Profiles and predictors of access to human and veterinary healthcare in multispecies households.

This study extends a behavioral-ecological framework for healthcare access and utilization to explore patterns of healthcare and veterinary care access within pet-owning households in the United States. Using Latent Class Analysis, a person-centered analytic approach, we identified five subgroups of pet owners in a diverse national sample ( = 750), each characterized by unique patterns of perceived access and actual usage of both human and veterinary healthcare. The first subgroup, "Good access/unfair system" (27%) and the second subgroup, "Good access/fair system" (30%) reported high probabilities of good healthcare and veterinary care access and limited financial burden but differed in their perceptions of healthcare fairness.

Probiotic Spores of SF174 and Displayed Bromelain Show Beneficial Additive Potential.

Probiotics have health-beneficial properties mainly due to either a direct action on the host or the modulation of the host microbiota. Health-beneficial properties have also been associated with a variety of plant-derived molecules, widely used as dietary supplements. This study explores the possibility of combining the actions of probiotics and of plant-derived molecules by developing beneficial, probiotic-carrying, heterologous molecules.

Genetic variants in DDX53 contribute to autism spectrum disorder associated with the Xp22.11 locus.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibits an ∼4:1 male-to-female sex bias and is characterized by early-onset impairment of social/communication skills, restricted interests, and stereotyped behaviors. Disruption of the Xp22.11 locus has been associated with ASD in males.

DNA binding and transposition activity of the Sleeping Beauty transposase: role of structural stability of the primary DNA-binding domain.

DNA transposons have emerged as promising tools in both gene therapy and functional genomics. In particular, the Sleeping Beauty (SB) DNA transposon has advanced into clinical trials due to its ability to stably integrate DNA sequences of choice into eukaryotic genomes. The efficiency of the DNA transposon system depends on the interaction between the transposon DNA and the transposase enzyme that facilitates gene transfer.

Kisspeptin participates in the positive reward state induced by paced mating and modulates sexual receptivity and paced mating behavior in female rats.

Kisspeptin (Kp), a potent regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis, was recently shown to be involved in partner preference and sexual receptivity in females. Interestingly, Kp and its receptor (Kiss1r) are expressed in brain regions involved in the reward and motivation of reinforcing behaviors. Therefore, in the present study, we designed 3 experiments to determine the participation of Kp in female sexual behavior and the positive affective (PA) reward state induced by paced mating (PM).