Negative Clusters Associated With Cannabis Use: Tangled Up in Blues

Previous studies concerning older adults have focused on whether cannabis use leads to positive or negative outcomes. In this study, we identified clusters of negative health outcomes associated with medical cannabis use. In total, we examined eight health outcomes: pain, sleep, falls, memory, digestive issues, mental health conditions, exercise, and general productivity reported by 2,968 persons over 60 who participated in the Illinois Medical Cannabis Program. We used association analysis to simultaneously identify groups of negative outcomes reported by participants. The distribution of non-positive outcomes shows a bell-shaped curve: 1.4% of participants responded that cannabis use improved all outcomes, while 4.1% of participants answered that cannabis use did not. When looking at negative outcomes, 86% of participants reported none worsened, and 11% reported one of the outcomes was affected. Only a small fraction of the participants (3%) claimed more than one negative outcomes after cannabis use.

Noise Exposure Potentiates Exocytosis From Cochlear Inner Hair Cells

Noise-induced hearing loss has gained relevance as one of the most common forms of hearing impairment. The anatomical correlates of hearing loss, principally cell damage and/or death, are relatively well-understood histologically. However, much less is known about the physiological aspects of damaged, surviving cells. Here we addressed the functional consequences of noise exposure on the capacity of inner hair cells (IHCs) to release synaptic vesicles at synapses with spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs). Mice of either sex at postnatal day (P) 15–16 were exposed to 1–12 kHz noise at 120 dB sound pressure level (SPL), for 1 h. Exocytosis was measured by tracking changes in membrane capacitance (ΔCm) from IHCs of the apical cochlea. Upon IHC depolarization to different membrane potentials, ΔCm showed the typical bell-shaped curve that mirrors the voltage dependence of Ca2+ influx, in both exposed and unexposed cells. Surprisingly, from IHCs at 1-day after exposure (d.a.e.), we found potentiation of exocytosis at the peak of the bell-shaped curve. The increase in exocytosis was not accompanied by changes in whole-cell Ca2+ influx, suggesting a modification in coupling between Ca2+ channels and synaptic vesicles. Consistent with this notion, noise exposure also changed the Ca2+-dependence of exocytosis from linear to supralinear. Noise exposure did not cause loss of IHCs, but did result in a small reduction in the number of IHC-SGN synapses at 1-d.a.e. which recovered by 14-d.a.e. In contrast, a strong reduction in auditory brainstem response wave-I amplitude (representing synchronous firing of SGNs) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (reflecting outer hair cell function) indicated a profound hearing loss at 1- and 14-d.a.e. To determine the role of glutamate release in the noise-induced potentiation of exocytosis, we evaluated vesicular glutamate transporter-3 (Vglut3) knock-out (KO) mice. Unlike WT, IHCs from Vglut3KO mice showed a noise-induced reduction in ΔCm and Ca2+ influx with no change in the Ca2+-dependence of exocytosis. Together, these results indicate that traumatic noise exposure triggers changes of IHC synaptic function including a Vglut3-dependent potentiation of exocytosis.

Centralised Lithuanian Language and Literature Assessments of Secondary School Students: Population Analysis

The aim is to analyse assessments of Lithuanian language and literature for the entire secondary school student population focusing on gender comparison, and development of models for the prediction of achievements. We use the results of the 10th grade test for the period 2011–2015 and the same cohorts in the Matura exam. Gender differences are observed in analysed national centralized assessments. The distribution of the 10th grade test achievements resembles the bell-shaped curve, whereas the Matura – do not.

The Lubricating Activity of Phospholipids on Charged and Neutral Surfaces

In this paper, the amphoteric character of cartilage surface is used to study friction between charged (+/+), (-/-) and uncharged (±/±) biological surfaces. The surface of the bovine articular cartilage at varying pH solutions is either charged positively or negatively. When examining the coefficient of friction of the (cartilage/cartilage) pair, depending on the pH, we observe surfaces charged positively, negatively and without charge. The uncharged surface refers to the isoelectric point (IEP) and shows greater friction than the charged surfaces of the cartilage. The measurement of surface energy versus pH of the spherical lipid bilayer will reveal the amphoteric nature of the membrane surface. The friction coefficient of the (cartilage/cartilage) pair and the surface energy of the spherical lipid bilayer versus pH are expressed by a bell-shaped curve. This is an interesting case that confirms the fact that the phospholipid bi-layer is embedded on the surface cartilage. This experimental confirmation of negative surface cartilage is insufficiently highlighted in the literature on natural lubrication.

