Post-allogrooming reductions in self-directed behaviour are affected by role and status in the green woodhoopoe

Allogrooming occurs in a wide range of species and can serve both hygienic and social functions. While the latter have long been thought to be underpinned by reductions in tension for recipients, recent work has suggested that donors may also benefit in this way. Here, I show that, in cooperatively breeding green woodhoopoes Phoeniculus purpureus , involvement in allogrooming is followed by a reduction in self-grooming by both recipients and donors, but that the former exhibit a greater decrease. Moreover, I demonstrate for the first time that the dominance status of the allogrooming participant is important, with subordinate group members reducing subsequent self-grooming to a greater extent than the dominant pair. If avian self-directed behaviour reflects current distress levels in the same way as found in various primates, my results would indicate that allogrooming benefits are not confined to mammals, and would have important implications both for accurate assessments of the true costs and benefits of affiliative behaviour and for our understanding of the evolution of sociality.

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Social status influences responses to unfamiliar conspecifics in a cooperatively breeding fish

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003306 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 152 (12-13) ◽

pp. 1821-1839 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Isaac Y. Ligocki ◽

Adam R. Reddon ◽

Jennifer K. Hellmann ◽

Constance M. O’Connor ◽

Susan Marsh-Rollo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Cichlid Fish ◽

Group Living ◽

Costs And Benefits ◽

Control Groups ◽

High Ranking ◽

The Social ◽

Cooperatively Breeding ◽

Group Members ◽

Group Member

In group living animals, individuals may visit other groups. The costs and benefits of such visits for the members of a group will depend on the attributes and intentions of the visitor, and the social status of responding group members. Using wild groups of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher), we compared group member responses to unfamiliar ‘visiting’ conspecifics in control groups and in experimentally manipulated groups from which a subordinate the same size and sex as the visitor was removed. High-ranking fish were less aggressive towards visitors in removal groups than in control groups; low-ranking subordinates were more aggressive in the removal treatment. High-ranking females and subordinates the same size and sex as the visitor responded most aggressively toward the visitor in control groups. These results suggest that visitors are perceived as potential group joiners, and that such visits impose different costs and benefits on current group members.

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Parental reactions to a dying marmoset infant: conditional investment by the mother, but not the father

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-bja10108 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Rahel K. Brügger ◽

Judith M. Burkart

Keyword(s):

Maternal Investment ◽

Maternal Responsiveness ◽

Reproductive Costs ◽

Common Marmosets ◽

Anecdotal Report ◽

Parental Reactions ◽

Cooperatively Breeding ◽

Group Members ◽

First Time ◽

Infant Cues

Abstract The reproductive costs of cooperatively breeding callitrichid mothers are remarkable, and they have to rely on fathers and other group members to raise their offspring. Consequently, maternal responsiveness to and investment in infants tends to be conditional, and especially sensitive to infant cues and signals of vigour. Since fathers do not bear the same excessive reproductive costs, their threshold to invest in a dying immature may be lower than in mothers. We present an anecdotal report of reactions of a first-time breeding pair of captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) to their dying infant. We found a male bias in all interactions with the dying infant that did not show typical cues of infant vigour. These results show that the dying infant elicited more investment by the father than the mother. Because of this conditional maternal investment, infants of cooperatively breeding primates may be under selection to advertise their viability, in particular to their mothers.

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Experimental field evidence that out-group threats influence within-group behavior

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/arz095 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 1425-1435 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Amy Morris-Drake ◽

Charlotte Christensen ◽

Julie M Kern ◽

Andrew N Radford

Keyword(s):

Group Behavior ◽

Behavioral Changes ◽

Experimental Investigations ◽

Dominance Status ◽

Group Interactions ◽

Additional Information ◽

Social Species ◽

Field Evidence ◽

Cooperatively Breeding ◽

Group Members

Abstract In social species, conspecific outsiders present various threats to groups and their members. These out-group threats are predicted to affect subsequent within-group interactions (e.g., affiliation and aggression) and individual behavior (e.g., foraging and vigilance decisions). However, experimental investigations of such consequences are rare, especially in natural conditions. We used field-based call playbacks and fecal presentations on habituated wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula)—a cooperatively breeding, territorial species—to examine postinteraction responses to the simulated threat of a rival group. Dwarf mongooses invested more in grooming of groupmates, foraged closer together, and more regularly acted as sentinels (a raised guard) after encountering indicators of rival-group presence compared to control conditions. These behavioral changes likely arise from greater anxiety and, in the case of increased vigilance, the need to seek additional information about the threat. The influence of an out-group threat lasted at least 1 h but individuals of different dominance status and sex responded similarly, potentially because all group members suffer costs if a contest with rivals is lost. Our results provide field-based experimental evidence from wild animals that out-group threats can influence within-group behavior and decision making, and suggest the need for greater consideration of the lasting impacts of social conflict.

