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Twenty seven experimentally naïve adult female rats were exposed to a novel arena with shelters for a period of 15 min. Various measures of their pelage-cleaning behavior were analyzed. Bouts of grooming were shown to increase in duration and complexity and decrease in their rostral content over the span of the measurement period. Simultaneously, decrease in risk-assessment activity, as measured by the stretched attend posture, was noted in association with consecutive bouts. The effect on risk assessment appears to demonstrate that the aforementioned changes in grooming bout parameters resulted from a decrease in the level of stress. Differences in the characteristics of the early and the late grooming bouts suggest that bout initiation and bout continuation are affected by two relatively independent mechanisms involved in the shaping of pelage-cleaning behavior.

T14 modulates calcium influx via the α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor to regulate cell growth. Inappropriate triggering of this process has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer, whereas T14 blockade has proven therapeutic potential in in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models of these pathologies. Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is critical for growth, however its hyperactivation is implicated in AD and cancer. T14 is a product of the longer 30mer-T30. Recent work shows that T30 drives neurite growth in the human SH-SY5Y cell line via the mTOR pathway. Here, we demonstrate that T30 induces an increase in mTORC1 in PC12 cells, and ex vivo rat brain slices containing substantia nigra, but not mTORC2. The increase in mTORC1 by T30 in PC12 cells is attenuated by its blocker, NBP14. Moreover, in post-mortem human midbrain, T14 levels correlate significantly with mTORC1. Silencing mTORC1 reverses the effects of T30 on PC12 cells measured via AChE release in undifferentiated PC12 cells, whilst silencing mTORC2 does not. This suggests that T14 acts selectively via mTORC1. T14 blockade offers a preferable alternative to currently available blockers of mTOR as it would enable selective blockade of mTORC1, thereby reducing side effects associated with generalised mTOR blockade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the complex web of cultural associations attached to Harmonia’s necklace as described in Book Two of Statius’ Thebaid. Arguing for the crucial importance of the scientifi c, historical, and mythological context, the article seeks to demonstrate the possible relevance of non-poetic and encyclopedic works for the comprehensive reading of the image, while at the same time highlighting the importance of the wedding description in the poem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in Punica Three, the description of Hercules' temple and Hannibal's prophetic dream serve as important instruments of both narrative and poetic techniques, both anticipating events to come and positioning the plot within the intricate nexus of symbols and intertextual allusions that appear to strengthen the Carthaginian's resolve while simultaneously emphasizing the futility of his efforts. At the same time, the two may be studied as examples of sophisticated poetic technique, their reading heavily dependent on reader's knowledge of the semantic framework of Greco-Roman culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution analyzes the construction of an authorial persona in the proem of the Astronomica, emphasizing the dual nature of the endeavor itself, as well as the intricacies of the poet's position with respect to the subject matter of his song. The focus on the proem to Astronomica I allows for a more precise tracing of the techniques and devices employed to acquire the authority and credibility necessary for a didactic enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picatrix Latinus remains one of the most important testimonies of medieval astral magic. An amalgamate of Greek, Eastern and Judaic ideas it furnishes a unified vision of Cosmos, equipping a man with an instrument capable of influencing the sublunary sphere. The following is a translation of the first book of this fundamental work, supplemented with a brief foreword and footnotes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the actual structure of Book Nine of Plutarch's "Quaestiones convivales" in a banquet in honor of the Muses at the house of Athenian philosopher and teacher Ammonius.

Easy as it is to consider Galen's Protrepticus a straightforward exercise in the art of hortative rhetorics, it seems advisable to consider the ramifications and the role played by the philosophical hypotext: given the details of the argument, one may easily be reminded of certain passages of the Platonic Gorgias, as well as the importance of the actual imagery exploited in the course of exposition. In doing so, the essay seeks to reevaluate the Galenic work and put it in the wider context of philosophizing discourses of the era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses book three of ancient Latin writer and notable astrologer Julius Firmicus Maternus' "Matheseos libri octo." An overview of the "Mathesis" is offered, which features Firmicus' defense of astrological prognostication in Book One and the general divisions of the Zodiacal signs in Book Two. Firmicus' interpretation of the so called "thema mundi" in Book Three is explored.