Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs of abuse. Tobacco smoking is a major cause of many health problems, and is the first preventable cause of death worldwide. Several findings show that nicotine exerts significant aversive as well as the well-known rewarding motivational effects. Less certain is the anatomical substrate that mediates or enables nicotine aversion. Here, we show that acute nicotine induces anxiogenic-like effects in rats at the doses investigated (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg, i.p.), as measured by the hole-board apparatus and manifested in behaviors such as decreased rearing and head-dipping and increased grooming. No changes in locomotor behavior were observed at any of the nicotine doses given. T-pattern analysis of the behavioral outcomes revealed a drastic reduction and disruption of complex behavioral patterns induced by all three nicotine doses, with the maximum effect for 1 mg/kg. Lesion of the lateral habenula (LHb) induced hyperlocomotion and, strikingly, reversed the nicotine-induced anxiety obtained at 1 mg/kg to an anxiolytic-like effect, as shown by T-pattern analysis. We suggest that the LHb is critically involved in emotional behavior states and in nicotine-induced anxiety, most likely through modulation of monoaminergic nuclei.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is the most common pediatric overgrowth syndrome. Features characteristic of the BWS phenotype include both physical attributes, such as macroglossia, abdominal wall defects, gigantism, nevus flammeus, visceromegaly, and mid-face hypoplasia, as well as biochemical abnormalities such as hypoglycemia. It is essential for the neonatal nurse to be able to recognize BWS in the patient's early years of life because of the increased frequency of medical complications, malformations, and the increased risk of embryonic malignancies. This article focuses on the presentation of BWS as an aid to early detection.

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Introduction Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines clinical trials did not include patients with immune-mediated conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to describe the implementation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among IBD patients, patients’ concerns and side-effect profile of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines using real-world data. Methods An anonymous web-based self-completed survey was distributed in 36 European countries between June and July 2021. The results of the patient characteristics, concerns, vaccination status and side-effect profile were analysed. Results 3272 IBD patients completed the survey, 79.6% had received at least one dose of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and 71.7% had completed the vaccination process. Patients over 60 years old had a significantly higher rate of vaccination (p<0.001). Patients’ main concerns before vaccination were the possibility of having worse vaccine-related adverse events due to their IBD (24.6%), an IBD flare after vaccination (21.1%) and reduced vaccine efficacy due to IBD or associated immunosuppression (17.6%). After the first dose of the vaccine, 72.4% had local symptoms and 51.4% had systemic symptoms (5 patients had non-specified thrombosis). Adverse events were less frequent after the second dose of the vaccine and in older patients. Only a minority of the patients were hospitalized (0.3%), needed a consultation (3.6%) or had to change IBD therapy (13.4%) after anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Conclusion Although IBD patients raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the implementation of vaccination in those responding to our survey was high and the adverse events were comparable to the general population, with minimal impact on their IBD.

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Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is characterized by absence seizures, which are episodes of lack of consciousness accompanied by electrographic spike-wave discharges. About 60% of children and adolescents with absence seizures are affected by major neuropsychological comorbidities, including anxiety. Endocannabinoids and monoamines are likely involved in the pathophysiology of these CAE psychiatric comorbidities. Here, we show that the synthetic cannabinoid receptor type 1/2 (CB1/2R) agonist WIN 55,212-2 (2 mg/kg) has a strain-dependent effect on anxiety-like and motor behavior when assess in the hole board test and cerebral monoaminergic levels in Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) and their non-epileptic control (NEC) rat strain. Using quantitative and Temporal pattern (T-pattern) analyses, we found that WIN 55,212-2 did not affect the emotional status of GAERS, but it was anxiolytic in NEC. Conversely, WIN 55,212-2 had a sedative effect in GAERS but was ineffective in NEC. Moreover, vehicle-treated GAERS more motivated to explore by implementing more complex and articulated strategies. These behavioral changes correlate with the reduction of 5-HT in the hippocampus and substantia nigra (SN) and noradrenaline (NA) in the entopeduncular nucleus (EPN) in vehicle-treated GAERS compared to NEC rats, which could contribute to their low anxiety status and hypermotility, respectively. On the other hand, the increased level of NA in the EPN and 5-HT in the SN is consistent with an activation of the basal ganglia output-mediated motor suppression observed in WIN 55,212-2-treated GAERS rats. These data support the view of a strain-dependent alteration of the endocannabinoid system in absence epilepsy by adding evidence of a lower emotional responsiveness and a basal ganglia hypersensitivity to cannabinoids in GAERS compared to NEC rats.

Childhood Absence Epilepsy (CAE) is a form of genetically determined generalized epilepsy, with complex multifactorial inheritance and onset in children between 4 and 12 years of age. It accounts for 10%-15% of all childhood epilepsies. It is characterized by nonconvulsive absence seizures (ASs) that are sudden, relatively brief gaps of consciousness concurrent with a lack of voluntary movements and 2.5-4 Hz spike and wave discharges (SWDs) generalized

The importance of implementing a strong project-based approach to undergraduate mechatronics education and the enhancement obtained through the introduction of a research aspect to these projects have been emphasized in the literature. This paper describes the immersion of fi nalyear undergraduate mechanical engineering students into the research programme of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering of the University of Malta, through supervised undergraduate projects that build upon each other from year to year, eventually leading to publications in the international research literature. We focus on the area of robot hands and present an extended project as a case study. We fi rst describe briefl y a selection of research-oriented undergraduate projects in this area carried out over the last decade. The paper then focuses on one particular project among those described, involving the development of an anthropomorphic robot hand with eight degrees of freedom that is based on observations of the attributes and the limitations of the human hand. The robot hand is intended to be used as a teleoperated slave device and a particular objective is to reduce its size and weight through the remote location of all of the actuators and sensors. The paper gives a detailed rationale for the design, followed by descriptions of the kinematic, mechanical, actuation, sensing and control systems of the constructed prototype. This is followed by a description of sensor calibration procedures and results. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the signifi cance of this work, addressing both the educational and research aspects, and of future directions to be taken.