Seeing two faces together: preference formation in humans and rhesus macaques

Humans, great apes and old world monkeys show selective attention to faces depending on conspecificity, familiarity, and social status supporting the view that primates share similar face processing mechanisms. Although many studies have been done on face scanning strategy in monkeys and humans, the mechanisms influencing viewing preference have received little attention. To determine how face categories influence viewing preference in humans and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), we performed two eye-tracking experiments using a visual preference task whereby pairs of faces from different species were presented simultaneously. The results indicated that viewing time was significantly influenced by the pairing of the face categories. Humans showed a strong bias towards an own-race face in an Asian–Caucasian condition. Rhesus macaques directed more attention towards non-human primate faces when they were paired with human faces, regardless of the species. When rhesus faces were paired with faces from Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) or chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), the novel species’ faces attracted more attention. These results indicate that monkeys’ viewing preferences, as assessed by a visual preference task, are modulated by several factors, species and dominance being the most influential

A Spatial Analysis of Rift Valley Fever Virus Seropositivity in Domestic Ruminants in Tanzania

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute arthropod-borne viral zoonotic disease primarily occurring in Africa. Since RVF-like disease was reported in Tanzania in 1930, outbreaks of the disease have been reported mainly from the eastern ecosystem of the Great Rift Valley. This cross-sectional study was carried out to describe the variation in RVF virus (RVFV) seropositivity in domestic ruminants between selected villages in the eastern and western Rift Valley ecosystems in Tanzania, and identify potential risk factors. Three study villages were purposively selected from each of the two Rift Valley ecosystems. Serum samples from randomly selected domestic ruminants (n = 1,435) were tested for the presence of specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M (IgM), using RVF enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. Mixed effects logistic regression modelling was used to investigate the association between potential risk factors and RVFV seropositivity. The overall RVFV seroprevalence (n = 1,435) in domestic ruminants was 25.8% and species specific seroprevalence was 29.7%, 27.7% and 22.0% in sheep (n = 148), cattle (n = 756) and goats (n = 531), respectively. The odds of seropositivity were significantly higher in animals sampled from the villages in the eastern than those in the western Rift Valley ecosystem (OR = 1.88, CI: 1.41, 2.51; p<0.001), in animals sampled from villages with soils of good than those with soils of poor water holding capacity (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.58, 3.02; p< 0.001), and in animals which had been introduced than in animals born within the herd (OR = 5.08, CI: 2.74, 9.44; p< 0.001). Compared with animals aged 1-2 years, those aged 3 and 4-5 years had 3.40 (CI: 2.49, 4.64; p< 0.001) and 3.31 (CI: 2.27, 4.82, p< 0.001) times the odds of seropositivity. The findings confirm exposure to RVFV in all the study villages, but with a higher prevalence in the study villages from the eastern Rift Valley ecosystem

Identification and prediction of Parkinson's disease subtypes and progression using machine learning in two cohorts.

The clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease (PD) are characterized by heterogeneity in age at onset, disease duration, rate of progression, and the constellation of motor versus non-motor features. There is an unmet need for the characterization of distinct disease subtypes as well as improved, individualized predictions of the disease course. We used unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods on comprehensive, longitudinal clinical data from the Parkinson's Disease Progression Marker Initiative (n = 294 cases) to identify patient subtypes and to predict disease progression. The resulting models were validated in an independent, clinically well-characterized cohort from the Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program (n = 263 cases). Our analysis distinguished three distinct disease subtypes with highly predictable progression rates, corresponding to slow, moderate, and fast disease progression. We achieved highly accurate projections of disease progression 5 years after initial diagnosis with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.95 ± 0.01) for the slower progressing group (PDvec1), 0.87 ± 0.03 for moderate progressors, and 0.95 ± 0.02 for the fast-progressing group (PDvec3). We identified serum neurofilament light as a significant indicator of fast disease progression among other key biomarkers of interest. We replicated these findings in an independent cohort, released the analytical code, and developed models in an open science manner. Our data-driven study provides insights to deconstruct PD heterogeneity. This approach could have immediate implications for clinical trials by improving the detection of significant clinical outcomes. We anticipate that machine learning models will improve patient counseling, clinical trial design, and ultimately individualized patient care

Music, middle childhood and agency:The value of an interactional-relational approach

This article considers the implications of children’s out-of-school musical experiences and activities for conceptualisations of child agency. In particular, it engages with differing approaches to relational agency and considers their value for understanding music-related practice during middle childhood. Accounts from children (n = 111) living in three parts of England are explored, and the subsequent analysis provides the basis for proposing the potential of an interactional–relational approach for approaching questions about children’s agency within such domains of practice and beyond

Is Canada ready for patient accessible electronic health records? A national scan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Access to personal health information through the electronic health record (EHR) is an innovative means to enable people to be active participants in their own health care. Currently this is not an available option for consumers of health. The absence of a key technology, the EHR, is a significant obstacle to providing patient accessible electronic records. To assess the readiness for the implementation and adoption of EHRs in Canada, a national scan was conducted to determine organizational readiness and willingness for patient accessible electronic records.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A survey was conducted of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Canadian public and acute care hospitals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred thirteen emails were sent to CEOs of Canadian general and acute care hospitals, with a 39% response rate. Over half (54.2%) of hospitals had some sort of EHR, but few had a record that was predominately electronic. Financial resources were identified as the most important barrier to providing patients access to their EHR and there was a divergence in perceptions from healthcare providers and what they thought patients would want in terms of access to the EHR, with providers being less willing to provide access and patients desire for greater access to the full record.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As the use of EHRs becomes more commonplace, organizations should explore the possibility of responding to patient needs for clinical information by providing access to their EHR. The best way to achieve this is still being debated.</p

