The influence of empathic concern on prosocial behavior in children.

This research explored the influence of empathic distress on prosocial behavior in a resource allocation task with children. Children were randomly assigned to one of two conditions before engaging in a sticker sharing task; watching either a video of a girl upset that her dog had gone missing (emotion induction condition), or a video of the same girl preparing for a yard sale (control condition). In study one, 5-6 year old children in the emotion induction condition rated the emotional state of both the protagonist and the self more negatively, and also exhibited more prosocial behavior; sharing more in advantageous inequity (AI) trials, and less often withholding a benefit in disadvantageous inequity trials, than the control group.

The role of ubiquitin and the 26S proteasome in plant abiotic stress signaling.

Ubiquitin is a small, highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed eukaryotic protein with immensely important and diverse regulatory functions. A well-studied function of ubiquitin is its role in selective proteolysis by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). The UPS has emerged as an integral player in plant response and adaptation to environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, cold and nutrient deprivation.

Innovations in knee arthroplasty: three-dimensional modeling and analytical technology (SOMA).

The development of three-dimensional (3D) knee models and analytical tools from large databases of computerized tomographic data linked to patient demographics has led to the development of a fuller understanding of the amount of variation in the anatomy and morphology of the human knee and how this relates to clinical applications. In this study, we have aimed to review the spectrum of clinical applications of three-dimensional modeling, which includes osteotomies and knee arthroplasties. More specifically, three-dimensional modeling has been used for: the assessment of tibial and femoral morphometry, the potential development of novel instrumentation for femoral resection, the evaluation of femoral condylar anthropometry, correlating mechanical and anatomical alignment, the assessment of the relationship of joint line and flexion, the extension and mechanical axis of the knee, and the evaluation of the relationship between medial tibial tubercle to the posterior aspect of the tibia.

An experimental and theoretical investigation on torrefaction of a large wet wood particle.

A competitive kinetic scheme representing primary and secondary reactions is proposed for torrefaction of large wet wood particles. Drying and diffusive, convective and radiative mode of heat transfer is considered including particle shrinking during torrefaction. The model prediction compares well with the experimental results of both mass fraction residue and temperature profiles for biomass particles.

Validation of adipose lipid content as a body condition index for polar bears.

Body condition is a key indicator of individual and population health. Yet, there is little consensus as to the most appropriate condition index (CI), and most of the currently used CIs have not been thoroughly validated and are logistically challenging. Adipose samples from large datasets of capture biopsied, remote biopsied, and harvested polar bears were used to validate adipose lipid content as a CI via tests of accuracy, precision, sensitivity, biopsy depth, and storage conditions and comparisons to established CIs, to measures of health and to demographic and ecological parameters.

Thermal habitat index of many northwest Atlantic temperate species stays neutral under warming projected for 2030 but changes radically by 2060.

Global scale forecasts of range shifts in response to global warming have provided vital insight into predicted species redistribution. We build on that insight by examining whether local warming will affect habitat on spatiotemporal scales relevant to regional agencies. We used generalized additive models to quantify the realized habitat of 46 temperate/boreal marine species using 41+ years of survey data from 35°N-48°N in the Northwest Atlantic.

The write way to spell: printing vs. typing effects on orthographic learning.

Prior research has shown superior orthographic learning resulting from spelling practice relative to repeated reading. One mechanism proposed to underlie this advantage of spelling in establishing detailed orthographic representations in memory is the motoric component of the manual movements evoked in printing or writing. This study investigated this contention directly by testing the effects of typing vs.

A model-based insight into the coupling of nitrogen and sulfur cycles in a coastal upwelling system.

The biogeochemical cycling in oxygen-minimum zones (OMZs) is dominated by the interactions of microbial nitrogen transformations and, as recently observed in the Chilean upwelling system, also through the energetically less favorable remineralization of sulfate reduction. The latter process is masked, however, by rapid sulfide oxidation, most likely through nitrate reduction. Thus, the cryptic sulfur cycle links with the nitrogen cycle in OMZ settings.

Parallel neural pathways in higher visual centers of the Drosophila brain that mediate wavelength-specific behavior.

Compared with connections between the retinae and primary visual centers, relatively less is known in both mammals and insects about the functional segregation of neural pathways connecting primary and higher centers of the visual processing cascade. Here, using the Drosophila visual system as a model, we demonstrate two levels of parallel computation in the pathways that connect primary visual centers of the optic lobe to computational circuits embedded within deeper centers in the central brain. We show that a seemingly simple achromatic behavior, namely phototaxis, is under the control of several independent pathways, each of which is responsible for navigation towards unique wavelengths.

A meta-analysis of declines in local species richness from human disturbances.

There is high uncertainty surrounding the magnitude of current and future biodiversity loss that is occurring due to human disturbances. Here, we present a global meta-analysis of experimental and observational studies that report 327 measures of change in species richness between disturbed and undisturbed habitats across both terrestrial and aquatic biomes. On average, human-mediated disturbances lead to an 18.

Plastic and evolutionary responses to climate change in fish.

