325 research outputs found
Ancestral genome estimation reveals the history of ecological diversification in Agrobacterium
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is considered as a major source of innovation in bacteria, and as such is expected to drive adaptation to new ecological niches. However, among the many genes acquired through HGT along the diversification history of genomes, only a fraction may have actively contributed to sustained ecological adaptation. We used a phylogenetic approach accounting for the transfer of genes (or groups of genes) to estimate the history of genomes in Agrobacterium biovar 1, a diverse group of soil and plant-dwelling bacterial species. We identified clade-specific blocks of cotransferred genes encoding coherent biochemical pathways that may have contributed to the evolutionary success of key Agrobacterium clades. This pattern of gene coevolution rejects a neutral model of transfer, in which neighboring genes would be transferred independently of their function and rather suggests purifying selection on collectively coded acquired pathways. The acquisition of these synapomorphic blocks of cofunctioning genes probably drove the ecological diversification of Agrobacterium and defined features of ancestral ecological niches, which consistently hint at a strong selective role of host plant rhizospheres
Intercultural New Media Studies: The Next Frontier in intercultural Communication
New media (ICT\u27s) are transforming communication across cultures. Despite this revolution in cross cultural contact, communication researchers have largely ignored the impact of new media on intercultural communication. This groundbreaking article defines the parameters of a new field of inquiry called Intercultural New Media Studies (INMS), which explores the intersection between ICT\u27s and intercultural communication. Composed of two research areasâ(1) new media and intercultural communication theory and (2) culture and new mediaâINMS investigates new digital theories of intercultural contact as well as refines and expands twentieth-century intercultural communication theories, examining their salience in a digital world. INMS promises to increase our understanding of intercultural communication in a new media age and is the next frontier in intercultural communication
Facial Cosmetics and Attractiveness: Comparing the Effect Sizes of Professionally-Applied Cosmetics and Identity
Forms of body decoration exist in all human cultures. However, in Western societies, women are more likely to engage in appearance modification, especially through the use of facial cosmetics. How effective are cosmetics at altering attractiveness? Previous research has hinted that the effect is not large, especially when compared to the variation in attractiveness observed between individuals due to differences in identity. In order to build a fuller understanding of how cosmetics and identity affect attractiveness, here we examine how professionally-applied cosmetics alter attractiveness and compare this effect with the variation in attractiveness observed between individuals. In Study 1, 33 YouTube models were rated for attractiveness before and after the application of professionally-applied cosmetics. Cosmetics explained a larger proportion of the variation in attractiveness compared with previous studies, but this effect remained smaller than variation caused by differences in attractiveness between individuals. Study 2 replicated the results of the first study with a sample of 45 supermodels, with the aim of examining the effect of cosmetics in a sample of faces with low variation in attractiveness between individuals. While the effect size of cosmetics was generally large, between-person variability due to identity remained larger. Both studies also found interactions between cosmetics and identity-more attractive models received smaller increases when cosmetics were worn. Overall, we show that professionally- applied cosmetics produce a larger effect than self-applied cosmetics, an important theoretical consideration for the field. However, the effect of individual differences in facial appearance is ultimately more important in perceptions of attractiveness
Cosmetics Alter Biologically-Based Factors of Beauty: Evidence from Facial Contrast
The use of cosmetics by women seems to consistently increase their attractiveness. What factors of attractiveness do cosmetics alter to achieve this? Facial contrast is a known cue to sexual dimorphism and youth, and cosmetics exaggerate sexual dimorphisms in facial contrast. Here, we demonstrate that the luminance contrast pattern of the eyes and eyebrows is consistently sexually dimorphic across a large sample of faces, with females possessing lower brow contrasts than males, and greater eye contrast than males. Red-green and yellow-blue color contrasts were not found to differ consistently between the sexes. We also show that women use cosmetics not only to exaggerate sexual dimorphisms of brow and eye contrasts, but also to increase contrasts that decline with age. These findings refine the notion of facial contrast, and demonstrate how cosmetics can increase attractiveness by manipulating factors of beauty associated with facial contrast
Regulation of bone mineral density in the grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis: Bioavailability of calcium oxalate, and implications for bark stripping
A Broadband Laboratory Study of the Seismic Properties of Cracked and Fluid-Saturated Synthetic Glass Media
For better understanding of frequency dependence (dispersion) of seismic wave velocities caused by stressâinduced fluid flow, broadband laboratory measurements were performed on a suite of synthetic glass media containing both equant pores and thermal cracks. Complementary forced oscillation, resonant bar, and ultrasonic techniques provided access to millihertzâhertz frequencies, ~1 kHz frequency, and ~1 MHz frequency, respectively. The wave speeds or effective elastic moduli and associated dissipation were measured on samples under dry, argonâ or nitrogenâsaturated, and waterâsaturated conditions in sequence. The elastic moduli, in situ permeability, and crack porosity inferred from in situ Xâray computed tomography all attest to strong pressureâinduced crack closure for differential (confiningâminusâpore) pressures <30 MPa, consistent with zeroâpressure crack aspect ratios <4 Ă 10â4. The low permeabilities of these materials allow access to undrained conditions, even at subhertz frequencies. The ultrasonically measured elastic moduli reveal consistently higher shear and bulk moduli upon fluid saturationâdiagnostic of the saturatedâisolated regime. For a glass rod specimen, containing cracks but no pores, saturatedâisolated conditions apparently persist to subhertz frequenciesârequiring in situ aspect ratios (minimum/maximum dimension) <10â5. In marked contrast, the shear modulus measured at subhertz frequencies on a cracked glass bead specimen of 5% porosity, is insensitive to fluid saturation, consistent with the BiotâGassmann model for the saturatedâisobaric regime. The measured dispersion of the shear modulus approaches 10% over the millihertzâmegahertz frequency range for the cracked and fluidâsaturated mediaâimplying that laboratory ultrasonic data should be used with care in the interpretation of field data
