Explaining the evolution of sex differences in cooperation remains a major challenge. Comparative studies highlight that offspring of the more philopatric sex tend to be more cooperative within their family groups than those of the more dispersive sex but we do not understand why. The leading "Philopatry hypothesis" proposes that the more philopatric sex cooperates more because their higher likelihood of natal breeding increases the direct fitness benefits of natal cooperation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe existence of adult sexual dimorphism is typically explained as a consequence of sexual selection, yet coevolutionary drivers of sexual dimorphism frequently remain untested. Here, I investigate the role of sexual dimorphism in host-parasite interactions of the brood parasitic diederik cuckoo, . Female diederik cuckoos are more cryptic in appearance and pose a threat to the clutch, while male diederik cuckoos are conspicuous and not a direct threat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType 1 and type 2 diabetes are complex, chronic diseases that are best managed by a multidisciplinary care team. Type 1 diabetes is most commonly diagnosed in the pediatric population, although the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in youth is increasing rapidly. A registered dietitian (RD) is a critical member of the diabetes team who provides focused nutrition education from diagnosis and throughout routine follow-up care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Phlebotomy excess contributes to anemia in PICU patients and increases the likelihood of red blood cell transfusion, which is associated with risk of adverse outcomes. Excessive phlebotomy reduction (EPR) strategies may reduce the need for transfusion, but have not been evaluated in a PICU population. We hypothesized that EPR strategies, facilitated by implementation science methods, would decrease excess blood drawn and reduce transfusion frequency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe immune system provides vital protection against pathogens, but extensive evidence suggests that mounting immune responses can entail survival and fecundity costs. The physiological mechanisms that underpin these costs remain poorly understood, despite their potentially important role in shaping life-histories. Recent studies involving laboratory models highlight the possibility that oxidative stress could mediate these costs, as immune-activation can increase the production of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSex-biased dispersal is pervasive and has diverse evolutionary implications, but the fundamental drivers of dispersal sex biases remain unresolved. This is due in part to limited diversity within taxonomic groups in the direction of dispersal sex biases, which leaves hypothesis testing critically dependent upon identifying rare reversals of taxonomic norms. Here, we use a combination of observational and genetic data to demonstrate a rare reversal of the avian sex bias in dispersal in the cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is well established that the lunar cycle can affect the behaviour of nocturnal animals, but its potential to have a similar influence on diurnal species has received less research attention. Here, we demonstrate that the dawn song of a cooperative songbird, the white-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali), varies with moon phase. When the moon was above the horizon at dawn, males began singing on average 10 min earlier, if there was a full moon compared with a new moon, resulting in a 67% mean increase in performance period and greater total song output.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine if a course of chiropractic care would change blood pressure measurements in African American patients and to determine if a study was feasible in a chiropractic teaching clinic.
Methods: Twenty-four African American patients received chiropractic care in a chiropractic teaching clinic over a study period that spanned 23 visits for each patient. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients having a diagnosis of prehypertension (120-139/80-89) or hypertension stage 1 (140-159/90-99).
Efforts to identify, develop, refine, and test strategies to disseminate and implement evidence-based treatments have been prioritized in order to improve the quality of health and mental health care delivery. However, this task is complicated by an implementation science literature characterized by inconsistent language use and inadequate descriptions of implementation strategies. This article brings more depth and clarity to implementation research and practice by presenting a consolidated compilation of discrete implementation strategies, based on a review of 205 sources published between 1995 and 2011.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: BACKGROUND This present study was designed to clarify the role of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens during operant ethanol self-administration by separating bar pressing (ethanol seeking) from ethanol consumption. Furthermore, we sought to define the relationship between ethanol in the brain and the accumbal dopamine response after oral self-administration of ethanol.
Methods: Two separate groups of male Long-Evans rats were trained to bar press with 10% ethanol or water.
Liver X receptor (LXR) is a nuclear receptor that plays a crucial role in orchestrating the trafficking of sterols between tissues. Treatment of mice with a potent and specific LXR agonist, T0901317, is associated with increased biliary cholesterol secretion, decreased fractional cholesterol absorption, and increased fecal neutral sterol excretion. Here we show that expression of two target genes of LXRalpha, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters Abcg5 and Abcg8, is required for both the increase in sterol excretion and the decrease in fractional cholesterol absorption associated with LXR agonist treatment.
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