Living in large, stable social groups is often considered to favour the evolution of enhanced cognitive abilities, such as recognizing group members, tracking their social status and inferring ...relationships among them. An individual's place in the social order can be learned through direct interactions with others, but conflicts can be time-consuming and even injurious. Because the number of possible pairwise interactions increases rapidly with group size, members of large social groups will benefit if they can make judgments about relationships on the basis of indirect evidence. Transitive reasoning should therefore be particularly important for social individuals, allowing assessment of relationships from observations of interactions among others. Although a variety of studies have suggested that transitive inference may be used in social settings, the phenomenon has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions in animals. Here we show that highly social pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) draw sophisticated inferences about their own dominance status relative to that of strangers that they have observed interacting with known individuals. These results directly demonstrate that animals use transitive inference in social settings and imply that such cognitive capabilities are widespread among social species.
AIMSThis study aimed to examine antibiotic resistance and the epidemiology of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli associated with bloodstream infections over a period of ...10 years.METHODS AND RESULTSIsolates were collected from January 2009 to December 2019 and those testing for E. coli were included. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested using the VITEK® system. Selected isolates were further characterized by amplification of marker genes (virulence traits, phylogroups, and sequence types). A total of 166 ESBL-producing E. coli were recovered. The blaCTX-M-15 allele was the most abundant. Most of the isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, cefepime, ceftazidime, ampicillin/sulbactam, piperacillin/tazobactam, and ciprofloxacin. No resistance to carbapenems was registered. More than 80% of bacteria were classified as extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), and the combination of virulence traits:papA-papC-kpsMII-uitA was the most common. Phylogroup B2 was the most prevalent, and bacteria predominantly belonged to ST131.CONCLUSIONSThere was an increase in the ExPEC ESBL-E coli in bloodstream infections and the relationship between the isolates found in these infections during these 10 years.
Satellite Chlorophyll a (CHL) data were used to investigate the influence of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies (AEs) and cyclonic eddies (CEs) on the timing of spring phytoplankton bloom initiation ...around the Yamato Basin (133–139°E and 35–39.5°N) in the Japan Sea, for the period 2002–2011. The results showed significant differences between AEs and CEs in the timing and initiation mechanism of the spring phytoplankton bloom. Blooms were initiated earlier in CEs which were characterized by shallow mixed‐layer depths (< 100 m). The early blooming preceded the end of winter cooling (i.e., while net heat flux (Q0) is still negative) and is initiated by the increased average light within the shallow mixed‐layer depth. Conversely, blooms appeared in the AEs despite deeper mixed‐layer depth (> 100 m) but close to the commencement of positive Q0. This suggests that the relaxation of turbulent mixing is crucial for the bloom initiation in AEs.
Key Points
Timing of bloom initiation is early in cyclonic eddies (CEs) compared to anticyclonic eddies (AEs)
The difference in the timing of bloom initiation is mainly caused by the difference in the mixed‐layer depth
Bloom triggers are increased average light in shallow mixed‐layer CEs and relaxation of convective mixing in deep mixed‐layer AEs
•Panoramic images are captured in shortwave and longwave to analyze urban scenes.•Setup includes a panoramic head, a standard digital camera and a LWIR thermal camera.•Spatial integration gives the ...Mean Radiant Temperature.•Results match very well with black globe measurements.•Spatialized information shows the influence of surface texture on urban comfort.
In urban climate or thermal comfort, radiative exchanges are often expressed in terms of Mean Radiant Temperature. Considering that a single temperature does not properly represent the radiative environment, an alternative method is proposed here to observe it in depth. This method is giving an alternative for evaluating the urban radiant environment through a measurement that covers a solid angle of 4π steradians.
The results are validated by comparison with those obtained by the black-globe method. The difference is always less than two degrees.
This paper proposes the joint use of photographic and LWIR thermal cameras for a radiometric study. Due to the nature of its approach, this method allows for spectral discrimination, in two bands: 380–780 nm and 7.5–13 μm. This encourages the separate analysis of each part of the spectrum as well as the ensemble.
Furthermore, the small duration of each measurement opens up the possibility of studying the radiative environment free from disturbances due to the inertia of the measuring device.
We report a rare case of latent melioidosis activation in a patient with a distant travel history to an endemic region. Melioidosis is an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei which is highly ...endemic in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The patient exhibited common clinical risk factors, presenting with urinary tract infection and bacteremia. The treatment course was complicated by the adverse effect of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. This case underscores the importance of early detection and appropriate treatment of melioidosis, particularly given its expanding global distribution.
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic yield of 2 different next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches: gene panel and “solo” clinical exome sequencing (solo-CES), in fetuses ...with structural anomalies and normal chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), in the absence of a known familial mutation. Methodology: Gene panels encompassing from 2 to 140 genes, were applied mainly in persistent nuchal fold/fetal hydrops and in large hyperechogenic kidneys. Solo-CES, which entails sequencing the fetus alone and only interpreting the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man genes, was performed in multisystem or recurrent structural anomalies. Results: During the study period (2015–2020), 153 NGS studies were performed in 148 structurally abnormal fetuses with a normal CMA. The overall diagnostic yield accounted for 35% (53/153) of samples and 36% (53/148) of the fetuses. Diagnostic yield with the gene panels was 31% (15/49), similar to 37% (38/104) in solo-CES. Conclusions: A monogenic disease was established as the underlying cause in 35% of selected fetal structural anomalies by gene panels and solo-CES.
Fast repetition rate fluorometry (FRRf) provides a potential means to examine marine primary productivity; however, FRRf-based productivity estimations require knowledge of the electron requirement (
...K
) for carbon (C) uptake (
K
C
) to scale an electron transfer rate (ETR) to the CO
2
uptake rate. Most previous studies have derived
K
C
from parallel measurements of ETR and CO
2
uptake over relatively short incubations, with few from longer-term daily-integrated periods. Here we determined
K
C
by comparing depth-specific, daily ETRs and CO
2
-uptake rates obtained from 24-h on-deck incubation experiments undertaken on seven cruises in Ariake Bay, Japan, from 2008 to 2010. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of variability of
K
C
and to what extent this variability could be reconciled with the prevailing environmental conditions and ultimately to develop a method for determining net primary productivity (NPP) based on FRRf measurements. Both daily ETR and
K
C
of the upper layer varied considerably, from 0.5 to 115.7 mmol e
−
mg Chl-
a
−1
day
−1
and 4.1–26.6 mol e
−
(mol C)
−1
, respectively, throughout the entire data set. Multivariate analysis revealed a strong correlation between daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and
K
C
(
r
2
= 0.94). A simple PAR-dependent relationship derived from the data set was used for generating
K
C
, and this relationship was validated by comparing the FRRf-predicted NPP with the
13
C uptake measured in 2007. These new observations demonstrate the potential application of FRRf for estimating regional NPP from ETR.
Kin Recognition in Protists and Other Microbes is the first volume dedicated entirely to the genetics, evolution and behavior of cells capable of discriminating and recognizing taxa (other species), ...clones (other cell lines) and kin (as per gradual genetic proximity). It covers the advent of microbial models in the field of kin recognition; the polymorphisms of green-beard genes in social amebas, yeast and soil bacteria; the potential that unicells have to learn phenotypic cues for recognition; the role of clonality and kinship in pathogenicity (dysentery, malaria, sleeping sickness and Chagas); the social and spatial structure of microbes and their biogeography; and the relevance of unicells' cooperation, sociality and cheating for our understanding of the origins of multicellularity. Offering over 200 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including researchers in academia, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and research undergraduates. Science writers and college educators will also find it informative and practical for teaching.
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