Determining the optimal method for proteinuria detection in chronic spinal cord injury.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine whether dipstick protein analysis (DSP) or random urine protein:creatinine ratios (UPC) are accurate in predicting clinical proteinuria in the chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) population.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 219 veterans with SCI, comparing DSP and 24-h urine protein excretion.

Exogenous melatonin administration affects self-grooming and conspecific odor preferences in long-photoperiod meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus).

For meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, seasonal differences exist in self-grooming and in odor preferences for conspecifics, two behaviors which facilitate sexual interactions in this species. Both behaviors are mediated by photoperiodically-induced changes in circulating gonadal steroid hormone titers which, in turn, can be transduced by the duration of the melatonin signal that a seasonally breeding animal receives. The goal of this study was to determine whether exogenous melatonin administration affects circulating gonadal steroid hormone titers in meadow voles, and whether it influences their odor preferences and self-grooming behavior to same- and opposite-sex conspecifics.