Amphetamine-evoked gene expression in striatopallidal neurons: regulation by corticostriatal afferents and the ERK/MAPK signaling cascade

The environmental context in which psychostimulant drugs are experienced influences their ability to induce immediate early genes (IEGs) in the striatum. When given in the home cage amphetamine induces IEGs predominately in striatonigral neurons, but when given in a novel test environment amphetamine also induces IEGs in striatopallidal neurons. The source of the striatopetal projections that regulate the ability of amphetamine to differentially engage these two striatofugal circuits has never been described. We report that transection of corticostriatal afferents selectively blocks, whereas enhancement of cortical activity with an ampakine selectively augments, the number of amphetamine-evoked c- fos -positive striatopallidal (but not striatonigral) neurons. In addition, blockade of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade preferentially inhibits the number of amphetamine-evoked c- fos -positive striatopallidal neurons. These results suggest that glutamate released from corticostriatal afferents modulates the ability of amphetamine to engage striatopallidal neurons through an ERK/MAPK signaling-dependent mechanism. We speculate that this may be one mechanism by which environmental context facilitates some forms of drug experience-dependent plasticity, such as psychomotor sensitization.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66343/1/j.1471-4159.2004.02712.x.pd

Identifying temporal variation in reported births, deaths and movements of cattle in Britain

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of predicting disease occurrence using epidemic models relies on an understanding of the system or population under investigation. At the time of the Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak of 2001, there were limited reports in the literature as to the cattle population structure in Britain. In this paper we examine the temporal patterns of cattle births, deaths, imports and movements occurring within Britain, reported to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) through the British Cattle Movement service (BCMS) during the period 1(st )January 2002 to 28(th )February 2005. RESULTS: In Britain, the number of reported cattle births exhibit strong seasonality characterised by a large spring peak followed by a smaller autumn peak. Other event types also exhibit strong seasonal trends; both the reported number of cattle slaughtered and "on-farm" cattle deaths increase during the final part of the year. After allowing for seasonal components by smoothing the data, we illustrate that there is very little remaining non-seasonal trend in the number of cattle births, "on-farm" deaths, slaughterhouse deaths, on- and off-movements. However after allowing for seasonal fluctuations the number of cattle imports has been decreasing since 2002. Reporting of movements, births and deaths was more frequent on certain days of the week. For instance, greater numbers of cattle were slaughtered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Evidence for digit preference was found in the reporting of births and "on-farm" deaths with particular bias towards over reporting on the 1(st), 10(th )and 20(th )of each month. CONCLUSION: This study provides insight into the population and movement dynamics of the British cattle population. Although the population is in constant flux, seasonal and long term trends can be identified in the number of reported births, deaths and movements of cattle. Incorporating this temporal variation in epidemic disease modelling may result in more accurate model predictions and may usefully inform future surveillance strategies

Birth Weights in Sickle Cell Disease Pregnancies: A Cohort Study.

Pregnancy in women with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) has been linked with an increased incidence of adverse foetal outcomes when compared to women without haemoglobinopathies (HbAA). There's a paucity of data into foetal outcomes for infants born to women with SCD. Customised growth charts have been demonstrated to be better than population-based growth charts at identifying unhealthy small babies. We analysed the mean birth weight and customised birth weight centiles of infants born to mothers with SCD versus mothers with HbAA genotype, to quantify the risk of having a smaller baby. Birth weight and birth weight centiles were analysed for 88 women with SCD (50 HbSS; 38 HbSC) and 176 controls (HbAA). Statistically significant differences were seen in the mean birth weight (P value = 0.004) and the mean birth weight centiles (P value = 0.016). We conclude that SCD is a risk factor for having a smaller baby

A Website to help the International Students Experience (WISE)

Our VCU campus has been steadily expanding its international student population and has become an increasingly global university community. We have identified together with GEO, the need to build tangible resources that can support faculty and staff to more effectively educate our international student population. The creation of online content to be added to GEO’s current webpage seems to best fit the existing need. Our project outlines a blueprint for this online content by means of identifying data and resources that should be included as well as determining cost, sustainability and feasibility plans. Ultimately, the goal is to pave the way for centralized online content that can connect faculty and staff with important resources to optimize the academic experience and success of international students at VCU

Carbon dioxide and ocean acidification observations in UK waters. Synthesis report with a focus on 2010–2015