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Safety assessment of biological raw materials in the system of medicines quality assurance

10.33920/med-06-2002-05 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 63-72

Author(s):

Yu. Olefir ◽

E. Sakanyan ◽

I. Osipova ◽

V. Dobrynin ◽

M. Smirnova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

State Level ◽

The State ◽

Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽

Safety Standards ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

Key Aspects ◽

First Time ◽

Medicines Quality

The entry of a wide range of biotechnological products into the pharmaceutical market calls for rein-forcement of the quality, efficacy and safety standards at the state level. The following general monographs have been elaborated for the first time to be included into the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, XIV edition: "Viral safety" and "Reduction of the risk of transmitting animal spongiform encephalopathy via medicinal products". These general monographs were elaborated taking into account the requirements of foreign pharmacopoeias and the WHO recommendations. The present paper summarises the key aspects of the monographs.

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Innovation in Byzantine Medicine

10.1093/oso/9780198850687.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Petros Bouras-Vallianatos

Keyword(s):

Human Physiology ◽

Medical Literature ◽

Cultural Exchange ◽

Significant Degree ◽

Medieval Medicine ◽

Medieval Latin ◽

Main Thesis ◽

Wide Range ◽

Comprehensive Examination ◽

First Time

Byzantine medicine is still a little-known and misrepresented field not only in the wider arena of debates on medieval medicine but also among Byzantinists. Byzantine medical literature is often viewed as ‘stagnant’ and mainly preserving ancient ideas; and our knowledge of it continues to be based to a great extent on the comments of earlier authorities, which are often repeated uncritically. This book presents the first comprehensive examination of the medical corpus of, arguably, the most important late Byzantine physician John Zacharias Aktouarios (c.1275–c.1330). The main thesis is that John’s medical works show an astonishing degree of openness to knowledge from outside Byzantium combined with a significant degree of originality, in particular, in the fields of uroscopy, pharmacology, and human physiology. The analysis of John’s edited (On Urines and On Psychic Pneuma) and unedited (Medical Epitome) works is supported for the first time by the consultation of a large number of manuscripts. The study is also informed by evidence from a wide range of medical sources, including previously unpublished ones, and texts from other genres, such as epistolography and merchants’ accounts. The contextualization of John’s works sheds new light on the development of Byzantine medical thought and practice, and enhances our understanding of the late Byzantine social and intellectual landscape. Finally, John’s medical observations are also examined in the light of examples from the medieval Latin and Islamic worlds, placing his medical theories in the wider Mediterranean milieu and highlighting the cultural exchange between Byzantium and its neighbours.

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Rebels, Believers, Survivors

10.1093/oso/9780198857297.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Noel Malcolm

Keyword(s):

Catholic Church ◽

Religious Conversion ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Napoleonic Wars ◽

Conversion To Islam ◽

Wide Range ◽

History Of ◽

External Powers ◽

First Time ◽

Modern Myth

This book of essays covers a wide range of topics in the history of Albania and Kosovo. Many of the essays illuminate connections between the Albanian lands and external powers and interests, whether political, military, diplomatic or religious. Such topics include the Habsburg invasion of Kosovo in 1689, the manoeuvrings of Britain and France towards the Albanian lands during the Napoleonic Wars, the British interest in those lands in the late nineteenth century, and the Balkan War of 1912. On the religious side, essays examine ‘crypto-Christianity’ in Kosovo during the Ottoman period, the stories of conversion to Islam revealed by Inquisition records, the first theological treatise written in Albanian (1685), and the work of the ‘Apostolic Delegate’ who reformed the Catholic Church in early twentieth-century Albania. Some essays bring to life ordinary individuals hitherto unknown to history: women hauled before the Inquisition, for example, or the author of the first Albanian autobiography. The longest essay, on Ali Pasha, tells for the first time the full story of the role he played in the international politics of the Napoleonic Wars. Some of these studies have been printed before (several in hard-to-find publications, and one only in Albanian), but the greater part of this book appears here for the first time. This is not only a contribution to Albanian and Balkan history it also engages with many broader issues, including religious conversion, methods of enslavement within the Ottoman Empire, and the nature of modern myth-making about national identity.

