The evolution of signaling and monitoring in plant-fungal networks.

Experiments have shown that when one plant is attacked by a pathogen or herbivore, this can lead to other plants connected to the same mycorrhizal network up-regulating their defense mechanisms. It has been hypothesized that this represents signaling, with attacked plants producing a signal to warn other plants of impending harm. We examined the evolutionary plausibility of this and other hypotheses theoretically.

A phylogenetic approach to comparative genomics.

Comparative genomics, whereby the genomes of different species are compared, has the potential to address broad and fundamental questions at the intersection of genetics and evolution. However, species, genomes and genes cannot be considered as independent data points within statistical tests. Closely related species tend to be similar because they share genes by common descent, which must be accounted for in analyses.

Anticholinergic burden and frailty in older inpatients: insights from analysis of admission and discharge medicines using four anticholinergic scales.

Background: Exposure to high anticholinergic burden is associated with adverse outcomes in older adults. Older adults with frailty have greater vulnerability to adverse anticholinergic effects. There is limited data on anticholinergic burden in hospitalised older adults with frailty particularly, in New Zealand.

Determining associations between Big Five personality traits and executive function in an undergraduate student sample.

Objective: The present study sought to determine the associations between executive functioning and Big Five personality traits in an undergraduate sample.

Method: Participants included 200 undergraduates (73% women), with a mean age of approximately 21 years. Participants completed the Big Five Inventory-44 and a psychological assessment battery, which included the Trail Making Test and the Semantic Fluency Test.