Key messages: 1.1 The process of ocean acidification is now relatively well-documented at the global scale as a long-term trend in the open ocean. However, short-term and spatial variability can be high. 1.2 New datasets made available since Charting Progress 2 make it possible to greatly improve the characterisation of CO2 and ocean acidification in UK waters. 3.1 Recent UK cruise data contribute to large gaps in national and global datasets. 3.2 The new UK measurements confirm that pH is highly variable, therefore it is important to measure consistently to determine any long term trends. 3.3 Over the past 30 years, North Sea pH has decreased at 0.0035±0.0014 pH units per year. 3.4 Upper ocean pH values are highest in spring, lowest in autumn. These changes reflect the seasonal cycles in photosynthesis, respiration (decomposition) and water mixing. 3.5 Carbonate saturation states are minimal in the winter, and lower in 7 more northerly, colder waters. This temperature-dependence could have implications for future warming of the seas. 3.6 Over the annual cycle, North-west European seas are net sinks of CO2. However, during late summer to autumn months, some coastal waters may be significant sources. 3.7 In seasonally-stratified waters, sea-floor organisms naturally experience lower pH and saturation states; they may therefore be more vulnerable to threshold changes. 3.8 Large pH changes (0.5 - 1.0 units) can occur in the top 1 cm of sediment; however, such effects are not well-documented. 3.9 A coupled forecast model estimates the decrease in pH trend within the North Sea to be -0.0036±0.00034 pH units per year, under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 8.5). 3.10 Seasonal estimates from the forecast model demonstrate areas of the North Sea that are particularly vulnerable to aragonite undersaturation

The importance of spawning behavior in understanding the vulnerability of exploited marine fishes in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

The vulnerability of a fish stock to becoming overfished is dependent upon biological traits that influence productivity and external factors that determine susceptibility or exposure to fishing effort. While a suite of life history traits are traditionally incorporated into management efforts due to their direct association with vulnerability to overfishing, spawning behavioral traits are seldom considered. We synthesized the existing biological and fisheries information of 28 fish stocks in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to investigate relationships between life history traits, spawning behavioral traits, management regulations, and vulnerability to fishing during the spawning season. Our results showed that spawning behavioral traits were not correlated with life history traits but improved identification of species that have been historically overfished. Species varied widely in their intrinsic vulnerability to fishing during spawning in association with a broad range of behavioral strategies. Extrinsic vulnerability was high for nearly all species due to exposure to fishing during the spawning season and few management measures in place to protect spawning fish. Similarly, several species with the highest vulnerability scores were historically overfished in association with spawning aggregations. The most vulnerable species included several stocks that have not been assessed and should be prioritized for further research and monitoring. Collectively, the results of this study illustrate that spawning behavior is a distinct aspect of fish ecology that is important to consider for predictions of vulnerability and resilience to fisheries exploitation

Structures of CD6 and Its Ligand CD166 Give Insight into Their Interaction

SummaryCD6 is a transmembrane protein with an extracellular region containing three scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) domains. The membrane proximal domain of CD6 binds the N-terminal immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) domain of another cell surface receptor, CD166, which also engages in homophilic interactions. CD6 expression is mainly restricted to T cells, and the interaction between CD6 and CD166 regulates T-cell activation. We have solved the X-ray crystal structures of the three SRCR domains of CD6 and two N-terminal domains of CD166. This first structure of consecutive SRCR domains reveals a nonlinear organization. We characterized the binding sites on CD6 and CD166 and showed that a SNP in CD6 causes glycosylation that hinders the CD6/CD166 interaction. Native mass spectrometry analysis showed that there is competition between the heterophilic and homophilic interactions. These data give insight into how interactions of consecutive SRCR domains are perturbed by SNPs and potential therapeutic reagents

Structure of Native Lens Connexin 46/50 Intercellular Channels by Cryo-EM

Gap junctions establish direct pathways for cell-to-cell communication through the assembly of twelve connexin subunits that form intercellular channels connecting neighbouring cells. Co-assembly of different connexin isoforms produces channels with unique properties and enables communication across cell types. Here we used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to investigate the structural basis of connexin co-assembly in native lens gap junction channels composed of connexin 46 and connexin 50 (Cx46/50). We provide the first comparative analysis to connexin 26 (Cx26), which—together with computational studies—elucidates key energetic features governing gap junction permselectivity. Cx46/50 adopts an open-state conformation that is distinct from the Cx26 crystal structure, yet it appears to be stabilized by a conserved set of hydrophobic anchoring residues. ‘Hot spots’ of genetic mutations linked to hereditary cataract formation map to the core structural–functional elements identified in Cx46/50, suggesting explanations for many of the disease-causing effects