Extending genome-wide association study (GWAS) results to test classic anthropological hypotheses: Human third molar agenesis and the ‘probable mutation effect’

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identifies regions of the genome that likely affect the variable state of a phenotype of interest. These regions can then be studied with population genetic methods to make inferences about the evolutionary history of the trait. There are increasing opportunities to use GWAS results – even from clinically-motivated studies – for tests of classic anthropological hypotheses. One such example, presented here as a case study for this approach, involves tooth development variation related to dental crowding. Specifically, more than 10% of humans fail to develop one or more permanent third molars (M3 agenesis). M3 presence/absence variation within human populations has a significant genetic component (heritability estimate h2 = 0.47). The evolutionary significance of M3 agenesis has a long history of anthropological speculation. First, the modern frequency of M3 agenesis could reflect a relaxation of selection pressure to retain larger and more teeth following the origins of cooking and other food-softening behaviors (i.e., the genetic drift hypothesis, or classically, the “probable mutation effect”). Alternatively, commensurate with increasing hominin brain size and facial shortening, M3 agenesis may have conferred an adaptive fitness advantage if the risk of M3 impaction and potential health complications was reduced (i.e., the positive selection hypothesis). A recent GWAS identified 70 genetic loci that may play a role in human M3 presence/absence variation. To begin evaluating the contrasting evolutionary scenarios for M3 agenesis, we used the integrated haplotype score (iHS) statistic to test whether those 70 genetic regions are enriched for genomic signatures of recent positive selection. None of our findings are inconsistent with the null hypothesis of genetic drift to explain the high prevalence of human M3 agenesis. This result might suggest that M3 impaction rates for modern humans don’t accurately retrodict those of the pre-agricultural past. Alternatively, the absence of support for the positive selection hypothesis could reflect a lack of power; this analysis should be repeated following the completion of more comprehensive GWAS analyses for human M3 agenesis

‘Blue boats’ and ‘reef robbers’: A new maritime security threat for the Asia Pacific?

© 2019 The Authors. Asia Pacific Viewpoint published by Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd Vietnamese ‘blue boats’ – small wooden-hulled fishing boats – are now entering the territorial waters of Pacific Island countries and illegally catching high-value species found on remote coastal reefs. Crossing several international boundaries and traversing a distance of over 5000 km, these intrusions have alarmed Oceanic countries, including Australia. Lacking administrative capacity as well as jurisdictional authority to effectively control the vast stretches of island coastlines individually, governments and intergovernmental bodies in the region have called for strengthened coordination of surveillance efforts while also pressuring Vietnam diplomatically. This paper reviews these latest developments and is the first to provide a focused assessment of the issue. Through the lens of Copenhagen School of securitisation theory, we analyse responses of national and regional actors and their portrayal in online media to understand how blue boats are constructed as a security threat within a narrative of maritime, food and human security. Arguably, Australia together with the Forum Fisheries Agency, who advise on the governance of offshore tuna resources, have so far acted most decisively – in a way that might see them extend their strategic role in the region. We propose a comprehensive empirical research agenda to better understand and manage this nascent, flammable and largely unpredictable inter-regional phenomenon

Musical preferences are linked to cognitive styles

Why do we like the music we do? Research has shown that musical preferences and personality are linked, yet little is known about other influences on preferences such as cognitive styles. To address this gap, we investigated how individual differences in musical preferences are explained by the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory. Study 1 examined the links between empathy and musical preferences across four samples. By reporting their preferential reactions to musical stimuli, samples 1 and 2 (Ns = 2,178 and 891) indicated their preferences for music from 26 different genres, and samples 3 and 4 (Ns = 747 and 320) indicated their preferences for music from only a single genre (rock or jazz). Results across samples showed that empathy levels are linked to preferences even within genres and account for significant proportions of variance in preferences over and above personality traits for various music-preference dimensions. Study 2 (N = 353) replicated and extended these findings by investigating how musical preferences are differentiated by E-S cognitive styles (i.e., 'brain types'). Those who are type E (bias towards empathizing) preferred music on the Mellow dimension (R&B/soul, adult contemporary, soft rock genres) compared to type S (bias towards systemizing) who preferred music on the Intense dimension (punk, heavy metal, and hard rock). Analyses of fine-grained psychological and sonic attributes in the music revealed that type E individuals preferred music that featured low arousal (gentle, warm, and sensual attributes), negative valence (depressing and sad), and emotional depth (poetic, relaxing, and thoughtful), while type S preferred music that featured high arousal (strong, tense, and thrilling), and aspects of positive valence (animated) and cerebral depth (complexity). The application of these findings for clinicians, interventions, and those on the autism spectrum (largely type S or extreme type S) are discussed.This work was supported by the Medical Research Council

