bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resources, Attractiveness, Family Commitment; Reproductive Decisions in Human Mate Choice
Authors: Bereczkei Tamas , Voros Silvia , Gal Agnes , Bernath Laszlo
Published: May 2010

According to recent evolutionary theory, males and females have been selected for different kinds of mate preferences as behavioral adaptations in our ancestral past. These psychological algorithms, however, are open to ecological/cultural changes in the contemporary societies and, as a consequence, there are permanent tradeoffs between the possible behavioral outputs in mate choice. Using 1000 lonely heart advertisements, we made an attempt to provide a detailed analysis of traits males and females offer and demand in the ‘bargaining’ of reproductive values. Striking differences between the sexes have been found in many of the 42 measured traits associated with physical attractiveness, financial condition, occupational status, domestic virtues, length of relationship, and marital status. We have revealed not only that females were more likely than males to prefer resources in mates, and that females offering cues of physical attractiveness made higher demands than those who did not, but the better physical conditions the females offered, the greater the financial and occupational status they required in potential mates. Similarly, males increased their reproductive success through choosing females of greatest reproductive value: the more resources they had, the greater the demands they made about the potential partner's physical attractiveness. Surprisingly, women valued traits associated with family commitment of potential partners more than cues of resources, which is regarded as an adaptive answer to a particular cultural condition. A remarkable trade‐off in males between direct and indirect methods of paternal investment has been found; the fewer resources they had, the more traits indicating domestic virtue they offered. Contrary to cultural powerless hypothesis, women with higher status valued resources in mates even more than lower‐ranked women. Males seeking short‐term mates demanded physical attractiveness more, and female seeking short‐term mates prefered mates with many resources, compared with those pursuing long‐term mating. In the context of long‐term mating, both sexes placed a greater emphasis on cues of family commitment rather than on those of resources and physical condition. Finally, it was found that as both males and, surprisingly, females age, they prefer relatively younger mates than themselves.
The Effect of Variation in Male Sexually Dimorphic Traits on Female Behaviour in Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
Authors: Min Sherwick E.
Published: May 2010

Several sexually dimorphic morphological, behavioural, and territory characteristics of male pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, are highly variable. To test the hypothesis that females respond to variation among males for mate choice, I examined the relationship between these male characteristics and female congregation size and variability. Increased movement up to and during rut and differential female congregation on the territories of males with favoured characteristics were detected as predicted. Individual females increased their home ranges nearly fourfold from summer to rut and visited 88% of the territories in the study area. Female congregation size was related to male phenotype but not to territory characteristics. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that not only were several male traits simultaneously related to female congregation size and variability, but the importance of these traits varied across years. However, male courtship, cheek‐patch size, and scent marking behaviours were consistently correlated to female congregation patterns across years. Female congregation was significantly related to male courtship, but there was no correlation between former territory owner's and newcomer's attraction of females. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that females were primarily assessing males instead of territories.
Ecological Differences in Social Learning between Adjacent, Mixing, Populations of Zenaida Doves
Authors: Carlier Pascal , Lefebvre Louis
Published: May 2010

In Zenaida doves, Zenaida aurita, of Barbados, previous work has shown that social learning is associated with foraging ecology in the field: in captive experiments, group‐foraging birds learn more readily from a conspecific tutor, while territorial birds learn from the heterospecific they most often feed with in mixed‐species aggregations, the Carib grackle, Quiscalus lugubris. This study examines foraging ecology and social learning in a dove population that experiences both territorial defence and occasional group feeding, Brandon's Beach. In part I, we document the dual foraging pattern seen in this population, which lives only a few hundred metres from the group‐foraging harbour population studied in previous work. In part II, we show that doves from Brandon's Beach, consistent with their dual foraging experience, learn as readily from a conspecific as they do from a heterospecific tutor; control doves from the adjacent harbour site learn primarily from a conspecific tutor. Field sightings of banded individuals caught at the harbour and Brandon's show strong site fidelity, but sufficient movement between areas (4%) to make reproductive divergence between the two neighbouring populations highly unlikely, suggesting that social learning differences between them are non‐genetic.
Partitioning the Components of Sexual Selection: Attractiveness and Agonistic Behaviour in Male Wax Moths, Achroia grisella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Authors: Cremer Sylvia , Greenfield Michael D.
Published: May 2010

Two components of sexual selection in the lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, are clearly defined: females choose males based on characters of their ultrasonic advertisement signals, and males display agonistic behaviour patterns in contests over signalling stations. We conducted a series of laboratory trials to determine whether successes in these two sexual selection arenas were related. Our trials showed that winners in contests over signalling stations were characterized by earlier initiation of both signalling and aggression. These characteristics may indicate higher levels of ‘motivation,’ but it is unclear whether this level is a fixed trait. There was no relationship, however, between any measure of a male's attractiveness to females and his success in winning competition trials. Thus, inter‐ and intra‐sexual selection may be acting on different, uncorrelated traits in A. grisella.
Division of Labour among Workers in the Termite, Reticulitermes fukienensis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Authors: Crosland M. W. J. , Ren S. X. , Traniello J. F. A.
Published: May 2010

To investigate division of labour in Reticulitermes fukienensis, worker and larval subgroups were established in laboratory cultures and task performance patterns of different‐sized workers and larvae were recorded. Five categories of subgroups were established based on head width differences: small larvae (SL); large larvae (LL); small workers (SW); medium workers (MW); and large workers (LW). Subgroups were compared for their ability to carry out the following tasks: tunnel construction; covered gallery construction; gallery repair; and feeding. Larval subgroups were found to carry out none of the tasks investigated. They did not feed or build covered galleries or underground tunnels. Temporal polyethism occurred among workers of different size groups. Covered foraging galleries were exclusively built and tunnels were predominantly built by older workers (i.e. MW and especially LW). Remarkably, most SW were apparently unable to burrow into the soil, something that all LW did within 3 d and 95% of MW did within 5 d. Surprisingly, LW ate 8.5 and 65.5 times as much food (i.e. filter paper) as MW and SW, respectively, although their average body weights were, respectively, only approximately two and four times that of MW and SW. MW carried out all four tasks that LW performed, although MW were typically less efficient. This contrasts with the hypothesis that different instars of termites should carry out different non‐overlapping tasks.

Large workers carried out most of all tasks compared with other worker sizes. The only exception was for gallery repair where repair rate by LW did not differ significantly from MW. The predominance of tasks carried out by larger (i.e. older) workers indicates a possible new pattern for division of labour in these lower termites. This contrasts with the pattern of organization of division of labour in the social Hymenoptera.
Group Choice as a Function of Group Size Differences and Assessment Time in Fish: The Influence of Species Vulnerability to Predation
Authors: Krause Jens , Godin Jean‐Guy J. , Rubenstein Dan
Published: May 2010

The shoal‐choice behaviour of two species of fish that differ in their vulnerability to predation was compared. Individuals of threespine stickleback,Gasterosteus aculeatus, and creek chub,Semotilus atromaculatus, were presented with a simultaneous choice of two equidistant stimulus shoals of conspecifics that differed in membership size (5 vs. 6 fish, 5 vs. 7, 5 vs. 8, 5 vs. 9 and 5 vs. 10). Test fish were allowed to view the stimulus shoals from a standard distance for either 10–20 or 120–150s before being frightened with a stimulus from an overhead light and released to join either shoal. We observed which shoal (the smaller or the larger one) the test fish approached. Preference for the larger stimulus shoal generally increased with increasing shoal size difference and with the duration of the assessment period, and was more pronounced in chub (the more vulnerable of the two species). For the short assessment period, chub showed a significantly stronger preference for the larger stimulus shoal than sticklebacks, whereas there was no significant difference between species for the long assessment period. Furthermore, chub responded more readily to small differences in shoal size (of 1–3 fish) than sticklebacks, for both short and long assessment periods. The above results are consistent with the hypothesis that chub, as the more vulnerable of the two species (in terms of predation), should be able to identify the larger of two shoals more quickly and should be more sensitive to small differences in shoal size than sticklebacks.
Iberian Rock Lizards (Lacerta monticola cyreni) Assess Conspecific Information Using Composite Signals from Faecal Pellets
Authors: López Pilar , Aragón Pedro , Martin José
Published: May 2010

A field and laboratory study was performed to analyse the role of excrement deposited on the substrate in intraspecific communication of the Iberian rock‐lizard (Lacerta monticola cyreni). In the field, lizards selected specific sites on rocks to deposit faecal pellets, probably in order to facilitate visual location of pellets by conspecifics. Differential tongue flick rates to chemicals presented on cotton swabs demonstrated that male lizards can detect and discriminate between self‐produced scents from faecal pellets and those of other conspecific males. In a subsequent experiment, male lizards were tested in a chamber with two platforms containing a faecal pellet of other male on one side and a control artificial pellet on the opposite side. Males spent significantly less time on the side containing the faecal pellet, suggesting that the decision of where to stay may depend on the presence of faecal pellets. Smaller males moved less than larger males on the experimental side whereas on the control side body size did not influence the proportion of time moving. The ability to discriminate chemicals from faeces, and the effects of faecal pellets on lizard behaviour, suggests that faeces might act as composite signals (visual and chemical) in the intraspecific communication of this lizard.
Androgenization of Dominant Males in a Cichlid Fish: Androgens Mediate the Social Modulation of Sexually Dimorphic Traits
Authors: Oliveira Rui F. , Almada Vitor C.
Published: May 2010

We present data on the relationship between social status and male secondary sex traits, both morphological and ethological, in Oreochromis mossambicus at the onset of sexual maturation. There is a differential expression of morphological (dorsal fin height, anal fin height, mandible width and premaxilla length) and behavioural (nuptial coloration, per cent time defending a territory, spawning pit volume, pit hovering and courtship rate) traits according to social status, with dominants presenting the highest expression of these dimorphic traits. Social status also affects the development of the genital papillae, which is considered to be a good predictor of androgen levels in cichlid fishes. The results support a causal model in which social status modulate androgen levels that in turn modulate the expression of behavioural and morphological male traits.
Male Mating Success in the Presence of a Conspecific Opponent in a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae)
Authors: Clark Deborah Campero
Published: May 2010

The influence of a conspecific competitor on male mating behavior was examined in a Madagascar hissing cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa. Previous studies have suggested that both male‐male competition and female discrimination during courtship interactions may influence male mating success. Familiar pairs of males with a known social association were placed in an arena with a single virgin female and observed. As expected, subordinate males mated significantly less often than their dominant opponents. In pairs in which one male mated, dominant individuals limited the access of subordinates to females. Dominant males displayed an increased frequency and duration of interaction with the female. However, in pairs where both males remained unmated, the mating behavior of dominant and subordinate males did not differ significantly. As interactions progressed, as in the case of males that remained unmated, subordinate males gained increased access to the female. Mated males tended to be larger than their opponent although within a rank, males that mated were no larger than those that remained unmated. These results are discussed in light of the possible roles of male‐male competition and female discrimination during courtship interactions.
Juvenile Richardson's Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) Manifest Both Littermate and Neighbour/Stranger Discrimination
Authors: Hare James F.
Published: May 2010

Newborn ground squirrels (Spermophilus spp.) are reared in isolation of individuals belonging to other litters. At or near weaning, they broaden their social interactions to encompass conspecifics other than littermates. In laboratory studies, juvenile ground squirrels commonly discriminate littermates from non‐littermates, but few studies have examined whether behavioural discrimination at that level persists under natural circumstances. Previous studies have also all but ignored the possibility of alternative levels of social discrimination augmenting or replacing the discrimination of littermates from non‐littermates. To examine those possibilities, I staged interactions in a neutral arena between littermate, neighbour and non‐neighbour (stranger) pairs of otherwise free‐living juvenile Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii).

Littermates interacted more frequently than other pair types and showed the highest proportion of cohesive behaviour and the least agonism. Strangers interacted less frequently than all other pair types, showed the fewest recognitive contacts, and were the least cohesive and most agonistic. Neighbours interacted less than littermates, but more than strangers, and showed intermediate levels of cohesion and agonism. Neighbours also engaged in more recognitive contacts than strangers, but did not have fewer recognitive contacts than littermates. Defecation rates also differed among interactant types: littermates left the fewest scats in the arena, neighbours deposited an intermediate number and strangers defecated the most. My results substantiate those of earlier laboratory studies suggesting that the discrimination of littermates from neighbouring juveniles persists in the natural context. These data also extend those earlier findings by demonstrating that juveniles come to discriminate neighbours from strangers. Comparisons of the behaviour of related vs. unrelated neighbours reveal that neighbour/stranger discrimination is contingent upon differential familiarity. Simultaneous social discrimination at the levels documented could promote kin‐biased behaviour and cooperation among both related and unrelated neighbours.
Matriphagy in the Spider Amaurobius ferox (Araneidae, Amaurobiidae): an Example of Mother‐Offspring Interactions
Authors: Kim Kil‐Won , Horel André
Published: May 2010

In the spiderAmaurobius ferox, the mothers are systematically devoured by their young at a fairly constant interval. Observation of broods maintained under normal conditions showed the cannibalistic processes to be achieved within a few hours, in the course of which mothers and offspring appeared to exchange stimulation. In particular, the mothers exhibited ‘solicitation’ behaviours which appeared to activate and synchronize the young. An experiment was carried out to specify the respective role played by the two parties of the dyad in this case of matriphagy. The female's attitude towards the young (‘solicitation’, tolerance or predatory response) appeared to depend on her reproductive state. The attitude of the young towards the female (cannibalism, attraction, or flight) was shown to depend on their stage of development, but also on the female's attitude. These results support the hypothesis that, inA. ferox, matriphagy is regulated by mother‐offspring interactions. Such a mechanism could ensure precise tuning of matriphagy in relation to the requirements of the young, and a certain amount of flexibility in reproduction.
A Possible Explanation for Cryptic Female Choice in the Yellow Dung Fly, Scathophaga stercoraria (L.)
Authors: Ward Paul I.
Published: May 2010

Cryptic, or post‐copulatory, female choice could markedly affect the outcome of sperm competition, i.e. a female could differentially manipulate ejaculates within her own body, affecting the fertilization successes of her mating partners. Female yellow dung flies, Scathophaga (Scatophaga) stercoraria, have three spermathecae, the sperm‐storage organs, and can to some extent store the sperm of different males in different places. I show that a female's body size, as well as those of her mates, influences the process of sperm storage. Furthermore, females lay eggs of different genotypes under different environmental conditions. Females use both cues correlated with single locus variation (at the locus for the enzyme phosphoglucomutase, PGM) and quantitative trait variation (in body size and development time) when using sperm to fertilize their eggs. It is proposed that this allows a female to match the genotypes of her offspring to the conditions in which the larvae must grow, thus increasing their subsequent fitness. I describe an experiment where larvae of different PGM genotypes were raised in different environments and the most successful genotype was different in different environments. The complexity of the female reproductive system may therefore have evolved because the best father for a female's offspring, from the female's viewpoint, is different under different environmental conditions. The effect interacts with the established male‐determined effects to influence the outcome of sperm competition.
Laterality of Hand Function in Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella): Comparison between Tool Use Actions and Spontaneous Non‐tool Actions
Authors: Westergaard Gregory Charles , Kuhn Heather E. , Suomi Stephen J.
Published: May 2010

This study examined hand preference for tool use and spontaneous non‐tool actions in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We noted a lack of lateral bias across measures, and greater strength of hand preference for tool use than for self‐directed or feeding activities. Animals that used tools exhibited a population‐level right‐hand bias for self‐touching whereas animals that did not use tools exhibited a lack of lateral bias for this measure. Our findings are consistent with views that hand preference is expressed more strongly for tool use than for non‐tool activities, and that lateral bias for self‐directed behavior is related to problem‐solving skills in primates.
Post‐conflict Behaviour of Wild Olive Baboons. II. Stress and Self‐directed Behaviour
Authors: Castles Duncan L. , Whiten Andrew
Published: May 2010

Previous studies indicate that the proximate function of post‐conflict affiliative interaction among primates is to reduce a victim's uncertainty about its opponent's future behaviour: the ‘uncertainty reduction hypothesis’ (Aureli & van Schaik 1991; Ethology, 89, 101–114). This study confirms and extends these results, demonstrating that they are neither a product of captivity nor specific to macaques: both victims and initiators of aggression in a large group of wild olive baboons exhibited elevated rates of self‐directed behaviour (SDB) ‐ scratching, autogrooming, body‐shaking and yawning ‐ in a 10‐min post‐conflict period. During this period, they were more likely to receive further aggression. Reconciliation reduced both SDB and the incidence of further aggression. However, reconciliation only reduced SDB among individuals involved in conflicts in which both parties exchanged aggression. It is suggested that aggressors in unilateral conflicts were aroused rather than uncertain and that their victims' lack of control over post‐conflict interactions (which tended to be initiated by their opponents) prevented them from benefiting from reconciliation in the same fashion as longtailed macaque victims, which frequently initiated reconciliation.
Effects of Hunger on Mate‐choice Copying in the Guppy
Authors: Dugatkin Lee Alan , Godin Jean‐Guy J.
Published: May 2010

One potential opportunity cost associated with direct assessment of males by females is lost foraging time. It has been hypothesized previously that females may reduce their mate‐assessment time by copying the known mate choice of other females. If mate copying reduces mate‐assessment time, then females that engage in copying behaviour should have more time available for foraging. In this study, we experimentally investigated the effects of hunger, and thus the immediate need for energy, on the tendency of female guppies,Poecilia reticulata, to copy the mate choice of others. We manipulated the hunger level of individual females in four different treatments by either depriving them of any food or giving them unlimited access to food for 24 h or 48 h prior to testing their mating preference. Each female was then allowed to choose between two stimulus males, matched for size and colour, after having viewed another female (the model) apparently choose one of the males as a mate. We predicted that hungry female guppies should be more likely to engage in mate‐choice copying than more recently fed females, when given the opportunity. Contrary to our a priori prediction, only the most well‐fed females (with prior access to feed for 48 h) copied the mate choice of the model female significantly more often than expected by chance. Females in each of the other three treatments chose randomly between the two stimulus males presented.
Call Learning in Black‐capped Chickadees (Parus atricapillus): The Role of Experience in the Development of ‘Chick‐A‐Dee’ Calls
Authors: Hughes Melissa , Nowicki Stephen , Lohr Bernard
Published: May 2010

The role of learning in the development of bird vocalizations other than territorial song is not well studied. The well‐known role of direct imitation in the development of territorial song potentially masks the effects of other processes in the development of vocal behaviour. The ‘chick‐a‐dee’ call of black‐capped chickadees is a good system in which to investigate more subtle developmental processes because this call is composed of a small number of distinctive note types. These note types may be classified objectively based on a simple set of acoustic variables, allowing for a quantitative assessment of vocal learning. We raised four groups of black‐capped chickadees under different degrees of social and acoustic isolation. We then used a multivariate analysis of the acoustic structure of the introductory call notes (‘A‐’ ‘B‐’ and ‘C‐notes’) to determine how similar the notes produced by these hand‐reared birds were to the notes of wild birds. Hand‐reared chickadees with greater exposure to normal phonology produced notes of all three note types that were more similar to those of wild birds. Regardless of experience, however, all birds produced A‐notes that fell within the normal range of those produced by wild birds. By contrast, the development of normal B‐ and C‐notes appears to be more dependent upon experience. These data suggest that learning may play a different role in the development of different phonological units within one vocalization. Our results also illustrate the importance of considering processes other than simple imitation in the development of avian vocalizations.
Chilling and flight ability and mating competitiveness of sterile males of the Mediterranean fruit fly
Authors: Shelly T. E. , Edu J. , Nishimoto J.
Published: May 2010

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is widely used to suppress or eradicate infestations of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.). In large‐scale programs, sterile males are chilled (4°C) to allow their transfer and storage in the aircraft used for the releases. Sterile males may remain chilled for as long as 3 h prior to release. Here, we describe the results of experiments that assessed the effect of chilling on flight ability and mating competitiveness of sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies held under conditions of low (plastic buckets) or high (emergence tower trays) density. Males from both densities were subject to 0 (no chill), 1, or 3 h of chilling at 3 days of age. Chill treatment had no effect on flight ability for males held at low density. However, for males held at high density, chilling for 1 or 3 h significantly reduced flight ability below that observed for the no chill treatment. Consistent with the flight data, chill treatment had no effect on the mating success of males held at low density. However, among males held at high density, 3 h of chilling significantly reduced mating success below levels observed for unchilled males or males chilled for 1 h only in trials conducted 1 day after the cold treatment. An auxiliary experiment revealed that this reduction in mating performance was temporary: in mating trials conducted 3 days after 3 h of chilling, sterile males derived from tower trays had similar mating success as unchilled males. Implications of these findings for Mediterranean fruit fly SIT are discussed.
Contralateral metachronous tumor occurrence is more frequently associated with distant metastases or postoperative intrarenal recurrence in renal cell carcinoma patients
Authors: Amano Hiroyuki , Kondo Tsunenori , Hashimoto Yasunobu , Kobayashi Hirohito , Iizuka Junpei , Shimada Katsunori , Nakazawa Hayakazu , Ito Fumio , Tanabe Kazunari
Published: May 2010

Objective:  To analyze the prognosis of patients with sporadic bilateral renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Methods:  From January 1979 to December 2007, 984 patients with sporadic RCC underwent surgery at our department. Of these, 53 patients (5.7%) presenting with bilateral RCC were included in this retrospective analysis.

Results:  Thirty‐one of the 53 bilateral RCC patients had synchronous RCC, and 22 had metachronous RCC. Distant metastases by the time of the bilateral tumor occurrence were found in four patients (13%) in the synchronous group and in 10 patients (48%) in the metachronous group. No difference was found between the two groups in terms of overall survival. In contrast, survival after the second surgery in the metachronous group was significantly lower than that after the first surgery (P < 0.001) in the synchronous group (P = 0.02). In addition, the incidence of local recurrence after partial nephrectomy was higher in the metachronous group (26%) compared to the synchronous group (4%, P = 0.04) or the unilateral RCC patients (0.4%, P < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Metachronous occurrence of RCC in the contralateral kidney is associated with an unfavorable prognosis, suggesting that metachronous contralateral tumors might be metastasis of the original tumors. A stricter follow‐up schedule is advisable for metachronous bilateral RCC patients.
Transmission of a bacterial consortium in Eisenia fetida egg capsules
Authors: Davidson Seana K. , Powell Ryan J. , Stahl David A.
Published: May 2010

The earthworm Eisenia fetida harbours Verminephrobacter eiseniae within their excretory nephridia. This symbiont is transferred from the parent into the egg capsules where the cells are acquired by the developing earthworm in a series of recruitment steps. Previous studies defined V. eiseniae as the most abundant cell type in the egg capsules, leaving approximately 30% of the bacteria unidentified and of unknown origin. The study presented here used terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis together with cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to define the composition of the bacterial consortium in E. fetida egg capsules from early to late development. Newly formed capsules of E. fetida contained three bacterial types, a novel Microbacteriaceae member, a Flexibacteriaceae member and the previously described V. eiseniae. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using specific and general rRNA probes demonstrated that the bacteria are abundant during early development, colonize the embryo and appear in the adult nephridia. As the capsules mature, Herbaspirillum spp. become abundant although they were not detected within the adult worm. These divergent taxa could serve distinct functions in both the adult earthworm and in the egg capsule to influence the competitive ability of earthworms within the soil community.
Amino acid signatures of salinity on an environmental scale with a focus on the Dead Sea
Authors: Rhodes Matthew E. , Fitz‐Gibbon Sorel T. , Oren Aharon , House Christopher H.
Published: May 2010

