Relationship Quality and Cognition in Orange-Winged Amazons (Amazona amazonica) and Blue and Gold Macaws (Ara ararauna)

Evidence of cognitive complexity in birds has led to the recognition that mammalian and avian species likely evolved comparable high-level cognitive capacities independently. One of the most significant findings that have emerged from this area of study is the identification of a key social trait that is found in species deemed to be intelligent – the presence of long-term, high-quality partnerships. Amongst birds, parrots (along with corvids) have shown relatively high levels of both cognitive and social complexity. However, relatively few parrot species have been the subject of empirical investigation. The original research presented in this thesis explores social behaviour and cognitive capacity in orange-winged Amazons (Amazona amazonica) and blue and gold macaws (Ara ararauna). Observational research findings revealed evidence of high-quality relationships in both species, and while levels of affiliative investment were similar in orange-winged Amazons (OWAs) and blue and gold macaws (BGMs), some potentially meaningful between species differences were found in courtship feeding, allopreening, and social tolerance. Experimental research findings revealed evidence of inhibitory control in both species (as measured by performance on a transparent cylinder task), though OWAs performed significantly better than BGMs on test trials. Social learning capacities were also found in OWAs through an open diffusion experiment. Both species showed poor performance in a means-end task, yielding no evidence of causal understanding. Birds also had difficulty acquiring the loose string task, which was aimed at testing cooperative problem solving. Poor performance of both OWAs and BGMs on these tasks is believed to have been primarily due to non-cognitive factors (e.g., motivation, motor difficulty of task). Affiliative investment and performance on the social learning task were found to be positively correlated in BGMs and there was some indication that individual variation in boldness may have been associated with inhibitory task performance in BGMs

Effect of aliskiren on post-discharge outcomes among diabetic and non-diabetic patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial

Aims The objective of the Aliskiren Trial on Acute Heart Failure Outcomes (ASTRONAUT) was to determine whether aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, would improve post-discharge outcomes in patients with hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) with reduced ejection fraction. Pre-specified subgroup analyses suggested potential heterogeneity in post-discharge outcomes with aliskiren in patients with and without baseline diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results ASTRONAUT included 953 patients without DM (aliskiren 489; placebo 464) and 662 patients with DM (aliskiren 319; placebo 343) (as reported by study investigators). Study endpoints included the first occurrence of cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 and 12 months, all-cause death within 6 and 12 months, and change from baseline in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 1, 6, and 12 months. Data regarding risk of hyperkalaemia, renal impairment, and hypotension, and changes in additional serum biomarkers were collected. The effect of aliskiren on cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 months (primary endpoint) did not significantly differ by baseline DM status (P = 0.08 for interaction), but reached statistical significance at 12 months (non-DM: HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64-0.99; DM: HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.91-1.47; P = 0.03 for interaction). Risk of 12-month all-cause death with aliskiren significantly differed by the presence of baseline DM (non-DM: HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; DM: HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.15-2.33; P < 0.01 for interaction). Among non-diabetics, aliskiren significantly reduced NT-proBNP through 6 months and plasma troponin I and aldosterone through 12 months, as compared to placebo. Among diabetic patients, aliskiren reduced plasma troponin I and aldosterone relative to placebo through 1 month only. There was a trend towards differing risk of post-baseline potassium ≥6 mmol/L with aliskiren by underlying DM status (non-DM: HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71-1.93; DM: HR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.30-4.42; P = 0.07 for interaction). Conclusion This pre-specified subgroup analysis from the ASTRONAUT trial generates the hypothesis that the addition of aliskiren to standard HHF therapy in non-diabetic patients is generally well-tolerated and improves post-discharge outcomes and biomarker profiles. In contrast, diabetic patients receiving aliskiren appear to have worse post-discharge outcomes. Future prospective investigations are needed to confirm potential benefits of renin inhibition in a large cohort of HHF patients without D

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The evolution of self-control

