Mating-induced reduction in accessory reproductive organ size in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni - art. no. 36

Background: Internal reproductive organ size is an important determinant of male reproductive success. While the response of testis length to variation in the intensity of sperm competition is well documented across many taxa, few studies address the importance of testis size in determining other components of male reproductive success ( such as mating frequency) or the significance of size variation in accessory reproductive organs. Accessory gland length, but not testis length, is both phenotypically and genetically correlated with male mating frequency in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni. Here we directly manipulate male mating status to investigate the effect of copulation on the size of both the testes and the accessory glands of C. dalmanni.Results: Accessory gland length was positively correlated with male mating frequency. Copulation induced a significant decrease in accessory gland size. The size of the accessory glands then recovered slowly over the next 8 - 48 hours. Neither testis length nor testis area was altered by copulation.Conclusion: These results reveal that the time course of accessory gland recovery corresponds to field observations of mating behaviour and suggest that accessory gland size may limit male mating frequency in C. dalmanni

Supernatants derived from chemotherapy-treated cancer cell lines can modify angiogenesis

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that tumours produce substances such as cytokines and microvesicular bodies bearing bioactive molecules, which support the carcinogenic process. Furthermore, chemotherapy has also been shown to modify these exudates and in doing so, neutralise their tumourigenic influence. METHODS: In the current study, we have investigated the effect of chemotherapy agents on modifying the cytokine profile and microvesicular cargo of supernatants derived from cancer cell lines. In addition, we have explored the effect of these tumour-derived supernatants on angiogenesis, and how chemotherapy can alter the supernatants rendering them less pro-angiogenic. RESULTS: Herein, we show that supernatants contain a rich cocktail of cytokines, a number of which are potent modulators of angiogenesis. They also contain microvesicular bodies containing RNA transcripts that code for proteins involved in transcription, immune modulation and angiogenesis. These supernatants altered intracellular signalling molecules in endothelial cells and significantly enhanced their tubulogenic character; however, this was severely compromised when supernatants from tumours treated with chemotherapy was used instead. CONCLUSION: This study suggests tumour exudates and bioactive material from tumours can influence cellular functions, and that treatment with some chemotherapy can serve to negate these pro-tumourigenic processes

No Detectable Fertility Benefit from a Single Additional Mating in Wild Stalk-Eyed Flies

Background: Multiple mating by female insects is widespread, and the explanation(s) for repeated mating by females has been the subject of much discussion. Females may profit from mating multiply through direct material benefits that increase their own reproductive output, or indirect genetic benefits that increase offspring fitness. One particular direct benefit that has attracted significant attention is that of fertility assurance, as females often need to mate multiply to achieve high fertility. This hypothesis has never been tested in a wild insect population.Methodology/Principal Findings: Female Malaysian stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni) mate repeatedly during their lifetime, and have been shown to be sperm limited under both laboratory and field conditions. Here we ask whether receiving an additional mating alleviates sperm limitation in wild females. In our experiment one group of females received a single additional mating, while a control group received an interrupted, and therefore unsuccessful, mating. Females that received an additional mating did not lay more fertilised eggs in total, nor did they lay proportionately more fertilised eggs. Female fertility declined significantly through time, demonstrating that females were sperm limited. However, receipt of an additional mating did not significantly alter the rate of this decline.Conclusions/Significance: Our data suggest that the fertility consequences of a single additional mating were small. We discuss this effect (or lack thereof), and suggest that it is likely to be attributed to small ejaculate size, a high proportion of failed copulations, and the presence of X-linked meiotic drive in this species

Rural and Urban Differences in the Adoption of New Health Information and Medical Technologies

Background This statewide survey sought to understand the adoption level of new health information and medical technologies, and whether these patterns differed between urban and rural populations. Methods A random sample of 7,979 people aged 18‐75 years, stratified by rural status and race, who lived in 1 of 34 Indiana counties with high cancer mortality rates and were seen at least once in the past year in a statewide health system were surveyed. Results Completed surveys were returned by 970 participants. Rural patients were less likely than urban to use electronic health record messaging systems (28.3% vs 34.5%, P = .045) or any communication technology (43.0% vs 50.8%, P = .017). Rural patients were less likely to look for personal health information for someone else's medical record (11.0% vs 16.3%, P = .022), look‐up test results (29.5% vs 38.3%, P = .005), or use any form of electronic medical record (EMR) access (57.5% vs 67.1%, P = .003). Rural differences in any use of communication technology or EMRs were no longer significant in adjusted models, while education and income were significantly associated. There was a trend in the higher use of low‐dose computed tomography (CT) scan among rural patients (19.1% vs 14.4%, P = .057). No significant difference was present between rural and urban patients in the use of the human papilloma virus test (27.1% vs 26.6%, P = .880). Conclusions Differences in health information technology use between rural and urban populations may be moderated by social determinants. Lower adoption of new health information technologies (HITs) than medical technologies among rural, compared to urban, individuals may be due to lower levels of evidence supporting HITs

How consistent are the transcriptome changes associated with cold acclimation in two species of the Drosophila virilis group?

