Female Fertilization: Effects of Sex-Specific Density and Sex Ratio Determined Experimentally for Colorado Potato Beetles and Drosophila Fruit Flies

If males and females affect reproduction differentially, understanding and predicting sexual reproduction requires specification of response surfaces, that is, two-dimensional functions that relate reproduction to the (numeric) densities of both sexes. Aiming at rigorous measurement of female per capita fertilization response surfaces, we conducted a multifactorial experiment and reanalyzed an extensive data set. In our experiment, we varied the density of male and female Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado potato beetles) by placing different numbers of the two sexes on enclosed Solanum tuberosum (potato plants) to determine the proportion of females fertilized after 3 or 22 hours. In the reanalysis, we investigated how the short-term fertilization probability of three Drosophila strains (melanogaster ebony, m. sepia, and simulans) depended on adult sex ratio (proportion of males) and total density. The fertilization probability of female Leptinotarsa decemlineata increased logistically with male density, but not with female density. These effects were robust to trial duration. The fertilization probability of female Drosophila increased logistically with both sex ratio and total density. Treatment effects interacted in m. sepia, and simulans. These findings highlight the importance of well-designed, multifactorial experiments and strengthen previous experimental evidence for the relevance of sex-specific densities to understanding and prediction of female fertilization probability.WKV, MEH, and HK acknowledge financial support from the Academy of Finland. GB and PM acknowledge financial support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Adding Fish Oil to Whey Protein, Leucine and Carbohydrate Over a 6 Week Supplementation Period Attenuates Muscle Soreness Following Eccentric Exercise in Competitive Soccer Players

Soccer players often experience eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage given the physical demands of soccer match-play. Since long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA) enhance muscle sensitivity to protein supplementation, dietary supplementation with a combination of fish oil-derived n-3PUFA, protein, and carbohydrate may promote exercise recovery. This study examined the influence of adding n-3PUFA to a whey protein, leucine, and carbohydrate containing beverage over a six-week supplementation period on physiological markers of recovery measured over three days following eccentric exercise. Competitive soccer players were assigned to one of three conditions (2 × 200 mL): a fish oil supplement beverage (FO; n = 10) that contained n-3PUFA (1100 mg DHA/EPA - approximately 550 mg DHA, 550 mg EPA), whey protein (15 g), leucine (1.8 g), and carbohydrate (20 g); a protein supplement beverage (PRO; n = 10) that contained whey protein (15 g), leucine (1.8 g), and carbohydrate (20 g); and a carbohydrate supplement beverage (CHO; n = 10) that contained carbohydrate (24 g). Eccentric exercise consisted of unilateral knee extension/flexion contractions on both legs separately. Maximal force production was impaired by 22% during the 72-hour recovery period following eccentric exercise (p < 0.05). Muscle soreness, expressed as area under the curve (AUC) during 72-hour recovery, was less in FO (1948 ± 1091 mm × 72 h) than PRO (4640 ± 2654 mm × 72 h, p < 4 0.05) and CHO (4495 ± 1853 mm × 72 h, p = 0.10). Blood concentrations of creatine kinase, expressed as AUC, were ~60% lower in FO compared to CHO (p < 0.05) and tended to be lower (~39%, p = 0.07) than PRO. No differences in muscle function, soccer performance, or blood c-reactive protein concentrations were observed between groups. In conclusion, the addition of n-3PUFA to a beverage containing whey protein, leucine, and carbohydrate ameliorates the increase in muscle soreness and blood concentrations of creatine kinase following eccentric exercise in competitive soccer players

Female Fertilization : Effects of Sex-Specific Density and Sex Ratio Determined Experimentally for Colorado Potato Beetles and Drosophila Fruit Flies

