180 research outputs found

    Adolescent Binge Ethanol Exposure Accelerates Alzheimer’s Disease-Associated Basal Forebrain Neuropathology

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    Cholinergic degeneration and neuroimmune system activation are hallmark features of many disease states, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Heavy alcohol use is an etiological factor associated with AD, but little is known about the interaction between adolescent binge alcohol exposure and AD pathology. Preclinical studies using the adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) paradigm that mimics weekend binge drinking behavior find basal forebrain cholinergic neuron degeneration and increased neuroimmune activation in brain, similar to observed pathology in AD. Using the 5x Familial Alzheimer’s disease (5xFAD) mouse model of AD, we tested the hypothesis that AIE treatment would accelerate onset of AD-associated pathology. AIE accelerated the loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons relative to age-matched 5xFAD CONs in female, but not male subjects. This was accompanied by accelerated accumulation of amyloid beta, as well as upregulation of AD-related genes. In addition, AIE upregulated glial genes like Gfap and Iba1, as well as innate immune signaling and proinflammatory cytokine genes in the basal forebrain, relative to age-matched 5xFAD CONs. Accelerated neuropathology was observed in female, but not male mice, emphasizing sex as a risk factor for AD neuropathology. In post-mortem human basal forebrain samples of individuals with AUD and an adolescent age of drinking onset, we found AUD increased amyloid beta expression in the basal forebrain and in ChAT+ neurons of AUD individuals, as well as decreased hnRNP protein expression that was negatively correlated with loss of cholinergic cell markers. These data reveal that adolescent binge ethanol exposure accelerates AD-associated neuropathology in the female adult basal forebrain, and suggests that adolescent binge drinking may be an etiological factor contributing to AD neuropathology. Keywords: adolescence, binge drinking, Alzheimer’s disease, neuroimmune, microglia, amyloidBachelor of Scienc

    Creating the infrastructure for a living laboratory at the Miller Ecological Park and other preparations

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    Course Code: ENR 2367Our goal is to connect the local children of Lebanon, Ohio with nature via the Miller Ecological Park. To do this, we are focusing on the addition of a Living Laboratory to the property that can be used by local schools and Boy/Girl scout groups. The Living Laboratory will consist of an interactive trail that connects Bowman Elementary School to a restored prairie and wetlands at the southeastern corner of the MEP. We also are suggesting infrastructure additions to supplement the educational experience of local children through proper integration with school curriculums.Academic Major: BiologyAcademic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and SustainabilityAcademic Major: Environmental ScienceAcademic Major: Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlif

    Change Matters: Binge Drinking and Drugging Victimization over Time in Three College Freshman Cohorts

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    The “once bitten, twice shy” (OBTS) hypothesis argues that crime victims who change their involvement in risky lifestyle behaviors reduce their likelihood of experiencing repeat victimization. Tests of this hypothesis have yielded weak to mixed results, which may be due to methodological issues. We address these methodological issues by testing the OBTS hypothesis for repeat drugging victimization with survey data from a panel of three freshman cohorts at three large, public universities. Supportive of the OBTS hypothesis, the multivariate results show that, on average, those not drugged at Time 1 or Time 2 and those drugged at Time 1 and Time 2 increased the number of days they binge drank in the past month significantly more than those who were drugged at Time 1 only. Our findings have implications for both victimology theory and drugging prevention programming

    Sleep Quality, Fatigue, and Quality of Life Among Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

