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Brain and Behavior May 2024Living in a social dominance hierarchy presents different benefits and challenges for dominant and subordinate males and females, which might in turn affect their...
BACKGROUND
Living in a social dominance hierarchy presents different benefits and challenges for dominant and subordinate males and females, which might in turn affect their cognitive needs. Despite the extensive research on social dominance in group-living species, there is still a knowledge gap regarding how social status impacts brain morphology and cognitive abilities.
METHODS
Here, we tested male and female dominants and subordinates of Neolamprologus pulcher, a social cichlid fish species with size-based hierarchy. We ran three executive cognitive function tests for cognitive flexibility (reversal learning test), self-control (detour test), and working memory (object permanence test), followed by brain and brain region size measurements.
RESULTS
Performance was not influenced by social status or sex. However, dominants exhibited a brain-body slope that was relatively steeper than that of subordinates. Furthermore, individual performance in reversal learning and detour tests correlated with brain morphology, with some trade-offs among major brain regions like telencephalon, cerebellum, and optic tectum.
CONCLUSION
As individuals' brain growth strategies varied depending on social status without affecting executive functions, the different associated challenges might yield a potential effect on social cognition instead. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of studying the individual and not just species to understand better how the individual's ecology might shape its brain and cognition.
Topics: Animals; Cichlids; Female; Male; Executive Function; Brain; Social Dominance; Reversal Learning; Memory, Short-Term
PubMed: 38680075
DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3484 -
Archives of Toxicology Jul 2023Cannabis contains cannabinoids including Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC causes the psychoactive effects of cannabis, and both THC and CBD are...
Cannabis contains cannabinoids including Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC causes the psychoactive effects of cannabis, and both THC and CBD are thought to be anti-inflammatory. Cannabis is typically consumed by inhaling smoke that contains thousands of combustion products that may damage the lungs. However, the relationship between cannabis smoke exposure and alterations in respiratory health is poorly defined. To address this gap in knowledge, we first developed a mouse model of cannabis smoke exposure using a nose-only rodent inhalation exposure system. We then tested the acute effects of two dried cannabis products that differ substantially in their THC-CBD ratio: Indica-THC dominant (I-THC; 16-22% THC) and Sativa-CBD dominant (S-CBD; 13-19% CBD). We demonstrate that this smoke exposure regime not only delivers physiologically relevant levels of THC to the bloodstream, but that acute inhalation of cannabis smoke modulates the pulmonary immune response. Cannabis smoke decreased the percentage of lung alveolar macrophages but increased lung interstitial macrophages (IMs). There was also a decrease in lung dendritic cells as well as Ly6C and Ly6C monocytes, but an increase in lung neutrophils and CD8 T cells. These immune cell changes were paralleled with changes in several immune mediators. These immunological modifications were more pronounced when mice were exposed to S-CBD compared to the I-THC variety. Thus, we show that acute cannabis smoke differentially affects lung immunity based on the THC:CBD ratio, thereby providing a foundation to further explore the effect of chronic cannabis smoke exposures on pulmonary health.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cannabis; Cannabidiol; Dronabinol; Smoke; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Hallucinogens; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; Lung
PubMed: 37179517
DOI: 10.1007/s00204-023-03514-3 -
JACS Au Jul 2023The activity and selectivity of a copper electrocatalyst during the electrochemical CO reduction reaction (eCORR) are largely dominated by the interplay between local...
The activity and selectivity of a copper electrocatalyst during the electrochemical CO reduction reaction (eCORR) are largely dominated by the interplay between local reaction environment, the catalyst surface, and the adsorbed intermediates. characterization studies have revealed many aspects of this intimate relationship between surface reactivity and adsorbed species, but these investigations are often limited by the spatial and temporal resolution of the analytical technique of choice. Here, Raman spectroscopy with both space and time resolution was used to reveal the distribution of adsorbed species and potential reaction intermediates on a copper electrode during eCORR. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the Raman spectra revealed that a working electrocatalyst exhibits spatial heterogeneities in adsorbed species, and that the electrode surface can be divided into CO-dominant (mainly located at dendrite structures) and C-C dominant regions (mainly located at the roughened electrode surface). Our spectral evaluation further showed that in the CO-dominant regions, linear CO was observed (as characterized by a band at ∼2090 cm), accompanied by the more classical Cu-CO bending and stretching vibrations located at ∼280 and ∼360 cm, respectively. In contrast, in the C-C directing region, these three Raman bands are suppressed, while at the same time a band at ∼495 cm and a broad Cu-CO band at ∼2050 cm dominate the Raman spectra. Furthermore, PCA revealed that anodization creates more C-C dominant regions, and labeling experiments confirmed that the 495 cm band originates from the presence of a Cu-C intermediate. These results indicate that a copper electrode at work is very dynamic, thereby clearly displaying spatiotemporal heterogeneities, and that micro-spectroscopic techniques are crucial for understanding the eCORR mechanism of working electrocatalyst materials.