This work was supported by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) through support of a working group led by C.L.N. and B.H. NESCent is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) EF-0905606. For training in phylogenetic comparative methods, we thank the AnthroTree Workshop (supported by NSF BCS-0923791). Y.S. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 31170995) and National Basic Research Program (973 Program: 2010CB833904). E.E.B. thanks the Duke Vertical Integration Program and the Duke Undergraduate Research Support Office. J.M.P. was supported by a Newton International Fellowship from the Royal Society and the British Academy. L.R.S. thanks the James S. McDonnell Foundation for Award 220020242. L.J.N.B. and M.L.P. acknowledge the National Institutes of Mental Health (R01-MH096875 and R01-MH089484), a Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Incubator Award (to M.L.P.), and a Duke Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Sciences Fellowship (to L.J.N.B.). E.V. and E.A. thank the Programma Nazionale per la Ricerca–Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Aging Program 2012–2014 for financial support, Roma Capitale–Museo Civico di Zoologia and Fondazione Bioparco for hosting the Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione–CNR Unit of Cognitive Primatology and Primate Centre, and Massimiliano Bianchi and Simone Catarinacci for assistance with capuchin monkeys. K.F. thanks the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 20220004. F. Aureli thanks the Stages in the Evolution and Development of Sign Use project (Contract 012-984 NESTPathfinder) and the Integrating Cooperation Research Across Europe project (Contract 043318), both funded by the European Community’s Sixth Framework Programme (FP6/2002–2006). F. Amici was supported by Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers (Humboldt ID 1138999). L.F.J. and M.M.D. acknowledge NSF Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems Grant 1028319 (to L.F.J.) and an NSF Graduate Fellowship (to M.M.D.). C.H. thanks Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (10J04395). A.T. thanks Research Fellowships of the JSPS for Young Scientists (21264). F.R. and Z.V. acknowledge Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Project P21244-B17, the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement 311870 (to F.R.), Vienna Science and Technology Fund Project CS11-026 (to Z.V.), and many private sponsors, including Royal Canin for financial support and the Game Park Ernstbrunn for hosting the Wolf Science Center. S.M.R. thanks the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). J.K.Y. thanks the US Department of Agriculture–Wildlife Services–National Wildlife Research Center. J.F.C. thanks the James S. McDonnell Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. E.L.M. and B.H. thank the Duke Lemur Center and acknowledge National Institutes of Health Grant 5 R03 HD070649-02 and NSF Grants DGE-1106401, NSF-BCS-27552, and NSF-BCS-25172. This is Publication 1265 of the Duke Lemur Center.Cognition presents evolutionary research with one of its greatest challenges. Cognitive evolution has been explained at the proximate level by shifts in absolute and relative brain volume and at the ultimate level by differences in social and dietary complexity. However, no study has integrated the experimental and phylogenetic approach at the scale required to rigorously test these explanations. Instead, previous research has largely relied on various measures of brain size as proxies for cognitive abilities. We experimentally evaluated these major evolutionary explanations by quantitatively comparing the cognitive performance of 567 individuals representing 36 species on two problem-solving tasks measuring self-control. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that absolute brain volume best predicted performance across species and accounted for considerably more variance than brain volume controlling for body mass. This result corroborates recent advances in evolutionary neurobiology and illustrates the cognitive consequences of cortical reorganization through increases in brain volume. Within primates, dietary breadth but not social group size was a strong predictor of species differences in self-control. Our results implicate robust evolutionary relationships between dietary breadth, absolute brain volume, and self-control. These findings provide a significant first step toward quantifying the primate cognitive phenome and explaining the process of cognitive evolution.PostprintPeer reviewe

Review: The bile acids urso- and tauroursodeoxycholic acid as neuroprotective therapies in retinal disease

International audienceBile acids are produced in the liver and excreted into the intestine, where their main function is to participate in lipid digestion. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) have shown antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects in various models of neurodegenerative diseases. However, little is known about signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms through which these bile acids act as neuroprotectors, delaying translation to the clinical setting. We review evidence supporting a potentially therapeutic role for bile acids in retinal disorders, and the mechanisms and pathways involved in the cytoprotective effects of bile acids from the liver and the enterohepatic circulation to the central nervous system and the retina. As secondary bile acids are generated by the microbiota metabolism, bile acids might be a link between neurodegenerative retinal diseases and microbiota

From Rust to Quantum Biology: The Role of Iron in Retina Physiopathology

International audienceIron is essential for cell survival and function. It is a transition metal, that could change its oxidation state from Fe2+ to Fe3+ involving an electron transfer, the key of vital functions but also organ dysfunctions. The goal of this review is to illustrate the primordial role of iron and local iron homeostasis in retinal physiology and vision, as well as the pathological consequences of iron excess in animal models of retinal degeneration and in human retinal diseases. We summarize evidence of the potential therapeutic effect of iron chelation in retinal diseases and especially the interest of transferrin, a ubiquitous endogenous iron-binding protein, having the ability to treat or delay degenerative retinal diseases

Rate coefficients for the reactions of C2(a(3)Pi(u)) and C2(X(1)Sigma(g)(+)) with various hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and C3H8): a gas-phase experimental study over the temperature range 24-300 K.

