Planar cell polarity genes Frizzled3a, Vangl2, and Scribble are required for spinal commissural axon guidance

Background A fundamental feature of early nervous system development is the guidance of axonal projections to their targets in order to assemble neural circuits that control behavior. Spinal commissural neurons are an attractive model to investigate the multiple guidance cues that control growth cone navigation both pre- and post-midline crossing, as well as along both the dorsal–ventral (D–V) and anterior–posterior (A–P) axes. Accumulating evidence suggests that guidance of spinal commissural axons along the A–P axis is dependent on components of the planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling pathway. In the zebrafish, the earliest born spinal commissural neuron to navigate the midline and turn rostrally is termed commissural primary ascending (CoPA). Unlike mammalian systems, CoPA axons cross the midline as a single axon and allow an analysis of the role of PCP components in anterior pathfinding in single pioneering axons. Results Here, we establish CoPA cells in the zebrafish spinal cord as a model system for investigating the molecular function of planar cell polarity signaling in axon guidance. Using mutant analysis, we show that the functions of Fzd3a and Vangl2 in the anterior turning of commissural axons are evolutionarily conserved in teleosts. We extend our findings to reveal a role for the PCP gene scribble in the anterior guidance of CoPA axons. Analysis of single CoPA axons reveals that these commissural axons become responsive to PCP-dependent anterior guidance cues even prior to midline crossing. When midline crossing is prevented by dcc gene knockdown, ipsilateral CoPA axons still extend axons anteriorly in response to A–P guidance cues. We show that this ipsilateral anterior pathfinding that occurs in the absence of midline crossing is dependent on PCP signaling. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that anterior guidance decisions by CoPA axons are dependent on the function of planar cell polarity genes both prior to and after midline crossing

Civil religion in Britain, 1707 - c.1800

This study examines the development of theories of civil religion in Hanoverian Britain. In the aftermath of the seventeenth-century wars of religion, theorists of civil religion sought to render Protestant Christianity a faith whose ecclesiology was compatible with the civil state and whose practice encouraged civilised society. It presents lay thinkers including Anthony Ashley Cooper, third earl of Shaftesbury, John Trenchard, Thomas Gordon, Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke, Edward Gibbon, and David Hume, alongside clergymen such as Edmund Gibson, bishop of London, William Warburton, bishop of Gloucester, and Conyers Middleton. It considers such Dissenters as Joseph Priestley and Richard Price, who refashioned civil religion variously along Unitarian and congregational lines. In contrast to the usual scholarly preoccupation with the argument of Jean-Jacques Rousseau that Christianity could never become a civil religion, this study demonstrates how Hanoverian intellectuals constructed a Christian civil religion. They sought to purge the civil state and society of superstition, priestcraft, and enthusiasm by creating a religion of virtue, sociability, and happiness. They drew on the church-state relationship generated during the ‘long Reformation’ in England and Scotland by which the secular civil magistrate governed the national church and regulated its priests, who were to preach the simple morality of the gospel. Hanoverian theorists of civil religion synthesised primitive Christianity with the ancient civil religions, relying above all on Cicero. Irrespective of their inward views about the normative truths of the articles of faith of the churches of England and Scotland, civil religionists sought to reconcile them with civil ends. They believed that outward observance of the Reformed religion was a criterion for belonging within the Christian commonwealth of Hanoverian Britain

Associations Among Motives for Cannabis Use, Expectancies of Cannabis Use and Chronic Pain in a Young Adult Sample

Nationally representative data indicate that cannabis use and chronic pain are both highly prevalent in young adults aged 18-24. Preliminary research suggests that young adults use cannabis for pain relief. Additional research regarding the motives and expectancies of cannabis use in this population are needed to better understand the associations among cannabis use motives, expectancies of cannabis use and chronic pain in young adults. The purpose of this study was to extend prior work on pain, cannabis use motives and expectancies in young adult cannabis users in order to inform efforts towards prevention and intervention for both cannabis use and chronic pain. Young adults aged 18-24 were recruited for this study using an online convenience sampling platform, Amazon’s MTurk, where participants were recruited in exchange for monetary compensation. Participants completed a series of validated psychological measures regarding pain (Graded Chronic Pain Scale), cannabis use motives (Marijuana Motives Questionnaire) and expectancies for cannabis use (Marijuana Effect Expectancy Questionnaire). Multiple linear regressions were run to test associations between cannabis variables and chronic pain. Gender by pain interactions were evaluated to test for gender differences within the multiple linear regression models. After controlling for relevant sociodemographics and hazardous cannabis use, pain was uniquely associated with coping, conformity, expansion, routine and pain motives (ps ≤ 0.002). Additionally, pain was associated with expectancies for global negative effects (p = 0.000). These findings suggest that although young adults who experience pain may expect greater negative effects of cannabis use (e.g., mood swings, carelessness, short-tempered) they may also hold unique pain-related motives for their cannabis use. Researchers and clinicians should consider assessing pain in the context of cannabis use studies and interventions.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1014/thumbnail.jp

The decline of comprehension in the Church of England, 1689-1750

Following several attempts to fashion a broad-based national church from the Church of England by reforming the Act of Uniformity (1662), the failed Comprehension Bill that accompanied the Toleration Act (1689) was the final such proposal tabled in Parliament. Although historians have examined moments when comprehension reappeared in eighteenth-century confessional discourse, less attention has been paid to connecting these moments within England's long Reformation and to explaining why the prospects for comprehension remained so dim. Its supporters claimed the Elizabethan via media in church and state to fashion a national church within a godly commonwealth by uniting Anglicans with “moderate” Dissenters. However, the High Church campaign against the practice of occasional conformity meant that comprehension ceased to be a viable political proposition by the time of the Tory landslide of 1710 and the passage of the Occasional Conformity Act (1711). The development of the culture of “free enquiry” among Dissenters further widened the gulf between them and the establishment, reinforcing the aspiration of the established church's Whig leaders for harmonious coexistence rather than unity. Despite its failure as a political proposition, Whig churchmen and moderate Dissenters continued to idealize comprehension due to their (albeit loosening) Hookerian commitment to unity in church and state

