Progressive Thinning of Visual Motion Area in Lower Limb Amputees

Accumulating evidence has indicated that amputation or deafferentation of a limb induces functional or structural reorganization in the visual areas. However, the extent of the visual areas involved after lower limb amputation remains uncertain. In this investigation, we studied 48 adult patients with unilateral lower limb amputation and 48 matched healthy controls using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Template-based regions of interest analysis was implemented to detect the changes of cortical thickness in the specific visual areas. Compared with normal controls, amputees exhibited significantly lower thickness in the V5/middle temporal (V5/MT+) visual area, as well as a trend of cortical thinning in the V3d. There was no significant difference in the other visual areas between the two groups. In addition, no significant difference of cortical thickness was found between patients with amputation at different levels. Across all amputees, correlation analyses revealed that the cortical thickness of the V5/MT+ was negatively correlated to the time since amputation. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the amputation of unilateral lower limb could induce changes in the motor-related visual cortex, and provide an update on the plasticity of the human brain after limb injury

Surgery plus anesthesia induces loss of attention in mice

There is a need to develop animal models to study postoperative delirium. Inattention is one of the symptoms of delirium. Increases in the levels of α-synuclein and S100β have been reported to be associated with delirium. Therefore, we set out to determine the effects of surgery plus general anesthesia on the behavioral changes (including loss of attention) in mice and on the levels of α-synuclein and S100β in the brain tissues of these mice. C57BL/6J mice (2- to 8-months-old) had a simple laparotomy plus isoflurane anesthesia. The behavioral changes, including attention level and the speed of movements, were determined 12, 24 and 48 hours after the surgery plus anesthesia in the mice. The levels of α-synuclein and S100β in the cortex of these mice following the surgery plus anesthesia were determined by Western blot analysis.We found that there was a loss of attention at 24, but not 12 or 48, hours following the surgery plus anesthesia (49%+5 versus 33%+2.9, P=0.011, N=12) in the mice without significantly affecting the speed of their movements. There were increases in the levels of total α-synuclein (139%+33.5 versus 100%+13.7, P=0.037, N=6) and S100β (142%+7.7 versus 100%+6, P=0.002, N=6) in the cortex of the mice 12 hours following the surgery plus anesthesia.These findings suggested that the surgery plus isoflurane anesthesia might induce behavioral and biochemical/biochemical/cellular changes associated with delirium. We could use the surgery plus anesthesia in mice to develop an animal model to study postoperative delirium

Modulation of Neuronal Survival Factor MEF2 by Kinases in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder due to selective death of neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cause of cell death remains largely unknown. Myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) is a group of transcriptional factors required to regulate neuronal development, synaptic plasticity, as well as survival. Recent studies show that MEF2 functions are regulated in multiple subcellular organelles and suggest that dysregulation of MEF2 plays essential roles in the pathogenesis of PD. Many kinases associated with transcription, translation, protein misfolding, autophagy, and cellular energy homeostasis are involved in the neurodegenerative process. Following the first demonstration that mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 (p38 MAPK) directly phosphorylates and activates MEF2 to promote neuronal survival, several other kinase regulators of MEF2s have been identified. These include protein kinase A and extracellular signal regulated kinase 5 as positive MEF2 regulators, and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and glycogen synthase kinase 3β as negative regulators in response to diverse toxic signals relevant to PD. It is clear that MEF2 has emerged as a key point where survival and death signals converge to exert their regulatory effects, and dysregulation of MEF2 function in multiple subcellular organelles may underlie PD pathogenesis. Moreover, several other kinases such as leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) are of particular interest due to their potential interaction with MEF2

