Complex sensory environments alter mate choice outcomes.

Noise is a common problem in animal communication. We know little, however, about how animals communicate in the presence of noise using multimodal signals. Multimodal signals are hypothesised to be favoured by evolution because they increase the efficacy of detection and discrimination in noisy environments. We tested the hypothesis that female túngara frogs' responses to attractive male advertisement calls are improved in noise when a visual signal component is added to the available choices. We tested this at two levels of decision complexity (two and three choices). In a two-choice test, the presence of noise did not reduce female preferences for attractive calls. The visual component of a calling male, associated with an unattractive call, also did not reduce preference for attractive calls in the absence of noise. In the presence of noise, however, females were more likely to choose an unattractive call coupled with the visual component. In three-choice tests, the presence of noise alone reduced female responses to attractive calls and this was not strongly affected by the presence or absence of visual components. The responses in these experiments fail to support the multimodal signal efficacy hypothesis. Instead, the data suggest that audio-visual perception and cognitive processing, related to mate choice decisions, are dependent on the complexity of the sensory scene.

Human-dog relationships as a working framework for exploring human-robot attachment: a multidisciplinary review.

Robotic agents will be life-long companions of humans in the foreseeable future. To achieve such successful relationships, people will likely attribute emotions and personality, assign social competencies, and develop a long-lasting attachment to robots. However, without a clear theoretical framework-building on biological, psychological, and technological knowledge-current societal demands for establishing successful human-robot attachment (HRA) as a new form of inter-species interactions might fail. The study of evolutionarily adaptive animal behavior (i.e., ethology) suggests that human-animal behaviors can be considered as a plausible solution in designing and building models of ethorobots-including modeling the inter-species bond between domesticated animals and humans. Evidence shows that people assign emotional feelings and personality characteristics to animal species leading to cooperation and communication-crucial for designing social robots such as companion robots. Because dogs have excellent social skills with humans, current research applies human-dog relationships as a template to understand HRA. Our goal of this article is twofold. First, we overview the research on how human-dog interactions are implemented as prototypes of non-human social companions in HRA. Second, we review research about attitudes that humans have for interacting with robotic dogs based on their appearance and behavior, the implications for forming attachments, and human-animal interactions in the rising sphere of robot-assisted therapy. The rationale for this review is to provide a new perspective to facilitate future research among biologists, psychologists, and engineers-contributing to the creation of innovative research practices for studying social behaviors and its implications for society addressing HRA.

A secretory form of Parkin-independent mitophagy contributes to the repertoire of extracellular vesicles released into the tumour interstitial fluid in vivo.

We characterized the in vivo interstitial fluid (IF) content of extracellular vesicles (EVs) using the GFP-4T1 syngeneic murine cancer model to study EVs in-transit to the draining lymph node. GFP labelling confirmed the IF EV tumour cell origin. Molecular analysis revealed an abundance of IF EV-associated proteins specifically involved in mitophagy and secretory autophagy. A set of proteins required for sequential steps of fission-induced mitophagy preferentially populated the CD81+/PD-L1+ IF EVs; PINK1, TOM20, and ARIH1 E3 ubiquitin ligase (required for Parkin-independent mitophagy), DRP1 and FIS1 (mitochondrial peripheral fission), VDAC-1 (ubiquitination state triggers mitophagy away from apoptosis), VPS35, SEC22b, and Rab33b (vacuolar sorting). Comparing in vivo IF EVs to in vitro EVs revealed 40% concordance, with an elevation of mitophagy proteins in the CD81+ EVs for both murine and human cell lines subjected to metabolic stress. The export of cellular mitochondria proteins to CD81+ EVs was confirmed by density gradient isolation from the bulk EV isolate followed by anti-CD81 immunoprecipitation, molecular sieve chromatography, and MitoTracker export into CD81+ EVs. We propose the 4T1 in vivo model as a versatile tool to functionally characterize IF EVs. IF EV export of fission mitophagy proteins has broad implications for mitochondrial function and cellular immunology.

Health Disparities: Impact of Health Disparities and Treatment Decision-Making Biases on Cancer Adverse Effects Among Black Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND: Health disparities affect cancer incidence, treatment decisions, and adverse effects. Oncology providers may hold biases in the decision-making process, which can perpetuate health disparities. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe health disparities across treatment decisions and adverse effects, describe decision-making biases, and provide suggestions for nurses to mitigate adverse outcomes. METHODS: A scoping review of the literature was conducted. FINDINGS: Factors affecting health disparities stem, in part, from structural racism and decision-making biases, such as implicit bias, which occurs when individuals have unconscious negative thoughts or feelings toward a particular group. Other decision-making biases, seemingly unrelated to race, include default bias, delay discounting bias, and availability bias. Nurses and nurse navigators can mitigate health disparities by providing culturally appropriate care, assessing health literacy, providing education regarding adverse effects, serving as patient advocates, empowering patients, evaluating personal level of disease knowledge, and monitoring and managing cancer treatment adverse effects.

Implementing a Clinic-Based Telehealth Support Service (FamilyStrong) for Family Caregivers of Individuals with Grade IV Brain Tumors.

