Behavioral plasticity, behavioral syndromes and animal personality in crustacean decapods: An imperfect map is better than no map

Abstract Despite their key role as model organisms in many behavioral studies, crustacean decapods have been only slightly touched upon by the recent surge of scientific interest in animal personality. Only seven articles investigated the issue in a handful of species among hermit crabs, crabs, and crayfish. Obviously, a limited number of publications does not mean that personality is rare in decapods. On the contrary, few studies might be the result of a form of reluctance by behavioral ecologists to deal with such a phenomenon in these and other invertebrates. This reluctance contrasts with the enthusiasm shown in tackling the behavioral plasticity issue. Here we discuss the possible theoretical and methodological difficulties raised by applying the animal personality perspective to decapods and analyze implications of personality studies for their ecology, conservation, and welfare. By highlighting gaps in knowledge and directions of future research, our intention is to increase scientific emphasis on the issue

The Water Factor: Hygiene, environment, ethics, economics

Water does many things: it questions our idea of sustainability; it forces us to rethink the word economics and extend its scope to environmental, as well as to all financial, accounting and political issues. Talking about water (in terms of availability, distribution, use…) means trying to focus on certain issues, first and foremost to promote the possibility of doing things: raising awareness about the need to act upon water resources to ensure their quality; recognizing water as a critical element which may alterate a delicate natural balance; considering everyday behaviors without underestimating emergencies or necessities

Arresting Development: Convictions of Innocent Youth

This is the first quantitative study documenting and analyzing a dataset of wrongfully convicted individuals who were teenagers or younger when first accused. The article explores the causes and factors leading to these wrongful convictions and offers reasons why youth may be particularly vulnerable to being convicted for crimes they did not commit. The data shows that these young exonerees falsely confessed at a rate almost double that of an adult dataset of exonerees, and that police-induced false statements from youth play a role in more than half of the cases. The article also proposes reforms to prevent future wrongful convictions of youth

Clinical features, prognosis, and long-term response to ranibizumab of macular CNVs in pattern dystrophies spectrum: a pilot study

Introduction. To analyze the morphological and functional features of choroidal neovascularizations (CNVs) in eyes affected by pattern dystrophies (PD), evaluating their long-term response to intravitreal ranibizumab, and comparing them with CNVs in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The mean goal is to identify possible disease biomarkers and to evaluate the long-term prognosis of CNVs in PD. Materials and Methods. A retrospective study of 42 patients with naïve CNV (26 PD and 16 AMD), for a total of 47 eyes (29 eyes in the PD group and 18 eyes in the AMD group). Each patient received a loading dose of ranibizumab (one monthly for three months) followed by pro re nata (PRN) reinjection protocol for a period of at least three years. Morphological OCT parameters (CRT, central retinal thickness; SRF, subretinal fluid; IRF, intraretinal fluid; SHRM, subretinal hyperreflective material; HRF, hyperreflective foci; HCD, hyperreflective crystalline deposits; cCT, central choroidal thickness; slCT, sublesional choroidal thickness; EZd, ellipsoid zone disruption; and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA in logMAR scale)) were reported at baseline and last follow-up. Results. At baseline, no significant differences were found between the two groups, except for choroidal thickness parameters that were significantly greater in the PD group ( = 0.009). Longitudinal PD analysis demonstrated reduction in BCVA ( = 0.009), decrease in CRT ( = 0.046), resolution of SRF in 61.6% of cases ( = 0.004) and SHRM in 30% ( = 0.034), and choroidal thinning both centrally ( = 0.004) and sublesional ( = 0.011) compared to baseline. At 3 years, the PD group received significantly more injections than the AMD ( = 0.011) and showed significantly thicker choroid ( = 0.033) and more frequent HRF ( = 0.006). Regarding the PD group, we found a negative correlation between age and choroidal thicknesses at baseline and at 3 years ( < 0.05); significant positive correlations were found between baseline BCVA and at 3 years ( < 0.001), BCVA at 3 years and IRF ( = 0.003) and SHRM at 3 years ( = 0.003); CRT baseline and CRT 3 years ( = 0.017); HCD at 3 years was associated with greater CRT ( = 0.04) and IRF at 3 years ( = 0.019). Conclusions. Early and long-term morphofunctional features of CNVs in PD and in AMD are overlapping. CNVs in PD have poorer long-term response to ranibizumab and higher choroidal thickness suggesting different pathogenetic and evolutionary mechanisms

Arresting Development: Convictions of Innocent Youth

This is the first quantitative study documenting and analyzing a dataset of wrongfully convicted individuals who were teenagers or younger when first accused. The article explores the causes and factors leading to these wrongful convictions and offers reasons why youth may be particularly vulnerable to being convicted for crimes they did not commit. The data shows that these young exonerees falsely confessed at a rate almost double that of an adult dataset of exonerees, and that police-induced false statements from youth play a role in more than half of the cases. The article also proposes reforms to prevent future wrongful convictions of youth

A review of volunteers’ motivations to monitor and control invasive alien species

People make an important contribution to the study and management of biological invasions, as many monitoring and control projects rely heavily on volunteer assistance. Understanding the reasons why people participate in such projects is critical for successful recruitment and retention of volunteers. We used a meta-synthesis approach to extract, analyze and synthesize the available information from 28 selected studies investigating motivations of volunteers to engage in monitoring and control of invasive alien species (IAS). Our findings show how motivations fit three broad themes, reflecting environmental concerns, social motivations, and personal reasons. An important outcome of this study is the description of motivations that are unique to the IAS context: supporting IAS management, protecting native species and habitats, and livelihood/food/income protection or opportunities. In addition, our study reflects on important methodological choices for investigating volunteer motivations as well as ethical issues that may arise in practice. We conclude with a set of recommendations for project design and future research on volunteer motivations in IAS contexts, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with social scientists

Parental trust and beliefs after the discovery of a six-year-long failure to vaccinate

Background: In Italy vaccine hesitancy worsened after a failure to vaccinate episode that took place in Friuli Venezia-Giulia Region until early 2017 which undermined herd immunity by leaving unprotected more than 5,444 children. Methods: Between May and June 2017, 2,557 parents were surveyed at the local vaccination clinic where they were invited within the subsequent extraordinary vaccination campaign. The aim of the survey was to evaluate whether the multi-channel extraordinary vaccination campaign had reached the target population and to know parental beliefs and trusted sources of information after the failure to vaccinate event. Results: While 279 parents were non-hesitant (10.9%) and 1,491 hesitant acceptors (58.3%), just 38 (1.5%) refused to have their children revaccinated. Overall, the most consulted sources of information were print media (18.8%), physicians (16.0%), relatives and friends (12.1%). The majority of parents considered vaccination as a fundamental practice (73.9%), but many were worried about potential side effects (38.8%) or doubtful about the effectiveness of some vaccines (11.0%). According to parents, 19.7% of them (57) changed their opinion about vaccines after the Codroipo case. Conclusions: After the Codroipo case, most parents chose to have their children re-vaccinated and just a little proportion refused the re-administration of vaccines. More studies are needed to confirm the importance of a coherent multi-channel communication strategy using both traditional and new media in order to counteract vaccine hesitancy