The interplay between aerobic metabolism and antipredator performance: vigilance is related to recovery rate after exercise

When attacked by a predator, fish respond with a sudden fast-start motion away from the threat. Although this anaerobically-powered swimming necessitates a recovery phase which is fueled aerobically, little is known about links between escape performance and aerobic traits such as aerobic scope (AS) or recovery time after exhaustive exercise. Slower recovery ability or a reduced AS could make some individuals less likely to engage in a fast-start response or display reduced performance. Conversely, increased vigilance in some individuals could permit faster responses to an attack but also increase energy demand and prolong recovery after anaerobic exercise. We examined how AS and the ability to recover from anaerobic exercise relates to differences in fast-start escape performance in juvenile golden gray mullet at different acclimation temperatures. Individuals were acclimated to either 18, 22, or 26°C, then measured for standard and maximal metabolic rates and AS using intermittent flow respirometry. Anaerobic capacity and the time taken to recover after exercise were also assessed. Each fish was also filmed during a simulated attack to determine response latency, maximum speed and acceleration, and turning rate displayed during the escape response. Across temperatures, individuals with shorter response latencies during a simulated attack are those with the longest recovery time after exhaustive anaerobic exercise. Because a short response latency implies high preparedness to escape, these results highlight the trade-off between the increased vigilance and metabolic demand, which leads to longer recovery times in fast reactors. These results improve our understanding of the intrinsic physiological traits that generate inter-individual variability in escape ability, and emphasize that a full appreciation of trade-offs associated with predator avoidance and energy balance must include energetic costs associated with vigilance and recovery from anaerobic exercise

The role of physiological traits in assortment among and within fish shoals

Individuals of gregarious species often group with conspecifics to which they are phenotypically similar. This among-group assortment has been studied for body size, sex and relatedness. However, the role of physiological traits has been largely overlooked. Here, we discuss mechanisms by which physiological traits—particularly those related to metabolism and locomotor performance—may result in phenotypic assortment not only among but also within animal groups. At the among-group level, varying combinations of passive assortment, active assortment, phenotypic plasticity and selective mortality may generate phenotypic differences among groups. Even within groups, however, individual variation in energy requirements, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, neurological lateralization and tolerance to environmental stressors are likely to produce differences in the spatial location of individuals or associations between group-mates with specific physiological phenotypes. Owing to the greater availability of empirical research, we focus on groups of fishes (i.e. shoals and schools). Increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms influencing among- and within-group assortment will enhance our understanding of fundamental concepts regarding optimal group size, predator avoidance, group cohesion, information transfer, life-history strategies and the evolutionary effects of group membership. In a broader perspective, predicting animal responses to environmental change will be impossible without a comprehensive understanding of the physiological basis of the formation and functioning of animal social groups. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals’

Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of pharmacoresistant nondelusional auditory verbal hallucinations in dementia

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are known as a core symptom of schizophrenia, but also occur in a number of other conditions, not least in neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia. In the last decades, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) emerged as a valuable therapeutic approach towards several neurological and psychiatric diseases, including AVHs. Herein we report a case of a seventy-six-years-old woman with vascular-degenerative brain disease, complaining of threatening AVHs. The patient was treated with a high-frequency temporoparietal (T3P3) rTMS protocol for fifteen days. A considerable reduction of AVHs in frequency and content (no more threatening) was observed. Although further research is needed, this seems an encouraging result

Perception and Motion: use of Computer Vision to solve Geometry Processing problems

Computer vision and geometry processing are often see as two different and, in a certain sense, distant fields: the first one works on two-dimensional data, while the other needs three dimensional information. But are 2D and 3D data really disconnected? Think about the human vision: each eye captures patterns of light, that are then used by the brain in order to reconstruct the perception of the observed scene. In a similar way, if the eye detects a variation in the patterns of light, we are able to understand that the scene is not static; therefore, we're able to perceive the motion of one or more object in the scene. In this work, we'll show how the perception of the 2D motion can be used in order to solve two significant problems, both dealing with three-dimensional data. In the first part, we'll show how the so-called optical flow, representing the observed motion, can be used to estimate the alignment error of a set of digital cameras looking to the same object. In the second part, we'll see how the detected 2D motion of an object can be used to better understand its underlying geometric structure by means of detecting its rigid parts and the way they are connected