PubMed: 37502158
DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00129 -
PloS One 2023The distribution pattern of species diversity along various elevation gradients reflects the biological and ecological characteristics of species, distribution status...
The distribution pattern of species diversity along various elevation gradients reflects the biological and ecological characteristics of species, distribution status and adaptability to the environment. Altitude, a comprehensive ecological factor, affects the spatial distribution of species diversity in plant communities by causing integrated changes in light, temperature, water and soil factors. In Guiyang City, we studied the species diversity of lithophytic mosses and the relationships between species and environmental factors. The results showed that: (1) There were 52 species of bryophytes in 26 genera and 13 families within the study area. The dominant families were Brachytheciaceae, Hypnaceae and Thuidiaceae. The dominant genera were Brachythecium, Hypnum, Eurhynchium, Thuidium, Anomodon and Plagiomnium; The dominant species were Eurohypnum leptothallum, Brachythecium salebrosum, Brachythecium pendulum etc. The number of family species and dominant family genera increased first and then decreased with the increase of altitude, and their distribution in elevation gradient III (1334-1515m) was the largest, with 8 families, 13 genera and 21 species. The elevation gradient I (970-1151m) was the least species distributed, with 5 families, 10 genera and 14 species. The dominant species with the largest number in each elevational gradient were Eurohypnum leptothallum, Brachythecium pendulum, Brachythecium salebrosum and Entodon prorepens; (2) There were five kinds of life forms in different elevation gradients, including Wefts, Turfs, Mat, Pendants and Tail. Among them, wefts and turfs appeared in all elevations, while a small amount of Pendants appeared in the area of elevational gradient I (970-1151m), and the most abundant life form was found in the range of elevational gradient III (1334-1515m); (3) Patrick richness index and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were highly significantly (p<0.01) positively correlated, both of which increased and then decreased with elevation, reaching a maximum at elevation gradient III (1334-1515m); The Simpson dominance index had a highly significant (p<0.01) negative correlation with the Patrick richness index and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, which showed a decreasing and then increasing trend with increasing altitude; Pielou evenness index showed no discernible trend; (4) β diversity study revealed that while the similarity coefficient tended to decrease with increasing altitude, the species composition of bryophytes increased. The elevation gradient II (1151-1332m) and elevation gradient I (970-1151m) shared the most similarities, whereas elevation gradient III (1515-1694m) and elevation gradient I shared the least similarities (970-1151m). The findings can enrich the theory of the distribution pattern of lithophytic moss species diversity at distinct elevation gradients in karst regions, and serve a scientific and reasonable reference for restoring rocky desertification and protecting biodiversity there.
Topics: Humans; China; Bryophyta; Bryopsida; Altitude; Biodiversity
PubMed: 37390100
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286722 -
The South African Journal of... 2023Hand grip strength (HGS) measurements serve as an objective measure of upper extremity function. Reliable hand strength evaluation is vital for assessing treatment...
BACKGROUND
Hand grip strength (HGS) measurements serve as an objective measure of upper extremity function. Reliable hand strength evaluation is vital for assessing treatment effectiveness.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the influence of hand dominance, gender, and body mass index (BMI) on HGS among university students in Ghana.
METHOD
In our cross-sectional study of 304 participants, height, weight, and BMI were measured using a stadiometer and weighing scale. Hand grip strength was assessed with a dynamometer. We compared HGS in dominant and non-dominant hands for males and females using a paired -test and analysed the correlation between grip strength and weight, height, and BMI using Pearson's correlation coefficient.
RESULTS
The mean HGS for right-hand dominant (RHD) male participants was 35.62 kg (± 7.36) for the right hand compared with 32.84 kg (± 7.36) for the left hand. For females RHD the mean HGS in the right hand was 24.60 kg (± 6.42) compared to 22.12 kg (± 5.37) in the left hand. The mean weight, height and BMI of participants were 62.86 kg (± 10.30), 1.67 m (± 0.09) and 22.9 kg/m (± 4.9), respectively. A significant relationship existed between HGS and height ( = 0.492; < 0.01) as well as HGS and BMI ( = 0.290; < 0.01). However, no notable connection was found between HGS and weight ( = 0.001; = 0.982).
