Evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult brood parasitic bird, and generalized defences in its host.

Mimicry of a harmless model (aggressive mimicry) is used by egg, chick and fledgling brood parasites that resemble the host's own eggs, chicks and fledglings. However, aggressive mimicry may also evolve in adult brood parasites, to avoid attack from hosts and/or manipulate their perception of parasitism risk. We tested the hypothesis that female cuckoo finches (Anomalospiza imberbis) are aggressive mimics of female Euplectes weavers, such as the harmless, abundant and sympatric southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). We show that female cuckoo finch plumage colour and pattern more closely resembled those of Euplectes weavers (putative models) than Vidua finches (closest relatives); that their tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava) hosts were equally aggressive towards female cuckoo finches and southern red bishops, and more aggressive to both than to their male counterparts; and that prinias were equally likely to reject an egg after seeing a female cuckoo finch or bishop, and more likely to do so than after seeing a male bishop near their nest. This is, to our knowledge, the first quantitative evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult bird, and suggests that host-parasite coevolution can select for aggressive mimicry by avian brood parasites, and counter-defences by hosts, at all stages of the reproductive cycle.W.E.F. was funded by the Australian National University Research School of Biology studentship, and an Endeavour Research Fellowship; C.N.S. was funded by a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellowship (BB/J014109/1) and the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute; and N.E.L. was funded by the Australian Research Council.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Royal Society Publishing via http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.07

Brood parasitism is linked to egg pattern diversity within and among species of Australian passerines.

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Bird eggs show striking diversity in color and pattern. One explanation for this is that interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts drive egg phenotype evolution. Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species, their hosts. Many hosts defend their nests against parasitism by rejecting foreign eggs, which selects for parasite eggs that mimic those of the host. In theory, this may in turn select for changes in host egg phenotypes over time to facilitate discrimination of parasite eggs. Here, we test for the first time whether parasitism by brood parasites has led to increased divergence in egg phenotype among host species. Using Australian host and nonhost species and objective measures of egg color and pattern, we show that (i) hosts of brood parasites have higher within-species variation in egg pattern than nonhosts, supporting previous findings in other systems, and (ii) host species have diverged more in their egg patterns than nonhost species after controlling for divergence time. Overall, our results suggest that brood parasitism has played a significant role in the evolution of egg diversity and that these effects are evident, not only within species, but also among species.I.M. was supported by an Australian National University Vice-Chancellor’s travel grant, and N.E.L. was supported by the Australian Research Council

Time-dependent angularly averaged inverse transport

This paper concerns the reconstruction of the absorption and scattering parameters in a time-dependent linear transport equation from knowledge of angularly averaged measurements performed at the boundary of a domain of interest. We show that the absorption coefficient and the spatial component of the scattering coefficient are uniquely determined by such measurements. We obtain stability results on the reconstruction of the absorption and scattering parameters with respect to the measured albedo operator. The stability results are obtained by a precise decomposition of the measurements into components with different singular behavior in the time domain

Xerostomia, Xerogenic Medications and Food Avoidances in Selected Geriatric Groups

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111175/1/j.1532-5415.1995.tb05815.x.pd

Rapid, ultra low coverage copy number profiling of cell-free DNA as a precision oncology screening strategy.

