scholarly journals The ‘Woman in Red’ effect: pipefish males curb pregnancies at the sight of an attractive female

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1885) ◽  
pp. 20181335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cunha ◽  
A. Berglund ◽  
S. Mendes ◽  
N. Monteiro
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Bruce Effect ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Attractive Female ◽  
Attractive Woman

In an old Gene Wilder movie, an attractive woman dressed in red devastated a man's current relationship. We have found a similar ‘Woman in Red’ effect in pipefish, a group of fish where pregnancy occurs in males. We tested for the existence of pregnancy blocks in pregnant male black-striped pipefish ( Syngnathus abaster ). We allowed pregnant males to see females that were larger and even more attractive than their original high-quality mates and monitored the survival and growth of developing offspring. After exposure to these extremely attractive females, males produced smaller offspring in more heterogeneous broods and showed a higher rate of spontaneous offspring abortion. Although we did not observe a full pregnancy block, our results show that males are able to reduce investment in current broods when faced with prospects of a more successful future reproduction with a potentially better mate. This ‘Woman in Red’ life-history trade-off between present and future reproduction has similarities to the Bruce effect, and our study represents, to our knowledge, the first documentation of such a phenomenon outside mammals.

Sky Segmentation for Enhanced Depth Reconstruction and Bokeh Rendering with Efficient Architectures

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (14) ◽  
pp. 378-1-378-7
Author(s):  
Tyler Nuanes ◽  
Matt Elsey ◽  
Radek Grzeszczuk ◽  
John Paul Shen
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Mobile Device ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
False Positives ◽  
Compact Model ◽  
High Quality ◽  
False Negatives ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Depth Reconstruction ◽  
Binary Classifiers

We present a high-quality sky segmentation model for depth refinement and investigate residual architecture performance to inform optimally shrinking the network. We describe a model that runs in near real-time on mobile device, present a new, highquality dataset, and detail a unique weighing to trade off false positives and false negatives in binary classifiers. We show how the optimizations improve bokeh rendering by correcting stereo depth misprediction in sky regions. We detail techniques used to preserve edges, reject false positives, and ensure generalization to the diversity of sky scenes. Finally, we present a compact model and compare performance of four popular residual architectures (ShuffleNet, MobileNetV2, Resnet-101, and Resnet-34-like) at constant computational cost.

The Formability and Elongation of Aluminum Alloys AA5083 and AA3003 for Micro-Truss Sandwiches Manufacturing

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (9A) ◽  
pp. 1396-1405
Author(s):  
Arwa F. Tawfeeq ◽  
Matthew R. Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Aluminum Alloy ◽  
Strain Rate ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Tensile Tests ◽  
Truss Structures ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Clad Layer ◽  
Higher Temperature ◽  
Different Shapes

The development in the manufacturing of micro-truss structures has demonstrated the effectiveness of brazing for assembling these sandwiches, which opens new opportunities for cost-effective and high-quality truss manufacturing. An evolving idea in micro-truss manufacturing is the possibility of forming these structures in different shapes with the aid of elevated temperature. This work investigates the formability and elongation of aluminum alloy sheets typically used for micro-truss manufacturing, namely AA5083 and AA3003. Tensile tests were performed at a temperature in the range of 25-500 ○C and strain rate in the range of 2x10-4 -10-2 s-1. The results showed that the clad layer in AA3003 exhibited an insignificant effect on the formability and elongation of AA3003. The formability of the two alloys was improved significantly with values of m as high as 0.4 and 0.13 for AA5083 and AA3003 at 500 °C. While the elongation of both AA5083 and AA3003 was improved at a higher temperature, the elongation of AA5083 was inversely related to strain rate. It was concluded that the higher the temperature is the better the formability and elongation of the two alloys but at the expense of work hardening. This suggests a trade-off situation between formability and strength. 

