Component Neural Systems for the Creation of Emotional Memories during Free Viewing of a Complex, Real-World Event.

To investigate the neural systems that contribute to the formation of complex, self-relevant emotional memories, dedicated fans of rival college basketball teams watched a competitive game while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During a subsequent recognition memory task, participants were shown video clips depicting plays of the game, stemming either from previously-viewed game segments (targets) or from non-viewed portions of the same game (foils). After an old-new judgment, participants provided emotional valence and intensity ratings of the clips. A data driven approach was first used to decompose the fMRI signal acquired during free viewing of the game into spatially independent components. Correlations were then calculated between the identified components and post-scanning emotion ratings for successfully encoded targets. Two components were correlated with intensity ratings, including temporal lobe regions implicated in memory and emotional functions, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, as well as a midline fronto-cingulo-parietal network implicated in social cognition and self-relevant processing. These data were supported by a general linear model analysis, which revealed additional valence effects in fronto-striatal-insular regions when plays were divided into positive and negative events according to the fan's perspective. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of how emotional factors impact distributed neural systems to successfully encode dynamic, personally-relevant event sequences.

Atherosclerosis: Viewing the problem from a different perspective including possible treatment options

This paper proposes that atherosclerosis is initiated by a signaling event that deposits calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca-HAP). This event is preceded by a loss of mechanical structure in the arterial wall. After Ca-HAP has been deposited, it is unlikely that it will be reabsorbed because the solubility product constant (K sp) is very small, and the large stores of Ca +2 and PO 4-3 in the bones oppose any attempts to dissolve Ca-HAP by decreasing the common ions. The hydroxide ion (OH -) of Ca-HAP can be displaced in nature by fluoride (F -) and carbonate (CO 3-2) ions, and it is proposed that anions associated with cholesterol ester hydrolysis and, in very small quantities, the enolate of 7-ketocholesterol could also displace the OH -of Ca-HAP, forming an ionic bond. The free energy of hydration of Ca-HAP at 310 K is most likely negative, and the ionic radii of the anions associated with the hydrolysis of cholesterol ester are compatible with the substitution. Furthermore, examination of the pathology of atherosclerotic lesions by Raman and NMR spectroscopy and confocal microscopy supports deposition of Ca-HAP associated with cholesterol. Investigating the affinity of intermediates of cholesterol hydrolysis for Ca-HAP compared to lipoproteins such as HDL, LDL, and VLDL using isothermic titration calorimetry could add proof of this concept and may lead to the development of a new class of medications targeted at the deposition of cholesterol within Ca-HAP. Treatment of acute ischemic events as a consequence of atherosclerosis with denitrogenation and oxygenation is discussed. © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd.

Inter-annual variability of precipitation constrains the production response of boreal Pinus sylvestris to nitrogen fertilization

© 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.Tree growth resources and the efficiency of resource-use for biomass production determine the productivity of forest ecosystems. In nutrient-limited forests, nitrogen (N)-fertilization increases foliage [N], which may increase photosynthetic rates, leaf area index (L), and thus light interception (IC). The product of such changes is a higher gross primary production and higher net primary production (NPP). However, fertilization may also alter carbohydrate partitioning from below- to aboveground, increasing aboveground NPP (ANPP). We analyzed effects of long-term N-fertilization on NPP, and that of long-term carbon storing organs (NPPS) in a Pinus sylvestris forest on sandy soil, a wide-ranging forest type in the boreal region. We based our analyses on a combination of destructive harvesting, consecutive mensuration, and optical measurements of canopy openness. After eight-year fertilization with a total of 70gNm^-2, ANPP was 27±7% higher in the fertilized (F) relative to the reference (R) stand, but although L increased relative to its pre-fertilization values, IC was not greater than in R. On the seventh year after the treatment initiation, the increase of ANPP was matched by the decrease of belowground NPP (78 vs. 92gCm^-2yr^-1; ~17% of NPP) and, given the similarity of IC, suggests that the main effect of N-fertilization was changed carbon partitioning rather than increased canopy photosynthesis. Annual NPPS increased linearly with growing season temperature (T) in both treatments, with an upward shift of 70.2gCm^-2yr^-1 by fertilization, which also caused greater amount of unexplained variation (r²=0.53 in R, 0.21 in F). Residuals of the NPPS-T relationship of F were related to growing season precipitation (P, r²=0.48), indicating that T constrains productivity at this site regardless of fertility, while P is important in determining productivity where N-limitation is alleviated. We estimated that, in a growing season average T (11.5±1.0°C; 33-year-mean), NPPS response to N-fertilization will be nullified with P 31mm less than the mean (325±85mm), and would double with P 109mm greater than the mean. These results suggest that inter-annual variation in climate, particularly in P, may help explaining the reported large variability in growth responses to fertilization of pine stands on sandy soils. Furthermore, forest management of long-rotation systems, such as those of boreal and northern temperate forests, must consider the efficiency of fertilization in terms of wood production in the context of changes in climate predicted for the region.