CaeNDR, the Caenorhabditis Natural Diversity Resource.

Studies of model organisms have provided important insights into how natural genetic differences shape trait variation. These discoveries are driven by the growing availability of genomes and the expansive experimental toolkits afforded to researchers using these species. For example, Caenorhabditis elegans is increasingly being used to identify and measure the effects of natural genetic variants on traits using quantitative genetics.

C. elegans toxicant responses vary among genetically diverse individuals.

The genetic variability of toxicant responses among indisviduals in humans and mammalian models requires practically untenable sample sizes to create comprehensive chemical hazard risk evaluations. To address this need, tractable model systems enable reproducible and efficient experimental workflows to collect high-replication measurements of exposure cohorts. Caenorhabditis elegans is a premier toxicology model that has revolutionized our understanding of cellular responses to environmental pollutants and boasts robust genomic resources and high levels of genetic variation across the species.

Evaluating the power and limitations of genome-wide association studies in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Quantitative genetics in Caenorhabditis elegans seeks to identify naturally segregating genetic variants that underlie complex traits. Genome-wide association studies scan the genome for individual genetic variants that are significantly correlated with phenotypic variation in a population, or quantitative trait loci. Genome-wide association studies are a popular choice for quantitative genetic analyses because the quantitative trait loci that are discovered segregate in natural populations.

easyXpress: An R package to analyze and visualize high-throughput C. elegans microscopy data generated using CellProfiler.

High-throughput imaging techniques have become widespread in many fields of biology. These powerful platforms generate large quantities of data that can be difficult to process and visualize efficiently using existing tools. We developed easyXpress to process and review C.

Xenobiotic metabolism and transport in .

has emerged as a major model in biomedical and environmental toxicology. Numerous papers on toxicology and pharmacology in have been published, and this species has now been adopted by investigators in academic toxicology, pharmacology, and drug discovery labs. has also attracted the interest of governmental regulatory agencies charged with evaluating the safety of chemicals.

Age and Genetic Background Modify Hybrid Male Sterility in House Mice.

Hybrid male sterility (HMS) contributes to reproductive isolation commonly observed among house mouse () subspecies, both in the wild and in laboratory crosses. Incompatibilities involving specific alleles and certain Chromosome (Chr) X genotypes are known determinants of fertility and HMS, and previous work in the field has demonstrated that genetic background modifies these two major loci. We constructed hybrids that have identical genotypes at and identical X chromosomes, but differ widely across the rest of the genome.

Could Animal-Assisted Therapy Help to Reduce Coercive Treatment in Psychiatry?

For psychiatric patients, compulsory admission and coercive measures can constitute distressing and sometimes traumatizing experiences. As a consequence, clinicians aim at minimizing such procedures. At the same time, they need to ensure high levels of safety for patients, staff and the public.

Novel Neuroprotective Loci Modulating Ischemic Stroke Volume in Wild-Derived Inbred Mouse Strains.

To identify genes involved in cerebral infarction, we have employed a forward genetic approach in inbred mouse strains, using quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping for cerebral infarct volume after middle cerebral artery occlusion. We had previously observed that infarct volume is inversely correlated with cerebral collateral vessel density in most strains. In this study, we expanded the pool of allelic variation among classical inbred mouse strains by utilizing the eight founder strains of the Collaborative Cross and found a wild-derived strain, WSB/EiJ, that breaks this general rule that collateral vessel density inversely correlates with infarct volume.

Meeting report: 32nd international mammalian genome conference.

Over 150 scientists from more than 50 research institutions and eight countries attended the 32nd annual meeting of the International Mammalian Genome Society (IMGS) held in Rio Mar, Puerto Rico. Attendees included predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, junior investigators, clinicians, industry professionals, and established leaders in mammalian genetics and genomics. From November 11-14, major scientific advances in the fields of systems genetics, developmental biology, cancer, human disease modeling, and bioinformatics were showcased in a series of 66 poster and 54 platform presentations.

Functional Neuroimaging Correlates of Aggression in Psychosis: A Systematic Review With Recommendations for Future Research.

Aggression in psychosis is clinically important. We systematically compiled the evidence on functional correlates of aggression in psychosis searching PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and PsycINFO until September 2017. We included studies reporting functional brain imaging correlates of aggression comparing: (1) affective or non-affective psychosis groups with a history of violence or with aggression operationalized using questionnaires, (2) affective or non-affective psychosis groups with a history of violence or with aggression operationalized using questionnaires to controls, (3) affective or non-affective psychosis groups with a history of violence or with aggression operationalized using questionnaires to controls with diagnoses other than affective or non-affective psychoses.

Voxel-Based Morphometry Correlates of an Agitated-Aggressive Syndrome in the At-Risk Mental State for Psychosis and First Episode Psychosis.

There are mixed reports on structural neuroimaging correlates of aggression in schizophrenia with weak evidence due to cohort overlaps and lack of replications. To our knowledge, no study examined volumetric neuroimaging correlates of aggression in early stages of psychosis. An agitated-aggressive syndrome is present in at-risk mental state (ARMS) and in first-episode psychosis (FEP) - it is unclear whether this syndrome is associated with structural brain abnormalities in early stages of psychosis.

Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates of Aggression in Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Effect Size Analysis.

Aggression in psychoses is of high clinical importance, and volumetric MRI techniques have been used to explore its structural brain correlates. We conducted a systematic review searching EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and PsycINFO through September 2017 using thesauri representing aggression, psychosis, and brain imaging. We calculated effect sizes for each study and mean Hedge's g for whole brain (WB) volume.

