Physical activity as a behavioral treatment in SHR rats: An animal model of ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder defined by inattentive, hyperactive, and/or impulsive behaviors, typically treated with medications. Physical activity has been investigated as a treatment for children with ADHD and provides the ability for the individual to use it as a lifetime treatment option. Animal models can control for many of the issues posed by using human subjects. This study investigates whether physical activity in the form of wheel running reduces hyperactivity in an animal model of ADHD, the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR), compared to its control, Wistar Kyoto rat (WKY). Using an ABAB design, hyperactivity was measured using an open field test and physical activity was measured by a running wheel. Results indicated wheel running had little effect on hyperactivity, however, findings proposed that hyperactivity increased with age in SHR rats. Results are discussed, limitations are recognized, and future research is suggested

Generation Z and CRISPR: Measuring information processing using animated infographics

CRISPR gene-editing technology, as it relates to food, has the potential to revolutionize the agricultural industry. Currently, 40% of global consumers are categorized as Generation Z. Gen Zer’s are digital natives and use Instagram to discover new products; therefore, it is important to understand the most effective communications strategies to engage this segment of consumers with scientific information that will allow for informed decision-making regarding CRISPR technology. Infographics are a form of data visualization that can be used in a static or animated form. Previous studies have shown animated infographics to garner greater attention from respondents. Using the Heuristic-Systematic Processing Model (HSM) and the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model as the guiding theoretical framework, this study used an experimental design to investigate respondents’ information recall ability of CRISPR information using infographics. The results from the current study indicated respondents heuristically processed the information about CRISPR displayed to them through an infographic, as statistically significant differences were measured between the animated infographic treatment group and the respondent’s recall ability on only 2 of the 3 recall questions asked. The exploration of demographic characteristics found a moderating effect on recall ability for only the static treatment group and political ideology. Key findings in the current research suggest the implementation of animated infographics may aid in more effective agricultural messaging if kept to one point of information and have a source of credibility

A critical exploration of assessment within multicultural affairs

This thesis explored the experiences of four Student Affairs practitioners working within Multicultural Affairs (MA). The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how professionals within MA offices were developing and conducting assessment as well as identify barriers they faced and best practices used. Data for this study was gathered through four semi-structured interviews with the participants. The coding process led to the following four themes (a) shifting cultures: bringing assessment to the forefront of the work, (b) people power: building a structure to support assessment, (c) communicating the value of multicultural affairs through assessment, and (d) grappling with how to produce assessment. Based on the findings of this study, the author suggests various steps professionals in MA could take to strengthen their work in assessment. This study begins to fill the current gap in literature; on how professionals in MA are developing and implementing assessment

Solvation effects on halides core spectra with Multilevel Real-Time quantum embedding

In this work we introduce a novel subsystem-based electronic structure embedding method that combines the projection-based block-orthogonalized Manby-Miller embedding (BOMME) with the density-based Frozen Density Embedding (FDE) methods. Our approach is effective for systems in which the building blocks interact at varying strengths while still maintaining a lower computational cost compared to a quantum simulation of the entire system. To evaluate the performance of our method, we assess its ability to reproduce the X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of chloride and fluoride anions in aqueous solutions (based on a 50-water droplet model) via real-time time-dependent density functional theory (rt-TDDFT) calculations. We employ an ensemble approach to compute XAS for the K- and L-edges, utilizing multiple snapshots of configuration space obtained from classical molecular dynamics simulations with a polarizable force field. Configurational averaging influences both the broadening of spectral features and their intensities, with contributions to the final intensities originating from different geometry configurations. We found that embedding models that are too approximate for halide-water specific interactions, as in the case of FDE, fail to reproduce the experimental spectrum for chloride. Meanwhile, BOMME tends to overestimate intensities, particularly for higher energy features because of finite-size effects. Combining FDE for the second solvation shell and retaining BOMME for the first solvation shell mitigates this effect, resulting in an overall improved agreement within the energy range of the experimental spectrum. Additionally, we compute the transition densities of the relevant transitions, confirming that these transitions occur within the halide systems. Thus, our real-time QM/QM/QM embedding method proves to be a promising approach for modeling XAS of solvated systems

Computational dosimetry in MRI in presence of hip, knee or shoulder implants: do we need accurate surgery models?