The physical and ecological 'fingerprints' of anthropogenic climate change over the past century are now well documented in many environments and taxa. We reviewed the evidence for phenotypic responses to recent climate change in fish. Changes in the timing of migration and reproduction, age at maturity, age at juvenile migration, growth, survival and fecundity were associated primarily with changes in temperature.

A meta-analysis of visual orienting in autism.

Background: Visual orienting is inconsistently reported to be impaired in autism.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis on visual orienting in autism. We focused on studies that used a Posner-type task.

Spatiotemporal specificity of contrast adaptation in mouse primary visual cortex.

Prolonged viewing of high contrast gratings alters perceived stimulus contrast, and produces characteristic changes in the contrast response functions of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1). This is referred to as contrast adaptation. Although contrast adaptation has been well-studied, its underlying neural mechanisms are not well-understood.

Prevention of vision loss protects against age-related impairment in learning and memory performance in DBA/2J mice.

The DBA/2J mouse is a model of pigmentary glaucoma in humans as it shows age-related increases in intraocular pressure (IOP), retinal ganglion cell death and visual impairment. Previously, we showed that visual ability declines from 9 to 12 months of age and visual impairment is correlated with poor learning and memory performance in visuo-spatial tasks but not in tasks that do not depend on visual cues. To test the "sensory impairment" hypothesis of aging, which postulates that sensory impaired individuals are disadvantaged in their performance on psychometric tests as a direct result of difficulties in sensory perception, we treated DBA/2J mice with a conventional glaucoma medication used in humans (Timoptic-XE, 0.

Oxidized LDL and LOX-1 in experimental sepsis.

Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and the lectin-like oxLDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) are upregulated in inflammation. Because of the importance of inflammation and capillary leakage in the impairment of the microcirculation, which in turn contributes to the development of sepsis and multiorgan failure, the role of oxidized LDL and LOX-1 as players of intestinal inflammation is of great interest. In fact, the blockade of LOX-1 during experimental endotoxemia was effective in reducing leukocyte activation.

Serum sphingolipids level as a novel potential marker for early detection of human myocardial ischaemic injury.

Background: Ventricular tachyarrhythmias are the most common and often the first manifestation of coronary heart disease and lead to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Early detection/identification of acute myocardial ischaemic injury at risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias in patients remains an unmet medical need. In the present study, we examined the sphingolipids level after transient cardiac ischaemia following temporary coronary artery occlusion during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients and determined the role of sphingolipids level as a novel marker for early detection of human myocardial ischaemic injury.

Genomic islands of divergence and their consequences for the resolution of spatial structure in an exploited marine fish.

As populations diverge, genomic regions associated with adaptation display elevated differentiation. These genomic islands of adaptive divergence can inform conservation efforts in exploited species, by refining the delineation of management units, and providing genomic tools for more precise and effective population monitoring and the successful assignment of individuals and products. We explored heterogeneity in genomic divergence and its impact on the resolution of spatial population structure in exploited populations of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, using genome wide expressed sequence derived single nucleotide polymorphisms in 466 individuals sampled across the range.

Reading, writing, and repair: the role of ubiquitin and the ubiquitin-like proteins in DNA damage signaling and repair.

Genomic instability is both a hallmark of cancer and a major contributing factor to tumor development. Central to the maintenance of genome stability is the repair of DNA damage, and the most toxic form of DNA damage is the DNA double-strand break. As a consequence the eukaryotic cell harbors an impressive array of protein machinery to detect and repair DNA breaks through the initiation of a multi-branched, highly coordinated signaling cascade.

Contemporary effective population and metapopulation size (N e and meta-N e): comparison among three salmonids inhabiting a fragmented system and differing in gene flow and its asymmetries.

We estimated local and metapopulation effective sizes ([Formula: see text] and meta-[Formula: see text]) for three coexisting salmonid species (Salmo salar, Salvelinus fontinalis, Salvelinus alpinus) inhabiting a freshwater system comprising seven interconnected lakes. First, we hypothesized that [Formula: see text] might be inversely related to within-species population divergence as reported in an earlier study (i.e.

Overlapping compared with end-to-end repair of complete third-degree or fourth-degree obstetric tears: three-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To report on a 3-year follow-up of women who underwent overlapping repair of a complete third-degree or fourth-degree obstetric tear.

Methods: Primiparous women sustaining a complete third-degree or a fourth-degree tear of the perineum were randomized to a primary sphincter repair using either an end-to-end or an overlapping surgical technique. At 1, 2, and 3 years, questionnaires on rates of flatal and fecal incontinence were mailed to participants.

Speed impairs attending on the left: comparing attentional asymmetries for neglect patients in speeded and unspeeded cueing tasks.

Visuospatial neglect after stroke is often characterized by a disengage deficit on a cued orienting task, in which individuals are disproportionately slower to respond to targets presented on the contralesional side of space following an ispilesional cue as compared to the reverse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the generality of the finding of a disengage deficit on another measure of cued attention, the temporal order judgment (TOJ) task, that does not depend upon speeded manual responses. Individuals with right hemisphere stroke with and without spatial neglect and older healthy controls (OHC) were tested with both a speeded RT cueing task and an unspeeded TOJ-with-cuing task.