Individual and perceived community determinants of sense of community: The role of universalistic values

Research on the determinants of the psychological sense of community (PSoC) is of particular importance to community interventions. A cross-sectional study involving 778 residents in an Italian local community explored through a mediation model the effects on PSoC of an individual cultural variable that has been scarcely investigated in PSoC research, that is, values–specifically, universalism–, and a perceived contextual variable, that is, the assessment of community services (a component of residential satisfaction). Results showed that universalism increased PSoC both directly and indirectly, having an effect also on the evaluation of community services, which, in comparison to values, showed a greater direct impact on PSoC. Limitations and implications for community interventions are discussed.     

Sense of community,psychological empowerment,and relational structure at the individual and organizational levels: Evidence from a multicase study

The aim of this study was to determine the associations among psychological sense of community (PSoC), psychological empowerment (PE), and relational structure with indicators of centrality and cohesion in egocentric and sociocentric networks when analyzed at different levels. A multicase analysis was used (four developed in Colombia and one in Spain) in which 458 people participated in five studies conducted in organizational and community contexts of vulnerable urban and rural areas. The results suggest that PSoC and PE are intertwined processes whose association is accentuated in organizational contexts. However, the relationships between relational context and PSoC and PE vary notably depending on (a) the type of relationship evaluated, (b) the focus of the study (individual/egocentric vs. group/sociocentric) and the type of indicator used to assess the relational context (centrality vs. structural cohesion). Findings are discussed to understand the role that social bonds play in the development of PSoC and in the ability of subjects to empower themselves in different contexts.     

基于虚拟仪器技术的血管生物反应器系统的研制

目的　生物反应器是组织工程研究的重要载体。本文构造了一种基于虚拟仪器技术的血管生物反应器系统研究平台。方法　系统使用曲柄滑块机构压缩和拉伸波纹管,模拟出人体血管内的搏动流。同时利用LabVIEW平台对压力等参数进行测量和控制,系统与PC机连接,可实现远程监控,使整个组织工程生物反应器系统初步实现分步式,自动化。结果　实验结果表明,该生物反应器能够对细胞施加合适的生物力学刺激,并准确检测各项参数。结论　基于虚拟仪器技术构造的血管生物反应器系统研究平台具有较大的应用推广价值。     

Current status of functional MRI on small animals: application to physiology, pathophysiology, and cognition

This review aims to make the reader aware of the potential of functional MRI (fMRI) in brain activation studies in small animal models. As small animals generally require anaesthesia for immobilization during MRI protocols, this is believed to be a serious limitation to the type of question that can be addressed with fMRI. We intend to introduce a fresh view with an in-depth overview of the surprising number of fMRI applications in a wide range of important research domains in neuroscience. These include the pathophysiology of brain functioning, the basic science of activity, and functional connectivity of different sensory circuits, including sensory brain mapping, the challenges when studying the hypothalamus as the major control centre in the central nervous system, and the limbic system as neural substrate for emotions and reward. Finally the contribution of small animal fMRI research to cognitive neuroscience is outlined. This review avoids focusing exclusively on traditional small laboratory animals such as rodents, but rather aims to broaden the scope by introducing alternative lissencephalic animal models such as songbirds and fish, as these are not yet well recognized as neuroimaging study subjects. These models are well established in many other neuroscience disciplines, and this review will show that their investigation with in vivo imaging tools will open new doors to cognitive neuroscience and the study of the autonomous nervous system in experimental animals.     

An Analog Front End for Recording Neuronal Activity in Freely Behaving Small Animals

Extracting characteristic brain signals and simultaneous recording animals behaving could help us to understand the complex behavior of neuronal ensembles. Here, a system was established to record local field potentials （LFP） and extracellular signal or multiple-unit discharge and behavior synchronously by utilizing electrophysiology and integrated circuit technique. It comprised microelectrodes and micro-driver assembly, analog front end （AFE） , while a computer （ Pentium III ） was used as the platform for the graphic user interface, which was developed using the LabVIEW programming language. It was designed as a part of ongoing research to develop a portable wireless neural signal recording system, We believe that this information will be useful for the research of brain-computer interface.     

