Socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are biparental and alloparental. In the present study, we compared behavioral, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine parameters in male prairie voles with experience caring for pups (Fathers), versus reproductively inexperienced Virgin males. Father and Virgins showed generally similar responses to unrelated pups. However, in Fathers studied prior to and during pup exposure, heart rate was lower and respiratory sinus arrhythmia tended to be higher than in Virgins. Fathers also displayed comparatively lower levels of anxiety-related behaviors in an open field test. In Fathers, compared to Virgin males, we also found higher levels of oxytocin-immunoreactivity in the paraventricular hypothalamus and two brainstem regions involved in the autonomic regulation of the heart –the nucleus ambiguus and nucleus tractus solitarius. However, Fathers had less oxytocin in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Vasopressin did not differ significantly in these regions. Fathers also weighed less and had less subcutaneous fat and larger testes as a percentage of bodyweight. In conjunction with earlier findings in this species, the present study supports the hypothesis that oxytocin may be involved in the adaptation to fatherhood. These findings also support the hypothesis that males, with or without prior pup experience, may show simultaneous patterns of behavioral nurturance and autonomic states compatible with mobilization and vigilance.

A 2016 multicenter RCT (n51,437) evaluated telemonitoring of patients with HF after hospitalization compared with usual care. 2 Patients were 50 years old or above (mean age 73 years old), 46% female, with mean ejection fraction of 43%, currently admitted to the hospital, and being actively treated for HF. Patients were excluded if they had dementia, if they weighed over 204 kg, lacked a usable phone, resided in a skilled nursing facility, were on chronic hemodialysis, had an organ transplant in the past or pending, or had a planned intervention intended to correct a HFrelated underlying condition. The intervention group (n5715) received predischarge education, scheduled telephone calls, symptom tracking, and daily home remote vitals monitoring using electronic equipment with automated transmission (weight scale, blood pressure, and heart rate monitor linked to a device). The control group (n5722) was provided "usual care" with education before hospital discharge and a follow-up call. The primary outcome was 180-day all-cause readmission, and secondary outcomes included 30-day all cause-readmission, 30-day mortality, and 180-day mortality. The 180-day all-cause readmission rate of patients was not significantly different for the intervention group compared with the control group (51% vs 49%; adjusted hazard ratio 1.03; 95% CI, 0.88-1.20). No difference was noted in secondary outcomes of 30-day all-cause readmission, and 30-day or 180-day all-cause mortality between the two groups. No adverse events were reported. Thirty-day mortality rates were underpowered. Patient adherence (defined as participation in at least 50% of planned monitoring activities) to the intervention was poor with 61% telephone call and 55% telemonitoring adherence.