Does Sex Trade with Violence among Genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster?

The evolutionary forces shaping the ability to win competitive interactions, such as aggressive encounters, are still poorly understood. Given a fitness advantage for competitive success, variance in aggressive and sexual display traits should be depleted, but a great deal of variation in these traits is consistently found. While life history tradeoffs have been commonly cited as a mechanism for the maintenance of variation, the variability of competing strategies of conspecifics may mean there is no single optimum strategy. We measured the genetically determined outcomes of aggressive interactions, and the resulting effects on mating success, in a panel of diverse inbred lines representing both natural variation and artificially selected genotypes. Males of one genotype which consistently lost territorial encounters with other genotypes were nonetheless successful against males that were artificially selected for supernormal aggression and dominated all other lines. Intransitive patterns of territorial success could maintain variation in aggressive strategies if there is a preference for territorial males. Territorial success was not always associated with male mating success however and females preferred ‘winners’ among some male genotypes, and ‘losers’ among other male genotypes. This suggests that studying behaviour from the perspective of population means may provide limited evolutionary and genetic insight. Overall patterns of competitive success among males and mating transactions between the sexes are consistent with mechanisms proposed for the maintenance of genetic variation due to nonlinear outcomes of competitive interactions

Impact of early applied upper limb stimulation: The EXPLICIT-stroke programme design

Main claims of the literature are that functional recovery of the paretic upper limb is mainly defined within the first month post stroke and that rehabilitation services should preferably be applied intensively and in a task-oriented way within this particular time window. EXplaining PLastICITy after stroke (acronym EXPLICIT-stroke) aims to explore the underlying mechanisms of post stroke upper limb recovery. Two randomized single blinded trials form the core of the programme, investigating the effects of early modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (modified CIMT) and EMG-triggered Neuro-Muscular Stimulation (EMG-NMS) in patients with respectively a favourable or poor probability for recovery of dexterity.BioMechanical EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin

Cognition, Emotion and Fatigue Post-stroke

After stroke, the less visible cognitive and emotional problems including fatigue are common and have a negative impact on the lives of patients as well as their caregivers. Given their prevalence, severity and impact, every stroke patient should at least be screened regularly for consequences in these areas of functioning. Cognitive complaints may not be related to cognitive deficits, and caregivers may have other experiences and consequences than the stroke patients themselves. Subjective cognitive functioning as experienced by both patients and their family members is therefore essential to assess as well. At the start of rehabilitation, and also when support is needed for community reintegration, an extensive neuropsychological assessment should be conducted. All patients and their caregivers need information and education about stroke and its neuro-psychological consequences because this knowledge has a positive influence on mood and quality of life. Further rehabilitation and support should be offered if community reintegration is delayed or stagnates. Cognitive rehabilitation should be combined with more holistic approaches including emotional, psychological and family support. Assistive technology can be helpful in compensating for lasting cognitive impairments. Restorative approaches, such as computerized brain training and non-invasive brain stimulation, can be used for improvement at impairment level, but have not shown effects on the long term nor on daily life functioning, but promising developments are anticipated.keywordscognitionemotionneuropsychologycompensationholistic