Group and matriline differences in the behaviour of rhesus monkey infants

A ‘Monte Carlo’ method was developed for characterizing matrilines of rhesus monkey infants (Macaca mulatta) born to their mothers within six similar captive social groups, according to behavioural measures, and for characterizing social groups according to their matrilines' median scores. Eight- and 16-week-old infants differed according to their groups, but not according to their matrilines, in measures of their activity in the vicinity of their mothers, and the frequencies with which social companions other than the mother initiated social contacts with them while they were out of contact with their mothers. Sixteen-week-olds differed according to their groups in the frequencies with which their mothers rejected them, and 8-week-olds in the frequencies of the social contacts they initiated with companions other than mother while off their mothers. When tested with their mothers, in a mildly disturbing situation away from other social companions, 52-week-olds differed according to their group of origin in time spent out of contact with their mothers. Different groups were seen as producing infants differing in ‘enterprise’ from their eighth week, in the sense of being ready to initiate social contacts with others while off their mothers at 8 weeks, and of being off their mothers in the test at 52 weeks. Cases where the 8-week measures did not reflect infant enterprise could be explained in terms of other aspects of the relationships involving the infants and their mothers in the social group. In particular, matrilines differed consistently in dominance status, and some mothers also received high levels of aggression from other adults. Mothers receiving high levels of aggression were more responsible for maintaining proximity with their 8-week-old infants, and their 8-week-olds were less often involved in social contacts with others.     

一品红试管苗移栽驯化期叶片的解剖结构变化

对一品红试管苗移栽驯化,同时研究了驯化过程中叶片结构的变化,结果表明,一品红在珍珠岩基质中成活率达98%,随着移栽时间的延长,表皮细胞增大,排列紧密;叶肉细胞间隙减小,栅栏组织细胞长度增加,主脉增厚,导管数目增加,保水,输水和抗逆能力增强。     

Function and structure of inherently disordered proteins

The application of bioinformatics methodologies to proteins inherently lacking 3D structure has brought increased attention to these macromolecules. Here topics concerning these proteins are discussed, including their prediction from amino acid sequence, their enrichment in eukaryotes compared to prokaryotes, their more rapid evolution compared to structured proteins, their organization into specific groups, their structural preferences, their half-lives in cells, their contributions to signaling diversity (via high contents of multiple-partner binding sites, post-translational modifications, and alternative splicing), their distinct functional repertoire compared to that of structured proteins, and their involvement in diseases.     

Glycosyltransferases: managers of small molecules

Studies of the glycosyltransferases (GTs) of small molecules have greatly increased in recent years as new approaches have been used to identify their genes and characterize their catalytic activities. These enzymes recognize diverse acceptors, including plant metabolites, phytotoxins and xenobiotics. Glycosylation alters the hydrophilicity of the acceptors, their stability and chemical properties, their subcellular localisation and often their bioactivity. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the role of GTs in the plant and the utility of GTs as biocatalysts, the latter arising from their regio- and enantioselectivity and their ability to recognize substrates that are not limited to plant metabolites.     

Latitudinal shifts of introduced species: possible causes and implications

This study aims to document shifts in the latitudinal distributions of non-native species relative to their own native distributions and to discuss possible causes and implications of these shifts. We used published and newly compiled data on inter-continentally introduced birds, mammals and plants. We found strong correlations between the latitudinal distributions occupied by species in their native and exotic ranges. However, relatively more non-native species occur at latitudes higher than those in their native ranges, and fewer occur at latitudes lower than those in their native ranges. Only a small fraction of species examined (i.e. <20% of animals and <10% of plants) have expanded their distributions in their exotic range beyond both high- and low-limits of their native latitudes. Birds, mammals and plants tended to shift their exotic ranges in similar ways. In addition, most non-native species (65–85% in different groups) have not reached the distributional extent observed in their native ranges. The possible drivers of latitudinal shifts in the exotic range may include climate change, greater biotic resistance at lower latitudes, historical limitations on ranges in native regions, and the impacts of humans on species distributions. The relatively restricted distribution of most species in their exotic range highlights the great potential of future spread of most introduced species and calls for closely monitoring their directional spread under climate change.     

The Color of My Skin: A Measure to Assess Children's Perceptions of Their Skin Color

The Color of My Skin is an instrument developed to assess children's internalized idea (abstraction) of the color of their skin; their satisfaction with that color; the desire, if any, to change the color of their skin; and their affect regarding their skin color. The assessment is part of a questionnaire utilized in a 3-year longitudinal study that examines psychosocial development, physical health, and behavioral adjustment of Puerto Rican children (N = 257) reared in the Greater Boston area. The results demonstrate that children's internalized representation of their skin color is a construct that can be reliably and validly measured. The children's ratings of their skin color were not associated with their sex, school grade, ethnic identity, the child's or the parent's nativity, or the racial or ethnic compositions of 3 social contexts: their neighborhood, their classmates, and their closest friends. Puerto Rican children did not show a preference for light-colored skin. Moreover, there were no significant differences in self-esteem based on the child's self-reported skin color. The lack of association between self-esteem and skin color was interpreted in light of a developmental tendency prevalent in early to middle childhood to place a positive value on different aspects of one's self. Whereas almost all children (96%) reported being happy or very happy with their color, 16% of the children would like to change their skin color if they could (51% to a lighter and 46% to a darker color).     

