Assessing preferences for adult versus juvenile features in young animals: Newly hatched chicks spontaneously approach red and large stimuli.

Young precocial birds benefit from staying close to both their mother and their siblings, while prioritising adults, which provide better care. Which features of the stimuli are used by young birds to prioritise approach and eventually attachment to adults over siblings is unknown. We started to address this question in newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus), focusing on their spontaneous preferences for visual features that systematically vary between adult and juvenile chickens, and that had previously been identified as attractive: size (larger in adults than in juveniles) and colour (darker and redder in adults than in juveniles). Overall, chicks at their first visual experience, that had never seen a conspecific beforehand, were most attracted to the red and large stimuli (two adult features) and spent more time in close proximity with red stimuli than with yellow stimuli. When tested with red large versus small objects (Exp. 1), chicks preferred the large shape. When tested with yellow large and small objects (Exp. 2), chicks did not show a preference. Chicks had a stronger preference for large red stimuli (vs. small yellow objects) than for small red stimuli (vs. a large yellow object) (Exp. 3). These results suggest that the combination of size and colour form the predisposition that helps chicks to spontaneously discriminate between adult and juvenile features from the first stages of life, in the absence of previous experience, exhibiting a preference to approach stimuli with features associated with the presence of adult conspecifics.

Aged hind-limb clasping experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis models aspects of the neurodegenerative process seen in multiple sclerosis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most common model of multiple sclerosis (MS). This model has been instrumental in understanding the events that lead to the initiation of central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity. Though EAE has been an effective screening tool for identifying novel therapies for relapsing-remitting MS, it has proven to be less successful in identifying therapies for progressive forms of this disease. Though axon injury occurs in EAE, it is rapid and acute, making it difficult to intervene for the purpose of evaluating neuroprotective therapies. Here, we describe a variant of spontaneous EAE in the 2D2 T cell receptor transgenic mouse (2D2+ mouse) that presents with hind-limb clasping upon tail suspension and is associated with T cell-mediated inflammation in the posterior spinal cord and spinal nerve roots. Due to the mild nature of clinical signs in this model, we were able to maintain cohorts of mice into middle age. Over 9 mo, these mice exhibited a relapsing-remitting course of hind-limb clasping with the development of progressive motor deficits. Using a combined approach of ex vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histopathological analysis, we observed neurological progression to associate with spinal cord atrophy, synapse degradation, and neuron loss in the gray matter, as well as ongoing axon injury in the white matter of the spinal cord. These findings suggest that mild EAE coupled with natural aging may be a solution to better modeling the neurodegenerative processes seen in MS.

Pelvic Floor Health in Women with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Urinary dysfunction and constipation, manifestations of pelvic floor dysfunction are common sources of disability and impaired quality of life in women with Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the pelvic floor health amongst women with PD and their reporting of bladder and bowel symptoms. METHODS: We surveyed women with PD and age-matched controls about pelvic floor health using validated questionnaires. All participants completed the Pelvic Floor Disability Index (PFDI-20), the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ-7) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short form version 2.0 Cognitive Function 8a. Additionally, PD patients underwent the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) scale and the Montreal Cognition Assessment (MoCA). RESULTS: Women with PD (n = 59; age, 70.4±8.6 years, PROMIS cognitive score, 52.0±7.8) self-reported urinary symptoms to a greater extent than controls (n = 59; age, 70.2±8.7 years, PROMIS cognitive score, 51.0±10) (68% vs 43%, p < 0.01). The difference was mirrored by higher (worse) scores on both PFDI-20 (35.4 vs 15.6; p = 0.01) and PFIQ-7 (4.8 vs 0; p < 0.01) for PD women compared to controls. Only 63% of all participants with self-reported pelvic floor symptoms had previously reported these symptoms to a health care provider. There was no difference in utilization of specialty care between the two groups (30% vs 46%, p = 0.2). CONCLUSION: Pelvic floor dysfunction, more common amongst women with PD, is underreported and undertreated. Our study identifies a key gap in care of women with PD.

Implementing Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) in the Care of Older Adults: Overcoming Barriers and Promoting Facilitators.

The Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) in the Care of Older Adults curriculum was developed at Boston University School of Medicine to improve the care of older adults through an educational intervention. The curriculum targeted chief residents (CRs) because their role as mediators between learners and faculty provides the greatest potential impact for transmitting knowledge. The goals of CRIT are to: (1) provide education on geriatric principles and on teaching/leadership skills, (2) foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and (3) complete an action project. This study demonstrates successful implementation of CRIT at a different academic institution in a rural state. The CRs indicated that their confidence in their ability to apply and teach geriatrics improved after CRIT. In addition, the CRs indicated that CRIT improved their confidence in their overall skills as CRs. The barriers and facilitators to implementation are addressed in order to promote successful adoption of CRIT at other institutions, including those in rural states.

Incidence of venous thromboembolic events among nursing home residents.

Chronic care facility stay has been shown to be an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism. Review of the literature, however, reveals a paucity of data addressing the issue of venous thromboembolism in nursing home residents. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of venous thromboembolic events among nursing home residents. A retrospective cohort study was derived from data compiled in the State of Kansas Minimum Data Set (MDS) for nursing home residents from July 1, 1997 to July 1, 1998. A total of 18,661 residents (median age, 85 years, 74% female, 95% white) satisfied the study criteria. The outcome measures of the primary endpoint-development of a venous thromboembolic event (VTE)-were obtained from the MDS quarterly health assessments and the Medicare ICD-9 codes. We determined the incidence of VTE among nursing home residents as 1.30 events per 100 person-years of observation.