Associations Between Anxiety and Attention in Laboratory-Housed Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Previous studies completed with humans have revealed insight into the effects of anxiety on attention tasks such the dot-probe task, but there is little information about such effects on non-human primates. This study aimed to assess whether anxiety or anxious behaviors would impact rhesus macaque performance on a three stimuli paradigm similar to the dot-probe task. Utilizing images of conspecifics (strong threat, mild threat, and neutral), eight monkeys were video recorded completing a task that required them to slide two doors, which held these images, to the side to obtain a treat. We hypothesized that behavioral phenotype (high or low anxiety) would affect attention on this modified dot-probe task. Additionally, we predicted that time spent looking at mildly threatening stimuli would be positively correlated with high levels of anxious behaviors (e.g., scratching, yawning, pacing, self-biting) and cortisol concentrations over a four month period. We also predicted that a higher percentage of the mildly threating stimuli as a first choice would be positively correlated with high levels of anxious behaviors and cortisol concentrations. However, anxious behaviors and cortisol concentrations did not affect performance on this task. Interestingly, a sex difference was found for the mild threat stimuli, with females taking significantly more time to complete the task when presented with the mild stimuli (p = 0.01), and also looking at the mild stimuli longer than males (p = 0.03). These data suggest that males and females interpret ambiguous facial expressions differently, possibly indicating the significance of attention in female dominance hierarchies in macaque social groups

Relationships and Client Protection Differences in the APA and ACA Ethical Codes

We present the results of a line-by-line comparison regarding relationship and client protection issues between the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Counseling Association (ACA) ethical codes. Out of 144 total differences in these ethical codes, 34 differences pertain specifically to the topics of relationships and client protection. Results from the study showed ACA to provide extensive requirements and prohibitions relating to the therapeutic relationship, compared to APA’s more general and principle-driven approach to this domain. Citing a few examples here, we note that ACA requires more extensive documentation of relationship boundary changes pertaining to romantic and/or sexual relationships, therapeutic role changes, and other redefinitions of relationships. Additionally, ACA and APA both limit the potential for multiple relationships, but ACA specifically prohibits counselors from terminating a therapeutic relationship in order to pursue a romantic relationship with someone closely related to their client. In sum regarding this domain, the ACA is more definitive, prescriptive, and limiting in what appears to be attempts at providing strengthened client protection. Similarly, the ACA is more detailed and narrow regarding client/counselor relationships and other therapeutic boundary establishments. The protections also are more fully extended to the counseling supervisor/supervisee relationship in the ACA code. In contrast, the APA is more general and/or silent in the domains which are spelled-out in detail by ACA. In the present study, we draw attention to the specific wording in the two documents and how these differences in words potentially impact clinical practice with both clients and supervisees. We also discuss how the results of the present study have implications for undergraduate students who are at the point of decision-making regarding which profession to select. Additionally, any psychologist who supervises counselors must ensure that all ethical standards—of both psychology and counseling—are upheld when counselors work under the licenses of a practicing psychologist. And finally, agencies who hire both licensed psychologist and licensed counselors must be aware of these significant differences in the APA and ACA ethical codes. We place the results of the present study into the larger context of the overall differences between the two codes

Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals

© 2019, The Author(s). Predator-induced fear is both, one of the most common stressors employed in animal model studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a major focus of research in ecology. There has been a growing discourse between these disciplines but no direct empirical linkage. We endeavoured to provide this empirical linkage by conducting experiments drawing upon the strengths of both disciplines. Exposure to a natural cue of predator danger (predator vocalizations), had enduring effects of at least 7 days duration involving both, a heightened sensitivity to predator danger (indicative of an enduring memory of fear), and elevated neuronal activation in both the amygdala and hippocampus – in wild birds (black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus), exposed to natural environmental and social experiences in the 7 days following predator exposure. Our results demonstrate enduring effects on the brain and behaviour, meeting the criteria to be considered an animal model of PTSD – in a wild animal, which are of a nature and degree which can be anticipated could affect fecundity and survival in free-living wildlife. We suggest our findings support both the proposition that PTSD is not unnatural, and that long-lasting effects of predator-induced fear, with likely effects on fecundity and survival, are the norm in nature

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Dexmedetomidine-Induced Electroencephalogram Oscillations

