Effects of methimepip and JNJ-5207852 in Wistar rats exposed to an open-field with and without object and in Balb/c mice exposed to a radial-arm maze

The role of the histamine H3 receptor (H3R) in anxiety is controversial, due to limitations in drug selectivity and limited validity of behavioral tests used in previous studies. In the present report, we describe two experiments. In the first one, Wistar rats were treated with an H3R agonist (methimepip), and exposed to an open-field. In the second one, Balb/c mice were treated with H3R agonist (methimepip) or antagonist (JNJ-5207852), and exposed to an open space 3D maze which is a modified version of the radial-arm maze. C57BL/6J saline treated mice were included for comparisons. When exposed to an empty open field, Wistar rats spent more time in the outer area and made very low number of brief crossings in the central area. However, when an object occupied the central area, rats crossed frequently into and spent a long time in the central area. Administration of a range of different doses of methimepip (selective H3R agonist) reduced the entries into the central area with a novel object, indicating enhanced avoidance response. In the 3D maze, both Balb/c and C57BL/6J saline-treated mice crossed frequently onto the bridges that radiate from the central platform but only C57BL/6J mice crossed onto the arms which extend the bridges. This suggests that Balb/c mice are more anxious than C57BL/6J mice. Neither methimepip nor JNJ-5207852 (selective H3R antagonist/inverse agonist) induced entry into the arms of the maze, indicative of lack of anxiolytic effects

The potential for reassortment between Oropouche and Schmallenberg Orthobunyaviruses

A number of viruses within the Peribunyaviridae family are naturally occurring reassortants, a common phenomenon for segmented viruses. Using a minigenome-reporter and virus-like particle (VLP) production assay, we have accessed the potential of Oropouche virus (OROV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV), and other orthobunyaviruses within the Simbu serogroup to reassort. We found that the untranslated region (UTR) in the medium segment is a potential contributing factor for reassortment by the tested viruses. We demonstrate that for promoter activity to occur it was essential that the viral RNA polymerase (L) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins were from the same virus, reinforcing the hypothesis that the large and small segments that encode these proteins segregate together during genome reassortment. Our results indicate that, given the right epidemiological setting, reassortment between SBV and OROV would potentially be feasible and could contribute to the emergence of a new Simbu virus

Speleothem Paleoclimatology for the Caribbean, Central America, and North America

Speleothem oxygen isotope records from the Caribbean, Central, and North America reveal climatic controls that include orbital variation, deglacial forcing related to ocean circulation and ice sheet retreat, and the influence of local and remote sea surface temperature variations. Here, we review these records and the global climate teleconnections they suggest following the recent publication of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database. We find that low-latitude records generally reflect changes in precipitation, whereas higher latitude records are sensitive to temperature and moisture source variability. Tropical records suggest precipitation variability is forced by orbital precession and North Atlantic Ocean circulation driven changes in atmospheric convection on long timescales, and tropical sea surface temperature variations on short timescales. On millennial timescales, precipitation seasonality in southwestern North America is related to North Atlantic climate variability. Great Basin speleothem records are closely linked with changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Although speleothems have revealed these critical global climate teleconnections, the paucity of continuous records precludes our ability to investigate climate drivers from the whole of Central and North America for the Pleistocene through modern. This underscores the need to improve spatial and temporal coverage of speleothem records across this climatically variable region

Large Dog Relinquishment to Two Municipal Facilities in New York City and Washington, D.C.: Identifying Targets for Intervention

While the overall trend in euthanasia has been decreasing nationally, large dogs are at a higher risk of euthanasia than other sized dogs in most animal shelters in the United States. We hypothesized one way to increase the lives saved with respect to these large dogs is to keep them home when possible. In order to develop solutions to decrease relinquishment, a survey was developed to learn more about the reasons owners relinquish large dogs. The survey was administered to owners relinquishing their dogs at two large municipal facilities, one in New York City and one in Washington, D.C. There were 157 responses between the two facilities. We found both significant similarities and differences between respondents and their dogs from the two cities. We identified opportunities to potentially support future relinquishers and found that targets for interventions are likely different in each community

Mechanistic Modeling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Murine Models for Drug and Vaccine Efficacy Studies.

Tuberculosis (TB) drug, regimen, and vaccine development rely heavily on preclinical animal experiments, and quantification of bacterial and immune response dynamics is essential for understanding drug and vaccine efficacy. A mechanism-based model was built to describe Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv infection over time in BALB/c and athymic nude mice, which consisted of bacterial replication, bacterial death, and adaptive immune effects. The adaptive immune effect was best described by a sigmoidal function on both bacterial load and incubation time. Applications to demonstrate the utility of this baseline model showed (i) the important influence of the adaptive immune response on pyrazinamide (PZA) drug efficacy, (ii) a persistent adaptive immune effect in mice relapsing after chemotherapy cessation, and (iii) the protective effect of vaccines after M. tuberculosis challenge. These findings demonstrate the utility of our model for describing M. tuberculosis infection and corresponding adaptive immune dynamics for evaluating the efficacy of TB drugs, regimens, and vaccines

