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Rivi V, Rigillo G, Batabyal A, Lukowiak K, Pani L, Tascedda F, Benatti C, Blom JMC. Different stressors uniquely affect the expression of endocannabinoid-metabolizing enzymes in the central ring ganglia of Lymnaea stagnalis. J Neurochem 2024. [PMID: 38922726 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays an important role in neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, energy balance, modulation of stress, and inflammatory responses, acting as a critical link between the brain and the body's peripheral regions, while also offering promising potential for novel therapeutic strategies. Unfortunately, in humans, pharmacological inhibitors of different ECS enzymes have led to mixed results in both preclinical and clinical studies. As the ECS has been highly conserved throughout the eukaryotic lineage, the use of invertebrate model organisms like the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis may provide a flexible tool to unravel unexplored functions of the ECS at the cellular, synaptic, and behavioral levels. In this study, starting from the available genome and transcriptome of L. stagnalis, we first identified putative transcripts of all ECS enzymes containing an open reading frame. Each predicted protein possessed a high degree of sequence conservation to known orthologues of other invertebrate and vertebrate organisms. Sequences were confirmed by qualitative PCR and sequencing. Then, we investigated the transcriptional effects induced by different stress conditions (i.e., bacterial LPS injection, predator scent, food deprivation, and acute heat shock) on the expression levels of the enzymes of the ECS in Lymnaea's central ring ganglia. Our results suggest that in Lymnaea as in rodents, the ECS is involved in mediating inflammatory and anxiety-like responses, promoting energy balance, and responding to acute stressors. To our knowledge, this study offers the most comprehensive analysis so far of the ECS in an invertebrate model organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Rivi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Giovanna Rigillo
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Anuradha Batabyal
- Department of Physical and Natural Sciences, FLAME University, Pune, India
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Luca Pani
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Fabio Tascedda
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- CIB, Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie, Trieste, Italy
| | - Cristina Benatti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Johanna M C Blom
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
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Rivi V, Batabyal A, Benatti C, Sarti P, Blom JMC, Tascedda F, Lukowiak K. A translational and multidisciplinary approach to studying the Garcia effect, a higher form of learning with deep evolutionary roots. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247325. [PMID: 38639079 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Animals, including humans, learn and remember to avoid a novel food when its ingestion is followed, hours later, by sickness - a phenomenon initially identified during World War II as a potential means of pest control. In the 1960s, John Garcia (for whom the effect is now named) demonstrated that this form of conditioned taste aversion had broader implications, showing that it is a rapid but long-lasting taste-specific food aversion with a fundamental role in the evolution of behaviour. From the mid-1970s onward, the principles of the Garcia effect were translated to humans, showing its role in different clinical conditions (e.g. side-effects linked to chemotherapy). However, in the last two decades, the number of studies on the Garcia effect has undergone a considerable decline. Since its discovery in rodents, this form of learning was thought to be exclusive to mammals; however, we recently provided the first demonstration that a Garcia effect can be formed in an invertebrate model organism, the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Thus, in this Commentary, after reviewing the experiments that led to the first characterization of the Garcia effect in rodents, we describe the recent evidence for the Garcia effect in L. stagnalis, which may pave the way for future studies in other invertebrates and mammals. This article aims to inspire future translational and ecological studies that characterize the conserved mechanisms underlying this form of learning with deep evolutionary roots, which can be used to address a range of different biological questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Rivi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Anuradha Batabyal
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4
- Department of Physical and Natural Sciences, FLAME University, Pune - 412115, Maharashtra, India
| | - Cristina Benatti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Pierfrancesco Sarti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Johanna Maria Catharina Blom
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Fabio Tascedda
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- CIB, Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie, 34148 Trieste, Italy
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4
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Kagan D, Hollings J, Batabyal A, Lukowiak K. Better together: isolation impedes memory formation for configural learning in Lymnaea stagnalis. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb246478. [PMID: 37947165 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions play an important role in learning and memory. There is great variability in the literature regarding the effects of social isolation on cognition. Here, we investigated how memory formation was affected when Lymnaea stagnalis, our model system, were socially isolated at three different time periods: before, during or after the configural learning training procedure. Each group of snails underwent configural learning where we recorded and compared their feeding behaviour before and after the pairing of an appetitive food stimulus with predator kairomones (i.e. the training procedure). We found that isolating snails before the training procedure had no effect on their learning and memory. However, when snails were isolated either during the training procedure or immediately after the training procedure, they no longer formed memory. These data provide further insight into how isolation impacts cognitive functioning in the context of higher-order learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Kagan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 4N1
| | - Jasper Hollings
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 4N1
| | - Anuradha Batabyal
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 4N1
- Department of Physical and Natural Sciences, FLAME University, Pune 412115, India