Fish swimming in schools save energy regardless of their spatial position

For animals, being a member of a group provides various advantages, such as reduced vulnerability to predators, increased foraging opportunities and reduced energetic costs of locomotion. In moving groups such as fish schools, there are benefits of group membership for trailing individuals, who can reduce the cost of movement by exploiting the flow patterns generated by the individuals swimming ahead of them. However, whether positions relative to the closest neighbours (e.g. ahead, sided by side or behind) modulate the individual energetic cost of swimming is still unknown. Here, we addressed these questions in grey mullet Liza aurata by measuring tail-beat frequency and amplitude of 15 focal fish, swimming in separate schools, while swimming in isolation and in various positions relative to their closest neighbours, at three speeds. Our results demonstrate that, in a fish school, individuals in any position have reduced costs of swimming, compared to when they swim at the same speed but alone. Although fish swimming behind their neighbours save the most energy, even fish swimming ahead of their nearest neighbour were able to gain a net energetic benefit over swimming in isolation, including those swimming at the front of a school. Interestingly, this energetic saving was greatest at the lowest swimming speed measured in our study. Because any member of a school gains an energetic benefit compared to swimming alone, we suggest that the benefits of membership in moving groups may be more strongly linked to reducing the costs of locomotion than previously appreciated

Educational robotics studies in Italian scientific journals: A systematic review

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to applying educational robotics (ER) in learning settings and, consequently, it has concerned and involved the entire pedagogical field, giving rise to a large amount of experimentation and research. Educational robots are used within the school curriculum and in extra-curricular activities to improve student interest, engagement and academic achievement in various fields, such as STEM and digital literacy, and in many other ways, for example fostering specific cognitive and socio-relational skills. In Italy, as in many other countries, an increasing number of publications are featuring this subject. While there are also some reviews, none of them has been interested in reviewing studies published in Italian journals. The aim of this work is to provide a systematic review of the literature regarding studies investigating educational robotics and provide suggestions for further research and teaching practices. To do this we used the PRISMA statement process. In total, 28 studies published between 2011 and 2021 in 49 Italian journals were analyzed. The main findings from this review provide the current state of the art on research in ER. Furthermore, the paper discusses trends and the vision toward the future and opportunities for further research

The Role of Physiological Traits in Assortment Among and Within Fish Shoals

Individuals of gregarious species often group with conspecifics to which they are phenotypically similar. This among-group assortment has been studied for body size, sex and relatedness. However, the role of physiological traits has been largely overlooked. Here, we discuss mechanisms by which physiological traits—particularly those related to metabolism and locomotor performance—may result in phenotypic assortment not only among but also within animal groups. At the among-group level, varying combinations of passive assortment, active assortment, phenotypic plasticity and selective mortality may generate phenotypic differences among groups. Even within groups, however, individual variation in energy requirements, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, neurological lateralization and tolerance to environmental stressors are likely to produce differences in the spatial location of individuals or associations between group-mates with specific physiological phenotypes. Owing to the greater availability of empirical research, we focus on groups of fishes (i.e. shoals and schools). Increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms influencing among- and within-group assortment will enhance our understanding of fundamental concepts regarding optimal group size, predator avoidance, group cohesion, information transfer, life-history strategies and the evolutionary effects of group membership. In a broader perspective, predicting animal responses to environmental change will be impossible without a comprehensive understanding of the physiological basis of the formation and functioning of animal social groups

Nuovo Realismo / Postmodernismo. Dibattito aperto fra architettura e filosofia. Coordinamento e organizzazione scientifica del Convegno Nazionale, Roma 28-29 Ottobre 2014

