Dentists Make Larger Holes in Teeth Than They Need to If the Teeth Present a Visual Illusion of Size

Background

Health care depends, in part, on the ability of a practitioner to see signs of disease and to see how to treat it. Visual illusions, therefore, could affect health care. Yet there is very little prospective evidence that illusions can influence treatment. We sought such evidence.

Methods and Results

We simulated treatment using dentistry as a model system. We supplied eight, practicing, specialist dentists, endodontists, with at least 21 isolated teeth each, randomly sampled from a much larger sample of teeth they were likely to encounter. Teeth contained holes and we asked the endodontists to cut cavities in preparation for filling. Each tooth presented a more or less potent version of a visual illusion of size, the Delboeuf illusion, that made the holes appear smaller than they were. Endodontists and the persons measuring the cavities were blind to the parameters of the illusion. We found that the size of cavity endodontists made was linearly related to the potency of the Delboeuf illusion (p<.01) with an effect size (Cohen’s d) of 1.41. When the illusion made the holes appear smaller, the endodontists made cavities larger than needed.

Conclusions

The visual context in which treatment takes place can influence the treatment. Undesirable effects of visual illusions could be counteracted by a health practitioner’s being aware of them and by using measurement.     

Assaying Environmental Nickel Toxicity Using Model Nematodes

Although nickel exposure results in allergic reactions, respiratory conditions, and cancer in humans and rodents, the ramifications of excess nickel in the environment for animal and human health remain largely undescribed. Nickel and other cationic metals travel through waterways and bind to soils and sediments. To evaluate the potential toxic effects of nickel at environmental contaminant levels (8.9-7,600 µg Ni/g dry weight of sediment and 50-800 µg NiCl₂/L of water), we conducted assays using two cosmopolitan nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. We assayed the effects of both sediment-bound and aqueous nickel upon animal growth, developmental survival, lifespan, and fecundity. Uncontaminated sediments were collected from sites in the Midwestern United States and spiked with a range of nickel concentrations. We found that nickel-spiked sediment substantially impairs both survival from larval to adult stages and adult longevity in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, while aqueous nickel showed no adverse effects on either survivorship or longevity, we observed a significant decrease in fecundity, indicating that aqueous nickel could have a negative impact on nematode physiology. Intriguingly, C. elegans and P. pacificus exhibit similar, but not identical, responses to nickel exposure. Moreover, P. pacificus could be tested successfully in sediments inhospitable to C. elegans. Our results add to a growing body of literature documenting the impact of nickel on animal physiology, and suggest that environmental toxicological studies could gain an advantage by widening their repertoire of nematode species.     

Inferences about population dynamics from count data using multistate models: a comparison to capture–recapture approaches

Wildlife populations consist of individuals that contribute disproportionately to growth and viability. Understanding a population's spatial and temporal dynamics requires estimates of abundance and demographic rates that account for this heterogeneity. Estimating these quantities can be difficult, requiring years of intensive data collection. Often, this is accomplished through the capture and recapture of individual animals, which is generally only feasible at a limited number of locations. In contrast, N‐mixture models allow for the estimation of abundance, and spatial variation in abundance, from count data alone. We extend recently developed multistate, open population N‐mixture models, which can additionally estimate demographic rates based on an organism's life history characteristics. In our extension, we develop an approach to account for the case where not all individuals can be assigned to a state during sampling. Using only state‐specific count data, we show how our model can be used to estimate local population abundance, as well as density‐dependent recruitment rates and state‐specific survival. We apply our model to a population of black‐throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) that have been surveyed for 25 years on their breeding grounds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. The intensive data collection efforts allow us to compare our estimates to estimates derived from capture–recapture data. Our model performed well in estimating population abundance and density‐dependent rates of annual recruitment/immigration. Estimates of local carrying capacity and per capita recruitment of yearlings were consistent with those published in other studies. However, our model moderately underestimated annual survival probability of yearling and adult females and severely underestimates survival probabilities for both of these male stages. The most accurate and precise estimates will necessarily require some amount of intensive data collection efforts (such as capture–recapture). Integrated population models that combine data from both intensive and extensive sources are likely to be the most efficient approach for estimating demographic rates at large spatial and temporal scales.     

Population genetics of Blanding’s turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States

Blanding’s turtle (Emys blandingii) has declined substantially in North America due to anthropogenic activities, leaving populations smaller and increasingly fragmented spatially. We sampled 212 turtles to evaluate variation at eight microsatellite loci within and among 18 populations of E. blandingii across its primary range in the midwestern United States (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska). All loci and populations were highly polymorphic. Our analyses also detected considerable genetic structure within and among the sampled localities, and revealed ancestral gene flow of E. blandingii in this region north and east from an ancient refugium in the central Great Plains, concordant with post-glacial recolonization timescales. The data further implied unexpected ‘links’ between geographically disparate populations in Nebraska and Illinois. Our study encourages conservation decisions to be mindful of the genetic uniqueness of populations of E. blandingii across its primary range.     

Non-lethal measurement of pectoral fin aspect ratio in coral-reef fishes

This study describes a novel method for measuring pectoral fin aspect ratio (AR) on live coral-reef fishes and tests the method against traditional measurements taken from a dissected fin. No significant differences were detected among repeated fin measurements, which validates the accuracy (intact v. dissected) and precision (repeatability over several days) of fin AR measurements on live fishes. One exception highlighted issues that may arise when working with species prone to fin damage.     

Impact of Nox5 Polymorphisms on Basal and Stimulus-Dependent ROS Generation

Nox5 is an EF-hand containing, calcium-dependent isoform of the NADPH oxidase family of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating enzymes. Altered expression and activity of Nox5 has been reported in cardiovascular diseases and cancers but the absence of Nox5 in rodents has precluded a greater understanding of its physiological and pathophysiological roles. Multiple polymorphisms have been identified within the coding sequence of human Nox5, but whether this translates into altered enzyme function is unknown. Herein, we have generated 15 novel mutants of Nox5β to evaluate the effect of exonic SNPs on basal and stimulated enzyme activity. Compared to the WT enzyme, ROS production was unchanged or slightly modified in the majority of mutants, but significantly decreased in 7. Focusing on M77K, Nox5 activity was dramatically reduced in unstimulated cells and following challenge with both calcium- and phosphorylation-dependent stimuli despite equivalent levels of expression. The M77K mutation did not influence the Nox5 phosphorylation or the ability to bind Hsp90, but in cell-free assays with excess co-factors and calcium, ROS production was dramatically reduced. A more conservative substitution M77V arising from another SNP yielded a different profile of enzyme activity and suggests a critical role of M77 in calcium-dependent ROS production. Two C-terminal mutants, R530H and G542R, were observed that had little to no activity and relatively high minor allele frequency (MAF). In conclusion, we have identified 7 missense SNPs in Nox5 that result in little or no enzyme activity. Whether humans with dysfunctional Nox5 variants have altered physiology or disease remains to be determined.