110% more accurate than reported by other studies using RS to quantify individual microhabitat structural attributes (CSI model R² = 0.51, RMSE = 0.19 (training) and 0.21 (test); AI₈ model R² = 0.46, RMSE = 0.17 (training) and 0.19 (test)). Repeating the Wilcoxon tests and logistic regressions with RS-predicted SCI values showed that AI₈ most effectively preserved the patterns found with the observed SCIs. These results demonstrate that SCIs effectively characterize microhabitat structure and selection, and boost microhabitat mapping accuracy when combined with enhanced RS image-processing techniques. This approach can improve distribution models and broaden their applicability, makes RS more relevant to applied ecology, and shows that processing field data to be more compatible with RS can improve RS-based habitat mapping accuracy.     

Comparison of Different Mass Spectrometry Workflows for the Proteomic Analysis of Tear Fluid

The tear film is a multi-layer fluid that covers the corneal and conjunctival epithelia of the eye and provides lubrication, nutrients, and protection from the outside environment. Tear fluid contains a high concentration of proteins and has thus been recognized as a potential source of biomarkers for ocular disorders due to its proximity to disease sites on the ocular surface and the non-invasive nature of its collection. This is particularly true in the case of dry eye disease, which directly impacts the tear film and its components. Proteomic analysis of tear fluid is challenging mainly due to the wide dynamic range of proteins and the small sample volumes. However, recent advancements in mass spectrometry have revolutionized the field of proteomics enabling unprecedented depth, speed, and accuracy, even with small sample volumes. In this study using the Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer, we compared four different mass spectrometry workflows for the proteomic analysis of tear fluid collected via Schirmer strips. We were able to establish a method of in-strip protein digestion that identified >3000 proteins in human tear samples from 11 healthy subjects. Our method offers a significant improvement in the number of proteins identified compared to previously reported methods without pooling samples.     

Molecular characterization of morphologically typical human calicivirus Sapporo

Human calicivirus Sapporo (SV) has typical calicivirus morphology and causes acute gastroenteritis in children. The nucleotide sequence of 3.2 kb of the 3' end of SV was determined from a cloned cDNA. The 3' end of the SV genome is predicted to encode the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase region, the capsid protein and two small open reading frames. The nonstructural and capsid protein coding sequences in the SV genome are fused in a single open reading frame. The organization of these proteins in the SV sequence is similar to that of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus and the recently described Manchester virus, and distinct from the genome organization of the prototype human calicivirus, Norwalk virus, that lacks typical calicivirus morphology and has been described as a small round structured virus (SRSV). Sequence analysis of the predicted capsid region showed that the SV capsid is longer by approximately 30 amino acids than the capsid of any of the SRSVs, and multiple sequence alignments showed that these additional amino acids are located in the variable region of the capsid protein. Expression of the capsid protein of SV in insect cells resulted in the self-assembly of virus-like particles that have a morphology similar to that of the native virus. This result shows that calicivirus morphology is determined by the primary sequence of the capsid protein.     

Clinical profile of commotio cordis: an under appreciated cause of sudden death in the young during sports and other activities

We describe a glucose sensor based on a mutant glucose/galactose binding protein (GGBP) and phase-modulation fluorometry. The GGBP from Escherichia coli was mutated to contain a single cysteine residue at position 26. When labeled with a sulfhydryl-reactive probe 2-(4'-iodoacetamidoanilino)naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid, the labeled protein displayed a twofold decrease in intensity in response to glucose, with a dissociation constant near 1 microM glucose. The ANS-labeled protein displayed only a modest change in lifetime, precluding lifetime-based sensing of glucose. A modulation sensor was created by combining ANS26-GGBP with a long-lifetime ruthenium (Ru) metal-ligand complex on the surface of the cuvette. Binding of glucose changed the relative intensity of ANS26-GGBP and the Ru complex, resulting in a dramatic change in modulation at a low frequency of 2.1 MHz. Modulation measurements at 2.1 MHz were shown to accurately determine the glucose concentration. These results suggest an approach to glucose sensing with simple devices.     

Memory storage and retrieval processes in category learning.

Studied the detailed course of learning for categorization tasks defined by independent or contingent probability distributions over the features of category exemplars in 2 experiments with 72 college-age Ss. Ss viewed sequences of bar charts that simulated symptom patterns and responded to each chart with a recognition and a categorization judgment. Fuzzy, probabilistically defined categories were learned relatively rapidly when individual features were correlated with category assignment, more slowly when only patterns carried category information. Limits of performance were suboptimal, evidently because of capacity limitations on judgmental processes as well as limitations on memory. Categorization proved systematically related to feature and exemplar probabilities, under different circumstances, and to similarity among exemplars of categories. Unique retrieval cues for exemplar patterns facilitated recognition but entered into categorization only at retention intervals within the range of short-term memory. Findings are interpreted within the framework of a general array model that yields both exemplar-similarity and feature-frequency models as special cases and provides quantitative accounts of the course of learning in each of the categorization tasks studied. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)