Objective. To quantify the effects of different levels of realism in the description of the anatomy around hip, knee or shoulder implants when simulating, numerically, radiofrequency and gradient-induced heating in magnetic resonance imaging. This quantification is needed to define how precise the digital human model modified with the implant should be to get realistic dosimetric assessments. Approach. The analysis is based on a large number of numerical simulations where four 'levels of realism' have been adopted in modelling human bodies carrying orthopaedic implants. Main results. Results show that the quantification of the heating due to switched gradient fields does not strictly require a detailed local anatomical description when preparing the digital human model carrying an implant. In this case, a simple overlapping of the implant CAD with the body anatomy is sufficient to provide a quite good and conservative estimation of the heating. On the contrary, the evaluation of the electromagnetic field distribution and heating caused by the radiofrequency field requires an accurate description of the tissues around the prosthesis. Significance. The results of this paper provide hints for selecting the 'level of realism' in the definition of the anatomical models with embedded passive implants when performing simulations that should reproduce, as closely as possible, the in vivo scenarios of patients carrying orthopaedic implants

Estimating the mass of galactic components using machine learning algorithms

The estimation of the bulge and disk massses, the main baryonic components of a galaxy, can be performed using various approaches, but their implementation tend to be challenging as they often rely on strong assumptions about either the baryon dynamics or the dark matter model. In this work, we present an alternative method for predicting the masses of galactic components, including the disk, bulge, stellar and total mass, using a set of machine learning algorithms: KNN-neighbours (KNN), Linear Regression (LR), Random Forest (RF) and Neural Network (NN). The rest-frame absolute magnitudes in the ugriz-photometric system were selected as input features, and the training was performed using a sample of spiral galaxies hosting a bulge from Guo's mock catalogue \citep{Guo-Catalog} derived from the Millennium simulation. In general, all the algorithms provide good predictions for the galaxy's mass components ranging from $10^9\,M_\odot$ to $10^{11}\,M_\odot$, corresponding to the central region of the training mass domain; however, the NN give rise to the most precise predictions in comparison to other methods. Additionally, to test the performance of the NN architecture, we used a sample of observed galaxies from the SDSS survey whose mass components are known. We found that the NN can predict the luminous masses of disk-dominant galaxies within the same range of magnitudes that for the synthetic sample up to a $99\%$ level of confidence, while mass components of galaxies hosting larger bulges are well predicted up to $95\%$ level of confidence. The NN algorithm can also bring up scaling relations between masses of different components and magnitudes.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures and 1 table. Comments are welcom

Association between Primary Perioperative CEA Ratio, Tumor Site, and Overall Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.There are differences in the incidence, clinical presentation, molecular pathogenesis, and outcome of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on tumor location. Emerging research suggests that the perioperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) ratio (post-op/pre-op CEA) is a prognostic factor for CRC patients. We aimed to determine the association between CEA ratio, tumor location, and overall survival (OS) among patients with CRC. We analyzed 427 patients who underwent resection for CRC at the University of Kansas Medical Center. After excluding those without pre- or post-operative CEA data, 207 patients were classified as either high (≥0.5) or low ( 5 ng/mL at the time of recurrence. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival rates. The median age was 62 years (inter-quartile range 51–71), 55% were male, 41% were smokers, 71% had left-sided tumors, the median pre-operative CEA was 3.1 ng/mL (inter-quartile range (IQR) 1.5–9.7), and 57% had a CEA ratio ≥0.5. The OS rates were 65.1% and 86.3% in patients with high versus low CEA ratios, respectively (log-rank p-value = 0.045). The OS rates were 64.4% and 77.3% in patients with right-sided vs. left-sided tumors, respectively (log-rank p-value = 0.5). Among patients with CEA levels greater than 5 at the time of recurrence, the OS rates were 42.9% and 43.4% in patients with right-sided vs. left-sided tumors, respectively (log-rank p-value = 0.7). There was a significantly higher survival among patients with low CEA ratios than among those with high CEA ratios. There was no difference in OS between left- versus right-sided tumors. Among patients with CEA elevation > 5 ng/mL at the time of recurrence, there was no difference in OS between left versus right-sided tumors. These findings warrant validation in a larger cohort as our sample size was limited