Diode probes for spatiotemporal optical control of multiple neurons in freely moving animals

Neuronal control with high temporal precision is possible with optogenetics, yet currently available methods do not enable to control independently multiple locations in the brains of freely moving animals. Here, we describe a diode-probe system that allows real-time and location-specific control of neuronal activity at multiple sites. Manipulation of neuronal activity in arbitrary spatiotemporal patterns is achieved by means of an optoelectronic array, manufactured by attaching multiple diode-fiber assemblies to high-density silicon probes or wire tetrodes and implanted into the brains of animals that are expressing light-responsive opsins. Each diode can be controlled separately, allowing localized light stimulation of neuronal activators and silencers in any temporal configuration and concurrent recording of the stimulated neurons. Because the only connections to the animals are via a highly flexible wire cable, unimpeded behavior is allowed for circuit monitoring and multisite perturbations in the intact brain. The capacity of the system to generate unique neural activity patterns facilitates multisite manipulation of neural circuits in a closed-loop manner and opens the door to addressing novel questions.     

Neural precursors from canine skin: a new direction for testing autologous cell replacement in the brain

Recent work indicates that neural progenitors can be isolated from the skin of rodents and humans. The persistence of these cells in accessible adult tissue raises the possibility of their exploitation for research and therapeutic purposes. This study reports on the derivation, culture, and characterization of homogenous canine skin-derived neuroprecursor cells (SKiNPs) from mature animals. Canine tissue was used because naturalistic brain diseases in community-dwelling dogs are emerging as ecologically sound models for a range of neurological conditions. Adult SKiNPs were initially isolated as neurospheres and then cultured for 10-15 passages in an adherent monolayer assay. Serumfree expansion conditions contained B-27, 20 ng/mL EGF, and 40 ng/mL bFGF. Gene expressions by PCR indicated expression of nestin, CD133, NCAM, and FGF2R, but not GFAP. Highly uniform expression of nestin (76 +/- 8.3%), NCAM (84 +/- 3.3%), betaIII-tubulin (96 +/- 4.3%), and CD133 (68 +/- 13.5%) was also observed. Directed differentiation of SKiNPs in the presence of serum induced betaIIItubulin, NSE, NCAM, and MAP2 in >90% of differentiated cells by immunophenotype analysis. Our culture system rapidly induces canine skin cells into neural precursors, maintains nestin expression in more than 75% of proliferating cells, and generates an almost universal neuronal-like phenotype after 7 days of in vitro differentiation. Their biological characteristics are suggestive of transiently amplifying fate-restricted neuroprecursors rather than true neural stem cells. This system may be an effective alternative for autologous neurorestorative cell replacement in canine models for further translational research.     

Decision support for tendon tissue engineering

The aim of this study is to provide decision support with artificial intelligence for tendon tissue engineering strategies. The experimental data of tissue-engineered tendons were integrated and standardized with a centralized database, and a decision support system was developed using both artificial neural networks and decision trees. The decision support system was trained with existing cases in the database, and then was used to generate tissue engineering schemes for new experimental animals. Following the schemes generated by the artificial intelligent system, we cured 28 of the 30 experimental animals. In conclusion, artificial intelligence is a powerful method for decision support in the tendon tissue engineering realm.     

