Automated multi-day tracking of marked mice for the analysis of social behaviour

A quantitative description of animal social behaviour is informative for behavioural biologists and clinicians developing drugs to treat social disorders. Social interaction in a group of animals has been difficult to measure because behaviour develops over long periods of time and requires tedious manual scoring, which is subjective and often non-reproducible. Computer-vision systems with the ability to measure complex social behaviour automatically would have a transformative impact on biology. Here, we present a method for tracking group-housed mice individually as they freely interact over multiple days. Each mouse is bleach-marked with a unique fur pattern. The patterns are automatically learned by the tracking software and used to infer identities. Trajectories are analysed to measure behaviour as it develops over days, beyond the range of acute experiments. We demonstrate how our system may be used to study the development of place preferences, associations and social relationships by tracking four mice continuously for five days. Our system enables accurate and reproducible characterisation of wild-type mouse social behaviour and paves the way for high-throughput long-term observation of the effects of genetic, pharmacological and environmental manipulations

Response of a neuronal model of tuberous sclerosis to mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors: Effects on mTORC1 and Akt signaling lead to improved survival and function

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is a hamartoma syndrome due to mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2 in which brain involvement causes epilepsy, mental retardation, and autism. We have recently reported (Meikle et al., J Neurosci 2007) a mouse neuronal model of TSC in which Tsc1 is ablated in most neurons during cortical development. We have tested rapamycin and RAD001, both mTORC1 inhibitors, as potential therapeutic agents in this model. Median survival is improved from 33 days to over 100 days; behavior, phenotype, and weight gain are all also markedly improved. There is brain penetration of both drugs, with accumulation over time with repetitive treatment, and effective reduction of levels of phospho-S6, a downstream target of mTORC1. In addition, there is restoration of phospho-Akt and phospho-GSK3 levels in the treated mice, consistent with restoration of Akt function. Neurofilament abnormalities, myelination, and cell enlargement are all improved by the treatment. However, dysplastic neuronal features persist, and there are only modest changes in dendritic spine density and length. Strikingly, mice treated with rapamycin or RAD001 for 23 days only (P7 — P30) displayed a persistent improvement in phenotype with median survival of 78 days. In summary, rapamycin/RAD001 are highly effective therapies for this neuronal model of TSC, with benefit apparently due to effects on mTORC1 and Akt signaling, and consequently cell size and myelination. Although caution is appropriate, the results suggest the possibility that rapamycin/RAD001 may have benefit in the treatment of TSC brain disease, including infantile spasms

Governance of a private Japanese university before and after the 1998 University Council reforms

A major crisis facing Japanese higher education is the inability of university leaders to respond to changes, such as enrollment declines and sudden economic downturns. In response, sweeping changes were proposed by the Japanese government-appointed University Council in October 1998 that may result in increased autonomy of universities and reduced control by the Ministry of Education. This case study describes the governance patterns of a single private university in Japan and explores the following question: What are the differences between the patterns of governance at Toshi University (not the real name of the university) before and after the 1998 University Council reforms?;In order to answer this question, the study provides a description and analysis of the bureaucratic, collegial, political and other governance patterns at Toshi University as reflected through past major decisions on the functions of academic programs, faculty affairs, financial affairs and external relations. The study also examines the implications of the new reforms for those patterns. The description of governance is presented through an interweaving of interviews, relevant documents, observations and the survey results.;The researcher collected the descriptive data used for the case study analysis on site. Interviews were conducted with faculty members, administrators, students and alumni. Responses from these interviews were compared to determine who were the primary decision-makers and which decisions were most significant as they related to their impact on the mission, priorities and implications for the future direction of the university. The information from the interviews was then used to complete a survey that was used to collect data from all full-time faculty members.;The conclusion that was reached from the analysis of the research findings was that no one model can be used to describe the governance patterns that existed before and after the 1998 University Council reforms. Indeed, a mixture of models based on Japanese cultural values, such as consensus, harmony and group solidarity, is needed to describe the situation at Toshi University. It was also determined that the 1998 reforms have served to either strengthen or weaken these various patterns of governance with respect to one or more functions of decision-making

Child Sexual Abuse and Prenatal Care: Understanding Screening, Modifications, and Proper Care