Tracking local anesthetic effects using a novel perceptual reference approach.

Drug effects of loco-regional anesthetics are commonly measured by unidimensional pain rating scales. These scales require subjects to transform their perceptual correlates of stimulus intensities onto a visual, verbal, or numerical construct that uses a unitless cognitive reference frame. The conceptual understanding and execution of this magnitude estimation task may vary among individuals and populations.

The human brain response to dental pain relief.

Local anesthesia has made dental treatment more comfortable since 1884, but little is known about associated brain mechanisms. Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a modern neuroimaging tool widely used for investigating human brain activity related to sensory perceptions, including pain. Most brain regions that respond to experimental noxious stimuli have recently been found to react not only to nociception alone, but also to visual, auditory, and other stimuli.

Negative attention bias and processing deficits during the cognitive reappraisal of unpleasant emotions in HIV+ women.

Deficits in emotional processing may be attributed to HIV disease or comorbid psychiatric disorders. Electrocortical markers of emotional attention, i.e.

HIV-positive females show blunted neurophysiological responses in an emotion-attention dual task paradigm.

Objective: Although HIV is associated with decreased emotional and cognitive functioning, the mechanisms through which affective changes can alter cognitive processes in HIV-infected individuals are unknown. We aimed to clarify this question through testing the extent to which emotionally negative stimuli prime attention to a subsequent infrequently occurring auditory tone in HIV+ compared to HIV- females.

Methods: Attention to emotional compared to non-emotional pictures was measured via the LPP ERP.

ERPs differ from neurometric tests in assessing HIV-associated cognitive deficit.

The onset and time-course of HIV-associated cognitive deficits are not well established. The present experiment compared physiological and neurometric assessments of cognitive decline in HIV-asymptomatic, HIV-symptomatic, and HIV-negative control adult women. The P3 component of standard auditory, event-related electrical potentials of the brain (ERP) and standard neurometric (pencil and paper) test scores were recorded.

Frequent detection of escape from cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition in perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 transmission: the ariel project for the prevention of transmission of HIV from mother to infant.

Host immunologic factors, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), are thought to contribute to the control of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) replication and thus delay disease progression in infected individuals. Host immunologic factors are also likely to influence perinatal transmission of HIV-1 from infected mother to infant. In this study, the potential role of CTL in modulating HIV-1 transmission from mother to infant was examined in 11 HIV-1-infected mothers, 3 of whom transmitted virus to their offspring.

The Ariel Project: A prospective cohort study of maternal-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in the era of maternal antiretroviral therapy.

In a prospective cohort study, clinical and biologic factors that contribute to maternal-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) were studied. HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants were evaluated prospectively according to a standardized protocol. Of 204 evaluable women, 81% received zidovudine during their pregnancy.

Predictors of Haitian-American infant development at twelve months.

Perinatal and early childhood influences on the development of 66 Haitian-American children were examined as part of an ongoing home visiting program. Although all participants were impoverished, approximately two-thirds lived in an urban setting with some access to social and health services, while one-third lived in a rural farmworkers' community where housing and services were sharply substandard. Measures used to examine the development of infants in these 2 settings included birthweight, household crowding, parental contributions to the child-rearing environment (the HOME), and developmental progress at 12 months on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.

Nonnutritive sucking during tube feedings: effects on preterm neonates in an intensive care unit.

Preterm neonates (mean 32 weeks' gestation, 1,300 gm birth weight) were provided a pacifier for nonnutritive sucking during tube feedings in the intensive care nursery. Their clinical course, subsequent bottle feeding behavior, and performance on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment scale were compared with those of control group infants. The infants provided with pacifiers averaged 27 fewer tube feedings, started bottle feeding three days earlier, averaged a greater weight gain per day, and were discharged eight days earlier for an average hospital cost savings of approximately $3,500.

Effects of parent training on teenage mother and their infants.

Parent training was provided for 80 low-income, black teenage mothers during their infants' first six months. Half of the mothers were visited biweekly in their homes to be instructed in caregiving and in sensorimotor and interaction exercises, and half were trained as CETA (Comprehensive Employment Training ACT)-paid, teacher's aides in a medical school infant nursery that provided care for their infants and infants of medical faculty. Growth and development during the first two years were superior for the infants whose mothers received training, particularly those who received paid parent training as teacher's aides in the infant nursery.

Effects of Brazelton demonstrations for mothers on the development of preterm infants.

Thirty healthy preterm infants were randomly assigned either to a control group or to one of two experimental groups. The mothers of the first experimental group were present during an administration of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale and were asked to complete the Mother's Assessment of the Behavior of Her Infant Scale (MABI) at birth and weekly for four weeks after the discharge of their infants. The mothers of the second experimental group were not present during the administration of the Brazelton scale, but were asked to complete the MABI scale at birth and weekly for the first month after discharge.

Teenage, lower-class, black mothers and their preterm infants: an intervention and developmental follow-up.

To assess the combined risks of being born preterm and to a teenage mother, and to evaluate the effects of an early intervention, preterm infants born to lower-class, black, teenage mothers were provided a home-based, parent-training intervention, and their development was then compared with that of nonintervention controls, of term infants of teenage mothers, and of term and preterm infants of adult mothers. Despite equivalence on prenatal care, factors which placed the preterm infant of the teenage mother at greater risk at birth were the small-for-date size of the infant and the less realistic developmental milestones and child rearing attitudes expressed by the mother. The preterm infants of teenage mothers who received intervention showed more optimal growth, Denver scores, and face-to-face interactions at 4 months.