PERANAN KEPOLISIAN DAERAH DAERAH ISTIMEWA YOGYAKARTA DALAM MENANGGULANGI TINDAKAN CYBER BULLYING

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui peranan Kepolisian Daerah Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (Polda DIY) dalam menanggulangi tindakan cyber bullying, kendala yang dialami dalam menanggulangi tindakan cyber bullying, serta upaya yang dilakukan untuk mengatasi kendala tersebut. Metode penelitian dalam penelitian ini menggunakan jenis penelitian deskriptif menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Subjek penelitian ditentukan dengan teknik purposive. Subjek penelitian adalah: 1) Dua orang penyidik Polda DIY bagian Direktorat Reserse Kriminal Khusus. 2) Seorang Kepala Sub Bagian Direktorat Pembinaan dan Ketertiban Penyuluhan Polda DIY bagian Ditbinmas. 3) Seorang Kepala Sub Bagian Pembinaan Operasional Polda DIY bagian Ditbinmas. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan metode wawancara dan dokumentasi. Pemeriksaan keabsahan data menggunakan cross check dari hasil wawancara antar subjek penelitian dengan dokumen. Teknik analisis data dilakukan secara induktif mancakup reduksi data, kategorisasi, data display, dan pengambilan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian ini adalah: 1) Peranan Polda DIY dalam menanggulangi tindakan cyber bullying dilakukan secara pre-emtif dan represif, sedangkan tindakan secara preventif masih minim dilakukan. Tindakan pre-emtif melalui pembinaan, bimbingan dan penyuluhan. Tindakan represif berupa penindakan dengan dilakukannya penyelidikan yang dilakukan untuk menentukan apakah telah terjadi tindakan cyber bullying, apabila terjadi tindakan cyber bullying maka dilanjutkan dengan penyidikan yang dilakukan dengan: a) Melakukan pemanggilan, b) Melakukan penangkapan, c) Penahanan, d) Penyitaan, e) Pemeriksaan tersangka dan saksi, f) Meminta pertimbangan ahli, g) Selesainya penyidikan dengan menyerahkan BAP dan tersangka kepada JPU. Dalam penelitian ini peneliti kesulitan dalam menyajikan contoh kasus cyber bullying dikarenakan subjek penelitian belum memenuhi UU No 14 Th 2008 tentang keterbukaan informasi publik. 2) Kendala Polda DIY dalam menanggulangi tindakan cyber bullying yaitu: (a) Sulitnya pencarian pelaku, (b) Keterbatasan sarana dan prasarana, (c) Keterbatasan sumber daya manusia. 3) Upaya Polda DIY untuk mengatasi kendala dalam menanggulangi tindakan cyber bullying: (a) Melakukan perjanjian dengan provider ISP dan GSM, (b) Meminimalisir penggunaan dana dan melakukan kerjasama, (c) Dilakukan peningkatan kemampuan personel serta perekrutan penyidik yang berlatar belakang teknologi informasi. Kata kunci : peranan, kepolisian, penanggulangan, cyber bullyin

Seasonal abundance of aphids and their natural enemies in walnut orchards in Lake Van Basin, Turkey

Özet: Vangölü havzasında 2005-2006 yıllarında yürütülen çalı?mada, ceviz bahçelerindekiyaprakbiti türleri (Chromaphis juglandicola ve Panaphis juglandis) ile bunların parazitoitve predatörlerinin populasyon yoğunlukları belirlenmi?tir. Çalı?ma Adilcevaz ve Geva?ilçelerinden seçilen iki bahçede yürütülmü?tür.Chromaphis juglandicola populasyonu çalı?manın her iki yılında ve her iki bahçededü?ük düzeyde kalmı?, P. juglandis populasyonu ise yaz ba?ında olu?maya ba?lamı? ve yazortalarında en yüksek düzeyine ula?arak ekonomik zarar e?ik değerini geçmi?tir. Daha sonrapopulasyonu dü?meye ba?lamı? ve vejetasyon döneminin sonuna kadar dü?ük düzeydeseyretmi?tir. Ceviz bahçelerinde yaprak bitlerinin avcıları olarak Coccinellidae (Coleoptera),Anthocoridae, Miridae (Hemiptera), Chrysopidae ve Hemerobidae (Neuroptera)familyalarına bağlı türler belirlenmi?tir. Bunlar arasında Adalia fasciatopunctata revelierei (Mulsant) Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) ve Orius spp. enyaygın ve populasyonları en yüksek türler olarak belirlenmi?tir. Her iki yaprak biti türününparazitoidi olarak Trioxys pallidus Haliday saptanmı? ve parazitoidin yaprakbitlerinin dü?ükyoğunluklarında etkili olduğu belirlenmi?ti