Research has shown that 1 in 9 women in prenatal care have a history of childhood sexual abuse. Pregnant women with a history of childhood sexual abuse are at increased risk of depression, somatization, preterm contractions, posttraumatic stress symptomology, and re-traumatization. The purpose of this study was to bridge the gap in literature between research and practice. Data was collected from practitioners regarding the care and treatment of pregnant women with a childhood sexual abuse history. It was hypothesized that screening practices and modification to care and treatment based on practitioner knowledge of prior sex abuse history will vary by provider type and provider title. A quantitative, online-based survey design was used to gather data from prenatal and birthing practitioners regarding their treatment of female patients who have a history of childhood sexual abuse. Data was analyzed via multiple regression analysis. The data analysis did not lead to any significant results and therefore was unable to support any findings regarding the research questions and hypotheses. The results of this study can be used to encourage practitioners to seek education regarding childhood sexual abuse and its effects on the health and wellbeing of pregnant women. Further, this study brings awareness to the importance of screening for childhood sexual abuse and modifying care during pregnancy and childbirth

Creating a hospital-based certification program for organ donation management

Session presented on Thursday, July 23, 2015: Purpose: Certification is a benchmark for recognizing clinical and expertise among nursing professionals. The American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center, and The American Association of Critical Care Nurses are among the groups that advocate certification as a means to recognize knowledge and competence, improve patient outcomes, and empower and engage nurses in their areas of expertise. The review of the literature does not represent a specialty certification in organ donation management for critical care nurses. The survey of nursing staff, the number of process related breakdowns, and loss of donation opportunity indicated a need for further investigation and education. Educational interventions are an integral part of efforts to promote best practice, inform providers, and improve patient care. Interventions alone do not recognize and validate expertise. Charleston Area Medical Center in association with the Center for Organ Recovery and Education offered the first educational intervention specifically targeted to critical care nurses for the care and management of donor patients and their families. The program is organized as a certification review course. Methods: The course outline and materials were compiled by faculty representing medicine, nursing, quality management, organ and tissue recovery, transplant, and \u27administration.\u27 The activity was built around clinical domains, caring practice, legal, ethical and regulatory standards. The conference consisted of speakers from the listed disciplines, power-point, group activities including case studies and question and answer sessions including a special session with donor families. The title of the course and hospital recognized certification is the CAMC Certified Donor Management Nurse (CDMN). The first course was offered in November of 2013. The second course was offered in 2014. Currently there is a third class scheduled for 2015. Participants were given 60 days to take their exam and be recognized as certified. Results: The first group of participants represented nurses from the eight critical care units at CAMC. The second group represented nurses from seven of the critical care units at Charleston Area Medical Center. Fourteen of a total of 21 nurses have taken and successfully passed the certifying exam. The certified nurses are now recognized by the organization, physicians, and peers \u27as clinical experts in the care and management of donor patients and their families.\u27 Requirements of nurses certified include participation in donor recognition activities, advocacy, peer education and taking the exam annually to maintain certification. The certified nurses have been recognized in the hospital based electronic newsletter as well as print media. They will receive certificates of achievement and be honored during the CAMC Power of Donation month in June of 2014. Conclusion: Currently improvement data is being monitored including: number of referrals, management of the donor patient, organ yield per donor, and conversion rates. Charleston Area Medical Center will explore offering the class to partner hospitals in the future. References Krapohl, G., Manojlovich, M., Redman, R., and Zhang, L. (2010). Nursing specialty certification and nursing sensitive patient outcomes in the intensive care unit. American Journal of Critical Care. 19(6), 490-498

Gender Influence on Perceptions of Healthy and Unhealthy Lifestyles

The purpose of this study was to determine if a gender bias exists in perceptions of a healthy vs. unhealthy lifestyle. The study was a 2 (male or female) x 2 (healthy or unhealthy) between subjects factorial design. College students (N = 53) read a scenario describing a lifestyle of a stimulus person. The participants then answered a 16-item questionnaire. The hypothesis that there is a gender difference in perceptions of a healthy lifestyle was not strongly supported. There was a strong main effect for the type of lifestyle with participants viewing the healthy lifestyle more positively. The hypothesis that participants who perceived themselves to be healthy would respond more positively to the description of the healthy lifestyle was supported for only two questions. In contrast to prior research, the results indicate that gender is not extremely important in regard to perceptions of an individual’s health

Ett grönt Paris?

