Is cooperativeness readable in static facial features? An inter-cultural approach

There is evidence in the literature that non-verbal physical features are used as cues for a propensity to cooperate. However, further studies of the human ability to visually detect cooperativeness are required. In particular, the existence of static facial cues of altruism remains questionable. Moreover, an investigation of both sex differences and cross-cultural applicability with respect to altruism detection skills is crucial in the context of the evolution of human cooperation. In this study, we used both a public good game and a charitable contribution to assess the cooperativeness of 156 men and 172 women in rural Senegal and took facial photographs of these individuals. The second portion of the study was conducted in France. In total, 194 men and 171 women were asked to distinguish the most and least selfish individual from a series of 80 pairs of Senegalese facial photographs, each pair consisting of the highest and the lowest contributor from a group in the public good game. Using mixed modeling techniques, we controlled for facial masculinity, age and socio-economic status. For male pairs, both male and female French raters were able to identify more often than by chance which individual made the smallest contribution to the public good in each group; however, detection was not successful with female faces. These results suggest that sex-specific traits are involved and that only male facial traits indicating cooperative skills are, at least inter-culturally, readable. The specific facial traits involved are investigated. However, the charitable contribution was not correlated with the contribution to the public good, and further work is necessary to identify which specific altruistic traits are detectable and to assess the generality of these results.     

Interplay between the Dividing Cell and Its Neighbors Regulates Adherens Junction Formation during Cytokinesis in Epithelial Tissue

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Highlights? During cytokinesis, neighboring cells accumulate MyoII at the edges of the furrow ? MyoII nonautonomously sets the initial geometry of the daughter cell interface ? Neighboring membranes impede adherens junction (AJ) formation until a midbody forms ? Arp2/3-dependent actin accumulation in the dividing cell maintains AJ geometry     

Bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations as regulators of the northern latitude carbon balance in response to global change

Ecosystems in the far north, including arctic and boreal biomes, are a globally significant pool of carbon (C). Global change is proposed to influence both C uptake and release in these ecosystems, thereby potentially affecting whether they act as C sources or sinks. Bryophytes (i.e., mosses) serve a variety of key functions in these systems, including their association with nitrogen (N₂)‐fixing cyanobacteria, as thermal insulators of the soil, and producers of recalcitrant litter, which have implications for both net primary productivity (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration. While ground‐cover bryophytes typically make up a small proportion of the total biomass in northern systems, their combined physical structure and N₂‐fixing capabilities facilitate a disproportionally large impact on key processes that control ecosystem C and N cycles. As such, the response of bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations to global change may influence whether and how ecosystem C balances are influenced by global change. Here, we review what is known about their occurrence and N₂‐fixing activity, and how bryophyte systems will respond to several key global change factors. We explore the implications these responses may have in determining how global change influences C balances in high northern latitudes.     

Subordinate plant species impact on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functioning in grasslands: Findings from a removal experiment

Despite their low relative abundance, subordinate plant species may have larger impacts on ecosystem functioning than expected, but their role in plant communities remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to test how subordinate plant species influence the functioning of a species-rich semi-natural grasslands. A plant removal experiment was set-up in the mountain grasslands of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland) to test the impact of subordinate plant species on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functioning. The experiment included three treatments: removal of all subordinate species, partial biomass removal of dominant species, and a no biomass removal control. After 2 years of treatments, we determined soil microbial community (bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi) by T-RFLP analysis and measured litter decomposition, soil respiration, soil inorganic nitrogen (DIN) availability and throughout above-ground biomass production as measures of ecosystem function. The removal of subordinate plant species strongly affected bacterial and weakly influenced mycorrhizal fungi communities and decreased rates of plant litter decomposition, soil respiration and DIN availability with larger effects than the partial loss of dominant biomass. The removal of subordinate plant species did not modify plant community structure, but it did reduce total above-ground biomass production compared to the control plots. Collectively, our findings indicate that the loss of subordinate species can have significant consequences for soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions, suggesting that subordinate species are important drivers of ecosystem properties.     

Comprehensive genotyping of the USA national maize inbred seed bank

Background

Genotyping by sequencing, a new low-cost, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to genotype 2,815 maize inbred accessions, preserved mostly at the National Plant Germplasm System in the USA. The collection includes inbred lines from breeding programs all over the world.

Results

The method produced 681,257 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers distributed across the entire genome, with the ability to detect rare alleles at high confidence levels. More than half of the SNPs in the collection are rare. Although most rare alleles have been incorporated into public temperate breeding programs, only a modest amount of the available diversity is present in the commercial germplasm. Analysis of genetic distances shows population stratification, including a small number of large clusters centered on key lines. Nevertheless, an average fixation index of 0.06 indicates moderate differentiation between the three major maize subpopulations. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) decays very rapidly, but the extent of LD is highly dependent on the particular group of germplasm and region of the genome. The utility of these data for performing genome-wide association studies was tested with two simply inherited traits and one complex trait. We identified trait associations at SNPs very close to known candidate genes for kernel color, sweet corn, and flowering time; however, results suggest that more SNPs are needed to better explore the genetic architecture of complex traits.

Conclusions

The genotypic information described here allows this publicly available panel to be exploited by researchers facing the challenges of sustainable agriculture through better knowledge of the nature of genetic diversity.     

