Dynamics of Lateral Habenula-Ventral Tegmental Area Microcircuit on Pain-Related Cognitive Dysfunctions.

Chronic pain is a health problem that affects the ability to work and perform other activities, and it generally worsens over time. Understanding the complex pain interaction with brain circuits could help predict which patients are at risk of developing central dysfunctions. Increasing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies suggests that aberrant activity of the lateral habenula (LHb) is associated with depressive symptoms characterized by excessive negative focus, leading to high-level cognitive dysfunctions.

Role of Glutamatergic Projections from Lateral Habenula to Ventral Tegmental Area in Inflammatory Pain-Related Spatial Working Memory Deficits.

The lateral habenula (LHb) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which form interconnected circuits, have important roles in the crucial control of sensory and cognitive motifs. Signaling in the LHb-VTA pathway can be exacerbated during pain conditions by a hyperactivity of LHb glutamatergic neurons to inhibit local VTA DAergic cells. However, it is still unclear whether and how this circuit is endogenously engaged in pain-related cognitive dysfunctions.

Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Diversity of Clones among Faecal ESBL-Producing Isolated from Healthy and Sick Dogs Living in Portugal.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the prevalence and genetic characteristics of ESBL and acquired-AmpC (qAmpC)-producing isolates from healthy and sick dogs in Portugal. Three hundred and sixty-one faecal samples from sick and healthy dogs were seeded on MacConkey agar supplemented with cefotaxime (2 µg/mL) for cefotaxime-resistant (CTX) recovery. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for 15 antibiotics was performed and the ESBL-phenotype of the isolates was screened.

Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Diversity of Clones among ESBL- and Acquired AmpC-Producing Isolated from Fecal Samples of Healthy and Sick Cats in Portugal.

The aim of the study was to analyze the mechanisms of resistance in extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)- and acquired AmpC (qAmpC)-producing isolates from healthy and sick cats in Portugal. A total of 141 rectal swabs recovered from 98 sick and 43 healthy cats were processed for cefotaxime-resistant (CTX) recovery (in MacConkey agar supplemented with 2 µg/mL cefotaxime). The matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) method was used for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by a disk diffusion test.

Ebola Virus Nucleocapsid-Like Structures Utilize Arp2/3 Signaling for Intracellular Long-Distance Transport.

The intracellular transport of nucleocapsids of the highly pathogenic Marburg, as well as Ebola virus (MARV, EBOV), represents a critical step during the viral life cycle. Intriguingly, a population of these nucleocapsids is distributed over long distances in a directed and polar fashion. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the intracellular transport of filoviral nucleocapsids depends on actin polymerization.