Alcohol use and the pain system.

The World Health Organization's epidemiological data from 2016 revealed that while 57% of the global population aged 15 years or older had abstained from drinking alcohol in the previous year, more than half of the population in the Americas, Europe, and Western Pacific consumed alcohol. The spectrum of alcohol use behavior is broad: low-risk use (sensible and in moderation), at-risk use (e.g.

LGBTQ+ cultural-competence training effectiveness: Mental health organization and therapist survey outcome results from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and other sexual and gender diverse (LGBTQ+) persons frequently lack access to mental health service organizations (MHOs) and therapists who are competent with LGBTQ+ clients. Existing continuing education programmes to better equip therapists to work with LGBTQ+ clients are often not widely accessible or skills focused, evaluated for effectiveness and inclusive of MHO administrators who can address the organizational climate needed for therapist effectiveness. A virtual, face-to-face, multi-level (administrators and therapists) and multi-strategy (technical assistance, workshop and clinical consultations) LGBTQ+ cultural competence training-the Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community (SGDLC)-was tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Using IPA tools to characterize molecular pathways underlying the involvement of IRF7 in antiviral response to HIV.

Objectives: Interferon Regulatory Factors (IRFs) regulate transcription of type-I interferons (IFNs) and IFN-stimulated genes. We previously reported that IFN-regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) is significantly upregulated in the brain of HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rats compared to F344 control rats in a region dependent manner [Li MD, Cao J, Wang S, Wang J, Sarkar S, Vigorito M, et al. Transcriptome sequencing of gene expression in the brain of the HIV-1 transgenic rat.

The Impact of Alcohol-Induced Dysbiosis on Diseases and Disorders of the Central Nervous System.

The human digestive tract contains a diverse and abundant microbiota that is important for health. Excessive alcohol use can disrupt the balance of these microbes (known as dysbiosis), leading to elevated blood endotoxin levels and systemic inflammation. Using QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) bioinformatics tool, we have confirmed that peripheral endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) mediates various cytokines to enhance the neuroinflammation signaling pathway.

Meta-Analysis on Nicotine's Modulation of HIV-Associated Dementia.

HIV-Associated Dementia (HAD) is a significant comorbidity that many HIV-patients face. Our study utilized QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify and analyze molecular profiles and pathways underlying nicotine's impact on HAD pathology. The Qiagen Knowledge Base (QKB) defines HAD as "Dementia associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (disorder).

Sign Tracking in an Enriched Environment: A Potential Ecologically Relevant Animal Model of Adaptive Behavior Change.

When an object conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with a food unconditioned stimulus (US), anticipatory goal-directed action directed at the US location (goal tracking) is accompanied by behavior directed at the object CS (sign tracking). Sign-tracking behavior appears to be compulsive and habit-like and predicts increased vulnerability to the addictive potential of drugs in animal models. A large body of the literature also suggests that environmental enrichment protects against the development of addiction-prone phenotypes.

Effects of Photons Irradiation on F-FET and F-DOPA Uptake by T98G Glioblastoma Cells.

The differential diagnosis between brain tumors recurrence and early neuroinflammation or late radionecrosis is still an unsolved problem. The new emerging magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and positron emission tomography diagnostic modalities still lack sufficient accuracy. In the last years, a great effort has been made to develop radiotracers able to detect specific altered metabolic pathways or tumor receptor markers.

Effects of docosahexaenoic acid on locomotor activity in ethanol-treated HIV-1 transgenic rats.

Binge drinking affects the onset and progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurological disorders. The HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat was created with a gag- and pol-deleted HIV-1 viral genome to mimic HIV-infected patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART). Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a marine compound that modulates inflammatory responses.

The HIV-1 transgenic rat model of neuroHIV.

Despite the ability of current combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) to limit the progression of HIV-1 to AIDS, HIV-positive individuals continue to experience neuroHIV in the form of HIV-associated neurological disorders (HAND), which can range from subtle to substantial neurocognitive impairment. NeuroHIV may also influence substance use, abuse, and dependence in HIV-positive individuals. Because of the nature of the virus, variables such as mental health co-morbidities make it difficult to study the interaction between HIV and substance abuse in human populations.

A multifaceted intervention to improve compliance with process measures for ICU clinician communication with ICU patients and families.

Rationale: Despite recommendations supporting the importance of clinician-family communication in the ICU, this communication is often rated as suboptimal in frequency and quality. We employed a multifaceted behavioral-change intervention to improve communication between families and clinicians in a statewide collaboration of ICUs.

Objectives: Our primary objective was to examine whether the intervention resulted in increased compliance with process measures that targeted clinician-family communication.

RNA deep sequencing analysis reveals that nicotine restores impaired gene expression by viral proteins in the brains of HIV-1 transgenic rats.

Persons infected with HIV-1 often develop neurologic disorders despite receiving highly active anti-retroviral therapy. Although the underlying mechanism is largely undetermined, our previous RNA-seq-based study showed that the expression of many genes was altered in the central nervous system (CNS) of HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rats. Because nicotine, a natural agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, exhibits a neuroprotective effect, we presently tested the hypothesis that nicotine restores the expression of altered genes in the CNS of HIV-1Tg rats.

Transcriptome sequencing of gene expression in the brain of the HIV-1 transgenic rat.

The noninfectious HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat was developed as a model of AIDs-related pathology and immune dysfunction by manipulation of a noninfectious HIV-1(gag-pol) virus with a deleted 3-kb SphI-MscI fragment containing the 3' -region of gag and the 5' region of pol into F344 rats. Our previous studies revealed significant behavioral differences between HIV-1Tg and F344 control rats in their performance in the Morris water maze and responses to psychostimulants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these behavioral differences remain largely unknown.