International audienceThe kinetics of reactions of C2(a(3)Pi(u)) and C2(X(1)Sigma(g)(+)) with various hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and C3H8) have been studied in a uniform supersonic flow expansion over the temperature range 24-300 K. Rate coefficients have been obtained by using the pulsed laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence technique, where both radicals were produced at the same time but detected separately. The reactivity of the triplet state was found to be significantly lower than that of the singlet ground state for all reactants over the whole temperature range of the study. Whereas C2(X(1)Sigma(g)(+)) reacts with a rate coefficient close to the gas kinetic limit with all hydrocarbons studied apart from CH4, C2(a(3)Pi(u)) appears to be more sensitive to the molecular and electronic structure of the reactant partners. The latter reacts at least one order of magnitude faster with unsaturated hydrocarbons than with alkanes, and the rate coefficients increase very significantly with the size of the alkane. Results are briefly discussed in terms of their potential astrophysical impact

An experimental study of the reaction kinetics of C2(X1Σg+) with hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6 and C3H8) over the temperature range 24-300 K: Implications for the atmospheres of Titan and the Giant Planets

International audienceThe reactivity of C2(X1Σ+g) with simple saturated (CH4, C2H6 and C3H8) and unsaturated (C2H2 and C2H4) hydrocarbons has been studied in the gas phase over the temperature range 24-300 K using the CRESU (Cinétique de Réaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme or Reaction Kinetics in a Uniform Supersonic Flow) technique. All reactions have been found to be very rapid in this temperature range and the rate coefficients are typically ⩾10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 with the exception of methane for which the rate coefficient is one order of magnitude lower: ∼10−11 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. These results have been analyzed in terms of potential destruction sources of C2(X1Σ+g) in the atmospheres of Titan and the Giant Planets. It appears that the rate coefficient of the reaction 1C2 + CH4 should be updated with our new data and that reactions with C2H2, C2H4 and C2H6 should also be included in the existing photochemical models

An experimental study of the intersystem crossing and reactions of C2(X1Sigmag+) and C2(a3Pi(u)) with O2 and NO at very low temperature (24-300 K).

International audienceA low-temperature gas-phase kinetics study of the reactions and collisional relaxation processes involving C2(X1Sigma(g)+) and C2(a3Pi(u)) in collision with O2 and NO partners at temperatures from 300 to 24 K is reported. The experiments employed a CRESU (Cinétique de Réaction en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme) apparatus to attain low temperatures. The C2 species were created using pulsed laser photolysis at 193 nm of mixtures containing C2Cl4 diluted in N2, Ar, or He carrier gas. C2(X1Sigma(g)+) molecules were detected via pulsed laser-induced fluorescence in the (D1Sigma(u)+ <-- X1Sigma(g)+) system, and C2(a3Pi(u)) molecules were detected via pulsed laser-induced fluorescence in the (d 3Pi(g) <-- a 3Pi(u)) system. Relaxation of 3C2 by intersystem crossing induced by oxygen was measured at temperatures below 200 K, and it was found that this process remains very efficient in the temperature range 50-200 K. Reactivity of C2(X1Sigma(g)+) with oxygen became very inefficient below room temperature. Using these two observations, it was found to be possible to obtain the C2(X1Sigma(g)+) state alone at low temperatures by addition of a suitable concentration of O2 and then study its reactivity with NO without any interference coming from the possible relaxation of C2(a3Pi(u)) to C2(X1Sigma(g)+) induced by this reagent. The rate coefficient for reaction of C2(X1Sigma(g)+) with NO was found to be essentially constant over the temperature range 36-300 K with an average value of (1.6 +/- 0.1) x 10(-10) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1). Reactivity of C2(a3Pi(u)) with NO was found to possess a slight negative temperature dependence over the temperature range 50-300 K, which is in very good agreement with data obtained at higher temperatures

ON DESIGN OF RESISTIVE WAVE METER

Although the resistive wave meter, which measures the electric resistance bet-ween two electrodes, may be regarded old fashioned, it is used frequently with suc-cess for many laboratory experiments. Morever, it is used fruitfully for measure-ment of the internal waves which are generated at the interface of fresh and saltwaters. This is the reason why the author describes the method of designing this typeof wave meter. The fundamental principle of design is led by analyzing the measur-ing circuit. Pratical examples of such designing by the author are shown herewith.Although the resistive wave meter, which measures the electric resistance bet-ween two electrodes, may be regarded old fashioned, it is used frequently with suc-cess for many laboratory experiments. Morever, it is used fruitfully for measure-ment of the internal waves which are generated at the interface of fresh and saltwaters. This is the reason why the author describes the method of designing this typeof wave meter. The fundamental principle of design is led by analyzing the measur-ing circuit. Pratical examples of such designing by the author are shown herewith