Mating pair drives aggressive behavior in female Drosophila.

Aggression is an adaptive set of behaviors that allows animals to compete against one another in an environment of limited resources. Typically, males fight for mates and food, whereas females fight for food and nest sites.1 Although the study of male aggression has been facilitated by the extravagant nature of the ritualized displays involved and the remarkable armaments sported by males of many species,2,3,4 the subtler and rarer instances of inter-female aggression have historically received much less attention. In Drosophila, females display high levels of complex and highly structured aggression on a food patch with conspecific females.5,6,7,8,9 Other contexts of female aggression have not been explored. Indeed, whether females compete for mating partners, as males do, has remained unknown so far. In the present work, we report that Drosophila melanogaster females reliably display aggression toward mating pairs. This aggressive behavior is regulated by mating status and perception of mating opportunities and relies heavily on olfaction. Furthermore, we found that food odor in combination with OR47b-dependent fly odor sensing is required for proper expression of aggressive behavior. Taken together, we describe a social context linked to reproduction in which Drosophila females aspiring to mate produce consistent and stereotyped displays of aggression. These findings open the door for further inquiries into the neural mechanisms that govern this behavior.

Male courtship song drives escape responses that are suppressed for successful mating.

Persuasion is a crucial component of the courtship ritual needed to overcome contact aversion. In fruit flies, it is well established that the male courtship song prompts receptivity in female flies, in part by causing sexually mature females to slow down and pause, allowing copulation. Whether the above receptivity behaviours require the suppression of contact avoidance or escape remains unknown. Here we show, through genetic manipulation of neurons we identified as required for female receptivity, that male song induces avoidance/escape responses that are suppressed in wild type flies. First, we show that silencing 70A09 neurons leads to an increase in escape, as females increase their walking speed during courtship together with an increase in jumping and a reduction in pausing. The increase in escape response is specific to courtship, as escape to a looming threat is not intensified. Activation of 70A09 neurons leads to pausing, confirming the role of these neurons in escape modulation. Finally, we show that the escape displays by the female result from the presence of a courting male and more specifically from the song produced by a courting male. Our results suggest that courtship song has a dual role, promoting both escape and pause in females and that escape is suppressed by the activity of 70A09 neurons, allowing mating to occur.

Avoidance response to CO2 in the lateral horn.

In flies, the olfactory information is carried from the first relay in the brain, the antennal lobe, to the mushroom body (MB) and the lateral horn (LH). Olfactory associations are formed in the MB. The LH was ascribed a role in innate responses based on the stereotyped connectivity with the antennal lobe, stereotyped physiological responses to odors, and MB silencing experiments. Direct evidence for the functional role of the LH is still missing. Here, we investigate the behavioral role of the LH neurons (LHNs) directly, using the CO2 response as a paradigm. Our results show the involvement of the LH in innate responses. Specifically, we demonstrate that activity in two sets of neurons is required for the full behavioral response to CO2. Tests of the behavioral response to other odors indicate the neurons are selective to CO2 response. Using calcium imaging, we observe that the two sets of neurons respond to CO2 in a different manner. Using independent manipulation and recording of the two sets of neurons, we find that the one that projects to the superior intermediate protocerebrum (SIP) also outputs to the local neurons within the LH. The design of simultaneous output at the LH and the SIP, an output of the MB, allows for coordination between innate and learned responses.

apterous Brain Neurons Control Receptivity to Male Courtship in Drosophila Melanogaster Females.

Courtship behaviours allow animals to interact and display their qualities before committing to reproduction. In fly courtship, the female decides whether or not to mate and is thought to display receptivity by slowing down to accept the male. Very little is known on the neuronal brain circuitry controlling female receptivity. Here we use genetic manipulation and behavioural studies to identify a novel set of neurons in the brain that controls sexual receptivity in the female without triggering the postmating response. We show that these neurons, defined by the expression of the transcription factor apterous, affect the modulation of female walking speed during courtship. Interestingly, we found that the apterous neurons required for female receptivity are neither doublesex nor fruitless positive suggesting that apterous neurons are not specified by the sex-determination cascade. Overall, these findings identify a neuronal substrate underlying female response to courtship and highlight the central role of walking speed in the receptivity behaviour.

As práticas educativas dos enfermeiros na preparação do regresso a casa da pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica de ambulatório / The educational practices of nurses in the preparation for the return home of the person who has undergone an outpatient surgical intervention

A pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica em Cirurgia de Ambulatório, com a admissão e alta no mesmo dia, requer uma assistência rigorosa e diferenciada. Assim as práticas educativas dos enfermeiros a uma pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica em Cirurgia de Ambulatório no seu regresso a casa são fundamentais, a enfermagem ocupa, um lugar crucial neste contexto. Pretendemos com este estudo conhecer as práticas educativas dos enfermeiros na preparação do regresso a casa da pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica, tornando visível a intervenção do enfermeiro como um forte elemento para o sucesso na recuperação da pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica em Cirurgia de Ambulatório. Neste sentido, optámos por um estudo de natureza qualitativa, com uma abordagem de cariz exploratório-descritivo e a estratégia de recolha de dados incidiu na entrevista semi-estruturada, dirigida à pessoa submetida a uma intervenção cirúrgica em Cirurgia de Ambulatório e aos enfermeiros de uma Unidade de Cirurgia de Ambulatório. Os dados foram analisados com o recurso à análise de conteúdo. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram os contributos e deste modo a importância das práticas educativas neste contexto. Permitiram-nos, ainda identificar o tipo de informação e as estratégias mobilizadas pelo enfermeiro bem como as dificuldades sentidas neste processo. Ficaram ainda visíveis as dificuldades sentidas pela pessoa intervencionada a uma cirurgia no regresso a casa principalmente ao nível da atividades de vida diárias, bem como as estratégias mobilizadas para as ultrapassar. Estes resultados sugerem que é importante refletir sobre a intervenção do enfermeiro no sentido da melhoria contínua das práticas realizadas e adequando procedimentos não só a nível das dinâmicas da equipa mas também da organização.

An individual that is submitted to a surgical intervention in an Ambulatory Surgery department, with admission and discharged on the same day, requires rigorous and differentiated assistance. In this regards, the educational practise conducted by nurses upon discharge of these patients are fundamental, and nursing exerts a critical place in this setting. With this study we aim to recognize of different educational practices in nursing when preparing a patient submitted to a surgical intervention for discharge, making it evident the importance of the intervention of the nurse as a strong element in the success in patient recovery. To achieve these goals, this study was conducted using a qualitative approach, in an explorative-descriptive manner. Collection of data was mainly archived through a semi-structured interview conducted at both the patient submitted to a surgical intervention in Ambulatory Surgery, as well as nurses of the Ambulatory Surgery Department. Data was analysed based on content analyses. The results demonstrate the contributions and highlighted the importance of the educational practices of nursing in these circumstances. Furthermore, the results allowed us to identify different types of information and strategies used by the nurse, as well as recognize some difficulties encountered in this process. Also evident, were the difficulties felt by the patient upon arrival at home in completing day-to-day tasks, likewise some strategies were identified to overcome these difficulties. These results suggest the importance of reflecting on nursing interventions aiming towards an on-going of good practices and procedures not only in one-on-one nursing, but also as part of team and organizational dynamics.