How task format affects cognitive performance:a memory test with two species of New World monkeys

In cognitive tests, animals are often given a choice between two options and obtain a reward if they choose correctly. We investigated whether task format affects subjects' performance in a physical cognition test. In experiment 1, a two-choice memory test, 15 marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, had to remember the location of a food reward over time delays of increasing duration. We predicted that their performance would decline with increasing delay, but this was not found. One possible explanation was that the subjects were not sufficiently motivated to choose correctly when presented with only two options because in each trial they had a 50% chance of being rewarded. In experiment 2, we explored this possibility by testing eight naïve marmosets and seven squirrel monkeys, Saimiri sciureus, with both the traditional two-choice and a new nine-choice version of the memory test that increased the cost of a wrong choice. We found that task format affected the monkeys' performance. When choosing between nine options, both species performed better and their performance declined as delays became longer. Our results suggest that the two-choice format compromises the assessment of physical cognition, at least in memory tests with these New World monkeys, whereas providing more options, which decreases the probability of obtaining a reward when making a random guess, improves both performance and measurement validity of memory. Our findings suggest that two-choice tasks should be used with caution in comparisons within and across species because they are prone to motivational biases

Does opportunistic testing bias cognitive performance in primates? Learning from drop-outs

Dropouts are a common issue in cognitive tests with non-human primates. One main reason for dropouts is that researchers often face a trade-off between obtaining a sufficiently large sample size and logistic restrictions, such as limited access to testing facilities. The commonly-used opportunistic testing approach deals with this trade-off by only testing those individuals who readily participate and complete the cognitive tasks within a given time frame. All other individuals are excluded from further testing and data analysis. However, it is unknown if this approach merely excludes subjects who are not consistently motivated to participate, or if these dropouts systematically differ in cognitive ability. If the latter holds, the selection bias resulting from opportunistic testing would systematically affect performance scores and thus comparisons between individuals and species. We assessed the potential effects of opportunistic testing on cognitive performance in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) with a test battery consisting of six cognitive tests: two inhibition tasks (Detour Reaching and A-not-B), one cognitive flexibility task (Reversal Learning), one quantity discrimination task, and two memory tasks. Importantly, we used a full testing approach in which subjects were given as much time as they required to complete each task. For each task, we then compared the performance of subjects who completed the task within the expected number of testing days with those subjects who needed more testing time. We found that the two groups did not differ in task performance, and therefore opportunistic testing would have been justified without risking biased results. If our findings generalise to other species, maximising sample sizes by only testing consistently motivated subjects will be a valid alternative whenever full testing is not feasible.</p

Regeneration and transdetermination: The role of wingless and its regulation

AbstractImaginal discs of Drosophila have the remarkable ability to regenerate. After fragmentation wound healing occurs, ectopic wg is induced and a blastema is formed. In some, but not all fragments, the blastema will replace missing structures and a few cells can become more plastic and transdetermine to structures of other discs. A series of systematic cuts through the first leg disc revealed that a cut must transect the dorsal-proximal disc area and that the fragment must also include wg-competent cells. Fragments that fail to both transdetermine and regenerate missing structures will do both when provided with exogenous Wg, demonstrating the necessity of Wg in regenerative processes. In intact leg discs ubiquitously expressed low levels of Wg also leads to blastema formation, regeneration and transdetermination. Two days after exogenous wg induction the endogenous gene is activated, leading to elevated levels of Wg in the dorsal aspect of the leg disc. We identified a wg enhancer that regulates ectopic wg expression. Deletion of this enhancer increases transdetermination, but lowers the amount of ectopic Wg. We speculate that this lessens repression of dpp dorsally, and thus creates a permissive condition under which the balance of ectopic Wg and Dpp is favorable for transdetermination

Genetic diversity of red clover varieties listed in Germany concerning the resistance to Southern Anthracnose

Rotklee ist als essentielles Fruchtfolgeglied speziell im ökologischen Landbau unentbehrlich. Resistente Sorten wären im Falle einer Ausbreitung der Pilzkrankheit Anthracnose von zentraler Bedeutung