The increase of the acidic nature of proteins as an adaptation to hypersalinity has been well documented within halophile isolates. Here we explore the effect of salinity on amino acid preference on an environmental scale. Via pyrosequencing, we have obtained two distinct metagenomic data sets from the Dead Sea, one from a 1992 archaeal bloom and one from the modern Dead Sea. Our data, along with metagenomes from environments representing a range of salinities, show a strong linear correlation (R2 = 0.97) between the salinity of an environment and the ratio of acidic to basic amino acids encoded by its inhabitants. Using the amino acid composition of putative protein‐encoding reads and the results of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we differentiate recovered sequences representing microorganisms indigenous to the Dead Sea from lateral gene transfer events and foreign DNA. Our methods demonstrate lateral gene transfer events between a halophilic archaeon and relatives of the thermophilic bacterial genus Thermotoga and suggest the presence of indigenous Dead Sea representatives from 10 traditionally non‐hyperhalophilic bacterial lineages. The work suggests the possibility that amino acid bias of hypersaline environments might be preservable in fossil DNA or fossil amino acids, serving as a proxy for the salinity of an ancient environment. Finally, both the amino acid profile of the 2007 Dead Sea metagenome and the V9 amplicon library support the conclusion that the dominant microorganism inhabiting the Dead Sea is most closely related to a thus far uncultured relative of an alkaliphilic haloarchaeon.
Exendin‐4 protects pancreatic beta cells from human islet amyloid polypeptide‐induced cell damage: potential involvement of AKT and mitochondria biogenesis
Authors: Fan R. , Li X. , Gu X. , Chan J. C. N. , Xu G.
Published: May 2010

Aim: Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) stimulates beta‐cell proliferation and enhances beta‐cell survival, whereas oligomerization of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) may induce beta‐cell apoptosis and reduce beta‐cell mass. Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased expression of IAPP. As GLP‐1‐based therapy is currently developed as a novel antidiabetic therapy, we examined the potential protective action of the GLP‐1 receptor agonist exendin‐4 on hIAPP‐induced beta‐cell apoptosis.

Methods: The study was performed in clonal insulinoma (INS‐1E) cells. Both method of transcriptional and translational and sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assays were used to evaluate cell viability and cell mass. Western blot analysis was applied to detect protein expression. Transfection of constitutively active protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) was performed to examine the role of AKT. Mitochondrial biogenesis was quantified by mitogreen staining and RT‐PCR.

Results: First, we confirmed that hIAPP induced cell apoptosis and growth inhibition in INS‐1E cells. These effects were partially protected by exendin‐4 in association with partial recovery of the hIAPP‐mediated AKT inhibition. Furthermore, AKT constitutive activation attenuated hIAPP‐induced apoptosis, whereas PI3K/AKT inhibition abrogated exendin‐4‐mediated effects. These findings suggest that the antiapoptotic and proliferative effects of exendin‐4 in hIAPP‐treated INS‐1E cells were partially mediated through AKT pathway. Moreover, hIAPP induced FOXO1 but inhibited pdx‐1 nucleus translocation. These effects were restored by exendin‐4. Finally, mitogreen staining and RT‐PCR revealed enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis by exendin‐4 treatment.

Conclusions: Collectively, these results suggest that GLP‐1 receptor agonist protects beta cells from hIAPP‐induced cell death partially through the activation of AKT pathway and improved mitochondrial function.
Morphological phylogeny of the variable fly family Stratiomyidae (Insecta, Diptera)
Authors: Brammer Colin A. , Von Dohlen Carol D.
Published: May 2010

Brammer, C. A. & von Dohlen, C. D. (2010). Morphological phylogeny of the variable fly family Stratiomyidae (Insecta, Diptera). —Zoologica Scripta, 39, 363–377.

Stratiomyidae is a dipteran family distributed worldwide and containing 2800 species classified into 12 subfamilies. Previous phylogenetic work on the Stratiomyidae consisted of a 20‐character morphological analysis of the subfamilies [World Catalog of the Stratiomyidae (Insect: Diptera). Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, 2001], and a molecular study using 69 taxa and two gene regions [Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 43, 2007, 660]. In this study, we present an expanded morphological cladistic analysis using 92 characters and 80 taxa, representing 36 of 39 described genera and all 12 Stratiomyidae subfamilies, as well as Xylomyidae and Pantophthalmidae outgroups. Data are analysed under maximum parsimony with all characters unordered and weighted equally; nodal support is assessed with the bootstrap and Bremer index. The strict consensus of all shortest trees is well resolved, and many of the deeper nodes are supported, although the root is ambiguous. Antissinae, Stratiomyinae, Sarginae and the diverse Clitellariinae are not monophyletic. Clitellariinae are positioned across several lineages, with most species grouped into a single, unsupported clade. Many of the well‐supported relationships are consistent with several aspects of the previous studies. The position of Exodontha remains elusive. Character support for subfamilies and other major clades is discussed.
Choice, Privacy and Publicly Funded Legal Advice at Police Stations
Authors: Pattenden Rosemary , Skinns Layla
Published: May 2010

Section 58 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 confers on all suspects held in police custody a right to consult a solicitor in private. The free legal advice which suspects arrested for certain minor offences can request is restricted to telephone advice from a call‐centre operated by CDS Direct. It is lawful for the Legal Services Commission to restrict the delivery of legal advice in this way. Empirical research, however, reveals that there are police stations that lack the facilities for suspects to speak by telephone with legal advisers secure in the knowledge that what is said will not be overheard. It is unlawful and incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights to expect suspects to speak by telephone to a legal adviser under such conditions.
Legal Advice Privilege and its Relevance to Corporations
Authors: Higgins Andrew
Published: May 2010