Sedentary Time and Markers of Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation in a High Risk Population

Background

Sedentary behaviour has been identified as a distinct risk factor for several health outcomes. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted into the underlying mechanisms driving these observations. This study aimed to investigate the association of objectively measured sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with markers of chronic low-grade inflammation and adiposity in a population at a high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods

This study reports data from an ongoing diabetes prevention programme conducted in Leicestershire, UK. High risk individuals were recruited from 10 primary care practices. Sedentary time (<25counts per 15s) was measured using Actigraph GT3X accelerometers (15s epochs). A break was considered as any interruption in sedentary time (≥25counts per 15s). Biochemical outcomes included interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, adiponectin and leptin:adiponectin ratio (LAR). A sensitivity analysis investigated whether results were affected by removing participants with a CRP level >10 mg/L, as this can be indicative of acute inflammation.

Results

558 participants (age = 63.6±7.7years; male = 64.7%) had complete adipokine and accelerometer data. Following adjustment for various confounders, sedentary time was detrimentally associated with CRP (β = 0.176±0.057, p = 0.002), IL-6 (β = 0.242±0.056, p = <0.001), leptin (β = 0.146±0.043, p = <0.001) and LAR (β = 0.208±0.052, p = <0.001). Associations were attenuated after further adjustment for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with only IL-6 (β = 0.231±0.073, p = 0.002) remaining significant; this result was unaffected after further adjustment for body mass index and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA_1c). Similarly, breaks in sedentary time were significantly inversely associated with IL-6 (β = −0.094±0.047, p = 0.045) and leptin (β = −0.075±0.037, p = 0.039); however, these associations were attenuated after adjustment for accelerometer derived variables. Excluding individuals with a CRP level >10 mg/L consistently attenuated the significant associations across all markers of inflammation.

Conclusion

These novel findings from a high risk population recruited through primary care suggest that sedentary behaviour may influence markers associated with inflammation, independent of MVPA, glycaemia and adiposity.     

How Much Demand for New HIV Prevention Technologies Can We Really Expect? Results from a Discrete Choice Experiment in South Africa

Background

For the first time in the history of HIV, new bio-medical interventions have been shown to be effective in preventing HIV transmission. For these new HIV prevention technologies (NPTs) to have an impact on the epidemic, they must be widely used. This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to: understand the relative strength of women’s preferences for product characteristics, understand the implications for substitution away from male condoms, and inform realistic modelling of their potential impact and cost-effectiveness.

Methods

A DCE was conducted among 1017 women in urban South Africa. Women were presented with choices between potential women’s NPTs (microbicides, diaphragm, female condom) and ‘what I did last time’ (use or not use a condom) with different HIV and pregnancy prevention effectiveness’ and prices. Choice probabilities are estimated using the nested logit model and used to predict uptake.

Results

In this high HIV prevalence setting, HIV prevention effectiveness is the main driver of uptake followed by pregnancy prevention effectiveness. For example a microbicide with poor effectiveness would have niche appeal at just 11% predicted uptake, while a highly effective microbicide (95% effective against HIV and pregnancy) would have far wider appeal (56% predicted uptake). Though women who reported not using condoms were more likely to choose the NPTs, at current very high rates of male condom use in South Africa (60%), about half of microbicide uptake is projected to be among those currently not using condoms.

Conclusions

Women are very interested in NPTs, especially if highly effective in preventing HIV and pregnancy. Women in greatest need were also most likely to switch to the new products. Where products are not yet available for distribution, proxy data, such as that generated by DCEs, can bring realism to overly optimistic uptake scenarios found in many current impact models.     

A Randomized Trial of Two Coverage Targets for Mass Treatment with Azithromycin for Trachoma

Background

The World Health Organization recommends at least 3 annual antibiotic mass drug administrations (MDA) where the prevalence of trachoma is >10% in children ages 1–9 years, with coverage at least at 80%. However, the additional value of higher coverage targeted at children with multiple rounds is unknown.

Trial Design

2×2 factorial community randomized, double blind, trial.

Trial methods

32 communities with prevalence of trachoma ≥20% were randomized to: annual MDA aiming for coverage of children between 80%–90% (usual target) versus aiming for coverage>90% (enhanced target); and to: MDA for three years versus a rule of cessation of MDA early if the estimated prevalence of ocular C. trachomatis infection was less than 5%. The primary outcome was the community prevalence of infection with C. trachomatis at 36 months.

Results

Over the trial''s course, no community met the MDA cessation rule, so all communities had the full 3 rounds of MDA. At 36 months, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of infection, 4.0 versus 5.4 (mean adjusted difference = 1.4%, 95% CI = −1.0% to 3.8%), nor in the prevalence of trachoma, 6.1 versus 9.0 (mean adjusted difference = 2.6%, 95% CI = −0.3% to 5.3%) comparing the usual target to the enhanced target group. There was no difference if analyzed using coverage as a continuous variable.

Conclusion

In communities that had pre-treatment prevalence of follicular trachoma of 20% or greater, there is no evidence that MDA can be stopped before 3 annual rounds, even with high coverage. Increasing coverage in children above 90% does not appear to confer additional benefit.