Effects of early‑life experience on innovation and problem‑solving in captive coyotes

Early-life experience often shapes behaviors like innovation and exploration. These behaviors are important to animals encountering novel food resources in diverse habitats, such as mesocarnivores in urban areas. To understand if early-life experiences impact later-life behavior, we examined how coyotes (Canis latrans) responded to a multi-access puzzle box at two life stages: pup (~ 7 weeks) and dispersal (~ 10 months). We first exposed pups, still living with their parents and littermates, to a baited puzzle box. At dispersal age, we again tested both these pups and an age-matched control group that was not exposed to the puzzle box as pups, both as individuals and with their pair-mate. We quantified problem-solving capability, latency to approach, and time spent in proximity to the puzzle box. Most pup litters solved two of the three access points, but no dispersal-age coyotes solved any access point. The amount of time dispersal-age coyotes spent near the box during pair-testing increased with (1) more time spent near the box during single-testing, (2) more time their pair-mate spent near the box during pair-testing, and (3) if their pair-mate came from a litter that previously solved the box. These results suggest that early-life experience and social interactions influence exploratory behavior at dispersal age, but coyotes exhibit increased avoidance behavior at this life stage, which corresponds with the life stage that overall survivorship decreases. Our study provides insight into how early-life experiences shape adult behavior in mesocarnivores

Conflict, coexistence, or both? Cougar habitat selection, prey composition, and mortality in a multiple-use landscape

Western North America is experiencing remarkable human population growth and land-use change. Irrigation and associated cultivation have led to colonization of urban-wildland interface (UWI) environments by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and consequently, cougars (Puma concolor). In the wake of these changes, human-wildlife conflicts have increased in tandem with questions about long-term species conservation. To address these concerns, we fit 79 cougars with radio-telemetry collars in the Oquirrh Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah (2002–2010). Our goal was to evaluate variation in cougar habitat selection, diet, and cause-specific mortality in a landscape dominated by urban, military, and industrial activities. We used radio-telemetry data in concert with Re-source Selection Functions to address three hypotheses: (1) that cougars would select wildland over UWI land-uses; (2) prey composition would reflect differences in land-use; and (3) mortality would be predominantly human-caused. Cougars largely selected wildland habitats associated with seasonal mule deer presence, but contrary to expectation, they also selected habitats closer to urban and mined areas. Prey composition in the UWI did not differ from wildland habitats. Domestic ungulates represented only 2% of 540 recovered prey items and were found primarily in wildlands. Native ungulates comprised \u3e 90% of the total kill, irrespective of season or land-use, suggesting that use of UWI habitats was linked to mule deer presence. Cougar mortality was disproportionately due to natural causes in wildlands, but individuals that died of human causes in UWI habitats were more likely to be inexperienced hunters, supporting young kittens, or compromised by physical handicaps. In general, presence of mule deer was the key predictor of cougar habitat use, even in this highly disturbed, anthropogenically altered landscape. As such, management designed to reduce conflict and ensure conservation will need to focus on urban deer, land-use planning, and targeted education campaigns to reduce food subsidies

Femoral Artery Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Physical Function Across the Spectrum of the Ankle-Brachial Index: The San Diego Population Study.

BackgroundThe ankle-brachial index (ABI) is inadequate to detect early-stage atherosclerotic disease, when interventions to prevent functional decline may be the most effective. We determined associations of femoral artery atherosclerosis with physical functioning, across the spectrum of the ABI, and within the normal ABI range.Methods and resultsIn 2007-2011, 1103 multiethnic men and women participated in the San Diego Population Study, and completed all components of the summary performance score. Using Doppler ultrasound, superficial and common femoral intima media thickness and plaques were ascertained. Logistic regression was used to assess associations of femoral atherosclerosis with the summary performance score and its individual components. Models were adjusted for demographics, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, lipids, and kidney function. In adjusted models, among participants with a normal-range ABI (1.00-1.30), the highest tertile of superficial intima media thickness was associated with lower odds of a perfect summary performance score of 12 (odds ratio=0.56 [0.36, 0.87], P=0.009), and lower odds of a 4-m walk score of 4 (0.34 [0.16, 0.73], P=0.006) and chair rise score of 4 (0.56 [0.34, 0.94], P=0.03). Plaque presence (0.53 [0.29, 0.99], P=0.04) and greater total plaque burden (0.61 [0.43, 0.87], P=0.006) were associated with worse 4-m walk performance in the normal-range ABI group. Higher superficial intima media thickness was associated with lower summary performance score in all individuals (P=0.02).ConclusionsFindings suggest that use of femoral artery atherosclerosis measures may be effective in individuals with a normal-range ABI, especially, for example, those with diabetes mellitus or a family history of peripheral artery disease, when detection can lead to earlier intervention to prevent functional declines and improve quality of life

