Kalinia, a New North American Genus for a Species Long Misplaced in Eragrostis (Poaceae, Chloridoideae)

Eragrostis obtusiflora (Poaceae, Chloridoideae), a species distributed from the southwestern United States to central Mexico, has long been recognized for exhibiting morphological and anatomical features atypical of Eragrostis. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear internal transcribed spacer sequences and plastid sequences demonstrate that E. obtusiflora should be excluded from Eragrostis (Eragrostideae) and instead be placed in Cynodonteae, although its position within this tribe was unresolved. Additional data, including anatomical and micromorphological characters, suggest a close relationship with Distichlis. However, differences in spikelet and rhizome characters prevent its inclusion in Distichlis. Therefore, the species is transferred to a newly described genus, Kalinia, as K. obtusiflora

Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat:The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder

Many species maintain territories, but the degree of overlap between territories and the level of aggression displayed in territorial conflicts can vary widely, even within species. Greater territorial overlap may occur when neighboring territory holders are close relatives. Animals may also differentiate neighbors from strangers, with more familiar neighbors eliciting less‐aggressive responses during territorial conflicts (the “dear enemy” effect). However, research is lacking in how both kinship and overlap affect territorial conflicts, especially in group‐living species. Here, we investigate kinship, territorial overlap, and territorial conflict in a habituated wild population of group‐living cooperatively breeding birds, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor. We find that close kin neighbors are beneficial. Territories overlap more when neighboring groups are close kin, and these larger overlaps with kin confer larger territories (an effect not seen for overlaps with unrelated groups). Overall, territorial conflict is costly, causing significant decreases in body mass, but conflicts with kin are shorter than those conducted with nonkin. Conflicts with more familiar unrelated neighbors are also shorter, indicating these neighbors are “dear enemies.” However, kinship modulates the “dear enemy” effect; even when kin are encountered less frequently, kin elicit less‐aggressive responses, similar to the “dear enemy” effect. Kin selection appears to be a main influence on territorial behavior in this species. Groups derive kin‐selected benefits from decreased conflicts and maintain larger territories when overlapping with kin, though not when overlapping with nonkin. More generally, it is possible that kinship extends the “dear enemy” effect in animal societies

The 5-HT7 receptor as a potential target for treating drug and alcohol abuse

Alcohol and drug abuse take a large toll on society and affected individuals. However, very few effective treatments are currently available to treat alcohol and drug addiction. Basic and clinical research has begun to provide some insights into the underlying neurobiological systems involved in the addiction process. Several neurotransmitter pathways have been implicated and distinct reward neurocircuitry have been proposed—including the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (MCL-DA) system and the extended amygdala. The serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmitter system is of particular interest and multiple 5-HT receptors are thought to play significant roles in alcohol and drug self-administration and the development of drug dependence. Among the 5-HT receptors, the 5-HT7 receptor is currently undergoing characterization as a potential target for the treatment of several psychiatric disorders. Although this receptor has received only limited research regarding addictive behaviors, aspects of its neuroanatomical, biochemical, physiological, pharmacological, and behavioral profiles suggest that it could play a key role in the addiction process. For instance, genomic studies in humans have suggested a link between variants in the gene encoding the 5-HT7 receptor and alcoholism. Recent behavioral testing using high-affinity antagonists in mice and preliminary tests with alcohol-preferring rats suggest that this receptor could mediate alcohol consumption and/or reinforcement and play a role in seeking/craving behavior. Interest in the development of new and more selective pharmacological agents for this receptor will aid in examining the 5-HT7 receptor as a novel target for treating addiction

Vocal cues to identity:Pied babblers produce individually distinct but not stable loud calls

