Strategic mating effort in a simultaneous hermaphrodite : the role of the partner's feeding status

Sexual selection theory for simultaneously hermaphroditic animals predicts an overall preference for inseminating partners that have a relatively higher female fecundity. Previous work on the link between male mating decisions and female fecundity has primarily focused on the effect of the partners’ body size using existing variation in this trait within a study population. On the assumption that the body size is positively correlated with female fecundity, sperm donors should preferentially inseminate relatively larger individuals to obtain a higher fitness gain through their male sex function. However, empirical evidence for such size-dependent mate choice in simultaneous hermaphrodites is equivocal, possibly because of confounding variables. We studied the mating behavior of the simultaneously hermaphroditic flatworm Macrostomum lignano and tested for a strategic mating effort in response to the feeding status of the partner. We experimentally manipulated the feeding status of potential mating partners in order to generate variation in female fecundity among them and tested whether this affected the copulation number and the number of sperm that the focal worm managed to store in the partner’s sperm storage organ. We found that the manipulation of the feeding status had a strong effect on the body size of the potential mating partners and that focal worms copulated more frequently with, and stored more sperm in well-fed partners compared to unfed partners. Our results suggest that M. lignano adjusts its mating effort in response to the feeding status of the mating partner

Smart Cities and Cyber Security: Are We There Yet? A Comparative Study on the Role of Standards, Third Party Risk Management and Security Ownership

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Smart cities have brought a variety of benefits aiming to revolutionise people’s lives. Those include but are not limited to, increasing economic e ciency, reducing cost and decreasing environmental output. However, the smart city itself is still in its infancy. As it heavily relies on technologies, it opens up doors to cyber attackers and criminals, which can lead to significant losses. An outstanding problem concerns the social and organisational aspects of smart cities security resulting from competing interests of di event parties, high levels of interdependence, and social and political complexity. Our review shows that current standards and guidelines have not clearly defined roles and responsibilities of di erent parties. A common understanding of key security requirements is not shared between di erent parties. This research assessed the smart cities and their cyber security measures, with a particular focus on technical standards and the regulatory framework. It comprehensively reviewed 93 security standards and guidance. It then performed a comparative case study of Barcelona, Singapore and London smart cities on their governance models, security measures, technical standards and third party management. Based on the review and the case study, this research concluded on a recommended framework encompassing technical standards, governance input, regulatory framework and compliance assurance to ensure that security is observed at all layers of the smart cities

Prognostic significance of urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 mRNA expression in lymph node- and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

BACKGROUND: One of the most thoroughly studied systems in relation to its prognostic relevance in patients with breast cancer, is the plasminogen activation system that comprises of, among others, the urokinase Plasminogen Activator (uPA) and its main inhibitor, the Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). In this study, we investigated the prognostic value of uPA and PAI-1 at the mRNA level in lymph node- and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. METHODS: The study included a retrospective series of 87 patients with hormone-receptor positive and axillary lymph node-positive breast cancer. All patients received radiotherapy, adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy and five years of tamoxifen treatment. The median patient age was 54 and the median follow-up time was 79 months. Distant relapse occurred in 30 patients and 22 patients died from breast cancer during follow-up. We investigated the prognostic value of uPA and PAI-1 at the mRNA level as measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: uPA and PAI-1 gene expression was not found to be correlated with any of the established clinical and pathological factors. Metastasis-free Survival (MFS) and Breast Cancer specific Survival (BCS) were significantly shorter in patients expressing high levels of PAI-1 mRNA (p < 0.0001; p < 0.0001; respectively). In Cox multivariate analysis, the level of PAI-1 mRNA appeared to be the strongest prognostic factor for MFS (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 10.12; p = 0.0002) and for BCS (HR = 13.17; p = 0.0003). Furthermore, uPA gene expression was not significantly associated neither with MFS (p = 0.41) nor with BCS (p = 0.19). In a Cox-multivariate regression analysis, uPA expression did not demonstrate significant independent prognostic value. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that high PAI-1 mRNA expression represents a strong and independent unfavorable prognostic factor for the development of metastases and for breast cancer specific survival in a population of hormone receptor- and lymph node-positive breast cancer patients

Digital Flourishing: Conceptualizing and Assessing Positive Perceptions of Mediated Social Interactions