UBAR

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Elham Shamsa ◽  
Alma Pröbstl ◽  
Nima TaheriNejad ◽  
Anil Kanduri ◽  
Samarjit Chakraborty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Quality Of Experience ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
State Of Charge ◽  
User Preference ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Run Time

Smartphone users require high Battery Cycle Life (BCL) and high Quality of Experience (QoE) during their usage. These two objectives can be conflicting based on the user preference at run-time. Finding the best trade-off between QoE and BCL requires an intelligent resource management approach that considers and learns user preference at run-time. Current approaches focus on one of these two objectives and neglect the other, limiting their efficiency in meeting users’ needs. In this article, we present UBAR, User- and Battery-aware Resource management, which considers dynamic workload, user preference, and user plug-in/out pattern at run-time to provide a suitable trade-off between BCL and QoE. UBAR personalizes this trade-off by learning the user’s habits and using that to satisfy QoE, while considering battery temperature and State of Charge (SOC) pattern to maximize BCL. The evaluation results show that UBAR achieves 10% to 40% improvement compared to the existing state-of-the-art approaches.

scholarly journals Glucocorticoids, state-dependent reproductive investment and success in the face of danger in a long-lived bird

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Noreikienė ◽  
Kim Jaatinen ◽  
Benjamin B. Steele ◽  
Markus Öst
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Relative Telomere Length ◽  
Future Reproduction

AbstractGlucocorticoid hormones may mediate trade-offs between current and future reproduction. However, understanding their role is complicated by predation risk, which simultaneously affects the value of the current reproductive investment and elevates glucocorticoid levels. Here, we shed light on these issues in long-lived female Eiders (Somateria mollissima) by investigating how current reproductive investment (clutch size) and hatching success relate to faecal glucocorticoid metabolite [fGCM] level and residual reproductive value (minimum years of breeding experience, body condition, relative telomere length) under spatially variable predation risk. Our results showed a positive relationship between colony-specific predation risk and mean colony-specific fGCM levels. Clutch size and female fGCM were negatively correlated only under high nest predation and in females in good body condition, previously shown to have a longer life expectancy. We also found that younger females with longer telomeres had smaller clutches. The drop in hatching success with increasing fGCM levels was least pronounced under high nest predation risk, suggesting that elevated fGCM levels may allow females to ensure some reproductive success under such conditions. Hatching success was positively associated with female body condition, with relative telomere length, particularly in younger females, and with female minimum age, particularly under low predation risk, showing the utility of these metrics as indicators of individual quality. In line with a trade-off between current and future reproduction, our results show that high potential for future breeding prospects and increased predation risk shift the balance toward investment in future reproduction, with glucocorticoids playing a role in the resolution of this trade-off.

scholarly journals Transcriptomic analyses of the termite, Cryptotermes secundus, reveal a gene network underlying a long lifespan and high fecundity

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silu Lin ◽  
Jana Werle ◽  
Judith Korb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Gene Network ◽  
Social Insect ◽  
Nutrient Sensing ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Termite Species ◽  
High Fecundity ◽  
Trade Off

AbstractOrganisms are typically characterized by a trade-off between fecundity and longevity. Notable exceptions are social insects. In insect colonies, the reproducing caste (queens) outlive their non-reproducing nestmate workers by orders of magnitude and realize fecundities and lifespans unparalleled among insects. How this is achieved is not understood. Here, we identified a single module of co-expressed genes that characterized queens in the termite species Cryptotermes secundus. It encompassed genes from all essential pathways known to be involved in life-history regulation in solitary model organisms. By manipulating its endocrine component, we tested the recent hypothesis that re-wiring along the nutrient-sensing/endocrine/fecundity axis can account for the reversal of the fecundity/longevity trade-off in social insect queens. Our data from termites do not support this hypothesis. However, they revealed striking links to social communication that offer new avenues to understand the re-modelling of the fecundity/longevity trade-off in social insects.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Machine Learning for Multi-Objective Class Solutions in Medical Deformable Image Registration

Algorithms ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kleopatra Pirpinia ◽  
Peter A. N. Bosman ◽  
Jan-Jakob Sonke ◽  
Marcel van Herk ◽  
Tanja Alderliesten
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Image Registration ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Deformable Image Registration ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Current State ◽  
Image Artefacts

Current state-of-the-art medical deformable image registration (DIR) methods optimize a weighted sum of key objectives of interest. Having a pre-determined weight combination that leads to high-quality results for any instance of a specific DIR problem (i.e., a class solution) would facilitate clinical application of DIR. However, such a combination can vary widely for each instance and is currently often manually determined. A multi-objective optimization approach for DIR removes the need for manual tuning, providing a set of high-quality trade-off solutions. Here, we investigate machine learning for a multi-objective class solution, i.e., not a single weight combination, but a set thereof, that, when used on any instance of a specific DIR problem, approximates such a set of trade-off solutions. To this end, we employed a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to learn sets of weight combinations for three breast DIR problems of increasing difficulty: 10 prone-prone cases, 4 prone-supine cases with limited deformations and 6 prone-supine cases with larger deformations and image artefacts. Clinically-acceptable results were obtained for the first two problems. Therefore, for DIR problems with limited deformations, a multi-objective class solution can be machine learned and used to compute straightforwardly multiple high-quality DIR outcomes, potentially leading to more efficient use of DIR in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Repeated stress exposure results in a survival–reproduction trade-off in Drosophila melanogaster