Genomic Species Are Ecological Species as Revealed by Comparative Genomics in Agrobacterium tumefaciens
The definition of bacterial species is based on genomic similarities, giving rise to the operational concept of genomic species, but the reasons of the occurrence of differentiated genomic species remain largely unknown. We used the Agrobacterium tumefaciens species complex and particularly the genomic species presently called genomovar G8, which includes the sequenced strain C58, to test the hypothesis of genomic species having specific ecological adaptations possibly involved in the speciation process. We analyzed the gene repertoire specific to G8 to identify potential adaptive genes. By hybridizing 25 strains of A. tumefaciens on DNA microarrays spanning the C58 genome, we highlighted the presence and absence of genes homologous to C58 in the taxon. We found 196 genes specific to genomovar G8 that were mostly clustered into seven genomic islands on the C58 genomeâone on the circular chromosome and six on the linear chromosomeâsuggesting higher plasticity and a major adaptive role of the latter. Clusters encoded putative functional units, four of which had been verified experimentally. The combination of G8-specific functions defines a hypothetical species primary niche for G8 related to commensal interaction with a host plant. This supports that the G8 ancestor was able to exploit a new ecological niche, maybe initiating ecological isolation and thus speciation. Searching genomic data for synapomorphic traits is a powerful way to describe bacterial species. This procedure allowed us to find such phenotypic traits specific to genomovar G8 and thus propose a Latin binomial, Agrobacterium fabrum, for this bona fide genomic species
Road users rarely use explicit communication when interacting in todayâs traffic: Implications for Automated Vehicles
To be successful, automated vehicles (AVs) need to be able to manoeuvre in mixed traffic in a way that will be accepted by road users, and maximises traffic safety and efficiency. A likely prerequisite for this success is for AVs to be able to communicate effectively with other road users in a complex traffic environment. The current study, conducted as part of the European project interACT, investigates the communication strategies used by drivers and pedestrians while crossing the road at six observed locations, across three European countries. In total, 701 road user interactions were observed and annotated, using an observation protocol developed for this purpose. The observation protocols identified 20 event categories, observed from the approaching vehicles/drivers and pedestrians. These included information about movement, looking behaviour, hand gestures, and signals used, as well as some demographic data. These observations illustrated that explicit communication techniques, such as honking, flashing headlights by drivers, or hand gestures by drivers and pedestrians, rarely occurred. This observation was consistent across sites. In addition, a follow-on questionnaire, administered to a sub-set of the observed pedestrians after crossing the road, found that when contemplating a crossing, pedestrians were more likely to use vehicle-based behaviour, rather than communication cues from the driver. Overall, the findings suggest that vehicle-based movement information such as yielding cues are more likely to be used by pedestrians while crossing the road, compared to explicit communication cues from drivers, although some cultural differences were observed. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to design of suitable external interfaces and communication of intent by future automated vehicles
Necrotic bark of common pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as a bioindicator of environmental quality
Analysis of SNP-SNP interactions and bone quantitative ultrasound parameter in early adulthood
Background: Osteoporosis individual susceptibility is determined by the interaction of multiple genetic variants
and environmental factors. The aim of this study was to conduct SNP-SNP interaction analyses in candidate genes
influencing heel quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameter in early adulthood to identify novel insights into the
mechanism of disease.
Methods: The study population included 575 healthy subjects (mean age 20.41; SD 2.36). To assess bone mass QUS
was performed to determine Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA, dB/MHz). A total of 32 SNPs mapping to loci
that have been characterized as genetic markers for QUS and/or BMD parameters were selected as genetic markers
in this study. The association of all possible SNP pairs with QUS was assessed by linear regression and a SNP-SNP
interaction was defined as a significant departure from additive effects.
Results: The pairwise SNP-SNP analysis showed multiple interactions. The interaction comprising SNPs rs9340799
and rs3736228 that map in the ESR1 and LRP5 genes respectively, revealed the lowest p value after adjusting for
confounding factors (p-value = 0.001, ÎČ (95% CI) = 14.289 (5.548, 23.029). In addition, our model reported others
such as TMEM135-WNT16 (p = 0.007, ÎČ(95%CI) = 9.101 (2.498, 15.704), ESR1-DKK1 (p = 0.012, ÎČ(95%CI) = 13.641 (2.
959, 24.322) or OPG-LRP5 (p = 0.012, ÎČ(95%CI) = 8.724 (1.936, 15.512). However, none of the detected interactions
remain significant considering the Bonferroni significance threshold for multiple testing (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Our analysis of SNP-SNP interaction in candidate genes of QUS in Caucasian young adults reveal several
interactions, especially between ESR1 and LRP5 genes, that did not reach statistical significance. Although our results do
not support a relevant genetic contribution of SNP-SNP epistatic interactions to QUS in young adults, further studies in
larger independent populations would be necessary to support these preliminary findings.This study was supported by a grant PI-0414-2014 from ConsejerĂa de Salud
(Junta de AndalucĂa, Spain). Correa-RodrĂguez M is a predoctoral fellow (FPU13/
00143) from the Ministerio de EducaciĂłn, Cultura y Deporte (Programa de
FormaciĂłn del Profesorado Universitario)
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