This work was financially support by a Marie Curie Initial Training Network grant, “Understanding the evolutionary origin of biological diversity” (ITN-2008–213780 SPECIATION), grants from the Academy of Finland to A.H. (project 132619) and M.K. (projects 268214 and 272927), a grant from NERC, UK to M.G.R. (grant NE/J020818/1), and NERC, UK PhD studentship to D.J.P. (NE/I528634/1).For many organisms the ability to cold acclimate with the onset of seasonal cold has major implications for their fitness. In insects, where this ability is widespread, the physiological changes associated with increased cold tolerance have been well studied. Despite this, little work has been done to trace changes in gene expression during cold acclimation that lead to an increase in cold tolerance. We used an RNA-Seq approach to investigate this in two species of the Drosophila virilis group. We found that the majority of genes that are differentially expressed during cold acclimation differ between the two species. Despite this, the biological processes associated with the differentially expressed genes were broadly similar in the two species. These included: metabolism, cell membrane composition, and circadian rhythms, which are largely consistent with previous work on cold acclimation/cold tolerance. In addition, we also found evidence of the involvement of the rhodopsin pathway in cold acclimation, a pathway that has been recently linked to thermotaxis. Interestingly, we found no evidence of differential expression of stress genes implying that long-term cold acclimation and short-term stress response may have a different physiological basis.PostprintPeer reviewe

The time course of auditory and language-specific mechanisms in compensation for sibilant assimilation

Models of spoken-word recognition differ on whether compensation for assimilation is language-specific or depends on general auditory processing. English and French participants were taught words that began or ended with the sibilants /s/ and /∫/. Both languages exhibit some assimilation in sibilant sequences (e.g., /s/ becomes like [∫] in dress shop and classe chargée), but they differ in the strength and predominance of anticipatory versus carryover assimilation. After training, participants were presented with novel words embedded in sentences, some of which contained an assimilatory context either preceding or following. A continuum of target sounds ranging from [s] to [∫] was spliced into the novel words, representing a range of possible assimilation strengths. Listeners' perceptions were examined using a visual-world eyetracking paradigm in which the listener clicked on pictures matching the novel words. We found two distinct language-general context effects: a contrastive effect when the assimilating context preceded the target, and flattening of the sibilant categorization function (increased ambiguity) when the assimilating context followed. Furthermore, we found that English but not French listeners were able to resolve the ambiguity created by the following assimilatory context, consistent with their greater experience with assimilation in this context. The combination of these mechanisms allows listeners to deal flexibly with variability in speech forms

Understanding economic evidence for the prevention and treatment of atopic eczema

Background Atopic eczema is an inflammatory skin condition, with a similar impact on health-related quality-of-life as other chronic diseases. Increasing pressures on resources within the NHS increase the importance of having good economic evidence to inform their allocation. This paper aims to educate dermatologists about economic methods with illustration to currently available economic evidence on eczema. Methods/design The type and role of different types of economic evidence is illustrated by evidence found in a systematic literature search conducted across 12 online databases published until 22nd May 2017. Primary empirical studies either reporting the results of a cost of illness study or evaluating the cost, utility or full economic evaluation of interventions for preventing or treating eczema were included. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for eligibility and performed data abstraction, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Evidence tables of results were produced for narrative discussion. The reporting quality of economic evaluations was assessed. Results 78 studies (described in 80 papers) were deemed eligible. 33 (42%) were judged to be economic evaluations, 12 (15%) cost analyses, 6 (8%) utility analyses, 26 (34%) cost-of-illness studies and 1 feasibility study (1%). The calcineurin inhibitors: tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, as well as barrier creams had most economic evidence available. Partially hydrolysed infant formula was the most commonly evaluated prevention. Conclusions The current level of economic evidence for interventions aimed at preventing and treating eczema is limited compared to that available for clinical outcomes suggesting that greater collaboration between clinicians and economists might be beneficial

Enriching Peptide Libraries for Binding Affinity and Specificity Through Computationally Directed Library Design

Peptide reagents with high affinity or specificity for their target protein interaction partner are of utility for many important applications. Optimization of peptide binding by screening large libraries is a proven and powerful approach. Libraries designed to be enriched in peptide sequences that are predicted to have desired affinity or specificity characteristics are more likely to yield success than random mutagenesis. We present a library optimization method in which the choice of amino acids to encode at each peptide position can be guided by available experimental data or structure-based predictions. We discuss how to use analysis of predicted library performance to inform rounds of library design. Finally, we include protocols for more complex library design procedures that consider the chemical diversity of the amino acids at each peptide position and optimize a library score based on a user-specified input model.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Award R01 GM110048

Behavior of granite-epoxy composite beams subjected to mechanical vibrations

The capacity to damp mechanical vibrations is one of the most important properties of granite-epoxy composites, even superior to the cast iron one. For this reason, these materials have been adopted for manufacturing of tool machine foundations and precision instruments. This work presents a study concerning the behavior of particulate composite beams, based on granite powder and epoxy, subjected to mechanical vibrations. Composite samples were prepared with different combinations of processing variables, like the weight fraction of epoxy in the mixture and size distributions of granite particles. The damping behavior of the material was investigated adopting the logarithmic decrement method. Samples, in the form of prismatic beams, were excited in the middle point and the output signal was measured in a point located at the extremity. The obtained results showed that composite samples, with weight fractions of about 80% of granite and 20% of epoxy, presented damping properties approximately three times greater than gray cast iron