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Effect of Creatine Monohydrate on SpatialWorking Memory, Body Weight, and Food Intake in Male and Female Rats
Full text linkBackground/Objectives: Creatine monohydrate supplementation has gained popularity in the fitness industry due to its ability to enhance athletic performance and has sparked curiosity about other possible effects of the supplement. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of creatine supplementation on spatial working memory, body weight, and food intake in male and female rats.
Methods: Experimental rats, six male and six female, were administered creatine while six male and six female rats served as controls. The Morris water maze (MWM) was employed to assess spatial working memory. Body weight and food intake were measured daily.
Results: Neither male control nor experimental animals demonstrated positive working memory upon initial exposure (week 1) to the MWM, whereas the initial exposure of female control and experimental animals resulted in positive working memory. By week 2 of the experimental period, all animals in both the control and experimental groups showed significant working memory with no significant differences among the groups. These effects were unrelated to creatine supplementation. Gender-specific differences were found for body weight, with higher weight gain observed in male rats compared to female rats. Weight gain was not directly influenced by creatine supplementation; however, food intake was lower in the experimental male rats receiving the supplement as compared to the control rats. No difference was observed in female rats.
Conclusions: Because of the popularity of creatine, further research about the effects of this supplement on different mechanisms in the body influencing cognitive processing and appetitive behavior is warranted
MAGA’s Mass Appeal An enigmatic mid-century thinker helps explain Trump’s true believers
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Where’d You Go, Ohio: Progressive Ohio Ballot Initiative Passage in a Republican Aligned State
Full text linkWe investigate the effects of cosmopolitan and traditional county features on the opposition to three successful liberal state-wide initiatives on abortion and recreational marijuana using county-level data. Cosmopolitan/traditional variables include urban/rural living patterns, college graduates, average income and religiosity while control variables include turnout, poverty, race, region, and union support. We observe the results of these three elections to see the relationship between vote shares and factors such as income, education, rural/urban, and religiosity, controlling for other factors. Utilizing OLS and GAM regression models, our results provide support for our hypothesis that there is a relationship between cosmopolitanism and votes for the progressive stance and traditionalism and votes for the conservative stance. Cosmopolitanism and traditionalism are also related to party divergence, as expressed in variation between county votes for Donald Trump in 2020 and support for Ohio’s ballot initiatives in 2023. The regression also supports our expectation that the coalitions for the progressive stance in all three of Ohio’s 2023 votes in question are distinct groups. Our results suggest that while progressive issues can be successful at the ballot box, the coalitions and circumstances required for victory are difficult to come by in partisan elections
Climate and gypsum parent material shape biocrust communities and moss ecology in the Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts
Full text linkBiological soil crust communities (biocrusts) establishing on gypsum soils have been well-documented for their prolific appearance and rich diversity of lichens and bryophytes. However, studies characterizing gypsum biocrusts have occurred primarily outside of the U.S., most of which lack comparisons to other soil types. We conducted intensive field surveys to evaluate the ground cover and frequency of biocrust functional groups and moss species on gypsum and non-gypsum soils in the U.S. regions with the most extensive gypsum outcrops, the northern Chihuahuan and eastern Mojave Deserts. Study sites were stratified by geomorphology and paired, so that every gypsum site was matched with a non-gypsum site in the same region. We employed canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to relate the observed differences in biocrust abundance and composition across soil types to distinct environmental variables. Additionally, we assessed species richness of biocrust mosses on gypsum versus non-gypsum soils, as well as in the Chihuahuan versus Mojave Deserts. Our results indicate that differences in biocrust communities on gypsum and non-gypsum soils are predominantly due to gypsum’s profuse dark algal (mostly cyanobacteria-formed) rather than lichen and moss biocrusts in these two hot desert biomes. Biocrust functional groups did not exhibit distinct associations with environmental variables. However, moss species appear to be strongly influenced by environmental variables and exhibited differential preferences for substrate parent material. Moss species richness was greater on gypsum soils and, surprisingly, in the hottest and driest North American Desert, the Mojave. Differences in species richness across deserts were strongly correlated to mean annual and seasonal temperatures, as well as mean winter precipitation. Overall, our data suggest that environmental and climate conditions all play important roles in the ecology of biocrusts, specifically moss diversity and distribution, in the northern Chihuahuan and eastern Mojave Deserts of the U.S. More importantly, we emphasize that gypsum soils of the U.S. are unique refugia for moss-forming biocrusts
Engaging African American Families: Suggestions to Improve Treatment Utilization for Opioid Use Disorders
Full text linkSubstance use disorders have been considered a “family disease,” and the impact of opioid use in African American communities is evident. African American overdose-related deaths now exceed that of White Americans in the United States. Despite the need, they engage in treatment at lower rates than White Americans. Research has called for more culturally responsive approaches to improve treatment outcomes. However, efforts to consider family and the community are not robust. This article reviews the impact of opioid use in the African American community while offering suggestions for counselors and therapists working with families to improve engagement
The role of post-cloacal gland biofluorescence in male-male communication in Plethodon cinereus
No full textBiofluorescence is increasingly recognized as a potentially important form of visual communication across a wide range of taxa, yet its ecological and behavioral function remains largely untested in many terrestrial species. In the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus), fluorescence is a sexually dimorphic trait most strongly expressed in males, particularly around the cloacal region and ventral side of the tail, areas that are often displayed during territorial contests and courtship. Rival males also direct behaviors like cloacal investigation toward these fluorescent regions, suggesting a potential signaling function. Since fluorescence is often displayed during territorial contests, I hypothesized that fluorescence in male P. cinereus would serve as an honest signal of fighting ability and territory quality. This was tested using a two-part study where, in a laboratory experiment, I assessed contest outcomes and habitat choice, and a field study where I examined associations between fluorescence, body condition, and territory quality. In the lab, I predicted that more fluorescent males would win contests and occupy higher quality microhabitats, but my study design failed to provide an adequate habitat gradient to test this hypothesis. In contrast, field data offered stronger support that fluorescence is used for signaling. Fluorescence was found to be marginally associated with body condition in spring but not in fall, possibly due to the costs of elevated testosterone in this season. While no link was found between fluorescence and abiotic features of territories, fluorescence was positively associated with prey diversity and composition when seasons were combined. In spring, fluorescence correlated with high quality prey like Collembola, while in fall, fluorescence was negatively associated with energetically costly, low quality prey such as non-oribatid mites. These findings suggest that fluorescence may act as an honest signal of territory quality, suggesting that only the most fluorescent salamanders gain access to high quality territories
Gloria Dei, Vivens Homo: Vulnerability & Flourishing in Post-Dobbs “Hard Cases.”
No full textWhen is vulnerability good, and when is it subject to manipulation and harm? How might flourishing be understood within Pope Francis’s push for integral human development, integral ecological conversion, and synodality, enabling an ethic of flourishing in church and society, rather than persistent vulnerability to abuse, harm, or re-traumatization