Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder whose exact pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear despite the successful use of dopaminergic treatment and recent discovery of predisposing genetic factors. As iron deficiency has been associated with RLS for some patients and there is evidence for decreased spinal dopamine D 3 -receptor (D3R) signaling in RLS, we aimed at establishing whether D3R activity and iron deficiency share common pathways within the pathophysiology of RLS sensory and motor symptoms.Using a combined mouse model of iron deficiency and dopamine D 3 -receptor deficiency (D3RϪ/Ϫ), circadian motor symptoms were evaluated by continuous recording of spontaneous wheel running activity. Testing the acute and persistent pain responses with the hot-plate test and formalin test, respectively, assessed sensory symptoms.A 15 week iron-deficient (ID) diet alone increased acute and persistent pain responses as compared to control diet. As compared to C57BL/6 (WT), homozygous D3RϪ/Ϫ mice already exhibited elevated responses to acute and persistent pain stimuli, where the latter was further elevated by concurrent iron deficiency. ID changed the circadian activity pattern toward an increased running wheel usage before the resting period, which resembled the RLS symptom of restlessness before sleep. Interestingly, D3RϪ/Ϫ shifted this effect of iron deficiency to a time point 3-4 h earlier.The results confirm the ability of iron deficiency and D3RϪ/Ϫ to evoke sensory and motor symptoms in mice resembling those observed in RLS patients. Furthermore this study suggests an increase of ID-related sensory symptoms and modification of ID-related motor symptoms by D3RϪ/Ϫ.

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The present study attempts to analyze intonation in Central Kurdish, the Sorani variety spoken in Slemani in Iraqi Kurdistan. Intonation refers to pitch fluctuations used by a speaker to express meanings. To carry out the analysis, the study embraces the theory of Cognitive Phonology. The study attempts to claim that there is a relationship between the pitch of a linguistic expression and its meaning. Accordingly, it is hypothesized that the meaning of an utterance is shaped by the particular intonation used by the speaker. The study has two aims. The first is to show that intonation, as a suprasegmental feature, is meaningful in Central Kurdish. The second is to show that using one pattern of intonation instead of another is the result of the construal dimension of perspective. As native Kurdish speakers, the researchers are being used as sources of data. One important finding is that Kurdish intonation is meaningful because using one pattern of intonation instead of another is consequential. A change in tone adds a specific tint of meaning to the utterance in spoken language.

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