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 4N1
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Rivi V, Benatti C, Rigillo G, Blom JMC. Invertebrates as models of learning and memory: investigating neural and molecular mechanisms. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb244844. [PMID: 36719249 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.244844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In this Commentary, we shed light on the use of invertebrates as model organisms for understanding the causal and conserved mechanisms of learning and memory. We provide a condensed chronicle of the contribution offered by mollusks to the studies on how and where the nervous system encodes and stores memory and describe the rich cognitive capabilities of some insect species, including attention and concept learning. We also discuss the use of planarians for investigating the dynamics of memory during brain regeneration and highlight the role of stressful stimuli in forming memories. Furthermore, we focus on the increasing evidence that invertebrates display some forms of emotions, which provides new opportunities for unveiling the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying the complex interaction between stress, emotions and cognition. In doing so, we highlight experimental challenges and suggest future directions that we expect the field to take in the coming years, particularly regarding what we, as humans, need to know for preventing and/or delaying memory loss. This article has an associated ECR Spotlight interview with Veronica Rivi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Rivi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Cristina Benatti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Giovanna Rigillo
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Joan M C Blom
- Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
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Rivi V, Benatti C, Lukowiak K, Colliva C, Alboni S, Tascedda F, Blom JMC. What can we teach Lymnaea and what can Lymnaea teach us? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1590-1602. [PMID: 33821539 PMCID: PMC9545797 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
This review describes the advantages of adopting a molluscan complementary model, the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis, to study the neural basis of learning and memory in appetitive and avoidance classical conditioning; as well as operant conditioning of its aerial respiratory and escape behaviour. We firstly explored ‘what we can teach Lymnaea’ by discussing a variety of sensitive, solid, easily reproducible and simple behavioural tests that have been used to uncover the memory abilities of this model system. Answering this question will allow us to open new frontiers in neuroscience and behavioural research to enhance our understanding of how the nervous system mediates learning and memory. In fact, from a translational perspective, Lymnaea and its nervous system can help to understand the neural transformation pathways from behavioural output to sensory coding in more complex systems like the mammalian brain. Moving on to the second question: ‘what can Lymnaea teach us?’, it is now known that Lymnaea shares important associative learning characteristics with vertebrates, including stimulus generalization, generalization of extinction and discriminative learning, opening the possibility to use snails as animal models for neuroscience translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Rivi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy
| | - Cristina Benatti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Chiara Colliva
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy
| | - Silvia Alboni
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy
| | - Fabio Tascedda
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,CIB, Consorzio Interuniversitario Biotecnologie, Trieste, Italy
| | - Johanna M C Blom
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy.,Centre of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, Modena, 287-41125, Italy
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Another Example of Conditioned Taste Aversion: Case of Snails. BIOLOGY 2020; 9:biology9120422. [PMID: 33256267 PMCID: PMC7760351 DOI: 10.3390/biology9120422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary It is important to decide what to eat and what not to eat in the life. Children are likely to reject new foods. When eating a new food results in a negative experience, the child will avoid that specific food in the future. This phenomenon is called ‘conditioned taste aversion’ in mammals, and it is considered necessary for survival by preventing subsequent ingestion of sickening foods. Many researchers study the same kind of phenomenon in invertebrates, too. For example, the formation of conditioned taste aversion was found in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, with the selective associability between a sweet sucrose solution and a bitter KCl solution. A sweet food attracts many kinds of animals, resulting in the feeding response, whereas a KCl solution is an aversive stimulus, inducing a withdrawal response in snails. After repeated temporally-contingent presentations of these two stimuli, the sucrose solution no longer elicits a feeding response, and this phenomenon persists for a long term. In the present review, we first outline the mechanisms of conditioned taste aversion in mammals, then introduce the conditioned taste aversion in snails, and compare them. Furthermore, the molecular events in snails are discussed, suggesting the general mechanism in conditioned taste aversion. Abstract Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in mammals has several specific characteristics: (1) emergence of a negative symptom in subjects due to selective association with a taste-related stimulus, (2) robust long-term memory that is resistant to extinction induced by repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS), (3) a very-long-delay presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US), and (4) single-trial learning. The pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, can also form a CTA. Although the negative symptoms, like nausea, in humans cannot be easily observed in invertebrate animal models of CTA, all the other characteristics of CTA seem to be present in snails. Selective associability was confirmed using a sweet sucrose solution and a bitter KCl solution. Once snails form a CTA, repeated presentation of the CS does not extinguish the CTA. A long interstimulus interval between the CS and US, like in trace conditioning, still results in the formation of a CTA in snails. Lastly, even single-trial learning has been demonstrated with a certain probability. In the present review, we compare, in detail, CTA in mammals and snails, and discuss the possible molecular events in CTA.
