Publications by authors named "D H Werner"

Tessellations (surface architectures of arrays of hard tiles) are common in natural and man-made designs. Boxfishes (Ostracioidea) are almost completely encased in a tessellated armor and have evolved a plethora of cross-sectional carapace shapes, yet whether the scutes constructing these exhibit comparable variation is unknown. Using high-resolution microCT and semi-automatic segmentation algorithms, we quantitatively examined thousands of scutes from 13 species of diverse body form.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Adolescent females, both human and rat, may consume alcohol as a way to cope with negative emotions, particularly during social interactions.
  • This study tested how acute ethanol affects different brain regions in female rats with varying levels of social preference, revealing that ethanol significantly altered social behavior in those with initially low social preference.
  • There were notable changes in brain activation patterns, including decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, but increased activation in the central amygdala, indicating these areas are particularly sensitive to alcohol's effects in adolescent females.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ethanol withdrawal sensitivity is a risk factor for the development of alcohol use disorder. Heavy episodic drinking during adolescence often encompasses repeated periods of withdrawal. Adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure of laboratory rodents produces several neurobiological deficits that differ between sexes, but the sensitivity to withdrawal as a contributor to the observed sex differences is not clear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure in rats leads to social deficits. Parvalbumin (PV) expressing fast-spiking interneurons in the prelimbic cortex (PrL) contribute to social behavior, and perineuronal nets (PNNs) within the PrL preferentially encompass and regulate PV interneurons. AIE exposure increases PNNs, but it is unknown if this upregulation contributes to AIE-induced social impairments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In February 2024, a resident of Mannheim, Germany, collected aggressively attacking mosquitoes in her home and forwarded them to the "Mueckenatlas" citizen science recording scheme. The specimens turned out to be Aedes albopictus. Upon discussing the situation and consultation on the biology of the Asian tiger mosquito, the submitter found numerous developmental stages in the water of a flowerpot with an orchid in her living room.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF