Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Ontogenetic Trajectory of the Phenotypic Covariance Matrix, with Examples from Craniofacial Shape in Rats and Humans

Many classic quantitative genetic theories assume the covariance structure among adult phenotypic traits to be relatively static during evolution. But the cross-sectional covariance matrix arises from the joint variation of a large range of developmental processes and hence is not constant over the period during which a population of developing organisms is actually exposed to selection. To examine how development shapes the phenotypic covariance structure, we ordinate the age-specific covariance matrices of shape coordinates for craniofacial growth in rats and humans. The metric that we use for this purpose is given by the square root of the summed squared log relative eigenvalues. This is the natural metric on the space of positive-definite symmetric matrices, which we introduce and justify in a biometric context. In both species, the covariance matrices appear to change continually throughout the full period of postnatal development. The resulting ontogenetic trajectories alter their direction at major changes of the developmental programs whereas they are fairly straight in between. Consequently, phenotypic covariance matrices—and thus also response to selection—should be expected to vary both over ontogenetic and phylogenetic time scales as different phenotypes are necessarily produced by different developmental pathways.
Genetic Architecture for the Adaptive Origin of Annual Wild Rice, Oryza nivara

The wild progenitors of cultivated rice, Oryza nivara and Oryza rufipogon, provide an experimental system for characterizing the genetic basis of adaptation. The evolution of annual O. nivara from a perennial ancestor resembling its sister species, O. rufipogon, was associated with an ecological shift from persistently wet to seasonally dry habitats. Here we report a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of phenotypic differentiation in life history, mating system, and flowering time between O. nivara and O. rufipogon. The exponential distribution of effect sizes of QTL fits the prediction of a recently proposed population genetic model of adaptation. More than 80% of QTL alleles of O. nivara acted in the same direction of phenotypic evolution, suggesting that they were fixed under directional selection. The loss of photoperiod sensitivity, which might be essential to the survival of the ancestral populations of O. nivara in the new environment, was controlled by QTL of relatively large effect. Mating system evolution from cross- to self-fertilization through the modification of panicle and floral morphology was controlled by QTL of small-to-moderate effect. The lack of segregation of the recessive annual habit in the F2 mapping populations suggested that the evolution of annual from perennial life form had a complex genetic basis. The study captured the genetic architecture for the adaptive origin of O. nivara and provides a foundation for rigorous experimental tests of population genetic theories of adaptation.
Association between obesity and depression: Evidence from a longitudinal sample of the elderly in Taiwan

Objectives: Obesity has been identified as an epidemic worldwide. In Taiwan, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in adults age ≥65. This article investigates the effects of body weight status on the likelihood of depression among the elderly in Taiwan. Method: A longitudinal sample of the elderly (1351 males and 1165 females) interviewed in both the 1999 and 2003 Surveys of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan is used. A random effect logit model is estimated to examine the effects of body weight status, lifestyle, and socio-demographic characteristics on the likelihood of depression. Results: About 10.4% of the elderly men are overweight and 13.4% are obese in 2003. A higher prevalence of obesity is found among elderly women, with 19.3% being overweight and 26.4% obese. Elderly men who are underweight are more likely to be depressed (odds ratio; OR = 2.36) than those from other weight categories, while overweight and obese women are less likely to be depressed (ORs = 0.72 and 0.61) than elderly women of the normal weight category. Conclusions: In contrast to most findings for the Western countries, a negative association between obesity and depression of the elderly is evident in Taiwan. The different findings between Western and Asian countries may be due to the cultural differences. Unlike the Western countries that stigmata are attached to excessive overweight, being overweight is not a symbol of unhealthiness because only the wealthy can afford to eat more and put on more weight in the Chinese society.
Asymmetry of Genetic Variation in Fitness-Related Traits: Apparent Stabilizing Selection on gmax

The maintenance of genetic variation in traits closely associated with fitness remains a key unresolved issue in evolutionary genetics. One important qualification on the observation of genetic variation in fitness-related traits is that such traits respond asymmetrically to selection, evolving to a greater extent in the direction of lower fitness. Here we test the hypothesis that standing genetic variation in fitness-related traits is principally maintained for unfit phenotypes. Male Drosophila bunnanda vary in mating success (the primary determinant of male fitness) due to female mate choice. We used competitive mating success to partitioning males into two groups: successful (high fitness) and unsuccessful (low fitness). Relative to successful males, unsuccessful males harbored considerably greater levels of additive genetic variation for sexual signaling traits. This genetic asymmetry was detected for a multivariate trait that we demonstrated was not directly under stabilizing sexual selection, leading us to conclude the trait was under apparent stabilizing selection. Consequently, our results suggest genetic variance might be biased toward low fitness even for traits that are not themselves the direct targets of selection. Simple metrics of genetic variance are unlikely to be adequate descriptors of the complex nature of the genetic basis of traits under selection.
The influence of social factors and health on depressive symptoms and worry: A study of older Vietnamese adults

Objectives: Vietnam has a growing older population, many of whom experienced war and social upheavals in their lives. Prior research has described the health of the older population, but little work has explored mental health. The current study examines the frequency and correlates of two mental health indicators: depressive symptoms and worry. Method: A representative sample of 600 adults 55 and older stratified by gender (50% women), age (mean = 70.33), and rural/urban (50% rural) was recruited in Da Nang, Vietnam and surrounding rural districts. Participants were interviewed in their homes by trained interviewers. Dependent variables were a Vietnamese version of the CES-D and a culturally specific worry scale. Results: Forty-seven percent of the sample had scores above the cut-off for clinical depression and scores on the worry scale were high. Using multiple linear regressions we found that women, the less educated and individuals with more material hardship had higher depressive symptoms whereas rural residents, women, married, and young-old individuals were more worried. Pain, ADL assistance and emotional support were significant predictors of both depressive symptoms and worry, though the direction of the association for emotional support differed. Illnesses were only a predictor of depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The high reports of depressive symptoms and worry suggests the need for incorporating mental health screening as part of health programs for older adults in Vietnam. Attention to factors associated with depressive symptoms and worry, such as economic hardship, health problems and lack of emotional support, may contribute to alleviation of symptoms.
Depression as a predictor of falls amongst institutionalized elders

Objective: In this study, we set out to examine the combined effects of medical condition and depression status on fall incidents amongst institutionalized elderly people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the fall history of institutionalized elders involving 286 subjects. Experiences of falls over the previous year were recorded, with at least two falls during the prior one-year period, or one injurious fall defined as ‘fallers’. The Geriatric Depression Scale-15 was used as a screening instrument for depression status. Results: Based on a multivariate logistic regression and stratification analysis, depression was found to have enhanced effects with various medical conditions on fall risk. As compared with the non-depressive reference group, a five-fold fall risk was discernible amongst depressed elders with multiple medications, whilst a six-fold risk was found amongst depressive elders using ancillary devices, along with a 11-fold amongst depressive elders with neural system diseases. Conclusions: This study provides the evidence of enhancing effects between depression and medical conditions on the risk of falls amongst institutionalized elderly people. Thus, depressed elders with neural system diseases, using ancillary devices or multiple medications, should be specifically listed as very high risk of falling amongst institutionalized elderly, and strictly prevent them from falls. Screening and treatment of depression could also be a useful strategy in the prevention of falls amongst institutionalized elderly with poor medical condition.
Evolution of Gigantism in Nine-Spined Sticklebacks

The relaxation of predation and interspecific competition are hypothesized to allow evolution toward “optimal” body size in island environments, resulting in the gigantism of small organisms. We tested this hypothesis by studying a small teleost (nine-spined stickleback, Pungitius pungitius) from four marine and five lake (diverse fish community) and nine pond (impoverished fish community) populations. In line with theory, pond fish tended to be larger than their marine or lake conspecifics, sometimes reaching giant sizes. In two geographically independent cases when predatory fish had been introduced into ponds, fish were smaller than those in nearby ponds lacking predators. Pond fish were also smaller when found in sympatry with three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) than those in ponds lacking competitors. Size-at-age analyses demonstrated that larger size in ponds was achieved by both increased growth rates and extended longevity of pond fish. Results from a common garden experiment indicate that the growth differences had a genetic basis: pond fish developed two to three times higher body mass than marine fish during 36 weeks of growth under similar conditions. Hence, reduced risk of predation and interspecific competition appear to be chief forces driving insular body size evolution toward gigantism.
Orthostatic hypotension and subjective sleep quality in older people

Poor sleep quality and orthostatic hypotension are common complaints in an older population, and both are related to factors such as polypharmacy and depression. However, it is not known whether there is a direct association between the two. Our objective is to investigate a potential association between orthostatic blood pressure response and subjective sleep quality in older people. A within-subjects, cross-sectional design embedded in a larger longitudinal study design. Participants were recruited from the community to visit the TRIL clinic at St James's Hospital, where they underwent a structured medical and psychosocial assessment. A total of 505 community dwelling adults aged 60+ (321 females, mean age 72.44) were participated in this study. Orthostatic blood pressure responses were recorded during an active stand using Finometer equipment, and health-related factors such as pain ratings, co-morbidities, polypharmacy, timed up and go, Mini-Mental State Examination score, body mass index, as well as depression, anxiety, age and gender, were also recorded. Self-reported sleep quality was also assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The results showed that timed up and go, polypharmacy, depression, anxiety, gender and delayed recovery of blood pressure at orthostasis were associated with subjective poor sleep quality. There is an association between subjective sleep quality and delayed recovery of blood pressure at orthostasis, independent of mental health or polypharmacy effects, in older adults. This link may have implications for the management of sleep disorders in older people.
FITNESS TRADE‐OFFS MEDIATED BY IMMUNOSUPPRESSION COSTS IN A SMALL MAMMAL

Trade‐offs are widespread between life‐history traits, such as reproduction and survival. However, their underlying physiological and behavioral mechanisms are less clear. One proposed physiological factor involves the trade‐off between investment in male reproductive effort and immunity. Based on this hypothesis, we investigated differences in fitness between artificially selected immune response bank vole groups, Myodes glareolus. Significant heritability of immune response was found and a correlated response in testosterone levels to selection on immune function. Male reproductive effort, reproductive success, and survival of first generation offspring were assessed and we demonstrate a relationship between laboratory measured immune parameters and fitness parameters in field enclosures. We identify a trade‐off between reproductive effort and survival with immune response and parasites as mediators. However, this trade‐off results in equal male fitness in natural conditions, potentially demonstrating different male signaling strategies for either reproductive effort or survival. Females gain indirect genetic benefits for either genetic disease resistance or male reproductive effort, but not both. Immune response is genetically variable, genetically linked to testosterone and may indirectly maintain genetic variation for sexually selected traits. Evidence for both a genetic and a field trade‐off between reproductive effort and survival indicates an evolutionary constraint on fitness traits.
Hypochloraemia is strongly and independently associated with mortality in patients with chronic heart failure

Hyponatraemia is strongly associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure. However, accumulating evidence suggests that chloride may play an important role in renal salt sensing and regulation of neurohormonal and sodium‐conserving pathways. Our objective was to determine the prognostic importance of hypochloraemia in patients with heart failure.
COLOR EVOLUTION IN THE HUMMINGBIRD GENUS COELIGENA

The remarkable diversity of coloration and species present in hummingbirds has been considered the result of sexual selection. I evaluate if color differences among species in the genus Coeligena are consistent with expectations from sexual selection theory. If sexual selection on color is important for speciation, closely related species should be markedly different in the colors of feather patches associated with aggression and breeding. I evaluate this prediction through a statistical assessment of the phylogenetic signal of colors from five feather patches: crown, gorget, belly, upper back, and rump. The first two are associated with aggressive and courtship displays and are expected to be under sexual selection, whereas the others are not. Contrary to expectations, the crown and gorget were the only patches with significant phylogenetic signal. Furthermore, I assess if populations of dichromatic species are more divergent in coloration and therefore have reduced gene flow. Color distances among dichromatic subspecies were larger than among monochromatic subspecies, but the magnitude of phenotypic differentiation was not related to levels of gene flow. These results support a role for sexual selection in shaping color variation among populations, but these differences alone are not sufficient to explain speciation.
MATERNAL EFFECTS, BUT NO GOOD OR COMPATIBLE GENES FOR SPERM COMPETITIVENESS IN AUSTRALIAN CRICKETS

Explanations for the evolution of polyandry often center on the idea that females garner genetic benefits for their offspring by mating multiply. Furthermore, postcopulatory processes are thought to be fundamental to enabling polyandrous females to screen for genetic quality. Much attention has focused on the potential for polyandrous females to accrue such benefits via a sexy‐ or good‐sperm mechanism, whereby additive variation exists among males in sperm competitiveness. Likewise, attention has focused on an alternative model, in which offspring quality (in this context, the sperm competitiveness of sons) hinges on an interaction between parental haplotypes (genetic compatibility). Sperm competitiveness that is contingent on parental compatibility will exhibit nonadditive genetic variation. We tested these models in the Australian cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus, using a design that allowed us to partition additive, nonadditive genetic, and parental variance for sperm competitiveness. We found an absence of additive and nonadditive genetic variance in this species, challenging the direct relevance of either model to the evolution of sperm competitiveness in particular, and polyandry in general. Instead, we found maternal effects that were possibly sex‐linked or cytoplasmically linked. We also found effects of focal male age on sperm competitiveness, with small increments in age conferring more competitive sperm.
A wish to know but not always tell – couples living with dementia talk about disclosure preferences

Most research on disclosure issues in dementia has focused on what it is like to receive a dementia diagnosis. Little is known about the disclosure preferences that people with dementia and their cohabiting spouses have. In this study, we explore disclosure preferences and focus on what couples living with dementia want to know and tell about the disease. The study is based on 40 qualitative interviews (20 with people with dementia and 20 with their spouses). The analysis revealed five preference patterns regarding what the couples wanted to know and how they felt about sharing information concerning the disease with others. The patterns have been called: (1) want to know and tell (no reservations about it); (2) want to know and tell (some reservations about it); (3) want to know but do not want to tell; (4) want to know but cannot decide if we want to tell and (5) cannot agree on either knowing or telling. They show that couples’ preferences about what they want to know are related to what they are willing to tell. The findings also show that it is usually the preferences of the person that has a dementia diagnosis that guide the stand that couples take as far as disclosure issues are concerned. Thus, the findings show the type of interdependence that exists when one person in a couple has received the diagnosis, and the life of the two people as a couple is challenged as a result of this.
THE QUANTITATIVE GENETICS AND COEVOLUTION OF MALE AND FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS

Studies of experimental sexual selection have tested the effect of variation in the intensity of sexual selection on male investment in reproduction, particularly sperm. However, in several species, including Drosophila pseudoobscura, no sperm response to experimental evolution has occurred. Here, we take a quantitative genetics approach to examine whether genetic constraints explain the limited evolutionary response. We quantified direct and indirect genetic variation, and genetic correlations within and between the sexes, in experimental populations of D. pseudoobscura. We found that sperm number may be limited by low heritability and evolvability whereas sperm quality (length) has moderate VA and CVA but does not evolve. Likewise, the female reproductive tract, suggested to drive the evolution of sperm, did not respond to experimental sexual selection even though there was sufficient genetic variation. The lack of genetic correlations between the sexes supports the opportunity for sexual conflict over investment in sperm by males and their storage by females. Our results suggest no absolute constraint arising from a lack of direct or indirect genetic variation or patterns of genetic covariation. These patterns show why responses to experimental evolution are hard to predict, and why research on genetic variation underlying interacting reproductive traits is needed.
GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN THE SONGS OF NEOTROPICAL SINGING MICE: TESTING THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF DRIFT AND LOCAL ADAPTATION

Patterns of geographic variation in communication systems can provide insight into the processes that drive phenotypic evolution. Although work in birds, anurans, and insects demonstrates that acoustic signals are sensitive to diverse selective and stochastic forces, processes that shape variation in mammalian vocalizations are poorly understood. We quantified geographic variation in the advertisement songs of sister species of singing mice, montane rodents with a unique mode of vocal communication. We tested three hypotheses to explain spatial variation in the song of the lower altitude species, Scotinomys teguina: selection for species recognition in sympatry with congener, S. xerampelinus, acoustic adaptation to different environments, and stochastic divergence. Mice were sampled at seven sites in Costa Rica and Panamá; genetic distances were estimated from mitochondrial control region sequences, between‐site differences in acoustic environment were estimated from climatic data. Acoustic, genetic and geographic distances were all highly correlated in S. teguina, suggesting that population differentiation in song is largely shaped by genetic drift. Contrasts between interspecific genetic‐acoustic distances were significantly greater than expectations derived from intraspecific contrasts, indicating accelerated evolution of species‐specific song. We propose that, although much intraspecific acoustic variation is effectively neutral, selection has been important in shaping species differences in song.
How avoidant attachment influences subjective well-being: An investigation about theageandgender differences

Intimate relationship is a significant factor that influences older adults’ subjective well-being. Avoidant attachment reflects a basic working model regarding interpersonal relationships. The current study aims to test how age and gender moderate the effect of avoidant attachment to spouse on subjective well-being. Fifty-six married couples aged from 20 to 79 years in Hong Kong were recruited for the study. Their avoidant attachment to spouse and subjective well-being were measured by questionnaires. In general, avoidant attachment to spouse was found to undermine subjective well-being. More importantly, age significantly moderated the negative association between avoidant attachment and subjective well-being, but the direction of the moderating effect was opposite for husbands and wives. Compared with their younger counterparts, the detrimental effect of avoidant attachment on subjective well-being was weaker for older wives but stronger for older husbands. The results suggest that marital relationship may play different roles in different life stages for the two genders. In later adulthood, males may become more dependent on the marital relationship to maintain subjective well-being, whereas females can be relatively independent.