Pain-related Disability is Associated with Greater Consequences of Cannabis Use

Background: Chronic pain and cannabis use are highly prevalent in college student populations. A growing literature indicates maladaptive responses to pain are associated with problematic substance use. However, no studies have examined associations between pain-related disability and cannabis use among college students. Methods: Psychology undergraduates reported frequency of cannabis use, negative cannabis-related consequences (Marijuana Adolescent Problem Inventory [MAPI]) and pain-related disability (Graded Chronic Pain Scale- Disability Scale [GCPS]) for course credit. Linear regressions were used to test associations of GCPS scores, frequency of cannabis use and MAPI scores among the subset of participants who reported cannabis use (N = 167). Results: Regression analysis indicated that greater pain-related disability was positively associated with negative cannabis-related consequences (β = 0.264; p = 0.001), and that the association was stable across both male and female students (p = 0.251). However, frequency of use was not found to be associated with negative cannabis-related consequences (β =0.051; p = 0.520). Conclusion: Results are in concordance with findings derived from adult populations and suggest that pain may also be important to consider when assessing substance use among college students. Future studies are needed to determine causal associations between pain-related disability and cannabis use.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_spring2020/1082/thumbnail.jp

Alcohol and E-Cigarette Simultaneous Use: The Role of Motivations and Expectancies

Alcohol and tobacco are significant public health threats, which are magnified during simultaneous use (i.e., under the effects of both substances). E-cigarettes are not a harmless alternative to combustible cigarettes, yet the prevalence of e-cigarette use among college students rose 400% between 2017-2018. Additionally, around 60% of college students consumed alcohol in the past month. Simultaneous alcohol and nicotine use can result in an increased state of pleasure, which may affect rates of usage. The purpose of this study is to assess variations in patterns of e-cigarette use, outcome expectancies, and perceived pleasure from e-cigarettes as a function of alcohol use. This project is expanding on previous research that has linked hazardous alcohol consumption with greater expectancies for the simultaneous use of alcohol and e-cigarettes. Participants (N = 552; Mage = 23.57 years; 56.5% Female) were recruited on Amazon’s MTurk and completed measures of frequency/quantity of alcohol (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and nicotine (Penn State Nicotine Dependence Index) use, expectancies for simultaneous e-cigarette/alcohol use (Nicotine and Other Substances Interaction Expectancies-Revised), and perceived pleasure and frequency of simultaneous e-cigarette alcohol/use. After controlling for age, ethnicity, college enrollment, and nicotine dependence, separate linear regression models revealed that greater alcohol consumption was associated with greater expectancies for simultaneous use of e-cigarettes/alcohol and greater pleasure from simultaneous use (all ps \u3c .015). Similarly, separate regressions revealed that as people engage in greater frequency of simultaneous use, they also report greater expectancies and greater pleasure for simultaneous use (all ps \u3c .001). Examination of squared semipartial correlations revealed that frequency of simultaneous use was more strongly related to each outcome variable than alcohol consumption alone. Findings add to a growing body of knowledge on simultaneous e-cigarette/alcohol use and have implications for interventions to reduce both behaviors.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1016/thumbnail.jp

An Undergraduate Laboratory Manual for Analyzing a CRISPR Mutant with a Predicted Role in Regeneration

Exposing students to undergraduate research has reportedly improved students’ development of knowledge and skills in the laboratory, self-efficacy, satisfaction with their research, retention, and perseverance when faced with obstacles. Furthermore, utilizing authentic course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) includes all students enrolled in the class, giving those who may not otherwise have access to an independent undergraduate research project an opportunity to engage in the scientific process in context of an original, unanswered question. In the fall of 2016, second semester introductory biology students conducted a semester-long research project on the transcription factor Lin28a to determine the effect of Lin28a on regeneration in a CRISPR mutant. During ten laboratory periods, students completed four experiments: 1) genotyping mutants by PCR and RFLP, 2) neuromast regeneration after copper sulfate treatment, 3) measuring changes in gene expression by RT-PCR after fin clipping, and 4) swimming behavior. In the context of this class, students were challenged to design their own experiments, interpret their own data, and make connections among the experiments to draft a final paper presenting their results and conclusions. Here, we present a student laboratory manual that can be adapted to other relevant CRISPR mutants. Overall, this coursework aligns with Vision and Change, and these experiments gave students a taste of the questions, techniques, and experimental design currently used in the field of regenerative biology

Promoting Health Across the Lifespan: Stress Management Topics

This document contains six lesson plans. The first lesson plan is designed to introduce the principles of mindfulness and stress management through music listening and mandala free drawing activities. The second lesson plan addresses stress management in the workplace through the introduction of the Freeze Frame method. The third lesson plan is designed to teach stress management through the principle of gratitude. The fourth lesson introduces the mind-body connection and principles of self-care through self-assessment of behavior. The fifth lesson plan is designed to discuss issues of mental illness and to provide resources to address mental health concerns. The sixth lesson plan addresses time management skills and the implementation of SMART goals to improve academic success. The content is intended for high school or college-aged students and health care professionals. Each lesson plan has a topic overview, time and format information, Healthy People 2020 Objectives, National Health Education Standards information, learning objectives, key concepts and terms, materials needed, and teaching steps. This material was developed by Plymouth State University students as a part of their coursework for Promoting Health Across the Lifespan, in fall 2016 with Dr. Barbara McCahan