Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables—where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously—without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin’s cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tool-use tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not. © 2020 Miller et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Epidermal Growth Factor–PEG Functionalized PAMAM-Pentaethylenehexamine Dendron for Targeted Gene Delivery Produced by Click Chemistry

Aim of this study was the site-specific conjugation of an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain by click chemistry onto a poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendron, as a key step toward defined multifunctional carriers for targeted gene delivery. For this purpose, at first propargyl amine cored PAMAM dendrons with ester ends were synthesized. The chain terminal ester groups were then modified by oligoamines with different secondary amino densities. The oligoamine-modified PAMAM dendrons were well biocompatible, as demonstrated in cytotoxicity assays. Among the different oligoamine-modified dendrons, PAMAM-pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA) dendron polyplexes displayed the best gene transfer ability. Conjugation of PAMAM-PEHA dendron with PEG spacer was conducted via click reaction, which was performed before amidation with PEHA. The resultant PEG-PAMAM-PEHA copolymer was then coupled with EGF ligand. pDNA transfections in HuH-7 hepatocellular carcinoma cells showed a 10-fold higher efficiency with the polyplexes containing conjugated EGF as compared to the ligand-free ones, demonstrating the concept of ligand targeting. Overall gene transfer efficiencies, however, were moderate, suggesting that additional measures for overcoming subsequent intracellular bottlenecks in delivery have to be taken

The Possible "Proton Sponge " Effect of Polyethylenimine (PEI) Does Not Include Change in Lysosomal pH.

Polycations such as polyethylenimine (PEI) are used in many novel nonviral vector designs and there are continuous efforts to increase our mechanistic understanding of their interactions with cells. Even so, the mechanism of polyplex escape from the endosomal/lysosomal pathway after internalization is still elusive. The “proton sponge ” hypothesis remains the most generally accepted mechanism, although it is heavily debated. This hypothesis is associated with the large buffering capacity of PEI and other polycations, which has been interpreted to cause an increase in lysosomal pH even though no conclusive proof has been provided. In the present study, we have used a nanoparticle pH sensor that was developed for pH measurements in the endosomal/lysosomal pathway. We have carried out quantitative measurements of lysosomal pH as a function of PEI content and correlate the results to the “proton sponge ” hypothesis. Our measurements show that PEI does not induce change in lysosomal pH as previously suggested and quantification of PEI concentrations in lysosomes makes it uncertain that the “proton sponge ” effect is the dominant mechanism of polyplex escape

Liposome-Mediated Cellular Delivery of Active gp91phox

International audienceBACKGROUND: Gp91(phox) is a transmembrane protein and the catalytic core of the NADPH oxidase complex of neutrophils. Lack of this protein causes chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a rare genetic disorder characterized by severe and recurrent infections due to the incapacity of phagocytes to kill microorganisms. METHODOLOGY: Here we optimize a prokaryotic cell-free expression system to produce integral mammalian membrane proteins. CONCLUSIONS: Using this system, we over-express truncated forms of the gp91(phox) protein under soluble form in the presence of detergents or lipids resulting in active proteins with a "native-like" conformation. All the proteins exhibit diaphorase activity in the presence of cytosolic factors (p67(phox), p47(phox), p40(phox) and Rac) and arachidonic acid. We also produce proteoliposomes containing gp91(phox) protein and demonstrate that these proteins exhibit activities similar to their cellular counterpart. The proteoliposomes induce rapid cellular delivery and relocation of recombinant gp91(phox) proteins to the plasma membrane. Our data support the concept of cell-free expression technology for producing recombinant proteoliposomes and their use for functional and structural studies or protein therapy by complementing deficient cells in gp91(phox) protein

Multimodal Communication in a Noisy Environment: A Case Study of the Bornean Rock Frog Staurois parvus