Observations of total RONO2 over the boreal forest: NO x sinks and HNO3 sources

In contrast with the textbook view of remote chemistry where HNO 3 formation is the primary sink of nitrogen oxides, recent theoretical analyses show that formation of RONO2 (ΣANs) from isoprene and other terpene precursors is the primary net chemical loss of nitrogen oxides over the remote continents where the concentration of nitrogen oxides is low. This then increases the prominence of questions concerning the chemical lifetime and ultimate fate of ΣANs. We present observations of nitrogen oxides and organic molecules collected over the Canadian boreal forest during the summer which show that ΣANs account for ∼20% of total oxidized nitrogen and that their instantaneous production rate is larger than that of HNO3. This confirms the primary role of reactions producing ΣANs as a control over the lifetime of NOx (NOx =NO+NO2) in remote, continental environments. However, HNO 3 is generally present in larger concentrations than ΣANs indicating that the atmospheric lifetime of ΣANs is shorter than the HNO3 lifetime. We in-vestigate a range of proposed loss mechanisms that would explain the inferred lifetime of ΣANs finding that in combination with deposition, two processes are consistent with the observations: (1) rapid ozonolysis of isoprene nitrates where at least ∼40% of the ozonolysis producs t ts release NOx from the carbon backbone and/or (2) hydrolysis of particulate organic nitrates with HNO3 as a product. Implications of these ideas for our understanding of NOx and NOy budget in remote and rural locations are discussed. © Author(s) 2013

NGC 6153: a super-metal-rich planetary nebula?

We have obtained deep optical spectra of the planetary nebula NGC 6153, both along its minor axis and by uniformly scanning a long slit across the whole nebula. The scanned spectra, when combined with the nebular total Hβ flux, yield integrated fluxes for all the lines (∼400) in our spectra, which are rich in strong recombination lines from C, N, O and Ne ions A weak O VI λ 3811 emission line from the central star has been detected, suggesting that the nucleus of NGC 6153 has a hydrogen-deficient surface. The optical data, together with the ISO LWS 43-197 μm spectrum and the archival IUE and IRAS LRS spectra, are used to study the thermal and density structure and to derive the heavy-element abundances from lines produced by different excitation mechanisms. In all cases, the C2+/H+ N2+/H+, O2+/H+ and Ne2+/H+ abundances derived from multiple optical recombination lines (ORLs) are consistently higher, by about a factor of 10, than the corresponding values deduced from optical, UV or infrared (IR) collisionally excited lines (CELs). regardless of the excitation energies or critical densities of the latter. The agreement between the temperature-sensitive optical forbidden lines and the temperature-insensitive IR fine-structure lines rules out temperature fluctuations as the cause of the large difference between the ORL and CEL abundances. We present the results of a new calculation of recombination coefficients for [O II] which lead to good agreement between the observed and predicted [O II] λλ7320,7330 forbidden line intensities if these lines are solely excited by recombination at the Balmer jump temperature. Recombination excitation is also found to be important in exciting the [N II] λ5754 line, which, if unaccounted for, would lead to an overestimated [N II] temperature from the observed (λ6548 +λ6584)/λ5754 ratio. Analysis of a number of C II lines arising from levels as high as 7g in the recombination ladder reveals excellent agreement between their reddening-corrected relative intensities and those predicted by recombination theory. Spatial analysis of the long-slit spectra taken along the nebular minor axis yields a varying [O III] temperature, whereas the hydrogen Balmer jump temperature of 6000 K is approximately constant across the nebula, and is 2000-3000 K lower than the [O III] temperature The observed high-n Balmer line decrement indicates that the hydrogen lines arise from material having an electron density of 2000+2000-1000cm-3, consistent with the optical and IR forbidden-line density diagnostics, which yield average line-of-sight electron densities along the minor axis varying between 2000 and 4000 cm-3. While the He/H ratio mapped by He I and He II recombination lines is constant within 5 per cent across the nebula, the C2+/H+ and O2+/H+ recombination-line abundances decrease by a factor of 2-3 over a radius of 15 arcsec from the centre, pointing to the presence of abundance gradients. We consider a variety of hypotheses to account for the observed behaviour of the various thermal, density and abundance diagnostics. Empirical nebular models containing two components with differing densities and temperatures are able to account for many of the observed patterns, but only if one of the components is significantly hydrogen-deficient. One such model, which gives a good fit to the observed line intensities and patterns, has 500-K H-depleted material, presumed to be evaporating from dense neutral inclusions, embedded in 9500-K material with 'normal' abundances. An alternative model, which appears more physically plausible on a number of grounds, has high-density (2 × 106 cm-3), fully ionized, H-deficient knots embedded in the 'normal' component, although this model fails to account adequately for the observed low (6000 K) hydrogen Balmer jump temperature. However, the observed fact that the ORLs and CELs yield heavy-element abundance ratios that are identical within the uncertainties finds no obvious explanation in the context of H-deficient knot models