Diffusion and functional MRI in surgical neuromodulation

Surgical neuromodulation has witnessed significant progress in recent decades. Notably, deep brain stimulation (DBS), delivered precisely within therapeutic targets, has revolutionized the treatment of medication-refractory movement disorders and is now expanding for refractory psychiatric disorders, refractory epilepsy, and post-stroke motor recovery. In parallel, the advent of incisionless treatment with focused ultrasound ablation (FUSA) can offer patients life-changing symptomatic relief. Recent research has underscored the potential to further optimize DBS and FUSA outcomes by conceptualizing the therapeutic targets as critical nodes embedded within specific brain networks instead of strictly anatomical structures. This paradigm shift was facilitated by integrating two imaging modalities used regularly in brain connectomics research: diffusion MRI (dMRI) and functional MRI (fMRI). These advanced imaging techniques have helped optimize the targeting and programming techniques of surgical neuromodulation, all while holding immense promise for investigations into treating other neurological and psychiatric conditions. This review aims to provide a fundamental background of advanced imaging for clinicians and scientists, exploring the synergy between current and future approaches to neuromodulation as they relate to dMRI and fMRI capabilities. Focused research in this area is required to optimize existing, functional neurosurgical treatments while serving to build an investigative infrastructure to unlock novel targets to alleviate the burden of other neurological and psychiatric disorders

Developmental fluoxetine exposure in zebrafish reduces offspring basal cortisol concentration via life stage-dependent maternal transmission

Fluoxetine (FLX) is a pharmaceutical used to treat affective disorders in humans, but as environmental contaminant also affects inadvertently exposed fish in urban watersheds. In humans and fish, acute FLX treatment and exposure are linked to endocrine disruption, including effects on the reproductive and stress axes. Using the zebrafish model, we build on the recent finding that developmental FLX exposure reduced cortisol production across generations, to determine possible parental and/or life-stage-dependent (age and/or breeding experience) contributions to this phenotype. Specifically, we combined control and developmentally FLX-exposed animals of both sexes (F0) into four distinct breeding groups mated at 5 and 9 months, and measured offspring (F1) basal cortisol at 12 dpf. Basal cortisol was lower in F1 descended from developmentally FLX-exposed F0 females bred at 5, but not 9 months, revealing a maternal, life-stage dependent effect. To investigate potential molecular contributions to this phenotype, we profiled maternally deposited transcripts involved in endocrine stress axis development and regulation, epigenetic (de novo DNA methyltransferases) and post-transcriptional (miRNA pathway components and specific miRNAs) regulation of gene expression in unfertilized eggs. Maternal FLX exposure resulted in decreased transcript abundance of glucocorticoid receptor, dnmt3 paralogues and miRNA pathway components in eggs collected at 5 months, and increased transcript abundance of miRNA pathway components at 9 months. Specific miRNAs predicted to target stress axis transcripts decreased (miR-740) or increased (miR-26, miR-30d, miR-92a, miR-103) in eggs collected from FLX females at 5 months. Increased abundance of miRNA-30d and miRNA-92a persisted in eggs collected from FLX females at 9 months. Clustering and principal component analyses of egg transcript profiles separated eggs collected from FLX-females at 5 months from other groups, suggesting that oocyte molecular signatures, and miRNAs in particular, may serve as predictive tools for the offspring phenotype of reduced basal cortisol in response to maternal FLX exposure