The haptic perception of spatial orientations

This review examines the isotropy of the perception of spatial orientations in the haptic system. It shows the existence of an oblique effect (i.e., a better perception of vertical and horizontal orientations than oblique orientations) in a spatial plane intrinsic to the haptic system, determined by the gravitational cues and the cognitive resources and defined in a subjective frame of reference. Similar results are observed from infancy to adulthood. In 3D space, the haptic processing of orientations is also anisotropic and seems to use both egocentric and allocentric cues. Taken together, these results revealed that the haptic oblique effect occurs when the sensory motor traces associated with exploratory movement are represented more abstractly at a cognitive level

Enrichment of trajectories with environmental data, and standardization of tagging data using NetCDF

Geolocalisation and trajectory analysis can aid in understanding the ecological processes driving an organism. By associating satellite-derived environmental data with individual trajectories of electronically-tagged organisms, it could be possible to define environmental characteristics of the tagged species' functional habitats (i.e., reproduction, nutrition). These data can also help identify biotic envelopes or predict the effects of climate change on marine species distributions. The objective of the present work, undertaken as a collaboration between IFREMER and IRD, is to standardize electronic tag data files into network common data format (NetCDF) format, following the standards defined within the POPSTAR project for tag data (doi http://dx.doi.org/10.13155/34980), and enrich the positional data with satellite-derived surface environment data (e.g., sea surface temperature, salinity, sea level) and model-derived environment data at observed depths (e.g., temperature, salinity, currents). We accounted for positional uncertainty using 95%, 75%, and 50% uncertainty polygons around the estimated positions of individuals. We summarised environmental conditions within these uncertainty polygons using the mean, minimum, maximum, quantiles, and standard deviation of the selected enrichment parameter. We generated generic codes to enable the automatic enrichment of position data from points and polygons. Furthermore, we developed algorithms to convert the enriched data into NetCDF format for subsequent visualisation and analysis

A Novel Protocol For Rapid Deployment Of Heart Rate Data Storage Tags In Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Thunnus Thynnus Reveals Cardiac Responses To Temperature And Feeding

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) is a highly prized species of large pelagic fish. Studies of their environmental physiology may improve understanding and management of their populations, but this is difficult for mature adults because of their large size. Biologging of heart rate holds promise in investigating physiological responses to environmental conditions in free-swimming fishes but it is very challenging to anaesthetise large ABFT for invasive surgery to place a tag in the body cavity near to the heart. We describe a novel method for rapid deployment of a commercially available heart rate tag (HR-tag) on ABFT, using an atraumatic trocar to implant it in the musculature associated with the cleithrum. We performed three sequential experiments to show that the tagging method 1) is consistently repeatable and reliable; 2) can be used successfully on commercial fishing boats and does not seem to affect fish survival, and 3) is effective for long-term deployments. In experiment 3, a tag logged heart rate over 80 days on a 60-kg ABFT held in a farm cage. The logged data showed that heart rate was sensitive to prevailing seasonal temperature and feeding events. At low temperatures, there were clear responses to feeding but these all disappeared above a threshold temperature of 25.5 °C. Overall, the results show that our method is simple, rapid and repeatable, and can be used for long term experiments to investigate physiological responses by large ABFT to environmental conditions

A CD1d-Dependent Antagonist Inhibits the Activation of Invariant NKT Cells and Prevents Development of Allergen-Induced Airway Hyperreactivity

The prevalence of asthma continues to increase in westernized countries, and optimal treatment remains a significant therapeutic challenge. Recently, CD1d-restricted invariant NKT (iNKT) cells were found to play a critical role in the induction of airway hyperreactivity (AHR) in animal models and are associated with asthma in humans. To test whether iNKT cell-targeted therapy could be used to treat allergen-induced airway disease, mice were sensitized with OVA and treated with di-palmitoyl-phosphatidyl-ethanolamine polyethylene glycol (DPPE-PEG), a CD1d-binding lipid antagonist. A single dose of DPPE-PEG prevented the development of AHR and pulmonary infiltration of lymphocytes upon OVA challenge, but had no effect on the development of OVA-specific Th2 responses. In addition, DPPE-PEG completely prevented the development of AHR after administration of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) intranasally. Furthermore, we demonstrate that DPPE-PEG acts as antagonist to α-GalCer and competes with α-GalCer for binding to CD1d. Finally, we show that DPPE-PEG completely inhibits the α-GalCer–induced phosphorylation of ERK tyrosine kinase in iNKT cells, suggesting that DPPE-PEG specifically blocks TCR signaling and thus activation of iNKT cells. Because iNKT cells play a critical role in the development of AHR, the inhibition of iNKT activation by DPPE-PEG suggests a novel approach to treat iNKT cell-mediated diseases such as asthma