COVID-19 as a chronic stressor and the importance of individual identity: A data-driven look at academic productivity during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted personal and professional life. For academics, research, teaching, and service tasks were upended and we all had to navigate the altered landscape. However, some individuals faced a disproportionate burden, particularly academics with minoritized identities or those who were early career, were caregivers, or had intersecting identities.

Do categorically distinct stressors alter the attention to visual food cues?

Stressor exposure affects food intake as well as the preference for high or low palatability foods, but little is known about how stressor types impact the visual attention to food images. We used eye tracking methodology in humans to determine if activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system is associated with changes in attention to food images as determined by measuring changes in oculomotor activity. Specifically, we tested two questions: 1) Do categorically distinct stressors alter aspects of visual attention to food images as determined by oculomotor activity (i.

Sub-chronic administration of fluoxetine does not alter prey-capture or predator avoidance behaviors in adult South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis).

Animals will halt foraging efforts and engage defensive behaviors in response to predator cues. Some researchers have proposed that the switch from appetitive to avoidance behavior resembles anxiety, but most work on this has been performed in a limited number of animal models, primarily zebrafish and rodents. We used adult South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) to determine if the canonical anxiolytic fluoxetine alters predator-induced changes in appetitive and avoidance behavior in a laboratory-based trade-off task that mimics foraging/predator avoidance tradeoffs in the wild.

Stress Responses across the Scales of Life: Toward a Universal Theory of Biological Stress.

Although biological systems are more complex and can actively respond to their environment, an effective entry point to the development of a universal theory of biological stress is the physical concepts of stress and strain. If you apply stress to the end of a beam of steel, the strain will accumulate within that steel beam. If the stress is weak then the strain will disappear when the force is removed and the beam will return to its original state of form and functionality.

Tectal CRFR1 receptor involvement in avoidance and approach behaviors in the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Animals in the wild must balance food intake with vigilance for predators in order to survive. The optic tectum plays an important role in the integration of external (predators) and internal (energy status) cues related to predator defense and prey capture. However, the role of neuromodulators involved in tectal sensorimotor processing is poorly studied.

Neuroendocrine modulation of predator avoidance/prey capture tradeoffs: Role of tectal NPY2R receptors.

The optic tectum rapidly inhibits food intake when a visual threat is present. Anatomical and electrophysiological evidence support a role for neuropeptide Y (NPY), originating from cells in the thalamus, in the tectal inhibition of prey capture. Here we test the hypothesis that tectal NPY receptor type 2 (NPY2R) influences prey-capture and predator-avoidance responses in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

The plus maze and scototaxis test are not valid behavioral assays for anxiety assessment in the South African clawed frog.

There are no behavioral models for testing anxiety in amphibians, a group of animals widely used for developmental, ecotoxicological, and genetic research. We aimed to validate two common rodent paradigms, the plus maze and the scototaxis test, for use in the aquatic African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). We predicted: (a) that frogs would prefer the dark, vs.

Tectal CRFR1 receptors modulate food intake and feeding behavior in the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

The optic tectum and superior colliculus rapidly inhibit food intake when a visual threat is present. Previous work indicates that CRF, acting on CRFR1 receptors, may play a role in tectal inhibition of feeding behavior and food intake. Here we test the hypothesis that tectal CRFR1 receptors modulate food intake and feeding behavior in juvenile Xenopus laevis.

Assessment of gonadal and thyroid histology in Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) from Barataria Bay Louisiana one year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

We examined gonads and thyroid glands of Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) 1yr after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. F. grandis were trapped from two impacted sites in Barataria Bay (Bayou St.

Tectal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons respond to fasting and a reactive stressor in the African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis.

It is well established that hypothalamic neurons producing the peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) play a key role in stress adaptation, including reduction of food intake when a threat or stressor is present. We have previously reported on the presence of an intrinsic CRF signaling system within the optic tectum (OT), a brain area that plays a key role in visually guided prey capture/predator avoidance decisions. To better understand the potential role of tectal CRF neurons in regulating adaptive behavior and energy balance during stress we examined evidence for modulation of tectal CRF neuronal activity after stressor exposure and food deprivation in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

The role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis in mediating predator-avoidance trade-offs.

Maintaining energy balance and reproducing are important for fitness, yet animals have evolved mechanisms by which the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/HPI) axis can shut these activities off. While HPA/HPI axis inhibition of feeding and reproduction may have evolved as a predator defense, to date there has been no review across taxa of the causal evidence for such a relationship. Here we review the literature on this topic by addressing evidence for three predictions: that exposure to predators decreases reproduction and feeding, that exposure to predators activates the HPA/HPI axis, and that predator-induced activation of the HPA/HPI axis inhibits foraging and reproduction.

