Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game

Joint improvisation is often observed among humans performing joint action tasks. Exploring the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms behind the emergence of joint improvisation is an open research challenge. This paper investigates jointly improvised movements between two participants in the mirror game, a paradigmatic joint task example. First, experiments involving movement coordination of different dyads of human players are performed in order to build a human benchmark. No designation of leader and follower is given beforehand. We find that joint improvisation is characterized by the lack of a leader and high levels of movement synchronization. Then, a theoretical model is proposed to capture some features of their interaction, and a set of experiments is carried out to test and validate the model ability to reproduce the experimental observations. Furthermore, the model is used to drive a computer avatar able to successfully improvise joint motion with a human participant in real time. Finally, a convergence analysis of the proposed model is carried out to confirm its ability to reproduce joint movements between the participants.     

Physiological level of norepinephrine increases adenine nucleotides hydrolysis in rat blood serum

Extracellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) and its breakdown products, adenosine 5′-diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine, have significant effects on a variety of biological processes. NTPDase enzymes, responsible for adenine nucleotides hydrolysis, are considered the major regulators of purinergic signaling in the blood. Previous work by our group demonstrated that ATP and ADP hydrolysis in rat blood serum are higher during the dark (activity) phase compared to the light (rest) phase. In nocturnal animals (e.g., rats), important physiological changes occur during the dark phase, such as increased circulating levels of melatonin, corticosterone, and norepinephrine (NE). This study investigated the physiological effects, in vivo and in vitro, of melatonin, dexamethasone, and NE upon nucleotides hydrolysis in rat blood serum. For in vivo experiments, the animals received a single injection of saline (control), melatonin (0.05 mg/kg), dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg), or NE (0.03 mg/kg). For in vitro experiments, melatonin (1.0 nM), dexamethasone (1.0 μM), or NE (1.0 nM) was added directly to the reaction medium with blood serum before starting the enzyme assay. The results demonstrated that ATP and ADP hydrolysis in both in vitro and in vivo experiments were significantly higher with NE treatment compared to control (in vitro: ATP = 36.63%, ADP = 22.43%, P < 0.05; in vivo: ATP = 44.1%, ADP = 37.28%, P < 0.001). No significant differences in adenine nucleotides hydrolysis were observed with melatonin and dexamethasone treatments. This study suggests a modulatory role of NE in the nucleotidases pathway, decreasing extracellular ATP and ADP, and suggests that NE might modulate its own release by increasing the activities of soluble nucleotidases.     

A sea urchin in vivo model to evaluate Epithelial‐Mesenchymal Transition

Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an evolutionarily conserved cellular program, which is a prerequisite for the metastatic cascade in carcinoma progression. Here, we evaluate the EMT process using the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo. In sea urchin embryos, the earliest EMT event is related to the acquisition of a mesenchymal phenotype by the spiculogenetic primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) and their migration into the blastocoel. We investigated the effect of inhibiting the epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling pathway on this process, and we observed that mesenchyme cell differentiation was blocked. In order to extend and validate our studies, we investigated the migratory capability and the level of potential epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) targets in a breast cancer cell line after EGF modulation. Altogether, our data highlight the sensitivity of the sea urchin embryo to anti‐EMT drugs and pinpoint the sea urchin embryo as a valuable in vivo model system for studying EMT and the screening of anti‐EMT candidates.     

Forest Loss and the Biodiversity Threshold: An Evaluation Considering Species Habitat Requirements and the Use of Matrix Habitats

Habitat loss is the main driver of the current biodiversity crisis, a landscape-scale process that affects the survival of spatially-structured populations. Although it is well-established that species responses to habitat loss can be abrupt, the existence of a biodiversity threshold is still the cause of much controversy in the literature and would require that most species respond similarly to the loss of native vegetation. Here we test the existence of a biodiversity threshold, i.e. an abrupt decline in species richness, with habitat loss. We draw on a spatially-replicated dataset on Atlantic forest small mammals, consisting of 16 sampling sites divided between forests and matrix habitats in each of five 3600-ha landscapes (varying from 5% to 45% forest cover), and on an a priori classification of species into habitat requirement categories (forest specialists, habitat generalists and open-area specialists). Forest specialists declined abruptly below 30% of forest cover, and spillover to the matrix occurred only in more forested landscapes. Generalists responded positively to landscape heterogeneity, peaking at intermediary levels of forest cover. Open area specialists dominated the matrix and did not spillover to forests. As a result of these distinct responses, we observed a biodiversity threshold for the small mammal community below 30% forest cover, and a peak in species richness just above this threshold. Our results highlight that cross habitat spillover may be asymmetrical and contingent on landscape context, occurring mainly from forests to the matrix and only in more forested landscapes. Moreover, they indicate the potential for biodiversity thresholds in human-modified landscapes, and the importance of landscape heterogeneity to biodiversity. Since forest loss affected not only the conservation value of forest patches, but also the potential for biodiversity-mediated services in anthropogenic habitats, our work indicates the importance of proactive measures to avoid human-modified landscapes to cross this threshold.     