2009 ◽  
Vol 277 (1683) ◽  
pp. 963-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie E. Marshall ◽  
Brent J. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Repeated Stress ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Future Reproduction

While insect cold tolerance has been well studied, the vast majority of work has focused on the effects of a single cold exposure. However, many abiotic environmental stresses, including temperature, fluctuate within an organism's lifespan. Given that organisms may trade-off survival at the cost of future reproduction, we investigated the effects of multiple cold exposures on survival and fertility in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster . We found that multiple cold exposures significantly decreased mortality compared with the same length of exposure in a single sustained bout, but significantly decreased fecundity (as measured by r , the intrinsic rate of increase) as well, owing to a shift in sex ratio. This change was reflected in a long-term decrease in glycogen stores in multiply exposed flies, while a brief effect on triglyceride stores was observed, suggesting flies are reallocating energy stores. Given that many environments are not static, this trade-off indicates that investigating the effects of repeated stress exposure is important for understanding and predicting physiological responses in the wild.

Parental allocation of additional food to own health and offspring growth in a variable environment

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Karell ◽  
Hannu Pietiäinen ◽  
Heli Siitari ◽  
Tuomo Pihlaja ◽  
Pekka Kontiainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Blood Parasites ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Variable Environment ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
Future Reproduction ◽  
Food Conditions

Life-history theory predicts increased investment in current reproduction when future reproduction is uncertain and a more balanced investment in current and future reproduction when prospects for both are good. The outcome of the balance in parental allocation depends on which life-history component maximizes the fitness benefits. In our study system, a 3-year vole cycle generates good prospects of current and future reproduction for Ural owls ( Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771) in increase vole phases and uncertain prospects in decrease vole phases. We supplementary-fed Ural owls during the nestling period in 2002 (an increase phase) and 2003 (a decrease phase), and measured offspring growth, parental effort, and physiological health by monitoring haematocrit, leucocyte profiles, intra- and inter-celluar blood parasites, and (in 2003) humoral antibody responsiveness. Food supplementation reduced parental feeding rate in both years, but improved a female parent’s health only in 2002 (an increase phase) and had no effects on males in either year. Nevertheless, supplementary-fed offspring reached higher asymptotic mass and fledged earlier in both years. Furthermore, early fledging reduced offspring exposure to blood-sucking black flies (Diptera, Simuliidae) in the nest. We discuss how parental allocation of resources to current and future reproduction may vary under variable food conditions.

scholarly journals Enzymatic antioxidants but not baseline glucocorticoids mediate the reproduction–survival trade-off in a wild bird

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1892) ◽  
pp. 20182141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Casagrande ◽  
Michaela Hau
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Redox State ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Redox System ◽  
Reactive Oxygen Metabolites ◽  
Enzymatic Antioxidants ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Nest Provisioning

The trade-off between reproductive investment and survival is central to life-history theory, but the relative importance and the complex interactions among the physiological mechanisms mediating it are still debated. Here we experimentally tested whether baseline glucocorticoid hormones, the redox system or their interaction mediate reproductive investment–survival trade-offs in wild great tits ( Parus major ). We increased the workload of parental males by clipping three feathers on each wing, and 5 days later determined effects on baseline corticosterone concentrations (Cort), redox state (reactive oxygen metabolites, protein carbonyls, glutathione peroxidase [GPx], total non-enzymatic antioxidants), body mass, body condition, reproductive success and survival. Feather-clipping did not affect fledgling numbers, chick body condition, nest provisioning rates or survival compared with controls. However, feather-clipped males lost mass and increased both Cort and GPx concentrations. Within feather-clipped individuals, GPx increases were positively associated with reproductive investment (i.e. male nest provisioning). Furthermore, within all individuals, males that increased GPx suffered reduced survival rates. Baseline Cort increases were related to mass loss but not to redox state, nest provisioning or male survival. Our findings provide experimental evidence that changes in the redox system are associated with the trade-off between reproductive investment and survival, while baseline Cort may support this trade-off indirectly through a link with body condition. These results also emphasize that plastic changes in individuals, rather than static levels of physiological signals, may mediate life-history trade-offs.

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