Early-life stress experiences can produce lasting impacts on organismal adaptation and fitness. How transient stress elicits memory-like physiological effects is largely unknown. Here, we show that early-life thermal stress strongly up-regulates , a gene encoding the conserved transmembrane tetraspanin in .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarly-life stress experiences can produce lasting impacts on organismal adaptation and fitness. How transient stress elicits memory-like physiological effects is largely unknown. Here we show that early-life thermal stress strongly up-regulates , a gene encoding the conserved transmembrane tetraspanin in .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe organization and function of the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) is the key component of government regulation and oversight of necessary scientific research using live animals and of AAALAC - International accreditation of animal care and use programs in the United States. The regulations, roles, and responsibilities of IACUCs have evolved since their inception 35 years ago from a limited focus on animal welfare and specific animal procedures to embracing scientific quality, data reproducibility and translation, and animal welfare as inextricably interdependent and critical components of generation of new scientific knowledge and medical treatments. A current challenge for IACUCs is in evaluating whether benefits to be derived (eg, new knowledge or treatments) justify any unavoidable pain, stress, or injury associated with proposed research protocols, because the former are long-term and at best speculative outcomes, whereas the latter are immediate and tangible for the study animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimals have been closely observed by humans for at least 17 000 years to gain critical knowledge for human and later animal survival. Routine scientific observations of animals as human surrogates began in the late 19th century driven by increases in new compounds resulting from synthetic chemistry and requiring characterization for potential therapeutic utility and safety. Statistics collected by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and United Kingdom Home Office show that animal usage in biomedical research and teaching activities peaked after the mid-20th century and thereafter fell precipitously until the early 21st century, when annual increases (in the UK) were again observed, this time driven by expansion of genetically modified animal technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground Coronary artery disease is common, and there exist disparities in management and outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between ambulatory care utilizations and inpatient acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality. Methods and Results This is a retrospective analysis of a stratified national sample of Medicare fee-for-service enrollees aged 66 years and older from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.
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