The relationship between concentric hip abductor strength 1 and the performance of the Y-balance test (YBT)

Side lying hip abduction is an action used during manual muscle testing and is also prescribed as a rehabilitation exercise to improve dynamic single leg stability. Little is known about the functional cross-over of this activity. The aims of this study was to investigate the relationship between concentric hip abductor strength and performance of the Y-Balance test (YBT). Forty-five recreational gym users (27 male age 26.2 (8.4) years, 18 female age 27.4 (7.5) years) had dynamic single leg stability and concentric hip abductor peak torque assessed in the non-dominant limb using a YBT and isokinetic dynamometry, respectively. All components of the YBT had a moderate association with concentric hip abductor torque which were greater in the posteromedial (r=0.574, P<0.001) and posterolateral (r=0.657, P<0.001) directions compared to the anterior direction (r=0.402, P=0.006). Greater concentric hip abductor strength is associated with greater scores on components of the YBT, particularly the posterior reaches

Preliminary Study on Preferences for Hollow vs. Filled Social Partners in Domestic Chicks

Human infants as young as 8 months old are surprised when animated objects have no insides. This observation has suggested that infants might attribute biological properties such as “having an inside” to animated objects. Do chicks (Gallus gallus) exhibit similar biological expectations for social partners? In a series of experiments we take advantage of social motivation of newly hatched chicks to investigate whether: (a) naïve chicks exhibit an unlearned preference for hollow vs. filled social objects; (b) visual experience and imprinting affects the preference for hollow vs. filled objects; (c) how imprinting on hollow, filled or occluded objects influences filial responses. We show that naïve chicks exhibit an unlearned preference to approach hollow objects, irrespectively of their visual experience, that this preference is maintained in imprinted chicks and partially modulated by imprinting. Our data show that “being filled” is not a requirement of social stimuli and that a short experience can influence the preferences for social partners in these precocial birds

Embryonic Exposure to Valproic Acid Affects Social Predispositions for Dynamic Cues of Animate Motion in Newly-Hatched Chicks

Early predispositions to preferentially orient towards cues associated with social partners have been documented in several vertebrate species including human neonates and domestic chicks. Human newborns at high familiar risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show differences in their attention toward these predisposed stimuli, suggesting potential impairments in these social-orienting mechanisms in ASD. Using embryonic exposure to valproic acid (VPA) we modelled ASD behavioural deficits in domestic chicks. To investigate social predispositions towards animate motion in domestic chicks, we focused on self-propulsion, using two video-animations representing a simple red circle moving at constant speed (speed-constant) or one that was changing its speed (accelerating and decelerating; speed-change). Using a six minutes spontaneous choice test for the two stimuli, we compared unlearned preferences for stimuli that autonomously change speed between VPA- and vehicle-injected chicks. We found that the preference for speed changes was abolished in VPA-injected chicks compared to vehicle-injected controls. These results add to previous findings indicating similar impairments for static social stimuli and suggest a specific effect of VPA on the development of mechanisms that enhance orienting towards animate stimuli. These findings strengthen the hypothesis of an early impairment of predispositions in the early development of ASD. Hence, early predispositions are a potentially useful tool to detect early ASD symptoms in human neonates and to investigate the molecular and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the onset of this neurodevelopmental disorder

Newborn chicks show inherited variability in early social predispositions for hen-like stimuli

open5noopenVersace, Elisabetta; Fracasso, Ilaria; Baldan, Gabriele; Dalle Zotte, Antonella; Vallortigara, GiorgioVersace, Elisabetta; Fracasso, Ilaria; Baldan, Gabriele; DALLE ZOTTE, Antonella; Vallortigara, Giorgi

Evolutionary compromises in ecological adaptation: urea and ammonia tolerance in Drosophila suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster

The invasive species Drosophila suzukii has evolved morphological and behavioral adaptations to lay eggs under the skin of fresh fruits. This results in severe damage of a wide range of small fruits, making this species a serious agricultural and economical threat. Drosophila suzukii females typically lay few eggs per fruit, preferring not infested fruits. Hence, larvae are exposed to a reduced amount of nitrogenous waste. Differently, the innocuous Drosophila melanogaster lays eggs on fermented fruits already infested by conspecifics, with larvae developing in a crowded environment with accumulation of nitrogenous waste such as ammonia and urea. The observed differences in oviposition site and larval ecological niche suggest that these species might differ in behavioral and physiological mechanisms used to cope with nitrogenous waste. We investigated how different concentrations of ammonia and urea affect fecundity and larval development in both species. Females and larvae of D. suzukii showed greater sensitivity to high concentration of both compounds, with a dramatic decrease in fecundity and egg viability. To better understand the pathways underlying these differences, we evaluated the effect on ornithine aminotransferase and glutathione-S-transferase, two enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism and stress response that are expressed during larval development. Both ammonia and urea significantly reduced the expression of these enzymes in D. suzukii compared to D. melanogaster. This manifests how the ecological shift of D. suzukii to fresh fruit resulted in less efficient detoxifying and excretory mechanisms, with important implications for evolutionary biology and applied research

Early- and Late-Light Embryonic Stimulation Modulates Similarly Chicks\u2019 Ability to Filter out Distractors

Chicks (Gallus gallus) learned to run from a starting box to a target located at the end of a runway. At test, colourful and bright distractors were placed just outside the starting box. Dark incubated chicks (maintained in darkness from fertilization to hatching) stopped significantly more often, assessing more the left-side distractor than chicks hatched after late (for 42 h during the last three days before hatching) or early (for 42 h after fertilization) exposure to light. The results show that early embryonic light stimulation can modulate this particular behavioural lateralization comparably to the late application of it, though via a different route

Coscienza degli animali e interazione uomo animale

Il benessere degli animali negli allevamenti zootecnici ha ormai grande importanza non soltanto sotto l’aspetto etico ma anche come fattore in grado di influenzare la qualità dei prodotti destinati all’alimentazione umana. La ricerca, tuttavia, mostra ancora evidenti carenze sulla valutazione dello stato di benessere degli animali sia per la mancanza di parametri oggettivi, sia gli studi limitati e concentrati sugli aspetti legati agli animali, che hanno trascurato fattori importanti come l’interazione uomo-animale e le capacità cognitive degli animali. E’ accertato che esistono stretti rapporti tra il comportamento dell’uomo con gli animali e le risposte che essi hanno verso l’uomo e la produttività. Gli animali che hanno paura dell’uomo hanno più probabilità di manifestare stress in sua presenza comportando talvolta immunodepressione con serie conseguenze sulla loro salute. Le ricerche di tipo etologico e cognitivo possono contribuire al benessere fornendo evidenze obiettive sul modo in cui gli animali reagiscono alle condizioni di cattività negli allevamenti e all’interazione con l’uomo. Gli indicatori biologici non consentono da soli di valutare sempre lo stato di benessere degli animali, infatti, non è inusuale che un animale presenti delle anormalità comportamentali senza mostrare nel contempo alcuna variazione fisiologica riconducibile ad uno stato di stress, il che rende difficile decidere quali siano gli indicatori più affidabili

Noxious stimulation induces self-protective behavior in bumblebees

It has been widely stated that insects do not show self-protective behavior toward noxiously-stimulated body parts, but this claim has never been empirically tested. Here, we tested whether an insect species displays a type of self-protective behavior: self-grooming a noxiously-stimulated site. We touched bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) on an antenna with a noxiously heated (65°C) probe and found that, in the first 2 min after this stimulus, bees groomed their touched antenna more than their untouched antenna, and more than bees that were touched with an unheated probe or not touched at all did. Our results present evidence that bumblebees display self-protective behavior. We discuss the potential neural mechanisms of this behavior and the implications for whether insects feel pain