八通道生物体组织局部电流电压检测仪研制及应用

目的：电击生物体各组织局部电流电压等电学参数的测定，可为电击死研究提供客观的物理电学基础，对于研究电击生物体组织损伤程度与各种电学参数间的关系具有重要意义。本课题组研制了一种用于电击实验动物或人尸体组织的八通道生物体局部电流电压检测仪及其应用介绍，期望为电击伤／死研究提供一种新仪器和新思路。方法：仪器主要由程控可变交流电源模块、信号处理模块、AVR单片机模块、上位机显示及控制模块组成，系统采用仿真逼近原理．通过虚拟仪器技术实现对日常电压电击下流经生物体局部组织电流电压的准确测量。建立电击模型，同时检测电击实验大鼠肢体和躯体8个不同部位电流电压，对所得结果进行统计学分析。结果：对所研制的八通道生物体组织局部电流电压检测仪进行测试，得出同一大鼠不同部位、不同大鼠同一部位电流电压值，操作简便、安全，同一大鼠不同部位、不同大鼠同一部位电流电压差异性具有统计学意义。结论：八通道生物体组织局部电流电压检测仪可实时同步分段检测生物体各部位局部电流电压的分布和流经情况，阐释电击时生物组织损伤改变与物理电学基本参数变化的关系,可为医学尤其是法医学研究生物体电击伤／死提供较为准确的组织电击伤的基础电学数据。     

Decision support for tendon tissue engineering

The aim of this study is to provide decision support with artificial intelligence for tendon tissue engineering strategies. The experimental data of tissue-engineered tendons were integrated and standardized with a centralized database, and a decision support system was developed using both artificial neural networks and decision trees. The decision support system was trained with existing cases in the database, and then was used to generate tissue engineering schemes for new experimental animals. Following the schemes generated by the artificial intelligent system, we cured 28 of the 30 experimental animals. In conclusion, artificial intelligence is a powerful method for decision support in the tendon tissue engineering realm.     

神经干细胞移植治疗大鼠局灶性脑缺血损伤

背景：近年来,神经干细胞移植已成为治疗神经退行性疾病和中枢神经系统损伤的研究热点。 目的：探讨神经干细的定向分化调控机制和神经干细胞移植治疗大鼠局灶性脑缺血损伤的研究进展。 方法：以“neural stem cells, stem cell transplantation, ischemic brain injury”为检索词,检索Pubmed数据库1990至2012年相关文献;以“神经干细胞,干细胞移植,缺血性脑损伤”为检索词,检索CNKI数据库2005至2012 年相关文献。分析神经干细的定向分化调控机制和神经干细胞移植治疗大鼠局灶性脑缺血损伤的内容,排除重复研究。 结果与结论：①体外分离培养的神经干细胞有胚胎来源、脐血来源和成体来源,主要采用机械分离法和胰酶消化法进行分离。②目前体外培养的神经干细胞分离鉴定的标记物有巢蛋白、波形蛋白1、5-溴脱氧尿嘧啶核苷、神经元特异性烯醇化酶等。③神经干细胞的分化调节是通过正负双重作用实现的,负性调节是通过对称性的分裂来增加神经干细胞数量,包括Notch信号途径和一些生长因子等。正性调节诱导神经干细胞分化,包括参与细胞合成的骨形态发生蛋白信号途径等。④神经干细胞移植的时间窗选择在实验动物脑缺血两三周后,时间过早和过晚均不适合细胞的存活。神经干细胞通过脑立体定位仪直接进行脑内移植治疗大鼠局灶性脑缺血损伤,移植后可见细胞在局灶性脑缺血大鼠脑室内和梗死中心均可长期存活,并可广泛迁移,移植神经干细胞后观察到其运动行为学评分有明显提高。缺血性脑卒中的神经干细胞移植治疗还存在一些问题需要解决,未来的临床应用前景广阔,是缺血性脑卒中患者的新希望。     

Thin-film assembly of diethanolamine-based lipidic material as potential gene carrier in mouse embryonic neural stem cells