The ability to identify social partners can play a key role in the coordination of social behaviours in group-living animals. Coordinating social behaviours over long distances becomes problematic, as cues to identity are often limited to one or two sensory modalities. This limitation can often select for strong individuality in those cues used for long-distance communication. Pied babblers, Turdoides bicolor, produce a number of different types of 'loud calls' which are frequently used to signal to individuals beyond the range of visual or olfactory pathways of communication. Here, we show that three of these 'loud call' types, the v-shaped chatter, the double note ascending chatter and the atonal chatter, are each individually distinct. We hypothesise that individuality in the three loud call types tested here may represent a possible pathway to social recognition in this species that may have important consequences for social interactions. However, we also found that the atonal chatter was unstable between years suggesting that this particular call type may not be a reliable long-term indicator to identity which may affect long-term recognition in this species.11 page(s

A Deep Probe of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions at z~1-3 with the GOODS NICMOS Survey

We use a sample of 8298 galaxies observed in the HST GOODS NICMOS Survey (GNS) to construct the galaxy stellar mass function as a function of both redshift and stellar mass up to z=3.5 and down to masses of Mstar=10^8.5 Msun at z~1. We discover that a significant fraction of all massive Mstar>10^11 Msun galaxies are in place up to the highest redshifts we probe, with a decreasing fraction of lower mass galaxies present at all redshifts. This is an example of `galaxy mass downsizing', and is the result of massive galaxies forming before lower mass ones, and not just simply ending their star formation earlier as in traditional downsizing scenarios. We find that the faint end slope is significantly steeper than what is found in previous investigations. We demonstrate that this steeper mass function better matches the stellar mass added due to star formation, thereby alleviating some of the mismatch between these two measures of the evolution of galaxy mass. We furthermore examine the stellar mass function divided into blue/red systems, as well as for star forming and non-star forming galaxies. We find a similar mass downsizing present for both blue/red and star-forming/non-star forming galaxies, and that the low mass galaxies are mostly all blue, and are therefore creating the steep mass functions. We furthermore show that, although there is a downsizing such that high mass galaxies are nearer their z=0 values at high redshift, this turns over at masses Mstar~10^10 Msun, such that the lowest mass galaxies are more common than galaxies at slight higher masses, creating a `dip' in the observed galaxy mass function. We argue that the galaxy assembly process may be driven by different mechanisms at low and high masses, and that the efficiency of the galaxy formation process is lowest at masses Mstar~10^10 Msun at 1<z<3. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS, accepte

Loss of Kruppel-like factor 3 (KLF3/BKLF) leads to upregulation of the insulin-sensitizing factor adipolin (FAM132A/CTRP12/C1qdc2)

Krüppel-like factor 3 (KLF3) is a transcriptional regulator that we have shown to be involved in the regulation of adipogenesis in vitro. Here, we report that KLF3-null mice are lean and protected from diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance. On a chow diet, plasma levels of leptin are decreased, and adiponectin is increased. Despite significant reductions in body weight and adiposity, wild-type and knockout animals show equivalent energy intake, expenditure, and excretion. To investigate the molecular events underlying these observations, we used microarray analysis to compare gene expression in Klf3(+/+) and Klf3(-/-) tissues. We found that mRNA expression of Fam132a, which encodes a newly identified insulin-sensitizing adipokine, adipolin, is significantly upregulated in the absence of KLF3. We confirmed that KLF3 binds the Fam132a promoter in vitro and in vivo and that this leads to repression of promoter activity. Further, plasma adipolin levels were significantly increased in Klf3(-/-) mice compared with wild-type littermates. Boosting levels of adipolin via targeting of KLF3 offers a novel potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of insulin resistance

