Oxytocin as an Indicator of Psychological and Social Well-Being in Domesticated Animals: A Critical Review.

Oxytocin is often portrayed as a hormone specific to social behavior, reflective of positive welfare states, and linked to mental states. Research on oxytocin in domesticated animal species has been few to date but is rapidly increasing (in dog, pig, cattle, sheep), with direct implications for animal welfare. This review evaluates the evidence for the specificity of oxytocin as an indicator of: 1.

Microglia: An Interface between the Loss of Neuroplasticity and Depression.

Depression has been widely accepted as a major psychiatric disease affecting nearly 350 million people worldwide. Research focus is now shifting from studying the extrinsic and social factors of depression to the underlying molecular causes. Microglial activity is shown to be associated with pathological conditions, such as psychological stress, pathological aging, and chronic infections.

Investigations into Hypoxia and Oxidative Stress at the Optic Nerve Head in a Rat Model of Glaucoma.

The vascular hypothesis of glaucoma proposes that retinal ganglion cell axons traversing the optic nerve head (ONH) undergo oxygen and nutrient insufficiency as a result of compromised local blood flow, ultimately leading to their degeneration. To date, evidence for the hypothesis is largely circumstantial. Herein, we made use of an induced rat model of glaucoma that features reproducible and widespread axonal transport disruption at the ONH following chronic elevation of intraocular pressure.

Representation of Semantic Similarity in the Left Intraparietal Sulcus: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evidence.

According to a recent study, semantic similarity between concrete entities correlates with the similarity of activity patterns in left middle IPS during category naming. We examined the replicability of this effect under passive viewing conditions, the potential role of visuoperceptual similarity, where the effect is situated compared to regions that have been previously implicated in visuospatial attention, and how it compares to effects of object identity and location. Forty-six subjects participated.

Deferiprone and Gallium-Protoporphyrin Have the Capacity to Potentiate the Activity of Antibiotics in Small Colony Variants.

Small colony variants (SCVs) of bacteria like are characterized by a reduced colony size and are linked to increased antibiotic tolerance and resistance. Their altered expression of virulence factors, slow growing properties and their ability to form biofilms make the eradication of SCVs challenging. In the context of biofilm-related infectious diseases involving SCVs, a therapy targeting bacterial iron metabolism was evaluated.

Male Seminal Relaxin Contributes to Induction of the Post-mating Cytokine Response in the Female Mouse Uterus.

The hormone relaxin is important in female reproduction for embryo implantation, cardiovascular function, and during labor and lactation. Relaxin is also synthesized in males by organs of the male tract. We hypothesized that relaxin might be one component of seminal plasma responsible for eliciting the female cytokine response induced in the uterus at mating.

Relaxin-Family Peptide Receptors 1 and 2 Are Fully Functional in the Bovine.

In most mammals the peptide hormone relaxin is a key physiological component regulating early pregnancy and birth. However, synteny analysis shows that the gene encoding ovarian relaxin-2 is deleted in cows and sheep. While, these ruminants appear to exhibit a relaxin-like physiology, as in other mammals, until now a molecular understanding of this has been lacking.

A Life-Long Approach to Physical Activity for Brain Health.

It is well established that engaging in lifelong Physical activity (PA) can help delay the onset of many chronic lifestyle related and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Additionally, growing evidence also documents the importance of PA for brain health, with numerous studies indicating regular engagement in physical activities may be protective against cognitive decline and dementia in late life. Indeed, the link between PA and brain health may be different at each stage of life from childhood, mid-life and late life.

Baroreflex Coupling Assessed by Cross-Compression Entropy.

Estimating interactions between physiological systems is an important challenge in modern biomedical research. Here, we explore a new concept for quantifying information common in two time series by cross-compressibility. Cross-compression entropy (CCE) exploits the ZIP data compression algorithm extended to bivariate data analysis.

Proprioceptive Feedback Facilitates Motor Imagery-Related Operant Learning of Sensorimotor β-Band Modulation.

