Microglial Interactions with Synapses Are Modulated by Visual Experience

Microglia, the brain's immune cells, show unique interactions with nearby synaptic elements under non-pathological conditions that are sensitive to changes in sensory experience

Parenting Heritability Data and Analysis Files

4 data files, a metadata file describing the columns in these files, and an analysis script file that can be used to recreate all analyses and figures

Parenting Heritability

4 data files required to replicate our analyses, including: "Nesting Data Fathers.csv", "Nesting Data Sons.csv", "Size Data Fathers.csv", and "Size Data Sons.csv

Data from: Parenting behaviour is highly heritable in male stickleback

Parental care is critical for fitness, yet little is known about its genetic basis. Here, we estimate the heritability of parenting behaviour in a species famous for its diversity and its behavioural repertoire: three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Male threespined stickleback are the sole providers of paternal care that is necessary for offspring survival, therefore this system offers the opportunity to study the inheritance of parental behavior when selection is primarily acting on males. Fanning behaviour is a conspicuous parental behaviour that is readily quantified in this species. We show that the heritability of fanning behaviour is ≥0.9, and significantly different from zero within a freshwater population. Moreover, there was abundant genetic variation for fanning behaviour, indicating that it could readily evolve. These results suggest that parenting behaviour is tractable for further genetic dissection in this system

Effect of verification imaging on in vivo dosimetry results using Gafchromic EBT3 film

In this work, the apparent treatment dose that kV planar or CBCT imaging contributes to Gafchromic EBT3 film used for in vivo dosimetry, was investigated. Gafchromic EBT3 film pieces were attached to a variety of phantoms and irradiated using the linear accelerator’s built-in kV imaging system, in both kV planar mode and CBCT mode. To evaluate the sensitivity of the film in the clinical scenario where dose contributions are received from both imaging and treatment, additional pieces of film were irradiated using base doses of 50 cGy and then irradiated using selected kV planar and CBCT techniques. For kV planar imaging, apparent treatment doses of up to 3.4 cGy per image pair were seen. For CBCT, apparent treatment doses ranged from 0.22 cGy to 3.78 cGy. These apparent doses were reproducible with and without the inclusion of the 50 cGy base dose. The contribution of apparent treatment dose from both planar kV as well as CBCT imaging can be detected, even in conjunction with an actual treatment dose. The magnitude of the apparent dose was found to be dependent on patient geometry, scanning protocol, and measurement location. It was found that the apparent treatment dose from the imaging could add up to 8% of additional uncertainty to the in vivo dosimetry result, if not taken into account. It is possible for this apparent treatment dose to be accounted for by subtraction of the experimentally determined apparent doses from in vivo measurements, as demonstrated in this work

Data from: Parenting behaviour is highly heritable in male stickleback

Parental care is critical for fitness, yet little is known about its genetic basis. Here, we estimate the heritability of parenting behaviour in a species famous for its diversity and its behavioural repertoire: three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Male threespined stickleback are the sole providers of paternal care that is necessary for offspring survival, therefore this system offers the opportunity to study the inheritance of parental behavior when selection is primarily acting on males. Fanning behaviour is a conspicuous parental behaviour that is readily quantified in this species. We show that the heritability of fanning behaviour is ≥0.9, and significantly different from zero within a freshwater population. Moreover, there was abundant genetic variation for fanning behaviour, indicating that it could readily evolve. These results suggest that parenting behaviour is tractable for further genetic dissection in this system

Supplementary figure 1 from Parenting behaviour is highly heritable in male stickleback

Simulation of stochastic variation from sampling error. In a separate study, we recorded the behavior of one male for one hour on Day 5 and then sampled at 5-minute intervals, which allowed us to calculate for each 5-minute sample the deviation from the proportion of time fanning occurred across the entire hour. We used these data to simulate deviations that may occur due to sampling error and added these deviations to each data point, under the condition that fanning was not allowed to be less than 0 or greater than 300 seconds. We then recalculated the heritability estimate from the animal model. This was then repeated 1,000 times to give a range of heritability estimates expected if the deviations were as large as those observed in our 11 five-minute sessions. The distribution of heritability estimates is displayed as a histogram. The heritability estimate from the actual data presented in the paper is indicated by the red vertical dashed line

Taller staff occupationally exposed to less radiation to the temple in cardiac procedures, but risk higher doses during vascular cases