CONCLUSION
Hand grip strength was significantly stronger in the dominant hand of both males and females.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Physiotherapists should test HGS objectively and quantitatively for use in disease evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy.
PubMed: 37928652
DOI: 10.4102/sajp.v79i1.1923 -
Cureus Oct 2023Background The literature points towards the fact that paediatric elbow fractures happen more frequently and have greater variability when contrasted with adults....
Background The literature points towards the fact that paediatric elbow fractures happen more frequently and have greater variability when contrasted with adults. Between 65%-75% of pediatric fractures involve the upper extremity, and supracondylar humerus is the most common of them all. To know the exact site of injury and to estimate the degree of reduction after manipulation, the modified Baumann's angle, the Baumann's angle, the Humero-condylar angle, the Anterior humeral line, and the Radio-capitellar line are the parameters most commonly used. This study was carried out to compare the modified Baumann's angle between both upper limbs in the paediatric population. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary health care centre in Northern India for one year from September 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022. We included pediatric patients in the age group of 3-16 years. Age, sex, weight, height, BMI, secondary sexual characters, and handedness were noted in all the children enrolled in our study. In both the dominant and non-dominant sides, the mean arm length, the forearm length, the inter-epicondylar distance, the clinical carrying angle, the radiological carrying angle, and the modified Baumann's angle were calculated. Results A total of 113 children were enrolled in the study. The majority of children (71.7%) had dominance on the right side. In both the dominant side and non-dominant side, mean arm length, forearm length, inter-epicondylar distance, clinical carrying angle, radiological carrying angle, and modified Baumann's angle values were calculated. On evaluating the data statistically, a significant difference between the two sides was observed for all the parameters (p<0.05), except forearm length (p-value -0.954). Multivariate analysis showed that only BMI was significantly negatively associated with modified Baumann's angle (p=0.016), and only age (0.019) and BMI (<0.001) were found to be significantly associated with the difference in modified Baumann's angle. Conclusions The findings of this study will be helpful in the management of elbow disorders and their reconstruction following trauma. A significant difference was found in the modified Baumann's angle between dominant and non-dominant sides, and it also showed a negative significant correlation with arm length, forearm length, and the presence of secondary sexual characteristics. The equations derived in this study will be helpful in the simple derivation of the modified Baumann's angle and its difference from simple measurements of the upper limb parameters.
PubMed: 38034208
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.47687 -
Biotechnology For Biofuels and... Aug 2023Feed shortage is an important factor limiting livestock production in the world. To effectively utilize natural woody plant resources, we used wilting and microbial...
BACKGROUND
Feed shortage is an important factor limiting livestock production in the world. To effectively utilize natural woody plant resources, we used wilting and microbial additives to prepare an anaerobic fermentation feed of mulberry, and used PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology to analyse the "enzyme-bacteria synergy" and fermentation mechanism.
RESULTS
The fresh branches and leaves of mulberry have high levels of moisture and nutrients, and also contain a diverse range of epiphytic microorganisms. After ensiling, the microbial diversity decreased markedly, and the dominant bacteria rapidly shifted from Gram-negative Proteobacteria to Gram-positive Firmicutes. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) emerged as the dominant microbial population, resulting in increased in the proportion of the carbohydrate metabolism and decreased in the proportion of the amino acid and "global and overview map" (GOM) metabolism categories. The combination of cellulase and LAB exhibited a synergistic effect, through which cellulases such as glycanase, pectinase, and carboxymethyl cellulase decomposed cellulose and hemicellulose into sugars. LAB converted these sugars into lactic acid through the glycolytic pathway, thereby improving the microbial community structure, metabolism and fermentation quality of mulberry silage. The GOM, carbohydrate metabolism, and amino acid metabolism were the main microbial metabolic categories during ensiling. The presence of LAB had an important effect on the microbial community and metabolic pathways during silage fermentation. A "co-occurrence microbial network" formed with LAB, effectively inhibiting the growth of harmful microorganisms, and dominating the anaerobic fermentation process.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, PacBio SMRT was used to accurately analyse the microbial network information and regulatory mechanism of anaerobic fermentation, which provided a scientific basis for the study of woody silage fermentation theory. This study reveals for the first time the main principle of the enzyme-bacteria synergy in a woody silage fermentation system, which provides technical support for the development and utilization of woody feed resources, and achieves sustainable livestock production.
PubMed: 37542284
DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02368-2 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2023Although several previous studies on laterality of upper limb motor control have reported functional differences, this conclusion has not been agreed upon. It may be...