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    Purpose: Teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer survivors experience a range of health-related problems during and beyond the active treatment period. This study examined associations between fatigue, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among TYA survivors.Methods: Self-reported data on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue), and HRQOL (EuroQoL-5) were gathered from United Kingdom TYA survivors between 13 and 24 years of age. TYA survivors were stratified into those on (n = 67) and off (n = 135) treatment. Linear regression analyses were used with HRQOL as the dependent variable to investigate potential associations. Fatigue and sleep were entered separately and together in the same model. Age at survey and diagnosis, gender, and ethnicity were included as covariates.Results: 85.07% of TYAs on and 62.69% of TYAs off treatment had sleep quality scores suggestive of clinically significant sleep disorders. 56.72% of TYAs on and 26.67% of TYAs off treatment reported clinically significant levels of fatigue. Strong independent associations between sleep (B = 0.05, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 0.03–0.07, p < 0.001), fatigue (B = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.03, p < 0.001), and HRQOL were observed among TYA survivors on treatment. TYAs off treatment showed moderate to strong associations between sleep (B = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02–0.05, p < 0.001) and fatigue (B = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.02, p < 0.001), and HRQOL, when examined separately. Sleep was not independently associated with HRQOL among TYAs off treatment (B = 0.01, 95% CI = −0.01 to 0.02, p = 0.296).Conclusion: The significant associations reported suggest that sleep quality and fatigue are potential modifiable factors associated with HRQOL. Further research is warranted to understand the direction of associations

    Sleep Quality, Fatigue, and Quality of Life Among Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivors

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    Purpose: Teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer survivors experience a range of health-related problems during and beyond the active treatment period. This study examined associations between fatigue, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among TYA survivors.Methods: Self-reported data on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue), and HRQOL (EuroQoL-5) were gathered from United Kingdom TYA survivors between 13 and 24 years of age. TYA survivors were stratified into those on (n = 67) and off (n = 135) treatment. Linear regression analyses were used with HRQOL as the dependent variable to investigate potential associations. Fatigue and sleep were entered separately and together in the same model. Age at survey and diagnosis, gender, and ethnicity were included as covariates.Results: 85.07% of TYAs on and 62.69% of TYAs off treatment had sleep quality scores suggestive of clinically significant sleep disorders. 56.72% of TYAs on and 26.67% of TYAs off treatment reported clinically significant levels of fatigue. Strong independent associations between sleep (B = 0.05, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 0.03–0.07, p < 0.001), fatigue (B = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.03, p < 0.001), and HRQOL were observed among TYA survivors on treatment. TYAs off treatment showed moderate to strong associations between sleep (B = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02–0.05, p < 0.001) and fatigue (B = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.02, p < 0.001), and HRQOL, when examined separately. Sleep was not independently associated with HRQOL among TYAs off treatment (B = 0.01, 95% CI = −0.01 to 0.02, p = 0.296).Conclusion: The significant associations reported suggest that sleep quality and fatigue are potential modifiable factors associated with HRQOL. Further research is warranted to understand the direction of associations

    Crossâ Sectional Psychological and Demographic Associations of Zika Knowledge and Conspiracy Beliefs Before and After Local Zika Transmission

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    Perceptions of infectious diseases are important predictors of whether people engage in diseaseâ specific preventive behaviors. Having accurate beliefs about a given infectious disease has been found to be a necessary condition for engaging in appropriate preventive behaviors during an infectious disease outbreak, while endorsing conspiracy beliefs can inhibit preventive behaviors. Despite their seemingly opposing natures, knowledge and conspiracy beliefs may share some of the same psychological motivations, including a relationship with perceived risk and selfâ efficacy (i.e., control). The 2015â 2016 Zika epidemic provided an opportunity to explore this. The current research provides some exploratory tests of this topic derived from two studies with similar measures, but different primary outcomes: one study that included knowledge of Zika as a key outcome and one that included conspiracy beliefs about Zika as a key outcome. Both studies involved crossâ sectional data collections that occurred during the same two periods of the Zika outbreak: one data collection prior to the first cases of local Zika transmission in the United States (Marchâ May 2016) and one just after the first cases of local transmission (Julyâ August). Using ordinal logistic and linear regression analyses of data from two time points in both studies, the authors show an increase in relationship strength between greater perceived risk and selfâ efficacy with both increased knowledge and increased conspiracy beliefs after local Zika transmission in the United States. Although these results highlight that similar psychological motivations may lead to Zika knowledge and conspiracy beliefs, there was a divergence in demographic association.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153206/1/risa13369_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153206/2/risa13369.pd

    Fluxes and fate of dissolved methane released at the seafloor at the landward limit of the gas hydrate stability zone offshore western Svalbard

