Explore the vast range of titles available.

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) play key roles in processing rewards and punishments across species. They evaluate sensory input, store memories, and update them based on relevance. To understand how individual DANs contribute to these functions, we studied Drosophila larvae, which have only about 120 DANs. Only eight of these project to the mushroom body (MB), a center for olfactory learning. These eight are divided into the pPAM and DL1 clusters, with four DANs each. We confirmed that pPAM neurons in the MB medial lobe encode sugar rewards. In the DL1 cluster, four neurons—DAN-c1, DAN-d1, DAN-f1, and DAN-g1—each target different MB regions. Notably, optogenetic activation of DAN-f1 and DAN-g1 can substitute for punishment. Additional methods (inhibition, calcium imaging, connectomics) show each DL1 DAN encodes a unique aspect of punishment, with DAN-g1 being pivotal for salt-based signals. Our findings reveal a clear division of labor among larval DL1 DANs for encoding punishment. The striking resemblance in the organizing principle of larval DANs with that of its adult counterpart and the mammalian basal ganglion suggests that there may be a limited number of efficient neural circuit solutions available to address more complex cognitive challenges in nature.

This pilot study investigated the feasibility of using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for the non-invasive detection and quantification of liver fibrosis in the Oncopig cancer model. Seven 8-week-old Oncopigs underwent alcoholic liver fibrosis induction and serial MRE imaging and liver biopsy at 1, 2, and 3 months post procedure. MRE was utilized to quantify liver stiffness, and liver fibrosis was histologically graded using the METAVIR system. The primary outcome measure was the capability to detect and quantify liver fibrosis using MRE with radiologic–pathologic correlation. Liver fibrosis induction, MRE imaging, and liver biopsy were successfully performed. MRE liver fibrosis was evident in 57% (4/7), 50% (3/6), and 40% (2/5) animal subjects 1, 2, and 3 months after fibrosis induction, with mean liver stiffness of 2.94, 3.25, and 2.91 kPa, respectively. Histological liver fibrosis was noted in 71% (5/7), 100% (5/5), and 100% (5/5) of animal subjects with available tissue samples. There was no significant statistical correlation between the MRE-measured liver stiffness and the METAVIR fibrosis scores. In conclusion, quantifiable liver fibrosis may be induced in the Oncopig. MRE has potential utility in non-invasively detecting liver stiffness in this large-animal preclinical model, though tissue biopsy was more sensitive in demonstrating disease.

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) play key roles in processing rewards and punishments across species. They evaluate sensory input, store memories, and update them based on relevance. To understand how individual DANs contribute to these functions, we studied Drosophila larvae, which have only about 120 DANs. Only eight of these project to the mushroom body (MB), a center for olfactory learning. These eight are divided into the pPAM and DL1 clusters, with four DANs each. We confirmed that pPAM neurons in the MB medial lobe encode sugar rewards. In the DL1 cluster, four neurons—DAN-c1, DAN-d1, DAN-f1, and DAN-g1—each target different MB regions. Notably, optogenetic activation of DAN-f1 and DAN-g1 can substitute for punishment. Additional methods (inhibition, calcium imaging, connectomics) show each DL1 DAN encodes a unique aspect of punishment, with DAN-g1 being pivotal for salt-based signals. Our findings reveal a clear division of labor among larval DL1 DANs for encoding punishment. The striking resemblance in the organizing principle of larval DANs with that of its adult counterpart and the mammalian basal ganglion suggests that there may be a limited number of efficient neural circuit solutions available to address more complex cognitive challenges in nature.