Patients’ willingness to access cross-border healthcare

European Union (EU) Member States were required to direct their health practices to ensure implementation of ‘Directive on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare’ which provides the right for EU citizens to seek treatment abroad. This study recruited Maltese patients, consequently it identified and quantified domains constituting willingness to access cross-border healthcare. Via this analytical approach, the results and recommendations were presented to assist cross-border healthcare policy.peer-reviewe

Delayed Replantation of Avulsed Incisor with Prolonged Extraoral Dry Storage

Trauma to the anterior teeth mainly affects children and adolescents. Tooth avulsion has become a common dental injury, that can occur at any age with maxillary anteriors being commonly affected. It affects the esthetics and psychological well being of both the child and the parent. Management of tooth avulsion in the permanent dentition often presents a challenge to the dental professional. Definitive treatment planning and consultation with specialists is seldom possible at the time of emergency treatment. Replantation of the avulsed tooth is an immediate procedure, which can restore the esthetics, function and create positive impact on patient if carried out under ideal conditions. This article describes the management of a patient with an avulsed maxillary permanent central incisor, that had been stored in unfavorable conditions for about 48 hours. Adequate space maintenance, esthetics and functional requirements of the patient were totally met till a long-term treatment is planned, when the patient finishes his pubertal growth.&nbsp

Get the Story Straight: Contextual Repetition Promotes Word Learning from Storybooks

Although shared storybook reading is a common activity believed to improve the language skills of preschool children, how children learn new vocabulary from such experiences has been largely neglected in the literature. The current study systematically explores the effects of repeatedly reading the same storybooks on both young children's fast and slow mapping abilities. Specially created storybooks were read to 3-year-old children three times during the course of 1 week. Each of the nine storybooks contained two novel name–object pairs. At each session, children either heard three different stories with the same two novel name–object pairs or the same story three times. Importantly, all children heard each novel name the same number of times. Both immediate recall and retention were tested with a four-alternative forced-choice task with pictures of the novel objects. Children who heard the same stories repeatedly were very accurate on both the immediate recall and retention tasks. In contrast, children who heard different stories were only accurate on immediate recall during the last two sessions and failed to learn any of the new words. Overall, then, we found a dramatic increase in children's ability to both recall and retain novel name–object associations encountered during shared storybook reading when they heard the same stories multiple times in succession. Results are discussed in terms of contextual cueing effects observed in other cognitive domains

Comparison of Hi and optical redshifts of galaxies - The impact of redshift uncertainties on spectral line stacking

Accurate optical redshifts will be critical for spectral co-adding techniques used to extract detections from below the noise level in ongoing and upcoming surveys for Hi, which will extend our current understanding of gas reservoirs in galaxies to lower column densities and higher redshifts. We have used existing, high quality optical and radio data from the SDSS and ALFALFA surveys to investigate the relationship be- tween redshifts derived from optical spectroscopy and neutral hydrogen (Hi) spectral line observations.We find that the two redshift measurements agree well, with a negli- gible systematic offset and a small distribution width. Employing simple simulations, we determine how the width of an ideal stacked Hi profile depends on these redshift offsets, as well as larger redshift errors more appropriate for high redshift galaxy sur- veys. The width of the stacked profile is dominated by the width distribution of the input individual profiles when the redshift errors are less than the median width of the input profiles, and only when the redshift errors become large, 150 kms−1, do they significantly affect the width of the stacked profile. This redshift accuracy can be achieved with moderate resolution optical spectra. We provide guidelines for the number of spectra required for stacking to reach a specified mass sensitivity, given tele- scope and survey parameters, which will be useful for planning optical spectroscopy observing campaigns to supplement the radio data.Web of Scienc

The Perspective of College Seniors in ROTC on Becoming a Commissioned Officer

While there is growing research into Military and Mental health issues, the focus of such research has primarily been restricted to those populations who are retired from Military or who step-down from Active Duty. Following a case study with Reservists, we became aware that mental health issues in the Military Population may potentially stem from concepts involved the initial training phases. With the hypothesis that ROTC Cadets are among the youngest persons engaging in Military training, we approached ROTC Air Force and ROTC Army Cadets who were Seniors by credit at Cedarville University. The Cadets were asked to participate in a face-to-face interview with a researcher, to share their experiences of ROTC and their perspectives on what life as a Commissioned Officer would be like. Participation in the interviews was voluntary, but the Air Force Commander and Army Commander had informed their Cadets that this study had been approved by them and participation was encouraged. Participants included both male and female Cadets from a broad range of academic majors. The interviews were analyzed and six themes emerged:- (a) Being associated with high caliber professionals (b) Balancing military persona with non-military persona (c) Skills and strategies for success in life (d) Personal values (e) Awareness of challenges (f) Impact of training on persona. Overall, the Cadets expressed excitement at the prospect of becoming Commissioned Officers, and pride in being among those who serve their country