Background: Nearly 3 million U.S. family caregivers support someone with cancer. However, oncology clinic-based service lines that proactively screen, assess, and support cancer caregivers are nearly nonexistent. Objective: To examine first-year experiences of a nurse-led clinic-based telehealth support service (FamilyStrong) for family caregivers of patients with recently diagnosed grade IV brain tumors. Methods: This is a retrospective evaluation of operational outcomes from initial implementation of the FamilyStrong Service, developed in partnership with Caregiver and Bereavement Support Services at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. From August 2018 to December 2019, 53 family caregivers were proactively identified and enrolled by a palliative care nurse, working approximately one day/week, who performed monthly caregiver distress thermometer screenings by phone and provided emotional, educational, problem-solving, and referral support. Results: Enrolled family caregivers were a mean age of 53.5 years and mostly female (62.3%), full- or part-time employed (67.9%), and the patient's spouse/partner (79.3%). Caregivers provided support 6.7 days/week for 11.2 hours/day. The palliative care nurse performed 235 distress screenings and provided support that included 68 documented instances of emotional, problem-solving, and educational support, 41 nurse-facilitated communications with the neuro-oncology team about patient issues, and 24 referrals to UAB and community services (e.g., counseling). The most common problems caregivers wanted assistance with included: managing their relative's health condition and symptoms (51%), coordinating care/services (21%), and planning for the future/advance care planning (17%). Discussion: The FamilyStrong Program is among the first "real world" oncology clinic-based formal support services for advance cancer family caregivers.

Characterization and Validation of Arg286 Residue of IL-1RAcP as a Potential Drug Target for Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and the fastest growing cause of chronic disability in the world. Formation of the ternary IL-1ß /IL-1R1/IL-1RAcP protein complex and its downstream signaling has been implicated in osteoarthritis pathology. Current OA therapeutic approaches target either the cytokine IL-1ß or the primary receptor IL-1RI but do not exploit the potential of the secondary receptor IL-1RAcP. Our previous work implicated the Arg286 residue of IL-1RAcP as a key mediator of complex formation. Molecular modeling confirmed Arg286 as a high-energy mediator of the ternary IL-1ß complex architecture and interaction network. Anti-IL-1RAcP monoclonal antibodies (mAb) targeting the Arg286 residue were created and were shown to effectively reduce the influx of inflammatory cells to damaged joints in a mouse model of osteoarthritis. Inhibitory peptides based on the native sequence of IL-1RAcP were prepared and examined for efficacy at disrupting the complex formation. The most potent peptide inhibitor had an IC50 value of 304 pM in a pull-down model of complex formation, and reduced IL-1ß signaling in a cell model by 90% at 2 µM. Overall, therapies that target the Arg286 region surface of IL-1RAcP, and disrupt subsequent interactions with subunits, have the potential to serve as next generation treatments for osteoarthritis.

A review of peripheral nerve blocks for cesarean delivery analgesia.

Peripheral nerve blocks have a unique role in postcesarean delivery multimodal analgesia regimens. In this review article, options for peripheral nerve blocks for cesarean delivery analgesia will be reviewed, specifically paravertebral, transversus abdominis plane, quadratus lumborum, iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal, erector spinae, and continuous wound infiltration blocks. Anatomy, existing literature evidence, and specific areas in need of future research will be assessed. Considerations for local anesthetic toxicity, and for informed consent for these modalities in the context of emergency cesarean deliveries, will be presented.

Group B Streptococcus colonization and higher maternal IL-1ß concentrations are associated with early term births.

Association between maternal Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization diagnosed between 35 and 37 weeks of gestation and early term birth (between 37 and 39 weeks) and maternal-fetal inflammatory response associated with this condition were tested. In this cohort study of women delivering at term at Centennial Women's Hospital in Nashville, TN, GBS status and other clinical and demographic data were obtained from medical records. Exposed women were those testing positive for GBS (GBS positive [n = 490]) and the unexposed tested negative for GBS (GBS negative [n = 1,127]). To determine the inflammatory response associated with GBS, a cross sectional study, maternal and fetal plasma biomarkers (IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) were measured in the same cohort. T-tests and logistic regression determined association between GBS status, biomarker concentrations and early term birth. Gestational age was reduced to 271.1 (95% CI 270.4, 271.1) for cases compared to 274.7 (95% CI 274.4, 275.1) days for controls (p < 0.0001). The odds of early term birth was increased by threefold in cases (OR 3.28; 95% CI 2.60-4.15; p < 0.0001). The mean birth weight in cases (3285.3 g) (95% CI 3242.6, 3327.9) was lower than the controls, 3373.8 g (95% CI 3348.9, 3398.7) (p = 0.0004). Maternal IL-1ß was greater in cases (22.8 ng/ml; range 5.2-157.7 ng/ml) compared to controls (5.7; range 2.4-69.5 ng/ml; p < 0.0001). IL-1ß was higher in fetal plasma in cases vs. controls (20.33 vs. 8.18 ng/ml; p = 0.01). A 10 ng/ml increase in maternal IL-1ß was associated with increased risk for GBS infection (OR: 1.628, CI: 1.163-2.278; p = 0.0045). GBS colonization shortened gestational age at term and IL-1ß concentration in maternal plasma is an indicator of GBS status.