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Totani Y, Nakai J, Hatakeyama D, Ito E. Memory-enhancing effects of short-term fasting. THE EUROPEAN ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/24750263.2020.1827053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Y. Totani
- Department of Biology, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - J. Nakai
- Department of Biology, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - D. Hatakeyama
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Tokushima, Japan
| | - E. Ito
- Department of Biology, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Totani Y, Kotani S, Odai K, Ito E, Sakakibara M. Real-Time Analysis of Animal Feeding Behavior With a Low-Calculation-Power CPU. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2019; 67:1197-1205. [PMID: 31395534 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2019.2933243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Our goal was to develop an automated system to determine whether animals have learned and changed their behavior in real-time using a low calculation-power central processing unit (CPU). The bottleneck of real-time analysis is the speed of image recognition. For fast image recognition, 99.5% of the image was excluded from image recognition by distinguishing between the subject and the background. We achieved this by applying a binarization and connected-component labeling technique. This task is important for developing a fully automated learning apparatus. The use of such an automated system can improve the efficiency and accuracy of biological studies. The pond snail Lymnaea stagnails can be classically conditioned to avoid food that naturally elicits feeding behavior, and to consolidate this aversion into long-term memory. Determining memory status in the snail requires real-time analysis of the number of bites the snail makes in response to food presentation. The main algorithm for counting bites comprises two parts: extracting the mouth images from the recorded video and measuring the bite rate corresponding to the memory status. Reinforcement-supervised learning and image recognition were used to extract the mouth images. A change in the size of the mouth area was used as the cue for counting the number of bites. The accuracy of the final judgment of whether or not the snail had learned was the same as that determined by human observation. This method to improve the processing speed of image recognition has the potential for broad application beyond biological fields.
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Aonuma H, Totani Y, Sakakibara M, Lukowiak K, Ito E. Comparison of brain monoamine content in three populations of Lymnaea that correlates with taste-aversive learning ability. Biophys Physicobiol 2018; 15:129-135. [PMID: 29955564 PMCID: PMC6018436 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.15.0_129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
To find a causal mechanism of learning and memory is a heuristically important topic in neuroscience. In the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, the following experimental facts have accrued regarding a classical conditioning procedure known as conditioned taste aversion (CTA): (1) one-day food-deprived Dutch snails have superior CTA memory formation; (2) the one-day food-deprived snails have a low monoamine content (e.g., serotonin, dopamine, octopamine) in their central nervous system (CNS); (3) fed or five-day food-deprived snails have poorer CTA memory and a higher monoamine content; (4) the Dutch snails form better CTA memory than the Canadian TC1 strain; and, (5) the F1 cross snails between the Dutch and Canadian TC1 strains also form poor CTA memory. Here, in one-day food-deprived snails, we measured the monoamine content in the CNSs of the 3 populations. In most instances, the monoamine content of the Dutch strain was lower than in the other two populations. The F1 cross snails had the highest monoamine content. A lower monoamine content is correlated with the better CTA memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Aonuma
- Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0811, Japan.,CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Yuki Totani
- Department of Biology, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
| | - Manabu Sakakibara
- Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan
| | - Ken Lukowiak
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Etsuro Ito
- Department of Biology, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan.,Research Organization for Nano and Life Innovation, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan.,WASEDA Bioscience Research Institute in Singapore, 138667, Singapore.,Graduate Institute of Medicine and Center for Stem Cell Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
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Aonuma H, Totani Y, Kaneda M, Nakamura R, Watanabe T, Hatakeyama D, Dyakonova VE, Lukowiak K, Ito E. Effects of 5-HT and insulin on learning and memory formation in food-deprived snails. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 148:20-29. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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