Estimating the Economic Costs of Espionage

Economic espionage is a serious threat to the vitality of the U.S. economy. While this is a widely accepted fact, there is no formal way to measure the damage an incident of economic espionage has on the U.S. economy. The U.S. government would like to know how damaging economic espionage is on the economy. However, the full repercussions of an incident of economic espionage are never known. A stolen trade secret, over the course of many years, could be used in different products and in different industries. The loss of a trade secret is an immeasurable value. Instead of attempting to measure such an overarching elusive concept, the research team sought to measure the potential consequence of economic espionage. In this study, the research team constructed a model to identify the severity of an incident of economic espionage and its consequences on the U.S. economy. The model was designed for use by federal government employees with the intent that the federal government could apply publically available case information to the model. The model provides a qualitative estimate of “consequence” as it relates to economic loss. The model generates a severity score between 0 and 1, which corresponds to a „low‟, „moderate‟, and „high‟ consequence. The severity score incorporates the model‟s four main variables into two primary components: „Industry‟ and „Case Variables‟. „Industry‟ assesses the significance of where the incident of economic espionage occurred. „Industry‟ is derived from a combination of the percentage of GDP in terms of value added for each of the 14 industries and the „susceptibility‟ of each of the 14 industries. This process enables the model to be individualized to a specific industry, which allows a different potential consequence to the U.S. economy. „Case Variables‟ assess the significance of the incident of economic espionage. „Case Variables‟ include the „Characteristics of the Theft‟, „Cost‟, and „Beneficiary‟ variables. The model requires the user to first select the „Industry‟ where the incident occurred and then to identify the „Case Variables‟. Therefore, the potential consequence on the U.S. economy from an incident of economic espionage is dependent on the industry. To greater individualize the model, the research team designed a method whereby questions within the model would matter more when compared to others. As no two incidents of economic espionage are identical, the research team developed a system of weighing the variables and their respective questions. With all the variables measured, standardized, and weighed against each other, the model calculates an overall severity score, which corresponds to the level of consequence for an incident of economic espionage.CENTRA Technolog

Pharmacy led medicine reconciliation at hospital: a systematic review of effects and costs

Background: Transition of patients care between settings presents an increased opportunity for errors and preventable morbidity. A number of studies outlined that pharmacy-led medication reconciliation (MR) might facilitate safer information transfer and medication use. MR practice is not well standardised and often delivered in combination with other healthcare activities. The question regarding the effects and costs of pharmacy-led MR and the optimum MR practice is warranted of value.  Objectives: To review the evidence for the effects and costs/ cost-effectiveness of complete pharmacy-led MR in hospital settings.  Methods: A systematic review searching the following database was conducted up to the 13th December 2015; EMBASE & MEDLINE Ovid, CINAHL and the Cochrane library. Studies evaluating pharmacy-led MR performed fully from admission till discharges were included. Studies evaluated non-pharmacy-led MR at only one end of patient care or transfer were not included. Articles were screened and extracted independently by two investigators. Studies were divided into those in which: MR was the primary element of the intervention and labelled as “primarily MR” studies, or MR combined with non-MR care activities and labelled as “supplemented MR” studies. Quality assessment of studies was performed by independent reviewers using a pre-defined and validated tool.  Results: The literature search identified 4,065 citations, of which 13 implemented complete MR. The lack of evidence precluded addressing the effects and costs of MR.  Conclusions: The composite of optimum MR practice is not widely standardised and requires discussion among health professions and key organisations. Research focused on evaluating cost-effectiveness of pharmacy-led MR is lacking

Calling by Concluding Sentinels: Coordinating Cooperation or Revealing Risk?

Efficient cooperation requires effective coordination of individual contributions to the cooperative behaviour. Most social birds and mammals involved in cooperation produce a range of vocalisations, which may be important in regulating both individual contributions and the combined group effort. Here we investigate the role of a specific call in regulating cooperative sentinel behaviour in pied babblers (Turdoides bicolor). ‘Fast-rate chuck’ calls are often given by sentinels as they finish guard bouts and may potentially coordinate the rotation of individuals as sentinels, minimising time without a sentinel, or may signal the presence or absence of predators, regulating the onset of the subsequent sentinel bout. We ask (i) when fast-rate chuck calls are given and (ii) what effect they have on the interval between sentinel bouts. Contrary to expectation, we find little evidence that these calls are involved in regulating the pied babbler sentinel system: observations revealed that their utterance is influenced only marginally by wind conditions and not at all by habitat, while observations and experimental playback showed that the giving of these calls has no effect on inter-bout interval. We conclude that pied babblers do not seem to call at the end of a sentinel bout to maximise the efficiency of this cooperative act, but may use vocalisations at this stage to influence more individually driven behaviours