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    Widespread seepage of methane from seafloor sediments offshore Svalbard close to the landward limit of the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) may, in part, be driven by hydrate destabilization due to bottom water warming. To assess whether this methane reaches the atmosphere where it may contribute to further warming, we have undertaken comprehensive surveys of methane in seawater and air on the upper slope and shelf region. Near the GHSZ limit at ?400 m water depth, methane concentrations are highest close to the seabed, reaching 825 nM. A simple box model of dissolved methane removal from bottom waters by horizontal and vertical mixing and microbially mediated oxidation indicates that ?60% of methane released at the seafloor is oxidized at depth before it mixes with overlying surface waters. Deep waters are therefore not a significant source of methane to intermediate and surface waters; rather, relatively high methane concentrations in these waters (up to 50 nM) are attributed to isopycnal turbulent mixing with shelf waters. On the shelf, extensive seafloor seepage at &lt;100 m water depth produces methane concentrations of up to 615 nM. The diffusive flux of methane from sea to air in the vicinity of the landward limit of the GHSZ is ?4–20 ?mol m?2 d?1, which is small relative to other Arctic sources. In support of this, analyses of mole fractions and the carbon isotope signature of atmospheric methane above the seeps do not indicate a significant local contribution from the seafloor source

    A Comparison of Neuroelectrophysiology Databases

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    As data sharing has become more prevalent, three pillars - archives, standards, and analysis tools - have emerged as critical components in facilitating effective data sharing and collaboration. This paper compares four freely available intracranial neuroelectrophysiology data repositories: Data Archive for the BRAIN Initiative (DABI), Distributed Archives for Neurophysiology Data Integration (DANDI), OpenNeuro, and Brain-CODE. These archives provide researchers with tools to store, share, and reanalyze neurophysiology data though the means of accomplishing these objectives differ. The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) and Neurodata Without Borders (NWB) are utilized by these archives to make data more accessible to researchers by implementing a common standard. While many tools are available to reanalyze data on and off the archives' platforms, this article features Reproducible Analysis and Visualization of Intracranial EEG (RAVE) toolkit, developed specifically for the analysis of intracranial signal data and integrated with the discussed standards and archives. Neuroelectrophysiology data archives improve how researchers can aggregate, analyze, distribute, and parse these data, which can lead to more significant findings in neuroscience research.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

    The conservation impacts of ecological disturbance : time-bound estimates of population loss and recovery for fauna affected by the 2019–2020 Australian megafires

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    Aim: After environmental disasters, species with large population losses may need urgent protection to prevent extinction and support recovery. Following the 2019–2020 Australian megafires, we estimated population losses and recovery in fire-affected fauna, to inform conservation status assessments and management. Location: Temperate and subtropical Australia. Time period: 2019–2030 and beyond. Major taxa: Australian terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates; one invertebrate group. Methods: From > 1,050 fire-affected taxa, we selected 173 whose distributions substantially overlapped the fire extent. We estimated the proportion of each taxon’s distribution affected by fires, using fire severity and aquatic impact mapping, and new distribution mapping. Using expert elicitation informed by evidence of responses to previous wildfires, we estimated local population responses to fires of varying severity. We combined the spatial and elicitation data to estimate overall population loss and recovery trajectories, and thus indicate potential eligibility for listing as threatened, or uplisting, under Australian legislation. Results: We estimate that the 2019–2020 Australian megafires caused, or contributed to, population declines that make 70–82 taxa eligible for listing as threatened; and another 21–27 taxa eligible for uplisting. If so-listed, this represents a 22–26% increase in Australian statutory lists of threatened terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates and spiny crayfish, and uplisting for 8–10% of threatened taxa. Such changes would cause an abrupt worsening of underlying trajectories in vertebrates, as measured by Red List Indices. We predict that 54–88% of 173 assessed taxa will not recover to pre-fire population size within 10 years/three generations. Main conclusions: We suggest the 2019–2020 Australian megafires have worsened the conservation prospects for many species. Of the 91 taxa recommended for listing/uplisting consideration, 84 are now under formal review through national processes. Improving predictions about taxon vulnerability with empirical data on population responses, reducing the likelihood of future catastrophic events and mitigating their impacts on biodiversity, are critical. © 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Diana Kuchinke” is provided in this record*
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