Copper-67 as a therapeutic nuclide for radioimmunotherapy

Abstract.: The application of the beta particle-emitting nuclide 67Cu in radioimmunotherapy is reviewed. The production of the nuclide is outlined, and different production modes are discussed with an emphasis on cyclotron production. A short survey of copper chelators currently used for antibody labelling and their impact on the pharmacokinetics of 67Cu-labelled immunoconjugates is provided. Protocols for antibody labelling with 67Cu as well as quality control procedures for 67Cu-labelled antibodies are described. Preclinical data on the biological properties of 67Cu-labelled immunoconjugates are reported and discussed. 67Cu-labelled antibodies show higher and more persistent tumour uptake than their radioiodinated counterparts due to accumulation of labelled metabolites in tumour cells. Biodistribution of 67Cu-labelled antibody fragments has been improved by selection of negatively charged chelators and peptide linkers. Pharmacokinetic analysis of the accumulated dose in tumour and critical organs such as the kidney and liver indicates that, despite this improvement, intact 67Cu-labelled antibodies achieve higher tumour uptake and better therapeutic ratios than 67Cu-labelled antibody fragments and that they are at present the logical choice for clinical studies. Clinical studies using 67Cu-labelled antibodies in lymphoma, colon carcinoma and bladder cancer patients are reviewed. Some of the advantages over radioiodinated antibodies found in the preclinical work, such as higher tumour uptake and better tumour/blood ratios, have also been found with systemic application in lymphoma and colon carcinoma. However, in both lymphoma and colon carcinoma patients, the radiation dose to the liver has been found to be higher from 67Cu- than from 131I-labelled antibodies. The intravesical application of 67Cu-labelled antibody has been shown to be a promising approach for targetting cytotoxic radiation to superficial bladder tumours, without detectable systemic absorption. Given the favourable properties of 67Cu-labelled antibodies, it is the reliable availability of the 67Cu nuclide which is the limiting factor for their more widespread evaluation in radioimmunotherapy trial

Prevention of vitamin K deficiency bleeding with three oral mixed micellar phylloquinone doses: results of a 6-year (2005-2011) surveillance in Switzerland

In 2003, the Swiss guidelines to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) were adapted. As two oral doses (2mg, hour/day 4) of mixed micellar VK preparation had failed to abolish late VKDB, a third dose (week 4) was introduced. This report summarizes the new guidelines acceptance by Swiss pediatricians and the results of a prospective 6-year surveillance to study their influence on the incidence of VKDB. The new guidelines acceptance by Swiss pediatricians was evaluated by a questionnaire sent to all pediatricians of the Swiss Society of Paediatrics. With the help of the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit, the incidence of VKDB was monitored prospectively from July 1, 2005 until June 30, 2011. Over a 6-year period (458,184 live births), there was one case of early and four cases of late VKDB. Overall incidence was 1.09/105 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.4-2.6). Late VKDB incidence was 0.87/105 (95% CI 0.24-2.24). All four infants with late VKDB had an undiagnosed cholestasis at the time of bleeding; parents of 3/4 had refused VK prophylaxis, and in 1/4, the third VK dose had been forgotten. Compared with historical control who had received only two oral doses of mixed micellar VK (18 cases for 475,372 live births), the incidence of late VKDB was significantly lower with three oral doses (Chi2,Yates correction, P = 0.007). Conclusion VKDB prophylaxis with 3 × 2mg oral doses of mixed micellar VK seems to prevent adequately infants from VKDB. The main risk factors for VKDB in breast-fed infants are parental VK prophylaxis refusal or an unknown cholestasi

Precipitation forecasting by a mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) model: eight years of experience

International audienceThe Swiss Model, a hydrostatic numerical weather prediction model, has been used at MeteoSwiss for operational forecasting at the meso-beta scale (mesh-size 14 km) from 1994 until 2001. The quality of the quantitative precipitation forecasts is evaluated for the eight years of operation. The seasonal precipitation over Switzerland and its dependence on altitude is examined for both model forecasts and observations using the Swiss rain gauge network sampling daily precipitation at over 400 stations for verification. The mean diurnal cycle of precipitation is verified against the automatic surface observation network on the basis of hourly recordings. In winter, there is no diurnal forcing of precipitation and the modelled precipitation agrees with the observed values. In summer, the convection in the model starts too early, overestimates the amount of precipitation and is too short-lived. Skill scores calculated for six-hourly precipitation sums show a constant level of performance over the model life cycle. Dry and wet seasons influence the model performance more than the model changes during its operational period. The comprehensive verification of the model precipitation is complemented by the discussion of a number of heavy rain events investigated during the RAPHAEL project. The sensitivities to a number of model components are illustrated, namely the driving boundary fields, the internal partitioning of parameterised and grid-scale precipitation, the advection scheme and the vertical resolution. While a small impact of the advection scheme had to be expected, the increasing overprediction of rain with increasing vertical resolution in the RAPHAEL case studies was larger than previously thought. The frequent update of the boundary conditions enhances the positioning of the rain in the model. Keywords: numerical weather prediction, quantitative precipitation forecast, model verificatio