An improved understanding of the neural correlates of altered arousal states is fundamental for precise brain state targeting in clinical settings. More specifically, electroencephalogram recordings are now increasingly being used to relate drug-specific oscillatory dynamics to clinically desired altered arousal states. Dexmedetomidine is an anesthetic adjunct typically administered in operating rooms and intensive care units to produce and maintain a sedative brain state. However, a high-density electroencephalogram characterization of the neural correlates of the dexmedetomidine-induced altered arousal state has not been previously accomplished. Therefore, we administered dexmedetomidine (1mcg/kg bolus over 10 minutes, followed by 0.7mcg/kg/hr over 50 minutes) and recorded high-density electroencephalogram signals in healthy volunteers, 18–36 years old (n = 8). We analyzed the data with multitaper spectral and global coherence methods. We found that dexmedetomidine was associated with increased slow-delta oscillations across the entire scalp, increased theta oscillations in occipital regions, increased spindle oscillations in frontal regions, and decreased beta oscillations across the entire scalp. The theta and spindle oscillations were globally coherent. During recovery from this state, these electroencephalogram signatures reverted towards baseline signatures. We report that dexmedetomidine-induced electroencephalogram signatures more closely approximate the human sleep onset process than previously appreciated. We suggest that these signatures may be targeted by real time visualization of the electroencephalogram or spectrogram in clinical settings. Additionally, these signatures may aid the development of control systems for principled neurophysiological based brain-state targeting

Redox regulation of Rac1 by thiol oxidation

The Rac1 GTPase is an essential and ubiquitous protein that signals through numerous pathways to control critical cellular processes, including cell growth, morphology, and motility. Rac1 deletion is embryonic lethal, and its dysregulation or mutation can promote cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. Rac1 activity is highly regulated by modulatory proteins and posttranslational modifications. Whereas much attention has been devoted to guanine nucleotide exchange factors that act on Rac1 to promote GTP loading and Rac1 activation, cellular oxidants may also regulate Rac1 activation by promoting guanine nucleotide exchange. Herein, we show that Rac1 contains a redox-sensitive cysteine (Cys18) that can be selectively oxidized at physiological pH because of its lowered pKa. Consistent with these observations, we show that Rac1 is glutathiolated in primary chondrocytes. Oxidation of Cys18 by glutathione greatly perturbs Rac1 guanine nucleotide binding and promotes nucleotide exchange. As aspartate substitutions have been previously used to mimic cysteine oxidation, we characterized the biochemical properties of Rac1C18D. We also evaluated Rac1C18S as a redox-insensitive variant and found that it retains structural and biochemical properties similar to those of Rac1WT but is resistant to thiol oxidation. In addition, Rac1C18D, but not Rac1C18S, shows greatly enhanced nucleotide exchange, similar to that observed for Rac1 oxidation by glutathione. We employed Rac1C18D in cell-based studies to assess whether this fast-cycling variant, which mimics Rac1 oxidation by glutathione, affects Rac1 activity and function. Expression of Rac1C18D in Swiss 3T3 cells showed greatly enhanced GTP-bound Rac1 relative to Rac1WT and the redox-insensitive Rac1C18S variant. Moreover, expression of Rac1C18D in HEK-293T cells greatly promoted lamellipodia formation. Our results suggest that Rac1 oxidation at Cys18 is a novel posttranslational modification that upregulates Rac1 activity

Tick Extracellular Vesicles Enable Arthropod Feeding and Promote Distinct Outcomes of Bacterial Infection

Extracellular vesicles are thought to facilitate pathogen transmission from arthropods to humans and other animals. Here, we reveal that pathogen spreading from arthropods to the mammalian host is multifaceted. Extracellular vesicles from Ixodes scapularis enable tick feeding and promote infection of the mildly virulent rickettsial agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum through the SNARE proteins Vamp33 and Synaptobrevin 2 and dendritic epidermal T cells. However, extracellular vesicles from the tick Dermacentor andersoni mitigate microbial spreading caused by the lethal pathogen Francisella tularensis. Collectively, we establish that tick extracellular vesicles foster distinct outcomes of bacterial infection and assist in vector feeding by acting on skin immunity. Thus, the biology of arthropods should be taken into consideration when developing strategies to control vector-borne diseases

Examining the Incidence of Human Papillomavirus-Associated Head and Neck Cancers by Race and Ethnicity in the U.S., 1995–2005

