Optogenetic activation of accessory olfactory bulb input to the forebrain differentially modulates investigation of opposite versus same-sex urinary chemosignals and stimulates mating in male mice

Surgical or genetic disruption of vomeronasal organ (VNO)-accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) function previously eliminated the ability of male mice to processes pheromones that elicit territorial behavior and aggression. By contrast, neither disruption significantly affected mating behaviors, although VNO lesions reduced males' investigation of nonvolatile female pheromones. We explored the contribution of VNO-AOB pheromonal processing to male courtship using optogenetic activation of AOB projections to the forebrain. Protocadherin-Cre male transgenic mice received bilateral AOB infections with channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2) viral vectors, and an optical fiber was implanted above the AOB. In olfactory choice tests, males preferred estrous female urine (EFU) over water; however, this preference was eliminated when diluted (5%) EFU was substituted for 100% EFU. Optogenetic AOB activation concurrent with nasal contact significantly augmented males' investigation compared to 5% EFU alone. Conversely, concurrent optogenetic AOB activation significantly reduced males' nasal investigation of diluted urine from gonadally intact males (5% IMU) compared to 5% IMU alone. These divergent effects of AOB optogenetic activation were lost when males were prevented from making direct nasal contact. Optogenetic AOB stimulation also failed to augment males' nasal investigation of deionized water or of food odors. Finally, during mating tests, optogenetic AOB stimulation delivered for 30 s when the male was in physical contact with an estrous female significantly facilitated the occurrence of penile intromission. Our results suggest that VNO-AOB signaling differentially modifies males' motivation to seek out female vs male urinary pheromones while augmenting males' sexual arousal leading to intromission and improved reproductive performance

Simplifying Care for Our Complex Patients: A look at children with medical complexity

Date of Presentation: March 9th, 2023 Presented by: Danielle Doctor, MD PGY-3, Pediatric Resident The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center CME available for 1 year after presentation CME Text Code: 84169https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/pediatrics_gr/1014/thumbnail.jp

Probably sexual assault: Exploring the impact of response format and wording choice on rape acknowledgment

Most individuals who experience rape do not call it “rape”; rather, they use other terms like “miscommunication”, “bad sex”, or “sexual assault”. When individuals use terms other than rape this is termed lack of rape acknowledgment or unacknowledgment. Unacknowledgment is associated with risk for repeated victimization. In Study 1, N = 439, participants were randomly assigned to a dichotomous (yes/no) or Likert response format for the rape acknowledgment item. Participants who choose non-polar, Likert responses such as “probably raped” reported less stereotypical rape experiences such as anal rape (X2 > 8.18, p <.008). In Study 2, 293 participants completed both rape and sexual assault acknowledgment items in a randomized order. Participants were 1.43 – 2.63x more likely to acknowledge sexual assault “I was sexually assaulted” than rape for victimization and 2.35 – 5.23x more likely to acknowledge sexual assault for their own perpetration behavior. Our findings suggest that using a Likert scale to measure acknowledgment may better identify those at-risk. Similarly, measuring sexual assault acknowledgment increases the number of cases identified. This may be especially helpful for identify those at risk of perpetration, as using the term sexual assault resulted in acknowledgment rates 3-8x higher than prior research

Measuring Sexual Violence Perpetration Acknowledgement: Testing the Effects of Label and Response Format

Individual acknowledgment of sexual assault and rape perpetration is extraordinarily low in prior research. Only about 1% of individuals report perpetrating rape, in contrast to the 6% perpetrating rape as estimated by using behaviorally specific items that exclude stigmatized words such as rape. The goal of this study was to examine two possible measurement mechanisms for increasing perpetration acknowledgment: label choice and response format. In Sample 1 (N = 291), participants completed two acknowledgment items which varied in label choice. One item used the term rape; one used the term sexual assault. Acknowledgment of perpetration using the label sexual assault was significantly higher than when using the term rape (6.38%−1.71%, p = .01, Cohen\u27s d = 0.44). In Sample 2 (N = 438), participants were presented with a scaled and a dichotomous sexual assault item at different parts of the overall survey. Sexual assault acknowledgment was higher on the scaled item compared to the dichotomous item (15.75% vs. 3.2%, p \u3c .0001, Cohen\u27s d = 0.64). Rates of sexual perpetration as measured behaviorally were higher for ambiguous acknowledgment types (“might or might not,” “probably not”) than for those reporting “definitely not,” (76.81% vs. 29.0%, p \u3c .0001, Cohen\u27s d = 0.59). The two different measurement strategies tested here, using a less stigmatized label such as sexual assault and using a scaled response format, both increased rates of perpetration acknowledgment 3–15x greater than rates documented in prior research

Public Roads, Vol. 85 No. 4

Making our Roads Safer through a Safe System Approach; The Highway Safety Improvement Program: Paving the Road to a Safer Future; The Safe System Paradigm: Reducing Fatalities and Injuries at the Nation\u2019s Intersections; NHTSA\u2019s Safe System Approach: Educating and Protecting All Road Users; Speed Managment is Key to Road Safety; The Safe System Approach: How States and Cities Are Saving Lives; Applying a Safe System Approach Across the Globe

Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

International audienceIntermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100−105 M⊙, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass ∼150 M⊙ providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200 M⊙ and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpc−3 yr−1 (90% confidence), a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpc−3 yr−1.Key words: gravitational waves / stars: black holes / black hole physicsCorresponding author: W. Del Pozzo, e-mail: [email protected]† Deceased, August 2020