Motor imagery (MI) activates the sensorimotor system independent of actual movements and might be facilitated by neurofeedback. Knowledge on the interaction between feedback modality and the involved frequency bands during MI-related brain self-regulation is still scarce. Previous studies compared the cortical activity during the MI task with concurrent feedback (MI feedback condition) to cortical activity during the relaxation task where no feedback was provided (relaxation feedback condition).

Modulates Chloride (Cl) Efflux from Roots of .

The accumulation of high concentrations of chloride (Cl) in leaves can adversely affect plant growth. When comparing different varieties of the same Cl sensitive plant species those that exclude relatively more Cl from their shoots tend to perform better under saline conditions; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in maintaining low shoot Cl remain largely undefined. Recently, it was shown that the NRT1/PTR Family 2.

Genome-Enabled Prediction Models for Yield Related Traits in Chickpea.

Genomic selection (GS) unlike marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) predicts breeding values of lines using genome-wide marker profiling and allows selection of lines prior to field-phenotyping, thereby shortening the breeding cycle. A collection of 320 elite breeding lines was selected and phenotyped extensively for yield and yield related traits at two different locations (Delhi and Patancheru, India) during the crop seasons 2011-12 and 2012-13 under rainfed and irrigated conditions. In parallel, these lines were also genotyped using DArTseq platform to generate genotyping data for 3000 polymorphic markers.

Neurochemical and Neuroanatomical Plasticity Following Memory Training and Yoga Interventions in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Behavioral interventions are becoming increasingly popular approaches to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline, but their underlying neurobiological mechanisms and clinical efficiency have not been fully elucidated. The present study explored brain plasticity associated with two behavioral interventions, memory enhancement training (MET) and a mind-body practice (yogic meditation), in healthy seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using structural magnetic resonance imaging (s-MRI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS). Senior participants (age ≥55 years) with MCI were randomized to the MET or yogic meditation interventions.

Large Scale Gene Expression Meta-Analysis Reveals Tissue-Specific, Sex-Biased Gene Expression in Humans.

The severity and prevalence of many diseases are known to differ between the sexes. Organ specific sex-biased gene expression may underpin these and other sexually dimorphic traits. To further our understanding of sex differences in transcriptional regulation, we performed meta-analyses of sex biased gene expression in multiple human tissues.

A Longitudinal Study of the Predictors of Perceived Procedural Justice in Australian University Staff.

Purpose: This study examined the factors that predict employees' perceptions of procedural justice in university settings. The paper also reviews the ethical aspects of justice and psychological contracts within employment relationships.

Design/methodology/approach: The study examined the predictors of perceived procedural justice in a two-wave longitudinal sample of 945 employees from 13 universities by applying the Job Demands-Resources theoretical model of stress.

Can We Predict Burnout among Student Nurses? An Exploration of the ICWR-1 Model of Individual Psychological Resilience.

The nature of nursing work is demanding and can be stressful. Previous studies have shown a high rate of burnout among employed nurses. Recently, efforts have been made to understand the role of resilience in determining the psychological adjustment of employed nurses.

Exploring Environmental Factors in Nursing Workplaces That Promote Psychological Resilience: Constructing a Unified Theoretical Model.

Building nurses' resilience to complex and stressful practice environments is necessary to keep skilled nurses in the workplace and ensuring safe patient care. A unified theoretical framework titled Health Services Workplace Environmental Resilience Model (HSWERM), is presented to explain the environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience. The framework builds on a previously-published theoretical model of individual resilience, which identified the key constructs of psychological resilience as self-efficacy, coping and mindfulness, but did not examine environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Human Adult Stem Cells in the Mammalian Brain.

Introduction: The burden of stroke on the community is growing, and therefore, so is the need for a therapy to overcome the disability following stroke. Cellular-based therapies are being actively investigated at a pre-clinical and clinical level. Studies have reported the beneficial effects of exogenous stem cell implantation, however, these benefits are also associated with limited survival of implanted stem cells.