Understanding of lipidic materials used for gene delivery system is essential for the effective design and development of potential applications in basic and therapeutic research. This study aimed to evaluate the biological activity of totally synthesized ditetradecylacetyldiethanolaminetrimethylammonium (TMA-C2-DEA-C14) as gene carriers for neural stem cells. The transfer abilities were estimated by expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in mouse embryonic neural stem cells. Here, we demonstrate that lipidic assembly of TMA-C2-DEA-C14, which was self-organized by incubation in water for a month at 25 degrees C, can provide an efficient gene delivery with low cytotoxicity ( approximately 40% of GFP-expressed neural stem cells). However, when dispersed by ultrasonication, TMA-C2-DEA-C14 showed low effect ( approximately 4%). Moreover, electron microscopic analysis showed that TMA-C2-DEA-C14 assembly is characterized by thin-film structures with polygonal shapes ( approximately 2.7 mum), and after association with DNA, their structures dramatically changes to form liposome complexes that can effectively deliver DNA into the cellular cytoplasm of neural stem cells. Thus, TMA-C2-DEA-C14 assembly identified in this study was determined to have an effective activity as gene carriers for primary neural stem cells. Our findings suggest that this approach can serve as a novel model for the development of lipidic materials on nonviral gene delivery system.     

Cyclosporin A increases survival of cross-species intrastriatal grafts of embryonic dopamine-containing neurons

Summary The survival and function of cross-species (mouse-to-rat) grafts of fetal mesencephalic dopamine (DA) neurons, implanted as a cell suspension in the striatum of rats with lesions of the mesostriatal DA system, have been studied in animals with and without immunosuppression induced by Cyclosporin A (CyA). At 6 weeks after grafting 3 out of 7 non-CyA treated animals showed some degree of graft survival and variable functional compensation. In those three animals an average of 92 DA neurons per graft was counted. In the grafted animals treated with daily CyA injections, all grafts survived and produced partial or complete functional compensation, and they had an average of 557 DA neurons per graft. It is concluded that intracerebral graft survival and function can be greatly improved by CyA treatment and that the immunological protection of neural transplants in the brain is only partial.     

High-frequency neural activity and human cognition: Past, present and possible future of intracranial EEG research

Human intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings are primarily performed in epileptic patients for presurgical mapping. When patients perform cognitive tasks, iEEG signals reveal high-frequency neural activities (HFAs, between around 40Hz and 150Hz) with exquisite anatomical, functional and temporal specificity. Such HFAs were originally interpreted in the context of perceptual or motor binding, in line with animal studies on gamma-band ('40Hz') neural synchronization. Today, our understanding of HFA has evolved into a more general index of cortical processing: task-induced HFA reveals, with excellent spatial and time resolution, the participation of local neural ensembles in the task-at-hand, and perhaps the neural communication mechanisms allowing them to do so. This review promotes the claim that studying HFA with iEEG provides insights into the neural bases of cognition that cannot be derived as easily from other approaches, such as fMRI. We provide a series of examples supporting that claim, drawn from studies on memory, language and default-mode networks, and successful attempts of real-time functional mapping. These examples are followed by several guidelines for HFA research, intended for new groups interested by this approach. Overall, iEEG research on HFA should play an increasing role in cognitive neuroscience in humans, because it can be explicitly linked to basic research in animals. We conclude by discussing the future evolution of this field, which might expand that role even further, for instance through the use of multi-scale electrodes and the fusion of iEEG with MEG and fMRI.     

骨髓间充质干细胞向神经细胞体外诱导分化的研究进展

骨髓间充质干细胞（BMSCs）是一种存在于人和动物骨髓等组织中,具备有多向分化潜能的成体干细胞体系。其具有取材简便、易于体外培养扩增、体内移植免疫排异反应少、可自体移植避免伦理学争议等众多优势。骨髓间充质干细胞在体外一系列不同的实验方案中,被诱导分化为神经细胞,这为神经系统受损伤后的修复和再生带来了新希望。结合近几年的研究进展,对骨髓间充质干细胞在体外培养条件下向神经细胞诱导分化的各种方案及其可能机制作一综述。     

工程化的神经干细胞的研究进展

干细胞是目前生物医学领域研究的热点之一.神经干细胞(NSCs)的研究和应用尤为引人注目.神经干细胞是一类广泛存在于中枢神经系统内,能自我复制、自我更新,具有多分化潜能的细胞.所谓工程化的神经干细胞是指利用基因工程等技术,使神经干细胞能高效稳定地表达各种神经营养因子,促进各种中枢神经系统疾病尤其是脊髓损伤的修复.就工程化的神经干细胞的研究现状进行综述,并提出面临的问题和今后的研究方向.     