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Recycling and Reuse in the Roman Economy

10.1093/oso/9780198860846.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Building Materials ◽

Computational Modelling ◽

Late Antique ◽

Roman Economy ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Status ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

First Time ◽

Site Types

The recycling and reuse of materials and objects were extensive in the past, but have rarely been embedded into models of the economy; even more rarely has any attempt been made to assess the scale of these practices. Recent developments, including the use of large datasets, computational modelling, and high-resolution analytical chemistry, are increasingly offering the means to reconstruct recycling and reuse, and even to approach the thorny matter of quantification. Growing scholarly interest in the topic has also led to an increasing recognition of these practices from those employing more traditional methodological approaches, which are sometimes coupled with innovative archaeological theory. Thanks to these efforts, it has been possible for the first time in this volume to draw together archaeological case studies on the recycling and reuse of a wide range of materials, from papyri and textiles, to amphorae, metals and glass, building materials and statuary. Recycling and reuse occur at a range of site types, and often in contexts which cross-cut material categories, or move from one object category to another. The volume focuses principally on the Roman Imperial and late antique world, over a broad geographical span ranging from Britain to North Africa and the East Mediterranean. Last, but not least, the volume is unique in focusing upon these activities as a part of the status quo, and not just as a response to crisis.

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A Virtual Telescope for the Open University Science Foundation Course

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100114885 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 162 ◽

pp. 100-105

Author(s):

Andrew J. Norton ◽

Mark H. Jones

Keyword(s):

Social Science ◽

Open University ◽

Distance Teaching ◽

The Arts ◽

Wide Range ◽

University Science ◽

First Time ◽

Degree Level ◽

Selection Of

The Open University is the UK's foremost distance teaching university. For over twenty five years we have been presenting courses to students spanning a wide range of degree level and vocational subjects. Since we have no pre-requisites for entry, a major component of our course profile is a selection of foundation courses comprising one each in the Arts, Social Science, Mathematics, Technology and Science faculties. The Science Faculty's foundation course is currently undergoing a substantial revision. The new course, entitled “S103: Discovering Science”, will be presented to students for the first time in 1998.

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Autophagy Deficiency by Atg4B Loss Leads to Metabolomic Alterations in Mice

Metabolites ◽

10.3390/metabo11080481 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 481

Author(s):

Gemma G. Martínez-García ◽

Raúl F. Pérez ◽

Álvaro F. Fernández ◽

Sylvere Durand ◽

Guido Kroemer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Amino Acids ◽

Mammalian Cells ◽

Tissue Homeostasis ◽

In Vivo Studies ◽

Protective Mechanism ◽

Cardiac Damage ◽

Wide Range ◽

First Time

Autophagy is an essential protective mechanism that allows mammalian cells to cope with a variety of stressors and contributes to maintaining cellular and tissue homeostasis. Due to these crucial roles and also to the fact that autophagy malfunction has been described in a wide range of pathologies, an increasing number of in vivo studies involving animal models targeting autophagy genes have been developed. In mammals, total autophagy inactivation is lethal, and constitutive knockout models lacking effectors of this route are not viable, which has hindered so far the analysis of the consequences of a systemic autophagy decline. Here, we take advantage of atg4b−/− mice, an autophagy-deficient model with only partial disruption of the process, to assess the effects of systemic reduction of autophagy on the metabolome. We describe for the first time the metabolic footprint of systemic autophagy decline, showing that impaired autophagy results in highly tissue-dependent alterations that are more accentuated in the skeletal muscle and plasma. These changes, which include changes in the levels of amino-acids, lipids, or nucleosides, sometimes resemble those that are frequently described in conditions like aging, obesity, or cardiac damage. We also discuss different hypotheses on how impaired autophagy may affect the metabolism of several tissues in mammals.

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Fructose Enhanced Reduction of Bacterial Growth on Nanorough Surfaces

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/opl.2013.35 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1498 ◽

pp. 73-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

N. Gozde Durmus ◽

Erik N. Taylor ◽

Kim M. Kummer ◽

Thomas J. Webster

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Growth ◽

Biofilm Formation ◽

Antibacterial Agents ◽

Bacteria Growth ◽

Planktonic Bacteria ◽

Combined Use ◽

Wide Range ◽

Metabolic Stimulation ◽

Antibacterial Surfaces ◽

First Time

ABSTRACTBiofilms are a major source of medical device-associated infections, due to their persistent growth and antibiotic resistance. Recent studies have shown that engineering surface nanoroughness has great potential to create antibacterial surfaces. In addition, stimulation of bacterial metabolism increases the efficacy of antibacterial agents to eradicate biofilms. In this study, we combined the antibacterial effects of nanorough topographies with metabolic stimulation (i.e., fructose metabolites) to further decrease bacterial growth on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) surfaces, without using antibiotics. We showed for the first time that the presence of fructose on nanorough PVC surfaces decreased planktonic bacteria growth and biofilm formation after 24 hours. Most importantly, a 60% decrease was observed on nanorough PVC surfaces soaked in a 10 mM fructose solution compared to conventional PVC surfaces. In this manner, this study demonstrated that bacteria growth can be significantly decreased through the combined use of fructose and nanorough surfaces and thus should be further studied for a wide range of antibacterial applications.

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