Much of animal behavior is regulated to accomplish goals necessary for survival and reproduction. Little is known about the underlying motivational or drive states that are postulated to mediate such goal-directed behaviors. Here, we describe a mate-searching behavior of the Caenorhabditis elegans male that resembles the motivated behaviors of vertebrates. Adult C. elegans males, if isolated from mating partners, will leave the area of a food source and wander about their environment in an apparent search for a mate. When mating partners are present on the food source, males do not wander but remain with them. This behavior is sexually dimorphic for C. elegans and two additional male/hermaphrodite species studied; for these species, hermaphrodites leave food significantly slower than males. In contrast, for three male-female species examined, both males and females left food, in two cases with similar frequency, suggesting coordinate evolution of behavioral dimorphism with hermaphroditism. We use a quantitative behavioral assay to show that C. elegans male mate searching is regulated by signals from hermaphrodites and by physiological signals indicating nutritional and reproductive status. We identify genes in the serotonin, insulin, and sex determination pathways that affect the rate of mate searching. These genes may contribute to physiological and reproductive regulatory mechanisms. Our results establish C. elegans as a model genetic animal with a simple nervous system in which neural pathways leading to a motivated behavior may be genetically dissected.

Background. The chemokine CXCL10 is specifically upregulated during experimental development of plaque with an unstable phenotype. In this study we evaluated the functional consequences of these findings in mice and humans. Methods and Results. In ApoE−/− mice, we induced unstable plaque with using a flow-altering device around the carotid artery. From week 1 to 4, mice were injected with a neutralizing CXCL10 antibody. After 9 weeks, CXCL10 inhibition resulted in a more stable plaque phenotype: collagen increased by 58% (P = 0.002), smooth muscle cell content increased 2-fold (P = 0.03), while macrophage MHC class II expression decreased by 50% (P = 0.005). Also, the size of necrotic cores decreased by 41% (P = 0.01). In 106 human carotid endarterectomy specimens we found that increasing concentrations of CXCL10 strongly associate with an increase in atheromatous plaque phenotype (ANOVA, P = 0.003), with high macrophage, low smooth muscle cell, and low collagen content. Conclusions. In the present study we showed that CXCL10 is associated with the development of vulnerable plaque in human and mice. We conclude that CXCL10 might provide a new lead towards plaque-stabilizing therapy.

Male sexual behavior is increasingly the focus of genetic study in a variety of animals. Genetic analysis in the soil roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has lead to identification of genes and circuits that govern behaviors ranging from motivation and mate-searching to courtship and copulation. Some worm and fly genes have counterparts with related functions in higher animals and many more such correspondences can be expected. Analysis of mutations in mammals can potentially leadto insights into such issues as monogamous versus promiscuous sexual behavior and sexual orientation. Genetic analysis of sexual behavior has implications for understanding how the nervous system generates and controls a complex behavior. It can also help us to gain an appreciation of how behavior is encoded by genes and their regulatory sequences.

The CDSS implementation of an insulin protocol in an ICCU improved compliance, identified targets for further improvement of the protocol, and resulted in improved glucose regulation after implementation.

Goals 1. Ensure that critical resources are used efficiently, namely staff and personal protective equipment (PPE). 2. Provide guidance for the appropriate use of EP and CIED services during the pandemic. 3. Minimise adverse patient outcomes during the pandemic period where resources are limited. 4. Minimise exposure of patients and health care workers. Key Considerations 1. Mandatory training of staff on use of PPE. 2. Tailoring of the current document to local demand for EP and CIED services, local outbreak patterns, local hospital recommendations, hospital PPE supply chain, and hospital contingency plans and/or crisis capacity status. 3. Encourage patient specific risk assessment and sound clinical judgment, weighing the risk vs. benefits of delaying intervention versus risk of patient and staff infection with COVID-19, and use of precious PPE resources. 4. Realignment of the delivery of EP and CIED services with a switch to telehealth and remote monitoring, where feasible. 5. Division of physicians and allied health professionals into separate teams, with minimal in-person interaction between team members 6. Where feasible, segregation of labs and equipment for use in patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. 7. Temporary deferment of non-critical ambulatory monitoring services to minimise direct patient contact. 8. Rapid completion of inpatient EP and CIED procedures which cannot be deferred for 1-3 months. 9. Temporary deferment of non-urgent elective EP and CIED procedures. 10. Outpatient procedures limited to only those deemed urgent or deemed ''semi-urgent" where risks of prolonged deferment are unacceptably high. 11. Individual patient screening for COVID-19 exposure risk as per local hospital recommendations, and appropriate use of PPE. Keywords COVID-19 Cardiac electrophysiology Cardiac implantable electronic devices Personal protective equipment Congenital heart disease e58 S. Kumar et al.