High background noise is an impediment to signal detection and perception. We report the use of multiple solutions to improve signal perception in the acoustic and visual modality by the Bornean rock frog, Staurois parvus. We discovered that vocal communication was not impaired by continuous abiotic background noise characterised by fast-flowing water. Males modified amplitude, pitch, repetition rate and duration of notes within their advertisement call. The difference in sound pressure between advertisement calls and background noise at the call dominant frequency of 5578 Hz was 8 dB, a difference sufficient for receiver detection. In addition, males used several visual signals to communicate with conspecifics with foot flagging and foot flashing being the most common and conspicuous visual displays, followed by arm waving, upright posture, crouching, and an open-mouth display. We used acoustic playback experiments to test the efficacy-based alerting signal hypothesis of multimodal communication. In support of the alerting hypothesis, we found that acoustic signals and foot flagging are functionally linked with advertisement calling preceding foot flagging. We conclude that S. parvus has solved the problem of continuous broadband low-frequency noise by both modifying its advertisement call in multiple ways and by using numerous visual signals. This is the first example of a frog using multiple acoustic and visual solutions to communicate in an environment characterised by continuous noise

Development of a novel noninvasive sensor for determination of blood glucose concentration

Optical methods represent the most promising techniques to perform non-invasive glucose detection. Glucose concentration in the aqueous humor closely mimics glucose levels in the blood and therefore non-invasive optical measurement of glucose can be performed by an optical beam crossing the eye anterior chamber. We propose a polarimetric method that exploits the Brewster-reflection of circularly polarized light on the lens of the eye. After reflection, the resulting linearly polarized light is subject to rotation by the glucose in the aqueous humor and thus carries the concentration information. A preliminary experimental setup, using glucose samples in a beaker, was realized and investigated

Polarimetric glucose sensing using the Brewster-reflection off the eye lens: theoretical analysis

An important task of in vivo polarimetric glucose sensing is to find an appropriate way to optically access the aqueous humor of the human eye. In this paper two different approaches are analyzed theoretically and applied to the eye model of Le Grand. First approach is the tangential path of Cote et al., and the second is a new scheme of this paper of applying Brewster reflection off the eye lens

Glucose sensing using the Brewster reflection: polarimetric ray-tracing based upon an anatomical eye model

In this paper we present theoretical analysis to support the polarimetric approach for glucose detection in the human eye applying Brewster reflection off the ocular lens. The theoretical eye model of Navarro, which is based upon anatomical data, was used to perform ray-tracing, whereas the electromagnetic and polarization parameters of light propagation through the eye-media were calculated. The errors in glucose concentration determination due to refraction and deviation from the ideal optical path were calculated under different conditions. Effects of using incident linearly and circularly polarized light and variation of intersection condition of the incoming light beam with the anterior corneal surface were taken into consideration. Calculations were performed for a wide spectral range by applying dispersion curves for the eye-media. These simulations show the potential and the limits of the proposed optical approach

Noninvasive monitoring of glucose concentration through the aqueous humor

Purpose:Development of a new optical sensor for measuring blood glucose levels noninvasively to replace the current finger-prick method routinely used by diabetics. Methods:We have developed a new optical scheme for a polarimetric-based glucose sensor. Such a sensor is intended to noninvasively measure the glucose content of the aqueous humor, which is highly correlated to the blood glucose concentration in the body. The polarimetric measurement method is based upon optical activity of glucose, i.e., the plane of polarization of a polarized light beam is rotated when propagating through a glucose solution. The amount of polarization rotation is proportional to the glucose concentration, which therefore can be determined. Our new optical scheme applies Brewster reflection of incident circularly polarized light off the eye lens. The incoming light is not affected by optical activity. However, the back reflected linearly polarized light is rotated while crossing the aqueous humor of the eye. From this polarization rotation of the reflected light the glucose concentration in the aqueous humor can be determined. Results:In this proof-of-concept study the linearity between glucose concentration and polarization rotation is investigated with glucose concentrations ranging from 0 to 1000 mg/dl. The obtained data show a correlation coefficient of 0.986. Further, we have tested our approach on a model of the human eye, which has been designed in our lab. In this eye model the cornea has been modeled by a contact lens, the aqueous humor by solutions of glucose in distilled water, and the crystallin lens by a lens implant. Conclusions:The results show good linearity of the measurement system. However, detailed experimental work is needed to demonstrate its full applicability in human patients