The effects of chronic food restriction on cue-induced heroin seeking in abstinent male rats

Rationale and objectives

Previous research with an animal model of relapse has shown that acute food deprivation will reinstate extinguished drug seeking. Recent evidence with humans, however, suggests that chronic food restriction rather than acute food deprivation is related to increases in drug taking and relapse, emphasizing a need for an animal model to elucidate the neural mechanisms mediating the effects of chronic food restriction on drug seeking. Here we studied the effects of chronic food restriction during a period of abstinence on heroin seeking in rats.

Methods

Rats were trained to self-administer heroin over 10 days (0.1 mg/kg/infusion; i.v.). Rats were then removed from the operant conditioning chambers and exposed to a mild food restriction (resulting in 10–15 % decrease in body weight) or given unrestricted access to food for 14 days while abstinent. The abstinence period was followed by a drug-seeking test under extinction conditions. Subsequent experiments manipulated the length of restriction and test conditions.

Results

Rats that were food restricted throughout the abstinence period demonstrated a robust increase in cue-induced heroin seeking compared to sated rats. Re-feeding prior to testing or decreasing the length of the food restriction period prevented the augmentation of drug seeking.

Conclusions

A combination of chronic food restriction and a concurrent state of hunger appears to be necessary for an increase in cue-induced heroin seeking following abstinence. The procedure presented here may serve as a useful model to study the increased risk for relapse following dietary manipulations in abstinent subjects.     

Endoscopic resection of benign prostatic hyperplasia in men over 80 years of age: a retrospective study of 184 cases

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcome of transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia in men over 80 years. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 184 men over 80 years underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Serious concomitant disease was found in 48.92% of cases. RESULTS: The mean operating time was 49 min ( 20 - 160mn). Others conditions found at surgery were treated during the same operation in 33.68% of cases. Peroperative complications were reported in 15 patients (8.15%) and immediate post operative complications were reported in 14 patients (7.60%), with died of 3 patients. The complications at 6 month after surgery in 172 available for followup were reported in 11 patients (6.39%). CONCLUSION: Transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia in men over 80 years has a good outcome with an acceptable morbidity and mortality.     

Decreased Oleic Acid and Marine n − 3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Tunisian Patients with Urothelial Bladder Cancer

Fatty acids (FAs) are thought to impact carcinogenesis by affecting cell signaling. A case-control study including 250 patients with urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) and 250 controls was conducted. Plasma FAs composition was assessed using capillary gas chromatography. Associations of individual and classes of FAs with UBC were controlled for the main risk factors for UBC. Plasma FAs profile was different in patients compared to controls. Higher levels (third tertile vs. first tertile) in palmitic acid (PA) [multi-adjusted OR (95% CI), 1.83 (1.14–2.92)], and n???6:n???3?FA ratio [4.13 (2.38–7.16)] were associated with increased risk for UBC [multi-adjusted OR (95% CI), 1.83 (1.14–2.92)]. In contrast, higher levels (third tertile vs. first tertile) in oleic [0.54 (0.34–0.86)], dihomo-γ-linolenic (DGLA) [0.47 (0.29–0.74)], eicosapentaenoic (EPA) [0.32 (0.19–0.52)], and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids [0.33 (0.20–0.53)] were associated with lower risk for UBC. Although the study design does not allow proving causality, the findings suggest a possible protective role of oleic acid and marine n???3 polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) against bladder carcinogenesis.     

Supernumerary kidney: a case report

We report a case of a supernumerary kidney discovered while investigating an isolated pyuria in a 47-year-old male patient. Embryology and diagnostic difficulties are discussed.     

A Novel Approach for Detecting Anomalous Energy Consumption Based on Micro-Moments and Deep Neural Networks

Nowadays, analyzing, detecting, and visualizing abnormal power consumption behavior of householders are among the principal challenges in identifying ways to reduce power consumption. This paper introduces a new solution to detect energy consumption anomalies based on extracting micro-moment features using a rule-based model. The latter is used to draw out load characteristics using daily intent-driven moments of user consumption actions. Besides micro-moment features extraction, we also experiment with a deep neural network architecture for efficient abnormality detection and classification. In the following, a novel anomaly visualization technique is introduced that is based on a scatter representation of the micro-moment classes, and hence providing consumers an easy solution to understand their abnormal behavior. Moreover, in order to validate the proposed system, a new energy consumption dataset at appliance level is also designed through a measurement campaign carried out at Qatar University Energy Lab, namely, Qatar University dataset. Experimental results on simulated and real datasets collected at two regions, which have extremely different climate conditions, confirm that the proposed deep micro-moment architecture outperforms other machine learning algorithms and can effectively detect anomalous patterns. For example, 99.58% accuracy and 97.85% F1 score have been achieved under Qatar University dataset. These promising results establish the efficacy of the proposed deep micro-moment solution for detecting abnormal energy consumption, promoting energy efficiency behaviors, and reducing wasted energy.

     

Polyaniline coated tungsten trioxide as an effective adsorbent for the removal of orange G dye from aqueous media

In this work, the core–shell PANI@WO₃ composite was obtained from the reaction of aniline monomer polymerization with WO₃ particles; sodium persulfate was used as an oxidant. Various analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the as-prepared PANI@WO₃ adsorbent, which well confirmed that the WO₃ particles were coated by polyaniline polymer. The PANI@WO₃ composite was tested as an adsorbent to remove reactive orange G (OG) for the first time. pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, initial dye concentration, and temperature were systematically investigated in order to study their effect on the adsorption process. The experimental findings showed that the PANI@WO₃ composite has considerable potential to remove an aqueous OG dye. Langmuir and Freundlich''s models were used to analyze the equilibrium isotherms of OG dye adsorption on the PANI@WO₃ composite. As a result, the best correlation of the experimental data was provided by the Langmuir model, and the maximum capacity of adsorption was 226.50 mg g⁻¹. From a thermodynamic point of view, the OG dye adsorption process occurred spontaneously and endothermically. Importantly, PANI@WO₃ still exhibited an excellent adsorption capability after four regeneration cycles, indicating the potential reusability of the PANI@WO₃ composite. These results indicate that the as prepared PANI@WO₃ composite could be employed as an efficient adsorbent and was much better than the parent material adsorption of OG dye.

In this work, the core–shell PANI@WO₃ composite was obtained from the reaction of aniline monomer polymerization with WO₃ particles; sodium persulfate was used as an oxidant.     

Neurogenic involvement in a case of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.

We report the case of a 65-year-old man with a 15-year history of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) harboring a (GCG)11 mutation of the poly(A)-binding protein 2 (PABP2) gene. He developed, early in the course of the disease, a severe chronic axonal neuropathy. Although the primary myopathic origin of the disease appears to be established, a small number of cases of OPMD with neuropathic features have been described. This case raises the question of a possible neurogenic component to this disease and the role of the length of the mutation in phenotype severity.