Adaptive sex allocation in relation to hatching synchrony and offspring quality in house wrens

Increased variance in the reproductive success of males relative to females favors mothers that optimally allocate sons and daughters to maximize their fitness return. In altricial songbirds, one influence on the fitness prospects of offspring arises through the order in which nestlings hatch from their eggs, which affects individual mass and size before nest leaving. In house wrens (Troglodytes aedon), the influence of hatching order depends on the degree of hatching synchrony, with greater variation in nestling mass and size within broods hatching asynchronously than in those hatching synchronously. Early-hatching nestlings in asynchronous broods were heavier and larger than their later-hatching siblings and nestlings in synchronous broods. The effect of hatching order was also sex specific, as the mass of males in asynchronous broods was more strongly influenced by hatching order than the mass of females, with increased variation in the mass of males relative to that of females. As predicted, mothers hatching their eggs asynchronously biased first-laid, first-hatching eggs toward sons and late-laid, late-hatching eggs toward daughters, whereas females hatching their eggs synchronously distributed the sexes randomly among the eggs of their clutch. We conclude that females allocate the sex of their offspring among the eggs of their clutch in a manner that maximizes their own fitness.     

The characterization and ultrastructure of two new strains of Butyrivibrio

Strains B-385-1 and 2-33 are numerically important components rumen bacterial populations , but they have remained (taxonomically) undefined. In spite of some resemblance to Selenomonas ruminantium in their cell size and in their formation of tufts of flagella, they more closely resemble Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens in the subpolar location of their flagella, in their guanine + cytosine content, and in most biochemical characteristics, including butyrate formation. Cells of these strains stain Gram negative, as do both Selenomonas and Butyrivibrio, but their cell walls closely resemble those of Butyrivibrio in their Gram-positive type of molecular architecture and in their cleavage pattern in freeze-etching. Cells of these strains and of B. fibrisolvens have a very thin (ca. 12 nm) peptidoglycan cell wall; thus, they fail to retain the crystal violet complex of the Gram stain and stain Gram negative. This important structural characteristic of their cell walls places strains B-385-1 and 2-33 within the genus Butyrivibrio and certain morphological and biochemical characteristics distinguish them from B. fibrisolvens.     

Spatio-temporal differentiation and sociality in spiders

Species that differ in their social system, and thus in traits such as group size and dispersal timing, may differ in their use of resources along spatial, temporal, or dietary dimensions. The role of sociality in creating differences in habitat use is best explored by studying closely related species or socially polymorphic species that differ in their social system, but share a common environment. Here we investigate whether five sympatric Anelosimus spider species that range from nearly solitary to highly social differ in their use of space and in their phenology as a function of their social system. By studying these species in Serra do Japi, Brazil, we find that the more social species, which form larger, longer-lived colonies, tend to live inside the forest, where sturdier, longer lasting vegetation is likely to offer better support for their nests. The less social species, which form single-family groups, in contrast, tend to occur on the forest edge where the vegetation is less robust. Within these two microhabitats, species with longer-lived colonies tend to occupy the potentially more stable positions closer to the core of the plants, while those with smaller and shorter-lived colonies build their nests towards the branch tips. The species further separate in their use of common habitat due to differences in the timing of their reproductive season. These patterns of habitat use suggest that the degree of sociality can enable otherwise similar species to differ from one another in ways that may facilitate their co-occurrence in a shared environment, a possibility that deserves further consideration.     

Respecting the autonomy of cancer patients when talking with their families: qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with patients.

OBJECTIVE: To discover cancer patients'' views about disclosure of information to their family, their family''s influence over the information given them, and their preferences for doctors'' behaviour if they and their family disagree, as a complement to applied ethical theory. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews followed by qualitative content analysis. SETTING: Mainly urban British general practice. SUBJECTS: 30 patients in whom cancer, excluding basal and squamous cell skin carcinomas, was diagnosed 1-7 years earlier. RESULTS: All subjects wished doctors to respect their views rather than those of their family, should they differ. With their consent, subjects favoured close family receiving information about their illness, all but one mentioning advantage to their family. Without such consent, six unconditionally favoured disclosure of information to their family while seven unconditionally opposed disclosure. Seventeen participants restricted their approval for such disclosure to specific circumstances. Only two participants approved of their family influencing the information that they received about their illness; all but seven wished to receive full information, the exceptions relating to information about bad prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects favoured openness with their family but most rejected unconditional disclosure of information without their consent and their family influencing what information they would be given. They valued respect for their autonomy more highly than beneficence and considered that their own needs took priority over those of their family.     