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nurse and doctor height on occupational dose to the temple during fluoroscopically guided cardiovascular procedures. Additionally, an evaluation of the relationship between doctor height and table height was performed. Staff exposed during fluoroscopic procedures may be at elevated risk of cardiovascular damage or oncogenesis and have demonstrated a higher incidence of subscapular cataracts. The heads of taller staff may be exposed to reduced levels of radiation due to the increased distance from the area of highest intensity X-ray scatter. Limited research has been performed investigating height as a predictor of head dose to nursing staff. The level of radiation dose at the level of the temple to the doctor (n = 25), scrub (n = 28), and scout nurse (n = 29) was measured in a prospective single-center, observational study using Philips DoseAware badges. Procedural characteristics were recorded for vascular and cardiac cases performed in three dedicated angiography suites. Data were also collected to investigate relationships between doctor height and table height. Data were collected for 1585 cardiac and 294 vascular procedures. Staff height was a statistically significant predictor of temple dose for doctors, scrub, and scout nurses when considering the full data sample. The log temple dose demonstrated an inverse relationship to staff height during cardiac procedures, but a positive relationship for scrub and scout nurses during vascular studies. This observational study has demonstrated that taller staff are exposed to less cranial exposure dose during fluoroscopically guided cardiac examinations but has revealed a positive correlation between height and temple dose during vascular procedures. It was also determined that doctor height was correlated with average procedural table height and that vascular access point influences the choice of table elevation.</p

The durability of quantitative host resistance and variability in pathogen virulence in the interaction between European grapevine cultivars and Plasmopara viticola

European grapevine, Vitis vinifera, carries no major resistances against Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew. The introgression of quantitative trait loci conferring resistance to P. viticola (Rpv) from American and Asian donor species has resulted in a range of resistant cultivars. In light of the perennial nature of grapevine and the high evolutionary potential of P. viticola, the durability of this quantitative resistance is an important challenge. Durability of host resistance and variability in pathogen virulence may be evaluated by describing interactions between pathogen isolates and grapevine cultivars in terms of Rpv loci. A set of 16 cultivars carrying different combinations of Rpv loci, was challenged with five P. viticola isolates, obtained from susceptible or Rpv3.1+ V. vinifera cultivars. Based on the severity of sporulation, different host and pathogen phenotypes might be distinguished, which could be related to the presence of different Rpv loci. The hormonal responses before and during some interactions were compared to assess the resistance mechanisms underlying Rpv3.1, Rpv10, and Rpv12 and the infection mechanisms of the different isolates. This paper reports on the strength of some of the commonly used Rpv loci, single or stacked. The isolates derived from Rpv3.1+ hosts, GREPv1 and GPHPv1, were able to sporulate intensely on cultivars carrying Rpv3.1, without triggering necrosis. Moreover, Rpv10 was not able to efficiently halt the development of the Rpv3.1-breaking isolate GPHPv1. Cultivars carrying Rpv12, however, were resistant to all five P. viticola isolates. Phytohormones might be implicated in the basal resistance against this pathogen, but during the early defense response, no significant hormonal responses to the isolates were observed. The isolate-specificity of the Rpv3- and Rpv10-mediated resistance suggests that these loci do not result in the most sustainable resistance. Furthermore, the isolate-specific behavior of the pathogen emphasizes the need for a characterization system for P. viticola. A standardized phenotyping assay may be used to determine P. viticola pathogen phenotypes or measure the durability, strength, and isolate-specificity of the host quantitative resistances. The characterization of both components of the pathosystem may lead to an increased understanding of the resistance mechanisms, beneficial for a durable deployment of resistance genes

Field size consistency of nominally matched linacs

Given that there is increasing recognition of the effect that submillimetre changes in collimator position can have on radiotherapy beam dosimetry, this study aimed to evaluate the potential variability in small field collimation that may exist between otherwise matched linacs. Field sizes and field output factors were measured using radiochromic film and an electron diode, for jaw- and MLC-collimated fields produced by eight dosimetrically matched Varian iX linacs (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, USA). This study used nominal sizes from 0.6×0.6 to 10×10 cm215 , for jaw-collimated fields,and from 1×1 to 10×10 cm216 , for MLC-collimated fields, delivered from a zero (head up, beam directed vertically downward) gantry angle. Differences between the field sizes measured for the eight linacs exceeded the uncertainty of the film measurements and the repositioning uncertainty of the jaws and MLCs on one linac. The dimensions of fields defined by MLC leaves were more consistent between linacs, while also differing more from their nominal values than fields defined by orthogonal jaws. The field output factors measured for the different linacs generally increased with increasing measured field size for the nominal 0.6×0.6 and 1×1 cm2 fields, and became consistent between linacs for nominal field sizes of 2×2 cm2 25 and larger. The inclusion in radiotherapy treatment planning system beam data of small field output factors acquired in fields collimated by jaws (rather than the more-reproducible MLCs), associated with either the nominal or the measured field sizes, should be viewed with caution. The size and reproducibility of the fields (especially the small fields) used to acquire treatment planning data should be investigated thoroughly as part of the linac or planning system commissioning process. Further investigation of these issues, using different linac models, collimation systems and beam orientations, is recommended