Targeting of the GRIP domain to the trans-Golgi network is conserved from protists to animals

The GRIP domain, found in a family of coiled-coil peripheral membrane Golgi proteins, is a specific targeting sequence for the trans-Golgi network of animal cells. In this study we show that a coiled-coil protein with a GRIP domain occurs in the primitive eukaryote, Trypanosoma brucei, and that reporter proteins containing this domain can be used as a marker for the poorly characterized trans Golgi/trans-Golgi network of trypanosomatid parasites. The T. brucei GRIP domain, when fused to the carboxyl terminus of the green fluorescent protein (GFP-TbGRIP), was efficiently localized to the Golgi apparatus of transfected COS cells. Overexpression of GFP-TbGRIP in COS cells displaced the endogenous GRIP protein, GCC1p, from the Golgi apparatus indicating that the trypanosomatid and mammalian GRIP sequences interact with similar membrane determinants. GFP fusion proteins containing either the T. brucei GRIP domain or the human p230 GRIP (p230GRIP) domain were also expressed in the trypanosomatid parasite, Leishmania mexicana, and localized by fluorescence and immuno-electron microscopy to the trans face of the single Golgi apparatus and a short tubule that extended from the Golgi apparatus. Binding of GFP-p230GRIP to Golgi membranes in L. mexicana was abrogated by mutation of a critical tyrosine residue in the p230 GRIP domain. The levels of GFP-GRIP fusion proteins were dramatically reduced in stationary-phase L. mexicana promastigotes, suggesting that specific Golgi trafficking steps may be down-regulated as the promastigotes cease dividing. This study provides a protein marker for the trans-Golgi network of trypanosomatid parasites and suggests that the GRIP domain binds to a membrane component that has been highly conserved in eukaryotic evolution.     

Fine-scale genetic structure in a salamander with two reproductive modes: Does reproductive mode affect dispersal?

Reproduction is intimately linked with dispersal, but the effects of changes in reproductive strategies on dispersal have received little attention. Such changes have occurred in many taxonomic groups, resulting in profound alterations in life-history. In amphibians, many species shifted from oviparous/larviparous aquatic reproduction (deposition of eggs or pre-metamorphic larvae in water) to pueriparous terrestrial reproduction (parturition of terrestrial juveniles). The latter provides greater independence from water by skipping the aquatic larval stage; however, the eco-evolutionary implications of this evolutionary step have been underexplored, largely because reproductive modes rarely vary at the intraspecific level, preventing meaningful comparisons. We studied the effects of a transition to pueriparity on dispersal and fine-scale genetic structure in the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), a species exhibiting two co-occurring reproductive modes: larviparity and pueriparity. We performed genetic analyses (parentage and genetic spatial autocorrelation) using 11 microsatellite loci to compare dispersal and fine-scale genetic structure in three larviparous and three pueriparous populations (354 individuals in total). We did not find significant differences between reproductive modes, but in some larviparous populations movement patterns may be influenced by site-specific features (type of water bodies), possibly due to passive water-borne dispersal of larvae along streams. Additionally, females (especially larviparous ones) appeared to be more philopatric, while males showed greater variation in dispersal distances. This study also points to future avenues of research to better understand the eco-evolutionary implications of changes in reproductive modes in amphibians.     

First Report of Botrytis cinerea Pers. on Salicornia bigelovii Torr. in North‐West México

Grey mould has been detected on Salicornia bigelovii Torr plants in nursery and in the wild in north‐west Mexico. Sampling of the grey mould was performed in the state of Sonora, Mexico, of wild as well as cultivated S. bigelovii plants. The samples were isolated, and based on morphology, the species was identified as Botrytis cinerea Pers. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by pathogenicity tests carried out in plated petri dishes on branches from the 3‐month‐old potted S. bigelovii plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation and identification of the fungal pathogen B. cinerea from S. bigelovii in the north‐west Mexico.     

Arginine deprivation in KB cells: I. Effect on cell cycle progress

When exponentially growing KB cells were deprived of arginine, cell multiplication ceased after 12 h but viability was maintained throughout the experimental period (42-48 h). Although tritiated thymidine ([(3)H]TdR) incorporation into acid-insoluble material declined to 5 percent of the initial rate, the fraction of cells engaged in DNA synthesis, determined by autoradiography, remained constant throughout the starvation period and approximately equal to the synthesizing fraction in exponentially growing controls (40 percent). Continous [(3)H]TdR-labeling indicated that 80 percent of the arginine-starved cells incorporated (3)H at some time during a 48-h deprivation period. Thus, some cells ceased DNA synthesis, whereas some initially nonsynthesizing cells initiated DNA synthesis during starvation. Flow microfluorometric profiles of distribution of cellular DNA contents at the end of the starvation period indicated that essentially no cells had a 4c or G2 complement. If arginine was restored after 30 h of starvation, cultures resumed active, largely asynchronous division after a 16-h lag. Autoradiographs of metaphase figures from cultures continuously labeled with [(3)H]TdR after restoration indicated that all cells in the culture underwent DNA synthesis before dividing. It was concluded that the majority of cells in arginine-starved cultures are arrested in neither a normal G1 nor G2. It is proposed that for an exponential culture, i.e. from most positions in the cell cycle, inhibition of cell growth after arginine with withdrawal centers on the ability of cells to complete replication of their DNA.