In ovo yolk carotenoid and testosterone levels interactively influence female transfer of yolk antioxidants to her eggs

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society via the DOI in this recordMothers can influence prenatal conditions by varying the amount of nutrients, hormones or antioxidants they provide to their developing young. Some of these substances even affect the transfer of these compounds in the next generation, but it is less clear how different maternally transmitted compounds interact with each other to shape reproductive resource allocation in their offspring. Here, we found that female Japanese quail that were exposed to high carotenoid levels during embryonic development transferred lower concentrations of yolk antioxidants to their own eggs later in life. This effect disappeared, when both testosterone and carotenoid concentrations were manipulated simultaneously, showing long-term and interactive effects of these maternally derived egg components on a female’s own egg composition. Given that exposure to high levels of testosterone during embryo development stimulates the production of reactive oxygen (ROS) and impairs antioxidant defenses, we propose that carotenoids act as in-ovo antioxidants in an oxidatively stressful environment (i.e. when levels of testosterone are high) but might have prooxidant properties in an environment where they are not used to counteract an increased production of ROS. In line with this hypothesis, we previously showed that prenatal exposure to increased concentrations of yolk carotenoids leads to a rise of oxidative damage at adulthood, but only when yolk testosterone concentrations were not experimentally increased as well. As a consequence, antioxidants in the body may be used to limit oxidative damage in females exposed to high levels of carotenoids during development (but not in females exposed to increased levels of both carotenoids and testosterone), resulting in lower amounts of antioxidants being available for deposition into eggs. Since prenatal antioxidant exposure is known to influence fitness-related traits, the effect detected in this study might have transgenerational consequences.The study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (PP00P3_128386 and PP00P3_157455) and the Fonds zur Förderung des akademischen Nachwuchses

Charge Violation and Alice Behavior in Global and Textured Strings

Spontaneous breaking of global symmetries can produce ``Alice'' strings: line defects which make unbroken symmetries multivalued, induce apparent charge violation via Aharonov-Bohm interactions, and form point defects when twisted into loops. We demonstrate this behavior for both divergent and textured global Alice strings. Both adiabatically scatter charged particles via effective Wilson lines. For textured Alice strings, such Wilson lines occur at all radii, and are multivalued only inside the string. This produces measurable effects, including path-dependent charge violation.Comment: 32 pages, 2 epsfigs, Revte

Topologically Alice Strings and Monopoles

Symmetry breaking can produce ``Alice'' strings, which alter scattered charges and carry monopole number and charge when twisted into loops. Alice behavior arises algebraically, when strings obstruct unbroken symmetries -- a fragile criterion. We give a topological criterion, compelling Alice behavior or deforming it away. Our criterion, that \pi_o(H) acts nontrivially on \pi_1(H), links topologically Alice strings to topological monopoles. We twist topologically Alice loops to form monopoles. We show that Alice strings of condensed matter systems (nematic liquid crystals, helium 3A, and related non-chiral Bose condensates and amorphous chiral superconductors) are topologically Alice, and support fundamental monopole charge when twisted into loops. Thus they might be observed indirectly, not as strings, but as loop-like point defects. We describe other models, showing Alice strings failing our topological criterion; and twisted Alice loops supporting deposited, but not fundamental, monopole number.Comment: 2 figures; this paper consolidates preprints hep-th/0304161 and hep-th/0304162, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Shaping public opinion about regional integration: the rhetoric of justification and party cues

The article investigates how justifications used by politicians to explain their positions on policies of regional integration shape public opinion about these policies. I argue that support for a policy position increases when politicians tailor their justifications to the expectations of their audience; and I suggest that this happens even when party cues offer a less effortful way of forming opinions. I test my theoretical expectations in laboratory experiments with diverse samples, which manipulate party cues and justifications for a policy of European integration. I find that citizens use justifications and cues to form opinions. The relative importance of the two factors depends on individual dispositions and political context. In a non-competitive context (study 1), politically invested citizens use cues, while uninvested citizens use justifications. In a competitive context (study 2), the opinions of politically invested citizens are shaped by both factors, while the opinions of uninvested citizens become erratic

