Chronic paternal morphine exposure increases sensitivity to morphine-derived pain relief in male progeny.

Parental history of opioid exposure is seldom considered when prescribing opioids for pain relief. To explore whether parental opioid exposure may affect sensitivity to morphine in offspring, we developed a "rat pain scale" with high-speed imaging, machine learning, and mathematical modeling in a multigenerational model of paternal morphine self-administration. We find that the most commonly used tool to measure mechanical sensitivity in rodents, the von Frey hair, is not painful in rats during baseline conditions.

Benchmark Evaluation of Protein-Protein Interaction Prediction Algorithms.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) perform various functions and regulate processes throughout cells. Knowledge of the full network of PPIs is vital to biomedical research, but most of the PPIs are still unknown. As it is infeasible to discover all of them experimentally due to technical and resource limitations, computational prediction of PPIs is essential and accurately assessing the performance of algorithms is required before further application or translation.

Circadian transcription factor NPAS2 and the NAD -dependent deacetylase SIRT1 interact in the mouse nucleus accumbens and regulate reward.

Substance use disorders are associated with disruptions to both circadian rhythms and cellular metabolic state. At the molecular level, the circadian molecular clock and cellular metabolic state may be interconnected through interactions with the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD )-dependent deacetylase, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). In the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a region important for reward, both SIRT1 and the circadian transcription factor neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2) are highly enriched, and both are regulated by the metabolic cofactor NAD .

Development of a 3-Dimensional Middle Ear Model to Teach Anatomy and Endoscopic Ear Surgical Skills.

Mastery of ear anatomy and otologic surgical skills is challenging for trainees, and educational resources are limited. Advancements in 3-dimensional (3D) printing have enabled the construction of complex microscopic models. Otoendoscopy provides excellent visualization and has been shown to enhance anatomic learning.

Drawing for Visual Communication in Medicine: A Novel Pilot Course for Senior Medical Students.

Objective: Visual aids such as drawings have been reported to improve patient comprehension, retention, and adherence. We sought to determine the feasibility of teaching live drawing for clinical communication to medical students.

Design: We designed a course to teach basic drawing skills and visual communication of health information to senior medical students.