I'll take the low road: the evolutionary underpinnings of visually triggered fear.

Although there is general agreement that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is critical for triggering the neuroendocrine response to visual threats, there is uncertainty about the role of subcortical visual pathways in this process. Primates in general appear to depend less on subcortical visual pathways than other mammals. Yet, imaging studies continue to indicate a role for the superior colliculus and pulvinar nucleus in fear activation, despite disconnects in how these brain structures communicate not only with each other but with the amygdala.

Changes in gastric sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) activity are associated with differences in thyroid gland sensitivity to perchlorate during metamorphosis.

We investigated stage-dependent changes in sensitivity of the thyroid gland to perchlorate during development of African clawed frog tadpoles (Xenopus laevis) in relation to non-thyroidal iodide transporting tissues. Perchlorate-induced increases in thyroid follicle cell size and colloid depletion were blunted when exposures began at Nieuwkoop-Faber (NF) stage 55 compared to when exposures began at NF stages 49 or 1-10. To determine if the development of other iodide transporting tissues may contribute to this difference we first examined which tissues expressed transcripts for the sodium dependent iodide symporter (NIS).

Sexual history taking and sexually transmitted infection screening in patients initiating erectile dysfunction medication therapy.

Background: Erectile dysfunction medications are being prescribed frequently; however, little is known about the amount of sexual health screening occurring in this setting.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study evaluating sexual health and sexually transmitted infection screening occurring in veterans receiving initial erectile dysfunction medication prescription was conducted.

Results: A total of 252 patients received initial erectile dysfunction medication prescriptions between October 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009; had at least 1 health care provider visit 12 months before the date of initial prescription; and had no documentation of previous erectile dysfunction medication use.

An intrinsic CRF signaling system within the optic tectum.

Previous work indicates that CRF administration inhibits visually guided feeding in amphibians. We used the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis to examine the hypothesis that CRF acts as a neurotransmitter in the optic tectum, the major brain area integrating the visual and premotor pathways regulating visually guided feeding in anurans. Reverse transcriptase PCR revealed that cells in the optic tectum express mRNA for CRF and the CRF R1 receptor but not the CRF R2 receptor.

Metabolism and distribution of p,p'-DDT during flight of the white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys.

This study evaluated the interactions of flight, fasting, and 1,1,1-trichloro-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) loading on residue metabolism and distribution in recently exposed white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Female sparrows were dosed with 5 mg p,p'-DDT per kg body weight over 3 d. Following 1 d of recovery, sparrows were flown in a wind tunnel for up to 140 min, in 15-min blocks.

The organization of CRF neuronal pathways in toads: Evidence that retinal afferents do not contribute significantly to tectal CRF content.

Previous work has suggested that the peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) acts to inhibit visually guided feeding in anurans, but little is known about potential targets for CRF within the subcortical visuomotor circuitry. Here we investigated the relationship between CRF neuronal organization and visual pathways in toads. CRF-immunoreactive (ir) neurons and fibers were widely distributed throughout the ventral subpallial telencephalon and hypothalamus, although few fibers were found in telencephalic areas, such as the striatum, that are known to project to the tectum in anurans.

The hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in teleosts and amphibians: endocrine disruption and its consequences to natural populations.

Teleosts and pond-breeding amphibians may be exposed to a wide variety of anthropogenic, waterborne contaminants that affect the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. Because thyroid hormone is required for their normal development and reproduction, the potential impact of HPT-disrupting contaminants on natural teleost and amphibian populations raises special concern. There is laboratory evidence indicating that persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, pharmaceutical and personal care products, agricultural chemicals, and aerospace products may alter HPT activity, development, and reproduction in teleosts and amphibians.

Expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) in male American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) and preliminary evaluation of the response to TNT.

We examined the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein mRNA in the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). Primers and probes were designed to obtain a partial sequence of bullfrog StAR cDNA consisting of 349 base pairs. Quantitative PCR analysis of StAR mRNA equivalents was performed in tissues of juvenile and adult bullfrogs.

Effects of atrazine on fish, amphibians, and aquatic reptiles: a critical review.

The herbicide atrazine is widely used in agriculture for the production of corn and other crops. Because of its physical and chemical properties, atrazine is found in small concentrations in surface waters--habitats for some species. A number of reports on the effects of atrazine on aquatic vertebrates, mostly amphibians, have been published, yet there is inconsistency in the effects reported, and inconsistency between studies in different laboratories.