Uncovering the Sex-Specific Endocrine Responses to Reproduction and Parental Care

Hormones mediate physiological and behavioral changes in adults as they transition into reproduction. In this study, we characterize the circulating levels of five key hormones involved in reproduction in rock doves (Columba livia): corticosterone, progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, and prolactin using univariate and multivariate approaches. We show similar patterns as previous studies in the overall patterns in circulating levels of these hormones, i.e., testosterone (males) and estradiol (females) high during nest-building or egg-laying, prolactin increasing at mid-incubation and peaking at hatching (both sexes), and elevated corticosterone levels in later incubation and early nestling development. In our investigation of hormone co-variation, we find a strong correlation between prolactin and corticosterone across sampling stages and similarities in earlier (early to mid-incubation) compared to later (late incubation to nestling d9) sampling stages in males and females. Finally, we utilized experimental manipulations to simulate nest loss or altered caregiving lengths to test whether external cues, internal timing, or a combination of these factors contributed most to hormone variation. Following nest loss, we found that both males and females responded to the external cue. Males generally responded quickly following nest loss by increasing circulating testosterone, but this response was muted when nest loss occurred early in reproduction. Similar treatment type, e.g., removal of eggs, clustered similarly in hormone space. These results suggest internal drivers limited male response early in reproduction to nest loss. In contrast, circulating levels of these hormones in females either did not change or decreased following nest manipulation suggesting responsiveness to external drivers, but unlike males, this result suggests that reproductive processes were decreasing.

Regional Variation in Captures of Male Paralobesia viteana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Monitoring Traps in Michigan Is Not Due to Geographical Variation in Male Response to Pheromone

Paralobesia viteana (Clemens), grape berry moth, is a major pest of grapes in Eastern North America. There is substantial regional variation in the response of male P. viteana to sex pheromone-baited monitoring traps in Michigan vineyards. Males are readily captured in traps in the southwest region, whereas in the northwest very few males are captured, despite larval infestation in grapes in both regions. Y-tube olfactometers and field experiments determined the response of male moths from northern and southern populations to the pheromone blend used in monitoring lures and to females from both regions. In Y-tube choice tests, males responded similarly to the standard pheromone blend, and males did not preferentially choose females from either region. In field trials, traps baited with unmated females were deployed to test the preference of resident males for females from the two regions and for standard pheromone lures. In southwest Michigan vineyards, significantly more males were caught in traps with a 1.0-µg standard pheromone lure than in traps with captive females collected from vineyards in both regions or in traps with a blank lure control. A similar pattern of male captures among lure treatments was observed in northwest vineyards, although many fewer males were trapped and differences among treatments were not significant. We conclude that the observed regional differences in male response to pheromone traps are not caused by variation in pheromone-mediated behavioral responses, suggesting that other biotic and/or abiotic differences determine the regional variation in captures of this species.

Mast Cells Contribute to the Immunomodulatory Effect of the Biomaterial Microenvironment in a Gender Specific Manner

Regulation of the immune response contributes to the severity and outcomes in various disease conditions. Bioactive immunomodulatory biomaterials have shown promise for influencing these responses to promote tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, we investigated the role of mast cells in the regulation of the immune response to biomaterial scaffolds. In mast cell-deficient mice, there was dysregulation of the expected M1 to M2 macrophage transition typically induced by the biomaterial scaffold. Polarization progression deviated in a gender specific manner with an early transition to an M2 profile in female mice, while the male response was unable to properly transition past a pro-inflammatory M1 state. Both were reversed with mast cell adoptive transfer. Further investigation of the later stage immune response in male mice determined a sustained pro-inflammatory gene expression profile in deficient mice consisting of members from the IL-1 cytokine family and related downstream pathways. As mast cells were mainly associated with detrimental pro-inflammatory outcomes for biomaterial scaffolds, these results demonstrate their contribution to induced immunomodulatory therapies and support their potential as a critical immune regulatory element that can be manipulated for stimulating endogenous tissue repair.

Response of Male Queensland Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Host Fruit Odors

The surveillance and management of Dacini fruit fly pests are commonly split by fly gender: male trapping focuses on the dacine ‘male-lures’, whereas female trapping focuses on lures based on host-fruit volatiles. Although the males of several Dacini species have been reported to be attracted to host fruit volatiles, the option of using host-fruit traps for males has, to date, been ignored. Males of the cue-lure responsive fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) have been recorded as responding to host-fruit volatile blends, but it is not known how frequently this happens, if it is age-dependent, or the strength of the response relative to cue-lure throughout the year. Here, we conducted an olfactometer experiment to test the lifetime (weeks 1–15) response of B. tryoni males to the odor of tomato, a known host of this fly, and compare catches of wild males to tomato-based traps and cue-lure traps in the field. Bactrocera tryoni males started to respond to tomato odor as they sexually matured (2 to 3 wk olds) and thereafter showed consistent olfactory response until advanced age (15 wk). In the field, wild males were captured by tomato-based traps throughout the year at a level not significantly different from cue-lure traps. The reason for the consistent B. tryoni male response to host fruit odor at this stage is not known, but it certainly occurs at a level greater than can be continued to be ignored for both basic and applied research.

Female Homers

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have been inspiring a tradition of writers since their inception. Yet while this tradition comprises men and women, the associated literary criticism focuses almost exclusively on the male response. If the female response is addressed, it is subjected to a disproportionate consideration of gender. Simone Weil and Rachel Bespaloff each rewrite the Iliad during World War II yet neither writer responds through the prism of feminism. This paper proposes that through their adaptations Weil and Bespaloff illustrate that the female response is not always one of gender and that they act as precursors to a contemporary wave of female writers transforming Homer’s texts in innovative and subversive ways. With their twentieth-century reworkings of Homer, Weil and Bespaloff set in motion the process of restoring to women the recognition afforded them by Homer and due to them by their peers.

Effects of Visual and Auditory Response Times in Males and Females by using Tactile and Mouse on Web Based Environment

The purpose of this research work is to find out whether one of visual response time or auditory response time is faster than another on web based environment. Simple reaction time can be strong when an individual is asked to press a button as soon as a light or sound appears. A tool for capturing response times is created. This tool is a web application www.responsetime.muhammadsuhaib.com that runs on server and can be accessed through internet. R is commonly used in countless scientific disciplines for statistical analysis. Collected data will be analyzed by using R. it is concluded that on web based environment visual response times are not different than auditory response time. The data are also classified by gender to compare male response time and female response time, data analyzed based on gender, on visual stimuli, male react faster than female. However, on auditory stimuli, there is no different between male and female