Co-regulation of cold-resistant food acquisition by insulin- and neuropeptide Y-like systems in Drosophila melanogaster

To survive, food-deprived animals may be forced to forage under hostile conditions. We attempt to use genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster as a model to elucidate molecular and neural mechanisms that drive a forager to engage in risk-prone food acquisition. Here we describe a paradigm for assessing hunger-driven food acquisition by fly larvae at a deleteriously cold temperature. Genetic analyses reveal that the neural activity of NPFR1, a receptor of neuropeptide F (NPF, the sole fly homolog of neuropeptide Y or NPY), was required for cold-resistant feeding behavior of fasted larvae. Conversely, NPFR1 overexpression in fed larvae was sufficient to trigger cold-resistant feeding activity normally associated with fasted larvae. Furthermore, the fly insulin-like system, implicated in the transduction of hunger signals to the CNS, regulated negatively larval cold-resistant food acquisition. The results from this and our previous studies suggest that the fly NPY-like system is a central mediator of hunger-elicited resistance to diverse stressors that can be of thermal, gustatory or mechanical form.     

基于虚拟仪器技术的超声波导盲系统的研制

超声波非常适合应用于导盲系统。本文构造了一种某于虚拟仪器技术的超声波导盲系统研究平台。我们获得障碍物的距离信息和超声回波的强度信息，进行音频调制，向盲人提供更加丰富的信息。本文从系统组成、软硬件设计等方面阐述了该虚拟仪器平台。     

Are memories for stimulus-stimulus associations or stimulus-response associations responsible for serial-pattern learning in rats?

Previous research has provided convincing evidence that rats can learn to anticipate the individual elements of a stimulus series consisting of differing amounts of food reinforcement. Rats prepared with lesions of the dorsal striatum or hippocampus were initially trained to acquire a three-element series consisting of 21 sucrose pellets, followed by 0- and 7-pellets (Noyes standard), respectively. During the initial 30 days of training, the animals were run in two adjacent runways; the runways included either of a white, rough runway or a black, smooth runway as additional series cues. Thus, training included both floor (S-R) cues and the series (inter-item memory) cues. Anticipation was defined as faster running on the 21- than on the 7-pellet element and 7- than on the 0-pellet element. While anticipation developed more slowly in the lesion groups than in the control group, all animals eventually demonstrated the ability to track the elements of the series. Reversal of the floor cues disrupted tracking in the hippocampus-lesioned and control animals; dorsal striatum-lesioned rats were also affected but did continue tracking. As a final test, shifting the order of the series produced a marked disruption in performance in the dorsal striatum-lesioned rats but not in the hippocampus-lesioned or control rats. The results are consistent with the proposal that integrated neural mediation is required for anticipation, with a system that includes the dorsal striatum necessary for the promotion of a reinforced approach response and a system that includes the hippocampus necessary for associating and temporarily maintaining an internal record of the different elements of the stimulus series.     

A wireless multi-channel neural amplifier for freely moving animals

Conventional neural recording systems restrict behavioral experiments to a flat indoor environment compatible with the cable that tethers the subject to recording instruments. To overcome these constraints, we developed a wireless multi-channel system for recording neural signals from rats. The device takes up to 64 voltage signals from implanted electrodes, samples each at 20 kHz, time-division multiplexes them into one signal and transmits that output by radio frequency to a receiver up to 60 m away. The system introduces <4 μV of electrode-referred noise, comparable to wired recording systems, and outperforms existing rodent telemetry systems in channel count, weight and transmission range. This allows effective recording of brain signals in freely behaving animals. We report measurements of neural population activity taken outdoors and in tunnels. Neural firing in the visual cortex was relatively sparse, correlated even across large distances and was strongly influenced by locomotor activity.