Con riferimento al dibattito aperto in campo architettonico dal nuovo realismo di Maurizio Ferraris, il convegno ha inteso proporre un confronto su alcuni dei presupposti che hanno indotto a pensare a “un punto di svolta”. Oggi le necessità reali - scrive Ferraris - "non sopportano di essere ridotte a interpretazioni”, a quelle traduzioni-tradimenti di cui il postmodernismo (anche architettonico) sarebbe manifestazione eloquente. Ma il postmodernismo può dirsi anti-realista? E l'architettura, in quanto "oggetto sociale" ed esito di un progetto in vista di un miglioramento delle condizioni esistenti, non è opera di una continua attività ermeneutica, piuttosto che semplice rispecchiamento estetico della realtà? Sono queste alcune delle molteplici questioni poste dal convegno, il cui confronto dell'architettura con la filosofia non attende risposte certe, piuttosto l'apertura di nuovi orizzonti epistemologici e operativi. Il convegno si è svolto a Roma presso l'Aula magna di Fontanella Borghese della Facoltà di Architettura Sapienza Università di Roma, nei giorni 28-29 Ottobre 2014. Vi hanno partecipato (nell'ordine delle relazioni): M. Ferraris, P. Belfiore, C. Sini, S. Malcovati, R. Causarano, R. Secchi, F. Purini, E. Rocca, G. Durbiano, R. Capozzi, H. Hohenegger, M. Dezzi Bardeschi, G. Scotto, G. Strappa, A. Saggio, R. Palaia, R. Pavia, P. Mascilli Migliorini. Responsabile scientifico: Paola Gregory; Coordinamento scientifico: Paola Gregory, Cristina Marras, Stefano Catucci; Segreteria organizzativa: Saverio Massaro; Postproduzione e montaggio video: LaMa_Laboratorio Multimediale DiAP. Annunciato sul "Corriere della Sera", Mercoledì 15 Ottobre 2014, p. 45 (cultura), il convegno ha avuto risonanza nazionale e alcune recensioni. In particolare: R. Capozzi, Nuovo Realismo/Postmodernismo, un dibattito aperto: architettura e filosofia, in "Ananke", n. 74, Gennaio 2015, pp. 152-154; A. Riciputo, L’architettura della verità tra realtà e interpretazione, in “L’industria delle costruzioni”, n. 442, marzo-aprile 2015, pp. 106-107. Gi Atti del convegno sono stati pubblicati nel 2016 da Officina Edizioni (cfr. la scheda su IRIS: ID:114981)

Applicazione della classificazione National Health Service Breast Screening Pathology (NHSBSP) nella comparazione cito-istologica dei tumori mammari della cagna = NHSBSP classification use in the correlation of canine mammary tumour cytology and histopathology

Canine mammary tumours (CMT) are the most common neoplasia in bitches. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a fast and inexpensive technique well-tolerated by animals. Few reports have shown how difficult cytological diagnosis of CMT is and how difficult benign or malignant tumours are to classify using FNAC. Cytological diagnosis has often been inconclusive in veterinary pathology. In the diagnosis of human breast cancer, FNAC efficacy is beyond doubt due to its high specificity. In this preliminary study, our aim is to evaluate the efficacy of NHSBSP classification, applied to CMT. Secondly, we wish to test the usefulness of H&H stain in FNAC for CMT diagnosis. 75 FNAC specimens, from 41 dogs with mammary tumours were examined. 72/75 underwent the NHSBSP classification Histological examination of the tumours was performed in each case for comparison purposes. All the CMTs fell under the five categories: C1 (3 cases), C2 (7 cases), C3 (38 cases), C4 (15 cases), C5 (9 cases). As regards H&H staining in our view it was more efficacious than M.G.G. staining in distinguishing morphological cell details. Our results showed that the NHSBSP classification gave a 94.4% correspondence level between cytological and histological findings