This article considers whether the rationale for legal advice privilege applies to corporations. It examines the rationale for legal advice privilege in the aftermath of the disagreement between the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords in the Three Rivers litigation, and argues that the rule of law rationale for advice privilege endorsed by the House of Lords is based largely on the needs and behavior of individuals. The paper examines the case for recognising advice privilege for corporations. Recent developments in corporate law and governance, especially in relation to directors' duties, have arguably reduced the need for a corporate privilege. Public and large private companies in particular already have sufficient incentives to obtain accurate legal advice about their affairs even without a privilege. There are also sound policy reasons for restricting the right of corporations to claim legal advice privilege given its costs to the administration of justice.
Top‐up Payments for Expensive Cancer Drugs: Rationing, Fairness and the NHS
Authors: Jackson Emily
Published: May 2010

This article examines the implications for patient care, and for the future of rationing within the NHS, of the recent decision to permit NHS patients to supplement their care by paying for medicines — mainly expensive new cancer drugs — which are not available within the NHS. The starting point is the recommendations of the Richards' Report and their implementation through new guidance issued by the Department of Health and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Practical challenges arise from the insistence upon the ‘separate’ delivery of self‐funded medicines, and more flexible cost‐effectiveness thresholds for end of life medicines may have repercussions for other patients. While undoubtedly part of the trend towards explicit rationing, top‐up fees might also represent a significant step towards regarding the NHS as a core, basic service. Finally, the issue of top‐up fees is located within the broader context of current cancer research priorities and persisting health inequalities.
Psoriasis: is the impairment to a patient’s life cumulative?
Authors: Kimball AB , Gieler U , Linder D , Sampogna F , Warren RB , Augustin M
Published: May 2010

Psoriasis is associated with significant physical and psychological burden affecting all facets of a patient’s life – relationships, social activities, work and emotional wellbeing. The cumulative effect of this disability may be self‐perpetuating social disconnection and failure to achieve a ‘full life potential’ in some patients. Health‐related quality of life studies have quantified the burden of psoriasis providing predominantly cross‐sectional data and point‐in‐time images of patients’ lives rather than assessing the possible cumulative disability over a patient’s lifetime. However, social and economic outcomes indicate there are likely negative impacts that accumulate over time. To capture the cumulative effect of psoriasis and its associated co‐morbidities and stigma over a patient’s life course, we propose the concept of ‘Cumulative Life Course Impairment’ (CLCI). CLCI results from an interaction between (A) the burden of stigmatization, and physical and psychological co‐morbidities and (B) coping strategies and external factors. Several key aspects of the CLCI concept are supported by data similar to that used in health‐related quality of life assessments. Future research should focus on (i) establishing key components of CLCI and determining the mechanisms of impairment through longitudinal or retrospective case–control studies, and (ii) assessing factors that put patients at increased risk of developing CLCI. In the future, this concept may lead to a better understanding of the overall impact of psoriasis, help identify more vulnerable patients, and facilitate more appropriate treatment decisions or earlier referrals. To our knowledge, this is a first attempt to apply and develop concepts from ‘Life Course Epidemiology’ to psoriasis research.
The Development of certain parasitic Copepoda pf the Families Caligidæ and Clavellidæ.
Authors: Gurney Robert
Published: May 2010

Literature.
On the Ecology of Hyla arborea var. meridionalis in Gran Canaria, with special reference to Predatory Habits considered in relation to the Protective Adaptations of Insects
Authors: Cott Hughc B.
Published: May 2010

Summary.

1. The present paper is supplementary to an earlier publication (3), the purpose of which was to present a detailed investigation of the food‐habits of certain tree‐frogs–as indicated by the examination of food eaten under natural conditions–“(1) in order to test the efficiency of procryptic and warning colours and mimicry in defending insects from predatory attack; and (2) to indicate the part played by these batrachians as a factor in the production of adaptive coloration in insects,”

additional support to the existing mass of evidence upon which the theory of warning colours rests, namely, that conspicuous colours in insects are typically associated with disagreeable or distasteful qualities, and that different insectivorous enemies discriminate in the choice of food, learning by experience in nature to recognize and to avoid unpalatable prey.

2. The general habits, habitat, and abundance of Hyla arborea var. meri‐dionalis in Gran Canaria are described. The frogs are considered in relation to their biological environment. A close parallelism as regards both habitat and food preferences between the present species and the Rhacophorid tree‐frog Hyperolius argus in Portuguese East Africa is discussed. Both frogs, in their respective environments, occupy the same ecological niche.

