Defensive responses of cuttlefish to different teleost predators

Author Posting. © Marine Biological Laboratory, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of Marine Biological Laboratory for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Biological Bulletin 225 (2013): 161-174.We evaluated cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) responses to three teleost predators: bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and black seabass (Centropristis striata). We hypothesized that the distinct body shapes, swimming behaviors, and predation tactics exhibited by the three fishes would elicit markedly different antipredator responses by cuttlefish. Over the course of 25 predator-prey behavioral trials, 3 primary and 15 secondary defense behaviors of cuttlefish were shown to predators. In contrast, secondary defenses were not shown during control trials in which predators were absent. With seabass—a benthic, sit-and-pursue predator—cuttlefish used flight and spent more time swimming in the water column than with other predators. With bluefish—an active, pelagic searching predator—cuttlefish remained closely associated with the substrate and relied more on cryptic behaviors. Startle (deimatic) displays were the most frequent secondary defense shown to seabass and bluefish, particularly the Dark eye ring and Deimatic spot displays. We were unable to evaluate secondary defenses by cuttlefish to flounder—a lie-and-wait predator—because flounder did not pursue cuttlefish or make attacks. Nonetheless, cuttlefish used primary defense during flounder trials, alternating between cryptic still and moving behaviors. Overall, our results suggest that cuttlefish may vary their behavior in the presence of different teleost predators: cryptic behaviors may be more important in the presence of active searching predators (e.g., bluefish), while conspicuous movements such as swimming in the water column and startle displays may be more prevalent with relatively sedentary, bottom-associated predators (e.g., seabass).This project was funded by a United States Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Sciences Office (DARPA DSO) Grant (HR0011-09- 1-0017)

The effect of timing and frequency of push notifications on usage of a smartphone-based stress management intervention: An exploratory trial

Push notifications offer a promising strategy for enhancing engagement with smartphone-based health interventions. Intelligent sensor-driven machine learning models may improve the timeliness of notifications by adapting delivery to a user's current context (e.g. location). This exploratory mixed-methods study examined the potential impact of timing and frequency on notification response and usage of Healthy Mind, a smartphone-based stress management intervention. 77 participants were randomised to use one of three versions of Healthy Mind that provided: intelligent notifications; daily notifications within pre-defined time frames; or occasional notifications within pre-defined time frames. Notification response and Healthy Mind usage were automatically recorded. Telephone interviews explored participants' experiences of using Healthy Mind. Participants in the intelligent and daily conditions viewed (d = .47, .44 respectively) and actioned (d = .50, .43 respectively) more notifications compared to the occasional group. Notification group had no meaningful effects on percentage of notifications viewed or usage of Healthy Mind. No meaningful differences were indicated between the intelligent and non-intelligent groups. Our findings suggest that frequent notifications may encourage greater exposure to intervention content without deterring engagement, but adaptive tailoring of notification timing does not always enhance their use. Hypotheses generated from this study require testing in future work. Trial registration number: ISRCTN67177737 © 2017 Morrison et al

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.

BACKGROUND: A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. METHODS: This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. FINDINGS: Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0-75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4-97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8-80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3-4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. INTERPRETATION: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials. FUNDING: UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lemann Foundation, Rede D'Or, Brava and Telles Foundation, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Thames Valley and South Midland's NIHR Clinical Research Network, and AstraZeneca

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK

Background A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. Methods This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. Findings Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0–75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4–97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8–80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3–4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. Interpretation ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials

Comparative effects of deep versus shallow squat and leg press training on vertical jumping ability and related factors