Peer reviewe

Ambroxol as a novel disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson\u27s disease dementia: Protocol for a single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: Currently there are no disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson\u27s disease dementia (PDD), a condition linked to aggregation of the protein α-synuclein in subcortical and cortical brain areas. One of the leading genetic risk factors for Parkinson\u27s disease is being a carrier in the gene for β-Glucocerebrosidase (GCase; gene name GBA1). Studies in cell culture and animal models have shown that raising the levels of GCase can decrease levels of α-synuclein. Ambroxol is a pharmacological chaperone for GCase and is able to raise the levels of GCase and could therefore be a disease-modifying treatment for PDD. The aims of this trial are to determine if Ambroxol is safe and well-tolerated by individuals with PDD and if Ambroxol affects cognitive, biochemical, and neuroimaging measures. Methods: This is a phase II, single-centre, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial involving 75 individuals with mild to moderate PDD. Participants will be randomized into Ambroxol high-dose (1050 mg/day), low-dose (525 mg/day), or placebo treatment arms. Assessments will be undertaken at baseline, 6-months, and 12-months follow up times. Primary outcome measures will be the Alzheimer\u27s disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and the ADCS Clinician\u27s Global Impression of Change (CGIC). Secondary measures will include the Parkinson\u27s disease Cognitive Rating Scale, Clinical Dementia Rating, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, Unified Parkinson\u27s disease Rating Scale, Purdue Pegboard, Timed Up and Go, and gait kinematics. Markers of neurodegeneration will include MRI and CSF measures. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Ambroxol will be examined through plasma levels during dose titration phase and evaluation of GCase activity in lymphocytes. Discussion: If found effective and safe, Ambroxol will be one of the first disease-modifying treatments for PDD. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02914366, 26 Sep 2016/retrospectively registered

Shareholder activism in the UK: types of activists, forms of activism, and their impact on a target’s performance

Considering the recent rapid expansion of shareholder activism phenomenon in the United Kingdom (UK) and the vast amount of resources committed to it by corporations, government and investors, its effectiveness has become a crucial subject for investigation. This article analyzes organizational outcomes of shareholder activism in the UK. This research is based on a unique comprehensive database of shareholder activism events during the period of 1998–2008. We provide a detailed account of different types of activists, activism strategies and shareholder demands associated with the events of activism. Our findings show that the effectiveness of shareholder activism in terms of abnormal stock-market returns varies dramatically depending on its form, type of investor and the nature of investor proposals

Order Imbalances and Stock Price Movements on October 19 and 20, 1987.

On October 19, 1987, NYSE stocks in the S&P index declined seven percentage points more than NYSE stocks not in this index. In the first hour of trading on October 20, the S&P stocks virtually recovered to the level of the non-S&P stocks. There is a strong relation between order imbalances and stock price movements, both in analyses of time series and cross sections. Thus, in addition to the breakdown in the linkage between future prices and the spot index on these two days, there were also breakdowns in the linkage among NYSE stocks. Copyright 1989 by American Finance Association.

Proportion of female <i>Leptinotarsa decemlineata</i> fertilized at different combinations of male density and female density.

<p>Open and filled symbols depict single observations from short (3 h) trials and long (22 h) trials, respectively. Symbol size indicates the proportion of females fertilized, with the smallest and largest symbols corresponding to none and all of the females being fertilized, respectively. Long Tick marks indicate treatment levels. For representational purposes, results of short trials and long trials have been slightly shifted diagonally. Note that in two trials (short M₄,F₂ and long M₃₂,F₄), treatment levels were not as intended; dissection proved one supposed male to be a female (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0060381#pone.0060381.s003" target="_blank">Appendix S3</a>).</p

Fertilization probability in relation to sex ratio (panel A) and total density (panel B).

<p>Data concerns female <i>Drosophila</i> and is from the experiment presented in Wallace <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0060381#pone.0060381-Wallace1" target="_blank">[3]</a>. Presented are back-transformed values. Superimposed are the back-transformed fitted linear regression lines (continuous lines) and 95% confidence intervals (dotted lines) calculated at specific levels of total density ‘T’ or sex ratio ‘S’. Grey lines show residuals associated with the depicted regression lines (for representational purposes, corresponding observations have been slightly shifted horizontally in panel A). Long tick marks indicate treatment levels and response values. Note the log-scale of the x-axis in panel B.</p

Interaction effects on the ln-transformed odds (i.e. logits) of fertilization of female <i>Drosophila.</i>

<p>Depicted are the parameter estimates of the joint effect size of the total number of flies (N) and sex ratio (S); data is from the twelve experiments presented in Wallace <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0060381#pone.0060381-Wallace2" target="_blank">[18]</a>. Symbols indicate trial duration (30 min: open symbols, 60 min: filled symbols), and the number of mating chambers in the experiment (1: circles, 2: triangles). Solid and dotted error bars indicate the standard error and the 95% confidence intervals of these parameter estimates, respectively. Positive joint effect sizes can be interpreted as indicating that the positive effect of the total number of flies was more pronounced when sex ratio was higher (more male-biased), and vice versa.</p