Reconciling multiple societal objectives in cross-scale marine governance: Solomon Islands’ engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Environmental governance aims to reconcile an expanding set of societal objectives at ever-larger scales despite the challenges that remain in integrating conservation and development at smaller scales. We interrogate Solomon Islands’ engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security to contribute new insight on the scalar politics of multi-level marine governance. We show how regional objectives are re-interpreted and prioritized as they translate into national policy and practice. Our data suggest that enhanced coordination of finances and activities, integration of objectives in shared protocols and priority geographies, and a subtle shift in power relations between the state, donors, and implementation partners have resulted from processes of re-scaling. We discuss important procedural adjustments in cross-level and cross-scale governance across jurisdictional, institutional, and sectoral scales. We also reflect on the changing role of national governments in shifts toward large-scale, multi-national initiatives.LE acknowledges funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. PJC and DB undertook this work as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agrifood Systems (FISH). Funding support for this study was provided by an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research grant (FIS/2012/074)

In the beginning: Role of autonomy support on the motivation, mental health and intentions of participants entering an exercise referral scheme

Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000, Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum Publishing) highlights the impact autonomy supportive environments can have on exercise motivation and positive health outcomes. Yet little is known about whether differential effects occur as a function of which significant other is providing this support. Further, no research has examined the relationship between motivation and the social environment with participants’ mental health and intentions to be physically active before entering an exercise intervention. Study participants were 347 British adults who were about to start an exercise referral scheme. Regression analyses revealed that the effects of autonomy support on mental health and physical activity intentions differed as a function of who provided the support (offspring, partner or physician), with the offspring having the weakest effects. A structural model was supported, indicating that autonomy support and more autonomous regulations led to more positive mental health outcomes and stronger intentions to be physically active. Knowledge of the social environmental and personal motivation of those about to commence an exercise programme can provide important insights for professionals supporting such efforts

Oral hygiene improvement: a pragmatic approach based upon risk and motivation levels

Good oral hygiene has always been the cornerstone of public and private dental health promotion. However, this has often been based upon incorrect assumptions. The public is not always willing and does not always need to change its oral health behavior to the same extent as that expected by the dental profession. The present commentary emphasizes the need to modify oral hygiene instruction according to specific risk and motivation levels. Dentistry needs to be flexible in accepting new evidence-based modalities of oral health promotion. Dentists, dental hygienists and the entire health care team need to accept that the traditional methods of oral health education are not always effective