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence, mortality and survival rates vary by sex and race, with men and African Americans disproportionately affected. Risk factors for HNC include tobacco and alcohol exposure, with a recent implication of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathogenesis of HNC. This study describes the epidemiology of HNC in the United States, examining variation of rates by age, sex, race/ethnicity and potential HPV-association. Methods: We used the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) Cancer in North America (CINA) Deluxe Analytic Data to analyze HNC incidence for 1995–2005 from forty population-based cancer registries. We calculated age-adjusted incidence rates and incidence trends using annual percent change by age, sex, race/ethnicity and HPVassociation. Results: Males and Non-Hispanic Blacks experienced greater HNC incidence compared to women and other race/ethnicity groupings. A significant overall increase in HNC incidence was observed among HPV-associated sites during 1995–2005, while non HPV-associated sites experienced a significant decline in HNC incidence. Overall, younger age groups, Non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics experienced greater increases in incidence for HPV-associated sites, while HNC incidence declined for Non-Hispanic Blacks independent of HPV-association. In particular, for HPV-associated sites, HNC incidence for Non-Hispanic White males aged 45–54 increased at the greatest rate, with an APC of 6.28 % (p,0.05). Among non HPVassociated sites, Non-Hispanic Black males aged 0–44 years experienced the greatest reduction in incidence (APC, 28.17%

Gastric cancer is associated with NOS2 -954G/C polymorphism and environmental factors in a Brazilian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gastric cancer can progress from a chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa resulting from <it>Helicobacter pylori </it>infection that activates the inflammatory response of the host. Therefore, polymorphisms in genes involved in the inflammatory response, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (<it>NOS2</it>), have been implicated in gastric carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of <it>NOS2 </it>polymorphisms Ser⁶⁰⁸Leu (rs2297518) in exon 16, -954G/C and -1173C/T, both in the promoter region, with gastric cancer and chronic gastritis and the association of cancer with risk factors such as smoking, alcohol intake and <it>H. pylori </it>infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a population-based case-control study in 474 Southeast Brazilian individuals (150 with gastric cancer, 160 with chronic gastritis, and 164 healthy individuals), in which we performed <it>NOS2 </it>genotyping by PCR-RFLP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SNP Ser⁶⁰⁸Leu was not associated with risk of chronic gastritis or gastric cancer. The polymorphic allele -1173T was not found in the studied population. However, the frequency of -954GC+CC genotypes was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the cancer group (48.7%) than in both the gastritis (28.1%) and the control (29.9%) groups. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the <it>NOS2 </it>SNP -954G/C was associated with higher risk of gastric cancer (OR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.12-3.13). We also observed an association with risk factors such as smoking and alcohol intake in both the gastric cancer (OR = 2.68; 95% CI = 1.58-4.53; OR = 3.60; 95% CI = 2.05-6.32, respectively) and the chronic gastritis (OR = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.19-3.13; OR = 2.79; 95% CI = 1.55-5.02, respectively) groups. This is the first report of increased risk of gastric cancer in association with the -954G/C polymorphism. These findings show that several polymorphisms in the promoter region of the <it>NOS2 </it>gene may contribute to the susceptibility to gastric cancer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Polymorphism <it>NOS2 </it>-954 G/C, along with alcohol intake and tobacco smoking, is associated with gastric cancer. However, the <it>NOS2 </it>Ser⁶⁰⁸Leu polymorphism was not associated with gastric carcinogenesis. The <it>NOS2 </it>-1173C/T polymorphism was absent in the studied population.</p

A Hypothesis-Testing Framework for Studies Investigating Ontogenetic Niche Shifts Using Stable Isotope Ratios

Ontogenetic niche shifts occur across diverse taxonomic groups, and can have critical implications for population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function. In this study, we provide a hypothesis-testing framework combining univariate and multivariate analyses to examine ontogenetic niche shifts using stable isotope ratios. This framework is based on three distinct ontogenetic niche shift scenarios, i.e., (1) no niche shift, (2) niche expansion/reduction, and (3) discrete niche shift between size classes. We developed criteria for identifying each scenario, as based on three important resource use characteristics, i.e., niche width, niche position, and niche overlap. We provide an empirical example for each ontogenetic niche shift scenario, illustrating differences in resource use characteristics among different organisms. The present framework provides a foundation for future studies on ontogenetic niche shifts, and also can be applied to examine resource variability among other population sub-groupings (e.g., by sex or phenotype)