A Global Analog of Cheshire Charge

It is shown that a model with a spontaneously broken global symmetry can support defects analogous to Alice strings, and a process analogous to Cheshire charge exchange can take place. A possible realization in superfluid He-3 is pointed out.Comment: 24 pages (figures 1-4 included as uu-encoded tar files), CALT-68-1865 (Revised version: an expression (eq. 17) for global charge density is corrected; some typos and sign mismatches are removed.

Idea-caution before exploitation:the use of cybersecurity domain knowledge to educate software engineers against software vulnerabilities

The transfer of cybersecurity domain knowledge from security experts (‘Ethical Hackers’) to software engineers is discussed in terms of desirability and feasibility. Possible mechanisms for the transfer are critically examined. Software engineering methodologies do not make use of security domain knowledge in its form of vulnerability databases (e.g. CWE, CVE, Exploit DB), which are therefore not appropriate for this purpose. An approach based upon the improved use of pattern languages that encompasses security domain knowledge is proposed

One-dimensional human intrusion analysis of the paleozoic aquifer, as part of the site suitability effort at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

A programmatic need was identified by the US Department of Energy, through the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, for a preliminary ``site suitability`` performance assessment for the Yucca Mountain site. The effort is designed to integrate field, laboratory, and modeling information to identify key technical issues that need to be addressed and determine which field parameters are important during site characterization. This report examines one-dimensional transport of radionucldies in the Paleozoic aquifer. The problem is based on a human intrusion scenario which introduces a point source of radionuclides directly into the aquifer. This effort is only one part of the larger site suitability effort. 10 refs., 2 figs., 10 tabs

Adoption of BIM by architectural firms in India: technology–organization–environment perspective

Building information modelling (BIM) is being heralded as a remarkable innovation in the built environment sector with expectations of lofty sector-wide improvements. Some countries have shown remarkable levels of uptake of BIM, along the way documenting some evidence of benefits stemming from BIM. However, countries such as India and China are late entrants in the BIM adoption journey and are seeing a slower adoption rate. This study develops a model using the technology–organization–environment framework to study the factors influencing BIM adoption by architectural firms in India and reasons for this slow adoption. The proposed model of BIM adoption is tested using the partial least square method against responses collected from 184 industry professionals based in India. Findings reveal that the adoption of BIM by Indian architectural firms is at the ‘experimentation’ stage with variables such as expertise, trialability, and management support exhibiting a strong positive influence on BIM adoption. The study also explains the status of BIM adoption in India with the help of a multi-level social construct, which places the level of BIM adoption in India between the micro- and meso-levels of organizational scales. Similarities and dissimilarities with previous findings are discussed in the paper to highlight the findings of this study. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou

Colouration in amphibians as a reflection of nutritional status : the case of tree frogs in Costa Rica

Colouration has been considered a cue for mating success in many species; ornaments in males often are related to carotenoid mobilization towards feathers and/or skin and can signal general health and nutrition status. However, there are several factors that can also link with status, such as physiological blood parameters and body condition, but there is not substantial evidence which supports the existence of these relationships and interactions in anurans. This study evaluated how body score and blood values interact with colouration in free-range Agalychnis callidryas and Agalychnis annae males. We found significant associations between body condition and plasmatic proteins and haematocrit, as well as between body condition and colour values from the chromaticity diagram. We also demonstrated that there is a significant relation between the glucose and plasmatic protein values that were reflected in the ventral colours of the animals, and haematocrit inversely affected most of those colour values. Significant differences were found between species as well as between populations of A. callidryas, suggesting that despite colour variation, there are also biochemical differences within animals from the same species located in different regions. These data provide information on underlying factors for colouration of male tree frogs in nature, provide insights about the dynamics of several nutrients in the amphibian model and how this could affect the reproductive output of the animals