AimsTo report hospitalization costs of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) submitted to percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) with the Watchman device.MethodsPre- and post-procedural hospitalization AF-related costs were calculated using the DRG system (diagnosis-related groups) and compared.ResultsBetween 2012 and 2016, 677 non-valvular AF patients underwent LAAC. Median time from first cardiac hospitalization to LAAC was 5.9 years (IQR 1.6–9.1) and median follow-up after LAAC was 4.8 years (IQR 3.6–5.6). LAAC mortality was 1.3% and follow-up mortality 16.9%. Median pre-LAAC hospitalization cost was € 17,867 (IQR € 7512–35,08) and post-LAAC € 8772 (IQR € 1183–25,159) (p < 0.0001). Annualized cost pre-LAAC was 3773 € (IQR € 1644–8,493) and post-LAAC 2,001 € (IQR € 260–6913) (p < 0.0001). Follow-up survivors had significantly lower post-LAAC costs (p < 0.0001) and after a survival cut-off time of 4.6 years LAAC procedural and post-procedural hospitalization costs achieved parity with pre-LACC costs (AUC 0.64; p = 0.02). CHA2DS2-VASc score (B = 0.04; p = 0.02; 95% CI 0.006–0.08), and HAS-BLED score (B = 0.08; p = 0.004; 95% CI 0.02–0.14) were independent determinants for annualized hospitalization costs post-LAAC. At Cox-regression analysis the DRG mean clinical complexity level (CCL) was the only independent determinant for follow-up mortality (OR = 2.2; p < 0.0001; 95% CI 1.6–2.8) with a cut-off value of 2.25 to predict follow-up mortality (AUC 0.72; p < 0.0001; Spec. 70%; Sens. 70%).ConclusionHospitalization costs pre-LAAC are consistent, and after LAAC, they are significantly reduced. Costs seem related to the patient's risk profile at the time of the procedure. With the increase in post-LAAC survival time, the procedure becomes economically more profitable.Graphic abstract

When students display disruptive behaviors, it interferes with their own, and other students' learning and with the teacher's ability to instruct during academic activities. This study investigated the effects of a classwide interdependent group contingency on the on/off-task behaviors of an at-risk student in a first-grade classroom in a private Midwestern school. The student was referred for intervention due to his high rates of off-task behavior and low levels of academic engagement. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to improve the target student's behavior as well as that of his classroom peers. Results suggested that the intervention decreased the individual student's off-task behavior and increased academic engagement while also having positive effects on overall behavior in the classroom.

transplants is a body of poetry that joys in migration and grafting; in change and self-destruction; in cycles of survival and death; in resurrection and reincarnation. In this collection, I write of saints and prophets as regular people, faulted and accessible, transposed into the landscapes I’ve inhabited: from the deserts of Las Vegas and Mesa Verde in the U.S. to the coasts and jungles of Belize and Costa Rica in Central America. Through their eyes, one may find the profound within things overlooked, and the vulnerability of our mortal condition. transplants draws on not only stolen and transformed identities, but also appropriated texts and foreign languages. Some of the poems seek to disrupt human authorities and communications, through heavy collages and loose translations of canonical works. Folktales and myths are woven together with modern narratives. Human systems are overturned. “Home” and “family” become alienating or alienated; other places and things become beloved. The physical body, too, is a site for metamorphosis. Speakers transform, growing parts, removing layers, shape-shifting, and moving through time and space. Decay and weathering play their role in the conversion of things from one state to another, yet death is not the end of all things.

This thesis provides a study of the composer John Mackey and his music. In the last twelve years, Mackey has become internationally renowned and one of the most widely performed composers in the band world. Mackey has received numerous awards and honors for his musical contributions. His unique compositional style is distinguishable in his works regardless of the genre. Audiences, conductors, and performers alike continue to find enjoyment in his music due to his creative, rhythmic, and unique scoring for winds and percussion. This document includes biographical information on the composer, provides insight into his compositional style, and thoroughly analyzes the symphony for band, Wine-Dark Sea. Wine- Dark Sea was commissioned in 2014 by Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. The symphony is a programmatic piece that tells the story of Odysseus, Homer’s hero from The Odyssey, through three exciting and dramatic movements. Distinctive characteristics of this piece include Mackey’s unique use of meter changes, extended techniques in winds and percussion, and recurring programmatic themes. Wine-Dark Sea is Mackey’s longest work to date, one of his most challenging works for performers and conductor, and is especially captivating for the audience.

