When Charles Guiteau killed U.S. President James Garfield, he claimed that God had ordered him to do so. During his trial, Guiteau’s lawyers plead not guilty by reason of insanity, and the question of Guiteau’s innocence or guilt quickly became a question about the very nature of insanity itself. In...
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons are able to trigger the release of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone which control the maturation of oocytes and ovulation which is vital for reproduction. They are the most downstream neurons that project to the median eminence into the pituitary portal where they release GnRH. Modulation...
Childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the last several decades, particularly in industrialized countries, often accompanied by acceleration of pubertal progression and associated reproductive abnormalities (Biro et al., 2006; Rosenfield et al., 2009). The timing of pubertal initiation and progression in mammals is likely influenced by nutritional and metabolic state,...
In late November 1982, presidential aide Lee Atwater forwarded to chief of staff James Baker a report warning about “one of the most severe challenges facing the [Reagan] administration” in the coming year, one that “could lock the GOP into permanent minority status.” He was referring to the “gender gap”:...
Estradiol (E2) plays a role in positive and negative feedback mechanisms of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in female mammals. These mechanisms are regulated by two different populations of kisspeptin (KP)-producing neurons: anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) neurons, which are stimulated by E2, and arcuate (arc) neurons, which are inhibited by E2. AVPV...
Ovulation requires preovulatory surges of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from preoptic hypothalamic neurons, initiated by elevated ovarian estradiol (E₂). Rising estradiol activates a subset of sexually dimorphic kisspeptin (Kiss-1) neurons in the female, located in the anteroventral periventricular nuclei (AVPV). Conversely, estradiol negative feedback on GnRH secretion is mediated by a...
Across from the Memorial Union on Oregon State University’s campus sits Milam Hall, the former site of the Department of Home Economics. The building is named for Ava Milam Clark, the dean of home economics for thirty-three years, from 1917 to 1950. I aim to understand Ava Milam’s early career...
A feedback between decomposition and litter chemical composition occurs with decomposition altering composition that in turn influences the decomposition rate. Elucidating the temporal pattern of chemical composition is vital to understand this feedback, but the effects of plant species and climate on chemical changes remain poorly understood, especially over multiple...