Male characteristics as predictors of genital color and display variation in vervet monkeys

In the animal kingdom, conspicuous colors are often used for inter-and intra-sexual communication. Even though primates are the most colorful mammalian taxon, many questions, including what potential information color signals communicate to social partners, are not fully understood. Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are ideal to examine the covariates of color signals. Males have multi-colored genitals, which they present during distinctive male-male interactions, known as the "Red-White-and-Blue" (RWB) display, but the genitals are also visible across a variety of other contexts, and it is unclear what this color display signals to recipients. We recorded genital color presentations and standardized digital photos of male genitals (N = 405 photos) over one mating season for 20 adult males in three groups at the Samara Private Game Reserve, South Africa. We combined these with data on male characteristics (dominance, age, tenure length, injuries, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations). Using visual modeling methods, we measured single colors (red, white, blue) but also the contrasts between colors. We assessed the frequency of the RWB genital display and male variation in genital coloration and linked this to male characteristics. Our data suggest that the number of genital displays increased with male dominance. However, none of the variables investigated explained the inter-and intra-individual variation in male genital coloration. These results suggest that the frequency of the RWB genital display, but not its color value, is related to dominance, providing valuable insights on covariation in color signals and their display in primates. Significance statement Conspicuous colors in animals often communicate individual quality to mates and rivals. By investigating vervet monkeys, a primate species in which males present their colorful genitals within several behavioral displays, we aim to identify the covariates Communicated by E. Huchard Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10

Attentional Performance in Children and Adolescents with Tic Disorder and Co-Occurring Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insights from a 2 × 2 Factorial Design Study

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of both tic disorder (TD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on attentional functions. N = 96 children and adolescents participated in the study, including n = 21 subjects with TD, n = 23 subjects with ADHD, n = 25 subjects with TD+ADHD, and n = 27 controls. Attentional performance was tested based on four computerized attention tasks (sustained attention, divided attention, go/nogo and set shifting). The effect of TD as well as ADHD on attentional performance was tested using a 2 × 2 factorial approach. A diagnosis of TD had no negative impact on attentional functions but was associated with improved performance in the set shifting task. By contrast, regardless of a diagnosis of TD, subjects with ADHD were found to perform worse in the sustained attention, divided attention and go/nogo task. No interaction effect between the factors TD and ADHD was revealed for any of the attention measures. Our results add to findings from other areas of research, showing that in subjects with TD and ADHD, ADHD psychopathology is often the main source of impairment, whereas a diagnosis of TD has little or no impact on neuropsychological performance in most cases and even seems to be associated with adaptive mechanisms

The importance of the altricial – precocial spectrum for social complexity in mammals and birds:A review

Various types of long-term stable relationships that individuals uphold, including cooperation and competition between group members, define social complexity in vertebrates. Numerous life history, physiological and cognitive traits have been shown to affect, or to be affected by, such social relationships. As such, differences in developmental modes, i.e. the ‘altricial-precocial’ spectrum, may play an important role in understanding the interspecific variation in occurrence of social interactions, but to what extent this is the case is unclear because the role of the developmental mode has not been studied directly in across-species studies of sociality. In other words, although there are studies on the effects of developmental mode on brain size, on the effects of brain size on cognition, and on the effects of cognition on social complexity, there are no studies directly investigating the link between developmental mode and social complexity. This is surprising because developmental differences play a significant role in the evolution of, for example, brain size, which is in turn considered an essential building block with respect to social complexity. Here, we compiled an overview of studies on various aspects of the complexity of social systems in altricial and precocial mammals and birds. Although systematic studies are scarce and do not allow for a quantitative comparison, we show that several forms of social relationships and cognitive abilities occur in species along the entire developmental spectrum. Based on the existing evidence it seems that differences in developmental modes play a minor role in whether or not individuals or species are able to meet the cognitive capabilities and requirements for maintaining complex social relationships. Given the scarcity of comparative studies and potential subtle differences, however, we suggest that future studies should consider developmental differences to determine whether our finding is general or whether some of the vast variation in social complexity across species can be explained by developmental mode. This would allow a more detailed assessment of the relative importance of developmental mode in the evolution of vertebrate social systems

Towards Collaborative and Reproducible Scientific Experiments on Blockchain

Business process management research opened numerous opportunities for synergies with blockchains in different domains. Blockchains have been identified as means of preventing illegal runtime adaptation of decentralized choreographies that involve untrusting parties. In the eScience domain however there is a need to support a different type of collaboration where adaptation is essential part of that collaboration. Scientists demand support for trial-and-error experiment modeling in collaboration with other scientists and at the same time, they require reproducible experiments and results. The first aspect has already been addressed using adaptable scientific choreographies. To enable trust among collaborating scientists in this position paper we identify potential approaches for combining adaptable scientific choreographies with blockchain platforms, discuss their advantages and point out future research questions

Verbesserung des IT-Monitorings im Gesundheitswesen durch ein elektronisches System zum Austausch zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis

Health information technology (IT) is a decisive factor for hospitals in optimizing the provision of healthcare services and many countries are interested in understanding, monitoring, and benchmarking the mechanisms of digital transformation on the national level. Part of this effort is the use of science-based maturity models to measure the level of digitization of healthcare institutions. The results of the maturity measurement are finally disseminated through science-practice dialogue concepts. The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate a technical platform to support this science-practice dialogue in the context of nationwide health IT monitoring in hospitals. Here users, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in hospitals, provide data on the status of health IT in their institutions through a structured self-assessment on the platform. The data is analyzed and processed with scientific instruments, i.e. (1) according to scientifically established procedures of quantitative methodology and (2) in the context of current scientific findings and research questions. The individual findings are presented to the user on a dashboard. The platform comprises the six components data capturing , indicators and scores , algorithms , storage , data-compiling pipeline and dashboard . All of them were developed pursuing the design science methodology. The evaluation of the platform revealed that it supports CIOs in IT strategic management. Usability tests showed that the platform increases user satisfaction. Within this study we could show how a science-practice dialogue to generate practical implications in the context of a nationwide health IT monitoring can be technically implemented.Die Gesundheits-Informationstechnologie (IT) ist für Krankenhäuser ein entscheidender Faktor bei der Optimierung der Bereitstellung von Gesundheitsdienstleistungen. Viele Länder sind daran interessiert, die Mechanismen der digitalen Transformation auf nationaler Ebene zu verstehen, zu überwachen und zu benchmarken. Teil dieser Bemühungen ist die Nutzung von wissenschaftlich fundierten Reifegradmodellen, um den Digitalisierungsgrad der Gesundheitseinrichtungen zu messen. Die Ergebnisse der Reifegradmessung werden schließlich durch Konzepte des Wissenschaft-Praxis-Dialogs in die Breite getragen. Ziel dieser Studie sind die Entwicklung und Evaluation einer technischen Plattform zur Unterstützung dieses Wissenschaft-Praxis-Dialogs im Rahmen eines bundesweiten Gesundheits-IT-Monitorings in Krankenhäusern. Dabei stellen die Nutzer, die Chief Information Officer (CIO) in den Krankenhäusern, Daten zum Status der Gesundheits-IT in ihren Einrichtungen durch eine strukturierte Selbsteinschätzung auf der Plattform zur Verfügung. Die Daten werden mit wissenschaftlichen Instrumenten, das heißt (1) nach wissenschaftlich etablierten Verfahren der quantitativen Methodik und (2) im Kontext aktueller wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse und Fragestellungen, analysiert und verrechnet und den Anwendern in einem Dashboard individualisiert präsentiert. Die Plattform besteht aus den sechs Komponenten Datenerfassung , Indikatoren und Scores , Algorithmen , Speicherung , Datenzusammenstellungspipeline und Dashboard . Sie wurde nach den Prinzipien von Design Science entwickelt. Eine Evaluation der Plattform zeigt, dass sie Chief Information Officer bei der strategischen Steuerung ihrer IT unterstützt. Usability-Tests weisen darauf hin, dass die Plattform die Zufriedenheit bei den Nutzern steigert. In dieser Studie konnten wir zeigen, wie ein Wissenschaft-Praxis-Dialog zur Generierung praktischer Implikationen im Rahmen eines landesweiten Gesundheits-IT-Monitorings technisch umgesetzt werden kann