Acquisition and long-term retention of spatial learning in the human immunodeficiency virus-1 transgenic rat: effects of repeated nicotine treatment.

The HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat shows a deficit in learning to locate a submerged platform in a multiple-trial water maze task compared to transgenic littermate and F344 control rats (Vigorito et al., J.Neuroimmune Pharmacol 2:319-328, 2007; Lashomb et al.

Morphine-induced conditioned place preference and associated behavioural plasticity in HIV-1 transgenic rats.

The prevalence of morphine addiction in HIV-1 infected persons is higher than the healthy population. The mu-opioid receptor (MOR) which mediates the actions of morphine is shown to be up-regulated in the HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat. In this study, we used the conditioned place preference (CPP) test to investigate if HIV-1Tg rats are more sensitive to the addictive properties of morphine compared to F344 control animals.

Improving safety culture results in Rhode Island ICUs: lessons learned from the development of action-oriented plans.

Background: The Rhode Island (RI) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Collaborative was designed to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes in adult ICUs through a unit-based patient safety program and evidenced-based practices. Few studies have shown how to draw on a strong safety culture to improve clinical outcomes. A study was conducted to (1) examine the impact of a Safety Attitudes Questionnaire Action Plan (SAQAP) on the 2008 Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and (2) determine the impact of an SAQAP on ICU central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates.

Methamphetamine-induced behavioral and physiological effects in adolescent and adult HIV-1 transgenic rats.

We recently reported that six consecutive days of treatment with a moderate dose of methamphetamine (METH) induced greater behavioral sensitization in adult HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1 Tg) rats than in adult Fischer 344/NHsd (F344) non-transgenic, wild-type control animals. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of a moderate dose of METH on the brains of adolescent versus adult HIV-1 Tg male rats using both behavioral (METH-induced, stereotypic head movement) and physiological (rectal body temperature) parameters. We found that both the acute and behavior-sensitizing effects of METH were greater in HIV-1 Tg rats compared with controls and also in adolescent rats compared with adult animals, regardless of HIV-1 status.

The HIV-1 transgenic rat as a model for HIV-1 infected individuals on HAART.

HIV-1 viral replication is limited in patients given highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART); however, HIV-1 viral proteins are still present. We demonstrate that the developing HIV-1Tg rat, which expresses all of the HIV-1 viral genes except the gag-pol replication genes, maintains lower body weight compared with the F344 control rat. Although HIV-1Tg rats eat and drink less than the control animals, they are not anorexic and show no evidence of anhedonia.

Methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization is enhanced in the HIV-1 transgenic rat.

Methamphetamine (METH) addiction is prevalent among individuals with HIV infection. We hypothesize that HIV-positive individuals are more prone to METH use and to the development of METH dependence. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of METH (daily intraperitoneal injection 2.

Further characterization of the spatial learning deficit in the human immunodeficiency virus-1 transgenic rat.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated dementia (HAD) encompasses a spectrum of cognitive and motor deficits resulting from the progression of central nervous system abnormalities caused by the HIV-1 virus. With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), these deficits have become milder, but more prevalent as the population of HIV-positive individuals ages. Mild impairment in cognition has also been identified in asymptomatic HIV-1 patients.

Spatial learning and memory in HIV-1 transgenic rats.

HIV-1 infection of the central nervous system impairs neural, cognitive, and behavioral functioning in patients despite antiretroviral therapy. However, studying mechanisms underlying HIV-1-related neurological and cognitive dysfunction has been limited without an adequate animal model. A novel, noninfectious HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat model was recently created that expresses an HIV-1 provirus with a deletion of functional gag and pol genes.

The role of cognition in classical and operant conditioning.

For the past 35 years, learning theorists have been providing models that depend on mental representations, even in their most simple, deterministic, and mechanistic approaches. Hence, cognitive involvement (typically thought of as expectancy) is assumed for most instances of classical and operant conditioning, with current theoretical differences concerning the level of cognition that is involved (e.g.

An animal rights attitude survey of undergraduate psychology students.

An animal rights attitude survey of 46 statements on various issues related to animal rights was given to 112 freshmen who were near the end of their first college course in introductory psychology and to 63 junior and senior psychology majors. A factor analysis yielded a multidimensional structure with attitudes toward animal research, nonresearch, environment, and evolution as factors. Beginning psychology students had a more negative attitude toward animal research than did psychology majors; however, psychology majors displayed a more positive attitude toward the environment and toward animal rights issues not involving animal research.

Differential sensitivity of operant behaviors to changes in the concentration of a sucrose reinforcer: effects of pimozide.

The sensitivity of operant response rates to changes in a sucrose reinforcer was examined in well-trained animals maintained on a variable ratio (VR) or variable interval (VI) schedule (experiment 1). Although VR performance showed greater resistance to small reductions in the concentration of the sucrose reinforcer than VI performance, VR performance was more sensitive to large reductions in the sucrose concentration. Despite this differential sensitivity only the smallest dose of pimozide (0.

Midazolam withdrawal and discriminative motor control: effects of FG 7142 and Ro 15-1788.

Rats chronically drank either water or midazolam solution (0.1 mg/ml) in daily, 3-h schedule-induced polydipsia sessions and were evaluated in daily motor control sessions after polydipsia when midazolam metabolite levels had fallen to zero (withdrawal). Under midazolam polydipsia, animals orally self-administered between 21 and 38 mg/kg daily.

Fat appetite in rats: the response of infant and adult rats to nutritive and non-nutritive oil emulsions.

Fat appetite was studied in rats using corn oil and mineral oil emulsions. In Experiment 1 ingestive responses to intraoral infusions were measured in rat pups 6-15 days of age. By 12-15 days of age pups responded more to oil emulsions (10% and 30%) than they did to water or emulsifier solution.