Ovarian Hormones Regulate Dopamine Release and Adaptive Motivation in Female Rats

Sex differences in motivated behaviors have evolved due to sex-specific adaptive pressures. Importantly, the neural circuitry underlying motivation is regulated by release of gonadal hormones in females but not in males. This likely allows for the coordination of motivated behaviors which changes in reproductive state in females, which increases the likelihood that females will engage in behaviors that are most likely to enhance their reproductive success. Here, I propose that these changes in levels of circulating ovarian hormones, which regulate dopamine signaling within striatal circuitry, act to direct adaptive choice and motivation for food vs sexual reward. In Chapter 2, I first establish that acute treatment with estradiol benzoate enhances the effect of cocaine on phasic dopamine release within the nucleus accumbens of in females, but not males. I extend these findings to demonstrate the effects of estradiol seen here are regulated by activation of the selective estradiol receptor (ER) subtype, ERbeta. This work further clarifies the role of estradiol in regulating dopamine release but does not indicate the behavioral significance of ovarian hormones acting within this circuitry. Accordingly, I next sought to determine whether administration of estradiol benzoate and progesterone in a regimen that induces sexual receptivity and increases sexual motivation could also reduce motivation for food. I found that ovarian hormones do attenuate motivated responding for a palatable food reward, but only after administration of both estradiol benzoate and progesterone, indicating the effects of ovarian hormones on motivation for food are dissociable from their effects on consummatory feeding behavior and drug-induced dopamine release. In Chapter 4, I then tested whether ovarian hormones act to increase motivation for sex but decrease motivation for food in order to facilitate adaptive choice when females are sexually receptive. I found that administration of estradiol benzoate and progesterone not only decreased motivation for food and enhanced motivation for a mate when both rewards were available, but also biased a female’s choice for food vs access to a sexually experienced male conspecific. Taken together, these findings propose a potential explanation for why dopaminergic circuitry underlying motivated behaviors is responsive to ovarian hormones, providing an adaptive interpretation of a mechanism that is most commonly investigated within the context of maladaptive and disordered behaviors.PHDPsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145908/1/ktyoest_1.pd

The Effect of Partisanship on the Passage of Environmental Legislation

This paper addresses the question of how partisanship plays a role in congressional productivity by looking at the number of environmental laws passed each year. This includes analysis of anti-environmental legislation and the connection to party. It was found that, on average, Democratic majorities produce more environmental laws than Republican majorities. Not only that, but polarization has the largest influence on environmental legislation. With an increase in polarization on environmental issues, more anti-environmental legislation is being voted on in Congress, and fewer environmental laws are being passed per year. Ultimately, the conditions producing the lowest number of roll-back environmental bills are a polarized, unified Republican government. The conditions producing the most progressive environmental bills would be an unpolarized, divided Democratic government

Policy Analysis: Black Voter Turnout after Shelby v. Holder

In the United States, state governments have targeted Black and other disadvantaged voters through a combination of policies meant to increase challenges related to casting a ballot. These challenges have resulted in low voter turnout that impacts the ability of our democracy to function successfully. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) passed in 1965 was intended to remedy this discrimination and ensure equal voting access. Though it has been successful at increasing the voting rates of people of color, the Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder (2013) decision struck down Section 5 of the VRA. Section 5 provided a formula that the Justice Department used to require certain states with histories of passing discriminatory voting legislation to receive preclearance from the federal government before pursuing new voting reforms. For this paper, we specifically look at Black voter turnout between 2008-2018 in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia to analyze how voting restrictions have affected voting trends. Undertaking an analysis of voting restrictions enacted in the aftermath of Shelby v. Holder (2013), and the extent of their impact on Black voter turnout in the United States, requires the establishment of evaluation criteria necessary for the comparison of policy alternatives. With our primary aim to rectify this problem and prompt an increase in voter turnout within the Black community, we have set effectiveness, equity, and political viability as the three evaluation criteria that guide our suggestions for policy alternatives. In alignment with these criteria, we propose three recommendations for feasible policy alternatives: Status Quo, Modifying the Voting Rights Act, and Federalizing the U.S. Election Administration System. Based on this analysis of our recommended policy alternatives and our corresponding evaluation criteria, we conclude that our second policy alternative, ‘Modifying the Voting Rights Act’, best fulfills our outlined standards.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1056/thumbnail.jp

