Proximate factors underpinning receiver responses to deceptive false alarm calls in wild tufted capuchin monkeys: is it counterdeception?

Previous research demonstrates that tufted capuchin monkeys use terrestrial predator alarm calls in a functionally deceptive manner to distract conspecifics when feeding on contestable resources, although the success of this tactic is limited because listeners frequently ignore these calls when given in such situations. While this decreased response rate is suggestive of a counterstrategy to deception by receivers, the proximate factors underpinning the behavior are unclear. The current study aims to test if the decreased response rate to alarm calls in competitive contexts is better explained by the perception of subtle acoustic differences between predator-elicited and deceptive false alarms, or by receivers varying their responses based on the context in which the signal is received. This was tested by first examining the acoustic structure of predator-elicited and deceptive false alarms for any potentially perceptible acoustic differences, and second by comparing the responses of capuchins to playbacks of each of predator-elicited and false alarms, played back in noncompetitive contexts. The results indicate that deceptive false alarms and predator-elicited alarms show, at best, minimal acoustic differences based on the structural features measured. Likewise, playbacks of deceptive false alarms elicited antipredator reactions at the same rate as did predator-elicited alarms, although there was a nonsignificant tendency for false alarms to be more likely to elicit escape reactions. The lack of robust acoustic differences together with the high response rate to false alarms in noncompetitive contexts suggests that the context in which the signal is received best explains receiver responses. It remains unclear, however, if listeners ascribe different meanings to the calls based on context, or if they generally ignore all signals in competitive contexts. Whether or not the decreased response rate of receivers directly stems from the deceptive use of the calls cannot be determined until these latter possibilities are rigorously tested

Grey and White Matter Magnetisation Transfer Ratio Measurements in the Lumbosacral Enlargement: A Pilot In Vivo Study at 3T

Magnetisation transfer (MT) imaging of the central nervous system has provided further insight into the pathophysiology of neurological disease. However, the use of this method to study the lower spinal cord has been technically challenging, despite the important role of this region, not only for motor control of the lower limbs, but also for the neural control of lower urinary tract, sexual and bowel functions. In this study, the feasibility of obtaining reliable grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) measurements within the lumbosacral enlargement (LSE) was investigated in ten healthy volunteers using a clinical 3T MRI system. The mean cross-sectional area of the LSE (LSE-CSA) and the mean GM area (LSE-GM-CSA) were first obtained by means of image segmentation and tissue-specific (i.e. WM and GM) MTR measurements within the LSE were subsequently obtained. The reproducibility of the segmentation method and MTR measurements was assessed from repeated measurements and their % coefficient of variation (%COV). Mean (± SD) LSE-CSA across 10 healthy subjects was 59.3 (± 8.4) mm2 and LSE-GM-CSA was 17.0 (± 3.1) mm2. The mean intra- and inter-rater % COV for measuring the LSE-CSA were 0.8% and 2.3%, respectively and for the LSE-GM-CSA were 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively. Mean (± SD) WM-MTR was 43.2 (± 4.4) and GM-MTR was 40.9 (± 4.3). The mean scan-rescan % COV for measuring WM-MTR was 4.6% and for GM-MTR was 3.8%. Using a paired t-test, a statistically significant difference was identified between WM-MTR and GM-MTR in the LSE (p<0.0001). This pilot study has shown that it is possible to obtain reliable tissue-specific MTR measurements within the LSE using a clinical MR system at 3T. The MTR acquisition and analysis protocol presented in this study can be used in future investigations of intrinsic spinal cord diseases that affect the LSE

The Role of Critical Case Analysis in Interprofessional Education

Goals for interprofessional education include preparing students to work in collaborative practice, teaching them how to work in teams and to asses and improve the quality of patient care. (Barr, 2007, Thibault, 2013). Four core competency domains have been established to inform interprofessional education (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011). These are ethics/values, roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication and teams/teamwork. Various pedagogical approaches have been used to help students meet these competencies. The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (2013) recommends development and implementation of innovative models to link interprofessional education and practice. Thibault (2013) recommends students engage in “real work” as part of their interprofessional education experience

The patient patient: The importance of knowing your navigator

In Ontario, Diagnostic Assessment Programs (DAPs) have been implemented to improve the quality of care patients receive during the diagnostic phase of the cancer journey. Patient navigators play a critical role in this model by coordinating care and providing information and support to patients and their families. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine whether patient navigation in DAPs is associated with a better patient experience and 2) to examine whether patient navigation in DAPs modifies the effect of wait times and patient volumes on patient experience. Data reflecting patients’ experience within the DAP were collected via survey and an average experience score was calculated for each region. To ascertain the relationship between patient experience, wait times and volumes, correlation coefficients were computed between regional patient experience scores and total regional patient volumes and between regional patient experience score and regional diagnostic wait times. To understand the impact of navigators on the patient experience, the sample was subdivided according to whether or not the respondent reported knowing their navigator. Patients who knew their navigator rated their experience significantly better than those who did not. For those who did not know their navigator, there was an inverse and significant correlation between patient experience scores and wait times; patients in regions with long waits had poorer experience scores overall. Patients who knew their navigator reported consistently good experience regardless of their diagnostic wait. The navigator appears to mitigate the negative impact of longer wait times on experience

Impact of Grid Unbalances on Electric Vehicle Chargers

There is a global trend to reduce emissions from cars through the adoption of other alternatives, such as electric vehicles (EVs). The increasing popularity of EVs has led to a growing demand for electric vehicle chargers. EV chargers are essential for charging the batteries of EVs. Since the EV charger stays connected to the grid for long periods of time to charge the EV battery, it must be able to handle disturbances in the power grid. The goal of this paper is to present an overview of the impact of grid events on EV battery chargers. As well as the impact of grid unbalances on EV chargers, this paper also provides an overview of the impact of grid faults on other, similar power electronics interfaced resources such as PV and energy storage systems

Hsf1 and Hsp90 orchestrate temperature-dependent global transcriptional remodelling and chromatin architecture in Candida albicans

This is the final version. Available from Nature Research via the DOI in this record.RNA-sequencing data sets are available at ArrayExpress (www.ebi.ac.uk) under accession code E-MTAB-4075. ChIP-seq data sets are available at the NCBI SRA database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) under accession code SRP071687. The authors declare that all other data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary information files, or from the corresponding author upon request.Fever is a universal response to infection, and opportunistic pathogens such as Candida albicans have evolved complex circuitry to sense and respond to heat. Here we harness RNA-seq and ChIP-seq to discover that the heat shock transcription factor, Hsf1, binds distinct motifs in nucleosome-depleted promoter regions to regulate heat shock genes and genes involved in virulence in C. albicans. Consequently, heat shock increases C. albicans host cell adhesion, damage and virulence. Hsf1 activation depends upon the molecular chaperone Hsp90 under basal and heat shock conditions, but the effects are opposite and in part controlled at the level of Hsf1 expression and DNA binding. Finally, we demonstrate that Hsp90 regulates global transcription programs by modulating nucleosome levels at promoters of stress-responsive genes. Thus, we describe a mechanism by which C. albicans responds to temperature via Hsf1 and Hsp90 to orchestrate gene expression and chromatin architecture, thereby enabling thermal adaptation and virulence.Wellcome TrustCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)European Research Council (ERC)Science and Technology Development Fund of Macau S.A.R (FDCT)Research and Development Administrative Office of the University of MacauNational Institutes of Health (NIH

Assessing Changes Within the Lumbosacral Spinal Cord in Neurological Disease: Preliminary Results of a Pilot in Vivo MRI Study

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived tissue-specific measures of neuronal loss and demyelination were assessed at the lumbosacral level of the spinal cord (SC) in relation to neurological dysfunction. Acquisition of grey and white matter measures for the lumbosacral SC proved feasible, and were sensitive to detect tissue-specific changes in two neurological disorders commonly associated with lumbosacral cord involvement: Multiple system atrophy and Multiple sclerosis. This preliminary study demonstrates the utility of this cutting edge MRI acquisition method to detect pathological changes in the lumbosacral SC, and is a first step towards establishing new MRI biomarkers for these patient groups

Black Holes in Modified Gravity (MOG)

The field equations for Scalar-Tensor-Vector-Gravity (STVG) or modified gravity (MOG) have a static, spherically symmetric black hole solution determined by the mass $M$ with two horizons. The strength of the gravitational constant is $G=G_N(1+\alpha)$ where $\alpha$ is a parameter. A regular singularity-free MOG solution is derived using a nonlinear field dynamics for the repulsive gravitational field component and a reasonable physical energy-momentum tensor. The Kruskal-Szekeres completion of the MOG black hole solution is obtained. The Kerr-MOG black hole solution is determined by the mass $M$, the parameter $\alpha$ and the spin angular momentum $J=Ma$. The equations of motion and the stability condition of a test particle orbiting the MOG black hole are derived, and the radius of the black hole photosphere and the shadows cast by the Schwarzschild-MOG and Kerr-MOG black holes are calculated. A traversable wormhole solution is constructed with a throat stabilized by the repulsive component of the gravitational field.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. Upgraded version of paper to match published version in European Physics Journal

Fully automated grey and white matter segmentation of the cervical cord in vivo

We propose and validate a new fully automated spinal cord (SC) segmentation technique that incorporates two different multi-atlas segmentation propagation and fusion techniques: Optimized PatchMatch Label fusion (OPAL) and Similarity and Truth Estimation for Propagated Segmentations (STEPS). We collaboratively join the advantages of each method to obtain the most accurate SC segmentation. The new method reaches the inter-rater variability, providing automatic segmentations equivalents to inter-rater segmentations in terms of DSC 0.97 for whole cord for any subject