Dissertação de Mestrado em Estudos Literários e Culturais, orientada pela Doutora Catarina Isabel Caldeira Martins, apresentada ao Departamento de Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra.Esta dissertação se propõe a analisar o romance El país de las mujeres (2010), de Gioconda Belli, com objetivo de encontrar traços que possibilitem caracterizá-lo como um romance de tese feminista. Para realizar essa análise com base nos estudos literários e culturais, buscamos em primeiro lugar, ilustrar alguns conceitos chave, como o romance de tese, a literatura feminista e a própria ideologia feminista, sobretudo da vertente ginocêntrica, desde um ponto de vista funcional para a formulação da possível tese do romance. Como pesquisa de literatura e cultura, acreditamos na importância de se entender o contexto de escrita de Belli, por isso fazemos uma breve apresentação da história do feminismo na Nicarágua e onde a autora está incluída nesse processo, além de apresentar o caminho literário da autora, desde sua primeira poesia exaltadora das mulheres e do feminino, até a publicação desse romance que afronta os poderes patriarcais desde várias fontes. A partir dessas informações, analisamos o romance sob uma perspectiva literária e cultural, a fim de descobrir se a tese encontrada no início do romance é suficiente para defini-lo como romance de tese feminista. Entendemos que a tese em questão afirma que: a valorização da feminilidade socialmente construída e sua reprodução são importantes para que existam relações sociais equitativas. Achamos importante enfatizar desde o início o caráter resistente da literatura produzida por mulheres, que permite a criação de realidades diferentes das produzidas pelo universo literário machista e que oferece às leitoras maneiras novas de perceber o mundo e de interagir em sociedade, influenciando a ruptura com as bases opressoras sustentadas pelo patriarcado.This dissertation proposes to analyze the novel El País de las mujeres (2010) by Gioconda Belli, in order to find traits that make it possible to characterize it as a feminist roman à thése. To conduct this literary and cultural analysis, we seek first to illustrate some key concepts such as roman à thèse, feminist literature and the very feminist ideology, particularly, the gynocentric aspect, from a functional point of view to formulate the possible thesis of the novel. As a research in literary and cultural studies, we believe in the importance of understanding the writing context of Belli. Therefore, we make a brief presentation of the history of feminism in Nicaragua to situate the writer in this process. We also present the literary path of the author, since her first poem exalting women and femininity, until the publication of this novel that affronts patriarchal power from several imaginable points of view. Thus, we analyze the novel under a literary and cultural perspective, in order to find out whether the thesis that we found at the beginning of the novel is enough to define it as a feminist roman à these. We understand that this thesis is stating that “the valuation of socially constructed femininity and its reproduction are important to the existence of equal social relations”. We think it's important to emphasize right from the start the resistant nature of the literature produced by women, which enables the creation of different realities from those produced by the male-dominated literary universe and offers female readers new ways of perceiving the world and to interact in society, influencing the break with the oppressing bases sustained by patriarchy

Comparative effects of deep versus shallow squat and leg press training on vertical jumping ability and related factors

Young, previously untrained healthy men (n = 10) and women (n = 8) completed 9 weeks of periodized, machine-based squat training to determine if manipulating range of motion would have a differential effect on vertical jumping ability and related measures. Subjects were pretested and then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) deep squats (n = 6), (b) shallow squats (n = 6), and (c) controls (n = 6). Training took place 3 days per week. Pre- and posttesting included standing (RVJ) and depth (DVJ) vertical jumps for distance; machine deep and shallow squats for 1RM (1 repetition maximum) relative strength; and velocity-controlled squats at 0.51 m·s-1 for relative peak force and at 1.43 m·s-1 for relative peak power. Based on ANCOVA posttest results, the training protocols were ineffective in eliciting improved performance (p \u3e 0.05) in VJ, slow-velocity squatting force, and moderately fast squatting power when performance was compared with the performance of control subjects. Conversely, the group training with deep squats was the only group to perform significantly (p \u3c 0.05) better than controls for 1RM shallow squats and significantly (p \u3c 0.05) better than both shallow-squat and control groups for 1RM deep squats. Furthermore, the coefficient of transfer for deep squats to both RVJ (2.32) and DVJ (1.68) was substantially greater than for shallow squats (0.31 and 0.11, respectively). It was concluded that deep-squat training appears to elicit the best improvement for both shallow-and deep-squatting performance. However, 9 weeks of machine-based, periodized squat training, regardless of depth, does not appear to appreciably enhance slow-velocity squatting force, moderately fast squatting power, or vertical jumping distance in previously untrained men and women

Epigenetic Instability due to Defective Replication of Structured DNA

The accurate propagation of histone marks during chromosomal replication is proposed to rely on the tight coupling of replication with the recycling of parental histones to the daughter strands. Here, we show in the avian cell line DT40 that REV1, a key regulator of DNA translesion synthesis at the replication fork, is required for the maintenance of repressive chromatin marks and gene silencing in the vicinity of DNA capable of forming G-quadruplex (G4) structures. We demonstrate a previously unappreciated requirement for REV1 in replication of G4 forming sequences and show that transplanting a G4 forming sequence into a silent locus leads to its derepression in REV1-deficient cells. Together, our observations support a model in which failure to maintain processive DNA replication at G4 DNA in REV1-deficient cells leads to uncoupling of DNA synthesis from histone recycling, resulting in localized loss of repressive chromatin through biased incorporation of newly synthesized histones