The Val66Met polymorphism in the BDNF gene is associated with epilepsy in fragile X syndrome

The Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene may modulate the epilepsy phenotype. We investigated the impact of polymorphisms in the BDNF gene on clinical features in fragile X syndrome (FXS). In our study sample, the Met66 allele associated with epilepsy of finnish FXS men. Abnormalities in BDNF-mediated plasticity are shown in FXS and the present data suggest that the Met66 allele might predispose FXS mates to epilepsy. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.The Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene may modulate the epilepsy phenotype. We investigated the impact of polymorphisms in the BDNF gene on clinical features in fragile X syndrome (FXS). In our study sample, the Met66 allele associated with epilepsy of finnish FXS men. Abnormalities in BDNF-mediated plasticity are shown in FXS and the present data suggest that the Met66 allele might predispose FXS mates to epilepsy. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.The Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene may modulate the epilepsy phenotype. We investigated the impact of polymorphisms in the BDNF gene on clinical features in fragile X syndrome (FXS). In our study sample, the Met66 allele associated with epilepsy of finnish FXS men. Abnormalities in BDNF-mediated plasticity are shown in FXS and the present data suggest that the Met66 allele might predispose FXS mates to epilepsy. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Effects of gender differences on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel rotational vibration based on a multivariate regression model

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 ElsevierThe aims of this study were to determine equal sensation curves for hand-arm steering wheel rotational vibration and to investigate the effect of gender on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel hand-arm vibration. Psychophysical response tests of 40 participants (20 mates and 20 females) were performed using a steering wheel rotational vibration simulator using the category-ratio Borg CR10 scale procedure for direct estimation of perceived intensity. The test stimuli were sinusoidal vibrations at 22 third octave band centre frequencies in the range from 3 to 400 Hz, with acceleration amplitudes in the range from 0.04 to 27 m/s(2) r.m.s. Multivariate regression procedures were applied to the experimentally acquired data in order to establish a regression model expressing the Borg CR10 perceived intensity values as a function of the two independent parameters of the frequency and amplitude of vibration. The equal sensation curves suggested a non-linear dependency of the subjective perceived intensity on both frequency and amplitude. Females were found to provide higher Borg CR10 perceived intensity values than males (p < 0.05), particularly at the higher intensity levels above approximately 1.0 m/s(2) r.m.s and at the higher frequencies above approximately 20 Hz.Relevance to industry: For the manufacturers of steering systems and of other automobile components this study provides vibration perception curves and identifies the possible importance of gender towards the perception of vibration which arrives at the steering wheel. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Genetic, Spatial, and Temporal Components of Precise Spawning Synchrony in Reef Building Corals of the Montastraea annularis Species Complex

When organisms release gametes into the sea, synchrony must be precise to increase fertilization and decrease hybridization. We tagged and genotyped over 400 spawning corals from the three species in the Montastraea annularis species complex. We report on the influence of species, individuals, and genotypes on timing of spawning from 2002 through 2009. During their annual spawning event M. franksi spawns on average 2 h after sunset, whereas M. annularis and M. faveolata spawn 3.5 h after sunset. Only M. franksi and M. annularis have compatible gametes. Individual colonies of the same genotype spawn at approximately the same time after sunset within and across years (within minutes), but different genotypes have significantly different spawning times. Neighboring colonies, regardless of genotype, spawn more synchronously than individuals spaced further apart. At a given distance, clone-mates spawn more synchronously than nonclone-mates. A transplant experiment indicates a genetic and environmental influence on spawn time. There is strong, but not absolute, concordance between spawn time, morphology, and genetics. Tight precision in spawning is achieved via a combination of external cues, genetic precision, and perhaps conspecific signaling. These mechanisms are likely to influence reproductive success and reproductive isolation in a density-dependent manner

Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission Four (HST SM4) EVA Challenges for Safe Execution of STS-125

In May of 2009, the world-renowned Hubble Space Telescope (HST) received a suite of new instruments and a refurbished bus to enable science for many years to come. The restoration was conducted on-orbit by four space-walkers on five carefully scripted Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) days. Assuring the safety of the space-walkers and their crew-mates required careful attention to tool development, detailed procedures for every activity and many rehearsals with engineers and crew to ensure that everything worked together. Additionally, evolution of EVA requirements since the last servicing mission in 2002, and the broad scope of the mission demanded a much higher degree of safety participation in hardware design and risk acceptance than for previous servicing missions

Scarcity of female mates predicts regional variation in men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation across US states

Previous studies have linked regional variation in willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships (i.e., sociosexual orientation) to many different socio-ecological measures, such as adult sex ratio, life expectancy, and gross domestic product. However, these studies share a number of potentially serious limitations, including reliance on a single dataset of responses aggregated by country and a failure to properly consider intercorrelations among different socio-ecological measures. We address these limitations by (1) collecting a new dataset of 4,453 American men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation scores, (2) using multilevel analyses to avoid aggregation, and (3) deriving orthogonal factors reflecting US state-level differences in the scarcity of female mates, environmental demands, and wealth. Analyses showed that the scarcity of female mates factor, but not the environmental demand or wealth factors, predicted men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation. Participants reported being less willing to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships when female mates were scarce. These results highlight the importance of scarcity of female mates for regional differences in men’s and women’s mating strategies. They also suggest that effects of wealth-related measures and environmental demands reported in previous research may be artifacts of intercorrelations among socio-ecological measures or, alternatively, do not necessarily generalize well to new datasets

Parasitized mates increase infection risk for partners

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

When does female multiple mating evolve to adjust inbreeding? : Effects of inbreeding depression, direct costs, mating constraints, and polyandry as a threshold trait

Ackowledgements: This work was funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant to JMR. All simulations were performed using the Maxwell computing cluster at the University of AberdeenPeer reviewedPublisher PD

A sex difference in the context-sensitivity of dominance perceptions

Although dominance perceptions are thought to be important for effective social interaction, their primary function is unclear. One possibility is that they simply function to identify individuals who are capable of inflicting substantial physical harm, so that the perceiver can respond to them in ways that maximize their own physical safety. Another possibility is that they are more specialized, functioning primarily to facilitate effective direct (i.e., violent) intrasexual competition for mates, particularly among men. Here we used a priming paradigm to investigate these two possibilities. Facial cues of dominance were more salient to women after they had been primed with images of angry men, a manipulation known to activate particularly strong self-protection motivations, than after they had been primed with images of angry women or smiling individuals of either sex. By contrast, dominance cues were more salient to men after they had been primed with images of women than when they had been primed with images of men (regardless of the emotional expressions displayed), a manipulation previously shown to alter men's impressions of the sex ratio of the local population. Thus, men's dominance perceptions appear to be specialized for effective direct competition for mates, while women's dominance perceptions may function to maximize their physical safety more generally. Together, our results suggest that men's and women's dominance perceptions show different patterns of context-sensitivity and, potentially, shed new light on the routes through which violence and intrasexual competition have shaped dominance perceptions