Nonhuman Research Research Articles

Value in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Systematic Review of Economic Analyses

The purpose of this study is to describe the state of economic analyses in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS). A systematic search of published literature up to 2016 was performed. The inclusion criteria were as follows: English-language articles on economic analyses pertaining to OMS including anesthesia and pain management; dentoalveolar surgery; orthognathic, cleft, and/or obstructive sleep apnea treatment; pathology; reconstruction; temporomandibular disorders; trauma; and other.The exclusion criteria were as follows: opinion or perspective articles, studies unrelated to OMS, nonhuman research, and implant-related studies. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs), cost-utility analyses, and cost-minimization analyses (CMAs) were evaluated with the original Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) checklist or a modified CHEERS checklist. The search yielded 798 articles, 77 of which met the inclusion criteria (published from 1980 to 2016, 48 from the United States). There were an increasing number of studies over time (P for trend<.01). There were 7 economic studies on anesthesia and pain management (9.1%); 16 studies on dentoalveolar surgery (20.7%); 15 studies on orthognathic, cleft, and/or obstructive sleep apnea treatment (19.4%); 1study on pathology (1.3%); 6 studies on reconstruction (7.8%); no studies on temporomandibular joint disorders and/or facial pain (0%); 20 studies on trauma (25.9%); and 12 studies categorized as other (15.5%). CEAs made up 11.7% of studies, and CMAs comprised 58.4%. Of the 9 CEAs, 55.6% were published in 2010 or later.Of the 45 CMAs, 88.6% were published in 2000 or later and 61.4% in 2010 or later. CEAs met 56.0% (range, 29.2 to 87.5%) of the CHEERS criteria, whereas CMA studies met 45.1% (range, 23.9 to 76.1%) of the modified CHEERS criteria. Only 1 study succeeded in estimating costs and health outcomes (value) of an OMS procedure. There is an increasing trend in the number of economic studies in the field of OMS. More high-quality economic evaluations are needed to demonstrate the value of OMS procedures. To determine value, future studies should compare both costs and health-related outcomes.

Nocebo and pain: An overview of the psychoneurobiological mechanisms.

Nocebo effects are defined as adverse events related to negative expectations and learning processes that are involved in the modulation of the descending pain pathways. Research over the last couple of decades has illustrated that behavioral, psychoneurobiological and functional changes occur during nocebo-induced pain processing. We aimed to review published human and non-human research on algesia and hyperalgesia resulting from negative expectations and nocebo effects. Herein, we searched and comprehensively reviewed scientific literature providing informative knowledge about the psychoneurobiological bases of the nocebo effect in the field of pain with an emphasis on how pain processes are shaped by both cognitive and non-cognitive factors. Negative expectations are formed through verbal suggestions of heightened pain, prior nociceptive and painful experiences and observation of pain in others. Susceptibility to the nocebo effect can be also influenced by genetic variants, conscious and nonconscious learning processes, personality traits and psychological factors. Moreover, providers' behaviors, environmental cues and the appearance of medical devices can induce negative expectations that dramatically influence pain perception and processing in a variety of pain modalities and patient populations. Importantly, we concluded that nocebo studies outline how individual expectations may lead to physiological changes underpinning the central integration and processing of magnified pain signaling. Further research is needed to develop strategies that can identify nocebo-vulnerable pain patients in order to optimize the psychosocial and therapeutic context in which the clinical encounter occurs, with the ultimate purpose of improving clinical outcomes.

"Watch out!": Effects of instructed threat and avoidance on human free-operant approach-avoidance behavior.