Characterization of the Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen on the Biochemical and Optical Properties of the Bovine Lens

Citation: Lim JC, Vaghefi E, Li B, NyeWood MG, Donaldson PJ. Characterization of the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the biochemical and optical properties of the bovine lens. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016;57:196157: -197357: . DOI:10.1167 PURPOSE. To assess the morphologic, biochemical, and optical properties of bovine lenses treated with hyperbaric oxygen. METHODS. Lenses were exposed to hyperbaric nitrogen (HBN) or hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) for 5 or 15 hours, lens transparency was assessed using bright field microscopy and lens morphology was visualized using confocal microscopy. Lenses were dissected into the outer cortex, inner cortex, and core, and glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) measured. Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting were used to detect high molecular weight aggregates (HMW) and glutathione mixed protein disulfides (PSSG). T2-weighted MRI was used to measure lens geometry and map the water/protein ratio to allow gradient refractive index (GRIN) profiles to be calculated. Optical modeling software calculated the change in lens optical power, and an anatomically correct model of the light pathway of the bovine eye was used to determine the effects of HBN and HBO on focal length and overall image quality. RESULTS. Lenses were transparent and lens morphology similar between HBN-and HBOtreated lenses. At 5-and 15-hour HBO exposure, GSH and GSSG were depleted and MDA increased in the core. Glutathione mixed protein disulfides were detected in the outer and inner cortex only with no appearance of HMW. Optical changes were detectable only with 15-hour HBO treatment with a decrease in the refractive index of the core, slightly reduced lens thickness, and an increase in optimal focal length, consistent with a hyperopic shift. CONCLUSIONS. This system may serve as a model to study changes that occur with advanced aging rather than nuclear cataract formation per se. Keywords: hyperbaric oxygen, oxidative damage, optical changes A ge-related nuclear (ARN) cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide 1 and is associated with protein modifications caused by oxidative damage to the lens. 2 With advancing age, there is significant depletion of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) specifically in the lens core, which renders proteins within this region susceptible to oxidative damage. 3 However, the results of these studies have been somewhat limited, mostly due to lack of scientific rationale behind the selection of the compound being tested, and second, by the selection of the animal chosen that is presumed to best replicate the changes that occur in human ARN cataract. High-pressure or hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has long been used as therapy in humans for decompression sickness, 4 air embolisms, 5 and accelerating healing of diabetic wounds. 6,7 A side effect of this treatment was the development of nuclear cataract or increased nuclear light scattering. 8 As a result of this finding, HBO has been used to induce cataract in animals (in vitro and in vivo) to enable the mechanisms of ARN cataract to be studied. In vivo studies of HBO-induced cataracts in older guinea pigs (17-18 months) revealed biochemical changes in the lens nucleus consistent with an increased state of oxidative stress in these animals. 9 These changes included markedly higher levels of oxidized protein thiols and mixed disulfides, 9 a depletion of GSH in the lens nucleus (~30%) that was not apparent in the cortex, 9 a decrease in water-soluble proteins, 9 and increased products of lipid oxidation. 12 Lenses from these HBO-treated animals were hazy in appearance and showed increased nuclear light scattering, but did not exhibit the dense nuclear opacity associated with ARN cataract in humans. 9 Similar biochemical changes, such as GSH depletion in the lens nucleus In this study, we wanted to develop an in vitro HBO model of nuclear cataract that used bovine lenses, and then test whether this specific animal model replicates the biochemical and optical changes that precede cataract formation in the human lens. We selected bovine lenses rather than the commonly used rabbit lenses for our study, as not only are these lenses readily obtained from local abattoirs, but the larger size of the bovine lens provides sufficient quantities of tissue iovs.arvojournals.org

Multimorbidity in bipolar disorder and under-treatment of cardiovascular disease: a cross sectional study

