Reading the Mind in the Eyes or Reading between the Lines? Theory of Mind Predicts Collective Intelligence Equally Well Online and Face-To-Face

Recent research with face-to-face groups found that a measure of general group effectiveness (called “collective intelligence”) predicted a group’s performance on a wide range of different tasks. The same research also found that collective intelligence was correlated with the individual group members’ ability to reason about the mental states of others (an ability called “Theory of Mind” or “ToM”). Since ToM was measured in this work by a test that requires participants to “read” the mental states of others from looking at their eyes (the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test), it is uncertain whether the same results would emerge in online groups where these visual cues are not available. Here we find that: (1) a collective intelligence factor characterizes group performance approximately as well for online groups as for face-to-face groups; and (2) surprisingly, the ToM measure is equally predictive of collective intelligence in both face-to-face and online groups, even though the online groups communicate only via text and never see each other at all. This provides strong evidence that ToM abilities are just as important to group performance in online environments with limited nonverbal cues as they are face-to-face. It also suggests that the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test measures a deeper, domain-independent aspect of social reasoning, not merely the ability to recognize facial expressions of mental states.     

Copper uptake and translocation in chicory ( Cichorium intybus L. cv. Grasslands Puna) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Rondy) plants grown in NFT system. I. Copper uptake and distribution in plants

The uptake and distribution of copper was examined in chicory (Cichorium intybus L. cv. Grasslands Puna) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill. cv. Rondy) plants grown in a Nutrient Film Technique System (NFT) with addition of 0.05, 5, 10 and 20 mg Cu L^-1. Biomass production of shoots and roots of both chicory and tomato was strongly depressed by Cu concentrations higher than 5 mg Cu L^-1 in the rooting media. Although Cu concentrations in both shoots and roots of both species increased with increasing Cu concentrations in the rooting media, the increase in roots was very much greater than that in shoots, in which the range of concentrations was small. A large proportion of total Cu uptake was retained by roots except when plants were grown in solution Cu concentrations of 0.05 mg Cu L^-1. Copper retention by roots limited Cu translocation to xylem and shoots. Copper adsorption by the root appears to buffer against increases of Cu in the rooting media. A cupric-sensitive electrode used in conjunction with total Cu analysis by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GFAAS) indicated that more than 99.6% of total Cu in xylem sap was in a complexed form. Large differences between measured and predicted Cu accumulation by shoots of tomato (0.134–0.243 mg Cu plant^-1, 0.660–4.274 mg Cu plant^-1, respectively) and chicory (0.095–0.203 mg Cu plant^-1, 0.626–1.620 mg Cu plant^-1, respectively) suggest that some xylem transported Cu is recirculated to roots via the phloem. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Copper uptake and translocation in chicory (Cichorium intybus L. cv Grasslands Puna) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Rondy) plants grown in NFT system. II. The role of nicotianamine and histidine in xylem sap copper transport

The effect of rooting media Cu concentration (0.05–20 mg Cu L^-1) on amino acid concentrations and copper speciation in the xylem sap of chicory and tomato plants was measured using 6 week old plants grown in a nutrient film technique system (NFT). Irrespective of the Cu concentration in the nutrient solutions, more than 99.68% and 99.74% of total Cu in tomato and chicory xylem sap was in a bound form. When exposed to high Cu concentrations in the rooting media, amino acid concentrations in the sap increased. Relative to other amino acids, the concentrations of glutamine (Gln), histidine (His), asparagine (Asn), valine (Val), nicotianamine (NA) and proline (Pro) in tomato xylem saps, and His, γ-aminobutyric acid (Gaba), glutamic acid (Glu), leucine (Leu), NA and phenylalanine (Phe) in chicory xylem saps showed the greatest increases. The data indicate that induced synthesis of some free amino acids as a specific and proportional response to Cu treatment. For a single complexation amino acid, the solution Cu²⁺concentration vs pH titration curve for NA at 0.06–0.07 mM was most similar, closely followed by His at 0.5–0.6 mM, to the solution Cu²⁺concentration behaviour in both tomato and chicory xylem sap. It is concluded that increased Cu concentrations in the rooting media induced selective synthesis of certain amino acid which include NA, His, Asn and Gln which have high stability constants with Cu. NA and His have the highest binding constants for Cu and the concentrations of NA and His in chicory and tomato xylem saps can account for all the bound Cu carried in the sap. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Decoding at the ribosomal A site: antibiotics, misreading and energy of aminoacyl-tRNA binding

The binding of Phe-tRNAPhe at the programmed ribosomal A site has been investigated using antibiotics that influence this binding in different ways. The adhesion of Phe-tRNAPhe, the consumption of GTP and the extent of the peptidyl transfer reaction were monitored. All of the five known misreading-inducing antibiotics that were tested stabilised the binding of Phe-tRNAPhe after its affixture to the A site by EF-Tu with GTP hydrolysis. The stabilisation was sufficient to overcome a single mismatch in the codon-anticodon interaction. Combinations of stabilising and destabilising influences were found to be additive, thus supporting the concepts: (1) that there is a 'correct' binding energy for aminoacyl tRNA in the A site, whose reduction hampers polypeptide synthesis and whose increase makes it inaccurate by by-passing proofreading; and (2) that the different antibiotics affect the bound aminoacyl tRNA at different points.     

Variation in the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers and 5.8S rDNA among five species of Acropora (Cnidaria; Scleractinia): patterns of variation consistent with reticulate evolution

The ITS sequences of Acropora spp. are the shortest so far identified in any metazoan and are among the shortest seen in eukaryotes; ITS1 was 70-80 bases, and ITS2 was 100-112 bases. The ITS sequences were also highly variable, but base composition and secondary structure prediction indicate that divergent sequence variants are unlikely to be pseudogenes. The pattern of variation was unusual in several other respects: (1) two distinct ITS2 types were detected in both A. hyacinthus and A. cytherea, species known to hybridize in vitro with high success rates, and a putative intermediate ITS2 form was also detected in A. cytherea; (2) A. valida was found to contain highly (29%) diverged ITS1 variants; and (3) A. longicyathus contained two distinct 5.8S rDNA types. These data are consistent with a reticulate evolutionary history for the genus Acropora.      

