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Annual recruitment in fish is undoubtedly impacted by a vast number of biotic and abiotic factors. That is especially the case for fish species such as the black bass (species in the genus Micropterus), where there is extended parental care. Although much focus has been given in the past on determining the roles that many of these factors (e.g., temperatures, wind, flow rates, and habitat change) play in determining recruitment among the back basses, little attention has been given to assessing what role reproductive success plays in that determination. To address this question, we conducted a long-term study on two adjacent smallmouth bass (SMB) Micropterus dolomieu Lacepede, 1802 populations in eastern ON to assess the relationship between annual fry cohort size (FCS) (i.e., population-wide reproductive success) and annual recruitment. To measure population-wide annual FCS, we used snorkel surveys to conduct a complete census of nesting SMB males during the spawn from 1990 to 2015. During those surveys, we quantified mating success, determined which nests were successful or not, and calculated the number of independent fry produced each year by summing those numbers across all successful nests. Summer snorkel surveys from 1991 to 2016 assessed annual recruitment through visual counts of age 1+ juveniles. Results demonstrated a highly significant, positive, linear relationship between annual FCS and annual recruitment. Key words: smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu, annual recruitment, reproductive success, angling, Introduction Smallmouth bass (SMB) Micropterus dolomieu Lacepede, 1802 and largemouth bass M. salmoides (Lacepede, 1802), two of the species in the genus commonly referred to as black bass, are both [...]

Background: There are limited published data on population estimates of survival after spinal surgery for metastatic disease. We performed a population-based study to evaluate survival and complications among patients with cancer who underwent surgery for spinal metastases in Ontario, Canada, between 2006 and 2016. Methods: We used health administrative databases to identify all patients who underwent surgery for spinal metastases in Ontario between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2016. We assessed overall survival, mortality rates according to primary cancer lesion and complications after surgery. We contrast the results to those for a comparable cohort from 1991 to 1998. Results: A total of 2646 patients (1194 women [45.1%]; mean age 62.5 yr [standard deviation 12.2 yr]) were identified. The median survival time was 236 (interquartile range 84-740) days. Mortality was highest for patients with melanoma, upper gastrointestinal cancer and lung cancer, with 50% dying within 90 days of surgery. The longest median survival times were observed for primary cancers of the thyroid (906 d) and breast (644 d), and myeloma (830 d). Overall 90-day and 1-year mortality rates were 29% and 59%, respectively. Conclusion: We identified differential survivorship based on primary tumour type and a shift in the distribution of operations performed for specific primary cancers over the past 2 decades in Ontario. Overall reductions in mortality associated with this shift in treatment may reflect the use of adjuvant therapies and more personalized treatment approaches. Contexte : Il existe peu de donnees publiees sur les taux de survie estimes dans la population apres une intervention chirurgicale pour des metastases rachidiennes. Nous avons donc rea lise une etude basee sur la population pour evaluer le taux de survie et les complications chez les patients atteints d'un cancer en Ontario qui ont subi une telle intervention entre 2006 et 2016. Methodes : En utilisant les bases de donnees administratives de la sante de l'Ontario, nous avons recense tous les patients qui ont subi une intervention chirurgicale pour des metastases rachidiennes entre le 1er janvier 2006 et le 31 decembre 2016. Nous avons ensuite evalue le taux de survie globale, le taux de mortalite selon la lesion cancereuse primitive et les complications survenues apres l'intervention chirurgicale, pour ensuite les comparer a ceux d'une cohorte similaire (1991-1998). Resultats : Au total, 2646 patients ont ete retenus pour l'etude (1194 femmes [45,1 %]; age moyen de 62,5 ans [ecart-type 12,2 ans]). La duree de survie mediane etait de 236 jours (ecart interquartile 84-740). Le taux de mortalite le plus eleve a ete observe chez les patients initialement atteints d'un melanome, d'un cancer du tractus gastro-intestinal superieur et d'un cancer du poumon : il etait de 50 % dans les 90 jours suivant l'intervention chirurgicale. Les temps de survie medians les plus longs ont ete observes pour les cancers primitifs de la thyroide (906 jours) et du sein (644 jours), ainsi que pour les myelomes (830 jours). Les taux de mortalite globaux apres 90 jours et 1 an etaient respectivement de 29 % et de 59 %. Conclusion : Nous avons observe des taux de survie differents selon le type de tumeur primitive, ainsi qu'une transition dans la distribution des interventions chirurgicales realisees au cours des deux dernieres decennies en Ontario pour certains cancers primitifs. La reduction globale du taux de mortalite associee a la transition dans les traitements pourrait refleter l'utilisation de traitements adjuvants et d'un plus grand nombre de traitements personnalises., Spread of metastatic disease to the spine causes substantial clinical burden, affecting nearly one-third of all patients with cancer. (1), (2) Advances in medical treatment for systemic disease has improved [...]

L'histoire de l'entreprise << WE >>, aussi connue sous le nom << ME to WE >> ou << WE Charity >>, constitue une mise en garde pour les enseignants qui accueillent des entreprises sociales dans leur école comme un moyen d'intégrer l'engagement communautaire et la justice sociale dans leur programme éducatif. Notre article raconte cette histoire qui se veut un avertissement. Comme toutes les autres histoires du genre, elle commence par une mise en garde contre l'entrepreneuriat social dans les écoles. Au fil du récit, cet avertissement est ignoré et, en définitive, le contrevenant finit par connaître une expérience désastreuse. En utilisant la grande quantité de données disponibles sur Instagram, cet article dévoile en détail comment l'entreprise WE se présentait aux autres, comment les autres la percevaient, et comment elle a travaillé dans et avec les écoles pour atteindre ses objectifs corporatifs. Nous concluons ce récit en discutant de la manière dont, en dissociant l'éducation des intérêts corporatifs, les écoles peuvent favoriser l'équité et le bien public au lieu de créer des fanatiques de la marque au service des intérêts d'une élite. Mots-clés : Entrepreneuriat social, éducation à la justice sociale, politiques éducatives, ME to WE, mouvement WE, méthodes numériques, Instagram The story of the WE enterprise, also known as ME to WE or WE Charity, presents us with a cautionary tale for teachers who welcome social enterprise into schools as a way of bringing community engagement and social justice into their educational programs. Our article is a cautionary tale that, like all such tales, opens with the statement of a warning about social entrepreneurship in schools. As the narrative unfolds, this warning is disregarded, and the violator ultimately experiences an unpleasant fate. Using the large-scale data available on Instagram, this article reveals in detail how WE represented itself, how others perceived it, and how it worked in and with schools to achieve its corporate goals. We conclude the tale by discussing how, by delinking education from corporate interests, schools may serve equity and the public good instead of creating brand fanatics in the service of elite interests. Keywords: social entrepreneurship, social justice education, educational policy, ME to WE, WE Movement, digital methods, Instagram, Introduction For nearly 25 years, WE was a celebrated household name within schools and school systems across Canada, known for promoting social good among students as celebrated through in-school leadership [...]

The Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus kmidseni) and Hawaiian Gallinule (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis) are federally endangered waterbirds endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Both species are conservation-reliant; their population persistence is dependent on invasive predator control and removal of invasive plants that degrade habitat. We present observations of successful nesting by one Hawaiian Stilt pair and one Hawaiian Gallinule pair at a site managed within an adaptive Indigenous agroecological framework on the island of O'ahu, Fiawai'i. The Hawaiian Stilt nest, found in February 2019, contained 4 eggs and produced 3 hatchlings, 2 of which were banded and monitored after hatching. The Hawaiian Gallinule nest, found in February 2020, contained 6 eggs and produced 5 hatchlings. Although no individuals were banded from this nest, 2 adults and 2 hatchlings were continuously observed in the nesting area after the eggs hatched. Lo 7 kalo Hawaiian wetland agroecosystems centered around the cultivation of kalo (taro; Colocasia esculenta), have the potential to expand Hawaiian waterbird habitat beyond state and federal protected areas. We are aware of unpublished accounts of Hawaiian waterbirds nesting in commercially fanned lo 7 kalo, but until now, there have been no previously published accounts of native waterbirds breeding in lo 7 kalo managed as Indigenous agroecosystems. Received 28 May 2020. Accepted 7 December 2021. Key words: conservation, Gallinula galeata sandvicensis, Hawai'i, Himantopus mexicanus kmidseni, lo'i, wetland. (Spanish)--La monjita Himantopus mexicanius knudseni y la gallareta Gallimila galeata sarulvicensis son aves acuaticas fcderalmente en peligro endemicas a las islas hawaianas. Ambas especies dcpenden de acciones de conservacion; la persistencia de sus poblaciones depende del control de depredadores invasores y de la remocion de plantas invasoras que dcgradan sus habitats. Presentamos observaciones de anidacion exitosa de una pareja de monjita y una de gallareta en un sitio mancjado mediante practicas indigenas agroecologieas en la isla de O'ahu. Hawai. El nido de la monita, encontrado en febrero de 2019, contenia 4 huevos y produjo 3 polluelos, 2 de los cuales fueron anillados y monitoreados despues de eclosionar. Aunque ningun individuo de estc nido fue anillado. 2 adultos y 2 polluelos fueron continuamente observados en el area del nido despues de que los huevos eclosionaron. Los agroeeosistemas de humedales hawaianos (l'oi) tienen el poteneial de expandir el habitat de las aves acuaticas hawaianas mas alia de las areas protegidas estatales y federales. Sabemos que hay reportes de aves acuaticas hawaianas sin publiear en loi comercialmente cultivados. pero hasta ahora no habia reportes previos publicados de aves acuaticas nativas en l'oi bajo mancjo como agroeeosistemas indigenas. Palabras clave: conservacion, Gallimila galeata sandvicensis, Hawai. Himantopus inexicanus knudseni. humedal. lo'i., The Hawaiian Stilt (Ae'o; Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) and Hawaiian Gallinule ('Alae 'ula; Gallimila galeata sandvicensis) are federally endangered waterbirds endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Both species benefit from conservation actions, [...]

Degradable polymers are often desirable for the fabrication of medical implants, but thermal processing of these polymers is a challenge. We describe here how these problems can be addressed by discussing the extrusion of fibers and injection molding of bone pins from a hydrolytically degradable tyrosine-derived polycarbonate. Our initial attempts produced fibers and pins with bubbles, voids, and discoloration and resulted in the formation of large polymer plugs that seized screws and blocked extruder dies. The material and process parameters that contribute to these issues were investigated by studying the physical and chemical changes that occur during processing. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis combined with IR analysis showed that residual moisture and solvents in conjunction with heat cause degradation and crosslinking as indicated by gel permeation chromatography. Rheology and melt flow index measurements were useful in characterizing the extent of dependence of polymer viscosity on temperature and molecular weight. With these insights, we could process our polymer into fibers and rods by controlling residual moisture, time, and temperature and by adjusting processing parameters in real time. The systematic approach described here is applicable to other degradable polymers that are difficult to process. KEYWORDS processing, scaffolds, thermal degradation, tissue engineering, 1 | INTRODUCTION For polymers used in medical implants, in vivo degradability is often a desirable feature. [1,2] Degradable polymers eliminate the need for secondary procedures to remove implants and [...]

NOTE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2218 I. THE EVOLUTION OF THE MHPAEA 2223 A. Structural Characteristics of the MHPAEA's Scheme 2224 B. MHPAEA's Cooperative Federalist Framework 2229 C. Textual Ambiguity and the [...], Ten years after the passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), parity between mental health/substance use disorders and medical/surgical benefits remains elusive. This Note describes the statutes cooperative federalist framework and analyzes enforcement data and settlement documents demonstrating the role of states in prospective enforcement. In comparing the MHPAEA to other cooperative statutes, it concludes that MHPAEA compliance could be improved by expanding private rights of action, promoting stakeholder collaboration, utilizing conditional spending, and allowing for waivers. The Note also renews calls for consumer education, clarifying regulations, and proactive enforcement by federal agencies and states.

