Paternal Aggression in Early-life Impairs the Spatial Memory and Passive Avoidance Learning in Adulthood of Male Rats: The Possible Role of DRD2.

Introduction: Negative early-life experiences (e.g. having an aggressive father) can leave long-lastingimpacts on the behavior. However, it is not clear if they influence learning and memory. Methods: In this study, we investigated the influences that the presence of an aggressive father had on the level of passive avoidance learning and spatial memory. We also studied the changes in the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) gene expression in the hippocampus. Then, we evaluated if a DRD2 antagonist (sulpiride, 0.125, 0.25, or 0.5 µg/rat) could modulate these changes. Results: We found that the subjects exposed to early-life stress made by aggressive fathers had impaired passive avoidance learning and spatial memory compared to subjects with normal fathers. Treatment with sulpiride improved passive avoidance learning and spatial memory in rats with aggressive fathers. The rats with aggressive fathers also had higher expression of the DRD2 gene in their hippocampus than those with normal fathers, while the PGC-1α gene expression was not different among groups. Treatment with sulpiride (0.125, 0.25, or 0.5 µg/rat) reduced the DRD2 gene expression in those with aggressive fathers to the normal level compared to those with normal fathers. Conclusion: These data suggest that having and living in a shared place with an aggressive father, even without any physical contact, can detrimentally affect passive avoidance learning and spatial memory which is accompanied by the increased expression of the DRD2 gene. Also, sulpiride as a dopaminergic antagonist could reverse this process. Highlights: Having and living with an aggressive father reduced learning and memory in offspring.Having and living with an aggressive father during early life increased DRD2 gene expression.Sulpiride improved learning and memory and also normalized DRD2 gene expression.A combination of genetic and environmental factors may modulate learning and memory. Plain Language Summary: In this study, we looked at how having an aggressive father, can affect behavior in the long term. We wanted to find out if this factor influences learning and memory. To do this, we investigated how the presence of an aggressive father affected passive avoidance learning and spatial memory in subjects. We also examined specific genes in the brain, called DRD2 and PGC-1α, which are known to be involved in learning and memory. Specifically, we wanted to see if the expression of these genes in the hippocampus (a region of the brain important for memory) was affected by having and presence of an aggressive father. To understand the role of the DRD2 gene further, we used a drug called sulpiride, which blocks the action of DRD2. We administered sulpiride to the subjects with aggressive fathers to see if it could reverse any negative effects on learning and memory. What we found was that subjects that had aggressive fathers had impaired passive avoidance learning and spatial memory compared to those with normal fathers. However, when we treated the subjects with sulpiride, their learning and memory improved. Additionally, we observed that rats with aggressive fathers had higher levels of the DRD2 gene in their hippocampus, while the PGC-1α gene expression was not different among the groups. The administration of sulpiride reduced the expression of the DRD2 gene in rats with aggressive fathers, bringing it back to normal levels similar to those with normal fathers. These findings suggest that having and living in the same environment as an aggressive father, even without direct physical contact, can negatively impact passive avoidance learning and spatial memory. This effect seems to be associated with increased expression of the DRD2 gene. However, using sulpiride as a dopaminergic antagonist can reverse this process and improve learning and memory in these subjects.

A role for flavonoids in the prevention and/or treatment of cognitive dysfunction, learning, and memory deficits: a review of preclinical and clinical studies.

OBJECTIVE: Natural food substances, due to high rates of antioxidants, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, have been proposed to have the potential for the prevention or treatment of cognitive deficits, learning and memory deficits and neuro inflammation. In particular, medicinal plants with rich amounts of beneficial components such as flavonoids are one of the most promising therapeutic candidates for the cognitive deficit and memory loss. Herein, we aimed to review the impact of medicinal plants with focus on flavonoids on cognitive dysfunction, learning and memory loss by considering their signaling pathways. METHODS: We extracted 93 preclinical and clinical studies related to the effects of flavonoids on learning and memory and cognition from published papers between 2000 and 2021 in the MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, and Airiti Library databases. RESULTS: In the preclinical studies, at least there seem to be two main neurological and biological processes in which flavonoids contribute to the improvement and/or prevention of learning, memory deficit and cognitive dysfunction: (1) Regulation of neurotransmission system and (2) Enhancement of neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and neuronal survival. CONCLUSION: Although useful effects of flavonoids on learning and memory in preclinical investigations have been approved, more clinical trials are required to find out whether flavonoids and/or other ingredients of plants have the potent to prevent or treat neurodegenerative disorders.

