Environmental Enrichment Cage for Laboratory Mice: A Downloadable Alternative.

Environmentally enriched housing (EE) provides a stimulating and species-typical environment that enhances brain plasticity and cognition, while reducing disease severity in laboratory animals. However, standardizing EE protocols has been challenging due to issues such as variability, high pricing, or limited laboratory space. To address these challenges, we present a replicable and cost-efficient cage protocol that is accessible to researchers with limited resources and space constraints.

Basin scale coherence of Kauai-Beacon m-sequence transmissions received at Wake Island and Monterey, CA.

The 75 Hz Kauai-Beacon source is well-situated for observing the North Pacific Ocean acoustically, and ongoing efforts enable transmissions and analysis of broadband signals in 2023 and beyond. This is the first demonstration of acoustic receiving along paths to Wake Island (∼3500 km) and Monterey Bay (∼4000 km). The 44 received m-sequence waveforms exhibit excellent phase stability with processing gain approaching the maximum theoretical gain evaluated over the 20 min signal transmission duration.

The sex-dependent and enduring impact of pubertal stress on health and disease.

Illness is often predicated long before the manifestation of its symptoms. Exposure to stressful experiences particularly during critical periods of development, such as puberty and adolescence, can induce various physical and mental illnesses. Puberty is a critical period of maturation for neuroendocrine systems, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes.

Enduring sex-dependent effects of lipopolysaccharide treatment on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in mice.

Pubertal stress causes enduring sexual behavior dysfunction in males and females, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. These changes may arise from pubertal programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Previous findings show that stress exposure downregulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, particularly through the reduction of the neuropeptide kisspeptin (Kiss1) and its receptor (Kiss1R).

Environmental enrichment alters LPS-induced changes in BDNF and PSD-95 expressions during puberty.

Puberty is a critical period of cortical reorganization and increased synaptogenesis. Healthy cortical reorganization and synaptic growth require sufficient environmental stimuli and minimalized stress exposure during pubertal development. Exposure to impoverished environments or immune challenges impact cortical reorganization and reduce the expression of proteins associated with neuronal plasticity (BDNF) and synaptogenesis (PSD-95).

Oceanic giants dance to atmospheric rhythms: Ephemeral wind-driven resource tracking by blue whales.

Trophic transfer of energy through marine food webs is strongly influenced by prey aggregation and its exploitation by predators. Rapid aggregation of some marine fish and crustacean forage species during wind-driven coastal upwelling has recently been discovered, motivating the hypothesis that predators of these forage species track the upwelling circulation in which prey aggregation occurs. We examine this hypothesis in the central California Current Ecosystem using integrative observations of upwelling dynamics, forage species' aggregation, and blue whale movement.

The effects of antimicrobials and lipopolysaccharide on acute immune responsivity in pubertal male and female CD1 mice.

Exposure to stress during critical periods of development-such as puberty-is associated with long-term disruptions in brain function and neuro-immune responsivity. However, the mechanisms underlying the effect of stress on the pubertal neuro-immune response has yet to be elucidated. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to investigate the effect antimicrobial and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatments on acute immune responsivity in pubertal male and female mice.

Pretransplant survival of patients with end-stage heart failure under competing risks.

Heart transplantation is the gold standard of care for end-stage heart failure in the United States. Donor hearts are a scarce resource, however the current allocation policy-proposed in 2016 and implemented in 2018-has not addressed certain disparities. Between 2005 and 2016, the number of active candidates increased 127%, whereas transplant rates decreased 27.

Acoustic vector sensor analysis of the Monterey Bay region soundscape and the impact of COVID-19.

From February 2019 through January 2021, data were collected by an acoustic vector sensor moored on the seafloor at a depth of approximately 900 m just outside of Monterey Bay, California, near a major shipping lane off the California coast. Analysis of the vector sensor data has shown the ability to accurately determine bearings to merchant vessels at ranges up to 60 km. This paper examines the features of the low-frequency soundscape using spectral probability densities and evaluates directional features through vector intensity processing as well as coherent linear and adaptive processing of the vector sensor channels.

Politics is making us sick: The negative impact of political engagement on public health during the Trump administration.

Objectives: To quantify the effect of politics on the physical, psychological, and social health of American adults during the four-year span of the Trump administration.

Methods: A previously validated politics and health scale was used to compare health markers in nationally representative surveys administered to separate samples in March 2017 (N = 800) and October 2020 (N = 700). Participants in the 2020 survey were re-sampled approximately two weeks after the 2020 election and health markers were compared to their pre-election baselines.

Pubertal probiotics mitigate lipopolysaccharide-induced programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in male mice only.

Puberty is a period of rapid cortical and neuronal development. Stress exposure during puberty programs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness to future stressors. However, programming can result in an enduring maladaptation of the HPA axis activity and can be associated with long-term anxiety- and depression-like behaviours.

Regioselective Arylboration of 1,3-Butadiene.

A method for the regioselective 1,2-arylboration of 1,3-butadiene, a feedstock chemical, is reported. The reactions result in the formation of products that can be easily elaborated to other structures. The mechanistic details of this process are also discussed.

Pubertal immune challenge suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in male and female mice.

Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide responsible for propagating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and initiating puberty. Pubertal exposure to an immune challenge causes enduring sexual behavior dysfunction in males and females, but the mechanism underlying this stress-induced sexual dysfunction remains unknown. Previous findings show that stress exposure can downregulate the HPG axis in adult females.