Concentrating solar-thermal power with thermal energy storage can provide renewable energy for electricity or industrial processes at any time of day. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made significant [...]

While the paths after graduate school are increasingly varied, the central goal of doctoral programs remains to develop independent researchers. Given the important role of doctoral advisors in the socialization and progress-making of doctoral students, we conducted semi-structured interviews with faculty advisors who regularly advise chemistry doctoral students from three chemistry departments with rotation programs for their first-year students. In contrast to existing studies documenting advisee perspectives of research autonomy, this work focuses particularly on the advisor perspective. After open coding these interviews, we found a breadth of ideas and approaches to developing research autonomy. The faculty advisors conceptualized research autonomy in their first-year doctoral students as enthusiasm or curiosity for their research or research area. The advisor's approaches to developing and promoting autonomy in doctoral students varied widely, and some went so far as to not develop autonomy in new students but to 'screen' for it. Finally, different subdisciplines in chemistry provide unique opportunities as well as constraints for advisors and students. We discuss the implications of these findings for doctoral students, advisors of doctoral students, administrators, and research advisors of undergraduate students., Author(s): Rachel A. Barnard [sup.1], Ginger V. Shultz [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.17088.36, 0000 0001 2150 1785, Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, , 919 E. Shaw Ln, 48825-1107, East [...]

Abstract--To assess larval fish and egg extrusion through the standard-size mesh plankton net used during resource surveys of the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), 81 bongo tows with [...]

Inadequate pancreatic [beta] cell function underlies type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Strategies to expand functional cells have focused on discovering and controlling mechanisms that limit the proliferation of human [beta] cells. Here, we developed an engraftment strategy to examine age-associated human islet cell replication competence and reveal mechanisms underlying age-dependent decline of [beta] cell proliferation in human islets. We found that exendin-4 (Ex-4), an agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R), stimulates human [beta] cell proliferation in juvenile but not adult islets, This age-dependent responsiveness does not reflect loss of GLP-1R signaling in adult islets, since Ex-4 treatment stimulated insulin secretion by both juvenile and adult human [beta] cells. We show that the mitogenic effect of Ex-4 requires calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling. In juvenile islets, Ex-4 induced expression of calcineurin/ NFAT signaling components as well as target genes for proliferation-promoting factors, including NFATC1, FOXM1, and CCNA1. By contrast, expression of these factors in adult islet [beta] cells was not affected by Ex-4 exposure. These studies reveal age-dependent signaling mechanisms regulating human [beta] cell proliferation, and identify elements that could be adapted for therapeutic expansion of human [beta] cells., Introduction In type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, an absolute or relative deficiency of functional pancreatic [beta] cells underlies disease pathogenesis. Thus, investigations are focused on identifying native signaling [...]

Generation of functional hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) has been a long-sought-after goal for use in hematopoietic cell production, disease modeling, and eventually transplantation medicine. Homing of HSPCs from bloodstream to bone marrow (BM) is an important aspect of HSPC biology that has remained unaddressed in efforts to derive functional HSPCs from human PSCs. We have therefore examined the BM homing properties of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived HSPCs (hiPS-HSPCs). We found that they express molecular effectors of BM extravasation, such as the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the integrin dimer VLA-4, but lack expression of E-selectin ligands that program HSPC trafficking to BM. To overcome this deficiency, we expressed human fucosyltransferase 6 using modified mRNA. Expression of fucosyltransferase 6 resulted in marked increases in levels of cell surface E-selectin ligands. The glycoengineered cells exhibited enhanced tethering and rolling interactions on E-selectin-bearing endothelium under flow conditions in vitro as well as increased BM trafficking and extravasation when transplanted into mice. However, glycoengineered hiPS-HSPCs did not engraft long-term, indicating that additional functional deficiencies exist in these cells. Our results suggest that strategies toward increasing E-selectin ligand expression could be applicable as part of a multifaceted approach to optimize the production of HSPCs from human PSCs., Introduction Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation is the paradigmatic stem cell therapy, with ~50,000 transplants performed worldwide per year to treat a variety of blood disorders (1). Despite [...]