Current cell-free DNA (cfDNA) next generation sequencing (NGS) precision oncology workflows are typically limited to targeted and/or disease-specific applications. In advanced cancer, disease burden and cfDNA tumor content are often elevated, yielding unique precision oncology opportunities. We sought to demonstrate the utility of a pan-cancer, rapid, inexpensive, whole genome NGS of cfDNA approach (PRINCe) as a precision oncology screening strategy via ultra-low coverage (~0.01x) tumor content determination through genome-wide copy number alteration (CNA) profiling. We applied PRINCe to a retrospective cohort of 124 cfDNA samples from 100 patients with advanced cancers, including 76 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), enabling cfDNA tumor content approximation and actionable focal CNA detection, while facilitating concordance analyses between cfDNA and tissue-based NGS profiles and assessment of cfDNA alteration associations with mCRPC treatment outcomes. Therapeutically relevant focal CNAs were present in 42 (34%) cfDNA samples, including 36 of 93 (39%) mCRPC patient samples harboring AR amplification. PRINCe identified pre-treatment cfDNA CNA profiles facilitating disease monitoring. Combining PRINCe with routine targeted NGS of cfDNA enabled mutation and CNA assessment with coverages tuned to cfDNA tumor content. In mCRPC, genome-wide PRINCe cfDNA and matched tissue CNA profiles showed high concordance (median Pearson correlation = 0.87), and PRINCe detectable AR amplifications predicted reduced time on therapy, independent of therapy type (Kaplan-Meier log-rank test, chi-square = 24.9, p < 0.0001). Our screening approach enables robust, broadly applicable cfDNA-based precision oncology for patients with advanced cancer through scalable identification of therapeutically relevant CNAs and pre-/post-treatment genomic profiles, enabling cfDNA- or tissue-based precision oncology workflow optimization

The purpose of United Nations Security Council practice: Contesting competence claims in the normative context created by the Responsibility to Protect.

Practice theory provides important insight into the workings of the Security Council. The contribution is currently limited however by the conjecture that practice theory operates on ‘a different analytical plane’ to norm / normative theory (Adler-Nissen and Pouliot 2014). Building on existing critiques (Duval and Chowdhury 2011; Schindler and Wille 2015) we argue that analyzing practices separately from normative positions risks misappropriating competence and reifying practice that is not fit for purpose. This risk is realized in Adler-Nissen and Pouliot’s (2014) practice based account Libya crisis. By returning the normative context created by the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to the analytical foreground, and by drawing on a pragmatic conception of 'ethical competence' (Frost 2009), we find that pre-reflexive practices uncritically accepted as markers of competence – e.g. ‘penholding’ – can contribute to the Council’s failure to act collectively in the face of mass atrocity. Drawing on extensive interview material we offer an alternative account of the Libya intervention, finding that the practices of the permanent three (France, UK and US) did not cultivate the kind of collective consciousness that is required to implement R2P. This is further illustrated by an account of the Security Council’s failure in Syria, where the P3’s insistence on regime change instrumentalized the Council at the expense of R2P-appropriate practice. This changed when elected members became ‘penholders’. Practice theory can facilitate learning processes that help the Council meet its responsibilities, but only through an approach that combines its insights with those of norm / normative theory

Physiological characteristics of dysphagia following thermal burn injury

The study aim was to document the acute physiological characteristics of swallowing impairment following thermal burn injury. A series of 19 participants admitted to a specialised burn centre with thermal burn injury were identified with suspected aspiration risk by a clinical swallow examination (CSE) conducted by a speech-language pathologist and referred to the study. Once medically stable, each then underwent more detailed assessment using both a CSE and fiberoptic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). FEES confirmed six individuals (32%) had no aspiration risk and were excluded from further analyses. Of the remaining 13, CSE confirmed that two had specific oral-phase deficits due to orofacial scarring and contractures, and all 13 had generalised oromotor weakness. FEES revealed numerous pharyngeal-phase deficits, with the major findings evident in greater than 50% being impaired secretion management, laryngotracheal edema, delayed swallow initiation, impaired sensation, inadequate movement of structures within the hypopharynx and larynx, and diffuse pharyngeal residue. Penetration and/or aspiration occurred in 83% (n = 10/12) of thin fluids trials, with a lack of response to the penetration/aspiration noted in 50% (n = 6/12 penetration aspiration events) of the cases. Most events occurred post swallow. Findings support the fact that individuals with dysphagia post thermal burn present with multiple risk factors for aspiration that appear predominantly related to generalised weakness and inefficiency and further impacted by edema and sensory impairments. Generalised oromotor weakness and orofacial contractures (when present) impact oral-stage swallow function. This study has identified a range of factors that may contribute to both oral- and pharyngeal-stage dysfunction in this clinical population and has highlighted the importance of using a combination of clinical and instrumental assessments to fully understand the influence of burn injury on oral intake and swallowing