Approach-avoidance paradigms create a competition between appetitive and aversive contingencies and are widely used in nonhuman research on anxiety. Here, we examined how instructions about threat and avoidance impact control by competing contingencies over human approach-avoidance behavior. Additionally, Experiment 1 examined the effects of threat magnitude (money loss amount) and avoidance cost (fixed ratio requirements), whereas Experiment 2 examined the effects of threat information (available, unavailable and inaccurate) on approach-avoidance. During the task, approach responding was modeled by reinforcing responding with money on a FR schedule. By performing an observing response, participants produced an escalating "threat meter". Instructions stated that the threat meter levels displayed the current probability of losing money, when in fact loss only occurred when the level reached the maximum. Instructions also stated pressing an avoidance button lowered the threat level. Overall, instructions produced cycles of approach and avoidance responding with transitions from approach to avoidance when threat was high and transitions back to approach after avoidance reduced threat. Experiment 1 revealed increasing avoidance cost, but not threat magnitude, shifted approach-avoidance transitions to higher threat levels and increased anxiety ratings, but did not influence the frequency of approach-avoidance cycles. Experiment 2 revealed when threat level information was available or absent earnings were high, but earnings decreased when inaccurate threat information was incompatible with contingencies. Our findings build on prior nonhuman and human approach-avoidance research by highlighting how instructed threat and avoidance can impact human AA behavior and self-reported anxiety.

Effects of differential rates of alternative reinforcement on resurgence of human behavior

Despite the success of exposure-based psychotherapies in anxiety treatment, relapse remains problematic. Resurgence, the return of previously eliminated behavior following the elimination of an alternative source of reinforcement, is a promising model of operant relapse. Nonhuman resurgence research has shown that higher rates of alternative reinforcement result in faster, more comprehensive suppression of target behavior, but also in greater resurgence when alternative reinforcement is eliminated. This study investigated rich and lean rates of alternative reinforcement on response suppression and resurgence in typically developing humans. In Phase 1, three groups (Rich, n = 18; Lean, n = 18; Control, n = 10) acquired the target response. In Phase 2, target responding was extinguished and alternative reinforcement delivered on RI 1 s, RI 3 s, and extinction schedules, respectively. Resurgence was assessed during Phase 3 under extinction conditions for all groups. Target responding was suppressed most thoroughly in Rich and partially in Lean. Target responding resurged in the Rich and Lean groups, but not in the Control group. Between groups, resurgence was more pronounced in the Rich group than the Lean and Control groups. Clinical implications of these findings, including care on the part of clinicians when identifying alternative sources of reinforcement, are discussed.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Gene Association Studies in Neonatal Sepsis.

Background Association studies of various gene variants in neonatal sepsis show conflicting results. Objective We performed a systematic review of candidate gene association studies in neonatal sepsis to provide pooled estimates of risk for selected gene variants. Methods We performed a search using MeSH terms "infection," "sepsis," "infant," "genetic variation," "polymorphism," and "genetic association studies." We included studies evaluating associations between neonatal sepsis and genetic variants (2000-2015). We excluded case reports/series, commentaries, narrative reviews, and nonhuman research. We assessed quality of studies using STREGA guidelines. Following estimation of odds ratios (ORs), data were pooled using random effects models. Results Twenty eight of 1,404 identified studies were included. Meta-analyses were performed for interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-10 as these gene variants were tested in multiple studies. TNF-α 308GG genotype demonstrated trends toward increased sepsis risk in the primary analysis of culture-proven sepsis (OR 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97-1.44). IL-10 1082GG genotype was associated with lower sepsis odds in very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29-0.91). Conclusion We uncovered an association between IL-10 1082 gene variation and sepsis in VLBW infants but did not identify associations between neonatal sepsis and TNF-α 308 or IL-6 gene variation. Larger cohort replication studies are required to validate these findings.

Capuchins (Cebus apella) fail to show an asymmetric dominance effect.

The asymmetric dominance effect (ADE) occurs when the introduction of a partially dominated decoy option increases the choice share of its dominating alternative. The ADE is a violation of regularity and the constant-ratio rule, which are two derivations of the independence of irrelevant alternatives axiom, a core tenant of rational choice. The ADE is one of the most widely reported human choice phenomena, leading researchers to probe its origins by studying a variety of non-human species. We examined the ADE in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella), a species that displays many other decision biases. In Experiment 1, we used a touchscreen method to elicit choice-based preferences for food rewards in asymmetrically dominated choice sets. In Experiments 2 and 3, we distinguished between different types of judgments and used a free selection task to elicit consumption-based preferences for juice rewards. However, we found no evidence for the ADE through violations of regularity or the constant-ratio rule, despite the similarity of our stimuli to other human and non-human experiments. While these results appear to conflict with existing literature on the ADE in non-human species, we point out methodological differences-notably, the distinction between value-based and perception-based stimuli-that have led to a collection of phenomena that are difficult to understand under a unitary theoretical framework. In particular, we highlight key differences between the human and non-human research and provide a series of steps that researchers could take to better understand the ADE.

Abstract 3447: Evaluation of NIH funding for metabolomics research in epidemiologic studies: opportunities and challenges

Abstract Metabolomics, an emerging area of interest in the field of epidemiology, has significant potential to evaluate the effects of nutritional, environmental, and pharmaceutical exposures; conduct risk assessments; predict disease development; and diagnose diseases. To understand current funding and potential gaps for population-based metabolomics research, we cross-sectionally evaluated the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported research grant awards related to metabolomics and epidemiology that were active on February 9, 2015. The grant portfolio was analyzed using NIH's Query View Report (QVR) software, using relevant search terms, which included metabolome, metabonome, metabolomic(s), metabonomic(s), metabolic profile, metabolite profile, metabolic signature, glycomic(s), and lipidomic(s). Basic descriptive statistics on technology platform, approach, disease phenotype, biospecimen type, exposure, study design, and population were examined. The search terms initially identified 473 grants. After exclusion of grants with &amp;lt;100 cases and non-human subjects research, 102 grants remained. At the point in which the grants were coded, additional exclusions were made based on the same criteria (&amp;lt;100 cases and non-human subject research), and on more detailed review, 68 grants remained in the final analysis. We observed that the majority of currently funded NIH grants focus on cancer (22%), followed by diabetes (21%) and cardiovascular disease (13%), and primarily examine nutritional (24%) and drug/treatment (18%) exposures. Of the 15 funded cancer metabolomics studies, the most common organ sites investigated were breast (27%) and prostate (20%), followed by lung, colorectal, esophageal, oral cancer and lymphoma. Additionally, the primary epidemiologic study designs used in the funded grants were case-control (25%), cohort (21%), and nested case-control studies (19%), and intervention trials (19%); and they mainly use plasma (54%), serum (21%) and urine (19%) biospecimens. With regard to metabolite profiling, the majority of grants use both targeted (44%) and untargeted (44%) approaches, with the primary analytical technique being liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) (74%). The least used analytical technique for these studies was NMR (9%). This descriptive analysis provides important insights into the current NIH funding patterns for metabolomics research with an epidemiologic study design component, which allowed us to identify several challenges and research opportunities pertaining to the field. Citation Format: Krista A. Zanetti, Mukesh Verma, Scott Rogers, Majda Haznadar, Padma Maruvada, Holly L. Nicastro, Mary C. Playdon, Sharon A. Ross. Evaluation of NIH funding for metabolomics research in epidemiologic studies: opportunities and challenges. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3447.

A pilot study of neurointerventional research level of evidence and collaboration

IntroductionNo studies have sought to provide a quantitative or qualitative critique of research in the field of neurointerventional surgery.ObjectiveTo analyze recent publications from the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery (JNIS) to...

A ANÁLISE DO COMPORTAMENTO HUMANO EM CONTEXTO*

Deve-se inferir do nome deste grupo de interesse especial, “A Análise do Comportamento Humano”, que aqueles que analisam o comportamento de animais humanos devem se constituir em um grupo separado dos que analisam o comportamento de animais não humanos? É o uso de não humanos em experimentos irrelevante para a análise do comportamento em humanos? Se assim é, alguma coisa deve ter mudado. Muitas diferenças existem, é claro, entre o comportamento de humanos e de não humanos – humanos, por exemplo, não podem voar por si sós – mas detectamos diferenças de princípios, diferenças essas que requeiram organizações separadas para seu estudo? Vou tentar mostrar porque acredito que essa é uma preocupação séria, de onde ela surge, e o que, talvez, possa ser feito para manter o que era, outrora, uma florescente relação bidirecional entre a pesquisa com humanos e com não humanos, tanto na pesquisa básica como na pesquisa aplicada.Palavras-chave: pesquisa comportamental com humanos, pesquisa comportamental com não-humanos.*Traduzido por Maria Silvia Ribeiro Todorov

The "ICE" study: feasibility of inexpensive commercial coolers on mobile EMS units.

Prehospital postresuscitation induced hypothermia (IH) has been shown to reduce neurological complications in comatose cardiac-arrest survivors. Retrofitting ambulances to include equipment appropriate to initiate hypothermia, such as refrigeration units for cooled saline, is expensive. The objective of this nonhuman subject research study was to determine if inexpensive, commercially available coolers could, in conjunction with five reusable ice packs, keep two 1 L bags of precooled 0.9% normal saline solution (NSS) at or below 4°C for an average shift of eight to 12 hours in a real-world environment, on board in-service Emergency Medical Service (EMS) units, over varying weather conditions in all seasons. The coolers were chosen based on availability and affordability from two nationally available brands: The Igloo MaxxCold (Igloo Products Corp., Katy, Texas USA) and Coleman (The Coleman Company, Wichita, Kansas USA). Both are 8.5 liter (nine-quart) coolers that were chosen because they adequately held two 1 L bags of saline solution, along with the reusable ice packs designated in the study design, and were small enough for ease of placement on ambulances. Initial testing of the coolers was conducted in a controlled environment. Thereafter, each EMS unit was responsible to cool the saline to less than 4°C prior to shift. Data were collected by emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and resident physicians working in seven different ambulance squads. Data analysis was performed using repeated measurements recorded over a 12-hour period from 19 individual coolers and were summarized by individual time points using descriptive statistics. Initial testing determined that the coolers maintained temperatures of 4°C for 12 hours in a controlled environment. On the ambulances, results based on the repeated measurements over time revealed that the saline solution samples as defined in the protocol, remained consistently below 4°C for 12 hours. Utilizing the lower bound of the 2-sided 95% exact binomial confidence intervals, there was less than a five percent chance that saline samples could not be maintained below 4°C for 12 hours, even during the summer months. Simple, commercially available coolers can maintain two 1 L bags of 0.9% NSS at 4°C for 12 hours in ambulances in varying environmental conditions. This suggests that EMS agencies could inexpensively initiate prehospital IH in appropriate cases.

ABSTRACT 944

Background and aims: It is unclear whether patient outcomes vary with PICU volume. Aims: We sought to analyze the relationship between PICU patient volume and severity-adjusted mortality in a large multi-center dataset. Methods: The VPS database (VPS, LLC) was queried for all patients discharged from September 2009 through March 2012 with valid PIM2 and PRISM3 scores. Average PICU volume/quarter (VOL) was calculated as total discharges divided by the number of valid quarters of data per PICU. VOL was then divided by 100 (VOL100) to assess the impact per 100 discharges per quarter. Logistic regression models assessed the relationship of VOL100 and severity-adjusted mortality for the entire sample and subgroups. This study received a waiver as non-human research from CHLA’s IRB. Results: From 113 PICU’s, 194,400 patients were studied, with an overall ICU mortality rate of 2.6%. VOL ranged from 32 to 881; the mean VOL was 269. The odds ratio (OR) for VOL100 was 1.06 (1.04, 1.08) when adjusted with PIM2 and 1.03 (1.00, 1.06) with PRISM3. For the 19,337 patients with a PIM2 ROM > 4%, there was also an increased risk of severity-adjusted mortality as VOL100 increased. In comparison to units with open heart patients (n=99,974), in units without open heart patients (n=94,426), there was no increase in severity-adjusted mortality risk with VOL100. Conclusions: In this preliminary analysis, severity-adjusted mortality appears to increase with PICU volume. This relationship holds for the higher risk patients, but does not appear to be the case in units without open heart patients.

ABSTRACT 992

Background and aims: The Handoff Continuity Score (HCS) is a mathematical model that objectively measures MD continuity with different physician scheduling models (Critical Care 2011, 15:R246). HCS is subjectively associated with increased efficiency based on physician surveys. Objective evidence of improved handoff efficiency and effectiveness is lacking. Aims: The hypothesis of this study is that increased HCS will be associated with improved rounding efficiency. Methods: The study was performed in a 30 bed medical-surgical pediatric intensive care unit, and was approved as non-human subject research by the institutional review board. Human factors techniques (e.g. shadowing) were used to track and observe physician-rounding events on select dates between 2008-2013. Total rounding time was divided by number of patients seen to determine rounding time per patient (to correct for census). HCS for each attending on the specific rounding events were calculated. Rounding time per patient was charted against HCS. Results: There were 38 individual rounding events shadowed during the study period. Figure 1 shows the rounding time per patient vs HCS. There is a statistically significant decrease in rounding time with increasing HCS (p<0.05 calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient r).FigureConclusions: Higher continuity as assessed by HCS is associated with improved rounding efficiency. Utilizing the HCS in schedule generation for physician staffing may be an effective tool to enhance rounding efficiency.

Placebo, nocebo, and learning mechanisms.

Recent substantial laboratory and theoretical research hints for different learning mechanisms regulating the formation of placebo and nocebo responses. Moreover, psychological and biological variants may play a role as modulators of learning mechanisms underlying placebo and nocebo responses. In this chapter, we present pioneering and recent human and nonhuman research that has impressively increased our knowledge of learning mechanisms in the context of placebo and nocebo effects across different physiological processes and pathological conditions.

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Introduction: Others have demonstrated modest inverse relationships between PICU patient volume and severity-adjusted mortality rates (1,2). We previously were unable to demonstrate a clear relationship between overall PICU volume and severity-adjusted mortality (3). Methods: The VPS database (VPS, LLC) was queried for all patients discharged from September 2009 through March 2012 with valid pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM2) and PRISM3 scores. Anonymized data received included ICU mortality, PIM2 and PRISM3 score. Average PICU volume/quarter (VOL) was calculated as total discharges divided by the number of valid quarters (VPS sites submit data quarterly) per PICU. VOL was then divided by 100 (VOL-100) to assess the impact per 100 discharges per quarter. The population was divided into quintiles based on VOL-100. Several multiple logistic regression models were performed to assess the impact of VOL-100 on severity-adjusted mortality for the entire sample and within each quintile (reported as odds ratios (OR with 95% CI's). This study received a waiver as non-human research from the IRB at CHLA. Results: From 113 PICU's, 194,400 patients were studied, with an overall ICU mortality rate of 2.6%. VOL ranged from 32 to 881; the mean VOL was 269. There was a trend towards lower mortality rates as VOL-100 increased; OR.0.98 (0.97, 1.00; p = 0.08). However, the OR for VOL-100 was 1.06 (1.04, 1.08) when adjusted with PIM2 and 1.03 (1.00, 1.06) with PRISM3. In the quintile analysis, there was an increased risk of mortality per unit of VOL-100 within the lowest volume quintile; unadjusted OR 1.76 (1.48, 2.08), that remained significant after adjustment with either PIM2 (OR 1.62; 1.34, 1.95) or PRISM3 (OR 1.29; 1.04, 1.61). In the highest volume quintile, VOL-100 was associated with reduced mortality; unadjusted OR 0.88 (0.81, 0.95) that was not significant once adjusted with either PIM2 (OR 0.98; 0.89, 1.08) or PRISM3 (OR 0.92; 0.82, 1.02). Conclusions: In this preliminary analysis, the relationship between PICU volume and mortality appears to vary with unit size. In the smallest volume units, mortality increases with volume, even after severity-of-illness adjustment. There does not appear to be a relationship between volume and outcome in the highest volume units after adjusting for severity of illness. 1. Tilford et al. Pediatrics 2000; 106:289-294. 2. Marcin et al. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2005; 6:136-141. 3. Markovitz et al. Crit Care Med 2009; 37(12):A356

Speaking with things: encoded researchers, social data, and other posthuman concoctions

We apply our heuristics for ‘interviewing’ non-human research participants to the digital things of qualitative research itself: recording devices, data analysis software, and other sociomaterial concoctions recruited at different stages of contemporary research projects. We suggest that these ‘inorganic organized’ entities participate as co-researchers that inevitably extend but also disrupt research practice and knowledge construction, introducing new tensions and contradictions. Counterpointing phenomenology and Actor Network Theory, we usher some of the hidden and coded materialities of research practice into view, and glimpse unexpected realities co-enacted. Such immersive entanglements raise ethical questions about the posthumanist fluencies now demanded in social science research practice, and we outline several considerations.

The slow-aging growth hormone receptor/binding protein gene-disrupted (GHR-KO) mouse is protected from aging-resultant neuromusculoskeletal frailty

Neuromusculoskeletal (physical) frailty is an aging-attributable biomedical issue of extremely high import, from both public health and individual perspectives. Yet, it is rarely studied in nonhuman research subjects and very rarely studied in animals with extended longevity. In an effort to address this relatively neglected area, we have conducted a longitudinal investigation of the neuromusculoskeletal healthspan in mice with two senescence-slowing interventions: growth hormone (GH) resistance, produced by GH receptor "knockout" (GHR-KO), and caloric restriction (CR). We report marked improvements in the retention of strength, balance, and motor coordination by the longevity-conferring GHR/BP gene disruption, CR regimen, or a combination of the two. Specifically, GHR-KO mice exhibit superior grip strength, balance, and motor coordination at middle age, and CR mice display superior grip strength at middle age. The advantageous effects established by middle-age are more pronounced in old-age, and these robust alterations are, generally, not gender-specific. Thus, we show that genetic and/or dietary interventions that engender longevity are also beneficial for the retention of neuromusculoskeletal health and functionality. The translational knowledge to be gained from subsequent molecular or histological investigations of these models of preserved functionality and decelerated senescence is potentially relevant to the efforts to reduce the specter of fear, falls, fracture, and frailty in the elderly.

Consciousness in humans and non-human animals: recent advances and future directions

This joint article reflects the authors' personal views regarding noteworthy advances in the neuroscience of consciousness in the last 10 years, and suggests what we feel may be promising future directions. It is based on a small conference at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, USA, in July of 2012, organized by the Mind Science Foundation of San Antonio, Texas. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of subjectivity in humans and other animals, including empirical, applied, technical, and conceptual insights. These include the evidence for the importance of fronto-parietal connectivity and of “top-down” processes, both of which enable information to travel across distant cortical areas effectively, as well as numerous dissociations between consciousness and cognitive functions, such as attention, in humans. In addition, we describe the development of mental imagery paradigms, which made it possible to identify covert awareness in non-responsive subjects. Non-human animal consciousness research has also witnessed substantial advances on the specific role of cortical areas and higher order thalamus for consciousness, thanks to important technological enhancements. In addition, much progress has been made in the understanding of non-vertebrate cognition relevant to possible conscious states. Finally, major advances have been made in theories of consciousness, and also in their comparison with the available evidence. Along with reviewing these findings, each author suggests future avenues for research in their field of investigation.

Integration and analysis of multi-type high-throughput data for biomolecular knowledge discovery

Erik Bongcam-Rudloff received his doctorate in medical sciences from Uppsala University, Sweden. He is now the Director of the SLU Global Bioinformatics Centre (SGBC) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Erik was the chairman of EMBnet (2003-2010), a science-based group of worldwide collaborating bioinformatics nodes. He also coordinated the "Test Cases" work package 4 in the FP6 EMBRACE project (2005-2010). The goal of WP4 was to collect test cases from the scientific community to identify real research problems and to provide solutions for content and tool integration. Bongcam-Rudloff is today Chair of SeqAhead, a Biomedical European COST Action: "Next Generation Sequencing Data Analysis Network" and Coordinator of ALLBIO, a FP7 project: "Broadening the Bioinformatics Infrastructure to unicellular, animal, and plant science". He is also the founder of eBioinformatics.org the creators of eBiotools, eBioKit, eBioX and eBioKit. His main research deals with development of bioinformatics solutions for the Life Sciences community. In this talk he will discuss the new techniques that are now driving the generation of knowledge (especially in biomedicine and molecular life sciences) to new dimensions eg. NGS. He will also discuss the new opportunities in human and non-human research that these techniques create but also the new challenges in the design of ontologies for data and methods, and choosing common interoperability standards.

Sequential hermaphroditism and personality in a clonal vertebrate: The mangrove killifish

Individuals are regularly documented to consistently differ in their behavioural types (BTs). For example, some individuals are bold whereas others are shy. Within the human personality literature, the big five personality dimensions are commonly documented to be sex-specific with testosterone suggested to underpin traits such as aggressiveness. In non-human animals recent research suggests sex-specific BT expression may be influenced by ecology, mating system and sexual selection. While most research on sex-specific personality has focused on dioecious species, we explore sex differences in BT expression in a sequential hermaphrodite the mangrove killifish. We replicate within 7 isogenic genotypes and investigate sex differences (hermaphrodite and secondary male) in three BTs (exploration, boldness and aggression). This approach allows us to investigate sex differences in BT expression whilst controlling for genetic variation. In this study we find that both secondary males and hermaphrodites are repeatable at the individual level yet there was no difference between the sexes in average BT scores. Furthermore, aggression scores differed between genotypes, and were repeatable at the genotype level, suggesting strong genetic control. Finally, male boldness was significantly more repeatable than hermaphrodites potentially supporting recent proposals relating to sexual selection. We document a behavioural syndrome in male fish with bolder individuals being more aggressive, this behavioural syndrome was not observed however in hermaphrodites. In contrast to a previous developmental study in this species exploration did not correlate with either aggression or boldness in either males or hermaphrodites.

The Pediatrician and Anesthesia Neurotoxicity

> Confusion now hath made his masterpiece . > > William Shakespeare1 The evolution of safe and effective pediatric anesthesia care has been one of modern medicine's greatest achievements. By all currently available clinical measurements, anesthesia and sedation in healthy children are extraordinarily safe and have enabled children worldwide to undergo millions of surgical, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures each year. However, anesthesia researchers are now focusing on the disquieting notion that administration of an apparently uncomplicated general anesthetic in an otherwise healthy child may lead to later cognitive or behavioral deficits. The report by Flick et al2 in this month's issue of Pediatrics brings this dilemma to the attention of the pediatric community. The clinical significance of anesthetic neurotoxicity is controversial and under heated debate.3,–,6 However, from this point forward, pediatricians must be an intimate part of the discussion. As the primary drivers of most surgical and diagnostic procedures, pediatricians will have to assess whether the benefits of these procedures justify the purported but completely unquantifiable risk of the anesthetic or sedative. In addition, this issue has already become popular in the media, and as our experience with the supposed links between autism and vaccinations has demonstrated, this is likely to be a confusing and potentially inflammatory issue with the lay public as well. An increasing volume of nonhuman research over the past decade has established a relationship between the administration of general anesthetics and sedatives … Address correspondence to Robert K. Williams, MD, Department of Anesthesia, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Vermont Children's Hospital, Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT 05401. E-mail: robert.williams{at}vtmednet.org