The Influence of Habitual Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior on Objective and Subjective Hot Flashes at Midlife

The years surrounding the transition to menopause are marked by multiple challenges to health. Hot flashes are a commonly reported symptom of women at this time and their frequency has been associated with disease risk. Regular physical activity and reduced sedentary time are recommended for health and wellbeing. However, the effect of physical activity and sedentary behavior on hot flashes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between physical activity, sedentary time and hot flashes during both waking and sleeping periods using concurrent objective and subjective measures of hot flashes in midlife women. METHODS: Women aged 45-55 (n=196) provided self-reported data on physical activity and underwent 24-hours of hot flash monitoring using sternal skin conductance. Participants used event marking and logs to indicate when hot flashes were perceived. Wake and sleep periods were defined by actigraphy. Mean ambient temperature and humidity were recorded during the study period. Generalized linear regression modeling was used to evaluate the effect of physical activity types and sedentary time on hot flash outcomes. Isotemporal substitution modeling was used to study the effect of replacing sedentary time with activity variables on hot flash frequency. RESULTS: Modeled results indicated that increasing sitting by one hour was associated with a 7% increase in the rate of objectively measured but not subjectively reported hot flashes during sleep. Replacing one hour of sitting with one hour of vigorous activity was associated with a 100% increase in subjectively reported but not objectively measured waking hot flashes. There was little evidence for an effect of temperature or humidity on any hot flash outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide support for relations between sedentary time, physical activity and hot flashes and highlight the importance of using objective and subjective assessments to better understand the 24-hour hot flash experience

Indicating Acts During Counting by a Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) experienced in counting arrays of 0-7 items and trained for comprehension of number symbols, spontaneously displayed a variety of indicating acts (e.g., pointing, touching, and rearranging items) during counting. Twenty-five sessions were videotaped, and all trials were evaluated for the relations among number of items presented, number of indicating acts displayed, and the Arabic number selected to represent the array. Significant correlations included the relations between number of items and the cardinal number selected by the animal, between the number of items and indicating acts displayed by the chimpanzee, and between the number of indicating acts and the numeral selected. These data suggest that the use of indicating acts by this animal may have functional significance and serves as an organizing schema, comparable to similar behaviors observed in children in the early stages of learning to count

Acute Increases in Physical Activity and Temperature are Associated with Hot Flash Experience in Midlife Women

Objective: This study determined the association between acute changes in physical activity, temperature and humidity and 24-hour subjective and objective hot flash experience. Methods: Data collection occurred during the cooler months of the year in Western Massachusetts (October-April). Women aged 45-55 across 3 menopause stages (n=270) were instrumented with ambulatory monitors to continuously measure hot flashes, physical activity, temperature and humidity for 24-hours. Objective hot flashes were assessed via sternal skin conductance, and subjective hot flashes were recorded by pressing an event marker and data logging. Physical activity was measured with wrist-worn accelerometers and used to define sleep and wake periods. Logistic multilevel modeling was used to examine the differences in physical activity, humidity, and temperature in the 10 minutes preceding a hot flash versus control windows when no hot flashes occurred. The odds of hot flashes were considered separately for objective and subjective hot flashes as well as for wake and sleep periods. Results: Data from 188 participants were included in the analyses. There was a significantly greater odds of a hot flash following acute increases in physical activity for objective waking hot flashes (OR=1.31, 95% CI:1.17-1.47, p\u3c0.001) and subjective waking hot flashes (OR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.0-1.33, p=0.03). Acute increases in the actigraphy signal were associated with significantly higher odds of having an objective (OR=1.17, 95% CI:1.03- 1.35, p\u3c0.01) or subjective (OR=1.72, 95% CI 1.52-2.01, p\u3c0.001) sleeping hot flash. Increases in temperature were significantly related to the odds of subjective sleeping hot flashes only (OR=1.38, 95% CI:1.15-1.62, p\u3c0.001). There was no evidence for a relationship between humidity and odds of experiencing any hot flashes. Conclusions: These results indicate that acute increases in physical activity increase the odds of hot flashes that are objectively measured and subjectively reported during waking and sleeping periods. Temperature increases were only related to subjectively reported nighttime hot flashes

The Effect of Transportation on Puppy Welfare from Commercial Breeding Kennels to a Distributor.

Publication history: Accepted - 24 November 2022; Published online - 1 December 2022Many puppies from commercial breeding kennels (CBKs) are transported by ground from their kennels of origin to a distributor. This experience may elicit fear and stress during a sensitive developmental period, which may in turn negatively impact the puppies’ short- and long-term welfare. This study aimed to measure short-term effects of transportation on puppy welfare metrics. Eight-week-old puppies (n = 383) from 12 CBKs were tested at their kennels (pre-trans) and ~48 h after arriving at a distributor (post-trans). At each location, puppies underwent an isolation test, a stranger-approach test, and a physical health assessment. Behavioral responses to testing were scored from videos. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM), fecal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), and presence of intestinal parasites were also analyzed. Linear mixed-effects models identified decreased exploration (p < 0.001), and increased locomotion (p < 0.001) and escape attempts (p = 0.001) during the post-trans isolation test. Increased affiliative behavior (p < 0.001), FGM (p < 0.001) and sIgA (p = 0.014) were also observed post-trans. Findings support good physical health both pre- and post-trans, while behavioral and physiological changes suggest increased puppy distress post-trans. Higher post-transport affiliative behavior may indicate that puppies sought social support as a coping strategy after experiencing transport-related distress. Future studies should explore the efficacy of transportation-related interventions to mitigate puppy distress.The Endocrine Technologies Core (ETSC) at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is supported by NIH grant P51 OD011092 awarded to ONPRC

Grandmotherhood in Ukraine: Behavioral Variation and Evolutionary Implications

Grandmothers are known to increase the health and well-being of their grandchildren in many different populations. However, grandmothers may vary in their contributions based on their relatedness to their grandchildren. In some populations, maternal grandmothers decrease the risk of mortality and increase the health of their grandchildren more than paternal grandmothers. Grandmaternal influence also sometimes varies based on the gender of the grandchild. The behavioral mechanisms of grandmaternal investment are not well understood and have not been explored in the heavily intergenerational context of Eastern Europe. This study examines the behavioral variation of sixty-two Ukrainian grandmothers through interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. I test whether maternal and paternal grandmothers differ in face-to-face contact with their grandchildren and whether the gender of the grandchild influences the frequency of face-to-face contact. Additionally, I examine qualitative responses from grandmothers on various aspects of childcare to determine whether maternal and paternal grandmothers have different childcare strategies and experience grandmotherhood in different ways. I found that maternal grandmothers have significantly more face-to-face time with their grandchildren (173.8 days out of the year as compared to 87.5 for paternal grandmothers, pMaster of Arts (M.A.