Towards Improving Transparency of Count Data Regression Models for Health Impacts of Air Pollution

In studies on the health impacts of air pollution, regression analysis continues to advance far beyond classical linear regression, which many scientists may have become familiar with in an introductory statistics course. With each new level of complexity, regression analysis may become less transparent, even to the analyst working with the data. This may be especially true in count data regression models, where the response variable (typically given the symbol y) is count data (i.e., takes on values of 0, 1, 2, …). In such models, the normal distribution (the familiar bell-shaped curve) for the residuals (i.e., the differences between the observed values and the values predicted by the regression model) no longer applies. Unless care is taken to correctly specify just how those residuals are distributed, the tendency to accept untrue hypotheses may be greatly increased. The aim of this paper is to present a simple histogram of predicted and observed count values (POCH), which, while rarely found in the environmental literature but presented in authoritative statistical texts, can dramatically reduce the risk of accepting untrue hypotheses. POCH can also increase the transparency of count data regression models to analysts themselves and to the scientific community in general.

Flowering pattern and seed development in indeterminate peanut cv. ‘Margenta’ and its influence on seed quality

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cv. ‘Margenta’ has been reported to have poor germination (10%) at harvest. Peanut is an indeterminate crop and the nature of the plant can result in pods of varying maturity at harvest, contributing to the low germination. Thus, this study considered the flowering pattern and seed development in relation to plant growth and development to understand the relationship between maturity stages and seed quality. Peanut plants were uprooted from 24 – 114 days after anthesis (DAA). Pod and seed characteristics were observed, the ability to germinate was tested, and maturity stages were proposed. The flowering pattern conformed to a bell shaped curve with the first flowering at 25 days after sowing (DAS), which continued until 106 DAS. Pod size was found to remain constant from 54 DAA onwards while embryos attained maximum size at 64 DAA. Physiological maturity occurred at 94 DAA, while the highest germination (66%) was recorded sometime prior to physiological maturity (PM) (32% germination), followed by the onset of dormancy. Hence, pods are recommended to be uprooted at 74 – 84 DAA, and only pods within 0.1 m of the main stem are recommended as seeds to ensure uniformity and high germination.

Search for the trend of COVID-19 infection following Farr’s law, IDEA model and power law

Following power law, Farr’s law and IDEA model, we analyze the data of COVID-19 pandemic for India up to 2 May, 2020 and for Germany, France, Italy, the USA, Singapore, China and Denmark up to 26 April, 2020. The cumulative total number of infected persons as a function of elapsed time has been fitted with power law to find the scaling exponent (γ). The reduction in γ in different countries signals the reduction in the growth of infection, possibly, due to long-term Government intervention. The extent of infection and reproduction rate R0 of the same are also examined using Farr’s law and IDEA model. The new cases per day with time assume Gaussian bell shaped curve, obeying the rule that faster rise follows faster decay. In India and Singapore, the peak of the bell shaped curve is still elusive. It is found that, till date, countries such as Denmark and India implementing sooner lockdown have underwent lower number of new cases of infection. Daily variation shows, R0 of all the countries is reducing, ushering in fresh hopes to combat COVID-19. Finally, we try to make a prediction as to the date on which the different countries will come down to daily cases of infection as low as one hundred (100).

Effect of Diverse Recoding of Granule Cells on Optokinetic Response in A Cerebellar Ring Network with Synaptic Plasticity

We consider a cerebellar ring network for the optokinetic response (OKR), and investigate the effect of diverse recoding of granule (GR) cells on OKR by varybing the connection probability pc from Golgi to GR cells. For an optimal value of , individual GR cells exhibit diverse spiking patterns which are in-phase, anti-phase, or complex out-of-phase with respect to their population-averaged firing activity. Then, these diversely-recoded signals via parallel fibers (PFs) from GR cells are effectively depressed by the error-teaching signals via climbing fibers from the inferior olive which are also in-phase ones. Synaptic weights at in-phase PF-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses of active GR cells are strongly depressed via strong long-term depression (LTD), while those at anti-phase and complex out-of-phase PF-PC synapses are weakly depressed through weak LTD. This kind of “effective” depression (i.e., strong/weak LTD) at the PF-PC synapses causes a big modulation in firings of PCs, which then exert effective inhibitory coordination on the vestibular nucleus (VN) neuron (which evokes OKR). For the firing of the VN neuron, the learning gain degree ℒg, corresponding to the modulation gain ratio, increases with increasing the learning cycle, and it saturates at about the 300th cycle. By varying pc from , we find that a plot of saturated learning gain degree versus pc forms a bell-shaped curve with a peak at (where the diversity degree in spiking patterns of GR cells is also maximum). Consequently, the more diverse in recoding of GR cells, the more effective in motor learning for the OKR adaptation.