Social Behavior of Offspring Following Prenatal Cocaine Exposure in Rodents: A Comparison with Prenatal Alcohol

Clinical and experimental reports suggest that prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) alters the offsprings’ social interactions with caregivers and conspecifics. Children exposed to prenatal cocaine show deficits in caregiver attachment and play behavior. In animal models, a developmental pattern of effects that range from deficits in play and social interaction during adolescence, to aggressive reactions during competition in adulthood is seen. This review will focus primarily on the effects of PCE on social behaviors involving conspecifics in animal models. Social relationships are critical to the developing organism; maternally directed interactions are necessary for initial survival. Juvenile rats deprived of play behavior, one of the earliest forms of non-mother directed social behaviors in rodents, show deficits in learning tasks and sexual competence. Social behavior is inherently complex. Because the emergence of appropriate social skills involves the interplay between various conceptual and biological facets of behavior and social information, it may be a particularly sensitive measure of prenatal insult. The social behavior surveyed include social interactions, play behavior/fighting, scent marking, and aggressive behavior in the offspring, as well as aspects of maternal behavior. The goal is to determine if there is a consensus of results in the literature with respect to PCE and social behaviors, and to discuss discrepant findings in terms of exposure models, the paradigms, and dependent variables, as well as housing conditions, and the sex and age of the offspring at testing. As there is increasing evidence that deficits in social behavior may be sequelae of developmental exposure alcohol, we compare changes in social behaviors reported for prenatal alcohol with those reported for prenatal cocaine. Shortcomings in the both literatures are identified and addressed in an effort to improve the translational value of future experimentation

Implementasi sistem automasi pengatur air hidroponik berbasis Arduino

Perkembangan teknologi pada zaman ini sudah mencapai titik dimana hampir semua aspek telah mengimplementasikan teknologi. Seperti halnya dalam aspek agraris yaitu bidang pertanian dan perkebunan khususnya hidroponik. Teknologi saat ini memasuki era industri 4.0 dimana hampir semua pekerjaan manusia dibantu oleh teknologi dari jarak jauh atau dijalankan secara automatis. Dalam bidang pertanian dan perkebunan teknologi tersebut dimanfaatkan untuk membantu manusia dalam merawat tanaman hingga masa panen tanaman. Namun teknologi tersebut masih belum diterapkan secara luas, sebagian besar pekerjaan masih dilakukan oleh tenaga kerja manusia. Oleh karena itu dilakukan dibuatlah sistem automasi pengatur air hidroponik berbasis Arduino, dengan harapan mempermudah petani hidroponik dalam penanaman dan mengatur kondisi dan kualitas dari tanaman yang dibiakkan. Pada penelitian ini dilakukan beberapa proses seperti pengambilan data, analisa kebutuhan, perancangan sistem dengan rule based system, implementasi, dan pengujian. Hasil penelitian dengan 30 skenario pengujian fungsi sistem didapatkan hasil performa sebesar 86,6% dimana terdapat empat fungsi yang tidak bekerja dengan normal

KKN TEMATIK XV COVID 19 UNIVERSITAS BANGKA BELITUNG DAN GERAKAN PAKAI MASKER, MINUS PLASTIC SERTA CINTA LINGKUNGAN MELALUI 3 M (MENSOSIALISASI, MEMBERSIHKAN, MENJAGA) TANGGAP UNTUK NEGERI DI DESA AIR RUAY KECAMATAN PEMALI

Kegiatan KKN XV COVID 19 ini dilaksanakan di Desa Air Ruay Kecamatan Pemali Kabupaten Bangka selama 40 hari, Hasil dari kegiatan ini terbagi menjadi dua kegiatan, yakni tahap persiapan dan pelaksanaan. Tahap persiapan bertujuan untuk melihat lokasi atau lingkungan yang tercemar oleh pembuangan sampah liar. Mengumpulkan data untuk dijadikan informasi sekaligus meminta pendapat dari perangkat desa mengenai masalah sampah serta pandangannya terhadap kesadaran masyarakat mengenai masalah sampah di Desa Air Ruai. Selanjutnya dipilih dan dilakukan solusi yang tepat untuk menangani permasalahan ini dan bagaimana cara agar masyarakat Desa Air Ruai bisa menjaga lingkungan dengan tidak membuang sampah secara liar. Setelah itu disiapkan sarana dan prasarana pendukung pelaksanaan pengabdian. Luaran kegiatan ini pada intinya memberikan Edukasi pada Masyarakat setempat tentang Pengelolaan sampah dan Budaya Patuh serta Tertib agar dapat memutus mata rantai COVID 19 dan menciptakan lingkungan Desa yang bersih dan Asri

Protecting Human and Animal Health: The Road from Animal Models to New Approach Methods

Animals and animal models have been invaluable for our current understanding of human and animal biology, including physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and disease pathology. However, there are increasing concerns with continued use of animals in basic biomedical, pharmacological, and regulatory research to provide safety assessments for drugs and chemicals. There are concerns that animals do not provide sufficient information on toxicity and/or efficacy to protect the target population, so scientists are utilizing the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement (the 3Rs) and increasing the development and application of new approach methods (NAMs). NAMs are any technology, methodology, approach, or assay used to understand the effects and mechanisms of drugs or chemicals, with specific focus on applying the 3Rs. Although progress has been made in several areas with NAMs, complete replacement of animal models with NAMs is not yet attainable. The road to NAMs requires additional development, increased use, and, for regulatory decision making, usually formal validation. Moreover, it is likely that replacement of animal models with NAMs will require multiple assays to ensure sufficient biologic coverage. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a balanced view of the current state of the use of animal models and NAMs as approaches to development, safety, efficacy, and toxicity testing of drugs and chemicals. Animals do not provide all needed information nor do NAMs, but each can elucidate key pieces of the puzzle of human and animal biology and contribute to the goal of protecting human and animal health. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Data from traditional animal studies have predominantly been used to inform human health safety and efficacy. Although it is unlikely that all animal studies will be able to be replaced, with the continued advancement in new approach methods (NAMs), it is possible that sometime in the future, NAMs will likely be an important component by which the discovery, efficacy, and toxicity testing of drugs and chemicals is conducted and regulatory decisions are made

Plaisance - Mayaro, Trinidad and Tobago

Colour: Coloured; Style: Landscape; Other: Unbordered, DividedPlaisance is a small fishing village and is one of two old French villages from which Mayaro grew. The picture shows fishing boats beached on the shore in front of houses, and in the distance people enjoying the sea waters. The postcard is addressed to Miss Emily Deeter, New York, U.S.A. Affixed to the postcard number C-32942, is a Trinidad and Tobago 12 cents stamp, postmarked September 14, 1967.Funding for this project has been provided by Mrs. Irma E. Goldstraw

Maracas Bay

Colour: Coloured; Style: Landscape; Other: Unbordered, DividedTrinidad's popular Maracas beach where the people enjoy the sand and surf. The postcard is addressed to Mr. and Mrs. E.K. Uhler, Virginia, U.S. Affixed to the postcard are two Trinidad and Tobago stamps, a 2 cents and a 10 cents. Postcard has the number C-32940.Funding for this project has been provided by Mrs. Irma E. Goldstraw

Rock Gardens, Trinidad, B.W.I.

Colour: Coloured; Style: Landscape; Other: Unbordered, DividedA picture of visitors to the Rock Gardens enjoying a day in the sun. In the background, the top of Stollmeyer's Castle can be seen just over the tops of the trees. Postcard number 83275.Funding for this project has been provided by Mrs. Irma E. Goldstraw