Automatic generation of structural geometric digital twins from point clouds.

A geometric digital twin (gDT) model capable of leveraging acquired 3D geometric data plays a vital role in digitizing the process of structural health monitoring. This study presents a framework for generating and updating digital twins of existing buildings by inferring semantic information from as-is point clouds (gDT's data) acquired regularly from laser scanners (gDT's connection). The information is stored in updatable Building Information Models (BIMs) as gDT's virtual model, and dimensional outputs are extracted for structural health monitoring (gDT's service) of different structural members and shapes (gDT's physical part). First, geometric information, including position and section shape, is obtained from the acquired point cloud using domain-specific contextual knowledge and supervised classification. Then, structural members' function and section family type is inferred from geometric information. Finally, a BIM is automatically generated or updated as the virtual model of an existing facility and incorporated within the gDT for structural health monitoring. Experiments on real-world construction data are performed to illustrate the efficiency and precision of the proposed model for creating as-is gDT of building structural members.

Quality of early-life maternal care predicts empathy-like behavior in adult male rats: Linking empathy to BDNF gene expression in associated brain regions.

Empathy is the ability to experience a shared affective state as others. It enhances group living and manifests itself as helping behavior towards a distressed person. It also can flourish by nurturing. Recent findings suggest that rodents exhibit empathy-like behavior towards their conspecifics. However, the role of early-life experiences (e.g., maternal care) is not clear on the development of empathy-like behavior. Moreover, brain-derived neutrophilic factor (BDNF) is a pivotal protein in modulating the brain's function and behaviors. Evidence suggests that the expression of the BDNF gene can be affected by the quality of maternal care. In this study, we questioned whether variation in maternal care modulates empathy-like behavior of male rats in adulthood. Additionally, gene expression of BDNF was measured in the amygdala, hippocampus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and striatum in these adult male rats. Based on the pattern of maternal care, the offspring were divided into high maternal care (HMC) and low maternal care (LMC) groups. We confirmed that the early-life experience of HMC significantly promoted the empathy-like behavior of rats in adulthood compared to LMC. In terms of gene expression, the HMC group consistently had higher BDNF gene expression in all studied regions, except anterior cingulate cortex which groups were not different. Taken together, it suggests that maternal care in infancy predicts empathy-like behavior in adulthood and differences in BDNF gene expression in different brain regions may reflect the underlying mechanism.

Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements.

Air Transportation is a major contributor to international mobility and has high requirements to ensure safe and secure operations. Aircraft ground operations are impacted significantly by the current pandemic situation so that standard operating procedures need a redesign to incorporate the upcoming sanitation requirements. In particular, the passenger boarding process is challenged with requirements for physical distances between passengers, while in addition to standard cleaning, the cabin has to be disinfected after each flight. We evaluate potential alterations of these two aircraft cabin processes with respect to a pre-pandemic reference aircraft turnaround. The implementation of microscopic approaches allows to consider individual interactions and a step-wise process adaptation aiming for an efficient operational design. We find a significant extension of boarding times (more than doubled) if the physical distance rule is applied. The new disinfection process further extends the critical path of the turnaround, so we see a high impact on airport and airline operations. To compensate for the increased workload and process times, we provide an integrated cleaning and disinfection procedure with additional personnel. Our results indicate that the pre-pandemic turnaround times cannot be maintained for the same seat load, even if the process adaptations are being implemented. However, a seat allocation scheme with empty middle-seats (seat load of 67%) and the use of an apron position (additional use of rear aircraft door for boarding) enable pre-pandemic turnaround times without additional cleaning personnel. Aircraft turnarounds at terminal positions require between 10% (with additional personnel) and 20% (without additional personnel) more ground time.