Comparative tests of ectoparasite species richness in seabirds

Background  

The diversity of parasites attacking a host varies substantially among different host species. Understanding the factors that explain these patterns of parasite diversity is critical to identifying the ecological principles underlying biodiversity. Seabirds (Charadriiformes, Pelecaniformes and Procellariiformes) and their ectoparasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are ideal model groups in which to study correlates of parasite species richness. We evaluated the relative importance of morphological (body size, body weight, wingspan, bill length), life-history (longevity, clutch size), ecological (population size, geographical range) and behavioural (diving versus non-diving) variables as predictors of louse diversity on 413 seabird hosts species. Diversity was measured at the level of louse suborder, genus, and species, and uneven sampling of hosts was controlled for using literature citations as a proxy for sampling effort.     

Effect of Chronic Typical and Atypical Neuroleptic Treatment on Proenkephalin mRNA Levels in the Striatum and Nucleus Accumbens of the Rat

We measured proenkephalin (PEK) mRNA levels in the anterior and medial aspects of the caudate-putamen (CPU) and in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of the rat by in situ hybridization histochemistry after chronic treatment for 21 days with typical (haloperidol and prolixin) and atypical (molindone, thioridazine, and clozapine) neuroleptics. Chronic administration with these drugs resulted in PEK mRNA levels that were 60-80% higher than controls in the anterior and medial aspects of the CPU but only 25-30% over controls in the NAc. All three atypical neuroleptics studied increased PEK mRNA in the following order: anterior-CPU, thioridazine greater than clozapine and molindone; medial-CPU, thioridazine and molindone greater than clozapine; and NAc, thioridazine much greater than molindone and clozapine. Chronic treatment with the specific dopamine D2 antagonist sulpiride also caused elevation in PEK mRNA levels in all three brain regions studied whereas the specific serotonin S2 receptor blocker, cinanserin, had no significant effects on PEK mRNA levels. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated levels of the enkephalins in the mesolimbic system may be necessary for antipsychotic activity. They also support the idea that the undesirable motoric signs and symptoms observed after chronic treatment with typical neuroleptics may not be the result of increased levels of enkephalins in the basal ganglia because atypical neuroleptics which are almost totally devoid of these side effects caused similar increases in PEK mRNA in the CPU.     

A vapor pressure deficit effect on crop canopy photosynthesis

Canopy CO₂-exchange rates (CER), air temperatures, and dew points were measured throughout ten days during the 1987 growing season for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench], and five soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr.] cultivars, and throughout seven days in 1988, on maize (Zea maize L.). The objective was to determine if the decline in CER per unit light during the afternoon is associated with a vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increase. Some of the soybean and maize plots were kept as dry as possible. A VPD term significantly contributed (P0.05) to a canopy CER regression model in 54 of 80 data sets in 1987. Grain sorghum was less sensitive than the well-watered soybean genotypes to an increasing VPD (P0.05) on three of the ten measurement days and less sensitive than cotton (P0.05) on only one day. Cotton demonstrated less VPD sensitivity than soybean (P0.05) on one day. The moisture stressed soybean plots showed a greater CER sensitivity to VPD (P0.05) than the well-watered soybean plots. In 1988, the frequently irrigated maize plots were less sensitive to VPD (P0.05) than the rain-fed plots early in the season, before the rain-fed plots were excessively damaged by moisture stress. These results indicate that the afternoon declines in canopy CER found in a number of different species are associated with increases in the VPD; recent work of others suggests that this may be due to partial stomatal closure.Abbreviations CER carbon dioxide exchange rate - VPD vapor pressure deficit - PPFD photosynthetic photon flux density - DAP days after planning     

2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-8-azido-AMP and -ATP photolabel Lys-492 at the active site of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase.

2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-8-azido (TNP-8N3)-AMP, -ADP, and -ATP bind tightly to the Ca(2+)-ATPase of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and become covalently attached on irradiation at alkaline pH, concomitant with inactivation of ATPase activity (Seebregts, C. J., and McIntosh, D. B. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 2043-2052). The ATPase is derivatized to the extent of 2-3 nmol/mg protein (i.e. approximately 1/2 maximum phosphoenzyme levels) per irradiation period at equimolar concentrations of ATPase and nucleotide. Stability studies of the adduct formed at alkaline pH revealed that the linkage is labile, particularly if the protein is denatured by brief heat (60 degrees C) treatment (t1/2 = 4-8 h at 40 degrees C). Thermolysin digestion of derivatized vesicles resulted in the release of the majority of the TNP chromaphore as an unstable TNP-peptide adduct (t1/2 = 9 h at 25 degrees C) with the sequence FSRDR*SMS, where the missing residue is Lys-492 and is presumably that which is derivatized. The same peptide adduct, and in similar amounts, was isolated from the ATPase derivatized with either TNP-8N3-AMP or -ATP. Several lines of evidence, including the finding that ATP- and not acetyl phosphate- or Pi-dependent phosphorylation is blocked by derivatization, suggest that the lysyl residue is at the catalytic nucleotide binding site, but is not directly involved in phosphoryl transfer. Lys-492 and Phe-487, as well as neighboring Arg-476 and Lys-515 (labeled with fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate), have all been highly conserved and probably contribute to a subdomain binding the purine and/or proximal phosphoryl groups of ATP.