Background: Individuals with serious mental disorders experience poor physical health, especially increased rates of cardiometabolic morbidity and premature morbidity. Recent evidence suggests that individuals with schizophrenia have numerous comorbid physical conditions which may be under-recorded and under-treated but to date very few studies have explored this issue for bipolar disorder. Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a dataset of 1,751,841 registered patients within 314 primary-care practices in Scotland, U.K. Bipolar disorder was identified using Read Codes recorded within electronic medical records. Data on 32 common chronic physical conditions were also assessed. Potential prescribing inequalities were evaluated by analyzing prescribing data for coronary heart disease (CHD) and hypertension. Results: Compared to controls, individuals with bipolar disorder were significantly less likely to have no recorded physical conditions (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.54-0.63) and significantly more likely to have one physical condition (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.16-1.39), two physical conditions (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.30-1.62) and three or more physical conditions (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.30-1.64). People with bipolar disorder also had higher rates of thyroid disorders, chronic kidney disease, chronic pain, chronic obstructive airways disease and diabetes but, surprisingly, lower recorded rates of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. People with bipolar disorder and comorbid CHD or hypertension were significantly more likely to be prescribed no antihypertensive or cholesterol-lowering medications compared to controls, and bipolar individuals with CHD or hypertension were significantly less likely to be on 2 or more antihypertensive agents. Conclusions: Individuals with bipolar disorder are similar to individuals with schizophrenia in having a wide range of comorbid and multiple physical health conditions. They are also less likely than controls to have a primary-care record of cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Those with a recorded diagnosis of CHD or hypertension were less likely to be treated with cardiovascular medications and were treated less intensively. This study highlights the high physical healthcare needs of people with bipolar disorder, and provides evidence for a systematic under-recognition and under-treatment of cardiovascular disease in this group

Structure of the first representative of Pfam family PF04016 (DUF364) reveals enolase and Rossmann-like folds that combine to form a unique active site with a possible role in heavy-metal chelation.

The crystal structure of Dhaf4260 from Desulfitobacterium hafniense DCB-2 was determined by single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) to a resolution of 2.01 Å using the semi-automated high-throughput pipeline of the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) as part of the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). This protein structure is the first representative of the PF04016 (DUF364) Pfam family and reveals a novel combination of two well known domains (an enolase N-terminal-like fold followed by a Rossmann-like domain). Structural and bioinformatic analyses reveal partial similarities to Rossmann-like methyltransferases, with residues from the enolase-like fold combining to form a unique active site that is likely to be involved in the condensation or hydrolysis of molecules implicated in the synthesis of flavins, pterins or other siderophores. The genome context of Dhaf4260 and homologs additionally supports a role in heavy-metal chelation

Seeing the baby, doing family: commercial ultrasound as family practice?

Medical sociologists and anthropologists have studied the social significance of obstetric ultrasound for families but little is known about how women and families make use of commercially available ultrasound scans. This article draws on interviews with women who booked a scan with a commercial company in the UK. For some women, commercial ultrasound can be understood as a family practice. We investigate this theme by examining who accompanies women to commercial scan appointments, how scan images are shared and how sonograms are used as prompts to resemblance talk. We argue that commercial scans are more than an additional opportunity to acquire ‘baby’s first picture’ and offer a flexible resource to do family, creating and affirming family relationships and rehearsing roles as parents, siblings and grandparents. Our findings confirm the importance of imagination in doing family and raise questions about the role of technology and commercial interests in shaping family practices

Monocytes regulate the mechanism of T-cell death by inducing Fas-mediated apoptosis during bacterial infection.

Monocytes and T-cells are critical to the host response to acute bacterial infection but monocytes are primarily viewed as amplifying the inflammatory signal. The mechanisms of cell death regulating T-cell numbers at sites of infection are incompletely characterized. T-cell death in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) showed 'classic' features of apoptosis following exposure to pneumococci. Conversely, purified CD3(+) T-cells cultured with pneumococci demonstrated necrosis with membrane permeabilization. The death of purified CD3(+) T-cells was not inhibited by necrostatin, but required the bacterial toxin pneumolysin. Apoptosis of CD3(+) T-cells in PBMC cultures required 'classical' CD14(+) monocytes, which enhanced T-cell activation. CD3(+) T-cell death was enhanced in HIV-seropositive individuals. Monocyte-mediated CD3(+) T-cell apoptotic death was Fas-dependent both in vitro and in vivo. In the early stages of the T-cell dependent host response to pneumococci reduced Fas ligand mediated T-cell apoptosis was associated with decreased bacterial clearance in the lung and increased bacteremia. In summary monocytes converted pathogen-associated necrosis into Fas-dependent apoptosis and regulated levels of activated T-cells at sites of acute bacterial infection. These changes were associated with enhanced bacterial clearance in the lung and reduced levels of invasive pneumococcal disease