Genetic diversity and antibiotic susceptibility of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from kidney transplant recipients.

PURPOSE: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains are a common cause of transplant rejection, morbidity, and mortality among kidney transplant recipients. The virulence of UPEC strains differs based on their pathogenicity islands (PAIs) and susceptibility to antibiotics. The present study evaluates the clonal relationship and antibiotic susceptibility of UPEC PAI-genotypes among Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from kidney transplant patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 115 Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates were collected from kidney transplant recipients with acute urinary tract infections (UTIs). Isolates were typed based on the presence of PAI-markers, and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The disk diffusion method was performed for the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolates. RESULTS: According to the PAI-specific virulence markers, 69 (60%), 21 (18.3%), and 25 (21.7%) isolates were identified as genotypes related to UPEC 536, UPEC J96, and UPEC CFT073 strains, respectively. PAI III536 genotypes were the most prevalent genotype in this study. The findings showed a high-sensitivity to imipenem (93.9%) and nitrofurantoin (91.3%) and a low-sensitivity to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (36.5%). Clonal association and similar antibiotic susceptibility pattern were seen in the PAI-related genotypes. CONCLUSION: Due to a similar pattern of antibiotic susceptibility of these clonal groups and increased resistance to some important antibiotics such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in the treatment of urinary tract infections, especially in kidney transplant patients, the spread of these clones should be considered as a serious concern.

A systematic indoor air quality audit approach for public buildings.

Good indoor air quality (IAQ) in buildings provides a comfortable and healthy environment for the occupants to work, learn, study, etc. Therefore, it is important to ascertain the IAQ status in the buildings. This study is aimed to establish and demonstrate the comprehensive IAQ audit approach for public buildings, based on Portugal national laws. Four public buildings in Portugal are used to demonstrate the IAQ audit application. The systematic approach involves the measurement of physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and concentration of the suspended particulate matter), monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators [carbon dioxide (CO(2)), carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ozone, and total volatile organic compounds], and the measurements of biological indicators (bacteria and fungi). In addition, air exchange rates are measured by the concentration decay method using metabolic CO(2) as the tracer gas. The comprehensive audits indicated some situations of common IAQ problems in buildings, namely: (1) insufficient ventilation rate, (2) too high particle concentration; and (3) poor filtration effectiveness and hygienic conditions in most of the air handling units. Accordingly, a set of recommendations for the improvement of IAQ conditions were advised to the building owner/managers.

Indoor air quality audit implementation in a hotel building in Portugal.

Hotels are designed to provide high levels of comfort for guests; however, frequent complaints related to uncomfortable thermal environment and inadequate indoor air quality (IAQ) appear. On the other hand, there is little research concerning IAQ audits of hotels up to now. This study is aimed to establish and demonstrate the comprehensive IAQ audit approach for hotel buildings, based on Portugal national laws. A 4-star hotel building in Portugal is used as a case study to demonstrate the IAQ audit application and evaluate its comprehensiveness and usefulness to the hotel or facility managers. The systematic approach involves the measurement of physical parameters - temperature (dry bulb), relative humidity and the concentration of the suspended particulate matter (PM10) - the monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators - carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) - and the measurements of biological indicators (bacteria, fungi, Legionella). In the present case, air exchange rates are measured by the concentration-decay method using metabolic CO2 as the tracer gas. The comprehensive IAQ audit revealed four main problems in the hotel building: (1) insufficient ventilation rate; (2) too high particle concentration in some rooms; (3) contamination by Legionella of the sanitary hot-water circuit; (4) poor filtration effectiveness in all air handling units (AHUs).