Adaptive paternal effects? Experimental evidence that the paternal environment affects offspring performance

The ability of females to adaptively influence offspring phenotype via maternal effects is widely acknowledged, but corresponding nongenetic paternal effects remain unexplored. Males can adjust sperm phenotype in response to local conditions, but the transgenerational consequences of this plasticity are unknown. We manipulated paternal density of a broadcast spawner (Styela plicata, a solitary ascidean) using methods shown previously to alter sperm phenotype in the field, then conducted in vitro fertilizations that excluded maternal effects and estimated offspring performance under natural conditions. Offspring sired by males from low-density experimental populations developed faster and had a higher hatching success than offspring sired by males living in high densities. In the field, offspring survived relatively better when their environment matched their father's, raising the possibility that fathers can adaptively influence the phenotype of their offspring according to local conditions. As the only difference between offspring is whether they were artificially fertilized by sperm from males kept in high- vs. low-density cages, we can unequivocally attribute any differences in offspring performance to an environmentally induced paternal effect. Males of many species manipulate the phenotype of their sperm in response to sperm competition: our results show this plasticity can influence offspring fitness, potentially in adaptive ways, raising the possibility that adaptive nongenetic paternal effects may be more common than previously thought

Specific leaf area responses to environmental gradients through space and time

Plant communities can respond to environmental changes by altering their species composition and by individuals (within species) adjusting their physiology. These responses can be captured by measuring key functional traits among and within species along important environmental gradients. Some anthropogenic changes (such as fertilizer runoff) are known to induce distinct community responses, but rarely have responses across natural and anthropogenic gradients been compared in the same system. In this study, we used comprehensive specific leaf area (SLA) data from a diverse Australian annual plant system to examine how individual species and whole communities respond to natural and anthropogenic gradients, and to climatically different growing seasons. We also investigated the influence of different leaf-sampling strategies on community-level results. Many species had similar mean SLA values but differed in SLA responses to spatial and temporal environmental variation. At the community scale, we identified distinct SLA responses to natural and anthropogenic gradients. Along anthropogenic gradients, increased mean SLA, coupled with SLA convergence, revealed evidence of competitive exclusion. This was further supported by the dominance of species turnover (vs. intraspecific variation) along these gradients. We also revealed strong temporal changes in SLA distributions in response to increasing growing-season precipitation. These climate-driven changes highlight differences among co-occurring species in their adaptive capacity to exploit abundant water resources during favorable seasons, differences that are likely to be important for species coexistence in this system. In relation to leaf-sampling strategies, we found that using leaves from a climatically different growing season can lead to misleading conclusions at the community scale

Charged Higgs bosons from the 3-3-1 models and the R(D(∗))\mathcal{R}(D^{(*)}) anomalies

Several anomalies in the semileptonic B-meson decays such as $\mathcal{R}(D^{(*)})$ have been reported by $BABAR$, Belle, and LHCb collaborations recently. In this paper, we investigate the contributions of the charged Higgs bosons from the 3-3-1 models to the $\mathcal{R}(D^{(*)})$ anomalies. We find that, in a wide range of parameter space, the 3-3-1 models might give reasonable explanations to the $\mathcal{R}(D^{(*)})$ anomalies and other analogous anomalies of the B meson's semileptonic decays.Comment: Accpeted by Physical Review

New collections of p-subgroups and homology decompositions for classifying spaces of finite groups

Let G be a finite group and p a prime dividing its order. We define new collections of p-subgroups of G. We study the homotopy relations among them and with the standard collections of p-subgroups. We determine their ampleness and sharpness properties.Comment: 14 pages, some revisions made, final version to appear in Communications in Algebr

Agricultural legacy, climate, and soil influence the restoration and carbon potential of woody regrowth in Australia

Opportunities for dual restoration and carbon benefits from naturally regenerating woody ecosystems in agricultural landscapes have been highlighted recently. The restoration capacity of woody ecosystems depends on the magnitude and duration of ecosystem modification, i.e., the ''agricultural legacy.'' However, this legacy may not influence carbon sequestration in the same way as restoration because carbon potential depends primarily on biomass accumulation, with little consideration of other attributes and functions of the ecosystem. Our present study simultaneously assesses the restoration and carbon potential of Acacia harpophylla regrowth, an extensive regrowth ecosystem in northeastern Australia. We used a landscape-scale survey of A. harpophylla regrowth to test the following hypotheses: (1) management history, in combination with climatic and edaphic factors, has long-term effects on stem densities, and (2) higher-density stands have lower restoration and carbon potential, which is also influenced by climatic and edaphic factors. We focused on the restoration of forest structure, which was characterized using stem density, aboveground biomass, stem heights, and stem diameters. Data were analyzed using multilevel models within the hierarchical Bayesian model (HBM) framework. We found strong support for both hypotheses. Repeated attempts at clearing Brigalow (A. harpophylla ecosystem) regrowth increases stem densities, and these densities remain high over the long term, particularly in high-rainfall areas and on gilgaied, high-clay soils (hypothesis 1). In models testing hypothesis 2, interactions between stem density and stand age indicate that higher-density stands have slower biomass accumulation and structural development in the long term. After accounting for stem density and stand age, annual rainfall had a positive effect on biomass accumulation and structural development. Other climate and soil variables were retained in the various models but had weaker effects. Spatial extrapolations of the HBMs indicated that the central and eastern parts of the study region are most suitable for biomass accumulation; however, these may not correspond to the areas that historically supported the highest biomass Brigalow forests. We conclude that carbon and restoration goals are largely congruent within areas of similar climate. At the regional scale, however, spatial prioritization of restoration and carbon projects may only be aligned where carbon benefits will be high. © 2010 by the Ecological Society of America