The Role of Inhibition in Age-Related Off-Topic Verbosity: Not Access but Deletion and Restraint Functions

The speech of older adults is commonly described as verbose and off-topic, which is thought to influence their social communication. This study investigated the role of inhibition in age-related off-topic verbosity (OTV). Inhibition consists of three functions: access, deletion, and restraint. The access function is responsible for preventing irrelevant information from accessing the attention center (pre-mechanism of inhibition); The deletion function is responsible for deleting previously relevant but currently irrelevant information from working memory, and the restraint function is responsible for restraining strong but inappropriate responses (post-mechanisms of inhibition). A referential communication task was used to determine whether OTV was influenced by the pre-mechanism of inhibition. A self-involved event interview task was used to investigate the effect of the post-mechanisms of inhibition on OTV. Results showed that the OTV of the elderly participants was associated with an age-related decline in the post-mechanisms of inhibition, while the OTV exhibited by young adults was most likely due to deficits in the pre-mechanism function of inhibition. This research contributed to fill gaps in the existing knowledge about the potential relationship between specific functions of inhibition and age-related OTV

Influence of fly ash on the liquefaction behavior of sandysoils

Sanayileşme ve kentleşme, enerji ve hammaddeler için artan tüketici talebini artırarak, dünya çapında her yıl büyük miktarda endüstriyel atığın ortaya çıkmasına neden olmaktadır. Uçucu kül, en yaygın endüstriyel atık türleri arasındadır. Termik santrallerde kömürün yakılması ile oluşan ve genellikle santral dışında depolanan uçucu kül atığı tüm dünyada ciddi çevresel sorunlara yol açmaktadır. Uçucu küllerin farklı inşaat mühendisliği uygulamalarında zemin güçlendirici malzeme olarak değerlendirilmesi, sürdürülebilir kalkınma için oldukça önemlidir ve büyüyen çevre sorunlarına uygulanabilir bir çözüm sağlayabilir. Uçucu küllerin kohezyonlu zeminlerin stabilizasyonu ve temel mühendislik özellikleri üzerindeki etkileri hakkında birçok çalışma yapılmış olmasına rağmen bu tür atık malzemelerin temiz kumların sıvılaşma davranışı üzerindeki etkilerini inceleyen çalışma sayısı oldukça az sayıdadır. Uçucu küllerin özellikle tektonik hareketlerin yoğun olduğu bölgelerde inşaat mühendisliği uygulamalarında daha etkin ve güvenilir biçimde kullanılabilmesi için bu alanda daha fazla araştırma-geliştirme çalışmalarına ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu çalışma kapsamında, Türkiye'de faaliyet gösteren Seyitömer termik santralinden F sınıfı uçucu kül temin edilmiştir. %0-40 oranında uçucu kül içeren kum-uçucu kül karışımları kullanılarak gevşek ve orta sıkılıkta üç eksenli numuneler hazırlanmıştır. Numunelerin sıvılaşma özellikleri, 30 adet gerilme kontrollü konsolidasyonlu drenajsız dinamik üç eksenli deneyler ile belirlenmiştir. Testler, iki farklı efektif çevre basıncında (50 ve 100 kPa) ve 1 Hz yükleme frekansına sahip tekrarlı yükler altında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Deney sonuçlarının ayrıntılı analizi, benzer relatif sıkılığa sahip kum-uçucu kül numunelerinin sıvılaşma direncinin, karışımdaki uçucu kül içeriğinin %20'ye kadar artması ile azaldığını, ardından %40'a ulaşana kadar hafifçe arttığını göstermiştir. Sadece kum içeren numuneler, uçucu küllü kum numunelerine göre daha yüksek sıvılaşma direncine sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Bu çalışma ile uçucu külün geoteknik deprem mühendisliği uygulamalarında kullanımının avantaj ve dezavantajlarının belirlenmesi ve ilgili konunun gelişimine katkıda bulunulması beklenmektedir.Industrialization and urbanization promote increasing consumer demand for energy and raw materials, producing a huge amount of industrial waste around the world annually. Fly ash is among the most common types of industrial waste. It is the byproduct of coal-fired thermal power plants and is usually stored outside the power plants, causing serious environmental concerns all around the world. The reuse of fly ash as soil-reinforcing material in different civil engineering applications is promising for sustainable development and may provide a viable solution to growing environmental problems associated with their disposal. Although there are various studies conducted to examine the effects of fly ash on the stabilization and basic engineering properties of cohesive soils, only a few relevant experimental studies exist on the effects of fly ash on the liquefaction characteristics of saturated clean sands. Further studies are needed in this area, so that fly ash can be used more effectively and reliably in civil engineering applications, especially in seismically active regions. In this study, Class-F fly ash was collected from the Seyitömer thermal power plant in Turkey. Loose and medium-dense triaxial specimens were prepared using sand-fly ash mixtures containing 0-40% of fly ash. The liquefaction characteristics of the specimens were examined through a series of 30 stress-controlled undrained dynamic triaxial tests. The tests were conducted at 1 Hz loading frequency and under initial effective confining stresses of 50 and 100 kPa. The detained analysis of experimental results showed that at a similar relative density, the liquefaction resistance of the sand-fly ash specimens decreased as the fly ash content increased up to about 20%, then slightly increased until the fly ash content reached 40%. Sand-only specimens showed greater liquefaction resistance than sand-fly ash specimens. The findings presented in this study are expected to contribute to the development of this research topic subject, providing useful insights into the advantages and disadvantages of the use of fly ash in geotechnical earthquake engineering applications

Visuospatial characteristics of an elderly Chinese population: results from the WAIS-R Block Design Test

Visuospatial deficits have long been recognized as a potential predictor of dementia, with visuospatial ability decline having been found to accelerate in later stages of dementia. We, therefore, believe that the visuospatial performance of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia (Dem) might change with varying visuospatial task difficulties. This study administered the WAIS-R Block Design Test (BDT) to determine whether visuospatial ability can help discriminate between MCI patients from Dem patients and normal controls (NC). Results showed that the BDT could contribute to the discrimination between MCI and Dem. Specifically, simple BDT task scores could best distinguish MCI from Dem patients, while difficult BDT task scores could contribute to discriminating between MCI and NC. Given the potential clinical value of the BDT in the diagnosis of Dem and MCI, normative data stratified by age and education for the Chinese elderly population are presented for use in research and clinical settings

Structural homeostasis in the nervous system: A balancing act for wiring plasticity and stability

Experience-dependent modifications of neural circuits provide the cellular basis for functional adaptation and learning, while presenting significant challenges to the stability of neural networks. The nervous system copes with these perturbations through a variety of compensatory mechanisms with distinct spatial and temporal profiles. Mounting evidence suggests that structural plasticity, through modifications of the number and structure of synapses, or changes in local and long-range connectivity, might contribute to the stabilization of network activity and serve as an important component of the homeostatic regulation of the nervous system. Conceptually similar to the homeostatic regulation of synaptic strength and efficacy, homeostatic structural plasticity has a profound and lasting impact on the intrinsic excitability of the neuron and circuit properties, yet remains largely unexplored. In this review, we examine recent reports describing structural modifications associated with functional compensation in both developing and adult nervous systems, and discuss the potential role for structural homeostasis in maintaining network stability and its implications in physiological and pathological conditions of the nervous systems