Spatial heterogeneity of habitat suitability for Rift Valley fever occurrence in Tanzania: an ecological niche modelling approach

Despite the long history of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Tanzania, extent of its suitable habitat in the country remains unclear. In this study we investigated potential effects of temperature, precipitation, elevation, soil type, livestock density, rainfall pattern, proximity to wild animals, protected areas and forest on the habitat suitability for RVF occurrence in Tanzania. Presence-only records of 193 RVF outbreak locations from 1930 to 2007 together with potential predictor variables were used to model and map the suitable habitats for RVF occurrence using ecological niche modelling. Ground-truthing of the model outputs was conducted by comparing the levels of RVF virus specific antibodies in cattle, sheep and goats sampled from locations in Tanzania that presented different predicted habitat suitability values. Habitat suitability values for RVF occurrence were higher in the northern and central-eastern regions of Tanzania than the rest of the regions in the country. Soil type and precipitation of the wettest quarter contributed equally to habitat suitability (32.4% each), followed by livestock density (25.9%) and rainfall pattern (9.3%). Ground-truthing of model outputs revealed that the odds of an animal being seropositive for RVFV when sampled from areas predicted to be most suitable for RVF occurrence were twice the odds of an animal sampled from areas least suitable for RVF occurrence (95% CI: 1.43, 2.76, p < 0.001). The regions in the northern and central-eastern Tanzania were more suitable for RVF occurrence than the rest of the regions in the country. The modelled suitable habitat is characterised by impermeable soils, moderate precipitation in the wettest quarter, high livestock density and a bimodal rainfall pattern. The findings of this study should provide guidance for the design of appropriate RVF surveillance, prevention and control strategies which target areas with these characteristics

Depression and sickness behavior are Janus-faced responses to shared inflammatory pathways

It is of considerable translational importance whether depression is a form or a consequence of sickness behavior. Sickness behavior is a behavioral complex induced by infections and immune trauma and mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. It is an adaptive response that enhances recovery by conserving energy to combat acute inflammation. There are considerable phenomenological similarities between sickness behavior and depression, for example, behavioral inhibition, anorexia and weight loss, and melancholic (anhedonia), physio-somatic (fatigue, hyperalgesia, malaise), anxiety and neurocognitive symptoms. In clinical depression, however, a transition occurs to sensitization of immuno-inflammatory pathways, progressive damage by oxidative and nitrosative stress to lipids, proteins, and DNA, and autoimmune responses directed against self-epitopes. The latter mechanisms are the substrate of a neuroprogressive process, whereby multiple depressive episodes cause neural tissue damage and consequent functional and cognitive sequelae. Thus, shared immuno-inflammatory pathways underpin the physiology of sickness behavior and the pathophysiology of clinical depression explaining their partially overlapping phenomenology. Inflammation may provoke a Janus-faced response with a good, acute side, generating protective inflammation through sickness behavior and a bad, chronic side, for example, clinical depression, a lifelong disorder with positive feedback loops between (neuro)inflammation and (neuro)degenerative processes following less well defined triggers

Type Ia Supernovae as Stellar Endpoints and Cosmological Tools

Empirically, Type Ia supernovae are the most useful, precise, and mature tools for determining astronomical distances. Acting as calibrated candles they revealed the presence of dark energy and are being used to measure its properties. However, the nature of the SN Ia explosion, and the progenitors involved, have remained elusive, even after seven decades of research. But now new large surveys are bringing about a paradigm shift --- we can finally compare samples of hundreds of supernovae to isolate critical variables. As a result of this, and advances in modeling, breakthroughs in understanding all aspects of SNe Ia are finally starting to happen.Comment: Invited review for Nature Communications. Final published version. Shortened, update

Development of spasticity with age in a total population of children with cerebral palsy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of spasticity with age in children with cerebral palsy (CP) has, to our knowledge, not been studied before. In 1994, a register and a health care program for children with CP in southern Sweden were initiated. In the programme the child's muscle tone according to the modified Ashworth scale is measured twice a year until six years of age, then once a year. We have used this data to analyse the development of spasticity with age in a total population of children with cerebral palsy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All measurements of muscle tone in the gastrocnemius-soleus muscle in all children with CP from 0 to 15 years during the period 1995–2006 were analysed. The CP subtypes were classified according to the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe network system. Using these criteria, the study was based on 6218 examinations in 547 children. For the statistical analysis the Ashworth scale was dichotomized. The levels 0–1 were gathered in one category and levels 2–4 in the other. The pattern of development with age was evaluated using piecewise logistic regression in combination with Akaike's An Information Criterion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the total sample the degree of muscle tone increased up to 4 years of age. After 4 years of age the muscle tone decreased each year up to 12 years of age. A similar development was seen when excluding the children operated with selective dorsal rhizotomy, intrathecal baclofen pump or tendo Achilles lengthening. At 4 years of age about 47% of the children had spasticity in their gastro-soleus muscle graded as Ashworth 2–4. After 12 years of age 23% of the children had that level of spasticity. The CP subtypes spastic bilateral and spastic unilateral CP showed the same pattern as the total sample. Children with dyskinetic type of CP showed an increasing muscle tone up to age 6, followed by a decreasing pattern up to age 15.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In children with CP, the muscle tone as measured with the Ashworth scale increases up to 4 years of age and then decreases up to 12 years of age. The same tendency is seen in all spastic subtypes. The findings may have implications both for clinical judgement and for research studies on spasticity treatment.</p