"Driven to distraction?" Children's experiences of car travel

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in volume, 4, issue 1, pages 59-76 in Mobilities 2009. Copyright @ 2009 Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17450100802657962.Cars have become increasingly significant features in the lives of many children and adults in the UK and elsewhere. Whilst there is a growing body of research considering how adults experience automobility, that is the increasingly central role of cars within societies, there has been little equivalent research exploring children's perspectives. Drawing upon a variety of methods including personal diaries, photographs, in‐depth interviews and surveys amongst schools within Buckinghamshire and North London, the paper contributes to filling this gap in existing research through exploring how cars are not only journey spaces for children, but are also sites for play, relaxation, homework, companionship, technology and the consumption of commodities. Using a Foucauldian analysis of power, insights into wider familial processes relating to mobility are provided by exploring how cars are sites of conflicting power relations between parents and children. The paper also explores how children's everyday experiences of cars were framed by wider sets of power relations, including car corporations which design and manufacture these spaces, and the role of capital which commodifies everyday activities in cars. In doing so, the paper challenges existing research on automobility for only focusing upon adults' experiences of cars and begins to theorise a more inclusive account of automobility which incorporates children and young people

Joint searches between gravitational-wave interferometers and high-energy neutrino telescopes: science reach and analysis strategies

Many of the astrophysical sources and violent phenomena observed in our Universe are potential emitters of gravitational waves (GWs) and high-energy neutrinos (HENs). A network of GW detectors such as LIGO and Virgo can determine the direction/time of GW bursts while the IceCube and ANTARES neutrino telescopes can also provide accurate directional information for HEN events. Requiring the consistency between both, totally independent, detection channels shall enable new searches for cosmic events arriving from potential common sources, of which many extra-galactic objects.Comment: 4 pages. To appear in the Proceedings of the 2d Heidelberg Workshop: "High-Energy Gamma-rays and Neutrinos from Extra-Galactic Sources", Heidelberg (Germany), January 13-16, 200

Impact of Tumour Epithelial Subtype on Circulating MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer Patients

While a range of miRNAs have been shown to be dysregulated in the circulation of patients with breast cancer, little is known about the relationship between circulating levels and tumour characteristics. The aim of this study was to analyse alterations in circulating miRNA expression during tumour progression in a murine model of breast cancer, and to detemine the clinical relevance of identified miRNAs at both tissue and circulating level in patient samples. Athymic nude mice received a subcutaneous or mammary fat pad injection of MDA-MB-231 cells. Blood sampling was performed at weeks 1, 3 and 6 following tumour induction, and microRNA extracted. MicroRNA microArray analysis was performed comparing samples harvested at week 1 to those collected at week 6 from the same animals. Significantly altered miRNAs were validated across all murine samples by RQ-PCR (n = 45). Three miRNAs of interest were then quantified in the circulation(n = 166) and tissue (n = 100) of breast cancer patients and healthy control individuals. MicroArray-based analysis of murine blood samples revealed levels of 77 circulating microRNAs to be changed during disease progression, with 44 demonstrating changes .2-fold. Validation across all samples revealed miR-138 to be significantly elevated in the circulation of animals during disease development, with miR-191 and miR-106a levels significantly decreased. Analysis of patient tissue and blood samples revealed miR-138 to be significantly up-regulated in the circulation of patients with breast cancer, with no change observed in the tissue setting. While not significantly changed overall in breast cancer patients compared to controls, circulating miR-106a and miR-191 were significantly decreased in patients with basal breast cancer. In tissue, both miRNAs were significantly elevated in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue. The data demonstrates an impact of tumour epithelial subtype on circulating levels of miRNAs, and highlights divergent miRNA profiles between tissue and blood samples from breast cancer patients

Performance of the LHCb Vertex Detector Alignment Algorithm determined with Beam Test Data

LHCb is the dedicated heavy flavour experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The partially assembled silicon vertex locator (VELO) of the LHCb experiment has been tested in a beam test. The data from this beam test have been used to determine the performance of the VELO alignment algorithm. The relative alignment of the two silicon sensors in a module and the relative alignment of the modules has been extracted. This alignment is shown to be accurate at a level of approximately 2 micron and 0.1 mrad for translations and rotations, respectively in the plane of the sensors. A single hit precision at normal track incidence of about 10 micron is obtained for the sensors. The alignment of the system is shown to be stable at better than the 10 micron level under air to vacuum pressure changes and mechanical movements of the assembled system.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM