Pesticide exposure triggers sex-specific inter- and transgenerational effects conditioned by past sexual selection.

Environmental variation often induces plastic responses in organisms that can trigger changes in subsequent generations through non-genetic inheritance mechanisms. Such transgenerational plasticity thus consists of environmentally induced non-random phenotypic modifications that are transmitted through generations. Transgenerational effects may vary according to the sex of the organism experiencing the environmental perturbation, the sex of their descendants or both, but whether they are affected by past sexual selection is unknown. Here, we use experimental evolution on an insect model system to conduct a first test of the involvement of sexual selection history in shaping transgenerational plasticity in the face of rapid environmental change (exposure to pesticide). We manipulated evolutionary history in terms of the intensity of sexual selection for over 80 generations before exposing individuals to the toxicant. We found that sexual selection history constrained adaptation under rapid environmental change. We also detected inter- and transgenerational effects of pesticide exposure in the form of increased fitness and longevity. These cross-generational influences of toxicants were sex dependent (they affected only male descendants), and intergenerational, but not transgenerational, plasticity was modulated by sexual selection history. Our results highlight the complexity of intra-, inter- and transgenerational influences of past selection and environmental stress on phenotypic expression.

Linear Vibronic Coupling Approach for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering: Quantifying the Charge-Transfer Enhancement Mechanism.

The outstanding amplification observed in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is due to several enhancement mechanisms, and standing out among them are the plasmonic (PL) and charge-transfer (CT) mechanisms. The theoretical estimation of the enhancement factors of the CT mechanism is challenging because the excited-state coupling between bright plasmons and dark CT states must be properly introduced into the model to obtain reliable intensities. In this work, we aim at simulating electrochemical SERS spectra, considering models of pyridine on silver clusters subjected to an external electric field E⃗ that represents the effect of an electrode potential Vel. The method adopts quantum dynamical propagations of nuclear wavepackets on the coupled PL and CT states described with linear vibronic coupling models parametrized for each E⃗ through a fragment-based maximum-overlap diabatization. By presenting results at different values of E⃗, we show that indeed there is a relation between the population transferred to the CT states and the total scattered intensity. The tuning and detuning processes of the CT states with the bright PLs as a function of the electric field are in good agreement with those observed in experiments. Finally, our estimations for the CT enhancement factors predict values in the order of 105 to 106, meaning that when the CT and PL states are both in resonance with the excitation wavelength, the CT and PL enhancements are comparable, and vibrational bands whose intensity is amplified by different mechanisms can be observed together, in agreement with what was measured by typical experiments on silver electrodes.

Sexual selection buffers the negative consequences of population fragmentation on adaptive plastic responses to increasing temperatures.

Whether sexual selection facilitates or hampers the ability to plastically respond to novel environments might depend on population structure, via its effects on sexual interactions and associated fitness payoffs. Using experimentally evolved lines of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, we tested whether individuals evolving under different sexual selection (monogamy vs. polygamy) and population spatial structure (metapopulation vs. undivided populations) treatments differed in their response across developmental thermal conditions (control, hot, or stressful) in a range of fitness and fitness-associated traits. We found that individuals from subdivided populations had lower lifetime reproductive success at hot temperatures, but only in lines evolving under relaxed sexual selection, revealing a complex interaction between sexual selection, population structure, and thermal environmental stress on fitness. We also found an effect of population structure on several traits, including fertility and adult emergence success, under exposure to high thermal conditions. Finally, we found a strong negative effect of hot and stressful temperatures on fitness and associated traits. Our results show that population structure can exacerbate the impact of a warming climate, potentially leading to declines in population viability, but that sexual selection can buffer the negative influence of population subdivision on adaptation to warm temperatures.

Mitochondrial genetic variation as a potential mediator of intraspecific behavioural diversity.

Mitochondrial genes play an essential role in energy metabolism. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence often exists within species, and this variation can have consequences for energy production and organismal life history. Yet, despite potential links between energy metabolism and the expression of animal behaviour, mtDNA variation has been largely neglected to date in studies investigating intraspecific behavioural diversity. We outline how mtDNA variation and interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear genotypes may contribute to the expression of individual-to-individual behavioural differences within populations, and why such effects may lead to sex differences in behaviour. We contend that integration of the mitochondrial genome into behavioural ecology research may be key to fully understanding the evolutionary genetics of animal behaviour.

Use of infographics for facilitating learning of pharmacology in the nursing degree.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of an educational intervention focused on teaching students to create infographics to improve pharmacology learning. DESIGN: This is a comparative study. METHODS: The population was 250 nursing students who had to create two infographics in groups related to the content that had been addressed in pharmacology in two different moments. Students and professors evaluated the infographics through a 5-point Likert scale. Scores from the official exam of the pharmacology subject were obtained. RESULTS: Most of the students scored below 50% for the "excellent" and "good" categories. Intraclass correlation and kappa correlations among students and professors' evaluations were low. The comparison between both times of students' evaluations only yields significant correlation values for the criterion "Understanding of information" (r = .039, p = .024) and the "Visual presentation of information" (r = .041, p = .019). No correlation was obtained between the test and evaluations values of the infographic.

Computational Model for Electrochemical Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering: Key Role of the Surface Charges and Synergy between Electromagnetic and Charge-Transfer Enhancement Mechanisms.

We present a computational model for electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman scattering (EC-SERS). The surface excess of charge induced by the electrode potential (Vel) was introduced by applying an external electric field to a set of clusters [Agn]q with (n, q) of (19, ±1) or (20, 0) on which a molecule adsorbs. Using DFT/TD-DFT calculations, these metal-molecule complexes were classified by the adsorbate partial charge, and the main Vel-dependent properties were simultaneously studied with the aid of vibronic resonance Raman computations, namely, changes on the vibrational wavenumbers, relative intensities, and enhancement factors (EFs) for all SERS mechanisms: chemical or nonresonant, and resonance Raman with bright states of the adsorbate, charge-transfer (CT) states, and plasmon-like excitations on the metal cluster. We selected two molecules to test our model, pyridine, for which Vel has a remarkable effect, and 9,10-bis((E)-2-(pyridin-4-yl)vinyl)anthracene, which is almost insensitive to the applied bias. The results nicely reproduced most of the experimental observations, while the limitations of our approach were critically evaluated. We detected that accounting explicitly for the surface charges is key for EC-SERS models and that the highest calculated EFs, up to 107 to 108, are obtained by interstate coupling of bright local excitations of the metal cluster and CT states. These results highlight the importance of nonadiabatic effects in SERS and the capabilities of EC-SERS as a technique with potential to study excited-state coupling by tuning the CT and plasmon-like states by manipulating Vel.

Osteonecrosis de los maxilares: reacción medicamentosa / Osteonecrosis of the jaws: drug reaction

La osteonecrosis de los maxilares (ONM) secundaria al consumo de medicamentos antirresortivos y antiangiogénicos es una patología oral que afecta el funcionamiento del organismo de los seres humanos no sólo a nivel bucal, sino que disminuye su calidad de vida y aumenta su morbilidad. La ONM se define como la presencia de hueso necrótico expuesto que puede ser explorado mediante una fístula en el territorio maxilofacial, que se mantiene durante un periodo mínimo de ocho se- manas. Los fármacos antirresortivos y antiangiogénicos son indicados a pacientes que presentan patologías osteometabólicas, cáncer, entre otras, de ahí la importancia de mantener una estrecha relación entre médico tratante-odontólogo-paciente. El propósito de este artículo es establecer un protocolo de cuidado oral básico y definir las funciones del médico tratante, cirujano dentista y cirujano maxilofacial mediante una revisión bibliográfica con el fin de crear una propuesta preventiva para el tratamiento de estos pacientes (AU)

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), secondary to the consumption of antiresorptive and antiangiogenic drugs is an oral pathology that affects the functioning of the human body, not only at the oral level, but also decreasing their quality of life and increasing their morbidity. MRONJ is defined as the presence of exposed necrotic bone that can be explored through a fistula in the maxillofacial territory, which is maintained for a minimum period of eight weeks. Antiresorptive and antiangiogenic drugs are indicated for patients with osteometabolic pathologies, cancer, among others. For the same reasons, the importance of maintaining a close relationship between the treating physician, dentist and patient. The purpose of this article is to establish a clinical guide for basic oral care and define the functions of the treating physician, dental surgeon and maxillofacial surgeon through a bibliographic review; in order to create a preventive proposal for the treatment of these patients (AU)

Experimental evolution reveals differential evolutionary trajectories in male and female activity levels in response to sexual selection and metapopulation structure.

Behavior is central to interactions with the environment and thus has significant consequences for individual fitness. Sexual selection and demographic processes have been shown to independently shape behavioral evolution. Although some studies have tested the simultaneous effects of these forces, no studies have investigated their interplay in behavioral evolution. We applied experimental evolution in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus to investigate, for the first time, the interactive effects of sexual selection intensity (high [polygamy] vs. minimal [enforced monogamy]) and metapopulation structure (yes/no) on the evolution of movement activity, a crucial behavior involved in multiples functions (e.g., dispersal, predator avoidance, or resource acquisition) and thus, closely related to fitness. We found that the interactive effects of the selection regimes did not affect individual activity, which was assayed under two different environments (absence vs. presence of conspecific cues from both sexes). However, contrasting selection regimes led to sex- and context-dependent divergence in activity. The relaxation of sexual selection favored an increase in female, but not male, movement activity that was consistent between environmental contexts. In contrast, selection associated with the presence/absence of metapopulation structure led to context-dependent responses only in male activity. In environments containing cues from conspecifics, males from selection lines under population subdivision showed increased levels of activity compared to those assayed in an environment devoid of conspecifics cues, whereas the opposite was true for males from panmictic lines. These results underscore that both the effects of sexual selection and population spatial structure may be crucial in shaping sex-specific behavioral evolution.

[The impact of COVID-19 on urology restructuring and organization.] / Impacto de la COVID-19 sobre la reestructuración y organización en urología.

Desde que el 31 de diciembre de 2019, se informó el primer caso de neumonía de etiología desconocida en la ciudad de Wuhan (China), la humanidad desconocía cómo iba a cambiar la vida tal cual la conocíamos y los profundos cambios que se iban a suscitar. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) el 12 de enero de 2020 reporta una nueva cepa de coronavirus que causaba el Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo Severo CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1) caracterizado por un cuadro clínico que variaba desde el portador asintomático hasta casos mortales de neumonía, insuficiencia respiratoria y fallo multiorgánico...

Desde que el 31 de diciembre de 2019, se informó el primer caso de neumonía de etiología desconocida en la ciudad de Wuhan (China), la humanidad desconocía cómo iba a cambiar la vida tal cual la conocíamos y los profundos cambios que se iban a suscitar. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) el 12 de enero de 2020 reporta una nueva cepa de coronavirus que causaba el Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo Severo CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1)caracterizado por un cuadro clínico que variaba desde el portador asintomático hasta casos mortales de neumonía, insuficiencia respiratoria y fallo multiorgánico...

Diferentes concentraciones de mitomicina C en la prevención del haze en la queratectomía fotorrefractiva / Different concentrations of mitomycin C for haze prevention in photorefractive keratectomy

Objetivo: Evaluar la utilidad de dos concentraciones de mitomicina C para la prevención del haze en la queratectomía fotorrefractiva. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio experimental aleatorizado en 26 ojos de 17 pacientes con defectos miópicos. Los pacientes fueron asignados a dos grupos según las dosis de mitomicina C (0,02 por ciento grupo 1 y 0,002 por ciento grupo 2). La variable de respuesta principal fue la presencia de haze. Se buscó correlación entre la magnitud del haze con grado de ametropía tratada, profundidad de ablación, microscopia endotelial y resultados visuales y refractivos. Resultados: A los 6 meses la mayoría de los pacientes del grupo 1 no presentó haze (ocho ojos / 57 por ciento), y del grupo 2 mantuvieron haze 0,5 (6 ojos / 50 por ciento). En la ametropía severa el haze en el grupo 2 fue mayor que en el grupo 1 durante todo el posoperatorio, y se observó la mayor diferencia al sexto mes con 0,5 ± 0,4 vs. 1,5 ± 0,32. En ablaciones > 75 micras el grupo dos terminó con más haze que el uno, con 0,5 ± 0,44 vs. 1,75 ± 0,76. La agudeza visual sin corrección se vio más afectada en el grupo 2. No hubo daño endotelial en ningún grupo. Conclusión: La presencia de haze predomina en los casos tratados con dosis 0,002 por ciento de mitomicina C, comparada con la dosis 0,02 por ciento, aunque en este caso ambos grupos mantuvieron un resultado visual y refractivo adecuado y baja toxicidad endotelial.

Objective: Evaluate the usefulness of two concentrations of mitomycin C for haze prevention in photorefractive keratectomy. Methods: An experimental randomized study was conducted of 26 eyes of 17 patients with myopic defects. The patients were divided into two groups according to their mitomycin C doses (Group 1: 0.02 percent and Group 2: 0.002 percent). The main response variable was the presence of haze. Verification was performed of the correlation between haze magnitude and the degree of the ametropia treated, ablation depth, endothelial microscopy, and visual and refractive results. Results: At six months most patients in Group 1 did not have any haze (eight eyes / 57 percent), whereas 0.5 (6 eyes / 50 percent) in Group 2 still had haze. In severe ametropia, haze was larger in Group 2 than in Group 1 throughout the postoperative period, the greatest difference being observed in the sixth month with 0.5 ± 0.4 vs 1.5 ± 0.32. In ablations > 75 microns, Group 2 ended with more haze than Group 1, with 0.5 ± 0.44 vs 1.75 ± 0.76. Uncorrected visual acuity was more affected in Group 2. No endothelial damage occurred in either group. Conclusion: The presence of haze prevails in cases treated with 0.002 percent doses of mitomycin C, as compared with 0.02 percent doses, though in this case both groups maintained an appropriate visual and refractive result and low endothelial toxicity(AU)

Can Sexual Selection Drive the Evolution of Sperm Cell Structure?

Sperm cells have undergone an extraordinarily divergent evolution among metazoan animals. Parker recognized that because female animals frequently mate with more than one male, sexual selection would continue after mating and impose strong selection on sperm cells to maximize fertilization success. Comparative analyses among species have revealed a general relationship between the strength of selection from sperm competition and the length of sperm cells and their constituent parts. However, comparative analyses cannot address causation. Here, we use experimental evolution to ask whether sexual selection can drive the divergence of sperm cell phenotype, using the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus as a model. We either relaxed sexual selection by enforcing monogamy or allowed sexual selection to continue for 20 generations before sampling males and measuring the total length of sperm cells and their constituent parts, the acrosome, nucleus, and flagella. We found differences in the length of the sperm cell nucleus but no differences in the length of the acrosome, flagella, or total sperm length. Our data suggest that different sperm cell components may respond independently to sexual selection and contribute to the divergent evolution of these extraordinary cells.

The genetic architecture of behavioral traits in a spider.

The existence of consistent individual differences in behavior has been shown in a number of species, and several studies have found observable sex differences in these behaviors, yet their evolutionary implications remain unclear. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of behavioral traits requires knowledge of their genetic architectures and whether this architecture differs between the sexes. We conducted a quantitative genetic study in a sexually size-dimorphic spider, Larinioides sclopetarius, which exhibits sex differences in adult lifestyles. We observed pedigreed spiders for aggression, activity, exploration, and boldness and used animal models to disentangle genetic and environmental influences on these behaviors. We detected trends toward (i) higher additive genetic variances in aggression, activity, and exploration in males than females, and (ii) difference in variances due to common environment/maternal effects, permanent environment and residual variance in aggression and activity with the first two variances being higher in males for both behaviors. We found no sex differences in the amount of genetic and environmental variance in boldness. The mean heritability estimates of aggression, activity, exploration, and boldness range from 0.039 to 0.222 with no sizeable differences between females and males. We note that the credible intervals of the estimates are large, implying a high degree of uncertainty, which disallow a robust conclusion of sex differences in the quantitative genetic estimates. However, the observed estimates suggest that sex differences in the quantitative genetic architecture of the behaviors cannot be ruled out. Notably, the present study suggests that genetic underpinnings of behaviors may differ between sexes and it thus underscores the importance of taking sex differences into account in quantitative genetic studies.

Experimentally constrained early reproduction shapes life history trajectories and behaviour.

The trade-off between current and future reproduction is a cornerstone of life history theory, but the role of within-individual plasticity on life history decisions and its connections with overall fitness and behaviour remains largely unknown. By manipulating available resources for oviposition at the beginning of the reproductive period, we experimentally constrained individual life history trajectories to take different routes in a laboratory study system, the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, and investigated its causal effects on fecundity, survival and behaviour. Compared to females without resource limitations, females experiencing restricted conditions for oviposition had reduced fecundity early in life but increased fecundity when resources became plentiful (relative to both the previous phase and the control group) at the expense of longevity. Constrained reproduction in early life also affected behaviour, as movement activity changed differently in the two experimental groups. Experiencing reproductive constraints has, therefore, consequences for future reproduction investments and behaviour, which may lead individuals to follow different life history strategies.

Temperature as a modulator of sexual selection.

A central question in ecology and evolution is to understand why sexual selection varies so much in strength across taxa; it has long been known that ecological factors are crucial to this. Temperature is a particularly salient abiotic ecological factor that modulates a wide range of physiological, morphological and behavioural traits, impacting individuals and populations at a global taxonomic scale. Furthermore, temperature exhibits substantial temporal variation (e.g. daily, seasonally and inter-seasonally), and hence for most species in the wild sexual selection will regularly unfold in a dynamic thermal environment. Unfortunately, studies have so far almost completely neglected the role of temperature as a modulator of sexual selection. Here, we outline the main pathways through which temperature can affect the intensity and form (i.e. mechanisms) of sexual selection, via: (i) direct effects on secondary sexual traits and preferences (i.e. trait variance, opportunity for selection and trait-fitness covariance), and (ii) indirect effects on key mating parameters, sex-specific reproductive costs/benefits, trade-offs, demography and correlated abiotic factors. Building upon this framework, we show that, by focusing exclusively on the first-order effects that environmental temperature has on traits linked with individual fitness and population viability, current global warming studies may be ignoring eco-evolutionary feedbacks mediated by sexual selection. Finally, we tested the general prediction that temperature modulates sexual selection by conducting a meta-analysis of available studies experimentally manipulating temperature and reporting effects on the variance of male/female reproductive success and/or traits under sexual selection. Our results show a clear association between temperature and sexual selection measures in both sexes. In short, we suggest that studying the feedback between temperature and sexual selection processes may be vital to developing a better understanding of variation in the strength of sexual selection in nature, and its consequences for population viability in response to environmental change (e.g. global warming).

Sperm sex ratio adjustment in a mammal: perceived male competition leads to elevated proportions of female-producing sperm.

Mammal sex allocation research has focused almost exclusively on maternal traits, but it is now apparent that fathers can also influence offspring sex ratios. Parents that produce female offspring under conditions of intense male-male competition can benefit with greater assurance of maximized grand-parentage. Adaptive adjustment in the sperm sex ratio, for example with an increase in the production of X-chromosome bearing sperm (CBS), is one potential paternal mechanism for achieving female-biased sex ratios. Here, we tested this mechanistic hypothesis by varying the risk of male-male competition that male house mice perceived during development, and quantifying sperm sex ratios at sexual maturity. Our analyses revealed that males exposed to a competitive 'risk' produced lower proportions of Y-CBS compared to males that matured under 'no risk' of competition. We also explored whether testosterone production was linked to sperm sex ratio variation, but found no evidence to support this. We discuss our findings in relation to the adaptive value of sperm sex ratio adjustments and the role of steroid hormones in socially induced sex allocation.

Individual and synergistic effects of male external genital traits in sexual selection.

Male genital traits exhibit extraordinary interspecific phenotypic variation. This remarkable and general evolutionary trend is widely considered to be the result of sexual selection. However, we still do not have a good understanding of whether or how individual genital traits function in different competitive arenas (episodes of sexual selection), or how different genital traits may interact to influence competitive outcomes. Here, we use an experimental approach based on high-precision laser phenotypic engineering to address these outstanding questions, focusing on three distinct sets of micron-scale external (nonintromittent) genital spines in male Drosophila kikkawai Burla (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Elimination of the large pair of spines on the male secondary claspers sharply reduced male ability to copulate, yet elimination of the other sets of spines on the primary and secondary claspers had no significant effects on copulation probability. Intriguingly, both the large spines on the secondary claspers and the cluster of spines on the primary claspers were found to independently promote male competitive fertilization success. Moreover, when large and small secondary clasper spines were simultaneously shortened in individual males, these males suffered greater reductions in fertilization success relative to males whose traits were altered individually, providing evidence for synergistic effects of external genital traits on fertilization success. Overall, the results are significant in demonstrating that a given genital trait (the large spines on the secondary claspers) can function in different episodes of sexual selection, and distinct genital traits may interact in sexual selection. The results offer an important contribution to evolutionary biology by demonstrating an understudied selective mechanism, operating via subtle trait interactions in a post-insemination context, by which genital traits may be co-evolving.

Dietary stress increases the total opportunity for sexual selection and modifies selection on condition-dependent traits.

Although it is often expected that adverse environmental conditions depress the expression of condition-dependent sexually selected traits, the full consequences of environmental change for the action of sexual selection, in terms of the opportunity for total sexual selection and patterns of phenotypic selection, are unknown. Here we show that dietary stress in guppies, Poecilia reticulata, reduces the expression of several sexually selected traits and increases the opportunity for total sexual selection (standardized variance in reproductive success) in males. Furthermore, our results show that dietary stress modulates the relative importance of precopulatory (mating success) and postcopulatory (relative fertilization success) sexual selection, and that the form of multivariate sexual selection (linear vs. nonlinear) depends on dietary regime. Overall, our results are consistent with a pattern of heightened directional selection on condition-dependent sexually selected traits under environmental stress, and underscore the importance of sexual selection in shaping adaptation in a changing world.