Escalating caffeine dose-dependently increases alcohol consumption in adult male, but not female, C57BL/6J mice.

Although previous research has illustrated the effects of the consumption of alcohol and caffeine individually, less research has focused on the popular combination of the two drugs. The increase in alcohol consumption when combined with caffeine has led to the idea that the stimulant effects of caffeine may mask the depressant effects of alcohol, and this may contribute to increased binge drinking as the individual feels more awake and stimulated. Preclinical research has shown various effects of combined alcohol and caffeine where several studies show decreased alcohol consumption and others show increased alcohol consumption and even binge-like drinking.

Inducing a summer brood break increases the efficacy of oxalic acid vaporization for Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) control in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies.

The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), is the leading cause of western honey bee colony, Apis mellifera (L.), mortality in the United States. Due to mounting evidence of resistance to certain approved miticides, beekeepers are struggling to keep their colonies alive.

No evidence to support the use of glycerol-oxalic acid mixtures delivered via paper towel for controlling Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) mites in the Southeast United States.

A significant amount of researcher and practitioner effort has focused on developing new chemical controls for the parasitic Varroa destructor mite in beekeeping. One outcome of that has been the development and testing of "glycerol-oxalic acid" mixtures to place in colonies for extended periods of time, an off-label use of the otherwise legal miticide oxalic acid. The majority of circulated work on this approach was led by practitioners and published in nonacademic journals, highlighting a lack of effective partnership between practitioners and scientists and a possible failure of the extension mandate in beekeeping in the United States.

Ensuring an Equitable Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Pima County, Arizona, Through Local Political Support and Policy Action.

In the United States, persistent health disparities and preexisting gaps in local public health infrastructure led to disproportionate effects of COVID-19 across populations at high risk of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. In Pima County, Arizona, equity-centered local government engagement and policy action, multipronged community-based responses, and expansion of historically underfunded local public health infrastructure improved equitable outcomes and addressed multiple systemic factors. This case study examined Pima County's 3-pronged public health response to COVID-19 using an equity-based approach.

Effects of an Artificial Intelligence Platform for Behavioral Interventions on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: The need for scalable delivery of mental health care services that are efficient and effective is now a major public health priority. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have the potential to improve behavioral health care services by helping clinicians collect objective data on patients' progress, streamline their workflow, and automate administrative tasks.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an AI platform for behavioral health in facilitating better clinical outcomes for patients receiving outpatient therapy.

The need for multicomponent gas standards for breath biomarker analysis.

Exhaled breath is a non-invasive, information-rich matrix with the potential to diagnose or monitor disease, including infectious disease. Despite significant effort dedicated to biomarker identification in case control studies, very few breath tests are established in practice. In this topical review, we identify how gas standards support breath analysis today and what is needed to support further expansion and translation to practice.

Dynamic vapor microextraction of ignitable liquid from casework containers.

Dynamic vapor microextraction (DVME) is a headspace concentration method that can be used to collect ignitable liquid (IL) from fire debris onto chilled adsorbent capillaries. Unlike passive headspace concentration onto activated carbon strips (ACSs) that must be eluted with a toxic solvent (carbon disulfide), DVME employs a relatively benign solvent (acetone) to recover the adsorbed IL residue, and each headspace collection is monitored for breakthrough. Here, for the first time, we extend DVME to casework containers while exploring a realistic range of oven temperatures and collection volumes.

Low but not moderate amounts of caffeine increase co-consumption of ethanol in C57BL/6J mice.

The increasingly popular combination of "energy drinks" containing high amounts of caffeine and alcohol has been shown to induce a stimulated, rather than sedated, state which may result in increased binge drinking and increased risk for alcohol-attributable accidents. We sought to examine consumption patterns of and withdrawal from alcohol and caffeine using a voluntary co-consumption animal model. Male and female adult C57BL/6J mice were given access to increasing doses of caffeine (0.

Assessing virulence of mites from different honey bee management regimes.

The mite is an important honey bee parasite that causes substantial losses of honey bee colonies worldwide. Evolutionary theory suggests that the high densities at which honey bees are managed in large-scale beekeeping settings will likely select for mites with greater growth and virulence, thereby potentially explaining the major damage done by these mites. We tested this hypothesis by collecting mites from feral bee colonies, "lightly" managed colonies (those from small-scale sedentary operations), and "heavily" managed colonies (those from large-scale operations that move thousands of colonies across the US on a yearly basis).

The Impact of Molecular Oxygen on Anion Composition in a Hazy Archean Earth Atmosphere.

Atmospheric organic hazes are common in planetary bodies in our solar system and likely exoplanet atmospheres as well. In addition, geochemical data support the existence of an organic haze in the early Earth's atmosphere. Much of what is known about organic haze formation derives from studies of Saturn's moon Titan.

Reduced density and visually complex apiaries reduce parasite load and promote honey production and overwintering survival in honey bees.

Managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are kept at much greater densities than naturally occurring feral or wild colonies, which may have detrimental effects on colony health and survival, disease spread, and drifting behavior (bee movement between natal and non-natal colonies). We assessed the effects of a straightforward apiary management intervention (altering the density and visual appearance of colonies) on colony health. Specifically, we established three "high density / high drift" ("HD") and three "low density / low drift" ("LD") apiary configurations, each consisting of eight bee colonies.

Gene editing vectors for studying nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in cholinergic transmission.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), prototype members of the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel family, are key mediators of cholinergic transmission in the central nervous system. Despite their importance, technical gaps exist in our ability to dissect the function of individual subunits in the brain. To overcome these barriers, we designed CRISPR/Cas9 small guide RNA sequences (sgRNAs) for the production of loss-of-function alleles in mouse nAChR genes.

Behavioral Characterization of β-Arrestin 1 Knockout Mice in Anxiety-Like and Alcohol Behaviors.