Dopaminergic neurons (DANs) carry out multiple tasks in the brain, including the transmission of information related to rewards and punishments across various animal species. They are responsible for evaluating sensory input, storing resulting associations as memory, and continuously updating them based on their relevance and reliability. Accurate comprehension of the dopaminergic system's operation necessitates an understanding of the specific functions mediated by individual DANs. To this end, our research employs Drosophila larvae, which possess approximately 12,000 neurons in their brains, of which only around 1% (approximately 120) are DANs. The presynaptic projections to the mushroom body (MB) - a brain region pivotal for associative olfactory learning in insects - are limited to only eight larval dopaminergic neurons. These DANs are further subdivided into two clusters: the primary protocerebral anterior medial cluster (pPAM) comprises four cells, and the dorsolateral 1 cluster (DL1) comprises the remaining four cells. Our findings confirm previous research that demonstrates that the pPAM DANs innervating the MB's medial lobe encode for a gustatory sugar reward signal. Furthermore, we have identified four DANs in the DL1 cluster - DAN-c1, DAN-d1, DAN-f1, and DAN-g1 - each of which innervates distinct compartments of the MB peduncle, lateral appendix, and vertical lobe. Optogenetic activation of DAN-f1 and DAN-g1 alone suffices to substitute for punishment. Furthermore, optogenetic inhibition, calcium imaging results and electron microscopy-based reconstruction of all sensory input circuits to the four DL1 DANs demonstrate that each DAN encodes a different aspect of punishment, with DAN-g1 being of central importance for the salt dependent teaching signal. To summarize, our investigation has revealed the existence of a cellular division of labor among larval DANs concerning the transmission of dopaminergic reward (pPAM cluster) and punishment signals (DL1 cluster). Individual DANs in each cluster encode for distinct but partially overlapping aspects of the teaching signal. The striking resemblance in the organizing principle of larval DANs with that of its adult counterpart and the mammalian basal ganglion suggests that there may be a limited number of efficient neural circuit solutions available to address more complex cognitive challenges in nature.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* We have completely revised the manuscript by adding new data, rearranging the figures and figure legends, and adding more information to the raw data and each statistical text for each behavioral experiment. We have also completely revised the text to incorporate these above changes and improve readability. We took special care not to over-interpret the results regarding salt specificity of the learning experiments.

There are several different learning types among the undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Providing students with the opportunity to complete hands-on experiments is an attempt to present the course material in a different way which will enhance learning. These learning laboratories are to be implemented in the core Engineering Science courses, ES 2110 Statics, ES 2120 Dynamics, ES 2310 Thermodynamics, ES 2330 Fluid Dynamics, and ES 2410 Mechanics of Materials. Every undergraduate engineering student in the college will potentially benefit from these laboratories. The opportunities provided from the learning laboratories correlate directly to some of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) required learning outcomes. To efficiently execute this program, a renovated space which provides technology-rich, team-enabled facilities with all of the required hands-on experimental apparatus is created as a part of this project. This project requires time to be fully integrated into the Engineering Science courses. Several steps have been completed including room remodeling, acquiring at least one setup of each experiment apparatus, and trial implementations of the Statics and Mechanics of Materials laboratories into the respective courses.

Abstract Although animals switch to backward walking upon sensing an obstacle or danger in their path, the initiation and execution of backward locomotion is poorly understood. The discovery of Moonwalker Descending Neurons (MDNs), made Drosophila useful to study neural circuits underlying backward locomotion. MDNs were demonstrated to receive visual and mechanosensory inputs. However, whether other modalities converge onto MDNs and what are the neural circuits activating MDNs are unknown. We show that aversive but not appetitive olfactory input triggers MDN-mediated backward locomotion. We identify in each hemisphere, a single Moonwalker Subesophageal Zone neuron (MooSEZ), which triggers backward locomotion. MooSEZs act both upstream and in parallel to MDNs. Surprisingly, MooSEZs also respond mostly to aversive odor. Contrary to MDNs, blocking MooSEZs activity has little effect on odor-evoked backward locomotion. Thus, this work reveals another important modality input to MDNs in addition to a novel olfactory pathway and MDN-independent backward locomotion pathway. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.