Spatial correlates of floristic and structural variation in a Neotropical wetland forest

Wetlands Ecology and Management - Despite the ecological importance of wetland forests, their classification is still unsatisfactory, partly due to insufficient knowledge about the environmental...     

CD8+ T cells are increased in the subventricular zone with physiological and pathological aging

Age‐related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases are associated with less functional neurogenic niches. It has been recently shown that aged subventricular zone (SVZ) suffers an infiltration of T cells, which affects neural stem cell activity in mice. Whether this occurs in human neurogenic niches or to which extent T‐cell infiltration is also taking place in neurodegenerative diseases remains unknown. In this work, we studied the presence of T cells in both human neurogenic niches in young and old individuals. There was a significant increase in the number of CD3⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in the SVZ of elderly individuals, which was not detected in the dentate gyrus. Moreover, we also found CD3⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in the SVZ of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. However, T‐cell count was similar when compared non‐neuropathological elderly with disease diagnosed patients. Our study reveals the infiltration of T cells in old human brains, particularly in the SVZ under non‐pathological conditions and also in neurodegenerative contexts.     

Motivational value and salience of images of infants

Researchers have typically reported relatively greater preferences for infants among females than among males, though this varies somewhat across samples and age groups. The mechanism by which this sex difference occurs is not well understood and many studies rely on participants' self-reported preferences rather than measuring motivated behavior or patterns of visual attention directly. The present research consists of two independent studies investigating attention to infants. The aim of these studies was to extend research on the characteristics associated with interest in infants by measuring motivation to view infant faces (Study 1) and visual attention to infants in a complex visual scene (Study 2). In Study 1, participants controlled the length of viewing time for different images. Women demonstrated motivation to extend viewing of infants. Men showed the opposite pattern, working to decrease the length of time they viewed infants. In Study 2, participants were shown complex scenes that contained infants. Patterns of visual attention were measured using eye-tracking technology. Infants did not receive a particularly high proportion of fixations from either sex. However, there were relationships between gender-linked traits, such as digit ratio and self-reported interest in infants, and the percentage of fixations on infants. Additionally, participants who reported being in a romantic relationship demonstrated greater interest in infants. This suggests the long-reported sex difference in interest in infants may relate more to current life circumstances and gender linked traits than an overwhelming tendency among all members of a sex.