β-Arrestin 1 and 2 are highly expressed proteins involved in the desensitization of G protein-coupled receptor signaling which also regulate a variety of intracellular signaling pathways. Gene knockout (KO) studies suggest that the two isoforms are not homologous in their effects on baseline and drug-induced behavior; yet, the role of β-arrestin 1 in the central nervous system has been less investigated compared to β-arrestin 2. Here, we investigate how global β-arrestin 1 KO affects anxiety-like and alcohol-related behaviors in male and female C57BL/6 mice.

Laser Ablation-Aerosol Mass Spectrometry-Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Ambient Surface Imaging.

Mass spectrometry imaging is becoming an increasingly common analytical technique due to its ability to provide spatially resolved chemical information. Here, we report a novel imaging approach combining laser ablation with two mass spectrometric techniques, aerosol mass spectrometry and chemical ionization mass spectrometry, separately and in parallel. Both mass spectrometric methods provide the fast response, rapid data acquisition, low detection limits, and high-resolution peak separation desirable for imaging complex samples.

Broad-spectrum protein kinase inhibition by the staurosporine analog KT-5720 reverses ethanol withdrawal-associated loss of NeuN/Fox-3.

Chronic, intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure is known to produce neuroadaptive alterations in excitatory neurotransmission that contribute to the development of dependence. Although activation of protein kinases (e.g.

The effect of tinnitus retraining therapy on chronic tinnitus: A controlled trial.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to compare treatment outcomes for chronic bothersome tinnitus after Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) versus standard of care treatment (SC) and to determine the longevity of the effect over an 18-month period.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial comparing TRT to SC for chronic tinnitus.

Methods: Adults with subjective, stable, bothersome chronic tinnitus associated with hearing loss amenable to aural rehabilitation with hearing aids were recruited.

Altered nicotine reward-associated behavior following α4 nAChR subunit deletion in ventral midbrain.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors containing α4 subunits (α4β2* nAChRs) are critical for nicotinic cholinergic transmission and the addictive action of nicotine. To identify specific activities of these receptors in the adult mouse brain, we coupled targeted deletion of α4 nAChR subunits with behavioral and and electrophysiological measures of nicotine sensitivity. A viral-mediated Cre/lox approach allowed us to delete α4 from ventral midbrain (vMB) neurons.

Fine scale population genetic structure of , an ectoparasitic mite of the honey bee ().

is an obligate ectoparasitic mite and the most important biotic threat currently facing honey bees (). We used neutral microsatellites to analyze previously unreported fine scale population structure of , a species characterized by extreme lack of genetic diversity owing to multiple bottleneck events, haplodiploidy, and primarily brother-sister matings. Our results surprisingly indicate that detectable hierarchical genetic variation exists between apiaries, between colonies within an apiary, and even within colonies.

Corticosterone enhances N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor signaling to promote isolated ventral tegmental area activity in a reconstituted mesolimbic dopamine pathway.

Elevations in circulating corticosteroids during periods of stress may influence activity of the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway by increasing glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression and/or function in a glucocorticoid receptor-dependent manner. The current study employed organotypic co-cultures of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to examine the effects of corticosterone exposure on NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal viability. Co-cultures were pre-exposed to vehicle or corticosterone (CORT; 1 μM) for 5 days prior to a 24 h co-exposure to NMDA (200 μM).

Clinical trials supported by the Tinnitus Research Consortium: Lessons learned, the Southern Illinois University experience.

The Tinnitus Research Consortium funded three clinical trials investigating treatments for chronic bothersome tinnitus at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The trials were designed to measure the subjective changes in tinnitus distress using standardized questionnaires and objective changes in tinnitus loudness using psychophysical matching procedures. The results of the first two trials have been published and are summarized here.

Ethanol withdrawal is required to produce persisting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent hippocampal cytotoxicity during chronic intermittent ethanol exposure.

Chronic intermittent ethanol consumption is associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits in preclinical laboratory animals and in the clinical population. While previous work suggests a role for neuroadaptations in the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in the development of ethanol dependence and manifestation of withdrawal, the relative roles of ethanol exposure and ethanol withdrawal in producing these effects have not been fully characterized. To examine underlying cytotoxic mechanisms associated with chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure, organotypic hippocampal slices were exposed to 1-3 cycles of ethanol (50 mM) in cell culture medium for 5 days, followed by 24 h of ethanol withdrawal, in which a portion of slices were exposed to competitive NMDA receptor antagonist (2R)-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV; 40 μM).

Field-level sublethal effects of approved bee hive chemicals on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L).

In a study replicated across two states and two years, we tested the sublethal effects on honey bees of the miticides Apistan (tau fluvalinate) and Check Mite+ (coumaphos) and the wood preservative copper naphthenate applied at label rates in field conditions. A continuous covariate, a colony Varroa mite index, helped us disambiguate the effects of the chemicals on bees while adjusting for a presumed benefit of controlling mites. Mite levels in colonies treated with Apistan or Check Mite+ were not different from levels in non-treated controls.

Long-term ethanol and corticosterone co-exposure sensitize the hippocampal ca1 region pyramidal cells to insult during ethanol withdrawal in an NMDA GluN2B subunit-dependent manner.

Background: Chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure produces neuroadaptations in NMDA receptor function and/or abundance and alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning that contribute to neuronal excitation and neurotoxicity during ethanol withdrawal (EWD). Both EtOH and corticosterone (CORT) promote synthesis of polyamines, which allosterically potentiate NMDA receptor function at the GluN2B subunit. The current studies investigated the effect of 10-day EtOH and CORT co-exposure on toxicity during EWD in rat hippocampal explants and hypothesized that alterations in function and/or density of GluN2B subunits contribute to the toxicity.