C57BL/6N timed-pregnant female mice (7-8-weeks-of-age) were purchased from Charles River Laboratories (Raleigh, NC) and delivered to the East Carolina University (ECU) Brody School of Medicine (BSOM) animal facility (accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) at GD6. Once at ECU’s animal facilities, animals were singly housed in polycarbonate cages with corn cob bedding, soft bedding material, and a hiding tube. They were provided a 12-h light:dark cycle (light, 0600–1800 h; dark, 1800–0600 h), maintained at 23 ± 3ºC and 30–70% relative humidity, and given ad libitum access to both food (5P00 Prolab RMH 3000) and water. All procedures employed in this study involving animal models were approved in advance by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of ECU