When the Curtain Falls on a Fieldwork Project: The Last Chapter of a Gay Synagogue Study

Ethnographic texts preserve the historicity and losses of both the people observed and their observer. However, anthropologists rarely inform their readers about the circumstances of their departure from a fieldwork project. Without formally indicating the completion of their research goals, they usually move on to a new field and cease publishing on their former site. This procedure seemed natural enough when anthropologists conducted their studies in remote Third World locations. The constraints of distance, time, and budget made that abrupt separation seemingly inevitable and self-explanatory. But when anthropologists choose fieldwork sites that are close to home or easy to revisit, or conduct long-term research, their relationships with their subjects change radically, both during fieldwork and during the stages of writing and publishing the ethnographic text. Consequently, their eventual exit from the field involves a different process. Based on the experience of a fifteenyear engagement in the study of a gay synagogue in New York, this paper explores the latter process. The issue of exiting presents a methodological, emotional, and ethical problem meriting serious professional consideration.     

The effects of partner togetherness on salivary testosterone in women in long distance relationships

The present study examined whether women's testosterone levels are influenced by being with a sexual and romantic partner after a period of sexual abstinence. Women in long distance relationships (n = 15) provided five saliva samples: at least 1 week before seeing their partner (and at least 2 weeks since their last visit), the day before seeing their partner, when they were with their partner but prior to engaging in sexual activity, the day after their first sexual activity, and 3 days after they were separated from their partners. Salivary testosterone was lowest when participants had been away from their partners for at least 2 weeks and highest the day before they were to see their partners and the day after sexual activity. Results from this study indicated that women's testosterone increased both the day before they were with their partners and they day after they first engaged in sexual activity. However, something about initially reuniting with their partners returned their testosterone to baseline levels, which may be an effect of being in the same location as a partner, or just a state fluctuation due to nervousness or other psychological state.     

Fathers' Influence on Their Children's Cognitive and Emotional Development: From Toddlers to Pre-K

The Color of My Skin is an instrument developed to assess children's internalized idea (abstraction) of the color of their skin; their satisfaction with that color; the desire, if any, to change the color of their skin; and their affect regarding their skin color. The assessment is part of a questionnaire utilized in a 3-year longitudinal study that examines psychosocial development, physical health, and behavioral adjustment of Puerto Rican children (N = 257) reared in the Greater Boston area. The results demonstrate that children's internalized representation of their skin color is a construct that can be reliably and validly measured. The children's ratings of their skin color were not associated with their sex, school grade, ethnic identity, the child's or the parent's nativity, or the racial or ethnic compositions of 3 social contexts: their neighborhood, their classmates, and their closest friends. Puerto Rican children did not show a preference for light-colored skin. Moreover, there were no significant differences in self-esteem based on the child's self-reported skin color. The lack of association between self-esteem and skin color was interpreted in light of a developmental tendency prevalent in early to middle childhood to place a positive value on different aspects of one's self. Whereas almost all children (96%) reported being happy or very happy with their color, 16% of the children would like to change their skin color if they could (51% to a lighter and 46% to a darker color).     

羊肚菌多糖研究进展

羊肚菌多糖是羊肚菌中重要的药用活性成分,对羊肚菌多糖的国内外研究概况、提取分离纯化步骤及其纯度、含量测定、结构鉴定、分析方法和免疫药理作用等作了详细介绍。     

Professional and personal attitudes about access and confidentiality in the genetic testing of children: a pilot study

The ability to perform predictive genetic testing of children raises ethical concerns regarding whether and when to test and the disclosure of results. Semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of pediatricians (12) and geneticists (13) were conducted to see how they would react to parental requests for predictive genetic testing of their children, and their attitudes about testing their own children. We also asked about disclosure attitudes and practices for their patients' relatives and within their own families. Respondents would provide predictive genetic testing for most conditions, yet were less likely to seek this information about their own children. Respondents believed it was very important for patients to share some types of genetic information with relatives, and were directive in their counseling about intrafamilial disclosure, especially within their own families. Although respondents would almost never breach patient confidentiality, many would breach confidentiality within their own families. Health care professionals distinguish between their professional and personal roles with regard to issues of access and confidentiality in predictive testing of children. They are willing to provide greater access and more confidentiality for their patients than within their own families.     