Sequencing-based measurable residual disease testing in acute myeloid leukemia

Next generation sequencing (NGS) methods have allowed for unprecedented genomic characterization of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) over the last several years. Further advances in NGS-based methods including error correction using unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) have more recently enabled the use of NGS-based measurable residual disease (MRD) detection. This review focuses on the use of NGS-based MRD detection in AML, including basic methodologies and clinical applications

Sex differences in animal models of decision making

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137573/1/jnr23810.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137573/2/jnr23810_am.pd

Riwayat Kelenteng, Vihara, Lithang di Jakarta & Banten.

Jakarta325 p, gmb, 21 cm

Case history of a politically charged issue - wild pigs in Tennessee, A

Moderator: Billy Higginbotham.Presented at the 8th international congress for wildlife and livelihoods on private and communal lands: livestock, tourism, and spirit, that was held on September 7-12, 2014 in Estes Park, Colorado.In 2010 the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) acknowledged the failure of harvest-based management to control wild hog (Sus scrofa) populations and the need to shift focus to a more aggressive statewide wild hog eradication program. Recognizing the problem was beyond the scope of the TWRA, organizations were invited to partner in the future of Tennessee's wild hog management. This nascent group focused on proven methods used in states with much smaller hog populations based on three tenets: 1) eliminating incentives to illegally transport and release wild hogs, 2) increasing opportunities for landowners to control wild hogs, 3) and outreach. Following these tenets, wild hog populations have been lowered and some disjunction pockets eliminated across the state. These accomplishments would not be possible by any entity (e.g., TWRA) acting alone. Success is due to the partnership known as the Wild Hog Eradication Action Team (WHEAT) which grew from four partners to a 24 member organization leading wild hog management in Tennessee. WHEAT brings great value to statewide implementation of the three tenets through development of hog management regulations, collaborative outreach, and lobbying. Program success is due to the diversity of partnerships and the ability to guide efforts, remove obstacles, and educate. Recent shifts in Tennessee’s wild hog management likely would have failed without the contributions of WHEAT. As a result, we recommend any agencies considering major shifts in wild hog management: 1) do not implement a harvest-based program; 2) adopt the three tenets; and 3) develop an overarching, guiding partnership

Clinical features, predictive correlates, and pathophysiology of immune-related adverse events in immune checkpoint inhibitor treatments in cancer: a short review

Jennifer M Yoest Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Abstract: Identification and characterization of T-cell regulatory mechanisms, or checkpoints, have led to a wave of drug development aimed at inhibiting these targets to “remove the brakes” of the immune system. This class of anticancer therapeutics, termed immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has harnessed the potential of the body’s own immune system to recognize cancerous cells and selectively eliminate them, in some cases with alarming success. This new breakthrough, however, has not been without its drawbacks. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are adverse events encountered during treatment with ICIs that are thought to be mediated through the patient’s immune system which can manifest with a variety of symptoms which often resemble autoimmunity. These events range widely in presentation and severity and are reported frequently. Here, we will discuss a large selection of case reports in order to inform the clinician, laboratorian, and researcher of the scope of organ systems affected, the severity of the conditions being encountered, and the responses of these events to treatment, as well as explore the use of ICIs in the setting of preexisting autoimmunity. We will also consider the ability to detect autoantibodies before and during irAEs as well as the correlations that irAEs have with clinical outcomes. Finally, we will conclude by exploring the possibility that two distinct pathways may be contributing to the phenomenon of irAEs within this class of drugs, and the role that this might play in future research and clinical practice. Keywords: immune checkpoint inhibitors, immune-related adverse events, side effects, autoimmunity, etiology, prediction, cross-reactive, correlation with tumor respons