The Caribbean bonefish species Albula vulpes is an economically important nearshore marine sport fish that has notably declined in the Florida Keys over the past 20-30 years. The reasons for this decline are unclear, although habitat loss, water quality reductions, climate change, and other environmental drivers likely play a role. Infectious disease can also cause precipitous species-specific declines in wildlife populations, but virtually nothing is known about infection in bonefish. We analyzed communities of bacteria on the gills of bonefish from the Florida Keys, where declines are pronounced, and the islands of Eleuthera and Inagua in The Bahamas, where no such declines have been recorded. Bacterial community composition varied significantly among island location (Keys, Eleuthera, Inagua) and among sites within island locations (e.g., tidal creeks, coves, inlets). Seventeen times more bacterial taxa were over-represented in the Florida Keys than in The Bahamas, and several bacterial genera over-represented in the Florida Keys have been linked to environmental contamination and disease (e.g., Corynebacterium; Acholeplasma; Staphylococcus; and Streptococcus). These results show that gill bacterial community signatures may prove useful for investigating bonefish spatial ecology and that communities of microbes on bonefish gills contain differentially abundant and potentially pathogenic bacteria that covary with the overall 'health' of the population., Author(s): Christopher D. Dunn [sup.1], Lewis J. Campbell [sup.1], Elizabeth M. Wallace [sup.2], Andy J. Danylchuk [sup.3], Steven J. Cooke [sup.4], Aaron D. Shultz [sup.5], Brooke D. Black [sup.6], Jacob [...]

A wave of protest swept Latin America in 2019. Country experts find the common threads--and what makes each nation's tumult unique. Introduction: The Common Threads of 2019 Latin America is [...]

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and progressive β cell dysfunction. Excess glucose and lipid impair β cell function in islet cell lines, cultured rodent and human islets, and in vivo rodent models. Here, we examined the mechanistic consequences of glucotoxic and lipotoxic conditions on human islets in vivo and developed and/or used 3 complementary models that allowed comparison of the effects of hyperglycemic and/or insulin-resistant metabolic stress conditions on human and mouse islets, which responded quite differently to these challenges. Hyperglycemia and/or insulin resistance impaired insulin secretion only from human islets in vivo. In human grafts, chronic insulin resistance decreased antioxidant enzyme expression and increased superoxide and amyloid formation. In human islet grafts, expression of transcription factors NKX6.1 and MAFB was decreased by chronic insulin resistance, but only MAFB decreased under chronic hyperglycemia. Knockdown of NKX6.1 or MAFB expression in a human β cell line recapitulated the insulin secretion defect seen in vivo. Contrary to rodent islet studies, neither insulin resistance nor hyperglycemia led to human β cell proliferation or apoptosis. These results demonstrate profound differences in how excess glucose or lipid influence mouse and human insulin secretion and β cell activity and show that reduced expression of key islet-enriched transcription factors is an important mediator of glucotoxicity and lipotoxicity., Introduction Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have impaired insulin secretion in response to glucose, and this β cell dysfunction is progressive, often requiring exogenous insulin therapy. Physiological levels of [...]

This article describes the use of an in-line, autodilution, and autocalibration sample delivery system coupled to an inductively coupled plasma--mass spectrometry system to analyze a group of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. [...]

THE TIMES WE live in are dangerous for many reasons. Prominent among them is the existence of a global nuclear enterprise made up of weapons that can cause damage of [...]

