Gaze differences in configural and elemental evaluation during multi-attribute decision-making

IntroductionWhile many everyday choices are between multi-attribute options, how attribute values are integrated to allow such choices remains unclear. Recent findings suggest a distinction between elemental (attribute-by-attribute) and configural (holistic) evaluation of multi-attribute options, with different neural substrates. Here, we asked if there are behavioral or gaze pattern differences between these putatively distinct modes of multi-attribute decision-making.MethodsThirty-nine healthy men and women learned the monetary values of novel multi-attribute pseudo-objects (fribbles) and then made choices between pairs of these objects while eye movements were tracked. Value was associated with individual attributes in the elemental condition, and with unique combinations of attributes in the configural condition. Choice, reaction time, gaze fixation time on options and individual attributes, and within- and between-option gaze transitions were recorded.ResultsThere were systematic behavioral differences between elemental and configural conditions. Elemental trials had longer reaction times and more between-option transitions, while configural trials had more within-option transitions. The effect of last fixation on choice was more pronounced in the configural condition.DiscussionWe observed differences in gaze patterns and the influence of last fixation location on choice in multi-attribute value-based choices depending on how value is associated with those attributes. This adds support for the claim that multi-attribute option values may emerge either elementally or holistically, reminiscent of similar distinctions in multi-attribute object recognition. This may be important to consider in neuroeconomics research that involve visually-presented complex objects

The draft genome of strain cCpun from biting midges establishes Cardinium as a paraphyletic group, and reveals a novel gene family expansion in a symbiont

Background: It is estimated that 13% of arthropod species carry the heritable symbiont Cardinium hertigii. 16S rRNA and gyrB sequence divides this species into three clades, with the A group infecting a range of arthropods, the B group infecting nematode worms, and the C group infecting Culicoides biting midges. To date, genome sequence has only been available for strains from clade A and B, impeding general understanding of the evolutionary history of the radiation. We present a draft genome sequence for a C group Cardinium, motivated both by the paucity of genomic information outside of the A group, and the importance of Culicoides biting midge hosts as arbovirus vectors. Methods: We reconstructed the genome of cCpun, a Cardinium strain from group C that naturally infects Culicoides punctatus, through Illumina sequencing of infected host specimens. Results: The draft genome presented has high completeness, with BUSCO scores comparable to closed group A Cardinium genomes. Phylogenomic analysis based on concatenated single copy core proteins revealed that Cardinium, as currently considered, is paraphyletic, with strains of Ca. Paenicardinium endoni from nematodes nested within the two groups infecting arthropod hosts. Analysis of the genome of cCpun revealed expansion of a variety of gene families classically considered important in symbiosis (e.g. ankyrin domain containing genes), and one set – characterized by DUF1703 domains – not previously associated with symbiotic lifestyle. This protein group encodes putative secreted nucleases, and the cCpun genome carried at least 25 widely divergent paralogs, of which 24 had a common ancestor in the C group ancestor. The genome revealed no evidence in support of B vitamin provisioning to its haematophagous host, and indeed suggests Cardinium may be a net importer of biotin. Discussion: These data indicate Cardinium, as currently conceived, to be paraphyletic. The draft genome further produces new hypotheses as to the interaction of the symbiont with the midge host, in particular the biological role of DUF1703 nuclease proteins that are predicted as being secreted by cCpun, but in contrast provides no support for a role for the symbiont in provisioning the host with B vitamins.</jats:p

Cardinium symbiosis as a potential confounder of mtDNA based phylogeographic inference in Culicoides imicola (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of veterinary viruses

BACKGROUND: Culicoides imicola (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is an important Afrotropical and Palearctic vector of disease, transmitting viruses of animal health and economic signifcance including African horse sickness and bluetongue viruses. Maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria (endosymbionts) of arthropods can alter the frequency of COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) mitochondrial haplotypes (mitotypes) in a population, masking the true patterns of host movement and gene fow. Thus, this study aimed to assess the mtDNA structure of C. imicola in relation to infection with Candidatus Cardinum hertigii (Bacteroides), a common endosymbiont of Culicoides spp. METHODS: Using haplotype network analysis, COI Sanger sequences from Cardinium-infected and -uninfected C. imicola individuals were frst compared in a population from South Africa. The network was then extended to include mitotypes from a geographic range where Cardinium infection has previously been investigated. RESULTS: The mitotype network of the South African population demonstrated the presence of two broad mitotype groups. All Cardinium-infected specimens fell into one group (Fisher’s exact test, P=0.00071) demonstrating a linkage disequilibrium between endosymbiont and mitochondria. Furthermore, by extending this haplotype network to include other C. imicola populations from the Mediterranean basin, we revealed mitotype variation between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean basins (EMB and WMB) mirrored Cardinium-infection heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that the linkage disequilibrium of Cardinium and mitochondria refects endosymbiont gene fow within the Mediterranean basin but may not assist in elucidating host gene fow. Subsequently, we urge caution on the single usage of the COI marker to determine population structure and movement in C. imicola and instead suggest the complementary utilisation of additional molecular markers.A BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership studentship and a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship.https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.compm2022Veterinary Tropical Disease