Examensarbetet ett "Grönt Paris?" ger sig ut för att undersöka hur den hållbara stadsutvecklingen förändrar staden och vad detta kan innebära för stadslandskapet och stadslivet. Syftet är att undersöka vad som sker i spåren av den rådande stadsutvecklingsdebatten med fokus på trender för hållbar stadsutveckling i Paris. Arbetet är uppdelat i tre delar. Det börjar med att diskutera staden utifrån ett generellt perspektiv. Här beskrivs bland annat stadens form, gestaltning och landskap för att sedan fördjupas inom tre strategiskt intressanta områden för Paris vilka är mobilitet, densitet och biodiversitet. Del två är en fallstudie där jag besöker och reflekterar kring tre nyligen genomförda projekt Jardin Partagé, Eco ZAC Clichy Batignolles och Vélib. I den sista och tredje delen diskuterar jag resultatet. Arbetet har i sin helhet genomförts i Paris där jag bott och sedan våren 2008 varit en aktiv medborgare som kunnat följa aktuella debatter, läst artiklar och besökt utställningar. Jag har samtidigt med landskapsarkitektens glasögon studerat litteratur och genomfört tre fallstudier och praktiserat på ett franskt arkitektkontor där jag arbetat med dagsaktuella stadsbyggnadsfrågor. Alla dessa delar har tillsammans hjälpt mig att skapa en bild av stadens aktuella styrkor och svagheter och stadslivets framtida möjligheter och hot. Några av mina slutsatser är att stadsbyggandet idag fokuseras på att lösa några av de miljöproblem som staden tillåtit sig bygga in under århundraden. I dagsläget handlar flertalet projekt om att bland annat minska den ohållbara mobiliteten med privatbilism och satsa på en mer hållbar mobilitet som i cykelprojektet Vélib. Om att förstärka stadens biodiversitet med bättre tillgång till grönområden och närrekreation som i projekt Jardin Partagé samt om att läka den uppdelning som staden har lyckats skapa med sina förorter, vilket sker genom förtätningar i strategiska zoner som i projektet Clichy Batignolles. Tre till synes helt olika projekt men som på stadens arena samverkar

Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vocalization usage in relation to environmental noise levels

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125 (2009): 1806-1815, doi:10.1121/1.3068455.Noise can interfere with acoustic communication by masking signals that contain biologically important information. Communication theory recognizes several ways a sender can modify its acoustic signal to compensate for noise, including increasing the source level of a signal, its repetition, its duration, shifting frequency outside that of the noise band, or shifting the timing of signal emission outside of noise periods. The extent to which animals would be expected to use these compensation mechanisms depends on the benefit of successful communication, risk of failure, and the cost of compensation. Here we study whether a coastal marine mammal, the manatee, can modify vocalizations as a function of behavioral context and ambient noise level. To investigate whether and how manatees modify their vocalizations, natural vocalization usage and structure were examined in terms of vocalization rate, duration, frequency, and source level. Vocalizations were classified into two call types, chirps and squeaks, which were analyzed independently. In conditions of elevated noise levels, call rates decreased during feeding and social behaviors, and the duration of each call type was differently influenced by the presence of calves. These results suggest that ambient noise levels do have a detectable effect on manatee communication and that manatees modify their vocalizations as a function of noise in specific behavioral contexts.This research was supported by a P.E.O. Scholar Award and National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship awarded to Jennifer Miksis

Vocal Learning and Auditory-Vocal Feedback

Vocal learning is usually studied in songbirds and humans, species that can form auditory templates by listening to acoustic models and then learn to vocalize to match the template. Most other species are thought to develop vocalizations without auditory feedback. However, auditory input influences the acoustic structure of vocalizations in a broad distribution of birds and mammals. Vocalizations are dened here as sounds generated by forcing air past vibrating membranes. A vocal motor program may generate vocalizations such as crying or laughter, but auditory feedback may be required for matching precise acoustic features of vocalizations. This chapter discriminates limited vocal learning, which uses auditory input to fine-tune acoustic features of an inherited auditory template, from complex vocal learning, in which novel sounds are learned by matching a learned auditory template. Two or three songbird taxa and four or ve mammalian taxa are known for complex vocal learning. A broader range of mammals converge in the acoustic structure of vocalizations when in socially interacting groups, which qualifies as limited vocal learning. All birds and mammals tested use auditory-vocal feedback to adjust their vocalizations to compensate for the effects of noise, and many species modulate their signals as the costs and benefits of communicating vary. This chapter asks whether some auditory-vocal feedback may have provided neural substrates for the evolution of vocal learning. Progress will require more precise definitions of different forms of vocal learning, broad comparative review of their presence and absence, and behavioral and neurobiological investigations into the mechanisms underlying the skills.PostprintPeer reviewe