The Role of Parasites in Sexual Selection: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Author(s):  
Marlene Zuk
Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (11) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara E. Stewart Merrill ◽  
Pieter T. J. Johnson

AbstractBiodiversity loss may increase the risk of infectious disease in a phenomenon known as the dilution effect. Circumstances that increase the likelihood of disease dilution are: (i) when hosts vary in their competence, and (ii) when communities disassemble predictably, such that the least competent hosts are the most likely to go extinct. Despite the central role of competence in diversity–disease theory, we lack a clear understanding of the factors underlying competence, as well as the drivers and extent of its variation. Our perspective piece encourages a mechanistic understanding of competence and a deeper consideration of its role in diversity–disease relationships. We outline current evidence, emerging questions and future directions regarding the basis of competence, its definition and measurement, the roots of its variation and its role in the community ecology of infectious disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mosteiro M ◽  
◽  
Cejuela M ◽  
Pernas S ◽  
◽  
...  

Check-point inhibitors have erupted as a treatment option for numerous kinds of neoplasms. Although there have been some achievements, the evidence supporting their use in breast cancer is scarce. Combinations with chemotherapy seem to provide better outcomes, and triple negative is the subtype most likely to benefit from them. New combination strategies are undergoing research to improve these results. Other approaches to determining biomarkers that identify which populations clearly benefit from these therapies are needed. Here, we review the clinical data of the role of immune check-point inhibitors in early and advanced breast cancer and present emerging strategies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ally R. Harari ◽  
Hadass Steinitz

Abstract The role of female sex pheromones in natural selection, particularly as a means for species recognition to avoid the generation of hybrid offspring with low fitness, has been widely explored and is generally accepted by scholars. However, the significance of sex pheromones in shaping mate choice (sexual selection) and in competition over breeding resources (social selection) has been largely ignored. The effect of sexual selection on sex pheromones as a sexually dimorphic signaling trait has been discounted because the amount of pheromone released by females is typically minute, while the role of sex pheromones in competition over breeding resources (other than mates) has not yet been considered. As a result of natural selection, variation in sex pheromones among females is expected to be low, and males are not expected to choose their mates among phero-mone-releasing conspecific females. Sexual selection, on the other hand, should drive the increase in pheromone variance among females, and males are expected to choose females based on this variation. Moreover, social selection resulting from more general social interactions, for example competition among females for breeding sites and food, should also promote variance among female sex pheromones. Here, we review the current evidence for each of the three selection processes acting on sex pheromones of female moths as an advertising trait. We suggest that the three selection types are not mutually exclusive but rather act together to promote different fitness components in diverse ecological situations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 657-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernie H C Wong ◽  
James D Porter ◽  
Michael R Edwards ◽  
Sebastian L Johnston

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1017-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
MaCalus V. Hogan ◽  
Garth N. Walker ◽  
Liang Richard Cui ◽  
Freddie H. Fu ◽  
Johnny Huard

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan ◽  
Javed Butler

Diabetes and heart failure (HF) are closely linked, with one causing a worse prognosis in the other. The majority of anti-hyperglycaemic agents primarily reduce risk of ischaemic microvascular events without targeting the mechanisms involved for diabetes cardiomyopathy and HF. Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have emerged as a novel class of glucose-lowering agents that have consistently reduced HF hospitalisations, unlike other agents. The authors discuss the current evidence and highlight possible future directions for the role of SGLT2 inhibitors in HF prevention.


Author(s):  
Christina Gamache Martin ◽  
Maureen Zalewski ◽  
Grace Binion ◽  
Jacqueline O’Brien

Caregivers play a foundational role in the development of children’s emotion dysregulation. Yet, because there are a multitude of ways in which parent behavior can intersect with children’s emotions, the development of emotion dysregulation is complex. This chapter specifically examines the role of operant reinforcement, where the way in which caregivers respond contingently to their children’s expression of emotion influences child emotion dysregulation. It reviews (1) the central theoretical models that explicate the process by which parental responses to children’s emotions reinforce emotion dysregulation, (2) current evidence supporting these theories, and (3) interventions designed to reduce emotion dysregulation through operant reinforcement processes. It emphasizes that, in addition to unidirectional effects, operant reinforcement from a parent interacts with traits inherent to the child, and parents and children mutually influence one another in ways that highlight the transactional, dynamic processes underlying the development of emotion dysregulation. Limitations and future directions are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reuven Dukas

AbstractThere has been little ecological and evolutionary research on learning in the context of sexual behaviour in insects. The traditional views still dominating the literature are that insects are short-lived and have little opportunity to learn about courtship and mating. In this paper I challenge these views by illustrating, theoretically, that at least some insects have ample opportunities to learn in the context of sexual behaviour and that such learning may be beneficial. Some of the best empirical evidence for learning about sexual behaviour in insects is reviewed and future directions in this fruitful area of research are suggested. The role of learning in insect sexual behaviour has probably been underestimated. Such learning may have had an important effect on sexual selection and incipient speciation.


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