Chronic sleep disruption induces depression-like behavior in adolescent male and female mice and sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in adolescent female mice.

Depression is a prevalent mood disorder responsible for reduced quality of life for over 264 million people. Depression commonly develops during adolescence and becomes twice as prevalent in females than in males. However, the mechanisms underlying adolescent depression onset and sex differences in the prevalence rate remain unclear.

Genetic capitalism and stabilizing selection of antimicrobial resistance genotypes in Escherichia coli.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogenic strains of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), adversely impacts personal and public health. In this study, we examine competing hypotheses for the evolution of AMR including (i) 'genetic capitalism' in which genotypes that confer antibiotic resistance are gained and not often lost in lineages, and (ii) 'stabilizing selection' in which genotypes that confer antibiotic resistance are gained and lost often.

Political attitudes vary with detection of androstenone.

Building on a growing body of research suggesting that political attitudes are part of broader individual and biological orientations, we test whether the detection of the hormone androstenone is predictive of political attitudes. The particular social chemical analyzed in this study is androstenone, a nonandrogenic steroid found in the sweat and saliva of many mammals, including humans. A primary reason for scholarly interest in odor detection is that it varies so dramatically from person to person.

Darwin's bureaucrat .

The study of bureaucratic behavior-focusing on control, decision-making, and institutional arrangements-has historically leaned heavily on theories of rational choice and bounded rationality. Notably absent from this research, however, is attention to the growing literature on biological and especially evolutionary human behavior. This article addresses this gap by closely examining the extant economic and psychological frameworks-which we refer to as "Adam Smith's bureaucrat" and "Herbert Simon's bureaucrat"-for their shortcomings in terms of explanatory and predictive theory, and by positing a different framework, which we call "Charles Darwin's bureaucrat.

Pubertal probiotic blocks LPS-induced anxiety and the associated neurochemical and microbial outcomes, in a sex dependent manner.

Puberty is a critical period of neural development, and exposure to stress and inflammation during this period is thought to increase vulnerability to mental illness. The gut microbiome influences brain functioning and behavior and impacts mental health. Yet, the role of the gut microbiome during puberty, a period during which mental health conditions tend to onset, remains largely uninvestigated.

Underwater acoustic energy fluctuations during strong internal wave activity using a three-dimensional parabolic equation model.

The three-dimensional Monterey-Miami parabolic equation model is used to simulate a nonlinear internal wave (NIW) crossing the sound field in a shallow water environment. The impetus for this research stems from acoustic measurements taken during the Shallow Water '06 (SW06) field experiment, where a NIW traversed the water column such that soliton wavecrests were nearly parallel to the source-receiver path. Horizontal refraction effects are important in this scenario.

Friends, relatives, sanity, and health: The costs of politics.

Political scientists have long known that political involvement exacts costs but they have typically defined these costs in relatively narrow, largely economic terms. Though anecdotal evidence suggests that the costs of politics may in fact extend beyond economics to frayed personal relationships, compromised emotional stability, and even physical problems, no systematic evidence on these broader costs exists. We construct and validate batteries of survey items that delineate the physical, social, and emotional costs of political engagement and administer these items to a demographically representative sample of U.

Probiotic consumption during puberty mitigates LPS-induced immune responses and protects against stress-induced depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in adulthood in a sex-specific manner.

Puberty/adolescence is a significant period of development and a time with a high emergence of psychiatric disorders. During this period, there is increased neuroplasticity and heightened vulnerability to stress and inflammation. The gut microbiome regulates stress and inflammatory responses and can alter brain chemistry and behaviour.

Catalyst-Controlled 1,2- and 1,1-Arylboration of α-Alkyl Alkenyl Arenes.

Two methods are reported for the 1,2- and 1,1-arylboration of α-methyl vinyl arenes. In the case of 1,2-arylboration, the formation of a quaternary center occurred through a rare cross-coupling reaction of a tertiary organometallic complex. 1,1-Arylboration was enabled by catalyst optimization and occurred through a β-hydride elimination/reinsertion cascade.

Copper-Catalyzed Heteroarylboration of 1,3-Dienes with 3-Bromopyridines: A cine Substitution.

A method for the heteroarylboration of 1,3-dienes is presented. The process involves an unusual cine substitution of 3-bromopyridine derivatives to deliver highly functionalized heterocyclic products. Mechanistic studies are included that clarify the details of this unusual process.

Reciprocity relationships in vector acoustics and their application to vector field calculations.

The reciprocity equation commonly stated in underwater acoustics relates pressure fields and monopole sources. It is often used to predict the pressure measured by a hydrophone for multiple source locations by placing a source at the hydrophone location and calculating the field everywhere for that source. A similar equation that governs the orthogonal components of the particle velocity field is needed to enable this computational method to be used for acoustic vector sensors.

Copper-Catalyzed Borylacylation of Activated Alkenes with Acid Chlorides.

A method for the copper-catalyzed borylacylation of activated alkenes is presented. The reaction involves borylcupration of the alkene, followed by capture of the generated alkyl-copper intermediate with an acid chloride. The reactions operated with low catalyst loading and generally occurre within 15 min at room temperature for a range of activated alkenes.