Neonatal hypoxia impairs serotonin release and cognitive functions in adult mice.

Children who experienced moderate perinatal asphyxia (MPA) are at risk of developing long lasting subtle cognitive and behavioral deficits, including learning disabilities and emotional problems. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulates cognitive flexibility and emotional behavior. Neurons that release serotonin (5-HT) project to the PFC, and compounds modulating 5-HT activity influence emotion and cognition.

The p75 Neurotrophin Receptor in Preadolescent Prefrontal Parvalbumin Interneurons Promotes Cognitive Flexibility in Adult Mice.

Background: Parvalbumin (PV)-positive GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) cells provide robust perisomatic inhibition to neighboring pyramidal neurons and regulate brain oscillations. Alterations in PV interneuron connectivity and function in the medial prefrontal cortex have been consistently reported in psychiatric disorders associated with cognitive rigidity, suggesting that PV cell deficits could be a core cellular phenotype in these disorders. The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) regulates the time course of PV cell maturation in a cell-autonomous fashion.

Phase 1 Study of the Pharmacology of BTI320 Before High-Glycemic Meals.

BTI320 is a proprietary fractionated mannan polysaccharide being studied for attenuation of postprandial glucose excursion. The apparent blood glucose-lowering effect of this compound is effective in lowering postprandial hyperinsulinemia, participating in the metabolic regulation of other lipid molecules; the consequence of this activity is yet to be validated with BTI320 with respect to the risk of cardiovascular disease. The primary objective of the study was to determine the postprandial glucose and insulin responses to 3 test meals containing rice alone or consumed with BTI320 (study A) or 3 test meals (Sprite ) alone or consumed with BTI320 (study B).

Gating of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the thalamocortical auditory system of rats by serotonergic (5-HT) receptors.

The neuromodulator serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) plays an important role in controlling the induction threshold and maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the visual cortex and hippocampus of rodents. Serotonergic fibers also innervate the rodent primary auditory cortex (A1), but the regulation of A1 plasticity by 5-HT receptors (5-HTRs) is largely uncharted. Thus, we examined the role of several, predominant 5-HT receptor classes (5-HTRs, 5-HTRs, and 5-HTRs) in gating in vivo LTP induction at A1 synapses of adult, urethane-anesthetized rats.

The Association of Intergenerational Mismatch With Adiposity and Blood Pressure in Childhood and Adolescence.

Purpose: An intergenerational "mismatch," a transition from limited to plentiful living conditions over generations, may increase cardiovascular disease risks. In a migrant population within a homogenous culture, we tested the hypothesis that an intergenerational mismatch in childhood living condition is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure in childhood and adolescence.

Methods: We used data from 6,965 native born Chinese in Hong Kong (participated in "Children of 1997" birth cohort) and migrant Chinese born elsewhere in China in 1997 (N = 9,845).

Divergent secular trends in blood pressure and body mass index in children and adolescents in Hong Kong.

Secular trends in blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) during childhood and adolescence are sentinels for the future population cardiovascular disease burden. We examined trends in BP z-score (ages 9-18 years from 1999 to 2014) and BMI z-score (ages 6-18 years from 1996 to 2014) in Hong Kong, China. Overall, BP z-score fell, systolic BP from 0.

Design strategies and rigorous conditions for single-polarization single-mode waveguides.

We establish rigorous necessary analytical conditions for the existence of single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) bandwidths in index-guided microstructured waveguides (such as photonic-crystal fibers). These conditions allow us to categorize designs for SPSM waveguides into four strategies, at least one of which seems previously unexplored. Conversely, we obtain rigorous sufficient conditions for the existence of two cutoff-free index-guided modes in a wide variety of microstructured dielectric waveguides with arbitrary periodic claddings, based on the existence of a degenerate fundamental mode of the cladding (a degenerate light line).