Recent research started to apply concepts of well-being to the context of computer mediated communication (e.g., social media, instant messaging). While much research investigates negative perceptions of mediated social interactions (e.g., “problematic” or “addictive” social media use), a multi-dimensional measure that taps into users? positive perceptions is sorely lacking. The present research therefore develops the first comprehensive measure of digital flourishing, defined as positive perceptions of mediated social interactions. Building on a qualitative pre-study that aided the construction of the Digital Flourishing Scale (DFS), Study 1 (N = 474) employed exploratory factor analysis to reveal five subdimensions of digital flourishing. The preregistered Study 2 (N = 438) confirmed these five dimensions, yielding five reliable items per subscale and initial construct validity with three psychological needs from self-determination theory (SDT; competence, autonomy, relatedness) which were used as an underlying well-being framework for the development of the DFS. The preregistered Study 3 generated further construct validity by directly relating DFS to well-being. The scale is relevant for researchers and practitioners alike to better understand how users perceive their mediated interactions to impact mental health and well-being

Bichromatic atomic lens

We investigate the focusing of three-level atoms with a bichromatic standing wave laser field, using both classical and quantum treatments of the problem. We find that, for the appropriate ratio of detunings to Rabi frequencies, the atoms will experience a periodic potential which is close to harmonic across half an optical wavelength. The field thus becomes equivalent to a periodic array of microlenses, which could be utilized to deposit lines of atoms upon a substrate. We consider and compare two regimes, differentiated by the interaction time of the atoms in the optical field. The first case considered, the Raman-Nath regime, is analogous to the thin lens regime in classical optics. The second case treats the transverse atomic motion within the light field, and investigates the distribution of atoms upon a substrate placed within the field. We investigate the extent to which this case can be modeled classically

Self-Transcendent Emotions and Social Media: Exploring the Content and Consumers of Inspirational Facebook Posts

Although a great deal of research has examined the potential negative effects of Facebook, studies also show that Facebook use can lead to various positive effects. This study builds on this positive effects scholarship: together, the two studies presented herein aim to provide an understanding of the inspirational content available on Facebook and the way social media users in the United States encounter, recall, and interact with this content. Results from the quantitative content analysis in Study 1 show that inspirational Facebook posts contain similar frequencies of hope and appreciation of beauty and excellent elicitors when compared with other forms of media and social media. Results from the national survey conducted in Study 2 show that social media users are most often inspired by portrayals of kindness and overcoming obstacles and that Facebook users did not report different sharing behavior as compared with users of other social media sites

Universal homodyne tomography with a single local oscillator

We propose a general method for measuring an arbitrary observable of a multimode electromagnetic field using homodyne detection with a single local oscillator. In this method the local oscillator scans over all possible linear combinations of the modes. The case of two modes is analyzed in detail and the feasibility of the measurement is studied on the basis of Monte-Carlo simulations. We also provide an application of this method in tomographic testing of the GHZ state.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures (8 eps files

Creating a low-dimensional quantum gas using dark states in an inelastic evanescent-wave mirror

We discuss an experimental scheme to create a low-dimensional gas of ultracold atoms, based on inelastic bouncing on an evanescent-wave mirror. Close to the turning point of the mirror, the atoms are transferred into an optical dipole trap. This scheme can compress the phase-space density and can ultimately yield an optically-driven atom laser. An important issue is the suppression of photon scattering due to ``cross-talk'' between the mirror potential and the trapping potential. We propose that for alkali atoms the photon scattering rate can be suppressed by several orders of magnitude if the atoms are decoupled from the evanescent-wave light. We discuss how such dark states can be achieved by making use of circularly-polarized evanescent waves.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Continuous optical loading of a Bose-Einstein Condensate

The continuous pumping of atoms into a Bose-Einstein condensate via spontaneous emission from a thermal reservoir is analyzed. We consider the case of atoms with a three-level $\Lambda$ scheme, in which one of the atomic transitions has a very much shorter life-time than the other one. We found that in such scenario the photon reabsorption in dense clouds can be considered negligible. If in addition inelastic processes can be neglected, we find that optical pumping can be used to continuously load and refill Bose-Einstein condensates, i.e. provides a possible way to achieve a continuous atom laser.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

High resolution amplitude and phase gratings in atom optics

An atom-field geometry is chosen in which an atomic beam traverses a field interaction zone consisting of three fields, one having frequency $\Omega =c/\lambda$ propagating in the $\hat{z}$ direction and the other two having frequencies $\Omega +\delta_{1}$ and $\Omega +\delta_{2}$ propagating in the -$\hat{z}$ direction. For $n_{1}\delta_{1}+n_{2}\delta_{2}=0$ and $|\delta_{1}| T,|\delta_{2}| T\gg 1$, where $n_{1}$ and $n_{2}$ are positive integers and $T$ is the pulse duration in the atomic rest frame, the atom-field interaction results in the creation of atom amplitude and phase gratings having period $\lambda /[2(n_{1}+n_{2})]$. In this manner, one can use optical fields having wavelength $\lambda$ to produce atom gratings having periodicity much less than $\lambda$.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figure