The concepts of diagnostic species and fidelity have been used frequently in European phytosociology but rarely in North American vegetation classification. We developed a classification of the vegetation of a mountainous area of northern Utah and compared the diagnostic species approach with the indicator-species approach of habitat type classification sensu Daubenmire prevailing in the U.S. Interior West. A total of 157 forest and nonforested plots were described by vascular plants and basic environmental factors. Clustering with RandomForest classification and ordination reduced the original number of plots to 26 meaningful vegetation units. Of these 26 units, 22 were strong, having four or more faithful species. Four units were weak, having less than three faithful species. We identified species diagnostic of particular vegetation units that are potentially useful for recognition of these units in the field. We proposed vegetation types at the level of vegetation alliances and associations, and correlated them with environmental factors. We found our vegetation units to be more strongly associated with the underlying environment than major habitat types sensu Daubenmire. Our approach to classification has the potential to directly link vegetation with the physical environment and could be the basis for a substantial improvement of vegetation classification in the central Rocky Mountains. Key words: vegetation alliance, vegetation association, faithful species, character species, differential species, diagnostic species, indicator species. On utilise frequemment le concept des especes diagnostiques et de fidelite chez les phytosociologues europeens, mais rarement dans la classification nord-americaine de la vegetation. Les auteurs ont developpe une classification de la vegetation d'une region montagneuse du nord de l'Utah, et ont compare l'approche d'especes diagnostiques avec celle des especes indicatrices de la classification des types d'habitats sensu Daubenmire, prevalant dans la region interieure occidentale aux Etats-Unis. Ils ont decrit 157 parcelles forestieres et non forestieres selon les plantes vasculaires et les facteurs environnementaux de base. Le regroupement avec la classification forestiere aleatoire et l'ordination reduit le nombre original des parcelles a 26 unites de vegetation significatives. De ces 26 unites, 22 sont robustes ayant quatre ou plus especes fiables. Quatre unites s'averent faibles avec moins de trois especes fiables. Ils ont ainsi identifie des especes diagnostiques d'unites de vegetation particulieres comme potentiellement utiles pour reconnaitre ces unites sur le terrain. Ils proposent des types de vegetation a l' echelle d' alliances et d' associations vegetales, les mettant en correlation avec les facteurs environnementaux. Les auteurs ont constate que leurs unites de vegetation montrent une association plus robuste avec l'environnement sousjacent que les types majeurs d' habitats sensu Daubenmire. Ils considerent que leur approche pour la classification a le potentiel le relier directement la vegetation avec l' environnement physique et pourrait servir de base pour une amelioration substantielle de la classification de la vegetation du centre des montagnes Rocheuses. Mots-cles: alliance vegetale, association vegetale, especes fiables, especes caracteristiques, especes differentielles, especes diagnostiques, especes indicatrices. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction 'Without classification there can be no science of vegetation' --R.F. Daubenmire As a distinctive landscape feature, vegetation has been a fundamental component of land classifications (Daubenmire 1989). Recently, vegetation [...]

Abstract--Little is known about the seasonality and distribution of grouper larvae (Serranidae: Epinephelini) in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the southeast United States. Grouper [...]

Low-cost methods are desperately needed for improving diabetes management for people with diabetes in rural communities. With this understanding, the research team designed a project that used student pharmacists as [...]

Research on economic growth and change in the South has traditionally focused on disparities between wealthy suburbs and impoverished rural areas. Focusing on the economic duality of the South belies [...]