Awareness of Memory Deficits in Early Stage Huntington's Disease

Patients with Huntington''s disease (HD) are often described as unaware of their motor symptoms, their behavioral disorders or their cognitive deficits, including memory. Nevertheless, because patients with Parkinson''s disease (PD) remain aware of their memory deficits despite striatal dysfunction, we hypothesize that early stage HD patients in whom degeneration predominates in the striatum can accurately judge their own memory disorders whereas more advanced patients cannot. In order to test our hypothesis, we compared subjective questionnaires of memory deficits (in HD patients and in their proxies) and objective measures of memory dysfunction in patients. Forty-six patients with manifest HD attending the out-patient department of the French National Reference Center for HD and thirty-three proxies were enrolled. We found that HD patients at an early stage of the disease (Stage 1) were more accurate than their proxies at evaluating their own memory deficits, independently from their depression level. The proxies were more influenced by patients'' functional decline rather than by patients'' memory deficits. Patients with moderate disease (Stage 2) misestimated their memory deficits compared to their proxies, whose judgment was nonetheless influenced by the severity of both functional decline and depression. Contrasting subjective memory ratings from the patients and their objective memory performance, we demonstrate that although HD patients are often reported to be unaware of their neurological, cognitive and behavioral symptoms, it is not the case for memory deficits at an early stage. Loss of awareness of memory deficits in HD is associated with the severity of the disease in terms of CAG repeats, functional decline, motor dysfunction and cognitive impairment, including memory deficits and executive dysfunction.     

Snakin/GASA proteins: Involvement in hormone crosstalk and redox homeostasis

Snakin/GASA proteins are widely distributed among plant species. They are expressed in different plant organs with high tissue and temporal specificity, and their subcellular localization varies among the different members. Interestingly, all of them maintain 12 cysteines of the C-terminus in highly conserved positions of the aminoacid sequences that are essential for their biochemical activity and probably responsible for their protein structure. Despite their common features, their functions are not completely elucidated and little is known about their mode of action. This review focuses on the current knowledge about this intriguing family of peptides and advances comprising gene regulation analyses, expression pattern studies and phenotypic characterization of mutants and transgenic plants. Furthermore, we discuss the roles of Snakin/GASA proteins in several aspects of plant development, plant responses to biotic or abiotic stress and their participation in hormone crosstalk and redox homeostasis.     

Picking battles wisely: plant behaviour under competition

Plants are limited in their ability to choose their neighbours, but they are able to orchestrate a wide spectrum of rational competitive behaviours that increase their prospects to prevail under various ecological settings. Through the perception of neighbours, plants are able to anticipate probable competitive interactions and modify their competitive behaviours to maximize their long-term gains. Specifically, plants can minimize competitive encounters by avoiding their neighbours; maximize their competitive effects by aggressively confronting their neighbours; or tolerate the competitive effects of their neighbours. However, the adaptive values of these non-mutually exclusive options are expected to depend strongly on the plants' evolutionary background and to change dynamically according to their past development, and relative sizes and vigour. Additionally, the magnitude of competitive responsiveness is expected to be positively correlated with the reliability of the environmental information regarding the expected competitive interactions and the expected time left for further plastic modifications. Concurrent competition over external and internal resources and morphogenetic signals may enable some plants to increase their efficiency and external competitive performance by discriminately allocating limited resources to their more promising organs at the expense of failing or less successful organs.     

Campylobacter bacteriophages and bacteriophage therapy

Members of the genus Campylobacter are frequently responsible for human enteric disease with occasionally very serious outcomes. Much of this disease burden is thought to arise from consumption of contaminated poultry products. More than 80% of poultry in the UK harbour Campylobacter as a part of their intestinal flora. To address this unacceptably high prevalence, various interventions have been suggested and evaluated. Among these is the novel approach of using Campylobacter-specific bacteriophages, which are natural predators of the pathogen. To optimize their use as therapeutic agents, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the bacteriophages that infect Campylobacter, and how they can affect their host bacteria. This review will focus on many aspects of Campylobacter-specific bacteriophages including: their first isolation in the 1960s, their use in bacteriophage typing schemes, their isolation from the different biological sources and genomic characterization. As well as their use as therapeutic agents to reduce Campylobacter in poultry their future potential, including their use in bio-sanitization of food, will be explored. The evolutionary consequences of naturally occurring bacteriophage infection that have come to light through investigations of bacteriophages in the poultry ecosystem will also be discussed.     

Bio-piezoelectricity: fundamentals and applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

In recent years, smart materials have piqued the interest of scientists and physicians in the biomedical community owing to their ability to modify their properties in response to an external stimulation or changes in their surroundings. Biocompatible piezoelectric materials are an interesting group of smart materials due to their ability to produce electrical charges without an external power source. Electric signals produced by piezoelectric scaffolds can renew and regenerate tissues through special pathways like that found in the extracellular matrix. This review summarizes the piezoelectric phenomenon, piezoelectric effects generated within biological tissues, piezoelectric biomaterials, and their applications in tissue engineering and their use as biosensors.