Food Acceptability in Field Studies with US Army Men and Women: Relationship with Food Intake and Food Choice After Repeated Exposures

Laboratory data with single exposures showed that palatability has a positive relationship with food intake. The question addressed in this study is whether this relationship also holds over repeated exposures in non-laboratory contexts in more natural environments. The data were collected in four field studies, lasting 4–11 days with 307 US Army men and 119 Army women, and comprised 5791 main meals and 8831 snacks in total. Acceptability was rated on the nine point hedonic scale, and intake was registered in units of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or 1 or more times of the provided portion size. Correlation coefficients between individual acceptability ratings and intakes varied from 0.22 to 0.62 for the main meals (n=193–2267), and between 0.13 and 0.56 for the snacks (n=304–2967). The likelihood of choosing a meal for the second time was positively related to the acceptability rating of the meal when it was consumed for the first time. The results reinforce the importance of liking in food choice and food intake/choice behavior. However, the magnitude of the correlation coefficients between acceptability ratings and food intake suggest that environmental factors also have an important role in determining intake and choice

New early Eocene tapiromorph perissodactyls from the Ghazij Formation of Pakistan, with implications for mammalian biochronology in Asia

Early Eocene mammals from Indo-Pakistan have only recently come under study. Here we describe the first tapiromorph perissodactyls from the subcontinent. Gandheralophus minor n. gen. and n. sp. and G. robustus n. sp. are two species of Isectolophidae differing in size and in reduction of the anterior dentition. Gandheralophus is probably derived from a primitive isectolophid such as Orientolophus hengdongensis from the earliest Eocene of China, and may be part of a South Asian lineage that also contains Karagalax from the middle Eocene of Pakistan. Two specimens are referred to a new, unnamed species of Lophialetidae. Finally, a highly diagnostic M3 and a molar fragment are described as the new eomoropid chalicothere Litolophus ghazijensis sp. nov. The perissodactyls described here, in contrast to most other mammalian groups published from the early Eocene of Indo-Pakistan, are most closely related to forms known from East and Central Asia. Tapiromorpha are diverse and biochronologically important in the Eocene there and our results allow the first biochronological correlation between early Eocene mammal faunas in Indo-Pakistan and the rest of Asia. We suggest that the upper Ghazij Formation of Pakistan is best correlated with the middle or late part of the Bumbanian Asian Land-Mammal Age, while the Kuldana and Subathu Formations of Pakistan and India are best correlated with the Arshantan Asian Land-Mammal Age

MASC 2022: What challenges and opportunities do supramolecular chemists face in coming years?

Supramolecular chemistry has gone from strength to strength in recent decades, with its impact felt from catalysis to materials science to chemical biology. This Voices article, published to coincide with the 2022 Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Group meeting at the University of Nottingham, UK, asks speakers from the meeting: what are the major challenges and opportunities facing the field in coming years

On the origin of proteins in human drusen : the meet, greet and stick hypothesis

This research was part-supported by de Algemene Nederlandse Vereniging ter Voorkoming van Blindheid (ANVVB), de Stichting Blinden-Penning, de Gelderse Blinden Stichting, de Landelijke Stichting voor Blinden en Slechtzienden (LSBS), Stichting Oogfonds Nederland, Stichting MD Fonds and Stichting Retina Nederland Fonds (represented by Uitzicht, grants 2011-6 and 2014-7 to A.A.B.), de Rotterdamse Stichting Blindenbelangen (RSB), de Haagse Stichting Blindenhulp, Stichting Lijf en Leven, Stichting voor Ooglijders (to A.A.B.); ZonMW grant nr 446001002 (to A.A.B. and C.K.); the Bill Brown Charitable Trust, Moorfields Eye Hospital Special Trustees, Mercer Fund from Fight for Sight, the Eye-Risk project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 634479 (I.L. and E.E.), Fight for Sight project grant (I.L. and A.S.), the Bright Focus Foundation grant nr M2015370 (to SMH).Retinal drusen formation is not only a clinical hallmark for the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) but also for other disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and renal diseases. The initiation and growth of drusen is poorly understood. Attention has focused on lipids and minerals, but relatively little is known about the origin of drusen-associated proteins and how they are retained in the space between the basal lamina of the retinal pigment epithelium and the inner collagenous layer space (sub-RPE-BL space). While some authors suggested that drusen proteins are mainly derived from cellular debris from processed photoreceptor outer segments and the RPE, others suggest a choroidal cell or blood origin. Here, we reviewed and supplement the existing literature on the molecular composition of the retina/choroid complex, to gain a more complete understanding of the sources of proteins in drusen. These “drusenomics” studies showed that a considerable proportion of currently identified drusen proteins is uniquely originating from the blood. A smaller, but still large fraction of drusen proteins comes from both blood and/or RPE. Only a small proportion of drusen proteins is uniquely derived from the photoreceptors or choroid. We next evaluated how drusen components may “meet, greet and stick” to each other and/or to structures like hydroxyapatite spherules to form macroscopic deposits in the sub-RPE-BL space. Finally, we discuss implications of our findings with respect to the previously proposed homology between drusenogenesis in AMD and plaque formation in atherosclerosis.PostprintPeer reviewe