3. The stomach contents of 195 tree‐frogs are tabulated to show (1) the systematic distribution of prey, and (2) the number of frogs containing different groups of food‐animals. 1210 insects and other animals were obtained from 184 frogs containing recognizable material. 12 orders and at least 143 species are represented, as follows:–Hymenoptera, 58.18 per cent.; Coleoptera, 16.54; Diptera, 6.12; Araneee, 5.78; Isopoda, 3.88; Hemiptera, 3.55; Lepidoptera, 3–06; Orthoptera, 1.07; Acarina, 0.74; Chilopoda, 0.74; Neuroptera, 0.17; Amphipoda, 0.17.

4. The food‐animals have been classified according to colour, and the results are graphically shown for each of the following groups:–Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Araneæ. Of 617 specimens sufficiently well preserved for critical examination, only 6 (0.97 per cent.) belong to the typically aposematic group “AA.” These figures furnish
Contributions towards the Study of Insect Fertility.—III.* Adult Nutrition, Fecundity, and Longevity in the Genus Ephestia (Lepidoptera, Phycitidæ)
Authors: Norris Maud J.
Published: May 2010

Summary.

A series of experiments has been carried out which show that the fecundity (the number of eggs laid) and the longevity of E. cautella Wlk. and E. Clutella Hb. are about halved if they are deprived of drinking‐water, but that E. kühniella Z. is only slightly affected by it. It was also found that sugar‐feeding further increased tho longevity of E. kühniella and E. cautella, but did not increase the fecundity any more than water. When E. cautella was fed on albumen and water it lived no longer and laid no more eggs than when fed on water alone. A more detailed summary of the results of these experiments is given on p. 350. Chemical tests showed that the enzyme invertase is present in the gut of both E. cautella and E. kühniella. A summary of the literature concerning these questions in insects in general and more particularly in the Lepidoptera shows that, whereas a sugar diet suffices to maintain life, most adult insects require proteins of some kind for the normal development of their genital products, and in many insects oviposition is entirely conditional upon the taking of such food. The adult Lepidoptera Heteroneura have, as far as is known, completely lost the need for nitrogenous foodstuffs owing to a series of modifications by which their requirements have come to be met by the food stored in tho fat‐body. Table L. shows the probable evolutionary trends which have finally brought about such complete liberation from the need of food that, in the final stage, the mouth‐parts are reduced and no food at all is taken. The various characters involved in these trends do not appear to have been modified simultaneously (e. g., enzymes may persist after the need for them has been lost).
The Golden Hamster, Cricetus (Mesocricetus) auratus Waterhouse. Notes on its Breeding and Growth.
Authors: Hindle H. M. Bruce and E.
Published: May 2010

A general description is given of the growth and reproduction of a stock of Golden Hamsters, Cricetus (Mesocricetus) auratus Waterhouse, kept for eight generations under laboratory conditions.
The manus of the Narwhal,Monodon monocerosL.
Authors: Eales N. B.
Published: May 2010

Summary

The flipper of the Narwhal has been investigated in foetal and adult stages, with special reference to the carpus.

In the foetus, radiale, intermedium and ulnare, a single centrale, trapezoid, magnum and separate distal carpals 4 and 5 are present. There is no trace of a pisiform or of a trapezium. The centrale fuses with the intermedium. Distal carpals 4 and 5 unite to form an uneiform. In the adult there are three bones in the distal row.

In the alliedDelphinapterus(adult) the form of the flipper is similar, but the trapezoid is missing, as it is inPhocaena(Phocaenidae).

In the Delphinidae, as illustrated byGlobiocephala, trapezoid, magnum and uneiform are present.

In broad‐handed whales(Monodon, Delphinapterus, Phocaena)the number of phalanges decreases with age, in narrow‐handed whales this number increases as the whale matures.

The carpus of whales is of the interlocking type.

A centrale has now been found during development in all mammals except some ungulates.

Whales are the only mammals retaining traces of separate fourth and fifth distal carpals.
The post‐embryonic development of the dorsal part of the pterothoracic skeleton and certain muscles of Locusta migratoria migratorioides
Authors: Thomas Joan G.
Published: May 2010

Summary

A brief description of the dorsal part of the pterothoracic skeleton and musculature of the adult Locusta migratoria migratorioides is given and the chief differences between them and the corresponding parts of the instars are described.

The presence of two histologically different types of muscles in the instars is reported and their probable significance is discussed.

Tergo‐pleural muscles which are present only in the nymphs and young adults are described and their possible function in moulting is discussed.
The mouth‐parts of the Dance Fly, Empis livida L. (Diptera, Empididae)
Authors: Bletchly J. D.
Published: May 2010

Summary

A detailed account is given of the anatomy of the mouth‐parts of Empis livida (L.) (Empididae) and compared with that of Scopeuma stercoraria (L.) (Cordyluridae) described in a previous paper. Homologies are discussed, the probable functions of the mouth‐parts are given and their movements are deduced. Among morphological adaptations to feeding habits the labral blades, analogous to the prestomal teeth of Scopeuma are of particular interest. The struatural adaptations to known predatory habits are discussed and sex differences are noted.