Although several previous studies on laterality of upper limb motor control have reported functional differences, this conclusion has not been agreed upon. It may be conjectured that the inconsistent results were caused because upper limb motor control was observed in multi-joint tasks that could generate different inter-joint motor coordination for each arm. Resolving this, we employed a single wrist joint tracking task to reduce the effect of multi-joint dynamics and examined the differences between the dominant and non-dominant hands in terms of motor control. Specifically, we defined two sections to induce feedback (FB) and feedforward (FF) controls: the first section involved a visible target for FB control, and the other section involved an invisible target for FF control. We examined the differences in the position errors of the tracer and the target. Fourteen healthy participants performed the task. As a result, we found that during FB control, the dominant hand performed better than the non-dominant hand, while we did not observe significant differences in FF control. In other words, in a single-joint movement that is not under the influence of the multi-joint coordination, only FB control showed laterality and not FF control. Furthermore, we confirmed that the dominant hand outperformed the non-dominant hand in terms of responding to situations that required a change in control strategy.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Robotic Surgical Procedures; Movement; Upper Extremity; Functional Laterality; Hand
PubMed: 38067818
DOI: 10.3390/s23239443 -
Heliyon Jul 2023Public administration implements government policies through prudent administrative practices and state capacity. Based on Asia's political and administrative...
Public administration implements government policies through prudent administrative practices and state capacity. Based on Asia's political and administrative proficiency and paradox, this study explores the administrative state capacity determinants-bureaucratic quality (BQ) and military in politics (MP)-and their interaction with sustainable public health quality (PHQ) in Asia from 2006 to 2020. With its focus on the scenario and Asian state administrative issues, Goal 04: Health and Well-being of Sustainable Development Goals has been the core aspect of state capacity and sustainable development. Applying the generalized method of moments (GMM) econometric estimation, the study finds that the high risk of poor BQ due to political pressures and policy inconsistency has significantly and negatively impacted PHQ in Asia. In contrast, by overtaking the administration, a high degree of MP and military dominancy has been a progressive force for PHQ in Asia. The interaction of BQ and MP negatively affects the state's social development due to conflict of interest and shredding policy outcomes. This is the first study that deals with the nexus between sustainable development and administrative state capacity determinants of Asia's public sector. The paper finds that an effective and prudent administrative collaboration and expertise-sharing between the bureaucracy and the military accelerates sustainable healthcare in Asia. Furthermore, the study believes that a healthy institutional collaboration will help overcome the development loopholes in Asia, promote PHQ, and accelerate regional development.
PubMed: 37539303
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18273 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2023The endocannabinoid system is known to be involved in learning, memory, emotional processing and regulation of personality patterns. Here we assessed the...
The endocannabinoid system is known to be involved in learning, memory, emotional processing and regulation of personality patterns. Here we assessed the endocannabinoid profile in the brains of mice with strong characteristics of social dominance and submissiveness. A lipidomics approach was employed to assess the endocannabinoidome in the brains of Dominant (Dom) and Submissive (Sub) mice. The endocannabinoid showing the greatest difference in concentration in the brain between the groups, docosatetraenoyl ethanolamine (DEA), was synthesized, and its effects on the physiological and behavioral responses of Dom and Sub mice were evaluated. mRNA expression of the endocannabinoid receptors and enzymes involved in PUFA biosynthesis was assessed using qRT-PCR. Targeted LC/MS analysis revealed that long-chain polyunsaturated ethanolamides including arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA), DEA, docosatrienoyl ethanolamide (DTEA), eicosatrienoyl ethanolamide (ETEA), eicosapentaenoyl ethanolamide (EPEA) and docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide (DHEA) were higher in the Sub compared with the Dom mice. Untargeted LC/MS analysis showed that the parent fatty acids, docosatetraenoic (DA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA), were higher in Sub vs. Dom. Gene expression analysis revealed increased mRNA expression of genes encoding the desaturase FADS2 and the elongase ELOVL5 in Sub mice compared with Dom mice. Acute DEA administration at the dose of 15 mg/kg produced antinociceptive and locomotion-inducing effects in Sub mice, but not in Dom mice. Subchronic treatment with DEA at the dose of 5 mg/kg augmented dominant behavior in wild-type ICR and Dom mice but not in Sub mice. This study suggests that the endocannabinoid system may play a role in the regulation of dominance and submissiveness, functional elements of social behavior and personality. While currently we have only scratched the surface, understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system in personality may help in revealing the mechanisms underlying the etiopathology of psychiatric disorders.
PubMed: 37663250
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1234332