Although much attention has been focused on explaining and describing the diversity of social grouping patterns among primates (1-3), less effort has been devoted to understanding the evolutionary history of social living (4). This is partly because social behaviours do not fossilize, making it difficult to infer changes over evolutionary time. However, primate social behaviour shows strong evidence for phylogenetic inertia, permitting the use of Bayesian comparative methods to infer changes in social behaviour through time, thereby allowing us to evaluate alternative models of social evolution. Here we present a model of primate social evolution, whereby sociality progresses from solitary foraging individuals directly to large multi-male/multi-female aggregations (approximately 52 million years (Myr) ago), with pair-living (approximately 16Myr ago) or single-male harem systems (approximately 16 Myr ago) derivative from this second stage. This model fits the data significantly better than the two widely accepted alternatives (an unstructured model implied by the socioecological hypothesis or a model that allows linear stepwise changes in social complexity through time). We also find strong support for the co-evolution of social living with a change from nocturnal to diurnal activity patterns, but not with sex-biased dispersal. This supports suggestions that social living may arise because of increased predation risk associated with diurnal activity. Sociality based on loose aggregation is followed by a second shift to stable or bonded groups. This structuring facilitates the evolution of cooperative behaviours (5) and may provide the scaffold for other distinctive anthropoid traits including coalition formation, cooperative resource defence and large brains., Anthropoids differ from other social vertebrates in the prevalence of stable groups and bonded relationships between individuals (6). Explaining how primate social systems evolved is central to understanding the evolution [...]

To identify the timing and location of spawning activity for bonefish (Albula spp.) in the Bahamian archipelago, we used an acoustic telemetry array spanning 44 km.sup.2 of shallow tidal creeks, flats, and adjacent deeper coastal waters near Cape Eleuthera. In two successive years, we surgically implanted transmitters in male and female bonefish (n = 60) and examined their movement patterns within the array. Eight bonefish surgically implanted with transmitters as part of an earlier study were also tracked. In 2009, the telemetry information was complemented with snorkeling observations, underwater video, and manual tracking of the same acoustically tagged fish, as well as fish (n = 3) gastrically implanted with continuous transmitters. During a period of 4-7 days spanning the full and new moons, primarily between October and May, bonefish moved from their typical shallow flats and aggregated at sites in close proximity to the deep water drop-off of the Exuma Sound. Localized movements of the large schools of bonefish (often >1,000 fish) at these presumptive pre-spawning aggregation sites included brief trips (1,000 m depth). Tagged bonefish detected at these aggregation sites were subsequently detected back in the tidal creeks and coastal flats shortly after new and full moons and remained at these more typical shallow sites (i.e.,, Author(s): Andy J. Danylchuk [sup.1] [sup.2] , Steven J. Cooke [sup.2] [sup.3] [sup.4] , Tony L. Goldberg [sup.2] [sup.5] , Cory D. Suski [sup.2] [sup.6] , Karen J. Murchie [sup.2] [...]

Evolutionary encephalization, or increasing brain size relative to body size, is assumed to be a general phenomenon in mammals. However, despite extensive evidence for variation in both absolute and relative brain size in extant species, there have been no explicit tests of patterns of brain size change over evolutionary time. Instead, allometric relationships between brain size and body size have been used as a proxy for evolutionary change, despite the validity of this approach being widely questioned. Here we relate brain size to appearance time for 511 fossil and extant mammalian species to test for temporal changes in relative brain size over time. We show that there is wide variation across groups in encephalization slopes across groups and that encephalization is not universal in mammals. We also find that temporal changes in brain size are not associated with allometric relationships between brain and body size. Furthermore, encephalization trends are associated with sociality in extant species. These findings test a major underlying assumption about the pattern and process of mammalian brain evolution and highlight the role sociality may play in driving the evolution of large brains. carnivores | cetaceans | primates | social brain doi/ 10.1073/pnas.1005246107

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain responses to biological motion in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), unaffected siblings (US) of children with ASD, and typically developing (TD) children has revealed three types of neural signatures: (i) state activity, related to the state of having ASD that characterizes the nature of disruption in brain circuitry; (ii) trait activity, reflecting shared areas of dysfunction in US and children with ASD, thereby providing a promising neuroendophenotype to facilitate efforts to bridge genomic complexity and disorder heterogeneity; and (iii) compensatory activity, unique to US, suggesting a neural system-level mechanism by which US might compensate for an increased genetic risk for developing ASD. The distinct brain responses to biological motion exhibited by TD children and US are striking given the identical behavioral profile of these two groups. These findings offer far-reaching implications for our understanding of the neural systems underlying autism. endophenotype | functional magnetic resonance imaging doi/ 10.1073/pnas.1010412107